Calling the Faithful to Freedom!

MbS’s reform of the League that had spread Wahhabism to his own notion of “religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue … has not translated into allowing Shiites or anyone else in the kingdom to express themselves freely or criticise the crown prince or [his] policy”: Saudi Keeps Eye on Religious Ball in Global Competition for Talent…

After mobs “ransacked and set fire to mosques and Muslim-owned homes and shops” in October, police target “students, social activists, lawyers on the fact-finding team, the student wing of an Islamic organization,” and other citizens reporting the violence” Indian Police Target People Spreading Alleged ‘Fake News’ on Anti-Muslim Violence (VoA) One of the founders of…

With U.S. ambitions in the Middle East scaled back and with his credibility on liberalization near zero, MbS’s only ace is normalization of relations with Israel, but this card may have to stay in the hole until the current king, his father, is out of the way: Whither Muslim Solidarity and Moderation? (Middle East Soccer)…

Shocked by the FBI informant’s eagerness to engage in violence, mosque congregants reported him to the FBI … High Court to Hear Secrets Case over Muslim Surveillance (WAFF) … the secret video and audio recordings embarrassed the imam who had “moderated a community meeting with the head of the FBI’s Los Angeles office” who had…

Frightened that information provided by human rights groups may help the ICC investigation and Congressional efforts against the arrest of children, Israel resorts to “secret evidence,” i.e. falsehoods obtained by torturing prisoners … Israel’s Secret ‘Evidence’ Against Rights Groups Is Based on Torture and Lies, and Europeans Rejected It — Palestinian Leaders Tell a DC…

Israel has created a special Ministry of Strategic Affairs “to intimidate human rights organizations based inside Israel and Palestine” … Israel Escalates Its Attacks Against Defenders of Palestinian Rights, Wherever They May Be (Washington Post) … and in a private letter to an American, an Israeli political prisoner exposes how the apartheid state tries to…

The U.N. secretary general urges Sudan’s generals to heed the tens of thousands protesting the coup as security forces deploy fatal violence against the demonstrators: UN Chief to Sudan Army: Reverse Coup, Take Heed of Protests (PBS) Sudan Coup: Three Killed in Protests Against Military Takeover (BBC) “Over my dead body will they dig up…

An Israeli court allowed the municipality to dig up “the cemetery based on its claim that it was in a part which contained no graves,” but when bodies were overturned by bulldozers the “court ignored the evidence and maintained the authorisation”: Israeli Demolition of Historic Muslim Cemetery in Jerusalem a ‘Move to Erase History’ (The…

Has the transition to civilian rule in Sudan been aborted? Protests in Sudan End in Apparent Coup (Middle East Institute) Interrogated on allegations of throwing rocks, she was released without charge and then denied the opportunity to breast feed her baby for no apparent reason save harassment: Israel Police Prevented Palestinian Detainee from Breastfeeding Her…