Robert Fisk: Israel has crept into the EU without anyone noticing
Middle East
Saturday, 31 July 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-israel-has-cr\
ept-into-the-eu-without-anyone-noticing-2040066.html

The death of five Israeli servicemen in a helicopter crash in Romania this week
raised scarcely a headline.

There was a Nato-Israeli exercise in progress. Well, that's OK then. Now imagine
the death of five Hamas fighters in a helicopter crash in Romania this week.
We'd still be investigating this extraordinary phenomenon. Now mark you, I'm not
comparing Israel and Hamas. Israel is the country that justifiably slaughtered
more than 1,300 Palestinians in Gaza 19 months ago – more than 300 of them
children – while the vicious, blood-sucking and terrorist Hamas killed 13
Israelis (three of them soldiers who actually shot each other by mistake).

But there is one parallel. Judge Richard Goldstone, the eminent Jewish South
African judge, decided in his 575-page UN inquiry into the Gaza bloodbath that
both sides had committed war crimes – he was, of course, quite rightly called
"evil" by all kinds of justifiably outraged supporters of Israel in the US, his
excellent report rejected by seven EU governments – and so a question presents
itself. What is Nato doing when it plays war games with an army accused of war
crimes?

Or, more to the point, what on earth is the EU doing when it cosies up to the
Israelis? In a remarkable, detailed – if slightly over-infuriated – book to
be published in November, the indefatigable David Cronin is going to present a
microscopic analysis of "our" relations with Israel. I have just finished
reading the manuscript. It leaves me breathless. As he says in his preface,
"Israel has developed such strong political and economic ties to the EU over the
past decade that it has become a member state of the union in all but name."
Indeed, it was Javier Solana, the grubby top dog of the EU's foreign policy
(formerly Nato secretary general), who actually said last year that "Israel,
allow me to say, is a member of the European Union without being a member of the
institution".

Pardon me? Did we know this? Did we vote for this? Who allowed this to happen?
Does David Cameron – now so forcefully marketing Turkish entry to the EU –
agree with this? Probably yes, since he goes on calling himself a "friend of
Israel" after that country produced an excellent set of forged British passports
for its murderers in Dubai. As Cronin says, "the EU's cowardice towards Israel
is in stark contrast to the robust position it has taken when major atrocities
have occurred in other conflicts". After the Russia-Georgia war in 2008, for
example, the EU tasked an independent mission to find out if international law
had been flouted, and demanded an international inquiry into human rights abuses
after Sri Lanka's war against the Tamil Tigers. Cronin does not duck Europe's
responsibility for the Jewish Holocaust and agrees that there will always be a
"moral duty" on our governments to ensure it never happens again – though I
did notice that
  Cameron forgot to mention the 1915 Armenian Holocaust when he was sucking up to
the Turks this week.

But that's not quite the point. In 1999, Britain's arms sales to Israel – a
country occupying the West Bank (and Gaza, too) and building illegal colonies
for Jews and Jews only on Arab land – were worth £11.5m; within two years,
this had almost doubled to £22.5m. This included small arms, grenade-making
kits and equipment for fighter jets and tanks. There were a few refusals after
Israel used modified Centurion tanks against the Palestinians in 2002, but in
2006, the year in which Israel slaughtered another 1,300 Lebanese, almost all of
them civilians, in another crusade against Hizbollah's "world terror", Britain
granted over 200 weapons licences.

Some British equipment, of course, heads for Israel via the US. In 2002, Britain
gave "head-up displays" manufactured by BAE Systems for Lockheed Martin which
promptly installed them in F-16 fighter-bombers destined for Israel. The EU did
not object. In the same year, it should be added, the British admitted to
training 13 members of the Israeli military. US planes transporting weapons to
Israel at the time of the 2006 Lebanon war were refuelled at British airports
(and, alas, it appears at Irish airports too). In the first three months of
2008, we gave licenses for another £20m of weapons for Israel – just in time
for Israel's onslaught on Gaza. Apache helicopters used against Palestinians,
says Cronin, contain parts made by SPS Aerostructures in Nottinghamshire, Smiths
Industries in Cheltenham, Page Aerospace in Middlesex and Meggit Avionics in
Hampshire.

Need I go on? Israel, by the way, has been praised for its "logistics" help to
Nato in Afghanistan – where we are annually killing even more Afghans than the
Israelis usually kill Palestinians – which is not surprising since Israel
military boss Gabi Ashkenazi has visited Nato headquarters in Brussels to argue
for closer ties with Nato. And Cronin convincingly argues an extraordinary –
almost obscenely beautiful – financial arrangement in "Palestine". The EU
funds millions of pounds' worth of projects in Gaza. These are regularly
destroyed by Israel's American-made weaponry. So it goes like this. European
taxpayers fork out for the projects. US taxpayers fork out for the weapons which
Israel uses to destroy them. Then EU taxpayers fork out for the whole lot to be
rebuilt. And then US taxpayers... Well, you've got the point. Israel, by the
way, already has an "individual co-operation programme" with Nato, locking
Israel into Nato's computer
  networks.

All in all, it's good to have such a stout ally as Israel on our side, even if
its army is a rabble and some of its men war criminals. Come to that, why don't
we ask Hizbollah to join Nato as well – just imagine how its guerrilla tactics
would benefit our chaps in Helmand. And since Israel's Apache helicopters often
kill Lebanese civilians – a whole ambulance of women and children in 1996, for
example, blown to pieces by a Boeing Hellfire AGM 114C air-to-ground missile –
let's hope the Lebanese can still send a friendly greeting to the people of
Nottinghamshire, Middlesex, Hampshire and, of course, Cheltenham.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Syria and Saudi leaders in mission to avert war
An unprecedented show of Arab cooperation reflects worries of fresh conflict in
Lebanon. Robert Fisk reports from Beirut
Saturday, 31 July 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-and-saudi-leaders-in-m\
ission-to-avert-war-2040043.html

Syria is back. President Bashar al-Assad dropped off in Beirut yesterday –
along with old King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia – to chat to the Lebanese
president, ministers and members of parliament over a massive lunch.

It lasted only a few hours, but no one doubted the significance. Lebanon's chaos
needs once more the guiding hand of Sister Syria. Not Syria's army – not yet
– but even Assad's father Hafez only made a presidential trip to the Lebanese
border. This is the first time in more than 40 years that the Caliph of Damascus
– as head of state – has entered the holy of holies in Beirut.

In theory, the two rulers came to Lebanon to "smooth tensions" between Hizbollah
and the Lebanese government – a crisis that was largely generated by
Hizbollah, which is also an ally of Syria and Iran. But in reality – and here
the Lebanese may be suspicious of the origins of their latest crisis - it means
the re-emergence of Syria in Lebanon. Waiting at Beirut airport was prime
minister Saad Hariri, who shook the hand of President Assad, the man whose
country he once believed had ordered the murder of his father Rafiq in 2005. It
was therefore a grimly historic moment which both men will remember for very
different reasons. Pax Syriana returned to Lebanon – and the Lebanese showed
their dutiful gratitude.

How did all this come about? Well, four spies, a claim by Hizbollah's leader
that the UN tribunal into the death of ex-prime minister Hariri is part of an
Israeli plot and a threat by Israel to attack civilian targets across Lebanon.

The four spies are the easy part of the story. Lebanese army intelligence
arrested them over a period of six months this year, claimed they worked for
Israel and – much more seriously – that they were senior employees of Alpha,
the Lebanese mobile phone network. All four are in prison and Hizbollah's
secretary-general, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, has called for their execution, even
though the four have not yet been tried. They were, Nasrallah claimed, giving
target information to the Israelis during the Hizbollah-Israel war of 2006, a
conflict in which more than 1,300 Lebanese, mostly civilians, were killed and
more than a hundred Israelis, most of them soldiers, died.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Floods trap thousands in Pakistan

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/07/20107314936812905.html

Eight hundred people are now known to have been killed in the worst floods in
Pakistan's history as rescue workers attempted to reach thousands of people
stranded by torrential monsoon rains.

More than a million people had been affected by the floods on Saturday. Bloated
rivers have washed away villages and triggered devastating landslides throughout
the northwest of the country.

Vast swathes of farmlands have been destroyed, and entire cities have been cut
off after being lashed by the heaviest rains in living memory.

Pakistani officials warned that more people could be affected as they expected
river levels to continue to rise in coming days.

The city of Peshawar has been entirely cut off from the rest of the country, and
the Pakistani military has sent boats and helicopters to surrounding areas to
rescue stranded villagers.

Meanwhile, army engineers were working around the clock to divert floodwaters
away from major roads so that rescue teams could reach stricken areas.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Playing politics: summer camp for Gaza's children
UN vies with Islamic Jihad and Hamas to keep hundreds of thousands entertained
in summer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/29/gaza-children-militant-summer-camps

The boys sitting in the shade of an awning erected on a Gaza beach are only half
listening to the man addressing them through a megaphone.

After all, school's out for the summer and there is football to be played and
the sea to be swum in. Some of the 100 or so boys whisper among themselves,
others are busy burying their own or a friend's legs in the hot sand.

But when the man asks, "What is our slogan?" they snap to attention, responding
in unison: "Resistance!"

This is summer in Gaza, Islamic Jihad-style. These boys are among 10,000 or so
children that the militant organisation estimates attends its 50 camps. Hamas,
the Islamic party which runs Gaza, claims another 100,000 children are attending
500 camps it organises; both are dwarfed by the 250,000 taking part in the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency's Summer Games across the Gaza Strip.

Gaza's summer camps are seen by militant organisations as an opportunity to
influence a generation of children; to inculcate a duty to resist the Israeli
occupation of Palestinian land. UNRWA says it just wants the kids to have fun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan flood death toll rises

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/07/20107306957407501.html

The death toll in three days of flooding in Pakistan has reached at least 430,
Pakistani rescue and government officials said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Abdullah starts Arab tour in Egypt

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/2010728153045320691.html

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has landed in Egypt on the first leg of a
four-nation "Arab unity tour".

Abdullah is scheduled to meet Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, on
Wednesday for talks that are expected to focus chiefly on the Arab-Israeli peace
process.

US officials are urging Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to resume
direct talks with the Israeli government, but Abbas insists he cannot agree to
direct talks without concessions from Israel and guarantees from the United
States.

It seems unlikely that Mubarak and Abdullah will endorse direct talks, since
those negotiations would likely undermine Abbas' already weak government.

Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League, said earlier this month
that direct talks should not resume without "written guarantees".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cameron uses Turkish visit to launch ferocious attack on Israel

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/cameron-uses-turkish-visit-t\
o-launch-ferocious-attack-on-israel-2036986.html

David Cameron signalled a toughening stance on Israel yesterday by comparing the
besieged Gaza Strip to "a prison camp" and urging Israel to end its three-year
blockade.

Mr Cameron's comments will carry additional diplomatic weight because they were
made in Turkey, which has threatened to sever ties with Israel after its deadly
assault on a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.

In a stopover on his way to India, Mr Cameron launched a diplomatic offensive
aimed at bolstering Turkey's bid to join the European Union and enlisting its
support in the efforts to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brought to book: Kabul author guilty of 'betraying' a nation
Writer of bestselling Bookseller of Kabul ordered to pay punitive damages and
faces further lawsuits

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/27/bookseller-kabul-author-lawsuit

The author of the publishing sensation The Bookseller of Kabul was found guilty
of defamation and "negligent journalistic practices" last week after losing a
case brought by a woman who claimed the bestseller depicted her in a
humiliating, untruthful way that left her feeling "violated".

Legal experts say the ruling by Oslo district court will transform the way in
which western journalists and authors write about people from poor countries.
Åsne Seierstad was ordered to pay more than £26,000 in punitive damages to
Suraia Rais, the second wife of bookseller Shah Muhammad Rais, with whose family
the Norwegian writer lived for five months while researching her book.

The saga may have some way to go. For yesterday, the rest of the Rais family
revealed the full extent of their fury over a book they say is an insult not
just to them but to the whole Afghan culture. Now that Suraia's case has been
accepted by the Norwegian judge, seven other members of the family have
announced that they too will sue the author. Shah Muhammad Rais, his first wife,
his mother, his two sons and his two daughters have already prepared their cases
with the same lawyer who secured victory for Suraia. Seierstad and her
publishers could find themselves back in the dock in two to three months' time,
facing further claims of up to £250,000.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David Cameron draws fire over Gaza comments

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/27/david-cameron-israel-gaza-comments
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Egypt police on trial for brutality

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/20107274029894514.html

Two Egyptian police officers have gone on trial over the death of a 28-year-old
man in custody in the coastal city of Alexandria.

The officers are accused of harshly treating, beating and torturing Khaled
Mohammed Said, after he was allegedly unlawfully arrested.

They are not, however, charged with causing his death.

The case has sparked widespread public protests in the country, where security
forces have enjoyed broad powers and acted with impunity under Hosni Mubarak,
the president.

Prosecution of police officers is rare in the country, but many government
critics and human rights activists say this case could prove a turning point and
end what they describe as a deeply rooted culture of official brutality.

If convicted in the trial, which began on Tuesday, the police officers could
face between three and 15 years in prison.

Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin reporting from the Alexandria courthouse, said:
"Standing outside the courthouse, you really get a sense of how significant this
case has become in a country that has been ruled by emergency law for nearly 30
years.

"It has been used by politicians to make the case that issues of torture and
abuse are rampant by Egyptian police and security services. Egypt's security
apparatus is very complex layer of several forces that answer to the ministry of
interior and internal intelligence so the concern among many people is that
these security services really go unchecked."

Mohyeldin said: "There is a lack of a transparent judicial process and people
fear that when cases like these happen and they do not surface, many of them go
unpunished."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the Israeli blockade eases, Gaza goes shopping
The newest mall in Gaza City is filled with goods imported from Israel, not
smuggled in through tunnels from Egypt. Donald Macintyre reports

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/as-the-israeli-blockade-ease\
s-gaza-goes-shopping-2035432.html

Hila Abdul Wahad, a new graduate in commercial accounting from the Islamic
University, was enthusiastic as she window-shopped her way round the eight new
stores on the second floor of the shopping mall. "It's great that this is
happening in the situation we're in," she said. "We should be proud. It feels
that we are outside of Gaza, it's like ... [she paused briefly] ... being in
Egypt."

Ms Wahad, 21, had only bought a £2 family sized stick of deodorant - which she
said would have cost her £2.50 elsewhere - but admitted that she had an
ulterior motive. "I've really come to ask the management for a job," she said.

Ms Wahad was among the 3,700 visitors who flocked to Gaza's first shopping mall
in the eight hours after its televised grand opening, attended by the Labour
Minister in the Hamas de facto government, Abu Osama al-Kurd. The Gaza Mall is
small – just two floors, with a supermarket and fast food restaurant at ground
level – but air conditioned. It has no lift – as yet – but above the
staircase, a screen displays real-time images of shoppers from the
closed-circuit security television cameras.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Al-Qaeda in the Sahel

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/07/201071994556568918.html

In November 2009, Richard Barrett of the UN's al-Qaeda-Taliban monitoring team
said that while attacks by al-Qaeda and its operatives were decreasing in many
parts of the world, the situation was worsening in North Africa. He was
referring specifically to the Sahel region of southern Algeria, Niger, Mali and
Mauritania.

While the UN statement fits the catastrophic image being portrayed of the
Sahara-Sahel region by the US, European and other Western interests, the truth
is not only very different, but even more serious in that both the launch of the
Saharan-Sahelian front in the 'global war on terror' (GWOT) and the subsequent
establishment of al-Qaeda in the region have been fabricated.

These two deceptions have one key feature in common, namely that they were both
implemented by Algeria's secret military intelligence service, the Département
du Renseignement et de la Sécurité (DRS), with the knowledge and complicity of
the US.

I will explain each in turn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hosni Mubarak makes TV address in attempt to halt health rumours

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/23/hosni-mubarak-health-egypt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sharjah leads Middle East recycling

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/2010724611845705.html

The Bee'ah recycling plant started in the kitchen of Samer Kamal's mother. The
Canadian-Palestinian businessman was disgusted by the amount of cans and bottles
and paper going into the waste when he knew it could all be recycled.

So Kamal partnered with Sultan bin Mohamed al-Qasimi, the ruler of the emirate
of Sharjah, to split the cost of the $40 million plant, which is said to be the
largest in the Middle East.

Bee'ah, which began operating in April, handles a million tonnes of waste every
year, as Al Jazeera's Dan Nolan reports.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lebanon plans 'spying' complaint

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/201072252054879537.html

Lebanon plans to file a complaint about Israeli "espionage" at the United
Nations, according to the country's information minister.

More than 50 people have been arrested since an investigation was launched into
allegations of spying by Israeli agents inside Lebanon in April 2009.

Tareq Mitri said the Lebanese cabinet agreed to present a "detailed report" to
the UN Security Council later this week.

Two employees from the state-owned Alfa phone company have been arrested during
the last month. The two men, both technicians, could face the death penalty if
convicted of spying.

Three other people have already been sentenced to death for espionage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'UN court to implicate Hezbollah'

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/2010722195048884802.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert Fisk: Why Jordan is occupied by Palestinians
A powerful group of ex-army leaders say their country is being overrun – and
they blame King Abdullah

Thursday, 22 July 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-why-jordan-is\
-occupied-by-palestinians-2032173.html

Just opposite the Al-Quds restaurant in central Amman is a dull, grey-stone
building spattered with old bullet holes. In 1970, this was where the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine staged one of their last stands against
King Hussein's loyal Bedouin troops. In the resulting bloodbath, the "Black
September" of Palestinian history, the Palestinian "fedayeen" were finally
driven from Amman, their "state within a state" shifting from Jordan to Lebanon.

Yet in the restaurant across the road, beneath equally old photographs of a
pre-Israel Jerusalem, some very serious men are complaining that Jordan is in
danger of becoming Palestine. They moan that 86,000 Palestinians have received
Jordanian passports unconstitutionally since 2005, that too many Palestinians
are now in the Jordanian government, that corruption and a rigid adherence to
American-Israeli policies are laying the groundwork for Israel to expel the West
Bank Palestinians across the Jordan River. They have no time for the
Jordanian-Israeli peace agreement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli right embracing one-state?
By Ali Abunimah

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/07/201071913463759520.html

There has been a strong revival in recent years of support among Palestinians
for a one-state solution guaranteeing equal rights to Palestinians and Israeli
Jews throughout historic Palestine.

One might expect that any support for a single state among Israeli Jews would
come from the far left, and in fact this is where the most prominent Israeli
Jewish champions of the idea are found, although in small numbers.

Recently, proposals to grant Israeli citizenship to Palestinians in the West
Bank, including the right to vote for the knesset, have emerged from a
surprising direction: Right-wing stalwarts such as knesset speaker Reuven
Rivlin, and former defence minister Moshe Arens, both from the Likud party of
Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister.

Even more surprisingly, the idea has been pushed by prominent activists among
Israel's West Bank settler movement, who were the subject of a must-read profile
by Noam Sheizaf in Haaretz.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guantanamo Algerian 'forced home'

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/07/201071919438857211.html

A prisoner who chose to remain in Guantanamo Bay rather than face possible
persecution in Algeria has been forcibly repatriated by the US government, human
rights groups said.

The US military announced on Monday that Abdul Aziz Naji, 35, had been sent back
to Algeria after eight years behind bars, the first involuntary transfer from
the prison under the Obama administration, Human Rights Watch said.

Before being imprisoned in Guantanamo, Naji had fled from Algeria, where his
lawyers argue he has "credible fears" of persecution from the government and
"terrorist "groups.

Arrested in Pakistan in 2002, Naji was never charged with or convicted of a
crime by US authorities. In May 2009 a review team tasked with deciding the fate
of prisoners being held in Guantanamo cleared him for release.

But Algeria's human rights record is frequently criticised and anyone suspected
of having links to terrorism - even unproven allegations like those against Naji
- can expect to attract unwelcome attention from the country's security
services.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hundreds killed in Darfur fighting

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/07/2010717104036168749.html

Nearly 400 people have been killed in recent clashes between the Sudanese army
and Darfur's main rebel group, according to Sudanese state media.

Most of the people killed - more than 300 - were members of the Justice and
Equality Movement (Jem).

Eighty-six soldiers were also reportedly killed in the fighting earlier this
week.

United Nations peacekeepers in Darfur confirmed that there were at least two
major clashes between the two sides.

The under-equipped peacekeepers, with a mandate to cover an area the size of
Spain, said they were also investigating reports of a third clash in Daba Tago,
near the north Darfur settlement of Mellit.

General Al-Tayeb al-Musbah, of the Sudanese army, told the state-run Suna news
agency that the army destroyed "scores of Jem vehicles" during the fighting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan flood survivors begin stricken Ramadan
Many victims skipping fasts in the normally festive period of Islamic calendar
as UN launches appeal for more aid funds
Associated Press in Multan
guardian.co.uk,  Thursday 12 August 2010 09.28 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/12/ramadan-pakistan-floods

Pakistani flood survivors already short on food and water have begun the fasting
month of Ramadan, a normally festive, social time marked this year by misery and
an uncertain future.

Damage to crops, roads and bridges have caused food prices to triple in some
parts of the country, adding to the problems facing the 14 million people
affected by one of the worst ever natural disasters to hit the country.

"Ramadan or no Ramadan, we are already dying of hunger," said Mai Hakeema, 50,
who sat alongside her ailing husband in a tent outside the city of Sukkur. "We
are fasting forcibly and mourning our losses."

Muslims who observe Ramadan fast from dawn to dusk each day for a month each
year. The time is marked by increased attendance at mosques, a rise in
charitable giving and family gatherings.

While millions of flood-affected people were performing the fast, Mufti Muneebur
Rehman, one of the country's top religious scholars, said charity-dependent
victims living in difficult conditions could skip it and instead fast later in
the year.

"I am sad to miss the first day of fasting," said Ghullam Fareed of Gormani
village. "Later, when we reach home, we will do compensatory fasting."

The floods hit the country more than two weeks ago, beginning in the north-west
before spreading down the country and inundating thousands of villages. About
1,500 people have been killed. The UN estimates up to 7 million people need
emergency assistance.

The UN has launched an appeal for $460m (£293m) to provide immediate help
including shelter, food, clean water, sanitation and medical care.

"Make no mistake, this is a major catastrophe," UN humanitarian chief John
Holmes told diplomats from several dozen countries in New York. "We have a huge
task in front of us. The death toll has so far been relatively low compared to
other major natural disasters, but the numbers affected are extraordinarily
high."

The US said it was more than doubling the number of helicopters it is providing
to help.

The defence secretary, Robert Gates, said the USS Peleliu was off the coast near
Karachi, carrying 19 helicopters and a complement of about 1,000 marines. The
helicopters will help rescue people and deliver food and other supplies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan president tours flood zone

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/201081282449784350.html

Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president, has made his first visit to an area of
the country hit by the worst floods in 80 years.

Zardari's spokesman said he was briefed on the damage and the relief effort
after arriving at the Sukkur barrage in Sindh province on Thursday, 15 days into
the disaster, which has killed at least 1,600 people and affected 14 million.

Zardari travelled along the 2km-long Sukkur barrage and peered into the roiling
Indus waters below. He also met victims at a camp for those displaced by the
disaster.

As the floods were beginning Zardari embarked on trips to meet the leaders of
the UK and France, returning via Syria, to much criticism at home and abroad.

Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from the capital, Islamabad, said: "People
are very angry.

"I spent some time in Sindh province, Zardari's home province, and the anger was
clear on the street with people saying 'why is he gallivanting around Europe and
when he was there why wasn't he getting money from other countries for the
crisis?'"

'Bad decisions'

Security was tight with only state media allowed access for Zardari's visit to
the affected region.

Television showed him comforting a sobbing elderly woman with an embrace as
children sat on the floor nearby. Villagers told him of their suffering and
gestured as they beseeched him for help.

A local official told the AFP news agency that Zardari had distributed relief
goods among flood victims at the camp in a college and had assured survivors the
government was doing all it could to assist them.

But Imtiaz Gul, the head of the Centre for Research and Security Studies in
Islamabad, told Al Jazeera that the government was unable to cope with the
situation and bad decisions had been made.

"President Zardari's visit to Europe and Syria symbolises the political
leadership’s indifference and the lack of commitment to the plight of people
of Pakistan," he said.

There has been extensive damage to infrastructure, crops and other agricultural
resources due to the flooding in the country's northwest, Punjab and Sindh
regions.

The government is still assessing the extent of the damage but a spokesman for
the UN humanitarian agency said one-third of the country had been affected.

The UN on Wednesday called for $459m to be raised to aid the estimated 14
million people affected by the flooding.

The money was said to represent the minimum needed for emergency assistance over
the next three months and did not include anything for rebuilding
infrastructure.

The UN also said that the cost of agricultural losses might reach billions of
dollars. At least four million people are expected to need food assistance
across Pakistan for the next three months at a cost of nearly $100m.

'Further devastation'

Ahmed Kamal, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority, said
the situation could worsen as water levels may rise dangerously on Friday and
again early next week along stretches of the Indus in the central province of
Punjab and in Sindh.

"There can be further devastation," he told reporters.

The meteorological office forecast scattered rain with a chance of thunderstorms
across much of the country.

The US has said that the 19 helicopters and 1,000 marines it has pledged to
assist relief efforts are close to the southern border of the country and would
begin aid missions soon.

As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began on Thursday in Pakistan, millions of
flood-affected people also started daily fasting.

Many residents of the affected northwest said that they would not neglect
fasting.

"I cannot disobey God, so I am fasting as it is part of my faith no matter what
the conditions are," Fazal Rabi, 47, who was staying in a tent village in
Akbarpura, said.

Mufti Muneebur Rehman, one of the country's senior religious scholars, said
victims living in difficult conditions dependent on charity could skip the fast
and perform it later in the year.

"I am sad to miss the first day of fasting," Ghullam Fareed of Gormani village
in eastern Punjab province said. "Later, when we reach home, we will compensate
for this."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UN to issue Pakistan aid appeal

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/201081093345724786.html

The United Nations is launching an urgent appeal for millions of dollars to aid
the 13.8 million Pakistanis impacted by the country's worst flooding in 80
years.

"We will soon issue an ... appeal for several hundred million dollars to respond
to immediate needs," Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, announced on
Tuesday.

The scale of the destruction has now eclipsed that of the 2004 Indian Ocean
tsunami, Pakistan's 2005 earthquake and the Haiti quake in January, the UN's
Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, although the
number of deaths is much lower.

"Those who need humanitarian assistance here are certainly more than those
needing assistance in any of the other three disasters," Maurizio Giuliano, an
OCHA spokesman told Al Jazeera.

The disaster has engulfed all five provinces, although its full scope is not yet
known as many remote communities have yet to receive aid, and relief operations
are only taking place whenever weather permits.

Zardari return

Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president, returned to the country after foreign
fundraising trips to a chorus of criticism that he should have stayed at home to
manage the crisis.

A government official said Zardari was expected to visit flood-hit areas within
days, although for some Pakistanis, his efforts were too little, too late.

"All that I can say about Zardari is that our houses are collapsing and his
government is not even bothered," Daraz Gul, a salesman in a hardware market in
the town of Nowshera in northwest Pakistan, told the Reuters news agency.

"A government is supposed to be like a parent. If a parent leaves his children
in trouble and goes on jaunts abroad, it is scandalous."

Children are among those most threatened in the aftermath of the flooding, the
United Nations said. At least 1,600 people are thought to have already died.

The International Monetary Fund, meanwhile, warned on Monday that Pakistan's
fragile economy could suffer "major harm" as millions of acres of crops have
been destroyed and extensive damage done to the electrical infrastructure,
forcing power plants to shut down across the country.

Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Punjab, said that the "crisis in
Pakistan is of a magnitude that no one could imagine".

"The United Nations has already said that the devastation caused by this flood
is far greater than the [2004 Indian Ocean] tsunami, the Haitian earthquake, as
well as other crises that have happened in contemporary times."

"Pakistan needs international help, and if you asked these people, they want
their leaders to come here and to come see what difficult and miserable
conditions they are living in."

Food shortages

Residents in Swat, in northwestern Pakistan, have complained of worsening food
and fuel shortages as the crisis drags on.

Food prices are expected to rise as the waters continue to swamp agricultural
areas.

More than 252,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed across Pakistan,
according to the government.

The army has about 300,000 troops working on the relief effort, but some human
rights activists are concerned that the military is undermining civilian
institutions.

"Yes, it is the military's job to take care of the rescue, but the civil
administration must be strengthened and properly organised," Hina Jilani, a
Pakistani supreme court advocate, told Al Jazeera.

Jilani said that local communities need to play a larger role in the response.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'The tears have dried up'
  By Remona Aly

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/floodofmisery/2010/08/201089124315545372.html

Hungry and thirsty, the survivors of the Pakistan floods wait in sodden tents
for aid to get through, struggling to come to terms with the events of recent
days.

In Nowshera, a culturally traditional part of Pakistan, women who do not
normally mix with males outside their family must now share scant sanitation
facilities with thousands of men.

Mothers rock their children to sleep on empty stomachs. Others wait to hear news
of loved ones lost in the floods. Some men agree amongst themselves to go back
to their homes, hoping to salvage some clothes, rice, anything they can find,
but return empty handed and barely able to face their wives and children.

The Disasters Emergency Committee,which launched an appeal on August 4, faces
the stark challenges of heavy rains, destroyed infrastructure and a race against
time to get crucial aid to flood victims. Their member charities have provided
food parcels, plastic sheets, water, and medical facilities to tens of thousands
of people.

Hopes washed away

British aid worker Habib Malikof Islamic Relief,looks sullenly at a watery
graveyard, the resting places disturbed by the violent floods.

At the end of a 20 hour shift, he tells me how the water rose as high as trees.

Habib has met with scores of survivors and says "every person here has a story
to tell".

He tells the story of Roshan, an 18-year-old woman who became separated from her
parents during the flood. Roshan was the only source of income for her family.
She supported her parents and two younger brothers by working as a tailor.

In recent months she had been working even harder than usual in order to save
money for her upcoming wedding. But now she cannot sleep at night and is plagued
by concerns about her family and future.

Many people in this area used to have little, but now they have even less. What
little life savings they had have been washed away with the waters.

'No one came'

Jannat is a widow. Her two young sons, 13-year-old Kamran and 14-year-old Ajmal,
work as scrap collectors to support the family. Unable to afford schooling, they
spend their days collecting bits of paper and metal.

"We were sleeping in the house and the water rose to our bellies. We woke and
climbed on top of the roof and stayed there for two days," the boys explain.

"When no one came to rescue us, we left the house with our mother and walked for
miles and miles. We don't know how far we walked. We arrived at the college site
feeling tired and very thirsty."

Jannat and her two sons joined another 6,000 displaced people at a college on
the outskirts of Nowshera. All those there must share just four latrines, while
aid workers dig more sanitation facilities.

Jannat boils dirty water to offer to her sons - it is all they have to drink.

Habib's voice is heavy: "What I've seen now is that the crying is beginning to
cease. Tears have dried up. These people desperately need more help. Ramadan is
around the corner for the people of Pakistan, a time of unity and giving. The
world needs to show our neighbours that we care."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan floods affect 12 million

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/201086141551412181.html

About 12 million people have now been affected by Pakistan's worst floods in 80
years, disaster officials have said, raising previous estimates by three times.

Nadeem Ahmed, chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, said that
the figure only applied to the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and central
Punjab provinces, with figures from the southern Sindh province not yet
available.

Previous estimates had said that four million Pakistanis have been affected, a
reflection of the rapidly growing scale of the disaster.

The new figures come as Pakistan braces for yet more rains in areas already
badly hit by torrential monsoon downpours that have caused devastation, washing
away villages and destroying swathes of agricultural land.

"We're forecasting widespread rains in the country, especially in flood-affected
areas," Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhry, director general of Pakistan's meteorological
department, said.

More than 1,600 people been killed by the floods, which started last week when
torrential monsoon downpours hit the north-west of the country.

Swollen rivers are carrying a huge volume of water south, raising fears that
further destruction lies ahead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mass evacuations as flood threatens to destroy dam

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/mass-evacuations-as-flood-threatens\
-to-destroy-dam-2042505.html

Rising water levels were last night threatening one of Pakistan's largest dams,
forcing the authorities to evacuate more people even as raging floods surged
south into the country's heartland, destroying communities and ruining
livelihoods. Officials in the country's north-west said unprecedented flooding
had caused the water level at Warsak Dam near Peshawar to soar, already
prompting the voluntary evacuation of some of the city's residents and forcing
the authorities to draw up plans to move those who sought to stay. "If needed,
forced evacuation will be started," said Adnan Khan of the Disaster Management
Authority of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Even while waters recede in some parts of the
north-west, it is far from clear that the country's misery is over. Aid agencies
estimate more than 3.2m people have now been affected by the nation's most
severe floods in recent history and the water that has caused such chaos is now
reportedly moving south, sweeping
  into Punjab province.

Officials say many districts in the country's most populated and prosperous area
– and centre of its wheat belt – had already been inundated with floods,
among them Layyah, Taunsa Sharif, Rajan Pur and Dera Ghazi Khan.

Military spokesman Major Farooq Feroz told the Associated Press that around
3,000 people were marooned in the Kot Addu area after water breached a
protection bank.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan warns of further floods

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/20108318527819679.html


Pakistan has issued new flood warnings, as heavy rains are expected to inflict
more misery on areas where at least 1,500 people have already been killed and
980,000 more have lost their homes.

The latest downpour on Tuesday threatened to overwhelm a dam in the country's
northwest, while the waters surged through dozens of villages in Punjab, the
most populous province.

Nadeem Ahmad, chairman of Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority,
estimated that roughly three million people were now affected by floods in the
country - 1.5 million in the northwest and the same number in Punjab.

An emergency cabinet meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday to estimate the
damages, expected to run into millions of dollars, and expedite the relief
effort.

The rush of water spilling from rivers in Punjab has threatened to destroy vast
areas of crops, prompting the United Nations to warn that an estimated 1.8
million people might need food aid in the coming weeks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Making Gaza a 'European ghetto'

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/07/2010728133548536702.html

While most Israeli leaders are resistant to fully lifting the blockade of Gaza,
Avigdor Lieberman, the right-wing foreign minister, is advocating that Israel
abandon the Strip to international monitoring and economic rehabilitation.

The proposal, recently leaked to the Israeli press, does not amount to freeing
Gaza but rather to placing it under European sea and land inspections and a
reconstruction plan.

If implemented, it will permanently sever the Gaza Strip from the West Bank,
transforming the Strip into an internationally supervised ghetto - with the dual
purpose of ensuring Israeli security and reigning in the Palestinian population.

The isolation of Gaza would further undermine the vision of a contiguous
Palestinian state or any form of equitable coexistence between Palestinians and
Israelis. It would also divide those families with members in the West Bank,
creating a permanent schism in Palestinian society and deepening the sense of
fragmentation.

Hamas would effectively be ruling a development project with no meaningful ties
to the rest of the Palestinian people.

The Gaza burden

Lieberman's proposal is interlinked with the calls by his right-wing Yisrael
Beituna party for the eviction of Israel's Arab minority and Palestinians in the
West Bank and East Jerusalem as it serves the same vision of an exclusively
Jewish state and the elimination of the national rights and aspirations of the
Palestinian people.

As such it cannot be fully dismissed - not only because Yisrael Beituna is a
partner in the current government, with 15 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, but
also because Israeli leaders have previously sought to isolate Gaza and its
population.

While Israel has always firmly held on to its direct occupation of the West Bank
- and sought to annex parts of it - in contrast, many Israeli leaders consider -
and have treated - the Gaza Strip as a burden.

In Israel, the West Bank and Jerusalem are presented and perceived as part of
the historic homeland of Israel, with many Israelis calling the West Bank by its
biblical name, Judea and Samaria. Israeli leaders have always wanted to reach a
deal with the Palestinians over the West Bank and Jerusalem - partly to
legitimate the annexation of East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank.

But Gaza presents a demographic nightmare for Israel. As one of the most densely
populated areas in the world - about 1.6 million people in 360 square kilometres
- it is almost impossible for Israel to transfer enough settlers to the Strip to
ensure a Jewish majority.

In 1992, during the first intifada, Yitzhak Rabin, the late Israeli prime
minister, expressed his wish that Gaza would just "sink into the sea". A year
later, convinced that Israel could not continue to control the Palestinian
people, he signed the Oslo Accords with Yasser Arafat, the late Palestine
Liberation Organisation leader.

But Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli prime minister who remains in a persistent
vegetative state after suffering a stroke in 2006, found a way of transforming
Gaza from an Israeli burden into a Palestinian problem. In 2005, he ordered a
unilateral withdrawal of Israeli troops and the evacuation of 7,000 settlers
from the Gaza Strip, without giving up Israeli control of Gaza's sea and land
crossings.

Fuelling the rift

The former general, who did not believe in dealing with the Palestinians, did
not coordinate this with the Palestinian Authority (PA), thus successfully
widening the already growing rift between Hamas and Fatah.

Hamas, who five months earlier had won parliamentary elections, hailed the
"liberation" of the Strip as "a victory for armed resistance", contrasting its
"success" in freeing Gaza with the "failure" of Fatah's negotiations with
Israel.

But Gaza has, in effect, remained under Israeli occupation, enabling Israel to
impose a sea and land blockade for the past three years and to further weaken
the ties between the Strip and the West Bank.

Israel would not have been able to achieve this without Palestinian assistance -
for while Israel fuelled the division, Hamas and Fatah failed dismally to
maintain national unity.

Hamas' military takeover of Gaza in 2007 - motivated in part by its fear that
Fatah would try to overrun it with American help - effectively turned the West
Bank and Gaza Strip into two separate entities with different governments.

Seen in this context Lieberman's plan would be the completion of what Sharon
started and Palestinian divisions helped to augment - the physical and political
severing of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian entity.

European protectorate

Lieberman's proposal includes several elements, which together or separately
pose a serious threat to the Palestinians and the cause of peace.

The plan proposes that Israel seal its border with Gaza and leave it to the
European Union (EU) to check Gaza-bound vessels for weapons in Cyprus or Greece.
It also calls for a European military force to be stationed on the Israel-Gaza
border and for European military assistance in preventing weapon smuggling.

It also calls for the EU to finance the building of a new power plant, a
seawater desalination plant and a wastewater purification plant to end Gaza's
dependence on Israel for electricity and water.

The international community, according to the plan, will be required to support
the construction of homes for Gazans, presumably including those destroyed by
Israel during its war on the Gaza Strip in 2009.

So while Gaza might become more prosperous under such a plan, it would
essentially be transformed into a European protectorate and placed under the
military and financial control of a European monitoring body that would
guarantee Israeli "security needs" are met while keeping Gazans caged in their
small strip of land.

Breaking Palestinian will

This proposal not only limits the vision of Palestinian statehood, but is also
designed to break the will of the Palestinian people - reducing them to a
population consumed by the immediate needs of living at the expense of their
freedoms and aspirations.

While it might provide a deceptive sense of peace and calm for Israelis in the
short-term, and temporarily subdue the Gazan population, it will ultimately
obstruct chances for a viable, long-term peace and lead to further hostilities
in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Gazans may witness an improvement in their economic status, but this will be at
the expense of their freedoms and aspirations, which cannot be satisfied by
prosperity alone. Gazans are part of a larger nation and any attempt to deny
this will only further radicalise Palestinians.

The proposal may serve Lieberman's right-wing, racist agenda, in which
Palestinians are viewed not as people with human rights and national aspirations
but as an obstacle to be either marginalised, or better still, removed. But it
will permanently submit Palestinians to the mercy of others and irreversibly
alter any vision for peace.

But the Palestinians are not guiltless or powerless in this - it is in their
hands to achieve the Palestinian national reconciliation that would make such
proposals meaningless.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli settlers evict Palestinian family from their home of 70 years
Takeovers have created dozens of Jewish 'outposts' in the Muslim quarter of
Jerusalem's Old City in recent years

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/29/israeli-settlers-jerusalem-palestini\
an-eviction

Israeli settlers took over a Palestinian home in the Muslim quarter of
Jerusalem's Old City today, evicting about 45 members of an extended family
which has occupied the building for more than 70 years.

The settlers claimed to have documentation to prove they had purchased the
building from the owners. The Palestinian tenants, who have been fighting
attempts to evict them for many years, were challenging the takeover in court.

A police spokesman said the Israelis had entered the home "based on documents
claiming that they owned the property".

According to Mohammed Kirresh, 22, a member of the Palestinian family, "Jewish
people and Israeli soldiers with weapons" came at 2am, when most of the family
was at a wedding.

He said the family, which had rented the property since 1936, had won two
previous court cases challenging eviction orders. He claimed the Israelis had
broken furniture and damaged belongings.

"Everything we own is inside – our money, ID papers, clothes, food," he said.
Armed police were guarding the entrance to the house.

Around 20 members of the Kirresh family pledged to stay on the narrow street
outside the house. "We are staying here," said Mohammed Kirresh. "We hope the
court will rule in our favour."

The new occupants of the house refused to speak to the press.

Dozens of settler "outposts" have been established in the Old City over recent
years, many hanging huge Israeli flags in the Muslim quarter. Settler
organisations have offered large sums to Palestinians to sell property to them.

The Old City is located in East Jerusalem, which Israel captured and occupied
– and later annexed – in 1967.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel demolishes Bedouin village

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/2010727133151458970.html

Israeli authorities have demolished the homes of about 300 Bedouins in a village
in the southern Negev desert.

The entire village of al-Arakib was bulldozed on Tuesday, with many of the
former residents' cattle, trees and belongings lost.

Al-Arakib, which had about 40 homes, is one of 45 Bedouin villages not
recognised by Israeli authorities.

Haia Noach, director of the Negev Co-existence Forum, was present at al-Arakib
during the demolition and said that at least five Israeli bulldozers arrived
around 5:30am (0230GMT).

"It took them about three or four hours to destroy all the houses," she said,
describing the scene as "appalling."

Scuffles erupted as the villagers and around 150 rights activists tried to stop
the police from carrying out the demolitions, with several people wounded and a
handful arrested, activists said.

Speaking from a town near Beersheba, Noach said that many of the residents had
moved to a nearby graveyard to find shade.

Evacuation notice

Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld confirmed the early-morning operation, saying
the homes had been "illegally built" and were destroyed in line with a court
ruling issued 11 years ago which was never implemented.

"Around 30 shacks were removed and several hundred people were taken back to the
Rahat area where they originally came from," he said, referring to a nearby
Bedouin town in Israel's arid south.

He said three people had been detained for questioning but were later released
without charge.

Noach said Israeli authorities had first given residents of al-Arakib a notice
to evacaute on June 15, but that no action had followed, so the residents began
to doubt that the demolition would occur.

But this morning, Israeli police arrived and forced residents to leave their
homes within minutes, Noach said.

The demolition team destroyed water tanks and removed generators.

"It's like a declaration of war. They don't want you here," Noach said. "It's
unthinkable."

The residents are now waiting for aid and will probably set up makeshift tents
and facilities on the scene, Noach said.

According to the Negev Co-existence Forum,around half of the 155,000 Bedouins in
the Negev - all of whom are Israeli citizens - live in villages that are
unrecognised by the government, without municipal services like water and
electricity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel's harassment of citizens could ignite uprising, warns Arab politician

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/25/israel-arab-citizens-knesset-zoabi

Israel could ignite a third intifada if it continues to push its 1.2 million
Arab citizens into a corner, claims Haneen Zoabi, the Arab member of the Knesset
vilified for joining the Gaza aid flotilla.

Zoabi, who was branded a traitor for her participation in the Gaza convoy,
warned that Israel was playing with fire. "We accepted a democratic, liberal
state, we voted for the Knesset. But we are not just an internal issue – we
are the litmus test of the whole problem. If Israel does not recognise this,
conditions will deteriorate towards a third intifada."

But she rejected any suggestion that Israel's Arab citizens supported violence.

Zoabi rounded on a Hamas leader for suggesting her community could be used
during civil unrest as a fifth column, conducting sabotage against the Israeli
state. Mohammed Arman, a senior Hamas commander, had said, in a book smuggled
out of his Israeli jail, that the role of Palestinian citizens of Israel would
be to "harass the occupiers, disrupt their daily routine and undermine their
confidence".

Zoabi said: "We don't accept that. I don't even like the word violent. Israel
wants us to break the law and we won't. I did not break any laws by being on the
Mavi Marmara" – the Turkish ship which was seized by Israeli forces as it
attempted to break the siege of Gaza.

When she returned to Israel following the raid on the flotilla in which nine
activists were killed, Zoabi, who represents the Arab political party Balad,
faced death threats, and was jostled and sworn at in the Knesset chamber. She
was also stripped of three parliamentary privileges. "I did not even break
Knesset rules. The result is they are trying to change the law to de-legitimise
me and my people."

Zoabi, who remains under armed protection, says that what happened to her was
symptomatic of a broader campaign to undermine her community

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel says 14 bills, now working their way
through the Israeli parliament, are antidemocratic. These range from demands
that Arab citizens swear loyalty to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, to
a bill threatening imprisonment or financial sanctions for marking the event
Nakba (an Arabic word connoting disaster or catastrophe, used to describe
Israel's war of independence) with protests, and a bill that criminalises
starting up or developing boycotts against Israel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Justice sought over Jerusalem shooting

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2010/07/201072655014703363.html

The family of Ziad Jilani, a Palestinian-American man shot deadby an Israeli
police officer, are pressing charges against the authorities for murder.

The police officer involved admitted to shooting the man at close range, but
said he did it to protect nearby residents.

Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reports from occupied East Jerusalem, where she
revisited the scene of the incident.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel jails Arab for 'deceit rape'

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/201072191017847251.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is being Arab Israel's criteria for rape?

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2010/07/21/being-arab-israels-criteria-ra\
pe
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Netanyahu: US easily manipulated

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/201071834019513292.html

A recently-revealed tape has shown Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime
minister, discussing ways to undermine the Oslo Accords and calling the United
States "easy" to manipulate.

The video was filmed in 2001, apparently without Netanyahu's knowledge, during a
meeting with Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. It aired on Friday
night on Israel's Channel 10, and several translations have been posted online.

At one point on the tape, Netanyahu threatens a "broad attack" against the
Palestinian Authority.

"The main thing, first of all, is to hit them. Not just one blow, but blows that
are so painful that the price will be too heavy to be borne," Netanyahu said. "A
broad attack on the Palestinian Authority."

The tape was shot during the early stages of the second intifada, when violence
between Israelis and Palestinians was escalating. Netanyahu was speaking with
settlers who lost family members to Palestinian attacks.

Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister at the time, had recently deployed
additional Israeli troops in the West Bank.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel cracks down on dissent

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2010/07/201072816515308172.html

The Israeli parliament is considering several new laws that could seriously
impact the ability of citizens to criticise the government, according to rights
groups.

Human Rights Watch is reporting a crackdown on political activists who criticise
Israeli's treatment of the Palestinians.

In what rights groups consider part of an alarming pattern, Shin Bet, Israel's
internal security agency, recently admitted to spying on a young Australian
activist in the West Bank.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel dumps waste on Palestinians

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2010/07/201071731516628999.html

Israeli settlements have been dumping untreated waste directly into a sewage
canal that runs through the occupied West Bank, affecting Palestinian villages
along its banks.

The hazard posed is compounded by the dumping of toxic chemical waste on
agricultural land, with villagers reporting a rash of skin diseases and
respiratory problems.

The Israeli government has banned plans by the Palestinian Authority to build
pipes and pumps to treat and divert wastewater away from the affected villages.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mother of five killed by Israeli artillery fire close to Gaza buffer zone

Three relatives also wounded in shelling on Gaza border, as family say no
rockets were heard being fired before attack

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/16/idf-kills-mother-gaza-israel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Palestinian homes bulldozed as Israeli freeze on demolitions appears to end
Authorities said homes were built without planning permission, which
Palestinians say is almost impossible to obtain

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/13/palestinian-homes-bulldozed-israeli

Israeli bulldozers destroyed at least three Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem
yesterday, breaking an unofficial moratorium on such demolitions since the end
of 2009.

At least one of the homes was occupied by a family of seven, who removed their
belongings shortly before it was razed.

Jerusalem city authorities said the homes were built without proper planning
permission, which Palestinians say is almost impossible to obtain.

Basem Isawi, 48, a contractor, said he built his home illegally for about
$25,000 because he was convinced the municipality would deny him a permit. He
had been notified of the impending demolition.

Under pressure from Washington, Israel has largely refrained from demolitions
since November, when a temporary, partial freeze on settlement construction was
agreed.

Approval was given on Monday for 32 new homes in the Jewish neighbourhood of
Pisgat Ze'ev, East Jerusalem, which is exempt from the freeze. A further 48
housing units should be approved next week.

Settlements on land occupied by Israel in 1967 are illegal under international
law. "The rule of thumb in this part of the world is that in the run-up to US
elections Israel has a free hand," said Jeff Halper, of the International
Committee against House Demolitions. "Israel is taking advantage of that."

Meanwhile, the Israeli navy said it had made contact with the Amalthea, a ship
carrying 2,000 tonnes of supplies and 15 activists which had threatened to break
the sea blockade of Gaza. It was reported that the ship's captain told Israeli
navy ships following him that he was heading for the Egyptian port of El-Arish.

Israeli naval vessels will continue to accompany the Libyan ship, because a
last-minute course change could head the ship toward Gaza. El-Arish is in the
Egyptian Sinai desert close to Gaza.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inside Israel's 'buffer zone'

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2010/07/13/inside-israels-buffer-zone

Saturday morning in Gaza. We were crouched down in the middle of Israel’s
so-called buffer zone, listening to Israeli gunfire - directed at us.

They were warning shots - over our heads. But still close enough to convince all
of us it was not a good idea to hang around.

With two film crews, four cameras, four international volunteers and a foreign
journalist present, I foolishly thought that perhaps the Israeli army would not
open fire inside the buffer zone.

That perhaps they would drive up in their jeeps, take a look and then head off.

But the experience of the Mavi Mamara, when Israeli soldiers killed nine
activists, should have taught me that the presence of foreigners and media is no
deterrent when it comes to the Israeli army.

The buffer zone is Palestinian farm land adjacent to the Israeli-controlled
border around Gaza.

Israel has declared it a no-go area for "security" reasons. Venturing inside, in
the area between the border and 300 metres out, is risking being shot by the
Israeli army.

Sometimes they shoot even beyond the 300-metre mark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaza farmers risk being shot

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2010/07/2010711175014804859.html

As a Libyan backed aid ship sails for the Gaza Strip, another group of
international activists has been defying the blockade, but this time on the
land.

Foreigners acting as human shields have been helping farmers in Gaza harvest
their crops.

About 30 per cent of Gaza's arable land is on the border with Israel and the
area has been declared a buffer zone by the Israeli military.

Palestinian farmers, thus, risk being shot for working their fields.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli academics hit back over bid to pass law that would criminalise them

Backlash over threat to outlaw supporters of boycott movement aimed at ending
the continued occupation of the West Bank

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/11/israel-academics-bds-boycott
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel's 'street apartheid'

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/07/20107101335494763.html

Mahmoud Alami, a Jerusalem taxi driver, knows the city like the back of his
hand. He knows the neighbourhoods, the streets. And he knows the stop lights.

There is one in particular that troubles him not professionally but personally.
It stands between Beit Hanina, a Palestinian neighbourhood, and Pisgaat Zeev, a
Jewish settlement.

"It stays green for [settlers] for five minutes. But to go in and out of Beit
Hanina? Only two or three cars can pass," Alami says. "It's too short. It causes
a lot of traffic jams."

Al Jazeera found that stoplights that lead to Jewish settlements and
neighbourhoods stay green for an average of a minute and a half. In Palestinian
areas, it's 20 seconds. One light in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem is green
for less than 10 seconds.

"[Palestinians] are stuck," says Amir Daud, another taxi driver. "It reflects a
very bad situation for the people."

Budgetary discrimination

Traffic jams are just one of the many problems that plague infrastructure and
services in Palestinian areas of Jerusalem. Roads are poorly maintained. They
are narrow and bumpy, riddled with cracks and potholes. Street signs and
sidewalks are almost non-existent.

Trash containers are usually communal and there are often too few to meet the
needs of the neighbourhood. Pedestrians, forced to walk on the shoulder of the
road, wade through garbage.

Jewish neighbourhoods and settlements, on the other hand, are neat and orderly.
Sidewalks and traffic circles keep pedestrians safe; roads are well-marked, some
with lit signs. Most buildings have a garbage bin and the streets are free of
litter.

In one Jewish area, a grassy median is adorned with a rainbow assortment of
decorative sculptures - metal children playing, kicking footballs, and riding
bikes.

When Al Jazeera presented a list detailing the differences between Jewish and
Arab neighbourhoods to the Jerusalem municipality, the spokesperson denied the
findings.

But, speaking on the condition of anonymity, a former employee of the Jerusalem
municipality confirmed that there is discrimination on a budgetary level. The
sports department offers the most dramatic example - only 0.5 per cent of funds
are allocated to Palestinian neighbourhoods. The other 99.5 per cent goes to
Jewish areas.

Quality of life

Nisreen Alyan, an attorney at the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI),
has recently filed a petition protesting against the lack of garbage collection
in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Tsur Baher, located in East Jerusalem.
Despite a population of 20,000, only 12 streets receive the service.

This impacts both health and the quality of life, Alyan explains. Stray dogs,
some carrying rabies, are attracted to the piles of trash. Residents have been
attacked by the animals. And now children are afraid to go outside.

"There are no public gardens for them, they don't have anything," Alyan says.
"So these streets are the only place for the cars, for the children, for the
garbage, for the dogs, for everything."

The petition ACRI has filed asks the municipality to meet its legal
responsibility, "nothing less, nothing more," Alyan says. "[This] means that
they have to give [the residents] the right of sanitation."

Alyan has informed the city of Tsur Baher's troubles in the past. But the city
claims it cannot serve the whole neighbourhood because garbage trucks cannot
maneuver the small streets. Alyan points out that this should not be an
obstacle. The municipality has found creative solutions in other parts of
Jerusalem.

The streets in Tsur Baher are problematic, one resident explains. There are not
enough of them.

While most Palestinian neighbourhoods are subject to building restrictions, Tsur
Baher is one of the few that is free to build. Much of their land has been
appropriated by a neighbouring settlement, Har Homa; some is on the other side
of the Israeli-built separation barrier; and there is no infrastructure to reach
what is left.

The lack of roads also means that emergency services cannot access all parts of
the neighbourhood. Children have died in house fires. And because of a police
order that prohibits ambulances from entering Palestinian neighbourhoods without
a police escort residents have died waiting for medical care.

"The problem is that the policemen don't come in time," a resident says. "The
ambulance is stopped waiting at the top of the neighbourhood for half an hour
.... People have died in this situation."

"[ACRI is] writing another petition about it now," Alyan adds.

Paying taxes

Asked about traffic lights in Tsur Baher, Alyan answers that there are none.

Out of concern for the children's safety, the residents scraped together the
money to add speed bumps to the roads.

In other neighbourhoods, Palestinians have pooled funds to pay for garbage
collection and street sweeping.

This is after they have paid taxes.

Because over 90 per cent of Israel's Palestinians live in towns separate from
the Jewish population, many Israeli Jews excuse away the differences between
Arab and Jewish areas with a "poor municipality" argument.

They are poor, their towns are poor. Arabs do not pay a lot of taxes, or enough
taxes, or any taxes at all, Israeli Jews say, so their villages cannot afford
the same services they enjoy.

But that reasoning falls apart in Jerusalem, a city striped with Palestinian and
Jewish areas. And with Nof Tzion (Zion View), a Jewish settlement found smack in
the centre of Jabel Mukhaber, a Palestinian neighbourhood, the differences are
glaringly obvious.

"For years, [Jabel Mukhaber] didn't have a main street," Alyan says. "Just after
they built Nof Tzion, [the municipality] built a very fine street with pavement
and lights." But the road stops dead after Nof Tzion. It gets bumpy, dropping
off into gravel, then dirt, for the Palestinians.

The "poor municipality" argument does not hold weight in Jerusalem for another
reason. To the city's Palestinians, who have only residency and no citizenship,
paying taxes is tremendously important.

"If you won't pay your taxes, you won't have proof that east Jerusalem is the
centre of your life and if you can't prove that, you will lose your residency,"
Alyan explains. This means that one becomes stateless, a refugee.

"Before [Palestinian residents of Jerusalem] find money to feed their children,
they pay their taxes," Alyan says.

Tsur Baher, along with neighbouring Umm Tuba, pays approximately $7mn in taxes
annually to a municipality they do not get to vote for. East Jerusalem residents
tell Alyan that they just want the government to invest what they have paid back
into the neighbourhoods.

'Psychological warfare'

Yousef Jabareen, the director of Dirasat, the Arab Centre for Law and Policy,
explains that public services are also funded on the national level. This is
another point of inequality.

Jabareen points to the "National Priority" programme that gave economic
incentives to government-selected areas. When the programme was introduced in
1998, 500 Jewish towns received national priority status. While Palestinians
make up nearly 20 per cent of Israel's population, and half of the nation's
poor, only four Arab villages were selected.

"That was a classic example of how the allocation of government resources is
discriminatory," Jabareen says, adding that grave inequalities can be found in
the state-funded educational system as well.

Everything - from the poor conditions of the infrastructure to the lack of
public services - adds up to leave Palestinians feeling rejected and
disconnected, Jabareen says.

"It's a feeling of frustration and of not belonging .... That the government and
state is excluding you and you are not counted as an equal."

Do the disparities in Jerusalem's neighbourhoods and the differences in funding
throughout the nation amount to apartheid?

"In some areas you could identify some characteristics of apartheid that should
raise a lot of concern about the future," Jabareen comments.

A young Israeli Jew, fresh from army service, simply remarks, "It's a kind of
psychological warfare. The idea is to get [Palestinians] to leave."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~#

Mossad agents murdered my husband, says widow of billionaire arms dealer

In 2007, Ashraf Marwan fell to his death from his balcony in London. Mona Nasser
explains why she is sure he was pushed

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/11/ashraf-marwan-mona-nasser-mossad
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

West Bank barrier a 'health hazard'

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/2010791388603745.html

Israel's separation barrier makes it difficult for Palestinians living in the
West Bank to obtain proper health care, according to a new report from the
United Nations.

The report, prepared by the Office of the Co-ordinator for Humanitarian Affairs,
found that thousands of Palestinians have limited access to East Jerusalem
hospitals because of the barrier.

Ambulances are routinely delayed at checkpoints, and Palestinian vehicles are
not allowed to pass through barrier checkpoints, forcing sick or elderly
patients to walk.

Some Palestinians living in the West Bank cannot obtain permits to receive
medical care in East Jerusalem - or they receive permits for shorter durations
of time than the treatment requires.

"Males aged between 15 and 30 often have their requests for permits turned down
on the grounds of security," the UN wrote.

"In many cases, it is also difficult for parents of sick children or for family
members to obtain permits to escort patients to Jerusalem."

Israel's civil administration told Al Jazeera that 84 per cent of Palestinians
who apply are granted permits to access hospitals or other medical facilities.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel threatens to expel Palestinian politicians from Jerusalem

Case of four men with affiliation to Hamas is first in which Israel has cited
political grounds for expulsion from city

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/08/israel-threaten-expel-palestinian-po\
liticians-jerusalem

Israeli authorities have threatened four Palestinian politicians with expulsion
from Jerusalem because of their affiliation to Hamas in a case which could have
wide ramifications for others deemed undesirable by the Jewish state.

Mohammed Abu Tir, 59, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), is
in police custody for failing to leave the city by the end of last month.
Instantly recognisable for his dyed orange beard, Abu Tir was released from an
Israeli prison in May after almost four years, and was immediately told he must
abandon political activity or leave Jerusalem.

Two other members of the PLC and a former Palestinian minister have moved into
the grounds of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent in East Jerusalem in
protest at the deportation orders.

The men's cases are to be heard by the supreme court in September. However the
court rejected a plea to prohibit deportation in the interim, so the men are at
risk of being expelled from the city at any time.

The threatened deportations are part of a wider pattern of revoking the
Jerusalem residency permits of Palestinians from the city. In most cases, Israel
claims that the people it strips of the right to live in Jerusalem have
voluntarily relocated to the West Bank or abroad. This is often contested by the
individuals concerned and human rights groups representing them.

In 2008, more than 4,500 Palestinians were excluded from Jerusalem.

However the case of the four Hamas politicians is the first time Israel has
cited political grounds for expelling people from the city.

"For the first time Israel is using a claim of disloyalty to revoke residency,"
said Hasan Jabarin, director of the Israeli human rights group Adalah. "The
consequences for Palestinians in East Jerusalem are dangerous. This case could
open a new window to revoking residency on purely political grounds."

Abu Tir was imprisoned with dozens of Hamas politicians and activists after the
Palestinian election in January 2006, which was won by the Islamic militant
party.

"The election was legal and transparent. They found themselves in jail simply
because they were elected," said Jabarin.

The men's case has been raised in the past week in both the House of Commons and
the House of Lords. Labour MP Andrew Slaughter asked whether the British
government had raised the issue with the Israeli government.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, urged Israel to "stop these sort of
actions". Ahmad Bahar, the deputy speaker of the Palestinian parliament,
described the revocation of residency permits as a "massive ethnic cleansing
campaign".

More than 270,000 Palestinians live in East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied and
annexed in 1967.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Exposed: The truth about Israel's land grab in the West Bank
As President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet, a
report reveals 42 per cent of territory is controlled by settlers

By Catrina Stewart in Jerusalem and David Usborne

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/exposed-the-truth-about-isra\
els-land-grab-in-the-west-bank-2020110.html

Jewish settlers, who claim a divine right to the whole of Israel, now control
more than 42 per cent of the occupied West Bank, representing a powerful
obstacle to the creation of a Palestinian state, a new report has revealed.

The jurisdiction of some 200 settlements, illegal under international law, cover
much more of the occupied Palestinian territory than previously thought. And a
large section of the land has been seized from private Palestinian landowners in
defiance even of an Israeli supreme court ruling, the report said, a finding
which sits uncomfortably with Israeli claims that it builds only on state land.

Drawing on official Israeli military maps and population statistics, the leading
Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem, compiled the new findings, which were
released just as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, arrived in
Washington to try to heal a gaping rift with US President Barack Obama over the
issue of settlements.

"The settlement enterprise has been characterised, since its inception, by an
instrumental, cynical, and even criminal approach to international law, local
legislation, Israeli military orders, and Israeli law, which has enabled the
continuous pilfering of land from Palestinians in the West Bank," the report
concluded.

Mr Obama's demand for a freeze on illegal building has caused months of friction
between his administration and the Israeli government. But the US president,
facing mid-term elections in November, appeared eager to end the dispute with
Israel yesterday.

He said the country was making "real progress" on improving conditions in the
Gaza Strip and was serious about achieving peace.

The two men made a joint public appearance, carefully choreographed to convey
mutual ease and friendship.

When Mr Netanyahu last visited the White House, in March, US anger at his
refusal to end construction meant the Israeli premier was denied a joint
appearance with Mr Obama before the cameras. This time the photo-op was granted
and the two men afterwards shared a meal – although not a state dinner but a
working lunch.

"Reports about the demise of the special US-Israel relationship aren't
premature, there are just flat wrong," Mr Netanyahu said, in response to a
reporter's question about the perceived tensions. Playing to the same script, Mr
Obama said that the "bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable".

But the revelations in the B'Tselem report suggest that despite Mr Netanyahu's
stated desire for peace, his policy on settlements remains a dangerous obstacle
to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and therefore to a
durable peace.

They cast an uncompromising spotlight on Israeli practices in the Palestinian
territories that have long drawn international criticism for establishing "facts
on the ground" hampering the creation of a viable Palestinian state.

While most of the Jewish settlement activity is concentrated in 1 per cent of
the West Bank, settler councils have in fact fenced off or earmarked massive
tracts of land, comprising some 42 per cent of the West Bank, B'Tselem said.

And despite the outlawing by Israel of settlement expansion on private
Palestinian land, settlers have seized 21 per cent of land that Israel
recognises is privately-owned.

B'Tselem alleged that Israel had devised an extensive system of loopholes to
requisition Palestinian land.

At the same time, Israel has built bypass roads, erected new checkpoints, and
taken control of scarce water resources to the benefit of the settlers. The
measures have effectively created Palestinian enclaves within the West Bank, the
report said.

Under international law, any Jewish settlements built on occupied territory are
illegal. These include all the settlements in the West Bank, and thousands of
Jewish homes in East Jerusalem, the Arab-dominated sector of the city annexed by
Israel after the 1967 Six Day War. The international community still regards
East Jerusalem as occupied territory. Despite firm commitments from successive
Israeli governments to dismantle illegal outposts built after 2001 and to cease
expansion of the settlements, Israel has provided millions of dollars worth of
incentives to encourage poorer families to move into the West Bank. Some 300,000
settlers live in the West Bank.

Settlers immediately attacked the report, claiming it was timed as a spoiler to
the Washington meeting.

In Washington, no concrete breakthroughs were announced but Mr Obama said that
he believed the Israeli leader was ready to move towards direct talks with the
Palestinians. Indirect talks began earlier this year, mediated by special US
envoy George Mitchell.

Mr Netanyahu showed signs of responding to the pressure. "Peace is the best
option for all of us and I think we have a unique opportunity to do it," he
said. "If we work together with [Palestinian] President [Mahmoud] Abbas then we
can bring a great message of hope to our peoples, to the region and to the
world."

The Palestinians continue to refuse direct talks with Israel while new
settlement construction is allowed. Settlement activity continues in East
Jerusalem, which Palestinians aim to include in a new state.

With US-Israel ties already frayed, Mr Netanyahu postponed a visit to the White
House last month in the aftermath of Israel's deadly raid on a Turkish-led
flotilla trying to deliver humanitarian goods to Gaza.

For Mr Obama, the danger is clear that any long-lasting record of animosity
towards Israel could translate into lost votes at the mid-term elections.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Palestinian homes under threat

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2010/06/2010630202514500598.html

In Silwan, a Palestinian neighbourhood near Jerusalem's Old City, Israeli
settlers are increasingly encroaching on Palestinians' land.

Tension there are high after the Jerusalem municipality approved a controversial
plan to demolish 22 Palestinian homes to make way for a park and shopping
complex.

The European Union has warned Israel over its plans to demolish dozens of
Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem.

"Settlements and the demolition of homes are illegal under international law,
constitute an obstacle to peace, and threaten to make a two-state solution
impossible," a statement issued by Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy
chief, said.

Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros visited the families whose homes are threatened by
Israel's demolition plans.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Money 'but no future' in West Bank

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/06/2010628815115427.html

An 'opening soon' sign hangs on top of a newly finished building in the centre
of Ramallah. It belongs to an international hotel chain owned by Saudi Prince
Walid bin Talal's Kingdom Holding.

Cafes in Ramallah are packed with people smoking shisha and screaming at TV
screens. Like millions of fans around the world they are watching the World Cup
and cheering for their favourite teams.

Trendy new cafes brim with young Palestinians girls gossiping over cafe lattes.
Their hairstyles, shoes and clothes all in tune with the latest trends in
fashion.

You cannot but overhear them speak in the mixed modern language of the Middle
East; English and Arabic in one sentence that makes absolutely no sense to a
foreigner, but makes perfect sense to someone who has been to similar cafes in
Amman, Beirut and Cairo.

The West Bank appears to be economically and socially thriving. At least on the
surface.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

West Bank poverty 'worse than Gaza'

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/06/201062916845576597.html

Children living in the poorest parts of the West Bank face significantly worse
conditions than their counterparts in Gaza, a study conducted by an
international youth charity has found.

The report by Save the Children UK, due to be released on Wednesday, says that
families forced from their homes in the West Bank are suffering the effects of
grinding poverty, often lacking food, medicine and humanitarian assistance.

The European Commission funded study found that in "Area C"- the 60 per cent of
the West Bank under direct Israeli control - the poorest sections of society are
suffering disproportionately because basic infrastructure is not being repaired
due to Israel's refusal to approve the work.

Homes, schools, drainage systems and roads are in urgent need of repair, but
instead of work being allowed, families are being forced to live in tents and do
not have access to clean water.

Restrictions on the use of land for agriculture have left thousands of
Palestinian children without enough food and many are becoming ill as a result,
the study found.

Blame and resentment in Kyrgyzstan

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/08/2010881242392462.html

Human rights observers have been documenting dozens of cases of torture and
arrests of ethnic Uzbeks by Kyrgyz security forces, whose ranks are mostly made
up of ethnic Kyrgyz. While the police and military deny the allegations, trust
between government and the minority Uzbek population has been broken.

In a recent interview with the AFP news agency, Roza Otunbayeva, the president
of Kyrgyzstan, admitted that security services in the south of the country were
targeting minority Uzbeks.

"I must tell you that there are some such cases. I can't deny this. I am in
struggle with all my law enforcement myself," she said.

Yet many ethnic Kyrgyz residents in Osh are supportive of the work of the
security services as they conduct their investigation into June's ethnic
violence. While the Osh mayor has publicly signaled his opposition to an
expected international Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) police mission that will monitor them.

The OSCE police contingent has been requested by Otunbayeva, and is aimed at
boosting trust between the two ethnicities. But with Otunbayeva openly admitting
that she is barely in control of her own security forces, and with the Osh local
authorities seemingly at odds with her, peace remains on life support as the
divide between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks widens.

Pointing the finger

Two months on from the violence in which hundreds of people were killed and
thousands of homes destroyed, few ethnic Uzbeks are under any doubt that the
titular nation, the Kyrgyz people, have blood on their hands.

But scarcely any Kyrgyz believe that the Uzbeks are simply unfortunate victims.
Both sides blame the other for what happened.

While there is some agreement that external forces may have instigated the
violence, Uzbek men who defended their neighbourhoods say mobs of ethnic Kyrgyz
raided their homes and burned their properties.

Likewise many ethnic Kyrgyz believe Uzbek leaders mobilised their communities,
and distributed firearms even before the first shot was fired.

It is appropriate, if troubling, to speak of ethnic Uzbeks and ethnic Kyrgyz
when attempting to describe what is happening now in southern Kyrgyzstan.
Because ethnicity in the context of this conflict is the most important badge a
person can wear. It determines where you feel safe enough to travel, and whom
you can trust with your opinion.

Part of the story

And in choosing their words, journalists have become part of the story. The
Kyrgyz government accused the international media of inciting inter-ethnic
violence for its coverage of the June events.

In describing what was happening, foreign journalists were accused of failing to
report the testimonies and the grief and fear that was being felt simultaneously
on the Kyrgyz side. This sentiment is widely held among ethnic Kyrgyz.

If the international media were perceived as one-sided, that was because their
gaze turned towards the most visible expression of the violence - the flight of
hundreds of thousands of distressed ethnic Uzbeks from their homes towards the
border with Uzbekistan.

Then the cameras turned on the burning houses. More than 2,000 of them have been
destroyed - almost all of them ethnic Uzbek. The SOS signs painted on the roads
of the Uzbek neighbourhoods and photographed from satellites again suggested
that the Uzbek communities were on the defensive. The images of the word,
'Kyrgyz', painted on the homes of the Kyrgyz residents that were left unscathed
also apportioned blame.

Commentators and witnesses who described the violence as genocide enraged Kyrgyz
minds. To many, the use of this loaded term is a detestable lie, eclipsing the
reality that ethnic Kyrgyz were murdered too.

A refrain I heard several times in conversation with ethnic Kyrgyz is that one
of the reasons the true scale of their suffering has failed to be reported is
because Kyrgyz people are more restrained in their grief.

"They don't cry at funerals," a Kyrgyz social worker told me.

Another reason for the absence of a Kyrgyz narrative of victimhood in
international reporting, a Kyrgyz journalist claimed, was that evidence of
atrocities committed against ethnic Kyrgyz existed but that people had
self-censored fearing that emotive pictures and videos would spark further
conflict.

Some can still be found on the internet of ethnic Kyrgyz women who were raped
and murdered, or of decapitated bodies. But the websites featuring atrocities
committed against ethnic Uzbeks are numerous and the images of Uzbeks burying
their dead in mass graves are everywhere.

A blame war drags on in blogs, forums and social networks. The Uzbek singer
Yulduz Ismanova released a dirge in the early days after the violence chastising
the Kyrgyz nation. The Kyrgyz poet Jenishbek Zhumakadyrov posted an angry
response.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaza aid flotilla to set sail from Lebanon with all-women crew
Arabic singer joins crew of nuns, doctors, lawyers and journalists for
humanitarian mission despite Israeli warning
Ruth Sherlock in Beirut
guardian.co.uk,  Friday 6 August 2010 19.20 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/06/gaza-aid-flotilla-lebanon-women

A ship bearing aid for Gaza is preparing to leave Tripoli in Lebanon this
weekend in the latest attempt to defy the Israeli blockade – with only women
on board.

The Saint Mariam, or Virgin Mary, has a multi-faith international passenger
list, including the Lebanese singer May Hariri and a group of nuns from the US.
"They are nuns, doctors, lawyers, journalists, Christians and Muslims," said
Mona, one of the participants who, along with the other women, has adopted the
ship's name, Mariam.

The Mariam and its sister ship, Naji Alali, had hoped to set off several weeks
ago but faced several delays after Israel launched a diplomatic mission to
pressure Lebanon to stop the mission.

The co-ordinator of the voyage, Samar al-Haj, told the Guardian this week the
Lebanese government had given permission for the boats to leave for Cyprus, the
first leg of the journey, this weekend.

Israel says it is concerned a flotilla from Lebanon, with whom it has ongoing
hostility, will smuggle weapons to Gaza. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gabriela
Shalev, has warned that Israel reserves the right to use "necessary measures" in
line with international law to stop the ship.

But al-Haj says the mission is purely humanitarian. "Our goal is to arrive in
Gaza," she said. "It is the responsibility of the government to deal with the
politics. We are not political."

She said that once news of the flotilla was out organisers were inundated with
requests to join the voyage, with more than 400 from the US alone. At least 10
Americans will be on board.

The boat has been stocked with medical instruments and medicines to take to the
Palestinians.

In preparation for the voyage the participants gathered at a hotel in Beirut to
discuss their plans. The logistics are many: minimal grooming, strict food
rationing, and limited water supply.

"There will be no showers, no skirts and no makeup," al-Haj told the group.

The participants are aware of the dangers, having followed the fate of another
flotilla carrying aid for Gaza that was attacked by Israel in May.

Israeli forces landed on the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish vessel, killing nine
activists on board. Al-Haj reminded the women to be prepared for a
confrontation.

"Have blood tests in case we come under attack from Israel and you need a blood
transfusion," she said. She added that organisers were going out of their way
not to provoke Israel.

