LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11:5-13. And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,' and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.' I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

Saudi-Syrian Summit: Lebanese National
Unity Cabinet Cornerstone of Stability
Naharnet/Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Saudi King Abdullah stressed on Thursday the importance of forming a national unity government in Lebanon as a basis for stability. The two leaders, speaking after meeting at the end of a two-day visit to Syria by King Abdullah, underlined "the importance of the agreement amongst the Lebanese, who (are likely to) find common ground to form a government of national unity as a cornerstone of stability," the state-run SANA news agency said.
There is much hope in Lebanon that reconciliation between Syria and Saudi Arabia will have a positive effect on attempts to form a government, an effort that has been stalled since the June 7 parliamentary elections. King Abdullah's visit to Damascus was the first by a Saudi ruler since the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The two Arab countries have been at odds over several regional issues, including Syria's close ties with Iran. They have recently made moves towards a rapprochement with three meetings between Abdullah and Assad in the past two years. The leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan boycotted an Arab summit held in Damascus last year, accusing Syria of working to destabilize Lebanon. Relations have improved since then, with Saudi Arabia appointing an ambassador to Damascus in July, a post that had been vacant since 2008. In another sign of improving ties, the two regional powerhouses agreed to promote bilateral trade and investment, SANA said. Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed al-Hussein and his Saudi counterpart, Ibrahim Assaf, said the volume of trade, currently only two billion dollars a year, will "begin growing in the coming days," the news agency said. "We have decided to remove the difficulties hindering commercial exchanges, notably the taxes recently imposed by Syria on products exported to Saudi Arabia," such as olive oil and ceramics, Hussein was quoted as saying. Beirut, 08 Oct 09, 18:50

Lebanese politicians urge security steps after Ain al-Remmaneh clashes
Daily Star staff
Thursday, October 08, 2009 -Naharnet
BEIRUT: The killing of one person and the wounding of four others in clashes in a Beirut suburb sparked a flurry of comments and condemnations on Wednesday, and raised fears about the renewal of security incidents similar to the ones that preceded the May 7, 2008 street clashes between pro-government and opposition gunmen.
One person was stabbed to death and four others were wounded in clashes that broke out overnight Tuesday in Beirut’s suburb of Ain al-Remmaneh.
The violence late on Tuesday pitted youths from the mainly Shiite district of Shiyyah against residents of the nearby Christian area of Ain al-Remmaneh.
The incident took place in an area that was the first line of demarcation during Lebanon’s 1975-1990 bloody Civil War.
A well-informed security source told The Daily Star that Lebanese troops arrested eight men suspected of involvement in the fight.
Security reports said young men on scooters came from Shiyyah and began circling near a restaurant located on the Sanine Intersection of Ain al-Remmaneh. “A heated exchange with local residents ensued and knives were used leaving one dead and four injured, all from Ain al-Remmaneh,” the reports added.
On Wednesday, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) said the victim, George Abu Madi, 30, had nothing to do with the mishap. The NNA identified the four wounded as Moussa Abdel-Ahad, George Mansour, Mazen Mitri, Salim Boulos and Jean Habr.
Ain al-Remmaneh residents called for a shutdown Wednesday to coincide with the funeral of Abu Madi.
The Ain al-Remmaneh clash came as Lebanon grapples to form a government four months after a general election that saw the March 14 coalition defeat the opposition alliance.
In another security development on Wednesday, eight people were wounded, one seriously, in a grenade explosion targeting a coffee shop in the northern port city of Tripoli, a security report said on Wednesday.
The blast took place in the Jabal Mohsen neighborhood and was followed shortly afterward by a second grenade explosion in the nearby district of Bab al-Tebbaneh. No one was injured in the second blast, the security report said.
The area was the scene last year of deadly sectarian clashes between Sunni supporters of Lebanon’s parliamentary majority and rivals from the Alawite community supported by Syria.
Commenting on Ain al-Remmaneh killing, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said the incident would not be another Ain al-Remmaneh bus incident, in reference to a 1975 attack in which gunmen from the right-wing Phalange Party killed Palestinians riding a bus in the neighborhood. The incident is considered the spark of Lebanon’s 15-year Civil War.
Aoun urged the Lebanese judiciary to be “firm and prompt” in dealing with the incident. “We condemn the incident and the militia acts that followed it,” said Aoun.
Shiite factions Amal and Hizbullah downplayed the incident describing it as an “individual quarrel.” Shiyyah is considered a stronghold for the Amal Movement.
Following talks with Interior Ziad Baroud on Wednesday, Hizbullah MP Nawwaf Moussawi described the Ain al-Remmaneh incident an “individual quarrel,” adding that “politicizing the incident is an attempt by certain parties to improve their political positions or instigate unrest.” Amal Movement MP Hani Qobeissi, meanwhile, said the incident had “personal rather than political” motives behind it. The secretariat general of the March 14 forces on Wednesday condemned the incident and urged the army and police to protect the Lebanese. It also urged the Lebanese to “be cautious against the scheme aimed at inciting strife, transferring it from one area to the other and creating a tense situation.” The coalition stressed the need for taking immediate steps to “arrest the murderers and perpetrators who attacked a safe neighborhood in Ain al-Remmaneh.” Phalange Party MP Sami Gemayel urged the army to erect “permanent checkpoints” in hot spots to avoid similar incidents. Lebanese Forces media officer Nadi Ghosn described the Ain al-Remmaneh incident as an “attack.”
“This is not the first time Ain al-Remmaneh citizens are assaulted,” he told the Free Lebanon radio station. He asked how residents of Shiyyah would respond if “they were ever attacked by their neighbors from Ain al-Remmaneh.” – The Daily Star

