Obama’s argument for military intervention in Libya was less than convincing:
- Analysis: War Obama Described Doesn’t Match the Fight, Which Gives Air Cover to Libyan Rebels (AP / Washington Post)
- Obama’s Libya Speech: Did It Outline Where Intervention Is Headed? (Christian Science Monitor)
“[H]undreds of thousands of regime supporters poured on to the streets” of major Syrian cities as Assad accepted the resignation of his cabinet and hopes mount that he will lift the emergency laws:
- Hopes Rising in Syria Assad Will Soon Lift Emergency Laws (International Business Times)
With Mubarak under house arrest and Germany offering advice on how to dismantle Egypt’s feared secret police, the military hands down interim measures to “stand in for [Egypt’s suspended] constitution, but give no indication whether or not they will endorse the “decree that would outlaw any strikes or protests that would harm the economy”:
- Egypt’s Ruling Generals Hand Down Interim Constitutional Rules (Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
Protesters accused Saleh of facilitating violence as a ploy to keep power, but pledged that “popular committees” can keep the peace if the government falls, as “[d]ozens of policemen and soldiers from different units joined the protests … chanting … ‘The people want the fall of the regime’ and ‘The police and army are partners in providing daily needs’”:
Notwithstanding their continued presence in Misratah, Libyan rebels fail to meet the challenge on Gaddafi’s home turf:
- Qaddafi’s Forces Push Rebels Back from Sirte: March 29 Mideast Update (Christian Science Monitor)
Her critics object that parading around in a bikini is degrading to women, but Shanna Bukhari intends to enter the swimsuit competition wearing “a one-piece and a sarong;” would she consider a bathing cap for a headcover?
As hearings on the civil rights of Muslims begin in Washington, CAIR’s Ibrahim Hooper praises “a victory for common sense and legislative restraint†in Tennessee in the wake of the CNN exposé on Islamophobia in that state:
- Tennessee Amends Anti-Shariah Bill (Religion News Service / Salt Lake Tribune)
The Muslim Bernie Madoffs “had won key endorsements from religious scholars who belonged to a Chicago-based Shariah Board, which provides guidance to conservative Muslims on following Islamic law”:
- Guilty Plea in Fraud Scheme that Targeted Muslim Community (Chicago Tribune)
Pakistan’s chief advocate of tolerance in the legislature says “politicians from religious parties compromise” on “bills against domestic violence and sexual harassment in the workplace,” but that it is “the faltering economy [that] fuels extremism”:
- Pakistan’s Sherry Rehman Stands Alone After Colleagues’ Assassinations (Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
“The boys who she accused of rape are bringing a case because it is a very grave offense to accuse someone of a sexual crime,†says a spokesman for the pro-Gaddafi militias, unconcerned that under Islamic law rape is a crime of aggression (like armed robbery), not a sex crime (like fornication or adultery):
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