News and Analysis (12/7/18)

“The Blocking Regulation would make it illegal for European companies to comply with U.S. sanctions against Iran” and in January “the EU unveils a new electronic payment system designed to move money in and out of Iran without American scrutiny” …

• EU Moves to Shield Companies that Trade with Iran from U.S. Sanctions (Marketplace)

… and American banks “fear they could be subject to major lawsuits in Europe unless granted a license from the Treasury Department to follow the letter of both EU and U.S. law ” …

• US Banks Push for Relief from Potential Iran Sanctions Catch-22 (Washington Examiner)

… as the recent designation of two Iranians “for allegedly using bitcoin to facilitate ‘malign activities’ and payments … was the first time that US sanctions targeted digital currency addresses” …

• US Sanctions Accelerate Iran’s Blockchain Drive (Al-Monitor)

… and “all three pillars of Trump’s policy of strangulating Iran are at risk” because of the Khashoggi murder, Netanyahi’s “existential fight for his political future,” and “political obstacles” Trump faces in the wake of the mid-term elections:

• Trump’s International Anti-Iran Coalition Looks Like It’s Falling Apart. He Doesn’t Have a Back-up Plan (NBC News)

The play has been called a “Muslim Godspell” by one audience member and calls itself “the story of ‘a love affair between Islam and Jesus.’”  The Silk Road Rising Executive Director says, “In light of the #MeToo movement, Mary’s prominence in the play and in the Quran adds to the show’s timeliness”:

• A New Play, ‘Christmas Mubarak,’ Mixes Christian and Muslim Stories of Jesus’ Birth (RNS)

Sustainable Development Goals are inadequate without the Maqasid ash-Shariah “safeguarding the faith …, protecting the self from harm …, protecting the intellect …, safeguarding the progeny … and protecting” property without bias “towards gender, nationality, ethnicity, or social status”:

• Muslim Women Must Come Forward, Says Dr Wan Azizah (Sun Daily)

After intense debate students voted overwhelmingly for Columbia to divest from companies “from companies that “profit from or engage in the State of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians,” but “before the vote had even taken place, the college had already announced that it would not act on a vote to divest”:

• Decades of Discord: What Makes the Israeli-Palestinian Debate Uniquely Persistent, and Personal (Columbia Spectator)

“Afghan immigration … is a godsend for the country’s small and medium-sized businesses”:

• Undocumented Afghans in Iran: Collateral Damage of US Sanctions (The New Arab)

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