Minaret of Freedom Weblog

As Israel prepares to use force against another humanitarian aid effort to Gaza, some Israelis complain the blockade “has done little to speed the release of Shalit or weaken Hamas’ grip on power”:

• Gaza Aid Flotilla Anticipates High-Seas Standoff with Israel (LA Times)

Serious allegations of abuse, including sexual abuse surround the 340 children still in Israeli jails:

• Israel Faces Child Abuse Claims (Al Jazeera)

Seemingly oblivious to the factors necessary for a sound currency:

• Palestinian Officials Think About Replacing Israeli Shekel with Palestine Pound (Washington Post)

“Members of the Ahmadi sect were officially declared non-Muslims in 1974 and are the generally the most persecuted of Pakistan’s minority groups”:

• Why Taliban Attacks Two Muslim-Minority Mosques in Pakistan (Christian Science Monitor)

Although the investigation demonstrates progress citing “inaccurate and unprofessional” reporting on behalf of the drone operators, little is mentioned about specific techniques to prevent further civilian causalities:

• Operators of Drones Are Faulted in Afghan Deaths (NY Times)

“It’s a seed of peace…. We believe that this is significant step in the Muslim community to counteract the hate and fanaticism in the minority of the community” – board member Rob Townley:

• NY Community Board Approves Plan for Ground Zero Mosque (AP / The Institute)

Reflecting a shift from the post 9/11 narrowly military approach, how long before the new strategy yields results?

• Obama Redefines National Security Strategy, Looks Beyond Military Might (Washington Post)

“[T]he mounting international concern over drones comes as the Obama administration legal team has been quietly struggling over how to justify such counterterrorism efforts while obeying the laws of war”:

• U.N. Official Set to Ask U.S. to End C.I.A. Drone Strikes (NY Times)

Treatment of Arab activists denied attorneys for weeks and put under a gag order only partially lifted Thursday provokes a call for a special investigation:

• Two Arab Israelis Charged with Spying for Hezbollah (LA Times)

The reported death of “Pakistani Taliban” leader Fazlullah could have consequences for the entire region, including a massive military strike in North Waziristan threatened by Pakistan:

• Relief in Swat Valley Over Reported Death of Taliban Maulana Fazlullah (Christian Science Monitor)

Water shortages have the potential to be as destabilizing as any other crisis effecting Pakistani / Indian relations:

• Rhetoric Grows Heated in Water Dispute Between India, Pakistan (Washington Post)

With a political divide of Sudan looming, how much longer can Bashir expect to maintain control:

• Sudanese President’s Power to Be Tested (LA Times)

Allegations of torture and the detention of women and children to extract information from al-Qaeda suspects has Iraqis fearful that the withdrawal of US troops will unleash human rights abuses across Iraq:

• Witness: Secret Iraq Prison for Women and Children (Christian Science Monitor)
• As US Troops Leave, Iraqis Fear Prison Torture Will Widen (Christian Science Monitor)

“Mr Obama must know that this proposal is a historic opportunity. [Obama should] know that if this opportunity is lost, I doubt the Iranian nation will give a new chance to this gentleman in the future” -Ahmadinejad:

• Iran Warns US to Accept ‘Final Offer’ to End Nuclear Row (Guardian)

A non-Muslim, Krista Bremer speaks about allowing her nine-year-old daughter to explore Islam and choose the Hijab for herself:

• When Freedom Means Choosing A Headscarf (NPR)

“One the biggest roadblocks to recovery and awareness in Muslim and Arab communities is denial and shame”

• Saudi Company Studies US Addiction Aid for Muslims (AP / Washington Post)

“If the Israelis try to stop us, this will be a huge diplomatic and political crises for them…. [T]he international community is not accepting the siege on Gaza” – Hanin Zuabi, a member of the Israeli parliament who is on board the flotilla:

• Israel to Stop Gaza Aid Ships (Al Jazeera)

“The evidence was part of an emphatic American warning that there would be ‘inevitable pressure’ on the United States to take action if there was an attack traceable to Pakistan that resulted in U.S. casualties”:

• U.S. Offered Crucial Evidence in Pakistani Meeting on Times Square Plot (LA Times)

“I would work anywhere else, for less money, without a second thought,” says one worker, but there is no alternative; “It’s either this or stealing,” says another:

• Palestinians Defy Ban on Jewish Settlement Work (Guardian)

An advocate of free markets, but not an apologist for American foreign policy, Saif Gaddafi is one of three sons competing to replace their father, Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi:

• Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, a Proponent of Change, May One Day Lead Libya (Washington Post)

