june 1st 2014

America’s first openly gay Imam speaks to the Media

He serves as the imam and educational director at the Light of Reform Mosque in Washington D.C, where women and men kneel

side-by-side and women are allowed to lead prayers

The Phoenix PoliceDepartment Arab Citizens Advisory Board

Condolences Statement

16 Pages Issue No. 56 June 1st - 2014English Section

Federal Judge: (NYPD) surveillance of Muslim Americans in New Jersey

was lawful

NYC Schools Will Get Islamic Holidays

Appeals court orders Google’s YouTube to remove Anti-Muslim

Video

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The Arab community in Phoenix metropolitan area is deeply saddened by the shocking death incident of Po-lice detective John Hobbs on Tues-day, March 4, 2014.Officer Hobbs is a 21-year veteran with the department. Hobbs, 43, left behind a wife and three children, the youngest of them 6 years old.As a community we send our sincere

heartfelt condolences to the family of officer Hobbs and to the Phoenix po-lice department. Hobbs and another detective from the Police Department’s fugitive-apprehension unit were chasing a felony suspect in northwest Phoenix when his car collided with another vehicle and he began shooting at the officers as he tried to escape on foot.

The officers were taken to St. Jo-seph’s Hospital and Medical Center in critical condition after the 3:10 p.m. shooting. Hobbs died about two hours later. The second officer was recovering in the intensive-care unit MondayThe incident marked the sixth in-stance of officer-involved shootings in the Valley this year.

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Arizona gov. vetoes wcontroversial ‘religious freedom’ bill

Three Arab films competed for Oscars

Omar and the Checkpoint: Everyday a Nightmare

Libya: State of Insecurity, background reading

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Almashreq editorial staff/ news analyst finder A fed-eral judge ruled that the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) surveillance of Muslim Americans in New Jersey was a lawful effort to prevent terrorism, not a civil-rights violation.In a decision filed in federal court in Newark, N.J., U.S. District Judge William Martini dismissed a lawsuit brought in 2012 by eight Muslims who alleged the NYPD’s sur-veillance programs were unconstitutional because they focused on religion, national origin and race.

Almashreq editorial staff/ news analyst finder New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to im-plement a policy that would close schools for Muslim holidays and the Chinese New Year. The two Muslim holidays are Eid al-Fitr that takes place following the fasting month of holy Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha that lies during the annual pilgrimage.

Almashreq editorial staff/ news analyst finder A U.S. appeals court ordered YouTube on Wednesday to take down an anti-Muslim film that sparked violent riots in parts of the Middle East and death threats to the actors. The decision by a divided panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reinstated a lawsuit filed against YouTube by an actress who appeared briefly in the 2012 video that led torioting and deaths because of its negative portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad.

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Almashreq editorial staff/ news analyst finder: He’s been con-demned by other Muslim leaders, and some local imams have even refused to greet him. But Imam Daayiee Abdullah – believed to be the only openly gay imam in the Americas – told his story to the media.

Continue on Page 6

June 1st - 2014


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4 Articles

Omar is a 7-year-old boy from Gaza. His family managed to obtain the necessary permits that allowed him to cross the Erez checkpoint to Jerusa-lem, through the West Bank, in order to undergo surgery. He was accompanied by his father. On the way back, the boy and his father were stopped at the Qalanidya checkpoint, separating occupied East Jerusalem from the West Bank. The father needed another permit from the Israeli military to take his son, whose wounds were still fresh hours af-ter the surgery, back to the strip. But the soldiers were in no obliging mood. This story was reported in its painful details by an Israeli rights activist Tamar Fleishman, of Machsomwatch (checkpoint watch). Her name is synonymous with the Qalanidya checkpoint, be-cause she has been hovering there for countless hours, reporting on the Israeli military’s infuriat-ing torment of Palestinian travelers. Her report, although painful to read, shed a light on a side of the Israeli occupation that oftentimes goes unno-ticed. Many speak of Israel’s checkpoints dotting the occupied territories, but few truly appreciate the real experience of living life imprisoned be-tween checkpoints, by being held hostage to the temperament of unruly soldiers. Omar’s “body was still full of anesthetics (as he) collapsed on the metal bench at the shed in front of the DCL offices at Qalandiya checkpoint,” Fleishman wrote in the Palestine Chronicle. “It was very cold as the day turned into evening. Omar’s father took his leather coat off and wrapped it over his son. Omar didn’t open his

eyes. Neither the healthy eye nor the one that was swollen from the surgery. He kept sleeping. He seemed to be in a state between sleep and loss of consciousness.” The story goes on, and seems to never end. Omar is a representation of every Palestinian child and his dad embodies every Palestinian parent living under occupation. Omar’s heartrending photo, also taken by Fleish-man, is of him lying awkwardly at the metal bench, covered by a black leather coat. The boy was likely unaware of much of the reality that encircled him. He might have heard his father pleading his case to the soldiers; or felt the gentle caressing of his hair by a Palestinian mother, also held at the checkpoint; he might’ve even sensed the cold air penetrating his skin to his frail bones. Or he might’ve felt nothing at all. But still, Omar, is every sick Palestinian and his story symbolizes the very depravity at the heart of the Israeli oc-cupation. Omar is not a poster child for victimhood. His pain and that of his dad should not merely invoke sights of petty, or philosophical diatribes of how the occupation is killing Israel’s soul, or reignite yet more arguments of what ‘solution’ to the ‘conflict’ we like most. Neither the action of the soldiers, that of their military and political supe-riors, or of those who have armed and financed them (mainly the United States and European countries) are in the least influenced by fervently debated political and academic discourses. They simply have the means and power to maintain such a colossal matrix of control that turns the lives of ordinary Palestinians into a never-ending nightmare, and they have no reason to stop. And why should they? Israel’s military occupa-tion is a hugely successful business venture. Jew-ish settlers are rarely aware of how their presence

in occupied land constitutes a violation of inter-national law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. It’s a war crime. But do they know that? And if they do, should they care? They live in gov-ernment subsidized housing, connected through a very costly road system - preserved for ‘Jews only’ back to Israel - enjoy numerous perks, ones that even those living in Israel cannot access. Set-tlers siphon Palestinian water from West Bank aquifers, while Palestinians barely get by with a small share of their own water resources. Set-tler children receive excellent healthcare, the best schooling, and their parents cruise around with nice cars as they enjoy the finer things in life. Most Palestinians subsist at a low-income and live life negotiating access through checkpoints, from the day they are born, until the day they die, and every day in between. Israeli leaders thrive at the political support they receive from settlers, and cringe at the very thought of losing favor with the most messianic and ultra-nationalist and rightwing among them. The Israeli army is deployed throughout the West Bank - aside from ensuring that the Palestinian population is thoroughly subdued – to safeguard settlers and settlements. The checkpoints, like those of Qalandiya, are there to serve that pur-pose. As in many checkpoints in and around the West Bank, the fast lane is reserved for Jewish settlers, who are ushered in with ease. While Palestinians have to squeeze between concrete walls, giant cement blocks or fences as they wait to plead their case to the soldiers. Some of the checkpoint’s waiting areas look like massive cages. Ma’an news agency reported on January 6 that a man was crushed to death at the Ephraim/Taybeh checkpoint near the West Bank city of Tulkarem. 59-year-old Adel Muham-mad Yakoub from the village of Balaa “died as a result of extreme overcrowding,” it reported.