March 14 Condemns Ain el-Rummaneh Knife Attack Aimed at 'Inciting Strife'
Naharnet/The secretariat-general of the March 14 forces on Wednesday condemned the knife attack in Ain el-Rummaneh and urged the army and police to protect the Lebanese.
Following its weekly meeting, the secretariat urged the Lebanese to "be cautious against the scheme aimed at inciting strife, transferring it from one area to the other and creating a tense situation." The statement said the army and police were responsible for providing security and protecting citizens in all areas after dozens of knife-yielding young men from Shiyah rode their bikes to a quarrel scene in the adjacent Ain el-Rummaneh neighborhood, attacking a crowd of men overnight.
George Abu Madi, 30, was killed. Earlier Wednesday, a March 14 secretariat-general delegation discussed the Ain el-Rummaneh-Shiyah clashes with Army Commander Gen. Jean Qahwaji. The delegation stressed the need for taking immediate steps to "arrest the murderers and perpetrators who attacked a safe neighborhood in Ain el-Rummaneh."
On the cabinet issue, the March 14 statement said: "The quick formation of the government has become more pressing than ever."
"Lebanon's capability to contain the repercussions of the international crisis weakens as every day goes by without a cabinet," the conferees said giving as examples the latest lay-offs in several industrial and media institutions. Turning to regional issues, the conferees welcomed a planned visit by Saudi King Abdullah to Damascus in an attempt to unify the Arab stance.
The March 14 general-secretariat also criticized the expulsion of scores of Lebanese from the United Arab Emirates. Beirut, 07 Oct 09, 15:19

2 Policemen Brutally Attacked in Nabatiyeh
Naharnet/A group of young men violently beat up on Thursday police adjutants Mohammed Yassine and Mohammed Matar while doing their job in the southern town of Nabatiyeh.
The two policemen were taken to hospital for treatment of severe wounds. Press reports said the officers were attacked while on a mission to seize an Infiniti jeep that had no license plates. The vehicle belongs to Youssef al-Shaer. A number of arrests were made and police opened an investigation into the matter. Beirut, 08 Oct 09, 10:55

France Warns Damascus: Lebanon Instability is Not in Anyone's Interest
Naharnet/A French delegation headed by Elysee Secretary-General Claude Gueant has cautioned Syrian officials during a recent trip to Damascus that instability in Lebanon is "not in anyone's interest."The delegation said Israel is the only beneficiary of instability in Lebanon "since it could use this opportunity to step in and divert global attention to problems that would keep it at a distant from the peace process." Pan-Arab al-Hayat newspaper on Thursday quoted well-informed sources as saying that the French stance stressed the need to leave Lebanese form their own government. It said the Syrian side responded that "the Lebanese must now bear their own responsibility after the country had consolidated its independence."
Beirut, 08 Oct 09, 10:05

8 Wounded in Fresh Wave of Violence in Tripoli
Naharnet/The tension between Tripoli's rival neighborhoods Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen has erupted again in a fresh wave of violence on Wednesday's evening leaving eight people wounded, four of them with light injuries. The violence started when an Inerga-type rocket-propelled grenade hit Al Ashkar cafe in the Jabal Mohsen neighborhood around 7:30 p.m. followed by a hand grenade that was tossed near Al Nassri mosque in Tripoli's Bab al-Tabaneh. Afterwards, another Inerga fell on Haret al-Saydeh street in Jabal Mohsen without any casualties reported. The wounded were identified as Hassan Khadam, Youssef Salloum, Hassan al-Shaikh, Ahmad Hamza, Khodor al-Ali, Mustafa al-Shaikh, Ahmad al-Masri, and Khodor Abdul Kareem. They were all taken to Jabal Mohsen's local medical dispensary. The Arab Democratic Party condemned in a statement "the fall of the grenade on the cafe named Al Ashkar in Jabal Mohsen area which led to the wounding of the 10 people".The party also condemned "the loose security which makes citizens vulnerable to danger and death". It also called the security forces especially the Lebanese Army for a speedy mobilization in order to identify the perpetrators and present them to justice. eirut, 07 Oct 09, 21:23

Geagea: Lebanon Cannot Wait Indefinitely for Cabinet Deal
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea criticized the delay in government formation, saying Lebanon "cannot wait indefinitely for a Cabinet agreement."
His remarks came following a meeting at Center House with PM-designate Saad Hariri late Wednesday. "The formation of the Lebanese government takes place in Lebanon regardless of what is happening at the Syrian-Saudi summit," he said, in reference to talks between Syrian President Bashar Assad and Saudi King Abdullah in Damascus. Beirut, 08 Oct 09, 08:10

Assad, Abdullah Agree to 'Remove Obstacles' to Closer Ties, Decision Could End Political Stalemate in Lebanon
Naharnet/Saudi King Abdullah and Syria President Bashar al-Assad agreed on Wednesday to "remove the obstacles" to closer ties between the two powerhouses long at odds, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. The decision could contribute to helping stabilize Iraq, which borders both countries, and to ending a political stalemate in Lebanon, where Riyadh and Damascus have great influence and have been on opposite sides of the fence.
The daily As-Safir on Thursday quoted sources close to President Michel Suleiman as saying that Suleiman welcomes the Syrian-Saudi rapprochement "which could be in the interest of Lebanon and facilitate the formation of a productive government." King Abdullah arrived in Syria earlier for a two-day visit, his first since acceding to the throne in 2005. He was welcomed at the airport by Assad. The two men then went into talks, which had been expected to cover such issues as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and whom to back to keep Iraq stable as U.S. troops withdraw. The two leaders underlined their "commitment to pursue coordination and consultations at all levels on matters that interest both peoples," SANA said, and want to "remove the obstacles that have hindered their relations."
They called for the "joining of Arab, Islamic and international efforts to lift the (Israeli) embargo imposed on the Palestinians and put an end to the practices of Israeli occupation forces against the rights of the Palestinian people and sacred sites of Islam." Assad political advisor Bouassaina Shaaban described the summit as "constructive, positive and friendly." Hady Amr, of the Brookings Doha Center thinktank, said "a trip by the king of Saudi Arabia to Syria is very significant, certainly for inter-Arab relations."
Ties between Damascus and Riyadh deteriorated in the wake of the 2003 invasion of Iraq over Saudi support for the United States. Relations soured further after the assassination in 2005 of ex-Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri. Hariri, who also held Saudi nationality, was close to the monarchy in the oil-rich Gulf state and had extensive business interests in the kingdom.
There were widespread suspicions that Syria was behind the killing, something Damascus has consistently denied. The son of the slain premier, himself chosen to form a new government after winning elections in June, has so far failed because of continuing differences with the Syrian- and Iranian-backed opposition, led by Hizbullah.
But there has been widespread speculation in Lebanon that Abdullah's visit could spell a breakthrough on that front.
Riyadh has also been at odds with Damascus over its warm relations with Saudi Arabia's rival Iran and its support for Hizbullah.
In that vein, Shaaban noted that the new Saudi-Syrian cooperation would be "added to those between Syria and its two friends, Turkey and Iran."
In early July, Riyadh named a new ambassador to Syria after leaving the post vacant for a year, and a visit by Abdullah has been in the works since that time, Saudi officials say.
The rapprochement comes at the same time as a cautious warming takes place between Damascus and Saudi ally Washington under President Barack Obama.
"It's not surprising that this meeting is taking place during the Obama administration," said Amr. "The U.S. wants to bring Syria more into the fold." Assad and Abdullah have met several times in regional forums since Abdullah became king, although there have been no official visits until now.
Analysts say ties began to improve at an Arab summit in Kuwait in January, when Abdullah pushed hard to gain support from Assad and other Arab leaders for the revival of the Arab Peace Initiative -- a two-country solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- which the Saudis first launched in 2002.
Mansour al-Mansour, head of the Centre for Strategic Studies in Riyadh, said: "Good relations" between Saudi Arabia and Syria "will help ease other tensions within the Arab world." An indication that Syria has changed was this year's Lebanese election, he said. "They didn't interfere in the election. I think that is a good indicator Syria wants a good relationship with Arabs."(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 08 Oct 09, 07:09

