Categories : News

Will the real Pakistan stand up, please?

Two headlines this month beg the question US officials have been grappling with for more than a decade: Will the real Pakistan stand up, please? Pakistan’s The News reported that the government had designated Islamabad as a pilot project to regulate Friday prayer sermons in the city’s 1,003 mosques, of which only 86 are state-controlled, in a bid to curb hate speech, extremism and demonization of religions and communities.

Bahrain: Official Threatens Online Crackdown

(Beirut) – Bahrain’s interior minister has threatened to crackdown on dissidents and activists who criticize the government online, Human Rights Watch said today. Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa, the interior minister, said on March 25, 2018, that the government was already tracking accounts that “departed from national norms, customs and traditions,” and threatened unspecified new legislation and heavy punishments against “violators.”

Inside the US war in Yemen – 48 hills

One of the most important US Senate votes in decades took place recently, and few people know it happened. On March 20, Senators voted on whether to stop US support for Saudi Arabia’s vicious war in Yemen by invoking the War Powers Act.

Saudi Prince Mohammed’s religious moderation unlikely to change Asian realities

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may be seeking to revert his kingdom to an unspecified form of moderate Islam but erasing the impact of 40 years of global funding of ultra-conservative, intolerant strands of the faith is unlikely to be eradicated by decree.

The Limits of Mohammad bin Salman’s Vision

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s arrival in the United States has coincided with a very carefully managed public relations blitz intended to portray him as a visionary leader shepherding Saudi Arabia into a new era of social liberalization and economic change. His fawning 60 Minutes infomercial this past Sunday was perhaps the best example of this phenomenon.

‘Dozens dead’ in Kabul suicide attack

At least 26 people have been killed and 18 wounded in a suspected suicide bomb attack near a shrine in the Afghan capital Kabul, officials say. Initial reports suggest the bomber attacked a crowd of hundreds of people who had gathered to celebrate the start of Nowruz, the New Year festival.

See also alJazeera.
See also The Indian Express.

ADHRB Highlights Rights Abuses by Bahraini Officials During Formula One Race Activities

Read a pdf of this statement here. In advance of the Formula One Grand Prix Event in Sakhir, Bahrain on 8 April 2018, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) expresses its distress at human rights violations that have occurred surrounding the race in past years.

For ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #243, click here.

Africa Federation Archives – Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheris in Lamu and Mombasa, 1870 – 1930, Part 3

Life in Lamu From Interviews with Hussein Abdalla Jaffer Pardhan (AP) Life in Lamu in the 1930’s was very simple. People would wake up in the morning and go for prayers. They would open their shops from 8:00-12:00pm and then go home for lunch and to sleep.

Africa Federation Archives – Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheris in Lamu and Mombasa, 1870- 1930 – Part 2

Later this week: Khoja Shia Ithna-asheris in Lamu and Mombasa, 1870- 1930 – Part 3SECRETARIAT AFRICA FEDERATION ARCHIVES SECTION 12th March 2018 (22th Jamadi ul Aakhar 1439 AH) Download: Africa Federation Archives – Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheris in Lamu and Mombasa, 1870 – 1930 – Part 2 (PDF, 876KB) Download: Africa Federation Archives – Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheris in Lamu and Mombasa, 1870 – 1930 – Part 2 – French (PDF, 876KB)

Pakistan struggles to get a grip on militancy and ultra-conservatism

Seventy years after its birth, Pakistan is struggling to get a grip on Sunni Muslim ultra-conservatism and its militant offshoots that were aided and abetted by successive governments as well as Saudi Arabia and at times the United States. The stakes for Pakistan are high as it confronts mounting international pressure that includes China, its closest ally, to crackdown on militancy.