tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-730967366442207552012-02-15T20:10:32.630-04:00Tracking the growing influence of Saudi Arabia and its support of <i>Wahhabi</i> (<i>Salafi</i>) Islam.R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.comBlogger11711100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-32163557852492538802007-12-21T01:49:00.001-04:002007-12-21T01:49:59.021-04:00

Deutsche Welle (Germany)German prosecutors in Karlsruhe announced charges on Thursday, Dec 20, against a Moroccan man for allegedly assisting terror groups and planning to open a terrorist training camp in Sudan. The suspect has been identified as Abdel Ali M. He was extradited from Sweden in May and officially charged on Nov. 18 but details of the case were not released until Dec. 20. "The

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-77137844776605775902007-12-21T01:48:00.002-04:002007-12-21T01:49:24.359-04:00

der Spiegel, AFP, AP, DDP, DGSA new study released by Germany's Interior Ministry on Tuesday found about 40% of Muslims surveyed had a "fundamentalist orientation," which the authors defined as a strongly religious worldview and moral values. The authors saw a potential threat in a small minority with Islamist leanings: Around 6% of those surveyed were classified as having "violent tendencies,"

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-70790148220638991652007-12-21T01:48:00.001-04:002007-12-21T01:48:31.317-04:00

Catholic World News (US: Virginia)In an interview with the magazine Cicero, Cardinal Karl Lehman, the president of the German bishops' conference, mentioned the appeal. He disclosed that Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne had introduced the petition to Turkish Prime Minister Recip Erdogan, with support from the Christian Democratic Union. Cardinal Lehmann told Cicero that Islamic countries

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-7345180093388462752007-12-21T01:47:00.000-04:002007-12-21T01:48:01.505-04:00

Saeed Shah, The Globe and Mail (Canada)The mullahs shocked Pakistan and the rest of the world when they scooped nearly a fifth of the seats in the national parliament and formed the government of the Frontier Province. Maulana Rahman became the official leader of the opposition. Before 2002, the mullahs in Pakistan had never managed to translate their rabble-rousing into votes. But in that

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-82238377345228033922007-12-21T01:46:00.000-04:002007-12-21T01:47:27.585-04:00

Scott Galupo. The Washington Times (US: Washington DC)After a trip to the Pakistani-Afghan frontier, where he sees firsthand the casualties of the Soviets' wanton violence, Charlie Wilson is moved to action. Against the inertia of Washington's intelligence and diplomatic bureaucracy, he and Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman) secretly funnel defense appropriations into arming Afghan mujahideen

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-6871388621517131362007-12-21T01:45:00.002-04:002007-12-21T01:46:30.624-04:00

Neal Sher, The Jewish Exponent (US: Pennsylvania)While the Bush administration will in no way hold Saudi feet to the fire, some on Capitol Hill are fed up. Enter U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), who have introduced the Saudi Arabia Accountability Act of 2007 in their respective chambers. The White House and State Department, of course,

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-85687590184392253362007-12-21T01:45:00.001-04:002007-12-21T01:45:54.288-04:00

Kareem Elbayar, Common Ground News Service (US: Washington DC)In a 7 December op-ed in The New York Times, Ayaan Hirsi Ali asked where the moderate Muslims were, and concluded that the very notion of a moderate Muslim majority was "wishful thinking". Moderate Muslims are all around us, from the attorney and husband of the rape victim from Saudi Arabia, both of whom expressed revulsion and shame

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-14101927764796058492007-12-21T01:43:00.000-04:002007-12-21T01:45:12.087-04:00

Devon Pendleton, Forbes (US: New York)Sky-high oil prices are good news for the region's 20 richest billionaires, who hail from six countries, made their money in nine industries and were worth $123 billion in March when we last locked in net worths, up about 10% from the previous year ... Interestingly, only one in the top 20, Mohammed Al Amoudi, actually makes his fortune from oil; the rest are

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-45991720405448612492007-12-20T02:16:00.001-04:002007-12-20T02:16:56.058-04:00

Kristin Roberts, Eric Beech, Reuters (UK)Most al Qaeda fighters in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia and Libya and many are university-aged students, said a study released on Wednesday by researchers at the U.S. Army's West Point military academy. The study was based on 606 personnel records collected by al Qaeda in Iraq and captured by coalition troops in October. It includes data on fighters who

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-46463522148358066162007-12-20T02:15:00.000-04:002007-12-20T02:16:11.053-04:00

Caroline Watson, Asia Times (Hong Kong)The Swat Valley was famed for its peace, serenity and beauty. But, today, its public image is dominated by another imposing figure. With a taste for the theatric and an eye on his own supremacy, Maulana Fazlullah is holding Swat in an ever-increasing grip ... A beacon of Gandhara heritage, the Buddha of Jehanabad is the only remaining Buddha of its size and

