LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

March 29/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.march29.16.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today

Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 21/01-14:"After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the lake. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.’ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you? ’ because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead."

Who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death
Letter to the Romans 06/03-11:"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 29/16
Glory of Lebanon given up to a religious leader/By Ahmed Al-Jarallah – Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times/March 28/16
Analysis: ISIS and the fantasy of an Islamic caliphate are not long for this world/Yossi Melman/Jerusalem Post/March 28/16
Israeli Ambassador To Spain Is An Israeli-Druze successful businesswoman/Ynetnews/Itamar Eichner/March 28/16
Retreat and isolation among practicing Muslims in Europe/Hassan Al Mustafa/Al Arabiya/March 28/16
Islamophobia reversed: What drives our response to terror attacks/Abdullah Hamidaddin/Al Arabiya/March 28/16
On one man’s decision to ‘shield his wife’ in Saudi Arabia/Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/March 28/16
How do you solve a problem like Aung San Suu Kyi/Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/March 28/16
Spain In The Crosshairs Of Islamism/By: Alberto M. Fernandez*/ MEMRI Daily Brief No.85/March 28, 2016

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on March 29/16

Kuwait to Deport 60 Lebanese for Alleged Hizbullah Links
Controversy as Two Lebanese Candidates Vie for UNESCO Chief Post
Report: NSA Chief Visited Israel for Talks on Hizbullah Cyber Warfare
Report: Ban May Visit Saudi Arabia, Iran to Reach Breakthrough in Presidential Impasse
Berri: Ban was Receptive of Lebanese Request for U.N. to Demarcate Maritime Border
Report: International Warning on Terrorist Sleeper Cell Attacks
Al-Nusra Front Lebanese Found Killed in Outskirts of Arsal
Derbas Stresses, Salam Refused to Discuss Naturalizing Refugees with Ban
March 8 Officials Persuading Hizbullah to Drop Support for Aoun
Man Kills Young Wife in Hermel
Egypt FM Says Arab League Labeled Hizbullah 'Acts' Terrorist, Not Group
Tensions High in Ain el-Hilweh after Islamist Kills Fatah Member
Sami Gemayel: Hizbullah to Pick President Every 6 Years if We Allow It
Injured Shooter Arrested after Gunfire at U.S. Congress
Glory of Lebanon given up to a religious leader

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 29/16
Pakistan Army Crackdown as Families Bury Victims of Easter Blast
Israel raises travel warning to Turkey, urges citizens leave
Belgium release video footage of third airport suspect
Dutch anti-terrorism police arrest suspect at France’s request
Putin, Rowhani agree to intensify contacts
Russia-backed Syrian army carry on anti-ISIS push
Syria’s Palmyra can be restored ‘in five years’
Erdogan: 5,359 Kurdish militants killed since July
Taliban fire rockets at Afghan parliament
Saudi, Yemen Rebels Exchange Prisoners ahead of Peace Talks

Links From Jihad Watch Site for March 29/16
Canada to fight jihad terrorism by establishing Office of Community Outreach and Counter-radicalization Coordinator.
Germany wants Muslim migrants to integrate or lose their rights to residency.
Muslim hackers infiltrate water utility’s control system, change levels of chemicals used to treat tap water.
Defense Department admits that freed Guantanamo jihadis have murdered Americans.
Video: Muslim stomps on Brussels memorial for jihad victims, screams “Palestine!”.
New documentation: Turkish government allowing Muslims to pass freely through Turkey to the Islamic State.
Australia: Muslim cleric threatens violence if headscarf laws not changed.
European authorities overwhelmed as hundreds of Islamic State fighters return home.
“The Islamic State has agents all around the very sensitive facilities in the world, like metro stations, like airports”.
Archbishop of Vienna says that the Islamic State crucified a priest on Good Friday in Yemen.
Pakistan: Muslim murders 53 at park as Christians were celebrating Easter.
Islamic State claims jihad bombing of Iraqi soccer stadium; 29 dead.
Brussels jihad murderers plotted Easter church massacres in the UK.

Kuwait to Deport 60 Lebanese for Alleged Hizbullah Links
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 28/16/Kuwait is to deport 60 Lebanese for alleged links to Hizbullah in the latest Gulf Arab move against the Shiite group, a newspaper reported on Monday. Those to be deported all had permanent residency which has been revoked, al-Qabas daily said. Those classified as "dangerous cases" were given just two days to leave the country, it added. It is the second wave of deportations from Kuwait reported since Gulf Arab states blacklisted Hizbullah as a "terrorist" group earlier this month. Last week, al-Qabas reported that 11 Lebanese and three Iraqis had been deported for alleged links to the group. Around 50,000 Lebanese live and work in the oil-rich emirate, providing remittances that are vital to the domestic economy. The terror blacklisting was the latest step taken by Gulf states, led by Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, against Hizbullah, the leading force in Lebanon's governing bloc which is backed by Riyadh's Shiite rival Tehran. Last month, Saudi Arabia halted a $3 billion program of military aid to Lebanon to protest what it said was "the stranglehold of Hizbullah on the state". It also urged its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid travelling there. Qatar and Kuwait followed with similar travel advisories, while the United Arab Emirates banned its nationals from travel to Lebanon. Hizbullah is fighting in support of the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad against Gulf-backed rebel fighters and extremist militants. Other Gulf states have also taken measures against alleged Hizbullah supporters since the terror blacklisting. Bahrain said it had deported several Lebanese residents for alleged links to the group. Saudi security forces arrested a Shiite preacher accused of glorifying the group, the kingdom's al-Watan newspaper reported last week.
And the United Arab Emirates has reportedly put seven people on trial for allegedly forming a cell linked to Hizbullah.

Controversy as Two Lebanese Candidates Vie for UNESCO Chief Post
After two Lebanese figures announced their nominations for the key post of head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Lebanese political scene appears to be divided about the two candidates. Ex-Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh announced his bid for the leadership of the Paris-based organization during an interview on LBCI TV on March 16, but media reports have said that the move was not coordinated with Lebanese authorities. Meanwhile, Lebanese expat Vera El Khoury Lacoeuilhe told MTV on Monday that she has been in contact with the Lebanese government about her possible nomination for the past year and a half and that she has received the support of Prime Minister Tammam Salam. According to the U.N.'s website, El Khoury Lacoeuilhe has represented the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia during two mandates at the Executive Board of UNESCO, and at the International Organization of Francophonie. Media reports have said that the woman also enjoys the support of Culture Minister Rony Araiji and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil. Describing Salameh as “a friend who is known by everyone in Lebanon,” El Khoury Lacoeuilhe stressed that she is “well-known at UNESCO.” “I'm famous at UNESCO. The ambassadors of all countries consult with me at UNESCO,” she said in phone interview with MTV. “For UNESCO, I consider that I'm the right person at the right time for this post,” El Khoury Lacoeuilhe added. According to media reports, El Khoury Lacoeuilhe visited Bkirki on March 20 to seek the support of Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi. Some media reports have claimed that prominent Lebanese businessman Gilbert Chagoury has persuaded FM Bassil to support El Khoury Lacoeuilhe's bid, alleging that the Lebanese mogul has “business ties” with the woman's husband. Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat threw his support behind Salameh on Sunday, urging the Lebanese government to endorse his nomination and criticizing El Khoury Lacoeuilhe without naming her. “The Lebanese government must take a decision without hesitation. Who else other than Ghassan Salameh is eligible of this post?” Jumblat tweeted. “Ghassan Salameh is the best Lebanese and Arab candidate to oversee this institution, due to his experience, competence, knowledge and relations,” the PSP leader added. “Salameh is an intellectual, political and humanitarian figure and one of the Lebanese elite who have elevated Lebanon's name in all fields,” Jumblat went on to say, warning against any “suspicious nominations.” Salameh, who is professor of international relations at Sciences-Po (Paris) and the founding dean of its Paris school of international affairs, was minister of culture in 2000-2003. He has served as special adviser to the U.N. secretary-general and as the political adviser to the U.N. mission in Iraq. Salameh is also an author and the co-chairman of the board of the International Crisis Group and the founding chairman of the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture.
Meanwhile, El Khoury Lacoeuilhe currently lectures on international organizations at the Sorbonne Law School (Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne), according to the U.N.'s website. “With 20 years of experience as a diplomat in multilateral diplomacy, she has chaired several inter-governmental committees including the World Heritage Committee. She also was the chair for UNESCO’s Independent External Evaluation Ad Hoc Working Group,” says the U.N. website. On February 24, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Bureau appointed her as a member of an Independent Team of Advisors to support “the second phase of the ECOSOC Dialogue on the longer-term positioning of the U.N. development system in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”

Report: NSA Chief Visited Israel for Talks on Hizbullah Cyber Warfare
Naharnet/March 28/16/U.S. National Security Agency chief Michael Rogers has made a secret visit to Israel for cooperation against possible attacks by Hizbullah and its main backer Iran, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. A senior official told the newspaper that one of the subjects that Rogers discussed with Israeli officials was cooperation in the field of cyber defense, particularly in the face of attacks from Iran and Hizbullah. The official said that Rogers visited Israel as a guest of the commander of Unit 8200, but also met with senior officials from other Israeli intelligence agencies. Rogers heads the U.S. military's Cyber Command, which is engaged in targeting enemy networks and social media sites. Rogers did not hold talks with Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot and the director of Military Intelligence Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevi, the official said. Haaretz also quoted Israeli defense officials as saying that Jewish State has faced cyber attacks from Iran and Hizbullah during the 2014 summer war in the Gaza Strip, but have risen in intensity in recent months. Hizbullah fought Israel to a draw during a ferocious month-long war in 2006. The border between the two countries has been largely quiet since then.