“Some 10,000 Palestinian workers cross through the checkpoint every day and that inspection pro-cedures at the checkpoint go very slowly caus-ing dangerous levels of overcrowding inside the checkpoint.” Yakoub left behind a wife and seven children. Now, 9,999 workers continue to cross through the Taybeh checkpoint. Even if the Israeli army increased the number of soldiers that process the permits for Palestinian workers, or enlarged the cage-like fences a few feet to the right or left, the fundamental question remains: what will compel Israel to end its occupation, tear down its walls, fences, and bring this horrific and protracted epi-sode to an end? How long will it be before Palestinian workers push back the fences and soldiers who take part in the collective and daily torment of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians? As for the rest of us, will we continue to es-pouse this banal debate: one side that justifies Israel’s action, at times in the name of God and his ‘Chosen People’ and at others in the name of ‘security; and another side that is stuck pro-moting Palestinian victimization as if an end in itself, without much understanding of the true political underpinnings, or the sheer desire to carry out tangible acts of solidarity for the likes of Omar and his dad? Omar was finally woken up by his distressed father, who managed to produce the boy’s origi-nal birth certificate (a copy, said, Fleishman, is unacceptable); and both, after a long wait, were allowed to go home to Gaza before Erez was scheduled to close. But still, another Omar must be waiting at some checkpoint, somewhere, with his original birth certificate in hand, accompanied by a distressed relative, beseeching the sense of morality of an unfeeling soldier, who has none.

The progress of humanity is based on free-dom and creativity. Any society or regime that encroaches on one of them is doomed to backwardness and recession. What about those who infringe on both?This article is neither in solidarity with nor against satirical star Bassem Youssef or his famous show “El-Bernameg.” It is rather about the suspending of the show as part and parcel of the efforts of the interim government to restrict freedoms during the current interim phase.To clarify, when I say the ‘government’, I mean the interim presidency and the team it appointed, headed by Hazem El-Beblawi, as well as the committees it has formed to draft the constitution. I am di-recting my criticism at all of these agen-cies, who are responsible for executing the road map for the future following the second big wave of our people’s great revolution.I was dismayed when Ahmed Al-Mesle-mani, media advisor to the interim presi-dent, was evasive regarding the suspension of El-Bernameg, claiming that the decision was made by the satellite channel and the government had nothing to do with it. I blame this prominent media personality for his disregard of governmental responsibil-ity, and his own responsibility as a media official in the presidential team. It is his responsibility to protect the freedoms of mass media, instead of defending the gov-ernment with a sick, bureaucratic logic.My standpoint is reinforced with the firm principle established in social and politi-cal sciences that humanity’s progress is based upon the inseparability of freedom and creativity as its main engine, as the wings of progress. Hence, any society or regime that cuts one of these wings is

doomed to backwardness and recession. What about those who cut away both wings? Creativity doesn’t flourish except in a climate of total freedom. Thus, free-dom is the mother of progress as well as its ultimate objective.The danger of suspending the show is that it damages the freedom of expression and the value of creativity altogether, not to mention the infringement on a renowned Egyptian characteristic, namely sense of humour.Self-censorship is more indicative of tyr-anny than formal censorship, because it results in a fiercer level of oppression. It demonstrates the pervasion of author-ity within one’s psyche when a creator or head of mass media feels he has to impose restraints on himself. He who practises self-censorship in order to flatter those in power, is in fact harming freedom most, because he states flagrantly that there is no need for formal censorship, as terror has permeated the psyche.In principle, I am against banning freedom of expression, which should be the last resort of freedom supporters and sound democratic rule. Unless a writer, an-nouncer or photographer commits an ille-gal crime or the infringement of a code of ethics, he should be countered by another opinion and nothing more; that is, if we are keen on preserving freedom and sound democratic rule. May those who are most creative triumph, not the censor, whoever he is.I wouldn’t mind if the show was banned by a court verdict or by a decision taken by an independent council that regulates the performance of media through a code of ethics. Unfortunately, however, the government and the media community

have been lax in agreeing on such a code and implementing it.The interim government didn’t stop at re-stricting freedom of expression, its viola-tions of rights and freedoms continue. This shouldn’t be the case, as it is an unelected government. The main mission of this government is to execute the road map, which culminated this revolutionary wave, in order to reach sound democratic rule.I can’t mention all the violations here due to space, so I’ll restrict myself to highlight-ing the law regulating demonstrations, the law criminalising graffiti, and the banning of the right to sit-ins and peaceful strikes in the draft of the new constitution.The current government’s failure in its main mission or in any mission support-ing the objectives of the people’s revolu-tion has become obvious to everyone. It seems it has chosen to use legislation to restrict rights and freedoms to cover up its failures and evade criticism, in an effort to abort the next wave of popular revolution, which it will inevitably face as long as the current circumstances continue.We tell them they’ll fail in this cunning pursuit, as their predecessors did before. Suppressing freedoms won’t breed any-thing except more resistance and it may fuel violence. It seems that they under-stand this quite well, so they began to draft a law granting immunity to high officials.The interim government committed a double error, when it imitated the Islamist right in promulgating laws restricting freedoms in the absence of a parliament, and neglected issuing long-awaited laws and decisions that would have contributed to improving the standard of living of the people, ignoring demands for justice and

the conducting of fair inquiries into the long list of recent disasters.Finally, it is unavoidable to mention the ex-cesses of the police across all eras, which reveals a dire need for radical reform in the security sector with its civil and military facets. This sector’s creed and behaviour should only include securing the safety of citizens and respecting their rights. This pivotal mission has been discarded by all governments after the revolution, as au-thorities have used the security sector to serve their own interests and tried to flatter them through avoiding reforms.With all due respect to the sacrifices made by policemen confronting the despicable terrorism of the remnants of the Islamist right, it should be stated that the police have encroached on and violated citizens’ rights during the rules of Mubarak, the SCAF (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces), Mohammed Morsi and now the interim government.It seems that the police compensate for their shortcomings by tightening the noose on terrorism, through the chaos in Egyp-tian streets and their failure to arrest those accused of masterminding terrorist acts. Leaders like Assem Abdel Maged and Tarek El-Zomor are still at large, while some policemen confront peaceful dem-onstrators by slapping and kicking them.Despite all this, the security sector hasn’t succeeded in protecting citizens’ safety, evidenced in the grave breaches commit-ted by the Islamist right before and after reaching power, and the utter silence of those in power over Israel’s theft of Egyp-tian natural gas from within its maritime boundaries. At the same time, the govern-ment begs petroleum products from be-nevolent countries.

