LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
October 06/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.october06.16.htm
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Bible
Quotations For Today
No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise
the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Luke 05/33-39/:"Then they said to Jesus, ‘John’s disciples,
like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but your
disciples eat and drink.’ Jesus said to them, ‘You cannot make wedding-guests
fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? The days will come when the
bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.’
He also told them a parable: ‘No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews
it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece from the new
will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise
the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be
destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after
drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, "The old is good."".
And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them.
Book of Revelation 11/01-12/:"Then
I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, ‘Come and measure the
temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the
court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations,
and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant
my two witnesses authority to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty
days, wearing sackcloth.’These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands
that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire
pours from their mouth and consumes their foes; anyone who wants to harm them
must be killed in this manner. They have authority to shut the sky, so that no
rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have authority over
the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of
plague, as often as they desire. When they have finished their testimony, the
beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer
them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great
city that is prophetically called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was
crucified. For three and a half days members of the peoples and tribes and
languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be
placed in a tomb; and the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and
celebrate and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment
to the inhabitants of the earth. But after the three and a half days, the breath
of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and those who saw
them were terrified. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them,
‘Come up here!’ And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies
watched them.
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on October 05-06/16
Aoun upbeat; Russia backs Hariri’s bid to end crisis/Hussein Dakroub| The Daily
Star/October/05/2016 |
Iran's Massacre and Rising Crimes Against Humanity/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone
Institute/October 05/16
Europe's "Good Terrorists": Because They Might Destroy Israel/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone
Institute/October 05/16
Why Egypt's new church law has some activists worried/Abdelrahman Eyad/ِAl-Monitor/October
05/16
Can Western Muslims Be De-radicalized/Uriya Shavit and Sören Andresen/Middle
East Quarterly/October 05/16
Egyptian Writer: The World Is One Large Camp And Muslims Must Find Their Place
In It/MEMRI/October 05/16
Why Saudi mistrusts Iran/Ali al-Shihabi/Al Arabiya/October 05/16
Will the woman in red suit make it to the presidency/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/October
05/16
Can the new UN chief help resolve the Syrian crisis/Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/October
05/16
Will a hard Brexit take the great out of Great Britain/Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al
Arabiya/October 05/16
Fighting A Culture Of Illusion: The Long Struggle Of Dr. Turki Al-Hamad/ Alberto
M. Fernandez/MEMRI/October 05/16
Titles
For Latest Lebanese Related News published on on October
05-06/16
Rifi Says Hariri Support of Aoun would be 'Another Strategic Mistake'
Berri: Jurisdictions of President Untouched in 'Package Deal'
Berri Says Bkirki Statement 'Doesn't Contradict with Package Deal, Dialogue
Agreements'
Maronite Bishops Call For National Agreement, Urge Politicians to Elect
President with No Prior Conditions
Report: Church Ceiling Collapses during Presence of Ministers, MPs
Salam urges to adopt national salvation campaign, elect new president 'today
before tomorrow'
Confidante Denies Franjieh Received Threats from Damascus
Aridi from Ain Tineh: Doors open in front of efforts to elect president
Shehayeb: Apple item on Cabinet agenda tomorrow
News about arrest of truck laden with ammunition from Turkey flawed
German Development Minister arrives in Beirut
Judge Zalfa al Hassan issues decision prohibiting Murr TV from offending Harb
Geagea: LF, FPM reconciliation must continue and improve
Geagea Says LF's Nomination of Aoun was a 'Game Changer'
Houri: Hizbullah Controls Presidency File, Aoun Tried to Polish His Image with
Mustaqbal
General Security Arrests 7 in Sidon on Terror Links
Report: Upcoming Cabinet Meeting Can be 'Infected' by Lack of Quorum
Beirut International Film Festival says number of movies banned from screening
Locals tame wildfire in Zrarieh's Bas
Aoun upbeat; Russia backs Hariri’s bid to end crisis
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports
And News published on on
October 05-06/16
Pence Calls for US Attacks against
Syrian Regime
Kerry Urges Taliban to Reach 'Honorable' Peace with Kabul
Syria Military Says Will 'Reduce' Bombardment of Aleppo
French FM to Hold Talks in U.S., Russia on Aleppo Truce Plan
U.N. Declares Syria's East Aleppo 'Besieged'
Strike Kills 19 Civilians in IS-Held Syria Village
Russia Sends Two Warships Back to Med as Syria Tensions Rise
Putin Calls to Boost Russia's Defenses
Israel Intercepts Activist Boat Seeking to Break Gaza Blockade
Israeli Police to Question U.S. Billionaire in Netanyahu Probe
U.S. Warns Settlements Harm Israel's 'Democratic' Future
Canada has been a leading voice on human rights in Iran for the past decade
Iran regime reacts furiously to printing of Maryam Rajavi’s photo in an
important university publication
Healthy relationship between Iran and Italy is an illusion
IRAN: Former MP questions regime’s involvement in Syria
Links From Jihad Watch Site for on
October 05-06/16
Why Egypt’s Muslims Are Bitter Towards Coptic Christians
Dress depicting planes flying into Twin Towers horrifies British shoppers
EU orders British press NOT to reveal when terrorists are Muslims
UK judge says money spent to keep Muslim from joining jihad in Syria ok: it
saved his life
Robert Spencer in PJ Media: White House Proposes Official NEW RACE: ‘Middle
East/North African’
Islamic State calls for random knife attacks in alleys, forests, beaches, “quiet
neighborhoods”
Islamic State claims “jihad against Jews” rocket attack against Israel
Brussels: Muslim stabs two police officers, prosecutors say “we have reason to
believe that the incident was a terrorist attack”
Hugh Fitzgerald: What Do French Textbooks Teach About Islam? (Part I)
Video: Robert Spencer on Barack Obama’s Fantasy Islam
Pakistan: Muslim murders his sister for marrying a Christian, AP falsely states
that practice violates Islamic teaching
Coincidence: Muslim who claims he was randomly punched in DC
happens to be Muslim Brotherhood-linked activist
Links From Christian Today Site for on
October 05-06/16
Pope Francis: 'Evil Does Not Have The Last Word'
Pope And Archbishop Lament Culture Of Indifference, Waste And Hate
Assyrian Christians Caught In Crossfire As Fighting Rages Against ISIS
Helping Haiti 'In Jesus' Name': Christian Groups Move In After Hurricane Matthew
Wreaks Havoc
Four Kidnapped Christians Including A Child Released For Ransom In Egypt
New Mission Launched To Share The Gospel With People Of Other Faiths
Christian Persecution On The Rise In Uzbekistan Where Just Owning A Bible Is
Illegal
VP Candidates Clash On Abortion In Live TV Debate
Christian Man Hacked To Death In Church In India
Polish Government Backs Down Over Total Abortion Ban
Suicides And Revenge Attacks: The Plight Of Ex-Muslims In Britain
Why I Still Believe In Praying For Aleppo
Latest Lebanese Related News published on on October 05-06/16
Rifi Says
Hariri Support of Aoun would be 'Another Strategic Mistake'
Naharnet/October 05/16/Resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi warned Wednesday
that ex-PM Saad Hariri would be committing "another strategic mistake" if he
endorses Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun for the presidency. “How
can ex-PM Hariri hand over the country to a figure linked to the Iranian
project? Aoun has endorsed the Iranian project since 2005 and we don't trust the
promises he launched yesterday,” Rifi said in an interview on MTV. He also
slammed Hariri's declared presidential candidate, Marada Movement chief MP
Suleiman Franjieh, as a “copy” of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Rifi also said
that Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq and Hariri's advisers Ghattas Khoury
and Nader Hariri are to blame for the ex-PM's “deviation from the principles” of
the March 14 coalition. Turning to the issue of the so-called package deal that
Speaker Nabih Berri has proposed, the minister saluted Maronite Patriarch
Beshara al-Rahi for his rejection of the suggestion. “I salute Patriarch al-Rahi
and the call of the Maronite bishops seeing as we cannot accept the package deal
that is a veiled attempt to pounce on coexistence and our rights as citizens,”
he said. “The package deal encroaches on the jurisdiction of the president and
the premier and we will not endorse the system of Iran's supreme guide,” Rifi
warned. Separately, the resigned minister announced that he does not have a
regional “financial supporter.”Rifi, who for several years was loyal to Hariri's
al-Mustaqbal Movement, has repeatedly criticized the ex-PM's decision to endorse
Franjieh for the presidency, and in May he backed an electoral list in Tripoli's
municipal polls that managed to achieve a stunning victory against a list backed
by Hariri, ex-PM Najib Miqati, ex-ministers Mohammed Safadi and Faisal Karami,
Jamaa Islamiya, Ahbash and the Arab Democratic Party. The justice minister has
been accused of resorting to “sectarian incitement” and to the continued use of
the assassinations that targeted March 14 figures in his political rhetoric. “He
should stop involving the name of Rafik Hariri in his political rhetoric and
should stop attacking the Hariris in the name of Rafik Hariri,” Saad Hariri said
in a speech in June. “To all those who suddenly became experts in Rafik Hariri,
Harirism and its principles, a small reminder: Every time Rafik Hariri was asked
about the most important thing in the world, he answered: Honesty! And what is
the basis of honesty? Loyalty,” Hariri added.
Berri: Jurisdictions of
President Untouched in 'Package Deal'
Naharnet/October 05/16/Speaker Nabih Berri defended the so-called “package deal”
on the presidency, which was subject to criticism from Christian officials, and
assured that it does not include any item specifying the jurisdictions of the
president, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday. “They say that the package
deal is over, for me it still exists. Let them say what they want, it's their
opinion not mine,” Berri's visitors quoted him as saying. “I would like to ask,
what is included in the package deal? It is known to all and it does not contain
any item on the jurisdictions of the president,” he went on say. Berri's
“package deal” was criticized by several Christian figures including Maronite
Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, Free Patriotic Movement Minister Jebran Bassil and
Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea. Berri had launched an initiative aimed at
ending the presidential impasse. He called for shortening the term of parliament
and that the elections be held based on the 1960 law should political forces
fail to agree on a new electoral one. He also called for staging the
presidential elections after the parliamentary ones and forming a national unity
government. Rahi blasted the calls for “package deal” that precedes the election
of a president, noting that any candidate who accepts it has no “dignity.”In a
show of support to Rahi's stances, Bassil and Geagea issued statement after
separate meetings with Rahi on Tuesday rejecting the “package deal.”On reports
claiming that a president is likely to be elected soon, Berri said: “Some
believe that a president will be elected in the next few days, but I don't see
that coming.”Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel
Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some
of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions,
stripping them of the needed quorum. Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia,
launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP
Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations
from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. Hariri's move
prompted Geagea to endorse the nomination of Aoun, his long-time Christian
rival, after months of political rapprochement talks between their two
parties.The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible
than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and
his bigger influence in the Christian community.
Berri Says Bkirki Statement
'Doesn't Contradict with Package Deal, Dialogue Agreements'
Naharnet/October 05/16/Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday lauded a statement
issued earlier in the day by the Council of Maronite Bishops, noting that it
“does not contradict” with the national dialogue agreements and the proposed
“package deal.”“I support the statement that was issued by the Maronite bishops
and it does not contradict with the dialogue agreements, which are the
components of the package deal,” Berri said during his weekly meeting with
lawmakers. Berri, known for his humor, also distributed Ashoura cookies to the
MPs in “celebration” of the bishops' statement, media reports said. Bkirki
sources were quick to comment on Berri's response, noting that “as long as the
speaker has announced his approval of the Maronite bishops' call, this means
that we are in agreement and that he is not imposing conditions on the
president, and therefore this means that the concept of the 'package of
conditions' has fallen.”The relation between Bkirki and Ain el-Tineh had
witnessed tensions in the past few days in the wake of Maronite Patriarch
Beshara al-Rahi's announcement on Sunday that any candidate who “has dignity”
cannot accept the proposed package deal. Al-Rahi's remarks drew a swift response
from Berri, who said he has proposed a “package of ideas” whereas the patriarch
had proposed a “package of candidates” in the past. Berri's “package deal” has
been also criticized by several Christian figures, including the leaders of the
Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces. Berri had launched an
initiative aimed at ending the presidential impasse. He called for shortening
the term of parliament and holding parliamentary elections under the 1960 law
should political forces fail to agree on a new law. He also called for staging
the presidential elections after the parliamentary ones and forming a national
unity government. In recent days, media reports said Berri is willing to accept
“half a package deal” involving agreements on “the electoral law, the finance
minister post, creating an oil ministry and retaking the energy ministry
portfolio.”Ex-PM Saad Hariri's recent return to Lebanon has triggered a flurry
of rumors and media reports about a possible presidential settlement and the
possibility that the former premier has finally decided to endorse FPM founder
MP Michel Aoun for the presidency in a bid to break the deadlock. Lebanon has
been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and
Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been
boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed
quorum. Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late
2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency
but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian
parties as well as Hizbullah. Hariri's move prompted LF leader Samir Geagea to
endorse the nomination of Aoun, his long-time Christian rival, after months of
political rapprochement talks between their two parties. The supporters of
Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become
president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in
the Christian community.
Maronite Bishops Call For
National Agreement, Urge Politicians to Elect President with No Prior Conditions
Naharnet/October 05/16/The Maronite Bishops Council voiced calls on Wednesday to
abide by the constitution and elect a new head of state without imposing any
prior conditions, the National News Agency reported. During their monthly
meeting in Diman under Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, they urged the
political leaders to be up to their responsibility. The Bishops also called for
drafting a new electoral law that would secure real representation, in
compliance with the Constitution and the National Pact. They did not fail to
hail the efforts made by the army and security forces in fighting terrorism.
Conferees also remarked the ailing economic condition in the country, in
addition to the burden caused by the displaced Syrians and Palestinian refugees.
"It is the duty of politicians to set an effective plan to boost national
economy," they said in a statement. "How can the political forces hold onto
disruption?" they wondered. The Maronite bishops lastly highlighted the
necessity to commit to a national comprehensive reconciliation that would turn
over a new page and "reconsider the historic settlement embodied by Taef
Accord."
Report: Church Ceiling
Collapses during Presence of Ministers, MPs
Naharnet/October 05/16/The ceiling of a hall at the Mar Mikhail Church in
Shiyyah collapsed on Wednesday during the presence of a number of ministers and
MPs, a media report said. The officials were offering condolences over the death
of Jean Gharios, a brother of Change and Reform bloc MP Naji Gharios, LBCI
television said. The TV network published pictures showing what appears to be a
collapsed gypsum board. The church had in 2006 witnessed the declaration of the
famous memorandum of understanding between Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic
Movement.
Salam urges to adopt national
salvation campaign, elect new president 'today before tomorrow'
Wed 05 Oct 2016/NNA - Prime Minister Tammam Salam urges to adopt a national
salvation campaign, saying "we have a lot of qualities which would help to carry
out any positive political step." Salam's words came during the opening of
"Lebanon's Rise towards Development State" conference which is held on Wednesday
at the Grand Serail. Salam called to attend the parliament and elect a new
president "today before tomorrow" to resume balance adding that "Lebanon is
passing through one of the toughest stages which demand on spot handlings to
avoid the worst."The Premier pointed out that Lebanon enjoys a strong banking
system, confirming that the country "enjoys security stability, thanks to the
Lebanese Army."Labor Minister, Sejaan Azzi, attending the event, said that the
collective work was much better than the individual one which "would lead to
nowhere but suicide."Finance Minister, Ali Hasan Khalil, also gave a word saying
that electing a president for the country would be the best letter sent in favor
of letting the country rise to development.
Confidante Denies Franjieh
Received Threats from Damascus
Naharnet/October 05/16/A source close to Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman
Franjieh denied Wednesday a media report claiming that the Zgharta leader had
received “threats” from the Syrian regime over his latest political activity.
“MP Franjieh's relation with Syria has always been and will always be excellent
and the article that mentioned threats and messages is fictional and baseless,”
al-Jadeed television quoted one of Franjieh's confidantes as saying, in response
to an article published by al-Joumhouria newspaper. The source noted that
Franjieh had recently boosted his security measures “after several terrorist
plots to target senior politicians were unveiled in the wake of the series of
achievements and arrests that the security agencies have made.”“The issue has
nothing to do with Syria or the presidential file and its developments,” the
source emphasized. Citing unconfirmed reports, al-Joumhouria's article says
“Franjieh received threats warning him against attending the dinner banquet that
was held by the Saudi ambassador at the embassy in Ramadan, and as a result he
upped his security measures.”The daily also quoted sources as saying that “the
Syrians have great concern regarding Franjieh due to his new and strong ties to
French officials, especially that he coordinates with them almost daily, and
secondly because of the channel of communication he has established with Saudi
Arabia through his cousin Karim al-Rassi.”The sources also mentioned a third
reason which is Franjieh's “ability to forge some kind of settlement with (ex-PM
Saad) Hariri, whose offerings, so far, have not satisfied the Syrians, Hizbullah
or Iran.”Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman
ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, MP Michel Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and
some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions,
stripping them of the needed quorum. Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia,
launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but
his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties
as well as Hizbullah. Hariri's move prompted Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea
to endorse the nomination of Aoun, his long-time Christian rival, after months
of political rapprochement talks between their two parties. The supporters of
Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become
president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in
the Christian community.