Report: Ban May Visit Saudi Arabia, Iran to Reach Breakthrough in Presidential Impasse
Naharnet/March 28/16/Speaker Nabih Berri had voiced concerns to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that Lebanese officials may no longer be able to reach an “internal solution” to the deadlock over the presidential elections, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Monday.
He encouraged Ban to seek dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran, “because an agreement between them may raise hope that an agreement may be reached over a president for Lebanon.”The U.N. chief had responded to the request by saying that he will try to visit Riyadh and Tehran. He credited the speaker with the “positive role he is playing” on the internal Lebanese seen, noting that he is “the only official capable of bringing together all rival parties to dialogue.” Berri has been sponsoring rounds of national dialogue since September 2015. Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor. Disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a candidate have thwarted the polls. Hizbullah, which is backed by Iran, announced that it would boycott the elections until it receives guarantees that its candidate, Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun, will be elected head of state. Various March 14 officials and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat have accused foreign powers, most notably, Iran of hindering the polls. Ban paid a visit to Lebanon on Thursday and Friday where he met with Berri, Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, and the international peacekeeping force in the South. He also toured Palestinian and Syrian refugee encampments.

Berri: Ban was Receptive of Lebanese Request for U.N. to Demarcate Maritime Border
Naharnet/March 28/16/Speaker Nabih Berri revealed that the demarcation of Lebanon's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Mediterranean was among the issues he discussed with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during his visit to the country last week, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Monday. Berri told the daily that Ban was “receptive of an official Lebanese request that the U.N. demarcate the Lebanon's EEZ, which borders Israel.” This was a major topic of discussion between Ban and Prime Minister Tammam Salam as well, added the speaker. Ban had hailed the calm that has pervaded southern Lebanon in recent years, lauding the cooperation between the army and the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon. Berri responded to this statement by saying that the whole of the country is calm given the turbulent situation in the region. He voiced fears however over the “danger” of failing to resolve the maritime border dispute with Israel. “This may create another 'Shebaa Farms issue' that may threaten the current peace,” warned the speaker. Efforts to resolve the dispute over the EEZ were also addressed away from the media spotlight during visits to Lebanon by Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the U.S. State Department Amos Hochstein, said al-Hayat. The speaker had proposed the demarcation issue with U.S. Charge d'Affaires Richard Jones prior to holding talks with Ban on Thursday. The U.N. chief paid a visit to Lebanon on Thursday and Friday where he met with Berri, Salam, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, and the international peacekeeping force in the South. He also toured Palestinian and Syrian refugee encampments. Al-Hayat reported that Berri had informed Ban that Salam will file an official request over the demarcation of the maritime border.
Official sources told the daily that the request will be based on articles in the U.N. Charter and others in Security Council resolution 1701. Lebanon's Ambassador to the U.N. Nawwaf Salam has written the memo. Lebanese officials are confident that the available maps and documents on the maritime issue will favor Lebanon's cause and Hochstein is meanwhile expected to pay a visit to Lebanon at the end of April after receiving an Israeli stance on the border dispute, revealed al-Hayat. Lebanon and Israel are at loggerheads over the 850 kilometers of territorial water that each claims as part of its EEZ.
Beirut argues that a maritime map it submitted to the U.N. is in line with an armistice accord drawn up in 1949, an agreement which is not contested by Israel. In January, the leaders of Cyprus, Greece and Israel pledged to work together to seize opportunities emerging from newly found offshore gas reserves in order to bolster stability and security in a region wracked by conflict. The leaders agreed to set up a tripartite committee to study the possibility of building a pipeline to carry natural gas found in waters off Israel and Cyprus to Europe via Greece.

Report: International Warning on Terrorist Sleeper Cell Attacks
Naharnet/March 28/16/Lebanese security agencies have been warned by foreign officials that sleeper terrorist cells have received instructions to carry out attacks in Lebanon, the Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah reported on Monday. The newspaper said top officials, who have lately visited Lebanon, urged the agencies to be on high alert to thwart any possible attack by the cells that are linked to either the Islamic State group or al-Nusra Front. The officials advised the security apparatuses to closely monitor Palestinian refugee camps and encampments for displaced Syrians after receiving reports that terrorist groups in the shantytowns would coordinate with the sleeper cells to carry out bombings. Last week, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini visited Lebanon. Her trip was followed by a two-day visit made by U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon who toured the northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared and a Syrian encampment in Dalhamyeh in the eastern Bekaa Valley. Lebanon is home to around half a million Palestinian refugees. With a population of 4.5 million people, the country now also shelters more than 1 million registered Syrian refugees.

Al-Nusra Front Lebanese Found Killed in Outskirts of Arsal
Naharnet/March 28/16/A member of the al-Nusra Front group was found dead in the outskirts of the restive northeastern border town of Arsal, the National News Agency reported on Monday. Lebanese Majed Mohammed Abdulmajid al-Hujeiri, aka Abou al-Barae, was killed in battles between al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State group. His corpse has been lying in the outskirts since Sunday evening when the battles erupted between the two groups, NNA added. “Hujeiri belonged to the terrorist group of al-Nusra and has been residing in the town. He was part of the group of Abou Taqiyeh,” it pointed out.
Islamist cleric Mustafa al-Hujeiri, aka Abou Taqiyeh, was indicted and arrested in 2014 on charges of belonging to the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front with the aim of carrying out terrorist acts. Ever since the Syrian revolt erupted in March 2011, Arsal has served as a key conduit for refugees, militants and wounded people fleeing strife-torn Syria. Jihadists from al-Nusra and the Islamic State group are entrenched in the town's outskirts. In August 2014, they stormed the town and engaged in bloody battles with the Lebanese army following the arrest of a senior IS militant. The jihadists withdrew after a ceasefire, but took with them several dozen hostages from the army and police, four of whom have since been executed. Al-Nusra freed 16 servicemen in December 2015 in a swap deal with the Lebanese government that involved the release of Islamists and women from Lebanon's jails. Nine soldiers remain in the captivity of the IS.

Derbas Stresses, Salam Refused to Discuss Naturalizing Refugees with Ban
Naharnet/March 28/16/Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas stressed on Monday that Prime Minister Tammam Salam has refused to discuss the issue of naturalizing refugees with the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during his visit to Lebanon. “Salam deliberately took a preemptive step on the possibility to put the subject down for discussion by emphasizing Lebanon’s rejection for the principle of naturalization,” stated Derbas to the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat daily. Highlighting fears that emerged lately on the possibility of naturalizing Syrian refugees, the Minister added that Salam was very clear in “emphasizing keenness on the return of refugees to their country,” stressing that there is “consensus and agreement among all political parties to reject this issue.” Concerns that refugees could be naturalized arose after Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil warned late last week that there are indirect efforts to give the Lebanese nationality to displaced Syrians. He urged during a press conference for “the adoption of unilateral and sovereign steps, otherwise naturalization will be imposed on us,” he said. His comments triggered a series of reactions stressing that the issue has not been suggested by any international official.
U.N. chief Ban, World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim and Islamic Development Bank head Ahmad al-Madani were on an official visit to Lebanon last week. Lebanon is home to more than 1 million registered Syrian refugees, or nearly a quarter of the country's 4.5 million people. Lebanese officials say that another half a million Syrians live in the country as well.

March 8 Officials Persuading Hizbullah to Drop Support for Aoun
Naharnet/March 28/16/March 8 alliance officials are seeking to convince Hizbullah to back Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh for the country's top Christian post, the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah newspaper reported on Monday. The officials, who were not identified, are exerting efforts to persuade Hizbullah to drop its support for Free Patriotic Movement chief lawmaker Michel Aoun, it said. According to the officials, Franjieh has better chances to be elected as head of state after he received the backing of al-Mustaqbal Movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri. Hariri announced his backing for Franjieh late last year. His announcement was followed by a rapprochement between Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and Aoun. Geagea withdrew from the presidential race saying he backed Aoun instead. Hizbullah is beginning to realize that its efforts to bring its top ally to Baabda Palace are facing obstacles, said al-Seyassah. But it has not yet reached a decision to end its support for Aoun, the newspaper added.

Man Kills Young Wife in Hermel
Naharnet/March 28/16/A man shot dead his young wife on Sunday in the Bekaa city of Hermel, state-run National News Agency reported. “A Lebanese citizen who is in his thirties fired an assault weapon at his 22-year-old wife over family problems, killing her on the spot,” NNA said. The wife's body was transferred to the al-Batoul Hospital in Hermel, the agency added.

Egypt FM Says Arab League Labeled Hizbullah 'Acts' Terrorist, Not Group
Naharnet/March 28/16/Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry noted Sunday that a recent Arab League resolution had labeled certain “acts” by Hizbullah as terrorist and not the entire organization. “The Arab League resolution must be read carefully, seeing as it described certain acts rather than bestowed a certain label on Hizbullah as a whole,” Shoukry said in an interview with Egypt's al-Youm al-Sabeh newspaper. Asked whether or not Hizbullah is a “terrorist” group, the minister added: “I will not give a judgment. Hizbullah has a special status in Lebanon, and Lebanon is a brotherly country that is going through a major turbulent situation at the domestic level.”“This issue must be resolved by the Lebanese people,” Shoukry went on to say. The Arab League's resolution followed a similar one by the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council that labeled Hizbullah a “terrorist” group. In January, GCC member Bahrain said it had dismantled a "terror" cell allegedly linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Hizbullah. Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf nations accuse Iran of supporting Shiite rebels in Yemen, as well as attempting to destabilize their own regimes. They also denounce its alliance with the Syrian regime and Hizbullah while they support rebels who have been fighting since 2011 to topple the Damascus government and President Bashar Assad. The Arab and Gulf decisions came days after Saudi Arabia in February halted a $3 billion program for military supplies to Lebanon in protest against Hizbullah. Announcing the funding cut, a Saudi official said at the time that the kingdom noticed "hostile Lebanese positions resulting from the stranglehold of Hizbullah on the State." The United States, Canada and Australia have listed Hizbullah as a "terrorist" group while the European Union has only blacklisted its military wing.

