LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
DECEMBER 28/2006
Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 1,1.2-8.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without
him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was
the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness
has not overcome it. A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony,
to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the
light, but came to testify to the light.
Free Opinions
In praise of Lebanese sectarianism.By
Michael Young 28.12.06
Mubarak promises a lot, but Egyptians have heard most
of it before-Daily Star 28.12.06
The reality show of George W. Bush's anguish.
By David
Ignatius
28.12.06
Thank you Mr. Harper, You are the right man for the right job.World
Forum -
Latest News from
The Daily Star for 28 December/06
Storm shuts down ports in South, ruins imported cars
Heavy storms wreak havoc on mountain villages, roads
Canadian woman on the run after recovering children from Jounieh
Rival political camps engage in 'petition wars' as Berri
struggles to revive dialogue process
Rizk invites suggestions to revise Hariri tribunal
Italy may take over UNIFIL command ahead of schedule
Fadlallah insists Iran does not interfere in Lebanon's domestic affairs
Lawyer repeats call for release of Hamdan, Azar
LF parliamentary bloc demands that government tear down tent city
Siniora's press office scolds As-Safir for misleading headline
Sfeir calls for clean sweep of executive, legislative
branches
Lebanon offers open field for Islamic financing
Latest budget numbers still reflect damage from war and infighting
Affordable options abound this New Year's Eve
Abbas calls for quiet talks to get peace back on track
Saddam says he welcomes execution as 'sacrifice'
US military confirms detention of 2 Iranians in Baghdad
Ahmadinejad reaches out to pope with 'non-political' letter
Latest News from
Miscellaneous Sources for 28 December/06
Moussa's return to Lebanon 'not guaranteed'-Ya
Libnan
Lebanon PM open to Hariri tribunal changes-JURIST
Year of the optimist-Economic
Times
Lebanon's showdown set for lengthy battle of wills-Washington
Post
Lebanon accuses Hezbollah of coup plot-Sydney
Morning Herald
Dancing away at a time of protest-Gulf News
FM: Syria wants talks more than peace-Jerusalem
Post
Syria talks bad for Israel-Ynetnews
Five Lebanese wounded in cluster bomb explosions in southern ...International
Herald Tribune
Mom who grabbed kids accused of recruiting mercenaries-Calgary
Sun - Canada
Hezbollah rises from ruins of its Beirut home-Los
Angeles Times
Florida Senator Spurns President, Speaks With Syria-theTrumpet.com
Taking Syria seriously-Khaleej Times
Lebanon govt defiant, protesters keep up pressure-Reuters
Canada
Fears grow Lebanon protests may turn bloody-Reuters.uk
Lebanese army increases forces in Beirut-Swissinfo
With no speedy solution in sight Lebanon threatened by a crisis comparable to
those in Iraq and Palestine
Monday Morning/Lacking a speedy solution to its crisis, could Lebanon find
itself trapped in a tunnel from which there is no apparent exit, facing a threat
of strife at the same time as Iraq and Palestine? The country’s future is
uncertain and there is no sign that a compromise settlement will soon be
reached. And if the current Arab initiative were to fail, the door would be open
to all possibilities. In this imbroglio, what is the political class doing, our
leaders, who seem increasingly indifferent to the lot of ordinary people, who
are torn between opposing currents and deprived of tranquility and any pleasure
in living. We queried six members of Parliament of various blocs about their
views of the situation.
Alaeddin Terro: ‘We won’t allow a new war’
Dr. Nabil Nicolas, a member of the parliamentary Bloc of Reform and Change, led
by Michel Aoun, held the majority responsible for the degradation of the
internal situation, “and this encourages the strife that we are determined to
combat”.
He added, “The opposition never uses confessional or sectarian discourse as
those in power do, and it will never allow itself to be dragged into that game.
Our adversaries have tried to foment troubles by attacking portraits of General
Aoun, but we’ve asked our supporters not to react so that no disorder is caused.
