Minaret of Freedom Weblog

[These are  our answers to questions posed by the Iranian weekly Panjereh (meaning “window”) about the effect of the mid-term Congressional elections on U.S. foreign policy.]

Q. Given the Republican’s victory, how do you see the future challenge to Obama’s foreign policy?

A. The main impact of the Republican victory will be to further discourage Obama from deviating significantly from the Bush policies. Thus, for example, his withdrawal from Iraq will mainly consist of a redeployment of combat troops to Afghanistan while leaving a substantial support force in Iraq. In Palestine he will continue to dance around the issue of the illegal settlements without succeeding in addressing the heart of the dispute. However, the election of Rand Paul to Congress may be a wild card as he and many of the “Tea Party movement” voters that supported him feel that the military should not be exempt from the budget cuts necessary to address America’s enormous debt problem. Since Sen. Paul opposes cutting the salaries of soldiers or the medical benefits of veterans, the primary target for cuts will have to be the unnecessary and counter-productive wars that Bush started and Obama has embraced.

Q. With regard to these developments, what’s your assessment of Obama’s policy toward Iran?

A. In Iran, too, Obama will pursue what he conceives to be a “moderate” course, namely to continue putting intense sanctions on Iran over the nuclear issue without launching a direct attack as Israel desires. This may have the unintended consequence of forcing him into a third war front if Israel decides to attack Iran unilaterally, as Obama will feel domestic Zionist pressure to intervene on Israel’s behalf if Iran takes direct or indirect retaliatory or defensive military action.

Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, Ph.D.
Minaret of Freedom Institute
www.minaret.org

Karzai “wants American troops off the roads and out of Afghan homes and that the long-term presence of so many foreign soldiers will only make the war worse”:

• Karzai Call for End to Night Raids Irks US General (Washington Post)

The pilgrimage can be a trying experience for those with limited means, but “[f]or over a billion of the world’s population the Hajj is meant to be a great leveler: transcending race, nationality, and economic background”:

• Rich-Poor Divide At The Hajj (Al-Jazeera)

Promises to block Palestinian statehood is no way to jump start balanced negotiations between Israel and Palestine:

• A 90-Day Bet On Mideast Talks (Ny Times)

“Huge gains” from “exceptional” cooperation between Palestinian and Israeli villagers on projects in Wadi Fukin “to preserve water supplies and protect their local environment … are now threatened”:

• Valleys Of Hope And Despair (Al-Jazeera)

Counter-terrorism tactics alienate and radicalize “many Muslims across the globe, especially in West Asia and Europe … expanding [rather than] shrinking” terrorism:

• War On Terror: The Way Forward (The Hindu)

“[M]arked by a dramatic walkout by Iraqiya, the main Sunni-backed bloc, in protest over what it said was the coalition partners’ decision to renege on an agreement hours after it was signed”:

• Tumultuous Parliamentary Session Threatens Iraq’s Fragile, New Government (Christian Science Monitor)

And now, from the people who brought you the Scopes trial:

• Hearing over Tennessee Mosque Puts Islam on Trial (AP/ Washington Post)

Some Saudi intellectuals are worried by the influx of investment and development in and around Mecca, but shouldn’t be; there is nothing impious about wealth well-earned:

• Mecca Goes Upmarket But Commercialism Unnerves Some (Reuters)

As a man who described the Muslim conception of God as a “primitive Bedouin” and is accused of sarcastically claiming to be God becomes the first Muslim arrested in the West Bank for religious dissent …

• Palestinian Held For Facebook Criticism Of Islam (Washington Post)

… Israelis take offense at an upcoming Turkish action film romanticizing a fictional special-ops team clashing with IDF forces …

• Turkey’s Rambo Takes on Israel (FP)

… but in more uplifting news, Chile’s Education Minister demonstrates the country’s commitment to social freedom:

• Chile Supports Muslim Schoolgirl’s Use of a Hijab Headscarf (Bernama)

“[A] narrow focus of blame on named Muslim organisations and groups for allegedly failing to counter al-Awlaki’s support for al-Qaeda … invariably serves to deflect attention from more fundamental collective and institutional failings in attempts to prevent violent extremism”:

• Tackling al-Qaeda’s UK Propaganda (Al-Jazeera)

Obama pledged “to reshape American relations with Muslim nations so they were not ‘focused solely on security issues,’ but rather on expanded cooperation across a broad range of areas, from science to education”:

• Obama Pledges Expanded Ties With Muslim Nations (New York Times)

“[T]he suspension of talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) … [over] illegal Jewish settlements, has provided an opportunity for the gap between Hamas and Fatah to be bridged”:

• Who Will Value Palestinian Rights? (Al-Jazeera)

