Entries for February 2009

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

A poll of political attitudes in Muslim countries finds that the Palestinian territories are the only place where a majority holds a positive view of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. However, large majorities in several Muslim nations contend that the United States is working to "divide and weaken" the Islamic world. The Jordan Times reports on the findings of the WorldPublicOpinion.org poll:

The only respondents where a majority had a positive view of Ben Laden were Palestinians residing in the West Bank and Gaza, 56 per cent of whom reported to have positive feelings, compared to 22 per cent negative and 22 per cent "mixed".

In Egypt, 44 per cent of citizens have a positive view of Ben Laden compared to 17 per cent negative, while 25 per cent of Pakistanis have positive views versus 20 per cent negative.

The only predominately Muslim countries polled where a majority had negative views of Al Qaeda leader were Azerbaijan (82 per cent) and Turkey (68 per cent). Approximately 80 per cent of Jordanians believe the US is actively working to "divide and weaken" Islam, the report asserts, compared to 87 per cent of Egyptians, 87 per cent of Palestinians and 82 per cent of Turks.

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

Iran is claiming success on the test run of its first nuclear power plant, although the testing seems likely to hasten efforts by the United States and Israel to prevent Iran from going nuclear. In reaction to the test, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice repeated the administration's pledge to block Iran's nuclear ambitions via diplomacy, while Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, whose country was far more comfortable with the Bush administration's confrontational approach, repeated his nation's vow not to take "any option off the table" to stop the nuclear threat. None of this background noise served to dampen Tehran's enthusiasm, the Qatar-based satellite TV station Al Jazeera reports:

The long-delayed reactor, in the southern port city of Bushehr, could come on line within [four to seven] months, Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, said on Wednesday.

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

In advance of her first visit to the Middle East next week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is being beseeched by Israeli leaders to lead the fight against anti-Semitism and vilification of Israel, a trend that has increased since the war in Gaza. The Israelis will ask Clinton to boycott the U.N. World Conference Against Racism, due to take place in Switzerland in April. The U.N.'s first such conference, in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, singled Israel out for venomous condemnation, leading the Israeli and U.S. delegations to walk out in protest. The Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot reports:

Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog, who was tasked by the government to head its counter anti-Semitism efforts, wants to use Clinton's visit in order to create a united front against the conference.

The U.S. has yet to announce whether or not it will take part in Geneva's World Conference against Racism, although it did vote against holding it.

Herzog said the conference "can set the world dozens of years back. It stands to focus on hatred towards Israel and the Jewish people. I urge the US to announce it will not take part in it and I call on it to lead the sane nation's bloc in that move, as it has before."

Rightist government may be Netanyahu's only option

The incoming Israeli government is shaping up to be decidedly right wing as Binyamin Netanyahu, the presumptive incoming prime minister, is having no luck bringing the incumbent, centrist Kadima party into his coalition. Kadima leader Tzipi Livni says the party, which leads the outgoing ruling coalition, is headed to the opposition because Netanyahu does not share her commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state. Meanwhile, Netanyahu is getting impatient, the Jerusalem Post reports:

"I want to give Livni a real chance to join us, but we cannot wait forever," Netanyahu told his Likud faction, after a consensus of Likud Knesset members pressured him to give up on Livni ...and start formal negotiations with [right-wing factions] Israel Beiteinu, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Habayit Hayehudi and the National Union.

The official Saudi newspaper Arab News reports on the case of a Saudi teenager convicted of blackmailing a girl after being arrested by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

A court in Al-Ahsa has sentenced a 19-year-old Saudi youth to five years' imprisonment and 500 lashes for blackmailing a girl and threatening to publish her photos if she did not go out with him.

Col. Yousuf Al-Qahtani, spokesman for the Eastern Province police, said the teenager was caught by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice after the girl's brother filed a complaint last month.

Obama's move toward Iran worries Gulf states

While the moderate, Sunni-dominated Gulf states were outspoken critics of President George W. Bush's aggressive approach to the Middle East, President Obama's diplomatic overtures to radical, Shiite-dominated Iran also has Gulf leaders worried, reports the Jordan Times:

"Our basic demand is that America should not give concessions on the Iranian nuclear programme and its interventions in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine . . . ," said Mustafa Alani of the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre.

"We should be a part of these negotiations. We don't want any surprises. We need to be a partner and our interests need to be represented," Alani continued. Gulf Arabs, who warned against the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, now fear the early withdrawal promised by Obama will leave that country in the hands of Iranian-allied Shiite politicians who have dominated the post-Saddam Hussein government. They fear a U.S. administration that rules out military action will fail to curb Tehran's nuclear programme, and eventually leave Sunni Arabs squeezed between two non-Arab nuclear power centres—Iran and Israel.

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

Egypt's most prominent political prisoner, Ayman Nour, has unexpectedly been released because of what the government says are "health reasons." Nour and his supporters credited political pressure from the United States for his release. A liberal reformer who challenged longtime President Hosni Mubarak in the 2005 elections, Nour was imprisoned more than three years ago on election forgery charges. The 44-year-old activist, who is diabetic, says he will resume his political opposition to the Egyptian regime. The Dubai-based pan-Arab satellite TV station Al Arabiya reports:

Despite three years of "political and personal hardship," Nour revealed the same optimism he showed during his presidential campaign.

"My determination has not ceased. I will work for a democratic future in Egypt and will rebuild the Gad party with the help of Egyptians who want to renew the liberal political current in the country," he added. The U.S. administration of former President George W. Bush has called repeatedly on Egypt to release Nour. Cairo says its judiciary is independent and not politically motivated.

The Qatar-based pan-Arab satellite TV station al Jazeera reports that Nour appealed to President Obama in August to aid Arab reformers and suggests that the release of Nour may be Mubarak's way of getting on Obama's good side.