Mar
30
Here’s the video, via MEMRI, which features an interview clip aired on Iraqi television last month. Come for a glimpse at how important the Imam Mahdi is to a Shiite, and stay for the prophetic “Adnan and Lina” cartoons which signal the coming of WWIII:
Interviewer: Didn’t you ever try to meet the son of the Imam?
“Abu Sajjad”: I often asked to meet him, but they said it was impossible. So I asked to have a look at his picture, but they said that any cell phone or camera that takes his pictures burns up.
[…]
He said: “I’d like to show you one of the signs that the Imam has come, so that you will be sure that the Imam is here with us, and that the Day of Resurrection is imminent.” He wanted me to be fully convinced. What he showed me was very strange. He switched on the TV, and played me “Adnan and Lina” cartoons which said that World War III would break out in 2008. He said that this was one of the signs that in 2008, the Imam Al-Mahdi would come. I began to have my doubts. True, I am not that educated, but I’m not that naïve either.
Mar
29
Video(s) of the Week
Filed Under video of the week, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Didn’t manage to put one up last week, so this week’s post goes double. The first is in Dutch, in which Geert Wilders praises Muslims for their initial response, criticizes the Prime Minister and reiterates his intention to screen his film publicly. The second, a discussion on CNN International on Iranian influence creeping into Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon as well as the progression of the IRI’s hegemony:
Mar
29
The assault on Shiaa militias in Basra (read that link), Iraq was touted as a major test for the nation’s army and government. Addressing militia members, many of whom belong to groups with close ties to national leadership, Prime Minister Nouri Al
-Maliki issued a 3-day ultimatum on Wednesday ordering gunmen to turn over their weapons and sign a pledge renouncing violence. Failure to meet this demand would result in outlaw status. Maliki has staked his political reputation on this campaign, and a decisive response to the ongoing clashes between militias in the oil-rich city was in demand.
Nevertheless, it seems the Iraqi Army is struggling to rout militias on its own, putting into perspective the decisions at stake in the next U.S presidential election. From the IHT:
The strikes by American warplanes in Basra, one on a militia stronghold and a second on a mortar team that was attacking Iraqi forces, were made at the request of the Iraqi Army, said Major Tom Holloway, a spokesman for the British Army in Basra.
Holloway said that the Americans conducted the air attack because the Iraqi security forces did not have aircraft capable of making such strikes. American and British forces have been flying surveillance runs over Basra since the latest fighting in the city began this week.
“I think the point here is actually that the Iraqis are capable, they are strong and they have been engaging successfully,” Holloway said.
The strike on the mortar team was made at about 9 p.m. Thursday by a U.S. Navy fixed wing plane, U.S. military officials said.
Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who on Wednesday set a 72-hour deadline for the militias in Basra to lay down their arms or face harsh consequences, said Friday that cash rewards would be offered to anyone in Basra who turned in heavy weapons or artillery. Maliki, who has staked his political credibility on the Basra campaign, said the cash offer would extend until April 8.
Sadr has urged his men not to hand in their arms to a government ‘that won’t end the U.S occupation‘. Maliki in turn called his foes “worse than Al-Qaeda”, ensuring he will continue this fight “until the end.”
British involvement has also risen, and U.S President George Bush has called this Shiaa on Shiaa struggle as “a defining moment in the history of a free Iraq.” Both Bush and the Iraqi Government have a lot at stake in this fight, and Maliki’s decided he won’t be leaving Basra until its over.
Update: For video, click to Read more
Mar
29
Lobbying V.I.P Tourists
Filed Under vacation, Egypt, News | Leave a Comment
Egypt’s ambassador to Britain is apparently lobbying hard to make his country Gordon Brown’s next vacation spot. The North African country attracted more than one head of state last December, and Prime Minister Brown may be set to join the club:
Gehad Madi, the ambassador for Egypt, to where the Blairs repair each winter, tells Mandrake that he has made it his mission to encourage Brown to change his ways.
