Date Posted: May 3, 2010

The Kojo Nnamdi Show

Satire is a cultural and political tradition in the United States -- a tool that has been used to challenge the status quo for generations. But the line that separates the provocative from the insulting is often a blurry one -- as demonstrated by ongoing international controversies about cartoon depictions of the Islamic prophet Muhammed. We explore the nexus of humor, satire and culture, especially in light of the 200^th episode of the Comedy Central cartoon show, South Park.

Guests on the show include Howard Ross (Diversity Consultant), Kevin "Kal" Kallaugher (Political Cartoonist for The Economist) and Arsalan Iftikhar (Human Rights Lawyer and Founder of TheMuslimGuy.com)

Listen to audio of entire one-hour show at: http://thekojonnamdishow.org/audio-player?nid=16608

Date Posted: March 26, 2010

Intelligence officials say there is a wave of young people who are attracted to the adventure of jihad but would like to skip all the rigors of Islam, such as reading the Quran and fasting.

"I think what we are seeing is sort of what I like to term a new generation of lazy Muslims," says Arsalan Iftikhar, a human rights lawyer and the former national legal director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"These are people who might not be theologically devout or even have a sound religious foundation, but they are using this new jihadi cool to justify criminal acts of terrorism," Iftikhar says

Listen to audio at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125186382

The challenge is to give the jihadi wannabes something meaningful with which to fill the voids in their lives so that ‘jihad cool’ stops filling the abyss. Arsalan Iftikhar, the Muslim-American lawyer, appeals to jihadi wannabes thus: “Put down your Xbox 360, turn off the over-militaristic Halo 3 video game, and go feed the homeless in a soup kitchen. That is Islam, my friends.”

Read more from ‘The Rise of Jihad Wannabes’ -- New York Magazine at http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/64955/#ixzz0ixYw4RlJ

Date Posted: February 23, 2010

Arsalan Iftikhar's article entitled 'In Praise of The Doha Debates' in the February 2010 issue of Esquire Magazine (Middle East edition).

See full article here: http://www.twitpic.com/14y5dd/full

Date Posted: January 5, 2010 

Arsalan Iftikhar on Al-Jazeera English Television (January 5, 2010) on Airport Security in light of the 2009 Christmas Day Airline Terror Plot on Northwest Airlines Flight 253.