As we recently noted in the case of Iran, the Bush administration seems divided between Pentagon hardliners who seek a military solution and State Department pragmatists who would pursue a peaceful “regime change” scenario in Syria. But these are not… Read moreUS to fund Syria “regime change”
The overwhelming majority of those protesting the notorious Danish cartoons have, of course, never seen them. The same goes for the overwhelming majority of those defending them. Whatever one thinks of them, there is a strong case that newspapers by… Read moreThe cartoon controversy deconstructed
From Reuters, via The Star of Malaysia, Feb. 14 (emphasis added): BEIRUT – Uproar in the Islamic world over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad has prompted many in the Middle East to ask why Muslims have rarely mobilised to address… Read moreArab dissent in cartoon controversy
Violence continues to grow throughout the Muslim world in protests against the anti-Islamic cartoons published in Denmark. In Nairobi, police opened fire as hundreds of protesters advanced on the Danish ambassador’s residence, leaving one injured. Another was killed and four… Read moreViolence escalates in cartoon imbroglio
An informative and insightful, if somewhat problematic, commentary from Egypt’s Al-Ahram Weekly. Anjali Kamat argues that the cartoons are not merely “offensive” but propagandistic, and that leaving racism out of the simplistic “free speech/Islamic intolerance” equation is to miss the… Read morePropaganda and the cartoon controversy, Pt. 2
From the website of The Muslim Brotherhood [
The real issue behind Druze leader Walid Jumblatt’s latest political clash with Lebanon’s President Emile Lahoud appears to really be continued perceived Syrian domination of the country. Tensions between the Druze and the regime have dramatically escalated since late December,… Read moreLebanon: Druze leader calls for US invasion of Syria
A statement from the Kurdistan Free Women’s Movement—on the German-based website Hezen Parastina Gel, apparently linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerilla movement in eastern Turkey—notes the passing of Comandante Ramona of southern Mexico’s Zapatista National Liberation Army: On… Read moreKurdish women mourn Zapatistas’ Comandante Ramona
A Dec. 6 commentary by Jalal Ghazi on Pacific News Service notes that last month’s Jordan suicide attack killed a film director beloved throughout the Arab world—making Arab commentators more vocal and daring than ever in condemning terrorism. One month… Read moreFilm director’s death in Jordan terror sparks Arab outrage
A Saudi secondary school teacher has been ordered imprisoned for three years for blasphemy, and sentenced to 750 lashes, to be delivered—50 a week—in the public market of the town of al-Bikeriya. Chemistry teacher Muhammad al-Harbi of Qassim province was… Read moreSaudi teacher jailed for blasphemy
The apparent identification of a suicide bomber in the Jordan hotel attacks as an Iraqi who had been detained by US forces in Iraq adds a new dimension to reactions in the Hashemite kingdom. Authorities say three Iraqi men died… Read moreJordan: Jihadis question terror tactics
Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority is to launch its own satellite television this month. After deadly riots in Alexandria Oct. 21, many Copts see the creation of the channel as an essential tool to assert their long-repressed identity. But some fear… Read moreEgyptian Copts get TV station —but not tolerance
