Category Archives: International Affairs

synagogue shares space with mosque for ramadhan

By bananabrain | Published: September 17, 2009

an unusual story but one i thought was worth mentioning. i often go on about “grass-roots” initiatives, but i think this is exactly the sort of thing i am talking about;  simple, effective and able to build social capital from the ground up:

Magid, who grew up in Sudan, said he did not meet someone who was Jewish until after he had moved to the U.S. in his 20s, and he never imagined having such a close relationship with a rabbi. But he said the relationship with the Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation has affected him and his members. Beyond being tolerant, the synagogue and its members have been welcoming.

He said one member of the mosque told him, “Next time I see a Jewish person I will not look at them the same.”

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Also posted in Activism, Anti Muslim bigotry, Antisemitism, Interfaith | 9 Comments

the blue djinn of 9/11: a saudi moment of reflection and challenge

By bananabrain | Published: September 11, 2009

i read this at asharq al-awsat, the arab daily produced in london (presumably so it’s harder for authoritarian governments to interfere with) and, although i generally don’t tend to see eye-to-eye with their 0pinion page editor mshari al-zaydi, he makes a thoughtful and challenging set of observations about the prevalence of conspiracy theories circulating in the arab and islamic worlds about 9/11:

All these suggestions and scenarios indicate the extent of the control of wishful thinking over us. This is because the common factor among all these ideas is to put the responsibility on the shoulders of a party other than the Arab and Muslim party, i.e. a party that is not us. I remember that there were some who spoke of the involvement of the Colombian drug cartels in these attacks. What is important is that the involved side is someone other than us, even if this one is a blue jinn.

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Also posted in Islamism, Media, Politics, Terrorism | 1 Comment

you’d better watch out, you’d better beware… netanyahu’s coming to town!

By bananabrain | Published: August 19, 2009

the jewish chronicle has asked prominent british jews – i would say, in fact, representatives of most streams of opinion – what they would say  if they had a chance to speak to everyone’s favourite prime minister when he arrives in the UK at the end of the month. you’ll find the variety of opinions on display quite interesting considering who they’ve chosen to ask. there are many different party lines here; one can hardly say that british jewry speaks with one voice. on the whole i think that’s probably a good thing, because if it did, it would probably be the voice of vanessa feltz, whose views, i would say, are alarmingly representative of your average community member.  also interesting is the evidence that uri geller has equally good political judgement as he does socially.

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Also posted in Interfaith, Israel/Palestine | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Realities of Islamist Rule

By Guest | Published: July 30, 2009

This is a guest post by Bravo56

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Since returning from Baghdad in 2008 I have been amazed to see how Islamist groups have gained such popularity and standing among Muslims in the UK. The Middle Eastern “Islamic” states for over a decade have lived with their ethos and agenda that have failed morally, ethically and practically. How is it that intelligent students, communication-savvy youngsters are so easily radicalised by Islamist preachers who have turned Islam into merely a political code? Why is it not clear to them that Wahabi-inspired Islamists have done nothing but incite and applaud outrageous acts of violence and mayhem that have crippled Muslim majority nations throughout the world?

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Also posted in Islamism, Terrorism, Your View | Tagged , | 5 Comments

The Story of Malalai Joya

By Houriya | Published: July 30, 2009

Malalai Joya, a 30 year old women’s rights activist in Afghanistan, has been recently interviewed by Johann Hari. Though below is actually a condensed version of her story, it is long but worth reading!

Joya was four days old when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. On that day, her father dropped out of his studies to fight the invading Communist army, and vanished into the mountains. She says: “Since then, all we have known is war.”

Her earliest memory is of clinging to her mother’s legs while policemen ransacked their house looking for evidence of where her father was hiding. Her illiterate mother tried to keep her family of 10 children alive as best she could. When the police became too aggressive, she took her kids to refugee camps across the border in Iran. In these filthy tent-cities lying on the old Silk Road, Afghans huddled together and were treated as second-class citizens by the Iranian regime. At night, wild animals could wander into the tents and attack children. There, word reached the family that Joya’s father had been blown up by a landmine – but he was alive, after losing a leg.

