the news in arabic

(The above image of Talal abu Dan is from al-Arabiya.net)

The Syrian security apparatus has continued a campaign of arresting members of the Syrian opposition, specifically targeting members of the Damascus Declaration (‘alaan dimashq). Twelve members of the group, which formed in 2005 and demands basic human rights for Syrian citizens and a democratic government, have been arrested in one month. The Damascus Declaration recently held a conference which triggered this crackdown.

Most recently, al-Arabiya reports 55-year-old Syrian artist Talal abu Dan, who is a member of the Damascus Declaration was arrested in Aleppo, according to to the Syrian Human Rights Committee. Here is the Committee’s website in English. Talal had previously spent ten years in prison for his involvement with the Syrian Communist Party.

(Image of rebels in Chad as they approach the capital from al-Jazeera.)

I’ll be the first to admit that I have no fucking clue what is happening in Chad or Kenya. But I do know that al-Jazeera delivers a constant stream of breaking news from the ground, and these stories are never buried and always at the top of the page. This leads me to believe that al-Jazeera places a great deal of importance on what is happening in Africa. I think this is a reflection of al-Jazeera’s more global take on news. Of course, Arab-related issues will always take precedence, but it is rare that any issue of truly global importance will be overlooked.

I don’t recall the last time I looked at CNN’s home page and saw a story on Mauritania, but there’s a story on Mauritania nearly every day on al-Jazeera. Do I read these stories? Not all the time, but I do appreciate a more encompassing news approach.

I went to the “World” or “International” news pages of several English-language and Arabic-language news sites to see how these outlets define “Global.” The top stories are:
English

Fox News: Aruba (1); Al-Qaeda (1, not a geographic area, but according to Fox it is); Turkey (1); Great Britiain (4)

CNN: Kenya (1); Turkey (1); Afghanistan (1); China (1). Their international page allots three stories for every region, but these are the top stories separate from this section. And apparently an explosion at a fireworks factory in Turkey is enough to be top news on Fox, CNN, and the NY Times.

NY Times: Kenya (1); Israel (1); Canada/Kazakhstan (1); Turkey (1); China (2); Afghanistan (1)

Arabic

Al-Jazeera: Kenya (2); Chad (1); Sudan (1); Pakistan (1); Afghanistan (1); US (1); Malaysia (1) — Note: The “Arab” news, including Iraq, is separate from the “International” news. On the Arab news page, here is the breakdown: Gaza/Egypt (2); Iraq (1); Lebanon (1).

Al-Arabiya: Iraq (1); Palestine (1); Saudi (1); Syria (1); Afghanistan (1). There is no international page, so these are the main stories.

What is the central difference between the English-language and Arabic-language news sources’ concepts of international news? Apparently, Iraq is a total non-issue in the Western-language coverage. Not one Iraq story was at the top of the page (or really, anywhere on the page) in any of the Western news sources I checked.

The first time I read the name of Iraqi Ayatullah al-Sayyid al-Hasni was during the clashes between the Shi’i fringe group Jund al-Samaa and Iraqi security forces in Basra and al-Nasiriyya. Al-Hasni denied having any role in the clashes or of supporting Jund al-Samaa. But I was curious why al-Hasni would even be implicated in the clashes. English-language sources detailing his life are slim to none, so I’ve compiled some information on his political stances in an attempt to better understand his role in Iraq. (In the future, I hope to give a biographical and doctrinal overview of al-Hasni.)

My first impression of al-Hasni is that he is a younger marja’ and that he is somewhat arrogant. On his own site, his name is not mentioned without a praise afterward. For example, there will be a reference to his name and then immediately after, it will say Dam Dhillu al-Aali or May his Shadow Remain. I interpret this as arrogant because Sayyid Fadlallah, who is undoubtedly more accomplished, refrains from such self-praising on his website, demonstrating a more humble and confident attitude.

I came to the following conclusions based on an interview he did with the newspaper al-Ilaf which was then re-published (and probably re-edited) on al-Hasni’s personal website:

• Based in Karbala
• Opposes US occupation in all its forms — economic, land, political. Claims that he would refuse a Muslim or Kafir (non-believer) occupation; foreign countries or neighboring countries
• Relationship with Sistani is somewhat rocky
• Opposes the division of Iraq
• Definitely not in an alliance with Iran since his followers occupied and burned the Iranian consulate in Basra
• Does not express support for the government of Nuri al-Maliki
• Seemingly not affiliated with the group Jund al-Samaa since in the interview he says he does not give their beliefs much “credibility” or saha
• Many of his followers have been arrested and kidnapped in southern Iraq
• Calls for the end of US occupation by way of exposing its corrupt implementors and politicians. People should do this by supporting the Resistance. Note: He calls the Resistance “al-quwa al-wataniyya al-munahidda” or the national resistance forces.

