Turmoil in Tunisia By Daniel Pipes - The Washington Times

Its good to be informed.

Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai

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Turmoil in Tunisia

by Daniel Pipes
The Washington Times
January 18, 2011

http://www.danielpipes.org/9326/tunisia-turmoil

The sudden and as-yet-unexplained exit of Tunisia's strongman, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, 74, after 23 years in power has potential implications for the Middle East and for Muslims worldwide. As an Egyptian commentator noted, "Every Arab leader is watching Tunisia in fear. Every Arab citizen is watching Tunisia in hope and solidarity." I watch with both sets of emotions.

Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (left) with his two neighbors, Muammar Qaddafi of Libya (middle) and Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria.

During the first era of independence, until about 1970, governments in Arabic-speaking countries were frequently overthrown as troops under the control of a discontented colonel streamed into the capital, seized the presidential quarters and the radio station, then announced a new regime. Syrians endured three coups d'état in 1949 alone.

Over time, regimes learned to protect themselves through overlapping intelligence services, reliance on family and tribal members, repression, and other mechanisms. Four decades of sclerotic, sterile stability followed. With only rare exceptions (Iraq in 2003, Gaza in 2007), did regimes get ousted; even more rarely (Sudan in 1985) did civilian dissent have a significant role.

Enter first Al-Jazeera, which focuses Arab-wide attention on topics of its choosing, and then the internet. Beyond its inexpensive, detailed, and timely information, the internet also provides unprecedented secrets (e.g., the recent WikiLeaks dump of U.S. diplomatic cables) even as it connects the likeminded via Facebook and Twitter. These new forces converged in Tunisia in December to create an intifada and quickly ousted an entrenched tyrant.

If one exalts in the power of the disenfranchised to overthrow their dull, cruel, and greedy master, one also looks ahead with trepidation to the Islamist implications of this upheaval.

Tanks and soldiers dot the streets of Tunisia.

The first worry concerns Tunisia itself. For all his faults, Mr. Ben Ali stood stalwart as a foe of Islamism, battling not only the terrorists but also (somewhat as in pre-2002 Turkey) the soft jihadists in school rooms and in television studios. A former interior minister, however, he underestimated Islamists, seeing them more as criminals than as committed ideologues. His not allowing alternate Islamic outlooks to develop could now prove a great mistake.

Tunisian Islamists had a minimal role in overthrowing Mr. Ben Ali but they will surely scramble to exploit the opportunity that has opened to them. Indeed, the leader of Tunisia's main Islamist organization, Ennahda, has announced his first return to the country since 1989. Does Interim President Fouad Mebazaa, 77, have the savvy or political credibility to maintain power? Will the military keep the old guard in power? Do moderate forces have the cohesion and vision to deflect an Islamist surge?

The second worry concerns nearby Europe, already deeply incompetent at dealing with its Islamist challenge. Were Ennahda to take power and then expand networks, provide funds, and perhaps smuggle arms to allies in nearby Europe, it could greatly exacerbate existing problems there.

Rached Ghannouchi, head of Ennahda, Tunisia's main Islamist organization.

The third and greatest worry concerns the possible domino effect on other Arabic-speaking countries. This fast, seemingly easy, and relatively bloodless coup d'état could inspire globally Islamists to sweep away their own tyrants. All four North African littoral states – Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Egypt – fit this description, as do Syria, Jordan and Yemen to the east. That Mr. Ben Ali took refuge in Saudi Arabia implicates that country too. Pakistan could also fit the template. In contrast to the Iranian revolution of 1978-79, which required a charismatic leader, millions on the street, and a full year's worth of effort, events in Tunisia unfolded quickly and in a more generic, reproducible way.

What Franklin D. Roosevelt allegedly said of a Latin America dictator, "He's a bastard but he's our bastard," applies to Mr. Ben Ali and many other Arab strongmen, leaving U.S. government policy in seeming disarray. Barack Obama's ambiguous after-the-fact declaration that he "applaud[s] the courage and dignity of the Tunisian people" can conveniently be read either as a warning to assorted other "bastards" or as a better-late-than-never recognition of awkward facts on the ground.