"We will not even bring cooking knives," she said.

Serena Shim, who is heavily pregnant, decided to join the voyage because of her
belief that the blockade is unjust. "These people need aid,'' she said.

Asked how they would react to an Israeli military assault, one activist, Tania
al Kayyalisaid: "We are not planning to fight or attack – but we will not
leave the St Mariam."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mehdi Karroubi: Iran's plain speaker
The forthright politician has compared the treatment of protesters in his
country to that of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/11/mehdi-karroubi-iran-speaker

Mehdi Karroubi, a former speaker of the Iranian parliament under the reformist
president Mohammad Khatami, came fourth in last summer's election, in which
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected president after a disputed vote.

Known for his directness, the 73-year-old infuriated hardliners by alleging that
male and female protesters were raped by their jailers in the crackdown on mass
protests after the election.

When one hardline cleric called for Karroubi to be prosecuted for making the
claim, he went further, saying some detainees had been tortured to death and
comparing the treatment of prisoners with that at the notorious Abu Ghraib
prison in Iraq.

Born in 1937 in Aligoudarz, a town in western Lorestan province, in south-west
Iran, Kerroubi has been a fixture in Iranian politics since the 1979 Islamic
revolution. His father was a cleric, and he studied theology in Qom before
becoming a supporter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in the early 1960s.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fears of al–Qaida return in Iraq as US–backed fighters defect

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/10/al-qaida-sons-of-iraq

Al-Qaida is attempting to make a comeback in Iraq by enticing scores of former
Sunni allies to rejoin the terrorist group by paying them more than the monthly
salary they currently receive from the government, two key US-backed militia
leaders have told the Guardian.

They said al-Qaida leaders were exploiting the imminent departure of US fighting
troops to ramp up a membership drive, in an attempt to show that they are still
a powerful force in the country after seven years of war.

Al-Qaida is also thought to be moving to take advantage of a power vacuum
created by continuing political instability in Iraq, which remains without a
functional government more than five months after a general election.

Sheikh Sabah al-Janabi, a leader of the Awakening Council – also known as the
Sons of Iraq – based in Hila, 60 miles south of Baghdad, told the Guardian
that 100 out of 1,800 rank-and-file members had not collected their salaries for
the last two months: a clear sign, he believes, that they are now taking money
from their former enemies.

"Al-Qaida has made a big comeback here," he said. "This is my neighbourhood and
I know every single person living here. And I know where their allegiances lie
now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saudi Arabia's pre-Islamic treasures come to the Louvre

Artefacts reveal the archaeology and history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from
prehistoric times to the modern era

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/aug/10/louvre-saudi-arabia-exhibition

Almost nothing is known about the anthropomorphic stele of Saudi Arabia that
Béatrice André-Salvini, head of the oriental antiquities department at the
Louvre, refers to as the Suffering Man on account of his look of resigned pain.
The only certainty is that it dates from the fourth millennium BC, was found
near Ha'il in the north and has never been exhibited. That is true of two-thirds
of the 320 items on show at the Louvre. With good reason. The "official" history
of the country starts in the seventh century with the coming of Islam. The
Suffering Man and two similar stelae, regarded as representations of the idols
the Prophet destroyed, are a revelation.

The exhibition (until 27 September), reflects the wish to establish closer
cultural, political but also financial links between France, Saudi Arabia and
other Gulf emirates, exemplified by the Abu Dhabi branch of the Louvre, due to
open in 2013. Cultural exchanges started when President Chirac visited the
kingdom in 2004. "It is the result," says André-Salvini, "of an understanding
between Henri Loyrette, the head of the Louvre, and Prince Sultan, the nephew of
King Abdullah, who heads the Saudi commission for tourism and antiquities.

They put the seal on the partnership in 2005 when Prince al-Waleed donated $23m
to the Louvre's department of Islamic art. An exhibition at the National Museum
in Riyadh followed in 2006 featuring 150 masterpieces from the Louvre's Islamic
collection.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nasrallah unveils 'Hariri proof'

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/2010891991920480.html

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has tried to implicate Israel in the
murder of Rafiq al-Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister.

In a video address to journalists from an undisclosed location on Monday,
Nasrallah said he had evidence to prove Israel's complicity in al-Hariri's
assassination in Beirut, the Lebanese capital.

"He has not provided undisputed, solid proof that implicates Israel," Al
Jazeera's Rula Amin reporting from Beirut said.

The Hezbollah leader, however, said that "there is enough evidence pointing to
Israel," our correspondent said.

Al-Hariri and 22 others were killed on the Beirut seafront on February 14, 2005.

The assassination sparked an international outcry and led to the withdrawal of
Syrian troops from Lebanon.

The murder has been widely blamed on Syria, but Damascus has routinely denied
involvement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From high school hero to jihadist targeting the US

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/from-high-school-hero-to-jihadi\
st-targeting-the-us-2045909.html

They call him "The Jihadist Next Door": an all-American high school student from
Alabama who recently popped up in a remote corner of East Africa, where he is
one of the key figures behind the Islamic insurgent group al-Shabaab's long and
bloody guerrilla war against the government of Somalia.

Omar Hammami, who changed his name to Abu Mansour al-Amriki but is also known as
"The American", is among 14 US citizens accused of crimes in a series of newly
unsealed federal indictments of helping smuggle money, fighters and weapons to
the terrorist organisation.

The suspects include 12 men who are currently believed to be fighting overseas
and two women from the city of Rochester, southern Minnesota, who have been
arrested for using a humanitarian charity as a "deadly pipeline" to provide
support to the rebel army.

When they appeared in a packed courtroom in nearby St Paul on Thursday, both
women entered not guilty pleas to charges they took donations supposed to help
refugees fleeing the conflict and funnelled them to al-Shabaab. "We are not
terrorists," said one of them, Amina Farah Ali.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rains hamper Kashmir rescue effort

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/20108741051168450.html

Heavy rains have hampered efforts to reach victims of flash floods that
devastated the Ladakh region of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Residents of the town of Leh were wading through knee-deep mud in an attempt to
find survivors on Saturday, while around 6,000 Indian troops had been brought in
to help the search effort.

At least 117 people have been killed and more than 300 injured by the floods,
Farooq Ahmad, the Kashmir Range police inspector general, told Al Jazeera.

Hundreds more are still missing after floods and mudslides swept away homes
across the region.

"The heavy rainfall is hampering our rescue and relief operations," Lieutenant
Colonel J. S. Brar said.

The floods damaged highways leading to Leh town in many places, making it
difficult for lorries with relief supplies to enter Ladakh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tariq Aziz: 'Britain and the US killed Iraq. I wish I was martyred'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/05/iraq-us-tariq-aziz-iran
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

US rounds up 'al-Shabab backers'

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/08/201085152242770386.html

US law enforcement officials have indicted 14 people for allegedly seeking to
join or provide aid to the Somali armed group al-Shabab.

Eric Holder, the US attorney general, announced the indictments on Thursday,
saying at least two of those arrested were US citizens.

Holder said that 10 men had been charged with terrorism offenses for leaving the
US to join al-Shabab as foreign fighters, of which seven had previously been
charged either by indictment or by criminal complaint.

"In the district of Minnesota alone a total of 19 people have now been charged
in connection with this investigation," he said.

"Nine have been arrested in the US or overseas, five of whom have already
pleaded guilty. Ten of the charged defendants are not in custody and are
believed to be overseas."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Western wars vs. Muslim women

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/imperium/2010/08/05/western-wars-vs-muslim-women

Western media is awash with reports about Taliban mistreatment of women in
Afghanistan and Pakistan that feature countless voices in support of the war to
secure a 'brighter future for women's rights'. This week's Time magazine cover
story is a case in point.

If Western wars 'liberate' Eastern women, Muslim women would be - after
centuries of Western military interventions - the most 'liberated' in the world.
They are not, and will not be, especially when liberty is associated with
Western hegemony.

Afghanistan has had its share of British, Russian and American military
intervention to no avail. In fact, reports from credible women's groups there
signal worsening conditions for Aghan women since the US invasion a decade ago.

The Taliban's social norms might be an affront to modern values, but they cannot
be replaced summarily with Western values, let alone by force.

If, as General Petreaus insists, US soldiers should "live" with Afghans in order
to defeat the insurgency, expect more hostility towards the foreign invaders and
their values.

White Man's Burden

The same Orientalist civilising rationale that was used over centuries to
justify bloody colonial wars is being used nowadays to manipulate a war-averse
public into supporting military escalation in Central Asia.

Western man's long-held fantasy of 'rescuing' veiled women from their repressive
captors is being exploited to promote the idea that war can free women from the
wrath of the 'bearded terrorists', as it 'liberates America' from their
terrorism.

In light of such a heavy dose of surplus morality, it was particularly
embarrassing for US leaders that their allies were making amends with the same
shunned illiberal groups and practices.

Last year, the Obama administration publically scolded Asif Ali Zardari, the
Pakistani president, for recognising Sharia in the tiny Swat valley as an
"abdication" to the Taliban and rebuked Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president,
for signing a law that reportedly permits rape in marriage among the country's
Shia minority. Never mind that until recently, marital rape was legal in the UK
and US, where it is still not treated as ordinary rape in a number of states.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

List sent to terror chief aligns peaceful Muslim groups with terrorist ideology

• Quilliam Foundation's list 'not for public disclosure'
• File for counter-terror boss branded 'McCarthyite'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/aug/04/quilliam-foundation-list-alleged-extrem\
ism

A secret list prepared for a top British security official accuses peaceful
Muslim groups, politicians, a television channel and a Scotland Yard unit of
sharing the ideology of terrorists.

The list was drawn up for Charles Farr, the director general of the Office for
Security and Counter-Terrorism (OSCT), a directorate of the Home Office. Farr is
a former senior intelligence officer.

It was sent to him in June by the Quilliam Foundation, a counter-extremism
thinktank which has received about £1m in government funding.

Quilliam was co-founded by Ed Husain and Maajid Nawaz, former activists in the
radical Islamist party Hizb ut-Tahrir. Critics of the foundation accused it of
McCarthyite smear tactics and branded its claims ridiculous. The foundation
declined repeated requests for comment.

The document sent to Farr is entitled "Preventing terrorism; where next for
Britain?" It lists alleged extremist sympathisers, including the Muslim Council
of Britain, the main umbrella group in Britain for Islamic organisations. It
also claims that a Scotland Yard counter-terrorism squad called the Muslim
Contact Unit is dominated by extremist ideology.

Other groups include the Muslim Safety Forum, which works with the police to
improve community relations, the Islamic Human Rights Commission, and even the
Islam Channel, which provides television programmes for Muslims on satellite.

The briefing document says: "The ideology of non-violent Islamists is broadly
the same as that of violent Islamists; they disagree only on tactics.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UN: Israel did not cross border

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/20108415406224759.html

The United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has confirmed that
Israeli troops did not cross into Lebanon during Tuesday's deadly border
skirmish.

The clash started after an Israeli army unit tried to cut down trees near the
Blue Line, the UN-administered border between Israel and Lebanon. Both countries
said the trees were on their side of the line.

At a press conference in New York on Wednesday, Alain le Roy, the head of UN
peacekeeping, confirmed that the trees were on the Israeli side of the border.

"Unifil established... that the trees being cut by the Israeli army are located
south of the Blue Line on the Israeli side," le Roy said, reading from a Unifil
communique issued earlier on Wednesday.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Canadian judge frees 'al-Qaeda' man

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/08/20108420318101.html

A Canadian man indicted in the United States on terrorism charges has been freed
from jail after a Canadian judge refused to extradite him.

Abdullah Khadr has been held in Canada since his arrest in December 2005. US
officials accused him of purchasing weapons for al-Qaeda, and based their
charges in part on a statement he made in Pakistan to the FBI and Canadian
police.

Khadr's lawyers argued that the statement was the result of torture, and the
judge in Khadr's case agreed, calling it "manifestly unreliable".

Canadian judges rarely deny extradition requests from the US. Christopher
Speyer, the judge, called his ruling "a remedy of last resort," and held that
Khadr was illegally detained and interrogated.

"I think this is going to be a new beginning for me in life," Khadr said after
the ruling. "I just want to start anew now."

Rob Nicholson, Canada's justice minister, said the government would study the
ruling closely before deciding whether to appeal.

Khadr is the eldest son of Ahmed Said Khadr, an alleged al-Qaeda member who was
killed in 2003 by the Pakistani army.

Khadr's younger brother, Omar, is currently detained in the US prison camp at
Guantanamo Bay. The US accuses him of killing an American soldier in Afghanistan
in 2002.

The younger Khadr is scheduled to go on trial at Guantanamo later this month.

The United States paid the Pakistani government half a million dollars for
Abdullah Khadr's capture, according to court records.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert Fisk: Israel-Lebanon tensions flare after skirmish leaves four dead

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-israellebanon\
-tensions-flare-after-skirmish-leaves-four-dead-2042501.html

Can a tree start a Middle East war? It almost did yesterday.

That such a question can be asked is a symbol of the incendiary state of the
region, the mutual distrust of Arabs and Israelis, and the dangerous border of
southern Lebanon which was – as so often – drenched in blood yesterday, the
blood of three Lebanese soldiers, an Israeli lieutenant-colonel and a Lebanese
journalist outside an otherwise nondescript village called Addaiseh.

And after the tank shells, Israeli helicopter missile attacks, Lebanese
machine-gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire, the UN called on both sides to
"exercise restraint" and the battle died down under the cold eyes of a Spanish
UN battalion and a few soldiers from Malaysia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Understanding the Muslim world

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/08/20108213643408629.html

What does it say about the chances for American success in Afghanistan and the
larger global 'war on terror' - which despite the Obama administration's
official name change to "Overseas Contingency Operations" remains deliberately
far removed from any contingency that might hasten its end - that the wives of
the military's most senior commanders better comprehend the reasons for the
continued difficulty in pacifying the country than do their husbands?

The military wives, it seems, have as a group given their stamp of approval to
the now ubiquitous bestseller Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David
Oliver Renin. Many of their husbands have also read the book at their urging,
and according to The New York Times, recently cashiered General Stanley
McChrystal met with Mortenson several times.

Mortenson's message is as simple as it is eloquent: build schools, not bombs.
The idea fit well with McChrystal's civilian-focused counterinsurgency strategy;
but despite the obvious logic, not to mention economy of such a concept - the
cost of keeping one soldier in the country for one year could pay for 20 schools
- the Obama administration is committed to further militarising rather than
deescalating the war.

They fail to grasp that you cannot win the "hearts and minds" of a people when
you are not merely occupying them, but supporting a massively corrupt and
violent elite while killing a significant number of civilians on a routine
basis.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last kaffiyeh factory in Palestinian territories: 'It's more than a business'
Family's battle to continue producing the popular chequered headscarf –
internationally recognised symbol of the Palestinian national struggle – amid
competition from cheap imports

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2010/aug/02/palestinian-territories-midd\
leeast
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Four men guilty of murdering couple in bungled 'honour killing'
Perpetrators of 'perverted and wicked' arson attack on Blackburn house receive
life sentences

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/aug/03/four-guilty-bungled-honour-killing

Four men who murdered a couple in a bungled attempt at an "honour" killing were
jailed for life today. Their intended victim was a Muslim man who was having an
affair with a married woman, but they firebombed a different house.

Abdullah Mohammed, 41, and his wife, Aysha, 39, were overcome by smoke and fumes
at their home in Blackburn, Lancashire, and later died in hospital.

Hisamuddin Ibrahim, 21, described as the ringleader who ordered the arson
attack, was jailed for a minimum of 28 years at Preston crown court. Habib
Iqbal, 25, Sadek Miah, 23, and Mohammed Miah, 19, were respectively jailed for
minimum terms of 25, 21 and 19 years.

All four were convicted of the double murders yesterday.

Sentencing the men today, Mr Justice Henriques said: "These were shocking and
terrible murders. Two persons died; but for the speedy response of the emergency
services it may well have been four or more. It is a most cruel irony that two
such devout members of the community, both deeply religious, should have lost
their lives to such a perverted and wicked act."

Ibrahim was enraged when he discovered his sister, Hafija Gorji, 22, was
committing adultery with Mo Ibrahim (no relation), whom she met at a wedding in
Manchester. He ordered his best friend Iqbal to arrange a fire in the early
hours of 21 October last year to kill Mo Ibrahim while he was asleep.

The intended victim lived at house number 135 on the same road as the Mohammed
family from number 175.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mosque near Ground Zero site gets go-ahead
Plans to build a mosque near the site of the World Trade Centre in New York City
have cleared a major obstacle

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/aug/03/mosque-ground-zer\
o-new-york
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaza flotilla raid: Israel to co-operate with UN inquiry

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/02/israel-gaza-flotilla-un-inquiry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WikiLeaks and British lies in Ireland
The British army's role in the deaths of civilians in Afghanistan will come as
no surprise to the people of Northern Ireland

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/02/wikileaks-british-lies-afgha\
nistan-ireland
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Return to Kuwait

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/classof1990/2010/08/20108111558791226.ht\
ml

The event was a major turning point in the geopolitics of the region, with
significant ramifications that still reverberate today, but for my classmates
and I it will always be marked as the crossroads in our childhoods.

At the age of 10 we suddenly found ourselves caught up in events more serious
than we could comprehend.

We were students at an international school and most of us were non-Kuwaitis.
Although I am originally Egyptian, like many of my classmates, Kuwait was my
country of birth and the only home I really knew.

Growing up in Kuwait in the 1980s was idyllic; the country was booming
economically, and culturally, offering us a comfortable lifestyle and a
protective environment. Our young lives revolved around visits to the beach,
amusement parks, birthday parties and school.

From my first day at the New English School, I always had the same classmates.
Every year we would say our farewells at the end of the summer term confident
that we would see each other again at the start of the next academic year. In
1990 though, everything changed.

On the last day of school, amidst the games and celebrations, we did something
unusual - swopping contact details before we headed off for the holidays. It was
this small stroke of luck that helped some stay in touch after the invasion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rockets strike Jordan and Israel

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/20108264751402856.html

Rockets have hit Red Sea port cities in Jordan and Israel, leaving one man dead
and four others wounded.

One rocket exploded in the street in front of the InterContinental Hotel in the
Jordanian city of Aqaba on Monday morning, wounding five Jordanian men, one of
whom later died of his wounds, the Amman government said.

No casualties were reported in the Israeli city of Eilat, where another rocket
hit.

The Jordanian killed in Aqaba was identified as Subhi Yousef al-Alawneh, a taxi
driver in his fifties.

"We saw the wreckage of a taxi which was burnt and fragmented metal scattered
around the area that was cordoned off by police," Abdullah Yashin Rawashdehd, an
Aqaba resident, told the Reuters news agency.

Ali Ayed, Jordan's information minister called the rocket attack a "terrorist
and criminal act, which serves shady agendas, is strongly condemned".

"Jordan will always fight terrorism and terrorists," he said in a statement.

Three rockets also landed in the Red Sea on Monday: two in Jordanian waters and
one in Israeli waters.

U.S. Identifies Vast Mineral Riches in Afghanistan
By JAMES RISEN
Published: June 13, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html?src=me&ref=homepage

WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped
mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and
enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war
itself, according to senior American government officials.

The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper,
cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and
include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan
could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in
the world, the United States officials believe.

An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the
“Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of
batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys.

The vast scale of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth was discovered by a small team
of Pentagon officials and American geologists. The Afghan government and
President Hamid Karzai were recently briefed, American officials said.

While it could take many years to develop a mining industry, the potential is so
great that officials and executives in the industry believe it could attract
heavy investment even before mines are profitable, providing the possibility of
jobs that could distract from generations of war.

“There is stunning potential here,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the
United States Central Command, said in an interview on Saturday. “There are a
lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.”

The value of the newly discovered mineral deposits dwarfs the size of
Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium
production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and
other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only
about $12 billion.

“This will become the backbone of the Afghan economy,” said Jalil Jumriany,
an adviser to the Afghan minister of mines.

American and Afghan officials agreed to discuss the mineral discoveries at a
difficult moment in the war in Afghanistan. The American-led offensive in Marja
in southern Afghanistan has achieved only limited gains. Meanwhile, charges of
corruption and favoritism continue to plague the Karzai government, and Mr.
Karzai seems increasingly embittered toward the White House.

So the Obama administration is hungry for some positive news to come out of
Afghanistan. Yet the American officials also recognize that the mineral
discoveries will almost certainly have a double-edged impact.

Instead of bringing peace, the newfound mineral wealth could lead the Taliban to
battle even more fiercely to regain control of the country.

The corruption that is already rampant in the Karzai government could also be
amplified by the new wealth, particularly if a handful of well-connected
oligarchs, some with personal ties to the president, gain control of the
resources. Just last year, Afghanistan’s minister of mines was accused by
American officials of accepting a $30 million bribe to award China the rights to
develop its copper mine. The minister has since been replaced.

Endless fights could erupt between the central government in Kabul and
provincial and tribal leaders in mineral-rich districts. Afghanistan has a
national mining law, written with the help of advisers from the World Bank, but
it has never faced a serious challenge.

“No one has tested that law; no one knows how it will stand up in a fight
between the central government and the provinces,” observed Paul A. Brinkley,
deputy undersecretary of defense for business and leader of the Pentagon team
that discovered the deposits.

At the same time, American officials fear resource-hungry China will try to
dominate the development of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, which could upset
the United States, given its heavy investment in the region. After winning the
bid for its Aynak copper mine in Logar Province, China clearly wants more,
American officials said.

Another complication is that because Afghanistan has never had much heavy
industry before, it has little or no history of environmental protection either.
“The big question is, can this be developed in a responsible way, in a way
that is environmentally and socially responsible?” Mr. Brinkley said. “No
one knows how this will work.”

With virtually no mining industry or infrastructure in place today, it will take
decades for Afghanistan to exploit its mineral wealth fully. “This is a
country that has no mining culture,” said Jack Medlin, a geologist in the
United States Geological Survey’s international affairs program. “They’ve
had some small artisanal mines, but now there could be some very, very large
mines that will require more than just a gold pan.”

The mineral deposits are scattered throughout the country, including in the
southern and eastern regions along the border with Pakistan that have had some
of the most intense combat in the American-led war against the Taliban
insurgency.

The Pentagon task force has already started trying to help the Afghans set up a
system to deal with mineral development. International accounting firms that
have expertise in mining contracts have been hired to consult with the Afghan
Ministry of Mines, and technical data is being prepared to turn over to
multinational mining companies and other potential foreign investors. The
Pentagon is helping Afghan officials arrange to start seeking bids on mineral
rights by next fall, officials said.

“The Ministry of Mines is not ready to handle this,” Mr. Brinkley said.
“We are trying to help them get ready.”

Like much of the recent history of the country, the story of the discovery of
Afghanistan’s mineral wealth is one of missed opportunities and the
distractions of war.

In 2004, American geologists, sent to Afghanistan as part of a broader
reconstruction effort, stumbled across an intriguing series of old charts and
data at the library of the Afghan Geological Survey in Kabul that hinted at
major mineral deposits in the country. They soon learned that the data had been
collected by Soviet mining experts during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan
in the 1980s, but cast aside when the Soviets withdrew in 1989.

During the chaos of the 1990s, when Afghanistan was mired in civil war and later
ruled by the Taliban, a small group of Afghan geologists protected the charts by
taking them home, and returned them to the Geological Survey’s library only
after the American invasion and the ouster of the Taliban in 2001.

“There were maps, but the development did not take place, because you had 30
to 35 years of war,” said Ahmad Hujabre, an Afghan engineer who worked for the
Ministry of Mines in the 1970s.

Armed with the old Russian charts, the United States Geological Survey began a
series of aerial surveys of Afghanistan’s mineral resources in 2006, using
advanced gravity and magnetic measuring equipment attached to an old Navy Orion
P-3 aircraft that flew over about 70 percent of the country.

The data from those flights was so promising that in 2007, the geologists
returned for an even more sophisticated study, using an old British bomber
equipped with instruments that offered a three-dimensional profile of mineral
deposits below the earth’s surface. It was the most comprehensive geologic
survey of Afghanistan ever conducted.

The handful of American geologists who pored over the new data said the results
were astonishing.

But the results gathered dust for two more years, ignored by officials in both
the American and Afghan governments. In 2009, a Pentagon task force that had
created business development programs in Iraq was transferred to Afghanistan,
and came upon the geological data. Until then, no one besides the geologists had
bothered to look at the information — and no one had sought to translate the
technical data to measure the potential economic value of the mineral deposits.

Soon, the Pentagon business development task force brought in teams of American
mining experts to validate the survey’s findings, and then briefed Defense
Secretary Robert M. Gates and Mr. Karzai.

So far, the biggest mineral deposits discovered are of iron and copper, and the
quantities are large enough to make Afghanistan a major world producer of both,
United States officials said. Other finds include large deposits of niobium, a
soft metal used in producing superconducting steel, rare earth elements and
large gold deposits in Pashtun areas of southern Afghanistan.

Just this month, American geologists working with the Pentagon team have been
conducting ground surveys on dry salt lakes in western Afghanistan where they
believe there are large deposits of lithium. Pentagon officials said that their
initial analysis at one location in Ghazni Province showed the potential for
lithium deposits as large of those of Bolivia, which now has the world’s
largest known lithium reserves.

For the geologists who are now scouring some of the most remote stretches of
Afghanistan to complete the technical studies necessary before the international
bidding process is begun, there is a growing sense that they are in the midst of
one of the great discoveries of their careers.

“On the ground, it’s very, very, promising,” Mr. Medlin said. “Actually,
it’s pretty amazing.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Intimidation and bombings silence Jalalabad's thriving record stores
With music branded un-Islamic and the Taliban at the gates of the city, once
bustling businesses are shutting up shop

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/05/jalalabad-taliban-music-stores

Until recently, shoppers in the fetid underground shopping centre in central
Jalalabad had the blare of Bollywood pop songs to contend with as well as the
heat and humidity of the bazaar that sprawls underneath one of the Afghan city's
busiest roads.

But the screeching music has now gone, along with nearly all the crowded little
kiosks that used to do a brisk trade in CDs and DVDs. Fear is spreading that
Taliban members, who believe music to be un-Islamic, are closely monitoring the
city's moral climate.

Speakers fixed to the wall of the last remaining music shop have been switched
off for the last week, and the glass display shelves, which used to be a
showcase for a collection of Pashtu, Indian and western music, are now empty.

"The bazaar owner told us to take it down and turn off the music," said Ahmad
Baryalai, a 25-year-old manning the store that has been selling music for eight
years. "He was scared we'd get blown up."

The landlord has good reason to be cautious. In early July a bomb was planted at
street level, between the top of the stairs and a police box. That was just a
warning shot. Far more damage was done to the nearby Millie Music store. The
entire front of the shop was ripped off by a bomb that had been left in the
middle of the night, presumably to avoid hurting a lot of bystanders.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Revealed: the Afghan soldier who murdered his British comrades

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/revealed-the-afghan-soldier-who-m\
urdered-his-british-comrades-2043645.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Burqas and bikinis
Time magazine's cover is the latest cynical attempt to oversimplify the reality
of Afghan lives

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/03/burkas-bikinis-reality-afgha\
n-lives

Reprising a legendary 1985 National Geographic cover, this week's Time magazine
cover girl is another beautiful young Afghan woman. But this time there is a
gaping hole where her nose used to be before it was cut off under Taliban
direction. A stark caption reads: "What Happens If We Leave Afghanistan". A
careful editorial insists that the image is not shown "either in support of the
US war effort or in opposition to it". The stated intention is to counterbalance
damaging the WikiLeaks revelations – 91,000 documents that, Time believes,
cannot provide "emotional truth and insight into the way life is lived in that
difficult land".

Feminists have long argued that invoking the condition of women to justify
occupation is a cynical ploy, and the Time cover already stands accused of it.
Interestingly, the WikiLeaks documents reveal CIA advice to use the plight of
Afghan women as "pressure points", an emotive way to rally flagging public
support for the war.

Misogynist violence is unacceptable, but we must also be concerned by the
continued insistence that the complexities of war, occupation and reality itself
can be reduced to bedtime stories. Consultation with child psychologists
apparently preceded Time's decision to run the image, but the magazine decided
that in the end it was more important for children (and us) to understand that
"bad things do happen to people" and we must feel sorry for them. The WikiLeaks
revelations of atrocities and civilian deaths are evidence of some rather
terrible things that are done to people but are bizarrely judged not to provide
a "window into the reality of what is happening".

Time is not alone in condensing Afghan reality into simplistic morality tales. A
deplorable number of recent works habituate us to thinking about Afghanistan as
what Liam Fox, Britain's defence secretary, called a "broken 13th-century
country", defined solely by pathologically violent men and silently brutalised
women.

While Afghans have been silenced and further disempowered by being reduced to
objects of western chastisement, a recent judgment against Asne Seierstad's The
Bookseller of Kabul has raised the possibility of challenging their depictions.
Based on her stay in the eponymous protagonist's home, Seierstad's memoir uses
offensive commercial language to describe ordinary marital negotiations and
refers to female characters as "the burka". The tone implies even the most
anti-Taliban Afghan men are irredeemably vicious patriarchs. Predictably, some
critical reaction deemed Afghanistan a "horrible society".

While there exists a colonial tradition of relegating the non-west to the past
of the west – and some suggest leaving it to rot in hopelessness – the
trendier option involves incorporating Afghans into modernity by teaching them
to live in a globalised present. In non-fiction bestsellers such as Deborah
Rodriguez's Kabul Beauty School, an American woman teaches Afghan women the
intricacies of hair colour, sexiness, and resisting oppression. "To all
appearances, there is no sex life in Afghanistan," writes Rodriguez, obsessed
– like Seierstad – with the nuptial habits of Afghans. Sex and the City in
the Middle East may have tanked as a movie, but as ideology it has displaced
meaningful global feminism.

Acceptable Afghan-American voices such as Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner) and
Awista Ayub (Kabul Girls Soccer Club) reiterate the notion that suburban America
can "infuse" Afghans with freedom. Formulaic narratives are populated by
tireless Western humanitarians, sex-crazed polygamous paedophiles (most Afghan
men) and burqa-clad "child-women" who are broken in body and spirit or have just
enough doughtiness to be scripted into a triumphal Hollywood narrative. The real
effects of the Nato occupation, including the worsening of many women's lives
under the lethally violent combination of old patriarchal feudalism and new
corporate militarism are rarely discussed.

The mutilated Afghan woman ultimately fills a symbolic void where there should
be ideas for real change. The truth is that the US and allied regimes do not
have anything substantial to offer Afghanistan beyond feeding the gargantuan war
machine they have unleashed.

And how could they? In the affluent west itself, modernity is now about
dismantling welfare systems, increasing inequality (disproportionately
disenfranchising women in the process), and subsidising corporate profits. Other
ideas once associated with modernity – social justice, economic fairness,
peace, all of which would enfranchise Afghan women – have been relegated to
the past in the name of progress. This bankrupt version of modernity has little
to offer Afghans other than bikini waxes and Oprah-imitators. A radical people's
modernity is called for – and not only for the embattled denizens of
Afghanistan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Afghanistan: Now it's America's war
The day the Government faced up to the reality of the conflict

By Kim Sengupta, Defence Correspondent
Thursday, 8 July 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/afghanistan-now-its-americas-war-\
2021218.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A 200 per cent chance the Taliban won't return?
By Imran Khan in
Asia
on July 7th, 201

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2010/07/07/200-cent-chance-taliban-wont-return

The Tora Bora mountains seem to push towards the sky and even in July ominous
clouds lurk overhead.

The Pakistani army have brought me to Khurram agency in the remote tribal belt
in the North West of the country.

It's stunning, rugged and everything you'd expect it to be.

The Tora Bora mountains was the site of Osama Bin Laden's last stand.

Bloody battle

According to some accounts, in December 2001 bin Laden narrowly escaped
coalition fire here before he fled to Pakistan.

Since then Pakistan has seen a wave of almost daily bombings and attacks across
the length and breadth of the country.

In recent years the army have taken on the fighters, and the battle has been
hard and bloody.

However, they insist the tide is turning.

The army says it has successfully beaten back the Pakistani Taliban and secured
Khurram.

They certainly present a good argument, and a good show.

We are taken around in pick-up vehicles with machine guns at the ready, we see
bombsites and tunnels, we are  shown a vast array of captured weapons and drugs.

In a power point presentation facts and figures whizz across the screen at
breakneck pace.

At one point the colonel in charge of the region says in answer to a question
"[there is a] 200 per cent chance the Taliban won't come back".

And perhaps they won't.

Threat remains

Azmat Ali Khan is not so sure. He is a journalist with decades of experience
living and working in Khurram.

"The Taliban are in the lower portions of Khurram, watching and waiting."

To be fair the army acknowledges that there may well be Pakistani Taliban in the
area, but they say they are not a threat.

But it wasn't just the Pakistani Taliban who were a threat in Khurram.

In the 1980s Sunni fighters moved into the predominantly Shia area and violence
broke out lasting for decades.

When the fighting was at its worst, Khurram was effectively cut off from the
world. The main road to the Pakistani city of Peshawar was split in two and
controlled by armed Shia and Sunni fighters.

Khurram, geographically speaking, juts into Afghan territory. To go anywhere
outside of Khurram the locals had to cross into Afghanistan and then back into
Pakistan.

Lawlessness

The sheer lawlessness of the situation allowed the Pakistani Taliban to move in
and set up a base.

The army decided to attack in December 2009. A bloody battle ensued. The Taliban
fled to other areas and now the army rule the roost.

Khurram, it would seem, is at peace.

Unlike neighbouring Orakzai and South Waziristan, where hardened pockets of
fighters are still battling it out with the army.

That fighting, just a few kilometres away, feels like a whole other world.

There is an old Pashtun saying in these parts.

"Me against my brother, my brother and I against our father, our father and us
against our tribe, our tribe against the world".

Put simply, the tribes of this area do not forget easily and they forgive
trespass even less easily.

The Pakistani Taliban may be hiding, the Shia and Sunni's may be friends, but at
night, sat around in the tranquillity of the hills, tales are told of insults to
this one, of the murder of another.

Peace may have come to Khurram, but memories live on for a very long time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Afghanistan violence soars

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/07/2010716135511780796.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Q&A: Maryam's Mission

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/witness/2010/07/2010714123639673345.html

In 2009, the Taliban destroyed 10 girls' schools in the tribal district of Dir
in Northwest Pakistan - schools which Maryam Bibi's charity, Khwendo Kor, had
helped to build.

Now she and her supporters are risking their lives by working to rebuild them,
organising tents as temporary classrooms, until the burnt out schools can be
rebuilt.

Filmmaker Farah Durrani followed Maryam Bibi and spoke to Al Jazeera's Donata
von Hardenberg about Maryam's mission, and the daily lives of those struggling
to survive amid the warfare of Pakistan's tribal districts.

Al Jazeera: Why did you decide to make a film about Maryam Bibi and her mission
to empower women through education in the tribal areas of Pakistan?

Farah Durrani: One of the things I wanted to show was how Pakistan's struggle
with the militants is affecting ordinary people and how ordinary people deal
with it in their daily lives.

So following Maryam Bibi was a way of trying to understand how ordinary people
are being very creative in their daily lives and are trying to say to the world:
'we want peace in our country'.

As one of the leading women in Peshawar and the tribal areas Maryam Bibi is
someone who is taking that challenge head on and saying 'enough is enough, we
want peace too'.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aid and corruption in Afghanistan
It's not a lack of money that's the problem for Afghan people, it's how the aid
they have already been given is spent, or stolen

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/jul/16/afghanistan-donor\
-conference-what-achieve

If Afghanistan suffers from anything, it's certainly not a lack of donor
conferences. The country has clocked up on average one a year since the fall of
the Taliban, raising some $40bn dollars along the way.

At each one, delegates announce that Afghanistan is at a critical juncture,
pledge it will not be forgotten by the international community and vow that we
are well on the way to full Afghan ownership. A few billion dollars are usually
donated too.

But Kabul on 20 July is not going to be another pledging event, we are told.
This time, it's going to be different. This time, we are going to witness an
Afghan-led event, a national development road map presented to 70 international
actors and donors. The major issues are handing over responsibilities from
international to local forces, the fight against corruption and talking to the
Taliban.

So what progress can they present?

It's true that recruitment appears to be up for the Afghanistan National
Security Force (ANSF), a crucial part of Barack Obama's handover strategy, which
now consists of some 134,000 soldiers and about 90,000 policemen. But figures
are meaningless when these forces can't properly function. According to a US
audit, ANSF operational capabilities have been hugely overstated, with
inadequate training, systemic desertion, theft, drug abuse and illiteracy.
Attempts to boost security through recruiting local militias to combat
insurgents (an effort that seems copy-and-pasted out of the Iraq strategy book)
have proved highly controversial and unpopular. Meanwhile, violence continues to
rise. More than 1,000 civilians were killed in the first six months of this
year, mostly by insurgent forces. And last month alone, the Nato-led force in
Afghanistan suffered a record loss of 102 soldiers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Leave your job or we will cut your head off your body...'
With violence on the rise, Afghan women are terrified at the prospect of a deal
between President Karzai and the Taliban

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/leave-your-job-or-we-will-cut-your-\
head-off-your-body-2028706.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Afghanistan: The unsustainable in pursuit of the unbeatable
Nine years after the invasion, US-led forces are still trying to pin down and
defeat the elusive Taliban

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/afghanistan-the-unsustainable-in-pu\
rsuit-of-the-unbeatable-2040847.html

At midnight last night, the United States formally recorded its most lethal
month in the seemingly endless war in Afghanistan. Some 66 servicemen died –
at least two a day, every day, for 31 days. That was July. June was the
deadliest for the coalition as a whole, and the first six months of 2010 were
among the bloodiest for civilians since records began in 2007. What will August
bring? Or September and October, months which, General David Petraeus, the US
commander, has warned may well bring even more intense fighting? By that time,
the war will have gone into its 10th year, and so will move towards, and beyond,
the landmark when it will have lasted longer than the First and Second World
Wars combined.

It is, especially for the Afghan people, a war without end, and one to add to
their history of other fruitless conflicts. An Independent on Sunday assessment,
using records kept by Professor Marc Herold of the University of New Hampshire
and the UN, puts the civilians killed as a direct result of the war since 2001
at 13,746. Last year, the toll of those who died directly or indirectly was
estimated by another US academic to be as high as 32,000.

Meanwhile, the US continues to pile in troops. American strength stands at about
95,000, and by the end of August the figure is expected to swell to 100,000 –
three times the number in early 2009. As a result, US commanders have been
stepping up the fight against the insurgents in their longtime strongholds such
as the Arghandab Valley, Panjwaii and Zhari – all on the outskirts of Kandahar
city, the biggest urban area in the ethnic Pashtun south, and the Taliban's
spiritual birthplace, where support for the insurgency runs deep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ramadan at Guantánamo: Nightly force-feedings
BY CAROL ROSENBERG
CROSENBERG@...

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/24/1788938/ramadan-at-guantanamo-bay-includes\
.html

Here's a new twist in the U.S. military's Islamic sensitivity effort in the
prison camps for suspected terrorists at the Guantánamo Bay Navy base:
Military medical staff are force-feeding a secret number of prisoners on hunger
strike between dusk and dawn during the Muslim fasting holiday of Ramadan.
The prison camps spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Bradley Fagan, says it is U.S. Southern
Command policy to no longer reveal the exact number of detainees being shackled
by guards into restraint chairs for twice daily feedings.
Instead, he said, ``less than 10'' captives among the 176 held for years at
Guantánamo were last week counted as hunger strikers.
``Detainees who are fasting get their meals before dawn,'' he said Wednesday,
disclosing only the hours of that day's feeding ``in observance of the Ramadan
schedule'' -- before 5:26 a.m. and after 7:28 p.m.
``Please note,'' he added, ``that not all hunger strikers are enteral feeders.''
As prison camps spokesman, Fagan has clamped a new level of secrecy on the
Pentagon's practice of pumping protein shakes into the stomachs of captives who
refuse to eat meals catered to the prison camps by Defense Department
contractors.
A fact sheet dated June 28 on the Guantánamo website disclosed some other
figures: ``Each detainee receives 5,500-6,000 calories per day and has six menus
to choose from. Feast meals are served two times per week.''
It put the price of meeting the captives ``cultural and dietary needs'' at
approximately $3 million a year.
Fagan's predecessors had scrupulously referred to a complex matrix that
calculated the number of skipped meals and weight loss to disclose the numbers
of hunger strikers versus those being shackled to a chair and fed twice a day by
tube.
On Feb. 11, 2009, for example, the prison camps reported that 41 of the 245
captives held at Guantánamo at the start of the Obama administration were
classified as hunger strikers. That day, 35 were getting twice-a-day, one-hour
feedings.
Guantánamo detainees have turned to hunger strikes across the years as a method
of both protest and challenging authority in the remote prison camps in
southeast Cuba. The military has responded with a range of methods to try to
disrupt the strikes -- introduction of the feeding chair, segregation and
isolation of those who take part, banishment from the most communal of camps
where captives can pray and eat together.
Prison camps commanders have argued the procedure was painless and two admirals
said they had personally had Navy medical staff nourish them through ``enteral
feedings'' to check it out.
Fagan did say that the prison camps is hewing to past practice of using military
medical staff for feedings.
To demystify it a bit, Navy prison camp hospital workers some years back created
a display of different flavored supplements and let visiting reporters handle a
sample yellow rubber feeding tube.
By last summer, staff were pointing to Butter Pecan flavored Ensure as popular
with the chair-shackled captives. Flavor made no difference going down, one
nurse explained, but a captive could taste it if he burped later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Atlanta Muslims Help Homeless for Ramadan
Hundreds of Volunteers Offer Services to 1,000 Local Homeless

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/24720374/detail.html

Hundreds of Muslims in the Atlanta area marked Ramadam by reaching out to those
in need Sunday.
It was part of Islamic Relief USA's annual Day of Dignity event nationwide. In
Atlanta, hundreds of Muslims helped distribute hygiene kits with soap and
toothpaste and offered free hair cuts to more than 1,000 local homeless. They
also provided health screenings.
This is the eighth year for the Day of Dignity campaign. It recruits more than
2,000 volunteers nationwide, who in turn, serve around 20,000 homeless in need
in 22 cities.
This was the third year for the event in Atlanta. "Day of Dignity is an event
that should take place 365 days out of the year, every year," said Saleem
Khaled, manager of domestic programs at IR USA. "But until we can reach that
capacity we will take whatever opportunity we can get -- especially in the holy
month of Ramadan -- to encourage others to give of their time, of their wealth
and of their compassion to those in need."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

US Muslims prep for Islamic holiday — around 9/11

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100813/ap_on_re/us_rel_ramadan_sept11_5

NEW YORK – The lunar calendar that Muslims follow for religious holidays is
creating a potential for misunderstandings or worse in a year when American
Muslims are already confronting a spike in assaults on their faith and protests
against new mosques.
Eid al-Fitr, a joyous holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, this
year falls around Sept. 11. Muslim leaders fear that their gatherings for prayer
and festivities could be misinterpreted by those unfamiliar with Islam as a
celebration of the 2001 terrorist strikes.
The Muslim Public Affairs Council, an advocacy group based in Los Angeles, is
contacting law enforcement and the Justice Department civil rights division to
alert them to the overlap.
The Islamic Circle of North America, which organizes Muslim Family Days at the
Six Flags amusement park in several cities around Eid al-Fitr, this year planned
nothing for Saturday, Sept. 11, because of the anniversary. A founder of Muslim
Family Day, Tariq Amanullah, worked at the World Trade Center and was killed in
the attacks.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based civil rights
group, is urging mosques to review the group's security guidelines, including
clearing brush where people could hide and installing surveillance cameras.
"The issue I can sense brewing on hate sites on the Internet is, `These Muslims
are celebrating on September 11,'" said Ibrahim Hooper, national spokesman for
CAIR. "It's getting really scary out there."
The exact date of Eid al-Fitr this year is not yet known. Muslims follow
different authorities on moonsightings and astronomical calculations to decide
when a holiday begins. In North America, the eid could fall on Thursday, Sept.
9, Friday, Sept. 10, or Saturday, Sept. 11.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ramadan clash with 9/11 anniversary raises fears of anti-Islam backlash

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/17/ramadan-clash-9-11-anniversary
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No fasting, no football: 'Asia's Maradona' fired for violating Ramadan

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/no-fasting-no-football-asias-marado\
na-fired-for-violating-ramadan-2053687.html

Ramadan, and its obligation to fast from dawn until dusk, can be a testing time
for all Muslims, but for professional sports people the holy month can be
especially fraught.

While some Western coaches baulk at the idea that their well-paid stars may be
under-fuelled during matches, others demand that their players observe the fast.

Yesterday, Ali Karimi, an Iranian footballer known as the "Maradona of Asia",
was fired by his club for failing to fast. Tehran-based Steel Azin FC, which
announced the dismissal on its website, claims Karimi, who was named the Asian
Player of the Year in 2004, and played in the German Bundesliga for two years
with Bayern Munich, "insulted officials of the [Iranian] football federation and
the Tehran team's supervisor who confronted him on the issue".

Karimi is the second most capped player and the third highest scorer for the
Iranian national team.

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is the religion's month of
fasting in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and sexual
activities from dawn until sunset. Fasting is intended to teach Muslims about
patience and spirituality. It is also a time for Muslims to offer more prayer
than usual.

The fasting dilemma is particularly acute for Muslim cricketers who, if a match
falls during Ramadan, might have to exert themselves batting or bowling for
seven hours with nothing to eat or drink. England's third Test against Pakistan
begins on Wednesday, a week into the fast.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'It takes its toll': when Ramadan and sport collide

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/it-takes-its-toll-when-ramadan-and-sport-collide-201\
00827-13vww.html

BOXER Nader Hamdan prepared for many fights during Ramadan, the last in his loss
to Kariz Kariuki during The Contender Australia reality television series when
he used the traveller's dispensation - driving to the Blue Mountains before
returning to eat and drink on fight day.

''The thing that keeps you going is your belief, but in reality it does take its
toll,'' Hamdan said. ''You are obviously not what you could have been had you
not been fasting for so many days. I have sparred 12 rounds in the heat with no
water, it really hurts. It does have an effect come fight time.

''Competing in team sports is completely different to individual sports; you
can't hide behind 12 teammates when you're in the ring. But what doesn't kill
you makes you stronger.''

❏ Retired NRL star Hazem El Masri played games for the Bulldogs and went
through gruelling pre-season fitness training without drinking water during the
holy month. Before retiring last year, he played a full game against the
Warriors without hydration. ''If you've got the will and the belief, you can
achieve whatever you desire,'' El Masri said before the game. ''I'll push my
limits until I can go no further.'' El Masri kicked eight goals as the Dogs won
40-20, and was able to drink an hour after full-time.

❏ Bachar Houli, the AFL's first devout Muslim, consulted a sheikh and gained
permission to break fasting during the three days of the 2006 AFL draft camp.
Houli needed to record impressive times in the physical endurance tests to
attract recruiters and did so. The midfielder was drafted as the No.42 pick by
Essendon and has now played 26 games for the Bombers.

❏ American basketballer Acie Earl joined the Sydney Kings during the 1990s and
observed the fasting practice of Ramadan. But contrary to what some thought, his
waddling around the court was not caused by hunger, Earl was just naturally
large and cumbersome.

❏ Two weeks ago, German football internationals Sami Khedira, Mesut Oezil and
Serdar Tasci gained permission from the Central Council of Muslims to break
fasting for the team's first match after the World Cup. German football
officials sought the advice of Islamic scholars at Al-Azhar University, one of
the leading authorities in Sunni Islam, and they issued a religious edict that
decreed an exception to the fasting rules could be made for professional
athletes.

Some Muslims have reacted angrily to the scheduling of the London Olympic Games.
In 2012, Ramadan will take place from July 21 to August 20, while the Olympics
run from July 27 to August 12. An anticipated 3000 Muslim competitors are
expected to be affected, and Islamic representatives said these athletes would
be severely disadvantaged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Top Ramadan TV show satirises, irks Saudi hardliners

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gLvAk5g19qxHMDMN9EWnSkMe245Q

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — There's little sacrosanct -- including the tradition of
polygamy cherished by many Muslim men -- in the most popular Saudi TV series
during the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Turning the tables on conservative Islamic beliefs, "Tash ma Tash" has again
sparked huge laughs and huge controversy this month by depicting a Muslim woman
not just married to four husbands, but also wanting to divorce one of them in
order to marry someone else.
The episode brought cheers from Saudi women, but was met with rage by religious
scholars, with one calling for the arrest of the show's producers.
"I appeal to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (Saudi King Abdullah) to
bring those (producers) and the channel that broadcasts this series to trial,"
Sheikh Saad al-Buraik said on the Saudi religious channel, Daleel, hours after
the episode was broadcast.
Plunging into the forbidden and courting the ire of Saudi Arabia's powerful,
arch-conservative clerics is nothing new for "Tash ma Tash" -- named after a
Saudi game similar to the coin-tossing "heads or tails."
Shown annually during the peak TV viewing period of Ramadan by the Dubai-based,
Saudi-owned satellite broadcaster MBC, progressives and conservatives await
eagerly to see what the show's writers come up with.
This year it tackles everything from relations between Islam and Christianity to
the tradition of Muslim men taking up to four wives.
"We wanted to present an inverted image to reveal the injustice and suffering of
a woman whose husband marries multiple wives without a need for it," "Tash"
actor Abdullah al-Sadhan told the local daily Okaz.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Holy haircuts: Ramadan forces restraint on the Gulf's women

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/richardspencer/100051356/holy-haircuts-ramadan\
-forces-restraint-on-the-gulfs-women/

How often do you go to the hairdresser’s? A trivial question,  but one with
– apparently – religious significance.
It’s a question to which I had never given much thought. When my ears feel
excessively tickled, is the technically accurate response in my case, though as
I get older I am starting to think I will have to use a different measure. Once
every six weeks, perhaps.
According to the Gulf News in Dubai at the weekend, there are more important
sensibilities. It is Ramadan, when even less pious Muslims smarten up their act
– not just by fasting during the day-time, the bit that non-Muslims are aware
of, but also by being more strict with themselves generally.
That’s why there’s always a generally ironic tone in the newspapers’
annual warnings about over-eating during the fasting month, with lots of advice
on dieting for afterwards, as in the West after Christmas. It’s reasonably
well accepted that there’s a paradox about the endless feasts that are laid on
after sundown every night.
Back to hair. According to the paper, one issue Muslim women grapple with is the
fact that many hairdressers are men, and thus see unrelated women uncovered
while snipping and curling. I found this news a bit unexpected. Most women’s
hair salons in Dubai, even in the five star hotels, are hidden from view, at
least behind frosted glass, out of respect for the sensitivities of conservative
women. But if that’s so, why have male hairdressers?
Anyway, there’s always a compromise. While the paper suggests that some women
will avoid having their hair cut during Ramadan, others, it seems, merely cut
down their visits.
“I believe females will have less frequent visits to the salons during
Ramadan,” says Noora al-Baharani, a 21-year-old Iraqi-Egyptian manager living
in Abu Dhabi. “Personally, I don’t go a lot. I usually always go and have my
nails done, but during Ramadan, I will not be going that often.”
Admirable self-restraint. The only thing is this. I am aware that women both
sides of the Gulf spend astonishing amounts of money on personal appearance: a
survey put Iran in seventh place in world cosmetics consumption, while Saudi
Arabia is even higher up the list.
But without wishing to be over-blokish, how often is it “normal” to have
your hair done, at five-star boutiques, if Ramadan is a reason to cut it just a
few times a month?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tradition Merges with Modernity during Ramadan in Bosnia and Herzegovina

http://www.balkantravellers.com/en/read/article/2231

27 August 2010 | Bosnia and Herzegovina reflects on the spirit of Ramadan, as
long-held traditions merge with modernisation during the Muslims' holy month.

To Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Ramadan is a special month when the
holy Qur'an was revealed and God decreed that Islamic followers should be
particularly devout by fasting from dawn to dusk.

According to Islamic beliefs, those who fast can expect forgiveness for past
sins.

"It is a period of purifying the soul from bad habits and that is why each true
Muslim, the real spiritual traveler, should fulfill it with good deeds, which is
a precondition for spiritual progress," Tuzla imam Muhamed Lugavic told SETimes.

This year, Ramadan falls in summer and believers spend about 16 hours without
food and drink. It may appear a difficult feat, but BiH Muslims claim otherwise.

"If you are a true believer who fasts to obey God, it is not hard. My days of
fasting are filled [with work], I complete my tasks every day and I don't feel
it as hunger," Almir Seckanovic told SETimes.

Iftar, the time when a believer is allowed to eat, begins when mosques turn on
their lights after sundown.

The elderly in Tuzla recall with nostalgia times when iftar was announced by
cannons booming from the hills. But in today's technologically advanced times,
even the muezin's voice calling from the minaret has been replaced with high
quality sound-reproducing devices.

Modernisations aside, many associate Ramadan with family and friends.

"Times are changing, but some customs are constant. We still gather with family
and friends over iftar. Traditionally, a table groaning with food is a good
chance for family gatherings," said Muhamed Sehic, of Kladanj, a municipality
between Sarajevo and Tuzla.

Others, like Samra Hidanovic, describe a sense of happiness around iftar. "I
have been doing it for 12 years and enjoy it more if I spent Ramadan fasting."

Believers and non-believers alike agree that it is the delicious Afghan bread --
baked traditionally in old stoves -- that completes the experience.

Sead Hukic, who works in a Tuzla bakery, the oldest in BiH, prepares Ramadan
breads as they were baked several hundred years ago. "There is nothing more
beautiful than when you pass the street and smell Afghan bread and caraway, the
seeds of spice put on it," he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some observe Ramadan without fasting
Other options exist for folks who must keep eating during the day

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/faith_values/stories/2010/08/27/some-observ\
e-ramadan-without-fasting.html?sid=101
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No problem with Ramadan bazaars

http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=74341

Kota Kinabalu: All is well in the city's Ramadan Bazaars at the moment, said
Domestic Trade, Coo-peratives and Consumerism Department Director, Jaafar Walad,
Thursday.

"So far, from our frequent monitoring we see that all's well, and there have
been no complaints whatsoever from the public," he said while conducting a spot
check at the Asia City Ramadan Bazaar with members of the Rakan Pengguna Negeri
Sabah.

He said there have been no complaints on the food colouring, prices or anything
regarding cleanliness, which is a good sign.

'We see that most of the Hari Raya items such as tomatoes and coconut among
others have not had any price increase, except for chicken which has gone up
slightly," Jaafar said.

Meanwhile, Rakan Pengguna chairperson, Datuk Amisah Yassin who was also present
during the spot check advised all consumers to always survey the prices of food
before making purchases.

"We encourage free enterprise, therefore of course there will be a difference in
the prices of food all over the place.

"But it is all up to the consumers to see for themselves whether they want to
buy the more expensive one, or the cheaper one, it is up to the individual to
decide whether they want to be wise consumers or not," she said.

She said the spot check was to issue compounds to traders who did not put up
price tags for the food sold, among other things.

No one at the Asia City Ramadan Bazaar was compounded during the spot.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let's all fast during Ramadan

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/eboo_patel/2010/08/lets_all_fast_duri\
ng_ramadan.html

Today's guest blogger is Gail Rosseau, MD, is a neurosurgeon from Chicago,
Illinois. She and her family are engaged in building interfaith cooperation
through her work with the Social Justice Committee at Old St. Patrick's Catholic
Church and the Amazing Faiths project; she is a Trustee of Dominican University
and a member of the Board of Directors of Interfaith Youth Core.

This may not be the call to action you would expect from a lifelong Catholic.

But, there is a tradition of fasting in all the world's major religions. Jesus
fasted and taught his disciples to do so. St. Paul urged early Christians to do
the same. Moses, Elijah and the Buddha all fasted. Luther, Wellesley and Gandhi
fasted as well, and their followers continue the practice to this day.

Indeed, there is evidence of communal fasting prior to recorded history. Fasting
has long been considered a healing force, a way to connect one's spirit to the
sacred. It is also a way to connect the members of a community to one another.
The Lenten sacrifices of my Christian childhood, and the Yom Kippur fasting of
my Jewish friends, brought families and communities together in common devotion,
seeking to understand our role in the world and to glimpse the divine.

As one of the 5 pillars of the Muslim faith, fasting during Ramadan is expected
in Islam. Yet the personal motivation to fast given by one of my colleagues,
Nigerian neurosurgeon Muhammed Mahmud, still resonates.

"You can talk about poverty all you want, but being poor means being hungry, and
an empty stomach gets your attention like nothing else does," he explained. "We
Muslims think the world will be a better, kinder place if all of us spend a
month each year feeling, really FEELING, in our bellies, what it is like to be
poor."

His words spoke to me. I believe they would speak to most people, of most
religions. His words ring equally true to all the secular humanists I know.

Imagine, for a moment, what it would mean if every adult American, more than 225
million of us, gave up one lunch during Ramadan: at $5/lunch this would raise
$1.25 billion. The savings could be donated to the church, synagogue, mosque or
charity of your choice.

Or, multiply those five dollars by 30 days in the month, and America could end
world hunger. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
estimates that it would cost $30 billion/year to launch the necessary programs
that would prevent global food insecurity and put an end to hunger for the
nearly 1 billion people worldwide afflicted by severe hunger each year. Imagine
the change in geopolitics if a huge American interfaith fast each year wiped
hunger off the face of the earth.

The faith divide threatens to be the most divisive and dangerous issue of our
times. In Manhattan, a battle rages over a plan to build the Cordoba house
complex near ground zero, with strange bedfellows including the Anti-Defamation
League and Sarah Palin coming together to oppose it. In Sheboygan, Wisconsin, a
fight ensued over plans to convert a health food store purchased by Muslim
physician, Dr. Mansoor Mirza, to a mosque. In Temecula, California, members of a
local Tea Party group interrupted Friday prayers at a mosque in protest of plans
to build a new Muslim center on nearby property.

All around the country, fundamental questions regarding citizenship and
religious freedom are being reconsidered, in ways that resonate differently with
Americans since September 11, 2001. Now, more than ever, we need to reaffirm the
common ideals of our American democratic way of life. We need to look for the
practices and rituals that give meaning and purpose to our lives, and to
celebrate those traditions we share with those of other faiths. We need to
demonstrate that the world's melting pot is stronger and more generous than
ever, precisely because of our ethnic and religious diversity.

True understanding comes from shared experience. This year during Ramadan, let's
consider reaffirming our common spiritual heritage by embracing the discipline
and the spiritual concentration that skipping a lunch, or 30 lunches, would
require. This shared experience with the Muslim community, here and abroad,
could go a longer way toward ending our serious, and often violent, interfaith
struggles than any effort to date. And maybe we could begin to eliminate world
hunger along the way.

The content of this blog reflects the views of its author and does not
necessarily reflect the views of either Eboo Patel or the Interfaith Youth Core.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ramadan fasts inspire late-night football in UAE

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/08/26/ramadan.football/#fbid=2wuWakDdxSk\
&wom=false

The familiar sound of beating drums still fills the stadium as the United Arab
Emirates begins its new football season, but matches are kicking off a lot later
this summer.
With league play starting bang in the middle of Ramadan, officials have
scheduled games to start well after ten o'clock at night to accommodate fasting
players.
By the time crowds fill Al Nahyan stadium, players on Abu Dhabi's Al Wahda
football team have had a chance to pray and break their fast.
According to team captain Haider Aili, players have grown skilled at refraining
from food and drink all day in accordance with the Islamic holy month's
tradition.
"We're used to that since we were young," he told CNN. "And we're very lucky
that we're in a Muslim country so our federation and all of the atmosphere is
provided for us."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rizvi: Ramadan has meaning beyond fast

http://onlineathens.com/stories/082610/let_700235516.shtml

I was disappointed with the way the Friday story headlined "A lapsed Muslim/Some
follow Ramadan, but few other religious rituals," portrayed Ramadan in
particular and Islam and Muslims in general.

Fasting during the day in Ramadan is a form of worship that is very unique. It
is only God and the fasting person who knows that one is fasting. One not only
gives up food and drink for the sake of God, but also has to restrain from all
the social ills including anger, lying, etc. When you do that for a month, it
tends to become part of your personality. If one is fasting for showing people,
and he or she plans to carry out the same prohibited deeds or sins afterward,
God does not need that person's hunger strike.
One of the messages to learn from fasting is that Muslims abstain from the
everyday normal and otherwise allowed materials such as food and water just for
the sake of God. If one can give up something that is otherwise permissible and
good for someone and society just to obtain God's happiness, why can't that
person then give up or abstain from acts and other things that are not allowed
or are social evils?
If one observes the month of Ramadan as it is supposed to be observed, it not
only affects that one person, but affects the environment around that person and
his or her family in a positive way. That effect may not be evident to us on a
day-to-day basis, but it does affect us nonetheless.
I hope the person and family mentioned in the article get to understand the true
meaning of Ramadan, and I hope they are a positive influence to our society in
the future.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Free Iftar banquets flourish in Egypt despite hiking food prices

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2010-08/27/c_13466112.htm

CAIRO, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Ahmed Suleiman took a seat at one of the charitable
fast-breaking banquets in the rich neighborhood of Maadi, in southern outskirts
of Cairo. Such operations of free meals spread across the Egyptian capital
during the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

"My home is not in Cairo, but I work here. I come to the banquet everyday after
finishing my work to have a meal," said the 33-year-old man, who works in a
construction site nearby.

Scores of Iftar (fast-breaking meal) charity banquets, are held on streets of
the city by wealthy people and charity organizations during the holy month to
serve poor people and the passers-by.

Charity banquets are one of the main features of Ramadan, the ninth month of the
Muslim lunar calendar during which Muslims abstain from food, water and other
bodily pleasure from dawn to dusk. Ramadan also commemorates the revelation of
the Quran to Prophet Muhammad of Islam.

"We offer around 500 to 600 free Iftar meals each day in Ramadan for poor
people, a larger number than last year. Sometimes, the number can reach 700,
depending on the financial resources available," said Osama Ismail, a supervisor
of one of the Iftar banquets organized by Egypt's reputable Resala Charity
Association.

"Most of the meals offered by Resala are delivered to families which the
association have conducted sociological research on and known they are in real
need of food," Ismail told Xinhua, "some others come to the society's
headquarters and attend the Iftar banquets."

"Our goal is to make the people feel they are treated as human beings. They come
here and have a seat while volunteers serve them as if they are in a cafe or a
five-star hotel," Ismail said.

The Ramadan fast is considered one of the five Pillars of Islam, and the end of
the fast is celebrated as one of the important religious festivals of Islam.

In spite of the soaring food prices in the most populated Arab nation, the
charity Iftar banquets are still flourishing this year, more than ever before.

"We used to offer expensive types of food like fruit salad, but now we cannot
afford it. So, we offer less expensive food and increased the quantity of meals
we offer to poor families because there are so many people in need of it,"
Ismail said, pointing out that each meal costs the organization around 12
Egyptian pounds ( about 2.2 U.S. dollars).

The meal they provided that evening was one chicken leg, vegetable salad and a
portion of rice for every person. People sat around the table and chatted with
one another while enjoying the food.

"I'm really satisfied with the Iftar here. The charity banquets solve my
difficulty as my salary did not rise in spite of the sky- rocketing food
prices," Suleiman said.

With a comforted heart, low-income people can enjoy the same happiness as those
rich families at the time of sunset during Ramadan.

Charity banquet is a voluntary work that mainly depends on donations. Due to
price hikes, donations from ordinary families have dropped since many people are
compelled to restrict budget to cover their own family needs. However, rich
people have struggled to sustain the banquets.

Most charitable people, including businessmen and public figures, do not want to
tell their names, while some others would like to declare themselves in order to
encourage other people to do the same.

This year, some businessmen and politicians have arranged such banquets for the
purpose of self-promotion.

"Some politicians arrange banquets this year as part of their early electoral
campaigns for the upcoming parliamentary elections. In some populated commercial
areas, merchants use this kind of banquets to promote their business. We see
people shouting through microphones to ask passers-by to attend this or that
banquet which the owner of a shop or a company holds. It is some sort of
propaganda. For us it is pure charity," he added.

Iftar banquets are historically related to religious concepts as Muslims believe
they are required to offer more charities and behave more benevolently during
the holy month to get the blessings from God. However, such kind of banquets
stood more like a tradition of Ramadan in Egypt.

"It is not a pure religious rite. This is a kind of tradition that has been
historically linked in our mind to Ramadan and we got used doing it in this
month specifically. I can say that it is 65 percent tradition rather than
worship." Ismail said.

"Anyway, whether it is a pure charity or a traditional habit, it is a good
opportunity for poor people like myself to survive the high food prices which go
wild in the holy month," Suleiman said.

Uncovered: Britain's secret rendition programme
Until now, this country has been guilty only by association in the illegal
transfer of prisoners. But the covert rendition of a Moroccan man by MI5 agents
suggests that the practice was central to Britain's 'war on terror'

By Robert Verkaik, Home Affairs Editor
Friday, 23 July 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uncovered-britains-secret-renditi\
on-programme-2033450.html

MI5 was directly involved in the rendition of a Moroccan national, illegally
taken from a Belgian prison to work for Britain's Security Services in London,
an investigation by The Independent has discovered.

The man, now aged 29 and who cannot be named for his own safety, was secretly
transferred from a Brussels jail in April 2004 and then further held and
interrogated by senior MI5 officers at a secret base near London.

Documents seen by The Independent show that in September 2003 a Belgian court
sentenced the man to four years in prison for the use of false documents and
association with terror suspects. Yet less than a year later Home Office papers
reveal that the Moroccan, who was born in Rabat, was in Britain and had been
granted leave to remain in the UK by the British Government.

The Home Office document, dated 4 November 2004, says: "It has been decided that
the Secretary of State's discretion should be exercised in your favour and you
have been granted limited leave to remain in the United Kingdom for a reason not
covered by the Immigration Rules."

The case is the first evidence of a UK-based rendition recruitment programme
operated by the Security Service after the 11 September attacks on America.
Until now, Britain's involvement in the practice appeared to be limited to
providing assistance to American renditions.

In an interview with The Independent, the man's Belgian lawyer, Christophe
Marchand, said that the rendition took place while the suspect was waiting to
appear before the central criminal court in Brussels in relation to his appeal.

Mr Marchand, Belgium's foremost defence attorney and author of the book European
Trends on the War on Human Rights, said his client, then 23 years old, had been
questioned by MI5 agents in Forest Prison in Brussels where he had been detained
without trial and held in solitary confinement for more than two years. During
his later interrogation and detention at an MI5 safe house 40 minutes from
central London, the man did not have access to a lawyer.

Last night MPs and human rights groups said the case illustrated the extent of
Britain's illegal role in the war on terror. Andrew Tyrie MP, chairman of the
All Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition, said: "If it were to
turn out that this man had been transferred to the UK against his will and
against due legal process, we should well be concerned. Stories such as this
underline the need for an inquiry to get to the bottom of what happened after 11
September."

Clive Stafford Smith, director of the legal charity Reprieve, said: "We simply
cannot be in the business of snatching people from foreign countries without any
legal process. Why have we fought for the rule of law for all these decades if
it is simply to be ignored when the Security Services decide it is not
convenient to let judges into the debate?"

Mr Marchand suspects that the deal must have been approved by Belgium's security
services and the state prosecutor. A year after his mysterious disappearance
from prison, the Moroccan national contacted Mr Marchand. "We met in central
London. He told me the whole story about how MI5 had arranged for his release
and secret flight to London on a specially chartered British Airways aircraft.
He told me he felt vulnerable in prison and didn't think he would ever be
released. He feared being returned to Morocco even more because he felt sure
that he would be tortured.

"They told him that if he agreed to work for MI5 he would have a new life in the
UK. But he was very vulnerable at this time, he was young and held in solitary
confinement where he was psychologically weak. He believed he had no choice.
Once he arrived in the UK he was told that if he ever told anyone who he was
working for his life would be in danger from al-Qa'ida. He told me that he
thought this was an explicit threat that MI5 would make sure al-Qa'ida knew his
identity if he ever broke his agreement with the Security Service."

Mr Marchand, an international expert in human rights law, accused Britain of
being directly involved in rendition. "Of course it is rendition – it is the
illegal transfer of someone from one country to another. He was transferred from
Belgium without any legal safeguards. It is a very clear violation of the rule
of law. Pressure was huge on him because he knew he was condemned to years in
prison."

A spokeswoman for the Belgian embassy in London said she was aware of the case
and the "disappearance" but could give no further details.

Lieve Pellens, of the Belgian Federal Prosecutors Office in Brussels, said she
was sure the Prosecutors Office was "not implicated" in such an arrangement. "If
a foreign authority wants to question someone held in the Forest Prison then
they have to make a special request and we have to ensure that a Belgian officer
is present," said Ms Pellens.

A spokeswoman for the Security Service said: "We do not comment on individuals.
We do not comment on operational security matters."

Rendition: Explained

* Countries wishing to transfer a suspect from one state to another for arrest,
detention or interrogation must operate through the judicial process, usually by
making an extradition request.

* Where such transfers occur outside a legal framework, such as in the Brussels
case which we have reported today, they are referred to as renditions.

* America's extraordinary rendition programme involves the further element of
torture, usually by a third-party proxy state. In the Brussels case the Moroccan
suspect faced the prospect of torture in his homeland and could not freely give
consent for his transfer to Britain.

* Upon his transfer to the UK he was held in an MI5 safe-house, where he was
interrogated without legal representation. All the time he knew he was at risk
of deportation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Classified documents reveal UK's role in abuse of its own citizens
Previously secret papers show true extent of involvement in abduction and
torture following al-Qaida attacks of 2001
Ian Cobain and Owen Bowcott
guardian.co.uk,  Wednesday 14 July 2010 20.43 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/jul/14/torture-classified-documents-disclosed

The true extent of the Labour government's involvement in the illegal abduction
and torture of its own citizens after the al-Qaida attacks of September 2001 has
been spelled out in stark detail with the disclosure during high court
proceedings of a mass of highly classified documents.

Previously secret papers that have been disclosed include a number implicating
Tony Blair's office in many of the events that are to be the subject of the
judicial inquiry that David Cameron announced last week.

Among the most damning documents are a series of interrogation reports from MI5
officers that betray their disregard for the suffering of a British resident
whom they were questioning at a US airbase in Afghanistan. The documents also
show that the officers were content to see the mistreatment continue.

One of the most startling documents is chapter 32 of MI6's general procedural
manual, entitled "Detainees and Detention Operations", which advises officers
that among the "particular sensitivities" they need to consider before becoming
directly involved in an operation to detain a terrorism suspect is the question
of whether "detention, rather than killing, is the objective of the operation".

Other disclosed documents show how:

• The Foreign Office decided in January 2002 that the transfer of British
citizens from Afghanistan to Guantánamo was its "preferred option".

• Jack Straw asked for that rendition to be delayed until MI5 had been able to
interrogate those citizens.

• Downing Street was said to have overruled FO attempts to provide a British
citizen detained in Zambia with consular support in an attempt to prevent his
return to the UK, with the result that he too was "rendered" to Guantánamo.

The papers have been disclosed as a result of civil proceedings brought by six
former Guantánamo inmates against MI5 and MI6, the Home Office, the Foreign
Office, and the Attorney General's Office, which they allege were complicit in
their illegal detention and torture.

The government has been responding to disclosure requests by maintaining that it
has identified up to 500,000 documents that may be relevant, and says it has
deployed 60 lawyers to scrutinise them, a process that it suggests could take
until the end of the decade. It has failed to hand over many of the documents
that the men's lawyers have asked for, and on Friday failed to meet a deadline
imposed by the high court for the disclosure of the secret interrogation policy
that governed MI5 and MI6 officers between 2004 and earlier this year.

So far just 900 papers have been disclosed, and these have included batches of
press cuttings and copies of government reports that were published several
years ago. However, a number of highly revealing documents are among the
released papers, as well as fragments of heavily censored emails, memos and
policy documents.

Some are difficult to decipher, but together they paint a picture of a
government that was determined not only to stand shoulder to shoulder with the
United States as it embarked upon its programme of "extraordinary rendition" and
torture of terrorism suspects in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, but to
actively participate in that programme.

In May, after the appeal court dismissed attempts to suppress evidence of
complicity in their mistreatment, the government indicated that it would attempt
to settle out of court.

Today the government failed in an attempt to bring a temporary halt to the
proceedings that have resulted in the disclosure of the documents. Its lawyers
argued that the case should be delayed while attempts were made to mediate with
the six men, in the hope that their claims could be withdrawn in advance of the
judicial inquiry. Lawyers for the former Guantánamo inmates said it was far
from certain that mediation would succeed, and insisted the disclosure process
continue.

In rejecting the government's application, the court said it had considered the
need for its lawyers to press ahead with the task of processing the 500,000
documents in any event, as the cases of the six men are among those that will be
considered by the inquiry headed by Sir Peter Gibson. Last week, in announcing
the inquiry, Cameron told MPs: "This inquiry will be able to look at all the
information relevant to its work, including secret information. It will have
access to all relevant government papers – including those held by the
intelligence services."

Cameron also made clear that the sort of material that has so far been made
public with the limited disclosure in the Guantánamo cases would be kept firmly
under wraps during the inquiry. "Let's be frank, it is not possible to have a
full public inquiry into something that is meant to be secret," he said. "So any
intelligence material provided to the inquiry panel will not be made public and
nor will intelligence officers be asked to give evidence in public."

The coalition government is anxious to draw a line under what is currently
described in Whitehall as "detainee legacy issues". It hopes that mediation,
followed by the inquiry, will lift the burden of litigation that it is currently
facing while restoring public confidence in MI5 and MI6.

It also wishes to preserve what it calls "liaison relationships" – operational
links with overseas intelligence agencies, including those known to use torture
– on the grounds that they are a vital part of the country's counterterrorism
strategy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Six years in jail, no charge: the war on terror's forgotten victim speaks
Babar Ahmad, 35, is the longest-serving prisoner held without charge or trial in
the UK. In his first media interview since his arrest on a US extradition
warrant in 2004, Mr Ahmad tells Robert Verkaik that he is the forgotten victim
of the 'war on terror'. In March 2009, he was awarded £60,000 in compensation
after an admission by the UK's anti-terrorist police that they subjected him to
'grave abuse, tantamount to torture' during his first arrest in December 2003.
Corresponding via email from a secure isolation unit at Long Lartin prison, he
calls on the Government to charge him or release him. Today, the European Court
of Human Rights rules on his case

Thursday, 8 July 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/six-years-in-jail-no-charge-the-w\
ar-on-terrors-forgotten-victim-speaks-2021138.html

Can you describe your life in the UK before your arrest?

