“”All they’re doing is showing that racism still lives in the Old Dominion. … at the same time, there’s a new Dominion. That’s what we’re going to show people.” — Imam Johari Abdul-Malik:

• Boycott Urged for Muslim Imam’s Prayer in Virginia House (Washington Post)

“We are a national government, based on Islamic principles, and we call on women to be more involved in the parliament, municipalities, and ministries. We are proud of this for this is a woman’s right” – Prime Minister Haniyeh:

• Haniyeh to Appoint Female Minister (Ma’an News)

Amr Moussa declares that Israeli “insults” render the negotiation impossible, “The talks have already stopped’”:

• Biden Urges Speedy Peace Process (Al Jazeera)

“The Israeli government is covering this up under the umbrella of combat activity, which absolves soldiers of responsibility” — Husein Abu Husein, attorney for Rachel Corrie’s family:

• Trial Begins over Death of US Activist in Gaza (AP / Washington Post)

Foreign aid to Afghanistan has “been eroded by power shortages, wasteful contractors, security dangers and corruption”:

• In Kabul, Hopelessness Weighs on Job Hunters (LA Times)

A drastic expansion of staff numbers will not necessarily translate into progress:

• Overworked U.S. Embassy in Kabul Straining to Meet Administration’s Demands (Washington Post)

Erdogan should use “his upcoming visit to the US … to present his case and prove that Turkey is capable of handling the disputes with Armenia without US congressional intervention”:

• Reassessing the Genocide Resolution (Alonben-Meir.com)

DOJ says, “‘A woman from suburban America agreed to carry out murder overseas and to provide material support to terrorists’:

• ‘JihadJane’ Indictment Alleges Threat from within U.S. (LA Times)

Iranian blogger says “this week’s change in U.S. policy was too little too late. ‘During the aftermath of the elections it might have had an effect. But now it’s just a symbolic act””:

• Iran Blocking Foreign, Domestic Web Sites to Curb Anti-Government Activists (Washington Post)

Refusing to submit to additional security screenings, Senator Abbas Khan Afridi returns home a hero, unwilling to submit to what are viewed as unjust demands of the US:

• Upset by U.S. Security, Pakistanis Return as Heroes (NY Times)

All Americans, not just Muslims should be concerned about US Census questions that go beyond the Constitutional mandate of enumeration for Congressional apportionment:

• Some Muslims, Fearing Backlash, Worry About Intent of Census (Washington Post)

“Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, Sunni Islam’s most senior religious figure, has died during a visit to Saudi Arabia”:

• Al-Azhar Head Dies in Saudi Arabia (Al Jazeera)

A “key figure in the Saudi back-channel talks described [Mullah Abdul Ghani] Baradar’s arrest as a ‘letdown’ and ‘a huge blow’ to the fledgling peace initiative”:

• Why Mujahideen and Saudi Lawyers Hold the Key to Peace in Afghanistan (Guardian)

An inside look at Hussein’s aborted attempt to develop nuclear weapons:

• Saddam Hussein Weighed Nuclear ‘Package’ Deal in 1990, Documents Show (Washington Post)

A German entrepreneur’s  message is “Islam isn’t just compatible with Western values of tolerance and free expression – it can be hip, too”:

• Muslim Fashion Label Conquers Streets of Europe (Washington Post)

With the turnout down from 76% in the December 2005, the true test for Iraqi democracy will be its ability to form governing coalitions between the divided political parties:

• Iraqi Voter Turnout Estimated at 62% (LA Times)
• Region Unimpressed by Balloting in Iraq (NY Times)
• Iraq Election Turnout Down, Likely Months Before New Government (Christian Science Monitor)

Despite a population of 300,000 and being considered the “main gateway for the Taliban,” Zabul is now defended by less than 1,000 NATO troops:

• Zabul Province Seeks U.S. Troops, but is Caught in Afghan Numbers Game (Washington Post)

Pres. Saleh’ s new strategy is “to form local committees to talk to these forces, if they accept dialogue,” welcoming “‘real demands,” and rejecting “the spreading of the culture of hate, racism, and regionalism’”:

• Yemeni Leader in Dialogue Call (Al Jazeera)

Achieving the levels needed for medical purposes makes the next step to weapons grade much shorter, which the U.S. insists on seeing as a “provocation”:

• For Iran, Enriching Uranium Only Gets Easier (NY Times)

Former Guantanamo detainee’s lawyer says extension of secrecy “is really about the [British] government avoiding embarrassment for … collaboration with the US and all that happened, rather than any real national security issues”:

• Government Attempts to Keep Torture Case Secret (Guardian)

At least 38 are dead with 80 wounded, but Iraqis consider the elections to be widely successful …

• Iraq Election: Purple Fingers, but Hard Work Ahead (Christian Science Monitor)

… However, Iraq’s electoral commission urges patience as it will take up to a month to certify the results:

• Patience Urged in Iraq Vote Count (Al Jazeera)

The first American to be charged with treason since WWII: have Pakistani forces arrested Adam Gadahn of Southern California?