After the attack on the Baghdad church, “[s]ecurity was beefed up around churches in Baghdad after the massacre, possibly pushing the militants to seek easier targets, such as Christian homes”:

• Attacks Target Iraq’s Christians Again, Killing 5 (AP / Washington Post)

“… Indonesia has proved that Islam and democracy can coexist and that modernity and moderation are possible in the world’s most populous Muslim country”:

• The Indonesia Opportunity (Foreign Policy)

China is “home to about 60,000 ethnic Chinese Muslims and boasts 1,300 years of Islamic history”:

• From Xi’an To Mecca (Al-Jazeera)

Circumstances are compelling the West to reconsider its rejection of the hard currency system of the Sunnah:

• If The World Goes Gold… (WSJ)

CAIR argues that the amendment violates both the establishment and free-exercise clauses of the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom” and would ‘officially disfavor and condemn the Muslim community as being a threat to Oklahoma'”:

• Judge Blocks Oklahoma’s Ban On Islamic Law (CNN)

Just hours before departure, “the group learned that the package had been seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. After a flurry of phone calls, the passports were released and arrived” but “by then, all but one of the travelers had missed their flight. ‘Grown men were crying'”:

• Travel Delays for Northern Virginia Muslims Heading to Mecca (Washington Post)

“The European Union on Tuesday urged Israel to reconsider its plan to construct more than 1,000 new homes in East Jerusalem”:

• EU Urges Israel To ‘Reverse’ Plan For More East Jerusalem Construction (Haaretz)

“Voter turnout is expected to reach an average of 40% and drop down to as low as 20% in areas densely populated by Jordanians of Palestinian origin, where votes normally go to the Islamists”:

• Jordan’s Parliament Without An Opposition (Al-Jazeera)

“The hope among Muslims,” said the Interfaith Director of ADAMS, “is that once we get to the other side of these trials, we will never have to go through it again. That eventually, this, too, shall pass”:

• Muslims Await Obama’s Speech (Washington Post)

“One female journalist — who said the minister had refused to shake her hand — gleefully noted that now he would no longer be able to wriggle out of it”:

• Minister Admits Reluctant Michelle Obama Handshake (AP / NPR)

Over 100 terrorists have been captured or killed in the past year in Indonesia, but uprooting extremism requires means such as education and the strengthening civil society, including mainstream religion:

• In Indonesia, Extremist Activities Raise Questions About Effectiveness Of Anti-Terror Efforts (LA Times)

By presenting “a mirror image of al-Qaeda’s arguments about the inherent perversities of the infidel West … Islamophobes have actually declared war on normalcy, not extremism”:

• The Politics Behind Misunderstanding Islam (CBS)

An articulate call for the Muslim world to bring back the past glory of the Abbasid period with advances in education, religious liberty, the status of women, democracy, and intra-religious unity:

• Five Suggestions For The Islamic World (The American Muslim)

“An Israeli colonel said at this trial that there are no civilians in a war zone. But there are. If that hadn’t been the army’s attitude, maybe my daughter would still be with us” — Cindy Corrie, mother of Rachel Corrie:

• For Family of Slain Activist, No End in Sight for Case (NY Times)

A Wisconsin Muslim “encourages members of the community who are curious about Islam or the Muslim faith to come to the mosque and said they will be welcomed”:

• Perspective: Misconceptions About Islam Linger (Green Bay Press Gazette)

“With 400,000 new pieces of evidence screaming for justice, the question still needs to be asked: where is the rage at the revelations brought on by the release of the Iraq war logs?”:

• No More Rage Against The Machine (Al-Jazeera)

Woolas accused Liberal Democrat opponent Elwyn Watkins of receiving support from Muslim militants who advocate violence.

• British Judges Order Rerun of Parliamentary Vote (AP / Washington Post)

“It is ironic that two important characteristics of being a Muslim, in fact the two most basic criteria (freedom and peace), are two of the most misrepresented and conflated when it comes to the West’s conception of Islam”:

• Language Matters: Islam, A Definition (Chicago Tribune)

“Four Lions” diffuses the aura of neurosis and fear of home-grown terrorism …

• Movie Review: Stooges For Allah: ‘Four Lions’ Spins Hilarious Jihadist Comedy (CP)

… but not in Nigeria:

• Nigeria Deports Hundreds Of Immigrants Amid Islamic Fears (AFP)

Supreme Court Justice Stevens compares Japanese tourists paying their respects at the USS Arizona memorial to the Park51 community center:

• Stevens: Rethink Opposition To NYC Mosque (MSNBC)

The years-long Saudi “effort to recognize Israel” is conditional “on the return of the territories, including East Jerusalem, and arrives at a ‘just settlement’ of claims by Palestinian refugees”:

• Saudi Prince Rules Out Engagement With Israel Until Arab Land Is Returned (Washington Post)

“An Oklahoma Muslim filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday to block a state constitutional amendment … that would prohibit state courts from considering international law or Islamic law when deciding cases”:

• Lawsuit Filed in Okla. Against Islamic Law Ban (AP / Washington Post)

“Al Qaeda has been able to say, ‘We’ve been telling you Yemen is under Western military attack. And it has been catching on”:

• US Involvement in Yemen Edging Toward ‘Clandestine War’ (Christian Science Monitor)

“Hate has always been a lucrative industry, and these days the industry works non-stop attacking Muslims and denigrating their faith”:

• Waging the Big Bucks Jihad (Al-Jazeera)

“YouTube spokeswoman Victoria Grand said the videos by Anwar Awlaki violated the site’s guidelines prohibiting ‘incitement to commit violent acts’ “:

• YouTube Removes Videos Of Fugitive Cleric Anwar Awlaki (LA Times)

“[Allah Akbar] proclaims our wish to live in peace with our neighbours, our God, our fellow humans, both Muslim and non-Muslim. Or, failing that, in the current climate, just to be left to live in peace would be nice”:

• Lauren Booth: I’m Now A Muslim. Why All The Shock And Horror? (Guardian)

National security measures can not shield from every asymmetric threat from terrorist groups, but Yemen attempts to try at a cost to business:

• Yemen Overhauls Airport Security (Al-Jazeera)

As an Indonesian worries that the new political order in the U.S. means Obama can’t bring peace to Israel and Palestine, an Israeli worries that it means he won’t be able to attack Iran:

• Around the World, Concern over the Global Impact of U.S. Elections (AP/ Washington Post)

The opening of Gaza’s borders has drastically decreased the use of Gaza’s smuggling tunnels, proving the importance of open commerce in stabilization of areas of conflict:

• Easing Of Border Blockade Has Devastated Gaza’s Smuggling Industry; Many Tunnels Idle (LA Times)

As tensions over drone strikes “are further exacerbated by news of NATO helicopters … killing Pakistani soldiers … anti-American sentiment will only continue to rise, despite billions of dollars of aid being promised”:

• America’s Image Problem In Pakistan (Foreign Policy)

The “youthful-looking man with an easy smile” describes his job as a “lawyer, a defender and a liaison between the community and the government of the city”:

• Imam Is a Shepherd to West African Immigrants in Harlem (NY Times)

“[W]ith so many FBI agents chasing a guy whose ‘guilt’ was mostly in exercising his First Amendment rights, the FBI missed another fellow flitting around Florida, a real terrorist with blood on his mind, Mohammed Atta”:

• John Sugg On Why Won’t The Tampa Trib Tell You What People In Nashville Know About Steve Emerson? (The Daily Loaf)

“We’ve reports that (intelligence) agencies are up to some mischief and if something untoward happens (during the President Obama’s visit) it should not be attributed to militants” — the United Jehad Council:

• 7 Kashmir Rebels Killed Before Obama’s India Trip (AP / Boston Herald)

Does conservatism equal authenticity? An interesting Bloggingheads discussion on feminism in Islam:

• Values Added: Women And Islam (Bloggingheads)

Scorning the fact the mosques have been exclusively Muslim places of worship for over a thousand years, Israel “seeks to consecrate its fait accompli of Palestinian land and history by laying false historical claims”:

• Editorial: Hijacking The History (Arab News)

“It is well known that the United States believes it is important for all aspects of the case to be conducted fairly and transparently and in a way that increases confidence in the rule of law in Malaysia” — Hillary Clinton:

• Malaysia Assures US that Anwar Will Get Fair Trial (AP / India Times)

“Jordan has accused Israel of seizing the scrolls from a museum in East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War”:

• Jordan Demands Return Of Dead Sea Scrolls ‘Seized’ By Israel (Haaretz)

Allegations of women converts to Islam being held “in Egyptian monasteries to be forced to return to Christianity” is excuse for threats of attacks “Christians across the Middle East”:

• Egypt Beefs Up Security After al-Qaida Threat (AP / Washington Post)

Comments  that Maher “won’t apologize” for being alarmed by the fact that “Muhammad” (in its variant spellings) is now the most popular name for babies in Britain shows that Islamophobia is not the monopoly of the Right:

• Bill Maher to Muslims: Go Away (Salon)

An emergency room physician at the University of Michigan suggests “intake questionnaires where patients can list their religious concerns and values” as well as “more modest hospital gowns or … wearing their own clothing”:

• Respecting Muslim Patients’ Needs (New York Times)