“Then there is the question of martyrs who have fallen in various parts of
Lebanon who belonged to Hezballah and to the Amal Movement. They are the martyrs
of all Lebanon. And as we have noticed, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Speaker
Nabih Berri have not incited their supporters to react. Unfortunately, the
governmental camp is seeking to drag the opposition into a confrontation on the
ground, which would cause many victims. That’s why the opposition does not
react, because it doesn’t want to transform Lebanon into a second Iraq.
“All the politicians have a great responsibility, which is to safeguard Lebanon
and its continuity, working to calm passions instead of inflaming them, which
would lead the country to ruin. A simple misunderstanding could provoke a
disaster that wouldn’t benefit anyone”.
Finally, the Aounist MP stressed “the necessity of setting up a government of
national understanding which alone is able to protect the country against all
perils”.
Hassan Hoballah:
‘Any attempt to incite strife is doomed to fail’
Hassan Hoballah, a member of the Bloc of Loyalty to the Resistance, excludes all
probability of confessional strife.
“The Lebanese people”, he explained, “are aware of the gravity of the situation
and inter-Lebanese relations are solid. This is proved by the fact that the
martyrdom of the young Ahmad Mahmoud might have constituted such a spark, but
the Lebanese leaders, in particular of the opposition, prevented any outbreak of
disorder”.
Hoballah stressed that divisions in Lebanon were political, not confessional. He
pointed out that the opposition wanted to participate in the making of decisions
through formation of a government of national unity that would enshrine
democracy, with the effective participation in power of all currents of opinion.
He called on all sides not to allow external interference in the nation’s
affairs, whether it comes from friendly countries or enemies. And he added,
“They accuse us of applying the agendas of Iranian-Syrian policy. This is not
true; the fact is that the majority has espoused American policy. Why don’t they
share power with us? They want to thwart whatever they see as Syrian or Iranian,
while we want to prevent whatever is American”.
Finally, MP Hoballah was disappointed that the majority did not listen to the
voice of the people and settle matters by democratic means. He advocated
“non-violence in a sovereign state which could be a model of democracy in the
Middle East”.
Ammar Houry: ‘We must all work to avert the dangers’
Dr. Ammar Houry, a member of the parliamentary Future Current Bloc, warns
against “the strife which is now dormant but which would only need a very minor
incident to explode, like a spark dropped into a barrel of gunpowder.
“It’s reassuring that the Lebanese are aware of this danger, which they have
learned how to prevent and combat during the conflicts that have shaken their
country.
“No one can profit from strife, even if some believe they can do so, for reasons
of personal or party interest. Lebanon would become a scene of anarchy and its
people prey to the law of the jungle.
“That’s why the Lebanese have only one option which is able to prevent the
worst: working together to keep the country from sliding into the abyss. They
are called to listen to the voice of logic and reason; the language of lies and
accusations will lead no one to his objectives.
“We must all be aware of the dangers threatening the nation and act without
further delay to calm passions and dispel tensions and the hostile atmosphere
which unleashes malevolent impulses that may lie dormant in a population
claiming to be committed to the principle of harmonious coexistence”.
Antoine Zahra:
‘Lebanon is shielded from the confessional danger’
Antoine Zahra, a member of the Lebanese Forces bloc, affirmed that Lebanon was
shielded from the confessional danger.
“In the event of confessional trouble”, he noted, “there will be neither victor
nor vanquished, but destruction. Politicians must assume their responsibilities
since the crisis is due, essentially, to the determination of one side to take
part in power in a manner that exceeds its representativeness. It began when the
Hezballah team claimed a right of veto against the decisions of the government,
which was accused of not taking into consideration the pact of coexistence
stipulated in the Constitution. This pact stipulates coexistence between
Christians and Muslims, not between communities”.
