Month: June 2015

Gay Marriage and Western Muslims

THE LEVANT NEWS -- By Graham E. Fuller - Source: grahamefuller.com-- Human sexuality has always been a deeply controversial social issue in all societies. So is religion. Put them together and you have a powerful emotional brew. The US Supreme Court ruling this week legalizing gay marriage poses a new challenge to Islamic communities in the […]

Beyond the Greek Impasse

THE LEVANT NEWS -- By George Friedman for STRATFOR.COM -- The Greek situation — having perhaps outlived the term "crisis," now that it has taken so long to unfold — appears to have finally reached its terminal point. This is, of course, an illusion: It has been at its terminal point for a long time. The terminal […]

Yazidi Iraqi Woman’s ISIS Captivity Story

THE LEVANT NEWS -- By Joanna Paraszczuk - Source: Radio Free Europe -- ”We stayed on our feet while they looked for the ones who were pretty, those with a nice body, or pretty eyes, or pretty hair, or a pretty face. They would take them, rape them, and pass them on to others." […]

Poems by British Lebanese poet Mariam Michtawi

By Mariam Michtawi -Translated from Arabic by Jake Gordon -- 1. The Temple I slept, And the dream began... I was walking in fear That my legs would fail me, Upon that journey, The mage's journey... I knelt, Praying Like parched earth I wandered through your temple, Taking my last supper Upon […]

The Major Difference Between the Shi’a and the Sunni

All the Muslims agree that Allah is One, Muhammad (S) is His last Prophet, the Qur’an is His last Book for mankind, and that one day Allah will resurrect all human beings, and they will be questioned about their beliefs and actions. There are, however, disagreements between the two schools in the following two areas: […]

Car bomb attack kills Egypt's top public prosecutor

Source: Reuters -- CAIRO: Egypt's top public prosecutor died Monday of wounds sustained in a car bomb attack on his convoy as it was leaving hisCairo home in a marked escalation of Islamist militant attacks on the judiciary. Judges and other state officials have increasingly been targeted by radical Islamists opposed to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and […]

UN: ISIS destruction of heritage sites a war crime

ٍٍSource: Associated Press - BERLIN: The U.N.'s cultural agency says the destruction of antiquities and heritage sites in conflict zones by ISIS and other groups could amount to war crimes. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee Monday adopted a resolution condemning "intentional attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes and historic monuments," […]

Tunisia says arrests suspects associated with beach hotel attacker

Source: Reuters - SOUSSE, Tunisia: Tunisian authorities have arrested a group of suspects associated with the gunman who killed 39 people, mainly British tourists, in an attack on a beach hotel, the interior minister said Monday. ISIS has claimed responsibility for last Friday's assault on theImperial Marhaba hotel in the resort town of Sousse. The gunman, […]

Qatar admits 'much more needs to be done' on labor law

By David Harding for Agence France Presse - DOHA: Qatar conceded Monday that "much more needs to be done" on the controversial issue of labor reform following fresh criticism of the 2022 World Cup hosts over the pace of change. A statement from the newly established Qatar Government Communications Office also reaffirmed Doha's committment to scrapping the controversial […]

ISIS issues audio clip purporting to be of Kuwait bomber

Reuters -- ISIS released an audio clip purporting to be a posthumous statement by a militant who killed 27 people in a suicide bombing attack on a Kuwait mosque Friday. The statement consisted largely of Koranic verses and was released on social media channels used by ISIS. The speaker criticizes Shiite Muslims and says they […]

Cables Released by WikiLeaks Reveal Saudis’ Checkbook Diplomacy

By Ben Hubbard for THE NEW YORK TIMES -- BEIRUT, Lebanon — It seems that everyone wants something from Saudi Arabia. Before becoming the president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi wanted visas to take his family on a religious pilgrimage. A Lebanese politician begged for cash to pay his bodyguards. Even the state news agency of […]

The Jihadist Trap of Here and Now

By Scott Stewart for STRATFOR -- In recent weeks, I have found myself spending a lot of time thinking about the jihadist strategy of al Qaeda and how it compares to that of the Islamic State. Earlier this month, I wrote about the possibility that the al Qaeda brand of jihadism could outlast that of […]

Syria’s Nusra Front underlines Al-Qaeda link in audio message

Source: Reuters – BEIRUT: The head of Syria’s Nusra Front militant group mourned the death of al Qaeda’s deputy leader in an audio message that underlined the organizations’ close relationship and appeared to counter recent reports that it might split from the global network. Nusra is al Qaeda’s wing in Syria, but sources close to […]

Kurdish militia wants Syrian rebels to lead an attack against ISIS headquarters

Source: Reuters – A Kurdish militia leading an attack on Islamic State strongholds in Syria so far has no plan to extend the assault to the group’s de facto capital of Raqqa city, and such an advance should be led by Syrian rebels, a Kurdish leader said on Wednesday. The comments by Saleh Moslem, leader […]

Citigroup Executive Pressured Brokers Over Libor, Court Hears

By DAVID ENRICH for THE WALL STREET JOURNAL — LONDON—A Citigroup Inc. executive in London said he was pressuring brokers to get other banks to lower their interest-rate submissions, a London court heard Tuesday. Andrew Thursfield, a high-ranking executive in Citigroup’s London office, wrote to a colleague in September 2007 about plans to try to […]

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