On May 15, 2008, the liberal Arab website Aafaq.org published an interview with prominent Jordanian-American liberal author Dr. Shaker Al-Nabulsi. In the interview, Al-Nabulsi discussed the meaning of secularism and its importance to the future of the Arab world. The following are excerpts from the interview: 1 "'Secularism'... Is In the Interest of Religion – To Keep the Sacred (Religion) Apart from the Profane (Politics)" Interviewer: "What is your concept of secularism?" Nabulsi: " ...
In his November 16, 2008 column in the Saudi-owned London Arab daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat , Saudi liberal columnist Turki Al-Hamad argued that the Arabs had been in thrall to the Palestinian issue for too long, and that they should view both Arab politics and U.S. policy towards the region through a broader prism. The next day, 'Abd Al-Bari 'Atwan, editor-in-chief of another London Arab daily, Al-Quds Al-'Arabi, took issue with Al-Hamad's premise in his column, warning also that the publication of ...
In the latest of his controversial statements and fatwas, well-known Saudi Islamist lecturer and author Sheikh Muhammad Al-Munajid stated, on Al-Majd TV on August 27, 2008, that mice were Satan's soldiers and that "according to Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed in all cases " (to view the clip, visit http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/1850 ; to read the transcript, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/1850.htm ). Sheikh Al-Munajid, who frequently appears on Saudi TV channels, ...
Manifestations of nationalist separatist sentiment have grown increasingly prevalent among Iraqi Kurds, who, since the first Gulf War, have enjoyed autonomy in the governorates of Sulaymaniyah, Irbil , and Dahuk in northern Iraq . Many regard this as reflecting a Kurdish aspiration to establish an independent state, first in Iraqi Kurdistan , and later in Greater Kurdistan , encompassing additional Kurdish-populated regions in Turkey and Iran . Separatist tendencies among Kurds therefore arouse ...
Following are excerpts from an interview with Abd Al-Malik Rigi, leader of the Jundallah movement in Balochistan, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on August 7, 2008. To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/1841 . "Now We Are Able to Carry Our Operations to Tehran – And Allah Willing, We Will Do So" Reporter: "Behind me are the mountains of Iran, to my right the mountains of Afghanistan, and in front of me the mountains of Pakistan. In this area, after a two-day journey ...
In an extensive January 2008 interview with the Qatari Al-Raya daily, eminent Syrian philosopher Sadik Jalal Al-'Azm discussed the state of religious thought in the Muslim world, democracy in Turkey and in Arab countries, Hizbullah and the 2006 war, and the role of the intellectual in Syria and the Arab world. The following are excerpts from the interview: The Ignorance of the Islamic Religious Establishment Has Grown Worse Since I First Wrote About It in the Late 1960s Q: "... To what degree ...
Following are excerpts from a public address by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which aired on the Iranian News Channel IRINN TV on June 2, 2008. To view this clip, visit http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/1784 . To view the MEMRI TV page for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, visit http://www.memritv.org/subject/en/358.htm . Mahmoud Ahmadinejad : "Our beloved Imam Khomeini , you commanded that the arrogant powers of the world must be destroyed. You commanded that the global rule of ...