Omar and the Checkpoint: Everyday a Nightmare

Encroaching on freedom and creativity destroys the future

By Ramzy Baroud

It is likely that the sweeping pub-lic enthusiasm behind Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi will not last long, here in Egypt and in the Gulf, where sup-port for the army chief’s presiden-tial bid has already begun to waneDespite personal convictions about holding presidential elections first, the nomination of two military can-didates, defence minister Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and former Chief of Staff Sami Anan, has be-come a foregone conclusion. (At least at the time of writing.)While some candidates may already have garnered sweep-ing public support, emotional and passionate slogans are no longer believable since the obstacles awaiting the next presi-dent are complex. It would seem that this has become more apparent to Egypt’s neighboring Gulf countries than it has within Egypt itself. The clearest international signs of support for the possible presidential nomination of El-Sisi, recently promoted to the highest military rank of field marshal, have come from Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s stance is signif-icant as one of the first and biggest supporters of Egypt’s current interim government. It would appear, however, that Saudi Arabia has started to harbour concerns related to El-Sisi’s ability to succeed when faced with unreasonable ex-pectations from his supporters in Egypt. The sweeping en-thusiasm supporting the new president will not last long. It is very likely that from the very first obstacle that El-Sisi faces, the Brotherhood will lead a new wave of protests, attempting to disrupt any political stability. Additionally, revolutionary movements will also likely join these protests, if a candidate with a military background does in fact win the elections.

Hampering progress has become an easy and repetitive game in Egypt. El-Sisi’s opponents will not find it difficult to use this against him, attempting to humiliate him from day one, as others did to Morsi in the early days of his presidency. Perhaps this is what has driven the Gulf states to reexamine their support for El-Sisi’s candidacy. The Gulf has remained heavily invested in Egypt’s future and is thus fully aware that if El-Sisi’s presidency is unsuccessful, the image of the military will be shaken, which will negatively impact the Gulf regimes. Certain voices in influential circles in the Gulf prefer that El-Sisi remains in charge of security issues, both domestic and foreign, and all that comes with that mandate, rather than taking on other complicated issues such as the economy, in-stitutional reform and more. The majority of Egyptian media outlets which laud El-Sisi’s possible candidacy do so entirely within a security frame-work. The truth is that this specific requirement, a secure and stable Egypt, represents the desire of the overwhelming majority of Egyptians – but the question that begs asking is what can El-Sisi add to this issue as president? Practically speaking, he is already the most powerful man in Egypt and all security issues are his responsibility – as they were prior to the 3 July ouster of Morsi.UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Mohamed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum clearly expressed this sentiment when he indicated his hope that El-Sisi would maintain his role as head of the Egyptian military and steer clear of the presi-dency. Prominent Saudi writer Abdul-Rahman Al-Rashed, who is close to the kingdom’s decision-making circles, elaborated further, saying that El-Sisi is the guardian of the constitution and patron of the regime, but that in deciding

to run as a candidate, his attention will shift from protecting the presidency to the presidency itself. This will place him at the heart of all the problems that are expected to unfold in the coming four years. The Brotherhood is not the only group that will stand against the next president. Other oppo-sition groups, with different economic and social demands that result from Egypt’s precarious situation, are bound to join in. They will take to the streets, seeking the fulfillment of their demands.El-Sisi has allowed people to raise his picture alongside Ga-mal Abdel-Nasser’s and has stood by as Nasserist writers painted flattering yet exaggerated depictions of him and his abilities, comparing him to Nasser in all facets, even in a re-cent shift in Egypt’s relations with Russia, in response to the Obama administration’s policies. El-Sisi – the intelligence man – has benefited from this, all the more so by not tak-ing a clear public stance either in approval or disapproval of the behaviour. As a result, El-Sisi’s rise is warily viewed in western circles as a return of a Nasserist or socialist era in Egypt. To me, this assessment does not ring true.Despite my reservations on leaked conversations – wheth-er they come from phone calls or private meetings, I’m opposed to them for religious and ethical reasons – in or-der to understand the full picture I am compelled to rely on leaks from El-Sisi’s meeting with Al-Masry Al-Youm journalist Yasser Rizk and prior clips from a meeting with army leaders last December. These leaks reveal certain features of El-Sisi the politician, in contrast with the am-biguity and uncertainty surrounding his public persona. None of these revelations point in the direction of a new Nasserist project, as much as they hint more at a project closer to Sadat’s economic and international policies im-plemented in Egypt.

Egypt’s presidential elections: From the outside looking in By, nader Bakkar

June 1st - 2014


5National

Consumer spending drops for second consecutive month

Police arrest man for threatening to stab two Muslim teens

(NYPD) surveillance ofMuslim Americans in

New Jersey was a lawful effort to prevent terrorism, Muslim

Judge dismisses lawsuit against NYPD for surveillance of Muslim Americans

The suit accused the department of spying on ordinary people at mosques, restaurants and schools in New Jersey since 2002.Martini said he was not convinced the plaintiffs were targeted solely because of their religion. “The more likely explanation for the surveillance was to locate budding terrorist conspiracies,” he wrote.The judge added: “The police could not have monitored New Jersey for Muslim terrorist activi-ties without monitoring the Mus-lim community itself.”Farhaj Hassan, a plaintiff in the case and a U.S. soldier who served in Iraq, said he was disappointed by the ruling.“I have dedicated my career to serving my country, and this just feels like a slap in the face — all because of the way I pray,” he said.The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) in New York and the California-based civil rights organization Muslim Advocates, which represented the plaintiffs, also called the decision troubling.“In addition to willfully ignoring the harm that our innocent clients suffered from the NYPD’s illegal spying program, by upholding the NYPD’s blunderbuss Muslim sur-veillance practices, the court’s de-cision gives legal sanction to the targeted discrimination of Mus-lims anywhere and everywhere in this country, without limitation, for no other reason than their reli-gion,” CCR Legal Director Baher Azmy said.Linda Sarsour, the executive direc-tor of the Arab American Associa-tion of New York, helped mount a

similar lawsuit against NYPD and New York officials together with the New York American Civil Lib-erties Union on the behalf of five plaintiffs – including community members, mosques and charities.Thursday’s “decision legalizes discrimination,” Sarsour told Al Jazeera, calling the decision “ab-surd” and “outrageous.”“It’s almost like reading The On-ion,” she added. However, Sarsour said her lawsuit is ongoing and will continue un-hindered.“We’re still fighting. The fight has just begun,” she said. The lawsuits followed a series of stories by The Associated Press based on confidential NYPD documents that revealed how the department sought to infiltrate dozens of mosques and Muslim student groups in New York and elsewhere.Martini faulted the AP for its use of the documents.“The Associated Press covertly obtained the materials and pub-lished them without authoriza-tion,” he wrote. “Thus the injury, if any existed, is not fairly trace-able to the city.”The AP declined to comment on the ruling.The city’s legal department also declined comment. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly had been staunch support-ers of the surveillance programs, saying they were needed to protect the city from terrorist attacks.A similar lawsuit filed in federal court in Brooklyn is still pending.