Tensions High in Ain el-Hilweh after Islamist Kills Fatah Member
Naharnet/March 28/16/Tensions were high on Monday at the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon after an Islamist militant shot dead a member of the secular Fatah Movement and unknown gunmen retaliated by killing the man's brother, state-run National News Agency reported. “Omar al-Natour, a member of Bilal Badr's group, opened fire at Fatah Movement member Abed Qiblawi, killing him on the spot at the intersection of al-Fawqani street's vegetable market,” NNA said. The two parties went on alert after the incident, which prompted the Joint Palestinian Security Force to intervene in a bid to contain the situation, the agency added. But tensions flared up again in the evening, after unknown assailants killed Hamza al-Natour, Omar al-Natour's brother, NNA said. Volleys of machinegun fire were heard after the killing and a state of tension was engulfing the camp, the agency added, noting that Palestinian and Lebanese officials were holding intensive contacts to prevent further deterioration. Sidon MP Bahia Hariri meanwhile held a series of phone talks with a number of Fatah and Islamist officials at Ain el-Hilweh, urging them to pacify the situation. Such incidents have become frequent in recent years in Ain el-Hilweh, the largest of Lebanon's 12 Palestinian refugee camps. By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the Palestinian 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.

Sami Gemayel: Hizbullah to Pick President Every 6 Years if We Allow It
Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel has warned that Hizbullah would choose the country's president “every six years” if the Lebanese accept the “approach” that the Iran-backed party and its allies are currently adopting in the presidential race. “According to Hizbullah and March 8's dictatorial approach, we either accept (Free Patriotic Movement founder MP) Michel Aoun as their only candidate or else there won't be a president. If the Lebanese accept this approach today, they must know that Hizbullah would then name the new president every six years,” Gemayel cautioned in an interview with the Saudi al-Jazirah newspaper. “The Lebanese presidency and the Lebanese institutions and people are hostages in Hizbullah's hand,” the lawmaker lamented. Noting that Hizbullah is “waiting for the outcome of the developments in Syria,” Gemayel pointed out that the party “will keep Lebanon in this state as long as it does not know the manner in which Syria's crisis will end.”The MP also stated that “the election of a new president in Lebanon would be a firm bulwark in the face of fragmentation and any rethinking of the Lebanese border.”“We do not have a president nowadays because the country is kidnapped and because a group that has weapons has enough MPs to obstruct the (presidential) vote,” Gemayel added. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and the FPM, Hizbullah and some of their allies have been boycotting the electoral sessions. Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri launched late in 2015 a proposal to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his suggestion was rejected by the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. Hizbullah and the FPM, as well as March 14's Lebanese Forces, have argued that Aoun is more eligible than Franjieh to become president given the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

Injured Shooter Arrested after Gunfire at U.S. Congress
Agence France PresseNaharnet/March 28/16/A suspected gunman was in custody Monday after a shooting incident at the U.S. Capitol visitors center which led to a brief lockdown of the buildings housing Congress, police said.Those at the Capitol were ordered to shelter in place as the incident unfolded, but Washington police said there was "no active threat to the public," and the lockdown order was later lifted. The visitors center -- where tourists go through security and begin their guided tours of the domed building -- however remained closed to the public. Congress was in recess Monday for the Easter holiday, but it is a busy week for tourists in Washington, with the city's famed flowering cherry trees in full bloom. Many school groups visit Washington during the week after Easter. CNN and MSNBC reported that the suspect had been shot and taken to hospital. Police cordoned off access to the Capitol building during the incident. An ambulance was at the scene. "There has been an isolated incident at the U.S. Capitol. There is no active threat to the public," Washington police said on Twitter. The White House -- where thousands were attending the annual Easter Egg Roll -- was briefly on lockdown as well, apparently after someone tried to scale the fence, but the order was quickly lifted.

Glory of Lebanon given up to a religious leader
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah – Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times/March 28/16
GENERAL MICHEL AOUN has been convinced that he is the victim of the empty promise game whose balloons are blown every now and then by his major ally — Hassan Nasrallah, in terms of crowning his political journey by becoming the president of Lebanon and leader of the Oriental Christians.
This is instructive as his opponent, Sulaiman Franjeh of the March 8 Group, is controlled by Hezbollah which has not exerted any effort towards the election of Aoun. The group did not mount pressure on the other ally in order to withdraw or push for the election of its follower – Nabih Berry. This is why Aoun is ready for overthrowing the party since the electoral dreams have faded with the game of procrastination and transience.
Therefore, it is a must to agree that Christians in Lebanon have never witnessed political marginalization as the current period, not even when the situation was very bad. Even during the era of Ottoman Empire, Christians had presence while their decisions and opinions mattered. However, they became a marginal number in the Lebanese calculation when the Hezbollah took control over the Lebanese political decision.
The group has once exposed Aoun to intimidation and enticed him to play the role of a Trojan horse holding on to power. This power is constituted by Lebanese segments to weaken him, in preparation for ‘submerging’ him through well-planned aggravation – the tactic of Hezbollah along with its Christian ally.
Nasrallah promised Aoun the leadership of Oriental Christians, not the leadership of Lebanon in 2006. This contributed to emptying Christians in the East of his presence for 34 years in order to reciprocate that gesture. The Maronite Church’s slogan of almost 1,000 years of the glory of Lebanon was given to him, but that glory is being threatened today because Hezbollah is struggling to restructure Lebanon through a coup d’état of the constituent assembly. In this manner, the main player in the decision-making process will undoubtedly be written in outright Persian language but with a Lebanese accent.
In case the aspiration of Hezbollah, which has been listed as a terrorist group in the Arabian Gulf, Arab world and the international community, is actualized, it means the followers of divine scriptures who once lived on this part of earth will become history. It is not about peace in Lebanon only, but the entire East as well. History will also indicate that there was a country called Lebanon where people of different religions within the Muslim and Arab worlds co-existed peacefully. Generations will use the past tense whenever they talk about the historical bridge of co-existence between the West and East, which was destroyed by Lebanese hands with the assistance of Persia.
It seems Aoun, who was deceived by the Iranian ‘tool’ that he would be made president of the country and political leader of Christians in the East, has awaken and ready to vent his anger on Hezbollah as it has become clearer that his political fate will be empty in the end.
Apparently, Nasrallah is planning to leave the General without shoes and embroiled in regret because the latter paved the way for Hezbollah to remove the Maronite Church slogan and replaced it with, “Glory of Lebanon given to the religious leader.”

Pakistan Army Crackdown as Families Bury Victims of Easter Blast
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 28/16/Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects Monday after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. Hundreds more were injured Sunday when explosives packed with ball bearings ripped through the crowds near a children's play area in the park in the eastern city of Lahore, where many had gathered to celebrate Easter. Anguished families spent Easter Monday burying their dead. "I tried to pump my son's chest and give him CPR but he was no more. He died right in front of me," Javed Bashir told AFP as relatives wailed at his son Mutahir's funeral. "My son, my son, nobody should lose their sons," sobbed the mother of another victim as other women restrained her. A spokesman for the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan told AFP the group had carried out the attack as "Christians are our target", and vowed more assaults on schools and colleges. The attack was the worst so far this year in a country grimly accustomed to atrocities, and will further undermine fractious inter-religious ties in the Muslim-majority nation. In response the country's powerful army announced it had carried out raids in Lahore as well as in Faisalabad and Multan, two other major cities in Punjab province. More were planned. "Number of suspect terrorists and facilitators arrested and huge cache of arms and ammunition recovered," army spokesman Asim Bajwa tweeted. Witnesses told of children screaming as people carried the injured in their arms in the aftermath of Sunday's attack, while frantic relatives searched for loved ones. Rescue spokeswoman Deeba Shahbaz said the death toll had risen to 72 Monday, with 29 children among the dead. A spokesman for the Lahore city administration put the number of Christians killed at "10-15" as authorities scrambled to identify the dead. Bits of human flesh and torn cloth could be seen Monday around the bloodstained swings and merry-go-round. Authorities said the park had seen a surge of visitors thanks to Easter and the warm spring weather. Some 8,000 were still there when the bomb was detonated in the early evening, park officials said. "The militants went for a softer target because there was tight security for churches in Lahore," said Cecil Shane Chaudhry, executive director of the National Commission for Justice and Peace, a Christian organization.
Mourning period
There were frenzied scenes at hospitals in the immediate aftermath, with staff treating casualties on floors and in corridors as officials tweeted calls for blood donations. Lahore's top administration official Muhammad Usman said around 100 of the wounded were either treated at the scene or quickly discharged. He said a further 180 had been admitted to hospital. Schools and other government institutions were open Monday but three days of mourning were announced in Punjab. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed "grief and sorrow over the sad demise of innocent lives." The U.S. labeled the bombing "cowardly" while Russian president Vladimir Putin branded it a "crime." The Vatican condemned the attack, calling it "fanatical violence against Christian minorities," and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for Islamabad to protect religious minorities. Pope Francis also appealed for tighter security for religious minorities. Christians make up an estimated 1.6 percent of Pakistan's 200 million people and have long faced discrimination. Twin suicide attacks against churches in Lahore killed 17 people in March last year, sparking two days of rioting by thousands of Christians. The country is still scarred by a Taliban assault on a Peshawar school in 2014 that killed 150 people, mostly children. A military operation targeting insurgents was stepped up in response. Last year the death toll from militant attacks fell to its lowest since the Pakistani Taliban were formed in 2007. But analyst Imtiaz Gul said despite significant progress in military operations against the Taliban, the group was still able to carry out major attacks. "Even if they are 50 people they can plan an attack of this scale and execute it," he said. "They're all over: they have affiliates, sympathizers and supporters."
 

Israel raises travel warning to Turkey, urges citizens leave
The Associated Press, Jerusalem Monday, 28 March 2016/Israel has issued a new travel advisory for Turkey, warning its citizens to leave the country as soon as possible and avoid any traveling there. The “high concrete threat” is the second-highest warning level that Israel can issue. It raises the directive issued after three Israeli tourists were killed in an Istanbul suicide bombing earlier in March. The National Security Council advised on Monday that “the risk of additional attacks from terrorist organizations is rising, with an emphasis on the Islamic State, on tourist destinations and in general Israeli tourists,” using a different name for ISIS. Israel has the same level warning as Turkey for Tunisia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It has given the highest warning levels for Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, Somalia, Sudan and Libya. Israelis are banned from traveling to Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran.
 

