Purim in Jerusalem

Purim is sometimes called the Israeli Halloween because people wear costumes and get food baskets. As this picture shows, you can also buy balloons.

The Biggest Crime

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamene'i has upped his rhetoric a tad about the dispute over June's election:

"Iran' s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has described questioning the country's disputed June 12 presidential vote as the 'biggest crime.'

"Khamenei's comments, reported in Iranian media, appear to be his strongest warning yet to opposition leaders such as Mir Hossein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi, who have on a number of occasions said that the vote was massively rigged in favor of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

"The comments could also be intended to create fear within the opposition movement, which is preparing to return to the streets for a mass protest on November 4."

(Crossposted to American Footprints)

Hijab Not Mandatory

Kuwait's highest court has ruled that female MP's do not have to wear headscarves:

"The Constitutional Court dismissed a case raised by a voter who claimed that two of four women elected to parliament in May--Rola Dashti and Aseel Al Awadhi--can not be members of the legislature because they do not comply with the Islamic dress code...

"Kuwait's parliament approved a suffrage bill in 2005 but fundamentalists added an obscure last-minute article saying women have to abide by the rules of Sharia, or Islamic law, when they exercise their political rights...

"The court ruled the election law article was neither well-defined nor 'specific' to the dress code, and stressed that the country's 1962 constitution guarantees personal freedoms and freedom of religion."

There was some uncertainty as to what the provision requiring women to follow shari'a actually meant. Apparently, however, it means nothing.

Abu Mazen and Reelection

Marc Lynch muses on the implications of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stepping down, but he doubts it will happen:

"There's quite a bit of buzz around Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's reported threat to not stand for elections in January unless Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to a settlement freeze. He's reportedly furious about the criticism he received over the Goldstone report fiasco, and despondent about Israel's approach to the Palestinian issue. It isn't likely that the threat will be taken especially seriously -- he's made such threats before without following through, he's most likely trying to recoup some domestic standing and to put some pressure on Netanyahu, and Palestinian and Arab leaders generally don't do this sort of thing. It's receiving only minimal coverage thus far in the Arab press."

I agree the most likely explanation is that this is just grandstanding, but it's worth keeping in mind that Abbas did resign as prime minister in 2003 due to similar frustrations, and in this case he'd still be the head of Fatah and an important power behind the scenes.

Blogger Election Monitors

Bahrain's 2010 parliamentary elections will be monitored by bloggers:

"Bloggers in Bahrain will create a network to monitor the parliamentary and municipal elections next year, a human rights watchdog said.

"'The group of bloggers will produce news and statements about the elections and will post pictures and video clips from the day when candidates submit their papers to the announcement of the final results,' said Menashi Cohen, deputy secretary general of Bahrain Human Rights Society.

"'The bloggers will be from the society. It will be our contribution to higher levels of transparency and to the success of the elections,' he said. The blogs will be a reflection of the reality on the ground without any political bias, Cohen said."

Back Soon

First I was busy, then I was sick. I should be back with substantive posting soon, though, perhaps even tonight!

Aluf Benn and Reality

Aluf Benn must be living in an alternate universe:

"Operation Cast Lead in Gaza was perceived in Israel as a shining victory. Rocket fire from Gaza was brought to a halt almost completely. The Israel Defense Forces emerged from its failure during the Second Lebanon War and deployed ground forces with few casualties. 'The world' let the operation continue and did not impose a cease-fire. A wonderful war.

"Ten months later, it seems the victory was a Pyrrhic one. Israel did not realize that the rules have changed with Barack Obama's election as U.S. president. Prime minister Ehud Olmert timed Cast Lead to take place during the twilight period between the outgoing and incoming U.S. administrations, and rightly assumed that the incumbent, George W. Bush, would fully back Israel. However, in contrast to the Lebanon war of 2006, which ended with a cease-fire, the Gaza campaign continues being fought - in the diplomatic arena and in public opinion - and Israel must cope with its consequences in a less-friendly Obama era."

The context for this is the Goldstone Report, which Benn argues Obama is using, in some nebulous fashion, to punish Israel. Meanwhile, in the reality I inhabit, the U.S. worked to block the report, and, about the same time, withdrew from the Anatolian Eagle military exercises after Turkey excluded Israel. Rhetoric might have changed slightly, but the Obama administration has shown no teeth of any kind toward the Netanyahu government and Israel's settlement policy, which is the real problem.

(Crossposted to American Footprints)

Rafsanjani on Ahmadinejad

Rafsanjani is definitely no longer part of the opposition in Iran:

"Head of the Expediency Council, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, said he was a firm believer in the legitimacy of the new Ahmadinejad administration.