Aridi from Ain Tineh: Doors
open in front of efforts to elect president
Wed 05 Oct 2016/NNA - MP Ghazi Aridi said that House Speaker Nabih Berri had
confirmed to him that all doors were open and would remain so in front of all
efforts and attempts pressed to reach local understandings in favor of electing
a president for the country. MP Aridi on Wednesday visited Speaker Berri in Ain
Al Tineh. Separately, Berri received Kuwaiti Ambassador Abdul Aal Qinai and
reviewed with him developments.
Shehayeb: Apple item on
Cabinet agenda tomorrow
Wed 05 Oct 2016/NNA - Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayeb received on Wednesday
at his Ministry office MP Seymond Abi Ramya, with the pair reportedly discussing
the simmering apple dossier and the Ministry's adopted solutions to assist
farmers in this regard. On emerging, Minister Shehayeb told media
representatives that the apple issue shall be placed on the Cabinet's agenda
tomorrow, in a bid to aid farmers and address such a predicament.
News about arrest of truck
laden with ammunition from Turkey flawed
Wed 05 Oct 2016/NNA - News about stopping a truck carrying ammunition from
Turkey is wrong, NNA field reporter confirmed on Wednesday, adding that the army
elements -- tasked to safeguard Tripoli port -- have seized empty ammunition
inside a truck owned by Alameddine family. The Truck has arrived to the port of
Tripoli from Iraq via Turkey. Leather jackets and power generator equipment were
also found inside the truck, NNA reporter added.
German Development Minister
arrives in Beirut
Wed 05 Oct 2016/The German Minister will be meeting with a number of officials
during his stay in Lebanon, NNA field reporter added.
Judge Zalfa al Hassan issues
decision prohibiting Murr TV from offending Harb
Wed 05 Oct 2016/NNA - The press office of Telecommunications Minister, Boutros
Harb, issued a statement on Wednesday in which it revealed that Beirut judge of
urgent matters, Zalfa al- Hassan, has forbidden Murr TV from offending Minister
Harb on its TV channel or social networks.
Geagea: LF, FPM
reconciliation must continue and improve
Wed 05 Oct 2016/NNA - Lebanese Forces head, Samir Geagea, said that the
reconciliation between Lebanese Forces (LF) and Free Patriotic Movement (FPM)
must continue and take the course of improvement, urging the media sections of
LF and FPM to work in this favor so as to serve the national interest. A
delegation of the media department of FPM on Wednesday visited Geagea in Maarab.
"The reconciliation came after a 35 year period of remoteness and divergence
that should be terminated once and for all," said Geagea. Separately, he
received in Maarab Cypriot deputy Yannakis Moussa and discussed with him
bilateral ties as well as the condition of Lebanese Diaspora in Cyprus.
Geagea Says LF's Nomination
of Aoun was a 'Game Changer'
Naharnet/October 05/16/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea announced Wednesday
that the LF's endorsement of Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun's
presidential nomination was a “game changer” in the Lebanese political arena.
“This accord between the LF and the FPM must continue and advance,” Geagea said
during a meeting with the FPM's Central Media Committee and the LF's Media and
Communication Apparatus. “This reconciliation came after 35 years of discord and
disagreement between brothers and we had to put an end to that once and for
all,” he added. The LF leader explained how the two parties started working on
drafting the so-called Declaration of Intent before the LF became convinced of
nominating Aoun for the presidency, “which was a game changer in the Lebanese
political arena,” an LF statement said. At the end of the meeting, Geagea called
on the two media departments to “strengthen this approach of accord for the sake
of entire Lebanon.”Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel
Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some
of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions,
stripping them of the needed quorum. Ex-PM Saad Hariri, who is close to Saudi
Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP
Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations
from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. Hariri's move
prompted Geagea to endorse the nomination of Aoun, his long-time Christian
rival, after months of political rapprochement talks between their two parties.
The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than
Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his
bigger influence in the Christian community. Hariri's recent return to Lebanon
has triggered a flurry of rumors and media reports about a possible presidential
settlement and the possibility that the former premier has finally decided to
endorse Aoun for the presidency in a bid to break the deadlock.
Houri: Hizbullah Controls
Presidency File, Aoun Tried to Polish His Image with Mustaqbal
Naharnet/October 05/16/Al-Mustaqbal MP Ammar Houri said on Wednesday that MP
Michel Aoun tried to polish up his image with al-Mustaqbal Movement, as he
emphasized that a solution for the presidential file is in the hands of
Hizbullah. “Freeing the presidency file is in the hands of Hizbullah which does
not want any candidate for the presidency, not even General (Michel) Aoun,” said
Houri in an interview to VDL (100.5). “Until this moment (al-Mustaqbal Movement
chief) ex-PM Saad Hariri is still in a stage of consultations. He has not
changed his old position as for the nomination of Marada chief MP Suleiman
Franjieh. But at the same time he is open to all options,” added Houri. “We are
in a transitory period and await for Hariri to finish his consultations inside
Lebanon and abroad,” he added. On the statements made by Aoun in a televised
interview on Tuesday, Houri said: “General Aoun tried to polish up his image
with Mustaqbal. His stances were brushed which is normal for any (presidential)
candidate wishing to market himself.”Aoun hailed on Tuesday his latest meeting
with Hariri as “very positive.”Hariri's return recently to Lebanon has triggered
a flurry of rumors and media reports about a possible presidential settlement
and the possibility that the former premier has finally decided to endorse Aoun
for the presidency in a bid to break the deadlock. Lebanon has been without a
president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah,
Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the
parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum. Hariri,
who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate
Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal
was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as
Hizbullah. Hariri's move prompted Geagea to endorse the nomination of Aoun, his
long-time Christian rival, after months of political rapprochement talks between
their two parties.
General Security Arrests 7 in Sidon on Terror Links
Naharnet/October 05/16/The General Security arrested several Syrian nationals in
the southern town of Ain el-Dilb east of the city of Sidon accused of having
links to terror groups in Syria, the National News Agency reported on Wednesday.
The suspects were arrested for their involvement in terror groups and for
violating the residency permit rules in Lebanon.
Report: Upcoming Cabinet
Meeting Can be 'Infected' by Lack of Quorum
Naharnet/October 05/16/Although Prime Minister Tammam Salam has called the
ministers on Tuesday for a cabinet meeting this week, but there are no
guarantees that it would convene successfully knowing that several ministers
have not confirmed attendance as yet, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday
Until Tuesday evening, ministers of Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement
have not confirmed whether they will attend or boycott the session,
complementing a similar step when they boycotted the latest cabinet meeting.
Minister of Information Ramzi Jreij is on a trip abroad while Minister of
Tourism Pharaon and Labor Sejaan Qazzi have not determined yet whether they will
attend the meeting, according to the daily. On Tuesday Salam called the cabinet
to a session that will be held Thursday to tackle several items on the agenda.
His calls came amid fears that FPM and Hizbullah ministers might boycott the
session thus hampering the government’s mechanism of decision making. The FPM's
latest boycott of the cabinet was linked to the thorny issued of military
appointments. The movement has recently warned that the country might be plunged
into a “political system crisis” if the other parties do not heed the FPM's
demands regarding Muslim-Christian “partnership.”
Beirut International Film
Festival says number of movies banned from screening
Wed 05 Oct 2016/NNA - Beirut International Film Festival administration
regretted in a statement issued on Wednesday having been informed by concerned
official authorities that a number of movies will be banned from screening
during this year's 16th edition of Beirut International Film Festival due to
scenes deemed offensive to Lebanon's image. Topping the list of banned movies is
a film titled "Personal Issues" by Palestinian film director Maha Hajj. In
addition, a movie under the "International Panorama" category has been banned
over BIFF's refusal to remove some scenes. Another movie, "The Nights of Zayenda
Streets" by Iranian film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf has also been banned from
screening. The aforementioned movies were scheduled to screen during the
festival, which kicks off its 16th edition this evening. In its statement, BIFF
vehemently condemned the Lebanese authorities' decision to ban the previously
mentioned movies. "BIFF has always sought to be a podium of liberty and freedom
of expression, not to mention an open space for discussing social, economic,
environmental, and political issues at the universal level. Banning these movies
would only harm Lebanon's image as an axis of free expression in the region,"
the statement read.
Locals tame wildfire in
Zrarieh's Bas
Wed 05 Oct 2016/NNA - Locals of the town of Zrarieh managed on Wednesday to
douse a wildfire that broke out in al-Bas neighborhood, NNA field reporter said.
Aoun upbeat; Russia backs
Hariri’s bid to end crisis
Hussein Dakroub| The Daily Star/October/05/2016 |
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/10/05/hussein-dakroubthe-daily-star-aoun-upbeat-russia-backs-hariris-bid-to-end-crisis/
BEIRUT: MP Michel
Aoun sounded upbeat Tuesday that the presidential vacuum might be nearing its
end, signaling that his “positive” meeting with former Prime Minister Saad
Hariri over the issue might eventually lead the Future Movement to support his
bid for the country’s top Christian post.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed his support for
Hariri’s efforts to end the presidential deadlock, now in its third year. He
also voiced solidarity with Lebanon over the country’s longstanding political
and security crises tied to the Syrian conflict.
“Unfortunately Lebanon is witnessing a political crisis in this critical timing
and there are some efforts to overcome it. I want to express our support for the
efforts you are exerting, [former] premier Saad Hariri, to overcome this
political crisis,” Lavrov said during a meeting with Hariri at his office in
Moscow, said a statement issued by Hariri’s media office. Hariri, speaking to
Lavrov, blamed Hezbollah for the crisis.
Hariri visited Moscow as part of a foreign trip aimed at facilitating the
election of a president. He had visited Saudi Arabia Monday before flying to
Moscow, Future Movement MP Ahmad Fatfat told the Voice of the People radio
station.
Hariri’s consultations included the two main rival presidential candidates:
Aoun, who is backed by Hezbollah and some of its March 8 allies and the Lebanese
Forces, and Marada Movement leader MP Sleiman Frangieh, who has won the support
of Hariri, Speaker Nabih Berri, MP Walid Jumblatt and some independent
lawmakers.
Aoun, founder of the Free Patriotic Movement, disclosed that his meeting with
Hariri last week was “positive,” hinting that its outcome could prompt the
Future Movement to drop its support for Frangieh in his favor.
“The meeting was very positive. We reached understanding on all topics. He
[Hariri] had some things to sort out. Inshallah, the outcome will be positive,”
Aoun said in an interview with the FPM-affiliated OTV station Tuesday night.
He suggested that an agreement could be reached between rival political factions
over the presidency before the Oct. 31 parliamentary session to elect a new head
of state.
Aoun recalled that he and Hariri have been trying to reach a political agreement
since 2005, holding meetings in Lebanon, France and Italy, but did not reach any
tangible results.
Referring to last week’s meeting with Hariri, Aoun said: “But today the
situation is very positive [over the presidential election]. We talked about
issues of the hour. There was no contradiction over the implementation of the
Taif Accord.”
Aoun, who had opposed the Taif Accord when it was signed by Lebanese MPs in the
Saudi city of Taif in 1989, said there were pledges in the pact that have not
been implemented.
He appeared to refute claims of a Saudi veto on his candidacy for the
presidency, mainly because of his rejection of the Taif Accord and his strategic
alliance with Hezbollah.“Certainly, the Saudi kingdom has left the
[presidential] issue to the Lebanese to decide their options. It is no longer
putting a choice for a president and does not want to go into names [of
candidates]” Aoun said.
Aoun has for long been counting on Hariri’s support to boost his chances for
being elected president. He said that despite their differences throughout the
years, communication was ongoing between him and Hariri.
Aoun also attempted to reach out to the Lebanese Sunni community, which has
generally opposed his candidacy, while acknowledging that Hariri was the
country’s undisputed Sunni leader.
“Hariri has the largest representation within the Sunni community. It is only
natural to have him as the country’s prime minister,” he said.
Aoun warned against waiting for regional developments and the outcome of U.S.
elections to elect a president. “Waiting for [the outcome of] regional and
international developments will expose Lebanon to danger,” he said.
Aoun added that he was confident of Hezbollah’s constant support for him for the
presidency, rejecting claims by some March 14 politicians that the party did not
want him to become president.
On his strained ties with Berri, Aoun said: “The relationship with Speaker Berri
should be good. There is no dispute between us in politics.”
Aoun fell short of supporting Berri’s package deal to end the presidential
deadlock, but stressed that reaching understandings should be part of political
practice. “Understandings should be part of political activity. But
understandings must respect the Constitution. There should be no conditions on
the election of a president,” he said. He added that the election of a president
should not be linked to acceptance of the package deal.
Aoun said the latest row between Berri and Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai over
the former’s proposal would not obstruct the election of a president.
In his Sunday sermon in Bkirki, Rai had questioned the wisdom and legality of
any package deal over the presidency. He said such a deal would “strip the
president of his prerogatives, and whoever accepts it lacks dignity.”
Berri’s controversial proposed package calls for the election of a president, an
agreement on a new voting system and the shape of the new government.
However, Berri Tuesday stood firm on the package proposal, while ruling out the
election of a president in the near future.
“They say that the package [proposal] is finished. For me, this package still
exists,” Berri was quoted as saying by visitors at his Ain al-Tineh residence.
He said the package suggestion does not include any provision relating to the
president’s prerogatives. “They called it a package, but the truth of the matter
is that it includes the remaining topics of the dialogue agenda: The election of
a president and the prime minister and an electoral law. Accomplishing all these
matters is within Parliament’s prerogatives,” Berri said.
He added that he felt
from his meeting with Hariri that the head of the Future Movement did not
abandon his support for Frangieh’s candidacy.
“I heard from him [Hariri] that he is still firm on his [Frangieh’s] candidacy,”
Berri said. He added that he was ready to meet Aoun at his residence, while
stressing that “a prior understanding on everything is the road to reach a
solution” for the presidential crisis.
Meanwhile, U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag ended a two-day
visit to Tehran where she had talks with senior Iranian officials on the
Lebanese presidential crisis and regional developments.
Kaag met with Iran’s
Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Jaberi Ansari and Deputy
Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi, as well as
members of the international community, according to a statement released by
Kaag’s media office.
“The talks also centered on follow-up to the Security Council’s Presidential
Statement of 22 July, in particular its call on all parties to engage in
negotiating a compromise agreement with the aim of ending the political and
institutional crisis in Lebanon, and the criticality of the election of a
president, the formation of a unity government and the election of a Parliament
by May 2017,” the statement said.
Separately, Prime Minister Tammam Salam called for a Cabinet session to be held at 10 a.m. Thursday to resume discussion of a previously distributed agenda. If it is held, the session will be the first since the Sept. 8 meeting, which was boycotted by the FPM’s ministers and their allies in Hezbollah, the Marada Movement and the Tashnag Party.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports
And News published on on
October 05-06/16
Pence Calls for
US Attacks against Syrian Regime
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 05/16/Donald Trump's running mate Mike
Pence on Tuesday said the United States should attack Syrian government targets
if Russia continues to support its campaign to retake Aleppo. "If Russia chooses
to be involved and continue... in this barbaric attack on Aleppo, the United
States of America should use military force to strike the targets of the Assad
regime," the Republican vice presidential candidate said, referring to Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad during a debate with his Democratic counterpart Tim
Kaine. The Syrian army announced a major Russian-backed military push nearly two
weeks ago to capture the eastern rebel-held half of Aleppo in northern Syria,
once the country's commercial hub. Both candidates on Tuesday advocated the
establishment of humanitarian safe zones in northern Syria. Washington came
close to launching strikes against Syrian regime targets in 2013 after evidence
emerged the government had attacked civilians with sarin gas. However, President
Barack Obama agreed instead to a last-minute deal brokered by Russia to remove
Syria's banned chemical weapons. Both Pence and Kaine criticized Russia's
support for the Syrian regime during their debate as well as Moscow's
confrontation with Western countries, but clashed over earlier statements by
both Trump and Pence praising Russian President Vladimir Putin. "He's been a
leader, far more than our president has been a leader," Trump said of Putin last
month. Kaine said that "Donald Trump, again and again, has praised Vladimir
Putin, and it's clear that he has business dealings with Russian oligarchs who
are related to Putin.""Governor Pence made the odd claim, he said that arguably,
Vladimir Putin is a better leader than President Obama," he added. Pence denied
the accusations as "absolutely inaccurate," blaming Russian military offensives
on Clinton's tenure as secretary of state. "Hillary Clinton said her number one
priority was a reset with Russia," he said of Obama's policy to improve
relations with Moscow during his first term. "That reset resulted in the
invasion of Ukraine."Washington announced late Monday that it would suspend
negotiations with Russia over reinstating a nationwide truce in Syria, accusing
Moscow of abetting Assad in a conflict that has killed more than 300,000 people
since it erupted in March 2011.
