Middle East Aggregator

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the Constitutional Court must explain its decision to overturn a government-led reform allowing students to wear Muslim headscarves at university.

Last week's Constitutional Court ruling was the most serious setback for the Islamist-rooted AK Party since it came to power in 2002 and analysts said it increased the chances of the party being banned for Islamist activities, in a separate case.

Erdogan reiterated that the court was not authorized to examine the content of a constitutional amendment and should look only at the technical aspects of the reform.

"The Constitutional Court must certainly explain why it examined the contents of the reform in the (headscarf) case," he told a parliamentary group meeting.

The Constitutional Court normally gives reasons for its rulings after announcing the decision. The court's chairman said in this case that the justification would be announced, but not for the time being because of speculation surrounding the case. (Reuters)

Labels: Freedom of Religion, Human Rights, Turkey

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 1:32 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

A decision by Turkey's top court to annul a government reform which lifted a ban on Muslim headscarves at universities is a blow to freedom of religion and other fundamental rights, Human Rights Watch said on Saturday.

Turkey's Constitutional Court overturned late on Thursday a reform which would have allowed students to wear the Muslim headscarf in universities. Analysts said the decision increased the chances that the AK Party would be closed down for alleged Islamist activities in a separate case at the same court.

"This decision means that women who choose to wear a headscarf in Turkey will be forced to choose between their religion and their education," Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

"This is a truly disappointing decision and does not bode well for the reform process," Cartner said. (Reuters)

Labels: Freedom of Religion, Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, Turkey

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 5:54 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party has held an emergency meeting after the country's highest court overturned a government move lifting a ban on Muslim headscarves at universities.

Thursday's ruling by the Constitutional Court is the most serious setback for the party since it was elected in 2002 and may threaten its survival.

The defeated amendment is set to play a central role in a separate case that seeks to close the AK Party for anti-secular activities, and ban 71 members, including the prime minister and the president, from belonging to a political party for five years.

Friday's AK Party meeting was chaired by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister.

The meeting took place as hundreds of Turkish women wearing the hijab (headscarf) protested against the court ruling. (Al Jazeera)

Labels: Freedom of Religion, Judiciary, Turkey

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 3:56 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Turkey's highest court has ruled that Islamic headscarves cannot be allowed at universities.

The decision is a defeat for the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, which tried to allow the wearing of scarves as a matter of religious and personal freedom.

The verdict of the constitutional court was issued on Thursday and says that amendments passed by parliament in February violated the secular principles of the constitution.

Some observers think the verdict may bode ill for the government in a separate case in which Turkey's chief prosecutor is seeking to disband the AK Party because it is "the focal point of anti-secular activities".

The prosecution also seeks to ban 71 members, including the prime minister and the president, from belonging to a political party for five years.

The Turkish lira weakened against the dollar on the news, with markets fearing prolonged political uncertainty in the European Union-applicant country.

Cemil Cicek, the deputy prime minister, was reported as saying he would comment once he had read the court's ruling. (Al Jazeera)

Labels: Freedom of Religion, Turkey

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 1:40 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Saudi Arabia's king urged a gathering of Muslim scholars Wednesday to open religious dialogue with Christians and Jews. But politics intruded as a senior Iranian figure said the Islamic world should stand up to the U.S. and its "international arrogance."

King Abdullah spoke at the start of a three-day conference of Islamic scholars, clerics and other figures in the holy city of Mecca called to get Muslims on the same page before the kingdom launches a landmark initiative for talks with adherents of other monotheistic faiths.

The tone was one of reconciliation between Islam's two main branches, Sunni and Shiite. Abdullah, one of Sunni Islam's most prominent figures, entered the hall with Shiite Iranian politician Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who later sat at the king's left in a gesture of unity.