The al-Jazeera program al-Rai’dat profiles prominent females in the Middle East — the program is a good thing because much of the Arabic-language media (and pretty much all-language media) is very male-focused. Al-Jazeera is apparently aware of this weakness and has decided to take action. This week, the Sudanese activist and first female member of the Sudanese Parliament Fatima Ahmad Ibrahim got some attention.

Her story is pretty amazing and it’s sad that the Western media has engaged in such one-sided coverage of Sudan. I am not saying that the Darfur issue is not important, but when one issue comes to represent a country — and an issue as serious as genocide — then we end up with skewed negative perceptions of a country. We forget that Sudan lived under British occupation for years and has witnessed two civil wars. We also forget that the population of Sudan is so diverse that the issues of “Darfur” or the “English teacher sentenced to death because of a teddy bear named Mohammed” should not cloud the deep history of the country.

Ahmad was born in 1933 in Sudan and lived under the British occupation. Her father taught in an English school and got in trouble with the Brits for refusing to teach in English. Ahmad herself would later be arrested several times and put under house arrest for her activist activities. In 1949, she helped organize the first female student strike in Sudan. In 1952, she helped for the Sudanese Women’s Union to demand more equal rights, after this, she became editor of the journal Sawt al-Mara (Woman’s Voice). Almost ten years after the Sudanese liberation from British rule, Ahmad was elected the first female member of the Sudanese Parliament in 1965. A year later, she would marry.

When Jaafar al-Nimari came into power in the 60s, the situation of women in Sudan did not improve. After a failed Communist coup in 1971, Ahmad’s husband was executed and she was put under house arrest. Ahmad is very critical of the West’s history in Sudan. She said that the Sudanese must realize that they colonized our lands and have attempted to co-opt our revolutionary movements.

(Image of the Iraqi Turkmen Front flag.)

Al-Arabiya reports that the Iraqi-Turkmen Front — a group which represents the largest Turkman parties in Kirkuk — has demanded that the Iraqi government establish a Turkman unit in the Iraqi army in order to protect the Turkmen from a “collective genocide” (al-ibaada al-jamaa’iya).  There are no official counts of the Turkmen population in Iraq, but it is estimated to be between three million and 800,000.

Police discovered the decapitated heads of two Turkmen in a city in northern Iraq and the police say that the Turkmen have been the target of numerous kidnappings in the area — more specifically, over 300 individuals kidnapped in a given amount of time, most of them are killed.

Here’s a semi-informative wikipedia entry on the Turkmen in Iraq. Here is an album of photos from Kirkuk.

Hezbullah released a statement via al-Manar on the recent clashes in southern Beirut (al-Dahiyya) between security forces and demonstrators, many of whom were followers of Hezbullah and the more secular Shi’i party, Amal. (Yeah, it’s a secular and sectarian.) Here is my rough translation of the statement:

A number of citizens gathered in protest of the continuing cutting of their electricity and their continued difficult living situations. A force from the Lebanese Army arrived to disperse the demonstrators. Representatives (a commission) arrived from Amal and Hezbullah to remove the demonstrators and shots were fired that led to the martyrdom of Ahmed Husayn Hamza…several more were later martyred by gun fire. Hezbullah considers this to be a great crime against those who were demanding their basic living rights.

Later in the statement, Hezbullah places the responsibility for this crime on the current ruling government. Amal has issued a statement calling for its followers not to take to the streets to react.

Being in charge of graphics at al-Manar must be really fun. The above image ran next to a story about Geert Wilders, a Dutch MP who apparently made some type of anti-Quran film. According to al-Manar, Wilders said that the Quran called for violence and sexual deviancy. I haven’t seen any coverage of this from any other Arabic (or English) language news sources.

(Sistani and Sleepy Bear.)