Hariri Promises Geagea, Gemayel Better Representation for March 14 Christians
Naharnet/As PM-designate Saad Hariri continues to hold discussions with the various heads of the parliamentary blocs to form a new government, political sources said the Mustaqbal movement leader has promised better representation for Christian leaders within the March 14 coalition. Press reports on Thursday said Hariri had promised Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Phalange Party chief Amin Gemayel better representation in the new Cabinet. The move came following persistent demands by March 14 Christian leaders for a better representation after their previous request had been rejected. The move also came as Lebanon waits to see the repercussions of the Syrian-Saudi summit on the Lebanese government path. Beirut, 08 Oct 09, 08:14

Lebanon Arrests 8 Suspects after Stabbing and Assaults
Naharnet/Lebanese security forces have arrested eight suspects in connection with the stabbing death of 30-year-old George Abu Madi and the knife assault on a group of young men near Sannine Roaster in Ain el-Rummaneh. The assault, which took place around 10 pm Tuesday, has also left five young men wounded. The daily An-Nahar on Wednesday cited an official report as saying that the mishap came in the aftermath of a quarrel with a young man from Shiyah who was beaten up by a group of guys near Sannine Roaster in Ain el-Rummaneh. The argument quickly developed after dozens of knife-yielding young men from Shiyah rode their bikes to the quarrel scene in the adjacent Ain el-Rummaneh neighborhood, attacking a crowd of men. An army spokesman told AFP that the incident pitted youths from the mainly Shiite district of Shiyah against residents of the nearby Christian area of Ain el-Rummaneh. "Young men on scooters came from Shiyah and began circling near a restaurant in Ain el-Rummaneh," the spokesman said. "A heated exchange with local residents ensued and knives were used leaving one dead and four injured, all from Ain el-Rummaneh." The Lebanese army dispatched troops to the area and made arrests. One of the detainees has been identified as Hussein Merhi. The incident took place in an area that was the first line of demarcation during the 1975-1990 civil war. Ain el-Rummaneh residents called for a shutdown Wednesday to coincide with the funeral of George Abu Madi. Beirut, 08 Oct 09, 09:23

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Tapping Phones for Security Reasons
Naharnet/Iran's Revolutionary Guard has reportedly tightened its grip on one of the largest telecommunications company in Tehran for security purposes. Sources told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published Thursday that the Revolutionary Guard now owns 51% of Tucci Telecoms Company after the payment of $5 billion to acquire 51% of the shares of a private company under the privatization law in Iran. The sources said other companies were excluded from the competition "for security considerations." They said the Revolutionary Guard's control over the largest telecoms company will keep the majority of phone conversations under direct military control. Beirut, 08 Oct 09, 12:08

Berri Calls for Parliamentary Session on Feb. 20
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri called for a parliamentary session on Feb. 20 for the election of parliamentary committees, chairmen and rapporteurs. The daily As-Safir said the request to hold a parliamentary meeting has been interpreted that Berri was hopeful that a new government would be established before this date. Beirut, 08 Oct 09, 11:04

Aoun: Ain el-Rummaneh Motorcycle Incident Not Another Ain el-Rummaneh Bus
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said Wednesday that Ain el-Rummaneh motorcycle mishap will not be another Ain el-Rummaneh bus incident. He added that political exploitation of the incident is not acceptable. Aoun was delivering a speech at a press conference after the weekly "Change and Reform" parliamentary bloc meeting in Rabieh in which he urged the Lebanese Judiciary to be firm and prompt in dealing with the incident. "We condemn the incident and the militia acts that followed it," said Aoun, adding that those who are playing with fire should stop. Aoun said that the Lebanese should be immune in the face of sectarian strife keeping in mind what happened in the year 1975.
Regarding the cabinet formation issue, Aoun said there will be another meeting with PM-designate Saad Hariri which is yet to be scheduled. He also said that what Lebanon is suffering of internal problems has nothing to do with what is happening at the Damascus summit. Beirut, 07 Oct 09, 18:34

Berri: Lebanon Crucial Item on Saudi-Syrian Summit Agenda
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri stressed the importance of the Saudi-Syrian summit on Wednesday saying the Lebanese should benefit from the meeting between Saudi King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar Assad. "The Lebanese file will be an essential and not secondary issue during this summit," MPs, who visited Berri as part of his weekly meetings, quoted him as saying. "The Lebanese should benefit from this summit and the positive atmosphere," the speaker reportedly said, adding "nothing prevents cabinet formation" if the Lebanese take advantage of the situation. Earlier, Berri visited President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace. The National News Agency said the two men discussed latest evelopments, particularly efforts aimed at forming the government. Berri then left without making any statement. Beirut, 07 Oct 09, 16:59

