LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 05/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.august05.16.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
To what should I compare the kingdom
of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of
flour until all of it was leavened
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 13/18-21/:"He said
therefore, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It
is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and
became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.’ And again
he said, ‘To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a
woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was
leavened.’
Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our
ancestors, yet I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans
Acts of the Apostles 28/16-22/:"When we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to live
by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him. Three days later he called
together the local leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to
them, ‘Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of
our ancestors, yet I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.
When they had examined me, the Romans wanted to release me, because there was no
reason for the death penalty in my case. But when the Jews objected, I was
compelled to appeal to the emperor even though I had no charge to bring against
my nation. For this reason therefore I have asked to see you and speak with you,
since it is for the sake of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this
chain.’They replied, ‘We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none
of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken anything evil about you. But
we would like to hear from you what you think, for with regard to this sect we
know that everywhere it is spoken against.’"
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on August 04-05/16
You Can't Love Lebanon and at the
same time side with its enemy, The Axis Of Evil/Elias Bejjani/August 04/16
Dangerous liaisons/Why the national dialogue is moving in worrying directions/Michael Young/Now Lebanon/August 04/16
You Can't Love Lebanon and at the
same time side with its enemy, The Axis Of Evil
Dangerous liaisons/Why the
national dialogue is moving in worrying directions
How Muslims Justify Killing Other Muslims in Islam’s Name/Raymond Ibrahim/PJ
Media/August 04/16
The Case for (Finally) Bombing Assad/Dennis Ross and Andrew J. Tabler/New York
Times/August 04/16
Iran Is Cheating on the Nuclear Deal, Now What/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone
Institute/August 04/16
Arabs Must Turn a New Page with Israel/Fred Maroun/Gatestone Institute/August
04/16
Is the Arab League failing its future leaders/Yara al-Wazir/Al Arabiya/August
04/16
Saudi women: Between the passport and sports/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/August
04/16
Patriotic achievements and sectarian threats/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/August
04/16
A reminder of America’s greatness/Trisha de Borchgrave/Al Arabiya/August 04/16
The problems facing America’s Republicans and Britain’s Labour/Eyad Abu Shakra/Al
Arabiya/August 04/16
Damascus Control Emboldens Assad Nationally/Fabrice Balanche/The Washington
Institute/August 04 16
'Anti-Normalization' Is an Assault on Israelis and Palestinians Alike/Asaf
Romirowsky and Alexander H. Joffe/The National Post/August 04/16
Egypt's Al-Azhar Opposes Ministry Of Religious Endowments Plan For Uniform
Friday Sermon/MEMRI/August 04/16/
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on
on August 04-05/16
Berri Schedules Presidential Vote
Session for Monday
Tensions as Cabinet Debate on Telecom File, OGERO Chief Drags On
Report: Suggested Senate and Decentralization Reforms Unlikely Before President
Election
Lebanese Army Raids IS Post near Arsal, Arrests Four Militants
Interlocutors to Meet in Extra Dialogue Session in September
Palestinian Killed in Ain el-Hilweh Shooting
Naim Qassem: U.S. Law Did Not Impact Hizbullah
Lebanese Army attacks postion for Daesh in Wadi Ata, arrests number of dangerous
terrorists
Pharaon follow up investigations into Sawary, Jeita incidents'
Abou Faour: Jumblatt will not get bored from dialogue
Palestinian security committee hands over wanted persons
Armed clash erupts between Zeaiter, Wehbi families in Baalback
Army targets gunmen in Arsal outskirts
Bassil warns of massive Syrians' displacement, deems it worse than terrorism
Brass meet in Sidon over Ain el Hilwe security condition
Army raids house in Arsal, apprehends wanted persons
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on on August 04-05/16
Man kills 1 and injures 6 people in London stabbing spree
Kerry defends cash payment in wake of Iran deal
Israeli citizen wounded in London knifing attack
Iran executes 20 Sunni prisoners in one day
Thousands of Yazidis missing, two years after start of ‘genocide’
Assad forces bomb six Aleppo hospitals
Watchdog Concerned at Reported Syria Chlorine Attack
U.N. Hopes for Progress in 'Days' towards New Syria Talks
Russia: US backs 'gas-attack' Syrian rebels
Egypt: Leader of ISIS affiliate killed in Sinai
Jordan sentences gunman to death for security complex attack
Saudi king meets with Jordan’s King Abdullah
US, Israel close many gaps in defense aid talks
Israel accuses World Vision’s Gaza representative of funding Hamas
Israel ex-President Katsav Again Denied Parole on Rape Term
ISIS announces new Boko Haram leader
Britain’s Express: Outrage over mass execution in Iran
Former MEP applauds Mahmoud Abbas for meeting Iran opposition leader
PLO rejects Iran regime’s lobbies in Palestine
Iran political prisoners hold ceremony for executed cellmates
Links From Jihad Watch Site for
on August 04-05/16
Fatah jihadists brag they killed 11,000 Israelis
Obama admin hid details of $400 million cash payout to Iran from Congress
Muslims from UK and Canada arrested over Bangladesh cafe jihad massacre
Islamic State hails stabbings in “centre of ‘Christendom’ London”
Video: Robert Spencer on the Saudi and Iranian involvement in 9/11
Israel teaching American police chiefs strategies on counter-terrorism
UK: Muslim kills one, wounds 5 in stabbings, cops say “no evidence of
radicalisation”
Robert Spencer’s new and indispensable book on the mullahs — and their aims of
global conquest”
Hugh Fitzgerald: Pope Francis To ISIS: Tell Us What You Really Think
DHS gives Somali Muslims special airport security tours because
they felt harassed and profiled
on August 04-05/16
You Can't Love Lebanon and at the
same time side with its enemy, The Axis Of Evil
Elias Bejjani/August 04/16
We call on those who falsely allege to
love their country Lebanon, no matter to what religion or denomination they are
affiliated to. We call on them to be honest with themselves and fear Almighty
God in their acts, rhetoric, stances and affiliations.
They deceive themselves and no body else when rhetorically they brag to love
their country Lebanon, and at the same time side with its enemies, the Axis Of
Evil countries and organizations who are determined to destroy it and erect on
its ruins a religious dictatorship, a replicate of that imposed by force and
terrorism on the Iranian people.
How could they love their country, Lebanon, when they are partners with
Hezbollah that is merely an Iranian terrorist armed militia?
In reality and actuality they are as guilty as Hezbollah is, and accountable
even more than Hezbollah.
Hezbollah is deeply involved in numerous criminal organized acts against all the
Lebanese people, e.g., killing, assassination, corruption, intimidation, drug
trafficking, money laundering, smuggling, forging, stealing, and embezzlement
etc.
Hezbollah is a cancerous evil entity that is infiltrating and devouring
viciously all Lebanon's communities and institutions on all Levels.
Hezbollah is not Lebanese or Arabic, but a mere Iranian armed brigade that
occupies Lebanon by force and holds the Lebanese people hostages.
Hezbollah knows nothing about all the tags of liberation, resistance, and
obstruction that it falsely and evilly advocates for.
Those Lebanese who are blindly siding with Hezbollah against their own people
and country are ought to wake up and learn that they are committing suicide and
destroying their country.
Those Lebanese must remember that they can't adopt two contradicting stances at
the same time; They can't be with Lebanon and at the same time with its enemies.
We strongly suggest they read wisely and thoroughly what Saint Paul said to the
Corinthians who were in the same position that they are in: "You cannot drink
from the Lord's cup and also from the cup of demons; you cannot eat at the
Lord's table and also at the table of demons. Or do we want to make the Lord
jealous? Do we think that we are stronger than he?"(01 Corinthians 10/14-22)
Dangerous liaisons/Why the national
dialogue is moving in worrying directions
Michael Young/Now Lebanon/August 04/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/08/04/michael-youngnow-lebanon-dangerous-liaisonswhy-the-national-dialogue-in-lebanon-is-moving-in-worrying-directions/
There was an alarming bit of news coming out of the second day of the national
dialogue session on Wednesday. The participants reportedly discussed two
sensitive issues: the formation of a senate and administrative decentralization.
Though administrative decentralization was on the agenda of the dialogue, no one
seemed to reflect on what the larger implications were. Sami Gemayel, the Kataeb
leader, seemed to be happy, as was Ali Fayyad, one of the Hezbollah
representatives. The establishment of a senate and administrative
decentralization were two issues that were raised in the Taif accord, but never
implemented. In other words they are constitutional matters and their discussion
in the national dialogue, rather than in parliament, suggested an expansion of
the role of the dialogue sessions. And it is this that is worrisome.
The reason is simple. Nabih Berri, the speaker of parliament, along with
Hezbollah, are suspected of wanting to create a forum above parliament to push
for constitutional changes that would favor the Shiite community, and by
extension Hezbollah. That could have been the implication of Berri's proposal
last May for a package deal on the presidency—or as he put it "going to a new
Doha"—whose parameters the speaker never defined.
But now, with the dialogue effectively addressing constitutional issues and not
limiting itself to a political arrangement that would merely facilitate a
presidential election, these parameters are being defined by the participants
themselves.
One has to turn to the two issues to see why this is dangerous. The senate
proposal was inserted into Taif as a counterpoint to the declared aim of
abolishing political confessionalism. As the 50-50 Christian-Muslim ratio was
eliminated in parliament and other state institutions, the idea was for a senate
to be created in which confessional representation would be preserved. The
wording in Taif is vague on representation in the senate, but the institution's
role is to address "major national issues," in that way reassuring Christians
who would lose the most once political confessionalism was eliminated.
In other words the national dialogue has put the idea of abolishing political
confessionalism back on the table, albeit indirectly, by discussing a senate.
And it went a step further by raising the issue of administrative
decentralization, another sop Taif threw to the Christians for them to approve
the accord. The reasoning was that if Christians were given more administrative
latitude to manage their local affairs, they would accept amendments reducing
their power at the national level.
In absolute terms both ideas are perfectly defensible. The Christians can only
gain by approaching their role in the state in a proactive way, and not holding
on to their share of the state so stubbornly that it will be forcibly taken away
from them. Indeed, that process has already begun in many respects.
However, what is wrongheaded in approaching constitutional change through the
national dialogue is both the context and the intentions behind it. First, as
issues with constitutional implications, abolishing confessionalism and
administrative decentralization must be addressed solely by parliament. The
dialogue has no constitutional legitimacy, and defending it by arguing that
parliamentarians will simply approve what their leaders tell them to is untrue.
There is more room for dissent in parliament, particularly on essential national
questions.
Secondly, there are the intentions. If Berri is trying to be the impresario of
constitutional changes that benefit the Shiites and Hezbollah in particular,
that means that a breakdown in consensus is inevitable. Hezbollah has not
allowed the election of a president since 2014 most probably to increase its
leverage in such a process. Because the Sunnis will not approve of changes that
strengthen Hezbollah and the Shiites, the intention appears to be to work on the
Christians, in such a way that a Shiite-Christian consensus can impose change on
the Sunnis.
That could explain why the questions of a senate and administrative
decentralization are being raised now. While the senate would rise on the ashes
of the 50-50 Christian-Muslim quota under Taif, it would also preserve such a
quota in the senate. Decentralization would allow Christians to sustain the
illusion that they are more independent in a state dominated by Muslims. And
both objectives, because they are a part of Taif, would allow Berri and
Hezbollah to say that they are respecting the accord, which Sunnis view as
sacrosanct.
But what lies underneath is a different reality. The Christians may merely be
dupes in a game to increase the Shiites' political strength in the state at the
expense of the Sunnis. And Hezbollah's holding the presidency hostage always
indicated that it had ulterior motives—possibly to broaden Shiite power and in
that way institutionally anchor itself in the state and lay the groundwork for
its long-term hegemony over it.
Developments in Aleppo have been reassuring to the party. If the city falls into
the hands of the Assad regime, that may more or less signal the end of the
uprising in western Syria, even if the fighting continues in many areas for some
time. Already, Hezbollah, Iran, and the Assad regime can delight in the fact
that Turkey and Saudi Arabia, their main regional foes, are entwined in their
own problems, neutralizing them in Syria.
But changing the Lebanese constitution without a national consensus can be
perilous. The Sunnis will not supinely stand by while power is wrested away from
them. And if they do, their moderates risk being marginalized to the advantage
of extremists. The Christians hold the key, and rather than defend the illusory
prerogatives that Hezbollah may hand them, they have to think of Lebanese
concord first. **Michael Young is a writer and editor in Beirut. He tweets @BeirutCalling.
Berri Schedules Presidential Vote
Session for Monday
Naharnet/August 04/16/Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday scheduled a presidential
election session for Monday, August 8. “Berri has called on the parliament to
convene on Monday, August 8 at 12:00 pm to elect a president,” state-run
National News Agency reported. The speaker's call comes after three days of
national dialogue meetings which failed to achieve any progress regarding the
stalled presidential elections. The conferees have instead focused their
discussions on the issue of creating a Senate and implementing administrative
decentralization, which both were stipulated by the 1989 Taef Accord. Lebanon
has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014
and Hizbullah, MP Michel Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies
have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the
needed quorum. Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri, who is close to
Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement
chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with
reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.
Hariri's move prompted Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to endorse his
longtime Christian foe Aoun for the presidency after their two parties reached a
political rapprochement agreement following months of deliberations. The
supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than
Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his
bigger influence in the Christian community.
Tensions as Cabinet Debate on Telecom File, OGERO Chief Drags On
Naharnet/August 04/16/The telecommunications sector file and demands to replace
OGERO Telecom chief Abdul Menhem Youssef over corruption claims consumed much of
the cabinet session that was held on Thursday. “The cabinet continued discussing
the situations of the Telecom Ministry and the telecom minister answered the
questions that some ministers had asked during the previous session and the
ministers expressed their viewpoints over these answers,” said the cabinet in a
statement recited by Information Minister Ramzi Jreij after the meeting. “The
cabinet decided to continue its discussions over the telecom sector situations
in light of the outcome of the ongoing judicial investigations in this regard
and the recommendations that the telecom minister is supposed to propose,” Jreij
added.Speaking to reporters after the session, Education Minister Elias Bou Saab
of the Free Patriotic Movement said the FPM ministers asked Telecom Minister
Butros Harb during the meeting to “resolve the telecommunications crisis instead
of defending Abdul Menhem Youssef.”“The issue of Abdul Menhem Youssef consumed
the entire session and the telecom minister strongly defended him,” Bou Saab
added. “We demanded to start the reform process with the issue of Abdul Menhem
Youssef,” he said. Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon meanwhile said that he was
“shocked by the magnitude of public funds squandering and scandals in the
telecom sector,” noting that Harb “is trying to address the situation.”For his
part Industry Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan of Hizbullah said that “the debate
was lengthy but fruitless.”MTV reported that several ministers voiced dismay
over “the cabinet's inability to take a decision regarding Abdul Menhem Youssef.”“The
cabinet session witnessed tensions between the ministers of the FPM and the
Progressive Socialist Party on the one hand and Minister Butros Harb on the
other after the ministers demanded the appointment of a replacement to Abdul
Menhem Youssef,” MTV said. Harb responded by saying that it is up to him to take
a decision in this regard seeing as the issue falls under his jurisdiction, the
TV network added.
Prior to the session, Youth and Sports Minister Abdul Mutalleb Hennawi, who is
close to ex-president Michel Suleiman, announced that “Abdul Menhem Youssef
cannot be replaced without a judicial ruling,” noting that he had been appointed
“through a cabinet decree.”
Media reports had expected a fierce debate between Harb and Foreign Minister
Jebran Bassil of the FPM over what reports described as "personal gains" linked
to the telecom file. Discussions were supposed to tackle renewing the contracts
of the two mobile service providers and the file of the illegal internet supply
network that was uncovered in March. Youssef was interrogated in April by the
Central Inspection Bureau over charges of negligence in preserving public funds
in the Internet file and another case related to embezzling money from the
employees' salaries under the excuse of the VAT tax.
The embezzlement lawsuit was filed by former Telecom Minister Charbel Nahhas.
Four illegal internet stations have been discovered so far in the mountainous
terrains of Dinniyeh, Oyoun al-Siman, Faqra and Zaarour. Finance Minister Ali
Hassan Khalil has said that the smuggled internet costs the state around $200
million in lost revenues every year. Early in March, the media and telecom
parliamentary committee unveiled that there is a “mafia” that is taking
advantage of illicit internet services by installing internet stations that are
not subject to state control. The owners of these stations are buying
international internet bandwidth with nominal cost from Turkey and Cyprus which
they are selling back to Lebanese subscribers at reduced prices, reports have
said.
Report: Suggested Senate and
Decentralization Reforms Unlikely Before President Election
Naharnet/August 04/16/Parliamentary sources involved in the national dialogue
meetings described the deliberations of the second day that tackled the creation
of a Senate as a kind of “intellectual luxury” that mainly aimed to introduce
something new to the people, but assured that the primary concern is the
election of a president which is the “key to all the problems,” al-Liwaa daily
reported on Thursday. “Constitutional reforms is a good thing,” said the sources
on condition of anonymity, “but our major concern is to elect a president
because no matter what we do and no matter how many ideas we suggest, everything
will go in vain if a president is not elected.” The national dialogue session on
Wednesday -- the second of three scheduled meetings -- focused on the issues of
creating a senate and implementing administrative decentralization. The sources
added that an agreement was reached on the sidelines of the meeting signifying
that everything will be agreed upon and that reforms cannot be implemented or
voted on if there is no head of state. On the other hand, an unnamed participant
at the dialogue table told the daily: “We are still far from electing a
president because the regional bell has not tolled yet,” but he saw the need to
keep the dialogue table ongoing “because the solution will come out of it
someday.” He described Tuesday's discussions about the creation of a Senate and
the implementation of administrative decentralization as “pre-presidency
solutions or as solutions paving way for the election of a president. However
nothing is serious so far. We are not tempted by reforms.”
