Ali Gator

Monday, October 17, 2011

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Women's News October 15, 2011

An Iranian actress, who appeared in a movie criticizing Iran, may get a year in jail and 90 lashes. The movie is also banned in Iran.

Nice opinion column by a female Saudi journalist, on The role of women in the Shoura Council.

Information about female genital mutilation. Several Islamic countries have issued fatwas banning it.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Iranian Plot Against Saudi Arabia: Update I

More about this confusing plot, which Iran says it is "an American-Zionist plot." The US has put sanctions on Mahan Air (an Iranian airline that flew operatives), and wants to sanction the Central Bank of Iran.

One of my friends initially wondered if this was another US entrapment-style capture of an alleged terrorist (like too many of the "terrorist plots" have turned out to be). According to Juan Cole, that may be what happened.

Let the Iran-bashing ramp up, just like the Iraq-bashing did before we invaded. After all, the US is moving troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Iranian Plot Against Saudi Arabia

Weird news yesterday about a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador, and maybe even bomb the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington, D.C. Iran is supposedly behind the plot. Considering the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, it doesn't really surprise me. But to actually do this on US soil seems a bit bold, maybe even an act of war to some politicians.

Juan Cole has more on the situation - that the Iranians behind it may be running a drug cartel. And the evidence he cites is convincing: if it was government sanctioned, then it was pretty sloppy work.

Of course, that brings up the topic of why is the US government claiming it's Iran if it's really a rogue agent? Because of US friendship with the Saudis? The Saudi's are very upset and want some kind of action taken. So is this just another rung on the ladder of "We really need to do something about Iran?" Will it be easier for the Israelis to possibly bomb Iranian nuclear plants after this?

Monday, October 10, 2011

Friday, October 7, 2011

Yemeni Laureate

Congratulations to Tawakul Karman of Yemen, one of 3 women to win the Nobel Peace Prize this year!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

YemenWatch: Thursday October 6, 2011

Interesting article in The Week about how Yemen may be turning into a "Somalia." IRIN is also reporting similar problems for Yemen.

Yemeni-Americans in the US state of Michigan are holding a solidarity rally tomorrow for a free Yemen.

Ta'iz is under attack by government forces, and 8 people were killed.

Government forces in Sana'a seem to be preparing for the next protest and shelling killed a child.

More fighting in Abyan province between the military and the AQAP-linked group. US drones killed 5 members of either them or AQAP itself.

A Yemeni general is saying that Western nations have cut counter terrorism aid to Yemen, as the protests have progressed.

And, of course, AQAP is claiming that Al-Awlaki is alive.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Women's News October 3, 2011

Women in the eastern Turkish province of Van are committing suicide. There have been 22 deaths so far in 2011. Women's associations are very alarmed and worried about reports of incest. And some of the deaths may not be suicides, but homicides. Most of these women were only 18 or 19 years old.

Bahrain has 3 newly elected women MPs, bringing the total up to 4 out of 40 in Parliament, and 11 out of 40 in the Shura council. This is a big step for female equality: 10% of Parliament and 27% of Shura.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Saudi Arabia Craziness: Update I

Remember the Saudi woman sentenced to 10 lashes? King Abdullah has decided to overturn that sentence. Maybe one day women will be able to freely drive in Saudi Arabia.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Al-Awlaki Dead!

Terrorist Anwar Al-Awlaki has been killed in Yemen. His convoy in Al-Jawf province was targeted by drones. So far I haven't found any articles on the Yemen news sites (and I can't connect to Twitter).

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Saudi Arabia Craziness

At first I was excited because the King decided to allow women to vote! How 21st century of him. They can even run for office. And even join the Shura council. Of course, this doesn't start until 2015, so there's plenty of time to backtrack on it.

So first I'm excited, then disappointed. Because a woman has been sentenced to 10 lashes with a whip, for breaking the law - the driving law! I guess if a woman can drive on her own, then it's harder to keep an eye on her. And we all know that if you don't keep an eye on a woman, she'll get into all sorts of trouble (yes, this is sarcasm).

Monday, September 26, 2011

Friday, September 23, 2011

Ground Zero Mosque Opens!

The mosque at "Ground Zero" has finally opened. Of course, it's not only a mosque - it's a multi-religious center. Everyone is welcome. The current photographic exhibit is by a Jewish photographer. Maybe now that it is open, its detractors will realize that all Muslims are not terrorists. That the Islamic Center is actually good for the neighborhood. We'll see.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

UAE Detains Activists

Several political activists in the United Arab Emirates are being detained, after signing a petition for free elections and other changes to the UAE. The UAE is having national elections on September 24th, and Human Rights Watch and other organizations are asking for the release of the activists before that.