As Washington sorts out options, I urge the administration to adopt two policies. First, renew the push for democratization initiated by George W. Bush in 2003, but this time with due caution, intelligence, and modesty, recognizing that his flawed implementation inadvertently facilitated the Islamists to acquire more power. Second, focus on Islamism as the civilized world's greatest enemy and stand with our allies, including those in Tunisia, to fight this blight.

Mr. Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, lived in Tunisia in 1970.

With an MBA cleric as its new head, Deoband marks a generational shift - By Seema Chisti - The Indian Express

America's world-wide propaganda campaign against Madrasas was nowhere in sight when a fresh Darul Uloom Deoband graduate started his classes under a tin-roof ramshackle madarsa in a remote village unconnected by even any paved road to the civilized world on the borders of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Thirty years down the line, that Madarsa has sprouted into a full fledged campus with colleges in all streams of arts, science and technology, medicine, pharmacy, management et al., for Muslim boys and girls in residential splendor of a modern educational city, all managed through private donations of Muslims.

The sole contribution of the state was to leave the campus alone to its devices and let it flourish in full bloom of community's modern aspirations. That state contribution was not negligible and its should be acknowledged.

Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Wastanvi was an early convert to the need of the community to match Islamics with modern secular education. His joining the prestigious Darul Uloom at Deoband with its powerful hold on the lives of Indian Muslims, will be a most welcome development that is sure to impact the community, probably more than that glorious contribution of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan of Aligarh Muslim University. This time Islam will be step by step with basics of modernity, without its baggage of blemishes, inshallah.

Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai
<ghulammuhammed3@gmail.com>
<http://www.ghulammuhammed.blogspot.com/>



http://www.indianexpress.com/news/with-an-mba-cleric-as-its-new-head-deoband-marks-a-generational-shift/738078/0

Tue, 18 Jan 2011

With an MBA cleric as its new head, Deoband marks a generational shift

Seema Chishti

Tags : Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Wastanavi, Mohtamim, Dar-ul-Uloom, Facebook, Islamic world most well-respected seminaries

Posted: Sun Jan 16 2011, 04:46 hrs

New Delhi:
The new Mohtamim or head of the Dar-ul-Uloom, who took over on January 10, has a Facebook page devoted to him by his fans.


That, among other things, is what Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Wastanavi brings to one of the Islamic world’s most well-respected seminaries. A lesser-known scholar outside the Muslim world, Wastanavi is a well-networked Maulana who holds an MBA degree along with degrees in Islamic law.

In his early 60s, the Mohtamim from Gujarat, younger by more than 20 years to his predecessor, has constantly striven to provide technical education and to weave professional courses and degrees related to pharmaceutical, engineering and management with theology.

Wastanavi won the election to the post — occupied by the previous Maulana, Marghoob ur Rehman, for 30 years till his recent death — taking eight votes. The top body of rectors and scholars that picks the Mohtamim (called the shoora) gave Maulana Arshad Madani (a senior cleric currently involved in a battle for control for the Jamiat Ulema e Hind with his nephew, Maulana Mahmuid Madani, MP) four votes while the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Deoband, Maulana Abdul Khaliq Madrasi, got two.


Wastanavi’s election represents a generational shift in many ways at the seminary based in Deoband, in UP.

Having obtained his Aalim and Faazil degrees (in Islamic law) from Surat, and MBA from Maharashtra, Wastanavi has been an enthusiastic campaigner of progressive and professional careers for young Muslims coming to madrasas. His admirers, ‘The fans of Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Wastanavi’, have a page on Facebook.

Best known for his extensive network of madrasas in western India, and a member of the Maharashtra Waqf Board and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, the Maulana has received at least two awards (including the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Award) from the Maharashtra government for his work.

He edits several periodicals (in Urdu, Arabic and Gujarati) and heads educational institutions and runs hospitals in Akkalkua, Aurangabad, Nanded and Bhavnagar. 