UAE official to visit to settle issue of expelled Lebanese
Daily Star staff/Thursday, October 08, 2009
BEIRUT: An official delegation from the United Arab Emirates is expected to arrive in Beirut on Friday as part of efforts to settle the issue of expelled Lebanese Shiites from the UAE. Well-informed sources told the Al-Liwaa newspaper in remarks published Wednesday that Speaker Nabih Berri will contact UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed after having called UAE FM Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed. Hundreds of Lebanese Shiites have been expelled from UAE in the past three months after refusing to spy on their compatriots and Hizbullah, some of those deported said. The sources said Berri as well as Hizbullah have taken it upon themselves to settle this issue. They quoted Berri as cautioning those involved in contacts regarding this issue against “getting engaged in a political or media dispute with the UAE.” – The Daily Star

King Abdullah in Damascus to mend fences with Assad
‘Syrian-Saudi ties are seeing excellent progress’
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Khaled Yacoub Oweis
Reuters
DAMASCUS: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah held talks on Wednesday with President Bashar Assad to heal a rift that has aggravated Arab discord over Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Lebanon. Abdullah’s visit to Damascus, his first as king, coincides with Syria’s emergence from Western isolation as US President Barack Obama seeks its help in his quest for Middle East peace.
Buthaina Shaaban, an adviser to Assad, said the talks were productive and aimed at “strengthening the Arab Islamic position” in the face of what she described as Israeli intransigence.
“Syrian-Saudi ties are seeing excellent progress,” Shaaban said, adding that Syria’s ties with Iran and Turkey, as well as Saudi Arabia, would help create an effective Islamic block.
Diplomats in Damascus said an understanding between the Syrian and Saudi leaders could help forge a wider Arab stance helpful to Obama’s peace efforts, promote formation of a new government in Lebanon, and assuage the fears of Sunni Muslim Arab powers regarding Shiite Iran, an ally of Syria.
“Obama needs help, and Syria has leverage over militant groups opposed to his peace proposals,” one source said.
Syrian-Saudi ties froze after the 2005 assassination of Saudi-backed Lebanese statesman Rafik Hariri, whose allies blamed the killing on Damascus. Syrian denied any involvement.
King Abdullah’s visit is also the first by a Saudi ruler since the 2005 assassination
Assad broke the ice last month when he visited Saudi Arabia and held two hours of talks with Abdullah, but has given no sign that he is willing to sever his alliance with Iran.
“I don’t think Saudi Arabia has anything to offer the Syrians to prise them away from Iran,” said a Western diplomat in Riyadh, adding that he doubted Riyadh would provide economic assistance on a scale that might influence Syrian policy.
Assad and Abdullah exchanged national medals and signed an agreement to regulate taxation during their meeting.
Syrian businessmen hope that the political improvement between the two countries would encourage Saudi investment into Syria, which has mostly ceased since the Hariri killing.
The visit by the Saudi monarch came in the wake of a series of visits to Damascus by senior Western officials.
Syria, keen to stay on good terms with the West, has indicated it was ready to use its ties with Iran to stabilise the region.
“What Syria can offer on Iran is to make clear that Syria will not be party to any Iranian action against Arab interests,” Syrian journalist Thabet Salem said.“Abdullah will be the one more likely ready to compromise, because Syria is no longer isolated and Iran’s position has strengthened after the latest deal with the West,” said Salem, referring to last week’s nuclear talks in Geneva that resulted in tentative agreements between Tehran and six major powers.
Saudi Arabia, however, feels Syria is in the weaker position, argued Khaled al-Dakhil, a Saudi political analyst.
“The Syrians want the visit at any price to avoid isolation by Arab states,” he said.
“It also helps to dissipate the general perception that they had a hand in the assassination of Hariri and should pave the way for Hariri’s son to visit [Damascus], which would be a major win for them.”
Pro-Syrian Lebanese politician Ali Hassan Khalil said the Assad-Abdullah summit would reflect positively in Lebanon, where Hariri’s son Saad is prime minister-designate and has tried in vain to form a cabinet since defeating an opposition that include the Shiite Hizbullah movement in a parliamentary election in June.
Saudi Arabia, which has its own Shiite minority, has long disliked the alliance between Syria and Iran, which both back Hizbullah and the Palestinian Hamas faction. Both groups oppose Obama’s peace drive.
Syria’s alliance with Iran dates back to the 1980s when it backed the Islamic Republic in its 1980-88 war with Iraq.
“The main thing is that Assad and Abdullah are now talking, which is a breakthrough in itself,” a diplomat in the Syrian capital said.

Syria: A pariah or a patron?
By The Daily Star
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Editorial
Syria’s return to the international fold after years of isolation gathered momentum this week with Saudi King Abdullah’s landmark visit to Damascus. But the Syrian regime is far from being out of the woods just yet when it comes to shedding its pariah status. The country still faces multiple allegations of sponsoring terrorism, particularly in neighboring Iraq.
But this image of Syria as a country that is working around the clock to destabilize Iraq is rather unfair, especially in view of the sacrifices that the Syrians have made to accommodate scores of Iraqi refugees. Since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Syria has taken in well over a million Iraqi refugees, which is more than any other country. Most of them arrived at the peak of internal violence in Iraq in 2006 and 2007. That means that Syria’s own population, which stands at roughly 20 million, surged by an additional 5 percent in just two years as a result of the refugee influx. This huge flood of new arrivals into Syria has put extraordinary pressure on the country’s limited resources. The prices of real estate, food, electricity, kerosene and other commodities have skyrocketed, while the country’s school rooms, clinics and hospitals are strained as a result of overcrowding.
These new pressures are compounded by Syria’s own problems. Unemployment in Syria stands at 9 percent, and despite some development in recent years, poverty remains widespread. The country’s worst drought in decades has forced tens of thousands of Syrian families to leave their farms and head to cities to search for work. The Syrian government has been struggling to manage these and many other problems while simultaneously contending with the refugee crisis.
Of course, Damascus has faced criticism for not doing enough to protect a vulnerable refugee population But Syria and neighboring Jordan are still going above and beyond all other countries in their response to the displacement of millions of people.
Oil-rich Iraq, on the other hand, has done relatively little to assist its citizens, while the well-off United States, which arguably bears the greatest responsibility for creating the crisis, refuses to open its doors to large numbers of refugees. Even the wealthy European members of the “coalition of the willing” that backed the US-led invasion have largely turned a blind eye to the plight of displaced Iraqis.
Surely these countries can start shouldering more responsibility. Assistance need not be strictly monetary, and in fact creative solutions – such as building micro-credit institutions for refugees or creating employment opportunities in their host countries – could have a far greater impact in the long term. Until other nations step up to the plate, much of the burden of providing for the castaways of Iraq will fall on the country that was itself cast away by the international community.

