Last week, the Saudi writer and blogger Hamza Kashgari tweeted about Prophet Muhammad and his tweets caused an unanticipated fire-storm of outrage among many Saudis. They formed an "electronic lynch mob" and responded with hate-filled tweets, Face-book posts, comments, threats and YouTube videos, calling for the...

Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Computer Inc, died yesterday at age 56 after struggling with pancreatic cancer. We are usually saddened by a death, especially when someone dies at a rather young age. However, in addition to sadness, I am also feeling a sense of emptiness even though I...

AUGUST 24, 2011 GOTHAM CITY, NY - Joey Germanotta is not as famous as his older sister Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, who is also known as "Lady Gaga". However, this could change in light of Joey's recent press conference in the Gotham City Public Library. In a library meeting room...

When you go through your laundry after pulling it out of the washing machine, you occasionally have to be prepared for unexpected surprises, such as seeing that your favorite white tablecloth has acquired a turquoise hue, or discovering your iPod that had gone missing. However, when German right-wing extremist music...

The news about the terrorist attacks that took place yesterday in Norway kept on getting worse and worse. First, we heard that a massive bomb blast took place in the heart of Oslo, causing major destruction and chaos. Then came the news about a subsequent related attack on the island...

The dark fantasy novel "Kraken" by China Mieville starts off in a museum of natural history and describes in great detail how a giant squid preserved in formalin can appear alive in the large glass tank. The story weaves various aspects of faith, worship and mythology into the...

The rise of the Tea Party is a political phenomenon that is quite remarkable and continues to play an important role in American politics. Liberals and progressives unfortunately often mock the Tea Party and its patriotic members, without making the necessary efforts to understand the political and intellectual assets of...

MAY 18, 2011 CAIRO, EGYPT- We recently witnessed the peaceful political revolutions in multiple Arab countries, which are referred to as the "Arab Spring" of 2011. A lesser known aspect of the "Arab Spring" is that the spirit of upheaval may be transforming traditional gender roles.

In Egypt, women...

There are a number of Latin phrases that have survived millennia, because they contain immortal pearls of wisdom. In a world that is increasingly using Twitter and short SMS text messages to communicate, these Latin phrases may experience a renaissance, because they are often concise and profound. One of my...

April 5, 2011 DAYTON, OH - Sister Cora-Ann, a Catholic nun from the Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Dayton, Ohio got the surprise of her life yesterday, when she was asked to leave the plane she had just boarded at the Omaha International Airport. "I had just sat down...

The expression "Islamophobia" to describe anti-Muslim hostility in Europe and North America is becoming increasingly common. Even though the use of this expression is still not quite as trendy as a Lady Gaga song, one can already find numerous books, articles and websites that expound on the phenomenon of "Islamophobia"....

When I heard the news that the Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords had been shot in front of a grocery store, I was in a state of denial and shock. These things are not supposed to happen in the USA. Just a few days ago, Salman Taseer, the prominent governor...

I have often been asked why we scientists are so resistant to introducing ideas such as "creation science" in the biology classroom. My first reaction is to say that these ideas are not really scientific and therefore do not belong in a biology class, and I would be similarly opposed...

"Islamic Science" -- I often encounter this expression when I meet fellow Muslims at social events and I state that I am a scientist during the perfunctory revealing of professions. Not infrequently, my discussion partners start talking about "Islamic Science" with a certain degree of nostalgia and pride, because for...