Almashreq editorial staff/ news analyst finder Consumer spend-ing in the United States dropped sharply in January by the most since June 2012, signaling a slow-down in the economic growth. The US Commerce Department said retail sales declined 0.4 per-cent in January. That marked the second straight monthly decline after a 0.1 percent drop in Decem-ber. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of US economic output and is closely monitored by economists. ‘‘Horrible all round,’’ said Ian Shepherdson, chief econ-omist at Pantheon Macroeconom-ics. “It’s not looking good for consumer spending,” said Guy Berger, a US economist and a top sales forecaster at RBS Securities in Stamford, Connecticut. Slower employment and wage growth in last two months, along with an ex-tremely cold and snowy winter in parts of the US may have contrib-uted to the drop in retail sales. In a separate report, the Commerce Department said US workers ap-plying for first-time unemploy-ment benefits increased by 8,000 last week to 339,000, indicating more worker layoffs. The US

economy only added 113,000 jobs in January, well below expecta-tions and the second month in a row the jobs report provided dis-appointing figures. According to a Gallup poll released last week, Americans are increasingly pes-simistic about the future of their country’s economy, with confi-dence in the economy reaching the lowest level since December.Nearly half of Americans are liv-ing in a state of “persistent eco-nomic insecurity,” the Washing-ton-based nonprofit Corporation for Enterprise Development said in January.

Almashreq editorial staff/ news analyst finder A man was arrest-ed by Albuquerque police accused of threatening to stab two Mus-lims teenagers playing basketball, because they were Muslims.The incident took place at the Is-lamic Center of New Mexico bas-ketball court.the Muslim teen and his friend

were playing basketball when they heard the man screaming but didn’t think anything of it until he came to the court and ended up face-to-face with him.A 15 years old Muslim teen said that the man pulled out a knife and told them he hates Muslims and he wanted to kill them. Police said the man was intoxicated at the time.

Almashreq editorial staff/ news analyst finder The Flor-ida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) today welcomed a recent court ruling that kosher meals must be served to Jewish prison inmates and called on the state’s Department of Cor-rections to extend this decision by serving halal (Islamically permissible) food to Muslim inmates. CAIR-FL has received numer-ous complaints from Muslim inmates seeking access to halal food.]Last year, the U.S. Depart-ment of Justice sued Florida for violating a 2000 law intended

to protect inmates’ religious rights. The judge in the case issued an injunction, forcing Florida to begin serving kosher meals by July. Only 15 states do not offer inmates a kosher diet.CAIR-FL sees this as a step in the right direction to ensuring that all inmates are guaranteed their constitutional right to freely practice their religious

beliefs.“We welcome the decision as an important step in protecting religious rights of incarcerated individuals. It is only fair and equitable that if Jewish inmates receive kosher food, as they should, that Muslim inmates have access to halal meals,” said CAIR-FL Executive Direc-tor Hassan Shibly.

CAIR-FL Seeks Halal Meals for Muslim Inmates After Kosher Ruling

Continue From Page 1



Almashreq edito-rial staff/ news analyst finder The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) applauded NYC May-or Bill de Blasio for plans to move forward in closing schools for the Muslim holidays, reported the Arap American News. “The NYC Muslim commu-nity looks forward to finally having the Eid holidays recognized in our public schools. It will be gratifying

to know that Muslim children will soon no longer have to choose between honoring and celebrating their faith or missing class. We applaud Mayor de Bla-sio on his plans to soon make this a reality,” said CAIR-NY Ex-ecutive Board Member Zead Ramadan. During his election campaign in October, the mayor announced his promise to recog-nize Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. “The

origins of this nation (are) people of many different faiths com-ing together … That’s why we have to respect

Muslim faiths by pro-viding the Eid school holidays for children in our school system,” said de Blasio.

YouTube resisted calls by Presi-dent Barack Obama and other world leaders to take down the video, arguing that to do so amounted to unwarranted gov-ernment censorship and would violate the Google-owned com-pany’s free speech protections. Besides, the company argued that the makers of “Innocence of Muslims” owned the copy-right and only they could re-move it from YouTube.Typically, that is the case with the vast majority of clips posted on YouTube — and Hollywood films in general — that don’t violate decency laws and poli-cies. But the 9th Circuit said Wednesday that this case was far from typical and that the actress, Cindy Lee Garcia, re-tained a copyright claim that YouTube must respect, since she believed she was acting in a different production than the one that ultimately appeared online.Garcia was paid $500 to ap-pear for five seconds in a film she was told was called “Desert Warrior.” She thought it had nothing to do with religion or radical Islam. When the clip was released, her lines were dubbed to have her character asking Muhammad if he was a child molester.“Had Ms. Garcia known the true nature of the propaganda film

the producers were planning, she would never have agreed to appear in the movie,” said Cris Armenta, Garcia’s attorney.Google argues that the actress had no claim to the film be-cause filmmaker Mark Basse-ley Youssef wrote the dialogue, managed the entire produc-tion and dubbed over Garcia’s dialogue during postproduction editing.Chief Judge Alex Kozinski said the ruling was not a blanket or-der giving copyright protection to every actor, but that in this case, Garcia’s performance was worthy of copyright protection.“This is a troubling case,” Koz-inski wrote. “Garcia was duped into providing an artistic perfor-mance that was used in a way she never could have foreseen. Her unwitting and unwill-

ing inclusion in Innocence of Muslims led to serious threats against her life. It’s disappoint-ing, though perhaps not surpris-ing, that Garcia needed to sue in order to protect herself and her rights.”Youssef, the filmmaker, was sentenced to 21 months in pris-on for check fraud in 2010 and barred from accessing the Inter-net without court approval. He was returned to prison in 2012 for violating terms of his proba-tion and was released on proba-tion in September 2013.For Google, the ruling repre-sents a nettlesome issue if al-lowed to stand. The company fears that bit players and ex-tras appearing in popular clips will now be emboldened to send takedown notices to You-Tube unless settlements can be reached with the filmmakers

Almashreq editorial staff/ news analyst finder The U.S. Supreme Court rejected at-tempts by towns in Texas and Pennsylvania to revive local laws that cracked down on ille-gal immigration.The high court has held since 2012 that immigration issues are largely a matter for fed-eral agencies, not local govern-ments, to regulate.In doing so, the court left intact the appeals court rulings chal-lenged by the towns of Farmers Branch, Texas, and Hazleton, Pennsylvania and avoided wad-ing into the divisive issue of immigration at a time in which reform efforts have stalled in the U.S. Congress.Prompted by concerns that the federal government was not ad-equately enforcing immigration laws, officials in both towns enacted ordinances that, among

other things, required tenants to provide identification that could later be verified with immigra-tion authorities and penalized landlords from renting to un-documented immigrants.The Hazleton ordinance also penalized employers for know-ingly employing unlawful immigrants. Groups of ten-ants, landlords, employers and workers challenged the laws in court. They won in both cases, prompting the towns to seek Su-preme Court review.Omar Jadwat, lawyer of the AC-LU’s Immigration Rights Proj-ect, who successfully argued the case in the U.S. appeals court, said, “things look really differ-ent now than it did when we ini-tiated this case.”“Cities are not looking to go down the road that Hazleton went down,” he added. “What we’re seeing on the ground is

much more that cities and states are looking at ways to integrate immigrants into their communi-ties ... and not ways to exclude people, or criminalize them,” he said.Immigrant advocates say that five out of six federal courts of appeals that have dealt with sim-ilar housing-related ordinances have held that they conflict with the federal government’s role as the primary enforcer of immi-gration law.Hazleton passed the first local laws in 2006 to address con-cerns over an influx of immi-grants. The laws sought to fine landlords who rented to people living in the country illegally, deny business permits to com-panies that gave them jobs, and required prospective tenants to register with City Hall and pay for a rental permit. However, the laws were never enacted amid the court challenges.

