“The stakes are now very high because a jury will be asked to decide if the government engaged in preventative detention — a practice that Congress has never authorized in the history of this country” —

• Federal Magistrate Says US Falsely Detained Muslim Man as Witness in Terror Case (AP/ Washington Post)

Bahrain has offered $153,000 each in compensation to 17 families of victims killed in the anti-regime protests last March and has released an activist with a Twitter following of 150,000 after three weeks detention:

• Bahrain: $2.6 mn Compensation for Revolt Victims (PTI / Zeenews)
• Bahrain Human Rights Activist Nabeel Rajab Released (BBC)

The traditional venue for swearing in the Egyptian president of parliament “was dissolved by the ruling military council. The alternative” is “the Constitutional Court, which is packed with judges appointed in the Mubarak era. The venue will be a signal to revolutionaries whether their new president is willing to defy the powerful generals”:

• New Egypt President Moves Toward Unity Government (AP / Mercury News)

The contrast with her predecessors “are symbolic of the sea change in Egyptian politics” and “there is already a war of words on social media over her conservative, modest style which is shared by the vast majority of women in Egypt’s impoverished villages and towns”:

• Egyptian President-elect’s Wife Wants to Be ‘First Servant’ of the People, Not First Lady (AP / Washington Post with Foreign Policy)

U.S. Taxpayers should take warning, “senior Israeli military leaders” are using the election of an Islamist to the presidency of Egypt as an excuse to ask for $15 billion in additional military expenditures …

• Israel Army Asks For Extensive Deployment On Egyptian Border (International Middle East Media Center)

… Meanwhile, Israel’s defense minister says accusations that Mossad is behind the assassination are not “necessarily true,” while the Syrian opposition blames the government:

• Hamas Member ‘Assassinated’ in Syrian Capital Damascus (BBC)

“Rebel forces attacked Syria’s main court in central Damascus on Thursday, state television said, while Turkey deployed troops and anti-aircraft rocket launchers to the Syrian border, building pressure on President Bashar al-Assad’ …

• Blast Hits Damascus as Turkey Sends Troops to Border (Reuters)

… as Russia stands by its ally:

• Syria Will Receive Attack Helicopters from Russia, Kremlin Confirms (Guardian)

“Separatists have dismissed the government’s promise to investigate the blaze and are demanding an independent probe. The separatists had called for a strike on Tuesday, but residents maintained it Wednesday on their own”:

• Most of Kashmir Shut for 3rd Day over Shrine Fire (AP / York Dispatch)

The Ahmadiyya movement, which claims that it founder fulfilled the promise of the return of Jesus as well personified the Muslim mahdi, “is persecuted around the world, but it has plenty of friends on Capitol Hill”:

• Ahmadi Muslim Leader Pushes Plight in Congress (Washington Post)

“Earlier this month the administration granted exceptions to India and six other economies. Japan and 10 European Union countries got exceptions in March”:

• U.S. Expected to Grant Iran Sanction Exceptions to China (Reuters)

When the NDAA empowered the American military to detain citizens we argued it was unAmerican and when Egypt’s military did the same thing, the Muslim Brotherhood complained it was unIslamic; now the Egyptian courts rule its unEgyptian as well:

• Egypt Court Rejects Army Powers to Arrest Civilians (Reuters)

Morsi’s announcement that his VPs will be a woman and a Christian before he knows which woman or which Christian indicates he is more concerned about their gender and religion than about their qualifications …

• Mohamed Morsi to Pick Woman and Christian as Egypt’s Vice-presidents (Guardian)

.. but Fawaz Gerges explains that such political pragmatism is only to be expected:

• Analysis: A Muslim Brother Leads Egypt, Have No Fear (Reuters/ Ma’an)

“Activists frequently liken United States statements — condemning violence by both the government and its opponents — to Russia’s on Syria” and as with Russia’s arms sales to Syria, a “senior Obama administration official said last month that the weapons sales would not include arms used for crowd control”:

• As Hopes for Reform Fade in Bahrain, Protesters Turn Anger on United States (NY Times)

The German district court found that “freedom of religion and the rights of the parents of the circumcised cannot justify the practice” of circumcision:

• Jewish, Muslim Leaders Blast German Court’s Decision Outlawing Circumcision (Haaretz)

Her boss says a bald anchorwoman looks unprofessional and some fanatics find the look sinful, but Ras Adiba, who has relatives and friends victimized by cancer, insists shearing her locks was the compassionate thing to do, “I am answerable to God. Islam is a way of life, and we are told to always help people” and has put on a turban:

• Malaysia: Muslim Woman TV Anchor Suspended for Charity Haircut (IBN Live)

The Islamist prime minister’s overruling the secular president’s objections to the extradition underscore different perspectives on human rights concerns:

• Tunisian Lawmakers Protest Libya Extradition (AP / abc News)

“Ankara has accused Syrian gunners of targeting a Turkish search-and-rescue plane looking for survivors from the downed jet, and on Tuesday morning the prime minister claimed Syrian helicopters had violated Turkish airspace five times recently without a Turkish response” but NATO is “not considering a collective armed response”:

• Erdoğan Suggested Any Further Violation Would Be Met with Force (Guardian)

Kashimiri “separatists rejected the government probe and instead called for an independent investigation. They also called for a general strike on Tuesday”:

• Clashes Erupt in Kashmir After Fire at Muslim Shrine (Globe and Mail)

“A new study finds that most Germans who oppose Israel’s Palestinian policies are not anti-Semitic, but pro-peace and human rights”:

• The More Germans Know About the Mideast, the More They Root for the Palestinians (Haaretz)

Following his 52%-48% victory in the presidential election …

• Mohamed Morsi Named New Egyptian President (Washington Post with Foreign Policy)

… Morsi calls for unity, declaring, “I have no rights, only responsibilities. If I do not deliver, do not obey me” …

• Egypt’s Morsi Calls for Unity After Poll Win (AlJazeera)

… and promises conciliation and vindication of the martyrs, while others speculate on what will really happen in the looming showdown with the military that has stripped the presidency of power, dissolved parliament and made clear it has no intention of giving up its control Egypt:

• Egypt’s Islamist President Begins Building Government (Reuters)
• Egypt’s President-elect Mursi Calls for National Unity (BBC)
• Egypt Has a New President: Let the Fear Mongering Begin! (Christian Science Monitor)
• Egypt’s New Leader: Dutiful, Pragmatic Islamist (AP / abc News)
• As Showdown with Military Looms, Egypt Liberals Back Muslim Brotherhood (Christian Science Monitor)

Turkey’s president dismisses Syria’s charge that it violated Syrian airspace, saying such violations are “routine”:

• Turkey Goes to NATO over Plane It Says Syria Downed in International Airspace (Guardian)

According to her complaint, “commissioners … rescinded the offer when they learned of her heritage,” asked her “to minimize her work in the Muslim world, because several commissioners were uncomfortable with Muslims” and “one staffer recommended she ‘call in sick’ to avoid a few of the commissioners on days they’d be in the office”:

• Muslim Woman Sues Religious-Freedom Commission For Discrimination (Daily Beast)

“The Saudi regime, which closed private gyms for women in 2009 and 2010 and severely limits women’s ability to undertake physical activity, has been under mounting international pressure to adopt a more liberal approach”:

• Saudi Arabia to Allow Women to Compete in 2012 Olympics (Guardian)

“We fully support the Bill, we have gone through it and it has catered for all the interests. It is not discriminatory to the Muslim community” — Sheikh Athman Mponda, Chairman of the Association of Muslim Organisations in Kenya:

• Kenya: Muslim Bodies Okey Anti-Terror Bill (Capital FM — Nairobi / AllAfrica.com)

• Connecting Islam and International Law to Help Refugees (Huffington Post)

“A military source who spoke to Ahram Online on condition of anonymity spelt out the ruling military council’s position on Egypt’s current uncertain political situation, in which the Muslim Brotherhood appears to stand on the verge of winning the presidency”…

• Egyptian Military Source: ‘SCAF Won’t Let Brotherhood Seize Power’ (Ahram Online)

… a view that plays into the hands of the military:

• Egyptian Military Leaders Blame Muslim Brotherhood for Tensions (Guardian)