Hikers Freed!

After almost two years in an Iranian prison, the two American hikers have been freed. They were flown to Oman today, and will then continue their journey home. Their release comes after paying bail money of $500,000 each, provided by the state of Oman.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Palestinian Statehood

This week Palestinians will ask the United Nations to recognize Palestine as a state. And everybody is freaking out. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is asking Palestinian Authority President Abbas for talks, instead of the UN bid. But Abbas is determined to go through with the bid. Some Israeli settlers are already protesting against any Palestinian state. Israeli President Peres is talking to the leaders of various countries, asking them to oppose the bid, and Netanyahu is on his way to New York.

I'm not sure where I stand on this issue. On the one hand, declaring a new state could seriously undermine any peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis. Some Israelis are worried about an "ethnic cleansing" removing Jews from a new Palestine (I guess they've forgotten about the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians).

On the other hand, the peace process hasn't really worked so far anyway. And maybe if there was a Palestinian state, it would be harder for Israel to continue illegally blockading parts of it. I wonder if that is part of the problem. Right now, Israel can claim to fight evil Palestinian terrorists who live nearby. But if Palestine becomes a state, then Israel would be fighting another nation. In some ways it would legitimize Palestinian attacks on Israel and delegitimize Israel "responses." It will be interesting to see what happens this week.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Thursday, September 15, 2011

YemenWatch: Thursday September 15, 2011

The UN is worried about civil war in Yemen, as well as human rights abuses. They should be worried.

According to the Yemen Post, Saudi Arabia is sending tanks into Yemen to help President Saleh's regime.

More fighting in Sana'a as republican guards shelled the Hassaba district, home to Sheikh Sadeq Al-Ahmer, a leader of the tribal confederation fighting Saleh.

Military strikes at Arhab, outside Sana'a, killed civilians.

Protesters in Taiz were fired upon, and gassed.

There were explosions in Aden, resulting in at least one death, and another explosion in Dhamar province.

Yemeni forces freed Zinjubar and Ja'ar from AQAP control. (These were two of the cities declared Islamic emirates by AQAP militias.) Saleh and the army general who defected (Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar) are both claiming the victory and blaming the other for supporting AQAP.

The Yemeni rights group HOOD is calling for an arms embargo against Yemen, especially for Russia to stop supplying weapons.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Islamophobia in Oklahoma

Trust Oklahoma to be near the front of this. Last year voters in Oklahoma passed a law that would prohibit Oklahoma judges from recognizing international law, and specifically, Islamic law, in their rulings. A lawsuit was filed against it, and a federal court is currently looking into the matter.

Here are some of the problems. First of all, Shariah is not taking over the USA!!! But a lot of people think it is. Secondly, if Muslims try to make a contract or something according to Islamic law, maybe even their wills, then that could be in jeopardy.

And for Americans who think this couldn't possible affect them? Well, what if two Jews wanted a contract that followed Jewish law? Right now it would be legal. But if Shariah is "banned" then what about Judaic law? I've even heard radio advertisements for investment houses that follow biblical (Christian) law. How can you allow some religious law, but not ALL religious law? I know - maybe we should just go ahead and ban all religious law! Because I don't want "those kinds of people" taking over my country.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Terrorism Paranoia

Let the paranoia begin! Two different planes had to be escorted to their cities by military jets. Apparently there were suspicious people in the bathrooms. It turns out, some people have stomach problems. So far, no terrorism.

Edit: More information about the plane escorted to Detroit. One of the "suspicious" people was a woman with Muslim-colored skin.

Edit2: And even more info about the incident, and a little about the other planes with problems.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Sunday, September 11, 2011

9-11-2011

Great article from Wired: How to Beat Terrorism: Refuse to Be Terrorized.

Looks like I'm not the only one saying it. Now if the American people would just realize what's happening.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

So, tomorrow is September 11th . . .

The American media seems to have decided to make this a 9-11 Weekend. It's a little disturbing. There are 9-11 programs on television and even a website where you can write down what you will be doing to commemorate the event. I have to say, I find it a bit bizarre.

Do you want to know what I will be doing to "commemorate" 9-11? Absolutely nothing. While I am sad for the people who died, I refuse to commemorate a terrorist attack. I will go about my business, as usual, because otherwise, the terrorists have won. America has gone from an open and free country to a country that fears Muslims and takes away civil liberties with the Patriot Act. We've gone from a country with admittedly lax air security to a country that makes you take off your shoes and practically get molested to board an airplane.

