News and Analysis (10/25/19)

One demonstrator says, “The current system has done nothing for us,” and another, a lawyer, calls for a new constitution”:

• Iraqi Police Open Fire to Disperse Protesters on Baghdad Streets (Al-Jazeera)

“It’s been over six months since the defendants, including the FBI, the Departments of Justice, State and Homeland Security, received the FOIA request, without a single disclosure”:

• ​Rights Groups Sue US Government to Reveal Muslim Surveillance (TRT World)

Tragedies deepen Jewish-Muslim bonds to fight hate crimes:

• Tragedies Deepen Jewish-Muslim Bonds to Fight Hate Crimes (Associated Press)

Media Anti-Muslim rhetoric fuels bullying and hate crimes in schools …

• Number of Muslim Students Bullied for the Faith Declines but the Rate Is Still Double the Average, Study Finds (LA Times)

… and anti-Muslim hate crimes inspired Muslim students to turn to programs that provide the tools to be successful leaders:

• Muslim Institute for Leadership and Empowerment Aims to Create a Community for Muslim Students, Empower Them to Be Leaders (The Cavalier Daily)

In addition to outreach to Muslim voters and a balanced view on the Palestinian issue Sanders is the first major party presidential candidate to appoint a Muslim campaign manager:

• No Coincidence that Bernie Sanders Is a Favorite Among Muslim Americans (Haaretz)

The abrupt U.S. withdrawal leaves Syrian Kurds to turn to Baghdad, Tehran and Moscow for help against the Turkish invasion though they are no more inclined towards Kurdish self-rule than Istanbul or Washington …

• U.S. Sudden Syria Exit Leaves Angry Iraqi Kurds Looking to Iran: ‘Oil Thicker than Innocent Blood’ (Newsweek)

… as Trump pushes “uncompromising unilateralism, the rest of the world has made clear its desire for a rules-based order grounded in multilateralism, as evident in efforts to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal”:

• Iran Is Winning the Battle for the Middle East’s Future (Foreign Policy)

“Though Washington and Tehran are at odds in many other places, their interests are not mutually exclusive in Afghanistan”:

• How Iran Found Its Feet in Afghanistan (Foreign Affairs)

Two very different Muslim women challenge gender stereotypes through art:

• Artist Shirin Neshat Challenges the Idea of Muslim Women as Victims and Explores Exile (LA Times)
• ‘I’m a Muslim Artist Inspired by the Female Body’ (BBC)

“Imagine having to crawl on all fours to get to a university lecture on time — and you’re the professor. Well, it happened in Nablus”:

• SESAME Field Trip: A crawl to university in Palestine (Deutsche Welle)