There is of course a view that the post of Mohtamim — involving management of sentiments and factions within the Muslim Indian fold, as well as balancing political faultlines — has suffered because of the election of someone “not from the Deobandi tradition and not having studied there”.

An Islamic scholar, who did not want to be identified, said: “Wastanavi symbolises the Gujarat factor that is emerging as significant in the Muslim world, as scholars from there are prosperous and generous, having helped several Muslim institutions in times of need. Having built an extensive network of support and contacts, they find it easy to win support in the community.”

But other scholars like Dr Akhtar ul Wasey, the Director of Islamic Studies in Jamia Millia, New Delhi, welcomes the appointment of “a progressive and enlightened man, so concerned with professional empowerment”.

With the interest in Islam in the West since the 9/11 attacks, Deoband has emerged as a major world centre for Islamic learning, along with Al Azhar, Cairo. Its anti-terror fatwa in February 2008 was the first in the Islamic world.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704323204576085013620618774.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Opinion Journal

• OPINION ASIA
• JANUARY 17, 2011

The Coming Clash With China

Hu Jintao's visit to Washington may be intended to patch up relations, but it is more likely to prove a turning point as tensions rise.

By AARON FRIEDBERG

When he meets with U.S. President Barack Obama this week, China's paramount leader Hu Jintao will not be carrying a symbolic "reset button" of the sort that Secretary of State Clinton presented to her Russian counterpart back in 2009. But he will probably be looking for ways to soothe concerns over his country's recent behavior and its possible implications for the future course of U.S.-China relations.

The last two years have seen a marked upturn in tensions between the two Pacific powers, as well as between China and many of its Asian neighbors. As viewed from Washington, but also from Seoul, Tokyo, Hanoi, Canberra, and New Delhi, this trend is a direct result of increasingly assertive Chinese words and deeds across a wide range of fronts. In the past 12 months alone Beijing has:

•Shielded North Korea from tough international sanctions, despite Pyongyang's unprovoked sinking of a South Korean naval vessel and subsequent deadly shelling of a small island;

•Escalated what might otherwise have been a minor incident at sea into a major confrontation with Japan.

•Used its near monopoly in the production of certain rare earth minerals critical to high-tech manufacturing as an instrument to exert diplomatic leverage.

•Intensified its long-standing claim to virtually all of the resource-rich South China Sea by suggesting that the region was a "core national interest," a term previously used to refer only to areas (like Tibet and Taiwan) over which China is willing to go to war.

•Declared publicly that, when it comes to resolving competing claims over this region "China is a big country and other countries are small countries, and that's just a fact."

•Threatened for the first time to impose sanctions on U.S. companies that participate in arms sales to Taiwan.

•Conducted unprecedentedly large and complex naval exercises in the waters of the Western Pacific outside the so-called "First Island Chain."

•Revealed the existence of a new stealth fighter aircraft.

•Begun initial deployments of a new anti-ship ballistic missile targeted on U.S. aircraft carriers operating in the Western Pacific.

Not surprisingly, all of this activity has stirred anxiety across Asia. It has begun to Not surprisingly, all of this activity has stirred anxiety across Asia. It has begun to
Not surprisingly, all of this activity has stirred anxiety across Asia. It has begun to provoke responses from the United States as well as other countries in the region. President Obama's recent swing through Asia included stops in the capitals of India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan, but it pointedly excluded Beijing. American and Japanese defense officials have since announced their intention to devote more resources to counter China's rising power, the United States and South Korea have enhanced their military cooperation, and, despite a history of animosity, Seoul and Tokyo have taken steps in the same direction.

Beijing's behavior has thus triggered reactions that, if allowed to run their course, will make it harder to achieve its likely long-term goal of re-establishing China as the dominant power in East Asia. A well-timed campaign of "smile diplomacy" could help to slow down this balancing process, even if it cannot derail it altogether. That is likely what Mr. Hu and his handlers have in mind for their meetings in Washington this week.


But how meaningful and lasting will any of this be? The answer depends in large part on what lies behind China's recent assertiveness. Some Western analysts have sought to explain it away as an incidental by-product of political infighting in the run-up to the planned 2012 leadership succession or a passing outburst of belligerence by some elements of the People's Liberation Army. Cooler heads have now prevailed and are trying to put the country back on the smoother, less confrontational path it has followed for the past several decades.