Maybe I'm different from most Americans because I grew up in the Middle East. I remember flying during the heyday of plane bombings and hijackings in Europe. I even remember dates other than 9-11 such as February 26, 1993. That's the date the World Trade Center was bombed, by foreign terrorists, with backing from Khaled Sheikh Mohammed. But very few people died, so we don't remember that day. I remember. I remember because after that, I kept expecting another foreign terrorist attack. I was surprised it didn't happen until 2001.

I have a few more dates I'd like to throw out here. Let's start with the big one, which most Americans under the age of 50 don't remember anymore. "A day that will live in infamy," December 7, 1941. That's when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the US entered World War II.

Or, how about April 19, 1995. That was domestic terrorism - the Oklahoma City bombing. But less than 200 people died and the terrorist was quickly tried and executed, so I guess we can forget about that.

How about something more recent? August 23, 2005. That's Hurricane Katrina. Almost 2,000 people died. But that was just a natural disaster, not a planned terror attack.

The Middle East Institute blog has a good post that explains some of the reasons behind the 9-11 commemorations. I guess the major point is that America has seen terrorism as something that happens "over there." It certainly doesn't happen on our shores. And if it does, it's one of us who did it. Not those foreigners. So 9-11 was a major shock to most Americans.

Anyway, I hope this post doesn't come across as bashing the 9-11 commemorations. I may disagree with them, but I do agree that the attacks were horrible and I feel sad for those who lost family and friends in them. But this huge commemorative weekend just strikes me as wrong. You can go online to see the 9/11 Memorial.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Free Press in Libya

This article is a few weeks old, but encouraging. As rebels take over Libya, a free press is emerging there. Let's hope is lasts. (h/t @jessradio)

Thursday, September 8, 2011

YemenWatch: Thursday September 8, 2011

If you read nothing else in this post, please check out Wal al-Waq's Yemen Update to see what's going.

Interesting article on media coverage of Yemen. Are the protestors being forgotten as the US focuses on AQAP? Journalists in Yemen are still being attacked. CPJ Report 1, Report 2. RSF Report.

It looks like the GCC-sponsored plan for Yemen may be working. I guess it's hard to rule a country when AQAP is running around undermining everything and everyone.

The French ambassador in Yemen has left, but supposedly it's only because his time was up.

More fighting in Abyan province, in which a hospital and mosque were hit. AQAP militants took over a town in Shabwa province. These militants appear to be calling themselves Ansar al Shariah.

Also fighting and looting in Aden. Fighting in Taiz.

The Minister of Trade and Industry is denying reports that Yemen is running low on food supplies.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Women's News September 7, 2011

Several articles out of Jordan:

A Jordanian woman was killed by her father after she gave birth in the hospital. He killed her because she was a widow, and therefore shouldn't have been pregnant. Yes, honor killings still happen.

A Bangladeshi woman is accusing her boss of rape, at a garment plant in Jordan. He is claiming that she's lying, and a company director said it's a plot to send jobs to America.

Some female Nobel Laureates are asking the president of South Africa to appoint a different chief justice of the Constitutional Court. They say his current pick would be bad for women, citing his rulings in rape cases.

It's very disturbing to see how many parts of the world still don't see women as equals. And I specifically mean that in regards to rape. Even in the United States, there is a stigma attached to rape, and women who have been raped may feel like they did something wrong.

If I am robbed and beaten up while walking home, everyone is on my side, and I can talk about it. But if a women is raped while walking home, she may be too ashamed to mention it. And if she does, some people will blame her for not taking better precautions or for wearing the wrong clothes. In some countries she could even face death from an honor killing, because she had sex before marriage - even though it's rape! At some point, men must realize that their honor is not tied to a woman's sexuality. Maybe then women will be equal to men.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Sunday, September 4, 2011

American Islamic Websites

I found a few websites that I like, so here they are:

My Fellow American - This website is devoted to showing how Muslims in America are just as American as anyone else. (Facebook)

Islamophobia Today - This site is a project of Americans Against Islamophobia. It discusses news and blog stories that have an anti-Muslim bias.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Profiling in America

Profiling in America has become a huge mess. On the one hand, you have people who think that it should be okay to profile someone because of their race or religion. For example: subjecting young Muslim men to more scrutiny in regards to terrorism. On the other hand, you have people who say it's counter-productive and unconstitutional. I stand in the middle on this subject. It does violate the US Constitution. But does it work?

