News and Analysis (4/8/17)

“Experts suggest it could have been jihadi rebels [to blame]. It wouldn’t be the first time”:

• Is Assad to Blame for the Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria? (Deutsche Welle)

“We are asking for an impartial international fact-finding body to be set up … to find out where these chemical weapons came from”:

• Iran’s Rouhani Wants Chemical Attack in Syria Investigated (Reuters)

“With lyrics like ‘Not your exotic vacation / I’m bored with your fascination,’ what underlies Haydar’s pop anthem is a powerful political messages of personal freedom and solidarity”:

• Why This Syrian-American Rapper Wrote a Viral Rap Anthem for Muslim Women (Good)

She told supporters of an “Islamic school for women … amid a nationwide [LGBT] crackdown[,] ‘All people have the right to worship God, not just some people. That’s the truth in Islam’”:

• A Former First Lady Presses On for a Tolerant, Feminist Islam (NY Times)

Organizers insist that the Englishman, who has apologized saying, “It was never my intention to cause offence,”  had no idea that anyone would find his remix offensive:

• British DJ Sentenced to Year in Tunisian Jail for Muslim Call to Prayer Remix (Guardian)

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