News and Analysis (2/9-10/08)

CATO scholar Timothy Lee explains why the Protect America Act will leave itself open to abuses of privacy, while Ryan Singel analyzes the challenges of declaring telecom legal immunity unconstitutional:

• The Surveillance Scam (Reason)

• Is Retroactive Telecom Immunity Unconsitutional? (Wired.com)

Turkish parliament cedes to university women the choice the state had arrogated to itself:

• Turkish Lawmakers Vote to Lift Head Scarf Ban (Los Angeles Times)

Not satisfied to “cede the ground to radicals”, Afghanistan works to promote a new system of religious schools that blend religious studies with modern subjects like math and science:

• Modernizing Madrassas (Washington Post)

Egypt takes a small, but significant step toward upholding the Qur’anic command of “Let there be no compulsion in religion…,” but still has a long way to go:

• Egypt To Recognise Copt Converts (BBC News)

U.S. military finds a document that details Iraqi Muslim victories over al-Qaida hirabis:

• Diary of an Insurgent In Retreat: Al-Qaeda in Iraq Figure Lists Woes (Washington Post)

Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt raises “the spectre of another civil war“:

• Jumblatt Issues Hezbollah Challenge (Al-Jazeera International)

Alejandro

Alejandro Beutel is program assistant for the Minaret of Freedom Institute with expertise in religious freedom, democratization and security issues.