Video: Iranian Pop Band in London

 

Iranian pop band in London.

Video from the BBC. - February 27, 2009

Facebook Adds Arabic and Hebrew

From BBC - March 12, 2009

 

 

Facebook engineers are developing the site in a further 60 languages.

 I've developed online habits! I'm used to navigating Facebook in English and from left-to-right

Marwa, Iraqi Facebook user in London

Full Article.

Video: Women's Role the Mosque in Cairo

 

Video from BBC. - March 2, 2009

 

Women's unusual role in mosques in Cairo.

US to Sign UN Gay Rights Declaration

From the Associated Press - March 18, 2009

Sources: US to sign UN gay rights declaration

By MATTHEW LEE

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration will endorse a U.N. declaration calling for the worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality that then-President George W. Bush had refused to sign, The Associated Press has learned.

U.S. officials said Tuesday they had notified the declaration's French sponsors that the administration wants to be added as a supporter. The Bush administration was criticized in December when it was the only western government that refused to sign on.

The move was made after an interagency review of the Bush administration's position on the nonbinding document, which was signed by all 27 European Union members as well as Japan, Australia, Mexico and three dozen other countries, the officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Congress was still being notified of the decision. They said the administration had decided to sign the declaration to demonstrate that the United States supports human rights for all.

"The United States is an outspoken defender of human rights and critic of human rights abuses around the world," said one official.

"As such, we join with the other supporters of this statement and we will continue to remind countries of the importance of respecting the human rights of all people in all appropriate international fora," the official said.

The official added that the United States was concerned about "violence and human rights abuses against gay, lesbian, transsexual and bisexual individuals" and was also "troubled by the criminalization of sexual orientation in many countries."

"In the words of the United States Supreme Court, the right to be free from criminalization on the basis of sexual orientation 'has been accepted as an integral part of human freedom'," the official said.

Gay rights and other groups had criticized the Bush administration when it refused to sign the declaration when it was presented at the United Nations on Dec. 19. U.S. officials said then that the U.S. opposed discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation but that parts of the declaration raised legal questions that needed further review.

According to negotiators, the Bush team had concerns that those parts could commit the federal government on matters that fall under state jurisdiction. In some states, landlords and private employers are allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation; on the federal level, gays are not allowed to serve openly in the military.

It was not immediately clear on Tuesday how the Obama administration had come to a different conclusion.

When it was voted on in December, 66 of the U.N.'s 192 member countries signed the declaration — which backers called a historic step to push the General Assembly to deal more forthrightly with anti-gay discrimination.

But 70 U.N. members outlaw homosexuality — and in several, homosexual acts can be punished by execution. More than 50 nations, including members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, opposed the declaration.

Some Islamic countries said at the time that protecting sexual orientation could lead to "the social normalization and possibly the legalization of deplorable acts" such as pedophilia and incest. The declaration was also opposed by the Vatican.

Cairo: A Woman's Place is in the Mosque?

- March 2, 2009

A woman's place is in the mosque?

By Christopher Landau
BBC Religious Affairs correspondent, Cairo

The role that women play in mosques varies substantially around the Muslim world. Visits to two mosques in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, show just how different women's experiences can be.

The al-Seddeeq mosque, in a prosperous suburb of Cairo, stands in front of a park - unusual enough in an overcrowded city lacking much green space.

The large mosque, built in the last 20 years, forms an impressive focal point in the local community.

But it also represents one potential vision of the future for Egypt's mosques - where women are heavily involved in increasing aspects of the mosque's activities.

As I step inside, I hear sounds I had not been expecting - the raucous shouts of children playing.

About 250 young boys are surrounded by paint, glue, paper and old egg boxes - making artwork from recycled materials.

Earlier in the day, they had been learning to recite the Koran, but by late afternoon it was time for a more hands-on task.

There is nothing unusual about mosques offering educational programmes. But at al-Seddeeq mosque, all of the educational work is run by women.

A new role

On the day I visit, 35 female volunteers are involved - and 2,000 local children are on a waiting list to join the programmes.

Maha al-Mahy runs the mosque's work with children as well as educational programmes for women.

She is clear that women's role in the mosque will continue to develop, just as opportunities for women within Egyptian society also open up.

"Other things will be changed. Maybe we are going to have more work, more roles, in future," she tells me.