The Taliban attacks a resort in Kabul and kill at least 20 people because “Afghan government officials and foreigners frequent the restaurant and hotel and drink alcohol there:

• Taliban Claim Attack on Kabul Resort, Citing Presence of ‘Illicit Fun’ and Alcohol (Christian Science Monitor)

A “potentially alarming development as Syria’s civil war is deepening and signs are emerging that Turkey is assisting the arming of that country’s rebels”:

• Syria Shoots Down a Turkish Fighter Jet (Christian Science Monitor)

A Syrian air force colonel has become the country’s first senior military officer to defect in his aircraft, seeking asylum in Jordan after making an emergency landing in his MiG-21 fighter jet.

• Syrian Colonel Defects in MiG Fighter Jet as World Explores a Way out for Assad (Sydney Morning Herald)

Tariq Ramadan is provides a country-by country analysis of the factors that influenced the events of the Arab Spring:

• Review: Islam and the Arab Awakening (Culture Mob)

“Under the previous standards, investment was banned or restricted in companies that were involved in industries deemed to be unethical, such as gambling, alcohol and tobacco. These restrictions are now being made more stringent”:

• Malaysia Revises Islamic Equity Standards (Reuters)

The Muslim Brotherhood and other groups rally in Tahrir Square to draw on resentment over recent military actions and give new momentum to Egypt’s revolution:

• Tahrir Square Fills Again as Protesters Contest Egypt’s Military Rule (Christian Science Monitor)
• Muslim Brotherhood Warns of Unrest as Vote Hangs in Balance (Bloomberg / SF Chronicle)
• In Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood Rally Steps Up Pressure on Military (LA Times)

MENA initially reported Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was “clinically dead” upon arrival, but a security official said he was put on life support:

• Egypt’s Mubarak on Life Support amid Crisis (ABC News)

Afghan justice minister claimed that women’s shelters encouraged “immorality and prostitution,” according to news reports and accusations of infidelity flare within the Afghani community:

• New Worries About Women’s Rights and Ethnic Tensions Emerge in Afghanistan (New York Times)

“He has done nothing but sit quietly and attentively. The fact that he has hair on his face should not be the basis to exclude him from the courtroom” — defense attorney Lt. Col. Kris Poppe:

• Fort Hood Shooting Suspect Removed from Court for Disobeying Judge on Facial Hair (Boston Herald)

Conflict between Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar make future coexistence impossible:

• Burma unrest: UN Body Says 90,000 Displaced by Violence (BBC)
• Myanmar Communities Torn Apart by Sectarian Unrest (Hindustan Times)

“Absent from the five marathon sessions in Moscow over Iran’s nuclear program were any new incentives, from either side, to signal that compromise is imminent or even possible”:

• Iran Nuclear Talks Yield Only One Agreement: Let’s Meet Again (Christian Science Monitor)

Egypt’s military trumps the FJP presidential election victory by declaring its own constitution preserving a military dictatorship:

• Muslim Brotherhood Declares its Candidate Has Won Egypt’s Presidential Election (AP / Washington Post with Foreign Affairs)
• Egypt’s Generals Act to Negate Outcome of Presidential Poll (Guardian)
• Egypt’s Military Issues Decree Giving Vast Powers to Armed Forces, but Few to President (Washington Post with Foreign Policy)

The assassination shows ‘that militants have the ability to strike despite losing ground to the army, which regained control of several towns in the southern province of Abyan last week”:

• Yemen Army Chief Killed by Suicide Bomber (Guardian)

“Iranian diplomats charge that the P5+1 offer violated the framework agreed in Istanbul of a reciprocal, step-by-step exchange of concessions. P5+1 officials counter that Iran must first agree to take “concrete” action in Moscow. But analysts say Iran’s perception that it is being forced to accept a lopsided offer is unacceptable”:

• Nuclear Talks Resume: Iran Looking for Respect and Reciprocity (Christian Science Monitor)

“I’m married to an utterly irresistible Muslim man who makes me laugh, respects and cherishes me as an equal partner. I’m the mother of a Muslim son whom we are raising with the Islamic values that will make him a strong advocate of women’s rights, just like his father and the other Muslim men in my life”:

• Fathers Day: A Love Letter to Muslim Fathers (Huffington Post)

“The claim is explosive because it appears to contradict Mr Murdoch’s evidence to the Leveson Inquiry”:

• Murdoch Pressured Blair to Rush into Iraq War, Says Campbell in Diaries (Independent)

“Among the mourners was the man most likely to be named as successor: Prince Salman, 76, who is seen as more likely to continue the 89-year-old King Abdullah’s cautious economic and social reforms than the conservative Nayef”:

• Saudi King Seeks Successor as Crown Prince Buried (Reuters)

By dissolving the parliament the Mubarak-appointed Egyptian high court has tipped the military’s hand that it has no intention of giving up power, but in doing so provides an opportunity for Egypt’s extremely diverse democratic movement to regain the unity it has lost since Mubarak’s resignation:

• Egyptian High Court Dissolves Parliament (Christian Science Monitor)
• Muslim Brotherhood: Court Rulings Overturn Revolution’s Gains and Take Egypt Back to Dark Days (AP / Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
• Egyptians Eye Protests Against “Coup” (Reuters)
• Egypt’s Brotherhood Pins Hopes on Presidency (AP / abc News)
• What’s Key to Know on Egypt’s New Political Drama After Court Rulings on Elections, Parliament
  (AP / Washington Post with Foreign Policy)

” The aim of transitional justice is both to punish the guilty and inspire reforms to ensure that abuses are not repeated…. Tunisia must first answer key questions, from whether and how to compensate victims to the scope and make-up of a possible truth commission”:

• In Tunisia’s Sentencing of a Dictator, a Model for Bringing Justice? (Christian Science Monitor)

Showing contempt for lawyer-client privilege as well as for diplomatic immunity:

• Detained ICC lawyer “will be free” if she divulges location of Saif right hand man (Libya Herald)

“After spending the last year and a half holding hearings on ‘radicalization’ within the American Muslim community, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.) is preparing to hold hearings on his hearings…. What’s next? A hearing on the Muslim community’s response to the hearing on the earlier hearings?”

• House GOP to Hold Hearings on Its Hearings on Muslim Radicals in the US (Mother Jones)

“Both rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad are intensifying violence in Syria and striving for military gains rather than peaceful transition, the chief U.N. monitor in Syria said on Friday”:

• Syrian Peace Plan Falters; Russia Warns Against “Plots” (Reuters)

Scoffing that the government “basically handed Abyan over to terrorists, and we’re to thank the military for getting them out?” a local secessionist activist insists, “This is a southern victory for the southern people”:

• In Southern Yemen, Al Qaeda Leaves Overnight (Christian Science Monitor)

“[S]tateless Muslim people of South Asian descent [are] now at the heart of Myanmar’s worst sectarian violence in years. The United Nations has called them ‘virtually friendless'”:

• Plight of Muslim Minority Threatens Myanmar Spring (Reuters)

“The unlikely pro-Israel crusader quickly became the darling of the literary world. Yet soon after his release on bail, allegations began surfacing that Choudhury was a ruthless con artist with a criminal past”:

• Muslim Pro-Israel Journalist Faces Fraud Charges (JTA / Jweekly.com)

Taking its cue from the US’s NDAA detention provisions?

The Iraqi Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has stopped dealing with US archeology and exploration teams because the US administration has failed to fulfill its promises to return Iraqi antiquities that were transported to the US by the US forces in 2003:

• Iraq Stops Dealing with US Archeological Teams (Ak News)

The war drums over Syria reach a disturbing crescendo in terms of slanted news reports, dubious and even hypocritical (given U.S. armaments to Israel used against civilians in Gaza and Lebanon) accusations against Syria’s allies and threats of unilateral intervention:

• Syria War Drumbeat Builds, but Where Is It Leading? (Christian Science Monitor)
• Syria Crisis: Russia Denies Hillary Clinton Claim over Helicopters (Guardian)
• Are You Ready for War With Syria? (Antiwar.com)

“Karzai said he had been given a ‘commitment’ that American forces would cease bombing such targets” following “widespread anger in Afghanistan over a raid on Wednesday that killed women, children and elderly people in a home that US forces believed was harbouring a Taliban militant”:

• Afghan President Karzai: US to Cease Air Strikes on Residential Areas (Guardian)

“[T]he longest war in US history … has consumed $57 billion in American development aid”and “more than $517 billion trying to subdue and secure one of the most invaded countries in human history. What, in the end, has the United States achieved”?