But while Rafsanjani spoke warmly of his host, he also highlighted the political divide between their nations by delivering pointed criticism of America, a Saudi ally. He accused the U.S. of greedily trying to control the region's oil and said Muslims should resist it. (AP)

Labels: Freedom of Religion, Saudi Arabia

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 2:28 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Bahrain's anticipated appointment of a Jewish woman as ambassador to the United States - the first for an Arab country - is not a public relations stunt, a senior official said on Saturday. "This is not a public relations move," the official said, referring to the expected naming of Huda Nunu as the Gulf kingdom's ambassador to Washington.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said King Hamad informed US officials during a visit to Washington in March of Bahrain's intention to name Nunu.

The Jewish population amounts to no more than 37 among a total of around 530,000 people.

"This move is not propaganda. It reflects a climate of tolerance toward minorities in Bahrain," which is ruled by a Sunni dynasty and has a disgruntled Shiite majority.

Nunu will be the third Bahraini woman to be appointed as an ambassador. Sheikha Haya al-Khalifa was the country's ambassador to France, while Shiite Bibi Alawi was appointed a few months ago as envoy to China. Until she assumes her new position, Nunu will continue serving in the appointed Shura (consultative) Council - the upper chamber of Parliament. In 2006, she replaced her brother Ibrahim, the first Jewish member of the council. (AFP)

Labels: Bahrain, Freedom of Religion

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 3:19 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

The tomb of the Prophet Ezekiel in Kifl, south of Baghdad, used to be a pilgrimage site for Jews. It is one of few traces that remain of a once-vibrant Jewish community in Iraq. A pogrom in 1941 and other traumas led to a sharp decline in the Jewish population.

Written in broken English but with perfect clarity, the message is a stark and plaintive assessment from one of the last Jews of Babylon.

The community of Jews in Baghdad is now all but vanished in a land where their heritage recedes back to Abraham of Ur, to Jonah’s prophesying to Nineveh, and to Nebuchadnezzar’s sending Jews into exile here more than 2,500 years ago.

Just over half a century ago, Iraq’s Jews numbered more than 130,000. But now, in the city that was once the community’s heart, they cannot muster even a minyan, the 10 Jewish men required to perform some of the most important rituals of their faith. They are scared even to publicize their exact number, which was recently estimated at seven by the Jewish Agency for Israel, and at eight by one Christian cleric. That is not enough to read the Torah in public, if there were anywhere in public they would dare to read it, and too few to recite a proper Kaddish for the dead.

Among those who remain is a former car salesman who describes himself as the “rabbi, slaughterer and one of the leaders of the Jewish community in Iraq.”  (NY Times)

Labels: Freedom of Religion, Iraq

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 1:58 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Bahrain's king has appointed a woman believed to be the Arab world's first Jewish ambassador as the country's envoy to Washington.

Lawmaker Houda Nonoo said she was proud to serve her country "first of all as a Bahraini," adding she was not chosen for the post because of her religion.

"It is a great honor to have been appointed as the first female ambassador to the United States of America and I am looking forward to meeting this new challenge," Nonoo told The Associated Press by telephone.

The Wednesday decree issued by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa and reported by the official Bahrain News Agency had not specified where Nonoo, a 43-year-old mother of two boys, would be posted. But her appointment to the U.S. ambassadorship was rumored for months.

Bahrain - a pro-Western island nation with Sunni rulers and a Shiite majority - is a close U.S. ally and hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. It has about 50 Jewish citizens among a population of roughly half a million people.

Nonoo has served as legislator in Bahrain's all-appointed 40-member Shura Council for three years. (AP)

Labels: Bahrain, Freedom of Religion

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 7:22 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has sent an invitation to the World Jewish Congress for an interfaith dialogue with Muslim and Christian leaders, Haaretz has learned.
While the date and location of the meeting has not been announced, sources have told Haaretz that King Abdullah seeks to hold the meet in Saudi Arabia, no small feat as the country is ruled by Islamic Sharia law and currently does not allow the entry of holders of Israeli passports or those whose passports bear entry visas from Israel. The country also bans all non-Muslim prayer in public.
WJC President Ronald Lauder issued a statement Monday saying that "despite all the obstacles that may still be in the way, King Abdullah's initiative is a laudable step forward. We hope that other religious leaders and political leaders throughout the world will be encouraged to join."