I worked with a former police officer, who told me about staking out the airport to look for people who had outstanding warrants. They looked for a specific type of person with certain tattoos and manner of dress. And they picked up a lot of people who had warrants that way. The problem comes in when you stop looking at tattoos or clothes, which can be chosen, and look at skin color or religion. If you want to profile a gang member in some areas, it may be a young black man wearing certain colors or types of clothes. In other areas it may be Hispanic men. And that is considered racial profiling. And it's illegal. If you want to profile a terrorist, it's probably young Muslim men, with brown skin. And that is also racial/religious profiling.

The Constitution guarantees equality for all men, but sometimes that's not how it really works out. If you're a young black man in baggy pants, there are people who will automatically think you're in a gang or selling drugs. Even if you're really just a student. If you have brown skin and a name like Muhammad, there are people who think you're a terrorist or at the very least trying to impose Sharia law on Americans.

Slate has a very interesting article on the subject of profiling terrorists. It seems as though the American Muslims most likely to lean towards terrorism are actually black. So what does this do to the profiling situation? In 2008 Juan Cole wrote a very good article about how profiling actually doesn't work. He also mentions several of the supposed terror plots that were not really terror plots, but got hyped up by profiling.

So where does this leave us? How do we reconcile our belief in civil liberties, with our need for safety and security? Does it make sense to have actual computerized random searches at the airports, when guards end up searching 5-year-olds, or Amish women, when you're looking for Muslim terrorists? In my mind, it doesn't. But I don't like the alternative of just searching Muslims either. Surely there is some kind of middle ground where we don't violate people's rights just because of their skin color or religion? Because it's hard enough to be a Muslim in America these days.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Not Islamophobia in America

I generally point out instances of Islamophobia in the United States, but this is a case where it wasn't Islamophobia. Several Muslims were arrested at an amusement park in New York, because they wanted to go on rides, but no head scarves were allowed. This started a big confrontation and police were called in. Now, this is not an anti-hijab rule. This is a rule that the amusement park passed that covers hats, scarves, head scarves, whatever is on your head. Because on certain rides they can fly off or maybe even get caught somewhere. Unfortunately, several of the women involved seemed to think this was about their hijab. The newspaper covering the situation also phrased it as a "head scarf ban," further inflaming the situation.

This is a secondary problem that I haven't really talked about before. After being discriminated against for a while, some people will start to view any kind of problem as discrimination. For instance, if you ask someone the time and they ignore you, it's not necessarily because you have a different skin color or religion. It could be something as simple as the person didn't hear you, or was having a really bad day. But if you face discrimination all the time, then that is the first thing you think of.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Turkish Government Returns Property

In 1936, the Turkish government issued a proclamation that ended up with the government claiming property that belonged to minority foundations in Turkey. Now the government is returning property that was "registered as public or foundation property." Any foundations that lost property have 12 months to apply for a return of their property. According to the article:

Some of the property set to be returned to Armenian, Greek and Syriac foundations include schools, churches, stores, hundreds of houses, buildings and apartments, cemeteries, factories, and even nightclubs.

I think this is definitely a step in the right direction. Addressing past wrongs will only help Turkey's future.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Women's News August 25, 2011

More problems with women being forced to work in the Middle East. See previous posts. This time the woman was from Madagascar. She spent 15 years as basically a slave in Lebanon, before a welfare agency tracked her down. And for anybody out there who thinks this is a Middle Eastern problem, or a problem for "dark-skinned" people, it even happens in the United States of America (see report).

A Muslim woman is suing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch. She claims she was fired because she wouldn't take off her hijab at work. Another Muslim woman filed a lawsuit against them in 2009, for a similar reason.

In July, several women reporters had to remove their bras for a security check, so they could meet with the Israeli prime minister. The Foreign Press Association (FPA) denounced the incident. The same thing happened to a pregnant Al-Jazeera reporter in January. The FPA is concerned about sending correspondents to events where this could happen to them. Unfortunately, that may be precisely why it is happening. It's degrading and humiliating but if you give in to it, then they've won. Maybe at the next press event, the reporters should ALL be women.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

YemenWatch: Wednesday August 24, 2010

AQAP is still causing problems in Yemen. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in Abyan province, and a military camp was attacked too. You may remember that AQAP and possibly another group took over part of Abyan and are calling it an Islamic emirate now. The Yemeni military is fighting back, near Zinjubar.

The Yemeni PM just returned from Saudi Arabia, where he had medical treatment. He was injured during an assassination attempt on President Saleh, when the presidential palace was bombed in June. Also, the head of the Shura Council just died from injuries from that June bombing. The government is now blaming the attack on two of the opposition leaders.