Abdelmajid Saleh: ‘No risk of civil war’
In his turn, Abdelmajid Saleh, member of the Bloc of Liberation and Development
led by Speaker Nabih Berri, spoke of the fear of many people of a civil war in
Lebanon. He noted the attempts to transpose the Iraqi model to Lebanon,
underlining the capacity of the Lebanese to overcome dangers. He laid the
responsibility on an external party which has an interest in fragmenting the
Middle East, arguing that Lebanon was witnessing a period of political trouble
marked by inflamed discourse, from which, he said, fanatical sides profited to
carry out their suspect plans.
Considering that certain regional parties were working to unleash strife between
Lebanese, he added that all communal dissension served the interests of Israel.
“The conflict in Lebanon”, he said, “is a political one focusing on the
management of the government”. He called on religious dignitaries of all
confessions “to intervene to prevent seditious statements”, and he called on
politicians “to opt for wisdom and the dialogue” launched by Speaker Berri,
affirming that 95 percent of the Lebanese did not want a civil war. “I ask those
who have the support of President Bush to work for solidarity among the
Lebanese”.
Finally, he stressed that national unity would prevent any strife, and rejected
any imputation of responsibility on the opposition for events which have
occurred in certain parts of Lebanon.
Alaeddin Terro: ‘We won’t allow a new war’
“We won’t allow a new war such as the seditious elements are hoping to unleash,
to transform our country into a scene where every antagonism is fought out”,
declares MP Terro, of the bloc led by Walid Jumblatt. “Such a war would be
particularly destructive and murderous if it were coupled with a confessional
movement which would stir up communal passions”.
Some people accuse the parliamentary majority of sowing the seeds of discord and
strife...
Those who make such accusations are themselves engaged in sowing seeds of
discord and strife. We see them plotting against the government, against
independence, sovereignty and freedom. For this purpose they pay out large sums
of money and distribute weapons. To attain their objective, they are prepared to
paralyze political and economic life and tourism activity in order to serve
regional designs. In addition they are impeding the holding of a presidential
election and the formation of a tribunal of international character to rule on
the assassination of the martyred former prime minister. All the Lebanese and
Arabs are aware of this fact, and our Arab brothers are working without respite
to avert the worst. It is of public notoriety that the Syrians and Iranians are
working to exploit this state of things to the limit.
For all these reasons, right-thinking Lebanese ardently desire to see a
resumption of the national dialogue, which alone is capable of saving the
country from the unenviable situation in which it is mired, on condition that
the dialogue partners show good will and genuinely desire to reach a consensus
on all contentious issues.
MP Terro also emphasized “the necessity of facilitating the holding of ‘Paris
III’, the international conference to support Lebanon, which can provide our
country with substantial aid that will enable it to redress the social and
economic situation, which leaves so much to be desired”.
Extremist landscape in Egypt is where violence takes hold
By Gregory Katz
Dec. 26, 2006, 9:37AM
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Middle East Bureau
Houston's Coptic Christians ALEXANDRIA, Egypt — The old man was already bleeding
to death on the pavement outside the Church of the Saints when the attacker with
the two daggers turned on Michael Adib and started to slash.
"When he came to kill me, he said: 'Accept the Prophet Muhammad," said Adib, a
Coptic Christian who had just walked out of the church after a Friday Mass. "I
was trying to see how to save my life and defend the others. It was an organized
plan to kill all of us in the church."
The 22-year-old reacted fast, parrying the dagger thrusts with his rucksack. He
managed to deflect the two blades aimed at his heart into the fleshy parts of
his left arm, where they severed muscles and left two gaping wounds.
Then the attacker, a Muslim, knifed a third victim, who also survived, before
going to another Coptic Orthodox church to use his knives on other worshippers.
The blood-soaked panorama outside the church in this aged port city in April
resembled a gory scene from a medieval religious war. The Alexandria clashes
followed even more severe Muslim-Christian riots last year and a series of
attacks on Coptic churches in rural parts of Upper Egypt.
Egypt's social fabric seems to be unraveling. The mounting sectarian tensions of
the last decade are a vital factor in causing the emigration of Egypt's Coptic
community, by far the largest group of Christians in the Middle East.
