Islamic Societies Review WEEKLY

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Silent Salafists Of Indonesia-Post Arab Spring

Wednesday, March 13, 2013 No comments

By Vinay Kumar Pathak

The Salafi political activism in the post Arab Spring Muslim World could have been a source of inspiration for the local Salafi movements in Southeast Asia in particular Indonesia, the world’s most populated Muslim country. Yet the winds of the Arab Spring never did blow across Indonesia although certain socio political and economic realities were similar between the Arab world during the Arab Spring and Indonesia during the period of the New Order (1966-98) under Soeharto. However the end of authoritarianism lead to the era reformasi, which was integral in the democratization of Indonesia. Ever since the fall of Soeharto, Indonesia has continued on this path of democratization that also includes accommodating various voices including that of Islamist movements.

At the same time socio religious movements such as the Muhammadiyah and the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) continue to be pivotal in balancing the role of State and religion in the country. Hence, an imperative reason why the Arab Spring did not resonate with the Islamist factions and most importantly with the people was because Indonesians to begin with have largely accepted the values of Pancasila, they have access to important socio religious institutions such as the NU and the Muhammadiyah which are lacking in the Arab world and the socio political and economic climate of the Arab world and Indonesia was very different during the period of the Arab Spring (2010-2012).

Monday, March 11, 2013

Christians, police clash in Pakistan after Muslim mob burns homes of minority religious group

Monday, March 11, 2013 No comments

LAHORE, Pakistan — Hundreds of Christians clashed with police across Pakistan on Sunday, a day after a Muslim mob burned dozens of homes owned by members of the minority religious group in retaliation for alleged insults against Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.

Christians are often the target of Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws, which rights activists say are frequently used to persecute religious minorities or settle personal disputes. Politicians have been reluctant to reform the laws for fear of being attacked by religious radicals, as has happened in the past.

Saturday, March 09, 2013

Three killed in Cairo as violence rages after Port Said verdict

Saturday, March 09, 2013 No comments

Three protesters have been killed and reportedly 65 injured in Cairo as outraged crowds protest both in the Egyptian capital and the city of Port Said over the latest verdict on the deadly Port Said stadium riot in February 2012.

Security sources have reported that the protester died from the effects of tear gas. Meanwhile, Ahram Online puts the number of dead at three, saying an 8 year-old boy was among them. It says the other two were killed by birdshot during the clashes.

The number of injured also differs with the majority of sources reporting about 15 people and Reuters putting the figure at 65.

The verdict, broadcast live from the courtroom, was initially cheered by fans of Cairo's Al-Ahly team.

"First we were happy when we heard the 21 death sentences," one fan told AFP news agency.

"We were cheering and didn't hear the rest of the verdict. Then we were very angry."

An Egyptian court has confirmed Saturday the death sentences for 21 football fans involved in the fatal riots in Port Said in 2012, in which most victims were supporters of the Cairo team.

It also sentenced five other suspects to life in jail and 10 others to 15-year terms, including the city’s security chief Esam Samak.

US and Europe in 'major airlift of arms to Syrian rebels through Zagreb'

Saturday, March 09, 2013 No comments

The United States has coordinated a massive airlift of arms to Syrian rebels from Croatia with the help of Britain and other European states, despite the continuing European Union arms embargo, it was claimed yesterday.

Decisions by William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, to provide non-lethal assistance and training, announced in the past week, were preceded by much greater though less direct Western involvement in the rebel cause, according to a Croat newspaper.

It claimed 3,000 tons of weapons dating back to the former Yugoslavia have been sent in 75 planeloads from Zagreb airport to the rebels, largely via Jordan since November.

The story confirmed the origins of ex-Yugoslav weapons seen in growing numbers in rebel hands in online videos, as described last month by The Daily Telegraph and other newspapers, but suggests far bigger quantities than previously suspected.

Goodbye Chavez

Saturday, March 09, 2013 No comments

Inside the casket, the former leader was wearing olive green military dress, a black tie and his signature red beret. He had a red sash across his torso, with the word ‘militia’ on it – the name of the 120,000-strong force which he created.

The government estimated the turnout figure to be around the 2 million mark in a country with a population of 29 million. Many kept a nighttime vigil.

Chavez’s body was transported seven hour procession on Wednesday from the hospital where he died to its current resting place. The official funeral took place on Friday, but the announcement that he is to be embalmed has surprised many, only hours before it was planned to occur. Maduro said that the demand to see the deceased leader was far too great to ignore.

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell adamant that al-Qaida suspect Suleiman Abu Ghaith be interrogated at Guántanamo

Saturday, March 09, 2013 No comments

The White House clashed with Republicans on Friday over the decision to prosecute Osama bin Laden's son-in-law in a civil court in New York rather than holding him at Guantánamo.

The Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, accused Barack Obama of putting his desire to close Guantánamo ahead of the country's security needs. The decision denied the intelligence community the opportunity to interrogate Suleiman Abu Ghaith to obtain information about possible harm to the US, McConnell claimed.

But the White House spokesman Josh Earnest brushed aside McConnell's claim. "With all due respect, that's not the assessment of the intelligence community," Earnest said.

The row came as Abu Ghaith appeared in a US federal court on Friday to plead not guilty to a charge of conspiring to kill Americans. During a 15-minute arraignment hearing at the southern district court in lower Manhattan, close to where the September 11 attacks took place in 2001, Abu Ghaith spoke only to confirm that he understood his rights.

Friday, March 08, 2013

Mo Sabri: I Believe in Jesus

Friday, March 08, 2013 No comments

“This ain’t a song about bottles in the club / This is about a role model filled with love. / A teacher, a preacher, with guidance from above.” So begins the rap song “I Believe in Jesus” by Mo Sabri, a Muslim from Johnson City, Tennesee.

Sabri introduces the song’s music video with:

The angels said, ‘O Mary, indeed God gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name shall be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary.’ (Quran 3:45)

Here’s a hip video, by a nice young gentleman wearing a starched shirt and a tie, about a radical commitment to following Jesus with one’s life, not just in words. Sabri’s isn’t a mushy attempt to paint Jesus as just a “nice guy” like the rest of us.

Instead Sabri sings about human weakness and sin, and our need for Jesus. He identifies Jesus as:

The son of a virgin, they say it is illogical,

probably improbable, but God made it possible.

Gabriel told Mary that her son would be phenomenal,

His voice was always audible, the opposite of prodigal,

He overcame the obstacles, people attacking him.

He was a walking hospital, with heathen he was compassionate.

He healed the sick, raised the dead. Shout out to Lazarus.

I’m talkin’ about Jesus of Nazareth.

US-funded special police commandos who ran a network of torture centres in Iraq

Friday, March 08, 2013 No comments

A 15-month investigation by the Guardian and BBC Arabic reveals how retired US colonel James Steele, a veteran of American proxy wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua, played a key role in training and overseeing US-funded special police commandos who ran a network of torture centres in Iraq. Another special forces veteran, Colonel James Coffman, worked with Steele and reported directly to General David Petraeus, who had been sent into Iraq to organise the Iraqi security services.

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Thursday, March 07, 2013

Turkish parliamentary delegation visit Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

Thursday, March 07, 2013 No comments

A parliamentary delegation from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) paid a visit to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday, Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported.

The delegation reportedly held talks on the war-torn country and the CHP's support for the Syrian regime. SANA reported that the CHP delegation, which was headed by Hatay deputy Hasan Akgöl, “expressed the Turkish people's rejection of interfering in Syria's internal affairs and keenness on establishing good neighborly relations.”

In reply to the CHP delegation's words, Assad reportedly underlined the “necessity of differentiating between the stances of the Turkish people in support of Syria's stability and the stances of Erdoğan's government which insists on supporting terrorism and extremism and on destabilizing the region.”

Previously, another CHP delegation visited Assad in 2012 and expressed its support for the Syrian regime. The delegation played an active role in securing the release of Turkish journalist Cüneyt Ünal, who was captured by government forces in Syria and released in November with the help of CHP lawmakers.

The visit took place just days after a fight broke among Turkish members of the parliament over the handling of the Syrian crisis. Read more about this >>

Syria world's top destination for jihadists, says William Hague, as aid promised

Thursday, March 07, 2013 No comments

Syria has become the "top destination for jihadists" across the world, William Hague said on Wednesday, announcing that Britain will give the opposition "non-lethal" military equipment for the first time.

The Foreign Secretary promised another £13 million of British help for opponents of President Bashar al-Assad, on top of £9.4 million already committed.

While no weapons or ammunition will be supplied, Britain has secured an amendment of the European Union arms embargo to allow the provision of certain kinds of military equipment.

In particular, armoured cars and body armour will now be given to the opposition. "Our policy has to move towards more active efforts to prevent the loss of life in Syria and this means stepping up our support to the opposition," said Mr Hague in the Commons. The aim was to increase the "pressure on the regime to accept a political solution".

Mr Hague's statement came as the United Nations confirmed that 20 peacekeepers from the Philippines had been detained by armed fighters in a Syrian-controlled area of the Golan Heights. A video posted on the internet showed the gunmen, claiming to be Syrian rebels, standing next to UN-marked vehicles.