• Pakistanis Arrest Man, but Whom? (LA Times)

“A prohibition of the burqa and the niqab would be as unfortunate as it would have been to criminalize the Danish cartoons… Instead, we should promote multicultural dialogue and respect for human rights”

• Europe Must Not Ban the Burqa (Guardian)

By allowing US companies to begin exporting free personal Internet services and software, the US is effectively exporting tools to expand liberty and freedom in these countries:

• U.S. Hopes Internet Exports Will Help Open Closed Societies (NY Times)

Despite a partial construction freeze:

• Israel to Build More Settler Homes (Al Jazeera)

“‘Because of the explosions and because there is no honorable man I can elect, I stayed at home,’ said Ali Malek Hussein, who lives in eastern Baghdad”…

• Violence Mars Early Hours of Voting in Iraq (Washington Post)

… Meanwhile, US forces continue to play out their role as the lame duck in Iraq:

• As Iraq votes, U.S. Content to Keep its Distance (Washington Post)

$14.8 billion in contract payments, grants and other benefits was given to companies that defied American sanctions law by making large investments that helped Iran develop its vast oil and gas reserves:

• U.S. Enriches Companies Defying Its Policy on Iran (NY Times)

In making laws conducive and ending corruption is hope that mining, currently is 1% of Afghanistan GDP, can revive the economy:

• Can Afghanistan Economy Thrive Without Poppy? (Christian Science Monitor)

Army Maj. Gen. William Nash says Guantanamo is not really closed by moving trials to America for “a bastardized version of justice known as military commissions” that leaves “the job undone”:

• White House Reconsiders Holding Terror Trials in Civilian Court (LA Times)

Chanting “no to ethnic cleansing”, the protest was the largest of its kind in decades:

• Thousands March in Jerusalem Rally (Al Jazeera)

A reminder of the lack of political freedoms available in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:

• Saudi Security Confiscate Books by Reformer (AP / Washington Post)

NATO’s strategy revolves around the principles of supporting the locals while developing infrastructure; if successful Marjah could provide the blueprint needed to succeed in Afghanistan:

• Afghanistan War: NATO Unfolds Blueprint to Rebuild Marjah (Christian Science Monitor)

International pressure mounts as exemptions for China embolden Brazil, Turkey and Lebanon to also express opposition to Iranian sanctions:

• U.S. Criticized on Iran Sanctions (Washington Post)

The 19 year hold PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party have enjoyed on Kurdish politics may come to a close after the Iraqi elections:

• Change Party Roils Kurdish Elections (LA Times)

Irfan al-Awali says pollution in Mecca caused by underdeveloped infrastructure is both “a moral and social catastrophe” and “a symbol of the corruption the house of Saud has imposed on its subjects”:

• Saudi’s Dirty Secrets (Guardian)

“We condemn this resolution accusing Turkey of a crime that it had not committed.” -Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan:

• Turkey Recalls Ambassador After US Resolution on ‘Armenian Genocide’ (Christian Science Monitor)

The US seeks a freeze on nuclear related assets, an expanded ban on individual travel, and an outright ban on arms exports and transactions for listed Iranian banks,  but no sanctions on oil exports:

• U.S. Circulates New Draft Proposal for Iran Sanctions (NY Times)

Under Iraqi law, US forces are on their way out and some argue that their tactics are part of an effort to claim responsibility for the US exit from Iraq:

• U.S. Failure to Neutralize Shiite Militia in Iraq Threatens to Snarl Pullout (Washington Post)

Polls show increasing polarization and “the PVV, which campaigns against Muslim immigration as its main platform, would win the most seats — 27 in the 150-member Dutch parliament — in the June 9 election”:

• Dutch Anti-Islam Leader is Major Winner in Polls (Reuters / Washington Post)

Maj. Gen. Tariq Khan declares what he believes to be an end to the Bajaur operations along the Afghan border:

• Pakistan Seizes Taliban and Al Qaeda Cave Network (Christian Science Monitor)

Armenian-American groups push for legislation on the 1915 massacres that would threaten “an emerging agreement between Turkey and neighboring Armenia to normalize ties”:

• Armenia-Turkey Dispute over Genocide Label Sets off Lobbying Frenzy (Washington Post)

The first step for “the closest [thing] to a truly representative process since the US-led invasion”…

• Early Voting Ahead of Iraq Election (Al Jazeera)

… while, the largest and more important question remains, who will emerge victorious and lead Iraq’s political future?