Kerry Urges Taliban to Reach 'Honorable' Peace with Kabul
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 05/16/US Secretary of State John Kerry on
Wednesday urged Afghanistan's Taliban militants to follow the recent example of
a notorious warlord and make an "honorable" peace with the Kabul government.
"There is a path toward an honourable end to the conflict that the Taliban have
waged –- it is a conflict that cannot be won on the battlefield," Kerry told an
international donor conference in Brussels. Kerry said a peace deal signed last
month by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who heads the Hezb-i-Islami group and was a key
figure in Afghanistan's civil war in the 1990s, was a "model for what might be
possible."
Syria Military
Says Will 'Reduce' Bombardment of Aleppo
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 05/16/Syria's military on Wednesday
announced a reduction of air strikes and artillery fire on rebels in Aleppo,
saying the army had advanced nearly two weeks into its large-scale offensive for
the city. The statement, carried by state news agency SANA, said the decision
had been taken "after the success of our armed forces in Aleppo and cutting off
all terrorist supply routes into the eastern districts". "The military command
has decided to reduce the number of air strikes and artillery on terrorist
positions to allow civilians that want to leave to reach safe areas," it said.
Once Syria's commercial hub, Aleppo has been divided by rebel groups in the east
and government forces in the west since violence broke out there in 2012. On
September 22, the army of Syrian President Bashar Assad announced a major
assault to capture the opposition-held half. Backed by Russian warplanes, the
offensive is being waged in the city center, in the northern outskirts, and in
the southern edges. It has come under international scrutiny because of
indiscriminate air strikes on civilian infrastructure, including hospitals.
Heavy bombardment on Monday destroyed the M10 hospital, the largest in the
eastern districts.
French FM to
Hold Talks in U.S., Russia on Aleppo Truce Plan
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 05/16/French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc
Ayrault will travel to Moscow on Thursday and Washington on Friday to try to
garner support for a U.N. resolution on a ceasefire in the Syrian city of
Aleppo, his office said.Ayrault's shuttle diplomacy is part of his bid to rally
support for a French draft resolution "paving the way to a ceasefire in Aleppo
and for the local population to gain access to the humanitarian aid it so
needs," the foreign ministry said in a statement. Russia's foreign ministry had
earlier confirmed a meeting Thursday between Ayrault and his Russian counterpart
Sergei Lavrov. The planned talks come amid a spike in tensions between Moscow
and the West over Russia's air support for the fierce onslaught by Syrian
government forces on rebel-held east Aleppo. The U.S. announced on Monday it had
suspended talks with Moscow on a ceasefire, accusing Moscow of trying to bomb
civilians "into submission."France has stepped into the diplomatic vacuum with a
draft resolution it will submit to the U.N. Security Council this week,
government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said. The 15-member U.N. Security Council
is already studying a draft text of the French proposal, which calls for a
cessation of hostilities in the city where the Syrian army has launched an
all-out offensive to retake rebel-held districts, diplomats told AFP. The French
text would also provide for aid deliveries to the city's besieged east and the
grounding of all Syrian and Russian planes in that area. A ceasefire monitoring
mechanism would be set up, with experts from the 20-nation International Syrian
Support Group (ISSG) taking part, said a diplomat, who spoke on condition of
anonymity. Russia, whose intervention has shifted the balance in the five-year
Syria war in favor of its ally President Bashar Assad, "did not show any
immediate opposition" to the French initiative when it was discussed at the
U.N., the diplomat said. On Monday, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady
Gatilov had however signaled Moscow would oppose the resolution. The Aleppo
offensive has sparked some of the most brutal violence of a war which has killed
more than 300,000 people since 2011 and displaced over half the population.
U.N. Declares
Syria's East Aleppo 'Besieged'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 05/16/The rebel-held east of Syria's
Aleppo has officially been declared a "besieged area," following a months-long
government offensive and a lack of access for aid workers, the U.N. said
Wednesday. United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) spokesman Jens Laerke said
eastern Aleppo now met all three criteria used to define an area as besieged.
That includes military encirclement, lack of humanitarian access and the lack of
free movement for civilians. The U.N. estimates that there are 275,000 people in
eastern Aleppo under siege, Laerke said. The west of the city is controlled by
the government and has continued to receive relief supplies. Once Syria's
economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been devastated by the country's brutal
five-year civil war, with the suffering intensifying since regime troops cut off
the last supply route in July. The U.N. and Red Cross have been pushing to get
aid into east Aleppo for weeks, but those efforts have been stalled by
insecurity and bureaucratic problems, including obstacles imposed by both the
Damascus government and rebel commanders. After being formally declared besieged
in OCHA's latest report to the U.N. Security Council, eastern Aleppo will "be
included automatically in the monthly plans for access either through
cross-border deliveries or cross-line deliveries," Laerke said in an email.
There are now 18 besieged areas in Syria, according to the U.N. Eastern Aleppo
has replaced Daraya on the list, after the latter town was emptied of residents
and opposition fighters under a deal with the government.
Strike Kills 19 Civilians in
IS-Held Syria Village
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 05/16/Three children were among at least
19 civilians killed in an air strike on a village held by the Islamic State
group in northern Syria on Wednesday, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights said it was unclear whether the strike was carried out by the
US-led coalition fighting IS, or Turkey, which is leading an operation against
the jihadists in the area with support from Syrian rebel forces. The strike hit
the village of Thalthana, in northern Aleppo province, the Britain-based monitor
said. Thalthana lies near the key IS stronghold of Al-Bab, and is just 12
kilometres (eight miles) southeast of the jihadist-held Dabiq, which
Turkish-backed rebels have been pushing towards in recent days. Turkey began its
unprecedented operation inside Syria, dubbed Operation Euphrates Shield, on
August 24. Ankara says it is targeting IS but also the Kurdish People's
Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey considers to be a "terrorist" group despite
their fight against IS. Dabiq holds symbolic importance for IS because of a
Sunni prophecy that states it will be the site of an end-of-times battle between
Christian forces and Muslims.
Russia Sends Two Warships
Back to Med as Syria Tensions Rise
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 05/16/Russia on Wednesday said two of its
warships were heading back to join its forces in the Mediterranean amid an
upsurge in tensions with Washington over Syria. The announcement comes a day
after Moscow said it had dispatched its S-300 air defense missile system to its
naval facility at Tartus in Syria. The two Buyan-class corvettes -- the Zelyony
Dol and Serpukhov -- returned to the Mediterranean after an earlier deployment
off the coast of Syria that saw them carry out missile strikes on targets in the
war-ravaged country on August 19. A spokesman for Russia's Black Sea Fleet told
Russian news agencies that the ships left their home port in Crimea on Tuesday
as part of a "planned rotation" of Moscow's naval forces in the region. Russia
said last month that it will also send its only aircraft carrier to the region
as it looks to bolster support for its bombing campaign in Syria.
The latest moves come as talks on reviving a failed ceasefire were suspended by
Washington over Moscow's support of the regime in Damascus.Moscow has been
accused of indiscriminately bombing Aleppo's opposition-controlled east as it
helps an offensive currently being conducted by Syrian regime forces to capture
all of the country's second city.
Putin Calls to Boost Russia's Defenses
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 05/16/President Vladimir Putin on Monday
called for a boost of Russia's defenses to keep the nation "strong" as he opened
the new parliament session amid a fresh upsurge in tensions with the United
States. Putin addressed the State Duma after a crushing victory for ruling party
United Russia at elections last month that could help smooth the way for him to
claim a fourth term as president in a vote set for 2018. "We need to strengthen
the security and defence capability of our country to assert its position on the
international stage," Putin told deputies. Russia is currently facing the
longest economic crisis of Putin's 16-year rule as the Ukraine conflict and a
year-old bombing campaign in Syria have pushed tensions with the West to their
highest levels since the Cold War. As the authorities tussle over a
belt-tightening new budget, Putin said "spheres that directly influence people's
well-being" like health and education remain a priority. But the Kremlin chief's
speech was mostly focused on the need to keep Russia "strong". "We must all
unite, coordinate our efforts, obligations and rights to maintain Russia's
historical supreme right -- to be strong," Putin said. Acrimony between Russia
and the United States has surged in recent days after Washington suspended talks
on a ceasefire in Syria over Moscow's continuing bombing campaign in support of
President Bashar Assad's regime. As a sign of the worsening relations the Duma
is looking quickly to ratify two recent decisions by Putin: halting a deal with
the US to dispose of weapons-grade plutonium and giving further legal backing to
Russia's deployment in Syria. For the first time the new parliament -- with
United Russia controlling over 75 percent of the seats -- includes lawmakers
from the Crimea peninsula that Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014. There are no
genuine opposition legislators in the lower chamber, which is viewed as a
rubber-stamp body. After delivering his speech, Putin headed to the country's
foreign intelligence agency to introduce its newly-appointed boss, former Duma
speaker Sergei Naryshkin.Putin called on the body to resort to "non-standard,
unconventional decisions" to cope with threats to the country, Russian news
agencies reported.
Israel Intercepts Activist
Boat Seeking to Break Gaza Blockade
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 05/16/Israel's navy on Wednesday
intercepted an activist boat seeking to break the country's decade-long blockade
of the Gaza Strip, saying it was boarded without incident and was being directed
to shore.The navy said in a statement that its forces had "redirected" the
sailboat in order to prevent a "breach of the lawful maritime blockade" of the
Palestinian enclave. It said this was done "in accordance with government
directives and after exhausting all diplomatic channels". Thirteen women,
including 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire, had been traveling
aboard the Zaytouna-Oliva sailboat in the Mediterranean toward Gaza, run by
Islamist movement Hamas. The Zaytouna-Oliva set sail from Barcelona in September
and was carrying women of various nationalities in addition to Maguire, a
Northern Ireland activist. Dubbed "Women's Boat to Gaza", it is part of the
wider Freedom Flotilla Coalition that consists of pro-Palestinian boats that
regularly seek to go to Gaza to try to break the blockade. One such operation
turned to tragedy in 2010 when Israeli commandos killed 10 Turkish activists in
a raid on a flotilla. In Wednesday's operation, the Israeli navy said it
intercepted the sailboat after advising it "numerous times to change course
prior to the action."It said its forces had boarded and searched the sailboat,
describing the operation as "uneventful." The sailboat was now believed to be
headed toward the Israeli port of Ashdod. Organizers said they had lost
communication with the activists. It was boarded around 35 nautical miles from
the coast, Israeli public radio reported, citing a navy officer. "Following
their refusal, the navy visited and searched the vessel in international waters
in order to prevent their intended breach of the lawful maritime blockade of the
Gaza Strip."
Hamas denounced the move as "state terrorism."
Flare-up of violence
Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008.
Israel maintains a blockade to keep material it believes could be used for
military purposes from entering the impoverished enclave of 1.9 million people.
U.N. officials have called for the blockade to be lifted, saying conditions are
deteriorating in Gaza. Earlier on Wednesday, Israel's military struck several
Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip after a rocket launched from the Palestinian
enclave hit the nearby Israeli city of Sderot, with no casualties reported on
either side. A small Salafist group -- followers of an ultra-conservative brand
of Sunni Islam who oppose Hamas -- claimed responsibility for the attack. Israel
holds Hamas responsible for all such rocket fire and often responds with air and
tank strikes, but recent responses have been stronger than in the past. That has
led some analysts to question whether the change is the result of a new policy
by hardline Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who took office in May. In
August, Israel carried out dozens of retaliatory strikes after a rocket hit
Sderot, a far larger response than usual. Israeli media reported that attack was
the first time downtown Sderot had been struck by a rocket from Gaza since the
last war in 2014. The 2014 conflict was the most devastating of the three,
killing 2,251 Palestinians and leaving 100,000 homeless. Seventy-three Israelis,
most of them soldiers, died in the conflict. A delegation from the International
Criminal Court is visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories this week, its
chief prosecutor said Wednesday, against the backdrop of a probe into the last
Gaza war.
Israeli Police to Question
U.S. Billionaire in Netanyahu Probe
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 05/16/Israeli police plan to question U.S.
billionaire and World Jewish Congress president Ronald Lauder as part of an
inquiry into gifts for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reports said
Wednesday. Lauder had refused to be questioned after arriving in the country for
last week's funeral of ex-president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres,
Channel 2 television reported. An agreement was reached in which investigators
will either travel to New York in the coming days or Lauder will return to
Israel. "I am coming from a commemoration for the Babi Yar massacre (the
execution of more than 34,000 Jews by the Nazis in Ukraine), and I arrive for
the funeral of a good friend ... and you arrest me?" he said, according to
Channel 2. An Israeli police spokeswoman declined to comment on the reports.
Authorities have been looking into spending and gifts related to Netanyahu,
though Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has stressed that a formal
investigation has not been opened. Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that
police want to question Lauder over gifts he allegedly gave Netanyahu and
alleged spending on trips for him. Lauder, whose family founded the Estee Lauder
cosmetics giant, has long been seen as an ally of Netanyahu, who in the late
1990s put him in charge of negotiating with then Syrian president Hafez Assad.
Their relationship however is said to have taken a downturn after Israel's
Channel 10 carried a report on the financing of Netanyahu's travel in 2011.
Lauder was part owner of the channel at the time. Netanyahu and his aides have
repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.In June however, he acknowledged receiving
money from French tycoon Arnaud Mimran, who was sentenced to eight years in jail
over a $315-million scam involving the trade of carbon emissions permits and the
taxes on them.
U.S. Warns Settlements Harm
Israel's 'Democratic' Future
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 05/16/The United States rebuked Israel on
Wednesday for approving more settlement building on Palestinian land, and warned
its ally it is imperiling its own future as a democratic Jewish state. In a
strongly worded statement, the State Department said Israel's approval of 300
housing units in the West Bank "is another step towards cementing a one state
reality of perpetual occupation." The plan, spokesman Mark Toner argued, not
only undermines hopes for peace with the Palestinians but "is fundamentally
inconsistent with Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state."Washington
has long opposed Israel's policy of building Jewish settlements on land in the
West Bank that would be claimed by the Palestinians in any negotiated "two
state" peace deal. The latest Israeli plan, Toner said, would see settlers build
300 housing units on land "far closer to Jordan than Israel... and make the
possibility of a viable Palestinian state more remote." He added that Israel's
retroactive authorization of illegal outposts "contradicts previous public
statements by the Government of Israel that it had no intention of creating new
settlements. In recent weeks, U.S. officials have adopted a more forceful tone
with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, accusing it of recklessly
accelerating the program despite international concern. In July, the Middle East
Quartet -- a contact group comprising the United States, Russia, European Union
and United Nations -- issued a report calling on Israel to halt settlement
building. But since then, Washington says, the practice has only accelerated,
with new housing blocks being approved, local administrative boundaries moved
and illegal settlements retroactively approved. Washington has condemned a
recent deadly wave of Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and police, and
urged Palestinian leaders to refrain from incitement or provocative language.
'Disheartening' decision
But President Barack Obama's White House has also taken a tougher tone with
Netanyahu's government, despite also signing off on a ten-year, $38 billion
package of military aid for Israel. This package, the biggest military aid deal
in U.S. history, was hailed by U.S. and Israeli officials at last week's funeral
for former president Shimon Peres as a sign of enduring friendship. But the
State Department noted with concern that Israel had cast Washington's advice on
settlements aside even in the wake of the "unprecedented agreement on military
assistance." "It is deeply troubling," Toner said, "that Israel would take a
decision so contrary to its long term security interest in a peaceful resolution
of its conflict with the Palestinians. "Furthermore, it is disheartening that
while Israel and the world mourned the passing of President Shimon Peres ...
plans were advanced that would seriously undermine the prospects for the two
state solution that he so passionately supported," he added.
Peres died last week aged 93 and was buried on Friday at a Jerusalem ceremony
attended by many world leaders, including Obama.