NYC Schools Will Get Islamic Holidays

Court orders anti-Muslim film offlineAppeals court orders Google’s YouTube to remove

a video that sparked Middle East riots, death threats to actors

High court strikes down twoanti-immigrant laws

June 1st - 2014


6 National

Nebraska city OKs immigrant renter rule

Almashreq editorial staff/ news analyst finder Fremont votes to retain 2010 regulations requir-ing immigrants to prove they are legal residents when renting property. Residents of a small Nebraska city voted Tuesday to keep regulations that require all renters to swear they have legal permission to live in the United States, a move the is likely to put the city back into the forefront of the immigration debate. Fre-mont voters originally adopted the ordinance in 2010, which thrust the conservative agricul-tural hub near Omaha into the na-tional spotlight. Critics had said the rules were less effective and more costly than anyone expect-

ed as well as damaging the city’s image. But close to 60 percent of local voters — more than the 57 percent in favor four years ago — sided with supporters, who said Fremont needed to take a stand against illegal immigration. The housing rules require anyone who rents a home or apartment to apply for a $5 permit and attest to their legal status, but there is no mandate to show proof. The or-dinance would also require land-lords to make sure their tenants have permits or face a $100 fine. Fremont, a town of about 26,000 people, is one of a handful of cit-ies that have acted on their own over the last decade to curb ille-gal immigration.

Almashreq edito-rial staff/ news analyst finder According to the Guardian and other news agencies: The Obama administration has eased the rules for would-be asylum-seek-ers, refugees and others who hope to come to or stay in the US and who gave “limited” support to terrorists or terrorist groups. The change is one of President Barack Obama’s first actions on immigration since he pledged during his State of the Union address last month to use more executive directives.The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department now say that people considered to have pro-vided “limited material support” to terrorists or

terrorist groups are no longer automatically barred from the US.A post-September 11 provision in immigrant law, known as “terror-ism related inadmis-

sibility grounds”, had affected anyone consid-ered to have given sup-port. With little excep-tion, the provision has been applied rigidly to

those trying to enter the US and those already here but wanting to change their immigra-tion status.The Homeland Secu-rity Department said

in a statement that the rule change, which was announced last week and not made in con-cert with Congress, gives the government

more discretion, but will not open the coun-try to terrorists or their sympathisers. People seeking refugee status, asylum and visas, in-cluding those already in the United States, will still be checked to make sure they do not pose a threat to national secu-rity or public safety, the department said.In the past, the provi-sion has been criticised for allowing few ex-emptions beyond pro-viding medical care or acting under duress. The change now allows officials to consider whether the support was not only limited but po-tentially part of “routine commercial transac-tions or routine social transactions”.

US relaxes strict rules on potentialimmigrants with limited terrorist links

He told the media that he was born and raised in Detroit, where his par-ents were Southern Baptists. At age 15, he came out to them. At 33, while studying in China, Abdullah convert-ed to Islam, and went on to study the religion in Egypt, Jordan and Syria. But as a gay man in America, he saw that lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender Muslims had unmet spiritual needs and he became an imam to pro-vide community support.“Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention. And because of the ne-cessity in our community, that’s why I came into this particular role,” he told America Tonight about his jour-ney.His first act as an imam? Performing funeral rites for a gay Muslim who died of AIDS.“They had contacted a number of

imams, and no one would go and provide him his janazahservices,” he said, referring to the Muslim body cleaning ritual. That pained him.“I believe every person, no matter if I disagree with you or not, you have the right as a Muslim to have the proper spiritual [rites] and ritu-als provided for you. And whoever judges you, that will be Allah’s deci-sion, not me.”It’s one of the mantras he lives by in his work, even as others condemn him.A place for everyone“The beautiful thing about God is that when you change your attitude, and say, ‘God, I need some help,’ and mean it sincerely, God is always there for you,” Abdullah told con-gregants one night during a regular sermon, known as a khutbah, at the

Light of Reform Mosque in Wash-ington, D.C.He serves as the imam and educa-tional director of the mosque, which he helped form more than two years ago to be a safe space for values and practices that other mosques may es-chew.During his service, women and men kneel side-by-side and women are allowed to lead prayers – actions that have sparked controversy even among American Muslims.“We do not limit people by their gender or their sexual orientation, or their particular aspect of being Mus-lim or non-Muslim,” he told America Tonight. “They’re there to worship.”The mosque’s congregants are di-verse and represent a wide range of cultures, religious upbringings and sexual orientations.

Almashreq editorial staff/ news analyst finder The Mother Mosque of America, once known as The Rose of Fraternity Lodge, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the first permanent structure to be built specifically to serve as a mosque in the United States. Con-struction was completed on February 15, 1934. This small structure served as a place of worship for Muslims for nearly forty years. When a larger local mosque, the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids, was built in 1971, the building was sold. Successive owners over the next twenty years allowed the building to fall in to dis-repair.In 1990 the Islamic Council of Iowa purchased the building, refurbished it, and restored its status as a Muslim cultural center. The effort was mainly organized by the local Muslim com-munity led by Imam Taha Tawil and Dr. Thomas B. Irving, Dr. Moham-mad Islami, Dr. M. Eyad Dughly, Don Singer, Albert Aossey and many others.Imagine being in an unfamiliar land, speaking an unfamiliar language, with different customs and diet, what would you do? Dream of having a mosque and institution where hearts can feel close together, united in their love of God, with similar surround-ings and among friends of the same religion. Growing from the ranks of “The League of Bountiful Flow-ers” then later to become “The Rose of Fraternity Lodge” were religious and social organizations formed by the early Muslims in Cedar Rapids, when a dozen or so young men began planning in the 1920’s and 1930’s to construct what was to become the first building to be specifically de-signed as a mosque on the North American continent.Other congregations of faithful Mus-lims had met in homes and existing buildings for years, but Cedar Rap-ids saw the completion on February 15th, 1934 of the first specifically de-signed home constructed for Muslim worship on this continent. On one side of the main entrance, a sign read “Moslem Temple” and on the other side a sign with the Arabic message “Al-Nadi Al-Islami” meaning the

