News and Analysis (9/10/12)

Violence erupts as Vice President al-Hashemi accuses President al-Maliki of aspiring to be Iraq’s new dictator:

• Rejecting Death Sentence, Iraqi VP Hashemi Calls for Iraqis to Resist (Christian Science Monitor)
• Iraq Vice-President Sentenced to Death amid Deadly Wave of Insurgent Attacks (Guardian)

“Sixteen Muslim preachers from a moderate sect were shot dead in central Mali as they traveled by road to a religious conference…. Early reports indicate that the men’s long beards aroused the suspicion of Mali’s military, which confused them for the extremists who have taken over the nation’s north”:

• 16 Moderate Muslim Preachers Shot Dead in Mali; Beards May Have Raised Military’s Suspicion (Washington Post)
• Mali Islamists Say Army Killing of Preachers Declaration of War (Reuters)

During his previous visits to Syria – in March and May – Jacques Beres, co-founder of medical charity Medecins Sans Frontiers said he had dismissed suggestions that the rebels were dominated by Islamist fighters but he said he had now been forced to reassess the situation:

• Foreign Jihadists Join Aleppo Fight, Eye Islamic State: Surgeon (Daily Star)

“Muslims are being seen as an impossible-to-integrate, fast-reproducing invasion force who follow a religion that’s more an ideology of conquest than a faith. Using the latest facts and figures,” Doug Sanders demonstrates “the far less alarming truth about these new arrivals”:

• 10 Myths About Muslims in the West (Huffington Post)

“Although Afghan President Hamid Karzai has hailed the handover, disagreements with the US remain. Washington is insisting that it will maintain control over some detainees in the prison”:

• Afghanistan: US Hands over Controversial Bagram Jail (BBC)

The “chief negotiator of the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said more than 50 percent of the issues being tackled by the rebels and government negotiators in Malaysian-brokered talks have been settled in principle” and “President Benigno Aquino III has expressed hope that a peace pact can be signed as early as December”:

• Muslim Rebels Say Peace Pact with Philippine Government Possible Soon Despite Recent Violence (AP / Washington Post)

The increased political involvement of American Muslims draws advocates from both sides of the gay marriage debate::

• Gay Marriage Divides Minnesota Muslims (On Islam)

Thousands of Ahmadiyya Muslims from around the world have been holding their 46th annual convention in Hampshire over the weekend:

• Thousands Visit Ahmadiyya Muslim Convention in Alton (BBC News)

Fatema