Canada has been a leading
voice on human rights in Iran for the past decade
Wednesday, 05 October 2016/A survivor of the 1988 Iranian massacre of political
prisoners has spoken out in an op-ed for the National Post. Mostafa Naderi spoke
of his relief that Canadian-Iranian academic Homa Hoodfar had been released from
Evin prison and if anyone should know what she’s been through, it’s him. Naderi,
who was imprisoned in Iran for 11 years, was arrested in 1981 at just 17 years
old for political dissent and promoting human rights. He had been caught selling
the publication of the Regime’s main opposition, the People’s Mojahedin
Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
He wrote: “My imprisonment took place at a crucial time, and if not for a
handful of chance occurrences, I would have surely been one of the 30,000
victims of Iran’s 1988 massacre of political prisoners.”He spent 5 ½ years in
solitary confinement and six years in a prison in northern Tehran, all the time
enduring horrific torture including being flogged on the soles of his feet until
he lost consciousness.This may have saved his life, however, as all the
prisoners on his cell block were executed whilst he was in the hospital. He
recounts: “Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had issued a fatwa ordering the massacre
of political prisoners, particularly supporters of the MEK. All the occupants of
the 60 cells [on my ward] had been executed. No one was spared — no one.” Those
who opposed the draconian regime were charged with “waging war on God”, a vague
charge that the Regime still uses to this day to punish those who dare to
disagree. Naderi wrote: “In 1988, it was used as an excuse to turn Iran’s
prisons into slaughterhouses. Prisoners were rounded up and hanged, six at a
time. The bodies were transferred to mass graves in meat trucks at night. Prison
authorities operated with such ruthless efficiency that on some nights, up to
400 were executed.”During the latter half of 1988, there were about 30,000
political prisoner who were slaughtered and buried in mass graves. After his
release in 1991, Naderi fled the country and has since dedicated himself to
trying to get justice for the victims of the massacre. He wrote: “Make no
mistake: the international community has known about this crime for quite some
time. Over the years, human rights organizations, including Amnesty
International, have called it a crime against humanity. According to Geoffrey
Robertson, the former judge at the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone, the 1988
bloodbath was the largest mass execution of prisoners since the Second World
War. Yet there has never been any international inquiry into the incident, and
the masterminds and perpetrators of this heinous crime have gone unpunished.”In
August, an audio recording was leaked of a Death Committee meeting in which
Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, former heir-apparent to the supreme leader,
condemns the other members for their role in the “greatest crime of the Islamic
Republic”. Not only does this prove that the massacre did happen, despite lies
from the Regime, but that those responsible executed juveniles and pregnant
women which was against even the Regime’s laws. Montazeri was later removed from
his position and put under house arrest. This is a striking contrast to the
unrepentant member of the Death Commission who can be heard on the tape; three
of whom hold high-ranking positions within Iran, today. Mostafa Pourmohammadi,
the current justice minister, had the nerve to claim that he was proud of his
crimes, claiming it was the will of God.Naderi wrote: “Very much to its credit,
Canada has been a leading voice on human rights in Iran for the past decade. It
is time for the international community, including Canada, to finally move to
prosecute the perpetrators of this massacre. A UN inquiry and fact-finding task
force is the first step — one that is long overdue.”
Iran regime reacts furiously
to printing of Maryam Rajavi’s photo in an important university publication
Wednesday, 05 October 2016/NCRI -The Iranian regime has closed down the Society
of Graduates in Sharif University of Technology, one of the most important
technological establishments in Iran, after publication of a photo of Maryam
Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, in
its latest book listing its former graduates. The photo of Mrs Maryam Rajavi was
published in the section introducing the graduates of Faculty of Metallurgy
Engineering. The Iranian regime’s officials and their affiliated organizations
reacted angrily to the publication of photo of Mrs. Rajavi describing her as the
“number 1 enemy“of the regime. State-run Fars News Agency quoted Hamod Fotohi,
the president of the university as saying: “As soon as we were informed of the
distribution of a number of this publication among the students we ordered its
further distribution to be blocked and all those already distributed to be
collected and be transferred to Herasat Office (state body in charge of
repression of students in universes and schools).”“We sieged the activities of
Society of Graduates,” he said adding “the Society of Graduates must be held
accountable for what they have done. We would follow up to find out why this has
happened. We would certainly deal with those responsible for printing of the
photo and the publication of the book.”Every year as the schools in Iran open in
fall, the Society of Graduates holds an annual conference and publishes
information on a group graduate of the university. Fotohi said: “This society is
not being supervised by the university but has an office at the university which
we have shut down now and we are reviewing this problem.”Raja News, another
state-run website quoted Fotohi as saying: “This issue will soon be reviewed
with help of intelligence organizations.” The publication of Maryam Rajavi’s
photo also drew protest by over 30 members of the Iranian regime’s parliament
who asked the regime’s Minister of Higher Education “What is the reason behind
the publication of the photo of the leader of The People’s Mojahedin
Organization of Iran (PMOI) in the Special Publication of the Society of
Gradates of Sharif University of Techonlogy?”State-run Afkar News described
Maryam Rajavi as “number 1 enemy” of the regime and regarded the publication of
the photo as a “strange act.”A statement by the regime’s authorities in the
university said: “The order for banning all the activities of the Society of
Graduates have been issued and all the copies of the book have been
collected.”“The necessary follow ups for legally dealing with the violators is
taking place by the relevant authorities,” the statement added. The Islamic
Society, one the main repressive organs of the regime at the university, told
ANAJ news website that is “calling on the university to deal with this society.”
State-run Mashreq News warned that “when such moves become routine in the
universities they would probably lead to sedition and chaos at the scientific
atmosphere of the country.”Mashreq News wrote: “In an interesting move, the
country’s industrial universities have welcomed the new students with a
propaganda for the PMOI. Therefore, it is not clear under such circumstances,
toward which direction the new school year and students will turn?”“In the
beginning of this school year we are witnessing deviated acts in the important
industrial universities of the country which is a source of concern.”“In this
regard, in a strange move, Sharif University published the photo of Maryam
Rajavi in its graduate’s special edition. This is while the universities are
welcoming the new students for the new school year. Once such moves become
routine in the universities, they would probably lead to sedition and chaos at
the scientific atmosphere of the country.”
Healthy relationship between
Iran and Italy is an illusion
Wednesday, 05 October 2016/ NCRI - Rome, October 2, 2016 - Elisabetta Zamparutti,
an administrator of the renowned Italian NGO ‘Hands off Cain' Community’, has
stated: “the relationship between Iran and Italy is getting more and more
active. Following a joint seminar on crimes, there will be another one over
infertility in the following days between the Health Ministers of the two
countries and it was also announced that a whole week of Rome Exhibition in
November will be dedicated to strengthening economic and trade relationships
between the two countries.This is an illusion to think that there might be a
healthy relationship between Iran and Italy while the death penalty is kept
being used uninterrupted (17 prisoners were executed in just one day two weeks
ago in Vakil-abad Prison), torture and persecution of human rights activists
like Narges Mohammadi, a lawyer who has been sentenced to ten years’
imprisonment for her activities against the death penalty, and an overall legal
discrimination against women is still running. The Iranian regime has not
changed with Rouhani. Just take a look at the current Minister of Justice,
Mostafa Poor Mohammadi, who during the 80s was the head of the so-called “Death
Committee”, deciding on which prisoners should be sent to the gallows. We
suggest that during the week that is dedicated to Iran in Rome Exhibition, a
movement be fully engaged in regime change in Iran, focusing on respect for
human rights.
IRAN: Former MP questions
regime’s involvement in Syria
Wednesday, 05 October 2016/NCRI - Yadollah Eslami, former member of Iranian
regime’s parliament: should the price of remaining Assad in power be the
destruction of a country?In a clash of rival factions, Yadollah Eslami, a former
member of the Iranian regime’s parliament, has brought the Syrian war into
question, calling it the Syrian Vortex. According to the state website
‘Baharnews’ on October 3, in an article titled ‘Should remaining Assad in power
be at the expense of a country?’ Yadollah Eslami has written in his twitter
account: “What is going on in Syria? Why the Syrian people should have such a
fate? What’s the good of the widespread killing, displacement and homelessness
of the Syrian people? Eslami points to the Iranian regime’s support from Assad
and says: “is remaining Assad in power worth the destruction of his country and
a widespread ethnic and religious war?”This former member of the parliament also
questions Iranian regime’s role in Syria and its alliance with Russia in Syrian
war and asks: “what role will Iran-Russia alliance have in the future of Iran
and the region? What impact will Russian bombardments in Syria have on the way
the Syrian people look at Iran? Yadollah Eslami points to the Iranian regime’s
huge investments in the Syrian war and writes: “will the amount of investment
Iran has made in Syria, ranging from manpower to financial support and
resources, bring the expected benefits for Iran? Finally, Eslami raises a
question and asks: “will it be easy for Iran to get out of the Syrian vortex?”
He adds: “has Iran’s alliance with Russia in the Syrian war been based on
foresight and national interests? Has this decision been made based on a
consensus among the country’s leaders and administrators? This former member of
the parliament adds: “there is a broad range of such questions and although some
try to give simple answers and move on but they know that what they say is not
an answer. The consequences of (Iran’s) presence in Syria will not be as simple
as some say. Frenzies will fade away and wise questions will take their place.
Then it will be time for answering!”
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on on October 05-06/16
Iran's Massacre and Rising Crimes Against Humanity
هذه هي إيران ملالي
عون وجعجع وحزب الله: اجرام بحق شعبها وهمجية وبربرية
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/October 05/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9062/iran-massacre
"You [Iranian officials] will be in the future etched in the annals of history
as criminals. The greatest crime committed under the Islamic Republic, from the
beginning of the Revolution until now, which will be condemned by history, is
this crime [mass executions] committed by you." — Ayatollah Hossein Ali
Montazeri, who was one of the founding fathers of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Intriguingly, all those people whom Montazeri is addressing and warning in the
audio, currently appear to enjoy high positions.
Iran's massacre of more than 30,000 people was recently disclosed by Ayatollah
Hossein Ali Montazeri's son, Ahmad, a moderate cleric, who posted a confidential
audio of his father on his website but was ordered by Iran's intelligence
service to remove it.
Born in Esfahan, Iran, Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri was one of the founding
fathers of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He is a human rights activist, an
Islamic theologian, and was the designated successor to the Islamic revolution's
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, until the very last moments of
Khomeini's life. His pictures were posted next to Khomeini's in the streets.
In the recording, Montazeri states:
"You [Iranian officials] will be in the future etched in the annals of history
as criminals. The greatest crime committed under the Islamic Republic, from the
beginning of the Revolution until now, which will be condemned by history, is
this crime [mass executions] committed by you."
While some international human rights organizations, the Obama Administration
and the United Nations appear to have turned a blind eye this massacre and other
crimes against humanity, several officials have taken steps. A U.S. House of
Representatives Resolution condemning the massacres and other executions was
introduced by the House Homeland Security Chair, Mike McCaul, and cosponsored by
Chairman Ed Royce, Ranking Member Eliot Engel, and Rules Committee Chair Pete
Sessions. The resolution was introduced when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani,
who heads a government that is ranked number one in the world for executions per
capita, was addressing the 71st Session of the United Nation General Assembly.
During his speech, according to the Associated Press, an unprecedented number of
protesters gathered in Dag Hammerskjold Plaza outside the UN -- including
Senator Joe Lieberman, and Sir Geoffrey Robertson, former Head of the UN war
crimes tribunal for Sierra Leone, who wrote a report on Iran's 1988 massacre
that was published on the United Nations Arts Initiative website.
The House resolution states:
Whereas over a 4-month period in 1988, the Government of the Islamic Republic of
Iran carried out the barbaric mass executions of thousands of political
prisoners and many unrelated political groups;
Whereas according to a report by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, the
massacre was carried out pursuant to a fatwa, or religious decree, issued by
then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, that targeted the People's
Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI), also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK);
Whereas according to a November 2, 2007, report by Amnesty International,
"between 27 July 1988 and the end of that year, thousands of political prisoners
[in Iran], including prisoners of conscience, were executed in prisons
nationwide.";
Whereas according to Amnesty International, "the majority of those killed were
supporters of the PMOI, but hundreds of members and supporters of other
political groups ... were also among the execution victims.";
The resolution goes on to detail some of the most egregious crimes against
humanity and "the greatest crime committed during the Islamic Republic, for
which history will condemn us":
... the killings were carried out on the orders of a judge, an official from the
Ministry of Intelligence, and a state prosecutor, known to the prisoners as
"Death Commissions" which undertook proceedings in a manner designed to
eliminate the regime's opponents;
Whereas those personally responsible for these mass executions include senior
officials serving in the current Government of Iran;
Whereas prisoners were reportedly brought before the commissions and briefly
questioned about their political affiliation, and any prisoner who refused to
renounce his or her affiliation with groups perceived as enemies by the regime
was then taken away for execution;
Whereas the victims included thousands of people, including teenagers and
pregnant women, imprisoned merely for participating in peaceful street protests
and for possessing political reading material, many of whom had already served
or were currently serving prison sentences;
Whereas prisoners were executed in groups, some in mass hangings and others by
firing squad, with their bodies disposed of in mass graves;
In addition: "the families of the executed were denied information about their
loved ones and were prohibited from mourning them in public," and more
fundamentally:
"The current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was reportedly aware of, and later
publicly condoned the massacre; Whereas in violation of its international
obligations, the Government of Iran continues to systematically perpetrate gross
violations of the fundamental human rights of the Iranian people;"
Intriguingly, all those people whom Montazeri is addressing and warning in the
audio -- all of those who were involved in these crimes -- currently appear to
enjoy high positions. Mostafa Pourmohammadi was a representative of the
intelligence ministry at the notorious Evin Prison, and he was recently
appointed by the so-called moderate President Hassan Rouhani to be justice
minister. Ebrahim Raeisi was a public prosecutor and was appointed under Rouhani
government to be the head of Astan Quds Razavi, which has billions of dollars in
revenues. Hussein Ali Nayeri was a judge and is now a deputy of the Supreme
Court of Iran.
In his memoir, Montazeri writes that he told Hussein Ali Nayeri to stop the
executions at least in the month of Moharram, but Nayeri said: "We have executed
750 people in Tehran so far... once we finish the job with [execute] another 200
people, then we will listen to whatever you say". Montazeri wrote several
letters to the Supreme Leader Khomeini as well, warning him.
Jahangir Razmi's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of the execution of Kurdish
men and others by the Iranian Islamic regime in 1979.
We should not solely view Iran from the prism of the nuclear deal.
To be on the right side of history and to stand for individual rights, human
rights, social justice and liberty, Congress needs to take action, condemn the
Iranian government, pressure Iran to provide more information for the families
of the victims, and urge the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation
in Iran and the UN Human Rights Council to open a full investigation, and create
a commission, to follow up with this matter.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, political scientists and Harvard University scholar is
president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He can be
reached at Dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Europe's "Good Terrorists":
Because They Might Destroy Israel?
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/October 05/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9065/europe-good-terrorists
Hamas spokesman Sami
Abu Zuhri would like the Europeans to understand that they need not worry about
terrorism by the Islamist movement because the attacks will be directed only
against Israel.
The European Court of Justice (EJC) is sending the message to Hamas that
Europeans see no problem with Hamas's desire to destroy Israel and continue to
launch terrorist attacks against Jews. This message also undermines those
Palestinians who still believe in a peace with Israel.
The EJC recommendation to remove Hamas from the EU's terrorism blacklist comes
at a time when countries such as Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and
even Saudi Arabia, as well as the Palestinian Authority, are doing their utmost
to weaken Hamas.
Appeasing terrorists is a dangerous game: it has already backfired on its
foolhardy players and will continue to do so. This is exactly how Muslims
conquered Iran, Turkey, North Africa and much of Europe, including Hungary,
Greece, Poland, Romania, and the Balkans -- countries that still recall a real
"occupation," an Islamist one, and abundantly want none of it.
The EU and the ECJ need to be stopped before they do any more harm to
Palestinians, Christians and Jews -- or to Europe.
Once again, the Europeans seem to be in Alice's Wonderland when they consider
Palestinian affairs in particular and the Middle East in general. The renewed
attempt by the European Union to remove the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas
from its terrorism list is a case in point.
Recently, an advisor to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) recommended that
Hamas be removed from the EU's terrorism blacklist. In 2014, the EU's
second-highest court ruled that Hamas should be taken off the list on
"technical" grounds. It argued that Hamas's listing was not based on evidence,
but on "factual imputations derived from the press and the internet."
However, the European Council then appealed this judgement, arguing that Hamas
should remain on the terrorism blacklist, citing a 2001 decision by the UK and
the US that designated both Hamas and the Tamil Tigers as terrorist groups. But
the recent opinion by the ECJ advisor dismisses this argument. "The council
cannot rely on facts and evidence found in press articles and information from
the internet," Advocate General Eleanor Sharpton said. She explained that the
council could not rely on terrorist listings by countries (the UK and US)
outside the EU.
This latest highly dangerous European attempt to strike Hamas from the terrorism
blacklist will, as the EU knows perfectly well, only serve further to embolden
the Islamist movement to replace Israel with an Islamic empire.
Removing Hamas from the terrorism list would obviously be seen as a severe blow
to Hamas's rivals in the Western-backed and funded Palestinian Authority (PA),
and to the efforts to revive any peace process between the Palestinians and
Israel.
As this is not the EU's first attempt to do this, it is hard not to conclude
what many Palestinians have suspected all along: that the EU and its affiliates
do not care if the Palestinians and others in the area are overrun by Hamas
terrorists and are forced to live under the rule of despotic Islamist militants.
