Introduction Iran's attacks and accusations against Egypt and Saudi Arabia have recently intensified. In early December, Iran's leading conservative government dailies Kayhan and Jomhouri-ye Eslami accused the Egyptian and Saudi regimes of treason, and called on their peoples to topple their regimes. Kayhan editor Hossein Shariatmadari, who is close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, praised Khaled Islambouli, the assassin of the late Egyptian president Anwar Al-Sadat, and called to follow his ...
Introduction On March 5, 2008, one of the most prominent voices of reform in the Arab world, well known in the Middle East but sadly almost unknown in the West, passed away. Following a two-year battle with brain cancer, Dr. Ahmad Al-Ruba'i, 59, was buried in the Sulaibikhat cemetery in Kuwait City. He is survived by his wife and four children. 1 Al-Rubai's Funeral, Kuwait Times, March 7, 2008 Dr. Al-Ruba'i was mourned by many in the Middle East media as, inter alia, "a poet," "a great thinker ...
During Israel's offensive in Gaza, Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah harshly criticized the Egyptian leadership. 1 In response, Mt. Lebanon Mufti Sheikh Muhammad 'Ali Al-Jozo lambasted Nasrallah, accusing him of dividing the Arab nation and of exploiting the Gazans' blood to further his political goals, which serve the Iranian agenda. Following are excerpt from Al-Jozo's statements, as quoted in the Lebanese daily Al-Mustaqbal. Nasrallah's Attack on Egypt Is "Highly Dangerous – ...
In a special on Al-Jazeera TV, 1 correspondent Iyad Al-Daud accompanied fighters from the 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, to locations in Gaza. There he observed training exercises and interviewed fighters and leaders about the Brigades' history, training, weaponry, operations, and ideology. The following is the transcript of the special. TO VIEW THIS CLIP, VISIT: http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1191 . TO VIEW THIS CLIP AND OTHERS, YOU MUST LOG IN/REGISTER FOR ...
A seven-minute video titled "For Every Pharoah sic There Is a Musa," uploaded to YouTube on December 7, 2008, shows two groups of protestors in Islamic garb – one in a park holding signs, and one marching, with police protection, on a residential city street. Both groups are led by speakers with megaphones; the one in the park focuses on Abu Hamza Al-Masri, the Egyptian-born former imam of London's Finsbury Park Mosque who is currently serving a prison sentence in London, 1 and the marchers ...
On May 15, 2008, the liberal Arab website Aafaq.org published an interview with prominent Jordanian-American liberal author Dr. Shaker Al-Nabulsi. In the interview, Al-Nabulsi discussed the meaning of secularism and its importance to the future of the Arab world. The following are excerpts from the interview: 1 "'Secularism'... Is In the Interest of Religion – To Keep the Sacred (Religion) Apart from the Profane (Politics)" Interviewer: "What is your concept of secularism?" Nabulsi: " ...
In his November 16, 2008 column in the Saudi-owned London Arab daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat , Saudi liberal columnist Turki Al-Hamad argued that the Arabs had been in thrall to the Palestinian issue for too long, and that they should view both Arab politics and U.S. policy towards the region through a broader prism. The next day, 'Abd Al-Bari 'Atwan, editor-in-chief of another London Arab daily, Al-Quds Al-'Arabi, took issue with Al-Hamad's premise in his column, warning also that the publication of ...
In the latest of his controversial statements and fatwas, well-known Saudi Islamist lecturer and author Sheikh Muhammad Al-Munajid stated, on Al-Majd TV on August 27, 2008, that mice were Satan's soldiers and that "according to Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed in all cases " (to view the clip, visit http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/1850 ; to read the transcript, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/1850.htm ). Sheikh Al-Munajid, who frequently appears on Saudi TV channels, ...
Manifestations of nationalist separatist sentiment have grown increasingly prevalent among Iraqi Kurds, who, since the first Gulf War, have enjoyed autonomy in the governorates of Sulaymaniyah, Irbil , and Dahuk in northern Iraq . Many regard this as reflecting a Kurdish aspiration to establish an independent state, first in Iraqi Kurdistan , and later in Greater Kurdistan , encompassing additional Kurdish-populated regions in Turkey and Iran . Separatist tendencies among Kurds therefore arouse ...
