Islamism – Page 3

Links for November 29th

Automatically posted links for November 29th:

Toward a New U.S.-Middle East Strategy – Saban Center (eeekh!) and CFR team up for Mideast policy recommendations for next prez

Foes Use Obama’s Muslim Ties to Fuel Rumors About Him – washingtonpost.com – “Obama aides sharply disputed the initial stories suggesting that he was a Muslim, and in Iowa, the campaign keeps a letter at its offices, signed by five members of the local clergy, vouching for the candidate’s Christian faith.” I like these conspiracy

1973 U.S. Cable on Mideast Mirrors Current Events – washingtonpost.com – “In January 1974, with the Watergate scandal making headlines, Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat wrote in a secret letter to Faisal that President Richard M. Nixon “could easily be impeached” and that “Arabs must do everything they can to strengthen” Nixon, a

Seven Years for Murder – More Egyptian police officers sentenced for torture

Trappist Command: Thou Shalt Not Buy Too Much of Our Beer – WSJ.com – I have had this beer, and it really is something else. It tingles against your palate and feels incredibly velvety and smooth. The bizarre sensation lingers a long time, numbing your mouth, and its bouquet is very subtle for such a strong beer, with very

L?affaire du faux mariage homosexuel s?avère être une manipulation politique – This article (from a very pro-regime newspaper) accuses the Islamist movement in Morocco that is close to the PJD of nearly lynching a man involved in a rather sordid affair of “homosexual marriage” in northern Morocco. If you check at-Tajdid, the PJD-fri

??? ????? – The site of Muslim Brotherhood activist and blogger Ahmed Mohsen, who was arrested in Fayoum along with 25 people who were apparently planning their strategy to contest next year’s municipal elections

New term for Egypt CB governor – al-Okdah’s reappointment should squash persistent rumors that he is in the running for becoming PM. Nazif probably to stay for another year at least

Saudis See Potential for Influence in Sharif – WSJ.com – An interesting look at Saudi policy towards Pak, based on the fall of Musharraf

Al Jadid Magazine – New issue of US-based Arab culture mag out, including a look at the World Press Photo pic from Lebanon, an interview with Alaa al-Aswany, and a lot more

Bayanouni: Syria “instrument” in Iran’s hands

Interesting interview with the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood leader, suggesting Syria would abandon Iran alliance if the regime fell:

Ikhwanweb: Farouk Al-Sharaa described the Saudi role in the region as “paralyzed” while he backs Iran . How do you expect the balance of power in the region will be if a change happens and an interim government takes power in Syria ? What about the Iran-Syria coalition? will the interim government maintain this coalition or will it seek a coalition with neighbouring Arab countries?

Bayanouni: First: Farouk Al-Sharaa’s statements reflect the regime”s confusion and isolation from its Arab context. It has become an instrument in the hand of the Iranian politics. The Iranian-Syrian coalition is not a coalition of peers. It is a coalition between a strong country that has its own project in the region with a weak regime that lacks legitimacy, does not have a popular basis and it doesn”t have any national project. Therefore, we warn against the ongoing policy of being controlled by the Iranian politics. As for our future outlook, we aren”t against forging coalitions with Islamic states, including Iran and others, as long as it is based on common interests, not like the current state. The coalition with Iran in Hafez Asad”s era had to a great extent kind of balance between Iran and Syria because of Hafez Asad”s personality and his political capabilities. At present, with Bashar Al-Asad”s weakness and lack of any political project, the Syrian political stance is unfortunately a part of the Iranian stance. In the future, a priority should be given to cooperation and coalitions with Islamic and Arab countries, coalitions which should be based on mutual interests, and not to be a part of strategies others.