I was born in the UK and have spent all my life living in south London in the
Balham/Tooting area. At the time of my first arrest in December 2003, I was
employed full-time as an ICT Support Analystat Imperial College London. My job
entailed supporting the software needs of undergraduate academic teaching and
postgraduate research. I have always been a devout Muslim and others would
describe me as adhering to mainstream Islamic teachings. I have never been
charged with or convicted of any criminal offence.

Describe the conditions of your detention.

I have been held in a number of prisons throughout the high-security estate
since my arrest in 2004. I have been designated a category A prisoner.
Initially, I was held on normal wings in prisons, alongside prisoners of all
different categories. I was then moved to a small unit in HMP Long Lartin and
held with other men fighting extradition or deportation. Over the last year and
a half, the conditions of my detention have deteriorated. I spend all day, every
day on a small unit with seven other prisoners. We are isolated from all other
prisoners and all our time is spent in the claustrophobic atmosphere of a small
unit. If I am extradited to the US, my conditions will deteriorate further. I
face the possibility of life without parole in solitary confinement under the
harshest of prison regimes in a Supermax prison, far from home, family and
friends.

What is the case against you?

The central US allegations against me revolve around a family of websites that
provided news in nearly 20 languages on Chechen resistance fighters who were
defending their land against the Russian Army's invasion of Chechnya in the
1990s. According to the US, this was terrorism [The Home Office says Mr Ahmad is
accused of providing material support to terrorists]. But according to UK this
was, and still is, legal as Chechen resistance fighters have never been
proscribed as a terrorist organisation, unlike al-Qa'ida. In fact, the leader of
the Chechen resistance has been living in the UK for several years, having been
granted asylum.

The US claims jurisdiction because it is alleged that one of the several dozen
computer servers on which the websites were hosted was located in the US for
approximately 18 months from early 2000. The US accepts that the websites were
also hosted on computer servers around the world and that "at all times material
to the indictment" I was living in the UK. Other peripheral allegations against
me are that a US naval battleship plan document was allegedly seized from me in
December 2003. The media raised uproar about this document when I was arrested
on the extradition warrant. However, in a letter to Sadiq Khan MP, the former
Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith wrote that it could not even be proven that it
was in my possession. Another document seized from my parents' house was a
tourist brochure (belonging to my father) of the Empire State Building in New
York, which prompted the media to report "al-Qa'ida planned to attack Empire
State Building". That
  brochure is dated 1973, which is when my father visited New York. What is more
incredible is that UK police returned this brochure to my father after I was
arrested on the extradition warrant, yet it still forms part of the evidence
against me.

How were you tortured in the UK?

On 2 December 2003, I was arrested in a pre-dawn raid by anti-terrorist police
officers at my home in Tooting. During my arrest and subsequent journey to the
police station, the officers subjected me to a "serious, prolonged and
gratuitous attack" and "grave abuse tantamount to torture", which left me with
at least 73 physical injuries including bleeding in my ears and urine. I was
held in custody for six days during which my home and office were searched,
computers seized and analysed and I was questioned. On 8 December 2003 I was
released without charge, after the CPS determined that there was no evidence to
charge me with any criminal offence whatsoever. I believe that part of this
decision was based on the fact that any future criminal trial would air
embarrassing details of the abuse inflicted on me at my arrest.

Following my release I filed a formal complaint against the police and I gave
several interviews describing my treatment. My case began to prove highly
embarrassing to the Blair government.

When were you re-arrested?

After two months recovering from my injuries, I returned to work in February
2004 and tried to rebuild my life following my ordeal. On 5 August 2004, on my
way home from work, I was re-arrested pursuant to an extradition warrant from
the US under the controversial, no-evidence-required US-UK Extradition Treaty
and taken to a high-security prison where I have remained ever since. To this
day I have not even been questioned about the allegations against me.

Why is the US Government so determined to see you face trial there?

The question to ask is why has the Blair/Brown Government been so determined to
extradite me? In my case there is documentary evidence to suggest that it is not
the US that is really interested in me, but the Blair/Brown Government that has
been determined to send me there at any cost. One only has to read the
ferocious, lengthy representations that the Foreign Office has made to the
European Court of Human Rights urging, almost begging, the Court to extradite me
to the US. Their Herculean efforts eclipse those made by the US government
itself.

What message do you have for the Coalition Government in respect of your
extradition?

I have now been in prison fighting extradition for six years, which is the
equivalent of a 12-year sentence. Whilst in prison I have outlived the the
Blair/Brown Labour Government. To their credit, both the Liberal Democrats and
the Conservatives have steadfastly opposed this controversial UK-US Extradition
Treaty and they have pledged, in their published Coalition Agreement, to modify
it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iraq deaths in British custody could see military face legal challenges
MoD faces judicial inquiries as the Guardian raises questions over seven Iraqis
who died while being held by UK troops
Ian Cobain
guardian.co.uk,  Thursday 1 July 2010 15.27 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/01/iraq-deaths-custody-military-legal

The Ministry of Defence is facing a further series of court battles that may
shed more damaging light on the conduct of British troops in Iraq, after it
emerged that many more civilians died in army custody than previously thought.

At least eight Iraqi civilians are now acknowledged to have died while being
held by the British military after the 2003 invasion, including Baha Mousa, the
hotel receptionist who was beaten to death while in army custody in Basra.
Inquiries by lawyers representing a number of families of abused Iraqi civilians
suggest the death toll may have been higher still.

In seven cases raised by the Guardian, the MoD is refusing to explain why the
individuals were detained, or say where, how or why they died. Officials have
refused even to disclose whether or not the deaths were investigated.

Next week, lawyers representing 102 Iraqi civilians will seek a judicial review
of the MoD's refusal to hold a public inquiry into all cases of abuse of Iraqi
civilians after the March 2003 invasion. The 102 individuals allege that they
were victims of thousands of offences. It would be the third such inquiry.

The seven Iraqis whose unexplained deaths have been the subject of the
Guardian's questions are:

• Tanik Mahmud, who died on 12 April 2003. He is reported to have died on an
RAF helicopter after being detained by troops of the RAF Regiment.

• Ather Karen al-Mowafakia, who died on 29 April 2003. MPs have been told that
he died during "operations". Witnesses have told the Guardian that he was shot
in the abdomen after the door of his car struck a British soldier, and that he
was then dragged from the vehicle and beaten by British troops, dying later in
hospital.

• Radhi Nama, who died on 8 May 2003, possibly while hooded and handcuffed.

• Abd Al Jubba Mousa Ali, who died on 17 May 2003. A headteacher, he is
understood to have been arrested along with his son after troops found a firearm
in their home. His son says they were both kicked and slapped, and that his
father was repeatedly struck with a rifle butt. He says his father's body was
bruised when it was retrieved.

• Said Shabram, who died on 24 May 2003. Shortly after his death, soldiers of
the Black Watch regiment were reported to have told relatives that two men had
died after being "roughed up". Military police are reported to have questioned
soldiers from the regiment, but it remains unclear whether any further action
was taken.

• AJ Khalif, who died on 7 August 2003, in circumstances that remain unclear.

• An unidentified person who died on 10 April 2004, and whose death was
mentioned in an answer to a parliamentary question that Bob Ainsworth, the last
defence secretary, gave last July. It remains unclear whether the military has
since taken any steps to establish this man's identity.

Two other civilians, Ahmed Jabber Kareem and Hassan Abbad Said, are also known
to have died in British military custody, or while being taken into custody.
Three soldiers were cleared of the manslaughter of Karem, 15, a non-swimmer who
was thrown into a canal. A soldier was charged with the murder of Said, a lawyer
and a father of nine children, who was shot in the back, allegedly while
resisting arrest, but the case was later abandoned.

The Guardian has been asking the MoD a series of questions about the seven
unexplained deaths since last April. Officials at the MoD repeatedly promised to
provide detailed answers, but maintained for several weeks that Liam Fox, the
defence secretary, was unable to prise the information out of the army. In an
about-turn last week, the MoD said it was uncertain what to say because of the
threat of yet another public inquiry being ordered by the courts.

Phil Shiner, a lawyer representing many of the Iraqi families, said the MoD had
been "making a pathetic attempt to cover up" the deaths.

The 102 Iraqis whose allegations form the basis of next week's high court
hearing do not include relatives of the seven dead men. If their lawyers are
successful in forcing a public inquiry, it would be the third such inquiry into
the behaviour of British troops following the 2003 invasion.

One inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa is already underway. The 26-year-old
hotel receptionist died in September 2003, with a postmortem showing that he
suffered 93 separate injuries. A pathologist told the inquiry that military
police had informed him that a soldier had been seen holding Mousa on the floor,
with a knee in his back and pulling back on the hood over his head. Based on
that, the pathologist said he believed Mousa had died from "ligature
strangulation" and "postural asphyxiation".

A second inquiry is to examine allegations that 20 Iraqis were murdered and
others tortured at a British army base north of Basra in May 2004. The MoD says
all 20 men died on the battlefield.

The prospect that there could have been still further deaths in British military
custody was raised in March, when Lieutenant Colonel Nick Mercer, one of the
army's most senior legal advisors, gave evidence to the Baha Mousa inquiry.

In his evidence, Mercer described how in May 2003 military police told him about
two deaths in custody and added that, by that time, they thought there were
"five or six more deaths that required investigation".

Mercer told the inquiry that shortly after the invasion, he had visited an
interrogation centre near Basra operated by the army's joint forward
intelligence team. Men detained there were being forced to squat on the ground
with their hands cuffed high behind their backs. "It's a bit like seeing a
picture of Guantánamo Bay for the first time," he told the inquiry. "It is
quite a shock."

He had warned that hooding and the use of stress positions were illegal, but was
informed that it was "in accordance with British army doctrine on tactical
questioning".

From the Blog:
http://theislamawareness.blogspot.com/2010/08/mark-steel-if-anyone-is-fanatic-it\
s.html
http://theislamawareness.blogspot.com/2010/08/islamophobia-usa-man-mistaken-for.\
html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New York student charged with attack on Muslim taxi driver
Michael Enright, who volunteered in Afghanistan, accused of slashing neck and
face of Bangladeshi driver in Manhattan
Associated Press
guardian.co.uk,  Thursday 26 August 2010 19.46 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/26/new-york-muslim-taxi-driver

A college student who did volunteer work in Afghanistan has been charged with
slashing the neck and face of a Bangladeshi taxi driver who said he was Muslim.

A criminal complaint alleges Michael Enright uttered an Arabic greeting and told
the driver: "Consider this a checkpoint" before the brutal attack occurred on
Tuesday night inside the yellow cab on Manhattan's East Side. Police say
Enright, 21, was drunk at the time.

Enright is being held on charges of attempted murder and assault as hate crimes,
and possession of a weapon. The handcuffed defendant did not enter a plea during
the brief court appearance.

In addition to a serious neck wound, cab driver Ahmed Sharif suffered cuts to
his forearms, face and one hand while trying to fend off his attacker,
prosecutor James Zeleta said while arguing against bail.

Jason Martin, defending, told the judge his client was an honours student at the
School of Visual Arts who lived with his parents in suburban Brewster, New York.

Enright volunteered for Intersections International, a group that promotes
interfaith dialogue and has supported plans for an Islamic centre and mosque two
blocks from Ground Zero. A group representative, the Reverend Robert Chase,
called the situation "tragic".

"We've been working very hard to build bridges between folks from different
religions and cultures," Chase said. "This is really shocking and sad for us."

Sharif, a 43-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant who has driven a cab for 15 years,
was quoted in a news release from the New York Taxi Workers Alliance as saying
that the attack had left him shaken.

"I feel very sad," he said. He added that, because of tensions over the mosque,
"all drivers should be more careful". He accepted an invitation from New York's
mayor, Michael Bloomberg, a supporter of the mosque, to visit City Hall.

"This attack runs counter to everything that New Yorkers believe no matter what
God we pray to," the mayor said.

At around 6pm on Tuesday, a man hailed the cab at East 24th Street and Second
Avenue, a police spokeswoman said. Sharif said that during the trip his customer
asked him whether he was Muslim. When the driver said yes, the customer pulled
out a weapon – believed to be a folding tool with a knife blade called a
Leatherman – and attacked him.

After the assault, the driver tried to lock the customer inside the cab and
drive to a police station, police said. The attacker jumped out of a window, 17
blocks from where he hailed the cab, police said.

An officer noticed the commotion, found Enright slumped on the pavement and
arrested him.

A case for the tool was found inside the cab, but the tool was missing, police
said.

Chase said Enright has been volunteering for the group for about a year on a
project that involved veterans. He did a video project that sent him to
Afghanistan for about six weeks this spring to document the life of an average
soldier, Chase said. He was embedded with a unit there.

Intersections has come out in support of the mosque, but Chase said Enright
wasn't involved in that project.

Enright could face between eight and 25 years in prison if convicted of
attempted murder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Islamophobia: the new antisemitism
When I was growing up in Gainesville, Florida, the Klan was still a force. Now a
pastor wants to burn the Qur'an, what's changed?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/aug/26/islam-religion
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taxi driver: fear and loathing in New York
Why is Michael Bloomberg the only senior politician to have condemned the
unprovoked knife attack on a Muslim taxi driver?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/aug/26/islam-usa

After all of the anti-Muslim rhetoric surrounding the debate about Park51, it
didn't come as a surprise to many that someone took it to the next level. As
Michael Tomasky reported on his blog, a New York City cab driver, Ahmed Sharif,
was stabbed yesterday after the perpetrator asked "Are you Muslim?"

Initial reports on Michael Enright, the young man who has been charged with
attempted murder as a hate crime, among other things, show him as an untroubled
young man who was working as a volunteer with an interfaith project and who had
travelled to Afghanistan to film a documentary on US soldiers. His neighbours
and colleagues have gone to the media to tell them Enright is "a nice boy".
Multiple reports have referred to him as "baby-faced".

Two more incidents on the same day, though less violent, point to a rapidly
escalating trend. In Queens on Wednesday night, a drunken man entered a mosque
and urinated on the prayer rugs while yelling "terrorists!" On the same night,
in Fresno, California, a mosque was vandalised: a window broken and a sign
posted that read "No temple for the god of terrorism".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't panic, it's only Islamic

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/americas/2010/08/23/dont-panic-its-only-islamic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anti-Mosque Coalition’s Website Owned By Neo-Conservative Islamophobe Frank
Gaffney

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/08/24/gaffney-mosque-website/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

S. Jersey had own fuss over mosque
BY SHRUTI MATHUR DESAI • COURIER-POST STAFF • AUGUST 22, 2010

http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100822/NEWS01/8220336/S-Jersey-had-ow\
n-fuss-over-mosque

As national debate focuses on an Islamic center and mosque planned two blocks
from the site of the 9/11 attacks, local Muslims of different backgrounds agree
on one issue: The Manhattan mosque has a right to its place.

"We came to this country for this reason. We represent freedom in this country,"
said Bilal Alkiyal, managing trustee of the Voorhees Islamic Center, which faced
its own protests when it was proposed in 2003.

Quresh Dahodwala is a member of the Indian Dawoodi Bohra sect, which is building
a mosque in Cherry Hill. She said the mosque in New York City, which plans to
build a $100 million, multistory structure to be called Cordoba House, is
already meeting the needs of city Muslims in the former Burlington Coat Factory
building at 45 Park Place. Approval for its expansion was granted in May.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mosque imam's wife compares hatred of Muslims in U.S. to anti-Semitism

Read more:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/same_as_anti_semitism_Nguzqv7g7pJxt\
3G3iciewM#ixzz0xvQ9R9T7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Murfreesboro, Tenn.: Church 'Yes,' Mosque 'No'

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2011847,00.html

When the congregation of Grace Baptist Church held services in its new building
last month, no protesters marched outside to mark the occasion. It's doubtful
that protesters will gather later this month when the church throws an all-day
party to dedicate the new brick building on the corner of Bradyville Pike and
Veals Road. The words "Not Welcome" will probably not be spray-painted on the
new church's sign.
The same cannot be said for the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, which owns the
neatly mown 15-acre field next to Grace Baptist and whose plans to build a
mosque for its growing community has been caught in the net of anti-Islam
sentiment in the U.S. Both of the signs the Center erected at the site of its
future home were vandalized; the first had "not welcome" sprayed across it; the
second was simply smashed in two. Since May when the Center gained building
approval from Rutherford County, local Tea Party activists have aggressively
fought to stop the mosque, staging protests, claiming that it was too big
(inflating it from a modest 6,800 square feet to a whopping 53,000 square feet)
and making it a campaign issue in recent elections. Republican Ron Ramsey,
Tennessee's lieutenant governor and a gubernatorial candidate, gained national
attention — and ridicule on The Colbert Report — after opining "you could
even argue whether being a Muslim is
  actually a religion, or is it a nationality, a way of life or cult, whatever
you want to call it?" While Republican congressional candidate Lou Ann Zelenik
said the center is part of "a political movement designed to fracture the moral
and political foundation of Middle Tennessee." Ramsey and Zelenik both lost
their bids for Republican nominations.

Read more:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2011847,00.html#ixzz0xvQQ7UtO
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Candidate: Islam is against everything America stands for

http://www.newsherald.com/news/panama-86228-america-stands.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Muslim employee: Disney banned her head scarf

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/7159135.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Muslims gather at state Capitol to rally against ‘Islamaphobia’
By David Huck
Journal Inquirer
Published: Saturday, August 14, 2010 9:44 AM EDT

http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2010/08/14/page_one/doc4c65e586e1b430299\
03424.txt

HARTFORD — A crowd of more than 100 area Muslims and various leaders of faiths
from across the state gathered outside the Capitol Friday afternoon to express
their concern over growing “Islamophobia.”

Last week in Bridgeport, members of the Texas-based Operation Save America
confronted worshippers at the Masjid An-Anoor mosque, yelling what one Muslim
leader called words of hate and intolerance. According to Reza Mansoor, the
president of the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut, the Christian group called the
children murders as they walked into the mosque.

Area Muslim leaders are asking police and other public officials for assurances
that they can worship without being harassed, with the start of the holy month
of Ramadan this past Wednesday.

Mansoor said that the religious intolerance must be regarded as a “social
cancer, a threat to our very democratic, pluralistic way of life.”

He said words of hatred are creating a sense of fear among Muslims, who are
increasingly being harassed, intimidated, and called names in the United States.

“Islam was defiled and hijacked by the ruthless terrorist attack of 9/11 and
likewise, the words of Jesus have been defiled by hate. How can ‘love thy
neighbor’ be translated as ‘Jesus hates Muslims’?” Mansoor said.

“We believe in the same God. The God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed,
and we hold them in great reverence,” he added.

Leaders from more than 40 area faith communities gathered at the steps of the
Capitol to express their concern for the verbal assaults on Muslims as well as
to condemn the burning of the their holy book, the Quran.

“Today, we are at a place and time, unlike any time before, where Muslims and
Islam are being marginalized, vilified, and made to feel unwelcome in their
country, in their own homes, by their own countrymen,” said Rabia Chaudry,
president-elect of the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut.

“Lies are being spread about our faith and they are being accepted,” she
said.

Amis Shaikh, a resident of Southington who was born in India and immigrated into
the United States in 1985, called the Operation Save America group “Christian
fascism” and said they should be removed from America.

“Everybody in the entire country should have the attitude of the middle
course, not the extremism, in either religion, and all the faiths. People should
know how to live with each other and tolerate each other’s religion and not to
condemn and go after anybody’s religion,” he said.

In order to change the perception of Islam, Shaikh said people need to become
more educated about the religion and that the government should take a “fair
and balanced step towards all the nations, not just favor one nation for
another.”

Mansoor said his Muslim coalition has worked with many communities addressing
homelessness, health care, and feeding the poor, saying that such actions are
the “hallmark of healthy, inter-faith relations.”

He addressed the recent plans for a mosque and cultural center near the former
site of the World Trade Center in New York City, saying the project will be a
place “for all the people of the area,” and will have a 9/11 memorial within
the building.

“Sadly, it has become a symbol to rally hate against Islam,” he said, before
citing various cities across the country in which mosque construction became a
topic of hate.

Mansoor said religious pluralism and freedom of worship are the fundamental
values that the country was founded on. Religious intolerance, he said, can lead
to violence that should be stopped before it begins. He added that Muslims are
Americans who want to live the American dream, too.

“They, as all Americans, have the right to worship freely without any fear of
intimidation, without any fear of harassment,” said Mongi Dhaouadi, executive
director of the Connecticut office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

He said as people of faith, they have an obligation to “save America from the
extreme groups, from all sides.”

“The time is now for us to reclaim the eternal message of all religions, that
it is a message of peace,” Dhaouadi said.

Former Rabbi Eric Silver of Temple Beth David of Cheshire said that the right to
worship is a fundamental American freedom.

“Those of us who suffered so much through the years will not be guilty of
perpetrating the same denial of fundamental human rights upon others,” Silver
said.

He said Muslims have the right to a place of worship near ground zero, as much
as members of every other faith do.

“If we deny them this: then we are saying that somehow the relationship of
Muslims, all Muslims, and in particular American Muslims, somehow linked to the
events of 9/11 in a way that the lives of Jews and Christians are not—that
they are somehow not as American as the rest of us. I cannot accept that.”

An Associated Press article contributed to this report.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GOP takes harsher stance toward Islam

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41076.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mike Pompeo, GOP Candidate, Apologizes For Tweet Attacking Challenger As An
'Evil' 'Turban Topper', Could-Be Muslim

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/12/mike-pompeo-gop-candidate_n_680612.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel and the anti-Muslim blow-up

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/08/201081912522467685.html

I don't know why I am at all surprised that the American Right - including the
Republican Party - has decided that scapegoating Muslims is the ticket to
success. After all, it's nothing new.

I remember right after 9/11 when the columnist Charles Krauthammer, now one of
the most vocal anti-Muslim demagogues, almost literally flipped out in my Chevy
Chase, Maryland synagogue when the rabbi said something about the importance of
not associating the terrorist attacks with Muslims in general.

It was on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, but that did not stop
Krauthammer from bellowing out his disagreement with the rabbi.  Krauthammer's
point: Israel and America are at war with Muslims and that war must be won.

It was shocking, not only because Krauthammer's outburst was so utterly out of
place but also because the man was actually chastising the rabbi for not
spouting hate against all Muslims - on the Day of Atonement.

The following year, the visiting rabbi from Israel gave a sermon about the
intifada that was then raging in Israel and the West Bank.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mosques in America: Faith and Anger

http://www.newsweek.com/photo/2010/08/08/us-mosque-protests.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ground Zero mosque plans 'fuelling anti-Muslim protests across US'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/12/ground-zero-mosque-islamophobia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SIOA Co-Founder: Kill Your Liberal Relatives and All Muslims

http://www.loonwatch.com/2010/08/sioa-co-founder-kill-your-liberal-relatives-and\
-all-muslims/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Museum Of Tolerance' Director Opposes Mosque But Built Museum On Muslim Cemetery

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/museum_of_tolerance_director_o\
pposes_mosque_but_bu.php
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Right-Wing Group Launches ‘Anti-Islamic’ Bus Ads in Major Cities

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/07/29/right-anti-islamic-bus/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tea Partiers Freak Over Six Flags "Muslim Day"

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/07/muslim-day-six-flags
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paladino: It’s about stopping Muslim conquest

http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/30104/paladino-its-not-about-religio\
n-its-about-stopping-muslim-conquest/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is The Tea Party Movement Islamophobic?

http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2010/07/29/islamophobic_party/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anti-Mosque Protester To TPM: Muslims Hate Dogs And America Too

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/tpm_talks_to_organizer_of_anti\
-mosque_protest_they.php
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

U.S. Army veteran in Colombia feels like he's caught in a no-fly trap
By Kelly Lynch, CNN
July 28, 2010 -- Updated 2006 GMT (0406 HKT)

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/07/28/no.fly.trap/#fbid=2wuWakDdxSk&wom=false

A 29-year-old U.S. citizen and Army veteran sits in a bare apartment in a poor
part of the Colombian capital, Bogota. He wants to come home, but he can't. He
thinks it's because he's on the federal government's "no-fly list."
Raymond Earl Knaeble is one of an unknown number of Americans stranded overseas.
They can't fly home, but no one will tell them why.
In Knaeble's case, he went to the airport in Bogota on March 14 to board a plane
for Miami, Florida.
"I had a job offered to me and one of the requirements to secure the job was
that I had to take a medical exam. It was scheduled for March 16 in the U.S.,"
Knaeble said.
When he arrived at the gate, however, an airline official denied him a boarding
pass. He was instructed to contact the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.
"They told me I couldn't fly with the airline, with any airline," he said. "My
heart sank. They didn't give me a reason why. I've been stuck in Colombia
without any explanation."
Knaeble, a resident of California, believes he has been placed on the federal
no-fly list. The list is maintained by the FBI and indicates who might be a risk
to civil aviation, specifically those suspected of being domestic or
international terrorists. This list is disseminated among various government
agencies like the Transportation Security Administration, for use in screening
passengers.
"My plan was to go do my medical screening in the U.S., spend time with my
family, secure my job and come back to Colombia to get my wife," Knaeble said.
"Then everything changed. The company retracted my offer and I lost the job."
He flew to Colombia in March from Kuwait to marry his then-fiance and said he
encountered no problems. He had been living in Kuwait since 2006 working for ITT
Systems, the same company that offered him the new position as a heavy mobile
equipment mechanic in Qatar.
Knaeble converted to Islam in 2008 and with others created a website about the
religion's teachings. Nothing on the site suggests it condones violence, and in
a statement to CNN, Knaeble said: "People have a lot of misconceptions about
Islam, but the truth is that Islam is a religion of peace. It means peace."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Temecula mosque plans stir controversy

“I’m not convinced that those against us really understand us,” Harmoush
said. “We are peaceful, cooperative and law abiding. We don’t want this
tension.”

For nearly a decade, Mahmoud Harmoush has lived a relatively quiet life in
Temecula. A professor at Cal State San Bernardino, Harmoush and his wife have
raised their children here, they’ve made friends and are active in the
community.

The couple has practiced their Muslim faith here, and eight years ago Harmoush
helped establish the Islamic Center of Temecula Valley that currently operates
out of an industrial space on Rio Nedo.

“Temecula is a great place to live,” he said. “It is a wonderful place to
raise a family, to work and to worship.”

Harmoush is an Imam at the center and is also a founding member of the
Interfaith Council of Murrieta and Temecula.

Rev. Joe Zarro of United Church of the Valley and co-chairman of the Interfaith
Council of Murrieta and Temecula works with Harmoush.

“He has done so much in the community to promote religious understanding,”
Zarro said. “He’s very well respected and liked, and is a very peaceful
human being.”

Read more:
http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2010-07-28/lifestyle/temecula-mosque-pl\
ans-stir-controversy#ixzz0xvTfhq2V
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Islamaphobes Target Fountain Valley Schools

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/school-daze/fountain-valley-schools-islam/

Local members of a national group "concerned about" Muslim terrorists posing as
Mexicans to illegally cross the southern U.S. border, the FBI discriminating
against Jews and Christians who apply to be Arabic translators and
"anti-American, anti-Christian and anti-Jewish hate speech in mosques in
America" (among many, many issues) shifted their fury to the Fountain Valley
school board Thursday night.

The specific bugaboo up the asses of members of ACT! for America centered on a
world history textbook used in Fountain Valley School District seventh grade
classrooms.

The book, approved by the state education department, gives "cleansed''
portrayals of Islamic history, according to the group.

They want additional pages dropped into the textbook that present what they
consider to be the true story if Islam.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saudi’s mistreatment at LA airport goes unexplained

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article83136.ece

RIYADH: There has been no explanation, apology or refund given to Majed Shattai
Al-Dhafairi, a Saudi man who was mistreated by immigration officers in the US
and then detained before being flown back to the Kingdom.

Al-Dhafairi left for the US after receiving his passport from the US Embassy
with what he believed was a valid visa. However, on arriving at Los Angeles
airport, his passport was seized and he was mistreated by immigration officers
and held in custody for 24 hours.

When asked for an explanation, Department of Homeland Security officials told
him that there were no records of him being issued a visa.

In spite of following up on the incident for the last few months, the US Embassy
in Riyadh has offered no explanation, let alone an apology. Nor has Al-Dhafairi
been reimbursed his ticket money or visa costs.

In response, the embassy told him it cannot pay for his ticket or visa and that
rejected applicants need to bear the costs of any new visa applications if they
so choose to apply.

Al-Dhafairi said he received his passport with what he believed was a valid visa
in December 2009. The visa had been issued on Oct. 24, 2009 and was valid until
Oct. 17, 2011.

“I left for Los Angeles via Dubai on Dec. 27, 2009. When the plane landed in
the US and as soon as the gates were opened, I was taken by two officials to a
private room where my passport was taken and I was informed that my visa was
invalid and that I was not allowed to enter the country,” said Al-Dhafairi,
who was then questioned for 10 hours and humiliated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Muslim woman sues Somerset Medical Center for religious discrimination

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/muslim_woman_sues_somerset_hos.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He used to know a guy related to a guy...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2010/jul/26/usa-religion

Muslim Woman Sues Disneyland Over Hijab

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Muslim-Woman-Sues-Disneyland-Over-Hijab-\
101068354.html

A Muslim woman is suing Disneyland acusing the California theme park of refusing
to allow her to work in front of customers while wearing a hijab or head scarf.

Imane Boudlal filed a discrimination complaint Wednesday with the federal Equal
Opportunity Commission.

The Morocco native works in the Storytellers Cafe, a themed Disney restaurant. 
She says her employer gave her a choice of working behind the scenes or leaving
after she began wearing the hijab in observance of Ramadan.

Disney says it is trying to make accommodations for Boudlal.  Disneyland
spokeswoman Suzi Brown says the company has a dress code for its "themed
positions" and has provided Boudlal with opportunities to work in backstage
positions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Book Review: Love in a Headscarf

http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/review_book-review-love-in-a-headscarf_1430165

Scarves were once about fashion. Today they’re all about politics. The
headscarf is fiercely contested territory with diametrically opposite meanings
ranging from ‘oppressive’ to ‘liberating’ depending on who is standing
on the soapbox.

Which is why Shelina Zahra Janmohamed’s chick-lit cum memoir, Love In A
Headscarf is more provocative at second glance.

It has earned the author the title of a Muslim Bridget Jones. And one can see
why. It is a touching and occasionally tongue-in-cheek account as a teenage
Shelina embarks on an ambitious, community-driven search for the romantic hero
she can spend the rest of her life with, via the arranged marriage system. There
is plenty of room for irony here, and she offers tribute to Jane Austen when she
opens a chapter with “It is a universally acknowledged truth that all Asian
parents want their children to get married and settle down.” Buxom aunties,
prospective mothers-in-law and mosque imams leave little room for hesitation as
elaborate tea-and-samosa rituals unfold, their sole purpose being, to introduce
boy to girl.

This isn’t the kind of Muslim chick-lit that made Girls Of Riyadh such a
phenomenon. For one thing, the heroine wears her religion and her hijab
spiritedly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Top ways to drape your hijab this season
tabloid! goes 'undercover' with Dubai-based fashion designer Rabia Z. to unveil
the top styles to drape your hijab this season. Follow the easy steps and before
you know it, yours will be the most stylish shayla around.

http://gulfnews.com/pictures/life-style/top-ways-to-drape-your-hijab-this-season\
-1.674267
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Islamic Fashion Designers Have Gone Hijab Crazy For Eid!

http://www.prlog.org/10890500-islamic-fashion-designers-have-gone-hijab-crazy-fo\
r-eid.html


PRLog (Press Release) – Aug 27, 2010 – Aab has gone Hijab crazy! With a
medley of stylish prints and an entirely new range of hand dyed hijabs, the
online Islamic designer fashion store has gone hijab crazy to celebrate Eid.

The Pre-Eid collection also features an intoxicating mixture of sensational
abayas and jilbabs for both work and special occasions. The bespoke and
hand-crafted garments available now include items made from luxurious organic
cotton and pure silk.

This new collection also has a treat for sophisticated women travellers, as the
company have proudly launched their first light and airy Kaftan - with delicate
hand embroidery along the neck line and cuffs – which is picking up wild
plaudits on Islamic blogs and in the media.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Norwegian court rules hijab ban illegal

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/norwegian-court-rules-hijab-ban-illeg\
al-20100820-1392y.html

A Norwegian administrative court on Friday said a ban on police women wearing
the Islamic headscarf was illegal, in response to a government refusal in 2009
to allow officers to don the hijab.

The Norwegian Equality Tribunal said in a non-binding opinion that the ban ran
counter to the country's freedom of religion and anti-discrimination laws by
depriving a whole category of women from access to the police profession.

"The official objective is for the police to mirror Norwegian society as a
whole," the tribunal wrote in its ruling.

"The society is multi-cultural and diverse, and the police should also
illustrate this diversity, precisely to allow it to maintain trust at large"
among the population, it added.

After a Muslim woman said she wanted to become a police officer, but did not
want to remove her hijab, Norway's centre-left government last year first
approved a police decision to allow its female officers to wear the Islamic
headscarf.

However, the ruling coalition quickly backtracked after the decision sparked
outrage and charges from the largest member of the opposition, the far-right
Progress Party, that it was allowing the "gradual Islamisation" of the country.

The main police union also said at the time it was against the plan, calling for
the police uniform to remain neutral.

"The Islamic headscarf will certainly weaken the uniform's neutrality to a
certain extent," head of the tribunal Trude Margrethe Haugli conceded on Friday.

"But this is a small sacrifice for ensuring that principles of equality and
freedom of religion are upheld," she told AFP.

The justice ministry, which theoretically can choose to ignore the ruling, did
not immediately respond to requests for comment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jaffa woman fired over hijab returns to work

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=310228

A Palestinian woman with Israeli citizenship returned to work Tuesday as a
cashier for an Israeli supermarket in Jaffa that fired her for wearing a Muslim
head covering.

Ilham Karajah was reinstated to her position after a meeting between Jaffa
Municipal Council member Ahmad Masharawi and the general manager of the Avi Shuq
supermarket chain.

"I am glad Karajah returned to work ... Jaffa is a mixed city which is home to a
large number of Arab citizens. The decision to discharge was negative and
dangerous," Masharawi said, adding that the community would have organized
rallies had the decision not been overturned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unveiling the Haute Hijab

http://www.illumemag.com/zine/articleDetail.php?Unveiling-the-Haute-Hijab-13217

Melanie Elturk has always dreamt of becoming a fashion designer. At the age of
25, she is not only a fashion designer and an attorney, but she's preparing to
launch her online store, Haute Hijab, this fall.

"Our entire philosophy is to provide clothing to Muslim women who live in
America and wear western clothing,” Elturk said. “I want to provide a real
resource for women who are fashion conscious or think about what they’re
wearing, but modest at the same time.”

Haute Hijab will include hijab-friendly clothing and vintage hijabs. The store
will ship across the U.S., and after a couple of months, ship internationally.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sweden: Majority think wearing a hijab is acceptable

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=198287

Nine out of ten Swedish people disapprove of wearing veils that cover the face
to school or to work. This according to new figures from the Diversity
Barometer, a study that Uppsala University carries out annually.

The study also found that 60 percent of Swedes believe that it is okay to wear
religious garb, like hijabs and shaylas, to work, so long as the garments do not
hide the face.

Additionally, 61.4% agree that Muslim women in Sweden are more oppressed than
other women in Sweden. 30.3% have no opinion and 8.4% disagree.

55% agree that religious school obstruct integration. 38.3% have no opinion and
6.7% disagree.

These percentages have been more or less static over the past few years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Banksy in Heels and a Hijab

http://globalgrind.com/channel/culture/content/1730921/banksy-in-heels-and-a-hij\
ab/

If Banksy is a girl then we've found her.  Princess Hijab is not only reclaiming
space but defiantly Hijabizing the streets of Paris.  Armed with spray paint and
black markers, Princess Hijab is ready to dissect contemporary habits by hiding
the faces of consumerism with hijabs.  Many find it hard to see where the hijab
and secularism can live in harmony but through the simple but blunt addition of
a veil advertising billboards take on a subversive meaning instantly.

Princess Hijab states, "I would say my work is inspired from the
anti-consumerist movements.  I'm an advertising hijabist.  In other words, I
cover all advertising with a black veil, which is a dark symbol, a reference on
pop culture, and a way to hide elegantly advertising.  It is also a study on
territories and identities."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Why Cyprus is more Islam-friendly than Turkey

http://theislamawareness.blogspot.com/2010/07/why-cyprus-is-more-islam-friendly-\
than.html

There was an interesting headline in daily Taraf a few days ago, “The Greeks
have set the headscarf free.” The story was about a juvenile female Muslim
student living in the Republic of Cyprus. She wanted to attend her primary
school classes while wearing a headscarf, a demand that sparked a public
controversy. But as Taraf wrote with reference to Alithia, a Greek Cypriot
daily, the Minister of Education, Andreas Dimitriu, intervened on behalf of the
young girl’s right to practice her faith. “Religious freedom is
non-negotiable,” the minister reportedly said, “and so is the parents’
right to raise their children according to their beliefs.”

“Well done, Mr. Dimitriu,” I said to myself. “And down with this absurd
secularism in Turkey, which makes it much less Islam-friendly than the
Greek-ruled Republic of Cyprus.”

Independent yet unfree
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Breastfeed Your Baby in a Hijab: Public Breastfeeding in the Middle East

http://theislamawareness.blogspot.com/2010/07/breastfeed-your-baby-in-hijab-publ\
ic.html

Many Muslim women cover up with a hijab. If you are breastfeeding a baby, this
Muslim American blogger recommends buying a special coverup. Here in the Middle
East, modesty among religious Christians, Moslems, and Jews is often associated
with inhibitions about nursing in public. But that isn’t necessarily true.

In my years counseling nursing mothers, I’ve found that modest dress and
nursing in public are separate issues. Women covered from head to toe can be
seen nursing their babies on a park bench, while some mothers in halter tops
wouldn’t dream of nursing in public. In countries like the US, where babies
are primarily bottle-fed, breastfeeding mothers are frequently asked to leave
public places or cover up while billboards with exposed breasts are everywhere.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

France moves towards face-veil ban

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/europe/2010/07/201071473718989145.html

The French parliament's lower house has overwhelmingly approved a ban on the
wearing of full face veils in public.

The bill needs to be passed by the senate before it becomes law, but is facing
little political resistance.

Laurence Lee reports from Paris.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Champion of UK burka ban declares war on veil-wearing constituents
By Andrew Grice, Political Editor
Saturday, 17 July 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/champion-of-uk-burka-ban-declares-\
war-on-veilwearing-constituents-2028669.html

A Conservative MP says he will refuse to hold meetings with Muslim women wearing
full Islamic dress at his constituency surgery unless they lift their face veil.

Last night Muslim groups condemned Philip Hollobone and accused him of failing
in his duty as an MP.

In an interview with The Independent, the Kettering MP said: "I would ask her to
remove her veil. If she said: 'No', I would take the view that she could see my
face, I could not see hers, I am not able to satisfy myself she is who she says
she is. I would invite her to communicate with me in a different way, probably
in the form of a letter."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Cost And Courage Of Wearing A Scarf: Hani Khan’s Story

http://www.illumemag.com/zine/articleDetail.php?The-Cost-And-Courage-Of-Wearing-\
A-Scarf-Hani-Khan%E2%80%99s-Story-13175

Hani Khan woke up on February 15 and got ready for her day. She laid out her
clothes, put on some lip-gloss, and wrapped the hijab around her head, the
religious head covering she has been wearing since kindergarten. She walked into
her job at Hollister at the Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo, California and punched
her employee ID into the system as usual but that day, something seemed off.

“When the district manager came in for a special visit, I felt him staring at
me,” Khan said, but she went about her work as normal.  When Khan came back
from her lunch break, she found the district manager waiting for her.

"He told me he wanted me to speak to a person at Abercrombie & Fitch human
resources," Khan said, "And he handed me the phone."

The Abercrombie and Fitch Human Resources Representative told Khan that her
scarf was in violation of the company’s policy on headgear and told her that
in order for her to continue her job, Khan would have to remove her hijab.

Khan explained she could not take it off due to her personal beliefs.  "I told
her that it was part of my religion, and that it is meant to promote modesty,"
Khan said. "Really, it's just a symbol, like a Jewish person wearing a yarmulke,
or a Christian wearing a cross." The district manager then sent Khan home for
the day, telling her the headgear was unacceptable.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Muslim states vow $1bn Pakistan aid
OIC pledge comes as rising waters threaten densely populated areas in Sindh
province.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/201083042218509712.html

Muslim countries and organisations have pledged nearly $1bn in cash and supplies
to relief efforts for flood victims in Pakistan, the head of a group of Islamic
states has said.

"They [Muslim countries and organisations] have shown that they are one of the
largest contributors of assistance both in kind and cash," Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu,
head of the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), said in
Islamabad on Sunday.

The aid pledges come from OIC institutions and telethons held in Saudi Arabia,
Turkey, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, he said.

Ihsanoglu did not provide a breakdown of the pledges or say how much of the
money would go to the Pakistani government versus non-governmental
organisations.

Gilani's warning

Yousuf Raza Gilani, Pakistan's prime minister, criticised donations made to
foreign NGOs rather than the Pakistani government, saying the money would be
wasted.

"Eighty per cent of the aid will not come to you directly," he said on Sunday,
referring to Pakistani citizens.

"It will come through their NGOs, and they will eat half of it," he said.

The Pakistani government has been criticised for not doing enough to help the 17
million people who have been significantly affected by the floods.

Flooding, which began about a month ago after exceptionally heavy monsoon rains
pounded the country's northwest, has spread down the country towards the coast,
inundating agricultural land and damaging or destroying more than 1.2 million
homes.

An estimate 72,000 children are at risk of dying from malnutrition if more
immediate aid is not provide the worst-hit areas.

"We are very concerned that, with more recent flooding in the south and nearly a
million displaced in recent days, the challenges that are already there are
continuing to grow," Stacey Winston, spokesperson for UN Office for the
Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told Al Jazeera on Monday.

"More aid and funding is coming in, but we still need more. There is more
flooding, more misery and more challenges, but we are trying, as fast as we can,
to reach as many as we can."

'No shelter'

More than 1,500 people have been killed and eight million others are in need of
emergency assistance across the country.

"We don't have any form of shelter and are desperate for food and water, not to
mention food, tents or any other facility," Mohammed Usman, a labourer who fled
the city of Sujawal several days ago, said.

Floodwaters have finally begun to recede around the city of Thatta, which has
been under threat for several days. Most of the city's 300,000 people have
already fled.

"The breach near Thatta has been half-plugged, and fortunately the flood has
also changed its course and is moving away from the city and its populated
areas," said Hadi Bakhsh Kalhoro, a city official.

Pakistan's meteorological department said the waters around the nearby Kotri
barrage were receding, but warned that a danger of flooding would remain for
several more days.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thousands flee south Pakistan city
People seek higher ground as troops and civilians struggle to protect city of
Thatta from flood waters of the Indus.
Last Modified: 30 Aug 2010 10:01

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/201082873211738615.html

More than 175,000 people have fled Pakistan's southern city of Thatta, leaving
it virtually empty, as flood waters threatened to submerge the city's outskirts.

Troops and civilians were struggling on Sunday to protect the city after
floodwaters broke through levees on the Indus.

"The water is still two kilometres away from Thatta where the armed forces and
the local administrative workers are working on war footing to save the city,"
Hadi Bakhsh Kalhoro, a senior city official told the AFP news agency.

"The army brought a maximum of resources to try to fill up the breach. Almost
all the people have left Thatta to safer places, all shops and schools are
closed," he said.

Thousands of people sought shelter on the high ground of a historic cemetery
outside Thatta and others headed to nearby towns and cities.

'Incapable government'

Many were angered by lack of help, and on Saturday, a number of villagers
blocked the main road in protest against the government, saying they had not
received any food or assistance.

Lakano Barani, a resident from Thatta, blamed officials for not taking the
necessary steps to prevent the third levee from breaking.

"Nothing was done and now it is too late. If they [the government] had taken
action, then the historic city of Thatta could have been saved," he told Al
Jazeera.

"The government has not told the people where to go or what to do. It is the
most incapable government I have ever seen."

About 17 million people have been significantly affected by the floods and about
1.2 million homes have been destroyed or badly damaged, according to the United
Nations.

More than 1,500 people have been killed.

The UN, the Pakistani army and a host of local and international relief groups
have been rushing aid workers, medicine, food and water to the affected regions,
but are unable to reach many people.

More than eight million people are in need of emergency assistance across the
country.

"We are very concerned that, with more recent flooding in the south and nearly a
million displaced in recent days, the challenges that are already there are
continuing to grow," Stacey Winston, spokesperson for the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told Al Jazeera.

"More aid and funding is coming in, but we still need more. There is more
flooding, more misery and more challenges. We are trying, as fast as we can, to
reach as many as we can," she said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One million flee south Pakistan
Displaced residents of Sindh province evacuate homes as floods sweep southward.
Last Modified: 27 Aug 2010 12:09

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/201082792250643658.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan floods: people return home to find nothing left, nothing at all
The monsoon deluge turned mud houses in north-west Pakistan into a sodden mess

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/24/pakistan-floods-villages-destruction

Sirajuddin stares at the shallow muddy pool of water. He had come to salvage
whatever he could from his home. There is nothing, nothing at all.

"This was our house," said 30-year-old Sirajuddin, pointing to the pool.

Before the great flood came at the end of July there were some 120 homes in the
village of Drab Korona, in Charsadda district in north-west Pakistan. Today,
only a mosque, two schools and the odd brick wall of other buildings have
survived. The rest of the buildings were made mostly of mud. A torrent of
freezing cold water, which eventually went roof-high, had come in the dead of
night and by the next afternoon, almost everything was washed away.

The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the first hit by the monsoon deluge.
While further south in the country, the floods continue to the eat up more land,
in the north-west the waters have receded, removing the danger of drowning but
leaving behind the threat of disease and a destitute population. Pakistan's
federal flood commission has reported that 178,484 homes were destroyed or
damaged in this province alone.

With the flood waters gone, Drab Korona looks like a muddy refuse site, a jumble
of battered remains encased in thick sludge. Strewn around are broken furniture,
trucks, rafters that had been used to support houses … evidence that homes
once stood here.

Sirajuddin had lived here with his wife and four children, and the families of
his two brothers, in a three-room mud home set in a modest compound. That had
gone and there was a just a trace of his all-important wheat store, where some
ruined grain was lying in a heap.

They had bought the house six years ago for 140,000 rupees (£1,080), with money
loaned and gifted from relatives. Before the floods, Sirajuddin used to make
4,000 rupees to 5,000 rupees (£31 to £38) a month as a labourer.

"We don't have anything now, even to feed ourselves, so how can we remake this
house?" said Sirajuddin, who is living in a tent in another part of Charsadda
district. "Our relatives are giving us food but how long can they do that?"

Under a baking sun in sapping humidity, the village air is heavy with the
gut-churning smell of rotting flesh, a stench that seems to come in waves. Most
of the buffalos and other animals were drowned. Their carcasses lie putrefying
somewhere under the slushy mess. Villagers who have returned to search for
belongings complain of skin problems. The stagnant water and animal remains have
turned Drab Korona into a breeding ground for germs.

A few metres away, Aman Gul, an 18-year-old dressed in a dark vest and
traditional baggy trousers, had come to retrieve what he could. Both his home
and his father's village shop were washed away. It was a four-room mud house,
which had been home to 17 people, including his grandparents. He had managed to
find an electric fan and some duvets that were stored in a trunk. A bed,
deposited on a pile of mud, marked the spot where the shop had stood.

In the hurry to get away on the morning of the flood, in water that was already
neck high, two of Gul's aunts, his mother's sisters, had drowned. They had each
been holding a child when the current took them away. Gul's father managed to
save the children. One of the aunts, Shahnaz, was carrying the family's savings,
45,000 rupees (£350) in cash and 25 grams of gold. They found her body six days
later, though there was no sign of valuables. In all, seven people from the
village died.

"Only two of us can work in this family, my father and me," said Gul, who has a
job on a building site across the border in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where he
makes 250 rupees a day (£2). "If we can get some money together, we will make
one room, so at least we can live in our own place."

Gul's family are now living in a tent in a camp that has sprung up on the main
Nowshera Road nearby, alongside the Flying Craft paper mill, a largely defunct
factory that once used to provide much employment to the village. A dozen or so
people are crowded into each tent there, on an exposed sitethat appears to
receive little or no help from the authorities or aid organisations. There, they
rely on the charity of townsfolk, who arrive by car with supplies of food to
hand out, these days in the late afternoon before the breaking of the fast.
Despite the calamity, all the adults in the camp are observing Ramadan. The
north-west is a deeply religious region of the country.

Next to Drab Korona, the adjacent village of Fakirabad Majoki had been a
marginally more prosperous settlement of about 1,000 houses, set on higher
ground, where many of the homes were made from brick. But, to save money, locals
had used mud rather than cement to bind the bricks, which simply dissolved in
the flood, leaving mounds where walls had once stood, as if an earthquake had
struck. Unlike, Drab Korona, now a wasteland, a few of the residents have
drifted back to Fakirabad Majoki. A dozen old men knelt in prayer at the village
mosque, which survived.

Farman Ali's home has a surviving, but badly bowed, compound wall. But inside,
the rooms are gone. He's pitched a tent on his plot, where he and his seven
children now live. It is better than sleeping on the side of the main road,
where they had been staying. Over the last 25 years, Ali had slowly converted
the original mud-built rooms into brick. Earlier this year, he took early
retirement from a lowly job at the state electricity company. Now, the home is
wiped out and has hasn't started to receive his pension.

"We got out when the water had reached over our heads," said Ali. "At least
we're alive. How we'll live, I don't know. We have faith in God. He will do
something. Send some angel perhaps."

Amid the fatalism of some, there is also burning anger, at the authorities, in
particular the provincial government which is run by the secular Awami National
Party. Charsadda district was the party's base but in Fakirabad Majoki,
residents spat expletives at the ANP, praising instead the mildly Islamist party
of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the pro-Taliban Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam,
which they said had come to their aid or at least shown concern.

"The ANP is not here, it doesn't exist for us," said Hameedullah, a 55-year-old
villager. "Asfandyar [Wali Khan, the ANP leader] hasn't come here, even to his
own area. If I saw him, I would become a suicide bomber against him myself."

According to a senior official in the Charsadda administration, Kamran Rehman
Khan, the floods affected 74,000 families in the district, roughly 500,000
people, with 54,000 of those families now housed in schools or tents.

"The whole catastrophe is overwhelming," said Khan. "Whatever we do, is not
enough."

The flooding began at the end of July, in the mountains of the north of
Pakistan, caused by very heavy monsoon rain, with the flood waters moving
southwards since then, inundating new areas of the southern province of Sindh
this week.


Flood facts

• Pakistan estimates that 2.5%, or nearly $5bn, will be wiped off expected
growth this year as a result of the floods. Growth will also be hit next year.
Infrastructure damage will also have an adverse effect on GDP

• Some economists believe the inflation rate could spike to 25% in the short
term

• President Asif Zardari says recovery will take at least three years

• Population affected: approximately 20 million in more than 11,000 villages

• Area affected: 100,000 sq km – almost the size of England

• Cultivated land affected: 2.6m acres. The floods have destroyed an estimated
23% of the current national crop, including much of the cotton crop, which is
Pakistan's major export driver

• Deaths: 1,539

• Houses damaged or destroyed: 1.2m

• Agriculture lost: 200bn rupee (£1.5bn)

• International aid pledged so far: $815m (£527m)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan recovery 'to take years'

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/201082419523210217.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Begging the world with 'no shame'

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2010/08/22/begging-world-no-shame

The situation is still critical in Pakistan as the floods now leave a trail of
destruction in the southern province of Sindh and inundate parts of the
country’s impoverished Baluchistan province, where the people are still
waiting for assistance.

Their plight has been eclipsed by the horrendous scale of destruction in the
country’s breadbasket province of Punjab and by the fact that the north was
also badly hit - from Gilgit Baltistan down to the southern belt of the
frontier.

According to some estimates, the area hit by the floods is equal to the size of
Italy. In the short term, this means that a major undertaking is needed to
restore communications links and replenish wheat stocks to avoid a famine-like
situation. It may take years to restore farmlands and repair the damage caused
by the floods.

The authorities will also have to look into its antiquated canal systems and
think seriously of building run-of-the-river dams to be able to regulate the
flow of the waters more effectively and, above all, to improve its embankments
for its major canals that have over the years become less effective with the
deposit of silt.

It would also have to move rapidly to stop the destruction of its forests, which
have been depleting at an alarming rate because of the collusion of the timber
mafia and Pakistan’s feudal political elite.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan floods are a 'slow-motion tsunami' - Ban Ki-moon
UN general secretary urges countries to send more money, quicker as monsoon
rains worsen flooding

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/19/pakistan-flood-ban-ki-moon

The United Nations general secretary, Ban Ki-moon, has appealed for swifter aid
to provide immediate relief in food, shelter and clean water for the millions
affected by the worst monsoon rains on record.

"Make no mistake, this is a global disaster," Ban told a hurriedly convened
session of the UN general assembly. "Pakistan is facing a slow-motion tsunami.
Its destructive powers will accumulate and grow with time," he warned.

Weather forecasts have said there could be four more weeks of rain, which will
add to the flood problems.

The UN has appealed for $460m (£295m) in aid and donors have so far given about
half that figure. But the secretary-general said all of the money was needed
immediately to help victims over the next three months.

The US has pledged an extra $60m in help, bringing America's total aid to $150m.

In a video message, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton appealed to the
American public to donate generously to a newly established "Pakistan relief
fund".

"The enormity of this crisis is hard to fathom, the rain continues to fall and
the extent of the devastation is still difficult to gauge," said Clinton. "Our
thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost loved ones, those who have
been displaced from their homes and those left without food and water."

The US special representative for Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, said "many
billions" would be needed to respond to the flooding. Speaking at the Asia
Society in New York, he called on other countries, such as China, to step up to
the plate and said: "The water has affected everyone, It's an equal opportunity
disaster, and military operations have effectively faded away."

The British government yesterday pledged to double its emergency payments,
raising its pledge to £64.3m.

Last weekend, one of the UK's funds for disasters – the CERF – was included
in a list of items sent by DFID's director of policy to international
development secretary Andrew Mitchell as possibly expendable. His department
insists the list was only a speculative part of due process, since the
department, like all others, is expected to consider value for money, despite
DFID being ringfenced from cuts.

But tonight Mitchell, who has recently visited Pakistan to inspect the effect
British aid has had so far, told the UN general assembly in New York that the
international community had to do more. He told the UN it was "deeply
depressing" that the international community was "only now waking up to the true
scale of this disaster".

Mitchell will meet other development secretaries and push them to give more. He
emphasised funding would only be allocated to NGOs and UN agencies which could
prove they were helping people get back on their feet.

He highlighted a fund that would give farmers new seed to plant new crops to
replace those destroyed by the floods as a project the UK would back.

He said: "I've come to New York directly from Pakistan, where I saw the dire
need for more help. I saw the sheer and shocking magnitude of this catastrophe.
It is clear that unless more aid is delivered now, many more people will die
from disease and malnutrition. The UK is already helping more than three million
people in flood-affected areas." This doubling of our aid should now provide
water and sanitation to 500,000 people; shelter to 170,000 people; help meet the
nutritional needs of 380,000 people and provide enough health services to cover
a population of 2.4 million people."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UN appeals for more Pakistan aid

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/2010819225332866698.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan floods: Saudi Arabia pledges $100m
Oil-rich country overtakes US as main aid donor as second wave of flooding hits
new areas in southern provinces

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/18/pakistan-floods-saudi-arabia-pledges
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heroes and heartbreak in Pakistan's flood waters
By Imran Khan in
Asia
on August 16th, 2010.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2010/08/16/heroes-and-heartbreak-pakistans-flood\
-waters

They say a week is a long time in politics.

Well in Pakistan that's certainly true ... but instead of a change in political
fortune, Pakistan's government is just getting, to use a word common in South
London, hammered.

The government's critics mount a chorus. Sometimes it feels like a million
voices, all in condemnation, fight to be heard.

In the interest of good journalism, I will tell you the government line.

"We are trying our hardest."

Nowhere is the government's inability to cope with this disaster more visible
than in the interior of Sindh, in Pakistan's south.

The sun blazes high in the noon sky, only highlighting the misery faced by
people.

All around me I am surrounded by a sea of lives wrecked by flooding.

Everywhere I turn, someone, male or female, young and old, holds out their hand
and asks for help.

I feel pathetic. Like a man who has been given a front row seat to the world's
biggest misery.

You see, I can't offer immediate help. I come not with a truck full of aid,
medical supplies, food or water.

I cannot diagnose the mysterious rashes that have appeared on the skins of
children so young they can barely open their eyes.

I only have a camera. I know the argument, that by shining a light into the most
darkest places a camera can spur governments into action.

But when a child tugs on your hand, asking for help, that reasoning goes out the
window.

I feel like a wretch. I can only be in awe of men like Hamir Soomro. He is of
Shikarpur. A self described son of the soil.

For days now, in the absence of government help, he has been fundraising,
organising food drops, buying up as many tents as he can find and getting aid to
those that need it the most.

"We have to do this, no one else is," he says.

Like I say, I am in awe of him.

He comes from the biggest landowning family in the area. He picks up the phone
and gently coaxes money from his friends and family.

In turn, others flock to him to lend a hand. It's quite a sight.

Rehaan is another volunteer doling out aid. I ask him where his government is?
He takes a deep breath, looks around and offers a few words.

"You tell me. They are nowhere," he says.

I have covered countless tragedies across the world. Bombings in Afghanistan,
the plight of Palestinians, the aftermath of mass suicide attacks in London, and
of course Pakistan.

But the sheer scale of this has shocked me. I am not alone.

Hamir perhaps puts it best. "We are in an incredible situation, these are life
changing times, for us all," he says.

"For the poor who will be made further destitute, and for us who are fortunate
to survive."

As we speak, men wade through water that's chest high. I can see flood waters as
far as the eye can see.

More rain is expected.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cholera confirmed in Pakistani flood disaster

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/cholera-confirmed-in-pakistani-floo\
d-disaster-2052610.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan floods: 3.5 million children at risk from deadly diseases, says UN
Shortage of clean water raises health fears as fresh protests erupt over slow
delivery of aid

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/16/pakistan-floods-children-disease
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan's Sindh faces more floods
City of Hyderabad threatened as water levels in Kotri barrage rise amid
continuing rains.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/20108134956634834.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The soul of the 'Land of the Pure'
Victims display the endurance that characterises Pakistanis, says Robert
Grenier.
Robert Grenier Last Modified: 17 Aug 2010 10:05

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/floodofmisery/2010/08/201081163736786937.html

It is the sheer scale of the devastation that leaves one speechless. As one
surveys the overhead photos of vast lowland plains inundated with swirling brown
water or stares at the upland images of mighty torrents washing away roads,
bridges, entire villages, it is the utter scope of the disaster which almost
defies comprehension, which far outstrips the power of words to convey.

Only the flint-hearted could be left unmoved by this. The heart aches for
Pakistan.

But it is only in the photos of the people that one begins to grasp the full
dimension of what is happening and, through that prism, to gain a glimpse into
the soul of the Land of the Pure.

Endurance

One hears the stories of building frustration, of bitter complaints against a
government so often indifferent in the best of times, and simply unequal to the
challenge in these, the worst of times.

But this is not what I see in the photographs, in the images of entire families
clinging to trucks to gain higher ground, of people stranded on roof-tops or on
the raised strips of highways, of those isolated and forlorn, reaching for a
bottle of clean water or a packet of sodden food dropped from a helicopter.

In these images one looks in vain for signs of hysteria, or for righteous
indignation. What one sees instead is what one always sees in Pakistanis -
endurance: Simple, often noble, endurance.

I have lived some years among Pakistanis. I cannot claim to have done them much
good. Instead, my preoccupations have been those which animate the game of
nations. I have served a great power which hunts its enemies, pursues its
interests, and tries to meet what it sees as its responsibilities in distant
places, far from home.  I make no apology for this; neither do I expect great
credit.

But one cannot travel among the Pakistanis, as I have been privileged to do,
without developing a great admiration for their decency and their dignity.

I have found the mass of Pakistanis to be honest, hard-working, devoted to their
faith and to their families, hospitable and generous almost to a fault, and
devoted to the defence of right as God has given them to see it. But more than
anything else, I have come to admire their capacity for endurance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fury in Austria at anti-mosque game
Far-right party launches online video that allows players to shoot down minarets
and muezzins.
Last Modified: 02 Sep 2010 17:19

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/09/201092112448282972.html

A far-right party in Austria has sparked outrage by launching an online video
game which allows players to shoot down minarets and muezzins calling for
prayer.

The game, called "Moschee Baba", or "Bye Bye Mosque", gives players 60 seconds
to collect points by placing a target over cartoon mosques, minarets and Muslims
and click a "Stop" sign.

It is being used by the Freedom Party (FPOe), which has a link to the game on
its website, to encourage voters to elect Gerhard Kurzmann, the party's
candidate in the picturesque region of Styria.

"Game Over. Styria is now full of minarets and mosques!" it says at the end of a
session, before inviting players to vote for Kurzmann on September 26, when
local elections are being held.

The website then invites viewers to take part in a survey which asks them
whether the construction of minarets and mosques should be banned in Austria,
and whether Muslims should sign a declaration in which they accept that the law
takes precedence over the Quran.

According to the Austria Press Agency there are no mosques with minarets in
Styria, where 1.6 per cent of the population is Muslim, and only four such
buildings in the entire country.

'Religious hatred'

Anas Schakfeh, the leader of Austria's Islamic community, has described the game
as "tasteless and incomprehensible".

"This is religious hatred and xenophobia beyond comparison," he told Austrian
broadcaster ORF.

Austria's Social Democrats and Green Party have joined the Islamic community in
condemning the video.

"The FPOe is targeting minarets that don't even exist," Werner Kogler, the Green
candidate in Styria, said.

The game also appears to have divided the FPOe camp, with its deputy, Manfred
Haimbuchner, quoted as saying the party should "seek attention with substance,
not with constant provocations".

However Herbert Kickl, the party secretary, defended the game saying it did not
involve any real shooting, but rather "the pushing of a stop-button to halt a
bad political decision."

European debate

The Islamic community and the Green party filed complaints for incitement of
hatred and degrading of a religion on Wednesday, which can be punished with
prison sentences of up to two years.

Prosecutors in Graz, the capital of Styria, have launched an inquiry and will
decide whether to take the game off the Internet.

Islamic buildings and dress have sparked debates in many European countries
recently, with French and Belgian MPs voting to outlaw the niqab, and Swiss
voters backing a ban on building minarets.

Austria's Freedom Party wants a special vote on banning mosques with minarets
and Islamic face veils.

Heinz-Christian Strache, its leader, has said he wants to see anti-Muslim
protests similar to those in New York over the building of a Muslim cultural
centre near the World Trade Center site.

The debate isn’t just coming from the right. In Germany central banker Thilo
Sarrazin, a Social Democrat, has provoked uproar for saying that Muslim
immigrants undermine German society, refuse to assimilate, and sponge off the
state. He has also said “all Jews share a particular gene” angering people
across the German community.

The Freedom Party said its “Bye bye Mosque” game was in part in reaction to
Sarrazin’s comments saying they would prefer to have “Sarrazin rather than
muezzin,” in Austria. Freedom wants to “deal with a situation which has
already long been widespread in Europe,” Kurzmann said. He said young people
needed to be informed about the problem.

With its catchy slogans and youthful leader, the Freedom Party enjoys strong
support from young people in Austria, polling 17.5 percent of the vote at a
national level in 2008.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli spies wooing U.S. Muslims, sources say

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2010/09/israeli_spies_pitching_us_musl.h\
tml

The CIA took an internal poll not long ago about friendly foreign intelligence
agencies.

The question, mostly directed to employees of the clandestine service branch,
was: Which are the best allies among friendly spy services, in terms of liaison
with the CIA, and which are the worst? In other words, who acts like, well,
friends?

“Israel came in dead last,” a recently retired CIA official told me the
other day.

Not only that, he added, throwing up his hands and rising from his chair, “the
Israelis are number three, with China number one and Russia number two,” in
terms of how aggressive they are in their operations on U.S. soil.

Israel’s undercover operations here, including missions to steal U.S. secrets,
are hardly a secret at the FBI, CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies. From
time to time, in fact, the FBI has called Israeli officials on the carpet to
complain about a particularly brazen effort to collect classified or other
sensitive information, in particular U.S. technical and industrial secrets.

The most notorious operation employed Jonathan Pollard, the naval intelligence
analyst convicted in 1987 and sentenced to life in prison for stealing tens of
thousands of classified documents for Israel.

One of Israel’s major interests, of course, is keeping track of Muslims who
might be allied with Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, or Iran-backed
Hezbollah, based in Lebanon.

As tensions with Iran escalate, according to former CIA officer Philip Giraldi,
“Israeli agents have become more aggressive in targeting Muslims living in the
United States as well as in operating against critics.”

“There have been a number of cases reported to the FBI about Mossad officers
who have approached leaders in Arab-American communities and have falsely
represented themselves as ‘U.S. intelligence,’ ” Giraldi wrote recently in
American Conservative magazine.

“Because few Muslims would assist an Israeli, this is done to increase the
likelihood that the target will cooperate. It’s referred to as a ‘false
flag’ operation.”

Giraldi’s piece continued, “Mossad officers sought to recruit Arab-Americans
as sources willing to inform on their associates and neighbors. The approaches,
which took place in New York and New Jersey, were reportedly handled clumsily,
making the targets of the operation suspicious.”

“These Arab-Americans turned down the requests for cooperation,” Giraldi
added,”and some of the contacts were eventually reported to the FBI, which has
determined that at least two of the Mossad officers are, ironically, Israeli
Arabs operating out of Israel’s mission to the United Nations in New York
under cover as consular assistants.”

“Oh, sure, they do that,” the other former CIA official said, waving a
dismissing hand, when I asked about Giraldi’s story. “They’re all over the
place.”

The FBI did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

But a retired senior FBI counterintelligence official told SpyTalk, "They have
always been extremely aggressive, and seem to feel they can operate whenever and
wherever they want, in spite of being called on the carpet more than any other
country by probably a factor of three times as often."

A spokesman for the Israeli Embassy, which routinely denies accounts of Mossad
operations on U.S. soil, could not be immediately reached for comment.

The former CIA official, who discussed such sensitive matters only on the
condition of anonymity, echoed the views of other U.S. intelligence sources
I’ve talked to over the years about Israeli operations in the United States.

They don’t begrudge the Jewish state’s interest in keeping track of its
potential or real enemies, including here -- indeed, they often say Israel is
America’s best friend in the Middle East.

Which, they say, makes Mossad’s impersonation of U.S. intelligence agents all
the more galling.

By Jeff Stein  |  September 2, 2010; 1:58 PM ET
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bahrain dissidents face charges
Accusations against 23 Shia suspects include forming 'terror network' aimed at
toppling Gulf state's government.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/20109553739164395.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angela Merkel calls for banker's sacking over remarks on Jews and Muslims
German chancellor calls on Bundesbank to sack board member Thilo Sarrazin
Mark Tran and agencies
guardian.co.uk,  Monday 30 August 2010 13.28 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/30/merkel-urges-bundesbank-dismiss-boar\
d-member

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, today called on Germany's central bank to
dismiss one of its board members over comments he made on Jews and immigrants.

Thilo Sarrazin said that "all Jews share the same gene" and Muslim immigrants in
Europe were unwilling to integrate or incapable of integrating into western
societies.

Jewish and Muslim communities have condemned the 65-year-old's remarks, which
were made before the launch of his book, Deutschland Schafft Sich Ab – or
Germany Abolishes Itself – today.

Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, reiterated the chancellor's call for the
Bundesbank to consider Sarrazin's future.

"These are comments that only damage and don't help integration in this country,
which is a national duty," Seibert said at a government news conference.

Last year, Sarrazin – who previously served as the regional finance minister
for Berlin – told a magazine: "I do not need to accept anyone who lives on
handouts from a state that it rejects, is not adequately concerned about the
education of their children and constantly produces new little headscarf-clad
girls."

He later apologised for those remarks. However, he would be well aware that
Germany has taken a hard line against antisemitic remarks since the Holocaust,
and that many of Germany's immigrants have complained about racist remarks and
xenophobic behaviour.

Several German MPs demanded that Sarrazin step down from his post as board
member at the Bundesbank and resign his party membership of the left-leaning
Social Democrats, but he has refused to do so.

"The board will discuss this issue at a special meeting," a Bundesbank official
said. A statement will be released after the meeting, which is due to take place
later today .

The Bundesbank board can recommend that the German president, Christian Wulff,
dismisses Sarrazin if they consider that he has breached the central bank's
internal code of ethics.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Boy, 11, shot dead by police in Kashmir rioting
Anti-Indian protests provoked police in Kashmir to fire into the crowd, killing
boy and injuring 15 others

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/30/boy-shot-dead-kashmir-riots

Police opened fire at rock-throwing Kashmiris today, killing an 11-year-old boy
and sparking violent street protests by thousands of people. At least 22 were
wounded in India's portion of the troubled Himalayan region.

More than 60 people have died in anti-India demonstrations and clashes between
security forces and protesters in the disputed state since June. Anger against
Indian rule runs deep in Kashmir, which is divided between India and Pakistan.
Both nations claim the state in its entirety.

Today's incident took place in the southern town of Anantnag, where hundreds of
residents held protests. Security forces fired teargas and gunshots. The
11-year-old boy was killed and 15 people were injured in the shooting, a police
officer said.

As the news of the young boy's death spread, thousands in neighbouring towns and
villages held angry street protests, forcing government forces to retreat from
the area.

Fierce clashes between government forces and the protesters also erupted in the
neighbouring town of Pulwama, police said. Local people attacked a police
station with rocks, forcing government forces to fire guns to quell the protest.
At least two people were critically wounded in the firing, the officer said.

Earlier police opened fire in Srinagar after people in Indian Kashmir's main
city attacked them with stones, injuring five people.

However, Hanief Ahmed, a local resident, said the shooting was unprovoked.
Officers targeted a group of men playing a board game on the street, he said.
"There was no protest and police fired at them without any reason," Ahmed said.

Hundreds of people defied a curfew in Srinagar to demonstrate against the
shooting, chanting "Go India! Go back" and "We want freedom." Police fired
teargas to disperse the crowd.

The demonstrations that started in June are reminiscent of the late 1980s when
protests against New Delhi's rule sparked an armed conflict that has killed more
than 68,000 people, mostly civilians. The latest unrest against Indian authority
shows no signs of abating – despite the deployment of thousands of troops.

Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, has questioned crowd-control tactics
employed by security forces in Kashmir and ordered officials to use non-lethal
measures to control demonstrations.

Thousands of Kashmiri Muslims peacefully protested against Indian rule at
several other places in the region after noon prayers at mosques. The protesters
reject Indian sovereignty over Kashmir and want to form a separate country or
merge with Pakistan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Islamist rebels launch deadly attack on Chechen president's village
At least 19 people including five civilians die as insurgents strike against
pro-Moscow leader Ramzan Kadyrov

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/29/chechnya-president-islamist-attack
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli actors refuse to take the stage in settlement theatre

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-actors-refuse-to-tak\
e-the-stage-in-settlement-theatre-2065489.html

Five leading Israeli theatres were facing a mounting political row yesterday
after a pledge by 60 of the country's most prominent actors, writers and
directors to boycott the companies' planned performances in a Jewish West Bank
settlement.

The companies triggered the protest by planning a programme of performances to
mark the opening of a new £6.4m cultural centre in the West Bank settlement of
Ariel later this year.

The protest – which was condemned by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin
Netanyahu – includes Yousef Sweid and Rami Heuberger, two of Israel's best
known actors, as well as its most venerated living playwright, Joshua Sobol,
whose Holocaust work Ghetto won the Evening Standard Play of the Year award when
Nicolas Hytner directed it at London's National Theatre in 1989.

Their petition, sent to Israel's Likud Culture Minister, Limor Livnat, expressed
"dismay" at the theatres' decision to perform in the settlement's new auditorium
and served notice that the artists will refuse to perform in any settlements.
Calling on Israeli theatres to "pursue their prolific activity" within the
"green line" that marked its border until the 1967 Six Day War, it says that to
do otherwise would "strengthen the settlement enterprise." .

Mr Sobol told the liberal daily Haaretz, which first revealed the theatres'
plans, that he hoped the petititon would shake up the Israeli public and promot
a change of heart by the theatre managements. "There was a lethargy in recent
years," the playwright said. "People somehow became indifferent to the many
existential issues in Israel, and this may revive public debate."

Ariel, a settlement of around 20,000 people, is deep inside the West Bank and
its new cultural centre is close to completion after being built in fits and
starts over the past 20 years. The theatre's manager, Ariel Turgeman, has
insisted that the company's contracts do not allow them to cancel performances
in such circumstances.

The settlements will be at the heart of new direct negotiations brokered by US
President Barack Obama due to open at the White House this week. They are
regarded by most of the international community, including Britain, as illegal
under international law.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fighters killed in North Caucasus

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/08/20108292435636721.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wikileaks posts classified CIA memo
Secret report asks what would happen if countries view US as "exporter of
terrorism".

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/08/2010825182649321511.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Egyptians prepare for life after Mubarak
Their President of 29 years is very ill. But with no nominated successor, an
uncertain future awaits, writes Robert Fisk in Cairo

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/egyptians-prepare-for-life-a\
fter-mubarak-2060150.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blockade of Spain enclave suspended
Moroccan activists suspend protests over alleged brutality by police in Melilla.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/08/2010818195136395973.html

Activists in Morocco who have twice stopped food shipments into a Spanish
enclave to protest against alleged abuses by border police have agreed to
suspend their demonstrations until September.

The deal to end the action during the Islamic month of Ramadan means a temporary
end to the on-and-off commercial blockade of Melilla, a city of 70,000 people in
North Africa, which Morocco calls "occupied" territory.

Yusef Kaddur, the president of an association of Muslim merchants in Melilla,
said the blockades could resume if the problems that triggered it, alleged
brutality and racism by Spanish border police against Moroccans entering
Melilla, flare up again.

The activists accepted the merchants' view that Melilla's citizens should not
suffer from a problem that must be addressed by the governments of Spain and
Morocco, he said.

Lorries were briefly prevented from crossing into Melilla overnight on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, no fish, fruit or vegetables came in as drivers apparently bowed
to protesters' demands and did not make deliveries.

