Mideast News & Politics

The AKP Government Promises to Realize the More Liberal Options. But we Will See

Mustafa Akyol is a Turkish political commentator and author based in Istanbul, Turkey. Author of the site The White Path, and regular columnist for Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey’s foremost English-language daily. Akyol is also a leading proponent of Muslim liberalism in the region.

Aslan Media recently sat down with the Turksih writer and journalist to discuss his country’s growing prominence in the region and on the world stage, as well as the internal social and political growing pains it is experiencing, and his thoughts on the democratic fervor spreading throughout the region.

Aslan Media: What are your thoughts about Turkey as a role model of Islamic democracy for other countries in the region and beyond?

Mustafa Akyol: Well, I think no country can be a “model” for others to follow, for each society has its own unique structure and destiny. Moreover, it would be only arrogant for us Turks to say that we should be followed by others because we know better.

But the experience of Turkey with democracy, especially as it has evolved in this new century, seems to have become a source of inspiration for some democrats in other Muslim nations — and I am happy to see that. What Turkey represents today, I believe, is a form of Muslim modernity which shares some fundamental values of Western modernity, but also has its own “color” to it.

On the other hand, I think it is fair to speak of an “AKP model” for the more progressive elements in the Islamic parties of the Middle East. (AKP is the Turkish acronym for Turkey’s incumbent Justice and Development Party.) Tunisia’s En Nahda noted that they take the AKP as their “example,” which meant that they would not impose what they see as Islamic norms on society. That is good news, for the imposition of religion results in nothing other than tyranny on the state level and hypocrisy on the societal one. That is a key issue that I deal with in my book.

Egypt’s Christians Organize to Make Themselves Heard in the Upcoming Elections: A Report From Tanta, Egypt

Even before the revolution, Egypt’s Coptic community suffered from a dearth of political and civic participation. The Coptic Orthodox Church’s Bishopric of Youth, for example, has an area of focus entitled ‘Promoting Coptic Participation in Society,’ which I encountered when a representative spoke at our local church encouraging the congregation to register to vote in the 2010 legislative elections.

When he informally polled the crowd to see who planned to vote, only a handful indicated any interest at all.

That was before the revolution, when everyone knew the election results would be rigged by Mubarak’s party. Yet now that Mubarak is gone and the elections are free, Copts are still reticent to actively participate in politics.

For Every One Woman They Put in Jail, There are 10 More in Her Place

On October 23rd, The Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life at UC Santa Barbara held an event to launch it’s new Hamdani World Harmony Lecture Series.

Leading the series with “The Role of Women in Promoting Peace and Democracy in the Middle East,” Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Iranian Human Rights lawyer, author, and recent exile Shirin Ebadi, drew a substantial audience at the Santa Barabara campus.

As as stop along her book tour for her acclaimed The Golden Cage, Ebadi’s presentation not only touched on the fate of the Iran’s Green movement, it also discussed the larger landscape of women’s rights in the Middle East in the midst of the recent revolutions.

Aslan Media had the chance to sit down with Ebadi before she took the stage to discuss her new book, the current climate in Iran, and her thoughts on America’s unrest.

“There Has Not Been a Peace Process; There Has Been an Annexation Process”: Norman Finkelstein Discusses the Israel-Palestine Conflict

Though several YouTube clips portray him as a radical, many of Dr. Norman Finkelstein’s ideas and resolutions to the Israel-Palestine conflict are so reasonable that it is no wonder his opponents try to silence and/or discredit him (in fact, an acquaintance of mine complained he wasn’t radical enough!).

Speakers can easily be put-down as “extremist” or “anti-Semitic” when their ideas are radically out of the norm. But with Finkelstein these labels go down like a lead balloon.

As part of his speaking tour of the UK, Finkelstein’s lecture in Manchester, England in early November was originally intended to be held at the University of Manchester.

Thank You For Giving Me the Vote, King Abdullah. Now Can I Please Have Something to Vote About?

When I, a Saudi female who lives in the city of Jeddah, first heard the news last month that King Abdullah was going to let women vote, my first reaction was, "vote in what?"