Lebanese Army Raids IS Post
near Arsal, Arrests Four Militants
Naharnet/August 04/16/A special army unit raided a post for the Islamic State
group outside the northeastern border town of Arsal on Thursday and managed to
arrest several terror suspects, media reports said. “An army intelligence patrol
attacked an IS post in Arsal's Wadi Ata area where it managed to arrest several
very dangerous terrorists,” state-run National News Agency reported. The
detainees were transferred to a military barracks, it said. According to media
reports, the detainees are Lebanese nationals Tareq al-Fliti and Sameh al-Breidi
and two Syrians who are yet to be identified. Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5)
said army intelligence agents arrested Fliti and Breidi in a raid on “a house in
Arsal” and that the attacking force did not incur any casualties in the exchange
of gunfire. And as LBCI television said Fliti and Breidi were wounded in the
operation, al-Jadeed TV said one of those arrested was critically wounded in the
clash. The detainees were eventually transferred to the capital Beirut,
according to al-Jadeed. LBCI later reported that the detainees were involved in
"booby-trapping cars and sending them into Lebanon; murdering Major Pierre
Bashaalani and First Sergeant Ibrahim Zahraman; and fighting against the army in
Arsal's clashes." Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) meanwhile said that the detained
militants were behind the latest death threats that were launched against
several Arsal figures. Militants from IS and Fateh al-Sham Front, formerly
al-Qaida affiliate al-Nusra Front, are entrenched in rugged areas along the
undemarcated Lebanese-Syrian border and the army regularly shells their posts
while Hizbullah and the Syrian army have engaged in clashes with them on the
Syrian side of the border. The two groups briefly overran the town of Arsal in
August 2014 before being ousted by the army after days of deadly battles. The
retreating militants abducted more than 30 troops and policemen of whom four
have been executed and nine remain in the captivity of the IS group.
Interlocutors to Meet in Extra Dialogue
Session in September
Naharnet/August 04/16/Speaker Nabih Berri chaired on Thursday the national
dialogue's third meeting at Ain el-Tineh that was set to tackle a new electoral
system. Although the session was the last of three successive ones, it was
decided that an extra meeting will be held on September 5. The session convened
in the absence of Change and Reform bloc head MP Michel Aoun, Progressive
Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat and Marada chief MP Suleiman Franjieh.
Lebanese Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan after the meeting ended: “Today's
we continued the talks on the implementation of the Taef accord.” MP Ghazi al-Aridi
stated that “the dialogue is not a waste of time. It is a major issue. An
alternative is a boycott and vacuum. “If it was not for the dialogue, the
economic, financial and social situations would have been much more difficult
than they are now,” he added. For his part, Kataeb party leader MP Sami Gemayel
lashed at the suggestions aiming to create a senate , he said: “Studying the
reforms usually happens in the parliament not in any other place. Postponing
discussions on a new electoral system until the creation of senate is approved
is an extension of the political vacuum.”Before the meeting starts, al-Mustaqbal
parliamentary bloc head MP Fouad Saniora ruled out that the party has approved a
proportional representation electoral system. The interlocutors kicked off the
first of three scheduled meetings on Tuesday to tackle several pending and
controversial issues including the election of a president, the formation of a
new government and a new voting system. A second meetings convened on Wednesday
focused on the issues of creating a senate and implementing administrative
decentralization. The interlocutors will meet again on September 5 to complete
the discussions.
Palestinian Killed in Ain el-Hilweh
Shooting
Naharnet/August 04/16/Palestinian national Abd Abu Sannan was killed on Thursday
at the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon, state-run National News
Agency reported. “A personal dispute erupted between Abu Sannan and his
compatriot Hussein Miri in the camp's al-Briksat area before escalating into
gunfire,” NNA said. “Abu Sannan was gravely injured in the shooting before being
rushed in critical condition to hospital where he soon succumbed to his wounds,”
the agency added. By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter
the twelve Palestinian refugee camps in the country, leaving the Palestinian
factions themselves to handle security. That has created lawless areas in many
camps, and Ain el-Hilweh has gained notoriety as a refuge for extremists and
fugitives. But the camp is also home to more than 54,000 registered Palestinian
refugees who have been joined in recent years by thousands of Palestinians
fleeing the fighting in Syria. More than 450,000 Palestinians are registered in
Lebanon with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA. Most live in
squalid conditions in 12 official refugee camps and face a variety of legal
restrictions, including on their employment.
Naim Qassem: U.S. Law Did Not Impact
Hizbullah
Naharnet/August 04/16/Hizbullah Deputy Leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said on
Thursday that contacts with Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh and other local
banks have minimized the negative effect of an anti-Hizbullah U.S. law on the
party, An Nahar daily reported. “Thank God that through contacts with Salameh,
the banking institutions and related authorities in Lebanon, the effect of a
U.S. law has been minimally limited,” the daily quoted Qassem's interview to
Reuters. “The implementation that took place so far through the BDL circulars
was balanced and logical. God willing things will continue that way,” he stated.
In May, Hizbullah has hailed the stance of Salemeh when he urged Lebanese banks
to consult with the Central Bank before suspending accounts suspected of
violating anti-Hizbullah U.S. sanctions law. The U.S. Hizbullah International
Financing Prevention Act says Washington will target those "knowingly
facilitating a significant transaction or transactions for" Hizbullah or any
individual, business or institution linked to the group. Those under sanctions
include Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and slain top commander Mustafa
Badreddine, as well as some businessmen. The list also includes the group's al-Manar
TV and al-Nour Radio.
Lebanese Army attacks postion for Daesh in Wadi Ata, arrests number of dangerous
terrorists
Thu 04 Aug 2016/NNA - NNA field reporter in Baalbak on Thursday said that the
Lebanese Army attacked a location for Daesh in Wadi Ata, the surrounding of
Arsal, arresting a number of very dangerous terrorists who were taken by army to
military barracks.
Pharaon follow up investigations
into Sawary, Jeita incidents'
Thu 04 Aug 2016/NNA - Tourism Minister, Michel Pharaon, regretted on Thursday
the incident that led to the death of the child Kevin Metlej and received the
detailed report of the ministry after the inspection in Batroun's Sawary Resort.
According to the report, the resort was consistent with the safety standards.
The ministry is still waiting for the legal report to identify those responsible
for the incident and take the appropriate action in this regard. Pharaon also
followed up on the incident of the rock slipping in Jeita cave that caused the
injury of two Iraqi nationals.
Abou Faour: Jumblatt will not get
bored from dialogue
Thu 04 Aug 2016/NNA - Public Health Minister, Wael Abou Faour, said on Thursday
regarding the absence of Democratic Gathering Leader, Walid Jumblatt, in today's
dialogue session that the latter would not at all get bored from dialogue. His
talks came during his meeting with Public Works and Transport Minister, Ghazi
Zeaiter, and Former Minister Alaeddine Terro. Talks reportedly touched on the
general situation in the shade of security, political, economic, and social
developments. "He participated in all previous sessions and delegated MP Ghazi
Aridi to follow up the rest," he said. "The dialogue changed its path on
Wednesday and we are waiting for the right time to take new solutions," he
added.
Palestinian security committee hands
over wanted persons
Thu 04 Aug 2016/NNA - The joint Palestinian security committee in Ain-el-Hilwe
camp handed over to the army Lebanese Hussein al-Meiri for killing Abed Abu
Sanan earlier today, as well as Mohammad Saad, who killed his brother two days
ago, National News Agency correspondent reported on Thursday.
Armed clash erupts between Zeaiter,
Wehbi families in Baalback
Thu 04 Aug 2016/NNA - Zeaiter and Wehbi families in Hay Sharawna in Baalback are
currently trading fire, using light weapons and RPGs, after young man Hassan
Wehbi got injured earlier today in the city, National News Agency correspondent
reported on Thursday.
Army targets gunmen in Arsal
outskirts
Thu 04 Aug 2016/NNA - The Lebanese army targeted this evening with artillery,
gunmen in Wadi al-Khayl in Arsal outskirts, National News Agency correspondent
reported on Thursday.
Bassil warns of massive Syrians'
displacement, deems it worse than terrorism
Thu 04 Aug 2016/NNA - Head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Foreign Minister
Gebran Bassil, maintained, during a party gathering in Ghazir on Thursday, that
the massive displacement of Syrians in to Lebanon had become more perilous than
terrorism, refusing to depict Syrians as "dangerous.""A danger that is greater
than terrorism is threatening Lebanon; not because its people are dangerous, but
because its dimension is," he said. "Not every displaced Syrian is dangerous;
99% of them are good people. They are our brothers. But Lebanon cannot contain
ten million Syrians, regardless of their goodness," he underlined. Bassil also
called municipalities to assume their duty, "not out of discrimination or
racism, but according to the Lebanese law.""Since out state is unable to do so,
we have no choice but to ask the local authorities to assume their duty," he
added. "You are the local authorities entitled to carry out your mission, backed
by the locals in your towns; this is how your protect them and how your preserve
your land; and this is how the state might understand that it has failed, and
the international community realize that there are people assuming their duty in
defending their lands," he continued. On a different note, Bassil indicated that
national dialogue was futile since key issues were not tackled, such as
coexistence. "Accordingly, how to elect a president or to agree over an election
law are not just details. To us, it is a matter of existence; it is whether they
recognize our presence, or they don't. It is not a matter of a person," he said.
"It is our right whether to ensure quorum or not, since you do not respect our
weigh," he stressed. "This is our right as per the Constitution. It is our right
as per the National Pact as well," he explained. "We are governed by the will of
the people, and we shall not do anything outside this popular will," he
concluded.
Brass meet in Sidon over Ain el Hilwe security condition
Thu 04 Aug 2016/NNA - A brass of the Lebanese army and representatives of the
Palestinian Security Committee met today in Sidon, with talks featuring high on
the condition of Ain-el-Hilwe Palestinian refugee camp, National News Agency
correspondent reported on Thursday. Conferees reportedly agreed over the
obligation to preserve security and stability inside the camp.
Army raids house in Arsal, apprehends wanted persons
Thu 04 Aug 2016/NNA - An army intelligence patrol raided a house in Arsal and
clashed with wanted men, arresting two persons in the operation, NNA reporter
said on Thursday.
No casualties have been registered in the ranks of army patrol.
Latest LCCC
Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
on August 04-05/16
Man kills 1 and injures 6 people in London
stabbing spree
By Jackie Salo/New York Post/August 3, 2016
At least seven people have been stabbed in London's Russell Square. Photo:
Twitter
A man wielding a knife killed one woman and injured up to six people Wednesday
in London. The man attacked people in Russell Square at around 10:30 local time,
according to British authorities. Cops later used a taser to arrest a suspect,
who CNN reported was detained at the scene. “Sadly my brother and his mates
witnessed the stabbing in russell square… And the police obviously arrived too
late,” one person wrote on Twitter.
The woman killed in the attack was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities are investigating terrorism as a cause.This story is developing and
will be updated as information becomes available.
Kerry
defends cash payment in wake of Iran deal
Ynetnews/Associated Press|Published: 04.08.16
US secretary of state claimed that $400 cash paid to Iranian government at
settlement of nuclear deal was unrelated to the deal; said settlement agreement
saved US taxpayers in the end. BUENOS AIRES — A $400 million pallet of cash
delivered to the Iranian government at the same time a complicated nuclear deal
was settled and four Americans were released was unrelated and not a ransom,
Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday. Kerry flatly denied any connection
between the cash—and an additional $1.3 billion interest payment—and the
implementation of the nuclear deal and the prisoner swap that all occurred in
rapid succession. The payment was part of a decades-old dispute over a failed
military equipment deal dating to the 1970s, before the Islamic revolution in
1979. "The United States does not pay ransom and does not negotiate ransoms,"
Kerry told reporters in Buenos Aires. "It is not our policy. This story is not a
new story. This was announced by the president of the United States himself at
the same time." Kerry said the payment was part of a deal under the
then-US-backed shah to buy $400 million worth of military equipment in 1970s.
The equipment was never delivered because in 1979, his government was overthrown
and revolutionaries took American hostages at the US embassy in Tehran. The US
and Iran have been negotiating the Iranian claim to the money since 1981, and
Kerry said that negotiation was separate from the nuclear deal and discussions
about Americans held in Iran. He said the settlement agreement ultimately saved
US taxpayers what could have been billions of dollars in additional interest.
"We believe this agreement…actually saved the American taxpayers potentially
billions of dollars," Kerry said. "There was no benefit to the United States of
America to drag this out."Kerry also said he is unaware of any video showing the
arrival of a pallet of cash in Iran, which Republican presidential nominee
Donald Trump cited at a rally on Wednesday.
Israeli citizen wounded in London
knifing attack
Reuters/Jerusalem Post/August 04/16
A female Israeli citizen was wounded and an American woman killed by a man with
suspected mental health issues who went on a rampage with a knife in central
London, the Foreign Ministry confirmed Thursday.
Four others were also injured in the attack, which police initially said could
be linked to terrorism,
"The woman who was murdered was an American national. Those injured were
Australian, American, Israeli and British," Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley
told reporters outside police headquarters in central London.
No further details of the victims were immediately available.
Rowley said that a Norwegian national of Somali origin had been detained but
they had found no evidence of radicalization to suggest the motive was related
to terrorism.
"All of the work we have done so far increasingly points to this tragic incident
as having been triggered by mental health issues," he said. "We believe this was
a spontaneous attack and that the victims were selected at random. Earlier media
reports had suggested one of the wounded was a Spanish national but Rowley made
no mention of any Spanish victims.
Armed police were called at 10:33 p.m. (2133 GMT) after a man with a knife
started to attack people in London's Russell Square, an elegant park near the
site of a 2005 suicide bombing. Police, who arrived within five minutes of being
called, used a Taser electric shock gun while detaining the 19-year-old suspect.
He was later formally arrested on suspicion of murder. The investigation was
being handled by homicide command with support from counter-terrorism officers,
Rowley said. The victim was treated at the scene but pronounced dead a short
time later. The other injured - one woman and four men - were treated in
hospital. Three were later discharged. Police cordoned off the southern part of
the square, which sits at the heart of London's university area and is close to
landmarks such as the British Museum, for several hours as forensics officers
examined the attack scene.
Later, workmen hosed blood off the pavement. Britain says its terrorist attack
threat level remains at "severe," the second-highest level, meaning a strike is
"highly likely." Police had already promised to deploy more armed officers in
the capital after a spate of deadly attacks in France, Germany and Belgium.
Attacks across Europe have heightened tensions between some communities, raised
questions about the European Union's border policies and bolstered support for
anti-EU far-right groups. Police chiefs and security bosses have repeatedly
warned that Islamic State fighters want to carry out attacks against Britain, a
close ally of the United States.
Iran
executes 20 Sunni prisoners in one day
By AFP, Tehran Thursday, 4 August 2016/Iran has executed a group of 20
"terrorist" Sunni prisoners for committing several murders and undermining
national security, state media reported on Thursday. "These people had committed
murder... killed women and children, caused destructions and acted against the
security and killed Sunni religious leaders in some Kurdish regions," IRIB
television quoted Prosecutor General Mohammad Javad Montazeri. He said all the
executions happened on Tuesday.
Thousands of Yazidis missing,
two years after start of ‘genocide’
Reuters, United Nations Thursday, 4 August 2016/Thousands of Yazidis are being
held captive by ISIS in Syria where many are used for sexual slavery or forced
to fight for the group, the United Nations said on Wednesday, on the second
anniversary of what investigators termed a genocide. A UN-appointed commission
of independent war crimes investigators said in June that ISIS was committing
genocide against the Yazidis, a religious community of 400,000 people in
northern Iraq, beginning with an attack on their city of Sinjar on Aug. 3, 2014.
Yazidis’ beliefs combine elements of several ancient Middle Eastern religions
and they are considered infidels by the hardline militants. The UN said most of
the captives have been taken to neighboring Syria “where Yazidi women and girls
continue to be sexually enslaved and Yazidi boys indoctrinated, trained and used
in hostilities.”
Around 3,200 Yazidi women and girls are being held captive, and thousands of men
and boys are missing, the UN said. The designation of genocide, rare under
international law, would mark the first recognized genocide carried out by
non-state actors, rather than a state or paramilitaries acting on its behalf.
Historical victims of genocide include Armenians in 1915, Jews during the Nazi
Holocaust, Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994 and Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995.
Assad forces bomb six Aleppo
hospitals
Reuters, Beirut Thursday, 4 August 2016/Syrian government forces launched air
strikes against six hospitals in the Aleppo area within a week in attacks that
amounted to war crimes, a US-based rights group said on Wednesday. Physicians
for Human Rights (PHR) said it was the worst week for attacks on medical
facilities in the Aleppo region since the beginning of Syria's five-year
conflict, which has killed more than 250,000 people. The medical facilities were
hit between July 23 and 31, the New York-based group said. The city and province
of Aleppo have been among the areas hardest hit by intensifying violence as
peace efforts earlier this year failed and a fragile ceasefire crumbled. Smoke
from burning tyres rises near a minaret of a mosque, which activists said are
used to create smoke cover from warplanes, in Aleppo. (Reuters) "Since June,
we've seen increasing reports of attacks on civilians in Aleppo and strikes on
the region's remaining medical infrastructure," PHR's director of programs
Widney Brown said in a statement. "Each of these assaults constitutes a war
crime," Brown said. Government forces and their allies, with Russian backing,
have advanced in recent months and imposed a siege on the rebel-held sector of
Aleppo since early July, when they closed the main road from opposition areas
out of the city. "The bombings, the lack of humanitarian aid and the failure of
the United Nations to deliver any kind of assistance means the death toll may
soon be catastrophic," Brown said. Syrian army soldiers patrol the area around
the entrance of Bani Zeid after taking control of the previously rebel-held
district of Leramun, on the northwest outskirts of Aleppo, on July 28, 2016. (AFP)
PHR said it has documented more than 370 attacks on 265 medical facilities
during the war, and the deaths of 750 medical personnel. Many hospitals have
been hit or damaged during the five-year conflict. In April, an air strike on a
hospital in rebel-held Aleppo killed dozens of people. Rebel rockets hit a
hospital on the government side of the city a few days later.
Watchdog Concerned at
Reported Syria Chlorine Attack
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 04/16/The world's chemical weapons watchdog
Wednesday voiced concern over reports of a chlorine gas attack near the
battleground Syrian city of Aleppo. Some 24 people reportedly suffered breathing
difficulties in Saraqeb, a town 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Aleppo, after
a barrel bomb attack on Tuesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights. Residents said chlorine gas had been used in the attack, but the
Britain-based Observatory could not confirm this. "These reports are of great
concern," Ahmet Uzumcu, the head of the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said in a statement. The U.N.-backed group based in The
Hague "continues to examine any credible reports" of chemical weapons use, he
added. The incident took place close to where Russia said on Monday one of its
military helicopters was shot down, killing the five people on board. Uzumcu
added that under international conventions the use of chemical weapons "by
anyone under any circumstances" is seen "as reprehensible and wholly contrary to
the legal norms established by the international community." Syria's conflict
has killed more than 280,000 people and drawn in world powers since it erupted
in March 2011, as protests calling for the ouster of President Bashar Assad's
regime escalated into all-out civil war. In January, the OPCW announced all
Syria's declared chemical arms stockpile had been completely destroyed. But
concerns remain that undeclared amounts of sarin gas and other chemical weapons
have still been used in the conflict. A joint investigation set up by the U.N.
probing nine chemical weapons attacks in Syria in 2014 and 2015 is due to report
its findings this month.
U.N.