Would that mean, I asked her, that women might even fulfil some of the roles still only undertaken by men?

"Why not?" she answers. "Men are good - but also I think women can do what men do. Some roles, it's better for women than men."

But you do not have to travel far to find very different attitudes to women's involvement.

In a poorer part of Cairo, I am driven through crowded streets past several mosques.

Some of those we pass do not have any facilities for women to pray, let alone be involved in other activities.

But at one mosque, we meet Sabriah Ibrahim. She is the only woman involved with leadership - and in this poorer area, no local women are wealthy enough to be able to volunteer.

The mosque could hardly be more different from the gleaming marble structure of al-Seddeeq, in the more prosperous part of town.

Contrasting opportunities

Hemmed in by other buildings, it is a cramped building on a small site, with the men's prayer hall as the main focus.

There is one small office, which doubles up as an administrative base and the place from which clothing is distributed to those in need. But there is not the capacity to offer programmes like those that the al-Seddeeq mosque is able to offer to the hundreds of children in the area.

But perhaps the most striking contrast is in the role that women play in the life of the mosque.

"Most of the week, women don't come for prayer, they only come for the Friday prayer, or when there are lessons or certain activities," Sabriah Ibrahim says.

"But other than this, very few women come to the mosque, and most of them are older women."

The disparity between the two mosques I visited is striking.

In one, women play an active role and dream even of running those activities still the preserve of men - perhaps, one day, even leading prayers.

In the other, one sole woman tries to run women's activities, but in an area where there is little tradition of women being involved in their local mosque.

Some of the factors seem to be financial: Al-Seddeeq's volunteers are women who are wealthy enough to be able to choose to spend time at the mosque rather than needing to work; in the crowded streets of Old Cairo, few women have such an opportunity.

Later, I meet Dr Mohammed Abulaila, recently retired as head of Islamic Studies at Cairo's al-Azhar University.

He too believes that economic factors play a role in whether women attend mosques - put simply, poorer women are more likely to have to stay at home with their families.

But he stresses that Islam itself makes no distinction between men and women, when it comes to the importance of attending the mosque.

"Women, like men, are commanded to go the mosque," he tells me.

"There is no discrimination in Islam. Men are required to pray five times a day, and women as well."

The gap between Dr Abulaila's words and the reality for many women in Cairo is clear.

But religion is just one part of life where opportunities for women are changing dramatically.

In the city's mosques, that opening up of opportunity is happening at startlingly different rates.

Islam, like many other religions, is beginning to face questions about how long centuries of male dominance will continue.

Islamic Unity Conference Urges More Solidarity Among Muslims

From the Iranian Students News Agency

ISNA - Tehran
Service: Foreign Policy

TEHRAN, Mar. 16 (ISNA)-Participants in the 22th Islamic unity conference in Tehran wrapped up their 3-day session as they issued a statement calling for more solidarity among Muslims.

The conference which mainly discussed issues of Islamic nations and ways to eradicate challenges was hosted by Tehran from March 13 to 15 with the presence of 100 participants from 45 countries and 60 Iranian features.

The statement reiterated that Islamic nations face major challenges targeting their culture and entity and try to impede their scientific, economic and military progress.

It stressed that Islamic nations are suffering extremism, prejudice and ignorance which have triggered off division in the Islamic world and some provocative behaviors in the world.

The Participants put forward comprehensive plans to deal with the challenges through making Muslims more aware in different domains to perceive Islam, its teachings and goals to understand current realities in every field.

They also called for implementing Islam in all spheres, boosting the level of education of Muslims in all sections to reinforce their solidarity.

The participants then asked for boosting activities of Islamic organizations and employment of Muslims' political, economic and geographical capabilities to make them unified for achieving their goals.

Providing more welfare for Islamic minorities across the world, implementing Islamic statement on human rights, introducing the precious characteristics of Prophet Mohammad to avoid more insults against him by the West were among their plans.

They then called for Muslims of different Islamic schools to respect each others' views and ideas and condemned Zionist regime's recent savage attacks over Gaza Strip and stressed Palestinians should achieve their rights including establishment of an independent country.

They asked all Somalis parties to hold talks and cooperate for the development of the country without any bloodshed and conflict.