Al-Qaeda inspired groups still active in Canada: report
Stewart Bell, National Post
Published: Tuesday, October 06, 2009
A secret government list of the country's top terrorist threats says al-Qaeda-inspired extremists remain active in Canada and are willing and able to carry out attacks.
"AQ's Islamist extremist ideology continues to inspire individuals in Canada," says the classified Intelligence Assessment. "AQ-inspired groups and individuals present a threat of terrorist attack in Canada." The report indicates that, long after police arrested 18 suspects around Toronto for allegedly plotting "al-Qaeda-inspired" shootings and bombings, such extremists remain a central security concern. Three terrorist groups are named in the report, titled "Canada: Bi-Annual Update on the Threat from Terrorists and Extremists." Dated last November, the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre report was only recently released under the Access to Information Act.
Aside from al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda inspired groups, the document names Hezbollah and notes its leader Hassan Nasrallah has threatened to avenge last year's assassination of its military chief Imad Mugniyah. But the report says Hezbollah "has never attacked a target in Canada" and that "Hezbollah in Canada is primarily structured for fundraising." The report takes a similar view of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a now-defunct Sri Lankan rebel group known for its campaign of assassinations and suicide bombings. "LTTE activities in Canada typically involve fundraising, as well as propaganda directed at the Canadian Tamil population," says the report. Sikh extremist activity was assessed as "minimal in recent years," while separatism "provides an undercurrent of tension in various regions of Canada, most prominently in Quebec." Also identified as threats: aboriginal extremists; lone wolves; and multi-issue extremists (MIEs), a broad category that encompasses the fringes of the animal rights, anti-globalization, environmental and anti-U.S. foreign policy movements.
"AQ-inspired groups, MIEs, and aboriginal extremists have demonstrated both the intent and capability to target critical infrastructure in Canada, although no incidents involving these groups have occurred during the reporting period," it says. Since 9/11, counterterrorism officials have ranked al-Qaeda and its followers as Canada's most worrisome terror threat because of the group's pattern of mass-casualty attacks against civilians. Of particular concern are homegrown extremists who are citizens or residents of Canada but have adopted the al-Qaeda mindset, consider Canada a legitimate terrorist target and may travel to countries such as Pakistan for paramilitary and explosives training.
On Tuesday, the Federal Court gave Canada's intelligence service approval to listen to the communications of Canadian terror suspects - even when they are abroad.
The court approved a warrant allowing Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers to eavesdrop on two Canadians who travelled to an undisclosed foreign country this year.
Justice Richard Mosley said CSIS could do so because, even though the targets of the investigation were overseas, their communications were to be collected within Canada.
The 41-page ruling clarifies the powers of CSIS to investigate terror suspects who have left Canada to train, meet co-conspirators or participate in foreign conflicts.
Previously, the Federal Court had refused to issue warrants to CSIS to investigate terrorists overseas, saying the court lacked the jurisdiction outside Canada's borders.
But Judge Mosley said the circumstances in this case were different because the interception of the communications - presumably phone calls and Internet exchanges - was to occur in Canada. CSIS had told the court it intended to enlist the Ottawa-based Communications Security Establishment, the government's electronic eavesdropping agency, to intercept the conversations from listening posts inside Canada. "The ruling is important because it recognizes that security threats are global and highly mobile," said Manon Berube, the CSIS spokeswoman. "In our view this decision recognizes that security threats move easily from one country to another and that countering those threats requires a new approach."
The ruling contains few details of the investigation but says CSIS asked for the warrant on Jan. 24 "in respect of newly identified threat-related activities." The court granted the warrant at the time, although a declassified version of the ruling has only now been released.
National Post/sbell@nationalpost.com

Saudi Man Gets 5 Year Sentence, 1,000 Lashes for Sex Talk
By VOA News
07 October 2009
A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a man to five years in prison and 1,000 lashes for speaking about his sex life on television, in violation of vice laws in the conservative Muslim country.
The lawyer who represents Jeddah resident Mazen Abdul Jawad said he will appeal Wednesday's court ruling. Attorney Sulaiman al-Jumeii says his client was a victim of the Lebanon-based television channel, LBC satellite TV network, on which Jawad appeared.
During an appearance on the talk show "Bold Red Line" in July, the 32-year-old divorced father of four described his first sexual experience at age 14 and the ways he approaches women on the street. Women and men who are unrelated are generally barred from interacting in public in Saudi Arabia.
Jawad's lawyer says his client's case was hurt by heavy media coverage, which sparked outrage among conservative Muslims. Saudi Arabian authorities shut down two of the Lebanese channel's offices in the kingdom and arrested Jawad on charges of "publicizing vice."Three men who appeared on the same program as Jawad were each sentenced on Wednesday to two years in prison and 300 lashes.Attorney al-Jumeii also says the case was inappropriately tried in a criminal court, and should have been heard in a specialized court dealing with media cases.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

