Professor fired for Israel criticism urges University of Illinois to reinstate him

Professor fired for Israel criticism urges University of Illinois to reinstate him

    Wednesday, September 10, 2014   No comments

Steven Salaita, a university professor whose appointment at the University of Illinois was withdrawn last month after he was critical of Israel on Twitter, spoke publicly for the first time on Tuesday, saying he should be reinstated on the grounds of academic freedom.

“I am a passionate advocate for equality, a fair and open-minded instructor, and highly collegial. No legitimate evidence exists for any claims or insinuations to the contrary, which have severely damaged any reputation and my prospects for future employment,” he said.

Salaita, a former tenured professor of English at Virginia Tech, accepted a faculty appointment at the University of Illinois in October 2013 to teach in the American Indian Studies program starting January 2014. But his appointment was revoked in early August, after Salaita posted to Twitter several messages criticising Israel.

“Only Israel can murder around 300 children in the span of a few weeks and insist that it is the victim,” said one. “If Netanyahu appeared on TV with a necklace made from the teeth of Palestinian children, would anybody be surprised,” asked another.

In explaining his dismissal, university officials described his comments as uncivil, saying they represented “disrespectful and demeaning speech that promotes malice”.

Since then, some academics have mounted a boycott of the university, saying it is not the institute’s place to dictate civil discourse. They also claim the university has become too beholden to wealthy donors who they say are informally dictating decisions involving hiring and tenure. Internal emails surfaced last week that suggested the university’s decision to drop Salaita was motivated by threats from wealthy donors.

“‘Civility’ is the new banner of what is expected on college campuses and it’s a frightening reality for those of us who have to figure out what it is to teach under that banner flying over our campuses,” said Robert Warrior, chairman of the American Indian Studies program, who is fighting to get Salaita reinstated.

Late last month, university trustees released a statement saying that Salaita was rejected for the inflammatory nature of his Twitter posts, not his views. “There can be no place for that in our democracy, and therefore, there will be no place for it in our university,” chairman Christopher Kennedy wrote.

However, emails published on Wednesday by the News-Gazette in Champaign-Urbana showed donors threatened to withdraw their financial support if Salaita’s hiring was approved. 

read more >>

Qatar and political power is leveraged by media and Islamism

Qatar and political power is leveraged by media and Islamism

    Monday, September 08, 2014   No comments

Qatar and political power is leveraged by media and Islamism

CAIRO — Standing at the front of a conference hall in Doha, the visiting sheikh told his audience of wealthy Qataris that to help the battered residents of Syria, they should not bother with donations to humanitarian programs or the Western-backed Free Syrian Army.

“Give your money to the ones who will spend it on jihad, not aid,” implored the sheikh, Hajaj al-Ajmi, recently identified by the United States government as a fund-raiser for Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate.

Qatar is a tiny, petroleum-rich Persian Gulf monarchy where the United States has its largest military base in the Middle East. But for years it has tacitly consented to open fund-raising by Sheikh Ajmi and others like him. After his pitch, which he recorded in 2012 and which still circulates on the Internet, a sportscaster from the government-owned network, Al Jazeera, lauded him. “Sheikh Ajmi knows best” about helping Syrians, the sportscaster, Mohamed Sadoun El-Kawary, declared from the same stage.

Sheikh Ajmi’s career as fund-raiser is one example of how Qatar has for many years helped support a spectrum of Islamist groups around the region by providing safe haven, diplomatic mediation, financial aid and, in certain instances, weapons.

...

Propelling the barrage of accusations against Qatar is a regional contest for power in which competing Persian Gulf monarchies have backed opposing proxies in contested places like Gaza, Libya and especially Egypt. In Egypt, Qatar and its Al Jazeera network backed the former government led by politicians of the Muslim Brotherhood. Other gulf monarchies long despised the Brotherhood because they saw it as a well-organized force that could threaten their power at home, and they backed the military takeover that removed the Islamist president.
 

...

read more >>

You Can't Understand ISIS If You Don't Know the History of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia

You Can't Understand ISIS If You Don't Know the History of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia

    Sunday, September 07, 2014   No comments

The dramatic arrival of Da'ish (ISIS) on the stage of Iraq has shocked many in the West. Many have been perplexed -- and horrified -- by its violence and its evident magnetism for Sunni youth. But more than this, they find Saudi Arabia's ambivalence in the face of this manifestation both troubling and inexplicable, wondering, "Don't the Saudis understand that ISIS threatens them, too?"

It appears -- even now -- that Saudi Arabia's ruling elite is divided. Some applaud that ISIS is fighting Iranian Shiite "fire" with Sunni "fire"; that a new Sunni state is taking shape at the very heart of what they regard as a historical Sunni patrimony; and they are drawn by Da'ish's strict Salafist ideology.

Other Saudis are more fearful, and recall the history of the revolt against Abd-al Aziz by the Wahhabist Ikhwan (Disclaimer: this Ikhwan has nothing to do with the Muslim Brotherhood Ikhwan -- please note, all further references hereafter are to the Wahhabist Ikhwan, and not to the Muslim Brotherhood Ikhwan), but which nearly imploded Wahhabism and the al-Saud in the late 1920s.

