Intervention in Syria?/ Hamas’ internal divisions
February 16, 2012
With the Syrian city of Homs dominating news from the Middle East as shelling there continues, (excellent reporting on the ground from Homs comes from Richard Spencer of the London Telegraph – see here and here.) and international calls for action to put a stop to the bloodshed in Syria growing, this Update looks at some careful analysis of what could be done, and what could not be done, if a decision to intervene was made…
A political storm over Israel in Malaysia
February 16, 2012 | Michael Shannon
A political storm in Malaysia over controversial remarks by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s on Israel has not yet come to a close.
Back in January, a war of words erupted between Anwar and several top government officials, including his former mentor Dr. Mahathir Mohammed, regarding Malaysia’s policy on Israel – a raw nerve among the country’s Muslim-majority population…
Islamism, conspiracy theories tied up in Maldives coup
February 16, 2012 | Tzvi Fleischer
The Maldives is an island paradise in the Indian Ocean with an overwhelmingly Muslim population. Last week, the country experienced a coup, where, reportedly with a gun to his head, the democratically-elected President Mohamed Nasheed resigned, paving the way for his replacement by Vice-President Mohammed Waheed Hassan Manik.
The politics of the coup are complex and unclear, and part of the story appears to be that many of the coup plotters are associated with former President / Dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who Nasheed succeeded following elections in 2008. However it does seem clear that caught up in the mix is the growing influence of very extreme Salafist Islamist influences and factions in the Maldives. Moreover, these factions have been promoting bizarre anti-Israel conspiracy theories as part of their efforts to undermine Nasheed…
Bahrain’s unrest – One year on
February 15, 2012 | Ahron Shapiro
The first anniversary of the outbreak of demonstrations in Bahrain has moved the international spotlight back to the situation in the tiny Persian Gulf island-kingdom this week.
The so-called February 14 Revolution claimed the lives of several dozen civilians over the past year as a result of a brutal government crackdown. Sporadic demonstrations have continued into this year, with an uptick in activity in recent days leading up to the anniversary milestone…
Turkey and Israel may mend ties, Iran unveils nuclear achievements but bans Valentine’s and more – Daily Dose
February 15, 2012 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
Also today: Egyptian authorities create an anti-American conspiracy while they respect the human rights of terrorists but not refugees.
Russia is trying to convince us that there is nothing going wrong in Syria
February 15, 2012 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
As the bloodshed continues in Syria, with no end in sight, there are increasing calls for something to be done. Joining the chorus today were both Angelina Jolie and Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb, the head of Cairo’s al-Azhar University, one of the most prestigious theological institutions in the Islamic world. As Reuters reported, Tayeb used strong language, deploring condemnations without action and seemingly calling for some form of intervention from the Arab League…
Hamas Gaza leaders reiterate “We’ll never recognise Israel”
February 14, 2012 | Ahron Shapiro
In the aftermath of the recent Qatari-brokered reconciliation agreement between Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, many have suggested that Hamas is moderating both its long-standing goals of Israel’s destruction and its traditional rejection of any negotiations with Israel. But Hamas’ leadership in Gaza, spearheaded Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar, has been making it very clear that they do not support any such change…
Israeli Embassy attacks – What do they mean?
February 14, 2012 | Sharyn Mittelman
As was widely reported, Israeli embassy personnel were attacked in Georgia and India yesterday.
In the first attack, Tal Yehoshua-Koren, the wife of an Israeli Defense Ministry official and an employee of the embassy in India was wounded when a bomb exploded in her car. In the second attack, an embassy staffer in Tbilisi discovered a bomb underneath his car as he was driving to the embassy.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of being responsible for the attacks, which occurred one day after the fourth anniversary of the killing of a senior Hezbollah official, Imad Mughniyeh. Both Hezbollah and Iran have blamed Israel for Mughniyeh’s assassination, and Hezbollah has repeatedly sworn revenge.
This blog post recommends analysis on what these attacks could mean…
Antisemitic protests against an antisemitic play, Islamists rise higher and Jordan diverts attention – Daily Dose
February 14, 2012
Today: The Merchant of Venice, Kuwaiti elections, Jordanian Palestinians and civil wars in Yemen and Syria.
Earth-shattering news from Gaza
February 13, 2012 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
Literally Earth-shattering, according to Iranian state media outlet Press TV:
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the powerful feelings of the regional nations towards Gaza have been instrumental in the eruption of the region’s volcano.
There is, of course, a chance that he was speaking figuratively, although this would not be the first time an Iranian cleric linked a natural disaster with global politics. There was, for instance, those earthquakes two years ago caused by promiscuous women, or the time that European countries stole Iran’s rain, leading to a widespread drought. The more sinister part of Khamenei’s statement, which emerged from a recent meeting with Ismail Haniyeh — Hamas’ leader in Gaza — concerned Iranian support to Hamas…