Lebanon’s New Government and Environmental Preservation
Wed, 07 October 2009
By: Randa Takieddine/Al Hayat -Daily Star
There are high hopes that the Lebanese prime minister-designate, Saad Hariri, will be able to form a government this week. The visit to Damascus by the Saudi monarch, King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz, is an important indicator that the meeting between the king and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Jeddah was successful from a Saudi viewpoint. If it had not been, the Saudi monarch would not have decided to head for Syria. The visit caps bilateral reconciliation that certainly features Lebanon as a fundamental issue, despite everything that is being circulated by Syria’s friends. Indeed, the king of Saudi Arabia assigns huge importance to the independence, stability, security and safety of Lebanon. If his bilateral meeting with his Syrian guest in Jeddah had not enshrined certain agreed-upon matters, this visit would not be taking place. Inter-Arab reconciliation, as desired by the Saudi monarch, involves certain circumstances and conditions. Syria assigns huge importance to improving its relationship with Saudi Arabia, due to this country’s weight in the international, Arab and regional arenas. Thus, the visit by King Abdullah to Damascus can only be good news for Lebanon and assist a domestic opening between the friends of Syria, as represented in the opposition and the majority, which was victorious in the elections.
It is true that formation of the Cabinet and progress on the political front is linked to the outside world, unfortunately, because of the links between leading Lebanese groups and foreign parties. However, there are urgent, important, and fundamental issues that should be a priority on the domestic front; one of these is concern with the environment.
This call is for the new government and every Lebanese politician working to save his beautiful country from asphyxiation by lack of concern with the environment, whether with construction in cities, where a process of smothering is actually taking place, as a result of the heavy level of building with no planning or concern for the environment. For example, rows of adjacent buildings are currently being constructed in the streets near the American University of Beirut, and Hamra. There is no park or green space amid these buildings. Is it possible that absence of gardens will not lead to sorrowful scenes, such as children and teens playing football in Beirut cemeteries. How sad!
Environmental neglect has turned the Mediterranean and the Lebanese coast into huge refuse dumps, which have become food for the fish. There should be concern with the environment and a priority for the next government, whether the minister of environment is from the opposition or the majority. The traffic problem is also a disaster. Lebanon’s minister of interior, Ziyad Baroud, is respected by all sides because he has introduced new traffic laws, such as mandatory wearing of seat belts. He must follow up now the implementation of environmental laws, such as banning noise pollution and requiring the use of clean gasoline.
Lebanon suffers from economic and financial problems, but environmental laws should be a priority for everyone. The Education Ministry should introduce curricula that include environment preservation, since many do not care about this topic, even though it involves all aspects of health. There are some reserves, such as for the Barouk Cedars, established by MP Walid Jumblatt, but this is a small item in a sector that requires a political and legal mobilization effort.
Selecting a minister-designate for the environment should be a precise task, so that the individual will be able to conduct the campaign that is needed to rescue Lebanon from being smothered. The prime minister-designate, Saad Hariri, is a member of the young generation and he is aware what his country needs when it comes to mobilizing for the environment; there is great hope that the government will assign this matter the importance that it deserves, to benefit the interest of Lebanon and those who visit the country.

The dragons of 'progressive' delusion
By Michael Young
Daily Star staff
Thursday, October 08, 2009
By coincidence, I happened to pick up another book while reading Hussein Ibish’s excellent, precise dismantling of the agenda for a single Jewish-Arab state in the area of historical Palestine. The book in question, which provided a handy conceptual context to Ibish’s, was Robert Conquest’s “The Dragons of Expectation,” which discusses how ideological delusion has “seized the mind of many in the West and elsewhere – with misleading thought about what faces us, much of it bred and projected from unreal obsessions about the still-living past.”
The phrase sums up well the failings of those advocating a one-state agenda, particularly Palestinians and Arabs living in the West. For as Ibish writes, such a project is largely a diasporic one, far removed from Palestinian and Israeli realities. Yet its proponents continue to press on with the binational state idea, oblivious to its unpopularity and their own specious assumptions, because they believe in the pure idea, a dragon of expectation that, left unquestioned, can be destructively consuming.
Conquest has fought such dragons for decades, particularly those to which many in the West succumbed at the time of the Soviet Union. His masterpiece on the Stalinist purges, “The Great Terror,” was maligned by so-called “progressives” when it was published in 1968, particularly his estimation of the number of victims, which he placed at some 20 million. The critics pointed out that Conquest later lowered his figure once the Soviet archives were opened. The joke was on them. So appalling did these remain, that they only confirmed how right he was early on in regarding the decades of Stalin as a defining monstrosity of the 20th century.
The delusions of Western or Western-educated Arab progressives have also shaped views of other Middle Eastern issues after the 9/11 attacks. Yet why focus on the left when the right, too, is afflicted with myriad faults? Principally because it is the left that has purported to speak in the name of universalist, humanistic values, while those on the right – old-line realists or neoconservatives – have either tended to preoccupy themselves with maintaining stability, regardless of its repercussions for liberal values, or have placed American power at the center of their contemplations.
There is also the reality that the left, more than the right, has allowed its discourse to be overtaken by a utopian urge, by the Ideal. And those like Ibish, or Conquest, each in their very different worlds, are commendable, and set upon, because they cannot stomach the bending of reality to satisfy that Ideal. They know that when ideas take on a greater import than the evidence sustaining them, in other words when they become counterintuitive, those holding onto these ideas will fall in love with their own moral righteousness, denouncing dissenters as immoral.
Let’s take two examples from the contemporary Middle East. In the last decade and more, not a few Western progressives have embraced Hizbullah as a regenerative force among Lebanon’s Shiites and in the midst of the country’s fractured political culture. Because Shiites tend to be poor, this sympathy has been accompanied by a form of ethical sanction, a sense that the party is a dispenser of social justice, a righter of past wrongs. Hizbullah’s hostility toward Israel and the United States, like its successful resistance in the south up to May 2000, have fed into a broader mood that the party, even if it is not what a Westerner, or a Westernized Arab, would naturally gravitate toward, nonetheless has come down on the right side of history, against outside hegemony and a Lebanese system that is corrupt, archaic, and morally indefensible.
These thoughts tell us more about those thinking them, than about Hizbullah and the Shiite reality. It is a mystery how individuals who consider themselves partisans of humanistic principles can identify these in an autocratic religious, militarized party whose ideological mindset and political continuity is reliant on the perpetuation of violence. And this against a Lebanese social and political order that, for all its faults, is organically pluralistic, allowing invigorating variety and dissent.
A second example. For years after the invasion of Iraq, progressives referred to the foes of the “neo-imperialistic” United States and its allies there as a “resistance.” This sloppy, expansive term did not filter out former regime criminals or Al-Qaeda, at a time when it was beheading foreigners and representatives of Iraqi institutions. I vividly recall one left-wing professor with tenure at an American university regretting the capture of Saddam Hussein, because, he said, this would strengthen George W. Bush. There was “the resistance” and there was America. In the odd zero-sum moralism of the time, what one gained the other lost, and no self-respecting humanist was going to side with the US president.
Today, this neat dichotomy is falling apart. Whatever “resistance” there may be is undermining the emergence of a sovereign Iraqi state. Iraq’s leaders openly accuse Syria of continuing to allow Al-Qaeda militants across its border to strengthen the Syrian hand in a post-America Iraq. Regional cynicism has taken over. The US is on its way out. Progressives are lost. Who to blame? Who embodies the total Ideal? There are no clear answers, except perhaps one: The nasty, brutish rule of Saddam Hussein is over, a new Iraq is emerging, and the US, basically responsible for this, is evidently averse to playing the neo-imperialist bogeyman by lingering.
In defense of their virtuous choices – that of endorsing a supposedly just Hizbullah against a Lebanese state riddled with shortcomings or the idealization of a purported Iraqi resistance against Western domination – progressives have sided with the very forces most dedicated to thwarting liberal outcomes. In that way they are defined more by what they oppose than by what they stand for. To paraphrase Robert Conquest, they have failed in their duty to clear the ground of false witness.
*Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR.