[From Ali Sadruddin Bayanouniâ€™s Interview with Ikhwanweb ]

Links for November 28th

Automatically posted links for November 27-28th:

Critical writer jailed in Tunisia – On Monday, police in Sfax, Tunisia’s second largest city, detained Slim Boukhdhir, a well-known blogger and contributor to the London-based Al-Quds Al Arabi.
‘Aqoul: Hirsi Ali: Ideological Chameleon – Holy CRAP! Hirsi Ali’s rightward shift
tabsir.net Â» Al Qaeda?s generational split – Yemeni tactics for splitting jihadist groups
Talking Points | National Security Network – Website of reality-based security types
Le Monde.fr : Une vidÃ©o-amateur contredit la version de la police sur l’accident de Villiers-le-Bel – Amateur video indicates initial shock of police car against motorbike not very violent, car was damaged with metal bars afterwards and police is lying about it
WHO’S WHO OF PREZ CAMPAIGN SECURITY ADVISERS – New list of security / FP advisors to US presidential candidates, surprisingly does not include the more well-known rabid neocons in Rudy’s list
Hillary Clinton’s advisers too gung-ho on Iraq war, critics say – Is Hillary Clinton the hawk masquerading as the dove?
‘Not very good’ Saddam spy gets 4 years – Yahoo! News – More examples of the terrible threat to the US that Saddam represented. Hmm, let me think, what other Middle Eastern country successfully infiltrated spies in critical national security institutions?
Police say Paris rioters are armed as clashes escalate – Officials in Paris last night warned that rioters in the suburb of Villiers-le-Bel were armed with hunting rifles and air rifles as clashes with police continued to escalate.
Boom fuels new Saudi spending spree | Business | The Guardian – Annual revenues of $165bn are funding six new cities to create jobs – but can it last?
Cairo International Film Festival – Home Page – Schedules, events, etc. (apparently Morocco is focus of festival)
In Annapolis, Conflict by Other Means by Robert Blecher and Mouin Rabbani – “As for the Annapolis meeting itself, it is being greeted with indifference, with few believing it will lead to either meaningful change in their daily lives or substantive progress toward the end of an Israeli occupation now in its fifth decade.”

Links for November 26th

Automatically posted links for November 26th:

Ø£ÙˆÙ„ ØµØÙ�ÙŠ Ù…Ø³ÙŠØÙŠ Ù…ØµØ±ÙŠ ÙŠØ¬Ø±ÙŠ ØÙˆØ§Ø±Ù‹Ø§ Ù…Ø¹ Ù…Ø±Ø´Ø¯ Ø§Ù„Ø¥Ø®ÙˆØ§Ù† Ø§Ù„Ù…Ø³Ù„Ù…ÙŠÙ† Ù…Ù‡Ø¯ÙŠ Ø¹Ø§ÙƒÙ� – The first interview of MB Guide Mahdi Akef by an Egyptian Christian, apparently
Foul times ahead for Egypt’s bean staple – Alarmist predictions for fuul. Actually a lot comes from China nowadays, like everything else
Why the Arab street? Ã‚ – Rami Khouri says the Arab street has changed, is essentially a mixture of nationalism and islamism, and counts for something
International Crisis Group – Darfur?s New Security Reality – Report says Darfur situation getting worse, blames all parties, calls for sanctions all-round
Building barriers – Great email forward about muhagaba/munaqaba-only cafÃƒÂ© – “no Xian girls allowed”
Ghassan Charbel on Lebanon – Al Hayat – “The Lebanese formula is by all means unique. It is a Tabbouleh plate whose ingredients have to be carefully weighed. Too much bulgur and it is an indigestion. Foreign parsley ruins its pleasure. The oil and onions have to be carefully handled, and the to
The Alliance of Egyptian Americans – New group seeks to foster democratic change

Links for November 25th

Automatically posted links for November 25th:

Angry Arab on Eric’s Hobsbawm’s memoirs – “I have no emotional obligation to the practices of an ancestral religion and even less to the small, militarist, culturally disappointing and politically aggressive nation-state which asks for my solidarity on racial grounds.”

“If Annapolis fails, smash me,” souvenir mug says – Brillant! I want one!

King Hussein of Jordan | From the desert he rose | Economist.com – Review of Avi Schlaim’s biography of King Hussein. Sounds rather too positive, but he was certainly an interesting man

The absurd world of Martin Amis | Comment | The Observer – Funnyman Chris Morris slams into Amis, Hitchens

The Political Compass – Pretty decent test of political values…

Del.icio.us links for November 22nd

Automatically posted links for November 22nd:

Le Monde.fr : Le patriarche maronite libanais, Nasrallah Sfeir, politique malgrÃ© lui – What a ridiculous headline… poor Sfeir, pushed into politics!