The recent opinion by the European court advisor lightheartedly ignores Hamas's
own statements concerning its true intentions and continued preparations for war
against Israel. It is hard not to conclude that this is what the EU secretly
wants -- perhaps for Muslim voters, who brought to power France's President
François Hollande, perhaps in the hope of buying off terrorists so that they
avoid further attacks in Europe, perhaps to continue good business deals with
Arab and Muslim countries, and, of course, perhaps all of the above.
It came as no surprise, therefore, that Hamas was quick to "welcome" the opinion
of the European Court advisor to whitewash and legitimize the Islamist terror
movement. "Hamas considers the recommendation a first step towards removing the
sin committed by the European Union towards the Palestinian people when it
demonstrated bias in favor of Israel by placing Hamas on the terrorism list,"
said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, who welcomed the opinion and called on the
Europeans to abide by it. Hamas, he added, has always been keen on openness
towards the West and on building strong humanitarian and political relations
with it. Israel is the only enemy of Hamas, Abu Zuhri stressed.
In other words, Abu Zuhri would like the Europeans to understand that they need
not worry about terrorism by the Islamist movement because the attacks will be
directed only against Israel. Hamas wants "openness" and "strong" ties with the
Europeans because it believes that this will advance its goal of implementing
its charter, which calls for the elimination of Israel. This is how Hamas
understands the renewed bid to have it removed from the EU's terrorism
blacklist. And it is improbable that the EU, which for decades has sought "good
relations" between the two sides of the Mediterranean, does not understand it
that way, too.
Even more improbable is that some Europeans believe that Hamas should not be on
the terrorism only on the basis of press articles and information on the
internet -- as if what is being said about Hamas and its goals are rumors or
unsubstantiated charges that need to be verified, and for which there is no
basis.
What of Hamas's own charter, which calls for Jihad (holy war) against Israel.
"There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by Jihad," the charter
states. It goes on to say that the
"liberation of that land (Palestine) is an individual duty binding on all
Muslims everywhere. In order to face the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews, we
have no escape from raising the banner of Jihad...We must spread the spirit of
Jihad among the (Islamic) Umma, clash with the enemies and join the ranks of the
Jihad fighters. The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of
Palestine has been an Islamic Wakf throughout the generations and until the Day
of Resurrection, no one can renounce it or part of it, or abandon it or part of
it."
Okay, one might argue, so the Europeans will not take seriously the Hamas
covenant. Yet what does the ECJ make of the incessant rhetoric of Hamas?
Here is what Fathi Hammad, a senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, had to say
after the recommendation: "Resistance is the only way to liberate Palestine from
the [Mediterranean] sea to the [Jordan] river." Praising the recent wave of
Palestinian knife and car-ramming attacks on Israelis, Hammad called on
Palestinians to rise against any peace process with Israel. "The path of
negotiations has dissipated the Palestinian cause," he added.
In a statement marking the first anniversary of the anti-Israel attacks, which
is being referred to by many Palestinians as the "Jerusalem Intifada," Hamas
said this week that the wave of terrorism will not stop "until the occupation is
driven out of Jerusalem, the West Bank and all Palestine." Reiterating its
refusal to recognize the "Zionist Entity's" right to exist, Hamas said that the
Palestinians maintain the right to "resistance in all its forms."
Let us translate that for a moment: When Hamas talks about "resistance in all
its forms," it is referring to killing Jews with suicide bombings, rockets,
knives and vehicles. As far as Hamas is concerned, Palestinians are entitled to
use all these methods to kill as many Jews as possible and drive them out, to
"liberate all of Palestine." Notably, this statement was issued after, not
before, the recent recommendation by the European court advisor to remove Hamas
from the terrorism list. This is far from simply another "press article" or
"rumor" published on the internet; this is an official statement released by the
Hamas leadership.
Thousands of armed Hamas troops showed off their military hardware at a Dec. 14,
2014 parade in Gaza, marking the organization's 27th anniversary. (Image source:
PressTV video screenshot)
To its credit, and despite the clearly genocidal ECJ recommendation, Hamas has
been utterly transparent concerning its intentions. In fact, Hamas has never
hidden its desire to destroy Israel and prevent any peace process between
Palestinians and Israelis. This position and strategy has not changed since the
establishment of the Islamist movement nearly thirty years ago. And if the
officials of the EU and the ECJ do not know that, they should be replaced.
Further evidence of Hamas's intentions and policies was provided by another
leader of the movement, Mahmoud Zahar, who assured supporters in the Gaza Strip
last week that Hamas will never recognize Israel's right to exist. "We will not
give up one inch of the land of Palestine to the Israeli entity," Zahar
declared. He then praised Palestinians for using "stones and knives" to attack
Jews.
These are only some of the recent statements by Hamas leaders and spokesmen that
leave no room for doubt as to the movement's intentions to continue using
terrorism as a means to destroy Israel. Perhaps EU officials might go to the
numerous Hamas websites and read what is being said there by the movement's
leaders. The words speak for themselves.
Hamas's threats do not stop at rhetoric. Hamas's current actions also attest to
its goals. Hamas and other terror groups openly continue to dig tunnels that
will be used to attack Israel.
Only days after the ECJ recommendation was published, another Palestinian was
killed while working in a tunnel. He was identified as 30-year-old Ahmed As'ad.
Other men were wounded in the incident, in a tunnel that was supposed to serve
Hamas and other terrorist groups to attack Israel.
Meanwhile, last week, in the context of these preparations, the terror group Al-Naser
Salah Eddin Brigades unveiled a new rocket called Koka 70 (named after one of
its leaders, Abu Yusef Koka).
The European recommendation to remove Hamas from the terrorism blacklist comes
at a time when Hamas and other groups are not only talking about attacks, but
also actively preparing to launch new rockets and infiltrate Israel via attack
tunnels. These are not unverified press reports, but facts -- facts that fly in
the face of the European whitewashing and legitimizing of this terrorist group.
The ECJ is sending the message to Hamas that the Europeans see no problem with
Hamas's desire to destroy Israel and continue to launch terrorist attacks
against Jews. This message also undermines those Palestinians who still believe
in a peace with Israel. Moreover, the recommendation comes at a time when
countries such as Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and even Saudi Arabia,
as well as the Palestinian Authority, are doing their utmost to weaken Hamas.
Those who embolden Hamas also strengthen ISIS, Islamic Jihad and the Muslim
Brotherhood, not only in the Middle East, but also in Europe. Appeasing
terrorists is a dangerous game: it has already backfired on its foolhardy
players and will continue to do so, not less, but more. This is exactly how
Muslims conquered Iran, Turkey, North Africa, the Crimea and much of Europe
including Hungary, Greece, Poland, Romania, and the Balkans -- countries that
still recall a real "occupation," an Islamist one, all too well, and abundantly
want none of it.
The Ottoman Empire at its largest size. (Image source: Wikimedia Commons/Mevlüt
Kılıç)
The EU and the ECJ need to be stopped before they do any more harm to
Palestinians, Christians and Jews -- or to Europe.
**Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Why Egypt's new church law has some
activists worried
Abdelrahman Eyad/ِAl-Monitor/October 05/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/10/05/abdelrahman-eyad%d9%90al-monitor-why-egypts-new-church-law-has-some-activists-worried/
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a law on the construction and
restoration of churches on Sept. 28, nearly a month after it had passed in
parliament.
Although the government and church representatives agreed on the law, it was
opposed by some civil society movements because of restrictions it posed on
construction licenses, such as licenses being dependent on the number of
Christians in the area where a church is to be built.
According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), the law is a
breach of the constitution and international conventions, as it restricts the
right of religious practice and sets “arbitrary” conditions for obtaining a
construction permit.
In this context, Amr Abdul Rahman, a legal affairs researcher at EIPR, told
Al-Monitor, “The Egyptian government does not differentiate between the right to
practice religious rituals and the right to build places of worship. For
instance, Christians are not allowed to hold [communal] prayers in a private
house, as this would be illegal in the eyes of the public prosecution and
security services in the absence of a license to turn such a location to a place
of worship — which would be a church in this case.”
He continued, “This way, the law would serve as a pretext to pursue people
[in]to their homes, claiming that they are trying to turn their houses into a
church without any license, while some prefer to pray at home. However,
authorities insist that prayers should be held in the church, which has greatly
contributed to the sectarian violence that has been going on.”
Abdul Rahman added, “Egypt is one of the signatories of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, whose Article 18 provides for the
freedom of religion and belief and mainly for religious practice that ought not
to be restricted except for reasons threatening the public order of the rights
of others.”
The Egyptian Constitution sets a date for finalizing the law and for the state’s
commitment to international conventions and covenants. According to Article 93
of the Egyptian Constitution, the state ought to be committed to international
covenants and conventions on human rights that are ratified by Egypt, which
enters into force at home after being promulgated as per the established
procedures.
The preamble of the law states the need to take into consideration any other
previous and relevant laws, under which the new law ought to be promulgated, but
without any mention of the international human rights conventions signed by
Egypt.
Atef Makhalif, undersecretary of the parliament’s human rights committee, which
had reviewed the law before publication, told Al-Monitor, “Egypt is not like
other countries. What might apply to it might not apply to other states. Egypt
is keen on being an active member in the international community, which is why
it signs UN international conventions, but this does not require it to comply
with them literally.”
Makhalif went even further, criticizing the constitutional text that stipulates
international agreements signed by Egypt are binding at home. “The constitution
might have erred with this article. [The constitution] should not have been so
involved and should have left the issue [of international treaties] up to the
law. The latter is easy to change, unlike the constitution.”
He also said that the constitution ought to be amended in case of a conflict
between the law, the constitution and the international standards. “The law and
the constitutions are set by people, who tend to make a lot of mistakes. So why
do we sometimes describe a law as being unconstitutional, but not a constitution
as being erroneous? It is recognized by everyone that the Egyptian Constitution
contains a lot of errors, as it has expanded to replace the law instead of
providing for general matters.”
On the other hand, Makhalif said, “There are no flawless laws, and this is not
the case of Egypt alone but of all the countries in the world.”
Commenting on the constitutional article where the Jan. 25 revolution was
decried as a popular uprising, Makhalif said, “This is a constitutional error.”
This is not the first law considered by jurists as being unconstitutional and in
breach of international standards. In 2014, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights
Studies issued a report on the nongovernmental organizations law, which
restricted some public work and was in breach of certain international
standards, but which the government intended to pass at the time. The passage of
the law was deferred until it was approved by the government, who submitted it
to the State Council for review last week.
In a report on the demonstration law that was passed in 2013, Human Rights Watch
said, “The law restricts peaceful demonstrations and bans any gathering of a
general nature,” which is also in direct conflict with international standards.
According to a source from the National Council for Human Rights, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, the council is supposed to review laws and give comments
to this effect, but it was not consulted in this case.
“It is not mandatory for the council to review laws, but they are sent to us for
further confirmation. Since 2013, we haven’t received any laws,” the source told
Al-Monitor.
Moreover, laws are no longer discussed with human rights organizations or
Christian citizens other than among the high clergy in the Egyptian churches.
Can Western Muslims Be
De-radicalized?
Uriya Shavit and Sören Andresen/Middle East Quarterly/October 05/16
http://www.meforum.org/6272/can-western-muslims-be-de-radicalized
While not sanctioning
violence, some mosques and schools cultivate among young devotees a triumphal,
supremacist, Islamic mindset, which can eventually lead to violent action.
Former British prime minister David Cameron (above) set off a firestorm of
protest in October 2015 when he spoke about the existence of radical "breeding
grounds" for terror and vowed there would be "no more passive tolerance [to
radicalism] in Britain."
Stopping the radicalization of young Muslims has become a focal point of
political and academic discussion in the West as thousands of Western Muslims
have traveled to jihadist training camps in Syria and Iraq. The attacks in Paris
in 2015 and in Brussels and Nice in 2016 have also heightened fears of terrorism
in the West perpetrated by returning jihadists. Along with an intensification of
intelligence and surveillance operations, three main courses of action have been
deliberated and partially implemented by Western governments: banning or
limiting the freedom of preachers who, while not endorsing violence, openly
oppose liberal values and envision an Islamic future for the West; setting up
domestic programs to prevent or reverse radicalization by enhancing integration
of Muslim communities and persuading citizens who have joined jihadist groups to
return home; and fighting the Islamic State (or ISIS) on its home turf with the
aim of destroying it.
There are positive aspects to each of these courses of action, but do they
significantly decrease the current threat of Islamic terror in Western
countries? Is it possible that they may even contribute to increasing the very
threat they aim to counter? An examination of current programs can reveal which
components are useful and which are not. Such an assessment along with other
ideas based, in part, on interviews with European security officials and leading
radical imams in Europe offer useful policy recommendations.
1. Closing Down "Grey Zones"
A primary thesis in political and academic counterterrorism discourse is that in
some, though not all, cases, gradual, nonviolent radicalization precedes and
anticipates violent actions. To combat this, some in the West have concluded
that "grey zones," places where Islamist, Salafi, and other radical ideologies
are endorsed and promoted, must be closed down. While not sanctioning violence,
some mosques and schools cultivate among young devotees a triumphal,
supremacist, Islamic mindset, which can eventually lead to violent action. Then
British prime minister David Cameron articulated this view in October 2015 when
he spoke about the existence of radical breeding grounds for terror and vowed
there would be "no more passive tolerance [to radicalism] in Britain."[1]
Banning the proliferation of hateful and supremacist rhetoric limits freedom of
speech, but, as implied by Cameron and others, can be justified with caution.
Liberal democracies have an obligation to protect their citizens and defend
their very existence against those who openly use the freedoms of those
democracies to extinguish those freedoms for others. However, a closer look at
some of the assumptions underlying this argument should give pause.
Much attention, for example, has been devoted by authorities to the dangers of
Salafi proselytizing. An influential study published in 2007 by the New York
police department analyzed the backgrounds of terrorists involved in ten terror
attacks in North America, Europe, and Australia, and demonstrated that
individuals attending Salafi mosques (i.e., mosques that are radical yet preach
against violence) are considerably more likely to become jihadist-Salafi and
active in terrorism than individuals attending other mosques.[2] According to
another study, out of some 2,600 mosques in Germany, almost 37 percent of the
110 German Muslim jihadists whose biographies were studied and whose attendance
at a specific mosque could be verified, had been attendees of just six specific
Salafi mosques in the country.[3]
Their hostility to liberal values and intolerance of other religions
notwithstanding, there are reasons to think that closing down Salafi mosques may
also negativaly impact the fight against terror, especially in the short term.
To begin with, some Salafi mosque leaders are adamant and passionate propagators
of an anti-jihadist agenda, in line with the anti-jihadist campaigns of the
Saudi religious establishment.[4] These imams argue that by residing in the West
and being given citizenship or a visa, Muslims are party to a contract, and true
Muslims never breach a contract,[5] or that attacking civilians and committing
atrocities breach Islamic norms.[6] Salafi imams in England[7] and in Germany[8]
have stated in interviews with the authors that their preaching is a great asset
to prevention efforts because of their ability to ground opposition to jihad in
persuasive religious terms. And while these claims may well be self-serving,
Salafi mosques do contain more anti-ISIS and anti al-Qaeda litrature than other
places of worship due to the burning hatred between Wahhabis and
jihadist-Salafis.
The revised British "Prevent Strategy," the country's main anti-radicalization
program, stated unequivocally that cooperation with radical preachers is out of
the question,[9] and German security officials take a similar stand.[10] But
some challenge the wisdom of this view, noting that police cooperation with
radical communities has proven effective.[11]
When radical individuals center in one location, intelligence is more effective
and easier to gather.
The complicated reality is that neither side of the debate is wrong as exposure
to radical ideas has varying effects on different individuals. On the one hand,
there is evidence that some of those who attend radical mosques turn to
jihadism. On the other, it is safe to conclude that the vast majority of Western
Muslims who embrace and even articulate radical rhetoric have not turned to
actual, violent jihadism. For them, provocative rhetoric appears to satisfy a
need to profess anger or disrespect toward their host for whatever reason. This
form of passive radicalism is still problematic, but, in terms of terror
prevention efforts, it is fanciful to think that adherents of radical ideologies
will choose mainstream ideologies if their radical bases are closed down; they
may become angrier and go underground.
Finally, the needs of the intelligence community should be considered. As long
as the "breeding grounds" of which Cameron spoke exist, security agencies have,
at the very least, settings upon which to focus some of their work. When radical
individuals center in one location, intelligence is more effective and easier to
gather than when they disperse.
2. Radicalization Prevention Programs
Silvio K (above), a convert to Islam, is a German jihadist who has threatened to
bomb a U.S. nuclear weapons storage facility located in Germany. By all
estimates, thousands of European Muslims have been trained in Islamic State
camps and are part of its fighting forces. According to the International Centre
for the Study of Radicalization at Kings College London, these include some
1,200 French fighters and some 600 German and 600 English fighters.