I can sum up the Western media portrayal (or more accurately, stereotype) of Grand Ayatullah Ali al-Sistani with one sentence: He’s just so quiet! I think many journalists have confused the characteristic of being “quiet” with the actual philosophical and religious trend of “quietism”– which actually doesn’t mean someone who doesn’t talk a lot. Sistani didn’t become the most widely followed marja’ because he had nothing to say, but because he had a lot to say about things that are relevant to his followers. So, yeah, Sistani is a quietist (as are many top Shi’i religious figures) in terms of his religious philosophy. This means that he does not involve himself too deeply in worldy, political issues.

In their coverage of Sistani, the press is also building on another common stereotype of Shi’i Islam propagated in the West — that all Shi’i clerics are politically volatile, spew hateful rhetoric, and are antagonists to the system. Not every single Shi’i leader is another Khomeini looking to establish a religious state. In fact, there is much disagreement within the marji’iyya on the role that Shi’i religious figures should have in affecting change on a political level. Sistani, obviously, is committed to a text-based study of Islam as opposed to becoming a figure for people to rally around for political change.

This brings us back to the paradigm of “Good Muslim” vs. “Bad Muslim.” Sistani is quiet, keeps to himself, and doesn’t incite folks to action therefore he is Good. Folks like Fadlallah who are outspoken politically (yet not actually involved) and criticize US policy in the region are bad.

(Muqtada al-Sadr and Angry Bear.)

Image from al-Jazeera

An explosion east of Beirut killed four people, including a top Lebanese intelligence officer Wasaam ‘Eid. An al-Jazeera correspondent noted that the dynamite or car loaded with dynamite was located in a parking lot close to site of the explosion.

As for why things keep exploding in Lebanon, every sect and political group in (or out) of Lebanon has someone to blame.

The United States blames…Syria.

The Lebanese Majority (name of political bloc not a reference to an amount of people) blame…Syria.

Hezbullah blames…Western Intelligence Agencies and/or Israel.

Syria blames…no one.

All these positions are complex and many of them are contradictory, so it is difficult to generalize and categorize the opinions of any group, especially in Lebanon.

It is an undeniable fact that only pro-Western/anti-Syrian figures have been assassinated in Lebanon in the past two years. (Though there have been several rumors of thwarted assassination attempts on Nasrallah.) Since the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri, dozens of journalists and political figures who have been critical of Syrian intervention in Lebanon and supportive of western policies have been targeted in a similar fashion — almost always car bombs. The Majority and many Western players in Lebanon, such as the US and France, say Syria is behind the assassinations.

The Opposition, who has traditionally supported a wider role for Syria in Lebanon, is always outspoken in their condemnation toward any assassination or explosion in Lebanon. They do not blame Syria for the violence, but they also do not provide cover for Syria. Hezbullah regularly suggests that it is most likely Israel and Western forces behind the killings. Why? Israel serves to benefit the most from an unstable, divided, and weak Lebanon. Many would say that this “destabilization” argument could represent Syrian motives since the country has been attempting to re-assert control in Lebanon ever since their 2005 troop withdrawal.

Sayyid Mohammad Husayn Fadlallah is also of the oppositionist tendency. He views Lebanon and Syria as having a very close, historical relationship based on common Arab identity. Fadlallah has often said that Israel is the most likely culprit in these assassinations because, after all, history has shown that Israel has dedicated resources and energy to killing Lebanese figures and citizens.

I’d also like to point out that the temporary lift of the blockade started with female demonstrators.

Palestinian children climb over the border wall at the Rafah crossing into Egypt. (Al-Hayat)

(From al-Sharq al-Awsat.)

(From al-Jazeera.)

(From al-Jazeera.)

Al-Jazeera reports that hundreds of women, mostly members of Hamas’s female wing, have stormed the southern border crossing of Rafah which connects the Gaza Strip with Egypt. Israel controls the Rafah crossing and closed it down, triggering a devastating series of humanitarian catastrophes. Several of the protesters have been injured after troops (possibly Egyptian or Israeli, the article did not specify) opened fire. The al-Jazeera correspondent said that the troops opened fire in the air and not directly at the crowd.

Massive demonstrations against the Israeli blockade of Gaza have taken place in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Sudan. Demonstrators in Jordan convened in front of the Parliament and called for the government to end diplomatic relations with Israel.

(Image of the Imam Ali shrine, located in Najaf, from Sistani.org.)