Women in Muslim Brotherhood ..Towards More Political Participation – MB article on growing role for women in political activism

Report: Syria has decided not to attend Annapolis peace conference – Syria snubs Condi’s party

Ù…Ø´ Ù‡Ù†Ø¨Ø·Ù„: I will still stand up for him – Hudaiby answers Sandmonkey allegation

“â€˜Fall of the House of Bush:â€™ Six Questions for Craig Unger” by Scott Horton (Harper’s Magazine) – Unger on how neocons met Bush, etc.

Del.icio.us links for November 21st

Automatically posted links for November 21st:

Ù…Ø¬Ù…Ø¹ Ø§Ù„Ø¨ØÙˆØ« Ø§Ù„Ø¥Ø³Ù„Ø§Ù…ÙŠØ© ÙŠÙˆØ§Ù�Ù‚ Ø¹Ù„ÙŠ Ù†Ø´Ø± Â«Ø§Ù„Ø¥Ø³Ù„Ø§Ù… Ù‡Ùˆ Ø§Ù„ØÙ„Â» ÙˆÙƒØªØ¨ Ø¥Ø®ÙˆØ§Ù†ÙŠØ© Ù„Ù€Â«Ø§Ù„Ø¨Ù†Ø§Â» ÙˆÂ«Ù…Ø´Ù‡ÙˆØ±Â» – Egypt Islamic council authorizes publication of Ikhwan publications – this will have the conspiracy theorists going!

“U.S. Seeks to Prosecute Pulitzer Prize Winning A.P. Photographer” by Scott Horton (Harper’s Magazine) – Pentagon to put AP photog on trial on dubious charges

Ø®Ù„Øµ ! :: Ù…Ù† Ù†ØÙ† – Khalass! campaign in Lebanon, civil society urges politicians to resolve differences

Beirut Is Not Tehran – Exum and McInerney on why the US should change policy in Lebanon

Space Age Wudu – Ablution device from the future

FT.com / World – Sharif hopes to end Saudi exile – Saudis pushing for Sharif as PM in Pakistan, against US wishes

Islamists Today: Brotherhood Youth: A time bomb – Khalil al-Anani on the generational divide in the MB

YouTube – Musharraf’s crackdown on media – Al Jazeera report on crackdown on press, possible UAE collaboration

Meeting Resistance: A film by Steve Connors & Molly Bingham – Movie about the Iraqi underground, has insider footage of insurgent cells

Del.icio.us links for November 20th

Automatically posted links for November 20th:

List of invitees to Mideast peace talks – Yahoo! News – How do I get an invite?
Obama: I tried drugs as a teen (AP) – Kids: do drugs and drink, it doesn’t matter you might still be president or at least senator.
Divorce in Egypt every six minutes (iafrica.com) –
Islamists Today: The Man Who Once Secretly Ruled the Islamic Jihad Speaks out – Khalil Enani looks at the man at the center of the Islamic Jihad recantation
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Annapolis and After – ICG report suggests getting serious in Annapolis, notably by including Hamas and Syria
Sandmonkey Tales: Abdel Monem and me – Sandmonkey is stirring shit again…
In West Bank, Checkpoints Splinter Palestinian Economy – WSJ.com – West Bank economy “shattered”, says World Bank
Wealthy Nations In Gulf Rethink Peg to Dollar – WSJ.com – To peg or not to peg?
FOXNews.com – Egyptian Woman Files for Divorce Over Husband’s Refusal to Shower – Another great headline

The new issue of Middle East Report is out, with a focus on youth. It features an excellent piece by Marc Lynch on young Muslim Brothers, which is available online, as is a reflection on how Arab youths are perceived as a sociological / political unit (one for instance sometimes presumed to always be a force for reform) by Ted Swedenburg. There’s a lot more there if you get the magazine, so subscribe!

What the hell is it with the shoes?

Divisions in Muslim Brotherhood:

THE lowly shoe is considered a degrading weapon in Egypt. To be beaten with a shoe adds insult to injury.

So when Mohamed Mahdi Akef, the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, the banned Islamist group whose members have frequent encounters with the police, threatened critics with his shoes last year, it was seen as a classic example of an intemperate leader’s inability to control his language.

I have an idea: from now on I shall refer to any journalist obsessed with Arab shoes as Abu Gazma. (And by the way the bizarrely stunted story is crap.)

Tag: Islamism