News and Analysis (7/6/12)

The pattern of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood breaking its promises when confronted by its rivals’ over estimates of their own popularity with the electorate fuels a spiral of distrust that only benefits the ruling military:

“I’d be surprised if Islamists, from the Brotherhood and other parties, don’t secure most of the seats and a great chunk of the vote” — Dartmouth University professor Dirk Vandewalle, adviser to the UN mission in Libya:

At the negotiating table, Iran offers to exchange 20-percent enrichment for lifting of sanctions. This development emerged during talks with the P5 +1 in Istanbul this week:

“Criticism of Muslims, when warranted, is a legitimate exercise in public discourse. But our national interests are ill-served if we only criticize and never appreciate. We are still paying the price of our many adventures in the Muslim world often initiated on a foundation of misguided views about the beliefs, history and culture of Muslims”:

“I have personally seen the new designs with a Velcro joined at the neck, which releases if the headscarf is pulled, ensuring the player’s safety” — Zhang Jilong, acting president of the Asian Football Confederation:

“We live in a bizarre Twilight Zone world where Greeks, Armenians and Israelis are generally considered ‘white’ (because they are Christian or Jewish), while Turks, Persians and most Arabs are considered ‘non-white’ (because they are mostly Muslim or non-Christian) … despite the fact that there are virtually no substantial physical differences” among them:

“I don’t think an Islamic state would help – it doesn’t work with democracy,” he says. “But I don’t have a problem with Salafis. We’re like a family here, and Mohamed Ali’s death has touched us all.” A beautifully written piece shedding light on  social interactions within a small town in Tunisia:

“There are hundreds of diplomats, military commanders and civil servants who want out but are too scared. This may encourage them to follow suit” — Ayman Abdul-Nour, an exiled former member of Assad’s ruling Baath party:
“I hope that people realise through reading Radical that the real conversations we need, as globalised citizens in a new age, are not conversations about Islam versus Christianity, or indeed around any religious theme, but around multiple identities, democratic culture, and transnational values”:

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