Hopes for Progress in 'Days' towards New Syria Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 04/16/The U.N. voiced hope Thursday that
developments "in the next few days" could pave the way for Syria peace talks to
resume by the end of this month. The United Nations deputy envoy for Syria,
Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, said that despite brutal fighting in the battle for Aleppo
and elsewhere, the U.N. remained "committed" to relaunching talks in late
August. Crucial to that plan are ongoing negotiations between Syrian government
ally Russia and the United States, which backs some rebel groups. "We have not
given up hope. We cannot give up hope," of finding a diplomatic solution to the
devastating five-year conflict, Ramzy told reporters in Geneva. "Bear with us. I
think in the next few days there might be some movement," towards holding
"credible talks," he added. He did not specify what a potential breakthrough
might include, but the U.N. has in recent days pinned hopes on efforts from
Moscow and Washington to restore a ceasefire in Syria. The head of a U.N.-backed
humanitarian taskforce for Syria, Jan Egeland, raised further alarm about the
escalating crisis in Aleppo. Egeland said the U.N. and Red Cross were ready to
send urgently needed supplies to the city but that convoys could not deploy
without a pause in the fighting. Syrian regime forces backed by Russian air
strikes have made advances against rebel held eastern areas in the key city,
which was once Syria's commercial hub. Eastern districts came under government
siege on July 17, sparking concerns for the estimated 250,000 people still
living there. Last week Russia announced the opening of "humanitarian corridors"
to allow residents and surrendering fighters to flee for government-held
territory. The U.N. has offered tacit backing for Russia's humanitarian
passageways but has said it wants to control them. Syria's conflict has killed
more than 280,000 people and drawn in world powers on both sides since it
erupted in March 2011.
Russia: US backs 'gas-attack'
Syrian rebels
Reuters, Moscow Thursday, 4 August 2016/Russia’s foreign ministry sharply
criticized US behavior in Syria on Thursday, accusing Washington of backing
rebels who use poison gas against civilians and of killing hundreds in air
strikes. The ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, referred to rebels
supported by Washington as “animals” and said Washington and its allies were
recklessly carrying out air attacks leading to numerous civilian deaths.
Zakharova’s strong comments, in a statement posted to social media, underscored
the serious divisions between Moscow and Washington over Syria where they are
united in their opposition to ISIS but so far little else. Moscow backs
President Bashar al-Assad and his forces, while Washington supports rebel groups
fighting both his government and ISIS militants. While the two countries argue
over a possible peace plan, a battle for eastern Aleppo has erupted. Zakharova
spoke out as the United Nations said the United States and Russia were in
intensive discussions to shore up Syria’s collapsed nationwide truce with their
military experts trying to agree a cooperation plan “that would unlock the
entire solution.”Zakharova criticized the United States over an incident the
Russian military said occurred on Aug. 2 in eastern Aleppo when rebels used
poison gas, killing at least seven people. She blamed the Free Syrian Army’s
Nour al Din al-Zinki group for what she said was a crime. The same group, which
has received US military backing, said last month it was investigating the
beheading of a young child in Aleppo after video footage circulated showing the
boy being killed by a man whom activists identified as a member of the group.
“The United States is supporting these animals who used poison gas against the
civilian population,” Zakharova wrote. “Unfortunately it’s not the only tragedy
which the ‘moderates’ backed by Washington stand behind.” She accused the US air
force of carelessly bombing inhabited parts of Manbij in northern Syria where
US-backed forces - the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) - are taking on ISIS
militants. “The United States and the SDF are not taking any steps to warn
people to avoid deaths,” she said, saying that US and coalition aircraft had
killed hundreds and wounded thousands of civilians according to “conservative
estimates.” She also referenced an incident on July 28 in which she said US-led
coalition air strikes had killed 28, including seven children, in attacks on the
village of al Ghandour in the countryside north of Manbij city. The US military
said last month it was investigating that episode. “If our Western colleagues
and above all Washington do everything again not to notice these facts then any
of their talk about an end to bloodshed in Syria will simply become
preposterous,” wrote Zakharova. Moscow is itself regularly accused by human
rights groups and the United States of carrying out deadly air strikes on
non-military targets and of siding with an army accused of abuses. It says it
takes great care to avoid civilian deaths.
A Syrian rescue service operating in rebel-held territory said on Tuesday that a
helicopter dropped containers of toxic gas overnight on a town close to where a
Russian military helicopter had been shot down hours earlier. The Kremlin said
suggestions it was a revenge attack and that Russian forces or the Syrian army
were responsible were false.
Egypt: Leader of ISIS affiliate killed in Sinai
Associated Press, Cairo Thursday, 4 August 2016/Egypt's military says the leader
of the Egyptian branch of ISIS has been killed in the Sinai Peninsula.,A posting
on the Facebook page of the military's chief spokesman, Brig-Gen Mohammed Samir,
says Abu Doaa al-Ansari was killed in an operation guided by "accurate
intelligence." Thursday's posting says counterterrorism forces backed by war
planes carried out the operation south of the coastal city of el-Arish. It says
several of al-Ansari's aides, along with 45 other members of the militant group,
were also killed in the operation. The statement didn't say when the operation
took place. Egyptian forces have been battling extremist militants in Sinai for
years but the insurgency there has grown deadlier since the 2013 ouster by the
military of the country's Islamist president.
Jordan sentences gunman to
death for security complex attack
Reuters Thursday, 4 August 2016/A court in Jordan sentenced a 22-year-old man to
death on Thursday for an attack on a security complex that killed five people in
June, state news agency Petra said. The state security court found Mohammad
Masharfeh guilty of “committing terrorist acts that led to the death of human
beings and committing terrorist acts using automatic weapons”. Masharfeh pleaded
not guilty to the charges at the start of the military-dominated court trial
last month. An accomplice who was charged with “selling weapons for illegal use”
was sentenced to a year in prison, the agency said.
The court heard Masharfeh entered the compound and opened fire on security
personnel of the General Intelligence Department. He was arrested close to the
scene. The compound is next to a large Palestinian refugee camp. The rare attack
on a security branch of the powerful intelligence apparatus jolted the US-backed
Arab kingdom, whose relative stability has distinguished it from neighbors Syria
to the north and Iraq to the east. The government at first said the attack was
linked to Islamist militants but later said the gunman was a resident of the
refugee camp, which suffers a lack of economic opportunities, and had acted
alone. Family sources said the man was motivated by revenge after being
mistreated by interrogators at the security facility when he was detained a week
before the shooting.
Saudi king meets with
Jordan’s King Abdullah
Saudi Gazette Thursday, 4 August 2016/Saudi Arabia’s King Salman received King
Abdullah of Jordan at his residence in the Moroccan city of Tangier on
Wednesday. Both monarchs reviewed bilateral relations as well as the latest
developments in the region. Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman,
second deputy premier and minister of defense, and several other princes, senior
officials and diplomats attended the meeting. King Salman later hosted a
luncheon in honor of the Jordanian monarch.
US, Israel close many gaps in
defense aid talks
Reuters Thursday, 4 August 2016/The United States and Israel have closed many of
the remaining gaps in negotiations over a new multibillion-dollar military aid
package for Washington’s top Middle East ally, and the two sides hope to reach a
deal soon, a senior US official said on Wednesday. Jacob Nagel, acting head of
Israel’s national security council, wrapped up three days of closed-door
discussions in Washington over a new 10-year defense pact, including a meeting
with US national security adviser Susan Rice. Drawn-out aid negotiations have
underscored continuing friction between US President Barack Obama and Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over last year’s US-led nuclear deal with
Iran, Israel’s arch-foe. The United States and Israel have also been at odds
over the Palestinians. However, with Obama due to leave office in January, both
sides have appeared increasingly determined to come to an agreement to enshrine
US assistance to Israel over the next decade. “We’ve made progress and closed
many of the remaining gaps. We hope soon to be able to reach final agreement,”
the senior official told Reuters after the talks concluded. However, the
official declined to elaborate or provide a precise timetable for completing
negotiations. Raising hopes for removal of a key sticking point, Israel had
signaled at the start of the talks that it might accept the Obama
administration’s demand that US military funds, until now spent partly on
Israeli arms, will eventually be spent entirely on US-made weapons, according to
US sources. It would mark a major concession by Netanyahu. The right-wing
Israeli leader, who has had a fraught relationship with Obama, has decided it
would be best to forge a new memorandum of understand (MOU) with him rather than
hoping for better terms from the next US president, according to officials on
both sides. The White House has pledged to sign a new MOU that would “constitute
the largest single pledge of military assistance to any country in US history.”
The current pact, signed in 2007 and due to expire in 2018, gave Israel around
$30 billion in foreign military financing. US negotiators are believed to have
stuck to a previous offer of $3.5 billion to $3.7 billion annually for Israel
under the new MOU, substantially less than the $4 billion a year Netanyahu has
sought but still a sizeable increase.
Israel accuses World Vision’s Gaza representative of funding Hamas
Reuters, Ashkelon, Israel Thursday, 4 August 2016/Israel accused US-based
Christian relief group World Vision’s Gaza representative on Thursday of
funnelling millions of dollars in aid money to Hamas, charges that the Islamist
militant group denied and the charity voiced skepticism over. Mohammad El Halabi,
World Vision’s manager of operations in Gaza, was arrested by Israel on June 15
while crossing the border into the enclave, which is under the de facto rule of
Hamas, a group on the Israeli and US terrorism blacklists. World Vision said it
was “shocked” by Israel’s allegations and said in a statement that it had
regular internal and independent audits and evaluations as well as a broad range
of internal controls to ensure aid reached intended beneficiaries. “Based on the
information available to us at this time, we have no reason to believe that the
allegations are true. We will carefully review any evidence presented to us and
will take appropriate actions based on that evidence,” the statement said. It
was not immediately clear if Halabi had been assigned a lawyer or how he might
plead in court once formally charged. Israel had previously maintained a gag
order on the case. Briefing reporters on Thursday, a senior Israeli security
official said Halabi, who has run the group’s Gaza operations since 2010, had
been under extended surveillance. The official said Halabi, a Palestinian, had
confessed to siphoning off some $7.2 million a year, about 60 percent of the
World Vision’s Gaza funding, to pay Hamas fighters, buy arms, pay for its
activities and build fortifications. “Money was used to fund Hamas and pay armed
wing fighters, and food and health packs intended for Gaza residents were also
given to Hamas operatives, rather than to their intended recipients, the poor
and meek of Gaza,” the official said. The Israeli security official said some of
the money Halabi was accused of taking had been used to buy arms for insurgents
in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, that also borders Israel, and that a Hamas military
base was built with $80,000 of the funds. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri,
speaking in Gaza, said the group had “no connection to (Halabi) and therefore,
all Israeli accusations are void and aim to suppress our people”. Hamas also
denies any links to Sinai insurgents.
Israel ex-President Katsav
Again Denied Parole on Rape Term
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 04/16/A parole board Thursday rejected a
request for early release for former Israeli president Moshe Katsav, imprisoned
since 2011 for rape and other sexual offenses, officials said. The decision came
just four months after a previous bid by the disgraced former leader to reduce a
third of his seven-year sentence, rejected in part because he had expressed no
remorse over his crimes and undergone no rehabilitative process. Katsav, 70, had
appealed the April decision and said he was undergoing a process of introversion
and could be rehabilitated. But the parole board said Thursday that "it is not
time to order the release of the prisoner or cancel the committee's previous
decision", a statement issued by the court administration read. The board,
however, noted that Katsav could be freed before the end of his term "if he
continues dealing with his problems in prison", in which case he would could
approach them again after six months. Katsav has always maintained his innocence
despite being convicted in December 2010 on two counts of rape, sexual
harassment, indecent acts and obstruction of justice.
ISIS announces new Boko Haram
leader
The Associated Press, Lagos Thursday, 4 August 2016/Nigeria’s Boko Haram
extremists have a new leader who is threatening to bomb churches and kill
Christians while ending attacks on mosques and markets used by ordinary Muslims,
according to an interview published Wednesday by ISIS. He also says there is a
Western plot to Christianize the region and has accused charities of using their
aid for that, according to a SITE Intelligence Group translation of an interview
published Wednesday in the Islamic State newspaper al-Nabaa. The newspaper
identified Abu Musab al-Barnawi as the new “Wali,” or governor, of its so-called
West Africa Province. The “Wali” title was previously used to describe long-time
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau. The report did not say what Shekau’s current
status was, although there have been rumors for weeks that he had been replaced.
The interview with al-Barnawi indicates a major shift in strategy for the
Nigerian extremists, who have killed many more Muslims than Christians in
attacks in mosques with suicide bombers and gunmen. The “Wali” title was
previously used to describe long-time Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau. (SITE)
There have also been attacks on crowded marketplaces in predominantly Muslim
areas and the killings and kidnappings of school children. The targeting of
students accounts for its nickname Boko Haram, which means Western education is
sinful or forbidden. “They strongly seek to Christianize the society. ... They
exploit the condition of those who are displaced under the raging war, providing
them with food and shelter and then Christianizing their children,” SITE
Intelligence quotes the new leader as saying.
Britain’s Express:
Outrage over mass execution in Iran
Thursday, 04 August 2016/NCRI - Britain’s Express has published an interview
with a former Iranian political prisoner who has recounted the suffering he
endured and the cases of mass executions that took place by the mullahs’ regime.
The following is the text of the article which was published on Thursday:
The Express
EXCLUSIVE: Outrage over Iran's MASS-EXECUTION of 28 as rights abuses ‘worsens'
IRAN must put an immediate end to the hanging and torture of political prisoners
following the mass execution of 28 men, an activist has demanded.
By VICKIIE OLIPHANT
PUBLISHED: 14:17, Thu, Aug 4, 2016 | UPDATED: 14:32, Thu, Aug 4, 2016
The shocking killings by the Islamic Republic come a week after the Foreign
Office said Iran’s human rights abuses are getting worse.
Rights campaigner Ahmad Ebrahimi, who was born in Iran but now lives in London
with his son, lost many close friends and family members at the hand of the
“tyrannical” Iranian regime.
He warned the international community must become more involved and help put an
end to deaths, which he believes have seen an increase in the last 10 years.
His comments come as 28 Sunni prisoners were suddenly executed before their
families could even say goodbye - just days after a report into human rights
abuses claimed the situation “has worsened”.
Despite Iranian President Hassan Rouhani promising to improve the freedoms of
his people, the situation in the Middle East continues to anger activists.
An estimated 966 to 1,025 people were executed last year, the highest number in
a decade, with 170 recorded executions in the first six months of 2016.
Now Ahmad Ebrahimi, the president of the former Iranian political prisoners
association in the UK, says the barbaric punishment - which is even handed out
for minor crimes such as drug offences - must stop.
During his time in Iran, Mr Ebrahimi - who was himself a political prisoner for
10 years - personally watched as his friends were taken away to be killed.
He told Express.co.uk: “Being in prison was just everything horrible, from their
care of the political prisoners to whatever I saw - the abuses I saw there.
“Every time was different, there was nothing the same. We never knew what to
expect. Sometimes we would not be given food, sometimes we would be tortured.
“We lost many friends, noticed the people disappearing. People were called and
taken from their cells and, we learned after, went to their so-called court.
“Then the people would come back to their rooms, to their cells, and when they
were called again they were taken to be executed. With bullets.
“We counted the bullets after, to see how many lives had been taken.”
The father-of-one was just one of thousands of prisoners locked up for their
support of leftist factions, such as the People's Mujahedin of Iran, and was
inside during the 1988 mass executions in which as many as 30,000 dissidents
mysteriously disappeared.
After 10 years inside, Mr Ebrahimi was later released and fled to Britain to
begin a new life with his family - saying he chose the UK because he wanted his
children to have a “high standard” of human rights after years of having his own
abused.
Now he fights against the Iranian regime, campaigning for more to be done from
around the world to overthrow the government.
Mr Ebrahimi, whose son is currently studying for his A-levels in London, said:
“It’s disgusting, it should not happen and it must not.
“The international campaign like from Amnesty International is doing very well,
it is very good, and the campaign from international media is fantastic.
“People should know what is going on in Iran, the hanging, the abuse, the
executions.
“There is much media coverage of the middle east - Iraq, and Syria - but less
about the human goths in Iran.
“We do not want this government, and we want people to know that.”
His comments come as Iran's notorious Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, north-west of
Tehran, is believed to have conducted a mass execution of 28 Sunni prisoners on
Tuesday.
Their families had been told to go to the prison before 3pm on Tuesday to visit
them for a final time - but when they arrived were informed it was “too late”.
One family was called on route to be told that they should instead collect the
body of their loved one from the morgue.
Mohammad Mohaddessin, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the NCRI,
said: “The mullahs' regime is facing absolute social isolation and widespread
abhorrence by the people and thus is resorting to increased executions to create
a climate of fear and to prevent the possibility of a nationwide uprising.
“More than 2,500 people have been executed in Iran under Hassan Rouhani, who
falsely claimed to seek moderation.
“For as long as the mullahs' regime is in power, there will continue to be
further executions, torture and other crimes.”
Last month, hundreds of officials from around the world flocked to Paris for the
annual Free Iran rally, lead by the NCRI - a France-based umbrella group for
Iranian exiles living in Europe.
London MP Bob Blackman, who regularly attends the rally, told Express.co.uk:
“There are concerning accounts of a rising tide of executions and politically
motivated arrests in Iran, as well as undiminished sponsorship of terrorism and
escalating Tehran's involvement in the affairs of Middle Eastern countries
including Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon.
“I believe firm pressure must be put on the Iranian Government to comply with
international demands to adhere to higher standards of compliance with regards
to its nuclear programme and to also heed concerns from the international
community about human rights abuses.”
Also this month, the Foreign Office released it’s latest report into the human
rights progresses in Iran, saying that “in many respects, the situation has
worsened”.
A spokeswoman said: “Iran’s human rights record remains a serious concern – in
particular its use of the death penalty.
“We oppose the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, and are deeply
concerned by the number of people executed, particularly in the case of juvenile
offenders.
“We regularly raise human rights with the Iranians at all levels and we continue
to work with the international community to press Iran to improve its poor
record on all human rights issues.”
Former MEP applauds Mahmoud
Abbas for meeting Iran opposition leader
NCRI /Thursday, 04 August 2016
Former European lawmaker Struan Stevenson has applauded Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas for meeting with the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance,
Maryam Rajavi.
In a video message on Thursday, August 4, 2016, Mr. Stevenson said that the
Iranian regime is opposed to peace in the Middle East and is sponsoring
terrorist groups to pursue its nefarious agenda.
President Abbas met with Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National
Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), on July 30 and discussed the crises in the
region.
Mr. Stevenson said that President Abbas had shown great courage in standing up
to the Iranian regime’s meddling in that part of the world.
Struan Stevenson is a former MEP and President of the European Parliament's
delegation for relations with Iraq. He is currently President of the European
Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA).
