Indonesia’s backlash against Saudi-style Islam
August 10, 2011 | Michael Shannon
The beheading of Ruyati binti Satubi – an Indonesian maid executed by Saudi authorities in June for the killing of an allegedly abusive Saudi employer – has stirred such revulsion in Indonesia that Islamic leaders there are openly challenging the harsh, Wahhabist creed of Islam that has gained a footing in Indonesia via the funding of religious schools.
A story by the Washington Post‘s Indonesia correspondent illustrates the depth of this backlash.
“Some Indonesians began to think that Wahhabism is the true teaching of Islam, but thanks to God, there has been a change of thinking,” said Siraj, who heads Nahdlatul Ulama, an organization with about 50 million members and 28,000 Islamic boarding schools.
The Trial of Mubarak… and some Pitfalls
August 10, 2011 | Tzvi Fleischer
The trial of former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, which began last week, is certainly attracting a great deal of attention in Egypt. And it is a dramatic event – a symbol of the success of the Egyptian people in toppling a seemingly entrenched autocrat who had been in power for almost 35 years, and their desire to escape from the corruption and lack of freedom which characterised his rule. And yet a number of pieces have appeared arguing that the trial, the attention it is receiving, the way it is conducted, the outcome, and the reception in the streets may have potentially ominous consequences for the future of the Egyptian revolution.
London Riots: Iran champions Human Rights while British Antisemitism Rears Ugly Head
August 10, 2011 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
As violent riots spread throughout Britain, with hordes of young men robbing and looting everything in sight, an unexpected champion has emerged for Britain’s aggrieved underclass. A call for Britain to restrain violence against their own people has come from none other than the Iranian Foreign Ministry. As reported by Iran’s state-controlled Press TV:
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast urged the British government to order the police to stop their violent confrontation with the people, IRNA reported in the early hours of Tuesday…
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Different Israeli views on the Tent Protest movement
August 10, 2011 | Or Avi Guy
The “tent protest” in Israel is well into its third week, and shows no signs of dying out. Last Saturday, more than 300,000 people, across the country – from Kiryat Shmona in the north to Eilat in the south, took to the streets, demanding “social justice”. This protest is seen by many in Israel as a positive and refreshing awakening of an otherwise dormant public- the middle class. While the Israeli democracy is accustomed to protests, these are usually sectorial and revolve around one specific and limited issue, and many are related to issues of peace and security. This current protest, however, is a different story altogether.
The Twilight Zone at the UN
August 10, 2011 | Allon Lee
“There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man” may have kicked off each new episode of the Twilight Zone but it can equally be applied to the alternate reality that is the United Nations.
Bizarrely, this week, North Korea assumed the presidency of the UN’s Conference on Disarmament despite being under a sanctions regime for its nuclear weapons program.
Syrian situation continues to escalate
August 10, 2011
The situation in Syria continues to worsen with violent government efforts to suppress protests continuing in Hama, Dor El-Zoir, and other towns and increasingly blunt denunciations of the Damascus regime coming from many quarters, including tough remarks from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, and Al-Azhar University, the most senior Sunni Muslim religious voice in the world, now speaking out.
The Perils of being a Palestinian Journalist
August 9, 2011 | Tzvi Fleischer
There is a tendency in the West to treat Palestinian society as if it were a full-blown democracy – after all, they appear to have elections, and Prime Ministers and Presidents and parliament and all the trappings.(This is despite the fact that election scheduled for two years ago still have not occurred and it remains unclear if and when they ever will.)
It is therefore worth pointing out that in many respects, the civil and political liberties that are the hallmark of genuine democracy are at best contingent and partial in the Palestinian Authority (PA) – to say nothing about Hamas-controlled Gaza.
For instance, media freedom is pretty limited in the Palestinian Authority, as a recent case reveals. Noted Israeli Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh writes about the plight of award-winning Palestinian journalist Majdoleen Hassouneh, who is in hiding after apparently upsetting local authorities by her reporting about a sit-in strike.
Arab States Increase Pressure on Syria, Syria Blames American Conspiracy
August 9, 2011 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
As yesterday’s post noted, condemnation of Syria seems to have reached a tipping point – with more and more world leaders finally criticising the Assad regime, well into the fifth month of violence. Even “hacktivist” collective Anonymous have jumped on the bandwagon, hacking into the Syrian Ministry of Defence website and leaving photographs of mutilated protestors as long as a message of support in both English and Arabic…
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UN Resumes Aid to Somalia as Terrorists Vanish
August 9, 2011 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
It is not often that “ignore the problem and hope it goes away” is a particularly effective strategy in international affairs. Amazingly, however, the international community seems to have successfully employed this tactic in Somalia to drive the terrorist group al-Shabab from the capital Moghadishu. Al-Shabab had held a large chunk of the city and had been fighting a small African Union force for control of the remainder; but after spending years in a bitter stalemate, they seem to have determined to just pack-up and leave. As reported by Reuters:
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Thousands of Somali refugees, fleeing famine and years of violence, streamed into Mogadishu on Monday searching for food after Islamist rebels withdrew from the capital…
Hot chocolate too tempting for anti-Israel activists?
August 9, 2011 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
In an interesting turn of events, four of the 19 people arrested for engaging in the violent protests against an Israeli-owned cafe in Melbourne have been arrested for breaching their bail condition of not going within 50m of the cafe. As reported by the ABC:
Last month, 19 activists were arrested outside a Max Brenner store after allegedly chaining themselves to furniture. The group was not to go within 50 metres of the company’s two two CBD stores. A spokeswoman for BDS says the four protesters were arrested early this morning…
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