Minaret of Freedom Weblog

U.S. claims of concern for Iraqi sovereignty are overshadowed by the perpetual need to prop up Iraqi forces…

• U.S. Forces to Hand Over Hard-Won Anbar Province (Christian Science Monitor)

…and government involvement in oil field development contracts…

• U.S. Advised Iraqi Ministry on Oil Deals (New York Times)

…meanwhile cushy oil revenues in Iran have made elected officials comfortable with overspending despite rising inflation rates:

• Oil Cash May Prove a Shaky Crutch for Iran’s Ahmadinejad (Washington Post)

Morocco’s journalists follow the scuffle between major Arabic news media and the government it is critical of:

• Morocco’s Media Split on Al Jazeera (Al Jazeera)

Stopping short of setting the price of bread itself, the Lebanese economic ministry promises flour subsidies, even though rising commodity prices is a global issue:

• Lebanon’s Bakers Reduced Prices (BBC News)

With political changes in Islamabad affecting US-Pakistani relations, American officials squabble over approving special operations forces to target terrorists:

• Amid Policy Disputes, Qaeda Grows in Pakistan (New York Times)

A massive aerial exercise simulating an attack on Iran illustrates Israel’s intention to preserve its nuclear monopoly in the Middle East:

• Shadow of War Looms As Israel Flexes Its Muscle (Observer)

A French company and a local NGO team up to provide training for teachers to motivate students still recovering from historic tsunami:

• ‘Traumatized’ Teachers Learn on Managing Classes (Jakarta Post)

Despite the emphasis on negotiations in its new counterterrorism strategy, Pakistan launches its first offensive since the new government took  power two months ago:

• Pakistan Launches Strike at Taliban Hideouts (AP/Wiredispatch)

Anwar Ibrahim flees to the Turkish embassy as the Malaysian state resuscitates the politically motivated accusations used to justify the opposition leader’s previous detention and torture:

• Malaysia’s Anwar Seeks Sanctuary (BBC News)

Jakarta Post editorial argues Indonesian surveys on so-called shari’a reveal complexities of the issue:

• Editorial: Surveys on Sharia (Jakarta Post)

Former prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi makes the legal arguments for impeachment in his book “The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder”:

• Bush Behind Bars? (Lew Rockwell.com)

India’s traditional Sufi-influenced Islamic traditions come under attack as a consequence of  injustice by the Indian state and the growth Wahhabism:

• India’s Moderate Muslims See Peril In Growth of Stricter Form of Islam (Washington Post)

Despite the rising voices of civil society and local religious leaders, poverty and tribal custom perpetuate the practice of child marriage:

• Tiny Voices Defy Child Marriage in Yemen (New York Times)

Despite a spotless work record, Department of Energy revokes a Muslim American’s clearance, using the pretext of “national security”, for his antiwar views:

• Muslim Physicist Says Feds Retaliated Against Him (AP/Wiredispatch)

Continuing its campaign of political persecution, DoJ officials slap Sami al-Arian with criminal contempt charges despite already completing one other post-plea bargain sentence:

• Former Professor Indicted In Muslim Charities Case (Washington Post)

Saudi Sunnis make an unprecedented gesture of solidarity with the Shiite minority at Jum’a prayers:

• Rare Show of Islamic Unity in Saudi Arabic (Gulf News)

With the blessing of the state, Iranian civil society organizations attempt to openly tackle the country’s massive opium addiction problem:

• Iran Fights Scourge of Addiction in Plain View, Stressing Treatment (New York Times)

Law enforcement officials seek to prosecute four for alleged involvement in the JFK terror plot despite no allegations of “explosives, money or an executable plan”:

• 3 Extradited to U.S. in Alleged JFK Airport Plot (Los Angeles Times)

Broad coalition of at least 200 “national security advisers, retired military leaders, counterterrorism experts, and religious leaders” release statement denouncing torture:

• Ban Torture for Security's Sake, Coalition Tells Bush (Christian Science Monitor)

Despite massive crackdowns against alleged Al-Qaeda operatives, arbitrary arrests and state-sanctioned interpretation of Wahhabism keep the criminal organization robust:

• Saudi Arabia: Militant Groups Remain Active Despite Record Arrests (Christian Science Monitor)

Despite its opposition to Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories, Hamas seeks to stay faithful to its ceasefire by reining in other militant groups in Gaza:

• Militant Hamas as Reluctant Moderator (Christian Science Monitor)