Many Saudis are deeply disturbed by the radical doctrines of Da'ish (ISIS) -- and are beginning to question some aspects of Saudi Arabia's direction and discourse.

THE SAUDI DUALITY

Saudi Arabia's internal discord and tensions over ISIS can only be understood by grasping the inherent (and persisting) duality that lies at the core of the Kingdom's doctrinal makeup and its historical origins.

One dominant strand to the Saudi identity pertains directly to Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab (the founder of Wahhabism), and the use to which his radical, exclusionist puritanism was put by Ibn Saud. (The latter was then no more than a minor leader -- amongst many -- of continually sparring and raiding Bedouin tribes in the baking and desperately poor deserts of the Nejd.)

The second strand to this perplexing duality, relates precisely to King Abd-al Aziz's subsequent shift towards statehood in the 1920s: his curbing of Ikhwani violence (in order to have diplomatic standing as a nation-state with Britain and America); his institutionalization of the original Wahhabist impulse -- and the subsequent seizing of the opportunely surging petrodollar spigot in the 1970s, to channel the volatile Ikhwani current away from home towards export -- by diffusing a cultural revolution, rather than violent revolution throughout the Muslim world.

But this "cultural revolution" was no docile reformism. It was a revolution based on Abd al-Wahhab's Jacobin-like hatred for the putrescence and deviationism that he perceived all about him -- hence his call to purge Islam of all its heresies and idolatries.

read more >>

Eleven Planes Missing From Tripoli Airport After It Was Taken by Islamic Rebels

Eleven Planes Missing From Tripoli Airport After It Was Taken by Islamic Rebels

    Thursday, September 04, 2014   No comments

ISR; Libya: Here is what happened when NATO and Qatar used their resources to overthrow the Libyan dictator without a plan for the day after.

Not that Syria is much better, but this could be Syria too if Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the so-called "Friends of Syria" had their way and bombed the Syrian regime last September; the caliph of ISIL would have reclaimed the seat of the caliphate of the Umayyads and he would have an air force that extends his reach to first seat of the caliphate: Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

 Libyan Islamist rebels pose with planes seized from Tripoli airport as U.S. officials warn they could be used to carry out terrorist attack on 9/11 anniversary





 Tripoli International Airport was being run by two anti-Islamist militias and had been closed since mid-July when it was taken over at the end of August by the group Libyan Dawn.

Pictures show the aftermath of the firefight, with planes completely or partially blasted and several littered with bullet holes.

Tripoli is witnessing one of its worst spasms of violence since Gaddaffi left power. The militias, many of which originate from rebel forces that fought Gaddaffi, became powerful players in post-war Libya, filling a void left by weak police and a shattered army.

Successive governments have put militias on their payroll in return for maintaining order, but rivalries over control and resources have led to fierce fighting among them and posed a constant challenge to the central government and a hoped-for transition to democracy.

On Sunday,  the Libyan government announced that they had lost control of the capital.

Ansar al-Sharia has ties to the Islamic State (also known as ISIS), the Syrian group which today released the filmed beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff - the second recorded execution of a U.S. hostage by the group.

Read more >>

Libya in Chaos: Vijay Prashad on Rise of Islamist Militias & Bloody Legacy of 2011 U.S. Intervention

Libya in Chaos: Vijay Prashad on Rise of Islamist Militias & Bloody Legacy of 2011 U.S. Intervention

    Wednesday, September 03, 2014   No comments

Islamist militants in Libya say they have solidified control of the capital Tripoli after taking over the main airport and ousting rival militias. Libya is facing its worst violence since the U.S.-backed ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. To talk more about Libya, we are joined by Vijay Prashad, professor of international studies at Trinity College. He is the author of several books, including Arab Spring, Libyan Winter.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman. Islamist militants in Libya say they’ve solidified control of the capital Tripoli after taking over the main airport and ousting rival militias. Libya is facing its worst violence since the U.S.-backed ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

To talk more about Libya, we’re joined by Vijay Prashad in part two of our interview. Professor of international studies at Trinity College, he’s the author of a number of books, including Arab Spring, Libyan Winter and his most recent, The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South.

Welcome to Democracy Now!, Vijay. Talk about what’s happening in Libya today.

read more >>

To impose their wahhabi interpretation of Islam, Saudi rulers, following the footsteps of ISIL, could destroy the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad and remove his body to an anonymous grave

To impose their wahhabi interpretation of Islam, Saudi rulers, following the footsteps of ISIL, could destroy the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad and remove his body to an anonymous grave

    Tuesday, September 02, 2014   No comments

Abd al-Wahhab

One of Islam’s most revered holy sites – the tomb of the Prophet Mohamed – could be destroyed and his body removed to an anonymous grave under plans which threaten to spark discord across the Muslim world.

The controversial proposals are part of a consultation document by a leading Saudi academic which has been circulated among the supervisors of al-Masjid al-Nabawi mosque in Medina, where the remains of the Prophet are housed under the Green Dome, visited by millions of pilgrims and venerated as Islam’s second-holiest site. The formal custodian of the mosque is Saudi Arabia’s ageing monarch King Abdullah.

