Human Rights Watch provides a list of the strong and weak points of the treatment of human rights issues in Egypt’s hastily completed draft constitution (click her for translation of full text; click here for comparison to suspended constitution here) …
- Egypt: New Constitution Mixed on Support of Rights (Human Rights Watch)
- Why is Egypt’s Draft Constitution So Controversial? (Christian Science Monitor)
- Morsi Sets Date for Referendum on Charter as His Islamist Supporters Rally in Cairo (Washington Post)
… but “[t]he contrast [between the pro- and anti-Mursi demonstrations] was undeniable – and not just in numbers. The protests Saturday were filled with bearded Islamists and conservative women, many from poorer neighborhoods. Those who came to Tahrir clearly represented the nation’s upper class, with unveiled women and clean-shaven men”:
- Muslim Brotherhood Rallies Millions in Show of Strength Ahead of Egypt Court’s Ruling (McClatchy / Kansas City Star)
The settlements and the murders of peaceful demonstrators were always illegal, but with the approval of Palestine’s nonmember state observer status at the UN, Israel’s eagerness to demonstrate its contempt for international law only increases:
- Day After UN Palestine Statehood Vote, Israel Set to Expand Settlements (Christin Science Monitor)
- Hamas Complains to Egypt After Israeli Army Kills Gazan (Reuters)
An American singer scores a box-office success as she shows respect for Indonesia’s culture …
- Jennifer Lopez & Indonesia: Singer Appears More Modest At Concert In Highly Muslim Country (Huffington Post)
… but Muslim extremists sow vandalism and terror as they disrespect Mali’s culture:
- In Northern Mali, Music Silenced as Islamists Drive Out Artists (Washington Post)
The actress who has “has accused the [now jailed] purported filmmaker of fraud, libel and unfair business practice” in tricking her into participating in an anti-Muslim propaganda film is denied relief by the courts a second time, as the judge rules that she abandoned any copyrights she might have held to the film’s producers:
- U.S. Judge Refuses to Order Anti-Muslim Film off YouTube (Reuters / Chicago Tribune)
Leila Ahmed is the first time female Muslim to win “the University of Louisville’s prestigious Grawemeyer Award in Religion, a $100,000 cash prize”:
- Muslim Scholar Wins Prestigious Grawemeyer Award (RNS / Washington Post)
The NJ AG has “issued a directive requiring New Jersey law enforcement agencies to notify the New Jersey State Police Counter-Terrorism Bureau and the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness if they hear of outside departments working in” the state and an Assemblyman “has introduced legislation that would give such guidelines the weight of law”:
- NYPD Muslim Spying: New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa Visits Mosque Listed In Secret Report (Huffington Post)
“Many conservatives say Mashaei will likely be barred from running [to succeed Ahmadinejad] but others believe it could be a tough challenge for the ruling system to disqualify him from the vote”:
- Iran’s President Promotes Controversial Confidant (AP / abc News)
Each side in the civil war had blamed the other for the blackout of Internet and telephone services, but it’s over now as the rebels, agreeing to allow peacekeepers into the country only if Asad is forced out push on to Damascus and the regime bombs rebel-held portions of the capital city:
- Syria Internet Access Restored After Two-day Blackout (Guardian)
- Syrian Rebels Cut Off Damascus Airport in Critical Step (Christian Science Monitor)
- Syria Rebels Bombed as Opposition Open to Peacekeepers (Reuters)
Is a civil war in Iraq next? “The Kurds have seen the move by Iraqi forces to consolidate control in areas disputed by the two sides as a declaration of hostilities”:
- Kurdish-Iraqi Government Talks Collapse amid Fear of Civil War (Christian Science Monitor)
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