The Yemen Observer reports that the FBI may be re-opening 9/11 investigations to see what part Anwar Al-Awlaki played in them. They cite a Fox News article which says that the US House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee is interested in Al-Awlaki. In May of this year, Fox News reported that Al-Awlaki was a key player in 9/11. This is interesting. I haven't really heard anything about this, except on Fox News, which is a right-wing, conservative news source. If I was a conspiracy nut, I'd say that someone is laying the ground work for a US invasion of Yemen. Since I'm not a conspiracy nut, I'll just say that it makes me suspicious. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to find out that Al-Awlaki was involved in 9/11. But the timing, as Yemen is disintegrating, and AQAP is going strong, and we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, is suspicious to me.

Tribesmen stopped a military shipment of Russian tanks from reaching Sana'a over the weekend.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Ramadan in America

You may have seen this already, but I thought it worth mentioning. A Muslim teenager in Florida is observing Ramadan while he practices football. And it is very hot and humid in Florida. It would be really easy to either give up football or simply not observe Ramadan, but he's choosing to do both.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Busy

Hello everyone. I'm still here, just incredibly busy. I've barely been keeping up with Monday Top Stories (and obviously missed this week). I'm taking a break now, before school starts at the end of August, but I should be back then.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Monday, July 18, 2011

Sunday, July 17, 2011

More Islamophobia in America

Most of you probably haven't heard of Herman Cain. He's a republican, and a black man, who is running for President of the USA. And the more I find out about him, the less I like him. Now he's saying that communities in the US should be able to ban mosques if they want to. He claims it's because Islam is not just a religion, but a set of laws as well. Although, so is Christianity and Judaism. He claims it's different in Christianity. However, since there are Orthodox Jews in this country, would he be alright with communities banning synagogues? Or is that different too? Is it only Islam that qualifies? What about Pentecostal Christians? They have different rules they follow too, like women wearing skirts and not cutting their hair. Does that qualify for banning? Who gets to decide what gets banned?

This kind of bullshit really ticks me off. Yes, there are terrorists out there. Yes, some of them are Muslim. Banning mosques gives the terrorists even more fodder - "Look at the Americans - they hate Islam, they ban mosques, yadda yadda yadda."

If we're going to ban mosques because some Muslims are terrorists, then why don't we allow communities to ban churches, because some Christians are terrorists? There are extreme Christians who bomb abortion clinics and kill doctors who perform abortions. Or is that not true Christianity? The same way terrorism is not true Islam.

There's a reason we have Freedom of Religion in America. That way no one gets to choose who to ban.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Turkey Helps Kids Stay Healthy

I'm in the United States, and sometimes I watch a show called Food Revolution (by Jamie Oliver). He's a British chef who is trying to improve children's lunch menus at schools. He's already done that in the UK, and now he's trying it in the US. People from outside of the US probably won't believe what often passes for food in school cafeterias here!

Anyway, the Turkish government wants to stop childhood obesity, so they are making it illegal to sell sodas, fast food, and potato chips at schools. They'll sell yogurt instead. They also have new menus. I think that's great!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Anti-Muslim Law in Australia

Anti-Muslim prejudice is on the move again, this time to Australia. The state of New South Wales wants to pass a law requiring a Muslim woman to show her face to police, when requested. If she doesn't, there's a $5,500 fine (AUD) and a year in jail.

Great. So much for religious freedom in Australia. This is the same old tune that other countries have used: "it's for security" or "it's because women are forced to wear a veil." There are very few woman in Australia who wear a niqab or other face covering, and while some of those may be forced, it wouldn't surprise me if most of them were not. And if you are wearing a niqab for religious reasons, then showing your face to some random policeman is going to be very distressing. To use an analogy, how would you feel if a policeman pulled your wife over for speeding, then asked her to take off her blouse. I know some of you think that's a bad analogy (it has some faults) but for some Muslim women I've met, the idea of letting a man see their face is about on par with that. And who are we to force them to act differently?

Monday, July 4, 2011

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Women's News June 24, 2011 - UPDATE

The American Muslim woman weightlifter who wanted to compete in hijab has won her appeal. The International Weighlifting Federation decided than she can compete in hijab and full unitard.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

New Gaza Flotilla!

A flotilla has been preparing in Greece for a trip to Gaza. Israel, of course, is trying to stop it. The latest news is that some of the ships have been sabotaged.

Check out this quote:

Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said yesterday the flotilla was reinforcing the fiction that there was hunger in the Strip, while in fact this was not the case. "The flotilla we're supposed to meet is creating a story that doesn't exist to maintain an actual story," Gantz said. "Anyone reading the papers will see that, at the end of the day, the situation reflected in Gaza is that of water parks and the beach, and the distance between that and a humanitarian problem is so great there isn't any connection."