The exodus of the Copts is mirrored throughout the region. As in other
countries, the problems facing Egypt's Christians are partly economic and partly
political.
John Watson, a priest and professor who wrote "Among the Copts" and "Listening
to Islam," said that radical Wahhabi Islam is elbowing out more tolerant forms
of the religion throughout Egypt and the rest of the Middle East, pressuring
Christians and other minorities.
"Copts are leaving en masse," he said. "It's part of an alarming departure
throughout the Middle East. I see the attacks on the Copts as part of an
extremist element in Islam. There is a powerful fundamentalist element that is
small but quite militant. I regard them as a minority, but they are making life
unpleasant for the Copts."
Some Copts depart because they no longer feel welcome in Egypt, even though
their ancestors were present long before the arrival of Islam in the 7th
century. They are going to Australia, Canada, Europe and various cities in the
United States, including Houston , where three Coptic churches flourish.
Accurate figures are hard to obtain because the numbers are so controversial.
The Egyptian government does not keep a census that lists religious affiliation,
and estimates of the size of the Christian community range from about 5 million
to 11 million out of a total population of about 74 million.
No one questions that a change is under way. The graceful minarets of Muslim
mosques are crowding out the crosses atop the aging Christian churches in the
skylines of Egypt's jumbled cities.
It is a confusing time for many Copts. Most grew up seeing few distinctions
between themselves and Muslims, who often attended the same schools and worked
at the same jobs, but now they feel threatened.
"I forgive him," Adib said of the man who tried to stab him to death on that
grim Friday afternoon outside the Church of the Saints. "We are taught to
forgive. But I want to know why he hates us."
Lost control
The violence in Alexandria, where the Coptic Orthodox Church was founded in 61
A.D., did not end with the stabbings.
Street fighting broke out in the Mediterranean city of about 4 million at the
funeral of the elderly Christian man who had been stabbed to death by the
Muslim. For three days , rival Christian and Muslim youth gangs attacked each
other's homes and businesses. A Muslim man was killed under contested
circumstances.
Reasonable people on both sides looked to their religious leaders to calm the
storm. They could not.
"A dangerous thing has happened," said Kameel Saddiq, secretary general of the
Church of St. Mark, a Coptic landmark in Alexandria named for the disciple of
Jesus Christ who brought Christianity to Egypt. "We lost control over the
Christian youth in church. They went into the streets, and we couldn't stop it."
After church leaders proved powerless, riot police moved in and fired repeated
volleys of tear gas to clear the streets.
The sectarian clashes in Egypt's most liberal city finally subsided, but more
than just storefront windows had been shattered. Gone was Egypt's image as a
place where a moderate form of Islam allowed for peaceful coexistence with
Christians.
The fever of confrontation spreading throughout the Middle East had come to
Egypt, too. Now it is not only East versus West and Arab versus Jew , but also,
on a smaller scale, Muslim versus Christian.
Christians and Muslims in Egypt have generally had peaceful relations for
centuries, despite occasional flare-ups. But that détente has been fraying. More
and more Muslims, particularly those who worked in the Persian Gulf, have
embraced militant forms of Islam that regard Christianity with contempt.
An emerging U.S. lobby
Coptic Christians, for their part, have become more assertive about improving
their second-class status in the country. They are backed by an emerging Coptic
lobby in the United States that is aggressively using the Internet to accuse
Egypt's leaders of persecuting the Copts.
Their grievances are many.
They complain that Muslims control all the levers of power: the presidency, the
parliament, the media, the security forces and the influential religious academy
that interprets Islamic law for the rest of society.
The Copts say they are treated with suspicion and excluded from consideration
for top jobs. Under Egyptian law, they cannot build or restore churches without
obtaining special permits and security clearance, a process that can take
decades. They point out a mosque can be put up with no red tape.
