Ethan Bronner, “Khan Yunis Journal: Finding a Steadier Path in Gaza,” New York Times, Sep. 7, 2010
Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
American Psychiatrist Teaching Israelis and Palestinians to Cope
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010Islam and Abortion
Friday, February 19th, 2010Following up on the question in class today, here is a link to a useful summary from a Muslim source.
Ibrahim B. Syed, ”Abortion in Islam,” Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc. (Islam Awareness@gmail.com)
Abu Dhabi Donates $25 million to Fight Malaria
Thursday, February 18th, 2010Abu Dhabi announced on Wednesday that it would donate $25 million to an organization that dedicates its time battling Malaria, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership. Abu Dhabi said that the money would be donated over the course of 5 years. The United Nations have set a group of goals, called the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, aiming to combat things like the spread of Malaria. The donation by Abu Dhabi will contribute to this goal.
The Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM) was founded by UNICEF, the World Heath Organization, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program, and hundreds of other organizations, RBM helps to create policy strategies, makes financial and technical support available, and closely follows the progress of countries combating Malaria.
The World Heath Organization estimates that there are over 243 million cases of Malaria around the world in 2008. Malaria is caused by a parasite transmitted through mosquito bites. Malaria affects the body by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs, and if not treated can be deadly.
This article was a rarity among news reports of more death and destruction around the world and in the Middle East. It is reassuring to hear of some positive news stuck between the reports of bombings around the world, coups, and national security threats
King Tut May Have Died of Malaria
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010See the story at the BBC: there is a video of a team of researchers extracting DNA from Tut’s mummy — recommend you not watch it while eating dinner! – 
New Demographic Projections and Implications for Relations Between the West and the Muslim World
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010Professor Jack Goldstone at the George Mason School of Public Policy has gathered a wealth of demographic data to support projections of how the world will change over the course of this century. Goldstone highlights, “four historic shifts that will fundamentally alter the world’s population over the next four decades: the relative demographic weight of the world’s developed countries will drop by nearly 25 percent, shifting economic power to the developing nations; the developed countries’ labor forces will substantially age and decline, constraining economic growth in the developed world and raising the demand for immigrant workers; most of the world’s expected population growth will increasingly be concentrated in today’s poorest, youngest, and most heavily Muslim countries, which have a dangerous lack of quality education, capital, and employment opportunities; and, for the first time in history, most of the world’s population will become urbanized, with the largest urban centers being in the world’s poorest countries, where policing, sanitation, and health care are often scarce.” (p.32)
Via ProQuest and the NMH Virtual Desktop:
Female Circumcision
Monday, January 21st, 2008Female circumcision is known to have no health benefit but practiced widely to “oppress a woman’s sexual desire, to make her look more beautiful in the eyes of her husband, and balance her psychology.” (duh!)
According to WHO, 96% of girls in Indonesia are circumcised. Worldwide, 140 million women and girls have experienced some sorts of genital cutting. Some endured the extreme versions of excising a large portion of vagina; most underwent the ritualistic ones. The tradition of circumcision was orginally associated with Sub-Saharan Africa but widely spread out in some parts of the Muslim world. There has been a dispute whether female circumcision - or female genital mutilation as opponents call – is a necessary part of the belief.
In 2007 summer, the controversy was heated when a girl died during the operation and the government closed the clinic involved. While conservatives wanted to keep the tradition, the government, non-governmental organizations, and religious leaders cooperated to bring an end to this abnormal custom.
NY Times article
A Cutting Tradition (January 20, 2008)
Voices Rise in Egypt to Shield Girls From an Old Tradition (September 20, 2007)
UPDATE – June 16, 2010: A new Human Rights Watch report urges people in Kurdish areas to stop the practice of female circumcision — Story at BBC. (TT)