Background:
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, meets President
Mahmoud Abbas
On Saturday evening, July 30, 2016, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the
Iranian Resistance, met with Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian
Authority, and they discussed the crises in the region.
President Mahmoud Abbas, at the meeting, reiterated the need to combat
fundamentalism and terrorism in the region and informed Mrs. Rajavi of the
latest developments in the Middle East, in particular regarding Palestine and
France's initiative.
Mrs. Rajavi expressed gratitude for the solidarity of the Palestinian resistance
and its leader with the Iranian people and Resistance. She congratulated the
Palestinian government on its victories and expressed hope that the goal of the
Palestinian people would be achieved. She reiterated that the Iranian regime is
the main instigator of sectarian discord, fundamentalism and terrorism in the
entire region, in particular in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Palestine, but
she added that today the mullahs' regime is at its weakest and most fragile and
vulnerable state. This reality can be seen clearly in the hysteric reaction of
the regime's officials and state media to the Iranian Resistance's July 9
gathering. Mrs. Rajavi reiterated that the regime is above all fearful of the
solidarity and unity between the Iranian people and Resistance and the countries
and nations of the region. Therefore, the countries of the region and the
Iranian people and Resistance ought to take the initiative to free the region
from the scourge of fundamentalism.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran/July 31, 2016
PLO rejects Iran regime’s
lobbies in Palestine
Wednesday, 03 August 2016/NCRI - The Palestinian Liberation Organization has hit
out strongly at the Iranian regime’s lobbyists in the Middle East after one such
lobby criticized the meeting last week between Iranian opposition
President-elect Maryam Rajavi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The
Palestinian News Agency, SAFA, reported from Ramallah on August 2, 2016 that the
PLO issued a statement Tuesday night saying: “The statement published by the
so-called ‘Palestine Resistance Coalition Forces’ shows a political defeat and
is a rented weapon that has nothing to do with Palestine.”
“Those groups which received bribes and acted as hirelings, and continue to do
so today, are at the service of non-Palestine and non-national objectives. They
represent no party and are a disgrace to the Palestinian people and objective,”
the PLO statement adds. “These groups are suspicious promoters that only act
against the interests of the Palestinian nation, and they have a role in
spreading a rift in Palestine. This division only acts in the interests of those
who seek to destroy the Palestinian national initiative,” the PLO reiterated.
The PLO pointed out that it is the “sole legal representative of the Palestinian
people.”
Iran political prisoners hold
ceremony for executed cellmates
Wednesday, 03 August 2016/NCRI - A group of Iranian political prisoners in the
notorious Gohardasht (Rajai-Shahr) Prison in Karaj, north-west of Tehran, held a
commemoration on Tuesday for dozens of their Sunni cellmates who were mass
executed earlier in the day by the mullahs’ fundamentalist regime. Below are
images of two hand-made bracelets which were made by political prisoner Mokhtar
Rahimi, who was among the group of prisoners that were executed on Tuesday. This
Sunni prisoner had attempted to make money through selling hand-made ornaments
and decorations from inside prison in order to be able to support his family.
Background:
Maryam Rajavi: Mass execution of Sunni prisoners is a crime against humanity and
its perpetrators must be brought to justice
Maryam Rajavi called the execution of a large number of Sunni prisoners in
Gohardasht Prison, "an appalling crime against humanity." The Iranian
Resistance's President-elect extended her sincere condolences to the families of
the victims, the Sunni community and all the people of Iran. She called on
Iranian youths to stage protests against such barbaric crimes and to rise up in
support of and in solidarity with the families of the victims.
She also urged Shiite and Sunni clergies around the world to not remain silent
vis-à-vis this major atrocity and denounce Ali Khamenei, the great enemy of the
people of Iran and the region, for his anti-human and anti-Islamic crimes.
Maryam Rajavi added: The mullahs' anti-human regime carried out the mass
execution of our Sunni brothers on the anniversary of the 1988 massacre of
30,000 political prisoners in Iran. They are trying in vain to contain the
volatile social atmosphere and popular protests by terrorizing the public.
The NCRI President-elect pointed out: The 1988 massacre of political prisoners
in Iran is the biggest crime of its kind since World War II. The clerical
regime's crimes systematically committed over the past 37 years are all examples
of crime against humanity, war crimes or genocide. And how the international
community reacts to these crimes is its great test.
The time has come for the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council to
end their silence and bring the record of the Iranian regime's crimes before the
International Criminal Court. Ali Khamenei and other leaders of the regime as
well as direct perpetrators of these crimes must be brought to justice, Maryam
Rajavi reiterated.
A large number of Sunni prisoners were hanged this morning, Tuesday, August 2,
2016, at Gohardasht Prison, in Karaj. According to the victims' families, at
least 20 have been executed. Prison authorities declared a state of emergency,
disconnected all telephone booths and prevented prisoners from referring to the
prison's dispensary.
The regime's Judiciary had told the families of prisoners that they had time
until 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon to go to prison for a final visit with their
children. However, before they arrived, the Ministry of Intelligence contacted
the families and said they should go to the Coroner's of Kahrizak to receive the
bodies of their children.
Shahram Ahmadi is among the Sunni prisoners executed. He was wounded in April
2009 at the time of arrest by Intelligence agents and lost one kidney and part
of his intestine. He was badly tortured for 43 months in solitary confinement in
the Intelligence Department's detention center in Sanandaj, as a result of which
he contracted various illnesses and lost his hearing to a large extent. In
October 2012, the mullahs' Judiciary sentenced him to death on the alleged
charge of Moharebeh, or waging war on God. His younger brother, Bahram Ahmadi
who was under 18 years old at the time of arrest, was executed in Ghezel Hessar
Prison in January 2012 along with five other Sunni political prisoners.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran/August 2, 2016
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on on August 04-05/16
How
Muslims Justify Killing Other Muslims in Islam’s Name
Raymond Ibrahim/PJ Media/August 04/16
Those who claim that terrorism committed in the name of Islam has “nothing to do
with Islam” received much ostensible fodder by way of the recent spate of
terrorist attacks in Bangladesh, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia in the closing days of
Ramadan. Because these three countries are overwhelmingly Muslim majority, the
talking heads are now sure of it: the terrorists are just that—terrorists who
have nothing to do with the religion of Islam, which in fact bans the
indiscriminate slaughter of fellow Muslims.
Consider the following outpouring of “told you Islam wasn’t responsible for
terrorism” as compiled by Robert Spencer:
Maher Zain, a Multi Platinum-winning singer and songwriter who is Muslim, wrote
on Twitter to his 1.47 million followers: “Still need proof that ISIS is the
foremost enemy of Islam? They attack the Prophet’s City. Terror knows no
religion!” Boxer Amir Khantweeted to his 1.75 million followers: “The attack in
our beloved Prophet Muhammad’s city Madinah proves that Isis has no religion!”
The UK Muslim broadcaster Mohammed Shafiq wrote: “The attack on #Madinah was an
attack against all Muslims.”
After Islamic State jihadists screaming “Allahu akbar” murdered twenty hostages
at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka on the night of July 1, the serially
deceptive Islamic apologist Qasim Rashid tweeted: “In #Ramadan’s final 10 days,
Daesh has mass murdered dozens in three Muslim majority nations Please tell me
more about how Islamic they are.” In another tweet, he included a photo
captioned: “So you’re telling me they killed Muslims during Ramadan and you
still blame Islam? Are you that incompetent or that bigoted?” To that, Rashid
added: “Likewise, how I feel when I hear Islamophobes claim Islam was somehow
behind the #DhakaAttack.”
Echoing Rashid was no less illustrious a personage than Bangladesh’s Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina, who insisted: “Anyone who believes in religion cannot do
such act. They do not have any religion, their only religion is terrorism.”
Speaking after the San Bernardino terror attack that left 14 dead, U.S.
president Obama—who also insists that the Islamic State “is not Islamic”—agreed
with the above sentiments: “ISIL does not speak for Islam. They are thugs and
killers, part of a cult of death… Moreover, the vast majority of terrorist
victims around the world are Muslim.”
Is that the case? Is it that simple?
In fact, from the start of Islam, Muslims have been relying on the same
rationalizations to justify the slaughter of other Muslims.
First, it should be noted that the jihadis are aware that they should not
randomly kill fellow Sunnis. This was the case in the Bangladesh attack. With
police fire whizzing over their heads, the jihadis still managed to question
their hostages, releasing those that could verify they were Muslim and killing
those who could not. As documented here, jihadis around the world—in Libya,
Kenya, Mali, Nigeria—regularly follow the same protocol of separating Muslims
from non-Muslims before slaughtering the latter. Thus the Bangladesh attack does
not count.
As for the deliberate slaughter of fellow Muslims, it must be remembered that
mainstream Sunni Islam—the world’s dominant strand of Islam which ISIS adheres
to—views all non-Sunnis as false Muslims; at best, they are heretics who need to
submit to the “true Islam” no less than the infidels. This is largely how Sunnis
view Shias and vice versa—hence their perennial war. While Western talking heads
tend to lump them together as “Muslims,” each group—especially the “radicals”
among them, that is, the jihadis—views the other as enemies. (It’s only in
recent times, as both groups plot against the West and Israel, that they
occasionally cooperate.)
This is the logic behind the terror strikes in Karada, a Shia neighborhood in
Iraq, and the bombing in Saudi Arabia’s Shia majority Qatif province; they were
both undertaken under the same exact logic as when Christian minorities, or
European, American, and Israeli citizens are attacked and killed: all are
infidels who must either embrace the true faith, be subjugated, or die.
As for Sunni on Sunni violence, this is easily justified when one group engages
in takfir, and thus denounces another group of being kafir—that is, non-Muslims,
infidels, whose blood can be shed with impunity. Takfir has existed alongside
Islam almost from its inception, beginning with the khawarij (Kharijites)—who
denounced and slaughtered fellow Muslims for not following the letter of law—and
was the primary rationale used to justify jihad between different Sunni nations
and empires throughout the centuries.
This explains the attacks on the American (“infidel”) consulate in Jeddah.
Jihadi groups regularly denounce the Saudi rulers of being apostates—not true
Muslims—mostly for their close relationship with non-Muslim powers like America;
this charge goes all the way back to Osama bin Laden, who, though radicalized by
Saudi education, ended up denouncing the monarchy for allowing the U.S. military
to be stationed in the Peninsula.
As for the attack near the prophet’s tomb in Medina—which seems like a direct
attack on Islam itself—the fact is strict Islamic teaching (“Wahabbi” and “Salafi”)
condemns and seeks to purge all tombs of prophets, which are seen as promoting
shirk, the sin of sharing in Allah’s glory. This is why the Saudi government
itself has sought to destroy the prophet’s tomb.
Finally, what about those pious Sunnis who accidentally die during the jihad?
These have long been rationalized away as “martyrs”—collateral damage—destined
to enter Islam’s paradise. Indeed, the topic of fellow Sunnis being killed
during the jihad has been widely addressed throughout the centuries. It received
a thorough analysis by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in his essay, “Jihad,
Martyrdom, and the Killing of Innocents” (The Al Qaeda Reader, pgs. 137-171).
After delineating how three of the four schools of Sunni jurisprudence—Hanafi,
Shafi‘i, and Hanbali—do not forbid the accidental or inevitable killing of
Muslims during the jihad, Zawahiri concluded:
The only thing mujahidin [jihadis] are specifically required to do, should they
knowingly kill a Muslim [who is intermixed with the targeted infidels], is make
atonement. Blood money, however, is a way out of the dispute altogether. Payment
should be made only when there is a surplus of monies, which are no longer
needed to fund the jihad. Again, this is only if their [Muslims] intermingling
with the infidels is for a legitimate reason, such as business. And we assume
that those who are killed are martyrs, and believe that what the Sheikh of Islam
[Ibn Taymiyya] said about them applies: “[T]hose Muslims who are accidentally
killed are martyrs; and the obligatory jihad should never be abandoned because
it creates martyrs.”
In short, to Sunni jihadis, non-Sunnis are heretics and thus free game. As for
fellow Sunnis who get in the way, they can be pronounced apostates and attacked
accordingly. As for true Sunni Muslims, the jihadis should try to separate them
from the intended infidel target—as happened in Bangladesh and elsewhere—but if
they die accidentally, they are martyrs (“and the obligatory jihad should never
be abandoned because it creates martyrs”).
The argument that jihadi organizations kill fellow Muslims proves nothing.
Muslims have been slaughtering Muslims on any number of justifications and
rationalizations from the start: So what can the open non-Muslim—such as the
Western infidel—expect?
The
Case for (Finally) Bombing Assad
Dennis Ross and Andrew J. Tabler/New York Times/August 04/16
If Russia does want to limit its involvement in Syria, the threat of limited
strikes should persuade it to make the Syrian leader behave.
The Obama administration wants to reduce the violence and suffering in Syria
and, at the same time, quash jihadist groups there. This is why the White House
is now pushing a plan for the United States to cooperate with the Russian
military in Syria, sharing intelligence and coordinating airstrikes against the
Islamic State and the Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front. In return, Russia would
force the government of Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, to stop using barrel
bombs and air attacks in areas in which neither extremist group is present.
Wiping out terrorist groups in Syria is an important goal and, after years of
death and destruction, any agreement among the country's warring parties or
their patrons may seem welcome. But the Obama administration's plan, opposed by
many within the CIA, the State Department and the Pentagon, is flawed. Not only
would it cement the Assad government's siege of the opposition-held city of
Aleppo, it would push terrorist groups and refugees into neighboring Turkey.
Instead, the United States must use this opportunity to take a harder line
against Mr. Assad and his allies.
Secretary of State John Kerry hopes that this understanding with Russia will
help lead to progress on other issues, including restoring the "cessation of
hostilities," a partial truce that began in February and broke down in May, and
returning to negotiations on a political transition. These are reasonable goals,
which are also embodied in a United Nations Security Council resolution adopted
last December.
But a leaked text of the proposed agreement with Russia shows that it is riddled
with dangerous loopholes. American and Russian representatives are now
delineating areas where the Nusra Front is "concentrated" or "significant" and
areas where other opposition groups dominate but "some possible Nusra presence"
exists. This will still allow Mr. Assad and his Iranian and Russian backers to
attack the non-Nusra opposition in those areas, as well as solidify the Syrian
government's hold on power.
More worrying is that the Assad government lacks the manpower to hold rural
Sunni areas and so will rely on Hezbollah and other Shiite militias to do so.
These brutal sectarian groups will most likely force the Nusra Front and other
Sunni rebels to decamp to Turkey, bringing them, and the threat of militant
violence, closer to the West. The fighting will similarly displace Sunni
civilians, leading more of them to try to make their way to Europe.
The administration's initiative with Russia is driven by either hope or
desperation, but surely not by experience. During the partial truce, Russia took
advantage of similar loopholes that permitted it and the Assad government to
keep fighting the non-Nusra and non-Islamic State opposition. Such violations
have allowed Mr. Assad and his allies to gain territory and besiege Aleppo.
The Obama administration appears to believe that President Vladimir V. Putin is
looking for a way to limit Russia's involvement in the Syrian civil war. We
doubt it. Mr. Putin is more interested in demonstrating that Russia and its
friends are winning in Syria and the United States is losing. He will not alter
his approach unless he becomes convinced that it has grown too expensive.
Instead, because Mr. Putin knows the United States will not take action to
punish Russia for its support for the Assad government, he and Mr. Assad will
probably treat the emerging agreement no differently from the previous ones.
There is an alternative: Punish the Syrian government for violating the truce by
using drones and cruise missiles to hit the Syrian military's airfields, bases
and artillery positions where no Russian troops are present.
Opponents of these kinds of limited strikes say they would prompt Russia to
escalate the conflict and suck the United States deeper into Syria. But these
strikes would be conducted only if the Assad government was found to be
violating the very truce that Russia says it is committed to. Notifying Russia
that this will be the response could deter such violations of the truce and the
proposed military agreement with Moscow. In any case, it would signal to Mr.
Putin that his Syrian ally would pay a price if it did not maintain its side of
the deal.
If Russia does want to limit its involvement in Syria, the threat of limited
strikes should persuade it to make Mr. Assad behave. Conversely, if the skeptics
are right that Mr. Putin will get serious about a political solution only if he
sees the costs of backing Syria's government increasing, the threat of such
strikes is probably the only way to start a political process to end the war.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry have long said there is no military solution to the
Syrian conflict. Unfortunately, Russia and Iran seem to think there is -- or at
least that no acceptable political outcome is possible without diminishing the
rebels and strengthening the Syrian government. It is time for the United States
to speak the language that Mr. Assad and Mr. Putin understand.
**Dennis Ross is the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The
Washington Institute and former senior Middle East advisor to President Obama
(2009-2011).
**Andrew Tabler is the Martin J. Gross Fellow in the Institute's Program on Arab
Politics.
Iran
Is Cheating on the Nuclear Deal, Now What?
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/August 04/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8543/iran-nuclear-cheating
One year
into the nuclear deal, two credible and timely intelligence reports reveal that
Iran has no intention of honoring the terms of the deal, which, anyway, it never
signed.
Germany's domestic intelligence agency revealed that the Iranian government has
pursued a "clandestine" path to obtain illicit nuclear technology and equipment
from German companies "at what is, even by international standards, a
quantitatively high level."
A secret agreement, obtained by the Associated Press, discloses that Iran's
nuclear deal would not only lift constraints on Iran's nuclear program after the
nuclear deal, but it will also do so long before the deal expires -- including
the installation of thousands of centrifuges, five times more than what it
currently possesses, as well enriching uranium at a much higher pace.
The more the White House ignores Iran's violations of the nuclear accord, the
more Iran will be emboldened to violate international laws and the terms of the
nuclear agreement.
On July 14, 2015, Iran and the six world powers known as the P5+1 (China,
France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) reached an
agreement on Iran's nuclear program. The deal was intended to curb Iran's
nuclear ambitions and put a hold on Tehran's nuclear development.
President Obama promised that the deal is not based on trust rather anchored in
verification. Nevertheless, the following revelations of confidential documents
as well as the following breaches of the nuclear agreement by Iran, reveal
otherwise.
On paper, the nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),
stipulates a series of regulations, monitoring mechanisms, and restrictions on
Iran's nuclear activities. But how can the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
maintain these transparency standards and follow through on the proposed
regulations? How can the IAEA be sure to detect all illicit nuclear activities
in the 18th largest country in the world?
Iran has a history of deceiving the IAEA by conducting clandestine nuclear
activities, as it did in Arak, Natanz, and Ferdow.