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-24646007877149261082007-12-20T02:14:00.001-04:002007-12-20T02:14:50.172-04:00

Robert Spencer, Human Events (US: Washington DC)The Canadian Human Rights Commission and the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal have begun proceedings against Mark Steyn, author of America Alone. They are responding to complaints from the Canadian Islamic Congress about an excerpt from the book that was published in the Canadian journal Maclean’s. “The article,” the CIC claims, “subjects

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-38865644945718212402007-12-20T02:13:00.000-04:002007-12-20T02:14:15.471-04:00

Dr Dominic Moran, Spero News (US: Texas)While Saudis-Iranian tensions are playing out in both the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, the main theater of potential confrontation remains Iraq and the waters of the Gulf itself. "There is a war by proxy going on in Iraq between Saudi-backed groups and Iranian-backed groups. That obviously colors the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran," said

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-63098339865995025922007-12-20T02:12:00.000-04:002007-12-20T02:13:20.753-04:00

The Economist (UK)On the same day on which a new American National Intelligence Estimate overturned previous assertions that Iran is actively pursuing nuclear weapons, President Ahmadinejad made a first-ever appearance as a guest at the annual summit of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), a body created in 1981 largely with the goal of containing revolutionary Iran. Soon after the summit meeting

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-36006608946990687072007-12-20T02:11:00.002-04:002007-12-20T02:12:27.188-04:00

Fouad Ajami, U.S. News & World Report (US: Washington DC)The great democratic wave of the last quarter century has bypassed the oil lands. The oil lands are distributive states. Wealth comes to the rulers, they dispose of it, they distribute it to cronies, they punish and overwhelm their would-be challengers at home, and they use it to sustain adventures abroad way beyond the limits of their

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-44432809225900836622007-12-20T02:11:00.001-04:002007-12-20T02:11:43.791-04:00

Emirates Business 24/7 (UAE)From a record $506bn in 2006, Opec’s oil export earnings are forecast to surge to nearly $536bn this year and gain a staggering $75bn to hit an all-time high of nearly $611bn in 2008, according to estimates by the London-based Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES). Saudi Arabia, the world’s oil powerhouse, netted nearly a third of Opec’s income in 2007, while the UAE

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-17365578349245437652007-12-20T02:10:00.000-04:002007-12-20T02:11:01.742-04:00

Reuters (UK)Saudi Arabia's Jabal Omar Development Co. awarded Binladin, the country's largest contractor, and Saudi Oger, owned by the family of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, the contract to build a $2.9 billion project in Mecca. In addition to a prayer area accommodating 65,000 people, the development will have 39 buildings including hotels, residences and retail facilities. Jabal

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-44995517431337253142007-12-19T05:00:00.002-04:002007-12-19T05:01:17.501-04:00

Joshua Sinai, The Washington Times (US: Washington DC)"The Terrorist Watch: Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the Next Attack" is a remarkably insightful and revealing look at how U.S. counterterrorism agencies and their top players conducted America's attacks on al Qaeda and its affiliates prior to and following September 11 ... Art Cummings, the FBI's Counterterrorism Division's deputy

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-62122714402010213192007-12-19T05:00:00.001-04:002007-12-19T05:00:43.562-04:00

Abi Daruvalla, Expatica (Netherlands)The El Tawheed mosque was bought about five years ago with a EUR 1.5 million loan from the Saudi Arabian charity Al Haramain, which has since been put on the United Nation's blacklist of organisations with al-Qaeda links. Amsterdam mayor said on Dutch TV that a report by the national security service (AIVD) into activities at the El Tawheed mosque - published

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-251603012528735752007-12-19T04:59:00.001-04:002007-12-19T04:59:58.350-04:00

Cinnamon Stillwell, The San Francisco Chronicle (US: California)CAIR expressed concern over a number of statements made by Savage on his Oct. 29 program that the group felt were anti-Muslim in nature. In response, CAIR, along with the newly formed Hate Hurts America Community and Interfaith Coalition, has attempted to mount a boycott aimed at advertisers on Savage's show. According to a Dec. 3

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Aishah Schwartz, The American Muslim (US)The Muslim American Society (MAS) Freedom Executive Director, Mahdi Bray, who previously proclaimed the sentencing as a “gross and cruel miscarriage of true justice”, today added, “While the pardon in the ‘Qatif Girl’ case is, indeed, good news, particularly on this, the first day of Hajj, the fact remains that a pardon does not overturn the verdict -

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Agence France-Presse (France)The royal pardon was "fresh proof of the wisdom and mercy of the father of the nation," wrote Al-Watan newspaper's columnist Abdullah al-Almi. "It is a victory for justice... and for the defense of human rights and an affirmation of female dignity." Several newspapers gave prominent coverage to comments by the victim's husband hailing the "noble gesture" of the king .