Belgium release video footage of third airport suspect
AFP, Brussels Monday, 28 March 2016/Belgian police on Monday released new video footage of the third suspect whose bomb failed to go off at Brussels airport in last week’s attack. The footage shows the man wearing a hat and white jacket pushing a trolley with a large bag through the departure hall, next to suicide bombers Ibrahim El Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui. “It’s a new video which had not previously been released,” a spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office told AFP. A police notice issued with the video -- still images from which have previously been released -- said that officers “want to identify this man.” Prosecutors are still working on the theory that the so-called “man in the hat” is Faycal Cheffou, who has been charged with terrorist offences in relation to the airport attack, a source close to the inquiry told AFP. Cheffou is however not cooperating with investigators, the source said. Belgian officials earlier raised the toll from coordinated suicide attacks on Zaventem airport and a metro station in the center of the city to 35.

Dutch anti-terrorism police arrest suspect at France’s request
Reuters, Amsterdam Monday, 28 March 2016/Dutch anti-terrorism police on Sunday arrested a 32-year-old man in Rotterdam on suspicion of preparing an attack on France and also detained three other people, national prosecutors said. “French authorities on Friday requested the arrest of the French citizen, who had been identified in a terrorism investigation,” prosecutors said in a statement. He was suspected of “involvement in preparing a terrorist attack”. The arrests were carried out by a specialized anti-terrorism police squad, and the Dutch intelligence agency AIVD and prosecutors also took part in the operation, prosecutors said. Two of the others detained were described as aged 43 and 47 and “having an Algerian background,” while the third had not yet been identified. Police were searching two addresses in western Rotterdam associated with the suspect, and people living in nearby buildings had been evacuated as a precautionary measure, the prosecutors said. The suspect will be extradited to France as quickly as possible, they said. The arrests came with Europe on heightened alert after Tuesday’s suicide bomb attacks at Brussels Airport and on a rush-hour metro train that killed 31 people, including three attackers, and injured hundreds more. ISIS has claimed responsibility. Late on Sunday, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve congratulated intelligence services’ work and the cooperation among European countries that he said helped thwart a potential attack in France. Cazeneuve said their work helped result in a first arrest outside of Paris on Thursday, then another in Brussels on Saturday and a third in the Netherlands.“Intelligence services work relentlessly to protect our territory in a context of high threat,” Cazeneuve said in a statement.

Putin, Rowhani agree to intensify contacts
By Agencies Monday, 28 March 2016/Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rowhani, agreed in a telephone call to intensify bilateral contacts at various levels, the Kremlin said on Monday. The two leaders discussed the Syrian conflict and exchanged views on topical issues on their bilateral agenda, the Kremlin said in a statement. Their phone call conversation came after Putin also spoke by phone with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, congratulating him on his forces retaking Palmyra, the Kremlin said. Iran also hailed the Syrian army’s recapture of the ancient city of Palmyra and vowed to continue to support Asasd’s government to fight “terrorism”, media reported Monday. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, sent a message to Assad to congratulate him on Sunday’s “admirable and honorable” win over ISIS. Iran’s government and its armed forces “will continue to provide Syria with their full support” against the jihadists, Shamkhani said, according to the official news agency IRNA. Iran provides financial and military support to Assad through its elite Revolutionary Guards, notably sending “military advisers” and volunteers” to fight alongside the Syrian army. Guards chief Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said “the situation in Syria is very good” after the recapture of Palmyra, Fars news agency reported. Foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari also lauded Syria’s victory and said that Tehran will continue to back the Assad regime and other governments battling extremism. “Iran’s support continues for the fight against terrorism in Syria, Iraq and countries exposed to this threat,” Ansari told Iran's Arabic-language Al-Alam television. “Syria will march forward strongly in the fight against terrorism and the terrorists definitely won't have a place in the future of the region,” he added. Syrian troops ousted the militants from the ancient city on Sunday almost a year after they had seized it.(With Reuters, AFP)

Russia-backed Syrian army carry on anti-ISIS push
Lisa Barrington, Reuters, Beirut Monday, 28 March 2016/Syrian government forces backed by Russian air strikes battled ISIS insurgents around Palmyra on Monday, trying to extend their gains after taking back control of a city whose ancient temples were dynamited by the ultra-radical militants. The Kremlin on Monday also said Russian ground forces did not take part in the Syrian army’s operation to drive ISIS fighters out of Palmyra, but the Russian air force did and it will continue assisting Syrian government troops. “We are talking about air support by our planes. Our armed forces are not conducting any land operations there,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a teleconference with reporters. “After the withdrawal of part of our (military) contingent from Syria, air force units remaining at two bases - in Hmeymim and Tartous - will continue fighting terrorist groups ... and will continue supporting the Syrian’s army’s offensive.”The loss of Palmyra on Sunday amounts to one of the biggest setbacks for the militant group since it declared a caliphate in 2014 across large parts of Syria and Iraq. The Syrian army said the city, home to some of the most extensive ruins of the Roman Empire, would become a “Launchpad” for operations against ISIS strongholds in Raqqa and Deir al-Zor, further east across a vast expanse of desert. Syrian state media said on Monday that Palmyra’s military airport was now open to air traffic after the army cleared the surrounding area of ISIS fighters. There were clashes northeast of Palmyra between ISIS and forces allied to the government, supported by Syrian and Russian air strikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war. Air strikes, believed to be Russian, also targeted the road running east out of Palmyra towards Deir al-Zor, it said. Although most of the ISIS force fled Palmyra on Sunday, there were still some militants in the city, the Observatory said. Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman also said most residents fled before the government offensive and it had not heard about any civilian deaths. On Sunday six explosions were heard triggered by triple car bombings inside the city and its fringes by the militant group. Three militants with suicide belts also blew themselves up, inflicting unspecified casualties among army forces and allied troops, the Observatory said. Syrian state-run television broadcast from inside Palmyra, showing empty streets and badly damaged buildings. Abdulrahman said 417 ISIS fighters were so far known to have died in the campaign to retake Palmyra, while 194 people were killed on the Syrian government side.

Russian withdrawal
Russia’s intervention in September turned the tide of Syria’s five-year conflict in Assad’s favor. Despite Moscow's declared withdrawal of most military forces two weeks ago, Russian jets and helicopters carried out dozens of strikes daily over Palmyra as the army thrust into the city. In a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Assad said Russia’s air support had been essential in taking back Palmyra, and said the city would be rebuilt. Russia said it would assist with securing and removing landmines in Palmyra following the campaign, but is still showing signs of its partial withdrawal from Syria. Three heavy attack helicopters have left Moscow’s Hmeimim air base in Syria for Russia, Russian state TV channel Rossiya-24 reported on Monday. ISIS’s ejection from Palmyra came three months after it was driven out of the city of Ramadi in neighboring Iraq, the first major victory for Iraq’s army since it collapsed in the face of an assault by the militants in June 2014. ISIS has lost ground elsewhere, including the Iraqi city of Tikrit and the Syrian town of al-Shadadi in February, as its enemies push it back and try to cut links between its two main power centers of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria.
On Friday the United States said it believed it had killed several senior ISIS militants, including Abd ar-Rahman al-Qaduli, described as the group's top finance official and aide to its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. There was fierce fighting around the ISIS-held town of Qaryatain on Monday, 100 km (60 miles) west of Palmyra, which the Syrian government has also been trying to retake. ISIS seized Qaryatain last August after taking Palmyra. Syrian television broadcast footage from inside Palmyra’s museum on Sunday showing toppled and damaged statues, as well as several smashed display cases.
Syria’s antiquities chief said other ancient landmarks were still standing and pledged to restore the damaged monuments. “Palmyra has been liberated. This is the end of the destruction in Palmyra,” Mamoun Abdelkarim told Reuters on Sunday. “How many times did we cry for Palmyra? How many times did we feel despair? But we did not lose hope.”

Syria’s Palmyra can be restored ‘in five years’
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 28 March 2016/Syria’s antiquities chief said on Monday that his department would need five years to restore the ancient ruins of Palmyra damaged by ISIS. “If we have UNESCO’s approval, we will need five years to restore the structures damaged or destroyed by IS,” Maamoun Abdulkarim told AFP, using another name for the militants. In addition to two historic temples razed by the group just months after taking Palmyra from the regime in May, Syrian state TV aired footage showing damage to the city’s historic castle it said were “deliberate acts of demolition” by ISIS. The Syria army’s retaking of Palmyra on Sunday has been hailed by President Bashar al-Assad and two of his key allies, Russia and Iran. Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walk with their weapons in Palmyra city after they recaptured it, in Homs Governorate on March 27, 2016. Iran on Monday vowed to continue to support the government of President Bashar al-Assad to fight “terrorism”, media reported. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, sent a message to Assad to congratulate him on Sunday’s “admirable and honourable” win over ISIS. Iran’s government and its armed forces “will continue to provide Syria with their full support” against the militants, Shamkhani said, according to the official news agency IRNA. Iran provides financial and military support to Assad through its elite Revolutionary Guards, notably sending “military advisers” and “volunteers” to fight alongside the Syrian army. Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad flash victory signs while riding on the back of a military truck in Palmyra city, in Homs Governorate on March 27, 2016. Guards chief Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said “the situation in Syria is very good” after the recapture of Palmyra, Fars news agency reported. Foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari also lauded Syria’s victory and said that Tehran will continue to back the Assad regime and other governments battling extremism. “Iran’s support continues for the fight against terrorism in Syria, Iraq and countries exposed to this threat,” Ansari told Iran’s Arabic-language Al-Alam television. “Syria will march forward strongly in the fight against terrorism and the terrorists definitely won’t have a place in the future of the region,” he added. Syrian troops ousted the militants from the ancient city on Sunday almost a year after they had seized it. (With AFP)

