Islam and Politics

15 Jul 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

Will Al-Ghannoushi Transform Tunisia into an Islamic State?
	Al-Ghannoushi, who was in exile in London, has returned to Tunisia after the Jasmine Revolution and has already made a mark as the most important voice in Tunisian politics. Many secular intellectuals and politicians in Tunisia fear that Al-Ghannoushi and his movement may use the democratic process to transform Tunisia into an Islamic state and undermine the civil and political liberties of those who do not share his Islamist vision. Tunisia has made considerable strides in terms of granting women equal rights, and there is a genuine fear among young women that Al-Nahda may seek to convert Tunisia into another Iran. -- Muqtedar Khan

Will Al-Ghannoushi Transform Tunisia into an Islamic State?

By Muqtedar Khan The Islamist Al-Nahda Party has emerged as a major player in post-revolutionary Tunisia. But what does it stand for, asks Muqtedar Khan I was in Tunis last week participating in a conference that brought together the main political viewpoints now competing for ascendancy in Tunisia. Several American scholars who study transitions to democracy or Islam and politics were also there. The conference was organised by the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, a Washington-based think tank that has been promoting democracy in the Muslim world for over a decade. Sheikh Rashid Al-Ghannoushi was at the conference, and he spoke about his vision for Tunisia and the importance of recognising the long and enduring non-secular heritage of Muslim societies. Al-Ghannoushi, who was in exile in London, has returned to Tunisia after the Jasmine Revolution and has already made a mark as the most important voice in Tunisian politics. His movement, Al-Nahda (Renaissance), is expected to be one of the major, if not the major, players in the Constituent Assembly that will write the new constitution of the Free Tunisia. The elections for the Constituent Assembly are scheduled for October 23 2011. Many secular intellectuals and politicians in Tunisia fear that Al-Ghannoushi and his movement may use the democratic process to transform Tunisia into an Islamic state and undermine the civil and political liberties of those who do not share his Islamist vision. Tunisia has made considerable strides in terms of granting women equal rights, and there is a genuine fear among young women that Al-Nahda may seek to convert Tunisia into another Iran. Needless to say, Al-Nahda and its leadership deny these allegations, describing them as fear-mongering and insisting that they are just another political party, albeit one that places a greater emphasis on the fact that Tunisia is a Muslim country and one that believes that Islamic values can contribute much to political governance. The success of Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey has given hopes to secularists that Islamist parties elsewhere can thrive in a democratic context without undermining or endangering democracy. It has also given Islamist parties a roadmap to legitimacy. Will Al-Nahda become another AKP, or will Al-Ghannoushi subvert democracy, once he has benefited from it? Everyone wants an answer to this question. The situation with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is similar, even though the Egyptian context is more complicated than the Tunisian. Al-Ghannoushi is also different from other Islamists. He has benefited from the political asylum provided by Britain and has lived in a liberal democracy for years and understands how it works. It is to be hoped that by now he has also recognised and understood its virtues. Al-Ghannoushi has also departed from other Islamists and has in the past argued in favour of pragmatism over ideology, rejected the idea of killing religious apostates, accepted the necessity of coalitions and expressed willingness to share power with non-Islamists. Among all the Islamists aside from Turkey's AKP, which insists that it is not an Islamist party, Al-Ghannoushi's Al-Nahda comes across as the most democracy-compatible of the Islamist parties. However, many of his critics, especially in Tunisia, are not convinced, and allegations of "double-discourse" are frequently made. The argument is that Al-Ghannoushi says one thing when the secularists and the West are listening and another to his followers. Critics also insist that while he, given his unique experience and education, may genuinely be democratic and even liberal, the rank and file of Al-Nahda are not, as is evidenced from the frequent undemocratic sentiments expressed by many of its youth leaders. Al-Ghannoushi has conceded that his party could do better on discipline. During the question and answer period at the conference, I asked him whether he realised that if he won a significant share of the Constituent Assembly seats, one of his primary goals, while framing the country's new constitution, should be to protect the rights of those who did not vote for him from those who did. Will you be able to do this, I asked him. Why don't you put all the fears and suspicions about your intentions to bed by releasing a draft constitution before the elections, and thereby let everyone know what Al-Nahda is striving for? I was disappointed with his answer. I was hoping for something in the nature of -- "what a great idea: we'll release a draft constitution before the elections," or, "we have already thought of that and are in the process of doing it." But instead all he said was that Al-Nahda was not going to the polls without a programme, and that 150 university professors were currently working on drafting it. There was no comment on sharing what he or his party would like to see in Tunisia's constitution. Nor did he express a commitment to defending the rights of those who did not vote for Al-Nahda. I hope that the Tunisian people will demand that all the country's political parties, Islamists and non-Islamists, release a draft of the kind of constitution that they envisage for Tunisia. At the moment, the political environment is full of mistrust, suspicion, and even fear. Self-disclosure that effectively commits the political parties to certain fundamental principles before the elections would reduce the tension and enhance cooperation. As the Arab Spring spreads across the region, similar disclosures could help reduce the suspicions of those Islamists who claim that they believe in and will work towards establishing democracies. Such disclosures would also force them to commit to democratic principles before they get involved in writing constitutions. The writer is an associate professor at the University of Delaware and a fellow of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Source: Al-Ahram, Cairo URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islam-and-politics/will-al-ghannoushi-transform-tunisia-into-an-islamic-state?/d/5031

