Egypt’s secularists were right to worry that the new laws, even more restrictive than those under Mubarak, were aimed at them as much as at the Muslim Brotherhood. Why didn’t they understand that so was the coup itself?
Is the U.S. government reviving the old tricks it used in its unsuccessful attempt to drive a wedge between Martin Luther King and his followers against Muslims? A “top-secret NSA document … provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, identifies six” Muslim targets “as ‘exemplars’Â of how … to undermine a target’s credibility, reputation and authority”:
- Top-Secret Document Reveals NSA Spied on Porn Habits as Part of Plan to Discredit ‘Radicalizers’ (Huffington Post)
Proponents of the law are correct “that Islam does not stipulate the wearing of a veil.” which means that the law against it is a baldfaced attack on freedom of personal expression, and young Muslim women are going to court in attempt to end the “discrimination based on gender, religion and ethnic origin, to the detriment of women” …
… but an appeals court has overturned that an even more draconian law banning Muslim headscarves and Jewish kippahs  did not apply to private workplaces, a ruling which the victim has indicated she would appeal “as far as the European Court of Human Rights”:
- French Court Upholds Firing of Muslim Woman over Headscarf (Arutz Sheva)
“[T]he city and the NYPD also didn’t want to comply with the ACLU’s discovery request, which would force them to turn over lots and lots of records about not just the surveillance of the plaintiffs, but about the police department’s broader policies regarding spying on Muslims, or indeed anyone, based on their religious or political beliefs”:
The “latest in a series of moves to pressure Christian high school graduates into joining the army, breaking the community’s blanket rejection of conscription for the past 65 years” is seen by Palestinians “as a means to propel the country’s Christian and Muslim communities into conflict, as part of Israel’s long-term divide-and-rule strategy”:
“President Hassan Rouhani said Iran’s economic problems went beyond sanctions, blaming ‘unparalleled stagflation’ on the profligacy and mismanagement of his predecessor, hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad” who some say squandered “unprecedented revenue growth due to high oil prices … on subsidies … “and drove up inflation” …
… and “[t]his week Moody’s agency cut Tunisia’s sovereign credit rating by one notch to Ba3. It blamed the political uncertainty and polarization, security risks, problems in borrowing abroad and from international donors, as well as the budget and external deficits plus the need to recapitalize leading banks”:
“The deadly twin suicide bomb attack Tuesday against the Iranian embassy in Beirut illustrates how the conflict ravaging neighboring Syria is becoming more sharply defined as a Sunni-Shiite struggle between … Saudi Arabia and Iran”:
- Behind Lebanon Suicide Blasts, Growing Saudi-Iran Rivalry (Christian Science Monitor)
“Karzai has accused the United States of meddling in the 2009 elections. They were marred by fraud, but most observers that the bulk of it was on Karzai’s behalf. He also introduced new demands, including the possible release of 19 Afghan prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay” …
- Afghan President Softens Some Demands on US Deal (AP / abc News)
… and at the same time, “triumphant coalition statements about how much Afghanistan has changed should be treated with skepticism”:
- Afghanistan Pushes to Stone Adulterers? You Shouldn’t Be Surprised (Christian Science Monitor)
The American and Iranian public are delighted, but hardliners in Iran, the West, Israel, and the Arab world see dangerous manipulation, differing only as to who is doing the manipulating and who is in danger :
- Americans Back Iran Deal by 2-to-1 Margin: Reuters/Ipsos Poll (Reuters)
- Is Nuclear Deal a Victory, or Deception? In Iran, it Depends Who’s Asking (Christian Science Monitor)
- US Allies Fear Not Just Nuclear Deal, but How It Strengthens Iran (Christian Science Monitor)
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