"'Since the inauguration of the 10th administration, I believe in its legitimacy. Presently Mr. [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad attends the Expediency Council meetings as president, with invitations signed by myself,' Rafsanjani said in a meeting with Iranian political figures in favor of the national unity plan."

(Crossposted to American Footprints)

Turkey and Armenia

In the "wait until next year" camp for the Nobel Peace Prize, Turkey and Armenia have signed the official agreement normalizing their relations:

"Turkey and Armenia have signed a landmark accord to normalize diplomatic ties and end a century of acrimony between the two nations.

"The foreign ministers of both countries signed the accord at the University of Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland. The deal, which calls for the border to be reopened within two months, follows six weeks of negotiations mediated by Switzerland...

"Now signed by Turkey's Ahmet Davutoglu and Armenia's Eduard Nalbandian, the accord must still be approved by both countries' parliaments.

"But a long-standing dispute between Turkey's ally Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh clouds reconciliation efforts."

And yes, I'm being unfair with my opening snark, as the nominations deadline was February 1, and these peace moves only got really serious after that.

Sea Stacks of Reynisdrangur

These are the Sea Stacks of Reynisdrangur, off the south coast of Iceland near the village of Vik.

Obama's Nobel

As much as I like President Obama, isn't it a tad early for this?

"President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, citing his outreach to the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation.

"The stunning choice made Obama the third sitting U.S. president to win the Nobel Peace Prize and shocked Nobel observers because Obama took office less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline. Obama's name had been mentioned in speculation before the award but many Nobel watchers believed it was too early to award the president.

"Speculation had focused on Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, a Colombian senator and a Chinese dissident, along with an Afghan woman's rights activist."

The implication seems to be that you can now win the Nobel Peace Prize for giving a couple of speeches. Heads of state should have to meet a higher bar.

(Crossposted to American Footprints)

Al Saud v. Ulama

After Shaykh Sa'ad al-Shithri criticized the opening of a coed university in Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah dismissed him from his religious post. This move has given rise to a debate:

"Liberals in Saudi Arabia are thrilled with the sacking of Dr Sa'ad Bin Nasser Al Shithri from the Council of Senior Scholars, the highest religious authority in Saudi Arabia...

"Dr Adel Ahmad Bana'mah, a member of the staff at the Umm Al Qura University in Makkah, however, took a different view of the developments. He wrote that the whole issue of Dr Al Shithri's open criticism of the curriculum and the social environment in KAUST and the reaction of liberal writers in Saudi newspapers and media outlets reflected the level of tension in society."

Social tension between liberals and conservatives is one thing, but the real issue was probably that Saudi royals are taking advantage of anti-fundamentalist opinion both at home and abroad to make criticism of royal initiatives off limits.

Break Out Capacity

I think Juan Cole is right on about this:

"The answer I propose, which explains all the anomalies elegantly and concisely, is that Iran is seeking nuclear latency. Latency is the possession of a nuclear energy program and of reactors, which would allow the production of an atomic bomb on short notice if an extreme danger to national autonomy reared its ugly head. Nuclear latency is sometimes called the 'Japan option,' because given its sophisticated scientific establishment and enormous economy, Japan could clearly produce a nuclear weapon on short notice if its government decided to mount a crash program.

"The reason for the construction of the Qom facility, in this reading, would be that the Natanz facility is too easily bombed or struck with missiles. Moreover, the Israelis and some Americans have repeatedly threatened to strike it. A nuclear enrichment program such as that at Natanz, which is subjec to being wiped out by a military strike, cannot truly provide nuclear latency. The Qom facility was necessary in the regime's eyes if the latency strategy was to be preserved.

"The regime has every reason to maintain latency and no reasons to go further and construct a nuclear device. The latter step would attract severe international sanctions."

Engaging the Muslim World: Overview

Lately I've been doing a chapter-by-chapter review of Juan Cole's Engaging the Muslim World. Those chapter reviews are linked below for convenience, but first, I want to make a few comments about the book as a whole.

Contrary to what critics, and not a few fans, of his blog might think, this is not a book filled with criticism of the United States. It is instead an examination of the relationship between two worlds Cole knows deeply and cares about, and a prescription for how to prevent that relationship from being torpedoed by the twin threats of "America Anxiety" and "Islam Anxiety" which have led many on both sides to perceive a clash of civilizations. In fact, it moves beyond that to show how both worlds are thoroughly intertwined, both in our strengths and our challenges, and that perceiving an essentialized cultural enmity makes no sense and is dangerous. With this project, I am in passionate agreement. Readers of my chapter reviews will note that my few disagreements are on points incidental to the work's central thrust, and that far more often my tendency is to pile on additional information that serves to strengthen the argument. Really, I am aware of no better text through which to examine this relationship and its problems in the contemporary world, and if I were still at Colgate, would definitely include this in my "Core: The Middle East" syllabus.

