Free Republic

What are the Saudis up to in the Balkans?THE MUSLIM HOLY MONTH of Ramadan came and went in the Balkans without serious incident. Nevertheless, the ancient town of Skopje, war-weary and impoverished after local fighting between Albanians and Slavs in 2001, buzzed with rumors of terrorist conspiracies. In a mild, foggy late-autumn, under a skyline dominated by impressive Ottoman mosques, residents spoke anxiously of the recent suicide bombings in Istanbul and of "special measures" against possible attacks on U.S. and other foreign personnel in Kosovo, Albania, and Macedonia. It is said that Islam has "bloody borders," but in the Balkans...

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, (AFP) - Seven people who took part in demonstrations last month in Saudi Arabia have been sentenced to jail terms, a newspaper reported. The defendants will serve between one and three months in prison and were "ordered to sign an agreement that they would never again engage in the same offense," Arab News reported. Five defendants were jailed for a month, while two other defendants -- a Saudi and Sudanese national -- received two and three month prison terms. The Saudi national will also be lashed 60 times "for not confessing nor acknowledging that he had done...

<p>Federal prosecutors say the lawyer for a University of Idaho student accused of having links to international terrorists might have a conflict of interest because he is being paid by the Saudi Arabian government. According to a motion filed Oct. 30 in federal court, prosecutors say attorney David Nevin could possibly discourage student Sami Al-Hussayen from taking actions contrary to a third party´s interest — in this case the government of Saudi Arabia.</p>

Middle East studies in the News Articles marked by a icon are recommended by Campus Watch staff.Promoting Study of IslamSeptember 20, 2003 - Mercury NewsAbbasi family endows new Program in Islamic Studies at StanfordSeptember 18, 2003 - Stanford University News ServiceArabic didn't need Sept. 11 to be relevantSeptember 18, 2003 - Yale Daily NewsIntense Airport Scrutiny Angers Muslim TravelersSeptember 14, 2003 - Washington PostLearning about Islam moves forwardSeptember 13, 2003 - Kansas City StarRechecking the Sheikh's CheckSeptember 12, 2003 - Harvard CrimsonAcademics Turn Toward The Middle EastSeptember 11, 2003 - Daily CalifornianSchools try to put events in contextSeptember 11, 2003...

Clerics in Saudi Arabia Say Calls to Liberalize Women Are Plot Against Muslim Nation The Associated PressPublished: Sep 10, 2003 RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Prominent Saudi clerics and academics warned Wednesday against calls for equality and increased rights for women, saying such efforts aim to make Muslim women more like "infidel" Western types. Efforts to give women greater rights are part of an anti-Islamic campaign spearheaded by the United States, said 130 Saudi sheiks and academics in a statement obtained by The Associated Press Wednesday. Women in Saudi Arabia are segregated in public places, they cannot drive cars, and...

<p>AGHDAD -- When Rifa'at Jassem told his parents the path he had chosen, his mother wept and his father raged, his classmates jeered, family friends grew distant. At 14, he set aside his love for soccer and began learning the skills of an underground resistance network.</p>

Enemy Within May Complicate War Posted April 1, 2003 By Scott L. Wheeler Muslims constitute an estimated 2 percent of the 400,000 soldiers serving in the U.S. Army. Perimeter guards were in place to protect resting U.S. troops awaiting deployment orders that soon would send them rappelling from hovering helicopters to the ground assault that distinguishes the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. With the perimeter secured, the officers of the 1st Brigade were getting some of the sleep they knew would be in short supply once they were dropped into combat. But shortly after 1:00 a.m. local time,...

A Different Drummer [March 30, 2003] T he U.S. military has a Moslem problem within the ranks, and its attempts to ignore the problem, have only worsened it. Imagine a black Moslem Army engineer with the rank of sergeant trying to murder other U.S. soldiers by throwing a hand grenade into a tent, and nothing happening to him. Now, imagine a second black Moslem Army engineer with the rank of sergeant doing the same thing, 12 years later. Impossible, right? Must be a fluke. Only it's possible, and it's no fluke. Last Sunday, Asan Akbar aka Hasan Karim Akbar aka...

The Two Faces of Islam: The House of Sa'ud from Tradition to Terror By Stephen Schwartz Doubleday; 312 pages, $38 God "said to the Israelites, 'Dwell in this land. When the promise of the hereafter comes to be fulfilled, We shall assemble you all together.' " Koran 17:104 You will not find Osama bin Laden or the Muslim clerics who support Hamas and various other terrorist outfits citing this quotation from their holy scripture, which unambiguously asserts the (divine) right of Jews to live in Israel. Nor do the extremists offer their own analysis of these verses and their meaning;...

'Wahhabi Lobby' Takes the Offensive By J. Michael Waller Insight August 19, 2002 Totalitarian regimes in the Middle East have targeted the United States with a well-financed influence campaign that is being rooted in American politics. Veteran watchers of the "active-measures" programs of the former Soviet Union say this Islamist propaganda offensive bears an uncanny resemblance to the old Soviet international front operations and the broad parade of fellow travelers who used themes of peace, tolerance and civil liberties to advance Soviet strategic goals by weakening the United States at home and abroad. "Active measures" is a translation of aktivniye...

My calculation is that President George Bush will not delay the operation to replace Iraq's Saddam Hussein until next year but will launch it in November, or even late October. It will be a swift and terrible onslaught, coming from Kuwait, Jordan, Turkey, the Persian Gulf and from the new complex of bases built up by the U.S. in Afghanistan and Central Asia. Britain will make the biggest contribution of forces (unofficial figure: 30,000), but there will be special troops from many countries, including Russia. It should all be over in weeks, possibly even days, perhaps in time for the...

For 20 years, I have served without compensation as a lawyer for federal whistle blowers within the US intelligence community. In the last year, I have received highly classified information from several of my confidential clients concerning a Saudi covert operation. The Saudi relationship is so sensitive that, for more than a decade, federal prosecutors and counter-terrorist agents have been ordered to shut down their investigations for reasons of foreign policy. I am filing a lawsuit in Hillsborough County Court to expose the manner in which Florida charities were used as a money laundry for tax-deductible terrorism. The complaint cites...

A report by Arab intellectuals commissioned by the United Nations warns that Arab societies are being crippled by a lack of political freedom, the repression of women and an isolation from the world of ideas that stifles creativity. The survey, the Arab Human Development Report 2002, is to be released today in Cairo, Egypt. The report notes that although oil income has transformed the landscapes of some Arab countries, the region remains "richer than it is developed." Per capita income growth has shrunk in the last 20 years to a level just above that of sub-Saharan Africa. Productivity is declining....