Minaret of Freedom Weblog

Initial autopsy findings from the body of an East Jerusalem youth who Palestinians believe was kidnapped and killed by far-right Jews showed that he was burned alive …

• East Jerusalem Youth Was Burned Alive, Palestinian Official Quoted as Saying (Reuters)

… while the father of the brutally beaten American says that if this had happened in America, action would have been taken to prevent it happening again to another victim, but “Not in Israel;” the mother says such abuse is a matter of daily life for Palestinians, but as an American, she doesn’t accept it:

• Woman ‘Horrified’ By Son’s Alleged Beating at Hands of Israeli Police (abc News)

The self-appointed caliph echoed the original Abu Bakr, saying, “I am the wali [defender] who presides over you, though I am not the best of you, so if you see that I am right, assist me. If you see that I am wrong, advise me and put me on the right track, and obey me as long as I obey God in you”:

• Islamic State Leader Calls on All Muslims to Aid ‘Caliphate‘ (Guardian)

“On Friday, al-Sistani lamented the inability of political leaders to quickly agree on a new prime minister, urging them to redouble their efforts …. But al-Maliki’s statement … suggested that he intended to fight any attempt to find a replacement for him, and … to remain until the insurgents are defeated”:

• Iraq’s PM al-Maliki Refuses to Step Down: ‘I Will Continue to Fight’ (Christian Science Monitor)

If there were an independent Kurdish state, what would its borders be?

• Lessons From the Idea, and Rejection, of Kurdistan (NY Times)

July 7 was carried out by four Muslim males, with an incorrect ideology. Potentially, had their mothers been equipped and empowered, and nurtured their children, we may have prevented that attack from happening” –  Sajda Mughal, the only known Muslim below ground survivor of 7/7 London bombings:

• Muslim 7/7 Bomb Survivor: Islamophobic Britain Makes Me Fear for My Children (Telegraph)

“[A]fter 14 years of wars and 57,000+ American killed or wounded, the American public is ready for answers from peaceful Muslims and intelligent Christians alike”:

• Muslim Woman Berated at Heritage Event Speaks Out on Independence Day (Huffington Post)

“[A]fter 11 years of a struggle; a 6-month jury trial; years of litigation; decades of pervasive, inflammatory, negative press and accusations against Dr. Al-Arian, … the government has done the right thing and moved to dismiss the case and a judge granted the order” — Linda Moreno, Al-Arian’s former attorney:

• Charges Dropped Against Al-Arian; Interview with His Former Lawyer (WMNF)

“A spokesman for the exiled World Uyghur Congress, which promotes democracy, human rights and freedom for the indigenous Uyghur (Uighur) people, said authorities encouraged Uighurs to eat free meals, and inspected homes to check whether families were observing the fast”:

• China Bans Ramadan: Uighur Muslims Punished for Fasting in Holy Month (International Business Times)

When Egypt’s “army kicked [democracy] down, we didn’t hear too much gnashing of teeth in the citadels of freedom in the West. It would be a great mistake to think that this sort of double standard goes unnoticed, or that it doesn’t play its full part in the disillusionment and chaos seen in places like Iraq”:

• Britain’s Treatment of the Muslim Brotherhood Is Spectacularly Cack-handed (Telegraph)

British Muslims want a greater variety of halal food, and the  market is giving it to them:

• Halal la Carte (Economist)

The Israelis, who rushed to judgement as to who killed three Israeli hitchhikers take their time investigating the murder of a Palestinian teen, even delaying his funeral:

• Murder of Palestinian Teen Ratchets Up Tension in Jerusalem (Christian Science Monitor)
• Palestinian Teenager’s Funeral Delayed by Post-Mortem (BBC)

ISIL’s conquest has Baghdad scrambling for sleeper cells, the Saudis scrambling troops to the border, the Kurds scrambling for independence and Maliki scrambling for a successor:

• Iraq PM Says Islamic State Declaration Threatens Region (Christian Science Monitor)
• Iraq Chases Baghdad Sleeper Cells as ‘Zero Hour’ Looms over Capital (Reuters)
• Why Saudi Arabia Sent 30,000 Troops to Iraq B order (Christian Science Monitor)
• Iraq: Kurdish President Proposes Independence Referendum (Guardian)
• Iraq’s Maliki Hopes for Government Deal by Next Week (Reuters)