“Without producing any evidence, Schlussel accused Fakih’s family of being card-carrying members of the Lebanese extremist group Hezbollah”:

• Beauty and the beastliness: Miss USA Accused of Being an Islamic Extremist (Scotland Herald)

Purportedly reviving a strategy used to gain control over Afghanistan in the 1990’s, Taliban kill village elders to render communities compliant with the murderers’ demands:

• Taliban Slay Elders Over Aid Money (NY Times)

As Israelis debate whether the withdrawal from Lebanon was in their best interest, Hezbollah has no doubts about the value of armed resistance to occupation:

• Tourists at New Hezbollah ‘Village’ View Bunkers, Bombs of Lebanon-Israel Conflict (Christian Science Monitor)

Behind the Pakistani predilection for conspiracy theories lie “very real reasons for Pakistanis to be skeptical of the United States”:

• U.S. Heads a Cast of Villains in Pakistan’s Conspiracy Talk (NY Times)

“General Petraeus’s September order is focused on intelligence gathering … to identify militants and provide ‘persistent situational awareness,’ while forging ties to local indigenous groups”:

• U.S. Is Said to Expand Secret Military Acts in Mideast Region (NY Times)

Conspiracy theories that the US intends to prolong the conflict in an effort to keep troops in Afghanistan are widespread in Afghanistan:

• Afghans Believe US is Funding Taliban (Guardian)

Whether “Turkey’s foreign policy is driven by the current government’s Islamic ideology or geopolitical necessities has become one of the most debated topics among Turkey experts”:

• The Turkey-Brazil-Iran Nuclear Deal : Another Missed Opportunity? (MEI / Huffington Post)

As US military leaders continue to hand over command to their Iraqi counterparts:

• U.S. Grapples With Shift from Military- to Diplomatic-Run Effort in Iraq (Washington Post)

Cutting itself slack it would never grant to Iran, Israel argues the document only shows Israel offered to sell Jericho ground-to-ground missiles and reports of offers of nuclear warheads are merely “selective interpretation”:

• Did Israel Offer to Sell South Africa Nuclear Weapons? (Christian Science Monitor)

Reflecting an important shift in US policy and intentions into the future:

• Number of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan Exceeds Total in Iraq for the First Time (AP / Washington Post)

While Israel is eager to cover up its role in nuclear arms proliferation, the “ANC government is not so worried about protecting the dirty laundry of the apartheid regime’s old allies” …

• Revealed: How Israel Offered to Sell South Africa Nuclear Weapons (Guardian)

… while Western powers reject the Turkish-brokered deal closely resembling the one the US offered in October 2009, arguing with a now bigger stockpile means Iran “could still be left with enough for a nuclear warhead” …

• Iran Notifies IAEA Over Atomic Deal (Al Jazeera)

… Yet, it’s only been a month since President Obama stated that the US and Turkey must “work together to overcome the challenges of our time”:

• Spat Over Iran May Further Strain Relations Between Allies U.S., Turkey (Washington Post)

A US official defends the policy claiming no shots are fired in 4 out of 5 night raids and civilian casualties occur in less than 2% of raids, while the father of a 9th-grade fatality insists, “There were no Talibs here — none”:

• U.S. Night Raid in Afghanistan Elicits Outrage, Satisfaction (LA Times)

The Afghan government estimates there are about 40,000 Taliban members to be reintegrated into Afghani society:

• U.S. Tries to Reintegrate Taliban Soldiers (NY Times)

Pakistan faces difficult decisions with pressure from the US to gain control over North Waziristan, a move that experts say “could trigger a backlash of terrorist attacks from within the heartland”:

• Pakistan Tribal Region no Simple Target (LA Times)

“The Obama administration has won the legal right to hold its terrorism suspects indefinitely and without oversight by judges — not at Guantanamo or in Illinois, but rather at the Bagram air base in Afghanistan”:

• Court: No Habeas Rights for Prisoners in Afghanistan (LA Times)

Questions about gender equality emerge as women continue to challenge the traditional separation of men and women during prayers:

• Mosque Pray-ins Against Segregation of Sexes are Springing Up (Washington Post)

Unable to pay government employees a full salary for almost two months, Israel’s blockade is now causing a major budgetary shortfall for Hamas:

• Hamas Faces Financial Crisis After Three-Year Israeli Blockade (Christian Science Monitor)

Without a plan B, Obama has bet all his chips that “the Kandahar operation, backed by thousands of U.S. troops and billions of dollars, will break the mystique and morale of the insurgents, turn the tide of the war”:

• Results of Kandahar Offensive May Affect Future U.S. Moves (Washington Post)

Without international pressure, a non-violent strategy for Palestinian statehood has limited chances for success:

• Palestinian Nonviolence Relies on Global Non-Silence (Guardian)

In what could have serious implications for US/Pakistani relations, the report indicates a Pakistani Major spoke to Shahzad as he was parking his SUV in Times Square:

• Evidence Mounts That Pakistani Major Spoke to Times Square Suspect (LA Times)

Trade has always been an integral part of Duabi’s economy and now Dubai has become one of the smuggling capitals of the world:

• The New Casablanca: Why Dubai Draws Iran, Intrigue, and Tusk Smugglers (Christian Science Monitor)

Suffocated to death while being transported between detention centers, the bodies also had bruises and burns from electric shocks:

• Iraqis Demand Answers in Deaths of 6 Detainees Who Died During Transport (Washington Post)

“Al Jazeera’s Dan Nolan … says that Western officials have been deliberately excluded from the process. ‘The people organising these talks say these are Afghan problems that need Afghan solutions””:

• Maldives Hosts Afghan Peace Talks (Al Jazeera)

Although Israel would prefer strong sanctions, it agrees to join on what they consider sanctions “without teeth”:

• Why Israel Supports Watered-Down Iran Nuclear Sanctions (Christian Science Monitor)

The hikers admit to being well fed, given access to health care, and allowed to watch television, read books and receive mail from their families however still hope for their release on “humanitarian grounds”:

• U.S. Hikers Held in Iran Describe Captivity (NY Times)

Saying that as “honest, law-abiding citizens, we ought to have the same rights as other Americans,” Imam Johari Abdul-Malik objects that “certain individuals who are against Muslims would impugn the character of the mosque” innocent of any crime”:

• 2 Lawmakers Ask Questions About Census Bureau Lease at Mosque-Owned Building (Washington Post)

Is the U.S. silence related to its role in providing another non-signer of the NPT (Israel) with nuclear technology in the past?

• Questionable China-Pakistan Deal Draws Little Comment From U.S (Washington Post)

Fighting gender inequality in Saudi Arabia with the weapons at hand:

• Moudhi Riding on a Donkey (Saudi Gazette)

Political unrest continues to undermine Iraq’s ability to maintain a stable and successful middle class:

• Iraq’s Political Crisis Disheartens the Middle Class (LA Times)

As Pakistan blocks YouTube, which makes up about 20%-25% of Pakistan’s total internet traffic, over the “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day” …

• Pakistan Blocks Access to YouTube (Al Jazeera)

… we can’t help but wonder why they didn’t just call for “Everybody Draw Elie Wiesel Day” instead:

• Theater J Pulls Madoff Play After Objections from Activist Elie Wiesel (Washington Post)

“Among some analysts, there’s a view that the resolution was created to show the West that Saudi Arabia is committed to fighting terrorism, rather than to be an effective counterterrorism measure in itself”:

• Saudi Arabia Religious Leaders Call Terrorism Financing Un-Islamic (Christian Science Monitor)

Citing what it called the TV channel’s “breach of media norms” after Al Jazeera broadcast a report on poverty in Bahrain:

• Bahrain Blocks Al Jazeera Team (Al Jazeera)

Refusing to take yes for an answer, US obtains votes from the other permanent security council members for Iranian sanctions:

• US Answer to Iran Nuclear Swap: Overnight Deal on Sanctions (Christian Science Monitor)

“[H]e was most definitely tortured and Canada … ‘in a sneaky and illegal fashion, participated in the abuse'”:

• Robert Fisk: Silenced for Speaking the Truth About Guantanamo (Independent)

He is ineligible to run for President under the Emergency Law, but the “anything-but Mubarak” coalition’s support of ElBaradei poses the most likely route to breaking the cycle of oppression in Egypt:

• Can Mohamed ElBaradei Lead Change in Egypt? (The Atlantic)

Turabi is arrested again as, separately, a video evidence of election officials stuffing ballot boxes results in a Sudanese Supreme Court order to repeat a state assembly election:

• Sudan Arrests Islamist Opposition Leader (Reuters)

Accused of intervening in government affairs, Ahmad Wali Karzai believed to be involved anti-government activities:

• Afghanistan President’s Brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, Under Investigation (Christian Science Monitor)

The law calls for a punishment of 150 Euros and “citizenship classes” for those caught wearing a full Hijab:

• Women Protest as French Cabinet Gets Veil Ban Bill (AP/Washington Post)