“He hasn’t had a proper holiday since becoming Prime Minister,” His Excellency told me at the launch of Rowan Somerville’s novel The End of Sleep, at the Egyptian embassy in Mayfair. “We would like him to go to Egypt.”
To this end, Madi’s wife, Mona, has made contact with Sarah Brown.
“I recently took Sarah and her boys to the Tutankhamun exhibition [in Greenwich],” she said, “She was very, very interested; she particularly wanted her boys to understand the history of it. We would be happy to arrange a holiday for the Browns in Egypt.”
Mar
28
“Fitna” Reaction
Filed Under Pakistan, religion, Netherlands, Iran, News | 5 Comments
After watching ‘Fitna‘ yesterday, I wasn’t sure whether to post a reaction that night here on the blog. The film failed to move me either way. It was a series of images which we have all seen before, especially regular readers of blogs, while the only thing distinguishing it from a U.S presidential campaign ad was that Wilders’ argument is directed at the entire religion and not just at an identified radical strain.
Let’s face it, the film was boring. It didn’t live up to its hype. However now that it seems the initial reaction to the film was one of relief, it may very well shine the spotlight on Wilders’ argument. It is an argument that I do not believe can stand much scrutiny if considered honestly, and one that is not easily proven by a 15 minute film.
Of course, the IRI responded quickly. The Iranian Foreign Minister was quoted as saying “This heinous measure by a Dutch lawmaker and a British establishment … is indicative of the continuation of the evilness and deep vengeance such Western nationals have against Islam and Muslims.”
In Pakistan, a few demonstrations took place, none of them attracting over 100 people. The story was still managed to make the IHT. Indonesia also issued a statement, saying:
“We are of the view that the film has a racist flavour and is an insult to Islam, hidden under the cover of freedom of expression,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. “We call on Indonesian people not to be incited.”
Once again, however, all this pales in comparison to reaction within Holland. I wrote this at the beginning of the month:
Yet what is worrying about this story is its’ propensity to attract judgment on the basis of foreign reaction. The movie’s release and broadcast may not necessarily stoke severe social tensions within the Netherlands, but looks bound to provoke an international reaction disproportionate to the issue itself. Religious leaders from Egypt and Syria have demanded the EU take action against those who insult religion, for example, bringing back into focus an increasingly familiar debate of cultural sensitivity versus freedom of speech.
I still think this story has a way to go before people forget about it, although it shouldn’t provide us with much more than increased calls for interfaith dialogue as well as the lowest common denominator protests we read about every so often. One hopes at least that we don’t see an exaggerated reaction to a movie that isn’t very offensive.
Mar
27
Wilders Having Some Trouble - Update:Fitna released on Live Leak
Filed Under religion, Netherlands, Islam, News | 2 Comments
Update: Fitna has been released on Live Leak.
Dutch MP Geert Wilders has faced hurdle after hurdle in his attempt to release his movie, “Fitna”, which has resurfaced familiar discussions on tolerance, free speech and ‘Islamophobia’ over the past few months. His website has been taken down by its hosting service, Network Solutions, due to a flurry of complaints directed at the company. This prompted an investigation into whether or not the website violates Solutions’ terms of service, although that decision has drawn considerable criticism aroundthe blogosphere because of another website (allegedly) being hosted by the company: hizballah.org. Needless to say, this is fodder for Wilders’ supporters. If your still looking for a website about “Fitna”, Radio Netherlands Worldwide has one up which showcases Dutch tolerance for Islam in English, Arabic and Indonesian.
A protest last weekend in Amsterdam, which received a lower turnout than what organizers had planned for, still managed to make headlines in both domestic and international outlets. It was thought several thousand would make it out to the demonstration in the Dutch capital. The weather was not as cooperative.