The Arak heavy water reactor, in Iran, is capable of producing plutonium. (Image
source: Wikimedia Commons)
One of the primary concerns about the agreement is that the Iranian government
could easily pursue a covert program after reaping the benefits of the deal --
the removal of four rounds of international sanctions that were imposed by the
members of the UN Security Council, resumption of oil sales at any level that
Iran desires, rejoining the global financial system, and obtaining billions of
dollars of frozen assets and accumulated interest.
One year into the nuclear deal, two credible and timely intelligence reports
reveal that Iran has no intention of honoring the terms of the deal, which,
anyway, it never signed.
Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of
the Constitution, revealed in its annual report that the Iranian government has
pursued a "clandestine" path to obtain illicit nuclear technology and equipment
from German companies "at what is, even by international standards, a
quantitatively high level."
The intelligence report also stated that "it is safe to expect that Iran will
continue its intensive procurement activities in Germany using clandestine
methods to achieve its objectives." Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel
criticized Iran and emphasized the significance of these findings, in a
statement to the German Parliament.
Although Germany did not state exactly what Iran was trying to buy, another
detailed report by the Institute for Science and International Security appear
to shed light on that topic. The report stated:
"The Institute for Science and International Security has learned that Iran's
Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) recently made an attempt to purchase tons of
controlled carbon fiber from a country. This attempt occurred after
Implementation Day of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The
attempt to acquire carbon fiber was denied by the supplier and its government.
Nonetheless, the AEOI had enough carbon fiber to replace existing advanced
centrifuge rotors and had no need for additional quantities over the next
several years, let alone for tons of carbon fiber. This attempt thus raises
concerns over whether Iran intends to abide by its JCPOA commitments. In
particular, Iran may seek to stockpile the carbon fiber so as to be able to
build advanced centrifuge rotors far beyond its current needs under the JCPOA,
providing an advantage that would allow it to quickly build an advanced
centrifuge enrichment plant if it chose to leave or disregard the JCPOA during
the next few years. The carbon fiber procurement attempt is also another example
of efforts by the P5+1 to keep secret problematic Iranian actions."
The report, which was written by Andrea Stricker and David Albright (former
United Nations IAEA nuclear inspector ), explains that the Iranian government is
required to request permission from a UN Security Council panel for "purchases
of nuclear direct-use goods."
Another critical issue is the revelation about a secret agreement, obtained by
the Associated Press, which discloses that Iran's nuclear deal would not only
lift constraints on Iran's nuclear program after the nuclear deal, but it will
also do so long before the deal expires.
According to the secret agreement, the deal would pave the way for Iranian
leaders to advance their nuclear capabilities at a higher level and even be
capable of reducing nuclear weapons breakout capability from one year to six
months, long before the nuclear agreement ends.
The Obama Administration has not made this document public yet. A diplomat, who
works on Iran's nuclear program and who asked for anonymity, shared the secret
document with the Associated Press:
"The diplomat who shared the document with the AP described it as an add-on
agreement to the nuclear deal. But while formally separate from that accord, he
said that it was in effect an integral part of the deal and had been approved
both by Iran and the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, the six
powers that negotiated the deal with Tehran."
This document suggests that Iran can install thousands of centrifuges, five
times more than what it currently possesses, as well enrich uranium at much
higher pace, also long before the agreement expires.
According to the Associated Press:
"Centrifuges churn out uranium to levels that can range from use as reactor fuel
and for medical and research purposes to much higher levels for the core of a
nuclear warhead. From year 11 to 13, says the document, Iran can install
centrifuges up to five times as efficient as the 5,060 machines it is now
restricted to using.
"Those new models will number less than those being used now, ranging between
2,500 and 3,500, depending on their efficiency, according to the document. But
because they are more effective, they will allow Iran to enrich at more than
twice the rate it is doing now."
The Associated Press adds:
"The document also allows Iran to greatly expand its work with centrifuges that
are even more advanced, including large-scale testing in preparation for the
deal's expiry 15 years after its implementation on Jan. 18. ... The document is
the only secret text linked to last year's agreement between Iran and six
foreign powers. It says that after a period between 11 to 13 years, Iran can
replace its 5,060 inefficient centrifuges with up to 3,500 advanced machines.
Since those are five times as efficient, the time Iran would need to make a
weapon would drop from a year to six months."
More importantly, this document and the rest of the nuclear agreement still do
not explain what are the rules on Iran's nuclear proliferation after the 13
years are over. The only interpretation would be that since there is no
restriction indicated, Iran will be then be free to do what it desires when it
comes to its nuclear program, including installing advanced centrifuges,
enriching uranium, and obtaining a nuclear bomb.
Iran protested the disclosure of these documents. Last week, the spokesman for
the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Behrouz Kamalvandi, said that
"the parts [of the document] published were confidential and were supposed to
remain so. ... Our assumption is that it has been leaked by the (International
Atomic Energy) Agency."
AEOI head Ali Akbar Salehi pressed on the secrecy of these documents "We do not
intend to make this plan known to the public and (IAEA)'s action is a breach of
promise."
This also shows that President Obama wanted the Congress to sign a deal that was
not fully disclosed.
Another problem with the nuclear agreement is the procedure that was put in
place in case Iran violated the deal. On paper, the nuclear agreement indicates
that sanctions would be re-imposed on Iran.
President Obama repeatedly stated that the sanctions could be quickly and easily
re-imposed if Iran violated the terms of the agreement. However, it's not really
that simple. Once the four rounds of sanctions have been lifted, it would
require the approval of all five members of the UN Security Council each to
re-impose one round of sanctions. It goes without saying that getting the
approval of China and Russia would not be as easy as Mr. Obama made it sound.
What has been President Obama's reaction to these crucial intelligence reports?
Silence. The administration continues to disregard and dodge questions regarding
this issue. When asked about the German intelligence report and the Institute
for Science and International Security report, a State Department spokesman
said, "we have absolutely no indication that Iran has procured any materials in
violation of the JCPOA."
The more the White House ignores Iran's violations of the nuclear accord, the
more Iran will be emboldened to violate international laws and the terms of the
nuclear agreement.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, political scientists and Harvard University scholar is
president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He can be
reached at Dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Arabs Must Turn a New Page
with Israel
Fred Maroun/Gatestone Institute/August 04/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8597/arabs-israel-renewal
We must look at Israel not as foreign presence, which it is not, but as a unique
and remarkable component of the Middle East that enriches the region.
The creation of such a Palestinian state under today's conditions is likely to
result in a Hamas-dominated state that is violently hostile towards Israel. The
Palestinian Authority must be transitioned into a peaceful and stable entity
before it can be expected to run a state.
Binyamin Netanyahu recently suggested an approach to make the peace initiative
work, but Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi rejected it out of hand.
This is not how harmonious relationships between nations are built.
"We must all rise above all forms of fanaticism, self-deception and obsolete
theories of superiority." — Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat, 1977.
This is part two of a two-part series. The first part examined the mistakes that
we Arabs made in our interactions with Israel.
There is much that we can do to improve our relationship with Israel -- if we
want to -- and there is good reason to think that it would be in both our short-
and long-term interest if we did. The most critical change is in approach.
Changing that would start to repair the foundation of the relationship and would
provide a basis for mutual respect and trust, without which any solution would
remain fragile.
Understand Israel
We must see the real Israel rather than the monstrosity that Arabs have been
brainwashed to see. We are so afraid to call Israel by its real name that we
refer to it as the "Zionist entity". The name is "Israel"; as written in Haaretz,
"Israel has been the name of an ethnic group in the Levant going back at least
3200 years".
The standard Arab narrative about Israel is that it is the result of Western
colonialism. This language has also been adopted by many, who claim that
"settler colonialism that began with the Nakba ... in 1948", implying that all
of Israel is a colony. This claim is not true, and no healthy relationship can
be built while one side keeps repeating lies about the other.
Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, a people with a long and
complex history on that land. Attempts to kill them and exile them came from
many sources over the centuries, including the Assyrians, Babylonians, Romans
and the Crusaders. These are historical facts.
Israel's then Prime Minister Golda Meir said in 1973, "We Jews have a secret
weapon in our struggle with the Arabs -- we have no place to go". No matter how
much pressure Arabs put on Jews to leave, they are not going anywhere; in fact,
that pressure only hardens their resolve. Israel is their home.
We must look at Israel not as foreign presence, which it is not, but as a unique
and remarkable component of the Middle East that enriches the region.
Not our enemy
We must stop calling Israel our enemy. We deliberately chose to make Israel our
enemy when we attacked it, rather than accept the existence of a tiny Jewish
state in our midst.
Israel (including the annexed Golan Heights and East Jerusalem) is only 19% of
British Mandate Palestine (which included Jordan), on which Britain promised in
1924 to build a "Jewish National Home". Israel is so small that it would have to
be duplicated 595 times to cover the entire Arab world.
We made self-defeating decisions in our relationship with Israel, based on the
belief that it is our enemy and that we can only deal with it though force --
but the tiny state of Israel is not a threat to the Arab world.
Every year, Palestinians hold rallies, often violent ones, to commemorate the
Nakba ("catastrophe"), which is name they give to the Arab loss in the war of
1948/49. They carry keys, symbolizing the keys to homes that their ancestors
fled during that war. This commemoration, like much of the Arab rhetoric about
Israel, is a one-sided view that demonizes Israel while it absolves Arabs of all
responsibility for starting and continuing a conflict that resulted in decades
of violence as well as displacements of both Arabs and Jews.This false narrative does not leave much room for peace with Israel. How can
peace be acceptable to Arabs who are repeatedly fed the false narrative that
everything is Israel's fault, when, in fact, "everything" is not "all Israel's
fault"?
Admitting mistakes is never easy, but without admitting them, we are weaving a
contrived narrative that contradicts historical facts. Building a positive
future requires accepting that the past is gone and cannot be restored.
Despite the Holocaust, Germany is today one of Israel's closest friends, but
this was possible only because Germany admitted its moral failure. Although our
refusal to accept Israel is not morally equivalent to the Holocaust, it was
undeniably a moral failure, and moving past it would allow us to establish
constructive relations with Israel.
Resolving the Palestinian Question
For a successful resolution of the Palestinian question, we must understand the
few fundamental issues on which Israel cannot compromise. At present, the Arab
world, and particularly the Palestinians, shows so little understanding of
Israel's fundamental issues that the Israeli public's faith in peace
negotiations is low. As reported in the Jerusalem Post, "most Israelis (67.7%)
do not believe that negotiations will bring peace in the coming years and less
than a third (29.1%) think it will ever yield such a result".
Israel's ability to remain a Jewish state and a haven for Jews worldwide is its
most basic existential necessity. Without it, Israel would be only a name. For
this reason, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stated unequivocally that
there is "no room to maneuver" on the Palestinian claim of a "right of return"
for the descendants of Palestinian refugees. It may be unreasonable to expect
relatively small and weak countries like Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan to absorb
all the refugees residing there, but rich Gulf countries have the ability to
help. If Europe can absorb millions of Muslim refugees, why could we not do it
too?
A second existential necessity for Israel is its need for defensible borders, as
explained in an extensive report. Israel has been defending its very existence
against Arab attacks for seven decades. It has been attacked from all sides
using all methods imaginable, from missiles to suicide belts to tunnels. Israel
does not see the pre-1967 armistice lines as defensible, as was explained as far
back as 1977 by then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, widely considered a pro-peace
moderate.
A third fundamental point is Jewish access to holy sites, starting with the most
important one, the Old City in East Jerusalem. Jews see their win in East
Jerusalem in the war of 1967 not as a conquest, but as the liberation and
reunification of their historic home since the time of King David, ca. 1000 BCE.
Although Israeli governments, both in 2000 and in 2008, offered to give up
control over part of Jerusalem, one should not assume that a similar offer will
be likely in the future. In June of this year, PM Netanyahu pledged that, "The
idea of a divided, split, wounded city is one we will never return to." Other
issues such as borders, compensation for refugees, removal of some settlements,
and the level of Palestinian sovereignty appear to be negotiable. Netanyahu
further stated, "Israel wants peace. I want peace. I want to renew the
diplomatic process to achieve peace".
But we Arabs must understand that this can only be possible within the
constraints of the three fundamental issues.
The Arab League's Peace Initiative
A peace initiative was endorsed by the Arab League in 2002 and again in 2007,
but this initiative falls short in two ways, first in its substance and second
in its form.
The initiative demands that Israel go back to the pre-1967 armistice lines. Not
only does Israel not consider those borders defensible, but during the fifty
years that elapsed since then, Israel has built large settlement blocks in the
West Bank. We Arabs had previously expelled the Jews who were native to that
land, and it is unrealistic to expect that Israel would agree to victimize its
own Jewish citizens yet again.
The initiative declares that Arab states reject "all forms of Palestinian
patriation which conflict with the special circumstances of the Arab host
countries", implying that Israel and the new Palestinian state would be
responsible for absorbing the descendants of all Palestinian refugees. For the
new Palestinian state, it would be a huge burden to add to the task of building
a new state, as it would mean an increase to its population from 6 million to 9
million. This would leave Israel to receive the refugees, which it will not do.
Equally unrealistic is the initiative's causal reference to "the establishment
of a Sovereign Independent Palestinian State". The creation of such a state
under today's conditions is likely to result in a Hamas-dominated state that is
violently hostile towards Israel. The Palestinian Authority must be transitioned
into a peaceful and stable entity before it can be expected to run a state.
The biggest problem with the Arab League's peace initiative, however, is the way
that it was delivered. It was presented as a fait accompli and was thrown at
Israel without discussion. The Arab League did not even respond to then Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's offer to attend the 2002 Arab League summit. More
recently, Netanyahu suggested an approach to make the peace initiative work, but
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi rejected it out of hand. This is
not how harmonious relationships between nations are built, especially after
decades of Arab animosity towards Israel.
There was no need to write this document at all. All that the Arab League had to
do was to declare that Arab states are open to making peace with Israel, accept
Sharon's offer to attend, then send a delegation to Israel as a sign of
goodwill. There would be no commitment in such a gesture, but it would show that
the Arab League is serious. This is how Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat
approached peace with Israel.
Sadat in His Own Words
We should take inspiration from and follow the lead of Sadat, an Arab leader who
took a bold step towards peace and achieved a peace agreement that even the
Muslim Brotherhood government of Egypt felt compelled to respect 35 years later.
We should take inspiration from and follow the lead of Sadat, an Arab leader who
took a bold step towards peace and achieved a peace agreement that even the
Muslim Brotherhood government of Egypt felt compelled to respect. Pictured:
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (left) and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin
(right) acknowledge applause during a Joint Session of Congress in which U.S.
President Jimmy Carter announced the results of the Camp David Accords,
September 18, 1978. (Image source: Warren K. Leffler/Library of Congress)
Sadat knew that taking steps towards peace requires more than simply writing
documents and speaking from afar, which is why he went to Israel to present his
vision. He said to the Israeli Knesset, "There are moments in the life of
nations and peoples when it is incumbent on those known for their wisdom and
clarity of vision to overlook the past, with all its complexities and weighing
memories, in a bold drive towards new horizons".
Sadat demonstrated that he understood some of Israel's fundamental issues when
he said, "What is peace for Israel? It means that Israel lives in the region
with her Arab neighbors, in security and safety".
Sadat understood the benefit of peace to all people of the Middle East,
including Arabs, and he understood the duty of leaders in making peace a
reality. He said, "We owe it to this generation and the generations to come, not
to leave a stone unturned in our pursuit of peace. ... Peace and prosperity in
our area are closely linked and interrelated".
A New Page
The Arab world has an abysmal record on human rights, is mired in internal wars,
and continues pointless hostility towards Israel, a neighbor that is far ahead
of us scientifically and economically, and from which we could benefit greatly.
We must take ownership of our past actions towards Israel, and we must make the
changes needed to turn the page. In the words of Sadat, "We must all rise above
all forms of fanaticism, self-deception and obsolete theories of superiority".
It is up to us.
*Fred Maroun, a left-leaning Arab based in Canada, has authored op-eds for New
Canadian Media, among other outlets. From 1961-1984, he lived in Lebanon.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Is the Arab League failing
its future leaders?
Yara al-Wazir/Al Arabiya/August 04/16
The Arab League Summit held in Mauritania last week saw key Arab leaders
noticeably absent from the talks. The League, which has 22 member states, was
set up in 1945 and from a theoretical standpoint, has the ability to act as the
European Union of the region. But the talks last week highlighted the League’s
failure at addressing the long-term future of the member states. Although
security issues dominated the talks, what is arguably one of the most potent
security concerns for the future of the region was mostly neglected: the
education of refugees. The region has historically faced a lot of struggles when
it comes to refugees, the most recent of which is the refugee crisis bubbling
out of Syria. According to Amnesty International, as of 2015, more than 4
million refugees have come out of Syria since the crisis erupted five years ago.
More than 60 percent of the refugees from the Syrian crisis are under the age of
18 – this means that in 30 years’ time, it is likely that one of these refugees
will be representing their countries at the Arab League, and all over the world.
The way things are going, young Syrians will not have the opportunity to
represent themselves, their country, their needs, or their rights as the refugee
crisis has turned into an education crisis. More than 1 million of these child
refugees are currently out of school and other forms of education due to a $1
billion gap in funding.
Lack of transparency, lack of funds – what is new?
A report released by international children's charity Theirworld focusing on the
(lack of) education of child refugees focused on the lack of transparency in
identifying the amount of money that has gone directly to education and
educational establishments to aid refugees. The report focuses on pledges made
at the London Summit hosted in February 2016. Of the pledges made in February,
94 percent of the conference donors had allegedly not committed to their pledges
by May. The Arab League, the wider international diplomatic community and aid
organizations must not treat the refugee education crisis like their personal
student loan, paying installments and interest whenever they deem necessary
Lack of education is a risky business
Lack of education is a risky business. The absence of provisions to ensure young
refugees are educated is a massive risk the host countries are taking. When
children are in vulnerable situations, they are prime targets and can easily
fall into a dangerous cycle of child labour, early marriage and – in more
extreme case - young uneducated children are vulnerable to growing up to become
young uneducated vulnerable adults: the prime recipe for extremist recruiting.
The World Health Organization highlights the physiological hazards associated
with child labour as children are often unaware of the toxicity and danger of
the materials they work with. Host countries are not solely responsible for
solving this crisis, if it was, then what is the point of larger organizations,
or a group like the Arab League?
Before it is too late
The Arab League, the wider international diplomatic community and aid
organizations must not treat the refugee education crisis like their personal
student loan, paying installments and interest whenever they deem necessary. The
crisis is not going away any time soon, and action should have been taken five
years ago. Although a number of countries, including Lebanon, have ambitious
plans to ensure every Syrian child is registered in a school, these plans must
be stewarded in order to achieve the results. As well as educating the Syrian
children living in refugee camps, we must remember that first and foremost,
these are innocent, traumatized youth who have already been through more
hardships than many adults have been through in a lifetime. Teachers need
adequate training on dealing with children who come from emotionally traumatized
backgrounds. Many schools in Lebanon run on double shifts, with evening and
morning classes – more countries must follow suit. Organizers of refugee camps
need to accommodate more schools, more teachers, and make a stronger effort to
make the future of the region the focus of their development plans. The talks at
the last Arab League Summit may have underestimated the severity of the crisis
by avoiding issuing a specific statement regarding the situation, but there is
no need to wait for these talks to plan for the future - the future of young
refugee children is in jeopardy. Additional talks must be held and funds must be
allocated ahead of the next school year beginning September.