Islam and Politics

15 Jul 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

	Pakistan: Sectarian Politics
	Exceptions apart, as a general rule in politics it doesn’t pay to raise too many temples to emotional instability: lurching from one position to another. For instance, making a fetish of going out of one’s way to attack the MQM, often totally unnecessarily; then, when the weather slightly turns, lunging in the other direction, desperate to get into bed with the same nemesis. Dramatic behaviour such as this leaves ordinary mortals slightly bewildered. And it doesn’t help to bandy about that trite phrase, ‘there is no last word in politics’. How many phases of the moon does this piece of wisdom cover? -- Ayaz Amir

Pakistan: Sectarian Politics

By Ayaz Amir Friday, July 08, 2011 Exceptions apart, as a general rule in politics it doesn’t pay to raise too many temples to emotional instability: lurching from one position to another. For instance, making a fetish of going out of one’s way to attack the MQM, often totally unnecessarily; then, when the weather slightly turns, lunging in the other direction, desperate to get into bed with the same nemesis. Dramatic behaviour such as this leaves ordinary mortals slightly bewildered. And it doesn’t help to bandy about that trite phrase, ‘there is no last word in politics’. How many phases of the moon does this piece of wisdom cover? The MQM consists, on the whole, of some of the sharpest political operators in the country. I say this in a good sense. They’ve made mistakes in the past but, generally, they have turned their Karachi and Hyderabad urban fiefdoms to huge political advantage. Time was when they imbibed their lessons, and took their cues, from our ideological guardians bunkered in what passes for our Langley, Virginia – Aabpara, Islamabad. But having come of age, and experienced many highs and lows, they are now very much on their own. And there is not much that anyone can teach one of the world’s most successful remote-control politicos, Pir Altaf Husain, who has turned the long-distance telephonic address into a virtual art form. There is a bitter and bloody turf war on in Karachi, being fought not by resolutions and statements but live bullets and what we call target-killings. Not the Kashmir elections, which are a sideshow and an excuse for other things, but the urgency of this battle for survival and dominance lies at the heart of the MQM’s grouse against the Zardari dispensation. By using the ANP, now entrenched in large swathes of Karachi territory, El Presidente is playing games with the MQM and the MQM doesn’t like it. Hence it’s growing anger. But this is still very much suppressed rage as the MQM tries to strengthen its bargaining position and weighs the pros and cons of burning its boats and taking a direct confrontationist stance against the government. While the benefits of such a stance are tenuous and vague, the risks are obvious. Unrest in Karachi costs the PPP govt in psychological terms. But there is little in a physical sense that it loses. And manning the trenches are the new urban warriors of the Pakhtoonkhwa-derived ANP. The PPP can sit this conflict out. The MQM risks sustaining physical and political losses. And if, as a spin-off of this conflict, the PPP and ANP enter the next elections together, the MQM will have a contest (of sorts) on its hands. In guerrilla warfare – and what we are seeing in Karachi is a form of guerrilla warfare – holding on to territory is more difficult than weaving in and out and sniping from the sidelines. So the formation of a PNA-like opposition alliance – the alliance which gifted Pakistan Zia’s benign dictatorship – is still very much an idea residing in the realm of the imagination. The PML-N, always a victim of impatience, would of course like an immediate assault on the bastion of Zardari power, so as to force what it increasingly seeks, and with growing desperation – early elections – but the MQM is playing a tantalizing game and will not commit itself until President Zardari shows it the red flag...which he is not likely to do, this not being his style. It’s hard to concede this but if there is a master of cool, as his detractors even are now grudgingly coming to admit, it is Zardari. Let’s not forget that Pakistan has a long history of both holy and unholy alliances, the unholy outnumbering those which had any good in them. For alliances forged against seemingly-democratic governments – against Bhutto’s in 1977, Nawaz Sharif’s in 1999, just prior to the Musharraf takeover, and two conditions have been essential: a Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan and the blessings of Aabpara. The late Nawabzada had a gift for getting the most unlikely bedfellows together, only to see a fresh posse of generals take over when the situation was ripe – the Nawabzada in the immortal role of teaser (ask stable-owners what this means) and GHQ in the role of stallion. There is no Nawabzada around and GHQ and Aabpara are fed up of the political class, especially when they see former patriots (and pupils) changing stripes and biting the hands that fed them (once upon a time). So what do the masters of impatience get out of this yet-to-be-sewn deal? Advantage tenuous but plenty of questions requiring some answers. The first mantra, or first commandment, of the new morality of which the nation had an earful after the 2008 elections came in the form of the loud declaration that there could be no truck with the leftovers or remnants of the Musharraf order. Which meant that the Chaudries of Gujarat – Gujarat surely deserves better than to be known by them – and the Q-League were forever beyond the pale? In Punjab there was a minor variation on this theme in that the Forward or Unification Bloc was accepted as part of the Punjab government. That was out of political necessity, their numbers being essential to shore up the fortunes of the PML-N. But in the National Assembly this commandment held and even though most of the Q-League was of a mind to join the PML-N, the high tide of morality, and some misplaced confidence, barred the way. How the situation has changed and all because of effective manoeuvring and coalition-building at the centre. Which has made the unlikely come to pass: the mountains not coming to the saints, the saints have had to march to the mountains. If the Chaudries were Musharraf loyalists, the MQM was in the vanguard of Musharraf support, ultra-loyalists to his cause. And the PML-N, finding the moral high ground a waterless summit – which can remain on the moral high ground forever? – is trying to make common cause with an entity that only a short while ago in its lexicon stood for the devil. A bit like the Hitler-Stalin pact of 1939, which was the prelude to the opening of the Second World War (although one must hasten to proffer one’s apologies to the ghosts of Hitler and Stalin for comparing them to our political heroes)? But ours is still not a pact, not by a long shot. So even if it produces some stirring music, although I have my doubts even of that, it will not be the prelude to any grand opera. Not unless the sages of Aabpara also move into the act, but they have too much on their plate, too many slings and arrows of outrageous fortune to contend with. Political interventionism they will not try, not because of any moral aversion – perish the thought – but because they know it will stick in their throats. So they are content to see the political class make further asses of themselves. The PML-N leadership constitutes the luckiest political family in Pakistan’s history, everything coming to it easily and quickly, a bit too easily and quickly. Other leaders have come and gone, many with little to show for themselves even if claimants to greater capacity. The PML-N leadership has thriven and prospered, emerging from deep ends in which others would have drowned. This has bred a sense of entitlement and a style of leadership at once impatient and impulsive, 12 Oct, 99 being one of the fruits of such impulsiveness. Zardari is an altogether different customer, one who has played a long and cool hand. Who would have given him so much time at the top? But he has managed to survive, against the odds. Those out to destroy him should be careful with their methods. Or, fearful thought, there will be more to moan about than just one Zardari term in that ugly box on the hill. Source: The News, Islamabad URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islam-and-politics/pakistan--sectarian-politics/d/5034