Wilders does have options, however, if he indeed still intends to air his movie before April 1st. The country’s Muslim channel, NMO (Nederlanse Moslim Omroep) has offered to air the controversial film, but has had its proposal rejected. The leader of the ‘Freedom Party’ has received a similar overture from a foreign source more ideologically inclined to help, in the form of a Czech nationalist party known for downplaying historical tragedies:
The NS was highlighted in the media in January, 2006, when it staged a meeting on the spot of a former wartime camp for Romanies in Lety, south Bohemia. The NS then claimed that the Lety camp was a mere labour camp where Romanies died of common diseases.
However, according to historical sources, 326 people perished in the Lety camp and over 500 inmates ended up in the Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz.
Wilders is now appealing to his international supporters for financial help, although is not making the request in relation to his latest cinematic venture.
Update:From the WSJ, aside from the over-usage of “radical jihadist” (this is such a silly term which lacks any nuance whatsoever) it’s a pretty good read:
I do not defend the right of Geert Wilders to air his film because I agree with it. I expect I will not. (I have not yet seen the film). I defend the right of Mr. Wilders and the media to air this film because free speech is a fundamental right that is the foundation of modern society. Western governments and media outlets cannot allow themselves to be bullied into giving up this precious right due to threats of violence. We must not fool ourselves into believing that we can appease the radical jihadist movement by allowing them to set up parallel societies and separate legal systems, or by granting them special protection from criticism.
Check out Outsider’s earlier posts on Wilders
Mar
25
Articles Worth Your Time
Filed Under links | Leave a Comment
A couple recommended articles for some evening reading or to go with tomorrow morning’s cup of coffee. Independent writers from Iraq cover stories you’ll never hear or see in the mainstream media, and these two are among the best:
Dispatches From Iraq
Michael Totten - The Liberation of Karmah, Part I
“Lieutenant Colonel Sattar was captured and held by Al Qaeda for over a year,” he said. “He was beaten and thrashed before they eventually let him go. And the guy who captured him was his cousin. The culture here – they lie, they deceive, they steal, they don’t trust each other. In order to survive. That’s what Saddam Hussein’s era bred in them. If they wanted to survive and do well, they had to go behind everyone’s back. After 20 or 30 years of Saddam, they can’t break away over night.”
Michael Yon - Stake Through Their Hearts
“There are no guarantees, but this could be the endgame for major combat operations in Iraq. Combat is likely to heat up in Mosul and western Nineveh by about May. There likely will be some reports of increased US and Iraqi casualties up here, but this does not mean that we are losing ground or that al Qaeda is resurging – though clearly they are trying. If there is an increase in casualties here as we go into the summer of 2008, it is because our people and the Iraqi forces are closing in. We have seen just how deadly al Qaeda can be. This enemy is desperate. They know they are losing. They are not likely to go out easy. The enemy is smart, agile and adaptive. Likely they will land some devastating blows on us, but at this rate, our people and Iraqi forces appear to be driving stakes through al Qaeda hearts faster than al Qaeda is regenerating.”
Mar
25
Bread Crisis, Continued
Filed Under Food, Egypt, News | Leave a Comment
Reports of new clashes in the increasingly long Egyptian breadlines are coming in today. According to a police source cited in the linked report, 7 people have died. Among those deaths, two have been a result of stabbings. Last week’s demand by the President to produce more bread has led to the opening of 10 additional large bakeries and distribution kiosks, as well as an effort to purchase more wheat:
The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper said Mubarak’s order to the armed forces to intervene “means that he has declared an emergency state to combat this crisis.” Another columnist in the paper called the bread riots “a very critical moment” for Egypt, demonstrating the gap between rich and poor.
Some fear the crisis could mirror riots in 1977 that killed at least 70 people after the government hiked the price of bread and other subsidized foods.
Egypt grows about half of the more than 14 million tons of wheat it consumes every year. It has also long been one of the top importers of U.S. wheat, using about $54 million of some $2 billion a year in U.S. aid to buy it. But its U.S. purchases have been falling as it searches for cheaper sellers on the world market, where prices have tripled in the last 10 months.
Mubarak has ordered the government to use foreign currency reserves to buy additional wheat, according to his spokesman Suleiman Awad.