Saudi women: Between the passport and sports
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/August 04/16
Saudi Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan has been appointed to head a new
department for women under the kingdom’s general authority for sports, which has
always been exclusive to men. This is a positive step that brings optimism in
terms of correcting women’s situation in the country, which is the most
difficult and complicated affair on all popular and official levels.Women’s
situation has been a problem since the state was established around a century
ago. Old traditions still dominate at home, on the street, at school and in the
workplace. For example, women only recently attained the right to an ID card.
Before that, they were included in the father’s or husband’s card. Three years
ago, IDs became a must for Saudi women completing 15 years of age - some
objected, but in the end it all became normal. More recently, Saudi divorcees
and widows got greater legal powers as they can be issued family IDs to register
children at schools and authorize medical procedures. Healthcare institutions
that refuse to treat women if they do not have their guardian’s consent are now
punished. In the past three years, many regulations have been developed and
corrected. Women became allowed to perform jobs that they were previously
prohibited from performing, such as working as a lawyer in courts. Following a
long controversy and objections, women’s wishes finally came true as they were
given the right to plead in courts in different cases, not just those about
women. In three years, the number of female lawyers reached around 100, and
there are more than 600 qualified females training as lawyers.
Women became allowed to participate in municipal elections by either running for
a municipal seat or voting. It was a huge occasion, as more than 100,000 Saudi
women voted. Unfortunately, female winners have been deprived of their rights as
they were isolated from the councils. This is due to an internal decision, and
is not implemented in other state councils. Executing decisions may by
authoritarian and not based on regulations. For example, some oblige females
applying for a Masters or PhD to attain their guardian’s approval. Such
requirements are imposed by people who implement their own rules, which they
must be held accountable for. Since enabling women to attain their own IDs, a
series of discriminatory measures against them has been cancelled, such as
ending the condition imposed on hotels to not allow females to occupy a hotel
room unless they have a male’s approval. An issue that continues to stir
controversy is women’s right to attain a passport - from what I understand, it
is not true that a guardian’s approval is needed. However, she must attain her
guardian’s approval when she travels. I asked a female legislator why the Shura
Council or government are not urged to amend this decision, especially since
correcting it harmonizes with the previous series of measures. She said many
controversial cases are not related to complicated laws and rules, but to how
regulations are executed, and this can be amended by the relevant authority.
Outdated thinking
These issues show us the old philosophy of the government’s role. This
philosophy no longer suits modern society. It is based on the idea that the
state performs the role of the father and husband alongside household members,
and acts on behalf of an employer toward his employees and protects the former’s
rights. There are many cases in courts that show husbands’ and fathers’ abuse
against their dependents. The situation of Saudi women today is better. However,
there is more that can be improved, such as their right to drive cars and the
expansion of employment opportunities. We have a long way to go in correcting
laws and regulations in favor of women. It is even longer in terms of refining
social traditions that sometimes deny women their legal rights. Society is still
characterized by contradictions, as it encourages women’s education yet prevents
them from working. The number of female students in public education and
universities is very high, more than the number of males. According to the
global gender-gap report by the International Economic Forum in 2015, Saudi
Arabia’s ranking improved a lot in terms of providing women with educational
opportunities (82 out of 145 countries). However, it ranked 138 in terms of
providing women with economic opportunities such as employment. The situation of
Saudi women today is better in terms of their right to inheritance, own land,
have abortions for medical reasons, divorce and maternity leave, as well as
preventing female circumcision, criminalizing physical attacks and specifying a
minimum age for marriage. However, there is more that can be improved, such as
their right to drive cars and the expansion of employment opportunities.
**This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Aug. 4, 2016.
Patriotic achievements and
sectarian threats
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/August 04/16
“My injury is an honor and pride. It only further strengthens me to defend this
country and stand by it leaders, security men and people,” said the mayor of
Tarout island in Qatif governorate, Abdulhalim al-Kaidar, following the vicious
attack against him. A few days after the incident, Sadeq Hussein al-Awad was
martyred while defending Saudi borders. He proved to the world that the army is
defending the kingdom, and that citizenship is not limited to a particular sect,
as Ismailis, Sufis, Shiites and Sunnis stand united in defending their country.
Terrorism
Terrorism is fighting moderation. This can be seen particularly with the
assassination attempt against Kaidar, who is well-known for his patriotism
within the context of the state and its institutions and concepts. Media figures
must go beyond sectarian rhetoric when describing patriotic achievements, so we
do not become sectarian like Lebanon. Following the attack against him, former
judge and Sheikh Abdullah al-Khunaizi said: “All forms of violence and using
arms and attacking sanctities are rejected by law and sharia as they will sow
chaos in society, thus tampering with civil peace and leading to instability and
loss of the bliss of security.”These are loyal and patriotic stances. Media
figures must go beyond sectarian rhetoric when describing patriotic
achievements, so we do not become sectarian like Lebanon. It is enough that all
citizens defend their country regardless of their affiliation, tribe, or area
they live in.
*This article was first published in Okaz on Aug. 4, 2016.
A reminder of America’s
greatness
Trisha de Borchgrave/Al Arabiya/August 04/16
Those disenfranchised segments of society that today cheer at populist diatribes
about making their country great again are witless victims manipulated by the
gargantuan, personal ambition of their political representatives. Complicit in
their deceit are those who wedge their foot inside the door to the rhetoric,
such as U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan. His continued support of Donald Trump is
costing the values of a nation he purports to represent, including his own
Republican Party. In his efforts to pick up a feather of self-respect from the
backstreet cockfight that is his leader’s modus operandi, Ryan said he does not
agree with Trump’s proposed deportation of 11 million illegal immigrants. How
did this become part of a political agenda legitimate enough to disagree with?
On what aspect does Ryan take exception? On the method of transportation?
Republican political campaigning has turned into a slow-acting poison,
intubating the electorate on notions and language characterized by inexperience,
lazy intellect and egomaniacal insecurity. This was evident at its convention in
Cleveland in mid-July, which opened with a prayer that amounted to America’s
exorcism of Hillary Clinton, followed on day two by a witch hunt, with chants of
“lock her up.” Trump’s adviser on veteran affairs, Al Baldassaro, said on radio
that Clinton should be shot for treason. Melania Trump’s seemingly lifted
convention speech was, according to her husband’s campaign manager Paul Manafort,
a plot by Clinton to discredit her. In his acceptance speech, Trump intimated
that a dark veil of sinister forces was corroding all that America stands for.
Agreed.
American dream
Last week’s Democratic National Convention (DNC) gave pause to this insanity.
The Democrats struck back at Trump’s doom and gloom like an injected antidote
into a fresh snake bite. Michelle and Barack Obama shone with grandiloquence in
their speeches, powered by graciousness, gentle humour, and the truth that all
of us who believe in a better, fairer world aspire to be part of the American
dream. Importantly, they pointed to America’s real sense of identity in today’s
fast-changing events, to be found inside the hearts and minds of a nation of
non-quitters, each “a beloved part of the great American story.” Everyone,
inside and outside the country, needed to hear this. The American dream is alive
and well, though in need of updating with 21st-century software that recognizes
and can address the real economic and societal cracks through which a large
middle class is falling. Other democracies are unique in their voice and
idiosyncrasies, part of that rich tapestry of nations. However, the United
States soars on the wings of an emotional openness that the British are
embarrassed to express, the Australians flavor with self-deprecation, the French
formalize into political non-sequiturs, the Italians convert into an operatic
sing-song, and the Germans subdue into the small writing of an EU treaty. It
took America’s growing identity crisis for the Democratic Party to refresh its
collective memory of what constitutes American greatness, aided and abetted by
Trump publicly sanctioning Russian cybercrime against the United States. For all
his tyrannical hold on his politburo of billionaires who ensure democracy will
never see the light of day in Russia, President Vladimir Putin must have been
shaking his head in disbelief. By inciting an adversarial leader to subvert the
power and authority of his own country for his own means, Trump has
single-handedly reminded the world of what needs to be put back in the box. Now
that he is to receive intelligence briefings as the Republican presidential
candidate, even if these are not top secret there can be no guarantee that the
final lap to November will be free of new trip-ups. Like a bad driver who has
just passed his test, Trump might well commit other faux pas in his eagerness to
sound informed. The American dream is alive and well, though in need of updating
with 21st-century software that recognizes and can address the real economic and
societal cracks through which a large middle class is falling. Anyone listening
in on the DNC last week was given the chance to reconnect with the pride of an
extraordinary nation whose cultural identity is upheld through social peace and
cohesion by immigrants and non-immigrants alike. Future generations could once
again be inspired by life-affirming oratory, as they grow and hone their own
belief systems about what makes their country great. In November’s election, the
choice on who will hold political power should come down to one simple fact: who
knows more, a lot more, and has been lifted by a lifetime of experience in
fields relevant to today’s domestic and international complexities. This is no
longer about the Republican or Democrat candidate, nor about gender, nor about
the benefits of being an outsider. Negotiating elevator rates and brokerage
fees, however grand the scale, is not going to cut it.
The problems facing America’s
Republicans and Britain’s Labour
Eyad Abu Shakra/Al Arabiya/August 04/16
America had an exceptional few days last week as the Republican Party officially
adopted the billionaire right-wing firebrand Donald Trump as its presidential
candidate for next November’s race to the White House. In the meantime, across
the Atlantic, where the vote to leave the European Union shook Britain and ended
the premiership of the ‘dovish’ Conservative David Cameron without causing much
damage to the Conservative Party, it was the Labour Party that entered an
internal crisis. As the majority of Labour’s members of Parliament rose against
their radical left-winger Jeremy Corbyn, the latter challenged them by
barricading behind party activists and trades unions. Despite the wide
ideological gulf between ‘rightist’ Trump and ‘leftist’ Corbyn, there is one
thing in common between them; both are extremists who are willing to do anything
in the pursuit of power. Trump, who is regarded by many Republicans as an
‘outsider’ and has never been elected to public office, has acutely polarized
the party and confronted its ‘establishment’ by riding an extremist wave of
populism and xenophobia bordering on outright racism. Then, even after securing
the nomination, he is continuing his escape forward with a blatant populism
totally unbecoming of a leader of a pluralistic, advanced and institutional
superpower like America. Corbyn, on his part is not really behaving like leader
of a ‘party of government’ which cannot implement its program without winning
elections. Indeed, he is acting and talking more like an activist in a protest
movement or a strike or picket organizer despite realizing that he has lost the
trust and loyalty of his parliamentary colleagues who believe his radicalism
will destroy the party’s chance in any future elections. He not only refuses to
resign but is also inciting against his fellow parliamentarians! He is even
calling them “Blairites”, accusing them of being “rightists’, and insisting that
he will lead Labour during the next elections.
The erosion of moderation and rationalism
How did two such men, too far from the concept of rational and responsible
democracy, manage to come so close to reach the top?! The most likely answer is
that the crisis the two major American and British parties are going through is
much more serious than a being afflicted with an adventurist, dogmatist or
demagogue as a leader. It is rather a complicated problem that has something to
do with the parties’ fabric, popular bases, and mechanism of decision taking;
currently manifested by a hysterical and mass suicidal attitude due to the
gradual erosion of moderation and rationalism. There is no doubt that lobbies
and interest groups, such as the extreme rightist ‘The Tea Party’ and radical
ultra conservative evangelists have provided for a while a ready and fertile
ground for racist posturing by the likes of Donald Trump, Ben Carson and others
during the Republican primaries. It is obvious from what happened at the
Cleveland Republican Convention that eager pro-Trump supporters do not care less
about broadening the appeal of the party ticket by trying to gain uncommitted
‘centrists’ or neutralizing foes, as these supporters are hostage to their
parochial and factional bigotry that drives them even to resort to personal
attacks and character assassination. Despite the wide ideological gulf between
‘rightist’ Trump and ‘leftist’ Corbyn, there is one thing in common between
them; both are extremists who are willing to do anything in the pursuit of
power. On the ‘Left’, ironically the suicidal image does not seem too different.
The British Labour Party is no less hostage to its militants groups than the GOP
is to the extreme Right and ultra conservative evangelists. Corbyn and his fans
seem to have deliberately forgotten the years of ‘exile’ from power between 1979
and 1997, brought about by voters’ rejection of the extreme ‘Left’ led by
‘Militant Tendency’ which has dominated the party and trade unions. Although
Labour later managed to end this destructive dominance, anomalies in the
leadership selection process ensured Corbyn’s victory thanks to votes of party
activists and bloc votes of the unions. Relying on those, Corbyn is escaping
forward, threatening Labour’s unity and ignoring electoral realities. Extremism
as a phenomenon usually appears in unusual stressful circumstances, such as when
national dialogue breaks down, coexistence is becoming more difficult, or when
the country faces external threat. Under such circumstances worried citizens
obsessed by complicated questions rush to those who give them easy answers and
simple recipes. As we know from experience, there is nothing in politics easier
than finding quick and radical ‘solutions’ in ‘black and white’ to profoundly
complicated problems. During the last few centuries the West, namely since the
French Revolution, witnessed the rise of radical ideologies that brought about
various ethnic, class-based, religious and regional cultures. The French
Revolution marked the rise of Liberalism, soon followed by Conservatism, and the
Socialist – Communist alternative. The collapse of empires – which are by
definition multi-ethnic – led to the emergence of ethnic and nationalist
concepts and loyalties, with the help of geography and regional facts.
Since the mid-20th century, specifically after the end of WW2, extreme racist
nationalisms like German Nazism and Italian Fascism lost, leaving only one
competitor to Western democratic concepts; it was Communism as championed by the
two ‘red’ giants the USSR and China. With the exception of the countries of
Eastern Europe which after WW2 technically fell under Soviet influence, the rest
of Europe went through liberal democracy in different speeds and styles; from
the smoothest and most sophisticated like the Scandinavian countries and
Switzerland, to the rough and slow such as Spain, Portugal and Greece. Despite
these democratic strides, extremism, on the right or left, never disappeared.
Rather, it managed to gain momentum thanks to several factors including foreign
immigration, asylum seekers, terrorism, and adverse economic conditions. Today,
extremist right-wing xenophobic parties are enjoying unprecedented popularity in
countries like the Netherlands and Austria, while radical left-wing parties have
broken the support base of moderate socialists in countries like Greece and
Spain. Finally, a third trend, represented by nationalist – secessionist
parties, has now become a reality that is proving itself through the ballot box
without having to resort to violence. **This article was first published in
Asharq al-Awsat on August 2, 2016.
Damascus Control Emboldens
Assad Nationally
Fabrice Balanche/The Washington Institute/August 04 16
Without a real military threat to the capital, neither the Syrian leader nor
Iran will accept a political transition, even if Russia agrees to one.
The next round of Geneva peace negotiations for Syria is set to begin this
month, but President Bashar al-Assad's recently tightened grip over Damascus
already has the Syrian opposition in a tough spot. Indeed, focus on the battle
of Aleppo, where regime forces have also advanced recently (see "Kurdish Forces
Bolster Assad in Aleppo"), has distracted attention from the Syrian army's slow
but sure recapture of the rebel-held outskirts of the Syrian capital.
Creating a Favorable Demographic Balance for the Regime
Since the 1970s, the Syrian army has had a considerable presence in the Damascus
area, with large military bases occupying the south and west of the capital.
Officially, this military posture has been intended to protect Damascus against
Israel, given that the Golan front is some fifty kilometers away. The unofficial
goal of this setup, designed by former president Hafiz al-Assad, was better
control of Damascus. Bashar's father believed that whoever held Damascus held
Syria. Part of the elder Assad's effort to control Damascus after seizing power
in a coup in November 1970 was to station tens of thousands of troops, along
with Alawite officials and their families, in the city. Whereas in 1947 only 300
Alawites lived in Damascus (out of about 500,000 metropolitan-area inhabitants),
that figure had soared by 2010 to more than 500,000 (of about 5 million in the
metro area), or a quarter of Syria's Alawite community. More Alawites thus lived
in Damascus than in any other Syrian city.
Beginning in the 1970s, the regime also sought to distribute Alawites
strategically throughout the city. In this arrangement, regime officials still
live in Malki, around Assad's private residence, while lower-ranking civil
servants inhabit Mezzeh 86, a large area overlooking the wealthy neighborhoods
of Mezzeh. Also attracting Alawites are the originally Druze-Christian suburban
towns (e.g., Jdeidat Artouz, Jaramana, and Sahnaya), which offer a more
sustainable lifestyle than the conservative Sunni areas of Ghouta (e.g., Douma,
Daraya, Zamalka) -- which have become strongholds of the rebellion.
Since Hafiz al-Assad's rise, the Syrian regime likewise allowed Alawite, Druze,
and Christian neighborhoods to expand close to the strategic axes linking
Damascus to the rest of the country and Lebanon, while also interrupting the
city's "Sunni crescent." This is the case in the large suburb of Jaramana, which
beginning in the 1980s was developed along the road to Damascus International
Airport, fitting the regime's strategic plan to separate the city's Sunni
suburbs -- West and East Ghouta.
City Planning for Security
In the city's northeast, mostly non-Sunni officials and employees in industrial
public-service jobs are housed in public units in Dahiyat al-Assad, Maarat
Mahmoud, and Adra, loyalist neighborhoods helpful in supporting defense of the
city's northeastern entrance. Thus, given that the direct route from Damascus to
Homs has been under rebel fire since April 2012, traffic has been diverted to
the northern ring road, from which it can reach the Damascus-Homs highway. In
the city's southwest, densely situated military camps and Druze-Christian
communities facilitate the protection of roads to Beirut, Quneitra, and Deraa.
The Sunni localities of Moadamiya, Daraya, the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp
-- which is officially a Damascus neighborhood -- and Babila are bordered to the
south by the Druze-Christian belt, reinforced since the 1970s by increasing
numbers of Alawites, and the southern ring road, which has become an important
line of defense for Damascus against the rebel-controlled suburbs.