“In terrifying scenes that have been repeated numerous times in Myanmar over the past two years, scores of Buddhist men on motorcycles converged on a Muslim neighborhood in Mandalay brandishing swords, yelling anti-Muslim slogans and ransacking Muslim shops, witnesses said”:

• Buddhist-Muslim Mayhem Hits Myanmar’s No. 2 City (NY Times)

One of the writers says, “I’m really aiming for folks who have felt that they couldn’t hold being queer and being a person of faith at the same time…. I think the purpose of the show is also to be a vessel for the message ‘/there is space for all of us in God’s creation'”:

• Radically Queer Islam: An Interview with the Cast of Coming Out Muslim (Huffington Post)

“Although it did not ask about ISIL, the [Pew] survey’s findings suggest there would be little support for a call on Tuesday by its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi for Muslims worldwide to take up arms to avenge what he said were wrongs committed against Islam”:

• Growing Concern in Muslim World About Islamist Militancy – Survey (Reuters)

The Iraqi government tries to solve the crisis by holding parliamentary meetings to resolve differences and form a new government, but to no avail. “[T]he meeting quickly descended into farce, with Sunnis and Kurds using an unscheduled recess to withdraw their legislators, ensuring the session collapsed” …

• Iraqi Parliament Session Collapses Amid Political Standoff (The Guardian)

…amid these unresolved differences, Massoud Barazani, president of the Regional Kurdistan Government, “publicly declared he would schedule a referendum on independence”  from Iraq … 

• Iraqi Kurds to Vote on Independence ( TIME)

… and “the surge in unrest in Iraq has caused [political pundit and hitherto military interventionist Glenn] Beck — like so many others — to change his opinion on what was one of the most important foreign policy issues the United States has faced in decades”:

• Glenn Beck’s Apology to Liberals: ‘You Were Right’ About Iraq (Cheat Sheet)

“In Syria these guys are fighting and killing U.S.-backed Sunni rebels. In Iraq we are deploying advisors alongside them,”‘ said Michael Knights, a former U.S. government advisor in Iraq…. ‘There area lot of strange contradictions in the U.S. positions in Iraq and Syria, but this is the starkest'”:

• In Iraq, Shiite Muslim Militia’s Reemergence Gives U.S. Pause  (LA Times)

Unsatisfied with one life for a life, the Israelis, who have already killed at least five Palestinians since three young men, subsequently found murdered, first disappeared, is accusing Hamas and is reeking random retaliation on Palestinians:

• Israeli Air Strikes Destroy Buildings in Gaza, and Palestinian Teenager is Shot Dead (The Guardian)

… but Hamas denies involvement in the kidnapping and murder and and responds to the Israeli violence with threats of its own …

• Israel Bombs Gaza After Teens Found Dead (Sydney Morning Herald)

… while the kidnapping and of a Palestinian teenager as well as the differences between Israeli and Arab coverage of the crisis demonstrate that in the Middle Eats sauce for the goose is not sauce for the gander:

• Palestinian Youth Killed in Possible Revenge Attack (Reuters)
• How Israeli Teen Murders Are Portrayed in Arabic and Hebrew Media (Christian Science Monitor)

The Muslim American journalist who stirred a controversy by attending a Republican convention wearing a headscarf says, “[T]his is not about me; it is about three things: the desensitization of hate towards Muslims, the Constitution and misconceptions”:

• A Muslim American Journalist Explains How She Became the Story at a Texas GOP Event (Washington Post)

A European court has shocked human rights activists by insisting that French women have no right to decide for themselves whether or not to display their face in public:

• Europe’s Top Human Rights Court Upholds French Ban on Muslim Veil (VoA)
• French Muslim Women on Burqa Ban Ruling: ‘All I Want Is to Live in Peace’ (Guardian)

In Nigeria, the acts of violence by “insurgent group in the country was a common enemy and was not representing Islam in any way” :

• Nigeria Muslim Leader: Boko Haram Does Not Represent Islam (World Bulletin)