Apparently the UK disagrees with that, although they don't recommend a flotilla.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Friday, June 24, 2011

Women's News June 24, 2011

I've posted before about the plight of Asian workers in the Middle East (and elsewhere) who are mistreated. You may remember that Saudi Arabia has really had some problems with mistreating house maids. Well, now they've executed a house maid from Indonesia, who killed her abusive employer. Indonesia is livid and recalled their ambassador, because they were not informed, and have decided not to allow any more workers to go to Saudi Arabia. The suspension starts August 1st. There are currently 28 Indonesians on death row in Saudi Arabia.

The Women2Drive campaign is under way in Saudi Arabia. Women are driving and posting photos of it online. You can support them at their Facebook page.

The first woman priest in the Middle East was ordained in Bahrain this month. She's an Anglican who used to work in Yemen, but is currently posted in Dubai. Apparently Bahrain is the "cathedral of the Gulf," which is why the ceremony was there.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Monday, June 13, 2011

Women's News June 14, 2011

Quite a bit has been happening lately.

Bahraini woman Ayat al-Qurmezi has been sentenced to jail time for writing and reading poetry that "incited hatred against the regime."

A Kuwaiti woman who burned down her husband's wedding tent when he tried to marry a second wife, which killed 57 women and children, has been sentenced to death.

A Pakistani-American who became a weight-lifter is trying to get permission to compete in the hijab. Weight-lifters usually wear form-fitting clothing, but she can't, for religious reasons.

In a previous post I discussed how Muslim women are trying to compete in beauty pageants and I mentioned Miss Turkey and a woman who hopes to be Miss UK. I just wanted to point out that the current Miss USA is a Muslim woman originally from Lebanon.

Women's News May 23, 2011 - UPDATE

One of the articles I linked to was about a lesbian woman from Syria and her blog, called A Gay Girl in Damascus. As is often the way of the Internet, it's a fake. The real blogger is 40, American, male, and lives in Scotland. Personally, I'm really let down by this. The man claims he was trying to raise awareness for the Middle East, but in the process he's hurt the LGBT community. Now the next homosexual Middle East blogger will be treated with much more suspicion and people will wonder if it's really that bad over there.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Saleh in Saudi

President Saleh of Yemen was injured yesterday, and is now in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) for treatment. Some of his relatives went with him, which is causing rumors that maybe he won't be going back.

The Yemen Post website appears to be suspended, and many of the other news sites haven't updated in a few days.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Yemen Fighting Still

Yemen is really disintegrating. Things were a bit on edge before the "Arab Spring" started, and now it seems to be civil war between Saleh's tribe/clan and the Al-Ahmer clan (Hashid confederation). There's fighting in Sana'a (which briefly shut down the airport) and in Ta'iz. Apparently the military is using tanks and cannon in Sana'a, trying to take back government offices taken by the Al-Ahmer group.

And, of course, all the "infighting" helps AQAP. They just took the seaport of Maqateen, in Shoqra city, Abyan province. Parts of Abyan have been taken over by Islamists, and a city in Shabwa province was declared an "Islamic emirate."

Monday, May 30, 2011

Thursday, May 26, 2011

YemenWatch: Thursday May 26, 2011 (in brief)

BBC News has a good overview about the problems Yemen is facing. And the US is pulling most of its diplomats from Yemen.

And of course, more fighting means more deaths, many of them in Sana'a, leading many to wonder if this is basically turning into a civil war now.

President Saleh is trying to arrest Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmer of the Hashid tribe, who are opposing him.

The Yemeni government attacked and shut down the Suhail TV channel, owned by al-Ahmer's brother, last night. They also attacked al-Sahwa newspaper, owned by the Islah party.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Yemen Fighting

Yemen is still in limbo. President Saleh is refusing to step down, and his supporters trapped some foreign ambassadors at an embassy in Sana'a. That set off fighting with anti-Saleh forces, and it's a real mess right now. I'll try to have a real YemenWatch update soon.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Women's News May 23, 2011

Just a short one for today.

A Saudi woman who posted video of herself driving has been arrested. Actually, re-arrested. And the Facebook page for women driving in the Kingdom and a Twitter account, are both gone. A few other women who dared to drive were also arrested. I guess if women are allowed to drive then you simply won't be able to keep an eye on them all the time. And who knows what those crazy women might get up to without a man to control their every move! (sarcasm)

A Syrian-American women in Damascus, who is also a lesbian, has started a blog about her experiences. She was in hiding from the police for a while, and may still be in hiding. You can read her blog here: A Gay Girl in Damascus.