Kabul, Baghdad, Beirut: one headache
Michael Young , October 8, 2009
Now Lebanon/
US President Barack Obama waves at the crowd prior to his election in November 2008.
Relatively few Lebanese have paid much attention to the debate taking place in Washington over whether the American president, Barack Obama, should agree to a counter-insurgency plan for Afghanistan proposed by his commander there, General Stanley McChrystal. The plan calls for a broad effort to make the country safer for its citizens, and involves increasing the number of American troops by 40,000 or so.
Relatively few Lebanese, albeit perhaps more than those following the events in Afghanistan, have paid much attention either to what is taking place in Iraq. Senior Iraqi leaders, including the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, have accused Syria of continuing to facilitate the passage of Al-Qaeda militants across its border as a means of pressure to ensure that Damascus will have more of a say in post-America Iraq. At the same time, the United States, while conscious of this, has sought to avoid a Syrian-Iraqi clash, because it believes this might complicate its overriding priority, namely withdrawing American forces by the end of 2011.
And yet both in Afghanistan and Iraq, what the US decides will have definite repercussions for Lebanon and our little neck of the woods. If Washington’s focus is on a military drawdown and political extraction, this could carry the Levant back to a period of American benign neglect. That would leave Lebanon ever more exposed to the whims of its neighbors and the dynamics of the Middle East. The prospects are not reassuring, particularly if they pit the mostly Sunni Arab world against Iran and its allies, with Syria in the middle leveraging its support for one side or the other in exchange for renewed hegemony over Lebanon.
The latest news is that Obama is trying to have it both ways. The president told congressional leaders on Tuesday that he would not substantially cut back American forces in Afghanistan and reduce their mission to targeting Al-Qaeda (as Vice President Joe Biden had urged); but he also indicated that he remained undecided about whether to dispatch the additional troops that McChrystal had requested. This could lead to the worst of possible outcomes: a US force that remains undermanned and continues to take casualties, and a president increasingly boxed in when it comes to changing that strategy toward a greater or lesser commitment.
A United States off balance in Afghanistan could lead to bad decisions being taken in Iraq, not least an acceleration of the military withdrawal. That would threaten the country with a dangerous vacuum which the countries of the region might seek to exploit. Iran would fight hard to protect the gains it has made in Iraq. Syria and Saudi Arabia, each for its own reasons, share an interest in preventing the consolidation of a strong central government in Baghdad. The Syrian regime seeks a larger role in Iraq, wants to take advantage of Iraq’s oil, and benefits domestically from being perceived as a defender of Iraq’s Sunni minority. The Saudis worry that a Shiite-dominated Iraqi order, especially one that might further empower Iran, would undermine the kingdom’s stability.
It takes little imagination to realize that all these conflicting interests and calculations can play themselves out in distilled form in Lebanon. However, that doesn’t really tell us what the Lebanese can do to avoid the worst repercussions of regional developments.
There is little the Lebanese can do to limit the damages of a debacle if they remain divided. But that’s stating the obvious, and Lebanese unity is not around the corner. However, even amid their divisions, the political forces can yet implement mechanisms to contain domestically what happens in the broader region, which requires properly reading the tea leaves.
What are some of these mechanisms? Plainly, an intensification of cross-sectarian dialogue at the local level, particularly between the Future Movement and Hezbollah, but also between the Lebanese Forces on the one side and Hezbollah and Amal on the other, whose supporters are cheek to jowl in the Ain al-Remmaneh-Shiyyah-Haret Hreik district. This can be complemented by periodic national exchange sessions hosted by President Michel Sleiman, bringing together major party leaders, and if needed security chiefs, to examine ad hoc measures that can be taken to ensure that the situation on the ground gradually improves.
Of course, all this has to an extent been done, and the span may seem rather far between what Barack Obama decides in Afghanistan and what Lebanon’s political leadership decides in Baabda. However, the reality is that the regional situation is so interconnected today, that what explodes in Kabul and Baghdad may send shrapnel Lebanon’s way. We need to think more about the region, for we are its point of highest contradiction.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of the Daily Star newspaper in Beirut.

Alain Aoun: We’ll support the security services Date: October 8th, 2009
Source: Sawt El Mada/Change and Reform MP Alian Aoun said Thursday that the unified national stance is the most efficient way to solve problems, calling on the security services to ensure security. In an interview with Sawt El Mada radio, Aoun asserted that the members of the Parliament will support the Internal Security Forces and won’t cover anybody so the incident of Ain El Rimmeneh does not repeat. Following many provocations in the area, a clash erupted between the residents of Shiyah and those of Ain El Rimmeneh leaving a man, George Abu Madi, killed and six wounded. Aoun, member of the Free Patriotic Movement, said that this incident must not remind us of the 1975-1991 civil war, calling for an awareness campaign for youths in order to avoid sectarian and security tensions.