Islam and the Media

15 Jul 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

Media Fables on the Syrian Revolution: Respect Journalistic Ethics
	This disregard for a fundamental tenet of good journalism pains me deeply. I am a Syrian national and have been a correspondent of Al Arabiya for the past two decades. These have been decades of turmoil in my part of the world. I have therefore, perforce, spent most of this time covering wars and insurgencies. In all this time I have never knowingly violated the cardinal rule of good journalism, which is to verify my information before airing it – check and countercheck it and do my best not to mislead viewers. To me, therefore, it is all the more distressing to see these principles being treated so casually by so many of my long-time colleagues. Today, my country is threatened with turmoil and destruction at a time when it is the last beacon of secularism and modernity in the Arab world. -- Waiel Awwad

Media Fables on the Syrian Revolution: Respect Journalistic Ethics

By Waiel Awwad This is one occasion when the international media has proved clueless and susceptible to rumour. Poor reporting has hurt the truth FOR MONTHS, while the international media have uncritically published lurid stories of Syrian police and auxiliary forces gunning down protesters demanding democratic reform, Syrians have been trying to tell the world an entirely different story. That it’s not just the Assad regime, but the entire secular, stable and prosperous Syrian state that is under relentless attack. But till very recently, no one was listening. Instead, the one–sided coverage has helped legitimise the imposition of sanctions upon the Assad government just when it needed the help of the rest of the world most urgently. This disregard for a fundamental tenet of good journalism pains me deeply. I am a Syrian national and have been a correspondent of Al Arabiya for the past two decades. These have been decades of turmoil in my part of the world. I have therefore, perforce, spent most of this time covering wars and insurgencies. I have covered the first Gulf war and the US invasion of Iraq, during which I was embedded with the US troops. I have covered wars in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Kargil, and the unrest in Kashmir. In all this time I have never knowingly violated the cardinal rule of good journalism, which is to verify my information before airing it – check and countercheck it and do my best not to mislead viewers. To me, therefore, it is all the more distressing to see these principles being treated so casually by so many of my long-time colleagues. There have been honourable exceptions, but these have reported mostly for the print journals. Their carefully crafted conclusions have been overwhelmed by the sound bytes on television and the repeated airing of amateur videos that have conveniently come into the hands of journalists via social networking sites. Today, my country is threatened with turmoil and destruction at a time when it is the last beacon of secularism and modernity in the Arab world. The attack has been launched by Sunni fundamentalists, generically called Salafis, spearheaded by the banned Muslim Brotherhood, which killed President Anwar Sadat in 1982, and was eradicated within Syria by President Hafez-al-Assad the current president’s father, in 1982. In the past three decades, the Brotherhood has been infiltrated by the protagonists of jihad. For Syria its goal is simple: use the cover of democracy to establish an Islamic state. With this in mind it has hijacked a legitimate demand for the democratisation of the current regime, which Assad himself supports, and turned it into an increasingly violent movement to oust the Baathist State and replace it with a Salafi, fundamentalist state. The global media have failed to perceive this hidden agenda because they do not watch the local Arabic channels. But those who understand Arabic would do well to tune into two in particular, Al Safa and Wisal, and hear the diatribes of rabble-rousers like Sheikh Adnan Aeraour. YouTube videos show him saying ‘let a hundred thousand die in Aleppo’ if that is necessary to bring in the Kingdom of Allah, and ‘let us feed the meat (of the secularists) to the dogs’. Both these are based in Saudi Arabia and backed by the Saudi religious establishment. The winds of change that started blowing in Tunisia and Egypt provided the perfect cover for this. The Salafis concluded that in the turmoil that would ensue after the Assad regime was overthrown, they, the largest and cohesive group in the political soup, would emerge supreme. Thus if they could mobilise Syria’s 70 per cent Sunnis on religious lines, democracy would catapult them into power. All they needed was a few deaths, followed by a few funerals. The Syrian police would do the rest. The Salafi strategy is a classic one of fomenting an insurrection by provoking massive and indiscriminate reactions from the state against the people. For this they needed a few deaths at the hands of the police. They got these on Friday, March 18, when three people were killed in Deraa on the Jordan-Syria border. After the Friday prayers at the Al Omari mosque in Deraa, a demonstration that numbered in the hundreds took to the street shouting slogans against the regime. The slogans were revealing: ‘No Iran, No Hezbollah, We want a Muslim (who) fears Allah’. Exactly the same rallying cry was heard at Jisr al Shugur six weeks later. The Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA, and state television reported that the trouble was started by ‘saboteurs’ who had been dispatched across the Jordan border by the Muslim Brotherhood, which has a strong base in Jordan and had led the protests in that country at the end of January. Jordanian news agencies and television also reported the capture of at least one shipment of arms to Deraa. But none of this was reported or investigated by the international media. In the week that followed, there were attacks on government offices and on the Baath party headquarters. The police in Deraa knew that outsiders were behind these attacks and were holed up in the Al Omari mosque. Eventually, in an attempt to forestall the next Friday’s demonstration, they entered the mosque after six days. According to foreign media reports this led to six deaths. But these reports did not attempt to investigate the government’s claim concerning the Al Omari mosque. March 18 set a precedent. After that, for thirteen straight weeks, all major protests have taken place on Fridays, and have