Kaddur said the demonstrations were only hurting the enclave, as well as
Moroccans who live nearby and depend on the area for their livelihoods.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bomber strikes Iraqi army recruits
At least 57 people killed in suicide attack near recruitment office in Baghdad.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/20108175569660499.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iraq war 'triggered UK bomb plots'
Ex-MI5 chief says Iraq posed little threat before 2003 but war raised risk of
attack.
Last Modified: 20 Jul 2010 16:02

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/07/2010720121831261136.html

Britain's support for the war in Iraq was connected to a series of deadly
bombings in London and sparked a rise in domestic attack plots that "swamped"
security services, a former intelligence chief has said.

Eliza Manningham-Buller, director of the MI5 between 2002 and 2007, told a
public inquiry in London on Tuesday that the 2003 invasion "undoubtedly
increased the threat [of domestic attacks], and by 2004 we were pretty well
swamped".

She said that the war had "radicalised a whole generation of young people," and
that some British Muslims perceived the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan to be
an attack on Islam.

Between 2001 and 2008, Britain investigated about 16 "substantial" domestic
plots, of which about 12 were stopped, she told the hearing into the Iraq war.

In July 2005, four suicide bombers detonated bombs on London's transport
network, killing 52 commuters and injuring hundreds more.

Video messages left by the attackers referred to Britain's role in Iraq.

'No link to 9/11'

Manningham-Buller told the five-member inquiry panel, appointed by Britain's
government, that the decision to invade Iraq had also likely provided an impetus
to al-Qaeda.

"Arguably we gave Osama bin Laden his Iraqi jihad, so that he was able to move
into Iraq in a way that he was not before," she said.

By contrast, the former MI5 chief told the inquiry, Iraq had posed little threat
to Britain in the years leading up to the war.

"We did not believe they had the capacity to do much in the UK," she said.

She added that there was a lack of evidence linking Saddam Hussein, the former
Iraqi leader, to the September 11 attacks in the US.

"There was no credible intelligence to suggest that connection and that was the
judgement, I might say, of the CIA," she told the inquiry.

"It was not a judgment that found favor with some parts of the American
machine.''

"It is why Donald Rumsfeld started an alternative intelligence unit in the
Pentagon to seek an alternative judgment," Manningham-Buller, who was a frequent
visitor to the US, said.

The inquiry, chaired by former civil servant John Chilcot, was set up last year
by Brown to learn lessons from the war.

Previous probes have cleared the government of any wrongdoing.

Former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix is expected to appear before the inquiry
in the coming weeks.

The inquiry is expected to conclude at the end of this year, but will not
apportion blame or assign criminal liability for mistakes made.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Former MI5 chief delivers damning verdict on Iraq invasion
Lady Eliza Manningham-Buller tells Chilcot that invasion increased terrorist
threat and radicalised young British Muslims

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jul/20/chilcot-mi5-boss-iraq-war
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~#

Hundreds of Muslims attend anti-terror summer camp
By Julie Jammot (AFP) – Aug 9, 2010

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hOUTYC_zbRjIUVSmxrlLYSZUxwlw

COVENTRY, England — "Follow the Prophet Mohammed, don't follow bin Laden!"
That was the message from an anti-terrorism summer camp led by a top scholar
which attracted hundreds of young Muslims this week.
Al-Hidayah (The Guidance) was led by Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, who earlier
this year issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, against terrorism.
His message to the roughly 1,300 people attending the three-day event on a
university campus in Coventry, was clear -- terrorism is anti-Islamic.
And it was welcomed by members of the British Muslim community, which has been
in the spotlight since the July 7, 2005 suicide attacks on London's public
transport system killed 52 innocent people, plus the four young British Muslim
extremists who blew themselves up.
"The thing he said about terrorism is a big thing to say," Anam Nazir, a young
woman who attended the event, told AFP.
"I'm from Pakistan and I have never seen any scholar say things like that in the
media because they're too scared... he's brave."
The event, which ended Monday, cost some 200 pounds per person to attend,
including accommodation.
On the agenda were lectures about issues faced by Muslims living in the West
such as terrorism, suicide bombing and integration as well as music and sports,
plus prayers in the room which is usually the students' disco.
But for many attendees, one highlight was the opening speech by Tahir-ul-Qadri,
the Canadian-based founder of moderate Islamic NGO Minhaj-ul-Quran
International, during which he spoke out against Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin
Laden.
Afterwards, Tahir-ul-Qadri said Islam states that followers can only voice
disagreements with laws in a peaceful manner, and that it was a religion that
preached integration.
According to Islamic law "these countries that protect your life and your wealth
and your honour... are peaceful countries so you're not allowed to become
terrorists against these countries and these societies," he said.
"This is the commandment of the Holy Prophet and Islam and Allah, to be
integrated in the society where you're living."
The event was covered widely in the British media, much of which more usually
depicts Islamic preachers as extremists like hook-handed Abu Hamza al-Masri
rather than as moderates.
Hamza, the former imam of a London mosque, is serving a seven-year jail term for
inciting followers to murder non-believers.
The European Court of Human Rights recently blocked his extradition to the
United States, where he is facing terror charges.
Naseem, a young man attending the event who runs a hairdressing business, said
the summer camp would help him to explain the true nature of Islam to the
customers from all backgrounds who he serves.
"I believe (Tahir-ul-Qadri's) challenge to radicalisation, terrorism is very
good -- terrorism is a danger towards mankind," he told AFP.
"I run a barber shop, I get all sorts of people from different walks (of life),
I can give the true view of what Islam says".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Timothy Winter: Britain's most influential Muslim - and it was all down to a
peach

http://theislamawareness.blogspot.com/2010/08/timothy-winter-britains-most.html

It was the sight of peach juice dripping from the chin of a teenage French
female nudist that led a Cambridgeshire public schoolboy to convert to Islam.
Thirty-five years later, Timothy Winter – or Sheikh Abdul-Hakim Murad, as he
is known to his colleagues – has been named one of the world's most
influential Muslims.

The hitherto unnoticed Mr Winter, who has an office in Cambridge University's
Divinity Faculty, where he is the Shaykh Zayed Lecturer of Islamic Studies, has
been listed ahead of the presidents of Iran and Egypt, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and
Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and the chairman of the Palestine Liberation
Organisation, Mahmoud Abbas. "Strange bedfellows," he concedes.

Tall, bookish, fair-skinned and flaxen-haired, a wiry beard is his only obvious
stylistic concession to the Islamic faith.

To the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISSC), which is based at the
Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in the Jordanian capital, Amman,
Winter is "one of the most well-respected Western theologians" and "his
accomplishments place him amongst the most significant Muslims in the world".
Winter is also the secretary of the Muslim Academic Trust, director of The
Anglo-Muslim Fellowship for Eastern Europe, and director of the Sunna Project,
which has published the most respected versions of the major Sunni Hadith
collections, the most important texts in Islam after the Qur'an.

He has also written extensively on the origins of suicidal terrorism.

According to the RISSC, the list highlights "leaders and change-agents who have
shaped social development and global movements". Winter is included because
"[his] work impacts all fields of work and particularly, the religious endeavors
of the Muslim world".

In the 500 Most Influential Muslims 2010, Mr Winter is below the King of Saudi
Arabia – who comes in at number one – but ahead of many more chronicled
figures. He is ranked in an unspecified position between 51st and 60th,
considerably higher than the three other British people who make the list –
the Conservative Party chairman Baroness Warsi; the UK's first Muslim life peer,
Lord Nazir Ahmed, who was briefly jailed last year for dangerous driving; and Dr
Anas Al Shaikh Ali, director of the

International Institute of Islamic Thought – making him, at least in the eyes
of the RISSC, Britain's most influential Muslim.

"I think that's very unlikely," says Winter, seated in front of his crowded
bookshelves. "I'm an academic

observer who descends occcasionally from my ivory tower and visits the real
world. If you stop most people in the street they've never heard of me. In terms
of saying anything that makes any kind of sense to the average British Muslim I
think they have no need of my ideas at all."

The son of an architect and an artist, he attended the elite Westminster School
in the 1970s before graduating from Cambridge with a double first in Arabic in
1983. His younger brother is the football correspondent Henry Winter. Tim says:
"I was always the clever, successful one. Henry just wanted to play football
with his mates. I used to tell him, ‘I'm going to make loads of money, and
you'll still be playing football with your mates.' Now he's living in a house
with 10 bedrooms and married to a Bond girl." (Brother Henry insists on the
telephone later: "She was only in the opening credits. And it's not as many as
10.")

If this seems an improbable background for a leading Muslim academic, his
Damascene moment on a Corsican beach is unlikelier still.

"In my teens I was sent off by my parents to a cottage in Corsica on an exchange
with a very vigorous French Jewish family with four daughters," Winter recalls.
"They turned out to be enthusiastic nudists.

"I remember being on the beach and seeing conjured up before my adolescent eyes
every 15-year-old boy's most fervent fantasy. There was a moment when I saw
peach juice running off the chin of one of these bathing beauties and I had a
moment of realisation: the world is not just the consequence of material forces.
Beauty is not something that can be explained away just as an aspect of brain
function."

It had quite an effect on him: "That was the first time I became remotely
interested in anything beyond the material world. It was an unpromising
beginning, you might say.

"In a Christian context, sexuality is traditionally seen as a consequence of the
Fall, but for Muslims, it is an anticipation of paradise. So I can say, I think,
that I was validly converted to Islam by a teenage French Jewish nudist."

After graduating, Winter studied at the University of al-Azhar in Egypt and
worked in Jeddahat before returned to England in the late eighties to study
Turkish and Persian. He says he has no difficulty reconciling the world he grew
up in with the one he now inhabits. "Despite all the stereotypes of Islam being
the paradigmatic opposite to life in the west, the feeling of conversion is not
that one has migrated but that one has come home.

"I feel that I more authentically inhabit my old identity now that I operate
within Islamic boundaries than I did when I was part of a teenage generation
growing up in the 70s who were told there shouldn't be any boundaries."

The challenge, he feels, is much harder now for young Muslims trying to
integrate with British life.

"Your average British Asian Muslim on the streets of Bradford or Small Heath in
Birmingham is told he has to integrate more fully with the society around him.
The society he tends to see around him is extreme spectacles of binge drinking
on Saturday nights, scratchcards, and other forms of addiction apparently
rampant, credit card debt crushing lives, collapsing relationships and
mushrooming proportions of single lives, a drug epidemic. It doesn't look very
nice.

"That is why one of the largest issues over the next 50 years is whether these
new Muslim communities can be mobilised to deal with those issues. Islam is
tailor-made precisely for all those social prolems. It is the ultimate cold
turkey. You don't drink at all. You don't sleep around. You don't do
scratchcards. Or whether a kind of increasing polarisation, whereby Muslims look
at the degenerating society around them and decide ‘You can keep it'."

It is not this, though, that contributes to some young Muslim British men's
radicalism, he says, since their numbers are often made up of "the more
integrated sections".

"The principle reason, which Whitehall cannot admit, is that people are incensed
by foreign policy. Iraq is a smoking ruin in the Iranian orbit. Those who are
from a Muslim background are disgusted by the hypocrisy. It was never about WMD.
It was about oil, about Israel and evangelical christianity in the White House.
That makes people incandescent with anger. What is required first of all is an
act of public contrition. Tony Blair must go down on his knees and admit he has
been responsible for almost unimaginable human suffering and despair."

He adds: "The West must realise it must stop being the world's police. Why is
there no Islamic represenation on the UN Security Council? Why does the
so-called Quartet [on the Middle East] not have a Muslim representative? The
American GI in his goggles driving his landrover through Kabul pointing his gun
at everything that moves, that is the image that enrages people."

Is there a similar antagonistic symbolism in the construction of a mosque at
Ground Zero?

"If the mosque represented an invading power they would have every right.
Muslims in America are there as legitimate citizens with their green cards, with
jobs, trying to get by. They are there in humble mode.

"Would you oppose the construction of Shinto Shrines at Pearl Harbour, of which
there a number? How long must the Muslims of lower Manhattan have to wait to get
a place to pray five times a day? With Islam there are certain liturgical
requirements. It's not like a church that you can build on the top of a hill and
say, we've only got to go once a week and it looks nice up there. Muslims need
to pray five times a day, they can't get the subway out and back. It should be
seen as a symbol of reconciliation not antagonism."

Last year Winter helped set up the Cambridge Muslim College, which offers
trained imams a one year diploma in Islamic studies and leadership, designed to
help trained imams to better implement their knowledge and training in
21st-century Britain. This year's first graduating class have recently returned
from a trip to Rome where they had an open audience with the Pope.

In an increasingly secular Britain, sociologists suggest with regularity that
"football is the new religion". Winter understands the comparison. "Football has
everything that is important to religion," he says. "Solidarity, skill, ritual,
the outward form of what looks like a sacred congregation. Except it's not about
anything." Just don't tell his brother.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Research reveals fear and suspicion against British Muslims

By SHABANA SYED
Published: Aug 23, 2010 17:30 Updated: Aug 23, 2010 17:31

http://arabnews.com/world/article110937.ece

A research project that looks at "Perceptions about Islam and Muslims" and why
Islam is the most misunderstood religion in the West has been published by the
Islamic Education and Research Academy (IERA).

IERA is not political but a Dawa organization, whose mission is to propagate
Islam. Their latest initiative is aimed at highlighting the wider community’s
attitude to Islam and Muslims and that to some extent explains why there is an
escalation of hate crimes against the community.

The research was spearheaded by Hamza Andreas Tzortzis, a young Greek convert to
Islam who has made quite an impact in the area of understanding between Western
and Islamic thought and is a well-known debater.

The project involved 500 randomly selected non-Muslim Britons being interviewed
by non-Muslims. The survey highlighted, for example, how 80 percent of Britons
had very little knowledge of Islam.

Also that 93 percent of non-Muslims had very little knowledge of the Qur’an.
How 75 percent believed that Muslims were a negative contribution to society
while 32 percent believed that they contributed to community tensions. The
research showed 61 percent did not respond positively when asked about Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) and 63 percent believed that "Muslims are
terrorist: while 70 percent believed that Muslims preached hatred.

The report has come at a crucial time when the reputation of Muslims in Britain
is at its lowest point; most Muslim groups are confused on what to do, as any
action pursued is viewed with suspicion.

Instead of dealing with the real issue of media and government collusion in
covering up key questions regarding 9/11 and 7/7 while perpetuating Islamophobic
hysteria, many Muslim organizations are tripping over each other trying to prove
to the authorities that they are "anti-terror" while at the same time organizing
mundane interfaith dialogue conferences, knowing full well that Islam has no
issue with Christianity.

Maybe if they followed examples of groups like "Cageprisoners" and intellectuals
like Gilad Atzmon and Norman Finklestein, and media outlets like Press TV, they
might be able to confront the source of their problems.

Meanwhile, Zionist organizations continue to fuel the fires of communal discord
unhindered. One such organization is Cafepress.co.uk whose latest venture to
sell T-shirts, caps and baby suits with inflammatory anti Islam statements such
as "Allah Sucks," "Bomb Iran," "Mohammad Sucks" and one that even shows a
picture of a person standing with dirty shoes on a Qur’an. However, in order
not to be seen as propagating hate Cafepress also sella items that express love
for Israel and Jews, with T-shirts saying "cool Jew" or "I love Jews." Had the
situation been reversed and the statements were against Jews or other ethnic
groups there would have been an uproar with cries of anti-Semitism or racism.

However, this is not the case for Muslims who today are the "suspect community"
and this, according to some, legitimizes any form of discrimination.

The confidence with which Cafepress can market its "hate" products without
feelings of justice or humanity should be seen as a warning sign for Muslims
that worse is yet to come.

Especially now that many of the "Friends of Israel" are mostly in the
Conservative Party, which is now in government, and therefore will of course be
supporting Zionist policies that are based on perpetuating anti-Muslim feeling.
Already mass hysteria is being whipped up through media campaigns against
another so-called weapon of mass destruction — the niqab.

Cases of assault and racial abuse have increased against hijabed women — a few
have been told to get off the bus as the driver doesn’t feel safe with them
onboard, and some have been attacked in streets and shopping centers.

Research carried out at the European Muslim Research Centre at Exeter University
has highlighted how "common and vitriolic" attacks against Muslims have become.

The situation in the West doesn’t look hopeful, but Muslims are ever
optimistic and many believe that if Islam was better understood as a philosophy
then the hatred will begin to diminish.

And that is the stated aim of IERA who believes that the only way Muslims can
sidestep this torrent of hysteria, and help eradicate misconceptions is to work
on grass roots level and teach non-Muslims about Islam.

IERA’s founder Abdurraheem Green, a respected Islamic scholar known
internationally, argues: “We may not be able to control what the mass media
propagates, but we can at least help our situation on an individual level. Our
obligation as Muslims is to convey the message of Islam to the wider society; we
did the research so we could learn what non-Muslims thought of us in order to
help to change their perceptions.”

He points out: “Despite the negativity, facts verify that when the wider
community gets to know the real Islam many convert, that’s why Islam is the
fastest-growing religion in the world.”

The report supports other studies that have shown that Muslims have been under
attack as never before. Government policies aimed at combating extremism have
encouraged spying on Muslims in schools, colleges and mosques. Those exercising
their right to demonstrate peacefully have been subject to arrest and heavy
sentencing, for example at the recent demonstrations against Israel’s action
in Gaza most of the demonstrators were forced to give their names and addresses
while some were given heavy court sentences.

While there is no one accusing Cafepress of advocating hatred and extremist
views, Muslims cannot even attempt to follow the age-old tradition of debates on
university campuses, without being visited by anti-terror police and put on
government watch lists.

There have been many cases where students have been approached by government
officers and asked to spy on fellow Muslim students. Even IERA, which is a
non-political organization, was forced to send out an official statement
defending their position when some of its members were accused of fomenting
extremism.

Hamza, a senior researcher at IERA who recently made quite an impact by taking
part in “The Big Debate” which involved discussions about the existence of
God with prominent atheists and academics, explains: “Accusations that our
speakers are "radical," "extremist" are completely baseless, for this would
equate to condemning the entire corpus of Islamic scholarly tradition as such.

“The current trend amongst sections of the media and some think tanks to
conflate the promotion of established theological positions and certain social
values as ‘conveyor-belts’ to violent extremism are damaging in their
implications.

“The absurdity of the conveyor-belt theory would lead to us saying that a
Conservative would inevitably become a hard-line nationalist to a fascist.”

Green points out: “Christianity has always seen itself as a religion that
promotes its world view and is still continuing to take its message around the
world and no one sees its preaching as propagating extremism.”

He argues: “For example if we see the workings of Campus Crusade for Christ
International, it raised over $677 million in 2008 for their activities. It
employs 25,000 full-time missionaries, trained 225,000 volunteers and operates
in 191 countries. We need to train our youth to bring the peaceful message of
Islam to the world and positively engage with wider society at all levels. Yes
we have many obstacles put in our way, so we all need to give Dawa wherever it
is possible, and in the process change the negativity and misconceptions
surrounding Islam.”

However noble the efforts of organizations like IERA, Muslims still need to get
to the source of who is instigating Islamophobia, why and for whose agenda?
Meanwhile, more fires are being fueled, an American church, followers of
Jesus’ message of peace, has announced that on Sept. 11 they will be holding
an "International burn a Koran day."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

British Muslims visit Afghanistan

http://ftpapp.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=115132&It\
emid=2

LONDON, Sept 4 (APP)- A delegation of British Muslims recently visited
Afghanistan to challenge misconceptions about the reality of life for Muslims in
Britain and to learn how the UK Government is contributing to the international
effort to stabilise Afghanistan.

The delegation went as part of the Projecting British Muslims project and
consisted of Haji Mohammad Siddique , Imam Asim Hafiz, Dr Usama Hasan and Mufti
Yusuf Akudi.
During the visit to Afghanistan the delegation were given the opportunity to
visit Kabul, Lashkar Gah and were able to glimpse life on the front line in Nad
e Ali.
Speaking about the visit Imam Asim Hafiz commented:
“It was interesting to learn from these communication advisors that support
for the Taliban still exists amongst many Afghans because there was still a lot
of work to be done around providing security in many areas, and the Afghan
government along with ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] are working
tirelessly to provide this security.”
The delegates, according to a FCO release,  also held a meeting with the
director of Hajj. The delegates learnt that since the director had brought an
Afghan delegation to the UK after a previous Projecting British Muslim trip, the
membership for his scholarly council had increased from 38 to 312 as he was able
to accurately inform audiences of life as a British Muslim.
The Projecting British Muslims project is part of a process of developing and
building relationships between Afghans and Britons. The way has been paved for a
subsequent reciprocal visit by Afghan scholars to the UK, and for future UK
delegations returning to Afghanistan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Report Claims British Muslims Radicalized in Prison

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/europe/Report-Claims-British-Muslims-Radical\
ized-in-Prison--101652768.html

British security experts say Britain is facing a "new wave" of amateur terrorist
attacks by lone individuals. The Royal United Services Institute says hundreds
of potential terrorists may emerge from Britain's prison system over the course
of the next decade.   But, Britain's Ministry of Justice strongly disputes the
report's findings, saying most of the 6,000 people in high security prisons are
not Muslims.

The report published by the security think tank RUSI says the nature of terror
tactics are changing. In Britain, it says, a shift is taking place that will see
less large-scale terror attacks. Instead, individual extremists without serious
training or resources will pose an increasing threat during the next decade.

Michael Clarke heads the think tank and co-wrote the report. He says this new
form of terrorism would strain Britain's security service.

"Lone individuals are much harder to track. If they are not part of a cell
structure they cannot be penetrated so easily. If they are not dealing with
other people they are not going to give as many leads to the intelligence
services," he said.

Clarke says Britain's prisons will be one hot spot for the radicalization of
Muslims. It says influential extremist Muslims who are behind bars in Britain
may indoctrinate others.

"We do have in the United Kingdom a group of Muslims in prisons who we know are
subject to pressures of radicalization," said Clarke.  "And if one in ten of
those prisoners are being successfully radicalized then in the next few years
there are going to be several hundred people who will take a more radical view
as they emerge from prison."

The report says up to 800 "potentially violent radicals" could be released from
jail in the next decade who could pose a serious threat to Britain's security.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Meaning of the Koran

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/the-meaning-of-the-koran/?src=tp

Test your religious literacy:

Which sacred text says that Jesus is the “word” of God? a) the Gospel of
John; b) the Book of Isaiah; c) the Koran.

The correct answer is the Koran. But if you guessed the Gospel of John you get
partial credit because its opening passage — “In the beginning was the word,
and the word was with God” — is an implicit reference to Jesus. In fact,
when Muhammad described Jesus as God’s word, he was no doubt aware that he was
affirming Christian teaching.

Extra-credit question: Which sacred text has this to say about the Hebrews: God,
in his “prescience,” chose “the children of Israel … above all
peoples”? I won’t bother to list the choices, since you’ve probably caught
onto my game by now; that line, too, is in the Koran.

I highlight these passages in part for the sake of any self-appointed guardians
of Judeo-Christian civilization who might still harbor plans to burn the Koran.
I want them to be aware of everything that would go up in smoke.

But I should concede that I haven’t told the whole story. Even while calling
Jesus the word of God — and “the Messiah” — the Koran denies that he was
the son of God or was himself divine. And, though the Koran does call the Jews
God’s chosen people, and sings the praises of Moses, and says that Jews and
Muslims worship the same God, it also has anti-Jewish, and for that matter
anti-Christian, passages.

This darker side of the Koran, presumably, has already come to the attention of
would-be Koran burners and, more broadly, to many of the anti-Muslim Americans
whom cynical politicians like Newt Gingrich are trying to harness and multiply.
The other side of the Koran — the part that stresses interfaith harmony — is
better known in liberal circles.

As for people who are familiar with both sides of the Koran — people who know
the whole story — well, there may not be many of them. It’s characteristic
of contemporary political discourse that the whole story doesn’t come to the
attention of many people.

Thus, there are liberals who say that “jihad” refers to a person’s
internal struggle to do what is right. And that’s true. There are
conservatives who say “jihad” refers to military struggle. That’s true,
too. But few people get the whole picture, which, actually, can be summarized
pretty concisely:

The Koran’s exhortations to jihad in the military sense are sometimes brutal
in tone but are so hedged by qualifiers that Muhammad clearly doesn’t espouse
perpetual war against unbelievers, and is open to peace with them. (Here, for
example, is my exegesis of the “sword verse,” the most famous jihadist
passage in the Koran.) The formal doctrine of military jihad — which isn’t
found in the Koran, and evolved only after Muhammad’s death — does seem to
have initially been about endless conquest, but was then subject to so much
amendment and re-interpretation as to render it compatible with world peace.
Meanwhile, in the hadith — the non-Koranic sayings of the Prophet — the
tradition arose that Muhammad had called holy war the “lesser jihad” and
said that the “greater jihad” was the struggle against animal impulses
within each Muslim’s soul.

Why do people tend to hear only one side of the story? A common explanation is
that the digital age makes it easy to wall yourself off from inconvenient data,
to spend your time in ideological “cocoons,” to hang out at blogs where you
are part of a choir that gets preached to.

Makes sense to me. But, however big a role the Internet plays, it’s just
amplifying something human: a tendency to latch onto evidence consistent with
your worldview and ignore or downplay contrary evidence.

This side of human nature is generally labeled a bad thing, and it’s true that
it sponsors a lot of bigotry, strife and war. But it actually has its upside. It
means that the regrettable parts of the Koran — the regrettable parts of any
religious scripture — don’t have to matter.

After all, the adherents of a given religion, like everyone else, focus on
things that confirm their attitudes and ignore things that don’t. And they
carry that tunnel vision into their own scripture; if there is hatred in their
hearts, they’ll fasten onto the hateful parts of scripture, but if there’s
not, they won’t. That’s why American Muslims of good will can describe Islam
simply as a religion of love. They see the good parts of scripture, and either
don’t see the bad or have ways of minimizing it.

So too with people who see in the Bible a loving and infinitely good God. They
can maintain that view only by ignoring or downplaying parts of their scripture.

For example, there are those passages where God hands out the death sentence to
infidels. In Deuteronomy, the Israelites are told to commit genocide — to
destroy nearby peoples who worship the wrong Gods, and to make sure to kill all
men, women and children. (“You must not let anything that breathes remain
alive.”)

As for the New Testament, there’s that moment when Jesus calls a woman and her
daughter “dogs” because they aren’t from Israel. In a way that’s the
opposite of anti-Semitism — but not in a good way. And speaking of
anti-Semitism, the New Testament, like the Koran, has some unflattering things
to say about Jews.

Devoted Bible readers who aren’t hateful ignore or downplay all these passages
rather than take them as guidance. They put to good use the tunnel vision that
is part of human nature.

All the Abrahamic scriptures have all kinds of meanings — good and bad — and
the question is which meanings will be activated and which will be inert. It all
depends on what attitude believers bring to the text. So whenever we do things
that influence the attitudes of believers, we shape the living meaning of their
scriptures. In this sense, it’s actually within the power of non-Muslim
Americans to help determine the meaning of the Koran. If we want its meaning to
be as benign as possible, I recommend that we not talk about burning it. And if
we want imams to fill mosques with messages of brotherly love, I recommend that
we not tell them where they can and can’t build their mosques.

Of course, the street runs both ways. Muslims can influence the attitudes of
Christians and Jews and hence the meanings of their texts. The less threatening
that Muslims seem, the more welcoming Christians and Jews will be, and the more
benign Christianity and Judaism will be. (A good first step would be to bring
more Americans into contact with some of the overwhelming majority of Muslims
who are in fact not threatening.)

You can even imagine a kind of virtuous circle: the less menacing each side
seems, the less menacing the other side becomes — which in turn makes the
first side less menacing still, and so on; the meaning of the Abrahamic
scriptures would, in a real sense, get better and better and better.

Lately, it seems, things have been moving in the opposite direction; the circle
has been getting vicious. And it’s in the nature of vicious circles that
they’re hard to stop, much less reverse. On the other hand, if, through the
concerted effort of people of good will, you do reverse a vicious circle, the
very momentum that sustained it can build in the other direction — and at that
point the force will be with you.

Postscript: The quotations of the Koran come from Sura 4:171 (where Jesus is
called God’s word), and Sura 44:32 (where the “children of Israel” are
lauded). I’ve used the Rodwell translation, but the only place the choice of
translator matters is the part that says God presciently placed the children of
Israel above all others. Other translations say “purposefully,” or
“knowingly.”  By the way, if you’re curious as to the reason for the
Koran’s seeming ambivalence toward Christians and Jews:

By my reading, the Koran is to a large extent the record of Muhammad’s attempt
to bring all the area’s Christians, Jews and Arab polytheists into his
Abrahamic flock, and it reflects, in turns, both his bitter disappointment at
failing to do so and the many theological and ritual overtures he had made along
the way. (For a time Muslims celebrated Yom Kippur, and they initially prayed
toward Jerusalem, not Mecca.) That the suras aren’t ordered chronologically
obscures this underlying logic.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jesus in the Quran
9/9/2010 - Religious Interfaith - Article Ref: IC0812-3759
Number of comments: 10
By: Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi
IslamiCity*

http://www.islamicity.com/articles/Articles.asp?ref=IC0812-3759

Jesus or Isa in Arabic (peace be upon him) is of great significance in both
Islam and Christianity. However, there are differences in terms of beliefs about
the nature and life occurrences of Jesus . There are about 71 verses in the
Quran that refer to Prophet Jesus. Following is a translation and explanation of
Chapter 3 verses 44 thru 60 by Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi, English rendering by
Muhammad Akbar.

O Muhammad, these are the "unseen" things, We are revealing to you: you were not
present there when the priests of the Temple were casting lots by throwing their
quills to decide which of them should be the guardian of Mary: 43 nor were you
with them when they were arguing about it. Quran 3:44

Note 43: As Mary was a girl who had been dedicated by her mother to the Temple
in the way of God, the question of her guardianship had become a problem for the
keepers because of her sex. They were therefore casting lots to decide the
delicate problem.

And remember when the angels said, "O Mary, God sends you the good news of a
Command of His: his name shall be Messiah, Jesus son of Mary. He will be highly
honored in this world and in the Next World and he will be among those favored
by God. He will speak to the people alike when in the cradle and when grown up,
and he will be among the righteous." Hearing this, Mary said, "How, O Lord,
shall I have a son, when no man has ever touched me?" "Thus shall it be,"44 was
the answer. God creates whatever He wills. When He decrees a thing, He only
says, "Be" and it is. (Continuing their message, the angels added,) "And God
will teach him the Book and wisdom, and give him the knowledge of the Torah and
the Gospel, and appoint him as His Messenger to the children of Israel." Quran
3:45-49

Note 44 That is, "Although no man has touched you, yet a son shall be born to
you." It should be noted that the same word "kazalika, "meaning "so shall it
be," had been used in response to Zacharias' prayer. It, therefore, carries the
same sense here. Moreover, the whole context here corroborates the story that
Mary was given the glad tidings of the birth of a son without any sexual
intercourse, and the birth of Christ, in actual fact, took place in that unusual
way. If a son was to be born to her in the normal known way, and if the event of
the birth of Jesus had taker. place in a natural way, then the whole discourse
starting from verse 33 and ending with verse 63 would become absolutely
pointless. Not only that but all other references to the unusual birth of Jesus
in the Qur'an would lose their significance and meaning. The Christians had made
Jesus the Son of God and worthy of worship simply because of his unusual birth
without a father and the Jews
  had accused Mary because they had witnessed that she had given birth to a
child, though she was not married. Had it been otherwise, then the two groups
could have been told plainly that the girl was married to such and such a man
and that Jesus was from his seed. In that case, one fails to see the reason why
such a long introduction and a series of arguments should have been necessary to
remove all doubts about his miraculous birth. Then Jesus could have been called
the son of a particular man, instead of being called "the son of Mary". The
position of those people who, on the one hand, profess to believe the Holy
Qur'an to be the Word of God and on the other hand try to prove that Jesus was
born after the natural coming together of a husband and wife, really try to show
that God is not able to express Himself as clearly as these people. (May God
protect us from blasphemy!)

(And when he came as a Messenger to the children of Israel, he said,) "I have
come to you with a clear Sign from your Lord: in your very presence, I make the
likeness of a bird out of clay and breathe into it and it becomes, by God's
Command, a bird. I heal those born blind and the lepers and I bring to life the
dead by God's Command: I inform you of what you eat and what you store up in
your houses. Surely there is a great Sign for you in all this, if you have a
mind to believe. 45 And I have come to confirm those teachings of the Guidance
of the Torah which are intact in my time. 46 Lo! I have come with a clear Sign
from your Lord; 47 so fear God and obey me. Indeed God is my Lord, and also your
Lord; therefore worship Him alone: that is the straight way."48 Quran 3:49-51

Note 45 That is, "These Signs are clear enough to convince you that I have been
sent by that God Who is the Creator and Absolute Ruler of this universe,
provided that you are not obdurate but are willing to accept the Truth."

Note 46 That is, "This is yet another proof of the fact that I have been sent by
God. If I had been a false prophet I would have invented my own religion and by
virtue of these miracles striven to divert you from your previous Faith to the
New creed. But I profess the same original religion to be true and confirm the
same teachings which were brought by the Prophets before me."

The fact that Jesus taught the same religion that had been presented by Moses
and the other Prophets is supported even by the existing Gospels. For example,
according to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus declared in the Sermon on the Mount:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the Prophets: I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfill." (5: 17).

One of the Pharisees, who was a lawyer, asked Jesus, "Which is the great
commandment in the law?" He replied:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy mind. This is the first and the great commandment. And the second
is like. unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two
commandments hang all the law and Prophets." (Matthew 22: 37-40).On another
occasion Jesus said to his disciples:

"The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they
bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they
say, and do not." (Matthew 23: 2-3).

Note 47 That is, "I have come to efface and abolish the superstitions of your
ignorant people, the hairsplitting of your jurists, the religious austerities of
your ascetics and the restrictive additions made in the Law of God under the
non-Muslim domination; I will make lawful or unlawful for you only those things
which God has made lawful or unlawful."

Note 48 This shows that like all other Prophets, Jesus also based his teachings
on the following three fundamentals:

The Supreme Authority to which mankind should submit and surrender exclusively
belongs to God and all the social and moral systems should be built entirely on
it.

Being a representative of the same Paramount Power, a prophet must be obeyed
unconditionally.

God alone is entitled to prescribe laws and regulations for making things lawful
or unlawful, pure and impure; consequently all laws imposed by others must be
abolished.

Thus it is clear that Jesus, Moses, Muhammad and all other Prophets (God's peace
be upon them all) had one and the same mission. Those people who aver that
different Prophets were sent with different missions and to fulfil different
aims, are gravely mistaken. Anyone, who is delegated by the Absolute Master of
the Universe to His subjects, cannot have any other mission than to prevent the
people, from becoming disobedient to and independent of Him, and to forbid them
to set others to rank with God as partners in His Authority in any way. For,
they are sent to invite the people to surrender and submit and be loyal to the
Almighty God and worship Him alone.

It is a pity that the existing Gospels do not present the mission of Jesus so
precisely and clearly as it has been presented above in the Holy Qur'an.
Nevertheless all the three basic things mentioned above are found scattered over
in these Books. For instance, the fact that Jesus believed exclusively in the
worship of God is clear from the following:

"Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." (Matthew
4: 10).

Not only did he believe in this, but also made it the ultimate aim of all his
activities and strove to make the people of the earth to submit to the revealed
Law of God just as the whole universe submits to His physical Law.

"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6
:10).

Then the fact that Jesus always presented himself as a prophet and as a
representative of the Kingdom of Heaven, and always invited the people to follow
him in that capacity alone, is supported by a number of his sayings. When he
started his mission in his native place, Nazareth, the people of his own town
and his own kinsfolk rose against him and according to an agreed tradition of
Matthew, Mark and Luke, he said: "No prophet is accepted in his own country".
And when his enemies were conspiring at Jerusalem to kill him and the people
advised him to go to somewhere else, he replied: "It cannot be that a prophet
perish out of Jerusalem." (Luke 13: 33).

When he was entering Jerusalem for the last time, his disciples began to utter
in a loud voice: "Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord." At
this the Pharisees felt offended and asked him to silence his disciples. He
replied:

"I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately
cry out." (Luke 19: 38-40).

On another occasion he said: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am
meek and lowly in heart ..... my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew
11: 28-30). Moreover the fact that Jesus wanted the people to obey the Divine
Law rather than man-made laws becomes clear from that tradition of Matthew and
Mark which says that when the Pharisees asked, why his disciples transgressed
the tradition of the elders and took food without washing their hands,. he
replied and said, "Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is
written. This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from
me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments
of men. For laying aside the commandments of God, ye hold the tradition of men,
as the washing of pots and cups, and many other such like things ye do. And he
said unto the, Full well ye
  reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses
said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let
him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is
Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his
mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye
have delivered: and many such like things do ye." (Mark 7 : 6-13).

When Jesus perceived that the children of Israel were bent upon disbelief, he
said, "Who will be my helper in the cause of God?" The disciples 49 (promptly
responded and) said, "We are God's helpers: 50 we have believed in God; so do
bear witness that we are Muslims (who surrender to God). Lord! we have believed
in that which Thou hast sent down and followed Thy Messenger; so enroll us among
those who bear witness. Quran 3:52-53

Note 49 The Arabic word (havari) is almost the equivalent of "helper". In the
Bible, they have been called "disciples" and at some places "apostles" because
Jesus used to send them to the people to deliver his message, and not because
God had appointed them as His apostles.

Note 50 Those people who help establish Islam have been called God's helpers. In
order to understand its significance, it should be kept in view that God has
taken upon Himself to persuade human beings to adopt Islam of their free will,
for He does not force His will on man in those spheres of his life in which He
has granted him freedom of action but likes to convince him by reason and
admonition. As it is the work of God to bring the people to the right way by
admonition and advice, He calls those people who exert their utmost to establish
Islam "His helpers and companions:" This is indeed the highest position that a
servant of God can aspire to achieve. For man's position is merely that of a
servant when he is engaged in praying, fasting and other kinds of worship, but
he is elevated to the high and unique position of God's companion and assistant
when he is exerting for the establishment of the way of God. And this is indeed
the loftiest position of
  spiritual attainment, to which a man can aspire in this world.

Then the children of Israel began to plot (against Jesus) and God also devised
His secret plan, and God is the best of devisers. (It was to carry out His
secret plan that) He said, "O Jesus, now I will recall 51 you and raise you up
to Myself and cleanse you of (the uncongenial company and the filthy environment
of ) those who have rejected you and will set up those who follow you above
those who have rejected you 52 till the Day of Resurrection. And ultimately all
of you shall return to Me: then I will judge between you in what you differ, and
punish with a grievous punishment, both in this world and in the Hereafter,
those who have adopted the attitude of disbelief and rejection and they shall
have none to help them. And those, who have believed and done good deeds, shall
be given their rewards in full. And note it well that God does not like the
transgressors." Quran 3:54-57

Note 51 The word (mutawaffi) in the Arabic text is from (tawaffa) which
literally means "to take and to receive" and "to seize the soul" is not its
lexical but metaphorical meaning. Here it means "to recall from mission." God
recalled Jesus because the Israelites had rejected him in spite of the clear
Signs he had brought. They had been disobeying God for centuries and, in spite
of many a warning and admonition served to them, their national character was
rapidly deteriorating. They had killed several Prophets, one after the other,
and had grown so audacious as to demand the blood of any good man who ventured
to invite them to the Right Way. In order to give them the last chance for
turning to the Truth, God appointed among them two great Prophets, Jesus and
John (God's peace be upon them), at one and the same time. These Prophets came
with such clear signs of their appointment from God that only such people dared
reject them as were utterly perverted
  and prejudiced against the Truth and were averse to following the Right Way.
Nevertheless the Israelites lost their last chance also as they not only
rejected their invitation but also had the head of a great Prophet like John cut
off openly at the request of a dancing girl. 'And their Pharisees and Jurists
conspired and sought to get Jesus punished with the death sentence by the Roman
Government. Thus they had proved themselves to be so obdurate that it was
useless to give the Israelites any further chance. So God recalled His Prophet
Jesus and inflicted on them a life of disgrace up to the Day of Resurrection.

It will be useful here to bear in mind the fact that this whole discourse is
meant to refute and correct the Christian belief in the God-head of Jesus. Three
main things were responsible for the prevalence of this belief among the
Christians:

The miraculous birth of Jesus.
His concrete and tangible miracles.
His ascension to heaven about which their Scriptures were explicit.
The Qur'an confirmed the first thing and made it plain that the birth of Jesus
without a father was only a manifestation of the infinite powers of God. He can
create anybody in whatever manner He wills. His miraculous birth, therefore, is
no reason why he should be made a god or a partner in Godhead.

The Qur'an also confirms the second thing and even recounts the miracles
performed by Jesus, but makes it clear that all those miracles were performed by
him, as a servant of God, by His leave and not as an independent authority. It
is, therefore, wrong to infer that Jesus was a partner in Godhead.

Now let us consider the third thing. If the Christian belief in "Ascension" had
been wholly baseless, it could have been refuted by pointing out that the object
of their worship, the so-called "Son of God", expired long ago and had become
one with dust, and that they could see, for their full satisfaction, his grave
at such and such a place. But the Qur'an does not declare this explicitly. On
the other hand, it not only uses such words as give at least a vague suggestion
of his "Ascension", but also denies that Jesus was crucified at all. According
to it the one who gave a loud cry at his last hour, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani?" and the one whose picture they carry on the cross, was not Messiah
at all, because God had recalled to Himself the real Messiah before the
crucifixion took place.

It is thus clear that those people who try to prove the death of Jesus from
these verses, really try to show that God is not able to express Himself clearly
and unambiguously. (May God protect us from such a blasphemy!)

Note 52 "Those who rejected" him were the Jews who were invited by Jesus to
accept the Truth.

"Those who follow" him are really the Muslims only but if it may be taken to
imply all those who believe in him, then the sincere Christians may also be
included.

The stories which We are relating to you are full of signs and wisdom. In the
sight of God, the case of the birth of Jesus is like that of Adam, whom He
created out of dust and said, "Be", and he was. 53 This is the fact of the
matter your lord is imparting, and you should not be of those who doubt it. 54
Quran 3:58-60

Note 53 That is, "If one's miraculous birth entitles one to become God or the
Son of God, then Adam was better entitled to it because he was created without
either a human father or a mother, while Jesus was born without a father only.

Note 54 The main points in the discourse presented before the Christians up to
here are:

First, he was only a man who was born in a miraculous way by the will of God and
given the power to perform certain miracles as a clear proof of his
Prophet-hood. As regards his "Ascension", God had arranged to recall him to
Himself before the disbelievers could crucify him. In fact, the Master of the
Universe has full powers to treat any of His servants in any special way He
pleases. It is, therefore, wrong to infer from the exceptional treatment
accorded to Jesus that he himself was the Master or the Master's Son or a
partner in the authority of the Master.

Secondly, their attention has been drawn to the fact that Prophet Muhammad
(God's peace be upon him) invites them to the same Truth that had been preached
by Prophet Jesus (God's peace be upon him) in his own time and that the
teachings of the two Prophets were basically identical.

Thirdly, the disciples of Jesus believed in and followed the same religion of
Islam that is being presented in the Qur'an. However the Christians of the later
age discarded the message of Jesus and digressed from the Faith of his
disciples.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert Fisk: Nine years, two wars, hundreds of thousands dead – and nothing
learnt
Did 9/11 make us all mad? Our memorial to the innocents who died nine years ago
has been a holocaust of fire and blood . . .

Saturday, 11 September 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-nine-years-tw\
o-wars-hundreds-of-thousands-dead-ndash-and-nothing-learnt-2076450.html

Did 9/11 make us all go mad? How fitting, in a weird, crazed way, that the
apotheosis of that firestorm nine years ago should turn out to be a crackpot
preacher threatening another firestorm with a Nazi-style book burning of the
Koran. Or a would-be mosque two blocks from "ground zero" – as if 9/11 was an
onslaught on Jesus-worshipping Christians, rather than on the atheist West.

But why should we be surprised? Just look at all the other crackpots spawned in
the aftermath of those international crimes against humanity: the half-crazed
Ahmadinejad, the smarmy post-nuclear Gaddafi, Blair with his crazed right eye
and George W Bush with his black prisons and torture and lunatic "war on
terror". And that wretched man who lived – or lives still – in an Afghan
cave and the hundreds of al-Qa'idas whom he created, and the one-eyed mullah –
not to mention all the lunatic cops and intelligence agencies and CIA thugs who
failed us all – utterly – on 9/11 because they were too idle or too stupid
to identify 19 men who were going to attack the United States. And remember one
thing: even if the Rev Terry Jones sticks with his decision to back down,
another of our cranks will be ready to take his place.

Indeed, on this grim ninth anniversary – and heaven spare us next year from
the 10th – 9/11 appears to have produced not peace or justice or democracy or
human rights, but monsters. They have prowled Iraq – both the Western and the
local variety – and slaughtered 100,000 souls, or 500,000, or a million; and
who cares? They have killed tens of thousands in Afghanistan; and who cares? And
as the sickness has spread across the Middle East and then the globe, they –
the air force pilots and the insurgents, the Marines and the suicide bombers,
the al-Qa'idas of the Maghreb and of the Khalij and of the Caliphate of Iraq and
the special forces and the close air support boys and the throat-cutters –
have torn the heads off women and children and the old and the sick and the
young and healthy, from the Indus to the Mediterranean, from Bali to the London
Tube; quite a memorial to the 2,966 innocents who were killed nine years ago.
All in their name, it
  seems, has been our holocaust of fire and blood, enshrined now in the crazed
pastor of Gainesville.

This is the loss, of course. But who's made the profit? Well, the arms dealers,
naturally, and Boeing and Lockheed Martin and all the missile lads and the drone
manufacturers and F-16 spare parts outfits and the ruthless mercenaries who
stalk the Muslim lands on our behalf now that we have created 100,000 more
enemies for each of the 19 murderers of 9/11. Torturers have had a good time,
honing their sadism in America's black prisons – it was appropriate that the
US torture centre in Poland should be revealed on this ninth anniversary – as
have the men (and women, I fear) who perfect the shackles and water-drowning
techniques with which we now fight our wars. And – let us not forget – every
religious raver in the world, be they of the Bin Laden variety, the bearded
groupies in the Taliban, the suicide executioners, the hook-in the arm
preachers, or our very own pastor of Gainesville.

And God? Where does he fit in? An archive of quotations suggests that just about
every monster created in or after 9/11 is a follower of this quixotic redeemer.
Bin Laden prays to God – "to turn America into a shadow of itself", as he told
me in 1997 – and Bush prayed to God and Blair prayed – and prays – to God,
and all the Muslim killers and an awful lot of Western soldiers and Dr
(honorary) Pastor Terry Jones and his 30 (or it may be 50, since all statistics
are hard to come by in the "war on terror") pray to God. And poor old God, of
course, has had to listen to these prayers as he always sits through them during
our mad wars. Recall the words attributed to him by a poet of another
generation: "God this, God that, and God the other thing. 'Good God,' said God,
'I've got my work cut out'." And that was just the First World War...

Just five years ago – on the fourth anniversary of the twin
towers/Pentagon/Pennsylvania attacks – a schoolgirl asked me at a lecture in a
Belfast church whether the Middle East would benefit from more religion. No –
less religion! – I howled back. God is good for contemplation, not for war.
But – and here we are driven on to the reefs and hidden rocks which our
leaders wish us to ignore, forget and cast aside – this whole bloody mess
involves the Middle East; it is about a Muslim people who have kept their faith
while those Westerners who dominate them – militarily, economically,
culturally, socially – have lost theirs. How can this be, Muslims ask? Indeed,
it is a superb irony that the Rev Jones is a believer while the rest of us –
by and large – are not. Hence our books and our documentaries never refer to
Muslims vs Christians, but Muslims versus "The West".

And of course, the one taboo subject of which we must not speak – Israel's
relationship with America, and America's unconditional support for Israel's
theft of land from Muslim Arabs – also lies at the heart of this terrible
crisis in our lives. In yesterday's edition of The Independent, there was a
photograph of Afghan demonstrators chanting "death to America". But in the
background, these same demonstrators were carrying a black banner with a message
in Dari written upon it in white paint. What it actually said was: "The
bloodsucking Zionist government regime and the Western leaders who are
indifferent [to suffering] and have no conscience are again celebrating the new
year by spilling the red blood of the Palestinians."

The message is as extreme as it is vicious – but it proves, yet again, that
the war in which we are engaged is also about Israel and "Palestine". We may
prefer to ignore this in "the West" – where Muslims supposedly "hate us for
what we are" or "hate our democracy" (see: Bush, Blair and a host of other
mendacious politicians) – but this great conflict lies at the heart of the
"war on terror". That is why the equally vicious Benjamin Netanyahu reacted to
the atrocities of 9/11 by claiming that the event would be good for Israel.
Israel would now be able to claim that it, too, was fighting the "war on
terror", that Arafat – this was the now-comatose Ariel Sharon's claim – is
"our Bin Laden". And thus Israelis had the gall to claim that Sderot, under its
cascade of tin-pot missiles from Hamas, was "our ground zero".

It was not. Israel's battle with the Palestinians is a ghastly caricature of our
"war on terror", in which we are supposed to support the last colonial project
on earth – and accept its thousands of victims – because the twin towers and
the Pentagon and United Flight 93 were attacked by 19 Arab murderers nine years
ago. There is a supreme irony in the fact that one direct result of 9/11 has
been the stream of Western policemen and spooks who have travelled to Israel to
improve their "anti-terrorist expertise" with the help of Israeli officers who
may – according to the United Nations – be war criminals. It was no surprise
to find that the heroes who gunned down poor old Jean Charles de Menezes on the
London Tube in 2005 had been receiving "anti-terrorist" advice from the
Israelis.

And yes, I know the arguments. We cannot compare the actions of evil terrorists
with the courage of our young men and women, defending our lives – and
sacrificing theirs – on the front lines of the 'war on terror". There can be
no "equivalence". "They" kill innocents because "they" are evil. "We" kill
innocents by mistake. But we know we are going to kill innocents – we
willingly accept that we are going to kill innocents, that our actions are going
to create mass graves of families, of the poor and the weak and the
dispossessed.

This is why we created the obscene definition of "collateral damage". For if
"collateral" means that these victims are innocent, then "collateral" also means
that we are innocent of killing them. It was not our wish to kill them – even
if we knew it was inevitable that we would. "Collateral" is our exoneration.
This one word is the difference between "them" and "us", between our God-given
right to kill and Bin Laden's God-given right to murder. The victims, hidden
away as "collateral" corpses, don't count any more because they were slaughtered
by us. Maybe it wasn't so painful. Maybe death by drone is a more gentle
departure from this earth, evisceration by an AGM-114C Boeing-Lockheed
air-to-ground missile less painful, than death by shards from a roadside bomb or
a cruel suicider with an explosive belt.

That's why we know how many died on 9/11 – 2,966, although the figure may be
higher – and why we don't "do body counts" on those whom we kill. Because they
– "our" victims – must have no identities, no innocence, no personality, no
cause or belief or feelings; and because we have killed far, far more human
beings than Bin Laden and the Taliban and al-Qa'ida.

Anniversaries are newspaper and television events. And they can have an eerie
habit of coalescing together to create an unhappy memorial framework. Thus do we
commemorate the Battle of Britain – a chivalric episode in our history – and
the Blitz, a progenitor of mass murder, to be sure, but a symbol of innocent
courage – as we remember the start of a war that has torn our morality apart,
turned our politicians into war criminals, our soldiers into killers and our
ruthless enemies into heroes of the anti-Western cause. And while on this gloomy
anniversary the Rev Jones wanted to burn a book called the Koran, Tony Blair
tried to sell a book called A Journey. Jones said the Koran was "evil"; Britons
have asked whether the Blair book should be classified as "crime". Certainly,
9/11 has moved into fantasy when the Rev Jones can command the attention of the
Obamas and the Clintons and the Holy Father and the even more Holy United
Nations. Whom the gods
  would destroy...

11 Sep 2001

The World Trade Centre and the Pentagon are hit by aeroplanes hijacked by
al-Qa’ida terrorists. George Bush says that America will stand with “all
those who want peace and security in the world”.

7 Oct 2001

The US and Britain launch air strikes against Afghanistan.

13 Nov 2001

The Northern Alliance liberates Kabul from the rule of the Taliban.

11 Jan 2002

The first prisoners arrive at Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

9 Jan 2003

Top UN weapons inspector Hans Blix tells reporters that “we have now been in
[Iraq] for some two months and? we haven't found any smoking guns”.

15 Feb 2003

Protests are held across the world against impending war in Iraq.

20 Mar 2003

US-led coalition launches invasion of Iraq.

9 Oct 2003

Toppling of statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad is taken as symbol of coalition
triumph.

11 Mar 2004

A series of bombs explode within minutes of each other on four commuter trains
in Madrid, killing 191 people and wounding a further 1,841.

29 Apr 2004

Photographs emerge showing the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers at Abu
Ghraib, inflaming anti-US feeling.

2 Oct 2004

Video footage appears of British hostage Kenneth Bigley being beheaded by Iraqi
militants.

2 Nov 2004

Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh is murdered after making a film about violence
against women in Islamic societies.

7 Jul 2005

Four suicide bombers kill 52 passengers and injure almost 800 others in a series
of attacks on London’s transport network.

30 Sep 2005

A series of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohamed are published in a Danish
newspaper. The pictures are reprinted elsewhere amid widespread outrage and
violent protests in the Muslim world.

30 Dec 2006

Saddam Hussein is hanged in northern Baghdad for crimes against humanity.

21 Sep 2009

A leaked report by Gen Stanley McChrystal, commander of US forces, suggests that
the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan could be lost within a year unless
there are significant increases in troops.

29 Nov 2009

A ban on building minarets is voted in by the Swiss public, reflecting a hostile
attitude to the country’s rising Muslim minority.

21 Jan 2010

43 per cent of Americans say they feel some negative prejudice towards Muslims,
according to a poll by Gallup.

1 Sep 2010

At the end of a month in which 295 civilians were killed by violence, Barack
Obama declares that the US combat mission in Iraq is at an end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

US soldiers 'killed Afghan civilians for sport and collected fingers as
trophies'
Soldiers face charges over secret 'kill team' which allegedly murdered at random
and collected fingers as trophies of war
Chris McGreal in Washington
The Guardian,  Thursday 9 September 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/09/us-soldiers-afghan-civilians-fingers

Twelve American soldiers face charges over a secret "kill team" that allegedly
blew up and shot Afghan civilians at random and collected their fingers as
trophies.

Five of the soldiers are charged with murdering three Afghan men who were
allegedly killed for sport in separate attacks this year. Seven others are
accused of covering up the killings and assaulting a recruit who exposed the
murders when he reported other abuses, including members of the unit smoking
hashish stolen from civilians.

In one of the most serious accusations of war crimes to emerge from the Afghan
conflict, the killings are alleged to have been carried out by members of a
Stryker infantry brigade based in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan.

According to investigators and legal documents, discussion of killing Afghan
civilians began after the arrival of Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs at forward
operating base Ramrod last November. Other soldiers told the army's criminal
investigation command that Gibbs boasted of the things he got away with while
serving in Iraq and said how easy it would be to "toss a grenade at someone and
kill them".

One soldier said he believed Gibbs was "feeling out the platoon".

Investigators said Gibbs, 25, hatched a plan with another soldier, Jeremy
Morlock, 22, and other members of the unit to form a "kill team". While on
patrol over the following months they allegedly killed at least three Afghan
civilians. According to the charge sheet, the first target was Gul Mudin, who
was killed "by means of throwing a fragmentary grenade at him and shooting him
with a rifle", when the patrol entered the village of La Mohammed Kalay in
January.

Morlock and another soldier, Andrew Holmes, were on guard at the edge of a poppy
field when Mudin emerged and stopped on the other side of a wall from the
soldiers. Gibbs allegedly handed Morlock a grenade who armed it and dropped it
over the wall next to the Afghan and dived for cover. Holmes, 19, then allegedly
fired over the wall.

Later in the day, Morlock is alleged to have told Holmes that the killing was
for fun and threatened him if he told anyone.

The second victim, Marach Agha, was shot and killed the following month. Gibbs
is alleged to have shot him and placed a Kalashnikov next to the body to justify
the killing. In May Mullah Adadhdad was killed after being shot and attacked
with a grenade.

The Army Times reported that a least one of the soldiers collected the fingers
of the victims as souvenirs and that some of them posed for photographs with the
bodies.

Five soldiers – Gibbs, Morlock, Holmes, Michael Wagnon and Adam Winfield –
are accused of murder and aggravated assault among other charges. All of the
soldiers have denied the charges. They face the death penalty or life in prison
if convicted.

The killings came to light in May after the army began investigating a brutal
assault on a soldier who told superiors that members of his unit were smoking
hashish. The Army Times reported that members of the unit regularly smoked the
drug on duty and sometimes stole it from civilians.

The soldier, who was straight out of basic training and has not been named, said
he witnessed the smoking of hashish and drinking of smuggled alcohol but
initially did not report it out of loyalty to his comrades. But when he returned
from an assignment at an army headquarters and discovered soldiers using the
shipping container in which he was billeted to smoke hashish he reported it.

Two days later members of his platoon, including Gibbs and Morlock, accused him
of "snitching", gave him a beating and told him to keep his mouth shut. The
soldier reported the beating and threats to his officers and then told
investigators what he knew of the "kill team".

Following the arrest of the original five accused in June, seven other soldiers
were charged last month with attempting to cover up the killings and violent
assault on the soldier who reported the smoking of hashish. The charges will be
considered by a military grand jury later this month which will decide if there
is enough evidence for a court martial. Army investigators say Morlock has
admitted his involvement in the killings and given details about the role of
others including Gibbs. But his lawyer, Michael Waddington, is seeking to have
that confession suppressed because he says his client was interviewed while
under the influence of prescription drugs taken for battlefield injuries and
that he was also suffering from traumatic brain injury.

"Our position is that his statements were incoherent, and taken while he was
under a cocktail of drugs that shouldn't have been mixed," Waddington told the
Seattle Times.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Khadr 'torture' confessions allowed
Omar Khadr says he confessed to murder of US soldier after "torture" at
Guantanamo Bay.
Last Modified: 10 Aug 2010 18:10

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/08/201089205529630903.html

The confessions of Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen charged with terrorism, can be
used as evidence in his trial, even though they may have been obtained through
torture, a US military judge has ruled.

Lawyers for Khadr claimed statements to military interrogators were illegally
obtained through torture and asked a US war crimes court to throw them out.

That request was denied on Monday by a military judge at the US naval base at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

US forces captured Khadr in Afghanistan in July 2002, when he was just 15 years
old.

"Omar Khadr could potentially be the first child soldier to be prosecuted for
war crimes in modern history," Al Jazeera's Monica Villamizar said, reporting
from Guantanamo Bay.

"Under international law, children captured in war should be treated as victims
and not perpetrators."

Khadr is accused of killing a US soldier after throwing a grenade at the end of
a four-hour US bombardment of an al-Qaeda compound in the eastern Afghan city of
Khost.

The Canadian citizen, who is now 23, has refused a plea deal.

He faces a maximum life sentence if convicted of charges that include conspiring
to commit terrorism and murder.

Allegations of abuse

Khadr's lawyers deny that he threw the grenade and contend that the prosecution
is relying on confessions extracted following abuse.

Khadr's case is the first to go to trial under the system of military
commissions for detainees captured by US forces in a global campaign following
the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.

Obama had sought to close the detention centre that has been the object of
international condemnation, but he has faced congressional opposition on
transferring the detainees to US soil.

The president has introduced some changes designed to extend more legal
protections to detainees, but the tribunals' long-term future remains uncertain.

But Navy Captain David Iglesias, a lawyer and spokesman for the military
commission's prosecutors at Guantanamo Bay, told Al Jazeera that the tribunals
have improved and that Khadr can get a fair trial.

"It is a case that has been pending for many, many years. The government is
ready to go forward. To what extent it has international repercussions is beyond
anybody's guess," he said.

"The Military Commissions Act has been revised. It is a much better law than
what it was under the 2006 Act.

"I believe based on my experience it is a fair system."

'Sham process'

Our correspondent said that Khadr's attitude has changed drastically since his
first court appearance in 2006.

"He was very co-operative with the military system [but] now it is completely
different," she said.

"Khadr's lawyer told me recently that he is trying to convince [Khadr] to be
co-operative: to show up in trial and not [to] fire his only military defence
lawyer who was assigned to him.

"Khadr has expressed in the past that he want[s] to be convicted, [to] show the
world how unfair this system is ... and to show that the US will eventually
convict child soldiers."

In a letter to Dennis Edney, his Canadian lawyer, published in newspapers in
Canada and the US, Khadr said the trial may show the world how unfair the
process is.

"The world doesn't get it, so it might work if the world sees the US sentencing
a child to life in prison, it might show the world how unfair and sham this
process is," Khadr said.

"And if the world doesn't see all this, to what world am I being released to? A
world of hate ... and discrimination."

'Secret' plea

Separately this week, the Pentagon is also preparing to hold a military
commission for the sentencing of Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al-Qosi, a Sudanese
detainee at Guantanamo.

Al-Qosi is accused of acting as accountant and aide to Osama bin Laden, the
al-Qaeda chief, in the 1990s when the network was centred in Sudan and
Afghanistan.

He is also accused of later working as bin Laden's bodyguard.

Al-Qosi pleaded guilty last month to one count each of conspiracy and providing
material support to terrorism as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

The 50-year-old had faced a potential life sentence if convicted at trial.

On Monday, a US military judge ordered that the plea deal, which put a cap on
al-Qosi's sentence, be sealed.

The judge, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Nancy Paul, said the deal limiting how
much more time detainee al-Qosi spends in confinement will not be revealed until
after his release.

Plea bargin

She said that condition of the plea bargain was requested by the government and
agreed to by the detainee's lawyers.

A jury of military officers is expected to begin deliberating al-Qosi's sentence
on Tuesday, but officials overseeing the tribunals will reject their decision if
it exceeds the terms of the plea bargain.

A longer sentence could be applied, however, if al-Qosi did something to break
the terms of the plea agreement.

Since 2001, four men have been convicted of terrorism-related charges in
Guantanamo military trials, two of whom pleaded guilty, while US federal courts
have sentenced about 200 other suspects over the same period.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Scores die' in Afghan village raid
Up to 52 civilians killed in Nato attack in Helmand, Afghan president's office
says.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/07/2010726143021529494.html

A Nato rocket attack on a village in Afghanistan last week killed 52 civilians,
including women and children, the office of Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president,
has said in a statement.

Based on reports from the Afghan National Directorate of Security, a house in
Regey village in Sangin district of the southern Helmand province was hit with a
rocket launched by Nato troops on Friday.

Karzai has offered his condolences via telephone to the mourning families and
called on Nato troops to "put into practice every possible measure to avoid
harming civilians during military operations".

The Afghan president has ordered the National Security Council to investigate
the incident, Sediq Sediqqi, head of media relations at the presidency, said
earlier.

Helicopter attack

Reports surfaced on Saturday that a helicopter gunship fired on villagers who
had been told by fighters to leave their homes as a firefight with troops from
Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) was imminent.

According to witness accounts, men, women and children fled to Regey village and
were fired on from helicopter gunships as they took cover.

Abdul Ghafar, 45, told AFP, a French press agency, that he lost "two daughters
and one son and two sisters" in the attack.

He and six other families fled to Regey, about 500 metres from their village of
Ishaqzai, after being warned about the imminent battle, he said.

Men and women took shelter in separate compounds, he said, ahead of an expected
firefight between Taliban fighters and Nato troops.

"Helicopters started firing on the compound killing almost everyone inside," he
said, speaking at the Mirwais hospital in Kandahar city.

"We rushed to the house and there were eight children wounded and around 40 to
50 others killed."

Ghafar said he took three girls and four boys to the Kandahar hospital.

"Three of the wounded are my nephews and one is my son. One of the wounded
children is four years old and has lost both parents."

The British broadcaster BBC quoted villagers saying they had buried 39 people.

Isaf investigation

Civilian casualties are an incendiary topic in Afghanistan, though surveys have
shown that most are caused by Taliban attacks.

Colonel Wayne Shanks, an Isaf spokesman, said the location of the reported
deaths was "several kilometres away from where we had engaged enemy fighters".

Isaf forces had fought a battle with the Taliban, Shanks said, but an
investigation team dispatched after the casualty reports emerged "had accounted
for all the rounds that were shot at the enemy".

"We found no evidence of civilian casualties," he said.

Leaked documents carried by Wikileaks, a whistleblower website, on Sunday
pointed to under-reporting of civilian casualties, which Waheed Omar, the
presidential spokesman, said were a cause of concern for the Afghan government.

The Pentagon files and field reports, spanning the period from January 2004 to
December 2009, detail hundreds of unreported civilian deaths caused by Nato and
Taliban attacks.

"We have continuously stated that the Afghan government and Afghan people were
upset about civilian casualties," Omar told reporters, adding that Karzai had
found nothing new in the leaked documents.

The White House condemned the leaks, saying the information could endanger US
lives but also pointed to the administration's long-held concerns about alleged
links between Pakistani intelligence agents and Afghan insurgents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Afghan forces' flaws exposed
Leaked documents show worrying levels of ill discipline amongst Afghan forces.
Andrew Wander Last Modified: 26 Jul 2010 15:57

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/07/201072613456286509.html

Afghan security forces have shot civilians, launched attacks on each other, held
drug fuelled parties and stolen vehicles in mass desertions, leaked US military
documents have revealed.

Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, wants his forces to take reponsibility for
security in the country by 2014, but the documents, posted on the website
Wikileaks on Monday, reveal a worrying culture of ill-discipline and
incompetence within their ranks.

Dozens of reports in the slew of leaked documents describe incidents suggesting
the scale of the challenge in preparing Afghan forces to take the lead in the
country's security is even larger than previously thought.

The documents contain more than 70 records of so called "Green on Green"
incidents in which Afghan security forces have fought each other rather than the
Taliban.

One report, on the shootings of a logistics officer and an Afghan intelligence
officer in February last year, says that two Afghan policemen were "conducting
horseplay with their service arms when they accidently shot the NDS director...
and logistics officer."

Deliberate attacks

That incident was accidental, but the documents also describe episodes where
Afghan security personnel have turned their weapons on each other in anger,
often as a result of disputes between the army and the police.

Fighting takes place within individual units as well. In April 2009 British
troops reported that an Afghan soldier had shot his sergeant following an
argument, and in another incident, a firefight between Afghan forces left a
local civilian boy with a gunshot wound in his stomach.

Martine van Bijlert, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, said that
the reports were no surprise.

"There have been regular cases of local fights between the army and the police,
or internally between army or police units," she said.

"It's part of the current nature of the Afghan security forces; partly a lack of
discipline, small disputes that get out of hand. And sometimes there are
pre-existing conflicts that come to a head, particularly between local forces."

Drug abuse

Some of the violence occurs after heavy drug use amongst Afghan forces. US
troops have told Al Jazeera that some Afghan soldiers are smoking large
quantities of marijuana before going out on patrol, leaving them unable to
concentrate and suffering from repeated fits of "giggles" as they move through
Taliban-held territory.

One incident described in leaked documents records how a gunfight broke out
between Afghan border guards who "were high on opium and having a party," on the
roof of an interpretor's accomodation.

The guards awoke the interpretor and an argument broke out. In the ensuing gun
battle one of the guards was killed after being shot in the stomach.

Another problem revealed by the documents is the high rate of desertion. The
records show that at least 20 Afghan policemen deserted from a single post last
summer, stealing vehicles in seperate incidents a fortnight apart.

Van Bijlert says some of the equipment taken during desertions has ended up in
the hands of the Taliban.

"There have definitely been reports from the field of desertions where equipment
is taken, in some cases the guns and cars are handed over to the insurgency,"
she said, adding that Karzai's timetable for Afghan forces taking control could
be affected by the release of the information.

Timetable affected?

"There is a danger with tight timetables that the picture is made rosier than it
is, in order to argue that things are on track. That might have become a bit
harder, now that these documents are out there. They don't just show how things
are, but also what the military and the administration knows."

More than $27 billion has been invested in Afghan security forces and
revelations will come as a major concern to countries with troops in
Afghanistan, many of whom have endorsed Karzai's handover plan.

David Cameron, the British prime minister, has explicitly linked the outcome of
the war with the degree to which Afghan security forces are able to take
responsibility for the country.

"Victory in this war is being able to hand over to an Afghan government and an
Afghan army and police force that are capable of securing their own country," he
said last week.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

US forces hit target 'with no civilian deaths' – but Afghans tell different
tale
Special forces ensured 'no innocent Afghans in area', but villagers say up to
300 civilians died in attack

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/26/afghanistan-war-logs-helmand-bombing

On 2 August 2007, a US special forces team mounted what they hoped would be an
assassination spectacular in the Baghni valley, in the mountains of northern
Helmand. They called it Operation Jang Baz.

Special operations troops, the war logs report, "tracked and fixed 2 senior
Taliban commanders" to the remote spot. The files reveal their names were Mullah
Ikhlas, and his deputy, known as Qalandari. Both were listed as "High Value
Individuals tier 2", putting them near the top of the US "kill or capture" list.
Ikhlas was believed to run the entire Taliban fighting machine in southern
Afghanistan.

The special forces command claimed that Ikhlas was "conducting a major Shura"
– a conference of top Taliban. After dropping six 2,000lb GBU-31 guided bombs
on the meeting from a B1 jet, the coalition reported "effectively destroying the
primary target location" and killing 50 "Taliban senior commanders, security and
fighters". Lt Gen John Mulholland, of the special operations command, later
claimed "over 150 Taliban fighters" had been killed.

It was later realised that despite "multiple forms of positive identification"
Ikhlas had in fact probably never been there at all. The US was to claim to have
killed him again in another air strike on 2 December 2007, and subsequently
arrested a Mullah Ikhlas many months later, on 7 May 2008, in Garmsir, further
south in Helmand.

A statement released from Bagram air base on the day of Operation Jang Baz said
the bombs had been dropped "after ensuring there were no innocent Afghans in the
surrounding area".

Within 24 hours, however, villagers were telling a very different story from the
one presented in the war logs. Locals told Reuters that up to 300 civilians –
as well as a number of Taliban – were killed in the air strike after they had
been rounded up to watch a Taliban-organised public hanging of two suspected
spies. No mention of such a "Taliban court" appears in the official war logs ,
where it might have flagged up the prospect of civilian deaths.

The local police chief was reported as claiming more than 20 wounded civilians
were sent to a hospital in Lashkar Gar and others transferred to hospitals in
Kandahar. A doctor at the Lashkar Gar hospital was quoted as saying he was
treating at least 18 civilians, including an eight-year-old.

According to reports, the Taliban denied there were hangings taking place, or
insurgents present, claiming that the air strikes killed only civilians
gathering at a local shrine for a religious ceremony.

But the coalition dismissed claims of civilian deaths. "It is interesting there
were no females," said Lieutenant-Colonel Charlie Mayo, a British spokesman. "We
are very confident we hit a large meeting of Taliban, and they are very sore
about it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toxic legacy of US assault on Fallujah 'worse than Hiroshima'
The shocking rates of infant mortality and cancer in Iraqi city raise new
questions about battle

By Patrick Cockburn
Saturday, 24 July 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/toxic-legacy-of-us-assault-o\
n-fallujah-worse-than-hiroshima-2034065.html

Dramatic increases in infant mortality, cancer and leukaemia in the Iraqi city
of Fallujah, which was bombarded by US Marines in 2004, exceed those reported by
survivors of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in
1945, according to a new study.

Iraqi doctors in Fallujah have complained since 2005 of being overwhelmed by the
number of babies with serious birth defects, ranging from a girl born with two
heads to paralysis of the lower limbs. They said they were also seeing far more
cancers than they did before the battle for Fallujah between US troops and
insurgents.

Their claims have been supported by a survey showing a four-fold increase in all
cancers and a 12-fold increase in childhood cancer in under-14s. Infant
mortality in the city is more than four times higher than in neighbouring Jordan
and eight times higher than in Kuwait.

Dr Chris Busby, a visiting professor at the University of Ulster and one of the
authors of the survey of 4,800 individuals in Fallujah, said it is difficult to
pin down the exact cause of the cancers and birth defects. He added that "to
produce an effect like this, some very major mutagenic exposure must have
occurred in 2004 when the attacks happened".

US Marines first besieged and bombarded Fallujah, 30 miles west of Baghdad, in
April 2004 after four employees of the American security company Blackwater were
killed and their bodies burned. After an eight-month stand-off, the Marines
stormed the city in November using artillery and aerial bombing against rebel
positions. US forces later admitted that they had employed white phosphorus as
well as other munitions.

In the assault US commanders largely treated Fallujah as a free-fire zone to try
to reduce casualties among their own troops. British officers were appalled by
the lack of concern for civilian casualties. "During preparatory operations in
the November 2004 Fallujah clearance operation, on one night over 40 155mm
artillery rounds were fired into a small sector of the city," recalled Brigadier
Nigel Aylwin-Foster, a British commander serving with the American forces in
Baghdad.

He added that the US commander who ordered this devastating use of firepower did
not consider it significant enough to mention it in his daily report to the US
general in command. Dr Busby says that while he cannot identify the type of
armaments used by the Marines, the extent of genetic damage suffered by
inhabitants suggests the use of uranium in some form. He said: "My guess is that
they used a new weapon against buildings to break through walls and kill those
inside."

The survey was carried out by a team of 11 researchers in January and February
this year who visited 711 houses in Fallujah. A questionnaire was filled in by
householders giving details of cancers, birth outcomes and infant mortality.
Hitherto the Iraqi government has been loath to respond to complaints from
civilians about damage to their health during military operations.

Researchers were initially regarded with some suspicion by locals, particularly
after a Baghdad television station broadcast a report saying a survey was being
carried out by terrorists and anybody conducting it or answering questions would
be arrested. Those organising the survey subsequently arranged to be accompanied
by a person of standing in the community to allay suspicions.

The study, entitled "Cancer, Infant Mortality and Birth Sex-Ratio in Fallujah,
Iraq 2005-2009", is by Dr Busby, Malak Hamdan and Entesar Ariabi, and concludes
that anecdotal evidence of a sharp rise in cancer and congenital birth defects
is correct. Infant mortality was found to be 80 per 1,000 births compared to 19
in Egypt, 17 in Jordan and 9.7 in Kuwait. The report says that the types of
cancer are "similar to that in the Hiroshima survivors who were exposed to
ionising radiation from the bomb and uranium in the fallout".

