In a perverse move to fight fraud, officials sacrifice democracy to security by closing hundreds of polling places:

• Afghan Officials Promise Security for Elections (AP / Washington Post)

“May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid” — George Washington:

• People Of The Book: The True History of the Koran in America (Boston Globe)

Elbaradei’s petition for reform has “collected 800,000 signatures, nearly 700,000 of them secured through the [Muslim] Brotherhood website”:

• Egypt’s Youth Build New Opposition Movement (AP / NPR)

“Nudity is allowed in the West. How come wearing decent clothes is not allowed?” asked Hamzeh Mansour, the secretary-general of Islamic Action Front:

• Muslim World at Odds Over French Burqa Ban (AOL)

For Erdogan free trade, not sanctions, are the way to peace:

• Turkey Seeks Closer Trade Ties with Iran (AP / WTOP)

“More than nine hundred mosques have existed in the U.S. since the early nineteen-nineties, and the oldest one, located in Dearborn, Michigan, recently marked its seventy-third anniversary”:

• Back Issues: Mosque Stories (New Yorker)

Kevin Duewel