begun at or near mosques. Each has seen several deaths. That many of these took place at the hands of the police cannot be denied. But how many? This is the second issue on which, in its eagerness to demonise the Assad regime, the international media have cast aside their values. On the Friday after Deraa, they reported that 23 persons had died in protests across the country. All of them occurred at remote locations on the edges of the country, at Tel Kalakh on the Lebanese border, at Homs, which is also a stone’s throw from Lebanon, at Deir Ezzor, on the Iraqi border, and at Lattakia and Baniyas, close to the Turkish border. For reports from these places, the international media therefore decided to rely on whatever was being put up on internet sites. Al Jazeera even announced it had set up a special team to ‘trawl social networking sites’ in order to obtain information about what was happening in Syria. With no independent verification of these postings, the media should at least have sought or published the official claim about what had happened. But it did no such thing, possibly arguing that Syria had been a closed society for so long that it had only itself to blame. UNABLE TO verify the reports and videos appearing on the internet, the media fell back upon the reports being filed by human rights organisations. But these have been, if anything, even less circumspect. Between March 18 and March 24, according to media reports nine persons were killed in Deraa. But Amnesty International reported that that 55 persons were killed. How did 9 become 55? Amnesty did not feel it necessary to explain. The media’s inability to cross-check the information it was receiving made it a sitting duck for the Salafis, and other propagandists. The first is the case of the ‘Gay Girl in Damascus’. Since February 19, internet users had been enthralled by the frank blogs of Amina Abdallah Sarraf, a 35-year-old Lesbian who talked freely about her lesbianism and its relationship with Islam. Then one day, her blog reported that she had been seen being pushed into a police car and had disappeared. The international outcry made the US start a full-scale investigation. This unearthed no trace of her or her family. But by then the Guardian of London had published a full story on her kidnapping and her web photo. It was only then that it found out that the picture was of a London-based Croatian girl, Jelena Lecic. Shortly after, the gay girl unveiled herself. She turned out to be a he, Thomas McMaster, American and living, of all places, in Edinburgh. Macmaster started his blog, perhaps not coincidentally; only four days after activists issued their first call to assemble before the Syrian parliament. Several of Macmaster’s blogs also reveal a deep involvement with Islam. In one of them he claims repeatedly that (s)he is a Sunni Muslim and a believer after a personal experience of the divine. Was the Gay Girl blog or the story of the kidnapping story designed to push the world closer to war on Syria? Then, on May 8, Sunday, French Channel 2 apologised for airing photos supplied to it by Reuters, alleged to be of the Syrian uprising, but which were taken in Lebanon in 2008. Other papers and television stations also used the photos. But the experience with Reuters made no dent in the notions of the international media. As the violence spread around the periphery of Syria, the government continued to claim that the Friday bloodletting was being triggered by gunmen, often equipped with sniper rifles, who were picking off members of the police and the protesters to spark large-scale violence. But, barring a few exceptions, the media did not consider investigating these claims. This finally changed on Friday June 3 at a town called Jisr-al-Shugur, with a population of around 50,000, a few kilometres from the Turkish border. Following several clashes and fatalities, the Syrian government ordered a military operation to restore order in the city. The military moved in on June 4, but two days later Syrian state television reported that heavily armed groups of unknown gunmen had begun to attack security forces in the town. According to these reports, they first ambushed a group of policemen who were responding to calls from local residents that unknown gunmen were terrorising them, and killed 20 of them. Later they attacked a police command centre and overran it killing another 82 members of the security forces. The gunmen also attacked and blew up a post office that was guarded by the police which left another eight policemen dead. In all, 120 security forces troops were reported killed during the day. What the media chose to report however was entirely different. BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera reported that refugees and activists said the chaos erupted as government forces and police mutinied and joined the local population. The Economist swallowed this in its entirety: “An accurate version of what happened there is hard to confirm, because independent reporters are banned from Syria and the state media have plumbed the depths of mendacity. Usually, however, they flag up an event and give an indication, sometimes unintentionally, of its magnitude. Then they set about rearranging the facts. In the case of Jisr al-Shughour, they at first said that 20 members of the security forces had been killed in an ambush ‘by armed gangs’ and then, within an hour, raised the figure to 120, declaring that ‘decisive’ action would be taken as part of the state’s duty to protect its citizens. Probably the death toll has indeed been high. But who killed who remains unclear. Theories abound. Residents say people have been fighting back after helicopters and tanks killed at least 40 civilians during the weekend. Tanks have been massing menacingly around the city. But well-informed Syrians surmise that the number of dead servicemen was exaggerated in an effort to make ordinary people rally to the regime and that most of the victims were killed in clashes between the police and the army or within some security-force units after their members tried to defect or to mutiny — the last two possibilities being the ones that must really scare Assad. When the Syrian army finally recaptured Jisr –al – Shugur on June 12 it discovered a mass grave containing 12 army personnel shot at point blank range. Waiel Awwad is a South Asia bureau chief Al Arabiya based in Dubai Source: Tehelka.com URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islam-and-the-media/media-fables-on-the-syrian-revolution--respect-journalistic-ethics/d/5033

