Today is the 13th day of September — 10 years after an important milestone for the United States and the West. Ten years ago our way of life and our freedoms, our liberal democracy and our rule of law were all assaulted and violated. It is time to stop and reflect.
Articles by Irfan Yusuf 
About Irfan Yusuf
Irfan Yusuf first found himself in Crikey by accident when his blog post on the Danish cartoons controversy was excerpted. He’s done stints lawyering in three states and is now based in Melbourne.
He frequently contributes to Fairfax and the New Zealand Herald. His irreverent memoir Once Were Radicals: My Years As A Teenage Islamo-fascist was published in 2009. He was once a conservative Liberal but is now left right out.
Email: irfsol@yahoo.com.au
Twitter: @OnceWereRadical
Those who judge judges, lawyers need a lesson in depression
We need our legal profession to consist solely of stable, sane and depression-free individuals.
The media pigeonholing Muslims is not helping any cause
Yes, there’s a lot that all ethnic and religious communities in Auburn and Lakemba community need to do, but to assume that gangland is defined purely by one religion is just ridiculous. Last time I checked, the Morans weren’t praying five times a day.
Al Jazeera English’s Cairo performance: it’s the new CNN
If the first Iraq War in 1991 made CNN’s reputation, surely its ongoing coverage of the Egypt uprising should cement AJE’s reputation as a world-class broadcaster.
Stuff the dirty dunnies, it’s the religious violence that could halt Delhi
Yes, many Indians are very embarrassed over the poor state of the dunnies at the athletes’ village in New Delhi. But they are more concerned about the threat of communalist violence.
The real Delhi: not as dirty, scary and chaotic as the media thinks
Over the past few weeks, we’ve read Western sporting officials declare that Delhi’s Commonwealth Games won’t work because the city (and in particular the athletes’ village) is “filthy”, “uninhabitable” and “seriously compromised”. It’s only half the story.
Northern Qld politics no place for wusses, sheilas
Politics in central Queensland mining town of Mackay isn’t a game for wusses. Or women for that matter.
Welcome to the US of Hey, that’s a lot of security
What do you get when you build your intelligence service up to such a size that it occupies three times the floorspace as the main centre of your executive government?
What would L Ron Hubbard do? Roll up for religion at $195 a pop
The Parliament of the World’s Religions was held at the Melbourne Convention Centre this week, but the chance to enter paradise and share in the joy, peace, love and crystals came with a hefty price tag.
Why question defence force loyalty because of religion?
Our troops have a job to do. We should allow them to do it and not waste their or our own time with moronic speculations based on isolated incidents.
The difference between a terrorist and a terrorist
When is a terrorist deemed a genuine refugee who doesn’t pose any threat to Australia? When they’re not a Muslim, apparently. But what makes the Tamil Tigers any different to Hamas, Hezbollah or the Taliban?
Give us a break, the fake sheik’s not worth the effort
You’ve heard of tabloid media going after thick sheiks. Now some are even using fake sheiks. And even our PM is being questioned on whether their citizenship should be stripped.
Bradfield, the land of true maverick conservatives
All 20 candidates in this Saturday’s Bradfield preselection must be pondering one major question: exactly what do local Liberal Party preselectors in a safe seat look for in a candidate?
Bradfield preselection shows NSW Libs have changed
At this Saturday’s Bradfield preselection at the Hornsby RSL, one of the front runners will be a conservative who also happens to be openly gay, although Irfan Yusuf doubts that he’ll be wearing a skivvy.
A lesson in contrasts: how one riot was reported
Skin colour makes a huge difference on the language used, when it comes to how violent street riots are reported in the media. Better to be a London Nazi skinhead than a Sydney Lebanese Muslim.
Terrorism is about occupation, not religion
Why did these young Muslim men decide to kill thousands of people? Excerpts from their “martyrdom mission” video recordings all point to one simple theme: “Get out of our lands”.
The warped logic of banning al-Manar
There are many good arguments for and against allowing the Lebanese Hezbollah-run TV station al-Manar to be broadcast in Australia, writes : but those put forward by the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council aren’t any of them.
Somali politics is just as much about clan as it is religion
Some reporting and analysis of today’s raids in The Oz of an alleged terrorist group showed a laughable ignorance of Somali and/or Muslim cultures.
Costello shows little faith in the possibilities of education
Peter Costello thinks Christian schools should only have Christian teachers. Perhaps he could learn a thing or two from many of Australia’s Muslim schools, says Irfan Yusuf.
NSW Libs at loggerheads as intra-factional action heats up
The NSW Liberals’ religious right want to roll back secularism. But if they do that, hey’ll effectively make the Party unelectable. They’ll also be answering Nathan Rees’ prayers.
Your unpronounceable surname could cost you that job
A new study has found wide-spread labour market discrimination against people with foreign names when applying for jobs in Australia.
Writers’ fest does blogging. Your thoughts?
To blog or not to blog? That was just one of the questions posed by moderator Rachel Hills to a panel of bloggers, journalists and one burnt-out ex-journalist at a Sydney Writers’ Festival gig on Sunday.