The statement also supported any measure which would help settlement of Darfur issue in Sudan and paves the way for a national reconciliation and condemned any move by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

The statement backed Iran's stance for making progress in nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and slammed any complicated measure to hold back Iran from access to its certain rights according to international rules and regulations.

Picture of the Week: Displaced Pakistani's Wait for Food in Swat Valley

Displaced Pakistani people wait for food at a makeshift camp in the country's troubled Swat Valley

Related Story from the Associated Press.

Dialogue with Taliban Endangers Women's Rights

From AsiaNet.it

03/09/2009 14:38

AFGHANISTAN

Dialogue with Taliban endangers women's rights

The condition of women will be the testing ground for any dialogue with the Taliban. AsiaNews has gathered comments in the country on the U.S. president's idea of seeking dialogue with Taliban moderates. There is widespread fear of "going backward." The importance of Iran.

Kabul (AsiaNews) - "The evolution of this country is in the hands of women. Under the Taliban, women could not even go to school, they were forced to stay home and endure forced marriages. Conditions for women may be the main testing ground for the dialogue that the U.S. president wants to open with Taliban moderates." This is one of the comments that AsiaNews has gathered in Afghanistan after the proposal of U.S. president Barack Obama to open a dialogue with the Taliban moderates.

On March 7, Obama said that the United States cannot win the war in Afghanistan against the Islamic extremists, and said that he is willing to "explore" the possibility of a dialogue with Taliban moderates, in order to separate them from fundamentalist groups like al Qaeda.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai has commented on the news very favorably, and has said that the dialogue could be directed first of all to the "many who are afraid to return to their country, and believe that they have no other choice than to side with al Qaeda."

But local circles are perplexed, and are asking in the first place: Who are the Taliban moderates, and what did they do during the Taliban regime? One expert comments that "a few months ago, Taliban leaders, believed to be moderate, indicated the three points that for them are nonnegotiable: that all the soldiers from other countries leave; that there be no foreign interference in Afghan politics; and that sharia (Islamic law) be applied. With the exception of the armed opposition, these are the same things that the Taliban fundamentalists want. Of course, dialogue is always positive, peace can be reached only through dialogue. But the point is how this dialogue can be realized. If tomorrow Taliban moderates again impose sharia, which was enacted during their regime, I am afraid that the Calvary of the Afghan women will resume."

Yesterday, President Karzai, on the occasion of International Women's Day, denounced the fact that many in the country still consider women as "property," and said that "forced marriages, the selling of women, these are against Islam."

On March 7, Jan Bibi, a widow, set herself on fire and died in the district of Obe (western Afghanistan) in order to escape a life of hardship. As a widow, Bibi was a pariah of society, undesirable for marriage and without any opportunity to work. Women often commit suicide in the area in order to avoid abuse and forced marriage. A recent UN report says that "threats and intimidation against women in public life or who work outside the home have seen a dramatic increase" in the country.

Fear is widespread that a new Taliban regime would mean "going backward." Analysts observe that the only results of this long war and its immense cost in human lives and money may be the better conditions for women, and democracy. Democracy is still weak, to such an extent that Karzai has delayed until August the elections scheduled for April, because of the difficult situation.

The idea of dialogue is not new, Karzai has suggested it repeatedly. But the problem is also that of whether Karzai and democratic forces in the country are capable of opposing the Taliban.

Many observe that "if the U.S. military cannot win against the Taliban, how can the Afghan military do so? It cannot be as prepared as that of the U.S., even if billions have been spent to reorganize it. And the police are still plagued with widespread corruption. It is unlikely that the time is right to entrust the country to self-governance." Besides, despite the extensive resources employed by the U.S. and by other countries, Karzai controls only Kabul and the surrounding area.

Other comments are more optimistic, and say that it is necessary "to involve Iran in the process of pacification. It can play an important role. Now it has been invited to participate in the conference in June in Trieste, to discuss the Afghan situation. It will be important to see if it accepts."

Saudi Arabia welcoming more cultural events

But activities often interrupted by men claiming to be religious police

.

Saudi women visit the 4th Riyadh International Book Fair in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday

From the Associated Press - Sat., March. 7, 2009

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - When word spread that Brazil was going to be the guest of honor at the Riyadh International Book Fair, a Saudi official had to reassure the public that the Brazilians wouldn't be dancing the Samba at the 11-day event that opened recently.