“Islamic Club.”Was This Dream Accomplished by Other Muslims Outside Iowa?Yes, it is worthwhile to mention that the earliest recorded Muslim group who organized to offer prayer in private homes took place in Ross, North Dakota in 1900; by 1929 they had built a mosque not in any classic architectural style but as a place of worship, without any classic decora-tion. Al Rashid Mosque in Edmonton in Canada was done in 1938.With the expanding and aging popu-lation of Muslims, the question of a final resting place for the faithful be-came a pressing problem. In 1948, a Cedar Rapids Muslim businessman William Yahya Aossey Sr. donated six and one half acres of land for the establishment of the first Muslim Na-tion cemetery on the outskirts of the city.Iowa, a place to go...and grow!Dreaming of a better life in the New World, many of the first Muslim im-migrants looked beyond the major population centers of the eastern United States and Canada. They wanted the freedom offered by a frontier area with productive agri-culture and newer, expanding settle-ment. They wanted room to grow. IOWA...was an ideal place for this Muslim community seeking a good life for the future.The immigration of Arabs from the Middle East to the United States was caused by many of the same reasons that sent European and Asian men

and women to this country. Poverty and the lack of opportunity in their homeland, plus the longing to fulfill their dreams of adventure. Begin-ning in the late 1800’s these hardy, dusky-skinned people form the oldest part of the civilized world, journeyed by ship to the gigantic, sprawling, youthful nation that had beckoned them; “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...”Muslims to settle in Iowa...These newly arrived Muslims re-ceived much encouragement and help for their move from earlier Arab Christian immigrants who had come from the same native lands. Also the traditional acceptance and hospitality of the Iowan, especially the people of Cedar Rapids who are known for their compassion to others, was a major reason for the Muslims to start their settling down and to make their home here.The true statistics on Arab immigra-tions to the United States prior to the 1920’s are not available, because all immigrations figures for the Middle East and part of North Africa in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s were classified as immigration from the “Ottoman Turkish Empire.” How-ever, according to the most authen-tic accounts by the local community, and relying on their testimony Hajj Abbas Habhab and his brothers, held the satisfaction of being the first Muslims to settle in the State of Iowa, an event that occurred between 1880 and 1888, over a hundred years ago at the end of the last century.

America’s first openly gay Imam speaks to the Media

He serves as the imam and educational director at the Light of Reform Mosque in Washington D.C, where women and men kneel side-by-side and women are allowed to lead prayers

The continent oldest mosque

California gets two more years to ease prison overcrowding

Jobs report shows marketfaces more tough sledding

Arizona gov. vetoes controversial ‘religious

freedom’ billBrewer shoots down law that she says

‘could result in unintended and negative consequences’

Almashreq editorial staff/ news analyst finder Federal judges on Monday gave California two more years to meet a court-or-dered prison population cap, the latest step in a long-running law-suit aimed at improving inmate medical care. In doing so, the judges said they would appoint a compliance officer who will release inmates early if the state fails to meet interim benchmarks or the final goal. The judges said

the delays have cost taxpayers money while causing inmates to needlessly suffer. Judges had previously extended the dead-line in December. The order from the three-judge panel delayed an April deadline to reduce the pris-on population to about 112,000 inmates. California remains more than 5,000 inmates over a limit set by the courts, even though the state has built more prison space and used some private cells.

Almashreq editorial staff/ news analyst finder The Labor Department reported that just 113,000 nonfarm payroll jobs were created in January. That’s well below the 185,000 that economists had estimated in a Thomson Reuters survey. The latest figures follow a weak De-cember, when just 75,000 jobs were added.“This is two months in a row when we’ve had really tepid jobs growth,” said former Deputy Sec-retary of Labor Seth Harris. “It’s an indication the economy is not recovering fast enough, and, sad-ly, the economy may actually be

slowing down.” The unemploy-ment rate dropped to 6.6 percent. And the number of Americans working or actively looking for work — the labor participation rate — rose to 63 percent from the previous month’s 62.8 per-cent. Labor Secretary Tom Per-ez told the media: the situation would have been much better if hundreds of thousands of govern-ment workers had not been laid off over the past few years.“If we had just kept government jobs flat during that period, zero growth, our unemployment rate would be something like 6.2 per-cent,” he said.

Almashreq editorial staff/ news analyst finder Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Wednesday vetoed a Republican bill that set off a national debate over gay rights, religion and discrimina-tion and subjected her state to blistering criticism from major corporations and political lead-ers from both parties.The bill, backed by Republicans in the Arizona Legislature, was designed to give added protec-tion from lawsuits to people who assert their religious be-liefs in refusing service to gays. But opponents called it an open attack on Arizona’s LGBT com-munity.The bill thrust Arizona into the national spotlight last week af-ter both chambers of the state Legislature approved it. As the days passed, more and more groups, politicians and aver-age citizens weighed in against Senate Bill 1062. Many took to social media to criticize the bill.Prominent Phoenix business groups said it would be anoth-er black eye for the state and warned that businesses looking to expand into Arizona might not do so if the bill became law.Companies such as Apple and American Airlines and politi-cians including Arizona’s senior GOP senator, John McCain,

were among those who urged Brewer to veto the legislation.The governor was under intense pressure to veto the bill, includ-ing from three Republicans who had voted for it last week. They said in a letter to Brewer that while the intent of their vote “was to create a shield for all citizens’ religious liberties, the bill has been mischaracterized by its opponents as a sword for religious intolerance.”SB 1062 would allow people to use their religious beliefs as a defense against claims of dis-crimination. Backers cite a New Mexico Supreme Court decision that allowed a gay couple to sue a photographer who refused to document their wedding, even though the law that allowed that suit doesn’t exist in Arizona.Republican state Sen. Steve Yarbrough called his proposal a First Amendment issue during a Senate debate.“This bill is not about allow-ing discrimination,” Yarbrough said. “This bill is about prevent-ing discrimination against peo-ple who are clearly living out their faith.”Democrats said it was a veiled attempt to legally discriminate against gay people and cite reli-gious freedom as a defense.


• First action by Obama on immigration since

State of Union• Automatic bar lifted

for giving ‘limited material support’

June 1st - 2014


7International & Business

Almashreq/editorial staff/ agencies

Afghanistan released 65 accused militants from a former U.S.-con-trolled prison on Thursday despite protests from the American mili-tary, which says the men are Tali-ban fighters who will likely return to the battlefield to kill coalition and Afghan forces. The prison-ers’ release risks further compli-cating relations between the U.S. and Afghan governments, already at odds over Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s delay in signing a security agreement that would allow U.S. troops to remain in the country beyond 2014. The prisoners were freed just after 9 a.m. from the Parwan Detention Facility near the U.S. Bagram Air Field, about 28 miles north of the capital, Kabul, according to prison spokesman Maj. Nimatul-lah Khaki. They were laughing and smiling as they boarded a bus to leave the facility, he said. Kar-zai ordered the detainees released several weeks ago, less than a year after his government took over the prison from U.S. troops. The decision prompted angry denun-ciations from Washington. U.S. military officials in Afghanistan say some of the men released are responsible for killing or wound-ing dozens of international and Afghan soldiers, as well as mak-ing bombs that have killed civil-ians. Calling them “dangerous in-dividuals,” a statement from U.S. forces in Afghanistan said, “They have killed Afghan men, women and children,” and added that the coalition believes other alleged insurgents released from Parwan earlier “have already returned to the fight.” The U.S. Embassy in

