“At the Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem they fear the next administration will … [lead] to a more aggressive policy of settlement building in the West Bank, and a less peaceful stance towards Gaza” …
- Little Town of Bethlehem: Palestinians at Christmas Fear Move to the Right as Early Elections Loom in Israel (Independent)
… and as “a parable of the Palestinian predicament in their own homeland, ‘Cyber Palestine’ captures the quintessence of the story of the birth of Christ under military occupation of the Romans then and the Zionists now” …
- Remember: Christ Was a Palestinian Refugee (Al-Jazeera)
… while in Pakistan, “early this month, … extremist leaders were arrested and charged with various offenses, belatedly signaling that religious minorities — and the law — were to be respected”:
- Christmas Spirit Lights Up Poor Christian ‘Colonies’ in Muslim-majority Pakistan (Washington Post)
“A large number of my classmates … are non-Muslims, we are still friendly to this day as a family, and frequently contact each other and meet for reunions. Differences of opinion are a blessing in Islam”:
- PAS Sec-gen Wishes Merry Christmas, Says Differences of Opinion Are a Blessing in Islam (thestar.com)
Edalat, who “returned to the UK last week…, ironically, had been a campaigner against US sanctions against the Iranian regime, and his detention appeared to be based on a misunderstanding”:
A Christian writer suspends disbelief to read the Qur’an “on its own terms” and Juan Cole “portrays Islam’s founder as a peacemaker who wanted only to preach his monotheism freely and … [sought] ‘multicultural’ harmony”:
- Illuminating Islam’s Peaceful Origins (NY Times)
“Iran has no substantial influence over the Taliban to help bring the group to negotiations,” but then neither has the U.S.:
The Saudi “proxy war against Iran in Yemen “has bled the kingdom’s coffers, left large numbers of an already impoverished country facing malnutrition and disease, and done little … to ward off its arch foe”:
Opponents of the criminalization men who engage in instant unilateral divorce say it violates “Article 25 of the Constitution on ‘freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion”:
“Iran began selling crude oil to private companies for export in late October, just ahead of U.S. sanctions on sectors including oil which came into effect in November”:
“Women are scheduled to play the roles of the male characters because this opera has been arranged exclusively for an audience of women. Women with alto voices have been selected to star as men”:
- Iran Stages Carmen for Women-only Audience (Tehran Times / Slipped Disc)