Erdogan: 5,359 Kurdish militants killed since July
Agencies Monday, 28 March 2016/Turkish security forces have killed 5,359 Kurdish militants since the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) abandoned a two-year ceasefire in July, the state-run Anadolu news agency cited President Tayyip Erdogan as saying on Monday. Erdogan said 355 soldiers, police officers and village guards have been killed in the violence, most of it in Turkey's largely Kurdish southeast. Anadolu cited the text of a speech by Erdogan to the Turkish War Academy. Erdogan’s spokesman also said on Monday that Turkey has prevented potential attacks in recent weeks including planned suicide bombings following a spate of attacks blamed on ISIS and Kurdish militants. Ibrahim Kalin made the comment at a news conference in Ankara. Turkey has been hit by four bombings this year that have killed more than 80 people. The most recent on March 19 in Istanbul, killed three Israeli tourists and an Iranian. Israel has urged its citizens in Turkey to leave “as soon as possible” in an upgraded travel advisory predicting possible follow-up attacks.
Dozens killed in southeast Turkey
In a related story, a local elected official was killed in Turkey’s strife-hit southeast on Monday after a weekend of violence that also claimed the lives of almost 30 militants and soldiers, according to security sources.
Ibrahim Inco, the village leader in Sarioren in Sanliurfa province, was shot after suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants hijacked his car, the sources said. They were fleeing after detonating an explosive targeting a military vehicle. Three soldiers were hurt in the explosion, the sources said. It was the latest violence in southeastern Turkey after the PKK abandoned its two-year ceasefire in July. Months of clashes have ensued, making it one of the deadliest periods in the insurgency’s 31 years. The military said 25 PKK militants were killed in the towns of Nusaybin, Sirnak and Yuksekova in clashes at the weekend. On Sunday, two soldiers were killed and seven wounded in Nusaybin, a city on the Syrian border, when militants detonated explosives in a building security forces were searching, security sources said. Five soldiers were wounded. In a separate incident in Nusaybin, which has been under a round-the-clock curfew since March 14, a soldier was killed by sniper fire, and a police officer was killed in a bomb attack. Nusaybin is the latest city to see security operations as the military tries to root out PKK militants from urban centres where they have erected barricades and dug trenches. The military has also launched dozens of air strikes against PKK bases in northern Iraq. (With AFP, Reuters)

Taliban fire rockets at Afghan parliament
AFP | Kabul Monday, 28 March 2016/Taliban insurgents fired a barrage of rockets at Afghanistan’s newly built parliament complex in Kabul on Monday, as top security officials including the intelligence chief prepared to address the assembly. Multiple rockets smashed into the sprawling compound, blowing out windows in one building. But no one was reported hurt and the parliament session continued uninterrupted. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid saying the rockets inflicted heavy casualties. The militant group is known to exaggerate battlefield claims. “While we discuss insecurity around the country, it is worrying that the enemy is able to strike the parliament in the heart of the capital,” lawmaker Mohammad Abdou said during the session broadcast live on TV. Taj Mohammad Jahed, the caretaker minister of interior who was due to address parliament along with the intelligence chief on the worsening security in Afghanistan, was apologetic. “This should not have happened,” Jahed said. “I will order new security measures for the parliament complex.”The swanky complex, built by India at an estimated cost of $90 million, was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December.

Saudi, Yemen Rebels Exchange Prisoners ahead of Peace Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 28/16/Rebels who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa have released nine Saudis in exchange for 109 Yemenis, the Riyadh-led coalition fighting them said Monday, in the latest sign of tensions easing before peace talks. "Nine Saudi prisoners have been recovered and 109 Yemenis who were arrested in the military operations zone" near the border have been handed over, the coalition said in a statement. It did not specify whether the prisoners were combatants or civilians. The swap follows another exchange of one Saudi soldier for seven Yemenis earlier this month amid tribal mediation that has helped reduce violence along the Saudi-Yemeni border. Efforts have been building to bring an end to the devastating conflict in Yemen, a year after the Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes against the Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels. UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed announced last week that the combatants have agreed to a cessation of hostilities from midnight on April 10, followed by talks in Kuwait on April 18. Previous negotiations have failed and earlier ceasefires were not respected, but analysts say a more conducive atmosphere prevails ahead of the new round of talks. Andreas Krieg of the Department of Defense Studies at King's College London said the prisoner swap is "a sign of Saudi goodwill" before the Kuwait negotiations. It signals to the Huthis that Riyadh and its allies are "willing to make compromises to bring these talks to a successful end," said Krieg, who also teaches at the Qatari Armed Forces Staff College. Adam Baron, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said "there is widespread hope that the upcoming Kuwait talks will function as a step in the right direction."- 'Immeasurable suffering' -The coalition said Monday that border areas remained relatively calm. It said it hoped to see the lull "spread to combat zones in order to facilitate the sending of humanitarian aid to all of Yemen's territory" and to support UN efforts to reach a political settlement. In a rare incident that broke the calm, the Saudi Civil Defense agency said on Sunday that eight people, including four children, had been wounded by fire from Yemen. More than 90 people have been killed on the Saudi side of the frontier by shelling and in skirmishes over the past year. The Huthis seized Sanaa in September 2014 then advanced south, raising fears in Riyadh that the rebels would extend the influence of Shiite Iran in the kingdom's southern neighbor. Local forces backed by coalition ground troops have since pushed the Huthis out of five southern provinces and second city Aden, where President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has established a temporary capital. But the rebels -- allied with elite troops loyal to Hadi's ousted predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh -- have held on elsewhere including the capital. The United Nations says about 6,300 people have been killed in the war, more than half of them civilians. On Sunday the World Health Organization said Yemen's civilians were undergoing "immeasurable suffering", including almost 2.5 million internally displaced. Sunni extremists of the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda have exploited the chaos, widening their footholds in Yemen's south and carrying out deadly attacks against both the Shiite rebels and Hadi's loyalists. Human rights groups have criticized the high civilian death toll from the coalition's bombing campaign and have called on Western governments to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia.

Analysis: ISIS and the fantasy of an Islamic caliphate are not long for this world
Yossi Melman/Jerusalem Post/March 28/16
Ten months after the Syrian army withdrew without a fight, allowing Islamic State (ISIS) to conquer the ancient city of Palmyra, Bashar Assad's forces returned to the city, regaining control of it, while killing and wounding hundreds of ISIS operatives. The Syrian army did not act alone. It was aided by massive strikes by the Russian Air Force - which allegedly withdrew from Syria, but in all actuality continues to act with full force. Assad's forces also had the help of Iranian consultants, Hezbollah fighters and Afghani Shi'ite militiamen.
Palmyra was etched into the world's consciousness because of the destruction of its temples and beautiful artifacts, which date back some two thousand years, by the barbarians of ISIS. However, beyond the achievement of returning the city and its artifacts to the control of civilization - fixing the damage will take years - there is also both strategic and moral importance to the recapturing of Palmyra.
Palmyra sits on a central artery between Damascus and Deir a-Zor in the east, toward the border with Iraq. It is likely that Assad's forces will use their victorious momentum to advance to Deir a-Zor, where Syria's nuclear reactor was built and fortunately destroyed (imagine the scenario if it would have fallen into the hands of ISIS) in 2007 by the Israeli Air Force. Assad's forces are then likely to attempt to regain control of the border crossings with Iraq. The reconquering of Palmyra also weakens Islamic State's ability to defend Raqqa, which it declared the capital of its caliphate.
ISIS now finds itself being enclosed upon on three sides. From the northeast, along the border with Turkey, the Kurdish forces are advancing. From the West, Assad's forces threaten, and from the east, comes the Iraqi army, which is increasing its attacks on Mosul, the second largest city in the country and ISIS' biggest urban foothold.
The army of ISIS finds itself constantly retreating. The group is taking losses in the battlefield. Its senior commanders are being killed. The latest such commander, as was confirmed by the Pentagon, was the second-in-command to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Fighters are defecting. Violent confrontations have erupted between foreign volunteers and local ISIS fighters - Syrians and Iraqis. The oil facilities, which were the source of most ISIS income, have been badly damaged by airstrikes. The day is not far off when ISIS as an idea and as a strange fantasy to establish an Islamic caliphate in the style of the seventh century, will expire.
The idea of ISIS will not disappear, but its power and and attraction will weaken. When this happens, ISIS will shrink to its true dimensions: a violent gang of Ba'athist Sunnis, and it will go back to its essence: an al-Qaida style terrorist organization, even if it is a more sophisticated and cruel one. The group's losses on the battlefield will affect its affiliated groups that have pledged allegiance to it and weaken them. From Boko Haram in Nigeria to Ansar Bayit al-Maqdes in Sinai and those in Europe.
The victory in Palmyra gives Assad's army a massive morale boost. After solidifying its control in Damascus and the Alawite coast, and after turning its gaze to the north and east, soon Assad's army will try to regain control of the south, near the border with Jordan, where the uprising against the regime began five years ago, and to the area bordering Israel. The quiet on the Golan Heights is likely to be maintained if and when this occurs.
Assad is improving his bargaining position in talks with the opposition on a diplomatic solution, while in the background, surprisingly, the fragile cease-fire has been holding for the better part of a month. Assad's improving position is turning from a problem to a solution and serving to further highlight the failure of US President Barack Obama's Middle East policy.