Unfortunately, the problem is more deeply rooted than these reassuring assertions would seem to suggest. While they may disagree on questions of tactics and timing, there is no reason to believe that China's leaders differ over fundamental questions of strategy. Beijing may be willing to dial back its rhetoric but it is not going to abandon its goal of regional preponderance. That fact will lead inevitably to growing tensions with its neighbors, and with the United States.

Since the start of the 2008-09 financial crisis many Chinese strategists have reached the conclusion that the United States is declining, and their own country is rising much faster than had previously been expected. Belief that this is the case has fed an already powerful strain of forceful, sometimes belligerent nationalism that appears to be increasingly widespread, especially among the young.
In this view it is time for China to "stand up," to right some of the wrongs suffered when the country was relatively weak, and to reclaim its rightful role in Asia and the world. Such sentiments are not the exclusive preserve of the military, although it may seek to tap them, and at times to stir them, for its own ends. The rising generation of Chinese leaders cannot afford to ignore these views; indeed, to a considerable degree, it probably shares them.

If this assessment is correct, then the last two years are not a temporary deviation but a portent of things to come. Rather than signaling the start of a new interval of cooperation and stability, Hu Jintao's visit may actually mark the end of an era of relatively smooth relations between the United States and China.

Mr. Friedberg is a professor at Princeton University. His new book, "A Contest for Supremacy: China, America and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia" is forthcoming from W.W. Norton.

Press Release - Withdraw the Cases Registered against the Innocent Muslim Youth Muslims are Scapegoats for RSS Pracharaks - Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee. India,

Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee. India

 Amberpet, Hyderabad, A.P. India 500013

Contact No: 09391051586, Fax No: 040-27403392

Web: www.civillibertiesindia.org

Email: clmci@hotmail.com

                                                                                                                    17^th Jan 2011

Press Release

Mr. Prime Minister We Demand Unconditional Apology from the Government of India

Withdraw the Cases Registered against the Innocent Muslim Youth

Muslims are Scapegoats for RSS Pracharaks

When the Government of Australia can Apologize the Indian Citizen Dr.Haneef then why can’t the Indian Government Apologize to its own Citizens?

The Idea of India is Shaken

Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee states that because of Swami Aseemanands confession, people and media are in wonder and excitement. Now they want to know about the suffering youth and their families. But, it is a matter of fact that our committee is not at all surprised by the statements of Aseemanand because we have been telling right from the beginning i.e. from 18^th May 2007, when the blasts occurred at Makkah Masjid in the heart of Hyderabad, after conducting the fact-finding we exposed as to what really happened at Makkah Masjid, we clearly stated that “Hyderabad police is misguiding the whole investigation. The naming of the two Islamic organizations as responsible for the blast with out any acceptable clue reveal the mind of the investigating agency either to mislead the public or to divert their attention. By identifying the probable accused and the organizations with out any preliminary evidence show the attempts of the police to close all other areas of suspicion. The investigating agency can only come up with the names of the organizations which are responsible for the blast only after eliminating all other organizations which can be suspected in such nature of crimes”.

We believe that Swamy Aseemanand’s confessional statement is curtailed and it seems that there is something fishy about that statement. There is no mention of logistical local support at Hyderabad in his statement. In fact he is taking the advantage of innocent youth, to hide the real facts as well as real culprits who supported the Swamy in his tasks at Hyderabad. This is again a big conspiracy and this has to be understood by keeping in mind all the angles.