Researchers found a 38-fold increase in leukaemia, a ten-fold increase in female
breast cancer and significant increases in lymphoma and brain tumours in adults.
At Hiroshima survivors showed a 17-fold increase in leukaemia, but in Fallujah
Dr Busby says what is striking is not only the greater prevalence of cancer but
the speed with which it was affecting people.

Of particular significance was the finding that the sex ratio between newborn
boys and girls had changed. In a normal population this is 1,050 boys born to
1,000 girls, but for those born from 2005 there was an 18 per cent drop in male
births, so the ratio was 850 males to 1,000 females. The sex-ratio is an
indicator of genetic damage that affects boys more than girls. A similar change
in the sex-ratio was discovered after Hiroshima.

The US cut back on its use of firepower in Iraq from 2007 because of the anger
it provoked among civilians. But at the same time there has been a decline in
healthcare and sanitary conditions in Iraq since 2003. The impact of war on
civilians was more severe in Fallujah than anywhere else in Iraq because the
city continued to be blockaded and cut off from the rest of the country long
after 2004. War damage was only slowly repaired and people from the city were
frightened to go to hospitals in Baghdad because of military checkpoints on the
road into the capital.

An eight-year-old Kashmiri went out to play. He came back home dead
Sameer Rah was beaten by Indian paramilitaries and flung into a poison ivy bush.
The hopes of 2007 seem a world away
Basharat Peer
guardian.co.uk,  Wednesday 22 September 2010 20.05 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/22/kashmir-dead-hopes-of-2007

A few days back I travelled to Batamaloo neighbourhood in Srinagar, the capital
city of Indian-controlled Kashmir. Coils of barbed wire blocked the desolate
roads; thousands of Indian soldiers patrolled the streets to enforce a strict
military curfew. I couldn't reach the man I wanted to meet and finally managed
to speak to him on the phone.

On 2 August Fayaz Rah, a 39-year-old fruit vendor from Batamaloo, had lunch with
his wife and three children. Outside, Indian troops enforced the curfew. Yet the
children would find a clearing or a courtyard to play cricket or imitate the
adults and raise a slogan for Kashmir's independence from India. His youngest
son, eight-year-old Sameer, took two rupees for pocket money from his father and
stepped out to join his friends near his uncle's house.

Young Sameer walked into a lane and impulsively shouted a few slogans for
Kashmir's independence. He didn't realise a group of Indian paramilitaries was
around. They caught the eight-year-old and beat him with bamboo sticks, some
blows striking his head. They then threw the boy into a clump of poison ivy
bushes, but a crowd gathered. The paramilitaries called a police truck, which
drove Sameer to the nearby hospital. Meanwhile, police and paramilitaries
teargassed the crowd.

"Someone told me that a child has been killed," said Fayaz. He called a friend
in the local police and mentioned that his son, who had left home wearing a
yellow T-shirt, had not returned. His friend arrived at his door with an
ambulance. "I saw my boy on the ventilator," Fayaz sighed. Doctors tried for
hours to revive him, but couldn't save Sameer. "There is no justice in Kashmir,"
Fayaz told me. "Now the police claim my son died in a stampede."

It is getting harder to keep track of the deaths. In recent years, the hot
guerrilla war over the region that began in 1990 first gave way to a cold peace,
then, in the past two years, waves of mass protests. The summer of 2008 saw the
biggest demonstrations for Kashmir's independence from India in two decades;
they were put down by force, with 60 deaths and more than 500 injuries. In the
past three months, Indian forces have killed 106 Kashmiri protesters and
bystanders, mostly teenagers.

The current fighting broke out as a protest against the killing of a 17-year-old
student, Tufail Mattoo, in Srinagar. He was returning home from tuition and was
hit by a teargas shell the police fired to disperse a crowd that had gathered to
protest at another death. The situation has produced a Palestinian-style
intifada in which young boys battle Indian troops with stones, and the soldiers
shoot to kill.

India, meanwhile, continues to garrison half a million soldiers in Kashmir,
nearly three times the number of American troops in Iraq at the peak of the
occupation. India's half-century-old Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which was
extended to Kashmir in 1990, gives troops the legal authority to shoot any
person they suspect of being a threat, and guarantees immunity from prosecution.
To bring a soldier before a civilian court requires the permission of India's
home ministry; more than 400 such cases are still waiting for it.

In the absence of justice, or any progress in the negotiations between India and
Pakistan over the region's future, despair in Kashmir has grown. Walls all over
the region are painted with slogans: We Want Freedom! India, Go Back! Protesters
are killed, and with every death more protests follow. The number of injured is
believed to have risen to more than 1,000.

Hospitals have been facing a serious shortage of medicines and the impossibility
of conducting various medical tests that depend on private pharmacies and
medical facilities. Many doctors aren't able to reach hospitals. Over the
weekend Dr Bashir Chapoo, a senior eye surgeon, told me that the troops hadn't
let him travel to his hospital in central Srinagar for more than a week.
Seventeen of his patients had pellets stuck in their eyes. I called him
yesterday. "I am still stuck at home. Most of my patients have left the hospital
now. I have no idea where they are," Dr Chapoo said. Two had already lost their
eyesight.

The military curfew continues with a few hours break once a week. The usual
bustle of Kashmiri mornings has been replaced by an eerie silence; my street
belongs to stray dogs and chirping birds. The morning papers stopped publishing
after the troops attacked the newsagents. It is a world away from the hopeful
spring of 2007, when back-channel talks between Indian and Pakistan diplomats
– encouraged by Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, and Pervez Musharraf,
Pakistan's president – seemed to be close to bearing fruit. The solution they
had agreed on would have resulted in a largely autonomous Kashmir with soft
borders between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled regions, and the gradual
demilitarisation of Kashmir. But the talks lost steam when Musharraf lost power,
and broke down after the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, orchestrated by Pakistani
militants.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq – head of the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, a
coalition of separatist groups – championed the peace talks without any
results. But now such moderates find themselves marginalised. The influence of
the separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani has risen; he is now viewed as
the most substantial powerbroker in the region. The only lull in the recent
protests occurred when he appealed to the protesters to stay home.

After several high-profile meetings last week, Singh's government rejected even
moderate demands such as repealing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act – even
though a committee set up by Singh four years ago recommended doing so. Scaling
back troops from residential areas wasn't even discussed.

The Indian government did, however, despatch a delegation of parliamentarians to
Kashmir for a fact-finding mission. The group arrived at Geelani's Srinagar home
on Monday afternoon, accompanied by scores of television crews. The Kashmiri
leader enumerated his preconditions for peace talks: New Delhi should accept
Kashmir as a dispute, free Kashmiri political prisoners, and withdraw its
troops. Soldiers guilty of civilian killings must be punished, and their blanket
protection withdrawn. India is not willing to concede any of these demands, but
the meeting provides at least a sliver of hope that the conversations so close
to producing results three years ago might begin again.

What the Singh government does next will be its big test. Various analysts and
political figures have suggested unconditional, result-oriented talks with the
Kashmiris and a revival of the dialogue with Pakistan. It may well be the only
way to save Kashmir – and India itself – from future calamities.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kashmir braces for more violence
Indian offer to release arrested protesters and review security forces
deployment dismissed as 'time-gaining exercise'
Jason Burke in New Delhi
guardian.co.uk,     Sunday 26 September 2010 17.21 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/26/kashmir-separatists-reject-governmen\
t-offer

The troubled Indian state of Kashmir was braced for renewed violence as
separatist leaders rejected a government bid to defuse mounting civil unrest.

Indian ministers had pledged to work to release hundreds of young protesters
arrested in recent unrest and to review the massive deployment of security
forces in the disputed Himalayan territory.

Syed Ali Shah Gilani, a hardline leader who has considerable authority over
youths who have been rioting for several months in Kashmir, described the
package of measures offered by New Delhi as "a time-gaining exercise,
unrealistic and mere eyewash".

As local security authorities moved to lift curfews in sensitive parts of the
Muslim-majority state that have paralysed everyday life for more than two weeks,
Gilani called for local people to show their anger through a general strike over
the next two days. Observers said that further clashes seemed inevitable.

"It's a trial of strength. Now that the government wants to normalise things,
the separatists are looking to make sure the mobilisation continues," said one
senior Kashmiri journalist. Separatist politicians and demonstrators reject
Indian rule and want independence or a merger with predominantly Muslim
Pakistan.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, another separatist leader, said India's initiative was
inadequate because not all parties were being consulted.

The package of Indian measures was announced after a high-level delegation of
parliamentarians headed by the powerful home minister Palaniappan Chidambaram
visited Kashmir last week. There has been widespread concern within the Indian
political and security establishment that the local state government is
incapable of curbing growing violence. In addition to the release of hundreds of
detainees held for rioting, the new proposed measures include a review of the
deployment of security forces with the aim of reducing military presence in
civilian areas and a dialogue with all local political leaders.

Military authorities would also be urged to consider if deeply unpopular laws
granting security forces extensive powers of search and detention as well as
legal immunity might be lifted in some areas, officials said.

The steps "should address the concerns of different sections of people,
including protesters," Chidambaram told reporters.

The Indian government announced today it would be also asking Indian companies
to fund two-year internships for 50,000 young people from Kashmir. At least 107
people, mostly teenage boys and young men in their 20s, have died in a crackdown
by security forces on often-violent demonstrations since June. Most have been
killed when poorly-trained and badly-equipped security forces have opened fire
on unarmed protesters. Security forces say they are acting in self-defence. The
violence has brought a nascent economic recovery in Kashmir – one if India's
richest states – to a halt and caused huge problems to local communities.

Thousands of people crowded markets to stock up on food and other essentials
when authorities relaxed the curfew for several hours in Srinagar, the main city
in the region, and seven other towns.

Professor Sheikh Shauqat, who teaches law at Srinagar University, said local
people were tired of the violence and economic disruption but still supported
agitation. "They do not want to stop the demonstrations until they feel their
sacrifice has not been in vain. So any lull in the violence will just be
temporary," Shauqat told the Guardian.

"The separatist leaders see nothing in the package of measures that tackles any
of the political issues." Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan
– and claimed by both – since the two states gained independence from
Britain in 1947. Three wars have been fought by the hostile neighbours over the
former princely mountain state.

Since 1989, Kashmiri extremists and other Islamic militants have waged a violent
insurgency against Indian security forces in which an estimated 70,000 people
have died. In recent years, the situation has improved in part due to a decline
in support for such militants from Pakistan. Until June, this year had seen one
of the lowest totals of civilian casualties for decades. Analysts fear the
casualties sustained by protesters will lead to the radicalisation of a new
generation of militants. In addition to the dead, many thousands have been
seriously injured or beaten. The Indian foreign minister, SM Krishna, and his
Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, are expected to meet tomorrow at
the United Nations general assembly. Kashmir and terrorism will be among the
topics discussed, Indian government sources said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

India offers Kashmir talks
Eight-point plan suggests reducing military presence in region and freeing
detained protesters to deal with unrest.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/09/2010925205734491171.html

India has offered to hold talks with Kashmiris and review its heavy security
presence in the Himalayan region in an attempt to bring under control a wave of
separatist unrest.

The proposals were part of an eight-point plan put forward on Saturday by
Palaniappan Chidamabaram, the Indian interior minister, after he led an
all-party mission to the disputed Muslim-majority region.

"The government of India will appoint a group of interlocutors under an eminent
person to begin the process of a sustained dialogue" with a wide swathe of
Kashmiris, including political and youth groups, he said.

More than 100 people have been killed since early June as stone-throwing
protesters have clashed with security forces. The civilian demonstrations have
been the largest since an armed uprising against Indian rule in 1989.

Most of the victims, many in them in their teens, have been killed in live
firing by police and paramilitary troops, while others have been hit by tear-gas
shells or rubber bullets.

The recent protests were ignited on June 11 by the death of a 17-year-old
student hit by a tear-gas shell during a clash with police. Since then
Indian-administered Kashmir has been paralysed by demonstrations, strikes and
strict curfews imposed to stem the unrest.

Heavily militarised

The Congress-led government has been accused in the Indian media of letting the
situation spiral out of control and the eight-point plan is the first major
initiative to deal with the clashes.

Chidambaram said the state government would be told to immediately free some 255
protesters jailed for throwing stones at security forces and compensate the
families of the dead protesters.

Authorities will also consider reducing the security presence in the heavily
militarised Kashmir valley, the hub of separatist sentiment.

In particular, Chidambaram said, officials would look at reducing the large
number of security checkpoints that are deeply resented by locals.

"We will request the state government to immediately convene a meeting of the
[security] Unified Command and to review the deployment of security forces in
Kashmir valley, especially Srinagar," he said.

Chidambaram also said authorities would review the many areas of Kashmir listed
as "disturbed", a category that allows application of the detested Armed Forces
Special Powers Act giving security forces wide powers to open fire, detain
suspects and confiscate property.

Rights groups have long pushed for repeal of the act to reduce public anger.

"We think these steps should address the concerns of different sections of Jammu
and Kashmir, including [those of] the protesters," Chidambaram said.

Separatist reaction

Some separatists said they would meet to discuss their response, but other
analysts say a lasting peace deal would be difficult given conditions on the
ground.

"It will be discussed in a threadbare manner so we can give our reaction," said
Yasin Malik, a veteran separatist leader.

But Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a separatist who has orchestrated the protests, said
"none of our demands have been considered by government of India and the
foremost among those was accepting Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory,"
the news agency Press Trust of India reported.

He called the initiative "mere eyewash" and announced a 10-day protest.

Geelani has previously laid down five conditions for a dialogue with New Delhi,
including India accepting Kashmir as an international dispute, revoking the
Special Powers Act and demilitarising the region.

Sajjad Ghani Lone, a former Kashmiri politician, told Al Jazeera that: "It is
not a matter of accepting or rejecting [the initiative]. The more important
thing is that there have been many such offers in the past and there differences
between the words and the deeds."

"[A]t the moment, there is a lot of repression on the ground that's why it [the
initiative] is being taken with some cynicism. If they implement them, in spirit
and in deed on the ground, then it is going to make a difference," Lone said.

Kashmir is divided between Pakistan and India, which each claim the region in
full. The dispute over the region has triggered two of the rival nations' three
wars since partition of the subcontinent in 1947.

While violence has fallen to a 20-year low, alienation of ordinary Kashmiris,
especially young people, has been stoked by India's massive security presence.
They have expressed their anger on social networking sites such as Facebook and
by pouring into the streets.

Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Kashmir, welcomed Chidambaram's proposals
and promised to hold a meeting in the coming days to "discuss the modalities of
reducing the footprints of security forces in cities".

"[I] hope this [the conciliation plan] will be the first step to the final
destination of reaching a political solution to the Kashmir issue," he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kashmir violence continues as protesters confront police
Missiles hurled at officers one day after 18 died in anti-India clashes across
disputed region

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/14/kashmir-violence-protesters-confront\
-police

Hundreds of stone-throwing protesters battled police in Indian Kashmir today, a
day after one of the worst single episodes of violence in two decades of
separatist protests.

Eighteen people were killed – nearly all of them after police started firing
– yesterday during anti-India and pro-Islam demonstrations in the disputed
region, further pressing the government to tackle the protests that have
simmered throughout the summer.

In the northern town of Baramulla and in Zainakote, near the region's summer
capital, Srinagar, five protesters and one policemen were injured in clashes.

Heavily armed police patrolled Srinagar, with loudspeakers mounted on police
vehicles asking residents to stay indoors.

All flights to the city were cancelled due to security fears, the first time in
11 years.

The latest deaths are a huge challenge for the government, which has been
criticised for failing to treat the protests seriously, underscoring a policy
limbo in Delhi that may spill over into tension with Pakistan, which also claims
Kashmir.

The Pakistani foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, condemned "blatant
violence by Indian security forces against Kashmiri people that have resulted in
the loss of scores of innocent lives since June this year," said a government
statement.

But Pakistan, long accused of stoking the separatist fire, may not be interested
in stirring up too much trouble with India as it faces its own problems of
floods and militant attacks.

"Pakistan has shown maximum restraint on this issue and I think this is a very
mature strategy that they have not intervened at the highest level," said Ershad
Mahmud, a Pakistani expert on Kashmir affairs.

Yesterday, police killed at least 17 protesters and one policemen died as
demonstrators set fire to a Christian missionary school and government and
police buildings to denounce reports that copies of the Qur'an had been damaged
in New York.

Kashmir has witnessed fierce demonstrations against Indian rule in the last
three months and police have killed at least 87 protesters. Demonstrations on
other issues – such as the Qur'an – can often balloon into wider
anti-government sentiment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Curfew extended in tense Kashmir
No decision taken on emergency security law as anti-Indian protests continue to
rock region.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/09/20109148376585518.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kashmir riots over Qur'an 'burning' leave 13 dead
American ambassador appeals for calm after police fire into angry crowds
protesting amid Qur'an-burning controversy in US

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/13/kashmir-protesters-killed-quran-row

More than a dozen people were killed and scores injured in confrontations in
Kashmir today following a report on an Iranian TV channel of the desecration of
the Qur'an in New York on the anniversary of 9/11.

In the worst day of violence in the Himalayan valley since young Kashmiri
Muslims began agitating for independence more than three months ago, dozens of
government buildings were torched as protesters battled with armed police and
paramilitary soldiers.

The arson and violence was particularly bad in two towns close to the state
capital Srinagar – Tangmarg and Budgam, where a school run by a Christian
missionary was attacked and torched.

Provincial police chief Kuldeep Khoda said 13 civilians and one officer were
killed in the violence.

The number of civilians killed in the valley since 17 June, when students first
took to the street in protest against the shooting of a teenager by paramilitary
police, is estimated to be 87.

Although government buildings have been torched before in Kashmir, today's arson
was on an unprecedented scale. "The loss of property is huge," said Khoda.
"Government offices, courts, police stations, even an official's residence were
destroyed and burnt."

The attack on the Christian-run school in Budgam was unprecedented too.
Religious minorities, especially Hindus, have suffered at the hands of gunmen
ever since a Pakistan-backed separatist insurgency began in the Srinagar valley
in 1989. Yet ordinary Muslims have by-and-large remained loyal to the region's
tolerant Sufi Islamic tradition.

Kashmir's separatist movement has been confined to the province's Sunni Muslims.
But the Iranian TV report provoked its minority Shia Muslims to also take to the
streets with placards bearing photographs of Ayatollah Khomeini.

As violence engulfed the valley, the local government banned the telecast of the
Iranian TV channel. Timothy Roemer, the US ambassador, also tried to exert some
damage control.

Roemer condemned the Qur'an desecration as "disrespectful, intolerant, divisive,
and unrepresentative of American values. The deliberate destruction of any holy
book is an abhorrent act."

He added: "We are also dismayed to see reports that a school and a church in
Kashmir and Punjab have been attacked and destroyed by rioters. We strongly
support local authorities' appeal for calm and an end to the violence."

While Kashmir was in flames, Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh was presiding
over a top security meeting in Delhi to consider the demand by Kashmiri Muslims
for the removal of a special law, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which
gives soldiers and police powers to shoot or arrest civilians.

It was widely expected that in an attempt to dampen the three-month-long popular
agitation in Kashmir, Delhi would announce the withdrawal of the law from
Srinagar and nearby towns.

But after deliberating for three hours, the security committee deferred its
decision. Instead, the government has convened an "all-party" meeting to
deliberate on the Kashmir situation. A major worry for Singh is the strong
opposition from the Hindu rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party to any softening of
Delhi's stand.

"Kashmir is burning, but the government is dithering," said Seema Mustafa,
national affairs editor of the NewsX television channel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Top Kashmiri rebel leader behind bars

http://arabnews.com/world/article131162.ece

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: Sep 9, 2010 00:54 Updated: Sep 9, 2010 00:54

SRINAGAR: Police arrested a top separatist leader Wednesday for rallying massive
anti-India protests that have rocked the Indian-controlled Kashmir for months,
and supporters reacted by staging fresh protests and hurling stones at troops.

The arrest of hard-liner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, 82, at his residence in
Srinagar, the region’s main city, came days after he laid out stiff conditions
for peace talks with the Indian government.

Police Inspector-General Shiv Murari Sahai said officers arrested Geelani for
causing “breach of peace” in the region.

The news of his arrest triggered fresh protests as scores of young men defied a
curfew in a neighborhood in Srinagar and threw stones at government forces.

Police and paramilitary soldiers fired tear gas to quell the protesters, said a
police officer on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak with
media. No injuries were reported.

Last week, Geelani demanded that India accept Kashmir as a disputed territory,
withdraw hundreds of thousands of troops from the region and release all
political prisoners as a precondition for peace talks. “Otherwise, the
protests would be intensified,” warned Geelani, a key leader of the All
Parties Hurriyat Conference, a conglomerate of separatist groups espousing
nonviolent means rather than insurgency.

There was no response from the Indian government to Geelani’s demand.

On Wednesday, the streets of Srinagar and other towns were deserted as armed
troops in riot gear enforced a rigid curfew for a second straight day.

Armored vehicles patrolled the streets and government forces used steel and
barbed wire barricades to seal off public squares and neighborhoods in Srinagar.

Security was further tightened after clashes between government forces and
protesters in Srinagar and half a dozen towns and villages injured at least 13
people late Tuesday, a police officer said.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, which is divided between India and
Pakistan, and claimed by both in its entirety. Protesters reject Indian
sovereignty over Kashmir and want independence or a merger with predominantly
Muslim Pakistan.

The mostly Muslim Himalayan region has been roiled by anti-government
demonstrations and clashes between protesters and government forces for the past
three months.

At least 69 people, mostly teenage boys and young men in their 20s, have been
killed in the civil unrest against rule by predominantly Hindu India.

The recent unrest in Indian Kashmir is reminiscent of the late 1980s, when
protests against New Delhi’s rule sparked an armed conflict that has so far
killed more than 68,000 people, mostly civilians.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Security tightened in Kashmir to stop protests
By Aijaz Hussain, AP
Saturday, 14 August 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/security-tightened-in-kashmir-to-st\
op-protests-2052627.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kashmir burns again as India responds to dissent with violence
The hospitals are filling up with gunshot victims but angry protesters say the
world is blind to their plight. Andrew Buncombe reports from Srinagar

Saturday, 7 August 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/kashmir-burns-again-as-india-respon\
ds-to-dissent-with-violence-2045905.html

From the end of the hospital corridor came frantic shouts, urgent voices that
grew ever more desperate.

A dozen men appeared, gathered around a blood-smeared trolley, rushing its
occupant towards the emergency surgery room. Abdul Rashid, said his friends, had
been shot in the head by police who had opened fire on a peaceful gathering.
"There was no stone-pelting, nothing," yelled one of the 25-year-old's friends,
as medics pulled shut the doors to the surgery room. "There was no curfew ...
They fired indiscriminately."

Once again, Kashmir is burning. Buildings and barricades have been set alight
and its people are enflamed. The largest towns are packed with heavily-armed
police and the hospital wards are full of young men with gunshot wounds. Around
50 people have been killed since June, more than 31 in the last week alone, and
dozens more have been wounded. The dead include young men, teenagers and even a
nine-year-old boy, reportedly beaten to death by the security forces after he
tried to walk to the local shop.

And yet for all their pain, the people of Kashmir believe they are suffering
alone. They say that unlike places such as Kosovo or East Timor, which both
secured independence in recent years, the world is deaf to Kashmir's demands for
autonomy. They blame the US and UN for not doing more and criticise Britain's
David Cameron for refusing to raise the issue of Kashmir when he visited India
last month, declining to upset his hosts, with whom he was seeking to boost
trade and investment deals, even as he bluntly criticised Pakistan for exporting
terror. "We were disappointed and so were the people," said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq,
a moderate separatist leader who has been placed under house arrest. "Of all the
foreign countries, Britain has more moral responsibility for this mess."

Kashmir has long been troubled with violence and the previous two summers saw
clashes between stone-throwers and the police. Yet some observers detect that
these recent protests are different. More people have taken to the streets –
women and the middle classes among them – and protesters have seemingly been
more ready to accept the police's bullets as the price for their struggle to
break away from the Indian state. Moreover, the spirit of optimism and hope that
existed after a young, idealist politician, Omar Abdullah, became chief minister
18 months ago, has disappeared. Some suggest Kashmir is witnessing an uprising.

If so, then the frontlines of this uprising are the stone-littered and razor
wire-strewn streets of Kashmir's largest towns such as Srinagar and Baramulla.
It is here, amid rubbish and waste that has not been cleared for weeks, that
crowds of demonstrators have repeatedly ignored curfew orders and the threat of
being shot on sight to protest against the authorities. Some demonstrators have
hurled stones at the police as if to incite a response, and cars and government
buildings have been set alight. Yet many protests have been peaceful.

The police and paramilitary forces have responded with crushing force. Untrained
and ill-equipped to deal with demonstrators using non-lethal methods, they have
used tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds to dispel the crowds.

With the crisis worsening and with the central government in Delhi increasingly
concerned, Mr Abdullah, this week flew to the capital and asked for additional
security personnel to be dispatched. He was granted his wish in the form of
1,500 paramilitaries and 300 special police.

This Rapid Action Force arrived in Srinagar on Thursday and by yesterday
afternoon they were carrying out patrols through several many of the city's
neighbourhoods. Kitted out in blue uniforms and armed with automatic weapons,
riot shields and helmets, these police sat unsmiling in their vehicles while
residents simmered and stared. "They just want to make us scared, but we are not
scared of these forces," declared Abdul Rehman Billoo, a 50-year-old
businessman, after a convoy of police trucks clattered through the city's Ikhwan
Chowk neighbourhood. "I am involved in the protests. Everybody is involved in
the protests, from 50 years to 100 years. There is no age limit."

A spokesman for the state government, Taj Mohi-Ud-Din, admitted the police in
Jammu and Kashmir, which has been fighting militants since the late 1980s, were
trained in counter-insurgency rather than crowd control. He said investment
needed to be made in new non-lethal weapons, such as sonic guns and pepper
sprays.

Yet he defended the government's actions, saying the authorities had no
alternative but to confront protesters who were damaging property and police
were acting with restraint. "The directions are that they should only fire with
rubber bullets, but there can always be exceptions," he said. "We have said
maximum restraint should be shown: firing should be the last resort."

Yet amid the gloomy corridors and busy wards of Srinagar's Sher-i-Kashmir
Institute of Medical Sciences, such words ring hollow. If the streets are the
frontline of Kashmir's uprising, then this hospital is one of the places where
the human cost of such an undertaking has been most clearly calculated. Since 30
July, the establishment has received more than 110 patients, injured either by
rocks, tear gas or bullets. In the space of little over 60 minutes on Thursday
evening, five injured people were brought in, among them Mr Rashid, the man who
had been shot in the head by security forces in the town of Pulwama, 25 miles
from Srinagar. Last night a medic said he remained in a critical condition.

On a ward on the hospital's second floor where his friends and family clustered
around, a 19-year-old man called Fidah Nabi was also in a critical condition.
The teenager had been admitted on Tuesday after he too was shot in the head.
Doctors operated on his mouth but had not dared remove the bullet from his brain
and instead placed him in a medical coma. His face was swollen like a
prize-fighter's and his head was swathed in bandages, with wires and tubes
hooked to monitors and drips. He was breathing by means of a ventilator. Mr
Nabi's elder brother, Ahmad, a photojournalist, said his brother had been shot
after police opened fire on a group of demonstrators. He insisted that his
brother was "completely innocent".

On Thursday afternoon, Mr Abdullah, the chief minister, had landed by helicopter
in the hospital grounds and visited the wards, stopping to meet Mr Nabi's
family. One of his aides apparently asked if the state could offer a job to one
of the family by means of compensation. Mr Nabi's mother said she responded by
grabbing the chief minister by the shirt. Outside, confronted by angry crowds,
the chief minister's security guards spirited him away to his waiting
helicopter.

"The police are firing at the head and the body, not the legs. This is a against
human rights," said one senior doctor, examining a CT scan image of Mr Nabi's
brain. A female colleague, who had worked there for seven years, said the
situation was worse than she had ever seen. Children and women were among the
victims. "We had another shooting victim come in tonight from Sopore. He is also
critical," she added.

Indeed, a quick tour of the wards found many recent cases of gunshot injuries.
Most of the injured were young men but in one bed lay a woman, Munera Dobi, who
had been shot in the back six days ago, also in Pulwama. The woman's husband,
Ahmed, said he was unsure if he would be able to work, now he would have to
spend time nursing his wife. "We need freedom from India," he said.

The Indian government is in no mind to give Kashmir its freedom. Since 1947,
when the formerly independent state's princely ruler, the Hindu Maharaja Hari
Singh, controversially chose to join India rather than Pakistan, Delhi has
vigorously defended the state against both Pakistan-backed militants and
peaceful campaigners. The militancy, which gathered pace in 1989 and has now
largely quietened, has claimed the lives of at least 60,000 people and resulted
in the creation of one of the most highly militarised places on the planet.
"Everyone knows that Kashmir is paradise on earth, but [the security forces] are
making it hell," said a friend of Mr Nabi.

Even now, the central government appears either unable or unwilling to try and
break the cycle of violence, opting to send in more police and paramilitaries
rather than seeking to offer some sort of political gesture, however minimal,
that might break the deadlock. When it was reported that UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon had voiced his "concern" about the current violence, officials in
Delhi described his comments as "gratuitous". Even yesterday, India's home
minister, was seeking to deny the home-grown nature of the protests telling
parliament "Pakistan appears to have altered its strategy in influencing events
in Jammu and Kashmir. It is possible that they believe that relying upon
civilian unrest will pay them better dividends".

Without a bold political gesture the loop of violence is unlikely to end.
Protests will go on, young people will throw stones, the police will kill
people, there will be angry funerals that lead to more protests, more stones
will be thrown, the police will shoot and kill more people. Kashmir's agony is
set to continue.

Decades of conflict

Why is there a dispute?

Kashmir has been at the heart of hostilities between India and Pakistan for more
than 60 years. Kashmir, a largely Muslim state, joined India when it gained
independence from Britain in 1947 on the wish of its Hindu ruler. The decision
sparked the first of three wars between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.

The state was partitioned in 1948 along a ceasefire line, leaving two-thirds
under the control of India and one-third under Pakistan. Both sides still claim
the whole of the state. In addition to the rival claims of the two countries, a
separatist movement began in 1989 against Indian rule. In the Kashmir valley,
between 75 per cent and 95 per cent of people support independence from both
India and Pakistan, according to a poll by the think-tank Chatham House. The two
decades of violence between Indian security forces and Pakistan-backed militants
have left more than 60,000 people dead.

Who is behind the latest protests?

Omar Abdullah, Kashmir's chief minister, has not blamed any group in particular
and says the protests were mainly leaderless. Human rights groups say India's
Armed Forces Special Powers Act – which gives security forces wide powers to
shoot, arrest and search in battling a separatist insurgency – further
alienates Kashmiris. India yesterday suggested that Pakistan was behind a "new
strategy" of inciting civilian unrest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kashmir unrest continues as more protesters die
Two further killings take death toll to 29 in last five days

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/04/kashmir-deaths-protests-demonstrator\
s
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An eight-year-old Kashmiri went out to play. He came back home dead
Sameer Rah was beaten by Indian paramilitaries and flung into a poison ivy bush.
The hopes of 2007 seem a world away
Basharat Peer
guardian.co.uk,  Wednesday 22 September 2010 20.05 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/22/kashmir-dead-hopes-of-2007

A few days back I travelled to Batamaloo neighbourhood in Srinagar, the capital
city of Indian-controlled Kashmir. Coils of barbed wire blocked the desolate
roads; thousands of Indian soldiers patrolled the streets to enforce a strict
military curfew. I couldn't reach the man I wanted to meet and finally managed
to speak to him on the phone.

On 2 August Fayaz Rah, a 39-year-old fruit vendor from Batamaloo, had lunch with
his wife and three children. Outside, Indian troops enforced the curfew. Yet the
children would find a clearing or a courtyard to play cricket or imitate the
adults and raise a slogan for Kashmir's independence from India. His youngest
son, eight-year-old Sameer, took two rupees for pocket money from his father and
stepped out to join his friends near his uncle's house.

Young Sameer walked into a lane and impulsively shouted a few slogans for
Kashmir's independence. He didn't realise a group of Indian paramilitaries was
around. They caught the eight-year-old and beat him with bamboo sticks, some
blows striking his head. They then threw the boy into a clump of poison ivy
bushes, but a crowd gathered. The paramilitaries called a police truck, which
drove Sameer to the nearby hospital. Meanwhile, police and paramilitaries
teargassed the crowd.

"Someone told me that a child has been killed," said Fayaz. He called a friend
in the local police and mentioned that his son, who had left home wearing a
yellow T-shirt, had not returned. His friend arrived at his door with an
ambulance. "I saw my boy on the ventilator," Fayaz sighed. Doctors tried for
hours to revive him, but couldn't save Sameer. "There is no justice in Kashmir,"
Fayaz told me. "Now the police claim my son died in a stampede."

It is getting harder to keep track of the deaths. In recent years, the hot
guerrilla war over the region that began in 1990 first gave way to a cold peace,
then, in the past two years, waves of mass protests. The summer of 2008 saw the
biggest demonstrations for Kashmir's independence from India in two decades;
they were put down by force, with 60 deaths and more than 500 injuries. In the
past three months, Indian forces have killed 106 Kashmiri protesters and
bystanders, mostly teenagers.

The current fighting broke out as a protest against the killing of a 17-year-old
student, Tufail Mattoo, in Srinagar. He was returning home from tuition and was
hit by a teargas shell the police fired to disperse a crowd that had gathered to
protest at another death. The situation has produced a Palestinian-style
intifada in which young boys battle Indian troops with stones, and the soldiers
shoot to kill.

India, meanwhile, continues to garrison half a million soldiers in Kashmir,
nearly three times the number of American troops in Iraq at the peak of the
occupation. India's half-century-old Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which was
extended to Kashmir in 1990, gives troops the legal authority to shoot any
person they suspect of being a threat, and guarantees immunity from prosecution.
To bring a soldier before a civilian court requires the permission of India's
home ministry; more than 400 such cases are still waiting for it.

In the absence of justice, or any progress in the negotiations between India and
Pakistan over the region's future, despair in Kashmir has grown. Walls all over
the region are painted with slogans: We Want Freedom! India, Go Back! Protesters
are killed, and with every death more protests follow. The number of injured is
believed to have risen to more than 1,000.

Hospitals have been facing a serious shortage of medicines and the impossibility
of conducting various medical tests that depend on private pharmacies and
medical facilities. Many doctors aren't able to reach hospitals. Over the
weekend Dr Bashir Chapoo, a senior eye surgeon, told me that the troops hadn't
let him travel to his hospital in central Srinagar for more than a week.
Seventeen of his patients had pellets stuck in their eyes. I called him
yesterday. "I am still stuck at home. Most of my patients have left the hospital
now. I have no idea where they are," Dr Chapoo said. Two had already lost their
eyesight.

The military curfew continues with a few hours break once a week. The usual
bustle of Kashmiri mornings has been replaced by an eerie silence; my street
belongs to stray dogs and chirping birds. The morning papers stopped publishing
after the troops attacked the newsagents. It is a world away from the hopeful
spring of 2007, when back-channel talks between Indian and Pakistan diplomats
– encouraged by Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, and Pervez Musharraf,
Pakistan's president – seemed to be close to bearing fruit. The solution they
had agreed on would have resulted in a largely autonomous Kashmir with soft
borders between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled regions, and the gradual
demilitarisation of Kashmir. But the talks lost steam when Musharraf lost power,
and broke down after the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, orchestrated by Pakistani
militants.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq – head of the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, a
coalition of separatist groups – championed the peace talks without any
results. But now such moderates find themselves marginalised. The influence of
the separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani has risen; he is now viewed as
the most substantial powerbroker in the region. The only lull in the recent
protests occurred when he appealed to the protesters to stay home.

After several high-profile meetings last week, Singh's government rejected even
moderate demands such as repealing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act – even
though a committee set up by Singh four years ago recommended doing so. Scaling
back troops from residential areas wasn't even discussed.

The Indian government did, however, despatch a delegation of parliamentarians to
Kashmir for a fact-finding mission. The group arrived at Geelani's Srinagar home
on Monday afternoon, accompanied by scores of television crews. The Kashmiri
leader enumerated his preconditions for peace talks: New Delhi should accept
Kashmir as a dispute, free Kashmiri political prisoners, and withdraw its
troops. Soldiers guilty of civilian killings must be punished, and their blanket
protection withdrawn. India is not willing to concede any of these demands, but
the meeting provides at least a sliver of hope that the conversations so close
to producing results three years ago might begin again.

What the Singh government does next will be its big test. Various analysts and
political figures have suggested unconditional, result-oriented talks with the
Kashmiris and a revival of the dialogue with Pakistan. It may well be the only
way to save Kashmir – and India itself – from future calamities.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kashmir braces for more violence
Indian offer to release arrested protesters and review security forces
deployment dismissed as 'time-gaining exercise'
Jason Burke in New Delhi
guardian.co.uk,     Sunday 26 September 2010 17.21 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/26/kashmir-separatists-reject-governmen\
t-offer

The troubled Indian state of Kashmir was braced for renewed violence as
separatist leaders rejected a government bid to defuse mounting civil unrest.

Indian ministers had pledged to work to release hundreds of young protesters
arrested in recent unrest and to review the massive deployment of security
forces in the disputed Himalayan territory.

Syed Ali Shah Gilani, a hardline leader who has considerable authority over
youths who have been rioting for several months in Kashmir, described the
package of measures offered by New Delhi as "a time-gaining exercise,
unrealistic and mere eyewash".

As local security authorities moved to lift curfews in sensitive parts of the
Muslim-majority state that have paralysed everyday life for more than two weeks,
Gilani called for local people to show their anger through a general strike over
the next two days. Observers said that further clashes seemed inevitable.

"It's a trial of strength. Now that the government wants to normalise things,
the separatists are looking to make sure the mobilisation continues," said one
senior Kashmiri journalist. Separatist politicians and demonstrators reject
Indian rule and want independence or a merger with predominantly Muslim
Pakistan.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, another separatist leader, said India's initiative was
inadequate because not all parties were being consulted.

The package of Indian measures was announced after a high-level delegation of
parliamentarians headed by the powerful home minister Palaniappan Chidambaram
visited Kashmir last week. There has been widespread concern within the Indian
political and security establishment that the local state government is
incapable of curbing growing violence. In addition to the release of hundreds of
detainees held for rioting, the new proposed measures include a review of the
deployment of security forces with the aim of reducing military presence in
civilian areas and a dialogue with all local political leaders.

Military authorities would also be urged to consider if deeply unpopular laws
granting security forces extensive powers of search and detention as well as
legal immunity might be lifted in some areas, officials said.

The steps "should address the concerns of different sections of people,
including protesters," Chidambaram told reporters.

The Indian government announced today it would be also asking Indian companies
to fund two-year internships for 50,000 young people from Kashmir. At least 107
people, mostly teenage boys and young men in their 20s, have died in a crackdown
by security forces on often-violent demonstrations since June. Most have been
killed when poorly-trained and badly-equipped security forces have opened fire
on unarmed protesters. Security forces say they are acting in self-defence. The
violence has brought a nascent economic recovery in Kashmir – one if India's
richest states – to a halt and caused huge problems to local communities.

Thousands of people crowded markets to stock up on food and other essentials
when authorities relaxed the curfew for several hours in Srinagar, the main city
in the region, and seven other towns.

Professor Sheikh Shauqat, who teaches law at Srinagar University, said local
people were tired of the violence and economic disruption but still supported
agitation. "They do not want to stop the demonstrations until they feel their
sacrifice has not been in vain. So any lull in the violence will just be
temporary," Shauqat told the Guardian.

"The separatist leaders see nothing in the package of measures that tackles any
of the political issues." Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan
– and claimed by both – since the two states gained independence from
Britain in 1947. Three wars have been fought by the hostile neighbours over the
former princely mountain state.

Since 1989, Kashmiri extremists and other Islamic militants have waged a violent
insurgency against Indian security forces in which an estimated 70,000 people
have died. In recent years, the situation has improved in part due to a decline
in support for such militants from Pakistan. Until June, this year had seen one
of the lowest totals of civilian casualties for decades. Analysts fear the
casualties sustained by protesters will lead to the radicalisation of a new
generation of militants. In addition to the dead, many thousands have been
seriously injured or beaten. The Indian foreign minister, SM Krishna, and his
Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, are expected to meet tomorrow at
the United Nations general assembly. Kashmir and terrorism will be among the
topics discussed, Indian government sources said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

India offers Kashmir talks
Eight-point plan suggests reducing military presence in region and freeing
detained protesters to deal with unrest.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/09/2010925205734491171.html

India has offered to hold talks with Kashmiris and review its heavy security
presence in the Himalayan region in an attempt to bring under control a wave of
separatist unrest.

The proposals were part of an eight-point plan put forward on Saturday by
Palaniappan Chidamabaram, the Indian interior minister, after he led an
all-party mission to the disputed Muslim-majority region.

"The government of India will appoint a group of interlocutors under an eminent
person to begin the process of a sustained dialogue" with a wide swathe of
Kashmiris, including political and youth groups, he said.

More than 100 people have been killed since early June as stone-throwing
protesters have clashed with security forces. The civilian demonstrations have
been the largest since an armed uprising against Indian rule in 1989.

Most of the victims, many in them in their teens, have been killed in live
firing by police and paramilitary troops, while others have been hit by tear-gas
shells or rubber bullets.

The recent protests were ignited on June 11 by the death of a 17-year-old
student hit by a tear-gas shell during a clash with police. Since then
Indian-administered Kashmir has been paralysed by demonstrations, strikes and
strict curfews imposed to stem the unrest.

Heavily militarised

The Congress-led government has been accused in the Indian media of letting the
situation spiral out of control and the eight-point plan is the first major
initiative to deal with the clashes.

Chidambaram said the state government would be told to immediately free some 255
protesters jailed for throwing stones at security forces and compensate the
families of the dead protesters.

Authorities will also consider reducing the security presence in the heavily
militarised Kashmir valley, the hub of separatist sentiment.

In particular, Chidambaram said, officials would look at reducing the large
number of security checkpoints that are deeply resented by locals.

"We will request the state government to immediately convene a meeting of the
[security] Unified Command and to review the deployment of security forces in
Kashmir valley, especially Srinagar," he said.

Chidambaram also said authorities would review the many areas of Kashmir listed
as "disturbed", a category that allows application of the detested Armed Forces
Special Powers Act giving security forces wide powers to open fire, detain
suspects and confiscate property.

Rights groups have long pushed for repeal of the act to reduce public anger.

"We think these steps should address the concerns of different sections of Jammu
and Kashmir, including [those of] the protesters," Chidambaram said.

Separatist reaction

Some separatists said they would meet to discuss their response, but other
analysts say a lasting peace deal would be difficult given conditions on the
ground.

"It will be discussed in a threadbare manner so we can give our reaction," said
Yasin Malik, a veteran separatist leader.

But Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a separatist who has orchestrated the protests, said
"none of our demands have been considered by government of India and the
foremost among those was accepting Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory,"
the news agency Press Trust of India reported.

He called the initiative "mere eyewash" and announced a 10-day protest.

Geelani has previously laid down five conditions for a dialogue with New Delhi,
including India accepting Kashmir as an international dispute, revoking the
Special Powers Act and demilitarising the region.

Sajjad Ghani Lone, a former Kashmiri politician, told Al Jazeera that: "It is
not a matter of accepting or rejecting [the initiative]. The more important
thing is that there have been many such offers in the past and there differences
between the words and the deeds."

"[A]t the moment, there is a lot of repression on the ground that's why it [the
initiative] is being taken with some cynicism. If they implement them, in spirit
and in deed on the ground, then it is going to make a difference," Lone said.

Kashmir is divided between Pakistan and India, which each claim the region in
full. The dispute over the region has triggered two of the rival nations' three
wars since partition of the subcontinent in 1947.

While violence has fallen to a 20-year low, alienation of ordinary Kashmiris,
especially young people, has been stoked by India's massive security presence.
They have expressed their anger on social networking sites such as Facebook and
by pouring into the streets.

Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Kashmir, welcomed Chidambaram's proposals
and promised to hold a meeting in the coming days to "discuss the modalities of
reducing the footprints of security forces in cities".

"[I] hope this [the conciliation plan] will be the first step to the final
destination of reaching a political solution to the Kashmir issue," he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kashmir violence continues as protesters confront police
Missiles hurled at officers one day after 18 died in anti-India clashes across
disputed region

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/14/kashmir-violence-protesters-confront\
-police

Hundreds of stone-throwing protesters battled police in Indian Kashmir today, a
day after one of the worst single episodes of violence in two decades of
separatist protests.

Eighteen people were killed – nearly all of them after police started firing
– yesterday during anti-India and pro-Islam demonstrations in the disputed
region, further pressing the government to tackle the protests that have
simmered throughout the summer.

In the northern town of Baramulla and in Zainakote, near the region's summer
capital, Srinagar, five protesters and one policemen were injured in clashes.

Heavily armed police patrolled Srinagar, with loudspeakers mounted on police
vehicles asking residents to stay indoors.

All flights to the city were cancelled due to security fears, the first time in
11 years.

The latest deaths are a huge challenge for the government, which has been
criticised for failing to treat the protests seriously, underscoring a policy
limbo in Delhi that may spill over into tension with Pakistan, which also claims
Kashmir.

The Pakistani foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, condemned "blatant
violence by Indian security forces against Kashmiri people that have resulted in
the loss of scores of innocent lives since June this year," said a government
statement.

But Pakistan, long accused of stoking the separatist fire, may not be interested
in stirring up too much trouble with India as it faces its own problems of
floods and militant attacks.

"Pakistan has shown maximum restraint on this issue and I think this is a very
mature strategy that they have not intervened at the highest level," said Ershad
Mahmud, a Pakistani expert on Kashmir affairs.

Yesterday, police killed at least 17 protesters and one policemen died as
demonstrators set fire to a Christian missionary school and government and
police buildings to denounce reports that copies of the Qur'an had been damaged
in New York.

Kashmir has witnessed fierce demonstrations against Indian rule in the last
three months and police have killed at least 87 protesters. Demonstrations on
other issues – such as the Qur'an – can often balloon into wider
anti-government sentiment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Curfew extended in tense Kashmir
No decision taken on emergency security law as anti-Indian protests continue to
rock region.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/09/20109148376585518.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kashmir riots over Qur'an 'burning' leave 13 dead
American ambassador appeals for calm after police fire into angry crowds
protesting amid Qur'an-burning controversy in US

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/13/kashmir-protesters-killed-quran-row

More than a dozen people were killed and scores injured in confrontations in
Kashmir today following a report on an Iranian TV channel of the desecration of
the Qur'an in New York on the anniversary of 9/11.

In the worst day of violence in the Himalayan valley since young Kashmiri
Muslims began agitating for independence more than three months ago, dozens of
government buildings were torched as protesters battled with armed police and
paramilitary soldiers.

The arson and violence was particularly bad in two towns close to the state
capital Srinagar – Tangmarg and Budgam, where a school run by a Christian
missionary was attacked and torched.

Provincial police chief Kuldeep Khoda said 13 civilians and one officer were
killed in the violence.

The number of civilians killed in the valley since 17 June, when students first
took to the street in protest against the shooting of a teenager by paramilitary
police, is estimated to be 87.

Although government buildings have been torched before in Kashmir, today's arson
was on an unprecedented scale. "The loss of property is huge," said Khoda.
"Government offices, courts, police stations, even an official's residence were
destroyed and burnt."

The attack on the Christian-run school in Budgam was unprecedented too.
Religious minorities, especially Hindus, have suffered at the hands of gunmen
ever since a Pakistan-backed separatist insurgency began in the Srinagar valley
in 1989. Yet ordinary Muslims have by-and-large remained loyal to the region's
tolerant Sufi Islamic tradition.

Kashmir's separatist movement has been confined to the province's Sunni Muslims.
But the Iranian TV report provoked its minority Shia Muslims to also take to the
streets with placards bearing photographs of Ayatollah Khomeini.

As violence engulfed the valley, the local government banned the telecast of the
Iranian TV channel. Timothy Roemer, the US ambassador, also tried to exert some
damage control.

Roemer condemned the Qur'an desecration as "disrespectful, intolerant, divisive,
and unrepresentative of American values. The deliberate destruction of any holy
book is an abhorrent act."

He added: "We are also dismayed to see reports that a school and a church in
Kashmir and Punjab have been attacked and destroyed by rioters. We strongly
support local authorities' appeal for calm and an end to the violence."

While Kashmir was in flames, Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh was presiding
over a top security meeting in Delhi to consider the demand by Kashmiri Muslims
for the removal of a special law, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which
gives soldiers and police powers to shoot or arrest civilians.

It was widely expected that in an attempt to dampen the three-month-long popular
agitation in Kashmir, Delhi would announce the withdrawal of the law from
Srinagar and nearby towns.

But after deliberating for three hours, the security committee deferred its
decision. Instead, the government has convened an "all-party" meeting to
deliberate on the Kashmir situation. A major worry for Singh is the strong
opposition from the Hindu rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party to any softening of
Delhi's stand.

"Kashmir is burning, but the government is dithering," said Seema Mustafa,
national affairs editor of the NewsX television channel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Top Kashmiri rebel leader behind bars

http://arabnews.com/world/article131162.ece

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: Sep 9, 2010 00:54 Updated: Sep 9, 2010 00:54

SRINAGAR: Police arrested a top separatist leader Wednesday for rallying massive
anti-India protests that have rocked the Indian-controlled Kashmir for months,
and supporters reacted by staging fresh protests and hurling stones at troops.

The arrest of hard-liner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, 82, at his residence in
Srinagar, the region’s main city, came days after he laid out stiff conditions
for peace talks with the Indian government.

Police Inspector-General Shiv Murari Sahai said officers arrested Geelani for
causing “breach of peace” in the region.

The news of his arrest triggered fresh protests as scores of young men defied a
curfew in a neighborhood in Srinagar and threw stones at government forces.

Police and paramilitary soldiers fired tear gas to quell the protesters, said a
police officer on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak with
media. No injuries were reported.

Last week, Geelani demanded that India accept Kashmir as a disputed territory,
withdraw hundreds of thousands of troops from the region and release all
political prisoners as a precondition for peace talks. “Otherwise, the
protests would be intensified,” warned Geelani, a key leader of the All
Parties Hurriyat Conference, a conglomerate of separatist groups espousing
nonviolent means rather than insurgency.

There was no response from the Indian government to Geelani’s demand.

On Wednesday, the streets of Srinagar and other towns were deserted as armed
troops in riot gear enforced a rigid curfew for a second straight day.

Armored vehicles patrolled the streets and government forces used steel and
barbed wire barricades to seal off public squares and neighborhoods in Srinagar.

Security was further tightened after clashes between government forces and
protesters in Srinagar and half a dozen towns and villages injured at least 13
people late Tuesday, a police officer said.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, which is divided between India and
Pakistan, and claimed by both in its entirety. Protesters reject Indian
sovereignty over Kashmir and want independence or a merger with predominantly
Muslim Pakistan.

The mostly Muslim Himalayan region has been roiled by anti-government
demonstrations and clashes between protesters and government forces for the past
three months.

At least 69 people, mostly teenage boys and young men in their 20s, have been
killed in the civil unrest against rule by predominantly Hindu India.

The recent unrest in Indian Kashmir is reminiscent of the late 1980s, when
protests against New Delhi’s rule sparked an armed conflict that has so far
killed more than 68,000 people, mostly civilians.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Security tightened in Kashmir to stop protests
By Aijaz Hussain, AP
Saturday, 14 August 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/security-tightened-in-kashmir-to-st\
op-protests-2052627.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kashmir burns again as India responds to dissent with violence
The hospitals are filling up with gunshot victims but angry protesters say the
world is blind to their plight. Andrew Buncombe reports from Srinagar

Saturday, 7 August 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/kashmir-burns-again-as-india-respon\
ds-to-dissent-with-violence-2045905.html

From the end of the hospital corridor came frantic shouts, urgent voices that
grew ever more desperate.

A dozen men appeared, gathered around a blood-smeared trolley, rushing its
occupant towards the emergency surgery room. Abdul Rashid, said his friends, had
been shot in the head by police who had opened fire on a peaceful gathering.
"There was no stone-pelting, nothing," yelled one of the 25-year-old's friends,
as medics pulled shut the doors to the surgery room. "There was no curfew ...
They fired indiscriminately."

Once again, Kashmir is burning. Buildings and barricades have been set alight
and its people are enflamed. The largest towns are packed with heavily-armed
police and the hospital wards are full of young men with gunshot wounds. Around
50 people have been killed since June, more than 31 in the last week alone, and
dozens more have been wounded. The dead include young men, teenagers and even a
nine-year-old boy, reportedly beaten to death by the security forces after he
tried to walk to the local shop.

And yet for all their pain, the people of Kashmir believe they are suffering
alone. They say that unlike places such as Kosovo or East Timor, which both
secured independence in recent years, the world is deaf to Kashmir's demands for
autonomy. They blame the US and UN for not doing more and criticise Britain's
David Cameron for refusing to raise the issue of Kashmir when he visited India
last month, declining to upset his hosts, with whom he was seeking to boost
trade and investment deals, even as he bluntly criticised Pakistan for exporting
terror. "We were disappointed and so were the people," said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq,
a moderate separatist leader who has been placed under house arrest. "Of all the
foreign countries, Britain has more moral responsibility for this mess."

Kashmir has long been troubled with violence and the previous two summers saw
clashes between stone-throwers and the police. Yet some observers detect that
these recent protests are different. More people have taken to the streets –
women and the middle classes among them – and protesters have seemingly been
more ready to accept the police's bullets as the price for their struggle to
break away from the Indian state. Moreover, the spirit of optimism and hope that
existed after a young, idealist politician, Omar Abdullah, became chief minister
18 months ago, has disappeared. Some suggest Kashmir is witnessing an uprising.

If so, then the frontlines of this uprising are the stone-littered and razor
wire-strewn streets of Kashmir's largest towns such as Srinagar and Baramulla.
It is here, amid rubbish and waste that has not been cleared for weeks, that
crowds of demonstrators have repeatedly ignored curfew orders and the threat of
being shot on sight to protest against the authorities. Some demonstrators have
hurled stones at the police as if to incite a response, and cars and government
buildings have been set alight. Yet many protests have been peaceful.

The police and paramilitary forces have responded with crushing force. Untrained
and ill-equipped to deal with demonstrators using non-lethal methods, they have
used tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds to dispel the crowds.

With the crisis worsening and with the central government in Delhi increasingly
concerned, Mr Abdullah, this week flew to the capital and asked for additional
security personnel to be dispatched. He was granted his wish in the form of
1,500 paramilitaries and 300 special police.

This Rapid Action Force arrived in Srinagar on Thursday and by yesterday
afternoon they were carrying out patrols through several many of the city's
neighbourhoods. Kitted out in blue uniforms and armed with automatic weapons,
riot shields and helmets, these police sat unsmiling in their vehicles while
residents simmered and stared. "They just want to make us scared, but we are not
scared of these forces," declared Abdul Rehman Billoo, a 50-year-old
businessman, after a convoy of police trucks clattered through the city's Ikhwan
Chowk neighbourhood. "I am involved in the protests. Everybody is involved in
the protests, from 50 years to 100 years. There is no age limit."

A spokesman for the state government, Taj Mohi-Ud-Din, admitted the police in
Jammu and Kashmir, which has been fighting militants since the late 1980s, were
trained in counter-insurgency rather than crowd control. He said investment
needed to be made in new non-lethal weapons, such as sonic guns and pepper
sprays.

Yet he defended the government's actions, saying the authorities had no
alternative but to confront protesters who were damaging property and police
were acting with restraint. "The directions are that they should only fire with
rubber bullets, but there can always be exceptions," he said. "We have said
maximum restraint should be shown: firing should be the last resort."

Yet amid the gloomy corridors and busy wards of Srinagar's Sher-i-Kashmir
Institute of Medical Sciences, such words ring hollow. If the streets are the
frontline of Kashmir's uprising, then this hospital is one of the places where
the human cost of such an undertaking has been most clearly calculated. Since 30
July, the establishment has received more than 110 patients, injured either by
rocks, tear gas or bullets. In the space of little over 60 minutes on Thursday
evening, five injured people were brought in, among them Mr Rashid, the man who
had been shot in the head by security forces in the town of Pulwama, 25 miles
from Srinagar. Last night a medic said he remained in a critical condition.

On a ward on the hospital's second floor where his friends and family clustered
around, a 19-year-old man called Fidah Nabi was also in a critical condition.
The teenager had been admitted on Tuesday after he too was shot in the head.
Doctors operated on his mouth but had not dared remove the bullet from his brain
and instead placed him in a medical coma. His face was swollen like a
prize-fighter's and his head was swathed in bandages, with wires and tubes
hooked to monitors and drips. He was breathing by means of a ventilator. Mr
Nabi's elder brother, Ahmad, a photojournalist, said his brother had been shot
after police opened fire on a group of demonstrators. He insisted that his
brother was "completely innocent".

On Thursday afternoon, Mr Abdullah, the chief minister, had landed by helicopter
in the hospital grounds and visited the wards, stopping to meet Mr Nabi's
family. One of his aides apparently asked if the state could offer a job to one
of the family by means of compensation. Mr Nabi's mother said she responded by
grabbing the chief minister by the shirt. Outside, confronted by angry crowds,
the chief minister's security guards spirited him away to his waiting
helicopter.

"The police are firing at the head and the body, not the legs. This is a against
human rights," said one senior doctor, examining a CT scan image of Mr Nabi's
brain. A female colleague, who had worked there for seven years, said the
situation was worse than she had ever seen. Children and women were among the
victims. "We had another shooting victim come in tonight from Sopore. He is also
critical," she added.

Indeed, a quick tour of the wards found many recent cases of gunshot injuries.
Most of the injured were young men but in one bed lay a woman, Munera Dobi, who
had been shot in the back six days ago, also in Pulwama. The woman's husband,
Ahmed, said he was unsure if he would be able to work, now he would have to
spend time nursing his wife. "We need freedom from India," he said.

The Indian government is in no mind to give Kashmir its freedom. Since 1947,
when the formerly independent state's princely ruler, the Hindu Maharaja Hari
Singh, controversially chose to join India rather than Pakistan, Delhi has
vigorously defended the state against both Pakistan-backed militants and
peaceful campaigners. The militancy, which gathered pace in 1989 and has now
largely quietened, has claimed the lives of at least 60,000 people and resulted
in the creation of one of the most highly militarised places on the planet.
"Everyone knows that Kashmir is paradise on earth, but [the security forces] are
making it hell," said a friend of Mr Nabi.

Even now, the central government appears either unable or unwilling to try and
break the cycle of violence, opting to send in more police and paramilitaries
rather than seeking to offer some sort of political gesture, however minimal,
that might break the deadlock. When it was reported that UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon had voiced his "concern" about the current violence, officials in
Delhi described his comments as "gratuitous". Even yesterday, India's home
minister, was seeking to deny the home-grown nature of the protests telling
parliament "Pakistan appears to have altered its strategy in influencing events
in Jammu and Kashmir. It is possible that they believe that relying upon
civilian unrest will pay them better dividends".

Without a bold political gesture the loop of violence is unlikely to end.
Protests will go on, young people will throw stones, the police will kill
people, there will be angry funerals that lead to more protests, more stones
will be thrown, the police will shoot and kill more people. Kashmir's agony is
set to continue.

Decades of conflict

Why is there a dispute?

Kashmir has been at the heart of hostilities between India and Pakistan for more
than 60 years. Kashmir, a largely Muslim state, joined India when it gained
independence from Britain in 1947 on the wish of its Hindu ruler. The decision
sparked the first of three wars between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.

The state was partitioned in 1948 along a ceasefire line, leaving two-thirds
under the control of India and one-third under Pakistan. Both sides still claim
the whole of the state. In addition to the rival claims of the two countries, a
separatist movement began in 1989 against Indian rule. In the Kashmir valley,
between 75 per cent and 95 per cent of people support independence from both
India and Pakistan, according to a poll by the think-tank Chatham House. The two
decades of violence between Indian security forces and Pakistan-backed militants
have left more than 60,000 people dead.

Who is behind the latest protests?

Omar Abdullah, Kashmir's chief minister, has not blamed any group in particular
and says the protests were mainly leaderless. Human rights groups say India's
Armed Forces Special Powers Act – which gives security forces wide powers to
shoot, arrest and search in battling a separatist insurgency – further
alienates Kashmiris. India yesterday suggested that Pakistan was behind a "new
strategy" of inciting civilian unrest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kashmir unrest continues as more protesters die
Two further killings take death toll to 29 in last five days

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/04/kashmir-deaths-protests-demonstrator\
s
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Relief in India over Ayodhya ruling
Peaceful reaction to the court verdict on disputed Ayodhya holy site has been
welcomed, as fears of backlash fade.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/10/20101018426253180.html

India breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday as a hotly-anticipated court ruling
on ownership of a contested religious site was issued without any sign of
descent into sectarian violence.

Indian politicians had appealed for calm after a court ruled that both Hindus
and Muslims should share a plot of land in the northern town of Ayodhya that is
claimed as both a mosque and a temple.

The judges gave control of the main disputed section of the site, where a mosque
was torn down in 1992, to Hindus. Other parts of the site will be controlled by
Muslims and another Hindu sect.

The dispute over the site flared up in 1992 after a Hindu mob destroyed the
mosque and nearly 2,000 were killed in ensuring rioting between Hindus and
Muslims across the country.

Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, had described the 60-year-old Babri
mosque-Ram temple case as one of the biggest security challenges in India.

But despite some Muslims saying they would challenge the ruling, there was no
sign of a repeat of the widespread sectarian strife that many had feared the
ruling would spark.

"The law and order situation throughout the country has been extremely
peaceful," said P. Chidambaram, the home minister.  "We are therefore very
pleased and satisfied that the people of  India have been respectful and
dignified."

Compromise welcomed

Indian newspapers said on Friday that the peaceful reaction to the verdict
heralds a new dawn for the country, which has suffered periodic bouts of
sectarian violence over the years.

"The compromise nature of the verdict along with the substantive outcome of
dividing the disputed land have restrained any party from claiming outright
victory or sulking in total defeat," the Hindu  newspaper said in an editorial.
"On balance, the verdict should help the nation as a whole put a  longstanding
dispute behind."

Analysts said that the issue was handled well by both politicians and community
leaders. "People have shown a great degree of maturity, and politicians too have
understood that they cannot ignite anger over the issue," said  R.K. Mishra, a
political science teacher in Saket Degree College in Ayodhya.

"I think we can safely say people have grown up and have started  focusing on
their priorities instead of wasting time and energy over a piece of land," he
added.

But the dispute over the holy site is unlikely to end with the ruling, with
Muslims unhappy with only receiving a third of the plot of land.

Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the chief cleric in New Delhi's main Jama  Masjid mosque,
said he was "definitely not happy" with the ruling, adding that Muslims would
not give up their claims to rebuild the mosque at the site.

Asaduddin Owaisi, a Muslim member of parliament, said on Thursday that "there is
anger building up among the Muslim community over the verdict but, god willing,
it may not translate into street  violence."

But in Ayodhya, many Muslims were more circumspect about the ruling, with many
preferring not to  comment on the case for fearing of sparking reprisals from
the Hindu community.

"If I say anything then chances are the Hindus will not like it  and we will
start fighting again," said Ameen Sheikh Sardar, a Muslim car mechanic in
Ayodhya. "We Muslims have decided to remain silent. The less we talk about the
disputed land, the better it is for the people of Ayodhya."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Indian court rules shrine should be shared

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/indian-court-rules-shrine-should-be\
-shared-2093968.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Egypt's new political dawn
The emergence of Mohamed ElBaradei as a political player has led Egyptians to
dream of a more democratic society.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2010/09/201093011464564228.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel holds Gaza blockade Britons

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-holds-gaza-blockade-b\
ritons-2092814.html

Israeli authorities boarded a British yacht, took down its flag and "almost
strip searched" its crew as they attempted to break the blockade to Gaza, a
Briton on board said today.

Vish Vishvanath was one of nine people travelling on the British-flagged
catamaran Irene when it was intercepted.

The freelance photo-journalist from Twickenham, south west London, said the
vessel had been "hijacked" in international waters and surrounded by about eight
boats whose crew trained machine guns on them.

The armed Israeli authorities who came on board took down the boat's British
flag, he said, "which is something you're not supposed to do".

The 36-year-old was one of two Britons on board the yacht. The other was Irene's
captain, Glyn Secker.

Both men were detained in Israel prior to deportation.

Arriving at Luton Airport this morning, Mr Vishvanath said he had been "almost
strip-searched" and that the Israeli authorities had confiscated all his camera
gear and his phone.

The group set sail earlier this week from Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus,
with a consignment of medicines, toys and water purifiers.

But the catamaran was seized yesterday around 20 miles from Gaza by Israeli
naval forces, with nine people and aid for the territory on board.

Mr Vishvanath said: "We had some intelligence that we wouldn't be intercepted
until we got to the edge of the Israeli territorial waters, which would have
been yesterday around noon.

"We had a decent night's sleep but at about 9am or 10am we saw a frigate and a
gun ship.

"The frigate followed us for quite a way. Then about another four speedboats
appeared and another gun ship. In total there were about eight boats."

The boats approached the British yacht and told it to stop, he said.

"They said if we acted calmly no one would get hurt," he added.

But the captain ignored their warnings to turn back.

One of two former Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) members on board Irene repeatedly
read out a statement telling the naval forces that "the occupation is illegal",
Mr Vishvanath said.

He went on: "All the passengers and crew were in agreement it would be positive
resistance. We weren't going to do what they told us, they would have to do it
themselves.

"The captain didn't give up the helm easily."

Men who he believed were special forces commandos then boarded the boat and
Tasered one of the ex-IDF men, who was putting up a struggle, he said.

"I saw both men get dragged into a support boat and taken away," the
photo-journalist said.

"About three commandos ambushed me and took all my camera gear. They confiscated
my cell phone because it had a camera on it.

"There was a lot of resistance - people just weren't going to play ball - but
there was no violence," he added.

The captain then cut the fuel lines so the Israeli authorities had to tow the
boat for two to three hours to the Israeli port of Ashdod, he said.

They removed the yacht's satellite phones and shut down all its communications,
he added.

According to a spokeswoman for the activists, the non-Israelis on board were
transported to an immigration centre in Israel, where they were temporarily
detained.

Five Israelis, one US and one German citizen were also on the boat.

Mr Vishvanath said he was not an activist but was there to document events.

He said he was the only non-Jew on board and that all had been prepared to be
intercepted by the Israeli authorities.

"The others were pointing out that it's not in their name," he said. "That all
Zionists are Jews but not all Jews are Zionists."

A Holocaust survivor among the group lectured the commandos at length for about
four hours, he added.

"They were engaging in conversation. They were friendly enough," he said.

Israeli military officials said Irene was taken over after the captain ignored
two warnings to turn back.

"No violence of any kind was used," they said.

London-based activist group Jews for Justice for Palestinians organised the
mission - called Jewish Boat To Gaza - and said its last contact with Mr Secker
was at 10.37am British time yesterday.

The incident comes four months after a deadly Israeli raid on a Turkish-led
international flotilla aiming to break the blockade. Israeli commandos killed
nine Turkish activists sparking a major international incident.

Israel imposed its blockade on Gaza three years ago in a bid to stop Islamic
militant Hamas from building up an arsenal of weapons, but the move has proved
inflammatory ever since.

Pro-Palestinian activists have sailed a string of blockade-busting boats to the
coastal strip over the past two years, although few have reached Gaza.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Mumbai-style' terror attack on UK, France and Germany foiled
• Drone attacks intercept militants based in Pakistan
• Western intelligence agencies confirm plot fears

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/29/terror-attack-plot-europe-foiled

A plot to launch "commando-style" attacks on Britain, France, and Germany has
been intercepted and foiled by drone attacks on militants based in Pakistan,
security and intelligence sources said last night.

The plan for suicidal onslaughts similar to the 2008 atrocity in Mumbai –
where 166 people were killed in a series of gun and grenade assaults – was
disrupted after a combined operation involving US, UK, French and German
intelligence agencies, officials said.

British security and intelligence sources, who have been concerned for some time
about the possibility of a Mumbai-style attack in Europe, confirmed that they
believed a plot was being hatched from Pakistan.

The increased rate of coordinated US drone raids along the border with
Afghanistan is believed to be a response to intelligence gathered about the
plot. Security sources insisted that attacks in Europe were not imminent.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, however, has been evacuated twice because of a bomb
scare in the past two weeks, a precaution that may have been prompted by the
intelligence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iranian blogger given prison term
Hossein Derakhshan, known as the "blogfather," handed nearly 20-year sentence
for "propaganda" and "collaboration".

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/201092943554589116.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel seizes Gaza aid boat
Voyage organised by European Jewish groups to condemn "collective punishment
against 1.5 million Palestinians".

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/201092882030712571.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A beacon of hope in Bosnia
It was the scene of some of the worst atrocities of the 1992-95 war, but
residents are slowly rebuilding ties.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2010/09/201092513205554124.html

Foca, a region of breathtaking gorges and dark forests in south-eastern Bosnia
will be forever remembered for some of the most appalling atrocities of the
1992-1995 war. The declaration of independence by a Muslim-dominated
administration in Sarajevo on March 3, 1992 prompted a defiant Bosnian Serb
population to try and carve out territory of their own - territory which would
become the post-war Bosnian "entity" of Republika Srpska, in which Foca lies.

Bosnian Serb forces descended on Foca just a month after the war began,
terrorising, imprisoning and torturing the Muslim population and destroying
their property and cultural heritage. Hundreds were murdered with dozens of
corpses dumped in the Drina River.

But the systematic rape of Muslim women and girls is what made the name Foca
infamous. Victims were moved into what would become known as "rape camps", one
of the biggest being a sports hall next to the municipal police station. Bosnian
Serb soldiers and paramilitaries would visit to pick out women and girls as
young as 12 and take them away to rape them. Some told of being forced to feign
laughter, others of domestic enslavement.

No Muslims left

Foca's name was linked to 11 indictments at the war crimes tribunal at The
Hague, equalling the grim record set by Srebrenica, where Bosnian Serb forces
killed 7,000 men and boys and displaced 20,000 or more in the final months of
the war three years later.

Two men implicated in the crimes committed in Foca died before they could face
trial, but eight have been convicted and handed sentences totalling 133 years.
The trial of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, the last of those to be tried
at The Hague for crimes relating to Foca, is still underway.

Before Foca's horrors began the population of 45,000 had been half Serb and half
Muslim. By the time they were over there were no Muslims left. Over 430 bodies
have been unearthed in the years since, but 2,800 more people remain unaccounted
for.

Most of the Muslim inhabitants simply fled. Not one of the town's 17 Muslim holy
places, 12 mosques, was left standing. Among those destroyed was the 16th
century Aladza ("Colourful") Mosque.

In 1994 the Bosnian Serb authorities celebrated the success of the campaign by
renaming the region "Srbinje", or "the place of the Serbs". And so it was for
years afterwards, often being considered a likely bolt-hole for indicted war
criminals, like Karadzic, and Ratko Mladic, who is still at large.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Catholic primary school set to convert to Islamic faith

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/catholic-primary-scho\
ol-set-to-convert--to-islamic-faith-2089112.html

A Roman Catholic primary school in the heart of an Asian community in Lancashire
looks set to become the first in the country to convert to an Islamic faith
school.

Just a decade ago, Sacred Heart RC Primary School in Blackburn was a flourishing
Catholic community, with 91 per cent of its pupil intake professing the faith.
Now that number has dwindled to no more than 3 per cent.

As a result, the Diocese of Salford – which is responsible for the running of
the school – has concluded it is no longer "appropriate" for the Catholic
Church to remain in charge. Instead, its future is the subject of a
consultation, with the local mosque a leading contender to take over the
day-to-day running of the school.

The 197-pupil school is in the centre of Blackburn and its pupils are largely
from ethnic minority groups, with Indians and Pakistanis in the majority. In
all, around 97 per cent of its intake is Muslim. Nearby, there is already an
established and successful Muslim secondary, the Tauheedul Islam Girls' High
School, which caters for 383 pupils and is repeatedly listed in the top 10
non-selective state schools based on its exam performance. It has already
expressed an interest in taking over Sacred Heart.

Whether this would mean running it as a Muslim faith school or in partnership
with another institution has yet to be determined.

Hamid Patel, Tauheedul's headteacher, said: "We are the only outstanding [as
rated by Ofsted] Muslim school and we are the only outstanding secondary school
in the area.

"We're very keen on collaboration. We will consider both options [running it as
a faith school or becoming a lead partner in the running of the school]."

According to a report presented to Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council's
executive, if Sacred Heart became a Muslim school it would "provide increased
diversity... and offer a faith school that matches the population of the town".

Just exactly who will end up running the school will be decided by open
competition, a mechanism put in place by the previous Labour government to give
parents more of a say.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Abbas vows to continue with talks

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/2010925164625386949.html

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, has said Palestinians
would not immediately walk away from peace talks with Israel even if it does not
extend a 10-month limited settlement moratorium due to expire on Sunday at
midnight.

Abbas's comments on Sunday came as diplomatic efforts intensified to try to get
Israel to extend the partial freeze on construction by Jewish settlers in the
West Bank.

A day earlier, Abbas had told the UN General Assembly in New York that Israel
must choose between "peace and the continuation of illegal settlements" if it
wants international talks to succeed.

But on Sunday Abbas told al-Hayat newspaper that if the freeze was not continued
he would "go back to the Palestinian institutions, to the Arab follow-up
committee".