Israeli Ambassador To Spain Is An Israeli-Druze successful businesswoman
Israeli-Druze businesswoman conquers Spanish hearts

Ynetnews/Itamar Eichner/03.27.16

http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/03/28/israeli-ambassador-to-spain-is-an-israeli-druze-successful-businesswoman/
Jamila Hair, a 76-year-old owner of a soap factory, amazes Spanish audience and press at Festival of Women in Segovia, Spain, speaking about the peace between Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Druze women within the walls of her soap factory . Jamila Hir, also known as "Grandma Jamila," from the Druze village of Peki'in, is Israel's new "ambassador" in Spain. She represented Israel at the prestigious Festival of Women, which is held annually in Segovia, Spain. Hir, a 76-year-old owner of a cosmetic company, amazed the Israeli embassy, conquering the hearts of the Spanish press.Hagit Mualem, the Israeli cultural attaché in Spain, arranged for Hir to come to the festival, which hosted six women from around the world, who successfully affected change in their respective societies. Hir creates natural soaps from olive oil and medical herbs, which have garnered a reputation of a curing agent. She is the first Druze woman to build a factory with her own hands. Today she employs hundreds of Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Druze workers and her small business brings in $50 million in profits and exports to 40 countries. She is also a widow, a mother to five children, a grandmother to 15 grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. She is proud to be the first Druze mother, whose daughter went to college and received a driver's license. In 2006, on Israeli Independence Day, Hir and Stef Wertheimer, another Israeli businessperson, lit the Independence Day torch for their efforts to develop the Galilee. During the Festival of Woman and in interviews after it, Hir spoke proudly about the peace that exists within the walls of the factory between Jewish, Druze, Muslim, and Christian women. "They all work together under the same slogan---only women can give birth to peace," Hir said. She also spoke about how the Druze community lives in peace with Jews and serves in the Israeli security establishment. Mualem added, "It was important for us to show the diversity and complexity of Israeli society. There are many faces and colors of Israel that Europe does not know. Spanish media simply loved grandma Jamila. She had an amazing performance here.

Retreat and isolation among practicing Muslims in Europe
Hassan Al Mustafa/Al Arabiya/March 28/16
The terrorist attacks that hit the Belgian capital of Brussels on March 22 are a manifestation of what could be called “globalized violence.” It has become an essential feature of the rise of fundamentalism and the use of technology in carrying out acts of terror. This is turning out to be a race against time. French philosopher Edgar Morin believes that two divergent contexts give contradictory results. Delivering a series of lectures at the Francois Mitterrand National Library of France, in 2005, Morin said that “we are witnessing the globalization of economic and technical fields; at the same time we see the presence of its resistors, including the return to religions and excessive rituals”. He also emphasized that “some rough outbreaks would make us think that religious, cultural or even civilization’s wars are possible.”The confrontation mentioned by Morin is not necessarily religious as is promoted by the followers of ideology. It is, however, the natural result of a historic tussle, where two contradictory concepts clash. The first concept believes in “pureness” and “absolute right-ness” while representing the correct interpretation of religion; it strives for the return of the “caliphate” and establishes a fundamentalist Islamist state in accordance with an indisputable vision that does not accept differences. The second concept is a liberal and secular one that believes in “human being” as a core value and that the relationship among individuals is based on social contracts, respect for diversity and human rights and in light of modern civil state values and the rule of law. This is what made a country like Belgium grant Muslims – whether citizens, residents or refugees – the right to worship and freedom of belief without any coercion or interference.
The problem lies in the perception of a number of Muslims in European societies and their relationship with the country they reside in . However, the problem lies in the perception of a number of Muslims in European societies and their relationship with the country they reside in. A large segment of Muslims in Europe suffer from isolation. They feel that they are oppressed, marginalized and are racially targeted. They tend to forget the great privileges they have acquired and the high positions Muslims, Arabs and Africans occupy something that is not available to them in their home countries.
The relationship with this new identity is a very complicated matter because these Muslims practice a reverse thinking while dealing with the environment they live in. It is as if this is a transitional place or a temporary residence from which they benefit just like a traveler taking advantage of the stations he is traveling through. They are not interested in benefiting from its values, concepts and people, but instead, they continue to believe that their value system is the best and seek to impose it on others.
Marginalized suburbs?
As a result, you hear a lot in the media about “marginalized suburbs”, their rate of unemployment and other issues that are not limited to Muslim immigrants but are shared with the native population. Besides, unemployment and negligence is rampant in the countries from which these immigrants come from; it is not a new reality for them. However, the difference is that in Europe they can freely express themselves without being oppressed. This free space become their nagging yard to look for exaggerated excuses. The marginalization referred to by Muslim immigrants is not an excuse or a product of violence, as the world saw in Brussels. What produced this terrorism is religious dogmatism as philosopher Mohammed Arkoun defines; it is those narrowed fundamentalist ideas, forming a historical and cultural reference for atonement, murder and hatred.
The dogmatism that controls the mind is what prompted its followers into isolation and formed societies with private customs, interests, and a pattern of life completely different from the liberal environment in which they lived. This happens despite the chance they have to start a dignified life based on a civil law, which does not distinguish between race, religion and color. However, instead of respecting these laws, they have been working for their demolition in order to establish a narrow vision through coercion, under the pretext of “privacy” and “identity”. The result has been the degeneration of moral and religious values. It has ignited new hotbeds of tension that will lead to more conflict and restrictions on freedom and civil values that were gained after a long and bitter struggle.

Islamophobia reversed: What drives our response to terror attacks?
Abdullah Hamidaddin/Al Arabiya/March 28/16
There is a pattern that becomes visible among Arabs and Muslims as soon as terror strikes a Western country.
It begins with fearful queries: “Was it done by a Muslim? We hope it was not a Muslim.” This line of thinking continues until the perpetrator of the attack is identified. If it is not a Muslim, then then there is a deep sense of relief followed by long discussions over how the West unjustly assumes that terrorism is an Islamic phenomenon. You also find people talking about injustice in Western societies and how they drive “their people” to become terrorists. Some would even ask whether such a thing should be considered as terror. Many Muslims believe that in the West an act is defined as terrorism if, and only if, its perpetrator was a Muslim. Perception is reality, so whether that belief is wrong or right does not matter. This line of argument distracts its participants from condemning the very act of terrorism or expressing sympathy with the victims. They are just glad that the aggressor was not a Muslim. There may be a few who would even be happy that the act was actually committed. But what if it turns out that the perpetrator was indeed a Muslim? In this case, Muslims and Arabs would one of the following two defensive positions. The first begins with expressing deep sympathies to the victims and utter condemnation of the terrorist act. Both these may be genuine but are motivated by a fear of backlash from Western governments and communities. Condemning acts of terror and sympathizing with its victims is generally followed by a wide range of disavowing, boiling down to one statement: This is not Islam and we are a peaceful people . Condemning acts of terror and sympathizing with its victims is generally followed by a wide range of disavowing, boiling down to one statement: This is not Islam and we are a peaceful people. We see people extending apologies to the victims and perhaps to Western civilization. The core message is that it is our fault and we will do our best to fight radicalism and try to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Some also see these tragedies as opportunities to discredit their opponents. The region is deeply divided among many different political, religious and ethnic lines. Each camp would say this is all because of the other camp.
First line of defense
This defense is very common even though a new pattern is gaining traction. It shows disdain for what those in the first camp are saying. The argument is simple: “This is not our fault and we should not even be having this discussion”. Some people argue that we are not even obliged to sympathize and, at best, we ought to only condemn and that we have our own tragedies to deal with. These tragedies consume our emotional capacities and we have little energy left to sympathize with every tragedy going on in this world. It is even simpler in some cases. Should we cry out against every terrorist attack in the West when they are careless about attacks in our countries and communities? Some of those in second camp choose to reframe the entire argument from a terrorist attack to response against Western interventionism. They say if anyone is at fault then it is the Western governments and communities. They claim that it is only natural that Arabs or Muslims attack the West given the history of Western “terror” against Arabs and Muslims. Colonial French violence in Algeria and American intervention in Iraq are conjured up. Some even say that this is some form of poetic justice. This pattern conveys several meanings – and we need more observation to fully understand it – but one thing is absolutely clear, the fact that we are terrified. Deep inside we feel that no matter how innocent we are we will still be considered guilty and will pay the price. We see how Islamophobia is on the rise and worry about our future in this world. We are so afraid that when an attack takes place in a Muslim country, like Turkey or Saudi Arabia, we say: “Look, it even happens to us”. Islamophobia is a dangerous disease. While it drives some Westerners to hate Muslims it is also driving Muslims to fear Westerners. It is this fear that can easily turn into hate. If this is not stopped even the most reasonable among us may start celebrating terror attacks in a Western country.

On one man’s decision to ‘shield his wife’ in Saudi Arabia
Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/March 28/16
The recent incident in which a man covered a frosted glass with his shemagh (traditional Arab headwear) in a restaurant to prevent people from seeing his wife sparked a debate among Saudis and others. It has become a fashionable to discuss Saudi affairs. This may not be a shameful event but it’s also not so typical. The picture showed the man sitting in a restaurant in front of his wife in an area that was also divided by frosted glass. The glass was blurry and prevented anyone from seeing whatever was behind it. What could be seen, however, was that the man had taken off his shemagh and spread it on the side where his wife was seated to ensure that nothing is visible from the outside. The point is even otherwise nothing could be seen due to the frosted glass. It is the society’s duty to safeguard people’s right to exercise choices as long as they haven’t violated laws or someone’s dignity
Truth be told, it is the right of the husband and his wife to do whatever they deem fit as long as they don’t violate a law, harm someone or trespass someone’s freedoms or rights. Although many people considered the man’s behavior blatantly wrong. I think it is his right to do what he thinks as appropriate.
Tweet trend
However, discussing this after it started trending on Twitter shows how involved we are in trivial affairs and how distracted we are from significant matters. It is the society’s duty to safeguard people’s right to exercise choices as long as they haven’t violated laws or someone’s dignity. The man reserves the right to cover his wife with his shemagh. If western Christian societies accept that Muslim women wear the niqab, or the headscarf, then why are we surprised that a man covered his wife with his shemagh especially that she has not complained about this to anyone who discussed the matter on Twitter?!