One change sums up the new separatist attitude. The Copts say that medical
authorities are no longer willing to license Christians as gynecologists because
they feel it is improper for a Christian man to examine a Muslim woman. As a
result , no Christians cancannot enter the field; the only Christian
gynecologists are those who have been practicing for decades.
The aftermath of the Alexandria stabbings showed how the two communities are
drifting apart. The government seemed to fuel the tensions by claiming that the
man who attacked the Church of the Saints with two daggers was deranged.
Incredulous Christians demanded to know how someone who was mentally ill was
able to differentiate between the faiths and attack only Christians, and how he
managed to stab worshippers at three different churches before he was stopped.
Muslim activists, however, seized on the report that the killer was insane as
proof that the attack was the work of a sole madman, not a general reflection of
Muslim hostility toward Christians.
Ali Abdel-Fatah, general director of the doctors' union in Alexandria and a
leader of the influential Muslim Brotherhood in the city, said medical reports
indicate the man suffered from hallucinations and was hearing voices telling him
what to do.
"This is not the first time he attacked people," Abdel-Fatah said. "He tried to
attack a church last year but was stopped. He thinks he's a prophet and that his
mission is to cleanse the world of evil."
In the killer's mind, apparently, the urge to fight evil meant attacking
Christians. This was not lost on the Copts.
Abdel-Fatah said Muslims were angry about the Christian response, which began
with sloganeering and bottle-throwing during the funeral and ended after one
Muslim was killed.
"The Copts handled it badly," he said. "Following all the chaos, priests told
their congregations that they were even now because a Muslim had been killed.
"During the protest," he said, "the Christians held up the cross in a
provocative way and Muslims raised their KoransQurans, and all this deepened the
anger. Muslims are less sympathetic now. What the Christians did was very
dangerous, especially for a minority."
Losing heritage?
Abdul Ahmad Hassan, a young Muslim who is a medical student in Alexandria, said
both sides now live in fear. The open confrontation follows years of keeping the
hostility concealed, he said.
"It's a big problem, but no one talks about it," he said. "We keep the tension
inside, and when attacks happen, a lot of things come out."
The growing animosity between the two groups, coupled with Egypt's chronic
shortage of jobs, is driving Copts out of Egypt.
"There have been church burnings, attacks on Christian stores, cars,
everything,. sSo people are leaving, and for this I am very sad," said Morcos
Aziz Khalil, the priest at The Hanging Church, a Coptic landmark in Cairo that
dates back at least to the 9th Century, A.DNinth century.
"When Copts come to me and say they want to go to America, I try to convince
them to stay," he said, "because Egypt is our country. Copts are the descendants
of the Pharaohs, and if we all leave Egypt, then it's over. We will lose our
heritage."
He said many emigrate because they are tired of not getting fair consideration
for jobs.
"What is the meaning of a student getting high grades if he cannot get a good
job because he's Christian?" Khalil Morcossaid. "A Muslim always gets
preference. They act as if Copts are traitors."
Rise of Wahhabi Islam
Young Christians looking for work say most workplace doors are slammed shut.
Serah Zakher Moussa, a 25-year-old with a chemistry degree, just gotrecently was
turned down for a job as a medical representative even though she had excellent
credentials.
"The owner said he couldn't take any more Christians," she said. "They already
had two Christians in their 100 workers. I have been looking for a job for 18
months — nothing. The whole country is suffering from unemployment. So of course
I would leave for a Western country if I could."
Many moderate Muslims blame the rising sectarian divide on the growing
popularity of Wahhabi Islam, which was imported to Egypt from Saudi Arabia,
where it has in the last 30 years become the dominant branch of Islam.
Some Muslims are deeply upset by the new separatist attitude advocated by
Wahhabi's followers, said Alaa el Aswany, a best-selling novelist and political
columnist. He said millions of Egyptians had spent years working in Saudi Arabia
and returned to their home country devoted to the Saudi-style ideology.
"I grew up in a very tolerant Muslim home where we accepted everybody," he said.
