News and Analysis (8/14/15)

The agreement is “the most effective means currently available to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons,” and a precondition for any conceivable “international support for military action against Iran”:

• Dozens of Retired Generals, Admirals Back Iran Nuclear Deal (Washington Post)

Ignoring the vast majority of Muslim women to celebrate a few who fit our stereotypes of what a woman should be by Western secular standards “makes us part of … [an]  oppressive [system] … responsible for the ‘othering” of others”:

• Are We Truly Breaking Stereotypes About Muslim Women? (Patheos)

Contradicting Kayla Mueller’s letter to her family that her only suffering “throughout this whole experience … is only in knowing how much suffering I have put you all through“, the US claims Baghdadi himself raped the American …

• Islamic State leader Baghdadi ‘raped’ Kayla Mueller (BBC)

… based on reports from Yazidi girls claiming to have been enslaved and similarly abused:

• Islamic State Uses Theology to Justify Rape, Enslavement of Yazidi Women (Christian Science Monitor)

A Moroccan official says, “Criminality can be remedied through the legal system, but then there’s ideology, and it can only be fought with ideology.” Beny Avni opines that in Casablanca, “they’ve fended off extremists for 12 centuries”:

• Fighting Terror Bogart-style: How Morocco Counters Radical Islam (NY Post)

“[I]n recent years, al-Azhar has grown increasingly politicized…. [O]fficials have grown entangled with controversial policies. And … respect for the institution’s long-honored religious authority has plummeted”:

• Under Egypt President Sisi, World Famous Muslim University Al-Azhar Faces Global Backlash (International Business Times)

• QUIZ: Which of these 15 celebrities are Muslim? (Deseret News)

Attorney Steven Wax “remains troubled that the government might still possess classified evidence that could have helped Mohamud’s case. ‘The way our system should work, the government is obligated by law to provide notice,’ he said”:

• Mohamed Mohamud Appeal is First to Challenge NSA Surveillance in Terrorism Conviction (Oregonian)

“U.S. intelligence agencies have said in the past they believed Islamic State has used chlorine gas in attacks in Iraq…. Chlorine is not a banned chemical agent”:

• U.S. Believes Islamic State Likely Used Mustard Agent in Iraq Attack: WSJ (Reuters)

“Last month, Israel’s parliament passed a law allowing the force-feeding of inmates…. The Israel Medical Association (IMA) is challenging the law in Israel’s Supreme Court. They urged physicians to stick by the body’s ethical code”:

• Prisoner on Hunger Strike Tests New Israeli Law Allowing Force-feeding (Christian Science Monitor)

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