As a whole, the city is surrounded by a large ring road and cut by wide avenues
that create breaks in the urban space. These streets, designed in the 1970s,
were not meant to ease traffic flow, a point made especially clear when one
considers that few Syrians then had private cars and that developers did not
expect private car ownership to balloon. Rather, this was a classic example of
security planning, with the road layout optimized for the deployment of armored
vehicles to deter any major event. In the late 1970s, Damascus's Old City fell
victim to this strategy when a portion of its souks was razed to make way for a
shopping area with wide streets that intersected at right angles. The regime did
not create wide avenues everywhere, though, allowing informal suburbs with
narrow, mazelike streets to proliferate outside the city. These suburbs
ultimately became the stronghold of the uprising.
Encirclement of Rebel-Held Suburbs
The rebels' failure in Damascus can be attributed mainly to their inability to
unite West and East Ghouta and cut off the road to the international airport.
Jaramana was strongly defended by the Syrian army and, above all, by local Druze
members of the pro-regime National Defense Army. The population has withstood
the rebels' assaults, which have included car bombs and rocket attacks. Thus,
from Jaramana the Syrian army has expanded its hold on the two sides of the
airport road, encircling both Sunni parts of Ghouta.
The military siege on the rebel areas around Damascus is being accompanied by a
food embargo and airstrikes intended to scare civilians. The basic principle of
counterinsurgency, to separate civilians from rebels, is being applied here
primitively, as it has been in Aleppo. In Daraya, only 4,000 people remain,
according to the United Nations, of an original 80,000 inhabitants in 2010. This
siege is also meant to encourage other rebel localities to accept a modus
vivendi with the regime. Babila, Moadamiya, Qudsaya, al-Qabun, and Barzah have
thus concluded ceasefires with the Syrian army, preventing their destruction and
the starvation of their populations.
Since spring 2016, the Syrian army has retaken one-third of East Ghouta, and its
forces continue to advance from the east. This regime offensive was aided by
conflict among the rebel groups Failaq al-Sham, the Fustat Army (led by Jabhat
al-Nusra), and Jaish al-Islam. The last of these had been exercising nearly
hegemonic control over East Ghouta since 2012, but the death of its founder,
Zahran Alloush, on December 25, 2015, has weakened the militia. Alloush's death
also represented a deep setback for Saudi Arabia, given that he had been
promoted to coordinator of the Syrian opposition in the Geneva talks. For the
first time, the political and military opposition had been united. Alloush's
successor, his younger brother Mohammed Alloush, has not been up to the job,
either locally or internationally, being quickly marginalized in Geneva in favor
of Riyad Hijab, the former Syrian prime minister.
Since 2012, a Military Reversal
After the July 18, 2012, attack that claimed the lives of several regime
officials, including Assef Shawkat, Bashar al-Assad's ambitious brother-in-law,
the rebels seemed close to capturing Damascus. Four years later, the Damascus
military situation has been completely reversed. The Syrian army and its allied
Shiite militias now encircle the rebel areas around Damascus. Further, the
rebels have lost hope of being rescued by outside intervention because the
Amman-based Military Operations Center (MOC), which helps coordinate rebel
actions, no longer prioritizes supporting an offensive against the Syrian regime
but rather one against the Islamic State. The potential conclusion of a
U.S.-Russia cooperation agreement against IS and Jahbat al-Nusra could
accentuate the feeling of abandonment among rebels and consequently encourage
many groups to negotiate with the regime or join the jihadists.
In Damascus, the regime is strongly supported by Hezbollah and Iran. This is
largely because the Syrian capital and especially its airports are the main
gateway for Iranian weapons to Hezbollah. The influx of Shiite fighters into
Damascus is also part of an effort to defend the Sayyeda Zainab shrine, a major
Shiite pilgrimage site that, before 2011, welcomed hundreds of thousands of
visitors every year. Each time a rocket falls on Sayyeda Zainab or a car bomb
explodes in the area, the news reverberates throughout the Shiite world, helping
attract new fighters to the front. For Iran, Sayyeda Zainab cannot be allowed to
meet the same fate as the Samarra mosque, destroyed in an al-Qaeda attack in
February 2006.
Assad's Self-Certainty
As compared to government-controlled western Aleppo, which is being buffeted by
rebel rocketfire, the Syrian capital is relatively calm. Public services are
operating normally, and barring the sound of artillery from Jabal Qasioun
pounding rebel areas, the war seems far away. The international airport is
operating again, and the main roads to Homs, Deraa, and Beirut are safe. Such
developments can only reassure Assad. Although he still does not control most of
the country and his army can barely preserve the recent territorial gains
facilitated by the Russian air force's intervention, Assad feels less threatened
because he holds Damascus. And because he no longer needs Putin to defend the
airspace over Damascus, he will be less likely to bow to Russian pressure, not
to mention other international pressure, to cede power. What Assad does still
need in Damascus is continued strong defensive military support from Iran, its
proxy Hezbollah, and Iraq Shiite militias. As it stands, without a real military
threat to Damascus, neither Assad nor Iran will accept a political transition in
Syria, even if Russia agrees to one.
**Fabrice Balanche, an associate professor and research director at the
University of Lyon 2, is a visiting fellow at The Washington Institute.
'Anti-Normalization'
Is an Assault on Israelis and Palestinians Alike
Asaf Romirowsky and Alexander H. Joffe/The National Post/August 04/16
http://www.meforum.org/6168/israel-palestinian-anti-normalization
Originally published under the title "The Anti-Israel Movement's
'Anti-Normalization' Campaign."
Anti-normalization activists loathe coexistence organizations like the Parents
Circle - Families Forum (PCFF), which brings together Israelis and Palestinians
who have lost family members in the conflict.
The basis of any negotiated settlement is compromise. But what if one of the
parties to the conflict simply refuses to talk?
Some Palestinian factions and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)
movement have engaged in what's known as an "anti-normalization" campaign: they
are demanding that all contact between Palestinians and Israelis be severed,
lest they "normalize" the existence of Israel. The reciprocal response by
Israelis and American Jews is denial.
The idea of anti-normalization originated with Arab nationalists during the
1970s and was then picked up by Islamists like Hamas and radical Marxists like
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. At every stage of normalizing
Palestinian relations with Israel — especially during the 1990s, when
negotiations were taking place — extremist factions opposed the very idea of
talking with Israelis. It is now a mainstay of the BDS movement.
That anti-normalization is first and foremost a Palestinian strategy against
other Palestinians cannot be denied. Gaza BDS activist Haidar Eid recently
complained that the Palestinian Authority was "authorizing pro-normalization
American organizations, such as One Voice, Seeds of Peace or the Peace Alliance,
which was established after the Geneva Accord, which gave up the right of return
of the Palestinian refugees" to operate in Gaza.
BDS leader (and Tel Aviv University graduate) Omar Barghouti went further and
lamented that the Palestinian Authority, as well as other Arab states, were not
toeing the line against Israel: "If official Palestinian normalization had not
reached this level, nobody would have dared to host Israeli delegations in Saudi
Arabia, sports delegations in Qatar, trade delegations in the UAE, and
delegations in Bahrain, Morocco and so on. Official Arab normalization has
reached critical proportions."
BDS leader Omar Barghouti laments that "official Arab normalization has reached
critical proportions."
In an era when Syrians have died by the hundreds of thousands and Iran is poised
to develop nuclear weapons, BDS activists are upset that Arab states have moved
on from their cause.
Perhaps because anti-normalization is having no success in the West Bank or the
Arab world, it has become the official policy of the BDS movement in the U.S.
The National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), whose parent organization,
American Muslims for Palestine, was recently shown to be connected to the same
American Muslim Brotherhood supporters who funded Hamas through the Holy Land
Foundation, has long trained its activists in "Countering Normalization of
Israeli Oppression on Campus."
The New York City SJP chapter's manifesto states, "We reject any and all
collaboration, dialogue and coalition work with Zionist organizations through a
strict policy of anti-normalization and encourage our comrades in other
organizations to do the same."
BDS activists in New York have taken this to heart by, among other things,
crashing faculty meetings to demand "Zionists off campus." Their continual
harassment of Jewish students and disruption of campus life has prompted New
York state legislators to call for their suspension and helped push Governor
Andrew Cuomo to ban the state from doing business with companies that boycott
Israel.
Even informal contacts are off limits. Palestinian poet Remi Kanazi made the
position perfectly clear in his poem, Normalize This: "No, I don't want to
normalize with you I don't want to hug, have coffee, talk it out, break bread,
sit around the campfire, eat s'mores and gush about how we're all the same."
The anti-normalization strategy plays out time and again as SJP chapters have
exercised a hecklers' veto over campus events organized by Jewish and Israeli
organizations, including those that highlight Israeli-Palestinian co-operation.
Without communication, and normalization, peace is impossible. And that's
precisely their goal.
To see Israeli denial over anti-normalization in action, consider a recent
incident where members of the Israeli leftist group Two States, One Homeland
entered Ramallah during Ramadan to share an Iftar meal with Palestinians, only
t0 have rocks thrown at them and their cars torched.
In response, the group issued a statement saying, "One of the vehicles was
apparently set on fire and slightly damaged while it was empty. The Palestinian
security services quickly took control of the incident and helped us file a
complaint. Despite the reports, we did not at any point feel threatened and our
Palestinian friends were horrified by the incident. The scariest thing for those
who wish to maintain the status quo is Palestinians and Israelis speaking and
working together."
If rocks and burned cars don't convince these people that anti-normalization is
real, what will?
If rocks and burned cars don't convince these people that anti-normalization is
real, what will?
This co-dependent relationship — Palestinians refusing to engage in a dialogue
with Israel, in order to make it disappear, and Israeli Jews denying that this
is actually a Palestinian strategy — works against communication and peace. That
it has spread to American campuses, along with low-level violence against
Israeli and Jewish groups, is ominous.
Recognizing anti-normalization for what it is — repression against the majority
of Israelis and Palestinians who genuinely want peace — is the first step toward
resuming what has been necessary all along: an honest dialogue that's free of
guilt and threats.
**Asaf Romirowsky is the executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle
East (SPME) and a fellow at the Middle East Forum. Alexander H. Joffe, a
Shillman-Ginsburg fellow at the Middle East Forum, is a historian and
archaeologist.
Egypt's Al-Azhar Opposes
Ministry Of Religious Endowments Plan For Uniform Friday Sermon
MEMRI/August 04/16/August 4, 2016 Special Dispatch No.6556
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/08/04/memri-egypts-al-azhar-opposes-ministry-of-religious-endowments-plan-for-uniform-friday-sermon/
Egypt's Ministry of Religious Endowments, which is headed by Mohamed Mokhtar
Gomaa, recently called for uniform Friday sermons in ministry-funded mosques
across the country, and to require preachers to deliver a sermon provided to
them by the ministry. Minister Gomaa stressed that the uniform sermons
initiative was part of the strategy to combat extremist Islamic ideology and to
stop sermons from dealing with political matters. However, it appears that the
move is also aimed at preventing anti-regime preachers from including criticism
of the regime in their sermons. It should be noted that the ministry often
distributes prepared sermons, but has thus far left the decision whether to use
them or not up to the individual preachers.
This initiative sparked fierce resistance from Al-Azhar, Egypt's supreme
religious body, which claimed that it was contrary to Islamic practice, and
calling it an attempt to limit the freedom of Al-Azhar preachers – some of whom
are ministry employees – and also calling it ministry overreach at Al-Azhar's
expense.
Alongside practical considerations, as well as considerations related to the
division of authority among the various institutions and the nature of Friday
sermons in general, this rift between Al-Azhar and a government ministry under
President 'Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi reflects further erosion of the president's
support base. Thus, Al-Azhar joins a series of elements in Egypt whose support
for Al-Sisi appears to be waning.[1]
To prevent the decline in his status among this support base, Al-Sisi intervened
in the conflict between the Ministry of Religious Endowments and Al-Azhar, and,
according to reports, came down on the side of Al-Azhar. In light of the
president's position, the minister of religious endowments backtracked somewhat,
stating that the preachers would not be required to read out a prepared sermon
and that the ministry would determine only the topic of the sermon and its
length.
The initiative to force all preachers to deliver prepared sermons, as well as
the rift between Al-Azhar and the Ministry of Religious Endowments, have sparked
a public debate in Egypt. Over the past two weeks, the Egyptian press featured
dozens of articles supporting and opposing the minister's initiative. Supporters
argued that some preachers in Egypt use their sermons to cultivate radical
thought, and that forcing them to deliver uniform sermons was vital to
eliminating extremism in Egypt. Other articles criticized the ministry, arguing
that it was trying to "suppress," "eliminate," and even "kill" the role of the
mosque preacher. Society, they said, is far from uniform, and pluralism and
differences of opinion are welcome. Prepared, uniform sermons would actually
foster extremist discourse, they added, because they would prevent preachers
from doing their own thinking and their own research, instead turning them into
pawns of their employer – the ministry – and thus damaging their prestige and
reducing their influence in society.
This report will review the rift between Egypt's Ministry of Religious
Endowments and Al-Azhar regarding the ministry initiative to force preachers in
ministry mosques to use uniform prepared Friday sermons, and Egyptian media
reactions to it:
Ministry Of Religious Endowments Proposes Distribution Of Uniform
Ministry-Prepared Sermons To Preachers
As stated, in recent weeks, the Ministry of Religious Endowments, headed by
Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa, has promoted an initiative for distributing uniform,
prepared Friday sermons to preachers in its mosques throughout Egypt. The
initiative includes both a short-term and a five-year plan, and the ministry has
reached out to imams, asking them to propose topics for these sermons.[2]
On July 9, 2016, the ministry announced the establishment of "a scientific
committee to prepare and formulate topics for Friday sermons on faith, morality,
and everyday life in a manner befitting the times. Sermons will be uniform and
prepared in advance [by the ministry] The announcement also noted that
"outstanding preachers" would be allowed to deliver uniform sermons "in a
spontaneous manner" after receiving permission from the ministry – that is, they
would still be bound to the provided sermon's topic and length, but would be
allowed to deliver it in their own words, as opposed to reading it from the
prepared text.[3]
To promote the initiative, Minister Gomaa met with ministry administration
directors in the various governorates, as well as with the Egyptian parliament's
Religious Affairs Committee. He also gave several interviews and published
articles on the subject in the official Egyptian press.
According to Gomaa, Egyptian law gives him the authority to oversee mosques and
to organize preaching and management affairs. To opponents of the initiative,
and to prove his claim that prepared sermons are indeed allowed in Islam, he
said that the two imams of the mosque in Mecca read sermons from a written text,
but that "no clerics have condemned them for this for generations, and it has
become a manner of silent consent."[4]
Minister Gomaa: We Will Not Allow Extremists To Use Mosque Pulpits
Gomaa said that the initiative had several aims, including keeping extremist
elements out of mosque pulpits, and keeping political matters out of sermons.
However, the initiative appears also to indicate a wish to oversee preachers who
support the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), which is outlawed in Egypt, as well as to
prevent other anti-regime preachers from criticizing the regime. During a
meeting of the parliamentary Religious Affairs Committee, he said: "I will not
allow extremists to hijack mosque pulpits and spread destructive ideas and
extremism. There is no room for chaos."[5]
In an article in the official Egyptian daily Al-Ahram, Gomaa stressed that the
initiative would lead "to a new, modern, and enlightened structuring of thought
and logic, far removed from all shades of extremism and the hijacking of minds,
and in a way that prevents champions of extremist ideology from using mosque
pulpits to present an extremist agenda that serves groups or parties that do not
believe in the homeland and the national state..."[6] In another article, he
wrote that prepared sermons serve "a religious and national interest as part of
a comprehensive plan to spread enlightened Islamic thought, and to curb
extremist thought and prevent any attempt by it to again hijack the religious
discourse."[7]
The July 9 ministry announcement also criticized those preachers "who engage in
political or partisan matters that are unrelated to the topic of the Friday
sermon."[8] Minister Gomaa told the Al-Masri Al-Yawm daily that the initiative
was aimed at ending the practice of introducing religion into partisan affairs,
and also the political use of sermons.[9] Denying that the initiative had
political or security aspects, he argued that it was part "of a clear strategy
to spread the enlightened view of Islam throughout the entire world... until we
can eliminate the chaos ruling the religious discourse, take it back from the
hands of its captors, and restore it to the proper path."[10]
The ministry's desire to avoid controversial political topics has been amply
clear, since the last three weeks of topics of the prepared ministry sermons
have focused on the importance of good hygiene, avoiding sin, and ensuring food
security. Sermons were limited to 15-20 minutes, since, the ministry said, "if a
sermon runs too long, the listener loses concentration and becomes
distracted."[11]
The ministry also reiterated that this program would be rolled out pleasantly,
along with a dialogue, and that it had no intention of forcing the issue.
According to Gomaa, "the era of imposing [anything] is past and will not return,
and we want an enlightened preacher who believes in the topic and implements it
out of love and conviction."[12] He also said that the initiative would only be
enforced "for ministry imams, and we will not force it on anyone who is not a
ministry imam [or who does not operate] out of a mosque under ministry
oversight."[13]
Al-Azhar: Initiative Contradicts Constitution And Islamic Law; Preachers Will
Become News Anchors
As expected, the initiative triggered harsh criticism among Egyptian clerics who
oppose President Al-Sisi's regime. However, surprisingly, Al-Azhar, which has
generally supported Al-Sisi, also joined in the criticism; Al-Azhar members did
not hold back in expressing their objections to the initiative. Dr. Ahmed 'Omar
Hashem, member of Al-Azhar's Council of Senior Scholars, dubbed the initiative
"wretched."[14] Ahmed Karima, a professor at Al-Azhar University, said that it
was "an improvised, indiscriminate, and vague decision."[15]
According to Al-Azhar, the initiative contradicts the Egyptian constitution,
which states that Al-Azhar is in charge of da'wa (preaching), and adds that it
would cause stagnation in religious discourse rather than reinvigorating it, as
the ministry argued, and would lead to increased terrorism. Thus, a statement by
Al-Azhar's Council of Senior Scholars, which is headed by the Sheikh of Al-Azhar,
Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, read: "As part of Al-Azhar's role, which is anchored in the
Egyptian constitution as the authority with regard to Islamic preaching, the
council has unanimously voted to oppose prepared sermons."