The government also will add 15 million new names to the list of those receiving cheap rations of cooking oil, sugar and rice. That and other measures will increase the government’s annual food subsidy costs by $3.1 billion to a total of $13.7 billion this year.
None of that has given much relief to citizens, many of whom already are disgruntled with Mubarak’s government because of its long hold on power, and its favoritism and corruption.
“I’ve been standing here for hours, and we are not close to getting bread yet,” said Mohammed el-Deeb, a manager at medical company. “Of course I need to stand in the line, I can’t afford the other bread.”
Mar
25
King Abdallah and Religious Dialogue
Filed Under Islam, religion, Reform, Peace, Saudi Arabia, News | Leave a Comment
Pope Benedict and King Abdallah have had chats about opening a Catholic church in the ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia, as posted on this blog previously, and today’s IHT carries a short report in which the monarch has called for increased inter-faith dialogue:
King Abdullah has called for a dialogue among monotheistic religions, including Judaism, the first such proposal from a country where non-Muslims are banned from practicing their faith.
Abdullah says the kingdom’s top clerics have given him the green light to pursue his idea. He says he plans to get the opinion of Muslim leaders from other countries.
Update: From The Times:
“I want to call for conferences between the religions to protect humanity from folly,” he told a forum in Riyadh. He referred to his ground breaking talks in Rome last November with Pope Benedict XVI, saying “I wanted to visit the Vatican and I did, and I thank him. He met me in a meeting I will not forget, a meeting of one human being with another. I suggested this idea”.
“If God wills it, we will then meet with our brothers from other religions, including those of the Torah and the Gospel to come up with ways to safeguard humanity,” he added. The king, who is the guardian of the holy sites of Mecca and Medina, said the major faiths shared a desire to combat “the disintegration of the family and the rise of atheism in the world”.
Mar
25
Nasrallah Makes Another Speech
Filed Under links, Iran, Lebanon, Politics, War | Leave a Comment
Hezbollah’s secretary general and Khamenei protege Hassan Nasrallah delivered a speech via video link in Beirut this Monday, which has been described as his “most moderate” speech to date. That’s probably in reference to his comments on Lebanon’s domestic troubles and promising to strive for a comprimise in the country’s battle of politcal wills. His message to Israel though, not so moderate:
Nasrallah said the elimination of Israel was possible since following its withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000 and its “defeat” in the 2006 summer war, the “myth” of its “invincible” army had been shattered.
“Can Israel be eliminated? Yes and a thousand yeses, Israel can be eliminated,” he said.
“I want to remind you that an Israeli war is no longer a picnic. An Israeli war has become very costly because there is in Lebanon the strength, will and education of the resistance as well as the blood of the resistance’s martyrs,” he said, drawing cheers from the crowd, who gathered at a rebuilt complex destroyed during the Second Lebanon War.
Nasrallah added that UN-mediated negotiations with Israel for a prisoner swap were continuing.
“Although the Israelis have killed the pillar of the resistance, we did not halt the negotiations on a prisoner exchange,” he said, disclosing that meetings were recently held with UN mediators.
“We will not stop the negotiations … because we want to achieve one of the aspirations of martyr Imad Mughniyeh, that is, to see our prisoner brothers free among their parents and loved ones,” Nasrallah said.
The speech marked the end of a 40 day mourning period for terror-hero Imad Mugniyeh, whose martyrdom Hezbollah has embraced with passion. He did seek to calm fears of a civil war as other leaders have regularly been doing:
In his speech on Monday, Nasrallah went out of his way to reiterate that his party was irrevocably committed to a political solution to the impasse. The sayyed has made this point before, but given the preponderance of armed might at his disposal, it is important for him to repeat this pledge at every opportunity - and especially when tensions are high. Given Nasrallah’s reputation as a man of his word, this has already served to soothe a widespread sense of foreboding that the failure of the upcoming Arab League summit would presage a new and more dangerous phase of the contest.
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