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Hiba Dawood, UPIThe Association of Muslim Scholars'Al Basaer newspaper said Tuesday it is important to analyze the declaration of intent between the United States and Iraq, which it called a declaration of bad intentions. The Saudi-based paper said any misuse of the law for the benefit of the occupiers, whether by the Security Council or others, will not deceive the people of Iraq who are against

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-7216872808957980532007-12-19T04:43:00.002-04:002007-12-19T04:56:49.095-04:00

Syed Faisal Ali, Arab News (Saudi Arabia)One of the preconditions for a woman, regardless of her age, to perform Haj is that she be accompanied by her mahram (a male relative such as a father, son, brother or husband). However, every year, many women come from distant countries to perform Haj without mahram. They pay hefty sums to their travel agents to arrange a “mahram”. This practice is

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-82524020977760507892007-12-19T04:43:00.001-04:002007-12-19T04:43:54.654-04:00

Priya Nadkarni, Business Standard (India)A slew of Indian brokerages including Mangal Keshav and Parsoli Corporation, which have recently sold equity to Gulf-based investors, are raising money through Shari’ah funds for investments in Indian stock markets. The Indian markets will witness a strong flow of petro-dollars in 2008, following up on the stake buys by several Gulf-based financial

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-47765661440541440292007-12-19T04:42:00.000-04:002007-12-19T04:43:12.738-04:00

John Solomon, Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, Washington PostThe royal family of Saudi Arabia gave the Clinton facility in Little Rock about $10 million, roughly the same amount it gave toward the presidential library of George H.W. Bush, according to people directly familiar with the contributions ... In addition, a handful of Middle Eastern business executives and officials also gave at least $1 million

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-41525848576621494642007-12-18T04:52:00.000-04:002007-12-18T04:53:54.311-04:00

International Christian Concern (US: Washington DC)The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that the front runner in the upcoming election in Kenya, Mr. Raila Odinga, has promised to deliver Sharia to Kenyan Muslims as a quid pro quo if the Muslim vote is delivered to his camp and he is elected President ... ICC has learned that there are

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-17020758862367795062007-12-18T04:51:00.000-04:002007-12-18T04:52:20.821-04:00

Katie Nguyen, Reuters (UK)In his first comments to Reuters since going into hiding a year ago, Muktar Ali Robow said al-Shabab (the military wing of Somalia's Islamist movement) had killed nearly 500 Ethiopian soldiers and would fight until foreign troops left the Horn of Africa country. "We are now planning to launch the most enormous attacks on the government and Ethiopian main positions. We

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-35332753116710427682007-12-18T04:50:00.000-04:002007-12-18T04:51:39.400-04:00

Abdiqani Hassan, B Hull, G Obulutsa, A Yusuf, K Weir, Reuters (UK)Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) condemned the kidnapping of Gwen Le Gouil in Somalia's northern Puntland region on Sunday, saying it underscored the precarious nature of journalism there. Deputy Bari region governor Yusuf Mumin Bidde told reporters that the Puntland

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-31790582790809830392007-12-18T04:49:00.002-04:002007-12-18T04:50:38.062-04:00

Barak Ravid, Haaretz (Israel)Egyptian defense sources told Agence France-Presse on Sunday that they had uncovered two weapons-smuggling tunnels that had apparently been used in the past, but did not find any weapons in them. The report said that Egyptian forces are destroying the tunnels, but did not mention any arrests having been made. On a related issue, Israel lodged a protest with the U.S.

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-25734226238014784482007-12-18T04:49:00.001-04:002007-12-18T04:49:57.063-04:00

Mohammed Al a'Ali, Gulf Daily News (Bahrain)A Bahraini woman is gaining global recognition for her research on the recruitment of Al Qaeda militants in Saudi Arabia. Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Manama branch co-ordinator Hadyah Fathalla has already given lectures to Australian federal police on the topic and has more invitations lined up. She travelled to Riyadh to interview Al

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-72523001674985213612007-12-18T04:48:00.000-04:002007-12-18T04:49:23.819-04:00

Ibtihal Hassan, Paul Casciato, Reuters (UK)Much of the material involves cars, an obsession among affluent youth who cannot go to cinemas, mix with unrelated women or even enter some shopping malls because of Islamic prohibitions by the authorities and religious scholars ... Saudi journalist Susan Al-Zawawi even found herself on YouTube after she took part in a Dutch documentary program on Saudi

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-72144910521910293652007-12-18T04:47:00.000-04:002007-12-18T04:48:26.156-04:00

Patrick Ryan, Saudi-US Relations Information Service (US: Tennessee)Ambassador Mark Johnson (ret.): There is another segment of the society that we did not see, had no contact with and, at least for me, I am less well aware of it. It is the traditional conservative religious elements of the Kingdom. They are said to be powerful and I believe that to be true. We’ve been told that the King has to