The book's biggest strength is perhaps its lucid portrayal of information many of us who know the Middle East take for granted, as well as the way he weaves together contemporary issues with historical context in a way that lets us see where different parties are coming from. Cole's own background as someone from an American military family who has actually gotten his hands dirty in the Middle East as opposed to just studying statistics in expat enclaves makes him the perfect person to write it, giving him a sense of perspective on what matters to people and authentic sense of commitment to both worlds.

The book's conclusion delves into the founding ideals of the United States, and notes that the authors of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence had a much more reasoned appraisal of Islam than do many national leaders today, while creating a system of government admired the world over.

Cole's final paragraph:

"The contemporary world offers unprecedented opportunities for political and cultural teamwork between the North Atlantic countries and the Muslim world, and the pressing problems we face can only be resolved through such collaboration. Doing so will require a setting aside of Islam Anxiety and American Anxiety,a return to wise and persistent diplomacy, and a spirit of compromise on all sides. We can do it, if we engage."

Chapter Reviews:

Chapter 1 - The Struggle for Islamic Oil: The Truth about Energy Independence

Chapter 2 - Muslim Activism, Muslim Radicalism: Telling the Two Apart

Chapter 3 - The Wahhabi Myth: From Riyadh to Doha

Chapter 4 - Iraq and Islam Anxiety: How Fearmongering Got Up a War and Kept It Going

Chapter 5 - Pakistan and Afghanistan: Beyond the Taliban

Chapter 6 - From Tehran to Beirut: The Iranian Challenge

(Crossposted to American Footprints)

October Baseball

This is Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York, the traditional site of baseball's invention. Time for some October baseball!

The Freshman Experience

Here's a piece about how large universities are trying to manage the freshman experience:

"Overwhelmed freshmen in many places still sit anonymously in large lecture halls, surrounded by hundreds of peers whose names the professor couldn't possibly remember. Dorm life isn't much better, with total-stranger roommates sharing little other than a desire to survive those first rocky semesters...

"Nearly one-third of Missouri's 5,620 first-year students participate in freshmen interest groups, or FIGs. They share rooms with each other, or entire sections of residential housing. They take four courses together, making the oversized auditoriums 'psychologically smaller,' as one university official says.

"And they meet in small groups with a peer adviser who helps them navigate the school bureaucracy while offering tips on time management, and how to speak with professors...

"At the University of Michigan, first-year students are paired with faculty researchers and participate in weekly forums as part of the Michigan Research Community.

"At Illinois, the Weston Exploration program allows students to tap the expertise of academic advisers, career counselors and other resources on the 41,918-student campus."

These programs might be a good start, but I worry the problem runs deeper. Curricula are currently set up with the mindset that topics are general, and therefore more students can sit there and learn them. However, these courses are also critical for skill development, which requires more individual attention.

Islamic Insurance

I'm struck by the existence of Islamic insurance:

"The idea behind Islamic insurance is to bring together a group of people with limited means to cooperate and help each other, said Abdelkarim al-Saqa, an official at the ministry of religious endowments.

"The companies differ from other private firms by giving their clients the possibility to have their funds repaid if they do not make any claims.

"Some strictly observant Muslims consider that paying fees to an insurance company, leaving it to fate whether they would receive benefits or not, could be regarded as a form of gambling, which they believe to be against Islamic principles.

"Islamic insurance companies also generate income and profit by investing in projects that are deemed to conform to religious beliefs, Saqa said.

"He added that these companies do not invest in areas that contradict Islamic teaching such as firms that sell liquor.

"In addition to covering individuals against injury, they also distribute excess gains fairly between all the insured."

I don't mean to belittle anyone's religious values, and I certainly see how private insurance could be seen as a form of usury. In fact, given the practices of American insurance companies, it's arguably one of the worst forms. However, isn't the gambling thing a but of a stretch?

Myth of Male Weakness?

A Saudi religious leader has a problem with co-ed education:

"Shaikh Sa'ad Bin Nasser Al Shethri, who is a member of the powerful government-sanctioned Supreme Committee of (Islamic) Scholars, was quoted on Wednesday in the Al Watan daily as demanding an end to co-ed classes at the newly opened King Abdullah Science and Technology University.

"'Mixing is a great sin and a great evil,' Al Shethri was quoted as saying. 'When men mix with women, their hearts burn and they will be diverted from their main goal, which is... education.'"

Is it worth analyzing this through the lens of feminist theory?