Kabul called the prisoners’ release a “deeply regrettable” event that ran counter to a 2012 agreement on detainees. “The Afghan gov-ernment bears responsibility for the results of its decision,” the embassy said in a statement. Ab-dul Shakor Dadras, head of the Afghan board charged with re-viewing the prisoners’ cases, said their detention had been unjusti-fied from the outset, despite infor-mation put forward by the United States. “We could not find any evidence to prove that these 65 people are criminals, according to Afghan law,” Dadras told Reuters Television. The prisoners were transferred to Afghan authority last year as part of the U.S. and NATO transition out of Afghani-stan. A coalition of foreign forces has been battling the Taliban since the group was ousted from power in 2001. Security concerns: Karzai has referred to the Parwan prison as a “Taliban-producing factory” where innocent Afghans have been tortured into hating their country. The president had long demanded that the U.S. turn over the prison to Afghan authorities, a process completed last March af-ter lengthy negotiations — largely over American concerns that some of the most dangerous detainees would go free. Among those be-lieved to have walked free Thurs-day morning was Mohammad Wali, who the U.S. military says is a suspected Taliban explosives expert who allegedly placed road-side bombs targeting Afghan and international forces. The military said Wali had been biometrically linked to two roadside explosions and had a latent fingerprint match

on another improvised explosive device. He had also tested posi-tive for explosives residue. Oth-ers in the group include Nek Mo-hammad, who the U.S. says was captured with extensive weapons, and a man identified as Ehsanul-lah, who is claimed to have been biometrically matched to a road-side bomb and tested positive for explosives residue. The release has further strained the already tense relationship between the U.S. and Afghanistan, as Karzai stalls on signing a bilateral secu-rity agreement that would allow a few thousand U.S. troops to remain in the country past 2014. It is unclear whether Karzai will sign the agreement. A report from Reuters on Thursday said he had given assurances to Germany’s foreign minister that he would sign the deal. Other agencies re-ported that he has yet to sign it. The agreement is largely meant to help train Afghan security forces to take over the fight against the Taliban nearly 13 years after the military intervention in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror at-tacks in the U.S. Karzai had tenta-tively endorsed the bilateral secu-rity deal, but after it was approved in November by a council of tribal elders known as a loya jirga, he re-fused to sign it — saying he wants his successor to decide after the April 5 presidential election. Kar-zai cannot run because he is ineli-gible to serve a third term.The U.S. wants the deal signed as soon as possible because it needs time to prepare to keep thousands of U.S. troops in the country for up to a decade.


Fault Lines returns to Libya and in-vestigates what NATO’s so-called humanitarian intervention has achieved in the two-and-a-half years after Muammar Gaddafi was over-thrown. We will have more from the episode in the coming week as it re-peats on Al Jazeera America on Feb-ruary 15, 2014, 5:30p ET, and pre-mieres on Al Jazeera English later in February 18, 2014. Join us as we livetweet this episode Friday from our main Twitter account, ajfault-linesWithout further ado, the back-ground reading: “Bomb explodes near foreign ministry in Benghazi,” Al Jazeera America, September 11, 2013 “A powerful blast has caused severe damage to a foreign ministry building in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, witnesses said. It was not immediately known if Wednes-day’s blast resulted in casualties. The explosion came on the first an-niversary of an attack by armed men on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, which killed four Americans, in-cluding Ambassador Chris Stevens. The U.S. government initially said the assault grew out of anti-Western protests. Later, however, it turned out that an armed group launched the attack on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Benghazi, the cradle of the 2011 revolt that toppled and killed dictator Muam-mar Gaddafi, has been hit by a wave of deadly attacks in recent months targeting security force officers and members of the judiciary, many of whom served in the previous re-gime. Attacks have also targeted diplomats and Western interests. Much of the violence, including the killing of the U.S. ambassador last year, has been attributed to Is-lamists. Documents obtained exclu-sively by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit revealed that the U.S. State Department knew of the security problems in Benghazi, but failed to fix them.” “Libya demands answers after US seizes Al-Qaeda leader in Tripoli” “The Libyan government demanded Sunday that Washington explain the “kidnapping” of an al-leged Al-Qaeda suspect in Tripoli, a day after U.S. forces conducted two raids on targets in African countries. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry

indicated that the White House was pleased with the missions’ outcome adding that the Navy SEAL op-eration in Libya and Somalia made clear that America “will never stop the effort to hold those accountable who conduct acts of terror.” But an-ger in Libya, coupled with an appar-ent failure to capture or kill the in-tended Al-Shabab target in Somalia, has seemingly dented U.S. claims of a success, and led to questions over Washington’s decision to carry out the raids without the host nation’s knowledge. Al-Liby’s capture in Tripoli ends a 15-year manhunt for the 49-year-old, who was listed on the FBI’s most wanted list. It also opens the way for criminal proceed-ings against him to take place in the U.S.” “Libya’s state news agency said Prime Minister Ali Zeidan had been freed after being captured Thursday and briefly detained, re-portedly by government-aligned rebel groups. It is not clear if he was released willingly by his cap-tors or if security forces intervened. The government earlier said the prime minister had been kidnapped from a Tripoli hotel by armed men and taken to an unknown location. But hours later an Interior Ministry spokesman said Zeidan was being held at the ministry’s anti-crime department. Zeidan returned to his office after he had been seized and held by former rebel militiamen for about six hours. “The elected government cannot be toppled, unless by the vote of the people,” Nuri Ali Abu Sahmain, president of Libya’s General National Congress, the country’s legislative body, said at a news conference Thursday. “We will continue to address such incidents in a legal, lawful man-ner.” The chaotic situation appears to reflect the weakness of Libya’s government, which is virtually held hostage by rival militias. Some of the groups were angered when the United States snatched an alleged Al-Qaeda member from Tripoli on Saturday, and have accused the gov-ernment of allowing the raid.”“Anti-militia protest turns deadly in Libya,” “At least 27 people have been killed and 235 wounded af-ter gunmen opened fire Friday on protesters who had called on armed

groups to leave Tripoli. The latest violence further challenges Libya’s weak central government. “The demonstration was peaceful and had been permitted by the Interior Ministry, and then the protesters were fired on when they entered the Gharghur district,” where the militia’s headquarters are located, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said in a TV interview Friday. “The exis-tence of weapons outside the army and police is dangerous,” Zeidan added. “All armed militias need to leave Tripoli, without exception.” The third outbreak of street fighting within 10 days underscored Libya’s struggle to contain regional mili-tias that helped overthrow leader Muammar Gaddafi two years ago but kept their guns. Armed disor-der has blocked most oil exports for months. Friday’s bloodshed, the worst in Tripoli for several months, began when militiamen opened fire, first into the air and then into hundreds of protesters who were demanding their eviction from the capital after the militias had repeat-edly battled with other armed fac-tions for control of certain neigh-borhoods.” “Displaced Libyans still dream of home,” Karlos Zurutuza for Al Jazeera English, November 26, 2013 “Tripoli, Libya - Nostal-gia for the past is painfully evident for 11-year-old Abdul Aziz Omar - one of 400 students at a school holding classes in the rubble of a former naval academy in western Tripoli. “The labs, the fountain, the swings in the playground … I miss everything from my old school, everything,” Omar said. The ugly cluster of buildings that once hosted dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s future admirals at the Janzur Naval Acad-emy are today the closest thing to a home for 300 displaced families from the city of Tawargha. During the 2011 civil war, Gaddafi’s forces used Tawargha as a base for a brutal two-month siege of neighbouring Misrata. The twin cities are about 200 kilometres east of Tripoli. Liby-an rebels eventually broke the siege and sought revenge on the people of Tawargha, whom they saw as responsible for Misrata’s suffering. Tawargha became a ghost town, its inhabitants scattered across the country.”