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David Frum, National Review Online (US: New York)If a president is to be an effective leader against terrorism, he (or she) must do more than express that hostility Ramesh talks about.He (or she) must decide that fighting terrorism really is his or her top foreign-policy priority - even when it conflicts with other things the government wants to do.He (or she) must appoint (and support) people

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-86231151453643818202007-12-17T04:17:00.000-04:002007-12-17T04:18:04.728-04:00

ReutersSomali government forces and their Ethiopian allies fought Islamist insurgents in Mogadishu for a second day on Friday. A government official said the Islamist rebels had joined forces with thousands of foreign jihadists. At least 19 people have been killed by violence in the past 24 hours, including a mortar strike on the capital's busy Bakara Market that left mutilated bodies piled in

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Obed Minchakpu, Christian News Today (US: Ohio)Barrister Haruna Isa Dederi, Kano state information commissioner, declined to comment on the onslaught on Rev. Zoaka’s church by the government and other Islamic agents. A Christian source in Nigeria told Compass that persecution “is becoming high” in all 44 local government areas of the state. “It is a dream of every single local government area in

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Michael Schwirtz, The New York Times (US: New York)The government is nevertheless concerned that its citizens could be exposed to extremist forms of Islam while on the hajj, and some analysts, including Evgeny Y. Satanovskiy, president of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies in Moscow, say that government assistance to the pilgrims belies attempts to track their activities.“We know that Saudi

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Jason Clayworth, The Des Moines Register (US: Iowa)Barack Obama pointed to a situation in which a 19-year-old gang rape victim in the country was sentenced last year to 90 lashes for meeting with an unrelated man. “The human rights record sometimes in Saudi Arabia is not one that we should align ourselves with.” Obama told the audience that such close ties with Middle East countries is “

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-82520668810034112572007-12-17T04:14:00.000-04:002007-12-17T04:15:20.369-04:00

Abdur-Rahman Muhammad, The American MuslimAfter twenty years of the immigrants’ controlling the Islamic agenda in America, by the year 2000 Blackamericans had clearly taken the “back seat” when it came to community issues. Having taken up this knotty and controversial question of why “Blackamerican Muslims don’t stand for justice”, we’ve learned that one of the most important factors in our

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-9611482540101251382007-12-17T04:13:00.000-04:002007-12-17T04:14:16.915-04:00

Jay Tolson, U.S. News & World Report (US: Washington DC)The state of traditionalism in Islam is more difficult to capture. On one hand, more young Muslims are embracing outward symbols of their devotion—women wearing head scarves, men growing beards. Many are also more observant of the duties of the faith, whether saying the five daily prayers or fasting during Ramadan. But it is hard to say

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-89496252454496724182007-12-17T04:12:00.000-04:002007-12-17T04:13:38.217-04:00

Jonathan Last, The Philadelphia Inquirer (US: Pennsylvania)On the most general level, oil is the reason America must care about the Middle East. If we didn't need oil, then America could treat the Middle East with the same sort of neglect we do Africa. (Not to say such neglect would be morally justifiable, only that it would be logistically feasible. Our neglect of Darfur and Rwanda, while

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-85673604282613088202007-12-14T02:50:00.000-04:002007-12-14T02:51:44.776-04:00

Chris Tryhorn, Guardian Unlimited (UK)Last night Newsnight broadcast a 17-minute investigation into some of the evidence used for Policy Exchange's report The Hijacking of British Islam, published in October. This was followed by a heated interview between presenter Jeremy Paxman and the thinktank's research director, Dean Godson, a former chief leader writer for the Daily Telegraph. The

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Ghania kamraoui, Ech-Chorouk (Algeria)Sharzef Mouloud the father of Sharef Al Arbi, the real name of the kamikaze who carried out the attack on the constitutional council, staunchly denounced the barbarous act that his son perpetrated on innocent civilians that led to the death of dozens. He said that he couldn’t imagine one day that his son would carry out such heinous deeds, especially that he

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-6856501175107670232007-12-14T02:41:00.002-04:002007-12-14T02:49:39.861-04:00

Hiba Dawood, UPIThe Saudi-based Al Basaer newspaper [see heading "The Uncovered Lie"] said Thursday it wasn't surprising that President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced an "agreement" that "obliges" the United States to "help" Iraq and provide economic, political and military assistance ... The paper said the oil and gas law and this agreement are the goals and results of

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Eli Lake, The New York Sun (US: NY)A Saudi Arabian re-education program that treats terrorists as victims of a misguided ideology and not criminals to be warehoused for life in a cell is winning praise from America's top ambassador for counterterrorism, Dell Dailey ... But according to two American intelligence officials who have reviewed these contracts, the agreement carefully makes no mention

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Abeer Mishkhas, Arab News (Saudi Arabia)In a recent case reported in Arab News, two girls, aged 13 and 11, are said to have been sexually assaulted by their brother. They were taken to hospital where they remained for 11 days without being checked by the doctors to confirm the assault. The story goes on to say that one of the reasons the doctors did not check was because permission was required