Islamic Ideology

15 Jul 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

Russian Muftis for Peaceful Islam
	At the meeting with muftis, Mr. Medvedev returned to the same topic. He noted that Moslem religious organizations are doing a lot to make the Caucasus peaceful. “Sometimes, a religious leader must be very bold to openly say that real Islam has nothing to do with violence,” the president said. “In the last year, over 20 muftis, who tried to withstand extremist interpretations of Islam, were killed.” “Unfortunately,” he continued, “we cannot do away with terrorism overnight. But it is inspiring that we are united in our aims and our efforts. At present, many people of non-Moslem nationalities, who have fled from the Caucasus because of unrest, are coming back to their once abandoned homes. It is up to Moslem organizations to create a friendly atmosphere for these people.”-- Natalya Kovalenko

Russian Muftis for Peaceful Islam

By Natalya Kovalenko Jul 6, 2011 Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev counts on Moslem religious leaders to back him in the fight against terrorism and extremism. This Wednesday, the president met with muftis in the city of Nalchik in Russia’s northern Caucasus. This meeting took place the next day after a meeting of the Russian Council for Civil Society and Human Rights in the same city, where Mr. Medvedev also took part. One of the main topics discussed at the council’s meeting was the fate of former members of terrorist groups. Mr. Medvedev believes that those who haven’t committed serious crimes must be allowed to return to peaceful life. However, those who were once tried for terrorism must by no means occupy big posts. “We must work out clearly outlined laws that won’t allow former terrorists to occupy big posts or be involved in large-scale business,” the president said. At the meeting with muftis, Mr. Medvedev returned to the same topic. He noted that Moslem religious organizations are doing a lot to make the Caucasus peaceful. “Sometimes, a religious leader must be very bold to openly say that real Islam has nothing to do with violence,” the president said. “In the last year, over 20 muftis, who tried to withstand extremist interpretations of Islam, were killed.” “Unfortunately,” he continued, “we cannot do away with terrorism overnight. But it is inspiring that we are united in our aims and our efforts. At present, many people of non-Moslem nationalities, who have fled from the Caucasus because of unrest, are coming back to their once abandoned homes. It is up to Moslem organizations to create a friendly atmosphere for these people.” One of the participants in the Nalchik meeting, mufti Damir Mukhetdinov, says: “A mufti must be long-sighted and tolerant. For centuries, Russians and other non-Moslem peoples have lived in the Caucasus next to Moslems – and they have always managed to find a common language. Muftis must preach tolerance and try to stop any manifestations of extremism. Fortunately, the heads of Chechnya and other Russian Caucasian regions always take it into account that these regions are populated with people of diverse cultures and religions. We have very good relations with the Russian Orthodox Church. We are trying to establish good relations with other confessions as well.” In their turn, the muftis asked the president to allow more Russian Moslems to make pilgrimages to Arabia. At present, the existing quota makes up 20 thousand people a year. However, this is too little, for it is one of the main postulates of Islam that every Moslem must make a hajj (pilgrimage) to the shrines of Mecca and Medina at least once in his or her lifetime. Dmitry Medvedev promised to regulate this question with Saudi Arabia’s authorities. Source: Moscow Times URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islamic-ideology/russian-muftis-for-peaceful-islam/d/5032

Islamic Culture

15 Jul 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

Gender Ghettos in Iranian Universities
	Summer temperatures regularly reach over 40ºC (104ºF) in Iran, but women are not allowed to wear shorts or loose hijabs. Those accused of wearing “western-style” clothes, as well as women whose headscarves fit too loosely, or whose clothes fit too tightly, face humiliation, fines and arrest by the so called morality police. For Iranian women, the feeling of wind blowing in their hair is something they can only dream about since the Islamic clergy came to power. Actresses must wear veils even when portraying indoor activities, such as sharing a meal or sleeping. Iranian people from the various classes, led by women, university students and intellectuals, have risen against it. -- Alireza Khanderoo