As Abbas travelled to Paris for a meeting with Nicolas Sarkozy, France's
president, to "expolore developments in the peace process", Israelis and US
mediators were racing to find a compromise that would allow the fragile talks to
continue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pastor Behind Quran Plan May Face $200,000 Bill
The preacher from Gainesville who ignited a firestorm of criticism over his plan
to torch 200 copies of the Quran says he wants to move his church to the Tampa
Bay area by the end of the year, NBC affiliate WFLA reported.

http://www.witn.com/news/headlines/103229199.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IAEA rejects Arab move over Israel
UN watchdog rejects resolution calling on Israel to join Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/09/2010924132627742782.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Palestinians and the 'Jewish state'
If Palestinians recognised Israel as a Jewish state they would be effectively
legitimising their own dispossession.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2010/09/201091914540375557.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert Fisk: The crimewave that shames the world
It's one of the last great taboos: the murder of at least 20,000 women a year in
the name of 'honour'. Nor is the problem confined to the Middle East: the
contagion is spreading rapidly

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/the-crimewave-that-shames\
-the-world-2072201.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert Fisk: Relatives with blood on their hands
Eight of the women who sought refuge in Hina Jilani's Lahore shelter died later
at the hands of their families. In the second part of our investigation, the
lawyer explains how authorities covered up

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-relatives-wit\
h-blood-on-their-hands-2073142.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Women in Egypt get hi-tech aid to beat sexual harassment
HarassMap allows women to instantly report incidents of sexual harassment by
sending a text message to a centralised computer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/19/women-egypt-sexual-harassment-harass\
map
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert Fisk: The lie behind mass 'suicides' of Egypt's young women
Part three of our series demolishes the official claim that Egypt, where a
farmer decapitated his own daughter, has no 'honour' killings

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-the-lie-behin\
d-mass-suicides-of-egypts-young-women-2074229.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Millennium Development Goals: Unesco struggles to meet target to educate 70m
children out of poverty
For Nigeria's poorest children, school is an impossible dream despite Millennium
Development Goal to end illiteracy

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2010/sep/19/millennium-development-\
goals-nigeria-education
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Turkey church opens to worshippers
Religious services at 10th century Armenian church for one day seen as symbolic
gesture by government.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/09/201091981150102251.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Polish police detain Chechen leader
Akhmed Zakayev, an exiled separatist leader wanted in Russia for alleged
terrorism, is arrested in Warsaw.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/09/201091781758720665.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Community raises concerns over Israeli Mossad posing as U.S. agents to recruit
informants

http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=Community&article\
=3429
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert Fisk: Freedom, democracy and human rights in Syria
Ribal al-Assad gives our writer a rare insight into the dynasty that has shaped
modern Syria

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-freedom-democ\
racy-and-human-rights-in-syria-2080463.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Egyptian party boycotts elections
Egypt's al-Ghad party announces it is going to boycott parliamentary elections
amid divisions in the opposition camp.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/20109156120578610.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obama: Muslims soldiers 'are out there putting their lives on the line for us'
Obama reminds Americans what their country owes to its Muslim servicemen
fighting overseas in the US armed forces

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/sep/10/barack-obama-isla\
m-muslim-americans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

China's policy gets mixed results
Xinjiang's Uighur Muslims feel marginalised despite the billions spent on
development.

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/asia-pacific/2010/09/2010912132014716729.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Turkey vote boosts PM future
The passing of the Turkish constitutional referendum improves prime minister
Erdogan's prospects for the 2011 elections.

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/europe/2010/09/201091375453805603.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Insecurity of Faith and Burning Books

http://www.islamicity.com/articles/Articles.asp?ref=IC1009-4290
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hip Hop Group Confronts Rise of Islamophobia in Music Video
Native Deen Releases New Song as Part of "My Faith My Voice" Campaign

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hip-hop-group-confronts-rise-of-islamoph\
obia-in-music-video-103992238.html

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Native Deen, one of the most well-known and
respected Muslim hip-hop groups in the international community, today released a
music video in response to the rising tide of Islamophobia facing America,
especially in the wake of the New York Islamic cultural center controversy.
The music video, released as part of the "My Faith My Voice" campaign from which
it takes its title, highlights many of the concerns Muslims have regarding the
vilification of Islam and the heavy-handed focus given to extremist voices.
"As American Muslims, we feel like our voices have been drowned out by the
extremists on both sides," said Abdul Malik Ahmad, one of three young
African-American Muslim men who comprise Native Deen. "We have always called to
the middle path, but moderate voices like ours don't make headline news. As
musicians, we know the power of music and hope to reach out to our fellow
Americans through this song."
In the opening verse, Ahmad sings: "They're saying we are savages, uncivilized/
Me, my community we work hard, / Every opportunity to break walls, / The fight,
the lunacy that they cause, …"
Later in the song, Ahmad adds: "Go use the same steam, for youth to stay clean,/
Our earth to stay green, we want the same thing,/ 'Stead of burning books,
extinguish disease,/ Help spark the flame to help children in need."
WATCH THE VIDEO at www.myfaithmyvoice.com
Native Deen, a fusion hip-hop group, has inspired millions of people of all ages
and ethnicities from around the world. It has toured more than 60 cities in
America, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, promoting Islam and positive
interfaith relations. Over 4 million people have viewed its videos on YouTube,
and its  album, "Not Afraid to Stand Alone" is ranked #2 in the DC area on
independent music site cdbaby.com. In October 2010, Native Deen will release its
newest album, "The Remedy." For more information, visit www.nativedeen.com.
About
My Faith My Voice (MFMV) is a grassroots effort by American Muslims to present
the diverse voices and faces of its community. MFMV offers Muslims a platform to
reach out and speak directly to America through video messages at
www.myfaithmyvoice.com.
Media Contact: Israa Dawood at 202-439-1441 or myfaithmyvoice@...
SOURCE My Faith My Voice
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Musician Khyam Allami on how the 'ud changed his life
Khyam Allami grew up in London but found himself longing to connect with his
Iraqi roots. The 'ud – a Middle Eastern lute – was the way he chose, and he
has dedicated his life to it
Khyam Allami
guardian.co.uk,  Thursday 5 August 2010 22.30 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/aug/05/khyam-allami-ud-iraq-proms

Whenever I meet someone new, the conversation tends to go like this. "Where are
you from?" "My parents are from Baghdad, I was born in Damascus and raised in
London." "What do you do?" "I'm trying to be a musician." "What do you play?"
"The 'ud and drums." "What's an 'ud?" "It's a Middle Eastern lute, a plucked
string instrument." Here my new friend will continue with the inevitable. "What
made you start playing the 'ud then?" "It's complicated," I begin, cautiously.

My parents aren't musical but I grew up surrounded by music, Arabic music
particularly. Aged around seven, I played a little accordion and then started
learning the violin. But when we moved to London, when I was nine, my musical
world changed. Within a few years I was playing guitar, bass guitar and drums,
and was in love with the likes of Soundgarden, Melvins, Killing Joke and Tool.
As a teenager I had pretty much rejected my Iraqi background and stopped
speaking Arabic. I was neck-deep in western rock, but "eastern"-sounding
melodies always got to me. In particular, the soaring majestic violin solo of
Aboud Abdel Al on Killing Joke's song Communion. It never failed to unleash a
torrent of butterflies in my stomach – the kind of deep, nervous, painful
longing you only feel when you are stupidly in love with a girl you cannot have.
Why did that violin make me feel that way? And more importantly, how do you play
a melody like that?

Then came 2003, and suddenly Iraq was a part of my everyday life. For the first
time people took note of where I was actually from, and so did I. Depression got
the better of me. I had no idea who I was or what I was doing anymore. Iraq
burned and I couldn't do a single thing about it. Why such pain for a land I had
never seen, air I have never breathed, people I hardly knew? I finally
understood that if I wanted to do my bit, it had to be through doing something
that I loved, and I love music.

I had tried to play the 'ud over a year previously, giving up after only a few
weeks, but it still fascinated me. And I was still desperate to understand how
those wonderful melodies of the east were played. Although I had never really
listened to it properly, I knew that the 'ud was a central instrument in the
music of the Arab world. Composers used it, theorists used it, singers used it
and it was old, ancient. I went to meet London-based Iraqi 'ud maestro Ehsan
Emam. I was stupefied by his mastery and the 'ud itself. The simplicity of its
sound – nylon string on wood – calmed my mind. Its loneliness caressed my
spirit. Pure, improvised expression of sentiment enticed and bewitched me.

In March 2004 I bought my own 'ud. I decided to dedicate my entire life, 24
hours a day, to music, and asked the 'ud to be my guide and companion. A
research grant from the British Institute for the Study of Iraq enabled me to
study in Cairo with Iraqi 'ud virtuoso Naseer Shamma. After being one of maybe
10 'ud players in the UK, it was a shock to be surrounded by 30 or 40, most of
who were much younger and far more advanced than me. I practised eight hours a
day, almost every day for those three and a half months.

But it paid off. This year I was chosen to be the first mentee of BBC Radio 3's
new scholarship/mentorship World Routes Academy. The heart of the project was a
three-week trip to the Middle East to work with musicians including the renowned
Iraqi singer/guitarist Ilham Al Madfai. And as if that weren't enough, the
project culminates in a performance at the Proms on Monday. My programme will be
based on repertoire from the Iraqi Maqam, the art music tradition of Iraq.
Despite my nerves and the anxiety, I cannot wait to hear that first single
solitary note ringing out in the Albert Hall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Music fails to chime with Islamic values, says Iran's supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claims the promotion and teaching of the artform is not
compatible with country's sacred regime

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/02/iran-supreme-leader-music-islam

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said today that music is "not
compatible" with the values of the Islamic republic, and should not be practised
or taught in the country.

In some of the most extreme comments by a senior regime figure since the 1979
revolution, Khamenei said: "Although music is halal, promoting and teaching it
is not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime of the Islamic
Republic."

Khamenei's comments came in response to a request for a ruling by a 21-year-old
follower of his, who was thinking of starting music lessons, but wanted to know
if they were acceptable according to Islam, the semi-official Fars news agency
reported. "It's better that our dear youth spend their valuable time in learning
science and essential and useful skills and fill their time with sport and
healthy recreations instead of music," he said.

Unlike other clerics in Iran, whose religious rulings are practised by their own
followers, Khamenei's views are interpreted as administrative orders for the
whole country, which must be obeyed by the government. Last month Khamenei
issued a controversial fatwa in which he likened his leadership to that of the
Prophet Muhammad and obliged all Iranians to obey his orders.

Khamenei has rarely expressed his views on music publicly, but he is believed
have played a key role in the crackdown on Iran's music scene following the
revolution. When Khamenei was president, he banned western-style music, forcing
many stars to go into exile.

Houshang Asadi, a former cellmate of Khamenei before the Islamic Revolution
said: "He hated the music from the beginning."

"There were times I sang a song by Banan (a popular vocalist) for him and he
told me to avoid music and instead pray to God", said Asadi, who shared a cell
with Khamenei for four months in Moshtarak prison in Tehran in 1976 and stayed
friend with him for several years after the revolution. "The only music he liked
was revolutionary and religious anthems," said Asadi.

After the reformist President Khatami took office in 1997, official attitudes
towards music and especially pop began to thaw.

After his election in 2005, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cracked down on music.
His ministry of culture and Islamic guidance has refused permission for the
distribution of thousands of albums. Since last year's disputed elections the
authorities have given even fewer permits for public concerts, fearing they
could be used by the opposition.

Iran has rarely given permission to concerts, as it fears that the opposition
might use it as an opportunity to express itself, said Mohammad Reza Shajarian,
Iran's most prolific and popular classical vocalist.

"They are afraid of my concerts because of those moments before the concert is
begun, when the whole hall is in silence and darkness when someone suddenly
shouts 'death to dictator' and everybody accompanies and they are unable to
identify that person," Shajarian said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How One Muslim American Uses Hip-Hop to Heal Wounds
By Madeleine Dubus
August 2nd, 2010

http://www.campusprogress.org/articles/how_one_muslim_american_uses_hip-hop_to_h\
eal_wounds/

When Cyrus McGoldrick takes the stage, he’s not himself. McGoldrick raps as
The Raskol Khan, often with the Freddy Fuego Sextet, an evolving group of
musicians based in Harlem. The name Raskol is based on the main character in
Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov. McGoldrick
describes the first part of his pseudonym as “a rebellious force in society
who’s trying to do the right thing but struggles with his environment and
self.” Khan, Arabic for King or Chief, “channels a vestige of an imperial
mindset, a long history of conquest,” he says. It is a history McGoldrick
hopes to cleanse himself of.

McGoldrick is not famous. He’s not revolutionary. He is a college student, a
musician, and a writer. He is also Muslim in America. McGoldrick is part of the
first generation of young Muslim Americans to go through their adolescence and
early adulthood post-9/11.

“9/11 was the first day of high school,” McGoldrick recalls. McGoldrick says
as he sits in his rent-stabilized one bedroom apartment in Morningside Heights,
the far upper west reaches of Manhattan. [Full-disclosure: McGoldrick and I
first met when we attended high school together.] In the years since Sept. 11,
he feels there has been a weakening of the Muslim identity.

When forced to identify in relation to others, “the identity loses its pride
in itself,” he says. “The worry is that to be a good Muslim in America you
need to not be something, as opposed to what you can be.” McGoldrick wants to
serve others and foster a unified Muslim community in America.

The son of an Iranian mother and an American father of Irish descent, McGoldrick
was born on January 22, 1988, in Newport, R.I. and raised in Perkasie, Pa. His
mother was born and raised in Tehran; she left the country at age 17, just
before the Iranian revolution of 1979.

“Some of my family was hunted [at that time],” McGoldrick says. The effect
of his family’s escape from oppression is evident in McGoldrick’s personal
and spiritual evolution. He was fortunate enough to only experience isolated
incidents of discrimination, partly he says, because he “was able to pass for
white.”

Though he is now a devout Muslim, McGoldrick was not raised in any particular
religion. He went to Sunday school as a child though says his family always had
a liberal attitude toward dogmatic religions and he grew up with an eclectic mix
of relatives of all religions that gave him “knowledge of others.”
McGoldrick eventually chose to devote himself to Islam after moving to New York
City in 2005 to study in the Middle Eastern, South Asia, and African Studies
Department at Columbia University, where he is a senior and plans to graduate in
December. Tantamount to his religion, McGoldrick says community service was
always a focus in his life, something his parents taught him to be of vital
importance.

Now McGoldrick prays five times a day, eats Halal, and has eliminated alcohol
completely from his diet. When he’s out with his friends or playing shows, he
only drinks water, a transition he says took time for his peers to get used to.

McGoldrick works several jobs, all of which work to help New York City’s
community. He tutors remedial writing and prepares GED students for qualifying
exams. McGoldrick also helps with a creative writing camp his parents, both
successful writers, founded. His day job is working in the office of his
department of study at Columbia University, and he volunteers at the Maydan
Institute and the Islamic Center at NYU.

McGoldrick also frequently helps CAIR-NY (Council on American-Islamic Relations)
organize events in the city. He recently published an op-ed in NEEM Magazine, an
online magazine focused on South-Asian culture, on the Fahad Hashmi case, one of
the first instances of an American citizen who plead guilty to terrorism-related
charges following Sept. 11.

McGoldrick is not your typical college student by any means, but he’s also not
a naïve dreamer, imagining a world of peace. He doesn’t believe that one day
every culture will get along, but he does believe that we have the potential for
greater acceptance of the Muslim people.

McGoldrick believes a unified and proud Muslim culture would counteract the
anti-Muslim sentiment that began after 9/11. Hate crimes between 2003 and 2004
against Muslims rose by 50 percent. Even now, a recent poll conducted by Pew
suggests that 38 percent of Americans believe Islam encourages violence. Such
anti-Muslim sentiment pervades our lives daily: flawed no fly-lists based on
name and not criminal history, a recent rally in Sheepshead Bay, N.Y. to oppose
the building of a mosque (as well as hysteria over plans to build one near the
Ground Zero site), not to mention the constant berating Islam takes in the
media.

The shift between coexistence and acceptance to fear and hate is evident. It
should not even be a question in our society anymore, but McGoldrick hopes there
is a way to restore balance. “Just by being us,” McGoldrick says, “[we
could] make Islam a normal part of peoples lives.”

As an example of the disparity between cultures, McGoldrick cites the
government’s hallmark definition of “radicalism” as a Muslim person who
has an increased faith in Islam, has grown a beard, and become more involved in
activism.

McGoldrick recalls frustration with President Barack Obama’s campaign: When
Obama was repeatedly branded a Muslim, McGoldrick wished Obama had turned the
question around to ask why it would matter if a president were Muslim, instead
of simply vehemently denying it.

Unfortunately, McGoldrick had to wait for General Colin Powell appeared on
“Meet the Press” to endorse Obama, saying, "Is there something wrong with
being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no.”

The misconception of Islam leaves those in the Muslim community feeling
alienated for defining themselves in their own positive terms. McGoldrick is not
immune to this feeling—in fact it seems to be the source of both his hope and
uncertainty in life.

“Sometimes I feel lost,” he says, pausing to look down at his hands. “I
trust that I’ll see good come from this time—sometimes we don’t have time
to pause and see where we are.”

He ultimately finds his music, and The Raskol Khan, to be the greatest forum for
addressing issues he and Muslim-Americans face today. “Music is part of my
ministry,” McGoldrick says. “If I let music just be a distraction, then
I’m not doing my best.”

When he raps with the Fuego Sextet, as he often does, he speaks to his personal
struggles and the political and social issues that resonate in him the most.
After the Israeli Navy raided the largest ship in the Gaza-bound aid flotilla,
the Mavi Marmara on May 31, killing at least nine people and wounding dozens of
others, the band organized an upcoming show into a memorial.

“Some people didn’t agree [with the message],” he says of the night,
“but everyone was into [the music] and got something out of it.”

McGoldrick believes the power of hip-hop lies in the opportunity to reach a more
progressive audience who he believes are “automatically more receptive,”
considering the genre’s history of confronting political, social, and racial
injustice.

And therein lies the purpose of The Raskol Khan: By honestly depicting
McGoldrick’s former self, his history, he believes the audience can then see
themselves more fully. “Rappers represent themselves as the height of
achievement,” he says. “But this character is the beginning.”


Madeleine Dubus is a staff writer for Campus Progress and a writing fellow at
The New School.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meet Yusuf Islam: The Artist Formerly Known as Cat Stevens -- Twisted Tales
Posted on Oct 1st 2010 5:30PM by James Sullivan

http://www.spinnermusic.co.uk/2010/10/01/cat-stevens-yusuf-islam/

The name of the singer's first single was 'I Love My Dog.' From the beginning,
Cat Stevens was a star in Britain. 'Matthew and Son,' his second song to hit the
charts, was kept out of the UK No. 1 spot in early 1967 only by the Monkees'
'I'm a Believer.'

The young man who would become pop's biggest believer had the first of his
epiphanies shortly thereafter. After recording two albums' worth of heavily
orchestrated pop songs (including 'The First Cut Is the Deepest'), the reckless,
swinging Londoner fell ill with a case of tuberculosis and a collapsed lung. A
year in convalescence led to deep self-examination. By the time the former
Steven Demetre Georgiou resurfaced in 1970, he was the quintessential earnest
singer-songwriter.

In his new guise, Stevens became an international superstar. His 1971 album
'Teaser and the Firecat' went gold in America in three weeks. He contributed the
soundtrack to the enduring film 'Harold and Maude,' and he dated Carly Simon,
leading to years-long inclusion on the list of mystery men who might have
inspired 'You're So Vain.'

But another health scare helped push the singer toward a second awakening. He
nearly drowned while swimming at the Malibu Beach, Calif., home of Jerry Moss,
co-owner of A&M Records. Recalling the incident, Stevens has said he shouted,
"Oh, God! If you save me, I will work for you."

Having studied Zen Buddhism, astrology and numerology, he was ready for a new
life. The problem, as he once explained, was that success had felt empty to him:
"I had eaten, I had drunk -- I wasn't merry."

Soon after his brother gave him a copy of the Qur'an, Stevens converted to
Islam, abandoning his musical career in the process. He founded a Muslim
children's school in England and began devoting himself to humanitarian
concerns.

After more than a decade out of the spotlight, Stevens, now known as Yusuf
Islam, made news once again. In 1989, he was asked to comment on the Ayatollah
Khomeini's call for the execution of the author Salman Rushdie, who was accused
of blaspheming Muhammad in his book 'The Satanic Verses.' The book featured a
character called Bilal X, a converted pop musician who had become a "favored
lieutenant" of a Khomeini-like figure. Some felt the character was based on
Stevens.

Speaking to university students in London, Stevens quoted the Qur'an: "If
someone defames the prophet, then he must die." Later that year, appearing on a
BBC program called 'Hypotheticals,' the former singer repeated his conviction.
Asked whether he would attend a demonstration in which Rushdie's effigy was
burned, he replied, "I would have hoped that it'd be the real thing."

The backlash against Stevens was swift. In protest, 10,000 Maniacs deleted their
cover of his anthemic song 'Peace Train' from new pressings of their 'In My
Tribe' album. One DJ called for a ritual burning of Stevens' records.

Subsequent retractions only fueled the controversy. In a letter to the UK
newspaper the Sunday Telegraph headlined 'Cat Stevens Wanted Me Dead,' Rushdie
wrote, "Let's have no more rubbish about how 'green' and innocent this man was."

It would be more than a decade before the singer's reputation was sufficiently
repaired. The attacks of September 11 gave him an opportunity to step back onto
an international platform. He was suddenly, he felt, "in a unique position as a
looking glass through which Muslims can see the West and the West can see
Islam."

Nevertheless, while en route to a meeting with Dolly Parton, Stevens was
detained at an airport in Bangor, Maine, and deported to England. His name had
appeared on a no-fly list.

The issue was eventually resolved. Later that year, Stevens was honored as the
Nobel committee's Man for Peace.

Stevens eventually returned to America to support his first pop album in almost
30 years, 2006's 'An Other Cup.' He had, he said, come to recognize music as a
much more unifying language than politics. "You can argue with a philosopher,"
he said, "but not with a good song." The new album featured original songs, with
the exception of one cover -- 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.'

Gaza burns as Hamas declares war on drugs
Use of narcotics has soared among a people under siege. Now the authorities have
vowed to clean up

By Donald Macintyre
Friday, 8 October 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/gaza-burns-as-hamas-declares\
-war-on-drugs-2101007.html

They made an incongruous sight, piled on to trestle tables in the car park
outside a government office. Long bundles of dried marijuana branches – known
as Bango here – the chocolate bar-shaped slabs of hashish, a few still
half-covered with the blue Action cheese wrapping used to smuggle them in, and
the smaller grubby blocks of off-white cocaine. Beside them were huge
transparent plastic bags stuffed with packets containing nearly half a million
painkillers, Gaza's psychotropic pills of choice – Tramadol, and a smaller
selection of drugs on display not because they were banned in themselves but
because they had been smuggled illegally from Egypt and Israel: the nasal
decongestant Clarinase, a so-called "traditional chinese medicine" named Tiger
King, and the inevitable sexual-enhancement drugs: Cialis, Levitra and something
unconvincingly called Marcin Sexual Gum.

It was worth looking because within minutes they would be going up – literally
– in smoke. Not for the first time, the Hamas authorities in Gaza were staging
a well-publicised burning of a multimillion-dollar stash of illegal drugs –
this week's outside the Nasser Children's Hospital in the heart of Gaza City.
The thick black smoke rising from the hospital's incinerator was the latest
testament to the Hamas de facto government's zero-tolerance policy towards drugs
and intoxicants of all kinds. And a reminder, if one was needed, that the
Islamic faction is the sole and energetic enforcer of law and order in this
territory of 1.5 million people.

The high-profile drug campaign has been an uphill struggle in Gaza, where
Tramadol use in particular had reached near-epidemic proportions as many Gazans
turned to the drug as a way of coping with depression and anxiety caused by the
economic siege, Palestinian divisions, joblessness and warfare. But the de facto
government's attorney general, Mohammed Abed, the man in overall charge of the
campaign, is confident that it is now "well-advanced". In an interview with The
Independent this week, he said it had two primary objectives. The first was to
contain drug use "through all the geographical areas of the Gaza Strip and to
clean the society of drugs by the generations, especially youngsters in schools
and universities". And secondly to act against organised networks making rich
rewards from smuggling and dealing drugs here. According to Mr Abed, drugs
siezed so far have a street value of between $20m and $30m (£12m and £18m).

If a primary driver for the campaign is religious, Mr Abed does not choose to
emphasise it. Instead, he uses language some of which would not be out of place
coming from a hawkish conservative Western politician, emphasising the need for
the toughest penalties to be imposed on those who peddle the banned substances
to Gaza's young – who can ill afford the costs of their habit. Saying that
some 200 offenders are currently held in police stations and jails on charges
ranging from smuggling and dealing to mere possession, Mr Abed made it clear he
would be seeking the death penalty for the worst offenders in coming trials. "In
each case, we will demand the maximum penalty. If it is 13 years in prison, we
will ask for 13 years." And asked the standard liberal question of whether it is
sensible to incarcerate – rather than use social agencies to rehabilitate –
individual users suffering from psychological problems, Mr Abed says crisply:
"They can go to
  prison and have rehabilitation." Softening slightly, he says one option is for
sentences requiring users to be in jail for a few days a month.

Although no dealers have yet been executed, the possibility has arisen because
of a change in the law instituted last year by the Hamas authorities. Mr Abed
explains that from the Six Day War and Israel's occupation of Gaza, until 1997,
when it was changed by Yasser Arafat's Oslo Accords-created Palestinian
Authority, drugs law rested with an Israeli military order providing a maximum
penalty of six years in jail. For three years, the old Egyptian law – which
provides more draconian sentences for "trading and importing", including the
death penalty – prevailed. But in 2000, because of "pressure" which Mr Abed
declines to specify, the then Palestinian president reverted to the Israeli
order. This remained after Hamas's parliamentary election victory in 2006. But
having siezed full internal control by force after the collapse of its coalition
with Fatah in 2007, Hamas decided two years later that stiffer penalties were
needed. "We weren't under
  pressure, so we changed the law back again," he says.

Although Mr Abed says that the Hamas-controlled civil police has a substantial
anti-drugs unit, he says it faces obstacles that enforcement agencies elsewhere
do not: the lack of trained sniffer dogs for detection, for example, and the
fact that because of the presence of hostile Israeli forces on the other side,
police cannot safely penetrate close to the border areas in the south-east
corner of the Strip, through which he insists drugs are infiltrated from Israel
as well as Egypt. At the same time, he says, close surveillance and the
authorities' information networks help them to "follow" suspected dealers.

Perhaps inevitably, enforcement officers in Gaza claim that "corrupt" and exiled
Fatah figures opposed to the regime are behind some of the drug trafficking, and
even that a few of those detained for importing drugs have alleged under
interrogation a connection to the Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet. To
underline the former point, Mr Abed flicks through his mobile phone to locate a
recent text message saying that a former police chief in Jabalya, under the old
Fatah regime, has been detained for unspecified drug offences. "Breaking news,"
he exclaims, with a smile of satisfaction.

Although such drugs are the primary target, Mr Abed makes no secret of his
intention to move on to tobacco, following Western (and Israeli) practice by
banning smoking – a habit unknown among Hamas officials though widespread
among many other Gazans – in public places. And as for alcohol, there appears
to be little significance in the temporary absence this week of the Ministry of
Interior sign at the Hamas entry checkpoint, which has warned visitors for more
than a year that "all forms of liquor are confiscated immediately [and are] to
be seized and destroyed in front of their owners". Mr Abed confirms that alcohol
remains wholly banned in Gaza.

Hasan Shaban Zeyada, a senior psychologist at the reputable and independent Gaza
Community Mental Health Programme, agrees that both law enforcement and
rehabilitation are necessary to combat Gaza's drug problem, though he lays
greater emphasis on the second. But while saying the present campaign is
"concerned more about legislation and about punishment", his view is that
Hamas's drive is "not just for show". He confirms that government ministries are
sending outreach workers into schools to discourage drug-taking, says that
religious and socially conservative cultural factors can be deployed in such
campaigns, and welcomes a plan to incorporate mental health into primary and
hospital care. But he would like the authorities to commit to specialist drug
treatment centres, so far unavailable in Gaza. And he warns of the problem of
"treating the manifestations without dealing with the root causes", among which
he lists "unemployment [exacerbated by the
  Israeli-imposed economic siege], internal division and fear of the future".

"Take a university graduate with excellent grades [who] cannot find a job, and
with it become independent. Or a man with six to eight children who cannot
protect his children or find work to feed them. Without dealing with the causes,
there is still a section of the population that will look to drugs to ease their
suffering."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FBI targets US Palestine activists
Searches, subpoenas, but no charges for anti-war activists 'providing support to
terrorists' in Colombia and Palestine.

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/09/201092993840748931.html

Tracy Molm sometimes has a hard time paying rent, so it came as a surprise when
American security forces banged on her door at 7am one morning, and searched her
apartment under suspicions she provided material support to a terrorist
organisation.

Warrants indicate that investigators believe Molm and at least seven other
activists from the Minnesota anti-war committee and other groups provided
material support to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and
rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), groups the US
considers terrorist organisations.

"My assumption is that material support means money and guns, but they [police]
wouldn't explain anything," Molm told Al Jazeera. "I think the real thing is
that they are trying to intimidate those of us who are standing in solidarity
with the people of Palestine and Colombia."

Activists from Minneapolis and Chicago have been subpoenaed to appear before a
grand jury investigation in October, after coordinated police raids on September
24.

No charges

Despite the searches and seizures of computers, cheque books, mobile phones,
documents and photographs, Molm and other activists have not been charged with
committing a crime.

"The searches were conducted pursuant to a warrant issued by a federal judge,"
Royden Rice, a special agent with US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in
Chicago, told Al Jazeera.

"No arrests have been made or charges filed in connection with this
investigation," he said, leading activists to call the searches a trolling
expedition targeting Americans who object to their government's foreign policy
ventures.

More than 200 people demonstrated in Minnepolis on Monday, denouncing the raid,
according to the Minnesota Daily, while at least 100 rallied in Chicago on
Tuesday to support the anti-war activists. More demonstrations are planned in
other American cities and activists expect the numbers to increase drastically,
as they only had three days to plan the first round of protests.

"The FBI does not investigate any person or group because of their political
views," said agent Rice. "We investigate allegations that federal criminal law
has been violated."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Armed groups vow Israel attacks
Thirteen Palestinian factions issue threat amid relaunch of direct Middle East
peace negotiations in Washington.
Last Modified: 03 Sep 2010 18:03 GMT

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/201093924784217.html

Hamas fighters have threatened to carry out a new wave of attacks against Israel
after Palestinian and Israeli leaders relaunched direct peace negotiations in
Washington.

Leaders for Hamas said 13 different armed groups, including themselves and
Islamic Jihad, will join forces to launch "more effective attacks" against
Israel.

The call on Thursday came after Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and
Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister held their first direct talks in
nearly two years at a US-sponsored summit in the US capital.

'Useless' talks

A spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement,
rejected the talks on Friday, describing them as "useless".

Abu Obaida made the statement at a brief news conference in Gaza City, where he
was flanked by several other masked men in army fatigues.

"We reject completely the slipping again from the Ramallah Authority to the
useless round of negotiations, which make a cover for the Zionist aggression
against our people," Obaida said.

He also said that "resistance" would follow.

"We will not allow these negotiations to pass over, and resistance will have its
loud voice as an answer to the land-selling negotiation," he said.

Netanyahu and Abbas have been holding talks with the US administration, assisted
by Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, and King Abdullah II of Jordan.

On Thursday, Netanyahu and Abbas agreed to keep talking and produce a framework
for a permanent peace deal.

Sabri Saidam, a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council in Ramallah, told Al
Jazeera that the Fatah central committee supported direct talks provided they
yielded "just and positive results".

"Two decades of negotiations that have yielded no results certainly create some
atmosphere of concern, which does not extend to Palestinian factions only, but
extends rather to within Palestinian society at large. So don't expect unanimous
support for such talks," he said.

"These negotiations cannot go on without the inclusiveness of the Palestinian
factions at large. For any peace formula to prevail it has to win the consensus
and the comprehensive support of all factions in its entirety."

Abbas 'in trouble'

But Ahmed Yousef, Hamas' deputy foreign minister, told Al Jazeera that the
Palestinians were not behind Abbas.

"This is not the right way to hold talks; we know Abbas is in big trouble. He
has to be following the dictation from the Americans to come to Washington and
unfortunately the Arabs that were backing him [are] being co-opted by the US,"
he said.

"Abbas is not doing the right thing and that's what most of the Palestinians
have said."

Hamas is in control of the Gaza Strip, one of the two territories that are
supposed to be part of a future Palestinian state.

It wields virtual veto power over any agreement and has given no indication it
will accept a deal with Israel reached by Abbas, who runs a rival government in
the West Bank.

Abbas has repeatedly said he will present any peace deal to a national
referendum, a vote that will include the people of Gaza. A vote in favour of
peace will apply heavy pressure on Hamas to accept the will of the Palestinian
people.

Thursday's comments by Hamas come after the shooting of four Israeli settlers,
including a pregnant woman, near the West Bank city of Hebron. Hamas has claimed
responsibility for the killings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two Israelis injured in West Bank
Hamas claims responsibility for attack near Jewish settlement, day after
similiar shooting leaves four Israelis dead.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/201091212849992438.html

Two Israelis have been wounded in the occupied West Bank in an attack on their
car, for which the military wing of Hamas has claimed responsibility.

According to an initial investigation, shots were fired on Wednesday night from
a vehicle which had overtaken the Israelis' car as they were driving near the
Jewish settlement of Rimonim, Israeli army radio said.

The wounded were a man and a woman, both civilians, an army spokesman said.

Their car was riddled with what looked like dozens of bullet holes from what the
Israeli military said appeared to be a drive-by shooting.

Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh confirmed the shooting incident at Rimonim junction, east
of Ramallah.

"Two Israeli settlers were injured one was seriously and one lightly and were
taken to hospital. "

The attack is the second on Israeli civilians in the past 24 hours. It occurred
after four Israelis were killed in a similar shooting in Hebron on Tuesday, for
which Hamas also claimed responsibility.

In a statement issued in Gaza early on Thursday, Hamas's military wing, the
Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, claimed "responsibility for the heroic operation"
that took place east of Ramallah, the political capital of the occupied West
Bank.

"The Ramallah operation is a message to those who promised the Zionists that the
Hebron operation would not be repeated," it said, referring to Tuesday's deadly
shooting in the southern Hebron region of the West Bank.

Settlers' revenge

Israel sealed off parts of the West Bank on Wednesday while Palestinian security
forces arrested scores of Hamas supporters after the four settlers were gunned
down.

Israeli soldiers carried out house-to-house searches in villages in the Hebron
area, near the Kiryat Arba settlement where two couples, including a pregnant
woman, were killed on Tuesday.

Access routes to the city of Hebron were closed by military roadblocks.

Furious settlers vowed to flout a moratorium on settlement construction in
protest at the attacks.

The main Israeli settlers association vowed it would immediately resume
construction in the West Bank, which has been partly frozen for the past 10
months in a measure imposed by the Israeli government under US pressure in a bid
to promote the peace talks.

The settlers did just that on Wednesday evening, laying the foundations for a
sports centre at the Adam settlement, north of Jerusalem.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bassam Aramin's search for justice
Donald Macintyre meets the man who won his fight to prove the Israeli army shot
his daughter
Wednesday, 18 August 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/bassam-aramins-search-for-ju\
stice-2055355.html

On a hot August afternoon exactly three years ago Bassam Aramin was adamant that
he did not want revenge for the death of his ten-year-old daughter, Abir, but
justice. At the time, he added quietly: "I have to prove my daughter was killed:
that is my problem."

Yesterday he had the satisfaction of knowing that his three-year fight to do
just that had been vindicated by a judge's ruling that Abir Aramin had indeed
been shot dead by a border policeman with a rubber bullet, that the killing was
"totally unjustifiable" and that the state should pay her family compensation.

It had not been easy. Abir, described by teachers as a "lovely" model student,
was fatally wounded in January 2007 as she walked down the street with her
sister and two friends after buying sweets in a shop across the road from her
school in the West Bank village of Anata at the end of a maths exam.

The dead girl's father spoke eight months later to The Independent after
learning that police investigators had closed the file on his daughter's death
without attributing blame for it.

He described how his wife, Salwa – who, like him, was always convinced she had
been killed by a police rubber bullet – had broken down in tears when she
heard that there was to be no prosecution, feeling "that they had killed her
another time".

Then, when he and the Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din contested the
police decision in the High Court, it refused to re-open the case on the grounds
that she could have been killed by a stone thrown by Palestinian rioters.

The family's subsequent civil suit succeeded this week when Jerusalem District
Judge Orit Efal-Gabai declared unequivocally in open court: "Abir and her
friends were walking down a street where there were no rock-throwers, therefore
there was no reason to shoot in their direction.

"It is clear that Abir's death, caused by a rubber bullet shot by border guards,
was due to negligence..."

Quietly spoken as ever, Mr Aramin said yesterday that his wife had cried again
when she heard the news of Monday's ruling, but this time from relief that the
truth had been established at last. He said that his court victory was
"historic" and was "a really very important message: don't give up. If you
believe in justice, even under the occupation, don't give up for one second".

Mr Aramin's determination to pursue every avenue, whatever the obstacles, in the
Israeli legal system is at one with a personal philosophy forged by an unusual
life story. A one-time Fatah militant who was gaoled for seven years for an
attack on an Israeli Army jeep, Mr Aramin renounced violence and became, in
time, a prominent member of two remarkable cross-community organisations.

One was Combatants for Peace, which he helped to found and in which former
Palestinian gunmen and ex-Israeli soldiers meet to share their experiences and
campaign for an end to the occupation by peaceful means; and the other – which
he joined after Abir's death – was the Bereaved Families' Circle, which brings
together families of Palestinians killed in Israeli military operations with
those of Israeli victims of Palestinian militant attacks, including suicide
bombings.

Underlining his belief that the alternative to the legal route was acts of
revenge which perpetuated the cycle of violence and did nothing to prevent
further deaths of children like Abir, he cited the reaction of his son, Arab.
"This was very important for me first of all to protect my son. He wanted to
avenge his sister's blood. It's very difficult to convince a 15 year old that
there should not be revenge."

He said the Palestinian attitude to Israeli security forces after such attacks
had too often been in the past: "You kill children, no one punishes you. You
don't feel you did a crime. We will continue to be silent or we will think of
revenge."

Abir's friend, Abrar Abu Qweida, who was 12 at the time and who gave evidence in
the court hearing which ended this week, told The Independent less than a week
after the shooting how the group had been walking down the hill outside the
school after leaving the shop.

While three or four boys were throwing stones from a distance at the bottom of
the hill, she noticed a gun protruding from the back of an Israeli jeep which
had passed the girls, going in the opposite direction. It was then that Abir had
been shot in the back of the head at a range of about 30 metres.

Mr Aramin says that he could not have gone on with the legal fight without the
continued "love and support" of his friends – Israeli as well as Palestinian
– in the two organisations.

An Israeli writer, David Grossman, was among supporters who turned up at a
separate Supreme Court hearing over a demand for the police investigation to be
reopened into Abir's death. The court has demanded a state justification of the
decision to close the investigation, which is now expected in October.

Mr Aramin – speaking yesterday in his mother's home town of Halhoul –
remains determined that the man who shot his daughter should be brought to
trial. He is convinced he knows which of the policemen he saw during the recent
hearing was responsible.

Mr Aramin says he accused him outside the court. When the man denied any
responsibility, he said: "I said I wish you a long and healthy life but also for
your conscience to wake up. I am sorry but I will follow you until there is
justice."

Despite scepticism among both his Palestinian and Israeli friends he was always
convinced – despite the setbacks – that he would eventually "win with
reason".

"My case is not a political one – I don't want to punish the policeman who
killed my daughter because he is Israeli but because he killed a child."

Palestinian child victims

* Ahmed Khatib, aged 12 and believed to have been holding a toy gun at the time,
was shot during a raid by the Israeli army in 2005. He died in an Israeli
hospital, and his parents donated his organs, even though they would go to
Israeli patients. This act, which benefited six people, inspired German
filmmaker Marcus Vetter to make the documentary Heart of Jenin.

* Mayar and Aya Abuelaish, aged 15 and 13 respectively, were killed during the
Israeli offensive on the Gaza strip in 2008-9. Their father, Izzeldin Abuelaish,
had broadcast live reports about the impact of the war before the family home
was hit. The girls' 20-year-old sister, and 17-year-old cousin also died.

* Muhammad al-Durrah died in 2000 during a gun battle in the Gaza Strip.
Television images of the frightened, crying, 12-year-old being shielded by his
father were seen around the world. It was claimed he was killed by Israeli
bullets, although the exact circumstances of his death remain a matter of
dispute.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Palestinians in Lebanon gain rights

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/2010817161916277557.html

The Lebanese government has granted some 400,000 Palestinians living in the
country the right to work in professions they had been banned from for decades.

Human rights groups welcomed Tuesday's parliamentary vote as a step forward but
said the bill still fell short of what is needed.

Under the new bill, Palestinians still cannot own property and are not eligible
for social security or health insurance benefits.

Because they will be treated as foreign workers, they are also still barred from
certain occupations that the country's laws allow only Lebanese to hold.

No reciprocity

Being essentially stateless also means further hardships for Palestinians.

Gaining entry as a foreigner into prestigious jobs in Lebanon such as law,
medicine and engineering requires the prospective employee to belong to the
relevant professional society, most of which require the employee's home country
to reciprocate.

For a Palestinian, there is no home country.

"If you're a Palestinian born and raised in Lebanon and your dream is to become
a doctor, you're out of luck", Nadim Houry, the Beirut director of Human Rights
Watch, told the Associated Press news agency.

Ali Hamdan, an aide to the speaker of parliament, told the AP that the bill
represents the government's attempt to "solve a historic crisis".

The plight of Palestinians in Lebanon dates back to the creation of Israel, in
1948, when war between Israel and its Arab neighbours forced hundreds of
thousands of Palestinians to flee.

In 1970, during what became known as "Black September", King Hussein of Jordan
expelled Palestinian refugees and fighters from his country, and Yaser Arafat,
the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, set up camp in Lebanon,
further heightening tensions in the country.

There are now more than 425,000 registered Palestinian refugees, most living in
12 overcrowded and unsanitary camps in Lebanon.

Full assimilation into Lebanese life and citizenship has always been a touchy
issue for Palestinians and Lebanese alike, since many on both sides - for
various reasons - still hold on to the hope that Palestinians will return to
their homes in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

"This is an important and basic step towards improving the humanitarian
conditions of the refugees," Hassan Fadlallah, a Lebanese lawmaker, told Reuters
news agency.

"It does not have any political effects because the Lebanese unanimously agree
on the Palestinians right of return and reject naturalisation."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The girl who became the only fisherwoman in Gaza
With an invalid father and a family to feed behind the blockade, 16-year-old
Madeleine Kulab has learnt to brave dangerous waters. Catrina Stewart reports

Monday, 16 August 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-girl-who-became-the-only\
-fisherwoman-in-gaza-2053580.html

As the waves pound Gaza's Mediterranean shoreline, Mohammed Kulab gives his
eldest daughter, Madeleine, detailed instructions on how to navigate the choppy
waters to bring in the night's catch of fish.

Mr Kulab scans the horizon for fishing boats as Madeleine and her two younger
siblings drag the family's wooden skiff to the edge of the water."It's dangerous
out there," he says. "Nobody's going out. But I gave them instructions, I told
them what to do."

His children leap on to the skiff and start poling. There are a few wobbly
moments, but soon they are clear of the breaking waves and heading for a distant
buoy. Madeleine, 16, is Gaza's only fisherwoman. In an Islamist society where
conservative values are closely upheld, she is defying tradition in more ways
than one.

She has little choice. Her father is suffering from a form of palsy that has
ended his fishing days. Her mother earns a meagre wage from textile work leaving
the family dependent on UN food handouts. Her family needs the few kilograms of
fish the children catch. "I was taught by my Dad when I was just a kid," says
Madeleine. "He has depended on me since I was 13." It's a heavy responsibility
for a young girl, but a necessary one. Since Israel imposed its land and sea
blockade on Gaza three years ago to weaken Hamas, families have struggled to
make ends meet.

The siege, largely economic in nature, has decimated Gaza's agricultural and
manufacturing industries, at one time both major employers, and has prevented
Palestinians from leaving the strip to find work in Israel. Unemployment stands
at over 40 per cent, and more than 80 per cent of Gaza's 1.5 million inhabitants
depend on food aid.

The situation has thrust Madeleine, whose dream is to be a fashion designer,
into a role entirely dominated by men. She has not thrown off tradition entirely
– even for fishing and diving, she dons a headscarf and modest smock that
covers most of her trousers.

Every evening, Madeleine, her younger brother, Quaid, and sister, Ream, take the
boat out to lay the nets for the night ahead. They collect them the following
morning around 7am. During term time, they will set out even earlier.

It's strenuous work, and sometimes dangerous. The three of them lack the
strength to right their boat should they capsize, and have to rely on the help
of a nearby fisherman or wait for their father to swim out. As Madeleine's
father waits patiently on the shore for their return, a passing fisherman says
with amazement: "You sent her out in that? The waves are too big. How did she do
it?"

Mr Kulab is used to the scepticism and disbelief that greets the revelation that
his daughter is a fisherwoman along a coast where few female swimmers are ever
seen. Moreover, Hamas has embarked on a campaign to enforce moral standards
among the Muslim community, such as banning women from smoking water pipes in
public and encouraging them to wear headscarves and loose robes.

Yet, the reaction of the Kulabs' acquaintances is rarely an expression of
disapproval, but rather a note of concern for their safety.

Gaza's fishermen contend not only with the elements, but also with the wrath of
the Israeli navy. If they exceed a three-mile limit imposed by Israel, they risk
being shot at by Israeli gunboats. Relaxing after dinner in the hotels that line
Gaza City's beachfront, it is not uncommon to hear the staccato bursts of
machine-gun fire out at sea.

Without a motor boat, Madeleine and her siblings don't venture that far out.
They fish with nets left overnight, but professional fishermen motor out in the
evening for the whole night, using their lamps to attract shoals of fish, such
as sardines. But it's a far cry from the old days. Mr Kulab, whose father fled
in 1948 from his home in the Israeli town of Ashkelon a few miles up the coast,
remembers a time when they caught fish such as red mullet and grouper.

"There were a lot of fish then, big fish that you could really make money out
of. We used to bring back 15 or 20kg of fish," he says, adding that at that time
the industry was dominated by only a few families. As economic opportunities dry
up, more and more Palestinians have turned to fishing as a way to survive. "Now
everybody is a fisherman," he says.

As a consequence, Gaza's shallow waters have rapidly become depleted from
overfishing, and fishermen use tiny-meshed nets to ensnare baby fish, a practice
that is frowned upon. Last year, the catch amounted to just 40 per cent of the
levels a decade previously, according to UN figures. This year it will be even
less.

Under the Oslo peace accords, Palestinian fishermen were allowed to fish up to
20 nautical miles from shore. That was later pared back to 12 miles, then to
six, and now to three miles. There have been extended periods when Israel
confined the boats to port altogether.

Israel eased its economic blockade last month to allow in many denied civilian
goods, most of which were available at a price anyway, smuggled through the
tunnels from Egypt. Human rights groups argue that life will only improve if
Israel allows a revival of the economy.

Exports remain forbidden, and Palestinians cannot leave the strip to find work
elsewhere. At sea, the restrictions remain in place, and Gaza's fishermen face
additional pressures from the dumping of Israeli fish on the market and smuggled
stock from Egypt.

Down at Gaza's main fishing port, a dozen or so men are sitting around,
repairing their nets, donated by relief agencies. One man lifts up his leg to
show off the scar from an Israeli navy bullet. The situation, they say, is
desperate. Where once they would earn between 300 and 500 shekels (£50 to
£80)a day, they are lucky now if they get 50 shekels. One man who had his nets
confiscated by the Israeli navy says he is facing a $2,000 loss.

Even so, Israel's policy, which critics call "collective punishment," has failed
to put a significant dent in public support for Hamas, even though many will
grumble privately about the corruption. Fisherman Zaki Zharbouri, 53, argues
that Hamas is as much a victim of the siege as the Palestinian people, and says
he feels no rancour towards the movement. "Hamas here is under siege, just like
us," he says. Everybody is just trying to get by, and so it is with some
sympathy that they understand Madeleine's father motivation."In our area, you
just don't see women. But I think it's a necessity. They want to survive," says
Mr Zharbouri. "But sea work is tough."

As the skiff returns with the catch, a wave rocks the boat and Madeleine squeals
as she loses her footing. Laughing, she falls down on to the nets. Was she
scared out on the water? "Today it was pretty dangerous; the waves were really
big." she says. "We were afraid, but we're used to it."

The family inspects the catch of a few dozen tiddlers and a couple of tiny
crabs, but it's quickly apparent there's not enough to sell at market. The total
catch, says Mr Kulab, would probably fetch only 15 shekels, so this time it will
go to the family pot. "Today, we broke the siege." he says. "Now we're happy. We
have our lunch today."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaza doctor writes book of hope despite death of three daughters
Izzeldin Abuelaish's moving book charts harsh realities of life in Gaza and
details harrowing family tragedy that may have halted Israeli offensive
Harriet Sherwood in Jabalia
guardian.co.uk,  Sunday 15 August 2010 17.53 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/15/palestinian-doctor-izzeldin-abuelais\
h-gaza-war

On a cool but sunny December day in Gaza, Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish took his eight
children to the beach for the simple pleasures of paddling in the Mediterranean
and playing in the sand.

Two months earlier, the children's mother had died from acute leukaemia, and
Abuelaish was comforted to see his older daughters laughing and chatting as they
wrote their names in the damp grains close to the water's edge: Bessan, Maya,
Aya. "It was as close to heaven and as far from hell as I could get that day,"
he later wrote.

But within five weeks the Abuelaishs were to suffer a second tragedy: those
three girls, aged 13, 15 and 21, were killed, and another daughter, Noor, 17,
seriously injured, when an Israeli shell was fired at the family home during the
brief but bloody war in Gaza in 2008-9. One of Abuelaish's nieces also died; a
fifth girl, another niece, suffered terrible injuries.

Many in his situation would have descended into a dark, lonely pit of grief and
bitterness. But Abuelaish not only rebuilt a life for himself and his surviving
five children, he has written a moving and powerful book about his experiences
with a central message of hope and reconciliation.

I Shall Not Hate – published in Canada in April, and out in Britain in January
– has had an extraordinary impact. Sitting in the home of his extended family
in Jabalia, northern Gaza, Abuelaish – back on a month-long visit from Canada
where he now lives and works – reads out emails on his BlackBerry from
strangers expressing their sympathy, gratitude and support.

The book has been translated in 13 languages, from Finnish to Turkish – but
most importantly copies will soon be available in Hebrew or Arabic. A book tour
in the US is scheduled for January; proceeds from sales and appearances will go
to Daughters for Life, the charitable foundation Abuelaish set up.

He explains his choice of title. "I'm against any violence. Violence and the
military approach proved its failings decades ago and that will never, ever
change. No one evaluates; we just continue blindly.

"As Palestinians and Israelis we have failed to change course. We just continue
with the same approach which aggravates, escalates and widens the gap of hatred
and bloodshed. It's easy to destroy life but very difficult to build it."

Would it not be understandable to feel hate after what has happened to him?
"There is a difference between anger and hate. Anger is acute but transient;
hate is a poison, a fire which burns you from the inside. We need to be angry,
but direct it in a positive way."

Abuelaish, an obstetrician and gynaecologist specialising in infertility, spent
years working in Israeli hospitals where, he says, patients were surprised to
find a Palestinian doctor delivering Jewish babies. After his wife, Nadia, died
in September 2008 he went back to work following encouragement from his elder
daughters, returning to his family in Gaza at weekends.

He was at home when the onslaught on Gaza began on 27 December that year. There
was a "symphony of weapons, shelling" around the extended family's home in
northern Gaza, where much of the action was concentrated. Everyone's nerves and
emotions were constantly on edge, he says.

Throughout the conflict, Abuelaish was in regular contact by phone with Israeli
friends, including journalists. His accounts, in fluent Hebrew, of what was
happening inside Gaza – closed at the time to foreign journalists – were
broadcast in Israel and beyond.

On 16 January 2009, at 4.30pm, a shell struck the house. He ran to the room that
had been hit. "I saw my girls drowning in a pool of blood," he says, tears in
his eyes. "I saw their body parts, a decapitated head, brains on the ceiling." A
second shell followed.

Desperate for medical assistance, he called his friend Shlomi Eldar, a presenter
on Channel 10 in Israel. His cries for help in a mixture of Hebrew and Arabic
were broadcast live. Within an hour, with the help of his Israeli friends,
Abuelaish's injured daughter and niece were evacuated from Gaza.

At the time, he could only think of the catastrophe that had befallen his
family. Later he realised the impact of that live phone call. "It opened the
eyes of the Israeli public. The secret about the war in Gaza was disclosed," he
says.

The then Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, watched the broadcast. "I read
that he said: 'Who can see Izzeldin and not cry?'" says Abuelaish. "Two days
later he announced the ceasefire. I hope that at least the blood of my daughters
was not in vain, that it saved others."

The doctor was already considering a job offer in Toronto and within six months
he had begun a new life as a professor in global health at the city's
university. Back home for the summer holidays, Abuelaish says Gaza is "getting
worse and worse".

"People are frustrated and hopeless. Wellbeing is not just dependent on having
food. We are hungry for freedom, a brighter future, a secure life, for feeling
our humanity."

But, he says, Gazans must not simply blame others, but take responsibility
themselves. "Everything is possible in life, even peace. The only thing that is
impossible is to bring my wife and daughters back. You have to keep moving.
Tragedy does not define my life, but these tragedies have made me move faster."

Abuelaish's book and the foundation are his monument to his dead daughters. "I
swore to God that one day I will meet my daughters and tell them their blood was
not wasted," he says.

The foundation is dedicated to promoting health and education among girls and
women in the Middle East. "My life is in debt to my mother, my wife, my
daughters," he says. "All change starts first with the mother. If we want to
change, we must start with women."

Abuelaish thinks back to the day on the beach, a picture from which graces the
cover of his book. "Two weeks before the war came, [the girls] wrote their names
in the sand. Where are their names now? Written in stone on their tombs. But I
tell you one day their names will be written in metal and stone at schools and
medical institutions dedicated to their memory. Words are stronger than bullets.
We have to offer a message of hope to those who believe in hate and revenge."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Besieging Israel's siege
In just a few years the Palestinian campaign to boycott Israeli goods has become
truly global

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/12/besieging-israel-siege-pales\
tinian-boycott

Despite Israel's siege of Gaza, and the escalating displacement in the Negev and
East Jerusalem, Palestinians have some reason to celebrate. In Washington a food
co-op has passed a resolution calling for a boycott of Israeli products,
confirming that the boycott movement – five years old last month – has
finally crossed the Atlantic. Support for the move came from prominent figures
including Nobel peace laureates Desmond Tutu and Máiread Maguire, and Richard
Falk, the UN's special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories.

The movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel was
launched in 2005, a year after the international court of justice had found
Israel's wall and colonies built on occupied Palestinian territory illegal. Over
170 Palestinian political parties, unions, mass movements and NGOs endorsed the
movement, which is led by the BNC, a coalition of civil society organisations.

Rooted in a century of Palestinian civil resistance, and inspired by the
anti-apartheid struggle, the campaign crowned earlier, partial boycotts to
present a comprehensive approach to realising Palestinian self-determination:
unifying Palestinians inside historic Palestine and in exile in the face of
accelerating fragmentation.

BDS avoids the prescription of any particular political formula and insists,
instead, on realising the basic, UN-sanctioned rights that correspond to the
three main segments of the Palestinian people: ending Israel's occupation and
colonisation of all Arab lands occupied since 1967; ending racial discrimination
against its Palestinian citizens; and recognising the right of Palestinian
refugees to return to their homes, as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

Created and guided by Palestinians, BDS opposes all forms of racism, including
antisemitism, and is anchored in the universal principles of freedom, justice
and equal rights that motivated the anti-apartheid and US civil rights
struggles.

Characterising Israel's legalised system of discrimination as apartheid – as
was done by Tutu, Jimmy Carter and even a former Israeli attorney general –
does not equate Israel with South Africa. No two oppressive regimes are
identical. Rather, it asserts that Israel's bestowal of rights and privileges
according to ethnic and religious criteria fits the UN-adopted definition of
apartheid.

BDS has seen unprecedented growth after the war of aggression on Gaza and the
flotilla attack. People of conscience round the world seem to have crossed a
threshold, resorting to pressure, not appeasement or "constructive engagement",
to end Israel's impunity and western collusion in maintaining its status as a
state above the law.

"Besiege your siege" – the cry of the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish –
acquires a new meaning in this context. Since convincing a colonial power to
heed moral pleas for justice is, at best, delusional, many now understand the
need to "besiege" Israel though boycotts, raising the price of its oppression.

BDS campaigners have successfully lobbied financial institutions in Scandinavia,
Germany and elsewhere to divest from companies that are complicit in Israel's
violations of international law. Several international trade unions have
endorsed the boycott. Following the attack on the flotilla, dockworkers' unions
in Sweden, India, Turkey and the US heeded an appeal by Palestinian unions to
block offloading Israeli ships.

Endorsements of BDS by cultural figures such as John Berger, Naomi Klein, Iain
Banks and Alice Walker, and the spate of cancellations of events in Israel by
artists including Meg Ryan, Elvis Costello, Gil Scott-Heron and the Pixies have
raised the movement's international profile, bringing it closer to the western
mainstream. Scepticism about its potential has been put to rest.

Boycott from Within, a significant protest movement in Israel today, was formed
in 2009 adopting the Palestinian BDS call.

A bill that would impose heavy fines on Israelis who initiate or incite boycotts
against Israel has recently passed an initial reading at the Knesset. This
underlines Israel's fears of the global reach and impact of BDS as a
non-violent, morally consistent campaign for justice. In many ways, it confirms
that the Palestinian "South Africa moment" has arrived.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Going organic: The siege on Gaza
Hamas side-stepping blockade by increasing local food production and
self-sufficiency.

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/08/20108975319492772.html

In February 2006, following Hamas' electoral victory, a top advisor to Ehud
Olmert, the then Israeli prime minister, Dov Weisglass, described the essence of
Israel's Gaza policy.

"It's like a meeting with a dietitian," Weisglass said. "We need to make the
Palestinians lose weight, but not to starve to death."

Although any Gazan will quickly point out that the blockade on the movement of
goods - and people - into and out of Gaza long predates the election of Hamas,
as the years have passed the exact date of the siege has often been, for reasons
of political expedience, recast to coincide with the Hamas takeover of the Gaza
Strip in June 2007.

Israel characterises the blockade as "economic warfare" targeting Hamas and its
constituents.

'No humanitarian crisis'

According to government documents that have surfaced in response to a lawsuit
before Israel's high court, "the limitation on the transfer of goods is a
central pillar in the means at the disposal of the state of Israel in the armed
conflict between it and Hamas".

A key white paper, entitled Food Consumption in the Gaza Strip - Red Lines,
meticulously details the minimum caloric intake required, based on age and sex,
to keep Gazans hovering just above malnutrition levels, and specifies the
corresponding grams and calories of each type of food allowed into Gaza.

The existence of the so-called Red Lines document has been known for several
years, but was only confirmed by Israel during recent court proceedings.

The blockade policy is overseen by a unit of Israel's defence ministry, the
Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

The policy slogan, which has been repeated at several COGAT meetings attended by
Israeli journalists, states: "No prosperity, no development, no humanitarian
crisis."

While the blockade on basic foodstuffs and essential infrastructural
requirements was designed by Israel to encourage Palestinians to overthrow their
elected government, many signs point to it having the opposite effect.

"If anything, [the siege] helps Hamas consolidate itself as a ruling party and
exercise increasingly effective government," said Yezid Sayigh in a recent Gaza
study-trip report for Brandeis University's Crown Center for Middle East
Studies.

'The organic farm'

Beyond the well-documented tunnel trade running under the Gaza-Egypt border,
Hamas has taken concrete steps to mitigate the impacts of the siege and further
its political administration in the coastal strip.

Hamas' agriculture minister, Muhammad al-Agha, has issued a ten-year plan
designed to side-step the blockade by increasing local food production and
agricultural self-sufficiency in Gaza.

Entitled The Plan for 2020, the document was vetted by 150 academics and
researchers, according to the agriculture ministry, and looks to respond to the
challenges imposed by Israel's blockade with local initiatives.

For example, Israel's ban on fertilisers has pushed Hamas to explore processing
sewage, which has been pumped, often untreated, into the sea off Gaza since the
failure of treatment facilities that are short of banned parts and supplies.

"When Israel started preventing the agricultural requirements, we moved to
organic agriculture to address our needs.

"What we have done is [implement] model projects for the transformation of
agricultural or domestic waste into organic fertilisers which we use then in
agriculture," said al-Agha, who is also a professor of environmental science at
the Islamic University in Gaza.

Thus far, some 1,000 dunams of land has been fertilised in this manner under the
pilot project, according to the ministry.

"What we have tried to do is change the culture of our people gradually to
organic agriculture, organic food and organic production," said al-Agha.

The plan, as The Economist recently described it, is to "turn Gaza into one big
organic farm".

Buffer zone

In previous years, Gaza's export-focused cash-cropping left the agricultural
sector vulnerable. As the strategic plan notes, export agriculture also involved
"large, consumptive use of fresh water and other inputs," and left scarce water
resources contaminated by chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

According to a recent United Nations report, the recovery of the agricultural
sector in Gaza is crucial in order to "reinstate the local population's former
access to fresh foods, including fruit and vegetables, eggs, fresh meat and
fish, which humanitarian agencies traditionally do not offer through the aid
pipeline".

But the agricultural base that Hamas has to work with is desperately limited by
an Israeli-enforced "buffer zone" inside Gaza's fenced off border.

One-third of Gaza's arable land is inaccessible to farmers and herders,
according to UN data.

In some areas, this no-go zone is two kilometres deep. Nowhere is it less than
500 metres from the border and everywhere it is enforced by live ammunition.

A report by the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs notes
that the buffer zone "contains rain-fed crops including wheat, barley, beans and
various vegetables, as well as olives, almonds and citrus trees. Most of the
Gaza Strip's animal production is concentrated in the zone, which also contains
important infrastructure such as wells and roads".

'Absorbing' Israeli attacks

While the US and Israeli-backed caretaker government of Salam Fayyad in the West
Bank seeks to meet Western demands in order to maintain its foreign aid flow,
Hamas in Gaza has, in many ways, stayed its course.

A recent field report by Nathan Brown of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace stated
bluntly: "There is [one] political actor that urges Palestinians to worry far
less about currying favour with foreigners and instead take matters into their
own hands - Hamas."

Khaled Hroub, a leading expert on the movement at the University of Cambridge,
sees the blockade as just the latest example of Hamas' ability to "absorb"
Israel's attacks to emerge in many ways even stronger.

"What we are seeing now in the Gaza blockade is just another manifestation of
the same phenomena that we have witnessed throughout the history of Hamas over
the past 20 years," said Hroub, who is the author of Hamas: Political Thought
and Practice.

"We have seen them manoeuvre their way out [of numerous Israeli challenges] and
present themselves again as more disciplined and stronger."

Indeed, of the many consequences of Israel's blockade, few appear to match
Israel's strategic intent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

US drone strike in Pakistan 'kills seven militants'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11509536

At least seven people have been killed in a missile strike in north-west
Pakistan, security officials say.

Unconfirmed reports said a US drone fired four missiles at a compound in North
Waziristan and two cars parked outside were destroyed.

In a separate development, a key border crossing used by Nato to move supplies
into Afghanistan has been reopened.

The border had been shut when two Pakistani soldiers were killed in a US
helicopter strike.

The closure of the Torkham crossing prompted the Taliban in Pakistan to launch a
series of raids on stranded Nato convoys.

The Pakistani government agreed to re-open the border on Saturday, following a
US apology for its soldiers' deaths.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan to reopen border crossing
Announcement comes just hours after nearly 30 lorries carrying supplies for Nato
troops in Afghanistan are torched.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/10/201010911405387766.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan to investigate execution video

Pakistan's army chief orders inquiry into mobile phone footage that purports to
show soldiers shooting dead blindfolded men

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/08/pakistan-investigate-execution-video

Pakistan's army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, has ordered an inquiry into a
video that purports to show a group of soldiers gunning down six blindfolded men
in the country's troubled north-west.

The video, which has been circulating on the internet for weeks (warning: video
contains graphic and disturbing images), has renewed long-standing concerns
about military human rights violations during operations against the Taliban.

If authenticated it could jeopardise $2bn (£1.2bn) in US military subsidies to
Pakistan, under a law that prohibits funding of foreign armies with a record of
gross human rights abuses.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unrest after Karachi shrine attack
Pakistan steps up security in response to violence after deadly blasts at Sufi
shrine in which eight people were killed.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/10/201010884154885131.html

Pakistani police have stepped up security in the southern city of Karachi in
response to fresh unrest following a deadly attack on a busy Sufi shrine.

The country's largest city was mostly quiet early on Friday, a day after angry
mobs burned tires and torched houses into the night.

The unrest came in the aftermath of the bombings at the Abdullah Shah Ghazi
shrine in which two suspected suicide bombers killed at least eight people and
wounded 65 others at the crowded site.

Meanwhile, authorities continued an investigation on Friday into the culprits
behind Thursday's shrine attack.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More Nato lorries burnt in Pakistan
At least 22 tankers are set on fire and one driver killed in the Pakistani city
of Quetta, police officials say.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/10/201010634556767530.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nato raid kills 'Afghan civilians'
Residents fleeing village in Laghman province tell Al Jazeera that Sunday's raid
killed 13.

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/asia/2010/09/2010928123526920458.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan police families targeted in suicide car bomb attack

Eighteen killed and 94 wounded as militants attack residential compound of
officers' complex in Peshawar

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/08/pakistan-police-families-car-bomb

A car bomb ripped through a police compound in the north-western Pakistani city
of Peshawar, killing 18 people, including 14 women and children and four
officers, the latest in a string of attacks proving that Islamist militants
remain a potent force in the country.

The civilians killed were the wives and children of police officers, said Khalid
Omarzai, the city's top government official. Another 94 people were wounded in
the bombing yesterday, he said, adding that they had been taken to hospitals
after rescuers cleared the rubble from more than two dozen collapsed houses and
shops.

The complex in the garrison city of Kohat houses officers' homes, a training
facility and a commercial area.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Millions' without aid in Pakistan
A month into the disaster, new areas are flooded and food fails to reach an
estimated three million people

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/09/2010956343484746.html

The United Nations says that three million people affected by floods in Pakistan
have yet to receive the food aid they desperately need.

Martin Mogwanja, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator in Pakistan, said flooding was
still reaching into new areas in the southern Sindh province.

"Hundreds of thousands of people are moving out of the areas of Quetta and
surrounding districts because of the new flooding coming in," he told Al Jazeera
on Sunday.

Mogwanja said a major breach of river banks in the north of the province had
effectively formed a second river, moving down south.

"The humanitarian community is working as hard as it can with the government ...
to reach into these areas where flooding has never normally occurred."

For its part, the Pakistani government has acknowledged that nearly one million
people have not received any help of any sort, a month into the disaster.

Some parts of the country are still being hit by fresh flooding. Southern Sindh
province remains one of the hardest-hit areas.

More than 20 million people across the country have been affected by the floods,
which have killed more than 1,500 people.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shias targeted in Pakistan bombing
Three blasts hit Shia Muslim processions in the city of Lahore, killing at least
33 people and wounding scores more.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/09/201091161347982259.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A month of floods in Pakistan
By Imtiaz Tyab in
Asia
on September 1st, 2010.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2010/09/01/month-floods-pakistan

One month - that’s how long floods have been devastating parts of Pakistan.

The misery began in the north-west of the country with the onset of the annual
monsoon rains. The seemingly endless torrential downpour led to the worst
flooding in the nation’s history.

After receding in the north-west, the floods moved southwards and enveloped
large parts of Punjab, Baluchistan and finally Sindh province, where hundreds of
thousands of people have had to flee from their homes only a day ago.

At this stage, an area the size of England has been affected.

Seventeen million people are directly or indirectly impacted by the waters and
around 5 million have lost their homes. The numbers are sobering, but the toll
of this disaster on young people is heartbreaking.

According to the United Nations more than 8 million children have been made
vulnerable because of the floods. Of them, 3.5 million are under threat of
disease or malnutrition. And for 70,000, their health is so bad they are at
serious risk of death.

Agricultural woes

Adding to the misery is the economic fall out of the disaster.

Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. Roughly 70,000 sq km of
farm land has been inundated. Of that, at least 20 per cent of the cotton crop
has been lost.

Cotton is a hugely important commodity in Pakistan as it fuels the country’s
textile industry, which accounts for more than 70 per cent of exports annually
and employs millions of people.

With so much of the harvest destroyed, it's projected the industry will lose
more than $2 billion.

Even before the floods struck, Pakistan's economy was in dire straits. Growth
was forecast at 4.5 per cent this year but, it is now predicted at anything
between zero and 3 per cent.

This is where Pakistan finds itself four weeks after the worst deluge to hit the
region since 1929.

But the human suffering experienced by Pakistani’s affected by the disaster is
incalculable. Suffering made worse by a shameful lack of aid.

Aid appeals

After Ban Ki Moon, the the UN secretary general, surveyed the damaged caused by
the floods and declared it the "worst disaster he's ever seen", the United
Nations appealed for $460 million in emergency funds to help deal with the
immediate humanitarian crisis.

Since then, it’s only been able to raise around two thirds of the money
needed.

The despair of people living in relief camps is almost palpable. Most spend
their days sitting in the stifling heat waiting for meager food handouts, while
others try to come to terms with what they’ve lost.

But the trauma is fast turning into anger.

Much of it directed at the president, Asif Ali Zardari.

Flood victims say he and the civilian government he leads ignored the alarm
bells when the catastrophic flooding first began and their attempts to handle
the situation since then have been inept at best.

It’s too early to say when the suffering caused by the floods will end in
Pakistan. But that hasn’t stopped some from asking whether the country will
recover at all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Civilians among dead in Pakistani air strikes on militants

Up to 45 Taliban killed as well as relatives and other civilians in Pakistani
strikes in Khyber region near Afghan border

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/01/pakistan-air-raid-taliban-militants

Pakistani government air raids have killed up to 45 militants, their family
members and other civilians with no ties to the fighters, officials said today.

Taliban militants were targeted in three strikes last night in one of their
strongholds in the Tirah valley, in the north-western Khyber region on the
Afghan border.

"We have reports that 40 to 45 terrorists were killed," said a security
official. "Some of the families were living in the vicinity of these hideouts
and they were also among the dead."

Pakistani forces have stepped up air strikes against activists, in Khyber and
adjoining Pashtun tribal lands in recent months. Many of the activists fled
military offensives last year in the Taliban strongholds of Swat and South
Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan.

Air strikes could undermine efforts to win over civilians in the fight against
the Taliban. Rehan Khattak, a senior government official in Khyber, said six
civilians, including women and children, were killed in one of the strikes. He
said the victims had nothing to do with militants.

"Four people were also wounded. They were members of Kokikhel," said Khattak,
referring to the pro-government Pashtun tribe that dominates Khyber.

Anar Bacha, 32, who was wounded in the attacks, said the victims were innocent.
"We were going to our home in a cab when all of a sudden planes appeared and
began targeting us," he said. "We are innocent. We are Kokikhels. We are not
terrorists."

In April, up to 50 members of the same tribe were killed in an air raid in Tirah
after they were mistaken for the Taliban, prompting an apology from the
Pakistani army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani.

Khyber is a key route for US and allied convoys carrying supplies for troops in
Afghanistan. Fighters frequently attack these convoys, forcing the US to look at
alternative routes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Poll: 76% of American Jews think Arabs want to destroy Israel
51% of U.S. Jews approve of the way Obama is handling his job - a 6% drop since
March; 95% think that the Palestinians should recognize Israel as a Jewish state
in any peace settlement.

By Natasha Mozgovaya

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/poll-76-of-american-jews-think-arabs-want-to\
-destroy-israel-1.318669

An overwhelming majority of American Jews believe that the goal of the Arabs "is
not the return of occupied territories but rather the destruction of Israel,"
according to a recent poll released by the American Jewish Committee.

Approximately 76% of respondents in the AJC's fall 2010 Survey of American
Jewish Opinion agreed with a question to that effect, while only 20% disagreed.

Meanwhile, 95% of the American Jews think Palestinians should be required to
recognize Israel as a Jewish state in any future peace settlement.

Some 82% said Israel could not achieve peace with Hamas-led government, while
14% were optimistic - a 6 point drop since the AJC's March survey.

Ninety-five percent of respondents said Palestinians should be required to
recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Some 48% support the establishment of the
Palestinian state, while 45% oppose it in the current situation, and 6% said
they were not sure.

Approximately 18% said they are less optimistic about the chance for a lasting
peace between Israel and the Arabs than one year ago, 8% are more optimistic,
and 75% maintained the same level of optimism (or pessimism) as one year ago.

Sixty-percent say Israel should not compromise on Jerusalem as a united city
under Israeli jurisdiction, with 35% in favor of a compromise. Next week, Jewish
leaders will gather in Jerusalem to discuss issues in the negotiations and the
part Diaspora Jews should play in key decisions.

Fifty-six percent of respondents think Israel should dismantle some settlements
following the peace agreement with Palestinians, 6% think it should dismantle
all West Bank settlements, and 37% think it should dismantle none.

The survey also found that the U.S. Jewish community's support of President
Barack Obama has significantly declined, while a majority approve of Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Only 51% of respondents in the survey said they approved of the way Obama has
been handling his job - a fall of 6% since the AJC's March survey. Some 78% of
U.S. Jews voted for Obama in 2008.

Approximately 49% of U.S. Jews approve of the Obama administration’s handling
of U.S.-Israel relations, while 45% disapprove. AJC’s survey in March found
that 55% approved and 37% disapproved. In 2009 survey, 54% approved, and 32%
disapproved.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gets much higher approval for his handling of
the U.S.-Israel relations, with a 62% approval against 27% disapproval and 11%
“not sure."

Obama's approval rating among all voters is even lower - in the recent Bloomberg
survey, he scored backing from only 47% percent of reports, while the Gallup
poll found him taking 45%. His support is the highest among African Americans,
at 91%, and self-identified democrats, at 79%.

Only 43% approve of the Obama administration's handling of the Iran nuclear
issue, while 46% disapprove. In March, 47% approved it, 42% disapproved, and 11%
were not sure). 44% said there was “little chance” the current
Administration’s “dual-track” policy, combining proposal of dialogue and
sanctions, will yield positive results, while 28% there is “no chance” for
it. Only 4% gave it a “good chance” and 23% - “some chance”.

If diplomacy fails, 59% would support military action against Iran to stop its
nuclear program, while 35% would oppose it. 70% will support Israeli preventive
strike, while 26% would oppose it.

Despite high level of disillusionment, 92% of the Jewish respondents said they
were planning to vote in midterm elections in November – with 57% saying it
would be better for Democrats to take the majority at Congress, while 33% prefer
Republicans.

The number one issue for the Jewish voters in these elections is the economy,
with 87% defining it as “very important”. Sixty-one percent said
“Israel” is very important to them in these elections.

Referring to the last year’s developments affecting the relationship between
Turkey and Israel, 71% of the American Jews think Turkish government today “is
not a friend of Israel”, while 50% think it’s neither a friend of the U.S.
(35% think it is, while 15% were not sure).