• Maliki’s Hold on Power Uncertain (LA Times)

Dhahi Khalfan Tamim plans to ask the Dubai prosecutor to issue arrest warrants for Binyamin Netanyahu and Meir Dagan because of their involvement in the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh:

• Dubai: Israeli Premier Faces Arrest (Al Jazeera)

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s neutrality and endorsement of open democratic processes will play a critical role in shaping the relationship between Islam and the state at this crucial juncture in Iraq’s history:

• Iraq’s Top Cleric Refuses to Influence Elections (NY Times)

As Pakistani forces advance on Taliban strongholds, Taliban forces find refuge and recruiting grounds among the 1.5 million Pakistanis in Karachi’s slums:

• Taliban Militants Find Breathing Room in Slums of Karachi, Pakistan (LA Times)

Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) would sacrifice freedom of the press to its fear that live coverage of attacks benefits the Taliban:

• US Critical of Afghan Media Ban (Al Jazeera)

Liz Cheney’s group derides the unidentified appointees as the “al-Qaeda 7″ asking “Whose values do they share?” as if the right to legal representation were a value of al-Qaeda rather than of America:

• Uncertainty Raised Over Justice Department’s Handling of Detainees (LA Times)

A female parliamentarian says quotas are obsolete and  “should be removed and women should compete equally with men, because women politicians have proven their competence and reliability in politics”:

• Women Take Prominent Role in Iraqi Vote (AP / Washington Post)

Liberal Zionists are interesting people. Richard Cohen’s op-ed piece in the Washington Post this morning illustrates how someone with a sincere liberal bias (Cohen’s heart bleeds for the plight of Saudi women) can simply be blind to the fact that Israeli apartheid is not just a question of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, but extends to the Israeli treatment of its own Arab citizens.

Last weekend I attended a lecture by British journalist Ben White who documents Israeli apartheid and has an explanation for the liberals’ blind spot: Simply because Israeli apartheid differs from South Africa’s, Zionists are incapable of recognizing it. The fact that Israel was a strong supporter of South Africa during it’s apartheid era would cause me to question this analysis, but as if intent on proving White’s insight, Cohen writes, “The Israel of today and the South Africa of yesterday have almost nothing in common.”

The list of differences? White South Africa “harshly ruled the majority black population.” If Cohen is claiming that the Arabs of Israel are not ruled harshly, he is not paying attention. If he is claiming that they are not a majority, he is overlooking the significant detail that the Zionists have driven them out with the aforementioned harsh policies and engaged in the wholesale importation of a majority population of Europeans (including some whose Jewish credentials are so tenuous that they are classified as “other” rather than Jewish by their citizenship papers).

Cohen notes that non-whites in South Africa were denied civil rights. He overlooks the significant detail that in Israel there are a set of rights granted only to “Jewish nationals” which Muslim and Christian citizens are not. Cohen protests that black South Africans were even denied citizenship, and one must ask is Cohen unaware that Arab Jerusalemites are denied citizenship, suffered instead to be given the status of “permanent residency.” The word “permanent” is a misnomer since this residency can be summarily revoked for people who spend too much time abroad, for example in pursuing their studies. White reports that in 2008 alone over 4500 persons were stripped of their residency. In Jerusalem (as elsewhere) the Israelis use zoning laws to systematically deny building permits for non-Jews while liberally granting them to Jews. White says the situation in Jerusalem is drastic, with renovations to Judaize the city given to settler groups being the most likely cause for a new resistance.

The bottom line for Cohen is that “Israeli Apartheid Week” is driven by Antisemitism, by “imaginary” rather than legitimate grievances. He insists, “Security concerns are not rooted in racism.” I’m sure that’s how the Roosevelt administration viewed its mistreatment of the Japanese, but when an indigenous people resist the takeover over the land and the imposition of second class status, disentangling racism from security becomes a very difficult task. Accusing the victims and their defenders of Antisemitism when they protest the apartheid policies to which they are subjected doesn’t make the task of achieving security any easier.

Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, Ph.D.
Minaret of Freedom Institute
www.minaret.org

The ” justices wiped out a ruling … that the judicial branch had no power to release into the United States those cleared of being enemy combatants but who cannot be returned to their home countries for fear of persecution”:

• Supreme Court Dismisses Case Involving Resettlement of Guantanamo Detainees (Washington Post)

The IAEA announcement that it cannot confirm nuclear development for peaceful activities because of lack of “necessary cooperation” from Iran is likely to spark another around of international sanctions …

• IAEA Says It Can’t Confirm Iran Nuclear Program is Peaceful (Christian Science Monitor)

… Meanwhile, Iranian officials continue to target the press in an attempt to control domestic criticism:

• Iran Targets Reformist Media (Al Jazeera)

“An Iraqi campaign is part Tammany Hall and part Bedouin feast, where leaders display their generosity and hospitality by lavishing food and gifts on their constituents. In return, they expect loyalty”:

• Iraqis Awash in Gifts From Candidates (NY Times)

After two are killed, controversial Bangladeshi exile Taslima Nasrin protests, “The appearance of the article is atrocious…. I suspect that it is a deliberate attempt to malign me and to misuse my writings”:

• Author Denies Writing Article Behind Muslim Riots (AFP)

All suspects are believed to be hiding out in Israel except for two who have taken refuge in the US:

• Dubai Hamas Assassination: Police Add Suspects, Say Two Alleged Killers Went to US (Christian Science Monitor)