News and Analysis (12/26/12)

“If there’s no compensation from the government, we will accept the compensation from al-Qaeda…. If I am sure the Americans are the ones who killed my brother, I will join al-Qaeda and fight against America”:

• When U.S. Drones Kill Civilians, Yemen’s Government Tries to Conceal It (Washington Post)

“Final figures from the elections commission showed the constitution was backed by 63.8% of voters, giving Islamists their third straight victory at the polls since Hosni Mubarak was toppled” …

• Egypt’s New Constitution Approved in Referendum (Guardian)

… but the poor turnout reflects an eerosion of the base of support …

• In Egypt Islamists’ Bastion, Discontent Creeps Up (AP / abc News)

… indicting that  the “Islamist parties, especially the MB, need to be more open and humble in their dealings with the others …. [and] reach a compromise on the few disputed articles in order to bring about a consensus.  As for the secular forces, they need to face reality and accept the will of the people in a new and free Egypt”:

• In Egypt: When Democracy Is Not an Option (Counterpunch)

“The Islamists have said they don’t want to harm the manuscripts, … [b]ut other people could take advantage of the situation to attack our heritage” — ” Abdel Kader Haidara,”a specialist in manuscript cataloging and director of one of Timbuktu’s largest family libraries”:

• The Men Who Would Save Mali’s Manuscripts (Christian Science Monitor)

“The religious leaders on Monday acknowledged free-speech guarantees under the First Amendment of the Constitution but emphasized community needs. ‘When we see hate speech … it is incumbent on us who are in the majority to call it out”:

“The informal sector of education and trade forms about 70 per cent of employment in Ghana and drives the country’s economy, and yet we seem not to see the importance of taking our work seriously in order to improve on it”:

• Workshop for Young Muslim Girls Opens in Accra (Ghanaweb)

“Invoking the Muslim prophet Mohammed, [Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh] Abdulaziz [bin Abdullah Al al-Sheikh] noted that killing innocents has been forbidden for 14 centuries”:

• Muslim Scholars and Clerics: Suicide Bombings are Un-Islamic (Christian Science Monitor)

“The resolution adopted by the 193-member world body urges government action to improve the situation of the Rohingya Muslim minority ‘and to protect all their human rights, including their right to a nationality’”:

• UN Concerned at Muslim Situation in Myanmar (Arab News)

“Although the rules allow each bank to have its own sharia board to supervise products, the central bank has set out strict requirements for scholars, including criteria for whether they are fit and proper, maximum tenures, … stock market listing requirements, ownership limits, minimum paid-in capital amounts, and … capital adequacy ratio”:

• Oman Central Bank Tightens Islamic Banking Rules (Al-Faisallah)

Christmas is not a Muslim holiday, but it is still a good day for Muslims to fulfill their obligation to help the poor and needy:

• ‘Pablo’ Victims Thank Muslim Brothers for Aid (Philippines Star)
• Muslim Community Collects Five Tonnes of Parcels for the Blackburn Foodbank (Lancashire Telegraph)
• Muslim Charity Raises Cash for Cumbrian Christmas  (Operation Black Vote)
• Jewish, Muslim Volunteers Offer Food, Toys, Services for Annual Mitzvah Day Event (Detroit Free Press)

ImadadDean