News and Analysis (4/20/15)

Nawaz Sahrif thinks the Saudis have “‘bitten off more than they can chew.’ The Egyptian experience in Yemen, in which Egypt had up to 20,000 casualties in the 1960s fighting the same Zaydi tribes that back the Houthis, figures prominently in Pakistani thinking, especially in the army” …

• Saudi Arabia’s Deepening Isolation in Yemen (Al-Monitor)

… and 18 “scholars concerned with Yemen [who are] residents/nationals of the United Kingdom and the United States” say, “The military attack by Saudi Arabia, backed by … [various states,] above all the US, … is illegal under international law. None of these states has a case for self-defense”:

• Open Letter from Yemen Scholars Protesting War (LobeLog)

“Documents uncovered in Aleppo show that Haji Bakr drew up the ‘blueprint for a caliphate’ after being jailed by the US authorities, according to Der Spiegel “:

• Former Saddam Spy Masterminded the Rise of Islamic State, Says Report (Guardian)

Hick’s crazed obsession with parking annoyed everyone from neighbors to towing companies, but his obsession only led to murder when it came to Muslims, Muslims who, with sad irony, reportedly sought to accommodate his unjustified demands:

• Motive Unsettled in Slayings of Muslim Students in North Carolina (LA Times)

“HRW said the prosecution had presented little evidence to show the defendants did anything other than spread news about a mass sit-in in Rabaa square in 2013 and organize peaceful protests”:

• Egypt Brotherhood Trial Relied on Single Testimony: Human Rights Watch (Reuters)

“The series centers on the ‘Qu’osby’ family, a middle-class Muslim family…. Despite their extreme efforts to fit in, they are constantly tripping up, such as when the father, played by Mandvi, overdoes his Halloween decorating and creates the impression that the family might be terrorists”:

• Using Comedy to Poke Fun at Anti-Muslim Prejudice (Christian Science Monitor)

“A Moslem who attacks smoking generally speaking would be a threat to existing government as a ‘fundamentalist’…. Our invisible defence must be the individualism which Islam allows its believers … [and] encourage governments to a point at which it is possible quietly to suggest their benefits”:

• How Tobacco Firms Tried to Undermine Muslim Countries’ Smoking Ban (Guardian)

“Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a bombing outside a bank in Jalalabad Afghanistan Saturday. The attack killed at least 33 people and wounded 105”:

• Islamic State Reportedly Behind Suicide Bombing of Afghan Bank (AP / Christian Science Monitor)

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