Over the past decade, Western governments have established multi-layered
prevention programs to de-radicalize jihadists as well as those Muslims who may
be on the verge of becoming violent. Stopping young Muslims from turning to
terror or encouraging them to leave terror organizations has become a huge,
publicly-funded industry, parallel in scope to other prevention campaigns such
as the war on drugs, smoking, alcohol abuse, etc. One example is the
Berlin-based, federally-sponsored Hayat (Turkish and Arabic for "life"),
established in 2011 by Exit-Germany, an organization that originally specialized
in encouraging individuals to leave neo-Nazi groups. Hayat's guiding principal
is that family members are the most effective influence on radicalized
individuals. It counsels families on appropriate, non-confrontational approaches
to de-radicalize potential jihadists or, in extreme cases, bring loved ones home
who have gone off to wage jihad.[12]
The federal program Demokratie leben (Live Democracy) supports dozens of
anti-radicalization initiatives, including seminars held at youth centers in
which radicalized young Germans learn to embrace a pluralistic view of Islam
taught by state-hired educators, including Muslims.[13] One criticism against
the program is that, by using the term Islamism, it risks contributing to the
confusion of Islamist ideology as representing Islam.[14] The Wegweiser program,
developed by the Interior Ministry and the Verfassungsschutz in the German state
of Nord Rhine-Westphalia, approaches young, at-risk people based on information
provided by concerned parents, friends, and teachers. Its premise is that
improving the social situation of young people who are being radicalized is
crucial to the prevention of radicalization. Thus, it seeks to help at-risk
youths find jobs and to educate them about the dangers of Salafi teachings and
the manipulative techniques Salafi preachers employ.[15]
Since 2007, the British government's efforts to prevent people from becoming
terrorists or supporting terrorism have centered on the Prevent program, part of
the broader, national anti-terrorism program CONTEST, reformed by the
Conservative government in 2011.[16] Among its activities is the funding of
local theater productions that raise the issue of extremism.[17]
The Channel program encourages parents, friends, community leaders, public
servants, and teachers to report possible terrorists.
A flagship program of Prevent is the Channel de-radicalization project, an
initiative that identifies at-risk individuals, assesses the threat they pose,
and offers them support. Since 2007, Channel has intervened in the lives of
hundreds of such Muslim youths, including those who planned to travel to Syria
and join the Islamic State.[18] Channel encourages parents, friends, community
leaders, public servants, and teachers to report possible terrorists (for the
latter two groups, reporting is mandatory). Between June and August 2015, 798
individuals were reported to the program, 312 of whom were under eighteen years
of age. The number of referrals found to have been justified has not been made
public.[19] Similar programs have been employed in other Western countries,
including the United States,[20] Denmark,[21] and Australia.[22] These pro-grams
aim at redirecting youths from the path of radicalization through educational
initiatives and the interventions of trusted facilitators.
British men appear in a jihadist recruitment video. Many programs in the West
consider radicalization to be the result of personal failures and assume that
these issues can be addressed by family or community. Instead, Western
governments should focus not on consumers of radical ideologies but on the
financiers and propagators of Islamist dogma.
Several positive aspects of Western prevention programs are beyond dispute.
Cases of de-radicalized individuals suggest that there are programs that have
had an impact on some Muslims.[23] These programs have also informed parents,
educators, and local religious leaders that fighting radicalization is a
responsibility they share. These initiatives have also facilitated the funding
of cultural and social programs for Western Muslim populations at large that may
have otherwise not been funded, including Internet forums, theater productions,
"safe spaces" for discussions of grievances, and matching youth at risk with
role models.
There are, however, limits to the ability of prevention programs to
significantly contain the threat of terrorism. To begin with, the idea that a
sense of disaffection and marginalization is the key factor underlying violent
radicalization, which guides most prevention programs, is hardly borne out by
reality. Many, if not most, young people lose their jobs or face the agonies of
unrequited love at one point or another, but only a small percentage become
terrorists. In fact, quantitative studies suggest that poor prospects for
employment or economic marginalization are not predictive of potential or active
jihadist affiliations. For example, the above noted biographical survey of 110
Germans involved in jihadist activities since 2001 identified a wide range of
economic, educational, ethnic, religious, and migratory backgrounds.[24]
Likewise, a study of English Muslims aged 18-45 of Pakistani and Bangladeshi
descent in East London and Bradford found that university students who were
U.K.-born, were in good health, and whose prospects in life were relatively
promising were more likely to sympathize with terrorist causes than poor,
unhealthy individuals who were not enrolled at a university.[25] Other than
being young and male, there is evidently no standard type of Western Muslim who
acts on the belief that the West should be violently attacked from within.
It is unlikely that any of the prevention programs currently implemented in the
West can affect the majority of those already dedicated to jihad. As
interventions rely on cooperation from family, friends, or relatives (who serve
as informants as well as contact-persons to the suspects) and also from the
actual suspected individuals, those strongly committed to jihad are less likely
to be affected by any form of intercession. Hundreds of Western recruits who
have joined ISIS have remained loyal to its cause and have lost touch with their
families, and are, therefore, beyond the reach of such prevention programs.
Broadly speaking, state-funded initiatives that educate young people to
distinguish between "true" Islam and "misguided" Islam have two significant
pitfalls. First, massive campaigns against radical Islamic ideologies elevate
the status of these ideologies, in essence putting them on an equal footing with
more moderate beliefs and practices. In Germany, for example, Salafis constitute
less than 1 percent of the total Muslim population,[26] but the volume of
public-funded literature against their ideology creates, ironically, the
impression that Salafiya is a dominant affiliation.
Government-associated imams or teachers who preach against radicalization may
make such affiliations more attractive.
The association of anti-jihadist preaching with the state or with more moderate
Islamic organizations supported by the state presents another dilemma. Just as a
school nurse, who represents the establishment while speaking out against
smoking risks, may actually tempt rebellious teenagers to experiment with
cigarettes, so government-associated imams or teachers who preach against
radicalization may make such affiliations more attractive.
Finally, the continuum between becoming a more devout Muslim and radicalization
is neither clearly defined nor understood by Western authorities. Given the high
level of anxiety in Western societies at the moment and the general ignorance
about Islam, mistaken accusations of radicalization are almost inevitable. Such
accusations, in turn, can push some Muslims toward violence.
3. Defeating the Islamic State
In his October 2015 speech, Cameron also stated that Britain would not be safe
until the Islamic State is defeated.[27] There are, indeed, good arguments why
ISIS's destruction would significantly decrease the threat of Islamic terrorism
in Europe over the long term. The Islamic State's strongholds in the Middle East
provide radical Muslims with training, funding, and, most importantly,
inspiration. Its major recruiting appeal has been its overwhelming
success—unmatched in the annals of modern Arab jihadist groups—in establishing
Muslim rule over a vast territory. While other radical groups have had similar
visions of grandeur, ISIS actualized them through its conquests. Tarnishing its
triumphal image could lessen its appeal for some.
In the short term, however, the complete destruction of the Islamic State may
actually exacerbate the threat. By all estimates, thousands of European Muslims
have been trained in ISIS camps and are part of its fighting forces. In 2015,
the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization at King's College
London estimated that 4,000 Western Europeans have joined either the Islamic
State or Jabhat al-Nusra in Iraq and Syria. One third have either died or left
the conflict zone. These include some 1,200 fighters from France and some 1,200
from Germany and England.[28] If the Islamic State is destroyed, at least some
of its fighters will find their way back to their homelands, armed with field
experience, motivated by the same convictions that sent them to ISIS, and out
for revenge. It is also possible that Libya and other countries where ISIS has
established strongholds will transform into new grounds for massive recruitment
of Europeans.
Even if the last European recruits to the Islamic State were somehow to be
eradicated or contained, the threat of terror in the West is unlikely to
disappear altogether. In ideological and operational terms, the attacks on
Western soil by affiliates of the Islamic State do not constitute a novelty.
They did not start with ISIS and are unlikely to die with it. For almost two
decades now, well before ISIS came into existence, hundreds of young Western
Muslims have considered it their duty as Muslims to violently attack the West
from within. The cornerstone of this concept was encapsulated in Osama bin
Laden's declaration on the establishment of The World Islamic Front for the
Jihad against the Jews and the Crusaders back in February 1998, which ended with
a religious edict calling upon all Muslims to kill Americans and their allies,
serviceman and civilians alike, wherever and whenever possible.[29]
It is clear that this religious edict has been largely rejected. Nevertheless,
it has appealed to those who, since 2001, have conspired to attack Western
targets. To plan religiously-motivated terror attacks, they did not need to meet
with bin Laden personally nor be financed or trained by his henchmen. It
sufficed that they were impressed with the premise that the West was at war with
Islam, and the only way to effectively defend Muslims was to transfer that
battle to Western soil.
Policy Recommendations
A troubling reality emerges from this analysis. None of the projects discussed
have the potential to reduce significantly the threat of terror, and some
aspects of these policies may prove counterproductive. More efforts should be
exerted in learning why thousands of young Western Muslims are violently
radicalized and in evaluating the efficacy of existing programs. But it is
unlikely that additional studies will provide any single instantaneous remedy.
And as seen in Paris, San Bernardino, and most recently Brussels, Orlando, Nice,
and Berlin, the West cannot afford to wait.
In the short term, Western governments must slash opportunities by focusing on
intelligence and security measures. Security operations in Western Europe have
tended to oscillate between extreme reactions such as closing down entire cities
in the aftermath of attacks to periods of complacent negligence. Instead, the
middle-ground of a steady and calm state of alert and action should be
established. This middle-ground should include, most importantly, tightening
controls in public areas. The death toll and emotional effects caused by the
takeover of a train, a subway, a ferry, a museum, or a theater by an ISIS cell
are no different from those caused by the commandeering of a commercial
airplane, but all these venues are extremely vulnerable and penetrable as are
other forms of mass transportation.
Soft targets must be secured by well-trained, armed guards, equipped with metal
detectors and authorized to inspect personal belongings.
Soft targets of this kind must be secured by well-trained, armed guards,
equipped with metal detectors and authorized to inspect personal belongings.
Landmarks of great symbolic importance that attract mass crowds—for example, the
Eiffel Tower, or the Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan—must be
protected by two tiers of security to minimize the risk of an effective attack
(the latter, appallingly, is currently not secured at all). The Israeli
experience since the 1990s has demonstrated that, while costly, such measures
are economically feasible, meagerly injure privacy, and have a positive
psychological effect on the public's sense of security. Besides, the cost of a
crisis involving hundreds of victims will be far higher.
Over the long term, more consideration and focus should be dedicated to the
deep-rooted origins of the jihadist phenomenon in the West, and new, more
audacious approaches to countering it should be formulated and applied. On the
political and diplomatic fronts, Western governments should turn their attention
from the consumers of radical ideologies to the providers.
The Saudi religious and political establishment plays an ambivalent role
vis-à-vis violent radicalization. On the one hand, it leads and inspires
theologically-grounded campaigns against al-Qaeda, the Islamic State, and other
jihadist groups. On the other, it has served as the main financier and
propagator of the notions that non-Muslims are inferior to Muslims; that Muslims
are bound to segregate culturally from non-Muslims and Islamize the West; and
that the liberal West is a corrupt, helpless civilization on the verge of
collapse.
In strategic terms, it is astonishing that a militarily weak kingdom, whose
existence hinges in substantial ways on the continued support of the United
States, should serve as the main sponsor of radicalization that destabilizes
Western societies. U.S. and European Union policies should, therefore, be
confidently informed by a simple truth: The West can survive without a Saudi
alliance, but the kingdom will not last a year without U.S. military support.
The kingdom's responsibility for breeding radicalism in the West should be
underscored publicly and regularly, and the House of Saud should be pressured to
reform its ways by all means possible. It must substitute its ambivalent
policies for either unequivocal support for integration-minded agendas, or
better still, a complete retreat from its campaign to influence the minds of
Muslims in the West.
Other allies of the United States that directly and indirectly support radical
affiliations in the West, including Qatar, should be treated similarly.
Countries that serve as transits for terrorists must be warned that their
negligence could bear harsh diplomatic consequences.
There is an equal need for clearer guidelines and for actions to match rhetoric
in the West. Western governments without exception have never fully clarified
what specific radical notions they deem beyond the pale of legitimacy.
Authorities need to be provided with the flexibility to address nuanced
situations, but once limits on inflammatory rhetoric and teaching are decided
upon and made public, they should be strictly observed and applied. David
Cameron's strong rhetoric, for example, has not been matched by action. British
legislators have never explicitly stipulated, for example, whether disavowing
non-Muslims or teaching that they should be hated based exclusively on their
religious beliefs is acceptable in the eyes of the law.
Lastly, in the ongoing battle for hearts and minds, some thought needs to be
given to the implication of home-grown Islamic terrorists becoming the focus of
the public discourse on Islam in the West. Islam is most often discussed in the
media in the context of terror. So much is said about ISIS, and rightly so; yet
so little is said about Indonesia's democratic transformation, for example,
which is as important. Young people search for role models to look up to and
imitate. Heroes help build their characters and motivate them for a life of
positive contributions. But other than professional athletes, notably soccer
players, few Western Muslims have been portrayed in the Western media as heroes
and not all young people are attracted to sporting culture.
One tool to combat radicalization of Muslim youth is to present alternative role
models to those contemplating jihad. Aziz Sancar (front center), a Muslim,
Turkish-American professor at the University of North Carolina, won the Nobel
Prize in chemistry, presented by Swedish King Carl Gustaf (right) in 2015.
Stories like Sancar's can serve as inspiration for young Western Muslims for
what they can achieve in liberal, pluralistic societies while maintaining their
faith.
This in turn means that the violent heroes' culture cultivated by ISIS, with its
promise of meaning and glory in this life and eternal paradise in the afterlife,
has faced meager competition in the West. In December 2015, a Muslim,
American-Turkish scientist, Aziz Sancar, won the Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Sancar's story could serve as an inspiration for millions of young Muslims
across Europe and the United States for what they can achieve in liberal,
pluralistic societies while maintaining their faith. Sadly, he has not gained a
fraction of the attention that British-born Jihadi John (Muhammad Emwazi)
received before being killed in a drone attack.
To explore and trumpet the success stories of Muslim minorities in the West is
not an act of political correctness. It is a reflection of a diverse reality
that deserves more attention from Western politicians, journalists, and
academics. In the on-going fight against jihadi-Salafi terrorism, the worst may
yet be to come. It is clear that some of the main policies of Western
governments are not only of limited efficacy but also, possibly,
counter-productive. New long- and short-term policies should be introduced to
avert catastrophe.
Uriya Shavit is associate professor in Islamic studies at Tel Aviv University
and author of Shari'a and Muslim Minorities (Oxford University Press, 2015).
Sören Andresen is a law graduate from the University of Münster and holds an
M.A. in security and diplomacy studies from Tel Aviv University. He works as a
legal trainee for the Higher Court of Berlin and specializes in radicalization
in Europe.
[1] "Tory Party Conference 2015: David Cameron's Speech in Full," The
Independent (London), Oct. 7, 2015.
[2] Mitchell D. Silber and Arvin Bhatt, Radicalization in the West: The
Homegrown Threat (New York: New York Police Department, Intelligence Unit,
2007), pp. 16-85.
[3] Alexander Heerlein, "'Salafistische' Moscheen—Ort des Gebets oder eine
Brutstätte für Dschihadistische Muslime?," in Gefährliche Nähe: Salafismus und
Dschihadismus in Deutschland, Michail Loginov and Klaus Hummel, eds. (Stuttgart:
Ibidem-Verlag, 2014) p. 169. The term Salafi implies in this context adherence
to the teachings of the Saudi Wahhabi religious establishment. In a
descriptive-empirical sense, Salafi is understood today in the European-Muslim
context as Wahhabi-oriented; not all Salafi mosques are supported financially by
Riyadh, but all preach the Wahhabi version and adhere to the jurisprudence and
theology promoted by the Wahhabi religious establishment.
[4] See, for example, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Ibn Baaz, "al-Wala wa-l-Bara wa-Ahkam
al-Kuffar," in Fatawa al-Balad al-Ḥaram (Cairo: Matktabat at-Tawfiqiya, n.d),
pp. 174-5; Sheikh Uthaymin, Muslim Minorities (Hounslow, U.K.: Message of Islam,
1998), p. 20; Saalih bin Fouzan al-Fouzan, Al-Wala wa-l-bara: Allegiance and
Association with the People of Islam and Eeman and Disassociation and Enmity
with the People of Falsehood and Disbelief in Islam (Ipswich: Jam'iyyat Ihya
Minhaj as-Sunna, 1997), pp. 13, 24; Ahkam at-Ta'amul ma'a Ghayr al-Muslimin
(Riyad: Dar Kunuz Ishbilya li-l-Nashr wa-l-Tawzi, 2009), p. 20.
[5] See, for example, Abdur Rahman Mahdi, Martyrdom in Jihad versus Suicide
Bombing (London: Islamic Knowledge, 2010), pp. 48-9.
