News and Analysis (7/1/10)

“Israel wants to ease the pressure on itself, not the blockade”:

• Chocolate and Ketchup Flow into Gaza, but Still no Cement (Haaretz)

“If the state can, in the guise of a commitment to liberty, limit expressions of religious liberty, then Christians are surely next in line for legal limitations”:

• Religious Liberty at Risk: Islam in Europe (Beliefnet)

“McChrystal’s sensitivities also led him to recognise how damaging the anti-Islam poison spewed by the American media is to the war effort and to perceptions of the US. He even banned his soldiers from watching Fox News“:

• Stanley McChrystal’s Departure a Blow to US-Muslim Relations (Guardian)

“We take pride in our democracy. We are especially proud of our protection of freedom of religion. But when it comes to living up to our values with regards to Muslims, we are falling woefully short”:

• Muslims and Americans in an Age of Hypocrisy (Washington Post)

Guardian Council chief Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati “likened women whose hair peaks out from under their scarves to hardened criminals” in a tirade against an unlikely target: conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

• Iranian Clerics Lash Out on Veiling (Los Angeles Times)

“About 12 percent of New York City students are Muslim, and consequently thousands of students miss exams and important activities because they are scheduled on Muslim holidays”:

• My Take: New York’s Schools Should Observe Muslim Holidays (CNN)

Kevin Duewel