Author: Fatema

“Islamic law and traditions embrace the principle of providing protection to those who seek asylum,” and “forbids the forced return of those asylum seekers. Both of these principles are cornerstones of international refugee law” — Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees … UN Urges Islamic Treatment for Refugees (Muslim Village) … but with the burden…

The course had “been teaching that America’s enemy is Islam in general, not just terrorists, and suggesting that the country might ultimately have to obliterate the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina without regard for civilian deaths, following [WW-II] precedents of the nuclear attack on Hiroshima or the allied firebombing of Dresden”: Joint Forces…

“[A]s the next round of talks looms on May 23 in Baghdad, questions are being raised about whether the US can – or even intends to – ease sanctions no matter what steps Iran agrees to take”: Iran Nuclear Talks: Are Sanctions on the Table? (Christian Science Monitor) In Egypt, pragmatism increases Fotouh’s popularity, particularly among the Salafists…

“It is now clear that Egypt’s new constitution will not be finished before a new president is elected by June. That means the old constitution, which gives the president near-dictatorial powers, will still prevail when the military council that has ruled Egypt for the past year is replaced”: Egyptian Court Ruling Raises Stakes in Presidential…

Liberals, secularists and even some members of the Muslim Brotherhood are “furious” or “livid” over the FJP’s about-face on running a presidential candidate, but the New York Times reports that their “candidate is in regular contact with U.S. Ambassador Anne Paterson, and that U.S. officials have praised his moderation, intelligence and effectiveness”: Why the U.S. May Be…

A political anthropologist accuses the West of de-democratizing the Middle East “because seldom did its power elites see the region as a people with diverse, dynamic social-cultural texture instead of a repository of multiple resources and strategic interests. Hence their prime aim was to keep the Middle East ‘stable’ and ‘manageable’”: How the West De-democratised the…

“This important historical, cultural and religious site has witnessed a terrible offense, which appears to be continuing as Israeli Antiquities Authority excavations persist. Rabbi Hier must realize the grave precedent he is setting by building in a historic Muslim cemetery, and agree to a different location in the interest of mutual respect and tolerance in…

Though the federal government says [that the FBI spying and recruitment] … efforts are completely separate, civil rights lawyers and some Muslims have complained that the FBI uses one to accomplish the other”: FBI Faulted for Muslim Files (AP / Philadelphia Inquirer) The Wall Street Journal refused to publish a letter from a Christian group…

Some three-fourths of the Arab respondents to an opinion poll reportedly believe the Turkish political system would be “a right model” for the “new Arab states” to emulate. The “Saudi model” barely polled in the double digits, although it is still ahead of the U.S. model: Surprising Arab Views of the “Turkish Model” (Council on Foreign…

The FBI arrested a Muslim merchant “the day before he was to participate in a press conference to detail what he charges are efforts to entrap him into some kind of terrorist-type activity and for introducing into his life a dangerous individual linked to fraud and murder”: FBI Entrapment and Preemptive Prosecution: The Case of…