“Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed’s escape was an embarrassment. The alleged torture and rendition that came before it might just be a major scandal” involving issues of rendition and torture:
- The Real Question About the Terror Suspect Who Fled in a Burqa: Did MI5 Bring Him Here Illegally? (Guardian)
“Much of what is followed today is the interpretation of a group of scholars dating back hundreds of years, rather than the literal teachings of God. The Qur’an is a complex and dense book, … [and] there are some interesting and brave attempts by female scholars to challenge accepted wisdoms not by deviating from the Qur’an, but by returning to it”:
- Can You Be a Muslim and a Feminist? Â (New Statesman)
Islamic scholars need to understand American culture before they judge it. In the words of the 14th century jurist, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, “[I]t is imperative that (the scholar) understands … [a people’s] cultural traditions and their habits because fatwa (religious rulings) change with the changing of time, place, culture and condition”:
- Fatwas and the Responsibility of Muslim Scholars in America (Muslim Matters)
The Muslim Brotherhood may be “authoritarian, arrogant and most of all, incompetent” but its “political rivals (mainly liberal and left-wing parties and organisations) are no less so. The only difference lies in the fact that the latter groups do not have a true popular constituency to begin with, and do not pose – at least for the time being – any serious challenge to the authoritarian state” …
- The Muslim Brotherhood Dilemma: Where to Go from Here? Â (AlJazeera)
… and the desperately needed reforms “in three sectors: the security establishment, the economy and the judiciary” are  likely t continue to be ignored …
- The Trial of the Muslim Brotherhood (Washington Post)
… despite an ending of the state of emergency …
… as evidenced by the police indifference to the kidnapping of Christians …
- Egypt’s Christians Close Ranks as Kidnappings Spike (Christian Science Monitor)
… and continuing clashes:
“The Islamic Community of Kosovo said in a statement Wednesday that fighting in Syria “has nothing to do with religious principles” and it only prolongs the life President Bashar Assad’s government and the suffering of Syrian people”:
- Kosovo Muslim Leaders to Youths: Don’t Go to Syria (AP / abc News)
“How is it possible that all those who were telling me about jihad are now playing with their children and live free, with their wives, while I have not seen my child for months?” the 24-year-old whose 18 years jail sentence was annulled pending a retrial asks of the Bosnian Wahhabis whom he blames for his radicalization:
The Palestinian negotiating team resigns, even as Netanyahu’s determination to insure war with Iran exceeds his rush to steal land from the Palestinians:
“[W]hile Russia put the blame for the nuclear talks’ failure on an unnamed Western nation, its experts say a diplomatic solution for Iran’s nuclear ambitions remains likely” …
- Russia Backs Iran in Post-talks Finger-pointing (Christian Science Monitor)
… as focus turns to “the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty … which says that its 190 signatories (of which Iran is one) have an “inalienable right … to develop, research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes’”:
- Does Iran Have a ‘Right’ to Enrich? Answer Is Key to Nuclear Deal, and Beyond (Christian Science Monitor)
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