[6] See, for example, "Combating 21st Century Violent Extremist Terrorism: ISIS,
al-Qaeda in Iraq and Syria—A Must Read: The Islamic Salafi Position towards
Extremist Insurgencies in Light of Quranic and Prophetic Teachings," Salafi
Publications (Birmingham, Eng.: The Salafi Bookstore, n.d.); Abdul Adhim
Kamouss, "Wer sind die ISIS?" Sept. 28, 2014, accessed Sept. 15, 2015.
[7] Authors' interview, Imam Nur ad-Din Abu Abdullah, Masjid Daar us Sunnah
Islamic Centre, London, Oct. 7, 2015.
[8] Author interview, Imam Nasir Isa at an-Nur Mosque, Berlin, Aug. 1, 2013.
[9] "Prevent Strategy," Home Department, presentation, U.K. Parliament, June
2011, pp. 34-5.
[10] Authors' interview with Katrin Strunk and Gordon Jensen, Interior Ministry
of Nord Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf, Oct. 13, 2015.
[11] Robert Lambert, "Empowering Salafis and Islamists against al-Qaeda: A
London Counterterrorism Case-study," Political Science and Politics, Jan. 2008,
pp. 31-5.
[12] "Counseling | De-radicalization | Network," Hayat Deutschland, Berlin,
accessed May 26, 2016; "German program triggers international de-radicalization
network," Deutsche Welle (Bonn), Sept. 3, 2014; The National Post (Toronto),
Apr. 4, 2014.
[13] "Demokratie leben!" Berlin, Apr. 2015.
[14] For criticism, see, Akif Sahin, "Kampf gegen "Islamisten": Bundesregierung
setzt auf mehr Prävention," Jan. 10, 2015.
[15] Authors' interview, Katrin Strunk and Gordon Jensen, Interior Ministry of
Nord Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf, Oct. 13, 2015; authors interview, Dirk
Sauerborn, Intercultural Affairs, Nord Rhine-Westphalia police, Düsseldorf, Oct.
13, 2015.
[16] "Prevent Strategy," Home Department, presentation, U.K. Parliament, June
2011, p. 7; Paul Thomas, Responding to the Threat of Violent Extremism: Failing
to Prevent (London: Bloomsbury, 2012), pp. 3-6, 96-117; Floris Vermeulen,
"Suspect Communities—Targeting Violent Extremism at the Local Level: Policies of
Engagement in Amsterdam, Berlin and London," Terrorism and Political Violence,
Nov. 2013, pp. 294-5.
[17] "Prevent Strategy," p. 26.
[18] International Business Times (New York), Nov. 15, 2014.
[19] International Business Times, Oct. 8, 2015; The Sun (London), Oct. 9, 2015.
[20] "Countering Violent Extremism," U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
Washington, D.C., May 24, 2016; "Safe Spaces: An Updated Toolkit for Empowering
Communities and Addressing Ideological Violence," The Muslim Public Affairs
Council, Washington, D.C., accessed May 26, 2016, pp. 8, 16-9.
[21] Lasse Lindekilde and Mark Sedgwick, Impact of Counter-Terrorism on
Communities: Denmark Background Report (London: Institute for Strategic
Dialogue, 2012), pp. 28-9.
[22] Shahram Akbarzadeh, "Investing in Mentoring and Educational Initiatives:
The Limits of De-Radicalization Initiatives in Australia," Journal of Muslim
Minority Affairs, Jan. 2014, pp. 455-8; "Countering Violent Extremism,"
Australian Attorney-General's Department, Barton, accessed May 25, 2016.
[23] Authors' interview, Dirk Sauerborn, intercultural affairs officer with the
Nord Rhine-Westphalia State Police, Düsseldorf, Oct. 13, 2015.
[24] Heerlein, "'Salafistische' Moscheen," pp. 155-82.
[25] Kamaldeep Bhui, Nasir Warfa, and Edgar Jones, "Is Violent Radicalisation
Associated with Poverty, Migration, Poor Self-Reported Health and Common Mental
Disorders?" PLOS One (San Francisco), Mar. 5, 2014.
[26] "Salafistische Bestrebungen," Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (Federal
Office for the Protection of the Constitution), accessed Feb. 5, 2016.
[27] "Tory Party Conference 2015: David Cameron's Speech in Full."
[28] Peter R. Neumann, "Foreign Fighter Total in Syria/Iraq Now Exceeds 20,000;
Surpasses Afghanistan Conflict in the 1980s," International Center for the Study
of Radicalization, Kings College London, Jan. 26, 2015.
[29] Al-Quds al-Arabi (London), Feb. 23, 1998.
Egyptian Writer: The World Is
One Large Camp And Muslims Must Find Their Place In It
MEMRI/October 05/16
On September 12, 2016, liberal Egyptian doctor Khaled Montaser published an
article in the Egyptian daily Al-Watan marking the 15th anniversary of the 9/11
attacks. In the article, Montaser criticized prominent Muslim Brotherhood
theorist Sayyid Qutb and former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden for arguing that
the world is divided into two camps – the camp of Islam and the camp of and
infidels who do not implement shari'a law. He called on Muslims to abandon their
obsession with this notion and integrate in the modern world while preserving
their culture and identity. He warned that those who do not join the global camp
will be left behind in the "desert of isolation."
The following are excerpts from the article:[1]
"'The world is divided into two camps... the camp of belief and the camp of
unbelief.' This is what Osama bin Laden said after the September 11 [attacks],
which the world commemorated two days ago... The important question is this:
Does the perception of the two camps still dominate the minds of political Islam
movements, or did it die along with bin Laden? [To find] the answer, let us
first look back and read the writings of Sayyid Qutb, who originated the notion
of takfir [accusing fellow Muslims of apostasy] that is [endorsed] by all
political Islam organizations born from the womb of the mother movement – the
Muslim Brotherhood. In his book In the Shade of the Koran, considered to be the
manifesto from which bin Laden drew [inspiration] for his claim, [Qutb] says...:
'In the eyes of Islam and the Muslim, the world is divided into two... The first
[part] is Dar Al-Islam [the abode of Islam], which includes any country that
implements the laws of Islam and is ruled by Islamic law, whether all its
residents are Muslims, some are Muslims and others are their wards (dhimmi), or
all are wards and only the rulers are Muslims... The second [part] is Dar
Al-Harb [the abode of war], and includes any country that does not implement the
laws of Islam and is not ruled by Islamic law, no matter who its residents are –
Muslims, people of the book [Jews and Christians], or infidels...'
"Bin Laden is dead, but the notion of the two camps is not; on the contrary – it
has expanded and snowballed. Bin Laden did not invent this concept, since it
unfortunately exists in the texts of our heritage and is taken verbatim from
certain religious law books and Koranic interpretations. Bin Laden's role was
merely to realize it– declare this idea publicly, implement it in practice, and
transform it into an ideology.
"The perception of the two camps is a Nazi, racist, and marginalizing mentality
that is outdated and unsuitable for the current age... The continued existence
of this perception, which draws strict boundaries in the era of modernity and
globalization, is [akin] to stopping time, challenging history, and committing
political and cultural suicide that will end with Muslims being expelled from
the world cultural map and becoming isolated...
"There is no escape from joining the world while preserving [our] cultural
uniqueness. There is no escape from merging and interacting [with the world]
without losing [our] identity... We must discard the obsession, the delusion,
and the lie of the two camps [perception] and not live as prisoners [of the
view] that we are the best, greatest, and most moral... [This view] blinds our
eyes from seeing ourselves in the mirror, keeps us from coping [with reality] in
times of true danger, and paralyzes us when we are called to participate in the
circle of culture and play a constructive role in it [instead of] withdrawing
and isolating ourselves, wallowing in our problems and sorrow and reminiscing
[about the past], and manufacturing explosive belts in the caves of Tora Bora
and the forests of Somalia.
"The world is one big camp that includes us all, not two camps fighting an
existential war. Each of us drives a stake while erecting this one tent, and
those who refuse to participate, or think they are the only ones with the right
to hold a stake, belong outside the camp where there is thunder, lightning,
scorpions, snakes, thirst, and hunger – in the desert of isolation without
mercy, salvation, or protection."
Endnotes:
[1] Al-Watan (Egypt), September 12, 2016.
Why Saudi mistrusts Iran?
Ali al-Shihabi/Al Arabiya/October 05/16
The current narrative has it that the two countries are simply competing for
influence in the region, a struggle inflamed by the historical tensions between
Sunni and Shiite Muslims. A closer look, however, reveals a different story.
Iran, despite the benign noises it occasionally makes, is a revolutionary state
that was born out of the overthrow of its monarchy. It is fueled by an
expansionist ideology and has been publicly committed from day one to
overthrowing the established order in the Middle East. And at the center of that
order stands the Saudi state. The Saudis are keenly aware of this fact. They
have not fallen for the claim that Iran has “hard-liners” and “moderates” and
that the moderates deserve support and encouragement so that they can triumph in
the end. They know Iran is ultimately ruled by a supreme leader, an autocratic
cleric, and that it is his word that counts, not that of his “moderates.”Saudi
Arabia, unlike Iran, is a status quo power that has striven for over
seventy-five years to be a responsible state and the custodian of a quarter of
the world’s oil. While it is accused of exporting ‘Wahhabism’, an argument the
Iranians are now eagerly promoting in order to disguise their own actions, many
forget that the use of political Islam began as a joint US and Saudi project in
the 1950s to fight the spread of communism in the region. This culminated in the
joint venture to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s.Iran is
championing the argument that Wahhabism is the source of terrorism specifically
for the purpose of undermining the 70-year US–Saudi alliance and turning
American public opinion against the kingdom
In those days, political Islam was seen as a benign force that would be the
natural antidote to communism in the Middle East. That this project has
contributed to the emergence of radical Islam is a tragic unintended
consequence, or blowback, something that caught both the Saudi and US
governments by surprise during 9/11. The Saudi government quickly reacted to
this radicalism by working to reform its curricula and the behavior and language
of its clerics, closing suspect charities, and virtually eliminating all
financial flows from the kingdom to radical groups abroad, as well as waging a
bloody struggle against al-Qaeda and ISIS within its own territory. Recall that
the crown prince survived a suicide bombing that had him as the target. Having
said this, clearly there remains work to be done. Since the conservative
religious establishment in Saudi Arabia is a major political force with
extensive public support, restructuring the religious and cultural
infrastructure of the country will take some time. It is the Iranians who are
the aggressive promoters of militant theocracy in the Middle East today, not the
‘Wahhabis’, and it’s not through money or madrassas but through the hard power
of arms that they are achieving this objective. Also, Iran has benefited from
the emergence of ISIS, an organization that has little chance of capturing any
“market share” among the Shia and hence threatens only the Sunni heartlands.
This explains why the Iranians hosted and granted free passage to many al-Qaeda
leaders who escaped Afghanistan after 9/11. The story of how Iran’s clients
Bashar al-Assad and Nouri al-Maliki helped incubate ISIS is now well
established.
Iran is championing the argument that Wahhabism is the source of terrorism
specifically for the purpose of undermining the 70-year US–Saudi alliance and
turning American public opinion against the kingdom. Should the US–Saudi
alliance be weakened, Iran will then try, under the guise of “fighting
terrorism,” to move in and bring the regional order down, replacing US hegemony
with Iranian hegemony and putting Iran’s clients in power throughout the Gulf
region. In such a scenario, Tehran would effectively control 50 percent of the
world’s oil reserves as well as the holy cities of Islam.
Those who doubt the validity of this argument should look at what Iran has done,
not what it has said in English, over the last thirty years. Despite sanctions,
limited oil revenue, and severe domestic economic distress, Iran has actively
funded Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shia militias in Iraq, the Assad regime in Syria,
and the Houthis in Yemen—at an enormous cost to its economy and at the expense
of its people’s most basic needs. While doing these things, Iran has sacrificed
thousands of its fighters on the battlefields of Syria to prop up a regime that
has killed over 500,000 of its own civilians. Such behavior has undoubtedly
promoted terrorism. And yet while Saudi Arabia has in the last two decades
tried, on and off, to maintain civil relations with Iran, the Houthi takeover of
Yemen with Iran’s acknowledged support presented the kingdom with an existential
threat it could no longer ignore. Northern Yemen was at risk of becoming another
South Lebanon, controlled by Iranian proxies actively threatening the kingdom’s
security. The kingdom was not about to let Iran show up on its southern border.
Hence, Saudi Arabia went to war to stop that from happening. Had the United
States during the Cold War been presented with a similar situation, say,
Mexico’s government being overthrown by a Soviet-supported militia, the US
response would have been identical. Today, Saudi Arabia is not in “competition”
with Iran. Rather, it is fighting a defensive, even an existential, battle
against an Iranian enemy that seeks its destruction and is trying to use the
label of Wahhabism as a cover to gain American public support for achieving that
objective.
Will the woman in red suit
make it to the presidency?
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/October 05/16
Last week, the New York Times endorsed Hillary Clinton just before that evening
of the presidential debate which was the most-watched among all US presidential
debates. The endorsement came at the right time for Clinton who was getting
ready to look her best for the debate with Trump, the man who is known for his
sharp verbal attacks. The New York Times’ move was expected by those who follow
the most famous daily in the US. Clinton’s father is of Welsh descent while her
mother is of Scottish and French-Canadian descent. She was born in Chicago as
Hillary Diane Rodham. She described herself as ‘a mind conservative and a heart
liberal’ as she moved from elementary school toward pursuing her education and
becoming a bright lawyer. During the presidential debate, she wore a red suit –
red like her father’s heart who was a conservative communist man – and she wore
her mother’s smile – Dorothy Rodham who was born in 1919, one year before the
19th amendment of the American constitution. This amendment granted women the
right to vote; thus allowed this little child from Illinois the right to study
law so she could be the Democratic Party presidential nominee and stand for the
presidential debate before that angry man who wore a blue suit and tie. The New
York Times justified why it’s biased toward Clinton since the beginning – in the
end of July. “Mrs. Clinton, who grew up in an era of few opportunities for
women, revealed strength and tenacity building a career that spanned the world,”
the newspaper said.
I wonder if Hillary Clinton’s rise as a presidential candidate follows efforts
that began with a constitutional amendment 100 years ago. How many years does a
single law needs before it is fully put to use? The daily wrote: “When Barack
Obama was inaugurated as the nation’s first African-American president,
historians wondered what combination of qualifications, experience and
personality made him, of all black leaders, the one to break through that
barrier. Such questions are, if anything, even sharper for Mrs. Clinton.” It
further said: “Skeptical voters have scrutinized her age, voice, tone, even
clothing as qualifiers for the White House.”I wonder if Hillary Clinton’s rise
as a presidential candidate follows efforts that began with a constitutional
amendment 100 years ago. How many years does a single law needs before it is
fully put to use?
Accusations vs accomplishments
Days have gone by and arguments between the former secretary of state, who has
traveled more than any former state secretary, and Donald Trump continued. Her
rivals criticized her for her husband’s infidelity; however, she has forgiven
him with her good and conservative heart. She was the victim of an unfaithful
husband who completed his presidential term because men’s mistakes are usually
forgiven. They accused her of neglecting her e-mail so she confessed, just like
mature women do. She promised she will be more careful when she’s given chance
to lead the US. They highlighted her health issues so she released her medical
records and recovered in time for the debate. Trump, on the other hand,
continued to wonder where Barack Obama was born. During the debate, Clinton had
organized her arguments well. She kept her composure and her smile, which rarely
left her face. If Trump has lost a lot of money in his career as a businessman,
Clinton has recovered from her husband’s “infidelity”. While Trump cannot make
out the directions on the map, she has traveled more than him and her husband.
Before the debate ended, Donald went out of his way as usual and went back a 100
years: You Hillary – in the red suit – do not have the presidential look! Toward
the end of the debate, when Clinton appeared calm and Trump irritable, we were
witness to what is a really strange election. It is definitely shaping
differently than how Abraham Lincoln knew it.
*This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Oct. 04, 2016.
Can the new UN chief help
resolve the Syrian crisis?
Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/October 05/16
United States has officially announced the suspension of diplomatic cooperation
with Rus-sia on Syria. That brings to an end coordination of efforts to counter
terrorism and also the ceasefire that was in place. Basically, it seems,
Washington failed to distinguish between Jabhat an-Nusra and the so-called
moderate rebels. Russia, on the other hand, has failed to fulfill its
commitments. Irre-spective of whether this is due to lack of influence on
Damascus, Russia has driven itself to a narrow corridor with not so well thought
out policy. It seemed to be following Napoleon’s logic of jumping into the fray
and then figuring out what to do next. There have been miscalculations,
difference over stated and real objectives in the Syrian conflict while the
geopolitical intrigues and mistrust have brought about the paralysis of the
entire political process. The UN has failed in its mission due to many reasons
including tension between global players such as Russia and the US. This has
been exacerbated by the opposition’s lack of be-lief in any talks with Damascus
and the UN’s failure to invoke the international system. A new round of talks
was scheduled to be held in the end of August but is now unlikely in the near
future. Under these circumstances, which are pushing the world to the brink of a
global conflict, we need more than ever the strong a truly powerful United
Nations. The problem is that while promoting their candidate countries are
guided not by the desire to strengthen the UN as an institution, to enable it to
tackle global threats, but instead follow their own interests
New Secretary General
The election of the new Secretary General of the UN deserves special attention.
