News and Analysis (3/22/2012)

Some three-fourths of the Arab respondents to an opinion poll reportedly believe the Turkish political system would be â€œa right modelâ€ for the â€œnew Arab statesâ€ to emulate. The â€œSaudi modelâ€ barely polled in the double digits, although it is still ahead of the U.S. model:

Surprising Arab Views of the â€œTurkish Modelâ€Â (Council on Foreign Relations)

After a secularist quits the Syrian National Council, calling it “”a liberal front for the Muslim Brotherhood,” the U.N. Security Council, including Russia and China, threw its weight on Wednesday behind efforts by Kofi Annan to end the bloody conflict in Syria, providing a rare moment of global unity in the face of the year-long crisis:

Islamists Seek Influence in Syria Uprising (AP / abc News)
U.N. Unites on Syria, Violence Spills into LebanonÂ (Reuters)
Annan’s Peace Proposal for Syria (Boston Globe)

“[N]ot religion …, but the sense of alienation and frustration that inevitably comes from being a second-generation immigrant” leads “[c]onfused and angry young men [to] attach themselves to something greater than themselves, especially a strong, confident inter-national identity historically opposed to the West from which they feel so rejected”:

Don’t Blame Islam for the Toulouse Killings (Telegraph)

“The U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 civilians in Afghanistan left for war without paying a $1.5 million judgment for defrauding an elderly client in a stock scheme, and remains shielded from the obligation as long as he remains in the military, legal experts said”:

Afghan Shooting Suspect Did Not Pay Fraud Judgment (Reuters)

Egyptian Brotherhood spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan said the groupâ€™s governing body has found none of the hundreds of declared candidates worthy of its support and is weighing the possibility of nominating a Brotherhood member to run in theÂ election thus reneging on itsÂ pledge not to put forward a candidate from its ranks:

Egyptâ€™s Muslim Brotherhood, in Reversal, May Nominate Presidential CandidateÂ (Washington Post)

In fear of the spread of rebellious sentiments in Zimbabwe, the country’s court sentences activists watching Arab Spring videos toÂ pay $500 and serve 420 hours of community service:

Zimbabwe Activists Fined for Watching Arab Spring VideoÂ (Los Angeles Times)

After Rep. Peter King calls on NJ Governor Christie to show “gratitude” to the NYPD for spying on his constituents, Christie asks,Â â€œIf I ever sent New Jersey law enforcement over there and we didnâ€™t share the information with the NYPD, can you imagine the screaming and yelling that would be going on from New York City about that?â€

NY Rep. King Blasts NJ Governor over Counterterrorism Effort; Gov. to King: â€˜Keep Quietâ€™ (AP / Washington Post)

“Ali Vyacheslav Polosin, a former Orthodox priest and politician …was once at the forefront of a campaign to make Orthodox Christmas a public holiday in Russia. But 12 years ago he converted and today he runs a Muslim support centre in Moscow”:

Moscow’s Muslims Find No Room in the Mosque (BBC)

News and Analysis (3/22/2012)

Fatema

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