Calling the Faithful to Freedom!

The Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, warned that “Jews are strictly prohibited from entering Temple Mount according to Jewish law,” but police precipitated clashes with a last minute policy reversal: Israel Allows Jews on Temple Mount After [sic!] Clashes with Muslim Worshipers (Haaretz) India has not only stripped Kashmir of its limited autonomy; in an unprecedented move it…

“India … sent tens of thousands of troops to its northern state of Jammu and Kashmir[,] … cut phone and Internet service and put Kashmiri politicians under house arrest … [revoking part] … of the Indian Constitution”: Removal of Special Status Roils Muslim-Majority Kashmir (NPR) The “[b]lunder … described as insulting to both Muslims and…

Jehan Hakim, chair of the Yemeni Alliance Committee, explains, “[O]ur Islamic values come in where we have to fight for justice even in the face of a tyrant, even if it’s speaking against your own family” Mobilizing Muslim Resistance to the Saudi War in Yemen (Foreign Policy in Focus) Robin Wright says that Javad Zarif…

“On Monday, Pompeo tweeted: ‘We aren’t afraid of [Zarif] coming to America where he enjoys the right to speak freely.’” Change your mind, Mike? … Iran’s Rouhani Slams US over ‘Childish’ Zarif Sanctions (Al-Jazeera) … the EU will not buy in: EU Vows to Continue Working with Iran’s FM Zarif Despite US Sanctions (France24) Commissioners…

“[N]either the Saudi government nor the Saudi Embassy in Washington, DC, responded to multiple requests for comment about the disappearance and detention of various Saudi citizens”: No One Is Safe: How Saudi Arabia Makes Dissidents Disappear (Vanity Fair) “Authorities in the Chinese capital have ordered halal restaurants and food stalls to remove Arabic script and…

MbS promotes a Saudi “strand of ultra-conservatism that preaches absolute obedience to the ruler … as a way of countering … the [Iranian] notion of an Islamic republic that recognizes a degree of popular sovereignty”: Kashmir: A Battleground for Middle Eastern Rivals (MidEast Soccer) A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry says, “Intensification of security-policing approaches…

In a bizarre statement Pressley defended her vote condemning non-violent anti-apartheid activism “as an expression of  solidarity … [against] hateful rhetoric from the Trump Administration”: ‘Progressive Except Palestine’? Khanna and Pressley Draw Fire over Vote Condemning Nonviolent BDS Movement (Common Dreams) “Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have heightened in recent days after the demolition…

“The protest leaders were certain that as soon as the soldiers saw that the villagers had retreated, they would stop shooting. But the troops kept up their fire” … The Protest Dispersed. Then an Israeli Sniper Shot a 9-year-old Palestinian Boy in the Head (Haaretz) … “[T]he demolition of some 10 apartment buildings … left 17…

The Navy feared a drone a half mile away, but the Iranians say none of their drones are missing and accuse the British of smuggling oil: Iran Seizes ‘Fuel-smuggling’ Tanker in Gulf (BBC) “The signatories included the usual global rogue’s gallery — Cuba, Russia, North Korea, Venezuela. But a dozen Muslim governments also joined in…

“Her relatives expressed serious concern …, saying it was ‘unusual for political prisoners to be guarded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, rather than regular prison guards during hospital treatment’”: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe moved to Mental Health Ward in Iran (The Guardian) “Demonstrators on Tuesday also demanded the Lebanese ministry of labour overturn a rule that…