How do you solve a problem like Aung San Suu Kyi?
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/March 28/16
Just as Aung San Suu Kyi gets ready to take over the reins of power in Myanmar after a long and dramatic three decades of fighting for democracy in her country, a new biography reveals she has made rather off-colour remarks about an interview in 2013. It would seem that Ms Suu Kyi does not like being interviewed by Muslims. Even if they work for the BBC who have consistently covered her political career in a positive light. The interview with Mishal Husain did get rather more pointed than the treatment Ms Suu Kyi expects from Western media, but it was by no means hostile. It was a simple question about the ethnic violence targeted at the Muslim Rohingya community in the country which peaked in 2012 and 2013 and which led to hundreds of thousands being displaced into internal refugee camps in Myanmar or in refugee camps in Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia or Malaysia.
And since then the problems have only gotten worse. The same systematic attacks on the Rohingya minority are behind the South East Asian migration crisis last year, a humanitarian disaster that we expect will be repeated this year when the spring brings calmer waters to the Bay of Bengal to enable refugees to take to the seas again. The problem with Aung San Suu Kyi, as one of the more famous recipients of the Nobel Prize for Peace, is that she is the country’s best hope for democracy and for bringing Myanmar back into global society. But if anyone hopes that she will also heal this deep rift in her society, an inter-religious and inter-ethnic conflict that is on the edge of tipping over into full blown genocide (according to United to End Genocide), there is little reason to get your hopes up.
Anti-Muslim?
In the current media coverage of this incident, reporters have gone to great lengths to show that Ms Suu Kyi is not as anti-Muslim as she sounds. They cite the fact that her first boyfriend in at Oxford in England was from Pakistan and that one of her political mentors from Myanmar was Muslim. And perhaps she is not anti-Muslim. With someone in her position it is rather difficult to say, because she has had to play her cards close to her chest for so long while under the repressive regime of the military junta.
There is plenty of evidence to show that “the Lady” is not quite the Nobel Laureate we want her to be.But it is the case that in her youth she was very much against Muslims being in Burma according to the research I undertook during my forthcoming book on the Rohingya. It is also the case that she has systematically denied that Muslims have been deliberately targeted and kept making apologetics for the “climate of fear” Buddhists in Myanmar feel from “Islam”, even though the Buddhists make up 80 percent of the country, while Muslims make up a mere 4 percent.
In the volatile politics of inter-community violence in Myanmar, every voice for peace counts. In Myanmar, no voice counts as much as that of Suu Kyi, “the Lady” of the nation. Yet her voice is not heard in defense of this, one of the most vulnerable groups in the world at the moment. If this has been some kind of political play she felt she had to make to get into power, this week she will run out of excuses.
As she takes over direct or indirect control of the civilian government, she will have the power to address this crisis in her country. We will have to wait and see. But there is plenty of evidence to show that “the Lady” is not quite the Nobel Laureate we want her to be. So I don’t recommend any of you hold your breath.