Al-Hayat reports that the Sadr wing (al-tiyar al-sadri) is holding the Iraqi government responsible for the appearance of fringe religious movements in Iraq. A Sadr rep said that the government is so preoccupied with chasing down members of the Mehdi army (jaysh al-mehdi) that they have not been monitoring the growth of certain groups, such as Jund al-Samaa and Ansar al-Mehdi. The rep said that the Sadr wing is committed to a fatwa issued by Muqtada al-Sadr that says not to deal with these groups.

In Najaf, 13 followers of the Ansar al-Mehdi group (which is considered to be an extension of Jund al-Samaa) were arrested in a week-long operation, including the group’s spiritual leader — Hasan al-Hamami. A rep for the police said that the group’s members admitted to planning terrorist attacks (‘amliat irhabieh) during Ashoura in Najaf. Iraqi marja’ Mahmoud al-Hasani al-Sorkhi (aka this guy) denied any connection to the recent events in Basra and Nasiriyya. (Note: The article does not explain why al-Hasani would be connected with these fringe Shi’i groups.)

(Image from al-Jazeera. Caption reads: Hundreds of sick Palestinians are threatened with death in hours if the electricity continues to be cut.)

From a Palestinian Centre for Human Rights report:

At approximately 20:00 on Sunday, January 20^th, the Gaza Strip power plant ran out of fuel and shut down, plunging the Gaza Strip into darkness. The closure of the Gaza power plant, in addition to Israel’s continuing tightened siege of the Gaza Strip, will have a catastrophic effect on the 1.5 million residents of Gaza, who are already suffering chronic shortages of fuel, medicine and some basic food stuffs . . .

Israel is manufacturing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip that is seriously deteriorating every aspect of civilian life. To date, fourty five patients have died as a direct result of Israeli Occupying Force (IOF) closure and siege of the Gaza Strip. According to the Director of Shiffa Hospital, Dr Hassan Khalaf, patient’s lives continue to be at stake, including the lives of 30 premature babies in Shiffa Hospital, who will die immediately if there is a power cut at the hospital. Gaza’s second major hospital, the European Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, has now suspended all major surgical operations. Meanwhile, all borders from Gaza to the outside world remain sealed to Palestinians . . .

The Gaza Strip requires 230-250 megawatts of electricity a day to operate at full capacity. On Friday, January 18^th, and again on Sunday, January 20^th, the IOF prevented a vital daily delivery of fuel from passing through the Nahal Oz Crossing, including industrial diesel used to fuel the power plant. The power plant is now completely closed. This closure of Gaza’s only power plant has drastically reduced electricity output across the Gaza Strip by 65 megawatts. Civilians across Gaza city and the central Gaza Strip are totally dependent on the power plant. The closure of the power plant will severely impact on civilian lives across the Gaza Strip.

Have you seen the Other Iraq?

It’s spectacular.
It’s peaceful.
It’s joyful.
Fewer than two hundred US troops
are stationed here.
Arabs, Kurds and westerners all vacation together.

Welcome to Iraqi-Kurdistan!

(Image and text from The Other Iraq, a website affiliated with the Kurdistan Regional Government that seeks to encourage investment.)

Kurdistan is an area which encompasses land from Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran.

Iraqi Kurdistan (aka northern Iraq) is particularly attractive for investors because of the potential for booming oil production. An article from al-Hayat reports that the Kurdistan Regional Government has entered into a binding investment agreement with foreign companies regarding drilling for oil in the north.

Khalid al-Salah, a spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government, said that the agreement was “legit” (qanooniya), yet the central government in Baghdad considers the agreement “null” (batilla) since the Parliament has not yet decided on the oil laws. A Kurdish official responded that the agreement has no relation to Parliament and said that the central government should not interfere with Kurdish issues.

(Image of Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki from here.)

Al-Zaman reports that the Iraqi government is still trying to get it’s story straight regarding the recent clashes in Basra and Nasiriya. Members of religious parties have blamed the Shi’i fringe group Jund al-Samaa for being involved in the clashes that killed over 75, but others have said that followers of the former Iraqi Army were the ones actually involved in the clashes. A source told al-Zaman that current Iraqi police forces unleashed random, heavy gunfire in residential areas and trapped residents who were adverse to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Al-Hayat details a new national campaign launched by al-Maliki to fight financial and administrative corruption in the Iraqi government. Al-Maliki said it is necessary to develop a legal framework to ensure that corruption stops and that perpetrators will not be protected. Al-Maliki also said that the relative calm experienced during this year’s Ashoura ritual is proof that security is becoming a reality in Iraq.