Jordan has arrested a poet, Islam Samhan, for including Quaranic verses in his poetry; they considered it an insult to Islam. (This is actually against their codified Press and Publications Law).
Foreign Policy magazine had several heavyweights in the field make their recommendations for the next administration's cabinet. Frequent mentions include Robert Gates, to stay in his current position, Indra Nooyi, Susan Rice, and Richard Holbrooke (different contributors assigned those three to different positions). The funniest “Dream Team” pick? Sarah Palin for Ambassador to Russia.
Times of London reports that terrorists and child pornographers overlap in the recesses of the internet, using some of the same tactics to transmit incrimination information without being caught. Quote: The realisation that there might be something in common between violent Muslim fanatics known for their supposed piety and sexual deviants who prey on children […]
Mona Makram Ebeid, former member of Parliament and now distinguished lecturer at the American University of Cairo, describes her experience at the Democratic National Convention in Al Ahram. In sum: To conclude, the convention, as much as I enjoyed being there, was more about a sensation — euphoria — than a speech tackling the country's […]
President Michel Suleiman seems to be engaged in shuttle diplomacy. Taking in consideration that the local players are heavily influenced by outside actors, this is a good initiative. I hope General Suleiman will be able to deliver but thus far he has done a good job. Minister of State Nassib Lahoud told LBC television on […]
Sean McCormack, State Dept. spokesman, declines to confirm both the possibility of alternatives to a SOFA and the intelligence demonstrating Iran's meddling. He “is right in the middle of the spectrum, which says that we are continuing to work on the SOFA.”
In Saudi Arabia, women and men disagree over whether a law banning men from working in lingerie stores should be enforced. Sawt al Nisaa, a women's advocacy group, is poised to begin a boycott of lingerie stores who refuse to enforce teh law, which was designed to bring more women into the workforce. Market forces […]
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has issued a decree paving the way for the establishment of diplomatic ties with Lebanon and the opening of an embassy, the official SANA news agency said on Tuesday. The decree provides for “the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Lebanese republic and the creation of […]
The new campus of the American University in Cairo is experiencing some growing pains as students and teachers complain of unfinished buildings and incomplete facilities. All this is to be expected as a major institution relocates its entire operation. A decade from now I anticipate a fully functioning university attracting Arab students from all over […]
Iraq and the US have yet to reach consensus on the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). Maliki's summary of the sticking point is as follows: On Saturday, Maliki outlined a somewhat different position. “If Iraqi and American soldiers move in an operation that is pre-agreed by both sides, then they have immunity unless [an American] […]
Lahem al Nasser, a frequent commentator on Islamic finance, has an opinion piece in Al Sharq al Awsat (English) contending that, had the West followed Islamic banking restrictions, the current banking crisis would not have been. The Economist's briefing of several weeks ago asserted something similar. The two perspectives diverge on the relative merits of […]
The BBC interviews a Palestinian woman who recently completed training to become a suicide bomber. According to MSNBC's correspondent, female suicide bombers in Iraq are sort of old news.
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