Spain In The Crosshairs Of Islamism
By: Alberto M. Fernandez*/ MEMRI Daily Brief No.85/March 28, 2016
Spain, or at least the Spain of Islamic conquest and primacy, Al-Andalus, looms large in the Islamist psyche, particularly so in the context of Islamist supremacists like Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. The Spanish speaking world today – Spain, Latin America and beyond – which has in many ways moved on from what seems a distant historic past, is often blissfully unaware of the power of symbols and of history which can and do affect us.
We may recall the artistic beauties of Islamic Spain and the idealized vision of convivencia (coexistence). We have drummed into us the politically correct pabulum of the evils of Western culture and civilization and the superiority of all cultures but our own.[1] We swallow whole the "myth of the Andalusian paradise"[2] and naturally and understandably forget a sustained foreign military invasion that swallowed up most of Iberia and only seemed to ebb at the Spanish Muslim defeat at Tours, central France, in 732.
For the Arab world, Spain, or at least the romanticized and nostalgic image of Al-Andalus, is still a concept to conjure with.[3] The great liberal Syrian writer Abdel Salam Al-Ujayli (ironically, from a prominent family in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa) dealt with this theme in his evocative and sympathetic story "The Lanterns of Seville" (1954).[4] Much of the narrative is about an idealized past being lost and this as part of a larger decline. In this sense, the lament is as much or more about "the Muslims" than about Spain itself. This is a common theme. In 2014, the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Qasim Suleimani, listed the decline of the Muslim world as beginning with the fall of Muslim Spain.[5]
Others echoes of Al-Andalus are more subtle or diplomatic. In 1997, the Saudi ruling family built a massive white mosque at the foot of the great cliff of Gibraltar (Gibraltar is named, of course, for the conqueror of Al-Andalus, Tariq Ibn Ziyad, and so Gibraltar is "Tariq's Mountain") in the British Overseas Territory of the same name. The December 22, 1997 account in Al-'Alam Al-Islami, published by the Muslim World League and translated by MEMRI, is surprisingly straightforward. It is mostly a historical account of the struggle for supremacy of the site between the Muslims, the Spanish and later, the English, but noting that "the flag of Islam waved high in the Iberian Peninsula, for eight centuries of glory, culture, thought and science." There is little or no whining, special pleading, or loaded language.
But much more common is the idea that the loss of Spain is an historic wrong that must be erased by violence. Salafi-jihadis from Osama bin Ladin to ISIS fighters in North Africa have frequently made this point. "Let the whole world know that we will never accept that the tragedy of Al-Andalus would be repeated," was a sentence used by bin Ladin in October 2001 in a video message after the September 11 attacks.[6] In 2013, the Taliban called for reconquering Spain, accusing the infidel West of having "alienated Muslims from their glorious history."[7] Urdu-speaking jihadis compared the loss of Kashmir to that of Al-Andalus.[8]
The official media arm of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) official media arm is called Al-Andalus.[9] Launched in 2009, the name was intentionally chosen "because it is the Muslims' lost paradise." AQIM justified the name by quoting seminal jihadist activist and founder of Al-Qaeda, Dr. Abdullah Al-Azzam, as saying, "Jihad has been an individual obligation since 1492, when Granada fell to the infidels – the Christians – and is to this day. And jihad will remain an individual obligation until we restore every bit of land that was once Islamic to the lands of Islam and to the Muslims."[10] In another dispatch from 2007, AQIM called Spain "the stolen land."[11]
Al-Andalus is also the name of a pro-Al-Shabaab radio station in Somalia.[12] One ISIS spokesman recently spoke of using Libya as a launch point for the conquest of both Rome and Spain. In still another, chilling ISIS video from March 2016, child soldiers in Syria are indoctrinated to strive to reclaim both the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and Al-Andalus.[13]
The bloody thirst for conquest amplified through social media is often paralleled by an aggressive, usually Salafi-inspired broadcast media effort to convert Latin Christians to Islam. What cannot be won by the sword can, perhaps, be won by preaching, especially if Westerners are unsure in their own beliefs and ripe for conversion.
The Saudi-funded Cordoba International TV, broadcasting in Spanish since 2012 from studios in Madrid, talks of building bridges to other cultures and religions but is actually a barely disguised effort at proselytization aimed at both Spain and Latin America.[14] As a former Saudi ambassador says in an article on the channel's website titled "The Pains of Al-Andalus," "Al-Andalus could have led to all of Europe becoming Muslim land."[15]
According to Cordoba TV's manager, the name was chosen because it "responds properly to our vision as a channel serving as bridges of understanding between culture and religions, such as Al-Andalus, a multi-cultural country at peace, harmony, flourishing... a city that we are very proud was the capital of the world."[16] Here the young manager, Yasin Puertas, touches on all the shopworn buzzwords of our Western post-modern society – "understanding," bridges," "multi-cultural," "harmony" – to gild was is obviously a Saudi Wahhabi project aimed at the West. Cordoba was, of course, certainly a flourishing "multi-cultural" place, but it was also the seat of a powerful and confident military state made rich by yearly raids for treasure and slaves into Christian territory.
While Salafi-jihadis' interest in reversing the expulsion of Muslim invaders from Spain is perhaps not so surprising, the concept of the fall of Islamic Spain as a cautionary tale for Arab Muslims everywhere is more widespread. In 2011, the leading pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera featured a remarkable four-part Arabic language documentary series titled "Story of How the Muslims Lost Al-Andalus."[17]
It was produced by Dubai-based Hot Spot Films, a frequent content provider for the Doha-based broadcaster that presents itself as using the documentary format as "a tool for resistance."[18] Featuring token Spanish participation, the tale is told mostly through the words of modern Arab scholars from Egypt and Morocco, presenting an idealized image of Islamic Spain where there was coexistence "even with the Jews" and where Al-Andalus fell because of Arab Muslim infighting, disunity after the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate, and plotting by the Christians waging a "crusade."
The Arabic-speaking viewer is clearly meant to draw a connection between the fall of Spain and the situation of the Arab Muslims of today. In this cautionary tale, the ills that affected the Arab Muslims in Iberia then and those affecting the Arab Muslims of today are essentially the same.
Helwan University Professor Zubeida Muhammad Atta notes that the bickering of 20 petty Muslim kings, after the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba, facilitated the task of the Spanish "Crusaders." The petty kings now had to pay jizya (poll tax demanded of "protected" minorities) to the Christian northerners rather than the other way around. The Christians also learned to play the ambitions of one Muslim prince against another, and while the Muslims became more and more divided, the Christians united against them.
Part two of the series, dealing with the fall of the last Moorish kingdom at Granada, reads like a compendium of very contemporary grievance language used in today's Islamist discourse.[19] The Spanish kings "occupy" Muslim cities, the Muslim opposition to them is "resistance." A rising against the Spanish in Granada is an "intifada, similar to that of the Palestinian Intifada." What the Spanish call "piracy" is described as "seagoing jihad." The fall of Granada itself is basically portrayed as due to scheming Christians and divided, bickering Muslims.
The third and fourth parts of the series, dealing with the Moriscos (Spanish Muslims converted to Christianity), after the fall of Granada, also presents historical events in a plaintive language and form sure to be deeply evocative for Al-Jazeera's audience. Here the story is also one that is often found on the broadcaster, of Muslims unjustly oppressed, of Muslims as victims, expelled from their lands.
The work of the Spanish Inquisition is dealt with at great length in the documentary, although at least some of the woodcut images used are of the Inquisition torture of Protestants, not Muslims, taken from English sources propagating the "Black Legend."[20] Echoing still another popular contemporary theme, one Moroccan expert expounds on the "betrayal" of the Moriscos, "who never got any promised help from Morocco or any Muslim country."[21] Actually, in the convoluted power politics of the period, there were all sorts of plots from French Protestants and Ottomans to try to work with the rebellious Moriscos.[22]
Bizarrely but tellingly, the documentary concludes by noting that King Juan Carlos of Spain apologized for the 1492 expulsion of the Jews from Spain, but not for the expulsion of the Muslims. However, the Spanish Cortes, or Parliament, had indeed apologized for this. A Saudi daily described the descendants of these expelled Spanish Muslims as "marking every year in anguish" and in dire need of an apology.[23]
One of the Moroccan consultants for the program says that this "symbolic apology" by Spain's parliament is not sufficient, and that it needs to be translated into concrete action in the religious, political and economic fields.[24] In other words, there should be reparations.
One wonders where the Iberians should go to get an apology for the Muslim invasion of their peninsula in the 8th century. Ironically, the program refers to its appearance 13 centuries exactly after the Muslim conquest of Spain (711 A.D.) but the content is, of course, mostly about the victimization of Muslims by Spain.
Bizarrely, as recently as 2013, a small demonstration gathered in Cairo to condemn the "Spanish occupation" of Al-Andalus: "No matter how long the Spanish occupation of Al-Andalus continues, the day will come, Allah willing, when we liberate it and Islam will return."[25] The influential group behind it, the Ahrar Movement, began as soccer hooligans but has been recreated as youthful "revolutionary Salafists" who seek to "use the power of mass mobilization to fight a long battle of attrition against the West and local leaders."[26]
There is even a feature-length Arabic-language animated feature (later also dubbed into Urdu) on the "Conquest of Al-Andalus," instructing young minds all about jihad against the "Kuffar" within the context of the invasion of Visigothic Spain.[27] One suspects that European youth today are not very much inculcated with the values and stories of the Reconquista or of Charles Martel.
Interestingly, one rather significant jihadi public figure had a Spanish connection. Abu Musab Al-Suri (Mustafa Setmiriam Nasr) was one of the most consequential thinkers in the jihadist movement over the past few years.[28] He also lived in Spain for more a decade, married a Spanish woman, and had Spanish citizenship.
Abu Musab has long been wanted for a 1985 bombing at El Descanso restaurant outside Madrid, the first successful Islamist terrorist attack in Spain.[29] He also had some connection with the Al-Qaeda cell that years late carried out the worst terrorist attack in Spanish history on March 11, 2004 and was also tangentially connected to the September 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S. Despite all his activism, he is best known for producing a massive and influential tome promoting the concept of constant small terrorist attacks against the West.[30] Excerpts of his work were even reprinted in the infamous AQAP online magazine Inspire."[31] Supposedly released from prison by the Assad regime in 2012 (the regime released many hardcore jihadis to influence the development of the opposition to the regime), Al-Suri has never been seen since.[32]
But more dangerous than the distant historic connections of prominent figures are continued Iberian connections to actual terrorist plots. Repeated conspiracies have been exposed since the Atocha Station train bombings of 2004, many involving persons of North African origin or with connections to the Spanish North African cities of Ceuta and Melilla.[33] The phenomenon has been well documented by Spanish scholars Fernando Reinares and Carola Garcia-Calvo.[34]
The thwarted August 2015 attack on a Paris-bound train was carried out by Moroccan Ayyub Al-Khazzani, who had spent years in Spain as a teenager.[35] One terrorist cell dismantled by Morocco in 2008 actually had the name "Fateh al-Andalus" (Conquest of Al-Andalus) and a couple arrested in Granada in February 2009 for terrorism charges was also producing videos calling for "the recovery of Al-Andalus."[36]
Less violent than the work of terrorism, the idea that Spain should be reclaimed by Islam continues to periodically reappear, in Arabic or even in Spanish. One recent mysterious social media campaign invited Muslims worldwide to "return to Al-Andalus" and "restore its sanctity." The February 2016 announcement on Instagram actually linked with official Spanish government sites, which naturally denied any knowledge of the publicity stunt.[37] A Facebook page in Spanish and Arabic linked to the campaign had to date 33,000 "likes."[38]
The threat to Spain must be split between the aspirational and the actual. There is little doubt that the idea that the loss of Al-Andalus was a disaster for Muslims and should ideally be reversed is probably widespread among Muslim populations in a general, vague sense. It resonates in a way that the retaking of Muslim Sicily (1091 A.D.) or of the Muslim-ruled Balkans (which ended much more recently, in 1913) does not. But this does not seem to be an immediate burning issue among the masses, nor is there any Muslim state with the intention and ability to actually do anything about it. The actual challenge comes from various strands of global Salafi Jihadism, activism, and Salafi proselytism. The terrorism and the feverish vision of many of these groups are very real, and as long as they exist and have safe haven, they will continue to plot and to dream.
As a Dean at the Islamic University of Gaza noted in 2012, the conquest of Spain is "an old dream" but "something Muslims proudly hope for and will continue to hope for in the future," being certain that it will be accomplished, along with raising the flag of a restored Caliphate over the Vatican and Palestine.[39] Given the romanticization of an idealized, if not imaginary, Islamic past, a deep sense of grievance and loss, and the disastrous crisis of authority and fascination with revolutionary violence that exists in much of the Muslim world, Islamic Spain as a symbol, a warning, and a rallying cry will endure, along with those other places of power, such as Jerusalem and Rome, drawn from history, faith and legend.
*Alberto M. Fernandez is Vice-President of MEMRI.
Endnotes:
[1] Sevilla.abc.es/sevilla/sevi-rafael-sanchez-saus-idealizado-al-andalus-pesar-humillacion-sufrieron-cristianos-201603071304_noticia.html, March 7, 2016. t
[2] Mmisi.org/ir/41_02/fernandez-morera.pdf, Fall 2006.
[3] The New York Times, "Was the Islam Of Old Spain Truly Tolerant?" September 27, 2003.
[4] Talinedv.com/2015/09/07/a-syrian-writers-eulogy-for-seville, September 7, 2015.
[5] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 5716, IRGC Qods Force Commander Soleimani: 'War Is A Grand School For Love, Morals, [And] Loyalty,' April 20, 2014.
[6] Aarchive.indianexpress.com/oldStory/43116/, March 17, 2004.
[7] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 5313, Taliban Magazine 'Azan' Calls For Jihad To Retake Andalus, May 27, 2013.
[8] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 3367, Pakistani Jihadist Weekly Examines the Islamic Status of Kashmir, Says: "Kudos to the Muslims of Kashmir that in Contrast to the Muslim Conquerors, They Never Welcomed Infidels on the Land of Kashmir," November 10, 2010.
[9] Ctc.usma.edu/posts/imagery/0237.
[10] MEMRI JTTM report Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Launches "Al-Andalus" Media Productions, Says Jihad Obligatory Until Spain is Restored to the Muslims, October 8, 2009.
[11] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 1543, Islamist Websites Monitor No. 82: The Comprehensive Security Encyclopedia, April 13, 2007.
[12] Radioandalus24.com/?p=4657, June 26, 2015.
[13] The Irish Times, "Islamic State schools army of child soldiers in terrorism," March 8, 2016.
[14] Elpais.com, December 20, 2011.
[15] Cordobainternacional.com/los-dolores-de-al-andalus/.
[16] Diariocordoba.com/noticias/cordobalocal/tele-saudi-mira-cordoba_764507.html , November 11, 2012.
[17] Youtube.com/watch?v=PGQlsCoizqY.
[18] Hotspotfilms.com/Arabic/.
[19] Youtube.com/watch?v=dTDUBK1nV7A.
[20] Ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/models-and-stereotypes/the-spanish-century/friedrich-edelmayer-the-leyenda-negra-and-the-circulation-of-anti-catholic-and-anti-spanish-prejudices, June 29, 2011.
[21] Youtube.com/watch?v=y6QQr54_Pog.
[22] Lea, Henry Charles, The Moriscos of Spain: Their Conversion and Expulsion (Philadelphia: 1901) p. 281.
[23] Special Dispatch No. 873, Saudi Daily: Andalusian Muslims Recall Mass Exodus, March 4, 2005.
[24] Youtube.com/watch?v=DTwPIBsbZ5I.
[25] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 5131, Egyptians Protest The Fall Of Islamic Andalusia And Vow To Liberate It, January 11, 2013.
[26] Hudson.org/research/12310-revolutionary-salafism-the-case-of-ahrar-movement, March 15, 2016.
[27] Youtube.com/watch?v=GFXxTuUAj0k.
[28] The Wall Street Journal, "The New Mastermind of Jihad," April 6, 2012.
[29] Elpais.com/diario/2010/04/18/domingo/1271562760_850215.html, April 18, 2010.
[30] The Wall Street Journal, "The New Mastermind of Jihad," April 6, 2012.
[31] MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 698, Al-Qaeda Military Strategist Abu Mus'ab Al-Suri's Teachings on Fourth-Generation Warfare (4GW), Individual Jihad and the Future of Al-Qaeda, June 22, 2011.
[32] Longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/02/abu_musab_al_suri_re.php, February 6, 2012.
[33] Seguridadinternacional.es/revista/?q=content/%C2%BFenclaves-yihadistas-un-estudio-sobre-la-presencia-y-el-riesgo-extremistas-en-ceuta-y.
[34] Realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_es/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_es/zonas_es/dt17-2015-reinares-garciacalvo-terroristas-redes-organizaciones-facetas-actual-movilizacion-yihadista-espana, November 16, 2011.
[35] Telegraph.co.uk, September 1, 2015.
[36] Politica.elpais.com/politica/2012/08/02/actualidad/1343917576_213927.html, April 23, 2013.
[37] Elmundo.es/sociedad/2016/02/19/56c7446d22601d8a5e8b45e5.html, February 19, 2016.
[38] "Restituir la santidad en Al-Ándalus" Facebook page
[39] MEMRI TV Clip No. 3450, Dr. Subhi Al-Yaziji, Dean of Koranic Studies at the Islamic University of Gaza: We Hope to Conquer Andalusia and the Vatican, May 25, 2012.