All posts by Nir Boms

14May/08

Taking Back Islam

Islam and Democracy, Voices of Democracy, ,

Moderate Muslims say their faith is compatible with freedom.

June 03, 2004, 8:47 a.m.

By Erick Stakelbeck & Nir Boms

There’s an elephant in the room whenever the current U.S. operation in Iraq is discussed: Is Islam truly compatible with democracy? Or do the U.S.’s troubles in stabilizing Iraq signal that Muslims simply have no desire to live in a free, democratic society?

Right now the answers to these questions are unclear. For every modern Islamic “success story” like Turkey or Malaysia, there are Islamist nightmares like Saudi Arabia and Iran.

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14May/08

Gaza’s Internet War

Freedom and the Internet, Islam and Democracy, Middle East, Palestinian Authority, , , , ,

Islamic war on freedom of thought in Gaza should concern Israelis as well

Niv Lillian, Nir Boms

Published:   06.04.07, 09:08 / Israel Opinion

At 3 am, in the shadow of the ongoing fighting, a giant blast shook Allah al-Shawa’s Internet cafe in Gaza. The owner, who rushed to his business in order to examine the damage, found one computer in working order in the rubble and decided to check his e-mail.

A surprise awaited him: An e-mail message from a group calling itself “Islamic Swords of Justice” explained that the cafe was blown up because it and those of its type “divert the attention of an entire generation to other issues that are not Jihad or worship.” In other words, the e-mail charged that his Internet cafe was used for distributing abomination and pornography.

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14May/08

The Start of a New Year in Iran

Human Rights, Iran, ,

 

In 2008 let us help bring some ray of hope to those working towards freedom in Iran. The fate of Iran’s political prisoners, whose numbers are estimated at 30,000, should accompany every international meeting and diplomatic engagement

Nir Boms

While in many parts of the world people were just starting to recover from New Year’s Eve hangovers, it was business as usual in Iran. On January 2, thirteen Iranians, including the mother of two young children, were executed, giving Iran a solid lead in the execution count for the new year. According to Agence France Presse, Iran carried out at least 297 executions in 2007, a 40% increase compared to the 177 executions reported by Amnesty International in 2006.

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14May/08

School for Jihadism

Iran, Islam and Democracy, ,

By Nir Boms
Published February 15, 2007

“Ignorance is power,” wrote George Orwell in his famous book “1984,” referring to the information police that kept bad ideas from the eyes of good people. Our world was not immune from this logic that reversed “good” with “bad” and “war” with “peace.” Some of our darkest moments of history have seen this very type of indoctrination that brought people to think in such terms and act accordingly. And another such moment may be looming in the near horizon.

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