Minaret of Freedom Weblog

Investigative reporter Gareth Porter finds American negligence of Saddam’s old weapons stockpiles and poor accountability of arms transfers to the Iraqi government are the real arms suppliers to Iraqi militants, not Iran:

• Arming Our Own Enemies In Iraq (Salon)

Turkey’s economy loses billions in foreign investment due to fears of secularist attempts to undemocratically close down the Islamic-oriented AK Party:

• Turkish Leaders Face Tense Summer (BBC News)

Former British PM John Major and the Church of England slam a Labour-led plan to extend detention without charges from 28 to 42 days:

• 42-Day Law Will Help Terrorists, Says Sir John Major (Times of London)

Bipartisan Senate report slams the Bush administration for its falsely claimed link between Al-Qaeda and Saddam, but “stops short of calling for any follow-up investigation or sanction”:

• Senate Intelligence Committee Rebukes Bush, Cheney On Prewar Claims (Los Angeles Times)

Six years after being deported to Syria to for torture interrogation, DHS says Mahar Arar’s rights were violated, with Senators condemning the incident:

• U.S. to Reopen Canadian’s Torture Case (Los Angeles Times)

Leading presidential candidate John McCain reverses his position on security and liberty from 6 months ago, now saying that the President has unchecked domestic spying powers…

• McCain, Spying And Executive Power: A Complete Reversal In 6 Months (Salon)

…while Obama backtracks on comments from a day earlier at the AIPAC conference which stated that Jerusalem is exclusively the capital of Israel:

• Facing Criticism, Obama Modifies Jerusalem Stance (Reuters)

Former Palestinian PM Ismail Haniya and President Mahmoud Abbas seek to restart to Yemeni initiative to former a unity government:

• Hamas Accepts Abbas Offer of Talks: Haniya (AFP/Al-Arabiya)

As a part of its nationalistic drive for self-sufficiency, Iran aims high to dramatically increase it scientific output in the region and rest of the globe:

• Iran Makes the Sciences A Part of Its Revolution (Washington Post)

King Abdullah presides over international gathering of Muslim scholars in Mecca who are urged to strengthen interfaith and intrafaith relations:

• Saudi King Opens Conference On Interfaith Dialogue (Associated Press/Washington Post)

Ronni Abergel’s Living Library uses an innovative way of debunking social stereotypes by allowing one to “loan” someone, including a Muslim:

• Borrow A Muslim? A ‘Living Library’ To Prick Stereotypes (Christian Science Monitor)

Bush seeks imperialist deal with Maliki that would maintain the occupation by controlling Iraqi airspace, arrest whoever it wants with impunity and conduct military operations without the consultation of Baghdad:

• Revealed: Secret Plan To Keep Iraq Under US Control (The Independent)

Former military Chief Prosecutor Morris Davis says the trials of 9/11 plotters are tainted by political manipulation and torture-based evidence:

• Officer Calls Sept. 11 Cases Tainted (Los Angeles Times)

Bangladesh’s military junta announces 12,000 people have been arrested in its year-long “anti-corruption drive”, but politicians and human rights groups accuse it of torture and arbitrary arrests:

• Nearly 12,000 Are Arrested in Bangladesh (New York Times)

An Internet posting “signed by one Mustafa Abu al-Yazid” threatens Denmark with more attacks:

• ‘Al-Qaeda’ Claims Pakistan Attack (BBC News)

A federal judge completely overturns the conviction of one Muslim charity leader and partially acquits two others:

• Judge Cancels Convictions of 3 Islamic Leaders (Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle)

Experts say the trial of alleged 9/11 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will focus as much on the legitimacy of the military commissions as on the evidence:

• Five Detainees Charged in Sept. 11 Attacks to Be Arraigned (Washington Post)

Seeking to counter the rising trend of female suicide bombers and the need to bring in income, more women are being involved in security details to protect their neighborhoods:

• Daughters of Iraq: Women Take on a Security Role (Los Angeles Times)

UN officials laud the Islamic Development Bank’s $1.5 billion donation toward alleviating the global food crisis, but also say a minimum of 10 times as much cash is needed:

• U.N. Officials Praise Donation from Islamic Development Bank (New York Times)

Continuing more of the same failed hardline policies, Condi Rice shoots down the idea of diplomacy with Tehran:

• Rice Calls Dialogue With Iran Pointless (New York Times)

