In two articles that appeared on the liberal website Elaph, 1 Tunisian intellectual Lafif Lakhdar analyzed and criticized dominant values in the Arab world. Lafif Lakhdar, currently residing in Paris, was a regular columnist for the London Arabic-language daily Al-Hayat, but was fired at the instruction of the paper's owner, Saudi Prince Khaled ibn Sultan, for saying during a talk show on Al-Jazeera that Saudi practices such as amputating body parts render the regime "barbaric." 2 In the first ...
Iraq's liberation will have economic consequences for its neighbors, but nowhere are these consequences greater than in Syria. The vehemence of Syrian opposition to the war in Iraq has been driven by two concerns—political and economic. The political concern, which is outside the frame of reference of this analysis, has to do with Syria's ideological affinity with the Iraqi Ba'ath party which ruled the country during Saddam Hussein's reign. The de-Ba'thification of Iraq, which will be a top ...
I. The Palestinian Press The reactions of Palestinian newspapers to the fall of Baghdad were mixed. The front page of the Palestinian Authority (PA) daily Al-Ayyam , normally printed in color, today appeared in black and white. The Palestinian daily Al-Quds published a scene of Baghdad's "Liberation Square" – with the statue of Saddam still in place. The editor of the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Hafez al-Barghouti , criticized the lack of effective Iraqi defense plans, and bemoaned the fact ...
The Arab press continues to publish reports and analyses on the war in Iraq. While many of the editorials are stridently anti-war and anti-American, they contain little support for Saddam Hussein and his regime. On the contrary, many commentators blame Saddam and his government for implementing the policies that led to the war. The following are excerpts from various Arab newspapers on this topic: Editorials in the London Arab Dailies The political analyst of the London-based Saudi daily ...
The following report appeared in the winter 2002 edition of the journal "Terrorism and Political Violence." 1 It was authored by Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli, senior analyst of MEMRI's Middle East Economic Studies Program. Preface Few individuals have had a more central role in articulating and practicing terrorism than Ayman Al-Zawahiri . 2 Though born into the Egyptian aristocracy and trained as a surgeon, this gifted individual has always been attracted to the most extreme forms of Islam. In 1998 he ...
In this wire: I. Yasser Arafat's Holiday Greetings to Saddam Hussein II. On the Eve of a Possible War Wartime Legislation: Rescinding the Amputation of Deserters' Ears Islamist Sources: 400 Arab-Afghans Reached Northern Iraq Iraq Establishes its First Home-Security Tribunal WebCam in Baghdad to Rally International Public Opinion Qusay in Charge in Case of Saddam's Absence Baghdad Offers Tehran a 'Strategic Partnership' In Baghdad, the First Targets of the War are Known Kurdish Officials: ...
Introduction In recent months, Iran has seen an increase in public protests by intellectuals and clerics against the regime of Iran's Supreme Leader 'Ali Khamenei. To date, the protestors have included: Muhammad Mohsen Sazgara , who wrote an article in April 2002 1 criticizing Khamenei's rule by tyranny; Dr. Hashem Aghajari , who delivered a scathing address calling for "Islamic Protestantism" and was subsequently sentenced to death; 2 and Ayatollah Taheri , who in July 2002 published a letter ...
The London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reported that senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards official Hamid Reza Zakiri recently defected. In an interview with Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Zakiri disclosed information regarding the cooperation of the Revolutionary Guards and Iranian intelligence apparatuses 1 with Saddam Hussein's regime, terror organizations such as the Palestinian and Egyptian Jihad organizations, Al-Qa'ida, and Hizbullah. Zakiri also discussed the 1998 political murders in Iran, ...
Arab media reactions to the Columbia space shuttle disaster have been diverse. While several papers printed editorials expressing sorrow and condolences, some columnists linked the incident to America's war on terrorism, the anticipated war on Iraq, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. A few mocked the tragedy, with particular emphasis on the death of Israeli astronaut Col. Ilan Ramon. "The American Space Program is Part of the Scientific Heritage of Humanity" An editorial of the London-based ...