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European Parliament (France)In a resolution on women's rights in Saudi Arabia, Parliament calls for the Saudi government to improve the lot of women in the kingdom, who it says "continue to face many forms of discrimination in private and in public life, are frequently victims of sexual violence and often face enormous obstacles in the criminal justice system" - even though Saudi Arabia has

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Michael Weisskopf, Massimo Calabresi, TIME (US: NY)The security firm within Giuliani Partners (GP) has provided advice and training in counterterrorism to the government of Qatar, an emirate on the Persian Gulf, though Qatar's Interior Minister, Sheik Abdullah bin Khalid al-Thani, is a controversial figure whom several former U.S. officials have suspected of protecting major al-Qaeda suspects.

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David Wessel, The Wall Street Journal (US: NY)The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Christopher Cox, warned in a speech earlier this month, "For America to address one problem -- the special concerns that arise from government ownership of business -- with another one -- betraying our commitment to open markets -- would only result in more government interference in our own

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by Sara Jean Green from The Seattle Times (US: Washington)The airport reunion Tuesday afternoon was the first time Ginger Mayes had seen her daughter in nearly 14 years, since the day her ex-husband spirited Zarminah, her older sister and younger brother away to Saudi Arabia ... "I never had freedom there. I've been wearing that black thing for 14 years ... and I just want to walk without the

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from Indo-Asian News Service (India)Sixteen-year-old Aqsa Parvez was strangulated by her father Muhammad Parvez in their home in the suburb of Mississauga, police said ... Aqsa's classmates at the local Applewood Heights Secondary School said the girl had problems with her family for some time as she refused to wear the hijab, the headdress worn by Muslim women in some countries ... The incident

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by Kathryn Jean Lopez from National Review Online (US: New York)Dr Zuhdi Jasser: In the recent past, with the domination of dictatorships in the Muslim world today, often the only venue for any political discourse became the mosques. So it is not surprising that political Islam has especially flourished in the past century under the despotic regimes of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan,

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by G Parthasarathy from The Daily Pioneer (India)Mr Musharraf will count on the Americans declaring that though not "perfect", the election was "fair". Saudi Arabia has also entered the political scene to ensure that the Americans can hedge their bets. The Saudis, who are traditionally revered in Pakistan, earned the wrath of Pakistanis at large when they unabashedly collaborated with Mr

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by Andrew Hammond from ReutersThe apparent rapprochement has raised concern among observers that the Arab network, the most popular in the region and one of the few to cover news seen as critical of Saudi Arabia, is toning down its coverage of Saudi affairs. Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's leading political and economic power, withdrew its ambassador to Doha in 2002 partly in protest over Jazeera

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by Robert Lenzer from Forbes (US: New York)This global flow of funds is growing by $1 trillion a year, thanks in part to $90 a barrel oil and Chinese exports. Such a radical reversal in the flow of funds is bound to be controversial. When their assets are added to those of central banks stuffed with petrodollars, these new investment phenomena are truly the fastest-growing institutionalized

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by Erlend Paasche from ISN Security Watch (Switzerland)Dr Steffen Hertog of Princeton University, an expert on Saudi Arabia, takes a more cautious stance, stressing the need to differentiate between different aspects of the economy when discussing the relative success of Saudi economic reforms ... However one chooses to assess the success of Saudi economic liberalization, the country's accession

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by Adel Safty from The Gulf News (UAE)As delegates at the Annapolis meeting listened politely, Bush repeated his support for the Israeli position. He called on Israel to evacuate the "illegal West Bank settlement outposts" sidestepping the fact that all West Bank colonies - not just the outposts - are illegal. Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal elegantly expressed the Arab

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from Defense Industry Daily (US: Vermont)On December 7, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced Saudi Arabia's request for 40 of Lockheed Martin's AN/AAQ-33 SNIPER Advanced Targeting Pods, which would replace the older LANTIRN twin-pod systems installed on Saudi F-15S Strike Eagles. Sniper ATP pods significantly enhance an aircraft's strike capability by adding stabilized long-range

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by Sam Rajappa from The Statesman (India)Many of Malaysia's Indian origin Muslims, in fact, have adopted the Wahabi form of Islam and merged with the Malays. They are known as Mamaks. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who was in power from 1981 to 2003, wrote in his book titled Islam and the Muslim Ummah: “Today Islam has become different from the religion of peace and tolerance that was

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by Javid Hassan from Arab News (Saudi Arabia)Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal blasted the Israeli government’s decision to expand settlements in East Jerusalem. He said it was contrary to the principles of the Annapolis Peace Conference and added that the Kingdom took part in the conference only after being assured that such settlements would stop. Referring to the upcoming donors’