Violence in Iraq’s Sunni-dominated Anbar province, where armed groups fully control one city and parts of another, has displaced up to 300,000 people in six weeks, the United Na-tions has said. The province has been hit by a surge in fighting between pro- and anti-government forces that began at the end of last year, as Iraq suffers its worst violence since 2008. “Over the last six weeks up to 300,000 Iraqis - some 50,000 families - have been displaced due to insecurity around Fallujah and Ramadi” in Anbar, a UN refugee agency statement released on Tuesday said. “Most of the displaced have fled to outlying communities in Anbar province to escape the fight-ing, while 60,000 persons have fled to more distant provinces,” according to the statement summarising remarks by spokeswoman Melissa Fleming in Geneva. The displaced Iraqis join more than 1.1 million compatriots who fled violence in past years and have still not returned to their homes. Sectarian strife: The UN said last month the number of people displaced by the fighting in Anbar was already the highest since the brutal sectarian violence of 2006-2008.The crisis in the western desert prov-ince erupted in late December with clashes in the Ramadi area when se-curity forces dismantled Iraq’s main

Sunni-Arab anti-government protest camp, which was near the city. With Iraq’s once-Sunni minority accusing the Shia-led government of Nouri al-Maliki of discrimination, Sunni armed groups exploited the political rift and subsequently seized parts of Ramadi, the provincial capital, and all of Fal-lujah to its west, just a short drive from Baghdad. It is the first time anti-government forces have exercised such open control since the peak of the deadly violence that followed the 2003 US-led invasion.Anbar Governor Ahmed al-Dulaimi at the weekend gave fighters in Fallujah a week to surrender, but said authori-ties would not negotiate with those involved in the violence.While government forces have made steady progress in retaking areas of Ramadi, they have largely stayed out of Fallujah for fear that an incursion would lead to a drawn-out urban con-flict with high numbers of casualties. Fallujah was a bastion of the Sunni in-surgency following the invasion, and American forces there saw some of their heaviest fighting since the Viet-nam War.There have been calls for the Shia-led government to address Sunni griev-ances in order to undermine support for fighters, but with April elections looming, Prime Minister al-Maliki has taken a hard line.

Afghanistan releases ‘dangerous’ inmates despite US objections

Libya: State of Insecurity, background reading

UN: Clashes in Iraq’sAnbar displaced 300,000


There have been dramatic po-litical upheavals in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, and the Carter Cen-ter — the nonprofit foundation I head that seeks to promote human rights, democracy and alleviation of suffering worldwide — has been invited to witness the tran-sition process from authoritarian-ism to democracy in all of them. We still see citizens struggling to improve their lives and shape their own destiny, with sharply different prospects. Egypt has been least adaptable to change, and is undergoing a reversion to de facto military rule — perhaps even more restrictive than under former President Hosni Mubarak and previous regimes. The Carter Center witnessed reasonably good elections for parliament and presi-dent in 2012, when the Muslim Brotherhood–affiliated Freedom and Justice Party and its presiden-tial candidate, Mohamed Morsi, emerged victorious. But Egypt’s high court nullified the parliamen-tary choices, and instead of requir-ing a new election when Morsi proved unable to govern under these circumstances, there was a military takeover with the appar-ent approval of a public whose first priority was stability. Dissent was severely restricted for citizens and journalists during last month’s approval of the new constitution, which limits the scope of Islamic law and provides for more gender equality and personal freedom, but gives the military ultimate au-thority. Seemingly immune from constitutional restrictions, the generals of Egypt’s armed forces control their own budget, select the defense minister and retain the right to conduct trials of civilians in military tribunals. The Interior Ministry and judiciary are also granted extraordinary privileges. Our role in Libya has been to ob-serve the post-Kaddafi election in July 2012 and prospectively to witness the election this month of delegates who will draft a new constitution. The interim govern-ment, expected to function until the end of this year, is weak and unable to administer all regions of the country, especially areas in the east and the southern desert that are controlled by militia factions. This threatens national stability and the oil revenues that fund the state. The delegates will be divid-ed among the country’s three re-gions, giving exceptional weight to the underpopulated and histori-cally alienated regions — equiva-lent to advantages that America’s founders gave smaller states in the U.S. Senate and Electoral Col-lege, which we have learned to accommodate. The sovereignty of each must be respected as the peo-ple struggle to find an appropriate balance between order and justice,

secular and religious influences, freedom and fairness, inclusive-ness and restraint. We also ob-served the orderly post-revolution 2011 election in Tunisia, and our team has monitored closely the constitution-making process, pro-viding input when requested into the anticipated language of the constitution and the new electoral law. We are optimistic about the future of Tunisia, where foreign interference has been minimal and where there is a sharp con-trast with Egypt and Libya. The military has remained aloof from the political process, and there has been broad participation of political and religious groups and good progress in engineering a fragile but promising transition. Despite two prominent assas-sinations last year that triggered political crises — the death of op-position figures Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi — peace has been maintained, and the Tunisian people seem determined to secure stability and prosperity. Success here could provide a strong model for constitutional reform across the region, most immediately in neighboring Libya. The situation in Egypt seems to be resistant to change, with a large portion of the electorate excluded from the polit-ical process. The United Nations and regional organizations can as-sist all three nations, but the sov-ereignty of each must be respected as the people struggle to find an appropriate balance between order and justice, secular and religious influences, freedom and fairness, inclusiveness and restraint. Finan-cial and technical assistance for proper elections in Libya and Tu-nisia can also help ensure that the democratic principles enshrined in the new constitutions are re-spected. We know from repeated experience in these and many oth-er countries that the role of impar-tial observers can be essential, and their welcome is a good indication of a commitment to freedom and democracy. For citizens who are committed to the same principles, these outsiders, if invited and nonintrusive, are always appreci-ated. The immediate goal in these three countries is to prevent fur-ther bloodshed, with a long-range objective of achieving legitimate national consensus that provides for sustainable democratic devel-opment and respect for core inter-national human rights. All citizens who are willing to abide by the rule of law — including women, youth and minority religious sects — should be treated equally. The need is for strong institutions, not strong men, as demonstrated in other countries where democracy prevails. Egypt seems incapable of meeting these minimal demo-cratic standards at the moment, while Tunisia is on track and the jury is still out in Libya.

French court overturns ban on comic

June 1st - 2014


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