Gender Ghettos in Iranian Universities

By Alireza Khanderoo 07/06/2011 The Iranian people are the only force capable of ending this repressive and arrogant religious rule. Before the 1979 Revolution, Iran had mixed-gender schools, nightclubs and dancing, and girlsabout- town who dressed as fashionably as their counterparts in Europe. Following the revolution, mixed-gender schools and night clubs were banned, and the hijab became compulsory for any woman living in Iran or visiting the country. Women have had to follow a very specific and restrictive set of dress codes – an ankle length chador or complete headscarf plus long overcoat are the only forms of dress accepted by the ruling clergy. Summer temperatures regularly reach over 40ºC (104ºF) in Iran, but women are not allowed to wear shorts or loose hijabs. Those accused of wearing “western-style” clothes, as well as women whose headscarves fit too loosely, or whose clothes fit too tightly, face humiliation, fines and arrest by the so called morality police. For Iranian women, the feeling of wind blowing in their hair is something they can only dream about since the Islamic clergy came to power. Actresses must wear veils even when portraying indoor activities, such as sharing a meal or sleeping. Well, you get this ridiculous picture. Getting rid of the full veil is a way for Iranian women to show their protest against the chains their government has imposed on them. That is because the hijab has become, in effect, a symbol of the Islamic Revolution. Rejecting it means rejecting the social and political restrictions imposed by the government. In the streets, Iranian girls stay just within the law, while affirming no commitment to the values of the revolution. Especially during the summer, they cross the regime’s red line on hijabs. As a result, the hijabs get skimpier. To show a broad band of hair, scarves in vivid colors are tilted back at flattering angles. The sleeves and hems of the fashionable dress tunics (known as manteau) are cropped shorter in order to expose wrists, forearms and legs. Blonde highlights, beehives, carefully coiffed fringes, manicured nails, and narrow jeans that reveal body curves complete the sexy protest. The combination of enforced hijab-wearing and gender segregation is used to limit political freedom and possible civil protest inside the universities. The government demands female students wear chador and enter through gender-segregated doors. The Islamic Republic’s authorities enforced gender segregation in all Iranian primary and secondary schools following the revolution of 1979, claiming that gender mixing “causes moral corruption” and distracts students. Nonetheless, in universities, male and female students attend class together, albeit in separate rows of chairs divided by curtains. NOW THE Ahmadinejad administration aims to enforce gender segregation in universities as well by implementing gender ghettos inside the universities there. Gender segregation in universities was first suggested in 2009 by Hojatoleslam Nabiollah Fazlali, the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reportedly claiming that mixed-gender universities have dangerous consequences, since placing male and female students in the same class is like “putting meat in front of a cat.” This suggestion was warmly supported by Iran’s higher education minister, Kamran Daneshjoo, this year as he ordered a study to gauge the feasibility of enforcing gender segregation when the academic year starts in September. But on July 5, he retreated and postponed the gender-segregation plan, fearing that it may cause massive protests inside the universities just before parliamentary elections. The Islamic regime’s policies on social and civil rights in Iran are so oppressive that they have made Islam hateful to many Iranians. Risking their very lives, some choose to convert to Christianity, Baha’ism, and even atheism. Despite all the threats and intimidation by regime officials, streets in Tehran and Iran’s major cities are in the hands of the Iranian people. Millions of disgruntled Iranians, fed up with three decades of brutal and arrogant religious rule, have revolted against the Islamic regime. Rival factions in even the ruling strata have locked horns; the US and the European Union have lined up against the regime, with more upcoming serious sanctions on the agenda; and cracks are starting to show in the Iranian economy, with rising poverty, 37 percent inflation, national currency devaluation and widespread unemployment in a country where almost 70% of the population is under 30. On the one hand, the Islamic Republic is no longer what it was before the 2009 presidential elections. Iranian people from the various classes, led by women, university students and intellectuals, have risen against it. On the other hand, the situation of the Islamic regime’s traditional allies, namely Syria and Hezbollah, has become worse as a result of the Middle East revolts. Yet despite this hostile domestic and foreign environment, the Islamic regime still hangs on. Even after the disputed presidential elections, it has maintained its hold on power. The Iranian people are the only force capable of ending this repressive and arrogant religious rule. They need all the international support they can get. The writer is an Iranian-born freelance journalist based in the Republic of Tajikistan Source: The Jerusalem Post URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islamic-culture/gender-ghettos-in-iranian-universities/d/5035

Ijtihad, Rethinking Islam

15 Jul 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

Indonesia Must Abolish Death Penalty, Show Mercy
	On Dec. 18, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a moratorium in respect for the use of death penalty. Had there been a worldwide moratorium, Ruyati and the lives of other Indonesian citizens on death row could have been saved. The time has come for Indonesia to ask itself whether it is really worth keeping the death penalty as a criminal punishment. There is a range of factors that suggest it is now in Indonesia’s interests to abolish or at least have a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. Experience and statistics from around the world indicate that the death penalty is not a greater deterrent then lengthy prison terms. If it is to be an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” this will soon be a blind and toothless world. -- Frans H. Winarta and Colin McDonald QC(Photo: Prisoner being taken to the gallows)