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by Sharon Hayes from The Vermont Islander (US: Vermont)I and 23 other U.S. educators’ won grants to travel to Saudi Arabia. Sponsored by The Institute of International Education and Aramco, the aim was to break down stereotypes and better our appreciation for the country. We met highly educated men and women who spoke impeccable English. They were the crème de la crème. We did not meet poor

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by Patricia Meehan Vásquez from The Women's International Perspective (US: California)Qatif is a center of the very large Shia minority in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, near where I lived for almost eight years. Most Saudis practice the Wahhabi interpretation of Sunni Islam. Back then, I often saw women, both Westerners and non-Saudi Arabs, pulled off the streets and hauled to jail for

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from The Daily Mail (UK)In her first major speech, Conservative peer Baroness Warsi also attacked Labour's idea of multiculturalism, which she said had become a "doctrine of separate identity". Different groups were encouraged to feel that identity "requires the expression of difference to the point of hostility", she said. Lady Warsi, who helped secure the release of teddy-bear row teacher

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from The Australian (Australia)The allegations are contained in an official statement given to the Australian Federal Police in relation to its investigation into Somali community figures suspected of encouraging dozens of young men to return to their homeland and join Islamic jihad ... The mother allegedly told a small gathering of Muslim women in Melbourne that she supported Islamic jihad and

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by Ed Johnson and Ahmed Rouaba from Bloomberg (US: New York)The first blast in Algiers occurred at 9:40 a.m. local time yesterday and struck the Constitutional Council building, killing as many as 50 - mostly students - and injuring dozens of others. Less than 10 minutes later, the offices of the UN Development Program and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees were hit, killing 12 people,

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by Mark Summers from Gulf Daily News (Bahrain)In a strongly worded address on the closing day of a major security meeting in Bahrain, Iraq's national security adviser Dr Mowaffak Al Rubaie stated, "From where we sit in Baghdad and from an Iraqi perspective, we look at the region and see competition between Saudi Arabia and Iran has turned into conflict on the soil of Iraq." He told delegates at

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by Geoffrey Bew from Gulf Daily News (Bahrain)Deputy Chief of General Intelligence Prince Faisal bin Abdullah al Saud said tough measures were in place to control the movement of people at its boundaries, but said their sheer size meant it was impossible to scrutinise everyone. "No one can give any guarantees," he told the GDN on the sidelines of the security conference. "The Saudi Arabian border

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from Integrated Regional Information Networks (United Nations)An estimated six million Nigerian children are at risk of trafficking for domestic and forced labour, prostitution and pornography every year, according to a national survey conducted by the International Labour Organization in 2003. The Nigerian government and non-governmental organisations are trying to fight the problem - through

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by Aweys Yusuf from Reuters"It is true that Islamists captured Bule Burte (140 miles north of Mogadishu), but they will not last there. The government will fight them and will liberate the town from the enemy," Yusuf Ahmed Hagar, government chairman of Hiraan province, told Reuters by phone. The Islamists, who before their defeat by the government and Ethiopian troops a year ago had tried to

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from The Telegraph (UK)Pakistan is currently considering a Bill that would make apostasy a capital crime for men and one carrying a sentence of imprisonment for women. As it is, ordinary Pakistanis take the law into their own hands and kill Muslim apostates. The same thing happens in Turkey where, earlier this year, two people were killed for "having turned away from Islam". Patrick Sookhdeo was

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by Pam Meister from Family Security Matters (US: New Jersey)Q: according to some experts, Saudi Wahhabists are not only funding radical texts in American mosques, but their funding also influences what American schoolchildren from elementary school through college learn about Islam and the Middle East. What can we do to stop this trend?Rep. Myrick: Well, we’ve got to start by educating the

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by Khaled Abu Toameh from The Jerusalem Post (Israel)The Saudi invitation to the Hamas delegation was a "severe blow" to the PA's efforts to end the Hamas reign over the Gaza Strip, the PA officials told The Jerusalem Post. The officials were particularly enraged by the red-carpet welcome that Khaled Mashaal and his colleagues received upon their arrival in Saudi Arabia over the weekend. The

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from Hedge Funds Review (UK)The first ever Shari’ah compliant exchange traded funds (ETFs) have been listed on the London Stock Exchange’s main market. The three funds launched by iShares (Barclays) enhance the range of Shari’ah compliant products available in London, underlining the City’s emerging role as an important centre for Islamic finance. The three funds are the iShares MSCI World

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by Khaled Abu Toameh from The Jerusalem Post (Israel)Sources in Gaza City told The Jerusalem Post four masked gunmen tried to kidnap Nabil Fuad Ayad, who works as a guard at a local church. Nabil's cousin, Rami, was kidnapped and murdered two months ago by the same group, the sources said. The sources identified the gunmen as members of the radical Islamic Salafi movement. "They were dressed in