Ban Ki-moon’s successor will not only inherit unresolved conflicts but also the
full new pack of rapidly developing threats coming from two superpowers. The
problem is that while promoting their candidate countries are guided not by the
desire to strengthen the UN as an institution, to enable it to tackle global
threats, but instead fol-low their own interests. The US seems to be interested
in a female candidate to occupy the chair, while Russia promotes Eastern
European candidate. The leader of the UN should have enough courage to push the
entire organization toward reforms. For this the UN needs a very determined and
resolute person who is ready to take risk and bear the responsibility for each
step taken and its consequences. The new UN Sec-retary General should be truly
independent and try to return to the UN its damaged reputa-tion.
The new Secretary General should also be as active as possible in the media,
competing with the major world leaders in popularity. Theoretically he or she
should be a well-known per-sonality with an unblemished reputation and enjoy
universal esteem. The UN needs a leader that helps the world body truly serve
the cause of peace, not interests of any player or a group of players. The
problem is that among the candidates to the Secretary General there is no figure
that would correspond to all of these parameters. It is likely that the UN will
continue to face the same challenges, which means it will continue to become
more and more irrelevant and far removed from the global agenda leaving crisis
resolution to the US and its allies. Russia, on the other hand, will try to
bring debates back to the UN, trying to use the advantages of the UN in its
current form; based on the same mechanism as in 1945.
UN reforms
The debates over comprehensive UN reforms have continued for too long and will
not change no matter who is elected. However, it is the right moment to fully
realize the fun-damental importance of the UN. The conflict seems to have
reached a dead-end in Syria with all sides having little under-standing of what
to do next. What is clear is that the country will be generously fueled with
arms. The US and Russia tensions and mutual accusation will continue to rise.
Even as diplomacy stalls, Russia continues to deploy its advanced anti-missile
and anti-aircraft system SA-23 Gladiator and bombers. This time the air defense
system is deployed not just to protect Russia’s contingency, but Damascus and
the ruling regime even as the already deployed S-400’s purpose is changing as
well. Russia will try all possible means to prevent the repeat of Libyan
scenario in Syria. The sig-nificant build-up of weapons in Syria and the
deepening rivalry enhances the possibility of the Russian collision with
coalition forces in the air. To prevent the worst case scenario, we need the
strong and mighty UN, to convincingly en-courage the parties involved to
understand the dangerously developing situation and act to ensure peaceful
coexistence. Otherwise it seems like we are all doomed.
Will a hard Brexit take the
great out of Great Britain?
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/October 05/16
Theresa May has finally spelt out the future of our country in her party
conference speech this weekend. It will be hard Brexit. And it will be a
disaster. The Article 50 process will be triggered next year and the
government’s negotiating position is that immigration will be prioritized over
continued membership of the European Single Market. Of course, the official
story is that curbs on immigration are the non-negotiable red line for the
government, while they will also try to get the best trade relationship with the
European Bloc. But in practice this means that Britain will be unceremoniously
kicked out of the Single Market before the end of 2019, and will have to resume
trade with all of the rest of the world on WTO rules. Fantasists like Liam Fox
and Boris Johnson will continue to insist that we will be able to get favorable
trading conditions with Europe, but their position will be exposed before long.
For one, nobody in Europe has any reason to reward Britain for shunning the
European project. How anyone can look at the appointment of Guy Verhofstadt, the
federalist former prime minister of Belgium, as Europe’s lead Brexit negotiator
and think that France and Germany are lining up to give us a good deal is
baffling. And the other aspect of this is that even if Germany, Holland, France
and many other countries would want to give us a good deal, this is not enough.
When the European Union negotiates such deals, for a trade treaty to come in
effect it must be ratified by the parliaments of all member countries.In
practice this means that Britain will be unceremoniously kicked out of the
Single Market before the end of 2019, and will have to resume trade with all of
the rest of the world on WTO rules
Back in January when Boris Johnson was touting the Canada deal as a model of
what Britain can achieve in Brexit negotiations, what he conveniently glossed
over is that the terms of the deal had been agreed back in 2014. It was held up
for two years until this year because the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria
refused to ratify the deal until Canada agreed to give their citizens visa-free
access to the country. The notion that these, and other Eastern European
countries, would agree to give Britain a good trade deal when the UK is leaving
the Bloc specifically so it can discriminate against their citizens is, frankly,
insane.
Trade prospect destroyed?
The short of it, then, is that with her Sunday speech Theresa May has
effectively destroyed any prospect of a preferential trade arrangement with
Europe. We will have the same level of access to the European market that
Ethiopia has. Egypt will have an easier time trading into Europe than British
exporters. And the really fun part is that we lose not only access to the
markets of the European Union and the EEA themselves, but also to the market of
50+ other countries that we had access to as members of the Single Market. Will
there be takers for free trade deals with the newly “independent” UK? Sure. The
Chinese must already be licking their lips at the prospects. As are many of the
largest and most predatory American corporations. And Putin’s henchmen are
probably already tabulating their spreadsheets. Theresa May has just made this
country fully vulnerable to the caprices of the titans of global trade. Next
time, neither she nor her successors will not have the luxury to put a project
like Hinkley on hold for a reassessment for a few months. Nor will the Chinese
ambassador need to express loud objections. Next time, the government will be
told exactly what to do, where and when. Like Hong Kong in reverse. So much for
taking back control.
Fighting A
Culture Of Illusion: The Long Struggle Of Dr. Turki Al-Hamad
By: Alberto M. Fernandez/MEMRI/October 05/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/10/05/alberto-m-fernandezmemri-fighting-a-culture-of-illusion-the-long-struggle-of-dr-turki-al-hamad/
To write anything about Saudi Arabia is to invite controversy. The country has
been both an incubator and a victim of terrorism for years. It has been a strong
American ally on a range of regional and international issues. The Saudi
Kingdom's support of Salafism worldwide for decades – scaled back in recent
years – has also promoted an extremely intolerant form of Islam, often at the
expense of more local, sometimes more tolerant, forms of that religion in Africa
and Asia. A country that produced 15 out of the 19 September 11 bombers and
whose texts were used initially by the Islamic State in Raqqa without much
revision has a lot to answer for.
And today, the Saudis have become even more controversial. There is U.S.
material support for the ongoing Saudi misadventure in Yemen. And there is
President Obama's veto of the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act (JASTA),
which had passed unanimously in Congress and would have allowed victims of 9/11
to sue the Saudis. Both Yemen and the JASTA veto can be seen as efforts by the
current American administration to curry favor with a Saudi Arabia deeply
disturbed by U.S. foreign policy in Syria and, especially, by the seemingly weak
response of the Americans to Iranian adventurism throughout the Middle East.
This is a concern, of course, widely held by Sunni Arab Muslims beyond the
borders of the Kingdom and by many in the West.
But the Saudi reality has always been more complicated than either the rule of
the Al-Saud or Saudi foreign policy, or even the presence of Salafism. It is
clear that there are today sincere efforts to bring about some sort of reform
within Saudi Arabia, especially in the economic sphere – reform that is as
necessary as it is difficult.[1]
But even before these current reform efforts, even in the successful actions of
extremists, one can discern an ongoing twilight struggle. I remember doing some
research on leading Saudi extremist preacher Dr. Awad Al-Qarni and seeing a 2012
video in which he fulminated against the Al-Qasim Literary Club for having the
temerity to think of organizing a session related to Abdullah Al-Qasimi and
Abdul Rahman Al-Munif.[2]
Al-Qasimi was Saudi Arabia's most notorious atheist, while the novelist Al-Munif
was a leftist. Both were stripped of citizenship, calumnied, and died in exile.
The fact that Al-Qarni (as well as the governor of Al-Qasim) were furious about
the mere possibility of such an event was not unusual. That some Saudis would
actually talk about doing such a thing was a bit of a surprise.
While the struggle of some younger members of Saudi Arabia's embattled liberal
class, like blogger Raif Badawi, have received considerable media attention,
other, older figures are sometimes less known in the West.[3] One such heroic
figure is the Saudi analyst, novelist and university professor Dr. Turki Al-Hamad.
Some may be familiar with Al-Hamad through MEMRI's extensive coverage of Arabic
language reformers and free thinkers.[4] Ironically, one of Saudi Arabia's most
influential religious figures (there are many) also called him just that, as in
"a hypocrite free thinker."[5] The Arabic terms used, munafiq and zindiq, are
much harsher and dangerous than a plain English translation could convey.
In addition to MEMRI, if Al-Hamad is known in the West, it may be mostly through
his literary work.[6] There was also some prominent media coverage a decade ago,
including on BBC's HardTalk and other outlets.[7]
Turki Al-Hamad was born in Jordan in 1953 to Saudi parents hailing from Buraydah.
Interestingly enough, this town has been a notorious hotbed of both extremist
Salafi activism and of eloquent critics like Al-Qasimi and Al-Hamad.[8] Al-Hamad
was pro-Ba'athist as a teenager growing up in Al-Dammam, in the Saudi Eastern
Province. He was imprisoned for over a year at the age of 18 because of his
political activism before departing for study in the U.S. Al-Hamad has described
the "revolutionary romanticism" of the Left that attracted Arab youth in those
years and has compared it with how Islamism attracts the young today.[9]
Al-Hamad has noted that he remained a leftist when he came out of prison but
that he had become more open to criticism of leftist ideologies, also adding
that "the Turki Al-Hamad who went to America was not the same as the Turki Al-Hamad
who returned."[10] He studied first in Colorado and eventually received his
doctorate from University of Southern California in 1985 with a dissertation on
"Political Order in Changing Societies: Saudi Arabia, Modernization in a
Traditional Context." Al-Hamad described himself as a "committed Marxist" when
he went to the U.S., but by the time he left, he rejected it as an ideology.[11]
He retired early, in 1995, from university teaching at King Saud University
after only a decade, to devote himself to writing.
While Al-Hamad attracted the attention of conservative clerics and the religious
police early on, he was never one to hide his views. He began as a columnist in
the Saudi paper Al-Riyadh and then moved on in 1990 to the higher profile
pan-Arab daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. His first novel appeared in Arabic in 1995,
part of a semi-autobiographical trilogy completed in 1999. Although the trilogy
deals with controversial topics such as politics, sex, and religion, it is
remarkably tame by Western standards, but still wild enough to have been banned
in Saudi Arabia though relatively easy to acquire by a devoted, if small,
reading public. As recently as 2010, the Saudi Minister of Culture questioned
how these ostensibly banned books, printed by Beirut's Dar Al-Saqi, could
actually be appearing at the Riyadh International Book Fair.[12]
It is with the last novel of his trilogy, Al-Karadib, that the Islamists rose in
anger. In the book, the main character muses that perhaps God and the devil are
two sides of the same coin.[13] As a result, several fatwas were issued by
individual clerics against Al-Hamad, who still lives in Riyadh, accusing him of
apostasy and calling for his killing. Reportedly, then Crown Prince Abdullah
offered bodyguards for Al-Hamad's protection.[14] Al-Hamad has described the
fatwas as more of a nuisance than anything else, while taking seriously the
death threats that flowed from them.[15]
Often called a secularist and a Saudi liberal, al-Hamad usually eschews labels.
He once described himself as "a human and a citizen who wants the best for his
country and the people of his country." To Al-Hamad the Saudi Arabian patriot,
the necessary building blocks for a healthy society are respect for the dignity
of man, for freedom, justice for all, and for equality. He doesn't reject Islam
but sees it in conflict with the totalitarian worldview embedded in Salafism,
particularly in the discourse of the Saudi Sahwa (Islamic Awakening) movement
which fed directly into the ideology of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. He noted
that both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia had once used religious ideology as a
political tool in the region but added that this is "a double-edged sword, which
can be used by you but also against you."
Al-Hamad's latest brush with the authorities to date occurred in December 2012
when he was arrested after some controversial tweets (Raif Badawi was arrested
earlier in 2012 and remains in prison). The tweets included: "Neo-Nazism is on
the rise in the Arab world under the guise of Islamism" and "Our Prophet came to
rectify the faith of Abraham and now is the time when we need to rectify the
faith of Muhammad." While several hundred Saudi supporters and international
groups like PEN lobbied for his release, Islamists celebrated and promoted his
arrest under the hashtag #الزنديق_تركي_الحمد (The Heretic Turki al-Hamad).[16]
He was released some months later and all charges were dropped.
Al-Hamad has described the challenge of extremist ideology in the region in this
way: "The question is how we can stop ISIS. We cannot do it by fighting it, but
by drying it up at the source. I am not talking about financial sources, or
about its foreign sources – it's not that we need to find out who stands behind
ISIS in order to fight it. I am not talking about tracing the financial sources
of ISIS. All these things may be of importance, but most important of all are
the ideological sources. The youth who joined ISIS were driven by the notion of
martyrdom. They had an extremist religious motivation. Call them 'misguided,'
call them 'deviant,' or call them whatever you like, but the truth is that
they've been brainwashed with this discourse and ideology. In order to stop
ISIS, you must first dry up this ideology at the source. Otherwise you are
cutting the grass, but leaving the roots. You have to take out the roots. These
roots are in people's minds and nowhere else. "[17]
Dr. Turki Al-Hamad is a brave and principled man, but he also is a part of a
much broader, loose movement of liberal intellectuals and activists existing in
the Arab world – and including many in Saudi Arabia – who refuse to be silenced,
refuse to flee to the dubious comforts of exile, and still fight for what they
believe in, despite the dual threats of state authoritarianism and rampant,
aggressive Islamism. They are woefully outnumbered and under-supported but they
exist and they remain. They usually lack the patronage system and subsidized
sub-culture from which Islamists have benefited for decades, but they persevere,
even though liberal prospects in the region seem further from fruition than at
any time since the beginning of the so-called Arab Spring.
But these are also people writing their own epic journeys and struggles – not
those fashioned by the salons and NGOs in America and Europe – in a Middle East
that is changing, at times seemingly for the worse.
We can and should openly and aggressively criticize many things about the
Saudis, including a plethora of all too frequent, gross violations against the
dignity and human rights of individuals. But that place where Turki Al-Hamad and
so many others inhabit and fight for is broader, perhaps, than we give it credit
for in our sweeping denunciations. It is broader and more nuanced than the
subsidized crazies and political hypocrisy, than the numerous promoters of
violent and intolerant Salafism, and, while the hour is late, the clock has not
yet chimed and hope still remains.
*Alberto M. Fernandez is Vice-President of MEMRI.
Endnotes:
[1] Washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/americas-anxious-allies-trip-report-from-saudi-arabia-turkey-and-israel,
September 28, 2016.
[2] Youtube.com/watch?v=gplJFf9p7Uc, posted October 12, 2012, accessed October
5, 2016.
[3] Nytimes.com/2016/07/29/world/middleeast/raif-badawi-wife-saudi-arabia.html,
July 28, 2016.
[4] See the MEMRI Reform Project.
[5] Al-abbaad.com/articles/127-1435-11-09.
[6] Guardian.com/books/2004/nov/13/featuresreviews.guardianreview19, November
12, 2004.
[7] Nysun.com/foreign/challenges-to-bin-laden-round-3/32910/, May 17, 2006.
[8] Arabnews.com/node/226377, 2002-12-02.
[9] Youtube.com/watch?v=RKa5z8m9etg, July 6, 2014.
[10] Youtube.com/watch?v=RKa5z8m9etg, July 6, 2014.
[11] Youtube.com/watch?v=RKa5z8m9etg, July 6, 2014.
[12] Alarabiya.net/articles/2010/03/14/103008.html.
[13] En.qantara.de/content/the-arrest-of-saudi-intellectual-turki-al-hamad-one-step-forward-and-two-steps-back,
January 14, 2013.
[14] Nytimes.com/2005/06/09/world/middleeast/saudi-reformers-seeking-rights-paying-a-price.html?_r=0,
June 9, 2005.
[15] Dailystar.com.lb//Culture/Art/2005/Jan-13/94488-turki-al-hamads-not-so-explosive-trilogy.ashx,
January 13, 2005.
[16] Stream.aljazeera.com/story/201212250316-0022449 , December 25, 2012.
[17] MEMRI TV Clip #5013 - Saudi Author Turki Al-Hamad: Our Youth Are
Brainwashed; We Must Dry Up ISIS Ideology at the Source, Rotana Khalijiya TV
(Saudi Arabia) - July 13-14, 2015.