Indonesia Must Abolish Death Penalty, Show Mercy

By Frans H. Winarta and Colin McDonald QC 07/07/2011 Indonesians were shocked and appalled by the beheading of fellow citizen Ruyati binti Satubi in Saudi Arabia on June 18, 2011. The execution again highlighted the use and efficiency of the death penalty as criminal punishment. The facts surrounding Ruyati’s execution beg for a principled and measured response, beyond diplomatic protests. Ruyati was a poor, hard-working 54-year-old housemaid who went to Saudi Arabia to save money for her family. As a domestic worker employed overseas she was vulnerable. According to reports, she killed the wife of her Saudi employer in circumstances of self defence. Other reports suggested Ruyati was often abused by her employer. Her case passed through the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court in Saudi Arabia. It appears the death penalty was sought and justified by Qishas (on the principle of “an eye for an eye”).(Photo: Ruyati: The woman who was beheaded) The Saudi decision has come in for trenchant criticism by Indonesian legal experts, who point out that Qishas only applies when the act of killing is accompanied by an “ill intention”. Qishas does not apply in circumstances of self defense. There was strong criticism of the Saudi courts, which experts said should have taken the motive into account as required by Shariah law. The justification of criminal punishment is the protection of society. How did the execution of Ruyati better protect Saudi Arabia? Is the world a better place for the execution of Ruyati? Why were the reported circumstances of self-defence and motive not considered and accorded due weight? Leaving aside the issues of curial and legal error, the circumstances of Ruyati’s case called out for clemency — but none was given. Worse, it emerged that neither Ruyati’s family nor the Indonesian government was accorded the usual and important advance consular notice. The tragic result is that the family did not have notice to seek clemency, nor did the Indonesian government have the opportunity to seek clemency or make appropriate political representations. With more than 900,000 Indonesian citizens working in Saudi Arabia, there is a lot at stake for Indonesia. The stakes are even higher given the fact that more than 26 Indonesian citizens are currently on death row there and with more than 216 Indonesian citizens face execution in other countries. Indonesia has an excellent and highly professional Foreign Ministry, which is one of the best in the world. Had proper notice been given, ministry officials could and would have done their entire utmost to protect a fellow citizen. In a democracy, the most important office is the citizen. The tragedy of Ruyati’s execution and the apparent failure to accord Indonesia the usual diplomatic privileges calls for a principled and measured response. The protection of Indonesian citizens begs such a measured and mature response by a new democracy. If the foreign minister’s claim that Indonesia was not given prior warning of Ruyati’s execution is true, Indonesia has an option to file the case with the International Court of Justice to have the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations upheld. In taking such action, Indonesia can lawfully, respectfully but determinedly make a statement to the world that Indonesia has an abiding concern to protect the lives of its citizens. The taking of legal proceedings is both reasonable and appropriate under such circumstances. There is ample legal precedent that nations must respect their consular obligations where there are foreign citizens facing the death penalty within their jurisdiction. The execution of Ruyati once again highlights the problems for countries that retain the death penalty, including Indonesia. The world trend is clearly toward the abolition of capital punishment. A decisive majority of countries has abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. On Dec. 18, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a moratorium in respect for the use of death penalty. Had there been a worldwide moratorium, Ruyati and the lives of other Indonesian citizens on death row could have been saved. The time has come for Indonesia to ask itself whether it is really worth keeping the death penalty as a criminal punishment. There is a range of factors that suggest it is now in Indonesia’s interests to abolish or at least have a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. Experience and statistics from around the world indicate that the death penalty is not a greater deterrent then lengthy prison terms. The retention of the death penalty hinders the Indonesian National Police in its efforts to combat serious transnational crimes. We saw this when Dutch police were prevented from assisting the Indonesian police in the death of human rights activist Munir, because successful prosecution could have led to the death penalty in Indonesia. Diplomatic relations are predictably and unnecessarily strained when a citizen from a state that has abolished the death penalty receives the death penalty. With the majority of the world’s countries being abolitionist, Indonesia’s diplomatic and economic interests are at stake. The Indonesian Constitutional Court on Oct. 30, 2007 recommended that the death penalty be used sparingly and that condemned prisoners have the chance to have their sentences commuted to prison terms for proven good behaviour over 10 years. The recommendations of one of Indonesia’s two apex courts are sound and are brought into poignant perspective by the execution of Ruyati. One way of testing where the practical best interests of Indonesia lie is to have a moratorium on the use of the death penalty and implement in legislation the recommendations of the Constitutional Court. This would signal a commitment not only to Indonesian citizens and be respectful the deeply held values of neighbouring states, but also would implement the jurisprudence of the Indonesian Constitutional Court. The horrible death of Ruyati and the grief of her family should not be entirely in vain. Let there be action and principled leadership. Moreover, Indonesia follows the Pancasila, one of whose principles is just and civilized humanity, so death penalties based on retaliation is no longer appropriate. If it is to be an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” this will soon be a blind and toothless world. Frans H. Winarta is a lawyer. Colin McDonald QC is a counsel and adviser to the Indonesian Foreign Ministry and Indonesian citizens in Australia for more than 20 years. Source: The Jakarta Post, Indonesia URL: http://www.newageislam.com/ijtihad,-rethinking-islam/indonesia-must-abolish-death-penalty,-show-mercy/d/5036