Abu Assi: to surpass the current stage with minimum of damage
Date: October 8th, 2009/Source: Voice of Lebanon
National Liberal Secretary-General Elias Abu Assi said Thursday he was never named by the party to hold a ministerial post because the current stage must be surpassed with the “minimum of damage.”His remarks came in an interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio station. Commenting on Tuesday’s Ain el-Rummaneh incident that left one man dead and five wounded, he demanded security services to “carry out its duty when security and stability are threatened.”“The security services must deal with all people equally,” he added. “Associations, municipalities and prominent figures from Ain el-Rummaneh to Kfar Shima have warned against hostile motorcycles roaming their areas, but the security forces did not take measures to put an end to provocation,” he said. He described the Ain-el Rummaneh incident as an “Iranian tradition.”

Jumblatt: Security incidents must not be exploited
Date: October 8th, 2009/Source: An-Nahar
Druze leader MP Walidd Jumblatt condemned Tuesday’s incident of Ain El Rimmeneh and asserted that this personal problem must be left to the Judiciary to deal with it, An-Nahar newspaper published Thursday. Following many provocations in the area, a clash erupted between the residents of Shiyah and those of Ain El Rimmeneh leaving a man, George Abu Madi, killed and six wounded. Jumblatt, leader of the Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc, noted that the Lebanese Armed Forces must be allowed to perform investigations before jumping to quick conclusions leading to sectarian tensions impeding the positive environment propagated by the Saudi-Syrian summit in Damascus.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz landed Friday in Damascus for his first visit as King and held talks with Syria’s President Bashar Assad over many tense Arab issues. The leader of the Progressive Socialist Party called on the Lebanese politicians to ease sectarian tensions that would lead to sedition, pointing to the timing of these incidents.

Harb: Ain al-Remmeneh clash, breach of civil peace
Date: October 8th, 2009/Source: NNA
Betroun MP Boutros Harb condemned in a statement released Wednesday the security clash which took place in Ain al-Remmeneh, describing it as a “breach of civil peace” that could divide the Lebanese and spur hatred among them. Lawmaker Harb asserted that the clash wasn’t the first of its kind in the region, but was preceded by similar ones “when gunmen on motorcycles drove around Ain al-Remmeneh, provoked and attacked residents there.”Harb saw that former attempts for mediation and peace outside the law allowed the repetition of the clashes, calling for taking into consideration the sectarian and political dimensions of the disturbance. He stressed the need for calm and asked security authorities to “start an immediate investigation in the matter, arrest the instigators who terrorized residents and refer them to the judiciary.”“This tragic incident will not pass,” he noted and assured that he will keep track of the issue to avoid “drawing the country into a national crisis.”

Marada Movement denounces Ain al-Rimmeneh clash
Date: October 7th, 2009/Future News/Marada Movement denounced in a statement released Wednesday the clash that erupted in Ain al-Rimmeneh, calling political compatriots to assume the responsibility of preserving civil peace and coexistence. The Movement demanded security forces and judicial authorities to punish instigators and prevent the repetition of such security disturbances. A security row erupted yesterday in Ain al-Rimmeneh which led to the killing of George Abu Madi and injuring 6 others. Marada pays its deepest condolences to the family of Abu Madi.

Al-Azhar chief 'should resign over face veil remark'
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Samer al-Atrush
Agence France Presse
CAIRO: An Islamist lawmaker called Wednesday for the head of the most prestigious center of religious learning in the Sunni Muslim world to resign after he told a schoolgirl to remove the veil covering her face.
The demand to step down came as about two dozen students, wearing the face veil, known as a niqab, protested outside the state-run Cairo University, which has banned the veils from its residence hall. Mohammad Tantawi, head of Al-Azhar University, told a schoolgirl to remove her niqab when he spotted her during a tour of an Al-Azhar affiliated school, the independent Al-Masry al-Youm newspaper reported this week. He also said he intended to ban the niqab at Al-Azhar and made an unflattering remark about the girl’s appearance when she took off the veil, the newspaper said. And you look like this; what would you do [if you were] a bit pretty?” he reportedly asked, adding “I know more about religion than your parents.”
Al-Azhar spokesman Ahmad Tawfiq confirmed Tantawi had asked the girl to remove the niqab, but said he spoke to her in a kindly way.
He said Tantawi, who insists the niqab is not an Islamic practice, wanted to ban the niqab from Al-Azhar classrooms on religious grounds.
“The imam always bases his decision on religious grounds,” said Tawfiq. Hamdi Hassan, an MP with the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest opposition group, said “Tantawi cannot stay in his post; he hurt’s Al-Azhar every time he says something. “I believe the niqab is not an obligation, but a benefit,” he added. “Why ban it from Al-Azhar? It’s a religious institution, not a belly dancing academy.” Meanwhile, two dozen students wearing the niqab, which covers all but the eyes, gathered outside the gates of Cairo University’s residence to protest at the decision, their luggage piled on a nearby pavement. I have exams in two weeks. I haven’t found a house and I can’t study,” said one student who gave her name as Fatin. “What happened to individual freedom? Cosmetics are freedom, but not the niqab?” In Kuwait, hardline Islamist MP Mohammad Hayef called Tantawi’s action “shameless” and said the cleric issues “bizarre and abnormal fatwas [religious edicts].” Most Muslim women in Egypt wear the hijab, which covers the hair, but the niqab is becoming more popular on the streets of Cairo.
The government has shown concern over the trend. The religious endowments ministry issued booklets against the practice, saying the niqab is not Islamic, and the health ministry wants to ban it among doctors and nurses. In the Middle East, the niqab is associated with Salafism, an ultra-conservative school of thought practiced mostly in Saudi Arabia.
Most Salafis shun politics, but the creed has influenced Islamist militants such as Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden. Al-Azhar has long enjoyed a reputation as Sunni Islam’s eminent source of learning and edicts. Salafis, who actively promote their creed, sometimes funded by wealthy patrons in Saudi Arabia, are opposed to Al-Azhar’s theological teachings.