The AJC survey conducted by telephone between September 6 and October 8 asked
800 self-identifying Jewish respondents their opinions on a number of topics,
including Obama’s handling of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Iran and U.S-Israeli
relations.

Israeli troops accused of shooting children in Gaza
• Victims were scavenging for rubble, say rights groups
• Attacks allegedly took place outside 300-metre buffer zone
Harriet Sherwood in Beit Lahiya
guardian.co.uk,  Monday 11 October 2010 18.39 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/11/israeli-troops-accused-children-gaza

At least 10 Palestinian children have been shot and wounded by Israeli troops in
the past three months while collecting rubble in or near the "buffer zone"
created by Israel along the Gaza border, in a low-intensity offensive on the
fringes of the blockaded Palestinian territory.

Israeli soldiers are routinely shooting at Gazans well beyond the unmarked
boundary of the official 300 metre-wide no-go area, rights groups say.

According to Bassam Masri, head of orthopaedics at the Kamal Odwan hospital in
Beit Lahiya in the north of Gaza, about 50 people have been treated for gunshot
wounds suffered in or near the buffer zone while collecting rubble in the past
three months; about five have been killed.

He estimates that 30% of the injured are boys under 18.

Defence for Children International (DCI) has documented 10 cases of children
aged 13 to 17 being shot in a three-month period between 50 and 800 metres from
the border. Nine were shot in a leg or arm; one was shot in the stomach.

The creation of the no-go area has forced farmers to abandon land and residents
to leave homes for fear of coming under fire. Last month a 91-year-old man and
two teenage boys were killed while harvesting olives outside the official zone
when Israeli troops fired shells. Forty-three goats also died in the attack.

In another case a mother of five was killed by a shell outside her home near the
zone in July.

Israel declared the buffer zone inside Gaza after the three-week war in 2008-9,
saying it was intended to prevent militants firing rockets. It has dropped
leaflets from planes several times warning local people not to venture within
300 metres of the fence that marks the border or risk being shot.

However, the UN, aid agencies and rights groups say that Israel has unofficially
and without warning extended the zone to up to 1km from the fence, leaving
residents and farmers uncertain whether it is safe to access their land or
property.

"The army knows the kids are there to collect. They watch them every day and
they know they have no weapons," said Mohammed Abu Rukbi, a fieldworker with
DCI. "They usually fire warning shots but the kids don't take much notice."

Mohammed Sobboh, 17, was shot just above the knee on August 25 when he was 800
metres from the border, he said. The 12 people in his family have no other
income and are not entitled to aid from the UN as they are not refugees.

Israeli soldiers shot dead a horse and a donkey used by Mohammed and his
brothers to carry the rubble, he said.

His brother, Adham, 22, said children as young as eight collect debris from
former settlements and demolished buildings for 30-40 shekels (£5.20-£7) a
day. "The price has gone down because a lot of people are collecting," said
Adham.

According to Dr Masri, the number of shootings has increased as more
impoverished Gazans turn to collecting rubble to sell as construction material,
which is still under Israeli embargo. "Every day we have one or two cases. Some
kids are facing permanent disability. Most of the injuries are to the legs and
feet, suggesting the soldiers did not aim to kill. That means they know that the
people aren't militants."

Ziad Tamboura, 27, lying in a hospital bed with a heavily bandaged foot, was
shot last week while collecting 500 metres from the border. X-rays showed the
bones in the foot to be smashed by the bullet. He collected rubble in order to
feed his wife and child. "If I am able to walk again, I will go back. There is
no other work."

The Gaza City-based Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights is to mount a legal
challenge jointly with the Israeli groups Adalah and Physicians for Human Rights
to breaches of the official buffer zone. "The area [the Israelis] announced is
not the same as what exists on the ground," said the centre's Samir Zaqout.

He criticised the Israelis for shooting and shelling unarmed civilians. "They
know everything. They have the technological capacity to monitor the area. They
have drones in the sky all the time. They are observing and screening
everything."

According to the UN, about 30% of Gaza's arable land is contained within 300
metres of the 50km border. The difficulty farmers face in reaching their land
had had an impact on the availability of crops in Gaza, Zaqout said. "Tomatoes
are now 10 shekels a kilo, whereas the price used to be one or two shekels."

The Abu Said family, whose land lies outside the buffer zone, felt confident
that their faces were well known to Israeli troops monitoring the area. "Every
day six or seven members of my family are there [on the land]," said Mohammed
Abu Said.

But on 12 September, 91-year-old Ibrahim Abu Said, his 17-year-old grandson,
Hussam, and a family friend, Ismail Abu Owda, 16, were killed by a shell fired
from a tank on the Israeli side of the border. "This was a very old man taking
care of his goats," said Mohammed, Ibrahim's son. "Our land used to be like a
heaven. Now it's like a desert."

He blamed Palestinian militants for firing rockets as well as the Israeli
military.

In a statement, the Israeli military said the 300-metre buffer zone was created
in response to "many incidents of hostile terrorist activity" close to the
security fence, often made "under a civilian disguise".

It added: "The IDF acts in order to prevent harm to civilian populations in its
operations and any complaint expressed regarding its soldiers' conduct will be
… examined according to the existing policy."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaza flotilla attack: calls for international criminal court to step in
Turkish victims ask international criminal court to pursue Israeli gunmen over
raid on ship

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/08/israel-aid-flotilla-raid-calls

The international criminal court is being urged to prosecute members of the
Israeli defence force for the raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship. Turkish victims
have formally requested an investigation, the Guardian has learned.

Lawyers acting for Turkish citizens injured or killed when Israel intercepted
the flotilla in May have written to Luis Moreno Ocampo, the court's prosecutor,
claiming there is an "overwhelming" case for prosecution.

The request is a significant step towards a criminal investigation by the court,
which experts say has jurisdiction to prosecute those involved in the raid
despite Israel not recognising its jurisdiction.

"The attack on the flotilla occurred in international waters, which directly
violated many parts of international law as well as international public and
criminal law," said Ramazan Ariturk, a partner at Elmadag Law Office, the
Turkish legal body that is representing the Turkish victims and the human rights
group IHH. "The crimes committed by Israeli Defence Forces should be prosecuted
and the International Criminal Court is the sole authority which is able to do
that."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Palestinians killed in Israeli raid
Deaths reported after overnight military operation in West Bank town of Hebron

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/10/20101087303530816.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel 'declares war on its people'

http://english.aljazeera.net/photo_galleries/middleeast/2010106113512196166.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looting the Holy Land
In historic Palestine archeology is at the centre of a power struggle in which
every stone has meaning.

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/2010/10/201010591416403822.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Humiliating Israeli video condemned
Clip of an Israeli soldier dancing around a female prisoner called illustrative
of "sick mentality of occupier".

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/10/201010514447409589.html

A video of a male Israeli soldier bellydancing around a bound and blindfolded
female prisoner has been received with disgust among Palestinians and in the
Middle East.

The video provoked an angry response from the Palestinians on Tuesday.

The clip, which came to light after it was screened on Israel's private Channel
10 television late on Monday, shows a soldier gyrating to rhythmic drumbeat of
an Arabic track as the woman, who is wearing a headscarf, huddles against a
wall, her hands bound in front of her and her eyes bound with a white cloth.

The soldier, who is wearing sunglasses and smiling broadly, repeatedly brushes
up close to the woman who has a Hebrew speech bubble coming out of her mouth
reading "Allahu Akbar" - Arabic for  "God is greatest".

Crudely captioned "Israeli soldier catch Arab terrorist (he dance on her)
funny", the clip lasts just over a minute.

The video was immediately condemned by the Palestinian Authority (PA) as "deeply
offensive to the dignity of women".

"This is a disgusting illustration of the sick mentality of the occupier. This
is not an isolated incident," a statement from the office of Salam Fayyad, the
Palestinian prime minister, said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli court convicts two soldiers
An Israeli court has convicted two soldiers for using a child as a human shield
during the deadly 2009 Gaza war.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/10/2010103164134284152.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not 'settling' for nothing
The cessation of the settlement moratorium was never in doubt to the Palestinian
residents of Wadi Rahaal.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2010/09/2010928105353162497.html

The one-lane road to Wadi Rahaal weaves its way through impossibly deep, rocky
valleys, whose perimeters are speckled by Israeli settlements and settler
outposts cascading from the hilltops.

“It wasn’t always like this,” Shadi Fuwaghara, an energetic 23 year-old
resident of Wadi Rahaal told me as we stepped outside in the searing afternoon
heat.

Pointing to an empty asphalt road once used by villagers -- and now behind the
barriers of the nearby Efrat settlement, next to the rows of identical housing
tracts -- he said it used to take people five minutes to get to Bethlehem’s
city limits. “Now, it takes us thirty minutes or more, and we have to pass by
seven villages,” he continued. In the winter months, the roads are flooded,
making the route impassable -- and further locking the entire community of 1700
people inside a veritable prison.

A tiny village on the dry desert outskirts of Bethlehem, Wadi Rahaal has been
suffocated by the settlement and its accompanying security apparatus: the path
of the separation wall has been set with concrete curbstones, and when
completed, it will pull more of the village inside the walled boundaries of the
settlement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Palestinians killed in Israeli raid
At least three men are killed in the strike that targeted a car outside a
refugee camp, near the Israeli-Gaza border

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/201092723256191228.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli navy kills Gaza fisherman
Military spokesperson says troops opened fire on the Palestinian man's boat
because it was "heading towards Israel".

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/2010924133519149519.html

A Palestinian fisherman has been shot dead by the Israeli navy off the Gaza
Strip.

"Fisherman Mohammed Bakr died by a bullet by the Israeli navy today in the sea
north of the Gaza Strip," Adham Abu Selmiya, heading the Palestinian territory's
medical services, said on Friday.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the fisherman was in restricted waters
"heading towards Israel".

"Troops ordered him to turn back. As he refused to obey they fired warning shots
and then shot towards his boat," she said.

Slogans raised

Hundreds marched in the funeral for the 20-year-old fisherman in Beit Lahiya,
shooting in the air and chanting slogans.

Israeli navy vessels enforcing a naval blockade on the Palestinian territory
regularly fire at Palestinian fishermen to prevent them from venturing more than
a few kilometres from shore.

Palestinians say the Gaza fishing zone they use is too narrow to provide for the
impoverished territory.

Israel says patrolling by its navy is aimed at preventing seaborne Palestinian
attacks on Israeli territory and to stop the Palestinian group Hamas from
smuggling weapons into Gaza.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UN panel accuses Israel of war crimes for 'unlawful' assault on Gaza flotilla
Israel dismisses report of 'unnecessary and incredibly violent' attack as
'politicised and extremist'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/23/un-panel-israel-war-crimes

A United Nations panel of human rights experts has accused Israel of war crimes
through willful killing, unnecessary brutality and torture in its "clearly
unlawful" assault on a ship attempting to break the blockade of Gaza in May in
which nine Turkish activists died.

The report by three experts appointed by the UN's Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
described the seizure of MV Mavi Marmara, a Turkish vessel, by Israeli commandos
as illegal under international law.

It condemned the treatment of the passengers and crew as brutal and
disproportionate. It also said that the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian
enclave is illegal because of the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

"There is clear evidence to support prosecutions of the following crimes within
the terms of article 147 of the fourth Geneva convention: wilful killing;
torture or inhuman treatment; wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury
to body or health," the report said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Israel flotilla raid was unlawful'
UN Gaza aid probe says the raid of Israeli forces on flotilla was in violation
of international law.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/2010922195831956543.html

The UN Human Rights Council's fact-finding mission has accused Israeli forces of
violating international law when they raided a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

The three UN-appointed human rights experts said in a report released on
Wednesday that Israeli forces showed "incredible violence" during and after
their raid on the aid flotilla that left eight Turkish activists and one
Turkish-American killed.

The UN probe said  there was "clear evidence to support prosecutions" against
Israel for "wilful killing" and torture committed when its troops stormed the
aid flotilla last May.

Israel's military response to the flotilla "betrayed an unacceptable level of
brutality" and violated international law "including international humanitarian
and human rights law." The three-member panel said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli security guard shoots dead Palestinian man
Residents in East Jerusalem dispute Israeli police claim guard shot two men
after car was blocked and stoned

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/22/israeli-security-guard-kills-palesti\
nian
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Israel flotilla raid was unlawful'
UN Gaza aid probe says the raid of Israeli forces on flotilla was in violation
of international law.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/2010922195831956543.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli security guard shoots dead Palestinian man
Residents in East Jerusalem dispute Israeli police claim guard shot two men
after car was blocked and stoned

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/22/israeli-security-guard-kills-palesti\
nian

An Israeli security guard shot dead a Palestinian man thismorning during clashes
in a contested East Jerusalem neighbourhood.

Another Palestinian man was critically injured in the incident near a Jewish
settlement in the Silwan district, the scene of frequent tensions over the
presence of settlers and over municipal plans to destroy Palestinian homes to
build a tourist park.

Israeli police say the guard fired shots in the air after his car was blocked
and stoned by dozens of Palestinians. However, residents say that the two
Palestinian men were taxi drivers on their way to or from work when they were
shot by the guard.

Community leaders say that they had warned police of the dangers of allowing
armed, private security contractors to patrol the streets of Silwan on behalf of
Jewish settlers. Police are questioning the guard while a postmortem is carried
out on Samer Sirhan, a 32-year-old father of five.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

East Jerusalem clash turns deadly
One Palestinian killed and five others wounded in clash with Jewish settlers in
Silwan neighbourhood.
Last Modified: 22 Sep 2010 20:38 GMT

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/201092272213929692.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During war there are no civilians
Sitting in on the Rachel Corrie trial alarmingly reveals an open Israeli policy
of indiscrimination towards civilians.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2010/09/201098123618465366.html

"During war there are no civilians," that’s what “Yossi,” an Israeli
military (IDF) training unit leader simply stated during a round of questioning
on day two of the Rachel Corrie trials, held in Haifa’s District Court earlier
this week. “When you write a [protocol] manual, that manual is for war,” he
added.

For the human rights activists and friends and family of Rachel Corrie sitting
in the courtroom, this open admission of an Israeli policy of indiscrimination
towards civilians -- Palestinian or foreign -- created an audible gasp.

Yet, put into context, this policy comes as no surprise. The Israeli
military’s track record of insouciance towards the killings of Palestinians,
from the 1948 massacre of Deir Yassin in Jerusalem to the 2008-2009 attacks on
Gaza that killed upwards of 1400 men, women and children, has illustrated that
not only is this an entrenched operational framework but rarely has it been
challenged until recently.

Rachel Corrie, the young American peace activist from Olympia, Washington, was
crushed to death by a Caterpillar D9-R bulldozer, as she and other members of
the nonviolent International Solidarity Movement attempted to protect a
Palestinian home from imminent demolition on March 16, 2003 in Rafah, Gaza
Strip. Corrie has since become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity as her family
continues to fight for justice in her name.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli raids claim lives in Gaza
Rocket fired across the border draws heavy Israeli retaliation, just two days
after relaunch of peace talks.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/20109584024185978.html

Two Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air raids in the Gaza Strip, medics
and security sources say. Another person has been critically injured.

The Israeli army launched three raids in the south of Gaza on Saturday after
Palestinian fighters fired a rocket over the border.

The flare-up of violence on the Israel-Gaza border came just two days after the
relaunch of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in the US.

Israeli aircraft reportedly struck targets including smuggling tunnels running
under the border with Egypt at Rafah.

The two Palestinians were killed when one of the tunnels collapsed. Three others
were wounded.

A raid also struck a former base of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed
wing of Hamas.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Killing of Palestinian teenager fails to make the news

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2010/09/01/killing-palestinian-teenager-f\
ails-make-news
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli settlers to resume building on West Bank after Hebron killings
West Bank settlers to defy freeze on construction, putting further strain on
contentious issue in this week's peace talks

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/01/israel-west-bank-settlers-building
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leading rabbi: Abbas should perish

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/201082913280929137.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not guilty. The Israeli captain who emptied his rifle into a Palestinian
schoolgirl
· Officer ignored warnings that teenager was terrified
· Defence says 'confirming the kill' standard practice

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/nov/16/israel2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Facing jail, the unarmed activist who dared to take on Israel
Baroness Ashton 'deeply concerned' at court's ruling in case of West Bank
protest

By Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem
Thursday, 26 August 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/facing-jail-the-unarmed-acti\
vist-who-dared-to-take-on-israel-2062200.html

Baroness Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, yesterday issued an unusually
sharp rebuke to Israel over a military court's conviction of a Palestinian
activist prominent in unarmed protests against the West Bank separation barrier.

Lady Ashton said she was "deeply concerned" that Abdallah Abu Rahma was facing a
possible jail sentence "to prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising
their legitimate right to protest against the separation barriers in a
non-violent manner".

Though acquitted on two charges – including one of stone-throwing – Mr Abu
Rahma, 39, a leader of the anti-barrier protests which have taken place every
Friday for five years in the West Bank village of Bil'in, was convicted on
Monday on another two: "incitement" and "organising and participating in an
illegal demonstration".

He is in jail, awaiting sentencing next month. He was detained last December by
troops who arrived at his Ramallah home at 2am in seven jeeps as part of what
anti-barrier activists say has been an escalating wave of arrests of protesters
in West Bank villages, angry about the barrier and settlements encroaching on
Palestinian land.

Pointing out that the European Union regarded the barrier as "illegal" where –
as at Bil'in – it was built on Palestinian land, the EU's High Representative
for Foreign and Security Policy said the EU considered Mr Abu Rahma, who works
as a teacher at a private school, to be "a human rights defender committed to
non-violent protest".

The protest by Lady Ashton, who was yesterday accused by Israel's foreign
ministry of "interfering" in the country's judicial process, follows mounting
concern by Western diplomats over the severity of measures taken by Israeli
security forces against the mainly rural protests. Officials from several
European countries, including Britain, were present for the verdict in the Ofer
military court on Monday.

Her intervention was partly designed to demonstrate that the EU representatives
will continue closely to watch developments on the ground in the West Bank while
direct peace negotiations, due to start in Washington next week, get under way.

The military judge also acquitted Mr Abu Rahma of a charge of illegal arms
possession which arose from a collection of used tear gas canisters and bullet
cases he had been making to demonstrate that police and troops used violence
against protesters.

The Popular Struggle Co-Ordination Committee said the "absurd" charge
demonstrated the lengths the military was prepared to go to "to silence and
smear unarmed dissent".

It added that the incitement charge had been upheld even though it was based on
the testimonies of minors who had been arrested in the middle of the night, and
which the court recognised had defects. No other evidence had been offered,
despite the routine filming of the protests by the security forces. It said the
charge of organising demonstrations had not been used since the first intifada,
from 1987 to 1993.

In 2008 Mr Abu Rahma was given an award by the International League for Human
Rights in Berlin for "outstanding service in the realisation of basic human
rights". He met "the Elders", a group of global statesmen and women including
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, when they made a solidarity visit to Bil'in last year.

The protests at Bil'in, the highest profile of several in West Bank villages,
have seen clashes between security forces using tear gas and rubber bullets and
stone-throwing youths. After a protester was killed there in April 2009,
military prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence for an investigation.

Construction work on rerouting part of the barrier at Bil'in finally began this
year after the state had twice been found in contempt by the Supreme Court for
failing to implement a 2007 court order to reroute the barrier.

Yigal Palmor, Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said: "In a country in which
even open supporters of Hamas and Hizbollah enjoy freedom of speech, Lady
Ashton's accusations sound particularly hollow. If she thinks she can do a
better job than the defendant's lawyer, she should say so. Otherwise,
interfering in a transparent legal process in a democratic country is a very
peculiar way to promote European values."

But Mr Abu Rahma's lawyer, Gaby Lasky, said: "The international community must
take a tough stand on this issue, and I am happy that the political motivation
of the indictment against a human rights defender was clear to the EU from
attending the hearings."

The Co-ordination Committee, a loose body of protest organisers, said yesterday
there had been a "dramatic" increase in arrests. Of 93 made at Bil'in alone in
five years, 46 were made since July of last year. At the more recent flashpoint
of Nabi Saleh, there had been 41 arrests in the last eight months.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EU rebukes Israel over conviction of West Bank separation barrier protester
Lady Ashton's support for Palestinian Abdallah Abu Rahmah deemed highly improper
by Israeli foreign ministry

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/25/eu-rebuke-israel-separation-barrier-\
protester
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Palestinian children in East Jerusalem face classroom shortage, says report
Almost half attend private and unofficial schools as city spends four times as
much on elementary schooling for Jewish students

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/24/palestinians-east-jerusalem-educatio\
n

Almost half the Palestinian children in East Jerusalem are forced to attend
private or unofficial schools because of a lack of classroom facilities provided
by the Israeli authorities, according to a new report.

Six per cent of Palestinian children are not enrolled in school at all, says
Failed Grade, a report published today by the Association of Civil Rights in
Israel and Ir Amim, a Jerusalem-based rights organisation.

It estimates that East Jerusalem schools are short of around 1,000 classrooms,
and says that only 39 were built in the last academic year. "The continuing
neglect of the Arab education system in Jerusalem has caused a severe shortage
of classrooms. The result is that in the 2010-11 school year the families of
thousands of Palestinian children will have to pay large sums of money to get
the education they should have been getting for free," it said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli ex-soldier says Facebook prisoner pictures were souvenirs
Eden Abergil brushes off criticism as veterans group says 'victory pictures'
widespread practice among soldiers
See more of the Israeli soldiers' 'trophy' photos

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/17/israel-soldier-facebook-palestinian-\
prisoners

A former Israeli soldier who posed for pictures with Palestinian detainees and
posted them on her Facebook page defended her actions today, as more images
emerged of Israeli service personel posing alongside blindfolded detainees and
dead bodies.

"I still don't understand what I did wrong," Eden Abergil told Israeli army
radio. Abergil, a reserve officer with the Israeli army who completed compulsory
military service last year, provoked outrage over photographs in which she posed
next to handcuffed, blindfolded Palestinians.

She told army radio: "There's no violence or intention to humiliate anyone in
the pictures. I just had my picture taken with them in the background. I did it
out of excitement, to remember the experience. It wasn't a political statement
or any kind of statement. It was about remembering my experiences in the army
and that's it."

The pictures have provoked a furious rection from Palestinians, who compared
them to images of US soldiers abusing of Iraqi prisoners in Baghdad in 2004
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israeli abuse pictures 'common'
Human rights groups say 'souvenir pictures' of Palestinian prisoners widespread.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/20108171445535995.html

Israeli soldiers are routinely taking degrading photographs of dead and captured
Palestinians and posting them on the internet, human rights groups have said.

The claims come a day after the Israeli military attempted to quell controversy
over photographs showing a female soldierposing provocativelywith blindfolded
Palestinian detainees.

The Israeli military said on Monday that the pictures were "disgraceful" and
insisted that the incident was in "total opposition" to the army's "ethical
code".

But on Tuesday an Israeli rights group released a fresh batch of photographs,
apparently showing Israeli troops posing with dead, wounded and captured
Palestinians, which they said cast doubt on the official line that such
incidents are rare.

Breaking the Silence, an organisation that collects testimony from former
soldiers, posted a folder on the internet containing nine pictures obtained from
army veterans.

It is unclear when and where the pictures were taken, but the photographs appear
to show armed Israeli soldiers posing with prisoners and bodies of dead
Palestinians.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anger over ex-Israeli soldier's Facebook photos of Palestinian prisoners
Young woman condemned for posting images of herself posing next to handcuffed
and blindfolded detainees

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/16/israeli-soldier-photos-palestinian-p\
risoners
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel 'killed Palestinian girl'
Court finds Israeli government responsible for shooting dead West Bank girl.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/20108171426594613.html

An Israeli court has ruled that the Israeli government is responsible for the
death of a young Palestinian girl in the occupied West Bank three years ago,
lawyers for the family said.

The Jerusalem court found Israeli forces responsible for the death of Abir
Aramin, 10, in the town of Anata, north of Jerusalem, in January 2007.

Aramin died from a rubber bullet shot by a border guard during a clash with
rock-throwing youths.

The court ruled in the civil suit that the shot "was not aimed at the
rock-throwers and was unjustified", and ordered the government to pay the family
compensation.

Aramin was killed when she was hit by a rubber bullet while walking home from
school after buying sweets in the West Bank with her sister and two friends.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Storm over Israeli 'abuse' photos
Pictures show soldier posing provocatively with blindfolded Palestinian
prisoners.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/2010816164542801123.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Al-Qaida in Yemen Leader Threatens to Topple Government

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Al-Qaida-in-Yemen-Leader-Threate\
ns-to-Topple-Yemeni-Government-104795374.html

Al-Qaida in the Arab Peninsula is threatening to overthrow Yemeni President Ali
Abdallah Saleh. The government and al-Qaida rebels have stepped up activity
against each other across the country.

In an audio tape broadcast on the internet, the leader of the self-styled
"al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula" group, Qasim al-Rimi, is threatening to
topple Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh.

In the tape, al-Rimi tells President Saleh he will be driven from office, like
former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, because he is supposedly an "agent
of the U.S." who has "lost his legitimacy."  Al-Qaida, on the other hand, he
alleges is becoming stronger.

He claims that President Saleh has lost a lot of his territory, much of his
army, and his legitimacy.  He goes on to allege that al-Qaida is now fighting a
war of attrition and strengthening itself to widen the battlefront against its
enemies and to destroy them.

Yemen Post Editor-in-chief Hakim Almasmari notes the threat to topple the
government is not new. "This is not something new," he said. "That is something
that was announced over three years ago, but a new part is that al-Qaida
announced that it will create an army - an Aden-Abyan Army - and the Aden-Abyan
area is know to have a very good stronghold for al-Qaida."

Princeton University Yemen expert Gregory Johnsen says he thinks al-Raimi is
exaggerating about the group's strength, but says it has grown since last year
and has been multiplying its propaganda in recent weeks.

"One of the things that stood out to me is really the vast amount of statements,
both printed statements, audio statements, videos, magazines that al-Qaida has
put out over the past couple of weeks, including eulogies," he said.

"There has really been, I think, a significant uptick in the last couple of
weeks in just the amount of material that the organization has put out on jihadi
websites and this, in conjunction with some of the attacks they have been
carrying out.  But, certainly, the group seems to have grown significantly from
what it was about a year ago when people were suggesting that there were, say,
300 members of al-Qaida."

Johnsen says he believes recent al-Qaida attacks are driving many foreigners
into leaving the country, which will have long-term negative effects.

"The cumulative effect of some of these attacks that we are seeing in Yemen is
that more and more foreign civilian employees are either leaving Yemen or not
coming to Yemen, and so the foreigners that are in Yemen more and more, there is
an equation where it is heavily military, and I think that if you look at any
country, that sort of an equation does not spell success," he said.

Editor Hakim Almasmari says al-Qaida has been carrying out small attacks in
Yemen, but that many experts worry it is preparing to carry out a big one to
show how powerful it is and prove that it can destroy the economy of the
country.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Al-Qaida in Yemen: Poverty, corruption and an army of jihadis willing to fight
Dubbed an 'urgent security priority' by the US, Yemen has become a regional hub
for al-Qaida. In the first of two special reports, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad meets the
group's new fighters

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/22/al-qaida-yemen-ghaith-abdul-ahad

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad in Jaar
guardian.co.uk,  Sunday 22 August 2010 21.30 BST

The market at Jaar, a small city in Abyan province in southern Yemen, is on a
filthy, dusty road strewn with garbage, plastic bottles, cans and rotten food.
Plastic bags fly on the hot wind and feral dogs sniff around the vegetable
stalls. Minibuses and donkey carts jostle for space on the crowded street.

Standing in the middle of the chaos is one of the jihadi gunmen for whom the
town has become famous. Thin, short, with a well-groomed beard and
shoulder-length hair, he is dressed in the Afghan style: shalwar kameez,
camouflage vest and an old Kalashnikov. He is either a bandit imposing a
protection racket on the merchants or a rebel protecting them from the corrupt
regime – and most probably a bit of both.

He waves cheerfully to the people passing by, but few give him a second glance.
The jihadis – like the chaos and the filth – are an established part of the
landscape of south Yemen. They attend state-run mosques and Quranic learning
centres and help fill the ranks of the country's security forces.

Recently, their influence has grown more threatening. In the past two years
al-Qaida has established a local franchise in Yemen, al-Qaida in the Arabian
Peninsula (AQAP), which has claimed responsibility for audacious attacks –
including the attempt to assassinate the British ambassador to the capital,
Sana'a, earlier this year.

In Yemen, recruits can study ideology and take guidance from militant leaders,
including the Yemeni-American cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, who has been described as
"terrorist number one" by the Democrat chairman of the House homeland security
sub-committee, Jane Harman. Awlaki is believed to have given guidance to the
so-called underwear bombing suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and to Major
Nidal Hasan, accused of murdering colleagues in shootings at Fort Hood.

With its conservative Islam, ragged mountains, unruly tribes and problems of
illiteracy, unemployment and extreme poverty, Yemen has been dubbed the new
Afghanistan by security experts.

The Guardian spent two months in the country, travelling to the tribal regions
of Abyan and Shabwa, where al-Qaida has set up shop and where suspected US drone
attacks have killed scores of civilians and few insurgents. Speaking to jihadis,
security officials and tribesmen, it became clear how a combination of
government alliances, bribes, broken promises and bungled crackdowns has allowed
Islamists to flourish and led to the emergence of the country as a regional hub
for al-Qaida.

You don't have to go deep into the mountains to hear the jihadi message. One
Friday, sitting on the roof of a hotel in Sana'a, I hear the amplified prayers
of a preacher ring out at the end of his sermon: "God condemn the Jews and the
Christians … God make their wives and children our slaves … God defeat them
and make the believers victorious."

Ahmad al-Daghasha, a Yemeni writer who specialises in Islamic and jihadi issues,
says two factors are responsible for the growing influence of al-Qaida. "First
there is the local situation, which is miserable, politically and economically,"
he says. "That situation is translated into many forms of resistance – the
jihadis and al-Qaida are only one. Then there is the foreign oppression that we
all see on television – whether in Iraq, Afghanistan or Palestine – that
gives al-Qaida's rhetoric legitimacy."

In the south, government control is slipping away fast. Bandits, lawless tribes,
secessionists and jihadis are all fighting the regime. Though they have few
ideological connections, the groups are all contributing to one thing: a failing
state where extremism can flourish.

On my first day in Jaar I toured the town with the deputy governor of Abyan
province. We left the market and drove to a neighbourhood built by the Yemeni
socialists in the 70s to house east European agriculturalists. The small wooden
prefabs are being rebuilt with cinder blocks, as if huge grey tumours were
sprouting everywhere.

At the entrance to the neighbourhood, two gunmen stood guard and graffiti
sprayed on the walls declared allegiance to al-Qaida. "None of those men have
been to Afghanistan, you know, but it's the look that they want to acquire,"
said the deputy governor.

Until last year, Jaar had been in the hands of the jihadis. The government
claimed to have taken it back in an army offensive led by the minister of
defence, but the neighbourhood was still out of bounds for the security forces.
"Government officials cannot come here," the deputy governor said. "But I can
come because I have been negotiating on behalf of the government with them for a
few years now."

The rise of al-Qaida in Jaar has been a gradual process of radicalisation as
generations of volunteer fighters have returned from conflicts abroad: the
Afghan war against the Soviets in the 1980s, as well as the Nato-led war against
the Taliban and the war in Iraq in 2003. Veterans of these conflicts, as well as
jihadis who have never fought abroad, are in the streets of Jaar fighting for
influence. In the 1970s and 1980s, Jaar had been predominantly a socialist town.
But when the regime in Sana'a fought the socialists in a short civil war in
1994, the Islamists fought alongside them. When the socialists were defeated,
the Islamists were encouraged to take control of the area. Quranic centres, the
Yemeni equivalent of madrassas, were established with government support.

Over the next 10 years, the town became a base for the Islamists: they had jobs
and they received their salaries from the government and money that poured in
from Saudi Arabia, in support of the Quranic centres.

I spoke to Faisal – a thin skeleton with a thick moustache balanced awkwardly
on his small head – on the floor of his Spartna living room. A former
Socialist party member and head of the Young Artist Association in the Abyan, he
watched the Islamisation of Jaar happen.

"The socialists were defeated on 7 July 1994," he said. "On July 8 a group of
Islamists came and picked me up, blindfolded me and took me to the HQ of
political security. I was handcuffed and beaten there. They wanted to know if I
was a communist and their commander declared I was one. Then they tied my arms
to a tree and hung me there and started beating me up with a stick.

"Things started changing after that," he said. "The Islamists were given jobs,
they became headmasters and officers." They closed the cinema and converted it
into a mosque. Art disappeared and gradually women started wearing the full
black niqab. "Last year they killed 10 men and threw their bodies in the
streets, saying they were homosexuals," he said.

One of the leaders of change in the city during this time was Khaled Abdul Nabi.
I met him in his madrassa-like compound. Young men doubling as students and
bodyguards lurked in the alleyway in front of his house and at the bottom of his
stairwell.

Khaled sat on the floor, pulling at his beard. From floor to ceiling behind him
stretched bookshelves filled with thick, leatherbound books on jurisprudence and
theology. A pistol was placed neatly in front of him.

In 1994, he said, they had been given promises by President Ali Abdullah Saleh
that he would implement sharia law and form an Islamic state, so they had formed
special units, operating under army leadership, to fight for him. "We formed a
small unit with other brothers and stormed into the prison in Jaar and the
police station and liberated the town before the arrival of the army. But none
of the president's promises came true. He lied to us and we believed him,
probably because we were naive at that time."

Nevertheless, after the war, the Islamisation of Jaar began. "Islamic preaching
spread in this place in an extraordinary way. Mosques and sharia teaching
centers were being built, we had lots of support and of course there was also
the reaction to what was happening in the Islamic world, people became more
committed to religion so they could fight the crusaders."

Abdul Nabi went on to form the Abyan-Aden Islamic Army in 1998, one of the first
jihad-inspired groups operating in Yemen. It is accused of being behind several
violent acts, including bombings and assassinations of security officers, as
well as the kidnapping of 16 foreign tourists in 1998, which led to the deaths
of four hostages.

In August 2008, Yemeni security forces killed five of Abdul Nabi's men in Abyan
province and claimed they had arrested 28 al-Qaida supporters, including Abdul
Nabi, himself.

After meeting Saleh, Abdul Nabi allegedly agreed to support the president in his
fights against the Shia rebels in the north and separatists in the south and
last year he was released in a general amnesty with about 175 Islamic militants,
many of them his own men. He returned to Abyan to rebuild his organization,
which is now affiliated to al-Qaida, and called for the formation of an Islamic
state in southern Yemen.

"I agree with George Bush in one thing," he said, pulling at his beard. "He gave
us a really accurate wisdom: you are either with us or against us, you are
either with Islam or with the crusaders. I tell the Muslim clerics in the whole
world you are either with the flag of the mujahideen and God is great or you are
with the flag of the cross … there is no other option."

One of the problems he faced now, he said, was with younger generations of
jihadis. When jihadi leaders try to moderate their positions, the young
followers will often splinter and form more radical groups, so each generation
is more radical than the next.

"The shebab [young Islamists] are part of the Islamic situation in Afghanistan,
Somalia, Nigeria and Iraq and jihad is a religious duty, like fasting. But the
problem is that most of them, yes they are true jihadis with good intention,
they lack the knowledge."

The next generation

I was sitting with Faisal in his home in Jaar when the message came through that
a young commander, Jamal, who is attached to al-Qaida in Yemen had agreed to see
me.

A thin teenager was sent to lead the way. We followed him through dirt alleyways
between rows of small houses of concrete cinder blocks. Plastic bottles and
shards of glass crunched under our feet. A window flickered with silver light
from a television and two dogs chased one another to a corner and then fought
viciously.

In the darkness the town appeared even more desolate and wretched.

We entered one of the concrete shacks, which was lit by a small red bulb. There
were two rooms, one by the entrance that doubled as a kitchen and a bathroom,
and one that was furnished as a bedroom with brand new furniture. We sat on the
linoleum-covered floor.

Jamal was in his mid 20s, with a round face, long curly hair and a pair of thin
glasses that gave him the look of an art student. "Who am I?" he asked,
repeating my question. "I am a mujahid. Young men dream and have ambitions in
life and my ambition is to die fighting for God."

Jihad had become his life, he said. He was fighting against what enraged God …
"the drunks, the apostates and the people who stop following the religion of
God."

Jamal, a jihadi fighter for six years, had been to prison a couple of times and
released each time the president issued a pardon. Now he was a fugitive again.
"The director of security accused us of planting an explosive device in front of
his house."

How had a young man living in a poor, obscure small town in the south of a poor
nation, who had not travelled further than its capital city, become a threat not
only to the government of Yemen, but to the world in general.

"There are too many Arabic tragedies, in Iraq, in Chechnya, in Afghanistan and
in Palestine, that makes us want to fight in the way of God," he said.

"Look this is how we started. [In 2003], after the outbreak of the Iraq war,
Jaar became a big training ground for the Saudis going to Iraq. Unlike the
Yemenis, the Saudis had no experience in fighting. They were very religious and
had lots of money, but they didn't know how to shoot. We started training them
– you know we Yemenis are taught to shoot when we are children – and then a
whole ring was organized to send them to Iraq via Syria."

Saleh's government knew about the jihadi training camps, he said, and had no
quibble with them as long as they didn't fight in Yemen. "Saleh told us go to
Iraq but not to come back and create problems for him here."

In the winter of 2005-2006, the world began to take note of the flow of jihadis
heading to Iraq and the Americans started to put pressure on Syria, Yemen and
Saudi Arabia to stem the flow of militants. "The government exposed the ring,"
Jamal said. "They started arresting people when they reached the border. We
started clashing with the government and we killed some of their security
forces."

In 2006 he was arrested, which led to the first of several meetings with Saleh.
Saleh agreed to release the prisoners in return for their promise of inactivity.
Three days later Jamal was back on the streets, but trust between him and the
regime did not last long.

"They put a lot of pressure on us," he said. "I was monitored. You leave your
house and there is a government spy. You come back and there are two. So we
changed our procedures." When the government arrested some of the jihadis,
fighting broke out again. "We fought with them again. We fought the government
until all of our brothers were released."

A cycle of arrests, fighting and deal making ensued, escalating the strength and
anger of the jihadis. Sometimes they would be promised compensation by the
president, but when they went back to Sana'a to collect the money they would be
sent from one government department to the other. Weeks would pass, and so the
clashes would erupt again. "Before our last meeting with the president in 2009,
Jaar fell under our control. By that time, our brothers stopped going to Iraq.
They said if we are not arrested on the way and we reach Iraq, either the
Americans will arrest us or we would be tortured by the shia [Iraqi government].
Why not stay and fight here.

"We entered Jaar, and the town fell in our hands. We were more than 40, the
police and army left, and we called Allahu Akbar, and planted mines and
explosive devices in the streets, and for the first time we went back to our
homes and we slept in our beds, we were no longer fugitives, we took over the
security of Jaar and we imposed sharia."

A small mouse darted across the floor between our legs. It hit one of the legs
and scurried under the bed.

Even this young commander had trouble with the generation of radicals coming
after him.

"We were betrayed by the people of Jaar," he said. "When we used to hide in the
mountains some kids from the town used to come and bring us food and clothes. We
trained those kids how to use a weapon, how to wire explosive devices, how to
build electrical circuits. They were young kids. We trained them how to attack,
how to hide behind a wall."

He clutched an imaginary gun and manoeuvred while he was sitting cross-legged on
the floor. "Those young kids started looting and beating up people. They
destroyed the town."

His voice became a mixture of blame and regret. "Because of the young, we failed
in ruling the town and we had to leave and head back to the mountains."

Even for Jamal, who represents the post-Iraq war generation, there is another
generation after him who don't know which government property to loot and which
to leave alone, a generation he thinks is unruly.

I asked Jamal if he considered himself part of al-Qaida's organisation in Yemen.
"We are all connected, all the jihadis are connected," he opened his arms and
pointed at the three of us sitting on the floor. "One of us is Qaida," and he
pointed at himself, "the other is protecting him," and he pointed at me, "and
the other is providing logistics." And he pointed at the teenager who had
brought me there.

"The two," he pointed at us, "would only know the Qaida person they are in
contact with, and that Qaida person [he pointed at himself] would be the only
one in that group to know the leadership."

What al-Qaida gave him, he said, was organisation. "Before Wahaishy [the head of
AQAP] and Rimi [the commander of its military wing] arrived here we were
chaotic, we would fight the government whenever we wanted. Now we only move when
we are given orders."

As we walked back through empty dark streets I asked the teenage boy leading me
how the young looked at people like Jamal.

"He is like a hero for us all, we want to be like him." Why? "Because he stands
for his people. He won't let the government do whatever they like."

When I met the deputy governor again, I asked him about the meetings the jihadis
had with the president and the promised money. He said: "The authority wants to
contain those men. They block roads and attack military checkpoints and collect
fees from shop owners. Because this is not a state of law, this a state of
buying people, they treated the jihadis and al-Qaida in the same way they
treated the tribes, they paid them money to lie low."

"You have to understand that the military campaign will cost money, money for
soldiers, for vehicles, then money in prison, money for a court case, so the
state says why should we pay three million to fight them when we can pay them
one million for things to calm down and avoid their evil. But the jihadis take
the money, buy weapons and become stronger, and now the state regrets that
policy and it is changing."

To an extent, he said, they had been trying to buy a truce. But it had been
mismanaged.

At Faisal's house, I asked him what he thought of the government's attempt to
crack down on al-Qaida.

"Don't believe the government when they say we are fighting the jihadis," he
said. "The government gives them money, the government negotiates with them, the
government uses them to fight its enemies, and then they tell the Americans give
us money so we can fight al-Qaida."

He closed his eyes and sighed. "It's a comedy," he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shabwa: Blood feuds and hospitality in al-Qaida's Yemen outpost
In the second of his special reports from Yemen, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad finds a
population for whom the constant danger of tribal feuds is exacerbated by the
presence of al-Qaida
Ghaith Abdul-Ahad in Shabwa, Yemen
guardian.co.uk,  Monday 23 August 2010 22.49 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/23/shabwa-al-qaida-yemen

The sky was dark on the road from Aden to Shabwa, even though it was the middle
of the day. "There will be rain," said the driver of our dilapidated 1980s Land
Cruiser, and soon afterwards heavy drops hammered the car, as water ran down the
jagged black mountains, leaving them glittering like marble.

The Yemeni province of Shabwa is host to the most significant al-Qaida presence
in the country. As well as jihadi training camps, many of the leaders of this
new "franchise" of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are believed to be
based here. Foremost among these men is Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemeni-American
cleric the Obama administration designated in April as a legitimate target for
assassination, and who was once described as the US's "terrorist number one".

The Guardian spent a week travelling around this lawless region, talking to
tribespeople about the al-Qaida presence and trying to understand why the
organisation had become so established here.

The Land Cruiser was packed with Bedouin men of the Awalik tribe. Together we
bounced along the potholed mountain roads which are controlled variously by
bandits, separatists, jihadis and government security forces. Most of the time,
it's bandits.

We found our first bandits just across the border into the province, on a bend
in the road between two mountains. Seven young men were sitting in the shade of
a tree clutching guns, some covering their faces with kufeyas. Less than 50
metres away across a small bridge and under another tree sat a group of
soldiers, slouching in the shade.

The bandits and soldiers would not attack each other, said one of my companions
in the car. Why? "They and the soldiers are from the same tribe," he said. We
met a second group of bandits a few hours later, further along the road. They
were more active. It was night by then and they had blocked the road with
boulders and rocks. A lone gunmen stood in our path while a dozen men sat to the
side. The gunman thrust his head in the car window and looked around: "Anyone of
you work for the government?"

Met with a murmured "no", he let us drive on our way.

Arriving in the small Bedouin settlement of Hateeb after dark, the men carried
their bed mats away from their concrete houses and laid them on the rocks under
the sky and chattered for hours before they fell asleep.

The situation between the tribes and al-Qaida is tense.

The tribes can't deny them shelter and hospitality: in the Bedouin code of
honour there are few crimes graver than insulting or betraying a guest or
refusing him hospitality.

At the same time, they have became weary of their presence and the unwanted
attention they have brought. Every night I was in Shabwa, drones flew slowly
around the skies, keeping watch on the rocky landscape. The pictures sent back
must be familiar to other drone-infested war zones.

A few nights later, as I sat chatting with Ali, the young nephew of the tribal
sheikh, and other men at night under the gaze of distant drones, we heard the
distant sound of a car. A warning bullet rang from a distant scout and all the
men picked up their guns.

"Qaida!" came the shouts from one house to the other.

The men ran into the middle of the village, waiting to intercept the jihadis'
cars, but just as the headlights came into view someone shouted that the convoy
were of tribesmen from the next village taking a relative to hospital.

"Al-Qaida is in that mountain," said Ali, pointing at a distant peak.

At first, he said, they had been much closer to the settlement, but after an
airstrike in which five militants were killed, the tribesmen asked them to move
away. "We asked them to leave after the bombing."

Tribal feuding

Ferocious blood feuds have been raging for years in Shabwa. Almost every
tribesman in the region finds himself entangled in the cycle of revenge.

The barren desert and mountain are divided into patches of small tribal war
zones. As we travelled in Shabwa we often had to leave the main track and drive
deep into the desert to avoid passing through the land of a tribe with which
someone in our car had a blood feud.

"We would like to go to school," says Ibrahim, a hazel-eyed 16-year-old
tribesman who was sitting in the back of the car with a wrapped head shawl. "But
we had to stop, because someone might track us there and kill us."

I asked him if he had seen much fighting. "Yes," he answered. "Many times."

The tribesmen exist in perpetual poverty in this harsh landscape. When ‑ if
‑ water comes, it moves fast down thin rocky valleys, leaving the desert as
thirsty as before. Apart from a few patches of farmed land, the rest is desert.

Being so poor, the people have little to fight over except their honour.

The only way for an insult to be avenged was by killing the enemy, calling his
name so he would turn – it's a shame to kill a man in his back – and shoot
him while looking into his eyes. The culture of hospitality is taken so
seriously that one tribal feud that has been going for two years was over a
guest who was insulted.

Ali tells how the inter-tribal battles sometimes included heavier armaments.
"Last year we besieged a neighbouring tribe. We took anti-aircraft guns and
mortars. We shelled them for three days and we besieged them for weeks, until
they had nothing to eat but biscuits."

Against this backdrop of armed, perpetually fighting tribes, where it sometimes
seems every other man is wanted by the authorities for a murder or two, al-Qaida
can easily blend in. Their gunmen are little different from any other gunman
wanted by authority and seeking shelter among his tribe.

"There are few believers [jihadis] who live in the mountains," an old man in
Hateem told me, "but we haven't seen them do anything wrong here. We don't care
if they have killed someone in America; here in Shabwa they haven't committed a
crime and they should be respected like any other man."

Sheltering enemies

The village of the sultan of the Awalik sits on a hill surrounded by lush green
fields and palm groves, in the middle of the hostile desert.

Saeed is an architectural treasure trove of high and slanted mud towers and
shaded dirt lanes. Some of the fortified compounds are pockmarked with bullet
holes from tribal feuds and the many insurgencies that have raged in the area
over the decades.

Next to the ruins of one mud castle destroyed by the RAF back in the 1950s is
the new concrete and marble compound of the sultans of the Awalik.

Inside the compound I met the sultan, Fareed bin Babaker. He is tall, old and
frail, with a hooked nose and a thin white goatee, but carries the weight of
tribal authority in his soft yet imposing voice.

His pronouncements are adhered to by almost two million Awalik in southern
Yemen. He is a close ally of the government, yet at the same time his tribes are
giving shelter to the enemies of the government and the west. The most notorious
jihadi he is currently protecting is Anwar al-Awlaki.

Awlaki, a once-obscure 30-something cleric has been linked to Major Nidal Malik
Hasan, the army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas,
in November 2009, and to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian charged with
trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. He is now among the
US's most-wanted targets.

Sultan Fareed, after expanding for almost an hour on the history of southern
Yemen, told me that Awlaki lived in the village and that he knew of his
movements.

"Anwar, and with him four or five people, spend the night in their homes [in the
village] and in the morning they do their morning prayers somewhere not far
away," said Fareed. "We know about it."

Why, I asked, was such a wanted man allowed to live in the village. He replied
that he had committed no crimes in the tribal community, nor had the government
asked him to hand Awlaki over.

"Al-Qaida haven't killed anyone here, so we [don't have to] accept or refuse to
hand them to the authorities," he said. "The government haven't asked us to hand
him in; if they do then we will think about it. But no one has asked us."

The Awlaki family compound is just a few metres away from the sheikh's. I walked
over to it, to see if I could get a glimpse or speak to him, but all doors and
windows were locked.

A boy opened a small window in the upper floors, looked down at me, then
disappeared back inside the building and the window was shut.

Victims

Sometimes, the ever-watchful drones do more than merely observe the people in
Shabwa. After leaving the sultan's village we travel to the Majala valley in the
Awalik mountains. Here, a series of small graves marked by stones lie by the
side of the highway.

An old man sat nearby in his relatives' tent sipping sweet tea. He and his
five-year-old daughter were the only survivors of a double missile strike that
is said to have killed dozens of people, including his wife and sons, and their
wives and his grandchildren.

He had been out of the Bedouin settlement collecting his camels on 17 last year
when he had heard a huge explosion. "I though a petrol tanker had exploded, but
the mountains around me shook so hard," he said.

It took him a few hours to reach the camp where his relatives had settled. By
that time other villagers were already there. Abdul Mutalib, a thin-faced young
man who was one of the first to reach the area, said he saw people, cars and
animals on fire. "A woman was burning in her tent. I tried to get her out but I
couldn't."

We drove to the first bombsite. Shreds of soiled clothes and scraps of yellow
plastic buckets used by the Bedouin to collect water or milk dangled from the
twisted branches of a dead tree.

Whitened animal bones were scattered about. The twisted metal of a rocket engine
lay on the edge of a 2m crater.

A few metres away lay the long grey shell of the rocket that had carried the
deadly cluster bomb canisters.

According to the villagers, a Yemeni parliamentary report and Amnesty
International, a dozen men, women and children of the Haydara family were killed
here in one of two Bedouin encampments targeted on 17 December, 2009.

There were more shreds of plastic and few black clothes scattered around two
more craters, and then a long trail of animal bones.

We walked for 20 minutes over boulders and thorny shrubs to reach the other
campsite that was hit on the same day. Here, the remains of austere Bedouin life
dangled from another tree: plastic and bits of clothes, blue tarpaulins that are
used to make shelters. Among the wreckage were dozens of melted black plastic
shoes of varying sizes, men's, women's and children's.

This is where the Ba Kazim family were killed, the villagers said. According to
the Yemeni parliamentary commission, in total 41 civilians were killed in the
two strikes, and 14 al-Qaida fighters.

Scattered between the debris of shattered lives are colourful yellow objects
whose sharply engineered forms contrast with more rag-tag shapes of the Bedouin
objects.

They carry the bald stencilled words "BOMB FRAG", "US NAVY" and a serial number.
These were cluster bombs, scattered like candy.

I asked one of the men who was showing me the site, Muqbel al-Kazimi, about the
reports that al-Qaida had been in the camp.

Muhamad al-Kazimi, who is wanted by the government for his al-Qaida connections,
was here with a few men, he said. He is believed to have been killed. "There
were fewer than 10 men, and they lived in a couple of tents on the edge of Ba
Kazim camp."

Why would the Bedouin have shared their camp with al-Qaida, I asked?

"The fighters told the Bedouin they would dig a well for them to get water," he
said.

In this poor, arid region, that must have seemed like a good price.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yemen ranks last in global gender gap report
Posted in: Local News
Written By: Majid al-kibsi
Article Date: Oct 16, 2010 - 4:55:12 PM

http://www.yobserver.com/local-news/10019920.html

Yemen continues to occupy the last place in the region as well as in the overall
rankings of 134 countries in a report of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

According to the report titled “Global Gender Gap Report 2010”, Yemen ranked
last with a score of only 46.03% of equality between males and females. Yemen
placed 134th among 134 countries.

This percentage is considered a regress as comparing to the score of 2009 with a
46.09%. In 2008, Yemen’s score was as high as 46.6%

In the political empowerment sub-index ranking, Yemen was ranked number 130
before Belize, Brunei Darussalam, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. In the Educational
Attainment, Yemen was ranked 132 before Benin and Chad. Yemen ranked last out of
all 134 in  economic participation and opportunities.

Yemen’s more positive rankings include rank 81 in Gender Equality in Health
and survival with a score of 97.2%. it was followed by Iran, ranked 83 with
97.1%, United Kingdom ranked 90 with 96.9%, and United Arab Emirates ranked 110
by 96.1%.

“The report seems so unrealistic, there are other countries in area that can
come after Yemen, especially in the political empowerment and the Economic
participation and opportunities,” said Thurya G. Dammaj, feminist activist and
executive manager of the AWAM Foundation for Development and Culture.

Dammaj agreed that Yemeni females suffer inequality in the Educational
Attainment. “Girls in Yemen face many obstacles in educational attainment.
Early Marriage and other obstacles are just a few of the things that stand
between a woman and an education,” said Dammaj.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mass versus Minarets: The Cordoba Controversy
Should Spain's most famous mosque actually be called a cathedral? Dale Fuchs
reports on the question dividing a city

Saturday, 16 October 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/mass-versus-minarets-the-cordoba-\
controversy-2108224.html

For Fatima Moya, a 23-year-old hotel receptionist in Cordoba, it couldn't be
more obvious: the 1,200-year-old building outside her window is a mosque.

Granted, a mahogany choir sits smack in the middle of it, along with all the
other gilded trappings of a small cathedral, and the minaret is dressed up like
a Baroque belfry.

But Ms Moya takes her breaks in the Moorish inner-courtyard, filled with orange
trees and a gurgling fountain. Every day she sends hordes of tourists to admire
the Arabic inscriptions and intricate mosaic tiles in what was once the prayer
niche, or mihrab. The place where Ms Moya works is even called "Hotel Mezquita"
– the Mosque Hotel.

So she has no qualms about calling this sumptuous place the Great Mosque of
Cordoba, even though it has been consecrated as a church since a Catholic king
took the city from the ruling caliphs in 1236.

"Everyone in Cordoba calls it the mosque," said Ms Moya. "If I said it was a
cathedral, nobody would know where it is."

But the Bishop of Cordoba, Demetrio Fernandez, thinks this oasis of striped
horseshoe arches, one of the oldest buildings in the Islamic world, is having an
identity crisis and could do with a new christening. Earlier this week, he
called on the city to refer to the Moorish-era masterpiece solely as the
"Cathedral of Cordoba" on street signs and tourist brochures. The Muslim past
and Catholic present receive equal billing on Cordoba's white-washed tourist
circuit of winding cobbled lanes. "It confuses the visitor," the bishop wrote in
an opinion piece in a local Cordoba daily.

In his view, the church deserves top billing on this Unesco World Heritage Site
because it has paid for its preservation and held masses there for eight
centuries. The mosque, he argued, was built in the 8th century on the site of a
Visigoth church (with the ruins of Roman temple buried below). And here's the
clincher: the defeated Moors would have destroyed all the intricate plasterwork
rather than surrender it – if the negotiating skills of Cordoba's Catholic
conqueror, Ferdinand III, hadn't saved the day.

Indeed, its conversion probably saved it from destruction by Inquisition-era
builders, who had little interest in aesthetics and no qualms about plonking
down churches on the ruins of elegant geometric motifs.

"History is fluid," the bishop concluded with a tit-for-tat reference to the
Mosque of Damascus: "What was once a Catholic temple is a Muslim mosque today,
and vice versa in Cordoba; what was once a Muslim temple is now a Catholic
cathedral."

The attempt to rebrand a piece of Cordoba's Muslim heritage might seem odd. The
city, a candidate for European Cultural Capital in 2016, usually sells itself to
tourists by proclaiming its Muslim heritage from the 8th to the 13th century,
when it was a cosmopolitan melting pot, a medieval Manhattan.

It was the biggest and wealthiest city in Europe with a population of about
half-a-million Jews, Christians and Muslims living in relative harmony. Any
self-respecting poet, scientist or philosopher had to pass through. The mosque,
the second-largest in the world at the time, was the city's spiritual core. Most
locals, moreover, are proud of this chapter in Spanish history. "There's a
little bit of all three cultures in all of us," boasted Ms Moya. Not
surprisingly, the city's mayor, from the United Left Party, has refused to
change brochures and signs.

The bishop's sudden concern for nomenclature stems from a years-long feud
between the Catholic Church hierarchy in Spain and Spanish converts to Islam,
who believe Muslims should be allowed to kneel in prayer in the great hall once
again.

"I don't care if they call it the old mosque, but what I don't want is for it to
be called just a mosque," he told reporters recently. "The craze for suppressing
the word cathedral and insisting that it is a mosque is related to the
insistence that it should be open for prayer of all faiths."

In 2006, the Islamic Council, which represents the 300,000 Spanish converts out
of Spain's growing Muslim community of two million, petitioned the Vatican "to
send a message of hope to the world" by permitting ecumenical prayer at the
former mosque. The Islamic Council insists that they do not wish to return
Cordoba to the era of "al-Andalus," the name for Spain during the Moors'
700-year rule. "While others talk about the clash of civilisations, this would
be an example of tolerance," said Isabel Romero, spokeswoman for the
Cordoba-based Islamic Council.

The Vatican has since allowed Spain's hierarchy to decide the question, which
means that security guards still stop any visitor who attempts to prostrate
themselves amid the statues of the saints.

The guards worked overtime this April when members of a group of 120 Muslim
tourists from Austria tried to pray. Some scuffled with the guards. Police were
called and two tourists were arrested. The church officials believed it was an
orchestrated challenge.

But purging street signs of the word "mosque" will not solve anything, as far as
Ms Romero is concerned. "To try to erase history is a great error," she said.

She believes the bishop's concern for the name is motivated by Islamophobia, on
the rise in Spain since the 11 September attacks in New York and the March 2004
rail bombing in Madrid by Moroccan extremists. Fear of Islam is a familiar theme
here. Converted Catholics of Muslim origin, known as Moriscos, were expelled
from Spain 400 years ago, and following that fateful decree, many converts took
great pains to prove they were pure-blooded Christians, flagrantly thwarting
Muslim taboos, according to Antonio Manuel Rodriguez, author of the book
Footprints of the Moriscos and a professor of Islamic Civilisation at the
Spanish University of Distance Learning.

The familiar tapa, for instance, was originally a slab of prohibited pork fat
over an equally off-limits glass of wine, signalling the drinker was not a
devout Muslim. An effusive demonstration of worship during Holy Week was a sure
way for the nervous convert to prove he had no hang-ups about graven images, Mr
Rodriguez points out. Some covert Muslims even raised pigs to distract attention
from the fact they didn't eat ham, an offence punishable by death at an
Inquisition trial.

"They were sending out the message, 'See, look, I'm not a Muslim'," he said.
Jewish converts used similar tactics that persist as popular customs,such as
staging an energetic, open-window cleaning session on Saturday, the Jewish
Sabbath, he said. The surviving Islamic influence in Spain amounts to more than
a bunch of florid inscriptions in praise of Allah plastered across Granada's
Alhambra or Cordoba's former Great Mosque.

More than 300,000 Spanish words today are derived from Islamic terms, including
the most stereotypical, such as the bullring shout of Olé! a variation of
Allah, and flamenco, which, according to Mr Rodriguez, grew out of the phrase
fellah mengu meaning "displaced peasant", or gypsy. The 700 years of Moorish
rule also permeates everything from irrigation to Spain's traditional
architecture, with rooms set around an internal courtyard.

Or consider Mr Rodriguez's grandfather, one of many Andalusian farmers who
observed a strangely rigid washing-up ritual after a day's work. "He would first
roll up his sleeves, and wash up to the elbows, then his face, then his eyes,
mouth and ears and sniff the water into the nostrils," Mr Rodriguez recalls. "He
was echoing the Muslim ablution rituals, but he didn't know it.

"Catholic Spain destroyed the proof – they turned minarets into bell towers
– but they couldn't erase the Muslim traces."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan rebuilding flood-hit homes

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/asia/2010/10/20101016135026114168.html

The worst floods in the history of Pakistan are estimated to have affected more
than 20 million people across the country.

The government estimates that 90 per cent of those displaced by the floods have
now returned home.

The United Nations has given $688m to help Pakistan rebuild after the floods,
but in many parts of the country the task of rebuilding has been left to the
flood-hit communities themselves.

With winter fast approaching, thousands people are under pressure to rebuild
their villages before the cold weather sets in.

Al Jazeera's Sohail Rahman reports from Swat Valley.

Watch video:
http://english.aljazeera.net/video/asia/2010/10/20101016135026114168.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel provokes Palestinians and US by going ahead with new settlements
Plan for 238 new houses in East Jerusalem comes at a time when peace talks are
stalled

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/15/israel-new-settlements-us-palestinia\
ns
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jordan's Bedouin 'desert forces'
Bedouins patrolling through harsh terrain have been key to country's security
for decades.

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2010/10/2010101671526265438.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert Fisk: Israel comes face to face with the man who would wipe it off the
map
Lebanon's southern border, so often a battleground, hosted the latest leg of
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's provocative tour yesterday

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-israel-comes-\
face-to-face-with-the-man-who-would-wipe-it-off-the-map-2107146.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bahrain charges 23 Shias with terrorism
Sunni minority government starts clampdown ahead of general election

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/13/bahrain-shias-terrorism-conspiracy-c\
harges

Bahrain has charged 23 Shia activists with terrorism and conspiring against the
government, a top justice official said today. They were detained in a sweeping
crackdown by the country's Sunni rulers.

Prosecutor general Abdul-Rahman al-Sayed said the men, who were among hundreds
of Shia opposition figures and activists rounded up in recent months, also face
charges of spreading false information and forming an illegal group that
supports terrorism.

Their trial is due to begin on 28 October, al-Sayed said. If convicted, they
could face up to life in prison.

Shias, who are a majority in Bahrain, have long complained of discrimination in
state jobs and housing and say they are barred from influential posts in the
security forces.

Rights groups say more than 250 activists, including opposition figures and
academics, have been detained in the government clampdown before parliamentary
elections later this month.

The wave of detentions and clashes this summer has fuelled concerns of deeper
unrest and heavy-handed tactics in the country where the US navy's fifth fleet
is based. Janet Sanderson, the US deputy assistant secretary of state for near
eastern affairs, said on a visit to Bahrain today that she discussed the
country's human rights situation with Bahraini leaders. But she said Washington
is not pressuring Bahrain on the issue.

"We are not here, frankly, to impose our views on others, but to encourage the
countries of the region to fulfil their priorities in this area," she said. "The
dialogue that we had on human rights could be difficult, but it is open, ongoing
and part of our relationship."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Egypt grants passage to Gaza convoy
Viva Palestina aid convoy has been given the green light to sail to the port of
Al-Arish and cross the border into Gaza.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/10/20101013203915141175.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chilling tips in al-Qaeda magazine
Yemen offshoot launches second edition of English publication with articles by
wanted US cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/10/2010101254836321101.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Leap of Faith for You - Love and Faith Redefined
By: Ahmad Haleem
Al Jumuah* - 22-10

http://www.islamicity.com/articles/Articles.asp?ref=AJ1009-4310

"God has endeared faith to you and adorned it in your hearts." ~ [Qura'n 49:7]

"Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love." ~ Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein  not often cited for ideas outside the realm of science. But I
recently came across an insightful statement formulated by him (the quotation
above) that sparked a synapse some where in my mind about the relationship
between religion and love.

If the laws of gravity do not apply to love, that is, if human beings are not
attracted by mere earthbound love, then I am left with two questions: First, if
it's not love that brings two people together, than what does? Second, if love
alone, or at least the popular conception of it, does not attract two
individuals, than what does love pair-up with to bring human beings into each
other's intimate spheres? So the questions can be distilled to a single inquiry:
How do people fall in love? Contrary to popular belief and Hollywood, falling in
love does not happen spontaneously like a raging forest fire or something. How
do I speak with such certainty when trashing the notion of romanticized love you
say? Well, isn't it apparent? Look around you! When walking down the road, do
you see people randomly bursting into passionate paroxysms? I mean, it's not
like your taking the subway one day and you engage the person next to you just
like that. It takes time to
  develop real love.

So what does taking time mean anyway? Well, it means that usually your feeling
of deep love will not present itself the moment you first meet someone. No. Love
needs to be given a chance to be cultivated and grown by an extended
relationship, which is where marriage comes in as an active mechanism that
allows such a seedling to germinate and eventually grow tall.

The truth of the matter is that something else is required to get love going.
Like an engine or a chemical reaction, some kind of catalyst is needed to
jumpstart the lifelong development that love requires. What is this enigmatic
catalyst? Well, let's turn to the seventh verse of the forty-ninth surah of the
Qur'an, Al-Hujurat (look at the first excerpt above).

From this verse and many similar ayahs in the Qur'an, we learn that Allah has
integrated faith into our very hearts. Many people would interpret the idea of
faith being "adorned" in our hearts as a kind of symbolic statement, but the
fact of the matter is that our hearts are physically tuned to reverberate to the
sounds of faith, the feeling of pure wholesomeness that belief brings with it.
Establishing a loving relationship not only requires visceral attraction (an
earthly desire), but also a huge input of faith, which answers our opening
questions.

Perhaps this is too simplistic of an answer for you? Let's get a bit empirical,
shall we? From my observation, as well as many other Muslims, it seems as though
there is a huge contrast in marriage patterns between modern-day Muslims (you
and I) and the early Muslims (570 CE / 632 H). I often find myself thinking,
perhaps a little optimistically, of how relatively easy marriage was
accomplished in early Muslim communities (think Madinah and afterwards Makkah).
Men and women were often wedded at relatively young ages and decisions of
whether to marry or not were likewise relatively brief and punctual.

For example, it wasn't really that long after Ah proposed to marry Fatimah that
marital requirements were met and arrangements were finalized. And mind you,
these weren't cold, hard arrangements met with corporate speed, nor were they
swooning over one another in a fashion akin to Romeo and Juliet. No, this man
and this woman made a mutual decision to love each other and that is a fact.
They decided to put hands and hearts together in this earth and plant a seed
there and nurture it to something large and beautiful, and that something
bloomed into a blossom of love and tenderness into eternity.

And so from our more empirical discourse, we can start to make connections. We
can begin to understand Einstein's statement about love not being contained by
worldly constriction or law (gravity). No. Love is a heavenly attribute, a gift
that God has saturated our hearts with. And mingling with love in the core of
our hearts is faith. So what is faith but love, and what is love but faith. They
both originate from the same pulsing locus, that miraculous muscle, for lack of
a more transcending word, that sets into motion our bodies and our senses. They
are one expression, even as their Originator is One.

And so we must ask ourselves the crucial question: How do we fall into real
love? How do you find that true inamorato, if you are a Muslimah, or inamorata
if you are a Muslim, in the modern, urban, and lonely landscape that you live
in? Well, keep on looking sugar 'cause you aint gonna find nobody if you keep
looking for the rest of your allotted time in life.

You cannot float through life with a belief that one day your one true love will
come waltzing through your bedroom door. No. On the contrary, if you want to
love someone, then you have to make that decision to defy mere dunya-related
gravity. You have to grasp the fact that because faith and love are, so to say,
a package deal, when you make an authentic decision to love someone, you are
making a leap of faith.

There will be a point in your life's path that will tumble down into a deep
ravine, and until you decide to put your faith in an individual human being and
take that scary leap of faith, you will not continue to move in a positive
direction. So think about fighting gravity, think about taking love and faith
seriously. Jump.

Article provided by Al Jumuah Magazine, a monthly Muslim lifestyle publication,
which addresses the religious concerns of Muslim families across the world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uzbek minority still faces persecution as Kyrgyzstan goes to polls
Four months after murderous ethnic conflict swept southern Kyrgyzstan, the
Uzbeks living in Osh are hesitant about pinning their hopes on a democratic
future

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/10/kyrgyzstan-uzbek-osh-ethnic-cleansin\
g
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How good news became bad for Gaza
Israel eased the trade embargo - but it's bringing some Palestinian businesses
to their knees

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/how-good-news-became-bad-for\
-gaza-2102586.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arab League urges US to call halt on Israeli settlements
Committee has backed the decision of Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to
suspend peace talks with Israel

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/09/arab-league-palestinian-israel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scores die in Indonesia floods
At least 75 people have been killed and many are missing after flash floods and
mudslides hit mountainous villages.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/10/201010672430476943.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

US drone 'kills eight Germans' in Pakistan amid terror plot fears
Strikes on region known to be base for training terrorists follow fresh warnings
by the US and UK of terror attacks

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/04/us-kills-eight-militants-pakistan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel expels Nobel peace laureate over Gaza protest
Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who tried to break Gaza blockade, loses appeal against
deportation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/05/israel-deports-corrigan-maguire
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

General Toufik: 'God of Algeria'
Could the demise of the world's longest serving 'intelligence chief' be
imminent?

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/briefings/2010/09/201092582648347537.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Park51 drawings prove how far 'Ground Zero mosque' claims are from truth
Plans for $120m project suggest building will be a multifaith community centre,
including gym and playground

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/03/park51-building-ground-zero-mosque
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Netanyahu humiliates Obama again
The Obama administration must understand that the Israeli prime minister is
essentially a right-wing Republican.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2010/10/2010102103847283685.htmls
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dagestan: Russia's Islamic enemy within
Shaun Walker reports from Dagestan on a generation willing to give up their
lives for the fight against Moscow

Friday, 15 October 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dagestan-russias-islamic-enemy-wi\
thin-2107150.html

"He is a hero," says Saida defiantly, recalling the memory of her brother. "He
died for what he believed in, and he died because Allah willed it for him. I am
proud he died as a shahid [martyr]."

Saida, who never tells me her real name, is in her early 20s and lives in a
village outside Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, the restive southern
republic of Russia that borders Chechnya on one side and looks out to the
Caspian Sea on the other.

The last time Saida saw her brother was about a year ago, when he announced to
his family that he was "going to the forest"; the term used here to mean joining
the Islamic insurgency. He cut off all contact with the family, and the next
they heard of him was when Saida's mother recognised his corpse in television
news pictures a month ago from a "special operation" of the Russian security
forces to "liquidate bandits".

Dagestan, a land of ancient traditions and beautiful mountains, where dozens of
small ethnic groups live side by side, has historically been deeply Islamic, but
in the last decade parts of it have become radicalised. With Chechnya now ruled
by the iron-fisted Ramzan Kadyrov, chaotic Dagestan has become the heart of
Russia's Islamic terrorist problem, and almost every single day of late, the
authorities are engaged in shoot-outs to kill men like Saida's brother, often in
the heart of Makhachkala.

The attacks on the Moscow Metro in March, by two female suicide bombers from
Dagestan, showed how the ongoing struggle in the North Caucasus still has the
ability to strike at the heart of Russia, and ever since the bombs there has
been a renewed offensive in Dagestan against the militants. In September alone,
authorities say they killed 54 terrorist fighters – boyeviki as they are
called in Russian. They are almost never captured alive.

Dagestan is now teetering on the brink of civil war, and locals say the
insurgency is being given a boost by the widespread corruption among police
officers and government officials in the region. Corruption has been named by
the Kremlin as a huge problem for the whole of Russia, but in Dagestan, the
scale and pervasiveness of graft is eye-watering. Almost everything is for sale
here, leading to a culture of extreme corruption and popular resentment. Getting
a place at the police training academy reportedly costs around £5,000, which
officers then make up by extorting bribes from the population, and everything
from university places to government posts are up for sale.

In a further complication, it is widely believed that the insurgents take
"orders" for hits on prominent figures, providing a convenient cover for those
who want a rival removed from power, and giving the boyeviki a much needed
source of funding. They are also known to send senior government figures USB
sticks containing threatening video messages demanding money or death. Terrified
they will be killed if they don't pay up, many in the government feel they have
no choice but to do so.

There is a "battle for the loyalty" of the population at the moment, says
Khadzhimurat Kamalov, publisher of Chernovik, an independent local newspaper.
"People look at the way that the police and the FSB [security service] behave,
and it's easy to understand why a lot of them feel their sympathies are with the
other side, with the insurgents," says Mr Kamalov. He estimates that around 25
per cent of the population strongly disapprove of the Islamic insurgency, about
50 per cent are indifferent or undecided, and around 25 per cent support the
goals of the terrorists, so long as they don't target "civilians".

In Dagestan itself, attacks are usually carefully targeted on the military and
the police, and while it's hard to find anyone who admits to endorsing the
attacks on the Moscow Metro, after a few minutes of chatting, many people will
offer at least an understanding of the motives behind attacks on law enforcement
officials. The police, they say, operate outside the law, soliciting bribes from
citizens and fabricating charges.

In Makhachkala's main square last week, next to a large portrait of Russian
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (President Dmitry Medvedev, technically the head
of state, is nowhere to be seen), a group of pensioners waving placards were
being watched over by a dozen armed policemen. The women are from the town of
Khasavyurt, and are being kicked out of the building they live in. They say that
310 people live in their block of flats, some of them six to a room – unlike
most buildings it wasn't "privatised" at the end of the Soviet Union, and so
while they have lived in it all their lives, it isn't technically theirs. The
building had been bought by someone in the local government for an absurdly low
price, they say, and they will all be kicked out within the month. They wail
desperate entreaties on discovering a journalist in their midst. "Nobody is
listening to us. We have elderly, sick, disabled people among us, and we'll have
nowhere to go. Maybe you can
  tell Putin or Medvedev about it?" they ask, convinced that the local
authorities will never help them.

Everywhere, people have similar tales of injustice and corruption, and it is
clear that for some young people, the frustration becomes too much. "The leaders
of the boyeviki are manipulative, evil people," says a source in the local
government. "But on the whole the insurgents are just cannon fodder who are
brainwashed. They are people with no financial or social prospects, they have
lost hope, and they see 'going to the forest' as the only way out for them.
Perhaps when I was 20 I would have done the same."

In the meeting with Saida, she frequently speaks in Islamic rhetoric, but always
brings her grievances back to the corruption and brutality of the system, rather
than an overarching Islamism. Her brother had friends who had joined the
militants, and the police didn't believe that he didn't know their whereabouts.
He was put on the dreaded "list" of around 4,000 people suspected of terrorist
links. Every time there was an attack, police would visit the house and ask
questions. Several times he was detained, and Saida claims he was tortured,
including one occasion when all his fingernails were pulled out. "One day, he
just said, 'I can't take this any more.' And he left."