• US Legacy in Afghanistan: What 11 Years of War Has Accomplished (Christian Science Monitor)

“Christian Solidarity Worldwide deplored the ‘rising racism [and] intolerance’ in Burma, which it says ‘follows a steady increase in racist propaganda against Muslims generally'” and which is now an excuse for the government to stall on democratic reform:

• Burma Clashes Could Put Transition to Democracy at Risk, Prime Minister Says (Guardian)

“The disparate revolutionary groups cannot agree on who speaks for them and what they want. And the Brotherhood cannot agree on what it needs to do to win the revolutionary vote. Both sides can’t even agree on how important the taxi driver vote is. But they do agree that the fate of the revolution rests with the Brotherhood”:

• Muslim Brotherhood Still Can’t Win Backing of Egypt’s Revolutionaries (McLatchy / Kansas City Star)

“A Somali Islamist militant group is offering rewards of chickens and camels for information on the whereabouts of the US president, Barack Obama, and secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, mocking the millions of dollars the United States has offered for leaders of the al-Qaida affiliate”:

• Somali Militants Offer 10 Camels for Information on Barack Obama (Guardian)

As Assad forces renew the assault on Homs, the “umbrella organisation for opposition groups” is accused of being “dominated by Islamists and not inclusive enough” and some hope it’s new leader “could attract more Kurds and other Syrian minority groups to join forces with the council”:

• Syrian National Council Picks Abdelbaset Sayda as Leader (BBC)

Secular idolatry: “A 22-meter (72-foot) high copper statue of Ataturk – the country’s biggest of the iconic figure – was inaugurated on May 19 in northeastern Turkey, a tribute to the near-mystical hold that Ataturk exerts over his fervent believers, whose admiration is rooted in his success in imposing secular values on a largely Muslim nation”:

• Turkey Tweaks Cult of National Founder (AP / Kansas City Star)

Why do foreigners have such a hard time learning the obvious lesson “that while invading may be relatively simple, occupying Afghanistan [is] impossibly costly”?

• Afghanistan’s ‘Graveyard of Foreigners’ (BBC)

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) website says that the comments by chairman Murad Ebrahim evidence “commitment” to a peaceful resolution of “the insurgency that has claimed over 150,000 lives since the early 1970s”:

• Muslim Rebel Leader Optimistic over Philippines Deal (AFP / Rappler)

“Marine Gen. John Allen flew to Logar province to personally deliver his regrets to villagers and provincial officials for the deaths of women, children and village elders in Wednesday’s pre-dawn raid to capture a Taliban operative. Afghan officials have said the airstrike called in by NATO troops killed 18 civilians”:

• NATO Apologizes for Civilian Deaths in Afghan Airstrike (Christian Science Monitor)

Blaming “several longtime commissioners” the “suit quotes Shea as writing that ‘hiring a Muslim like Ms. Ghori-Ahmad to analyze religious freedom in Pakistan would be like “hiring an IRA activist to research the UK twenty years ago”’”:

• Federal Lawsuit Charges Religious Freedom Commission with Discriminating Against Muslims (AP / Washington Post)

“Writing a new constitution is a key step in Egypt’s transition because it will not only define the powers of the new president and the parliament, but it will also lay out the relationship between Islam and the state and define the military’s role in politics”

• Egypt’s Islamists Give Secular Parties Equal Role in Constitution Writing (Christian Science Monitor)

“The leader of a Belgian Islamist group, Sharia4Belgium, was arrested on Thursday for posting an Internet video urging attacks on non-Muslims after a woman was detained in Brussels for wearing a face veil” and “detained at his home in … Antwerp and remanded in custody on suspicion of breaking anti-discrimination laws and inciting violence”:

U.N. monitors investigate Syrian massacre