The question to Abdul Aziz Al-Subeil, a senior Information Ministry official, at a news conference last week reflected the wariness with which cultural events are viewed by many here. For conservatives, book fairs, plays and movie screenings are a cause for concern because they allow for the mixing of the sexes, the playing of music and the introduction of books that they believe violate religious and moral values.

Still, despite the regular interruption of cultural activities by men who sometimes claim to belong to the religious police, there has been a marked increase in such events in the past few years.

One of the most groundbreaking was a concert held by the German Embassy last year at a government-run cultural center that broke many taboos in a country where public music is banned, public concerts are almost never heard of and the sexes are segregated even in lines at fast food outlets.

The other was the first Saudi film festival, held last year and attended by the information minister in a clear sign of official support for the event.

In a first this year, women have been given more access to the book fair, which opened Tuesday. In the past, female visitors were restricted to only two half-days. Many hoped this move would correspond with less interference by the religious police to stop what they view as excessive mixing of the sexes.

Presence of religious police

But well-known columnist Haleema Muthaffar said she was shocked when the religious police stationed five security guards, six policemen and two religious police agents between her and the men and women who attended her book signing to prevent men from coming forward to have their books signed.

She said the religious police detained three well-known Saudi writers for questioning after she tried to give one of them a signed copy of her book.

"What kind of encouragement for culture is this?" she wrote in Al-Watan newspaper.

She said culture is cordoned off "in a way that scares those who seek it and deters them from getting close to us."

Many other conservatives have made headlines recently trying to stop the kind of cultural opening supported by many Saudis. Last month alone, newspapers reported the following incidents:

• Bearded extremists tried to stop a play in Riyadh. As music blared signaling the beginning of the show, one of the men decided to give a religious lecture on stage. The man was stopped by the stage manager, and following a brief argument, he left with his companions.
• Bearded youths attacked dancers at the Desert Spring Festival in the southern town of Sharoura, forcing organizers to cancel the all-male traditional dance show.
• In the western city of Jiddah, five youths tried to disrupt the screening of movies at a spring festival by urging visitors to stay away from the cinema. There are no movie theaters in Saudi Arabia, but recently films have been screened at auditoriums and other venues.

The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which runs the religious police, has issued statements distancing itself from the incidents. The police are charged with enforcing the strict interpretation of Sunni Islam followed in the kingdom.

Columnists speak out

Columnist Hamoud Abu Taleb questioned how long such actions by conservatives can continue "since they have become increasingly violent and aggressive."

"Keeping silent about this behavior poses a great danger not only to the cultural institutions, but to society itself," he wrote in Al-Madina newspaper.

Another columnist, Ali al-Moussa, said concerns about the corrupting influence of cultural events have been overblown in Saudi Arabia. He said Brazilians should be able to dance the Samba at the book fair if they wanted.

"Haven't we danced the (Saudi traditional sword dance) at fairs in Paris, London, Moscow and Washington?" he wrote in Al-Watan newspaper. "Why should we dance in others' arenas and condemn their presence in ours?"

For those who want to enjoy shows in peace, there are piano recitals, standup comedy routines and plays performed on embassy grounds or in expatriates' residential compounds, venues that are off limits to religious police and extremists. The shows are not always open to Saudis, though.

One recent event featured Sue Ott Rowlands, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech. She performed Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner's hourlong monologue "Homebody/Kabul."

Rowlands said performing the play in Saudi Arabia "was an extraordinary experience."

Yasmin al-Tuwaijri, a Saudi epidemiologist who attended one of Rowlands' performances, said she enjoyed the show but had one concern in the back of her mind.

"I was extremely thrilled to have such an occasion, but I was nervous that somebody would come and ruin it," said the 42-year-old woman.

Picture of the Day: Saudi Arabia & Valentine's Day

A Saudi woman tries to choose a Valentine's Day teddy bears at a gift shop in the Saudi capital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Friday Jan 30, 2009 . Store owners know that as Feb. 14 approaches, the feared religious police begin inspecting gift shops for items that are red or in any way suggest the holiday, which is banned in this country. Such items are legal throughout the year. It's only around Valentine's Day that they take on a contraband status. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) 4:27 p.m. ET, 2/12/09