From the beginning we have been questioning and raising the following issues regularly:

Why the Hyderabad police have registered two FIRs of one incident? Why was one case handed over to CBI and another kept with themselves? Why the Hyderabad police floated the name of Shahed Bilal as the mastermind of the blast through the media? It is very strange that the blast was live telecasted at the time when blast occurred. Why there was no regular police check up on that particular Friday when the blast occurred? On every Friday, it is the routine of the police to stand in the last row of prayers, why were they not present there? Why did the police open fire on the people who were helping the victims of the blast? Why Hyderabad police did not investigate the role of RSS pracharaks in the incident? Why did Hyderabad police misguide the whole investigation? It seems that they wanted to shield the real culprits. Why the innocent Muslim youth were picked up, illegally detained, tortured and arrested? Why did the Hyderabad police propagate through media that they arrested a number of Muslim youth in connection of the blast? But in the court of law they produced the documents which stated that they were conspiring against the state and Asiatic powers by sitting in the Kalapather graveyard. Why were the innocent Muslim youth labeled with conspiracy cases? Is this not the conspiracy of the Hyderabad police to divert the case and target the whole Muslim community? Due to this criminal act of police several other blasts occurred across the country. Why did the Hyderabad police submit the secret report to the government in which they stated that due to the sectarian differences among Muslims, the incident of the blast took place in the Masjid? Is it not the conspiracy of the Hyderabad police against the whole Muslim community? If at all the Government is sincere, then why did they appoint government pleader to defend the accused police officers in City Civil Court against the suit filed to claim the damages for the victims?

The government of AP is cheating the whole Muslim community by saying that it is ready to apologize to Muslims if it was established that innocent youth of the community were deliberately harassed by the police in the aftermath of blast in Makkah Masjid in 2007. Here we want to say that the AP government has not apologized Muslims, but are pretending to do so and misguiding the people, even after knowing the established facts that the real culprits i.e. RSS Pracharaks are exposed for carrying out the blasts across the country.

A suit was filed in the City Civil Court to claim the damages for the victims of the police torture. We demand explanation from the government of AP as to why did the government appoint the pleader to defend the accused police officers involved in the illegal detention, torture, arrest and implicating false cases. If at all the government was sincere it would have done this shameful act of protecting the accused police officers.

By keeping in mind the above questions, one can say that the role of Hyderabad police is highly suspicious in the Makkah Masjid blast, after the blasts and in the investigation of the blast. By taking the advantage of the blast, the Hyderabad police picked up hundreds and Hundreds of youth, by violating all the rules and norms of law, illegally detained, tortured in inhuman manner and forced them to take the responsibility of the blasts and also offered lakhs of rupees and lured them. Hyderabad police tortured the youth by giving the reference as to why they were demanding the CBI enquiry into Sohrabuddin’s fake encounter and Makkah Masjid blast; here the doubts arises in the minds that whether there is any connection of the above two incidents because when the blast occurred, Sohrabuddin’s matter was on high scale and the role of Hyderabad police in it was being questioned. Many police officers were under suspicion. Even the CBI is not being cooperated by the Hyderabad police to conduct proper investigation till date. After the blast the whole concentration was diverted towards this incident and the Sohrabuddin’s matter was setback. Whenever the youth said during the torture to look at the other people i.e. RSS, they were beaten more severely asking not to mention about the name of RSS.

Now the RSS role is exposed in the Hyderabad blast and several other blasts such as Nanded, Jalna, Parbhani, Bhopal, Malegaon, Samjhauta Express, Ajmer, Modasa, Margoa (Goa), and Delhi. Atleast now the government of India should realize as to who the real terrorists and anti-nationals are. It is the high time of government of India to rebuild the confidence of Muslims on the secular and democratic fabric, because this community became the victim of Bomb terror, Mob terror, State terror and RSS terror. During resisting of these terrors this community lost everything. Due to these terrors it was the Muslim community which suffered in all ways i.e. they became the target of the blasts, they lost their lives in the blasts, they were blamed for these blasts and also arrested for these blasts and are still languishing in the jails across the country. Actually it is the greater conspiracy against the Muslims to defame, morally suppress and socially isolate them. Infact, it is the RSS conspiracy which is the worst form of human rights violation of Muslims to destroy the human dignity and to deny right to life.