Indonesian activists and politicians criticize the government for failing to take legal action against the extremist group that attacked peaceful demonstrators:

• Government Slammed for Inaction Against FPI (The Jakarta Post)
• FPI Members Roam Freely Despite Long Record of Attacks, Brutality (The Jakarta Post)

Two major presidential candidates hype claims about Iranian nuclear intentions, but former CIA-operative Phil Giraldi says the facts don’t support the saber-rattling:

• Both Mccain, Obama Exaggerating Iran’s Nuclear Program (McClatchy)
• Iran Accusations Merit Skepticism (Antiwar.com)

False intelligence, worsened global security and changing regional balance of power top Aussie PM Rudd’s list of reasons for exiting Iraq:

• Why Australia is Leaving Iraq (Christian Science Monitor)

Imam Qatanani describes his torture at the hands of Israeli soldiers at a court hearing to fight his deportation:

• NJ Muslim Leader Talks of Torture in Israel (Associated Press/Washington Post)

Statist interference in religious affairs hits Algeria’s tiny Christian minority, leading to four people slapped with fines and suspended jail time:

• Algerian Christians Given Suspended Jail Terms (Reuters/Washington Post)

NY Times ombudsman Clark Hoyt takes Ed Luttwak to task for his extremist views on Islam and op-ed editor Dave Shipley for not allowing an equal op-ed rebuttal space:

• Entitled to Their Opinions, Yes. But Their Facts? (New York Times)

The transitional government, opposing factions and civil society are hopeful that an agreement to end fighting can be reached soon:

• Somalia: Reconciliation Talks Move Closer in Djibouti (IRIN/All Africa)

Extremists’ assault on protesters supporting heterodox sect’s right to religious belief earns them rebuke from Indonesia’s second biggest religious organization…

• Monas Square Violence is Criminal, Govt Must Act Resolutely: Muhammadiyah Chief (Jakarta Post)

…and legal action from the government:

• Govt Mulls Freezing FPI Over Brutality (Jakarta Post)

Sait Sanli stress the Qur’an’s emphasis on forgiveness to end many of Turkey’s cultural blood feuds:

• In Turkey, a Lone Peacemaker Ends Many Blood Feuds (Christian Science Monitor)

Cries of “collective punishment” force Fulbright to reinstate their scholarships to Gazan students…

• Gaza Fulbright Grants Reinstated (BBC News)

…but not Israel’s occupation and further expropriation of Palestinian land:

• Israel Plans More Settler Homes (BBC News)

Egyptian “playwrights-turned-anthropologists” explore social issues affecting Muslim women in a series of humorous, but serious dramatic monologues:

• In Egypt, ‘Dramatic’ Push for Women’s Voices (Christian Science Monitor)

Denmark’s embassy in Pakistan gets rocked by a terror attack…

• In Pakistan, Danish Embassy Bombing Kills at Least 6 (Washington Post)

…meanwhile the only anti-Taliban strategy Islamabad can come up with a state-controlled
“conservation corps”, funded with U.S. foreign aid:

• Taliban Leader Flaunts Power Inside Pakistan (New York Times)

Extremists threaten war against liberal Indonesian Muslims defending the rights of a minority sect of a few hundred members in a country of 220 million:

• Indonesia Hardliner’s War Threat (BBC News)

Algerian youth riot over state mismanagement of the economy:

• Algeria Riots Pose Risk of Wider Unrest (Reuters/Washington Post)

Basrans get a temporary reprieve from Shi’a extremists’ Taliban-like rule:

• Basra’s Wary Rebirth (Washington Post)

US list of state sponsor terror list “has become a diplomatic tool to win concessions from U.S. adversaries eager to end the stigma and sanctions that come with the designation”:

• Analysis: US Terrorism List Also a Political Tool (Associated Press/Seattle Times)

Senators question the CIA freshly positive assessment of Al-Qaeda after repeated testimony of growing threat:

• CIA Chief Criticised for Al Qa’eda Claim (AFP/The National)

Muslim scholars-in-training for counterterrorism studies in Britain get arrested after downloading Al-Qaeda manuals made available by the American DoJ:

• Download Al Qaeda Manuals From the DoJ, Go to Prison? (The Register)

Local southern California Muslims have fresh fears of government spying after recent reports over more surveillance of area mosques:

• Reports Concern Muslims (Los Angeles Times)