"After the revolution of 1919, the Egyptian interpretation of Islam was that all
Egyptians are Egyptian citizens no matter if they are Copts or Jews or Muslims.
But that has changed. The Wahhabis only see you as Muslim or non-Muslim. They
feel closer to a Muslim living abroad than to an Egyptian Christian."
He said the Muslim neighborhood in Alexandria where the church attacks were
launchedtook place has long been a hotbed of Saudi-style Islam. The residents'
allegiance is to Islam, not to Egypt, Aswany said, and they do not respect the
citizenship rights of Egyptian Christians or other minorities.
"This is very dangerous," he said. "This Saudi interpretation is influencing the
whole region."
The result has been a subtle change in attitudes. There is no overt attempt to
drive Christians out of Egypt. But people on both sides of the religious divide
say they are more aware of who is Muslim and who is Christian than they used to
be. They don't mingle as much, and each wonders what the other is saying behind
their back.
Long-held friendships have crumbled.
Adelle Abadir, a Christian who lives on the outskirts of Cairo, finds she is
much more guarded around Muslims than she used to be. Her family once lived in
an upscale apartment building where they were the only non-Muslims. She became
close to many families, and their children played together at school and a local
sports club.
She felt accepted,-- rarely gave it a second thought — until one day when the
children were performing a play at the club and a young boy stumbled over the
script, which called for him to say, "God is Great," a traditional Muslim
exhortation.
Without thinking, Abadir said the well-known phrase out loud in Arabic to prompt
the child, who took her cue and continued. But one of her best friends in the
audience turned on her, pointed a figurefinger, and said sharply, "You shouldn't
say God's name. Don't use the name of Allah."
That was a turning point in her social life. Abadir kept her composure, but she
was shocked by the censure.
"That is when the joking stopped," Abadir said, recalling the anger in her
friend's voice. "I went home and never went to the club again."
After that she noticed other divisions. A Christian friend was barred from
attending a Muslim's funeral because the body had already been cleansed — a
decision she felt implied that Christians were dirty.
"I have found in various ways that I am pushed aside and told, 'You are
different, stay out of our business,'" she said.
Her resentment caused some splits within her family. Her husband thought she
over-reacted when she stopped going to the sports club. He refused to reject his
Muslim friends.
Her daughter, Sera, does not like to talk about politics or religion because she
thinks it leads to trouble. But she did send a text message to a close friend
who is Muslim after the Alexandria attacks.
"Our friendship is forever, right?" she wrote, seeking digital reassurance that
she quickly received. But an unwelcome element of doubt had been introduced.
Many Muslims feel the same new, disorienting sense of separation from
Christians. Some say it seems to have developed almost overnight, out of
nowhere.
Norhan Ezzat, an 18-year-old university student who wears the traditional Muslim
veil, said society is much more polarized than it used to be. She said tensions
are being fueled by Muslim clerics whose sermons encourage divisions between
Christianity and Islam.
"I don't like it," she said. "I was taught to treat Christians well. People say
Christians don't believe in the Muslim religion, but I think they should have
that right. We have to learn what they are and they have to learn what we are,
but I have no clue how to do it."
In the neighborhood of the Church of the Saints in Alexandria, a veneer of
normalcy has returned in the months since the stabbings.
Shopkeepers up and down Khalil Hammada Street say there have been no problems of
late. Christians coming into the church to worship once again exchange easy
smiles with Muslims entering the Sharq Al-Madina mosque across the street.
But things are different. Churchgoers say there has been a steep drop in the
number of Muslims who come into the church to light a candle before the statue
of the Virgin Mary and seek her blessings. It used to be a common, spontaneous
expression of the shared roots of these great world religions. Now it rarely
happens.
"I'm sitting here but I don't feel secure," said Essam Nabil, a 40-year-old
Christian who was at the church when the attack occurred. "I worry about my
children and my family because there could be more attacks. If I had the chance
to leave for a place where we could live in peace, where there is more
tolerance, I would go."
gregory.katz@chron.com