The plans, brought to light by another Saudi academic who has exposed and criticised the destruction of holy places and artefacts in Mecca – the holiest site in the Muslim world – call for the destruction of chambers around the Prophet’s grave which are particularly venerated by Shia Muslims.

Read more >>

Rival second Libyan assembly chooses own PM as chaos spreads

Rival second Libyan assembly chooses own PM as chaos spreads

    Tuesday, August 26, 2014   No comments

By Feras Bosalum and Ulf Laessing

The Libyan parliament that was replaced in an election in June reconvened on Monday and chose an Islamist-backed deputy as the new prime minister, leaving the chaotic country with two rival leaders and assemblies, each backed by armed factions.

As political unrest mounted, U.S. officials said two series of air strikes in the past week on armed Islamist factions in the capital, Tripoli, were the work of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.


The officials said the two countries, both of which have cracked down on Islamists, used aircraft based in Egypt and acted without consulting Washington. The details were first reported by the New York Times.

Egypt has denied conducting air strikes or other military operations in Libya.

At a meeting of Libya's neighbours on Monday in Cairo, Libya appealed for international protection of its oilfields and airports, saying it lacked the power to stop armed groups.

read more >>

Can a religious/ethnic state be democratic? Can a religious state be anything but genocidal?

Can a religious/ethnic state be democratic? Can a religious state be anything but genocidal?

    Tuesday, August 26, 2014   No comments

 




Can a religious/ethnic state be democratic? Can a religious state be anything but genocidal?
Are there "small potatoes" and "big potatoes' in the context of genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes, ...

German minister accuses Qatar of funding Islamic State fighters

German minister accuses Qatar of funding Islamic State fighters

    Sunday, August 24, 2014   No comments

German Development Minister Gerd Mueller accused Qatar on Wednesday of financing Islamic State militants who have seized wide areas of northern Iraq and have posted a video of a captive American journalist being beheaded.

"This kind of conflict, this kind of a crisis always has a history ... The ISIS troops, the weapons - these are lost sons, with some of them from Iraq," Mueller told German public broadcaster ZDF.

"You have to ask who is arming, who is financing ISIS troops. The keyword there is Qatar - and how do we deal with these people and states politically?" said Mueller, a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the center-right Bavarian sister party of Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats.

Mueller did not elaborate and presented no evidence of a Qatari link to Islamic State. A German government spokesman said he was checking whether Mueller's remarks reflected the official view of Berlin.

Officials at the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, a wealthy Gulf Arab state, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on his accusation.

Qatar has denied that it supports Islamist insurgents in Syria and Iraq. Diplomats and opposition sources say that while Qatar supports relatively moderate rebels also backed by Saudi Arabia and the West, it also has backed more hardline factions seeking to set up a strict Islamic state.

read more >>

Also read:

America's Allies Are Funding ISIS

Qatar condemns Islamic State and rejects funding accusations

Saudis Must Stop Exporting Extremism; ISIS Atrocities Started With Saudi Support for Salafi Hate

Saudis Must Stop Exporting Extremism; ISIS Atrocities Started With Saudi Support for Salafi Hate

    Saturday, August 23, 2014   No comments

Founder of Wahhabism

ALONG with a billion Muslims across the globe, I turn to Mecca in Saudi Arabia every day to say my prayers. But when I visit the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, the resting place of the Prophet Muhammad, I am forced to leave overwhelmed with anguish at the power of extremism running amok in Islam’s birthplace. Non-Muslims are forbidden to enter this part of the kingdom, so there is no international scrutiny of the ideas and practices that affect the 13 million Muslims who visit each year.

Last week, Saudi Arabia donated $100 million to the United Nations to fund a counterterrorism agency. This was a welcome contribution, but last year, Saudi Arabia rejected a rotating seat on the United Nations Security Council. This half-in, half-out posture of the Saudi kingdom is a reflection of its inner paralysis in dealing with Sunni Islamist radicalism: It wants to stop violence, but will not address the Salafism that helps justify it.

Let’s be clear: Al Qaeda, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Boko Haram, the Shabab and others are all violent Sunni Salafi groupings. For five decades, Saudi Arabia has been the official sponsor of Sunni Salafism across the globe.

Most Sunni Muslims around the world, approximately 90 percent of the Muslim population, are not Salafis. Salafism is seen as too rigid, too literalist, too detached from mainstream Islam. While Shiite and other denominations account for 10 percent of the total, Salafi adherents and other fundamentalists represent 3 percent of the world’s Muslims.
Unlike a majority of Sunnis, Salafis are evangelicals who wish to convert Muslims and others to their “purer” form of Islam — unpolluted, as they see it, by modernity. In this effort, they have been lavishly supported by the Saudi government, which has appointed emissaries to its embassies in Muslim countries who proselytize for Salafism. The kingdom also grants compliant imams V.I.P. access for the annual hajj, and bankrolls ultraconservative Islamic organizations like the Muslim World League and World Assembly of Muslim Youth.

read more >>