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from BBC News (UK)The UK government requested the release of all five men in August after previously refusing to intervene as they were not British citizens. Jamil el-Banna, Omar Deghayes and Abdenour Samuer will come back to the UK, while Shaker Abdur-Raheem Aamer will return to his native Saudi Arabia ... British and US authorities have been in intensive negotiations about the men's return over

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by Gerald Posner from The Huffington Post (US: New York)When confronted by his "Saudi" interrogators [U.S. agents playing the role of Saudi intelligence officers], Abu Zubaydah showed no fear. Instead, according to the two U.S. intelligence sources that provided me the details, he seemed relieved. The man who had been reluctant to even confirm his identity to his U.S. captors, suddenly talked

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by Nimah Nawwab from Arab News (Saudi Arabia)One of the continuous trends found in the Middle East and Asia revolves around the way the female victim turns in the end to be the one who deserves the blame, while the victimizer gets away with an almost clean slate after a period of punishment. And to add insult to injury, not even the harsh punishment often mandated by laws. Society's stamp of

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by Yasmina Hatem Al Arabiya (UAE)A report issued by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in mid-October on the private Islamic Saudi Academy (ISA) -- also known as "Terror High" -- accused it of fostering "radical Islam." The USCIRF has requested the textbooks for review, but hasn't received them yet, said Dwight Bashir, Senior Policy Analyst at the USCIRF. The General

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by Ali Jaafar from Variety (US)First among the most recent deals was Dubai Intl. Capital's acquisition of between 2% and 3% of Sony Corp. DIC, an investment company owned by Dubai ruler Sheik Mohammed Al Maktoum, reputedly paid up to $1.5 billion for its Sony stake, which though undisclosed is "substantial," according to a DIC statement. Egyptian brokerage firm Borak Holding followed that by

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from ReutersEurope’s biggest bank, is launching two indexes and associated funds and products that will give international investors exposure to Saudi Arabian equities, HSBC said on Friday. The Saudi equity market is closed to investors not based in the region but the new HSBC Saudi Equity Index offers a way to gain exposure to 36 stocks ranging from banks to bookstores. The bank is also

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from the Korean Overseas Information Service (South Korea)Saudi Arabia is considering dispatching a defense attache to its embassy in Seoul to help promote bilateral military ties, Korea’s Defense Ministry said Monday. Saudi Arabia said it would push for the establishment of a diplomatic mission to handle defense affairs in Korea," said Lt. Col. Kim Gwang-woo, an official at the ministry’s

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by Dr. May Al-Dabbagh from Arab News (Saudi Arabia)This is the time to seriously consider the scope and purpose of our judicial reform. The legitimacy of our entire justice system is unquestionably a matter of public policy. There are thousands (if not more) of undocumented stories of injustice in our courts. Not all are as wretched as the fate of the Qatif girl but all are dishearteningly unjust

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by Pamela Bone from The Australian (Australia)An international outcry has persuaded the Saudi Justice Ministry to review the sentence. It's rare for such cases to attract such attention, and the only reason this one did was the bravery of the young woman and her lawyer in going public about the case. Good on Clinton. Good on the 35 German female lawyers who wrote an open letter to the Saudi king

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from AsiaNews (Italy)Moscow’s first private clinic based on Sharia law opened its doors yesterday. “The policlinic will strictly abide by Sharia law by observing, above all, gender differences in its services,” said Anna Kisko, a spokesperson for the health network responsible for the facility. The new centre women will be served by female specialists; men by male specialists, spokesperson Anna

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from the Times News Network (India)Finance minister Chidambaram candidly admitted that government was tracking at least one case of suspected terror-stained money on the bourses. "Yes, recently one case has come to our notice. It is suspected that it may be linked to a person [Khalid bin Mahfouz] under watch. I cannot divulge further details." This sparked intense speculation and inquiries, but

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from Agence France-Presse (France)The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom urged the administration of President George W. Bush to raise the matter with Kuala Lumpur and "insist that immediate measures be taken to protect sacred sites and prevent further destruction." The commission said it was "concerned" by recent Malaysian government actions against the ethnic Indian

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from The Associated PressThe Asian Finance Bank, which is owned by Middle Eastern financial institutions, started operations in January in Malaysia. It was the third foreign Islamic bank to set up shop in the country. It said in a statement that its entry into Indonesia underscored its long-term strategy to have full representation in the region. There is great potential in Indonesia's Islamic

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by Allison Krant from The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (US: Washington DC)The National Petroleum Council (NPC) report came two years after Defense Secretary Robert Gates, then president of Texas A&M University, led a team of former White House officials in an exercise to simulate a presidential cabinet that would deal with the expected economic and security consequences of an