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Also posted in Human Rights, Review | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Long Live the Taleban Child Abusers

By Yossarian | Published: July 28, 2009

The Irish Times recently caught Azzam “Kaboom” Tamimi saying “long live the Taleban“.

“When the world opposes Hamas, it opposes Palestinian self-determination,” he said, adding that the international community must recognise the “legitimacy Hamas has gained through resistance and elections”.

Branding the EU as “cowards” for not engaging with Hamas, Mr Tamimi added: “Hamas is who the world should be talking to if it is serious about solving the Palestinian issue.”

Later, Mr Tamimi drew applause when he praised insurgents in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan. He said he disagreed with the Taliban’s views on certain matters, but added: “With regard to their attitudes to liberation I say ‘Long live the Taliban’.”

Contrast this with a report in yesterday’s Sunday Times.

Murad Ali, one of five schoolboy suicide bombers rescued from a Taleban training camp, looks haggard beyond his 13 years.

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Also posted in Islamism | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Press TV Pantomime

By Yossarian | Published: July 13, 2009

Seth Freedman has written a great piece for Comment is Free. In it he demolishes any lingering shreds of an argument that Press TV could be described as anything other than a propaganda mouthpiece for the Iranian state. In the line of fire is anybody who continues to defend that sorry shoddy station.

When Press TV was launched two years ago, Yvonne Ridley, one of the station’s presenters, was effusive in her praise of her paymasters: “I see it as an antidote to Fox TV that will give a different perspective to the coverage that you get from the mainstream media. It’s not shock TV, tabloid TV or propaganda promoting reactionaryism.”

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Also posted in Blogosphere | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Update(d) from Kensington

By Yossarian | Published: July 9, 2009

There is a small but perfectly formed protest ongoing outside the Iranian embassy in London.

As London drives by confused and in a hurry, British based Iranians are protesting because their family and friends in Iran cannot. But the malignant influence of the regime extends this far, where many of the protesters are forced to cover their faces so as to avoid endangering family in Iran.

UPDATE:

As the evening went on the crowd became larger (and noisier) in an incredibly well natured but poignant demonstration of the rights people in Iran are dying for. The only police involvement was from officers trying to keep the swelling crowd within the designated protest area.

We then retired to an excellent Iranian restaurant for post-protest grub.

Also posted in Freedom of Expression | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Silence on the Plight of the Uighurs

By Faisal | Published: July 8, 2009

Violence has escalated and riots have engulfed Urumqi city in Xinjiang province. The Times reports 156 dead, 800+ injured, blood-stained roads, burnt-out cars and buses littering the abandoned streets. Most of the victims, the object of the violence in fact, are Turkic Uighurs.

China’s authorities have repeatedly blamed the US-exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer for stirring up trouble in the region.

“Using violence, making rumors, and distorting facts are what cowards do because they are afraid to see social stability and ethnic solidarity in Xinjiang,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in Beijing during a blistering verbal attack on Kadeer, who has denied the allegations.

Li Zhi, Urumqi’s highest-ranking Communist Party official, also railed against Kadeer as he addressed the angry Han mobs. Standing on an armored police vehicle, Li pumped his fist as he shouted through a megaphone, “Strike down Rebiya!”

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Also posted in Anti Muslim bigotry | Tagged , | 30 Comments

Hizb ut-Tahrir Attempts Coup in Pakistan

By Yossarian | Published: July 5, 2009

The Sunday Times reports:

British militants are pushing for the overthrow of the Pakistani state. Followers of the fundamentalist group Hizb ut-Tahrir have called for a “bloodless military coup” in Islamabad and the creation of the caliphate in which strict Islamic laws would be rigorously enforced.

Members of the group, which describes itself as the Liberation party in Britain but is banned in Pakistan, revealed last week that it had targeted the country as a base from which to spread Islamic rule across the world.

The Sunday Times has obtained the names of a dozen British Hizb ut-Tahrir activists based in Lahore and Karachi, or commuting between Britain and Pakistan. There are believed to be many more.

Oh, and remember Tayyib Muqeem – the ex-boxer who could only give the weakest explanations for assaulting Maajid Nawaz in Lahore a few months ago – well it turns out that he is even more unpleasant than previously suspected.

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Also posted in Islamism | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

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