Islamic World News

15 Jul 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

Suicide bomber attacks Karzai's brother's memorial, 4 killed
	Mumbai Blast: LeT hand? Cops told to tread cautiously 'Don't name Muslim outfits for Mumbai Blasts without evidence' Gilani urges Ulema to play role in promoting interfaith harmony Jamaat-e-Islami condemns Mumbai serial blasts and demands a high level Enquiry Pennsylvania Man Indicted For Allegedly Soliciting Jihadists To Kill Americans Four Lashkar militants take woman as hostage in J&K Six Afghan civilians killed in NATO raid 15 killed in Karachi political violence sparked by minister’s comments Karachi killings: Pak minister blames wives, girlfriends Kurd rebels ambush Turkish soldiers, 20 killed in clash Four killed in Syria as West pushes for UN action Two soldiers killed in South Waziristan attack Tea Party Says Textbook Is Pro-Islam Lawyer Who Promotes Anti-Sharia Laws Publishes New Study on Islamic Extremism Third interfaith dialogue meet opens in Malian capital India exercising admirable restraint after Mumbai attacks: NYT Mumbai blasts renew scrutiny of Pakistan's crackdown on militants Talks with Pak will continue, say Krishna and Rao Talks with Pakistan, Hillary Clinton visit on schedule: Krishna Day after serial blasts, cops clueless as Mumbai seethes China, Russia refuse to attend Libya Contact Group meeting Gaddafi plans to blow up Tripoli: Russian envoy Libyan leader Gaddafi accuses Sarkozy of being 'war criminal' Istanbul summit likely to up pressure on Qaddafi NATO chief rejects Libyan civilian death claims Stand-off continues between Indonesian police, Islamic students Encounter between security forces, militants on in J&K Cross-border attacks: ‘Kunar and Nuristan are terrorist havens’ ‘Key Taliban leaders taking refuge in Afghanistan’ Pakistan, US need each other: Haqqani Riots feared on Australia's national 'Ban the Burqa Day' event Iraqi lawmakers irked by manipulated manual voting The largest mosque in Dubai opens on July 29 A Muslim group wants talks with Pakistan to be stopped Court releases terror kingpin, alleged killer of 70 US, Norwegian citizens barred from entering Peshawar US: Will give full support on counter terror Osama planned 9/11 anniversary attack in US: report In Ahmadis' desert city, Pakistan closes in US-Pak military chiefs huddle in Rawalpindi Pakistan moves closer to releasing imprisoned doctor Arab League to sponsor Palestine for UN recognition Mubarak says, was not in a position to stop violence Palestinians to hold local polls Israeli forces seize lands for expansion of settlements Arab Spring drifts into summer stalemates South Sudan admitted to UN as 193rd member Is Turkish-Israeli reconciliation imminent? Tehran and Abuja emphasize need for upgrading cooperation level FBI begins probe News Corp over 9/11 hacking allegations The end: Syrian actor Dakkak, 55, dead Awqaf makes all arrangements for Ramadan Redbank man indicted by federal grand jury in terror plot Somali-Americans Leaving the US to Wage Jihad with Al-Shabaab: “A complete and utter breakdown in our outreach to the Somali community” Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau Photo: A suicide bomber concealing explosives in his turban blew himself up inside a mosque in Afghanistan during a memorial service for the president's assassinated half brother, officials said.

Suicide bomber attacks Karzai's brother's memorial, 4 killed

Mumbai Blast: LeT hand? Cops told to tread cautiously 'Don't name Muslim outfits for Mumbai Blasts without evidence' Gilani urges Ulema to play role in promoting interfaith harmony Jamaat-e-Islami condemns Mumbai serial blasts and demands a high level Enquiry Pennsylvania Man Indicted For Allegedly Soliciting Jihadists To Kill Americans Four Lashkar militants take woman as hostage in J&K Six Afghan civilians killed in NATO raid 15 killed in Karachi political violence sparked by minister’s comments Karachi killings: Pak minister blames wives, girlfriends Kurd rebels ambush Turkish soldiers, 20 killed in clash Four killed in Syria as West pushes for UN action Two soldiers killed in South Waziristan attack Tea Party Says Textbook Is Pro-Islam Lawyer Who Promotes Anti-Sharia Laws Publishes New Study on Islamic Extremism Third interfaith dialogue meet opens in Malian capital India exercising admirable restraint after Mumbai attacks: NYT Mumbai blasts renew scrutiny of Pakistan's crackdown on militants Talks with Pak will continue, say Krishna and Rao Talks with Pakistan, Hillary Clinton visit on schedule: Krishna Day after serial blasts, cops clueless as Mumbai seethes China, Russia refuse to attend Libya Contact Group meeting Gaddafi plans to blow up Tripoli: Russian envoy Libyan leader Gaddafi accuses Sarkozy of being 'war criminal' Istanbul summit likely to up pressure on Qaddafi NATO chief rejects Libyan civilian death claims Stand-off continues between Indonesian police, Islamic students Encounter between security forces, militants on in J&K Cross-border attacks: ‘Kunar and Nuristan are terrorist havens’ ‘Key Taliban leaders taking refuge in Afghanistan’ Pakistan, US need each other: Haqqani Riots feared on Australia's national 'Ban the Burqa Day' event Iraqi lawmakers irked by manipulated manual voting The largest mosque in Dubai opens on July 29 A Muslim group wants talks with Pakistan to be stopped Court releases terror kingpin, alleged killer of 70 US, Norwegian citizens barred from entering Peshawar US: Will give full support on counter terror Osama planned 9/11 anniversary attack in US: report In Ahmadis' desert city, Pakistan closes in US-Pak military chiefs huddle in Rawalpindi Pakistan moves closer to releasing imprisoned doctor Arab League to sponsor Palestine for UN recognition Mubarak says, was not in a position to stop violence Palestinians to hold local polls Israeli forces seize lands for expansion of settlements Arab Spring drifts into summer stalemates South Sudan admitted to UN as 193rd member Is Turkish-Israeli reconciliation imminent? Tehran and Abuja emphasize need for upgrading cooperation level FBI begins probe News Corp over 9/11 hacking allegations The end: Syrian actor Dakkak, 55, dead Awqaf makes all arrangements for Ramadan Redbank man indicted by federal grand jury in terror plot Somali-Americans Leaving the US to Wage Jihad with Al-Shabaab: “A complete and utter breakdown in our outreach to the Somali community” Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/suicide-bomber-attacks-karzai-s-brother-s-memorial,-4-killed/d/5030