Atleast, now the government of India should realize that the investigating agencies are biased. Because of them India is defamed at international level. Many innocent people lost their lives because of the police and investigative agencies. Therefore, it is the time to recorrect and apologize with Muslim community and assure them that these kinds of blunder mistakes and conspiracies will not be repeated against them in future. The assurance should not be merely mouth word but it should be practically implemented. It is the duty of the government of India to protect and implement the fundamental duties provided by the constitution of India.

One thing we want to ask the Prime Minister of India is, why the Indian government and their state governments are hesitating to mention apology for the wrong doing of the government and their agencies. Due to this Muslims are still suffering for the mistakes unknown to them and done by RSS. When the government of Australia can apologize to the Indian citizen Dr. Haneef for detaining him in false charges, they have even compensated him with the job and billions of dollars to protect their country’s democratic dignity in the world, then why cant the Indian government which is said to be the largest democratic country in the world, apologize and offer damage compensation to its own citizens, when it has been proved that they are innocents. It is the failure of the republic India to protect the idea of India. 

Therefore, we demand the following to the government of India:

1. Apologize unconditionally to the whole Muslim community and particularly to the people who became the target of RSS and police terror.
2. Written apology to the youth who were falsely implicated in terror and anti-national charges.
3. Withdraw the cases registered against the innocent people; we demand specially the A.P. government to apologize the Muslim youth in written manner.
4. Issue the G.Os for the withdrawal of false cases against the youth i.e. FIR No. 198/2007 of Ramgopalpet PS, 75/2007 of CCS, and 100/2007 of CCS and the cases registered since 2004.
5. Withdraw the government pleader in City Civil Court against the suit filed for compensation, admit the mistake, pay compensation and punish the accused police officers.
6. Investigate, expose and arrest the RSS pracharaks of Hyderabad involved in providing local logistical support to RSS pracharak Swamy Aseemanand involved in bomb blasts.
7. Register the case against the Hyderabad police officers who falsely implicated the Muslim youth and tortured them inhumanly, and misguided the whole investigation.
8. Compensate the victims of police torture by paying them rupees twenty lakh per head for the damages.
9. Rehabilitate the victims of khaki terror.
10. Re-investigate all the bomb blasts cases from the beginning through CBI.
11. The role of Hyderabad police officers should be investigated by CBI because there is nexus between Hyderabad police and RSS pracharaks, and also with other states police.
12. Bengali speaking Muslims were also targeted after the blasts in Hyderabad city, we demand the government of AP to stop suspecting the other state Muslims living in Hyderabad.
13. We demand the government of India to end the torture and disappearances and close the torture cells. Dissolve the special investigation teams especially made to target the Muslims.

Lateef Md. Khan

Dr. Rafat Seema

Kaneez Fathima

S.Q.Masood

A.Srinivas

M.Mandakini, Adv.

Dr.Ibrahim Ali Junaid

Note: Today's Press conference was addressed by Lateef Md. Khan, he explained in detail all the things mentioned in the press note and demanded with the government of India to apologize unconditionally with the whole Muslim community, withdraw the cases registered against innocent muslim youth.

There were victims of Khaki terror and their families as well.

Victims of Khaki terror, Dr. Ibrahim Ali Junaid, Md. Rayees uddin and Abdul Raheem also spoke.

Dr. Ibrahim Ali Junaid said, ‘I have undergone severe torture during illegal detention, the policemen plucked the hair of my beard and abused me for reading Qura’an. I lost one year of my education. Even after acquittal from the court, I face lot of problems even today; police come every now and then and disturb me and my family. I lost 2-3 jobs because of this stigma. I demand from the government of India to apologize, punish and book case against the policemen who tortured us’.

Abdul Raheem said, ‘After implicating me in false cases, I am socially boycotted, what will happen if the government apologizes now and compensate, my dignity will not come back, I want the government to book case and punish the police officers who were involved in illegal detention and torture, send them to jail and treat them in the manner they treated us’

.

Md. Rayees uddin said, ‘I lost my job after this stigma, now I demand the Chief Minister of AP, Kiran Kumar Reddy, to apologize with us, till now he has not apologized, we also demand to provide us government jobs’.  

--
Lateef Md Khan
Many have sacrificed their lives for our Liberty
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