The council argued that the initiative "stagnates religious discourse" and that
"imams require serious training, and must be properly educated and provided with
books and libraries so they can deal with extremist and radical ideas using the
proper knowledge and thought... rather than to rely on a piece of paper, [as
this would] soon lead to shallow thinking. [Thus,] they will not be able to deal
with deviant ideas and groups that have deviated from the straight path and use
religion as a guise, and which utilize the distortion of Koranic verses and
sayings of the Prophet [Muhammad] to confuse lay Muslims. [Preachers] will have
a hard time arguing with, disproving, responding to, and warning people against
such ideas."[16]
Another claim was that delivering prepared sermons contradicted Islamic
practices. Ahmed Karima said that "according to traditions and hadiths, a sermon
should be spontaneous so that it can connect with its audience." According to
him, this has been the practice throughout the history of Islam, and only in the
modern era have sermons been read from a prepared text, due to "some tyrannical
regimes in certain countries wishing to eliminate preachers' freedom of speech,
as well as due to the decline of [religious] research in some countries."[17]
Al-Azhar officials warned that "preachers will become [like] news anchors"[18]
and that "mosque [maintenance] workers" or "seventh-grade pupils will be able to
deliver sermons, rendering Al-Azhar alumni obsolete" – thus also eliminating the
need for theology schools.[19]
The officials also that each governorate and region has its own problems that
preachers deal with in their sermons. Al-Azhar Council of Senior Scholars member
Dr. Ahmed 'Omar Hashem compared a preacher to a doctor who diagnoses an illness
and prescribes treatment accordingly: "Egypt is a large country with [many]
governorates, cities, and villages, which differ from each other in terms of
practices. Therefore, [preachers] must deliver a sermon that is appropriate for
the location... and for the events."[20]
Tensions Between Ministry And Al-Azhar Escalate After Al-Azhar Preacher Rejects
Prepared Sermons
In response to Al-Azhar's comments, the ministry attempted to alleviate tension,
stressing that this was not a conflict between the two bodies, but adding that
it was determined to continue rolling out the initiative. In an article titled
"Not a Struggle," Gomaa argued that the initiative "is not a conflict with
anyone, nor should it be. We should all serve as an example of camaraderie and
cooperation... and place the national interest above all other considerations...
There is room for disagreement and difference of opinion regarding
organizational matters that do not contravene the consensus or religious law...
and then the ruler or his representative settles these disagreement."
Adding that this topic fell under the authority of the Ministry of Religious
Endowments, Gomaa continued: "Religious and national interests require us... to
continue determinedly to implement uniform, prepared sermons using dialogue and
persuasion, without imposition or oppression... Our way is discourse and
dialogue. There is no religious or legal ruling preventing a preacher from
reading a prepared sermon from a text, so long as he believes in it... We are
still in the stage of distributing sermons that serve as guidance, and a
preacher can either commit to [delivering] it in full or [delivering only] its
outline, provided that he stays within the 15-20-minute time frame and does not
deviate from its topic or general content..."[21]
He also told Egyptian TV in an interview: "I am a student of Al-Azhar, which is
the supreme source of authority, and the Sheikh of Al-Azhar is my [spiritual]
father. My disagreement with [Al-Azhar Sheikh] Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb is scientific.
In accordance with my authority, I have decided to implement [a policy of
distributing] uniform, prepared sermons. We are determined to implement
this..."[22]
However, contrary to the minister's claim that the initiative would be rolled
out gradually and "pleasantly," Sheikh Hamada Al-Mut'ana, director of the
religious endowments authority in the Al-Sayyida Zainab area in Cairo, warned:
"If an imam does not commit to reading the [text of the] prepared sermon, he
will be treated as a Muslim Brotherhood member."[23] The daily Al-Masri Al-Yawm
also reported that Gomaa had threatened to dismiss preachers who refused to read
the prepared sermons, or at least fine them hundreds of lira.[24]
Naturally, it is difficult to assess how successful the ministry will be in its
enforcement of the initiative, but it appears that Al-Azhar is determined to
oppose it. Thus, on Friday, July 29, 2016, Al-Azhar mosque preacher Dr. Mohamed
'Abd Al-A'ati refrained from delivering the prepared sermon, which focused on
the importance of good hygiene, and spoke instead on the recent Copt-Muslim
clashes in the country and the issue of "national unity and Christian rights in
Islam." Al-A'ati subsequently said that the ministry can "force its own men [to
use its prepared sermons], but not Al-Azhar. It can only force the imams who are
on its payroll."[25]
Al-Azhar Council of Senior Scholars member Dr. Ahmed 'Omar Hashem also stressed
that he had no intention of delivering prepared sermons, as doing so constitutes
"a personal offense to me and senior scholars," adding that he would rather quit
than comply with the ministry initiative.[26]
Following the escalation of tension between the Ministry of Religious Endowments
and Al-Azhar, on August 3, 2016 President Al-Sisi met with Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmad
Al-Tayeb, apparently at the latter's request. Reports on this meeting indicate
that Al-Sisi sided with Al-Azhar rather than the ministry, in order to avoid a
clash with Al-Azhar and preserve his status among this traditional support base.
After this meeting the endowments minister backtracked somewhat from his
previous position on the prepared sermon.
According to the president's spokesman Alaa Youssef, during the meeting Al-Sisi
emphasized "the state's full and continued support for the Al-Azhar institute...
and pointed to the importance… of [its] continued [role] in presenting the true
cultural model of Islam."[27] According to an announcement issued by Al-Azhar,
immediately following his meeting with the president Al-Tayeb convened in his
office Minister Gomaa, Egyptian Mufti Dr. Shawki 'Allam and senior Al-Azhar
officials, and "directed [them] to formulate the necessary training programs to
improve the level of the preachers and imams... while focusing on improving the
imams' skills in preparing sermons and delivering them." The Sheikh of Al-Azhar
also urged the Ministry of Religious Endowments and all religious leaders to
commit to Al-Azhar's path and work together to raise the level of religious
discourse and improve imams' abilities. At the same time, he expressed
willingness to accept sermon topics dictated by the ministry, but demanded that
sermons address social problems and that the topics be selected in coordination
with Al-Azhar. According to the announcement, he demanded that "selection of the
sermon and lesson topics be coordinated in a manner that would serve the needs
of society."[28]
At the end of the meeting, the minister clarified that preachers were expected
to comply with the ministry's directives in only two aspects – the length of the
sermon and its general topic – and would not have to read out a prepared text:
"The ministry will penalize a preacher only in two cases: if he deviates from
the specified time frame or from the sermon's topic. I charged the preachers to
thoroughly understand the topic of the sermon and deliver it to the worshipers
without [reading from] the page." He emphasized, however, that selecting the
sermon topic was his exclusive prerogative: "The Ministry of Religious
Endowments alone is responsible for [selecting] the sermon topic. Some groups
that wish to hijack the mosques oppose the prepared sermon [initiative]. The
fear that the mosques will be hijacked still exists, and therefore the ministry
is responsible for determining the topic of the sermon." The minister challenged
his opponents to prove that the ministry obligated the preachers to a deliver a
prepared sermon, stressing that no such demand exists.
Al-Azhar officials viewed the ministry's statements as a significant withdrawal
from its former position. For example, Dr. Muhamad Al-Shahat Al-Jundi, member of
Al-Azhar's Academy of Islamic Research, said: "The decision of the minister of
religious endowments that the prepared sermon will be [only]a guideline, not
obligatory, represents a withdrawal from his [former] position [out of] a desire
to appease Al-Azhar and lean in its direction, and emphasizes that the sermon
will be spontaneous."[29]
Egyptian Press Articles For And Against Uniform Sermons
The Religious Endowments Ministry's initiative to force all preachers to deliver
prepared sermons was widely discussed in the Egyptian press, which featured many
articles both supporting and opposing the decision.
Egyptian Culture Minister In Defense Of Uniform Sermons: Some Mosques Have
Become Like Headquarters Of Parties Or Militias
Egyptian Culture Minister Helmy Al-Namnam came to the defense of the decision in
an article that criticized "improvised" sermons. He wrote: "The improvised
sermon is usually characterized by a great deal of passion and emotion, and this
passion can yield expressions that do not befit a mosque pulpit... Sometimes the
sermon is politically-guided, reflecting the [political] leanings and personal
ideology of the preacher... [Moreover], though Islam warns us against [uttering]
curses and invective, in recent years we have heard preachers cursing
politicians, public figures and intellectuals just because they disagree with
[these figures'] politics or ideology. Some mosques have become like
headquarters of [certain] parties or militias. The improvisations of some
fervent preachers led them to [make] despicable racist statements and remarks
against certain countries or peoples... During a Friday sermon, the worshipper
is unable to oppose the preacher's [statements]... In some instances where
people protested the preachers' improvisations, this led to a riot inside the
mosque, harming the spirit and the meaning of [the act of] worship... Improvised
sermons have their dangers, as we are all aware... A prepared sermon, [on the
other hand,] will address a central theme and secondary themes in a logical,
structured sequence. The preacher will deliver it in his own words and his own
pleasant way... Gentlemen, we have had enough of improvisation [in matters] that
allow no improvisation."[30]
Egyptian Columnist: The Uniform Sermon – A Welcome Step Towards Eliminating
Extremism In Religious Discourse
'Imad 'Arian, a columnist for the official daily Al-Ahram, wrote that the
uniform sermon will protect society from the "deviant opinions" sometimes heard
in mosques unsupervised by the state: "There are many reasons to support and
welcome the courageous move that the Minister of Religious Endowments took when
he approved [the decision] to have a prepared, uniform Friday sermon [in all
mosques]. This is a welcome step towards reforming the religious discourse and
purging Egypt of extremism and fanaticism... It should be noted that scandalous,
disastrous and deviant Friday sermons [are delivered] in small mosques that can
be called 'piratical mosques,' which are far from the supervision of the
Religious Endowments Ministry [and are located] in small, remote villages but
also in certain cities around the country. [In these mosques] deviant and
detestable opinions and expressions [are heard], that are at odds with all logic
and any religion. Everyone knows that these mosques and these dubious imams –
some of whom are uneducated rhetoricians – are the ones who introduced extremism
into Egypt, as well as religious zealotry that [begat] the most despicable forms
of terrorism...
"The prepared sermon shields us from the damage of the nonsense that is
repeatedly heard from the pulpits of unsupervised mosques, and is absolute
protection for the fundamental values of society. Some Muslim countries have
already understood this, and have not sufficed with [enforcing] a prepared,
uniform sermon. They took it one step further by recording the entire Friday
sermon [in advance] and then broadcasting it one week later, after examining it
in detail to ensure that it is free of the discourse of hate and extremism and
of views that do not conform to the correct faith."[31]
pponents Of The Uniform Sermon: It Is A Hasty Decision That Harms The Imams'
Prestige And Will Not Curb Extremism But Rather Encourage It
Egyptian poet and journalist Farouk Gweda, head of the culture section of the
Al-Ahram daily, wrote that the attempt to standardize Friday sermons is a
dictatorial measure that suppresses the imams' abilities and talents and
infringes upon freedom of speech and freedom of religious opinion: "Friday
sermons are supposed to broaden one's horizons... and it is inconceivable to
paralyze all this with a [uniform] text that will be distributed to all mosques
every week. This eliminates the clerics' abilities and prevents any attempt to
interpret [texts] or present knowledge. [Moreover,] there are large ideological,
cultural and religious differences between [different] clerics, and each mosque
has its unique character... A [large city] mosque is on a different level than
mosques in villages and non-urban areas... [Additionally,] a mosque imam has the
right to cultivate [his skills], and he certainly cannot do this by reading out
a [prepared] sermon, for such a sermon kills all investigative spirit,
differences of opinion and [thirst for religious] knowledge among clerics.
Conversely, whoever writes the Friday sermons for all of Egypt's mosques will
certainly not be any better than other clerics who are [just as] adept at
writing rich and influential sermons.
"This measure [of standardizing the Friday sermon] has dictatorial aspects and
even more than that, because it imposes upon the entire [Egyptian] people a
uniform discourse, opinion and test that cannot be challenged... Had Allah
wanted to, he would have made the [Muslims] one [monolithic] ummah, [but] the
differences of opinion between the four imams – [the founders of the four major
Islamic schools] Al-Shafi'i, Malik, Abu Hanifa and Ibn Hanbal – is the best
proof that Islam is [actually] a religion of differences and debates, for each
of [these imams] had his own school and his own interpretations... I do not
think there was any point in Muslim history where all Muslim countries had a
uniform sermon – for pluralism, in thought and in [all aspects of] life, is one
of the important principle in Islam."[32]
Hussein Al-Qadi, who writes in the Egyptian daily Al-Watan, called the Religious
Endowments Ministry's decision "hasty" and said that, since it would turn imams
into ignorant pawns of the state, it would actually diminish their ability to
confront extremism rather than enhance it. He wrote: "The decision regarding the
prepared sermon was taken hastily and hurriedly... It should have been preceded
by a [public] debate involving clerics, intellectuals, imams and educators, and
a survey among thousands of imams, which would have required at least three
months. Instead, the decision was taken without making any investigation, and
its consequences may be disastrous...
"Let me address two [of these potential] consequences. [First,] deepening the
conflict between the sheikhs [of Al-Azhar] and the [Ministry of] Religious
Endowments. The Minister [of Religious Endowments] issued an independent
decision [in this matter], and the advisors of the Sheikh of Al-Azhar and
figures from [Al-Azhar's] Council of Senior Scholars expressed their opposition
to it. The minister is trying to push the decision through at any cost, while
the sheikhs are trying to embarrass him by opposing it. In this way both sides
are preoccupied with each other instead of dealing with the extremists and
inciters.
"[Second,] the prepared sermon will not minimize extremist ideas but [only]
eliminate the knowledge and education of the imam, [for it will] help turn him
into an ignorant pawn [by] eliminating the value of education in his eyes. Once
imams become accustomed to this situation, they will not be able to hold their
own in a debate with a young person [from the MB] who has read a book by [Sayyid]
Qutb or [Yousuf] Al-Qaradawi, [for example], and this will be a golden
opportunity [for extremists] to spread extremist ideology.
"The extremists have long been saying that the imams of the Religious Endowments
Ministry are 'government sheikhs' who say only what the government tells them to
say and are persuasive [only] due to their skills of deception. Imagine that, on
top of this, we have the imam read out a text that is dictated to him, while
monitoring him and punishing him if he takes it into his head to explain
something, interpret something or add something that does not appear in this
written text. [If we do this,] then when [this imam] sets out the teachings of
early and late [Muslim scholars] that oppose extremism, nobody will be persuaded
by his words, because the [Religious Endowments] Ministry lost its faith in
[this imam] even before the youths lost their faith in him."[33]
Al-Ahram Article: The Egyptian Citizen Is Embarrassed By The Clash Between Al-Azhar
And Religious Endowments Ministry
Some of the articles lamented the clash between the Ministry of Religious
Endowments and Al-Azhar. Al-Ahram columnist Ibrahim Al-Dasuqi argued that in
this confrontation both sides were losers: "The Ministry of Religious Endowments
dared to deliberately challenge Al-Azhar by refusing to make any concessions
regarding its demand to standardize Friday sermons. [Rather,] it declared its
commitment to this [decision] and its willingness to launch an all-out war to
defend it. Soon a war of statements and declarations broke out between these
[two] long-standing institutions, while the [Egyptian] citizen stood bewildered,
embarrassed and torn, not knowing exactly what is happening and who is right and
who is wrong...
"The hidden conflict that existed between the Religious Endowments Ministry and
the sheikhs of Al-Azhar has risen to the surface and is no longer a secret...
Both sides are playing a zero-sum game... whose expected results will be a
painful defeat for both of them, and they will not be able to fix the damage or
mend their relations very quickly. Both sides will suffer greatly from the
severe loss of confidence in them, [for] the average citizen will view them with
suspicion..."[34]
Egyptian Columnist: The Minister Instigates Crises To Promote His Own Image
Zainab 'Abdallah, a columnist for the Egyptian daily Al-Yawm Al-Sabi', harshly
criticized the minister of religious endowments for trying to impose his
initiative on the sheikhs of Al-Azhar. She wrote: "Religious Endowments Minister
[Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa] deals with the mosques, their imams and the calls to
reform the religious discourse as though they were his own private property...
This was clearly reflected in the crisis of the prepared sermon that he
instigated lately... [and which] angered the imams and the senior Al-Azhar
clerics, who took it as an insult, as disrespect [for their status] and as
casting doubt on their abilities... [The minister] called on the imams of the
Religious Endowments Ministry to implement his decision and stick to the
prepared sermon, while ignoring the decision of Al-Azhar and its clerics [who
reject the prepared sermon initiative] and waging a new battle with the oldest
Islamic institution in the world. [He did this] despite the fact that the Sheikh
of Al-Azhar, Grand Imam Dr. Ahmad Al-Tayeb, [was] his teacher and the one who
proposed him for the position of endowments minister, and despite the fact that,
throughout history, his ministry functioned as part of Al-Azhar. Since becoming
minister of religious endowments, Dr. Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa has made efforts to
work separately from Al-Azhar and has fabricated crises in order to present
himself as the bearer of the banner of [religious] reform and as one who fights
extremism single-handedly... All these efforts and these crises periodically
sparked by the endowments minister benefit nobody but the extremist groups
[themselves], and harm the image of Al-Azhar's clerics and the sheikhs of the
official religious institutions...
"[Minister Gomaa], do not deepen the crisis among the clerics and do not
preoccupy them and the people with petty quarrels when the homeland is facing
dangers that require the clerics and the religious institutions to unite their
ranks in order to confront extremist ideology and present a moderate image of
Islam."[35]
Endnotes:
[1] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6549, Three Years Later: Egyptian President
Al-Sisi's Supporters Express Disappointment, Call His Regime Tyrannical, July
29, 2016.
[2] Ar.awkafonline.com, July 31, 2016.
[3] Ar.awkafonline.com, July 9, 2016.
[4] Ar.awkafonline.com, July 28, 2016.
[5] Al-Watan (Egypt), July 19, 2016.
[6] Al-Ahram (Egypt), July 22, 2016.
[7] Almokhtarone.com, July 29, 2016.
[8] Ar.awkafonline.com, July 9, 2016.
[9] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), July 20, 2016.
[10] Ar.awkafonline.com, July 22, 2016.
[11] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), July 20, 2016.
[12] Al-Ahram (Egypt), July 22, 2016.
[13] Al-Watan (Egypt), July 26, 2016.
[14] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), July 31, 2016.
[15] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), July 27, 2016.
[16] Azhar.eg, July 26, 2016.
[17] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), July 20, 2016.
[18] Al-Watan (Egypt), July 22, 2016.
[19] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), July 27, 2016.
[20] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), July 31, 2016.
[21] Almokhtarone.com, July 29, 2016.
[22] Al-Wafd (Egypt), July 31, 2016.
[23] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), July 29, 2016.
[24] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), July 20, 2016.
[25] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), July 29, 2016.
[26] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), July 22, 2016.
[27] Masralarabia.com, August 3, 2016.
[28] Azhar.eg, August 3, 2016.
[29] Elbalad.news, August 3, 2016.
[30] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), July 19, 2016.
[31] Al-Ahram (Egypt), July 25, 2016.
[32] Al-Ahram (Egypt), July 20, 2016.
[33] Al-Watan (Egypt), July 19, 2016.
[34] Al-Ahram (Egypt), August 1, 2016.
[35] Al-Yawm Al-Sabi' (Egypt), July 31, 2016.