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by William Matthews from Defense News (US: Virginia)The department notified Congress on Dec. 4 of proposed sales of missile defense systems to Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates and upgrades to UAE radar planes. In all, the sales would be worth about $10.8 billion ... Separating the missile defense system sales and the E-2 upgrades from the precision bomb kits probably increases their chance for

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-41072937533167328582007-12-06T04:15:00.000-04:002007-12-06T04:19:18.049-04:00

by Joel Mowbray from The Washington Times (US: Washington DC)As head of consular affairs at the State Department, Maura Harty oversaw passports, administration of embassies and consulates, and, most important, visas. It was in visa policy where she continued the path blazed by her predecessor, Mary Ryan, who had made it easier than ever in countries around the world for foreigners to receive

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-8405310455303658842007-12-06T03:51:00.001-04:002007-12-06T03:51:33.375-04:00

by Ruth Gledhill from The Times (UK)The young woman, aged 32, whose father is a Muslim imam in the north of England, has moved house 45 times to escape detection by her family since she became a Christian 15 years ago. Hannah, who uses a pseudonym to hide her identity, told The Times how she became a Christian after she ran away from home at 16 to escape an arranged marriage. The threats against

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by Gwyneth Rees from The Daily Mail (UK)Nurses are being encouraged to spend valuable time turning around the beds of Muslim patients up to five times a day - so they can face Mecca. In a bid to promote cultural understanding, they are also expected to provide patients with running water so they can wash before prayer. And then, of course, they are required to turn the beds back around to return

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-4812834173510183752007-12-06T03:49:00.000-04:002007-12-06T03:50:18.859-04:00

by Ebtihal Mubarak from Arab News (Saudi Arabia)“In the Qatif Girl case they are accusing me of contacting the Human Rights Commission and the justice minister. This is absurd. I’m a Saudi lawyer. My authoritative source is the minister. Why am I blamed for contacting him?” said Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem. The prosecutor’s summons also lists an objection that Al-Lahem represented the rape victim after

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by Vijaya Cherian from Arabian Business (UAE)Dr. Riyadh Najm: We are the first in the Arab world and in the Middle East to adopt digital terrestrial transmission. That means all of our four radio and four TV programmes can be transmitted terrestrially apart from being broadcast via satellite ... This is one way of securing safe content to the conservative Saudi population ... We do realise the

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-65725558519234389862007-12-06T03:47:00.000-04:002007-12-06T03:48:22.635-04:00

by Anar Valiyev from The Jamestown Foundation (US: Washington, DC)It is very unlikely that non-militant Salafis would organize strong political organizations for several reasons. First of all, Salafis worldwide, and in Azerbaijan particularly, believe that Muslims should not engage in Western activities like conventional politics. Secondly, the Azerbaijan government would hardly allow Salafis to

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-1978122748877401392007-12-06T03:46:00.000-04:002007-12-06T03:47:14.545-04:00

from Arab News (Saudi Arabia)A Saudi man took advantage of the high demand for misyar brides and duped three men out of more than SR75,000, the daily Al-Riyadh reported yesterday. In Saudi Arabia, misyar works like this: A woman basically agrees in a binding Islamic marriage contract to be set up with certain material provisions (an apartment, a car, etc.) in exchange for living with a married

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by Arthur MacDonald from The Gulf Daily News (Bahrain)Speaking on the sidelines of the forum, global director of Dow Jones Islamic indices Rushdi Siddiqui said the industry would have to attract investors from outside the Islamic community to reach its true potential. "We have to decide whether the industry can move forward with strict Sharia-compliant screens on investment products or whether we

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from ReutersFuelled by oil, the worldwide Islamic finance sector is growing by 15 to 20% a year but needs more specialists, an accounting body said on Wednesday, launching the first global qualification in the field. The London-based Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) said the industry was worth between 150 and 250 billion pounds ($300-500 billion) and that its rapid growth had

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by Ibtihal Hassan from Reuters"Research shows there are more than 5,600 sites on the Internet promoting the ideology of al Qaeda," Khaled al-Faram told the Information Technology and National Security conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh. "There are some 900 news sites appearing every year, and despite the retreat of some media outlets specifically run by al Qaeda, extremist Web sites are

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from the Office of the Press Secretary (US: Washington DC)Q: On another issue of credibility in the Mideast, at the Annapolis summit, you used your influence to get Saudi Arabia to the table. But I wonder whether now you will use your influence to do something about the Saudi rape case that's gotten so much international attention. What goes through your mind when you hear about a 19-year-old

R Hamptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821094606661553840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096736644220755.post-13221098704668174302007-12-05T04:29:00.000-04:002007-12-05T04:34:51.267-04:00

by Abeer Mishkhas from The Guardian (UK)In Saudi Arabia it's understood that you can write in the papers about a sensitive issue until you are told not to, or until it appears too dangerous for the publication to go on. When it comes to official bodies, and especially the judiciary, you can only write in the most general terms. Even in editorials, writers have to be very careful about using

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