In a major political breakthrough, Bush seeks to end North Korea’s pariah status despite allegations that the country helped in the creation of a secret Syrian nuclear reactor. However, ongoing saber rattling with Iran could prompt Tehran to take “drastic steps”:

• Bush Administration Lifts North Korea Sanctions (AP/Wiredispatch)

• Time Running out for Nuclear Program Talks, Iran Warns (Los Angeles Times)

Supreme Court upholds Second Amendment’s individual right to bear arms:

• Court Rules in Favor of Second Amendment Gun Right (Washington Post)

Spy bill eviscerating the Fourth Amendment and the rule of law bypasses a Congressional procedural vote, while a New York federal judge says the NSA doesn’t have to disclose whether it violates attorney-client privilege:

• Spy, Phone Protection Bill Clears US Senate Hurdle (Reuters/Wiredispatch)

• Court: NSA Can Refuse to Say if Lawyers Wiretapped (AP/Wiredispatch)

Militants lash out at government institutions and Sunni tribal “awakening” militias, killing at least 30:

• Many Killed in Iraqi Bomb Attacks (BBC News)

In Lebanon’s second largest city, Shi’a/Sunni tensions are stoked by rumors of foreign intervention on both sides:

• Can Lebanon Douse Political Fires? (Christian Science Monitor)

Radio Free Europe analyst Dan Kimmage argues that Al-Qaeda’s appeal can be fought by supporting greater Internet freedom in Muslim-majority countries:

• Fight Terror With YouTube (New York Times)

Concerned about an American electoral regime change, Israel urges Washington to strike Iran now, while the U.S. continues to keep Syria in pariah status, despite its recent efforts to break out of international isolation:

• Israel Prodding U.S. to Attack Iran (CBS News)
• Can Syria Avoid Sanctions With A U.N. Nuclear Inspection? (Christian Science Monitor)

U.S. military leadership’s answer to more sophisticated attacks is to propose an increase in troops rather than a change in policy:

• Afghanistan Attacks Up 40% in East, Pentagon Says (Los Angeles Times)

Seeking to be hip and holy, glossy publications cater to a new generation of the faithful while providing non-Muslims a glimpse of Muslim-Americans’ lives:

• Muslim-American Magazines Explore Identity (Christian Science Monitor)

Musharraf-appointed court’s decision on election disputes could strain the opposition’s alliance:

• Court Delays Key Pakistani Poll (BBC News)

Underemployed Iraqi professionals sacrifice economic security for personal security following sensitive contract work with U.S. authorities abroad:

• Driving Cabs Instead Of Building Bridges, Iraqis Languish in U.S. (Washington Post)

Insecurity and inaccessibility of Somalia hides horrible conditions following drought and civil war:

• Somali Catastrophe ‘Largely Unnoticed’  (BBC News)

Activists hoping to challenge Indonesian government’s fuel price hike policy were met by police water cannons:

• Student Protests Turn Violent (The Jakarta Post)

Ruling that Uighur Muslim is not an enemy combatant could force reassessments of other detainees:

• In A First, Court Says Military Erred In A Guantanamo Case (McClatchy)

National security courts in Tunisia and Sudan come under fire for unfair trials:

• Tunisia ‘State Torture’ Condemned (BBC News)
• Lawyers Want To Overturn Sudan Anti-Terror Courts (Reuters)

Terrorists effectively use the Internet to propagandize and address concerns from followers:

• Al-Qaeda’s Growing Online Offensive (Washington Post)

One major party candidate’s campaign adviser, at times registered as a foreign agent, recognizes his political blunder…

• Terror Strike Would Help McCain, Top Adviser Says (Washington Post)

… while Muslims try to parse a “very tightly wrapped message” from the other major party candidate:

• Muslim Voters Detect a Snub From Obama (New York Times)

While the U.S. leans on a dysfunctional government, Pakistani military and intelligence forces increasingly pursue their own policies:

• Leadership Void Seen in Pakistan (New York Times)

North and South agree to send their argument over an oil-rich border region to The Hague for a resolution:

• Sudanese Parties to Submit Abyei Dispute to International Court (Bloomberg)

Nearly 100,000 Iraqis have charges dropped and/or are freed from jail under new sweeping amnesty law meant to promote reconciliation:

• Iraq Courts Order 20,000 Freed Under Amnesty (Reuters/Wiredispatch)

Government-forced Arabization programs after years of French colonization leads to religious and social schizophrenia among Algeria’s youth:

• In Algeria, a Tug of War for Young Minds (New York Times)

Competition offers better programming and reporting than American state-funded broadcasting:

• U.S. Network Falters in Mideast Mission (Washington Post)

Consumer taste and security costs account for decline in coverage of the Iraq occupation:

• Reporters Say Networks Put Wars on Back Burner (New York Times)

Politics escalate religious tensions between China’s minorities:

• Tensions Rise Between Tibetans, Chinese Muslims (Los Angeles Times)

Despite new unity government, politico-sectarian clashes continue in Lebanon:

• Clashes Rock North Lebanon City (BBC News)

Indonesian faith-based civil society steps up its youth programs to counter increase in religious violence:

• Interfaith Tour Seeks to Promote Tolerance (Jakarta Post)

Denunciations by former militants and mainstream Islamists have Al-Qaeda on the defensive:

• Special Report: Is Al Qa’ida in Pieces? (The Independent)

Writer Becky Akers decries the invasiveness of new scanning technology that subjects people to a virtual strip search and does nothing to add to security:

• Get Ready to Strip At Reagan National (Washington Post)

Non-coercive interrogation nets a treasure trove information from alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed:

• Inside a 9/11 Mastermind’s Interrogation (New York Times)

300 political prisoners forgo food to protest being “parts of mass trials and [getting] long sentences, even though there had been no evidence”

• Hunger Strike by Hundreds of Islamists in Morocco Jails (New York Times)

Opposition-led parliament seeks to reduce prisoners’ sentences from death to life in jail and reduce others’ terms by 3 months…

• Pakistan Announces Plan to Clear Death Row to Commemorate Birthday of Slain Bhutto (Los Angeles Times)

…while residents in Swat anxiously await whether or not a peace deal can be struck and what it means for them:

• Can Pakistan Peace Deal Hold? (BBC News)

Despite the likely court closure of the AK party, the expected ruling exposes the crumbling secular elite:

• In Turkey, Bitter Feud Has Roots in History (New York Times)

Congress acts again as an enabler for Bush’s imperial foreign policies…

• House Approves $162 Billion War-Spending Bill (San Francisco Chronicle)

…meanwhile, it also receives scorn from civil libertarians for capitulating on an invasive bill with telecom lobbyists’ fingerprints all over it:

• George Bush’s Latest Powers, Courtesy of the Democratic Congress (Salon.com)

• Feingold: Wiretap Deal ‘No Compromise, It’s Capitulation’ (Raw Story)

Israel continues its saber rattling with Tehran, completing a major simulation of a strike against Iran:

• U.S. Says Exercise by Israel Seemed Directed at Iran (New York Times)

Indonesia’s local governments increasingly prefer taking their own tack on issues of development, rather than obeying the central government:

• Regions Disobey ‘Unfair’ Govt Policies (The Jakarta Post)

120,000 Bahraini Shi’a peacefully hit the streets to voice indignation at a Sunni MP’s inflammatory remarks toward one of the island’s top clerics:

• Bahrain Shiites Protest MP Insults to Top Cleric (AFP/Middle East Times)

Transparency International finds massive arrest campaign of Bangladesh’s military government increases graft:

• Bangladesh ‘Losing On Corruption’ (BBC News)

Sunni Muslim religious board and political bloc condemn the recent Baghdad bombing while Mideast expert Juan Cole finds US evidence for blaming rogue Shi’a militias for the blast is scant:

• IAF, Muslim Scholars Association Condemn Baghdad Bombing (Voice of Iraq)

• Massive Bomb Burns Market, Kills, Wounds 126; US Soldier Killed Near Hilla; Debaathification Law Never Implemented (Informed Comment Blog)

Investigative journalist Mark Benjamin provides a timeline for the Bush administration’s early and deliberate sanctioning of torture:

• A Timeline to Bush Government Torture (Salon.com)

Kuwait’s new hardline Islamist-tribal alliance seeks to refashion society in a much more conservative mold:

• Kuwait’s Empowered Islamists Question all Things Western (Christian Science Monitor)

Muslim scholars and civil society activists slam mainstream religious and political bodies over its inaction to deal with violent vociferousness of extremist groups:

• Moderate Groups Under Fire For Silence Over Radicals (The Jakarta Post)

Uganda’s president makes passionate appeal to the OIC to end the conflict in Sudan and reminds them of his country’s support for Palestine:

• Uganda: Museveni Urges Islamic Bloc On Sudan (AllAfrica.com/New Vision)