News and Analysis (1/1/18)

Cheered on by Israel’s intelligence minister, anti-government protesters continue demonstrations in Iran in defiance of a warning by the authorities of a tough crackdown …

• Ten People Killed in Iran Unrest on Sunday: State Television (Reuters)

… but if they were instigated  by hardliners hoping to embarrass Rouhani they may  have quickly gotten out of control, taken over by economically aggrieved people with neither affection for the Islamic republic nor hope of reform:

• Iran Protests: Citizens Have Right to Criticise, Not Destroy – Rouhani (BBC)
• There’s Something Different About these Iran Protests (CNN)

She won’t win the election  but she may prevent Putin from getting “his traditional 146 percent from the republic” of Dagestan:

• Aina Gamzatova: The Muslim Woman Challenging Putin (Al-Jazeera)

The fatwa encouraging Muslims to inquire after and care for “their non-Muslim neighbors … comes as part of an awareness campaign launched by the center to show solidarity with our Christian brothers during their feasts”:

• Muslims Obliged to Check on Their Non-Muslim Neighbors (Egypt Today)

The government wants “refugees who have formal agreements with refugee resettlement agencies” excluded from the definition of”refugees who have a bona fide relationship with people or entities in the United States”:

• Government Lawyers Challenge Partial Lift on Refugee Ban (Christian Science Monitor)

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan threatens to “promote the recognition of our sovereignty of the Jewish settlements in” the West Bank:

• Likud Party Calls for De-facto Annexation of Israeli Settlements (Reuters)

Although “Israeli forces … have left at least a dozen Palestinians dead and hundreds injured … religious scholars remain dedicated to non-violent strategies for securing rights and security for both Israelis and Palestinians”:

• Muslim Leaders Across the Middle East Work with Israeli Rabbis to Keep the Peace (The Art)

A $10 million reward offer never produced “information leading to [a] conviction over the Mumbai attacks, [yet Washington] warned Islamabad of repercussions after a Pakistani court in late November released him from house arrest”:

• Pakistan Plans Takeover of Charities Run by Islamist Figure U.S. Has Targeted (Reuters)

A Hindu woman “slammed the police for harassing her and her friend and claimed that it was solely because her friend was a Muslim”:

• Mangaluru Cops or Moral-uru Cops? Hindu Woman, Muslim Man Thrashed Hanging Out (The News Minute)

A man “dressed up in a shark costume … fell foul of … [Austria’s] anti-burka law,” prompting one Muslim woman to suggest the common voice uncovered by the #MeToo movement be extended to “to women who are different to us”:

• For Muslim Women, Britain’s Streets Are More Hostile than Ever (Telegraph)

ImadadDean