Good Luck to all of these women!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

I'm still here

I'm moving apartments and may be without internet for a bit.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Monday, April 25, 2011

Bad Advertising

I realize that some of the ads on this site are strange or even offensive. I am trying to change that. Unfortunately, if you use Google AdSense and have topics like Middle East or Israel or Palestine, you often get advertisements like "Save Israel from the evil Palestinians," etc. My apologies.

Women's News April 25, 2011

A Muslim woman may be representing the UK in the Miss Universe contest. And she's getting some flack for doing it too. Here are some comments condemning and supporting her.

What I find ironic, is compare those Muslim reactions in the UK to this American commercial featuring Miss Turkey. It wouldn't surprise me if many Americans were confused by this, because they think of Turkey as a Muslim country, whereas it's really more of a secular country.

Neat article about Emirati women at a university in Sharjah (UAE) who attended a conference discussing all sorts of topics that you don't think would normally be discussed: mental health, suicide, divorce, substance abuse, etc.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

YemenWatch: Saturday April 23, 2011

Wow. I may not have been posting, but I have been paying attention to what's happening in Yemen. The latest is President Saleh saying that he'll step down in 30 days. This is a deal by GCC mediators so that Saleh won't be prosecuted.

First of all, I'll believe it when I see it. Saleh has been in power a long time. But he is getting older so maybe he'd like to retire somewhere with a lot of money. Second, I'm really worried about what's going to happen to Yemen post-Saleh. The Houthis in the north would love to break off from Yemen. The Separatists in the south are still fighting over the Yemeni union. And AQAP is in the middle, glorying in all the chaos. Keep the Yemeni people in your prayers.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Greg Mortenson a Fraud?

Greg Mortenson is the author of Three Cups of Tea, a great book about how he started building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I read the book in 2008 and was really inspired by someone who was actually on the ground in Pakistan, making a difference for children and upholding a tradition of soft power - cultural diplomacy.

Well, the American show 60 Minutes did an expose on him on TV last night, and it looks like some of his stories are outright lies and a lot of the money his organization received has been mismanaged if not just ripped off. I can't tell you how disappointed I am. It's so hard to find real heroes in this world when more and more of them turn out to be liars and frauds.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Monday, April 4, 2011

Saturday, April 2, 2011

The Next Abu Ghraib?

I generally don't cover much about Afghanistan, but I felt this merited an exception. By now you've probably heard about the attacks in Afghanistan that are in response to alleged Qur'an burnings in the US. There was a Qur'an burned, but apparently the story grew in Afghanistan and people began rioting and killing. The whole incident is deplorable, but a new scandal has been brewing and things could get even worse.

This is the first I had heard about it, but FireDogLake has an article describing the situation. Der Spiegel has been researching the incidents and has produced a documentary [this documentary is supposed to be very graphic] about it. Members of the 5th Stryker Brigade in Afghanistan formed a "kill team" and went around killing innocent Afghanis. For no reason. Just because they could and it was "fun." I want to state right here that most American soldiers are not like that. This "kill team" is an aberration. But these 12 men killed innocent civilians for fun and then took photos of the bodies. They are now being tried for war crimes in a US military court.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

YemenWatch: Thursday March 31, 2011

Human rights organizations are growing increasingly concerned over the situation in Yemen.

President Saleh is calling for a "Friday of Solidarity" in support of his rule.

Several hundred protesters were injured by non-uniformed government forces. Live bullets were fired at the crowd and nerve gas may have been used as well.

Yemen Post reports that marebpress.com was blocked (I got redirected to marebpress.net), and the Islah Party site islah.net was hacked. Other sites that have been previously blocked are almasdaronline.com, nashwannews.com and yemennation.com. I went to YemenOnline.info earlier to see what they had to say, but I got a "bandwidth exceeded" message.

Apparently AQAP has decided that Abyan province is now an Islamic State. I mention Abyan because a landmine was set to kill "experts" for the Canadian Nexen Petroleum company there. And jihadists may or may not have taken over a radio station in Abyan, and declared the Islamic State. There are reports of Jihadi groups running all over Abyan, and I'm not completely sure what's happening there.

The JMP (a coalition of opposition political parties) is accusing President Saleh of working with groups like AQAP and for being responsible for the explosion at the weapon's plant in Abyan.

The JMP, opposition leader Hameed Al-Ahmar, and former Yemeni president Ali Nasser Mohammed are all calling for Saleh's ouster.

The first GPC MP to resign had his house burned down.

Saleh has removed Republican Guard forces from some provinces in order to prevent a coup from taking place in Sana'a.