Opinions are divided on how best to fight the terrorists, and stop people like
Saida's brother joining their ranks. "The Russian eagle has two heads," says Mr
Kamalov. "One of them wants to cut the interior ministry personnel by 20 per
cent, to democratise the North Caucasus, and to develop business here, while the
other wants to use pressure and force only."

The former broadly corresponds to the views that Mr Medvedev has stated on
several occasions before, while the latter line is more associated with Mr
Putin, who famously promised to "waste them [militants] in the outhouse" when he
came to power. Mr Medvedev has repeatedly spoken of the need for socio-economic
measures in the region.

"Medvedev's methods could work here but they need to be more aggressively
pursued," says Mr Kamalov, who says there is a similar split in the local FSB
structures as to the effectiveness of force. But the Moscow Metro bombs were a
trump card for those who support Mr Putin's methods, and since then the focus
has been on a stepped-up campaign of special operations. Even the mild-mannered
Mr Medvedev vowed that terrorists would be "liquidated".

As dusk fell last Tuesday evening, another counter-terrorist operation started,
in the centre of the city on Gogol Street. A boyevik was holed up at house
number 42, and special forces were sent in to "liquidate" him. The scene was
tense, as residents were evacuated and police set up a security cordon a few
dozen metres away from the house in question. A group of nervous-looking
policemen smoked cigarettes and fingered their Kalashnikovs at the perimeter,
refusing to answer questions about what was going on inside. A week before, at a
similar operation, a suicide bomber had approached the outer cordon and
detonated himself, in a diversionary tactic, injuring 30. Closer to the house,
Omon special forces and FSB operatives were engaged in a gunfight with the
boyevik, who would later emerge from the house with guns blazing, and be shot
and killed before he could detonate the suicide belt he was wearing.

The worrying thing for the Kremlin is that however many boyeviki they kill,
there seem to be more to take their place. Saida's brown eyes, framed with
carefully trimmed eyebrows and soft facial features, look out from behind the
deep green hijab she has wrapped around her head and neck. She says she can't
wait to meet her brother in paradise, a place where "you never need to sleep,
nothing ever hurts, all your family and friends are by your side, and anything
you wish for will be granted immediately".

"For every one they kill five more will grow in their place," she says. When
asked if she might herself one day become a suicide bomber, she laughs uneasily.
"Not for the moment, no. But I wouldn't rule it out. I'd never blow myself up on
the Metro, but in the FSB building? Why not? Those people are not even humans."

Inside Russia's most religious town

In Gubden, a town of 16,000 people around an hour's drive from Makhachkala, none
of the shops sell alcohol or cigarettes. At the school, all the girls from the
age of five wear the hijab, covering their hair and necks. This town of tidy
cottages stacked above each other, with the imposing Friday Mosque perched at
the top of the hill, is widely seen as the most religious town in Dagestan, and
perhaps in Russia.

One of the bombers in the Moscow Metro was believed to be the wife of Magomedali
Vagabov, leader of the boyeviki in Dagestan, and from Gubden. He was killed
nearby in a special operation in August. But ever since the Moscow Metro bombs,
the situation in Gubden has been noticeably tense, with the traditional
Dagestani hospitality to outsiders replaced with guarded suspicion.

At the entrance to the town, a heavily fortified checkpoint is manned by men in
balaclavas wielding assault rifles, and the town's dilapidated administration
building is watched over by armed soldiers. They look stressed and weary –
hardly surprising, as it is people like them who the insurgents kill on an
almost weekly basis. "We're from Makhachkala, we've only been here three days,"
says one. "The situation here is very tense." Some locals claim that there is no
widespread support for the insurgents in their town, just a strict adherence to
Islamic tenets, and a few bad apples that have gone over to the other side.
Others simply hurry on, ignoring the questions put to them by unwelcome
outsiders.

"People here feel defenceless," says Alikpashi Vagabov, the former headteacher
of Gubden's school, and Magomedali Vagabov's second cousin. "They feel under
threat both from the boyeviki and from the government forces."

Torture, killing, children shot – and how the US tried to keep it all quiet
The largest leak in history reveals the true extent of the bloodshed unleashed
by the decision to go to war in Iraq – and adds at least 15,000 to its death
toll

Reports by Emily Dugan, Nina Lakhani, David Randall, Victoria Richards and
Rachel Shields
Sunday, 24 October 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/torture-killing-children-shot-n\
dash-and-how-the-us-tried-to-keep-it-all-quiet-2115112.html

So now we begin to know the full extent of what Tony Blair called the blood
price.

A detainee tortured with live electrical wires here, children shot by US troops
at a checkpoint there, insurgents using children to carry out suicide bombings
somewhere else; on and on, through 391,832 documents. At the Pentagon, these
messages were the day-to-day commonplaces of staff inboxes; for Iraqis, they
detail, in the emotionless jargon of the US military, nothing less than the
hacking open of a nation's veins.

Today, seven and a half years on from the order to invade, the largest leak in
history has shown, far more than has been hitherto known, just what was
unleashed by that declaration of war. The Iraqi security services tortured
hundreds, and the US military watched, noted and emailed, but rarely intervened.
A US helicopter gunship crew were ordered to shoot insurgents trying to
surrender. A doctor sold al-Qa'ida a list of female patients with learning
difficulties so they could be duped into being suicide bombers. A private US
company, which made millions of dollars from the outsourcing of security duties,
killed civilians. And the Americans, who have always claimed never to count
civilian deaths, were in fact secretly logging them. At a conservative estimate,
the new documents add at least 15,000 to the war's death toll.

It was yesterday morning when WikiLeaks, the crowd-funded website which achieved
worldwide fame for releasing Afghanistan material earlier this year, uploaded
nearly 400,000 US military documents. Covering the 2004-09 period, they consist
of messages passed from low-level or medium-level operational troops to their
superiors and ultimate bosses in the Pentagon. They are marked "Secret", by no
means the highest of security classifications.

The Pentagon's response was to say that the leak put the lives of US troops and
their military partners in jeopardy, and other official sources dismissed the
documents as revealing little that was new. An answer to this came from Iraq
Body Count, the British organisation that has monitored civilian deaths since
2003: "These Iraq logs ... contain information on civilian and other casualties
that has been kept from public view by the US government for more than six
years.... The data on casualties is information about the public (mainly the
Iraqi public) that was unjustifiably withheld from both the Iraqi and world
public by the US military, apparently with the intent to do so indefinitely."

The Iraq War Logs are US documents, and so detail only a few incidents involving
British troops. Two, dated 23 June 2008, record a pair of Shia men who say they
were punched and kicked by unidentified British troops. Both men had injuries
that were consistent with their stories. There is no record of any formal
investigation. Another log, dated 2 September 2008, records that a civilian
interrogator working with the Americans claimed British soldiers had dragged him
through his house and repeatedly dunked his head into a bowl of water and
threatened him with a pistol. The log says his story was undermined by
inconsistencies and an absence of injuries.

Here are the main areas where there is fresh, and significant, information:

Civilian death tolls

The Pentagon and the Iraqi health ministry consistently refused to publish a
death toll of civilians, even denying such a record existed. "We don't do body
counts," said US General Tommy Franks, who directed the Iraq invasion. The Iraq
War Logs reveal just how hollow his words were.

Since the beginning of the war, The Independent on Sunday has asserted that the
true death toll of civilians in the war was far higher than military officials
were suggesting. As early as 2004 the IoS reported that the Pentagon was in fact
collecting classified casualty figures and that academics believed the death
toll might be as much as 100,000 – or more.

The logs detail 109,032 deaths, some 66,081 of which are civilians. Iraq Body
Count said yesterday that an analysis of a sample of 860 of the Iraq War Logs
led it to estimate the information in all the logs would add 15,000 extra
civilian deaths to its previous total of 107,000. To these should be added
military deaths, and IBC's revised total deaths in Iraq would now be around
150,000, 80 per cent of them civilians.

However, some care needs to be taken in using this data. The information in the
logs is by no means a comprehensive tally of all deaths.

The death toll of civilians is in stark contrast to President Bush's words in
2003, when he said that new technology meant troops could go out of their way to
protect Iraqi civilians. "With new tactics and precision weapons, we can achieve
military objectives without directing violence against civilians," he said.

Torture

The leaked documents provide a ground's-eye view of abuses as reported by US
military personnel to their superiors, and appear to corroborate much of the
past reporting on such incidents. Beatings, burnings and lashings surface in
hundreds of the documents, giving the impression that the use of cables, metal
rods, wooden poles and live electrical wires to torture detainees was far from
rare. Although some abuse cases were investigated by the Americans, most in the
archive seem to have been ignored.

Early on, space for detainees was limited, and Iraqis would pack them into
makeshift jails. In November 2005, American soldiers found 173 detainees with
cigarette burns, sores and broken bones crammed into a police internment centre
near Baghdad. The log states: "Many detainees are coughing.... Approx 95 were
being held in one room and were sitting cross-legged with blindfolds, all facing
the same direction. According to one of the detainees questioned on-site, 12
detainees have died of disease in recent weeks."

In August 2006, a US sergeant in Ramadi heard whipping noises in a military
police station and walked in on an Iraqi lieutenant using an electrical cable to
slash the bottom of a detainee's feet. He later found the same Iraqi officer
whipping a detainee's back. The American provided sworn statements and
photographs of "circular whip marks [and] bleeding on back." No investigation
was initiated.

But some of the worst examples came later in the war. In one case last December,
12 Iraqi soldiers, including an intelligence officer, were caught on video in
Tal Afar shooting to death a prisoner whose hands were tied. In another, US
forces found a detainee with two black eyes, a bruised neck and "scabbing on his
left ankle". The detainee said he was electrocuted by Iraqi soldiers in Mosul in
order to obtain a confession. Iraqi officials stated he was injured after
attempting to escape.

Amnesty International condemned the revelations in the documents and questioned
whether US authorities had broken international law by handing detainees to
Iraqi forces known to be committing abuses "on a truly shocking scale". The UN
special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, said there was a duty on the US
administration to investigate whether its officials were involved in or
complicit in torture.

Al-Qa'ida's use of special needs patients as suicide bombers

A doctor allegedly "sold lists" of patients with special needs to al-Qa'ida so
they could be strapped with remote-control explosives and detonated in busy
markets in Baghdad. According to the Iraq War Logs, in October 2008 a GP was
arrested by US forces on suspicion of passing on the names of 11 female patients
to insurgents.

A file stated that the women were "likely used in the 01 February 2008 dual
suicide attack on local markets", referring to two women with Down's syndrome
who were fooled into wearing explosive vests and blown up in co-ordinated
attacks on pet bazaars in central Baghdad. The explosions, which Iraqi officials
said were detonated by mobile phone, killed at least 73 people and wounded more
than 160.

It wasn't an isolated incident – on 4 April 2008, a "mentally retarded"
teenage boy blew himself up at a funeral in Diyala Province, north-east of
Baghdad, killing six and injuring 34. He had, the log suggested, the "facial
features of a person with Down's syndrome" and was part of an "ongoing strategy"
to recruit individuals with learning difficulties. And, on 28 February 2008, a
mentally ill teenage boy was shot and injured by a US patrol while attempting to
flee his kidnappers who were intending to use him as a suicide bomber.

An analysis by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism revealed that, on average,
30 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were detonated every day between 2004 and
2009 – with vulnerable children handpicked as pawns for slaughter. A US
soldier wrote in March 2007: "A 12- to 14-year-old boy wearing a back pack and
on a bicycle rode into the intersection. The patrol passed through the
intersection and the boy detonated his explosives targeting the passing
vehicles." A year later, in February 2008, the log stated: "S2 [military
intelligence] assessment: recent reports indicated... AQI [al-Qa'ida in Iraq] is
recruiting young local nationals and also using mentally handicapped persons to
target CF [Coalition Forces] within the dragoon OE [operational environment]."

Private contractors

The documents reveal details of the largely unaccountable, and sometimes
gung-ho, actions of private security firms. According to a New York Times
analysis, the leaked documents "sketch, in vivid detail, a critical change in
the way America wages war: the early days of the Iraq war... ushered in the era
of the private contractor, wearing no uniform but fighting and dying in battle,
gathering and disseminating intelligence and killing presumed insurgents."

Among companies named in the Iraq war logs is a US firm called, of all things,
Custer Battles. During the six years covered by the reports, at least 175
private security contractors were killed. Most of the dead were Iraqi drivers,
guards and other staff.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism says the war logs detail 14 wrongful
killings of civilians by the American security company formerly known as
Blackwater. It is alleged that in one-third of the cases, Blackwater guards
fired on civilians while guarding US officials. The company has earned more than
$1.5bn (£950m) since the 2003 invasion. On 14 May 2005 the logs allege that
Blackwater shot a civilian car, reportedly killing the driver and injuring his
wife and child. The guards drove on and left the injured woman and child. A year
later, on 2 May 2006, Blackwater guards opened fire on an ambulance attending
the scene of an IED, killing the civilian ambulance driver.

Blackwater changed its name to Xe Services in 2009 after an incident in 2007 in
Nisour Square, Baghdad, in which its security guards were involved in a shooting
that killed 14 civilians. After the Nisour massacre the Iraqi government
demanded that Blackwater leave the country. Xe Services is still one of the US
government's largest security contractors.

Shooting of surrendering men

A US Apache helicopter was ordered to kill two Iraqi insurgents who tried to
surrender. The pilots of the helicopter were advised by a military lawyer that
the men could not surrender to an aircraft, and thus were still targets.

The gunship launched a Hellfire missile at the truck, but the men fled the
vehicle and ran into a nearby shack. The crew received further instructions to
kill the men, and succeeded by firing 300 rounds a minute from the Apache's 30mm
cannon.

Up to 30 children killed by US soldiers at checkpoints

As many as 30 children died at the hands of US forces at military checkpoints,
the Iraq war logs have revealed. Violent "escalation of force" (EOF) incidents
as vehicles were slowed down and searched "often" resulted in the deaths of
innocent civilians, according to the classified documents.

One entry described how a six-year-old Iraqi was hit as troops fired several
rounds with light machine guns. It read: "While crossing the street, patrol had
an EOF where patrol fired 3 rounds of M249. One round ricocheted off the
concrete hitting a 6yr old LN [local national] 250m down the road. Medical
Facility reported that the 6yr old LN died of wounds upon arrival."

Another detailed an incident in June 2005, where US soldiers fired warning shots
at the grill of a car from 150m away. When the car finally stopped, seven were
dead – including two children – and two were injured, because their parents
had told them to lie on the floor of the car for safety. The logs detail the
deaths of "significant" numbers of Iraqi civilians, including an unborn child,
at checkpoints between 2004 and 2009. Of 834 people killed, 80 per cent were
civilians – bringing the total dead to 681.

A photographer embedded with the First Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division in
January 2005, in Tal Afar, north-west Iraq, witnessed the deaths of Camille and
Hussein Hassan, who were travelling with their six children. Rakan Hassan, 11,
was shot in the spine and paralysed – and his family was offered just $7,500
(£4,782) in compensation by the US Army for the loss of the two parents at
$2,500 (£1,594) each, and an extra $2,500 (£1,594) for damaging the car
(pictured). And on 29 September 2004, a car approaching a checkpoint was fired
on by US soldiers and swerved off the road into a canal 1.5km north of
Saqlawiyah, near Ramadi. It sank, drowning six people – two women, three
children aged between five and eight, and a baby.

Analysis of the logs by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Channel 4's
Dispatches showed that, over the six-year period, four times as many civilians
were killed in EOF incidents than those listed as insurgents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert Fisk: The shaming of America
Our writer delivers a searing dispatch after the WikiLeaks revelations that
expose in detail the brutality of the war in Iraq - and the astonishing,
disgraceful deceit of the US
Sunday, 24 October 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-the-shaming-o\
f-america-2115111.html

As usual, the Arabs knew. They knew all about the mass torture, the promiscuous
shooting of civilians, the outrageous use of air power against family homes, the
vicious American and British mercenaries, the cemeteries of the innocent dead.
All of Iraq knew. Because they were the victims.

Only we could pretend we did not know. Only we in the West could counter every
claim, every allegation against the Americans or British with some worthy
general – the ghastly US military spokesman Mark Kimmitt and the awful
chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Peter Pace, come to mind – to ring-fence us with
lies. Find a man who'd been tortured and you'd be told it was terrorist
propaganda; discover a house full of children killed by an American air strike
and that, too, would be terrorist propaganda, or "collateral damage", or a
simple phrase: "We have nothing on that."

Of course, we all knew they always did have something. And yesterday's ocean of
military memos proves it yet again. Al-Jazeera has gone to extraordinary lengths
to track down the actual Iraqi families whose men and women are recorded as
being wasted at US checkpoints – I've identified one because I reported it in
2004, the bullet-smashed car, the two dead journalists, even the name of the
local US captain – and it was The Independent on Sunday that first alerted the
world to the hordes of indisciplined gunmen being flown to Baghdad to protect
diplomats and generals. These mercenaries, who murdered their way around the
cities of Iraq, abused me when I told them I was writing about them way back in
2003.

It's always tempting to avoid a story by saying "nothing new". The "old story"
idea is used by governments to dampen journalistic interest as it can be used by
us to cover journalistic idleness. And it's true that reporters have seen some
of this stuff before. The "evidence" of Iranian involvement in bomb-making in
southern Iraq was farmed out to The New York Times's Michael Gordon by the
Pentagon in February 2007. The raw material, which we can now read, is far more
doubtful than the Pentagon-peddled version. Iranian military material was still
lying around all over Iraq from the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and most of the
attacks on Americans were at that stage carried out by Sunni insurgents. The
reports suggesting that Syria allowed insurgents to pass through their
territory, by the way, are correct. I have spoken to the families of Palestinian
suicide bombers whose sons made their way to Iraq from Lebanon via the Lebanese
village of Majdal Aanjar and then
  via the northern Syrian city of Aleppo to attack the Americans.

But, written in bleak militarese as it may be, here is the evidence of America's
shame. This is material that can be used by lawyers in courts. If 66,081 – I
loved the "81" bit – is the highest American figure available for dead
civilians, then the real civilian mortality score is infinitely higher since
this records only those civilians the Americans knew of. Some of them were
brought to the Baghdad mortuary in my presence, and it was the senior official
there who told me that the Iraqi ministry of health had banned doctors from
performing any post-mortems on dead civilians brought in by American troops. Now
why should that be? Because some had been tortured to death by Iraqis working
for the Americans? Did this hook up with the 1,300 independent US reports of
torture in Iraqi police stations?

The Americans scored no better last time round. In Kuwait, US troops could hear
Palestinians being tortured by Kuwaitis in police stations after the liberation
of the city from Saddam Hussein's legions in 1991. A member of the Kuwaiti royal
family was involved in the torture. US forces did not intervene. They just
complained to the royal family. Soldiers are always being told not to intervene.
After all, what was Lieutenant Avi Grabovsky of the Israeli army told when he
reported to his officer in September 1982 that Israel's Phalangist allies had
just murdered some women and children? "We know, it's not to our liking, and
don't interfere," Grabovsky was told by his battalion commander. This was during
the Sabra and Chatila refugee camp massacre.

The quotation comes from Israel's 1983 Kahan commission report – heaven knows
what we could read if WikiLeaks got its hands on the barrels of military files
in the Israeli defence ministry (or the Syrian version, for that matter). But,
of course, back in those days, we didn't know how to use a computer, let alone
how to write on it. And that, of course, is one of the important lessons of the
whole WikiLeaks phenomenon.

Back in the First World War or the Second World War or Vietnam, you wrote your
military reports on paper. They may have been typed in triplicate but you could
number your copies, trace any spy and prevent the leaks. The Pentagon Papers was
actually written on paper. You needed to find a mole to get them. But paper
could always be destroyed, weeded, trashed, all copies destroyed. At the end of
the 1914-18 war, for example, a British second lieutenant shot a Chinese man
after Chinese workers had looted a French military train. The Chinese man had
pulled a knife on the soldier. But during the 1930s, the British soldier's file
was "weeded" three times and so no trace of the incident survives. A faint ghost
of it remains only in a regimental war diary which records Chinese involvement
in the looting of "French provision trains". The only reason I know of the
killing is that my father was the British lieutenant and told me the story
before he died. No
  WikiLeaks then.

But I do suspect this massive hoard of material from the Iraq war has serious
implications for journalists as well as armies. What is the future of the
Seymour Hershes and the old-style investigative journalism that The Sunday Times
used to practise? What is the point of sending teams of reporters to examine war
crimes and meet military "deep throats", if almost half a million secret
military documents are going to float up in front of you on a screen?

We still haven't got to the bottom of the WikiLeaks story, and I rather suspect
that there are more than just a few US soldiers involved in this latest
revelation. Who knows if it doesn't go close to the top? In its investigations,
for example, al-Jazeera found an extract from a run-of-the-mill Pentagon press
conference in November 2005. Peter Pace, the uninspiring chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, is briefing journalists on how soldiers should react to the
cruel treatment of prisoners, pointing out proudly that an American soldier's
duty is to intervene if he sees evidence of torture. Then the camera moves to
the far more sinister figure of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who suddenly
interrupts – almost in a mutter, and to Pace's consternation – "I don't
think you mean they (American soldiers) have an obligation to physically stop
it. It's to report it."

The significance of this remark – cryptically sadistic in its way – was lost
on the journos, of course. But the secret Frago 242 memo now makes much more
sense of the press conference. Presumably sent by General Ricardo Sanchez, this
is the instruction that tells soldiers: "Provided the initial report confirms US
forces were not involved in the detainee abuse, no further investigation will be
conducted unless directed by HHQ [Higher Headquarters]." Abu Ghraib happened
under Sanchez's watch in Iraq. It was also Sanchez, by the way, who couldn't
explain to me at a press conference why his troops had killed Saddam's sons in a
gun battle in Mosul rather than capture them.

So Sanchez's message, it seems, must have had Rumsfeld's imprimatur. And so
General David Petraeus – widely loved by the US press corps – was presumably
responsible for the dramatic increase in US air strikes over two years; 229
bombing attacks in Iraq in 2006, but 1,447 in 2007. Interestingly enough, US air
strikes in Afghanistan have risen by 172 per cent since Petraeus took over
there. Which makes it all the more astonishing that the Pentagon is now bleating
that WikiLeaks may have blood on its hands. The Pentagon has been covered in
blood since the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, and for an
institution that ordered the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003 – wasn't that
civilian death toll more than 66,000 by their own count, out of a total of
109,000 recorded? – to claim that WikiLeaks is culpable of homicide is
preposterous.

The truth, of course, is that if this vast treasury of secret reports had proved
that the body count was much lower than trumpeted by the press, that US soldiers
never tolerated Iraqi police torture, rarely shot civilians at checkpoints and
always brought killer mercenaries to account, US generals would be handing these
files out to journalists free of charge on the steps of the Pentagon. They are
furious not because secrecy has been breached, or because blood may be spilt,
but because they have been caught out telling the lies we always knew they told.

US official documents detail extraordinary scale of wrongdoing

WikiLeaks yesterday released on its website some 391,832 US military messages
documenting actions and reports in Iraq over the period 2004-2009. Here are the
main points:

Prisoners abused, raped and murdered

Hundreds of incidents of abuse and torture of prisoners by Iraqi security
services, up to and including rape and murder. Since these are itemised in US
reports, American authorities now face accusations of failing to investigate
them. UN leaders and campaigners are calling for an official investigation.

Civilian death toll cover-up

Coalition leaders have always said "we don't do death tolls", but the documents
reveal many deaths were logged. Respected British group Iraq Body Count says
that, after preliminary examination of a sample of the documents, there are an
estimated 15,000 extra civilian deaths, raising their total to 122,000.

The shooting of men trying to surrender

In February 2007, an Apache helicopter killed two Iraqis, suspected of firing
mortars, as they tried to surrender. A military lawyer is quoted as saying:
"They cannot surrender to aircraft and are still valid targets."

Private security firm abuses

Britain's Bureau of Investigative Journalism says it found documents detailing
new cases of alleged wrongful killings of civilians involving Blackwater, since
renamed Xe Services. Despite this, Xe retains extensive US contracts in
Afghanistan.

Al-Qa'ida's use of children and "mentally handicapped" for bombing

A teenage boy with Down's syndrome who killed six and injured 34 in a suicide
attack in Diyala was said to be an example of an ongoing al-Qa'ida strategy to
recruit those with learning difficulties. A doctor is alleged to have sold a
list of female patients with learning difficulties to insurgents.

Hundreds of civilians killed at checkpoints

Out of the 832 deaths recorded at checkpoints in Iraq between 2004 and 2009,
analysis by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism suggests 681 were civilians.
Fifty families were shot at and 30 children killed. Only 120 insurgents were
killed in checkpoint incidents.

Iranian influence

Reports detail US concerns that Iranian agents had trained, armed and directed
militants in Iraq. In one document, the US military warns a militia commander
believed to be behind the deaths of US troops and kidnapping of Iraqi officials
was trained by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Crazy Horse' and collateral damage
Helicopter squadron that killed two Reuters journalists in 2007 was involved in
other attacks that hurt civilians.
Gregg Carlstrom Last Modified: 25 Oct 2010 05:52 GMT

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/spotlight/2010/10/20101022165819333616.html

In June 2007, a US army Apache helicopter fired missiles at two "bongo trucks" -
flatbed pickups – allegedly transporting "multiple persons with weapons" south
of Baghdad. It remained in the area for several hours, and went on to fire
several more missiles, despite the obvious presence of civilians.

UAV observes 4X women at a house waving white sheets next to PB Dog. This is the
same house that AIF were congregating at before attack run.

Continuing to observe for 10 min. then CRAYZ [sic] HORSE will engage PB Dog with
rockets and Hellfire.

A total of six people were killed in the attack, with another person wounded.

The helicopter has the same call sign – "Crazy Horse 18" – as the one that
killed two Reuters journalists and ten Iraqis in a shooting in July 2007.
Wikileaks released a video of the incident, which clearly shows that at least
some of the victims were unarmed, and that the pilots were almost indifferent to
the death below.

"Well, it's their fault for bringing their kids to a battle," one of the pilots
joked after hearing that a young girl was among his victims.

For reasons that are unclear, the leaked documents do not include any account of
that raid. But "Crazy Horse 18" - either the same pilot, or a pilot from the
same squadron - is involved in several other incidents that result in collateral
damage or show an excessive use of force.

In perhaps the most egregious, the helicopter pursues and kills two militants
riding in a truck who were allegedly carrying a tripod and tube used to launch
mortars. The helicopter opened fire on the truck with its 30mm cannon, at which
point the men got out and tried to surrender.

Crazyhorse 18 reports AIF got into a dump truck headed north, engaged and then
they came out wanting to surrender. Crazyhorse 18 reports they got back into
truck and are heading north. Crazyhorse 18 cleared to engage dumptruck. 1/227
lawyer states they can not surrender to aircraft and are still valid targets.
Crazyhorse 18 reports they missed with Hellfire and individuals have ran into
another shack. IH6 approves Crazyhorse 18 to engage shack. Crazyhorse 18 reports
engaged and destroyed shack with 2X AIF. BDA is shack/dump truck destroyed.

The helicopter, in other words, pursued a group of men who attempted to
surrender, firing missiles at them not once but twice.

It is impossible to say, based on the limited evidence in the report, whether
the unit's lawyer was correct that the men driving the truck "can not surrender
to aircraft".

There is a precedent, though, for just such surrenders: During the Vietnam War,
for example, groups of North Vietnamese soldiers would surrender to American
aircraft to avoid being bombed with napalm. The aircraft would radio their
location to ground troops, which then captured the soldiers and treated them as
prisoners of war.

Another incident, in June 2007, has the Crazy Horse helicopter following a van
through an apparently populated area.

Crazy Horse is going to engage as soon as van is in an open area. Silver van is
now stopped at grid 45544 77884. Crazy Horse is inbound and shot with Hellfire.
Crazy Horse is standing by due to possible colatural [sic] damage.

There is no follow-up to explain what, exactly, the "collateral damage" was.

'Total destruction'

The documents show, more generally, that the US often had spotty information
about the civilian casualties - the "collateral damage" - caused by airstrikes.

The US military carried out hundreds of airstrikes against targets in Iraq
during the six years covered by the leaked documents. Many of them, though,
improbably logged zero casualties - despite dropping hundreds of pounds of
ordnance on targets.

In August 2005, for example, coalition forces received a report that al-Qaeda in
Iraq fighters were "massing in a mansion" near Husaybah, a town along the
Euphrates River near the Syrian border. They called in an airstrike:

A section of FWCAS engaged the building with (4) GBU-38s, resulting in
approximately 75% destruction of the target. Another section of FW CAS attacked
the mansion in order to completely destroy the building. FW engaged with (1)
GBU-12 at 0231D. Complete destruction had not been achieved, so the target was
attacked again with (1) GBU-12 each at 0255D and 0310D, both bombs were assessed
as duds. Total destruction of the building was completed with (1)LMAV at 0333D.

GBU-38s and GBU-12s are both 500-pound bombs; the LMAV is a 125-pound missile.
Discounting the two duds, US airplanes dropped 2,225 pounds of ordnance on the
house, achieving "total destruction" in just over an hour. But not a single
casualty was recorded.

Similarly, in September 2004, an F-15 fighter jet dropped two GBU-12s on an
"objective" in Fallujah. "Good hits on target, BDA unknown," the report said,
and recorded no casualties.

Contemporaneous news reports told a different story: The "objective" was a
house, and eight people were present, including four women and two children. All
of them were killed by the blast.

The documents also reveal that the use of airstrikes increased dramatically in
2007, after General David Petraeus took over as the commander of US forces in
Iraq, despite his public statements that airstrikes often "provide insurgents
with a major propaganda victory." The US dropped 229 bombs in 2006, a number
that surged to 1,447 in 2007.

A similar trend is happening now in Afghanistan, where airstsrikes have
increased by 172 per cent since Petraeus took command.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

US turned blind eye to torture
Leaked documents on Iraq war contain thousands of allegations of abuse, but a
Pentagon order told troops to ignore them.
Gregg Carlstrom Last Modified: 24 Oct 2010 15:31 GMT

http://english.aljazeera.net/secretiraqfiles/2010/10/20101022161828428516.html

An alleged militant identified only as "DAT 326" was detained by the Iraqi army
on July 7, 2006 at a checkpoint in the town of Tarmiya, north of Baghdad. When
US forces interrogated him later that night, he described hours of brutal abuse
at the hands of the Iraqi soldiers, an allegation apparently backed by the
findings of a medical exam.

DAT 326 states he was told to lay down on his stomach with his hands behind his
back, which is when the Iraqi soldiers allegedly stepped, jumped, urinated and
spit on him.

[…] DAT 326 was evaluated and treated for his injuries at Cobra Clinic.
Injuries include blurred vision, diminished hearing in left ear, bleeding in
ears, bruising on forehead, neck, chest, back, shoulders, arms, hands, and
thighs, cuts over the left eye and on the upper and lower lips, hemorrhaging
eyes, blood in nasal cavities, and swollen hands/wrists.

Since the alleged torture was committed by Iraqi forces, the US quickly dropped
the case: "Due to no allegation or evidence of US involvement, a US
investigation is not being initiated," the report said.

A review of the leaked documents reveals more than 1,000 allegations of abuse
committed by Iraqi security forces. Not all of them are credible, as some
detainees showed no physical evidence of abuse, while others changed their
stories during multiple interrogations.

But hundreds of them – like "DAT 326" – are supported by medical evidence
and other corroboration. Those reports demonstrate a clear pattern of abuse and
torture in Iraqi jails, one that a high-level Pentagon directive barred US
forces from investigating.

"Only an initial report will be made"

The instruction not to investigate was handed down in fragmentary order (FRAGO)
242, first mentioned in a report filed on May 16, 2005.

Provided the initial report confirms US forces were not involved in the detainee
abuse, no further investigation will be conducted unless directed by HHQ.

The order is mentioned again in a report on June 19, which says that "only an
initial report will be made for apparent [laws of armed combat] violations...
not involving US forces." That initial report was often enough to establish that
torture had taken place, and the results of interviews and medical examinations
were reported in gruesome detail, like the July 2006 report about a detainee in
Baghdad suspected of being a foreign fighter.

Any further investigation, however, required sanction from superiors and such
approval was rarely given. Thus the US did little to address abuses by Iraqi
soldiers and police. Hundreds of abuse reports conclude with the phrase, "the
allegation is being forwarded to the [Iraqi army] commander for investigation".

The US state department, indeed, has repeatedly noted that the Iraqi government
ignores reports of torture and abuse. "There was little indication that
disciplinary action was taken against security forces accused of human rights
abuses," the department wrote in its 2007 human rights report on Iraq.

That has slowly begun to change – in 2009, Iraq's interior ministry opened 55
investigations into human rights abuses – but the US state department's
reporting shows that abuses reported to the Iraqi interior ministry were ignored
for years.

Violating its obligations

International law did not require the US to investigate these allegations of
Iraqi-on-Iraqi detainee abuse, because all of them were reported after June 30,
2004 – when Iraq once again became a “sovereign country”, according to the
United Nations resolution 1546. The United States no longer directly controlled
Iraq's security services, and thus, it was no longer legally obligated to police
them.

One could argue, of course, that the decision to look the other way represents a
clear moral failing – and a conscious decision to undermine US’ own stated
goal of nation-building. The US has spent tens of millions of dollars to develop
prisons, courts, and the “rule of law” in Iraq. But the leaked documents
show that Iraq's security forces routinely violated the most basic rights of
detainees in their custody, assaulting them, threatening their families,
occasionally even raping or murdering them.

More importantly, many of the detainee abuse reports suggest that the US
knowingly violated the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

The convention – which the United States ratified in 1994 – forbids
signatories from transferring a detainee to other countries "where there are
substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected
to torture".

The thousand-plus allegations of torture in Iraqi jails, many of them
substantiated by medical evidence, clearly seem to constitute "substantial
grounds" to believe that prisoners transferred to Iraqi custody could be
tortured. Yet the US has transferred thousands of prisoners to Iraqi custody in
recent years, including nearly 2,000 who were handed over to the Iraqis in July,
2010.

"Evidence of unchecked torture"

The abuses reported by detainees were often nearly identical to those used by
the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein. Some detainees were whipped across the feet
with heavy cables, an excruciatingly painful form of torture but one that leaves
few marks on its victims. Others reported being hung from hooks attached to the
ceiling, or receiving electrical shocks across their bodies.

1x detainee claims that he was seized from his house by IA in the Khalis area of
the Diyala province. He was then held underground in bunkers for approximately 2
months around August 2005 and subjected to torture by members of the 2/5 IA.
This alleged tortured [sic] included, among other things, the strappado stress
position, whereby his hands were bound/shacked [sic] and he was suspended from
the ceiling; the use of blunt objects (i.e. pipes) to beat him on the back and
legs; and the use of electric drills to bore holes in his legs.

Sexual assault, or the threat there of, was a common tactic for interrogators.
One detainee said he was sodomised with a water bottle; another, with a hose.

A number of reports describe apparent "torture rooms" in police stations and
army installations across the country.

Evidence of unchecked torture was noted in the Iraqi police station in Husaybah,
IZ. Large amounts of blood on the cell floor, a wire used for electric shock and
a rubber hose were located in the holding cell.

US forces did occasionally act to stop abuses by Iraqi security forces: In
August 2005, for example, an American army patrol stopped a group of Iraqi
soldiers from punching a detainee in their custody.

Such intervention was more an exception rather than the rule. An August 2006
report describes Sergeant Andrew Spade, from the 300th Military Police company,
who witnesses Iraqi police whipping and kicking detainees. But the army does
nothing to remove them from the abusive officers: "Both [detainees] are still at
Al Huryia police station," the report notes. [[173:060]] US forces too indulged
in abuses. The most notorious of course was the systematic torture at Abu Ghraib
prison, west of Baghdad.

However, the leaked Iraq reports document a number of smaller-scale abuses. In
October 2006, for example, members of a Stryker battalion talked about detainee
abuses committed by their unit, a report that was forwarded to a higher-level
commander.

They said when persons were detained, the driver of the Stryker would call back
to warn the soldiers that he was about to stop abruptly. The soldiers would hold
on and watch as the detainee was propelled forward. PFC Palmer and unidentified
SPC also explained how soldiers in the bank [sic] of the Stryker would take
turns punching the detainees... on one occasion a Sunni detainee was extremely
upset after the Stryker knowingly dropped the detainee off outside of a Shia
mosque.

There are numerous other claims, of US troops allegedly beating detainees or
threatening to kill their families.

Still, the vast majority of the allegations deal with abuse committed by Iraqi
security forces – abuse that human rights groups allege continues to this day.
Indeed, Amnesty International warned in September that detainees recently
transferred to Iraqi custody – and others who could soon be handed over -
"remain at risk of torture and other forms of ill-treatment".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iraq war logs: US turned over captives to Iraqi torture squads
Nick Clegg calls for answers to 'extremely serious' abuse reports, but says it
is up to US to answer for its own forces

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/24/iraq-war-logs-us-iraqi-torture
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iraq war logs: The truth for Hanaan Hamood Matrood
The stomach-churning torture revealed by the Iraq war logs is our problem as
much as America's

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/oct/24/iraq-war-logs-han\
aan-hamood-matrood

Six and a half years after the "shock and awe" of the first days of war in Iraq
come the Iraq war logs. For the Pentagon, they are devastating, documenting in
fine detail the indifference with which Iraqi human life was viewed. For the
British people, they ought to raise important questions as to what our forces
knew.

Aside from questions of complicity, however, the logs also provide an
opportunity to properly interrogate a more salient question: how did we treat
the Iraqi man, woman and child?

The stomach-churning, systematic torture meted out by the Iraqi police and
military is our problem as much as it is America's. In many of the 142 cases in
which Public Interest Lawyers acts, UK forces are alleged to have handed over
detainees to the Iraqi authorities. This was despite the clear indications that
many Iraqi police stations were effectively torture chambers that the national
authorities were free to run with impunity. Their cover was provided by
Fragmented Order 242, which not only allowed but required coalition forces to
turn a blind eye where their own forces were not "responsible".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Murder, rape and the final proof that Britain should never have fought this
shaming war

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1323433/WikiLeaks-Iraq-war-logs-leak-F\
inal-proof-Britain-fought.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Death at a checkpoint
The tragic story of Nabiha Jassim, a pregnant woman who was killed by US troops
as she rushed to hospital to give birth.

http://english.aljazeera.net/secretiraqfiles/2010/10/20101022163916765589.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Faith held hostage by violence
The kidnapping and killing of one of Iraq's most prominent Christians exposed
al-Qaeda's brutal fundraising methods.

http://english.aljazeera.net/secretiraqfiles/2010/10/2010102216235484217.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Afghan detainees claim US abuse
Former prisoners say that mistreatment has continued in a "secret" prison on the
site of the Bagram military base.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/10/2010101514217930443.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iraq: the war logs - one day, 146 deaths
24 hours of car bombs and mortars, of tortured corpses being found in every
major city, of snipers, kidnaps and death squads
James Meek
guardian.co.uk,  Saturday 23 October 2010 18.29 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/23/iraq-war-logs-october-17-20061

It's just after midnight in Baghdad on 17 October, 2006. A new war day begins.
US military clerks, the war's white-collar workers, make their first keystrokes
in the log: Murder in the vicinity of Baghdad. One unknown civilian corpse found
shot in the head. The body was taken to Justice Medical. No further information.

In the darkness they are already fighting when midnight comes around. Insurgents
have rocketed a US infantry base south of Baghdad and set fire to oxygen tanks.
The Americans fire back and a civilian is wounded by shrapnel.

00.30 South-west of Falluja, an eight-vehicle convoy of US military engineers
creeps along a highway, checking for roadside bombs, or IEDs. Insurgents have
hidden an old artillery shell wired to a pressure switch in a hole in the middle
of the road, covered in branches. The first vehicle, a mine-proof South African
truck, rolls over the IED and it goes off, badly damaging the truck, but no one
is hurt. It is the first of dozens of IED attacks today, like yesterday, like
tomorrow.

00.45 In Mosul, Iraqi and US troops seize a suspect from his home and take him
away for questioning.

02.10 Murder, write the loggers. Haider Abdul Desher al Tamimi, Haider Ali Jabar
al Majsosi, Noufal Hassan Khelaf al Hassani and Fawaz Abdul Mahdi Taher al Asavi
were reported missing and later found murdered.

02.39 "Associates" of a suspected insurgent, a father and son, arrested in
Falluja.

02.48 Marines in Falluja arrest a man seen digging who runs from the beam of
their torch.

03.15 US troops in Ramadi see armed insurgents run into a house. They pepper it
with cannon fire, but never find out if they hit anyone.

03.30 Five suspected insurgents arrested in Hit.

04.10 Pre-dawn arrests continue in Hit: eight more Iraqis are detained.

04.30 US soldiers in Baghdad detain a man out after curfew and detect TNT on his
skin and clothes. He is arrested.

05.30 Botched suicide bombing, Kirkuk.

Keep reading
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/23/iraq-war-logs-october-17-20061
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iraqi police and army officers targeted in new wave of violence
Security vacuum blamed on politicians' failure to form a government
Martin Chulov in Baghdad
guardian.co.uk,  Friday 15 October 2010 18.58 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/15/iraq-police-violence-targets

A wave of targeted attacks on soldiers, police, traffic officers and senior
officials is steadily picking off the custodians of Iraq's streets at rates that
are nearing the darkest days of the insurgency, according to security
commanders.

As of last Monday 710 Iraqis had been killed this year with silenced pistols or
rifles. At least 600 more had been killed by magnet bombs placed under the cars
of officials, according to Baghdad's Major Crimes Unit. Hundreds more have been
injured.

The killings have increased sharply in the past four months amid fears that the
ongoing failure to form a government in Baghdad is fuelling a worsening security
vacuum.

Police colonel Yassir Khadier had heard the warnings from his superiors to look
carefully under cars for bombs. He had even given orders to his subordinates to
be prudent. But on 6 October a magnet bomb fixed underneath his driver's seat
destroyed his legs. They were later amputated. In his bed in the Khadimeyah
hospital in northern Baghdad, Khadier held back tears. "They found me, somehow,"
he said of the unknown militants who lurk in the city's streets. "I look most
days. I didn't yesterday."

The director of the emergency ward, Dr Haithem Kadouri, said he had seen a
significant increase in blast injuries like those suffered by Khadier. "I would
say that in terms of targeted bombings like these and shootings we are seeing
the same numbers of casualties as we were in 2007. It has got bad again."

Magnet bombs have become a feature of daily life in Baghdad, where hundreds of
checkpoints are being equipped with mirrors in the hope of detecting explosives
fixed to a car's underbelly among the half a million vehicles that snarl the
capital's streets every day.

They have limited success, according to several of the traffic police given the
task of finding the bombs.

"More than 35 of my colleagues have been killed recently," said a traffic
officer, Louay Shehab, 34, in downtown Karrada. "They have been killed by these
sticky bombs and by pistols with silencers.

"Our director met us last week and warned us again to be careful. We've been
given weapons to protect ourselves, but the situation is critical. Its 2007
again."

A second traffic officer, Omar Sabah, said he was now almost too scared to turn
up to work.

"I have worked with the police since 2004 and this is the most dangerous
atmosphere in all of that time. Al-Qaida have very accurate information. They
are not random attacks. They are organised. Al-Qaida are seeking their revenge.
They want to destroy the government."

Ali Sayed, 30, an army lieutenant at a nearby checkpoint, agreed. "The delay in
forming the government is creating this atmosphere. I cannot hide my concerns.
Every day, three or four of my colleagues are being killed."

Monthly numbers of violent deaths increased throughout the summer to levels not
seen for two years in Iraq. However, security officers and officials accounted
for a large number of them, unlike the bloodiest days of the insurgency in 2006,
when civilians were targeted by sectarian death squads.

Intelligence officials believe that those who are ordering the attacks on
officials have decided not to send car bombs and suicide bombers for now,
because they believe they are leading Iraq towards anarchy.

"People fear lawlessness," said the director of the interior ministry's
intelligence division, General Hussein Kamal. "They don't fear widespread
sectarianism for now, but they do fear that they won't be safe in their homes
from criminals."

Kamal claimed that supporters of the ousted Ba'ath party were the key drivers of
the violence. "Don't forget there were 500,000 members of the Ba'ath party in
the security forces at least when the regime fell. We may have got rid of some,
but we haven't found them all."

Across town the director of the Major Crimes Unit, Major General Sabah
al-Shebli, had a different view. "It's al-Qaida," he said. "It's nearly always
them. But sometimes there are other groups," he continued — alluding to Shia
militias whose members are again active in parts of east Baghdad.

Shebli thumbed through a bulky report his men had made of recent attacks. Three
of his officers were killed by magnet bombs this week alone. He pointed out the
type of bomb that had killed them, a tin box around the size of a notebook,
filled with explosives and a round magnet. A mobile phone is often attached to
the bomb and it is detonated by a caller phoning the number.

"The bomb squads go around the streets at night looking for government number
plates [on cars]. We keep telling people to check, but it is not sinking in."

Kamal echoed this complaint, but said the bombers knew who they were looking
for. "It's targeted," he said.

"They know where they are and when they're not watching."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Basra in southern Iraq has been transformed - thanks to oil
The violence in the city is on the wane, and is being replaced by shops, cars
and fun parks
Martin Chulov in Basra
guardian.co.uk,  Monday 11 October 2010 21.00 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/11/basra-iraq-oil-city-transformed

For the five years that British forces camped on the Basra air base, the nearby
city that they came to liberate remained a lethal tinderbox. Militias ran
rampant; residents cowered. Services were medieval.

But a drive through Basra in mid-2010 reveals an entirely different picture. The
despairing sprawl British forces left behind 16 months ago is now heaving with
new money. Wide boulevards, once scarred with bomb craters and decades of putrid
refuse are now full of new cars and touts hawking trinkets.

Three weeks ago something happened that few in Basra thought they would ever see
– the reopening of the city's most recognisable landmark, the giant hotel
dubbed the Sheraton, that has stood in ruin since April 2003.

The 250-room hotel – five-star by European standards – has been rebuilt,
renamed the Basra International hotel, and redesigned by local architect Waad
al-Radhi, who left the city two decades ago.

"This is very complicated and very costly," said Radhi, standing in the foyer of
the hotel as work neared completion. "But we decided to make the best for this
city."

Asked why he had come back at a time when central Iraq remains lethal and when a
government has been unable to emerge from the country's third tilt at a
democratic election, seven months ago, Radhi said: "When I have an opportunity
to work here, the same standards, the same salary and priviliges which I can
take abroad, why not work here. All our Iraqi experience will be back home when
you can guarantee them life standards."

Outside the window, motorboats and fishing skips churn through the brown silt of
the river. A freighter turned turtle off the city's main dock and bullet-strewn
buildings on the foreshore are reminders that this was recently a city at war.
But the hordes of garish shopfronts, rampant neon lights and streets teeming
with shoppers and revellers also reveal a city that is embracing change. Another
new four-star hotel across town is constantly full – mostly with foreign
businessmen – and new car dealerships line most main roads.

Nationwide security reports released daily since January constantly demonstrate
that southern Iraq has evolved from a war zone to a benign place where weeks
often go by without a single shooting, or bombing.

Violence has not stopped completely and more than 50 people were killed during a
day of bombings in early August. But the contrast to the rest of Iraq is marked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'America used to be our enemy No 1. But now it's al-Qa'ida,' say former
insurgents

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/america-used-to-be-our-enemy\
-no-1-but-now-its-alqaida-say-former-insurgents-2092547.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fate of thousands of Iraqis unknown
Families of thousands of Iraqis missing since the invasion fear they will never
find out what happened.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/2010926204139651974.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baghdad car bombs leave dozens dead
Near simultaneous blasts break period of relative calm in Iraqi capital since
end of Ramadan
Associated Press
guardian.co.uk,  Sunday 19 September 2010 10.49 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/19/twin-car-bombs-baghdad
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iraq was 'failure of strategic thinking', chief of defence staff tells MPs
Sir Jock Stirrup tells select committee that politicians did not understand the
consequences of invading Iraq
Richard Norton-Taylor
The Guardian,  Friday 17 September 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/16/jock-stirrup-iraq-evidence-failure

British soldiers in Iraq were "dying for no strategic benefit" because Tony
Blair's government did not appreciate what it was taking on when it planned the
invasion, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the chief of defence staff, has
told MPs.

There was a "failure of strategic thinking" in southern Iraq, he told the
Commons public administration committee. Stirrup, who retires next month, was
asked if the politicians appreciated what they were taking on when British
forces went into southern Iraq. He replied: "No."

"We had people sitting in locations in Basra city unable to execute an
aggressive military function but being shelled, resupply convoys on a daily
basis being attacked, people dying for no strategic benefit, and no prospect of
strategic benefit down this track," Stirrup said.

He added: "The proposition was that freeing Iraq from Saddam Hussein and
establishing proper democratic government would be a beacon for other countries
throughout the region … It didn't work. It was wrong. But that was the
strategy."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Rampant abuse' in Iraq jails
New Amnesty International report documents wide abuse, torture and detention
without trial in Iraqi prisons.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/09/201091361443284644.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iraq: The forgotten 'nakba'
Why has the plight of Iraq failed to capture the imagination and interest of the
Arab world?
Lamis Andoni Last Modified: 07 Sep 2010 09:02 GMT

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2010/09/2010967352979398.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iraq special report: 'American soldiers sacrificed a lot. But we sacrificed
more'
In 2003, a month after coalition troops invaded, Jonathan Steele reported from
across the country on how ordinary people had reacted to the toppling of Saddam.
Before the last US combat troops pulled out last week, he returned to track down
the people he had met – and ask how their lives had been affected by the war

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/27/iraq-war-us-special-report
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert Fisk: US troops say goodbye to Iraq
Torture. Corruption. Civil war. America has certainly left its mark

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-us-troops-say\
-goodbye-to-iraq-2057387.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somalia seen as most corrupt nation
Iraq and Afghanistan also among most corrupt nations in the world as United
States slips out of top 20 least corrupt.
Last Modified: 27 Oct 2010 03:27 GMT

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/2010/10/20101026213816364284.html

Somalia is the most corrupt country in the world, followed by Afghanistan,
Myanmar and Iraq, an international watchdog has said.

In its annual report released on Tuesday, Transparency International found
Somalia to be most corrupt country, topping a list of the 178 countries
surveyed.

The international watchdog found almost 75 per cent of the countries to be in
the index score below five, on a scale from 10 (very clean) to 0 (highly
corrupt).

These findings indicate a serious worldwide corruption problem and highlight the
need to make more efforts to towards strong governance structures across the
globe.

Edda Mueller, the head of Transparency International's German section, said that
the overall international situation was "very worrying".

"There are clear indications that the more unstable a country is, the higher the
level of corruption."

And at the other end of the scale, Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore shared the
top slot as the least corrupt nations.

They were followed by Finland, Sweden, Canada and the Netherlands.

Successful fight

The study also identified the countries that have successfully fought corruption
and have shown an improvement in the rankings.

These include Bhutan, Chile, Ecuador, Gambia, Haiti, Jamaica, Kuwait and
Macedonia.

Chile and Uruguay were rated the least-corrupt countries in Latin America, while
the best ranking in the Middle East was given to Qatar.

Mueller said that the performance of these countries should serve as hope and
inspiration for countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq.

The report found that some countries that were hit hard by the the global
economic crisis became more corrupt during the last year. Greece and Italy
feature in this category together with the United States, which has dropped its
position from 19th to 22nd in the last year.

Transparency International has identified corruption as a major hindrance in
fighting major problems like the financial crisis and climate change.

It has advocated stricter implementation of the United Nations Convention
against Corruption, the only global initiative that provides a framework for
putting and end to corruption.

Transparency International's corruption index is based on 13 different surveys
of business people and governance experts conducted between January 2009 and
September 2010.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deadly violence hits Somali capital
At least eight people killed in Mogadishu as fighting continues between
al-Shabab and government forces.
04 Oct 2010 05:52 GMT

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/10/2010104343488992.html

Clashes between soldiers from Somalia's UN-backed government and al-Shabab
fighters in the capital Mogadishu have killed at least eight people and injured
18 more, according to a medical official.

Sunday's deadly gun battle erupted less than 24 hours after heavy shelling at
Mogadishu's Bakara market  killed at least seven people.

"The insurgents attacked our position but they failed to capture it. Instead we
captured from them several strategic positions," Sheikh Abdirasaq Qaylow, an
official from the Somali information ministry, said, referring to the latest
clashes.

Somalia has experienced an escalation in fighting over the past month, with
al-Shabab, an anti-government group accused by US officials of having links to
al-Qaeda, trying to overun the weak government of Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

The weekend violence coincides with the Somali president's return to Mogadishu
from New York, where he participated in the UN General Assembly last week.

Somalia has not had a fully functioning government in almost 20 years.

Sharif's government controls only a few parts of the country, with al-Shabab and
other armed opposition groups controlling most of the southern and central
parts.

Al-Shabab seeks to impose its version of Islamic law on the rest of the country.

Somalia has been racked by violence for more than two decades, and hundreds of
thousands of people have fled their homes, creating one of the world's worst
humanitarian crisis.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Street battles shake Somali capital
At least 21 dead and scores wounded in fierce fighting between AU forces and
al-Shabab in Mogadishu.
Last Modified: 23 Sep 2010 21:00 GMT

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/09/2010923105246180943.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pink Hijab Day a heads up to breast cancer awareness
Tricia L. Nadolny, Tribune reporter
5:55 p.m. CDT, October 27, 2010

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-talk-pink-hijab-20101027,0,2123635\
.story

If you noticed women throughout the Chicago region donning pink headscarves
Wednesday, they weren't making a fashion statement.

They were participating in Pink Hijab Day, a growing campaign that is part of
Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

What started in 2004 as a small health effort in Missouri has gone global, with
Muslim women in several countries wearing the pink head covering to raise
awareness about the cancer.

In Bridgeview, every girl at the Aqsa School showed up for classes Wednesday
wearing the same-color headscarf. Girls too young to wear the hijab wore pink
clothes. Boys in the elementary school sported pink armbands.

"It is an opportunity to use a symbol that we cherish to also promote a cause,"
said Tammie Ismail, principal of Aqsa School.

In the afternoon, more than 450 students, parents, staff and community members
posed for a group photo — a sea of pale rose to deep fuchsia stretching across
the school's front steps, parking lot and lawn.

Student Council President Taiser Elsaeed, 16, said many students know someone
affected by breast cancer. But even those who haven't were excited to
participate, she said.

"They now understand that, as Muslims, they have a chance to get the word out
and be noticed for something that is so important," she said.

Earlier this month, Aqsa students sent postcards to loved ones, giving them "a
reminder to an important woman in my life to please schedule a checkup." They
also decorated trees outside the school with pink ribbons.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Muslim girl fightsback hijab jibe in Australia, gets banned

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/muslim-girl-fightsback-hijab-jibe-in-australia\
-gets-banned/699993/

A six-year-old Muslim girl in Australia was handed a 10-day ban from a schoolbus
after she pulled down the pants of a boy who repeatedly teased her about her
headscarf.

The year one student Iran Ghavami was banned for 10 days for "bullying and
harassment of other passengers" by the Buslink transport service in the NT town
of Marrakai.

Iran's parents said the punishment was a little too harsh for a child who is
just six-years-old, a local newspaper in the Northern Territory reported.

The burqa ban has become a controversial topic across the Western world, with
France leading the charge. Even Shiv Sena's Bal Thackeray has asked for a burqa
ban recently for security reason in India.

The incident occurred on the school bus last Wednesday, when Iran dacked the boy
who she said tormented her often about wearing the hijab, and asked her to take
it off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kosovo: Muslims protest ban on hijab in schools
Associated Press, Updated: October 09, 2010 13:05 IST

http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/kosovo-muslims-protest-ban-on-hijab-in-schools\
-58362

Pristina:  Hundreds of Kosovo Muslims took to the streets on Friday to protest
against a ban by authorities to wear a Muslim headscarf in school.

The protesters, many of them devout Muslims, chanted anti-government slogans as
they walked through the capital, Pristina, to a government building.

Some carried placards reading "Stop Discrimination" and "Unveil the mind, not
the head."
One large placard read "Yes to Kosovo Democratic Republic, No to Kosovo
Anti-Islamic Dictatorship."

"This is an obligation from Allah and I think I will soon join the women here
and put on a headscarf," said one protester.

While Kosovo's constitution guarantees religious freedom, education authorities
have banned the display of religious symbols - including the wearing of
headscarf Kosovo - in schools.

Most recently, a 16-year old girl was suspended from a high school for wearing a
headscarf.
Some 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people are ethnic Albanian Muslims.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thackeray calls for ban on mosque loudspeakers and hijab
By SHAHID RAZA BURNEY | ARAB NEWS
Published: Oct 20, 2010 23:23 Updated: Oct 26, 2010 21:08

http://arabnews.com/world/article165955.ece

MUMBAI: Stung by the police action against the Shiv Sena for exceeding the noise
level of loudspeakers at his Dussehra Hindu festival rally at Shivaji Park in
Dadar suburb of Mumbai three days ago, Sena chief Bal Thackeray called for
action and ban on the use of loudspeakers at mosques used for the call of
prayers (azan) and the use of hijab by the Muslim women.

In a hard hitting editorial on the party mouthpiece Saamna published on
Wednesday, Thackeray said that at every step, the environment pollution law is
being defied and asked if the loud pitched voice of the Hindus violates the
noise pollution level.

The loudspeakers at the Bhendi Bazaar and Behrampada mosques in central Mumbai
start ‘barking’ from early hours of morning, therefore action should be
taken against the use of loudspeakers at the mosques and criminal offenses
should be registered against them, Thackeray demanded.

The police have registered offences against Sena leaders for violating a Bombay
High Court order at the Dussehra rally addressed by Thackeray. The Court had
ordered that the Sena’s loudspeakers at the rally should not exceed the 50
decibel noise level, but it registered a 94 decibel level.

Thackeray wrote in the editorial: “We have embraced severe problems for the
sake of Maharashtra and Marathi people, so the additional one more case does not
make a difference. If love for the Marathi people, and raising our voices for
their justice and rights is a crime, then let it be known, that we are prepared
to commit such crimes again and again”.

And in a way by this statement, Thackeray has challenged the court.

“Just because of political differences, a ban should be imposed on the
function of some party; this point of view is not acceptable to us. Is it only
in Mumbai where noise pollution level is violated by the Hindus? The
loudspeakers at the mosques in Bhendi Bazar and Behrampada blare at full volume
during the azan from early morning and disturb people’s sleep, students
studying for exams, old and sick patients. Immediate action should be taken
against the mosques too for the noise pollution and cases registered against
them. Don’t the protectors of the environment feel the violations by the
Muslims? This is the misfortune of the country, Thackeray stated.

Thackeray in the concluding part said: “The voice of the Marathi people in
Mumbai has already been throttled. The influx of North Indians has already
reached the 500-plus decibel point. The infiltrations by Bangladeshi people have
reached to the highest level. Why doesn’t this infiltration reach the ears of
these deaf people who want to gag the Hindus? We know the law of the country and
nobody should try to teach us the same.”

As if these saber-rattling were not enough, Thackeray called for a complete ban
on the use of hijab by Muslim women and girls.

In the second part of the editorial he said: “Like France and some other
countries, India should ban the use of hijab by the Muslim women.

Justifying his demand Thackeray referred to the stealing of an infant recently
allegedly by a hijab-clad woman, and said that this was a proof that the veil
could be grossly misused and that the government should put a statutory ban on
it and urged the state home minister RR Patil to formulate a law banning the
hijab.

Thackeray argued that acts like that of stealing a newborn infant with the aid
of the hijab runs against the tenets of Islam and questioned whether Islam
endorses such acts and called upon Muslim organizations and leaders that it was
now time that they start a campaign against the wearing of hijab.

Thackeray further said that the wearing of hijab only symbolizes the slavery of
the Muslim woman and that government schemes on which millions of rupees are
spent to empower and educate Muslim women mean nothing because of the archaic
hijab system. He advised Muslims to follow Mustafa Kamal Pasha, Turkey’s
reformist leader who promoted European dresses for both men and women in the
early 20th century.

Reacting to Thackeray’s editorial and demand, Muslim leaders slammed him, with
clerics and secularists stating that this only betrayed the party’s
deep-rooted bias against Islam and Muslims, adding that any anti-Hijab campaign
by parties like Sena would only hamper real reforms in the community.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Australian girl, 6, barred from bus over hijab row

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hMYUxbdRenfeTvFsEBZnaUXmIpjQ?\
docId=CNG.a748b69f22077ddd5d23e00c220bc69a.311
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hijab: The Politics And History Behind The Veil
October 27, 2010 posted by Dr. Ashraf Ezzat

Hijab: “Muslim scholars and clerics with dogmatic thinking managed to terrify
the Muslim woman into accepting that her hair is –awrah- something like her
intimate organs needs to be hidden and covered up”

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/10/27/hijab-the-politics-and-history-behind-th\
e-veil/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Islamic head scarves take fashion cues
Younger, Westernized Muslim women are seeking out trendy styles, with one Orange
County student selling designs inspired by Vogue and Elle. But some critics
wonder whether the stylish creations defeat the purpose of modesty.
October 07, 2010|By Raja Abdulrahim, Los Angeles Times

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/07/local/la-me-hijab-20101007

On one of the holiest nights of Ramadan, Marwa Atik chose a crowded Southern
California mosque to debut her latest creation.

It was just after midnight when the 20-year-old walked into the Islamic Center
of Irvine, dressed in a long, flowing burgundy robe, her head wrapped in a
charcoal-colored chiffon hijab, trimmed with decorative gold zippers.

After the group prayers, sermon and Koran recitation, a woman approached Atik,
gesturing at the scarf. "OK, I want one," she said excitedly. "How can I get
it?"

Atik has taken the Muslim head scarf, often known as hijab, and turned it into a
canvas for her fashion sensibilities, with ideas inspired by designs from
Forever 21 and H&M as well as haute couture runways and the pages of Vogue and
Elle. Showing her latest design at a mosque was her way of gauging sentiment on
scarves that go beyond the limited fashion realm they have thus far inhabited,
such as floral and geometric prints or lace and beaded embellishments.

"I knew that I wanted to do a zipper scarf, because I knew that zippers were in
style," Atik said, her head covered this day with a sea-foam hijab, echoing the
color of her light green eyes.

The hijab has long been a palette of sorts for changing styles and designs, and
shops across the Middle East are replete with colors and shapes that can vary
from region to region. Some women in the Persian Gulf region wear their hair up
in a bouffant with the scarf wrapped around it like a crown. Syrians are known
for cotton pull-on scarves, the hijab equivalent of a T-shirt. And in Egypt
veiled brides visit hijab stylists who create intricate designs and bouquets of
color atop the bride's head.

But Atik's experiments with the hijab, which is meant as a symbol of modesty,
are created with an eye toward being more adventuresome and risky.

To some, the trend heralds the emergence of Westernized Muslim women, who
embrace both their religion and a bit of rebellion.

But to others in the Muslim community, what Atik is doing flies in the face of
the head scarf's purpose. When the scarf is as on-trend as a couture gown, some
wonder whether it has lost its sense of the demure.

Eiman Sidky, who teaches religious classes at King Fahd mosque in Culver City,
is among those who say attempts to beautify the scarf have gone too far. In
countries like Egypt, where Sidky spends part of the year, religious scholars
complain that women walk down the street adorned as if they were peacocks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dutch far-right party wins pledge on burqa ban
Geert Wilders's Freedom party has pivotal role supporting coalition committed to
crackdown on immigration

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/01/dutch-far-right-burqa-ban
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Face-veil ban under vote in France
Senate expected to approve bill that outlaws the niqab in public places, amid
concerns it would heighten Islamophobia.
Last Modified: 14 Sep 2010 13:21 GMT

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/09/201091481313601487.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Woman Files Complaint Against Disney Over Right to Wear Hijab
By Joshua Rhett Miller
Published August 20, 2010

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/08/20/muslim-woman-files-complaint-disney-right-w\
ear-hijab/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Australian judge orders witness to remove niqab
Muslim witness in Australia fraud trial told she must remove her full veil while
giving evidence
Associated Press
guardian.co.uk,  Thursday 19 August 2010 08.11 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/19/australia-judge-witness-remove-niqab
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

USF Muslim students teach 'Hijab 101'

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/oct/21/usf-muslim-students-teach-quothijab-101q\
uot/

TAMPA - Layla Aysheh has heard a lot of questions about her hijab, the scarf she
wears to cover her hair when she's around men. But this one was the
weirdest:What about male animals, someone asked. Do you have to wear it in front
of them, too?

The answer, of course, is no.

She and members of the University of South Florida's Sisters United Muslim
Association spent Wednesday answering questions about the hijab, letting people
try them on and trying to dispel stereotypes about the traditional head
covering.

"We know people are curious," said Ala Gebarin, president of the group, known as
SUMA, who organized the event, Hijab 101. "But we also want them to understand
why we wear it and to see that it's something we choose to do and it doesn't
hold us back."

SUMA was started at USF 16 years ago by a group of Christian and Muslim women
who wanted to counter people's negative beliefs about Islam. The group holds
regular events, but this was their first one devoted to the hijab.

The word refers to the head covering and the commandment in the Quran that women
should avoid displaying their "adornments," said USF student Safia Khawaja. More
broadly, the word stands for the idea that both Muslim men and women should
behave modestly toward each other, unless they are immediate family members.

Some Islamic countries, such as Saudi Arabia, require women to wear hijabs.
Others, such as Turkey, ban them in government buildings.

Khawaja said she and the other SUMA members believe whether or not to wear a
hijab is a woman's choice.

"What's important is having a good character," she said. "I've known women of
good character who didn't wear it, and I've known women who did wear the hijab
who didn't have such good character."

"We don't judge when people don't wear the hijab, but it does take commitment,"
she said.

Khawaja began wearing hers when she was a junior in an Islamic high school, so
it wasn't a hard transition. Aysheh was in eighth grade, in a public junior high
school in Ocala.

Some kids teased her. One boy asked her if she was going to a wedding or a
bombing.

She continued to wear it, getting moral support from her sister in sixth grade,
who started wearing hers at the same time.

By the time Aysheh got to high school, nobody bothered her about it.

And, one by one, more girls started showing up in hijabs, until there were about
a dozen.

"It was easier for them, because they weren't alone," she said.

Egypt marriage costs spark crisis
Soaring costs prevent many young people from getting married, prompting a
national debate over the issue.
Last Modified: 17 Oct 2010 08:05 GMT

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2010/10/2010101773025740216.html

Many Egyptian adults have been prevented from tying the knot by soaring marriage
costs.

The problem has sparked a crisis and widespread debate in a society that gives
marriage a top priority.

Hoda Abdel-Hamid reports from Cairo, where Egyptians have frowned upon for not
fulfilling the cultural duty.

Watch Video:
http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2010/10/2010101773025740216.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Getting Married: How Hard Can It Be?
10/2/2010 - Social Religious Family

http://www.islamicity.com/articles/Articles.asp?ref=ML0902-3813

My husband and I recently tried to match-make a couple of our friends. Omar
began telling his friend about a really nice woman we knew at 33, successful,
beautiful. His first response was, "So, what's wrong with her? Why is she 33 and
not married?" Looking at the 30-year-old man before me, my first thought was, "I
could ask you the same thing." However, the reality set in that there's a double
standard when it comes to the issue of age and marriage.

Many Muslim women are successful lawyers, doctors, professors and journalists.
They are outspoken and active in their Muslim and non-Muslim communities. They
are intelligent and beautiful, and they are unmarried. The same women who are
ambitious and focused on their academic and professional success are finding it
difficult to find a suitable spouse.

Twenty years ago, as young Muslim boys and girls were being raised in the U.S.,
they were encouraged to excel academically and professionally. Parents placed a
huge emphasis on education and hard work for both boys and girls. And
apparently, they were taken seriously. Girls excelled and never felt they could
not attain an education or a profession. They worked hard and succeeded as their
parents had encouraged all those years. Now, these same women are in their
twenties and thirties and the same parents are now pressuring them to get
married.

Are women to blame for being ambitious and educated? Apparently so. Women seem
to be penalized for their ambition. Once a young woman passes the age of 25 and
remains single, she is considered "old" and often finds it difficult to find a
suitable spouse.

Suddenly, others tell her that she has become too picky and her expectations of
a husband are unrealistic and that she should hurry up and get married already.
"There are some of us who went to college and are successful in our careers and
we are not on a search and destroy mission to get married," says Suhad Obeidi, a
39-year-old former banking manager with an M.B.A. The reality is that Muslim
women have worked hard for their education and careers and they will not give it
all up in order to get married.

In recent decades, men have also become highly educated and progressive, and
have even fought for women's rights and the elevation of women in Islam.
However, while these men are impressed with a successful and active woman, they
do not consider her "marriage material." Despite the elevation of women, many
men have maintained traditional ideas as to the type of wife they seek. After
all, they do not see anything wrong with the way their mother was.

Consciously or subconsciously, many men seek a wife who will fulfill the
traditional role of a wife and mother and one who will maintain a traditional
home life. She should be educated, but she should also be willing to put her
education and career on a shelf while raising a family. These women in their
late twenties and early thirties appear too established in their career and
lifestyle and therefore, more difficult to marry because they will not fall into
this traditional role.

Many American Muslim women want to be wives and mothers while at the same time
be respected for their profession. "One big problem is that, rather than embrace
her ambition and success, men simply tolerate it and expect something in
return," says Nagwa Ibrahim, a 25-year-old activist seeking a career as a human
and civil rights lawyer.

Current expectations of marriage have changed for women and become more aligned
with the examples of women during Prophet Muhammad's lifetime. The Prophet's
first wife, Khadija, was an established career woman who was 15 years older than
her husband. Khadija was a very confident and successful woman who actually
proposed to the 24-year-old Muhammad. Yet, the Prophet was not intimidated by
her nor found her "unmarriageable."

They maintained a strong marriage as she continued to be a businesswoman, as
well as wife and mother. Prophet Muhammad and Khadija were married for 28 years,
the longest of all his marriages. The year that Khadija died was also referred
to as the Year of Mourning by Prophet Muhammad.

Many Muslim women seek not to compete with men, but rather to establish a
partnership with their spouse. Ultimately, these women want to be cherished and
loved in the same way that the Prophet loved Khadija. This type of partnership
in marriage can only exist when both people are accepting and respectful of one
another's ambitions and priorities in life.

Nagwa Ibrahim feels that men have succumbed to negative cultural stereotypes
that are contrary to Islam when selecting a spouse. "We (Muslim women) are the
way we are because we are trying to be good Muslims," she says.

Thus, a partnership in marriage can only be developed when men and women really
follow the principles of Islam and learn to communicate their expectations of
marriage as well as be understanding of one another.

Communication is vital to any successful marriage, but now more than ever, women
must feel comfortable in expressing their expectations of marriage to a
potential spouse and in return feel that they are being understood, respected
and encouraged.

This evolution will happen once we see more modern examples of successful Muslim
men and women getting married and further benefiting society by their union.
Educated Muslim men and woman will only improve our Muslim communities by
expecting the best from everyone, be they men or woman.

Beginning in the homes, parents need to nurture their children by encouraging
them that they can have both worlds and that they can be successful in their
career and marriage. Muslim women can have a huge impact on the future by
modeling the multi-faceted woman of Islam to their children.

Therefore, when their daughters grow up, they will aspire to be women of
excellence and ambition. Additionally, when their sons become men, their
expectations and views of a suitable wife will include a partnership with an
intelligent and successful Muslim woman. With further education and
communication, men and women can understand and respect one another's roles in
society and in the home, which will ultimately benefit future generations of
Muslims.

Munira Lekovic Ezzeldine is the author of Before the Wedding: 150 Questions for
Muslims to Ask Before Getting Married.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chechen Head Says Bridenapping Must Stop
2010-10-19 01:24

http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_europe/2010-10-19/306400052198.html

Bride kidnapping: an old tradition in Chechnya.

Men often decide to steal a girl if she refuses to marry him, or if her family
objects to the union.

The bride napping was often followed by negotiations between the bride's and
groom's families, facilitated by a local imam, or religious leader.

But from now on, imams will face punishment if they get involved.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov vowed Sunday to eradicate the centuries-old
practice.

[Ramzan Kadyrov, Leader of Chechen Republic]:
"This is the territory of the Russian Federation in which laws make kidnapping a
crime. We follow Islam, the religion which condemns such practices and does not
recognize marriage without a woman's consent. I want to tell you with full
responsibility that we will once and for all eradicate bride kidnapping from our
society."

Bride-stealing can also lead to blood feuds.

Last year four people were killed during a kidnapping, including a bride, after
members of her family chased the kidnapper's car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Child marriages prevalent among Kerala's Muslims'

2010-10-28 17:00:00

http://sify.com/news/child-marriages-prevalent-among-kerala-s-muslims-news-natio\
nal-kk2rajabddj.html

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 28 (IANS) Child marriages are prevalent among Muslims in
Kerala, and the custom can be combated only by creating awareness, the state's
women's commission chairperson said Thursday.

'We are doing a lot of awareness programme to change the mindset of the people
and that's all what we can do. We do get help from the NCW (National Commission
for Women) to this effect and we will continue our efforts,' Kerala Women's
Commission chairperson D. Sreedevi said.

She said that precise figures were not available, though the state
administration has identified the regions where the practice was prevalent.

'This is happening in districts of Kasargode, Malappuram and Kannur. Even though
we have not done any survey to this effect and do not have the actual numbers,
it is for certain that this is happening,' she said.

Girija Vyas, chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), said the
commission has been going around the country to find out people's views on the
issue, and will submit a report to the Supreme Court on the ideal age for
marriage.

'We are of the view that the present age of 18 for women and 21 for men should
stay, but then we will insist in our report that registration of marriages be
made mandatory,' said Vyas, who was attending a conference here.

'We chose Kerala to have a dialogue because in this state the rate of child
marriages is the least. We will submit our report in three months,' she added.

'According to Muslim law, the marriage of a minor is valid,' said Vyas.

Community leaders, however, said instances of child marriages might have been
common in the past, especially in north Kerala, but such marriages were merely a
ritual since the bride and the groom do not live together till they attain
maturity.

Saifudeen Haji, state secretary of the Muslim Jamath Coordination, explained:
'Look, what happens now, is that if a minor's parents want to marry off their
daughter, they conduct the 'nikaah'. This ceremony is attended by the boy's and
girl's relatives, two witnesses and a person well versed in Muslim rituals.'

'After this ceremony, the girl and the boy are technically husband and wife, but
they don't live together. The marriage is solemnised only after the girl turns
18. Maybe this is being interpreted as a child marriage.'

Muslims constitute 24 percent of Kerala's population of 3.2 crore, according to
government figures.