As is well known, the country of Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy. The king has the final say in everything.

There is no parliament, no prime minister, not even a constitution.

I suppose democracy must begin somewhere. But what elections was the king even talking about?

Perhaps he meant municipal elections. Those were held for the second time ever earlier this year. Yet when women went to their municipalities to vote, they were turned away at the polls.

Israel: A Friend with Benefits – and Costs

"Our security relationship with Israel is broader, deeper, and more intense than ever before," said Andrew Shapiro, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, speaking to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy last Saturday.

The majority of his speech could have been taken directly from the pages of a recent report by Robert Blackwill and Walter Slocombe entitled, "Israel: A Strategic Asset for the United States. " Both Shapiro and the authors of the report argue that Israel confers significant benefits upon the US and its national interests, and that this justifies the support the US provides to the Jewish state.

Blackwill and Slocombe ably delineate the positive aspects of the relationship. The authors assert that Israeli and US national interests are "virtually identical." Both states seek to prevent nuclear proliferation (especially by unfriendly states like Iran), combat terrorism and Islamic extremism, promote stability and "an orderly process of democratic change" in the region, and ensure the security of Israel.

Arab League Ambassador Visits DC

Supra-national bodies tend to get bogged down in political discussions and controversies. That has certainly been the case with the League of Arab States, which represents the diverse political, social, and economic interests of twenty-two nation-states.

The League is routinely criticized as ineffectual and unimportant on the international stage. Yet it has nevertheless received greater attention lately because of the Arab Spring, the recent bid for Palestinian statehood at the UN, Tunisia's October elections, and the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict. In fact, one could argue that the League has never been more important than in 2011.

From Cairo to Phoenix. What the Occupy Movement Owes to the Arab Spring

Protests have become the bread and butter of the evening news.

In light of recent events, news viewers have come to expect protests in their “news meal,” whether it is on the home front or abroad, almost as much as they expect to enjoy a Kaiser roll with their steak dinner.

As a student at Arizona State University, I haven’t been personally witness to the Arab Spring and the tumult in the Middle East, but have closely followed the shock-wave of protests that have spread throughout the United States. What began in lower Manhattan and Zucotti Park has now spread to just a few miles from my campus—and in towns and cities much like my own across the nation.

What many don’t see is that the Middle East and the United States share a common thread. Mohamed Bouazizi set himself aflame in Tunisia last December and the heat behind his frustration fueled a regional revolution. That was nearly a year ago. But how will the successes of one country or region affect another? Who and what is changing?

Interview with Moaz al-Sibaai

Moaz Al-Sibaai currently leads the Political Office of the Homs Revolutionary Council and is a member of the recently formed Syrian National Council. Mr. al-Sibaai is also the Chair and Founder of The Syrian Dream group and chair of the Syrian Activists Network (SYAN). Moaz is a senior IT infrastructure consultant and also manages consulting delivery in Saudi Arabia.

Recently, Aslan Media spoke with him from his home in Riyadh.

Petition to prevent Manchester-based family from eviction

 Manchester - Around 30 people gathered outside the Crown Prosecution Service in Manchester on Tuesday to hand in a petition which generated over 10,000 signatures to prevent a family from being evicted from their home in Longsight, Manchester.

The “Save the Family Home” campaign was set up after the Farooqi family of five adults and two children, including an eight month old baby, were told they could be made homeless as a result of the father’s conviction.

The father, Munir Farooqi, was found guilty of terrorism charges, which he is appealing. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the CPS want to seize his home in Longsight, Manchester, saying it was used for terrorism. This is the first time that such a move has been attempted under section 23A of the Terrorism Act 2000, which allows forfeiture of property in terrorism cases. If granted, the order would enable the property to be sold and the proceeds placed into the Magistrates’ Court.

Harris Farooqi, who also faced terror charges but was found not guilty, said the signatures were a 'small drop in the ocean'. "When a person commits no crime, he always wins", he said after the petition was handed in to the CPS. "It's been a miscarriage of justice and we will prove that very soon".