Anwar Al-Awlaki is all for new regimes in the Arab countries, even secular regimes, because they won't be as strong as the previous rulers so it should be easier for Al-Qa'eda to make inroads.

The chairman of Islah Party met with the US Ambassador yesterday.

This seems almost like a side note given the deteriorating situation in Yemen, but the men who kidnapped 4 Czechs were sentenced to jail terms.

New Blogger Stuff

Blogger has added some new views to its system. You can check out how this blog looks with them here. It's set for "sidebar" view, but there 4 other ways to see the blog. Some of them are quite interesting!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

YemenWatch: Tuesday March 29, 2011

Yemen has been under emergency law since Wednesday. The vote itself is under question, as many MPs were not there for it. Human Rights Watch has more.

HOOD (Yemeni rights organization) says that a teenager was beaten to death by policemen using their rifle butts.

The Sheikh of the Hashed tribe claims that an assassination plot is the works, targeting high-ranking figures. This comes after the UAE police stopped smugglers from sending pistols to Sa'ada province in Yemen (that's the Houthi area).

Over 100 people, including several children, were killed when a weapons plant exploded in Abyan province. The cause is not known.

Seven soldiers were killed by AQAP in an attack in Mareb province.

You may remember President Saleh saying he would leave by January 2012, but his political party, the GPC, is now saying he will remain until his term expires in 2013. Saleh is calling for the youth of Yemen to form their own political party.

The US government and USAID is providing money to Yemeni hospitals, who are treating wounded protesters. Unfortunately, the US has also given the Yemeni government a lot of anti-terrorism money, which can now be used as anti-protester money. Human Rights Watch has called for the suspension of military aid from the US.

The Yemen Observer is reporting that Al-Jazeera is lying about Yemeni officials resigning. Don't forget, in 2009 the Observer was owned by Saleh's secretary. It probably still is.

Some GPC politicians are resigning, following a "massacre" on Friday. The government is blaming an Islah party leader for the event.

Some MPs and military and academic sources claim Saleh is using AQAP as a bogeyman to stay in power. Which is usually how it's done. You must keep me in power - I will protect you!

Six foreign reporters were deported last week and one freelance reporter died during the protests. The Yemeni Journalists' Syndicate has also been attacked. Full report from the International Federation of Journalists. More from Reporters Without Borders.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Welcome New Readers

Welcome to my new readers! I usually post every day, but I've had a few health problems recently and I'm still working back up to my daily postings. I try to cover the entire Middle East, which is especially chaotic right now. I also look more in depth at Yemen. I hope you find my blog useful and informative.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

YemenWatch: Tuesday March 22, 2011

Yemen is undergoing a lot of chaos now. This morning President Saleh even offered to leave office by the end of 2011, but the protesters aren't buying it and more of the military is defecting to their side. On Monday several army commanders left the government and joined the protesters; one of them is from Saleh's clan. This follows the shooting of dozens of protesters on Friday.

Saleh is now saying that Yemen could descend into civil war. And he's probably right. There are already problems with AQAP, the Houthis in the north, and separatists in the south. The Houthis would face problems from Saudi Arabia if they split off. The Separatists might be able to make a go of it. And AQAP would be busy terrorizing everyone.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Crisis in the Middle East: Bahrain

Well, I'm feeling better. Or at least I was until I started looking at the news. The Middle East is going up in flames. Things are really getting bad in Bahrain. The Saudis sent troops there (GCC Peninsula Shield troops), and now the king has declared a "three-month state of emergency." This after 200 people were shot. One of the big reasons for the unrest in Bahrain isn't just having a king with little democracy. It's the fact that the king and most of the rulers are Sunni, while most of the population is Shi'ite. Does that sound familiar to anyone? It should. That's how Iraq was under Saddam Hussein. And look how well that turned out!

The GCC is supporting Bahrain, which makes sense. Even the UAE is sending some troops. The GCC is paranoid that if Shi'ites take over, they'll be under the control of Iran. So this battleground is a lot more complicated than some crazy dictator oppressing his people (like Libya). The US is also supporting the rulers of Bahrain. Things are probably going to get worse before they get better.

Monday, March 14, 2011

About This Blog

Updates
I'm trying to update on a M-W-F schedule. If I have deadlines or illnesses, I will try to post that as well so you don't wonder why there hasn't been an update.

Monday is "Top Stories" day, where I link to the top stories in newspapers around the Middle East.

I have added a section called "Women's News" that should appear ~~weekly~~ every now and then.

Content
I don't post much about the War in ~~Iraq~~ Afghanistan, because the US media covers that a lot. I try to post about lesser-known events in the Middle East, or different outlooks on the bigger events.