WJC Governing Board Chair Matthew Brofmann also praised the initiative and expressed his hope that it will "spell real progress in fostering better understanding with the Muslim world," and added that the WJC "is ready to participate in any interfaith talks that are meant towards mutual respect." (Haaretz)

Labels: Freedom of Religion, Saudi Arabia

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 1:31 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Iran confirmed on Tuesday it has arrested members of the Bahai religious community, whose faith is banned in the Islamic Republic, for acting against the national interest.

"This is a group that has acted against the country's interests and has links with foreigners, especially the Zionists [Israel]," government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham told reporters when asked about the report of an arrest.

Last week, Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier voiced concern over the arrest of six Iranian Bahai followers and called for their release. But there was no immediate official confirmation of the report.

"Our intelligence service has acted based on legal criteria and it is pursuing the issue as a duty and as part of every country's rules," Elham said. "This [arrest] does not have to do with ideological issues or if you want to call it beliefs, which we basically do not approve of."

The Canadian minister had accused Iran of detaining the individuals "solely on the basis of their faith."

Iran said in January it had sentenced 54 Bahais for anti-regime propaganda, three of them to four years in jail while the rest received suspended one-year jail terms. (AFP)

Labels: Freedom of Religion, Iran

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 1:04 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

The Iranian authorities have acknowledged the arrest of a number of members of the Bahai faith, which is considered to be heretical in Iran.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the arrests were a judicial matter and he did not give any further details.

The Bahai International Community says a senior member was arrested in March and six more last week; together they make up the entire leadership in Iran.

It says it has about 300,000 members in Iran, where the faith originated.

Relatives said the six senior members were taken to Evin Prison in Tehran on 14 May, after Intelligence Ministry officers raided their homes in the middle of the night.

The Bahai faith is banned by the Islamic revolutionary leadership of Iran.

Hundreds of Bahai followers have been jailed and executed since Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979, the Bahai International Community says.

However, the government denies it has detained or executed people because of their faith.

Canada voiced concern over the arrests on Friday and called for their release.

Labels: Free Speech, Freedom of Religion, Iran

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 4:25 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

A rapporteur to Turkey's top court said on Friday it should reject a challenge to a ruling party reform which allows university students to wear the Muslim headscarf, broadcaster CNN Turk reported.

The rapporteur's report, which state news agency Anatolian said had been presented to the Constitutional Court, is not binding, but has to be presented to judges before the case can proceed.

The headscarf case is being monitored for clues to the possible outcome of a separate, more critical case which aims to close the ruling AK Party for alleged Islamist activities in officially secular Turkey.

The ruling party's move to lift the headscarf ban in universities was seen as a catalyst for the closure case, the indictment for which is packed with references to the headscarf.

Turkey's secularist establishment, made up of the army, professors and parts of the judiciary, sees the headscarf as a threat to Turkey's secular state and a symbol of political Islam. The court challenge to the headscarf amendment was filed by secularist opposition party, CHP. (Reuters)

Labels: Freedom of Religion, Turkey

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 11:28 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Bahrain will name a Jewish ambassador to the United States, a report said.

Huda Azar Nunu, a Jewish woman who is a lawmaker in Bahrain's upper house, will be named to the Washington position, according to a report this week in A Sharq al-Awsat, a Saudi-owned pan-Arab daily published in London.

"The sources denied that the appointment of Nunu as a woman and a Jew is a public relations campaign by Bahrain in the West, emphasizing that Huda Nunu has proven her qualifications, whether through her membership in the Consultative Council or through her work in human rights associations, of which she is an active participant in Bahrain," the newspaper said.

Bahrain, a Persian Gulf state sandwiched between Iran and Saudi Arabia, has a tiny Jewish population dating back to Talmudic times. Nunu is descended from Iraqi Jews who migrated to the port of Manama in the late 19th century. Jews in Bahrain have kept a low profile but generally have been treated well.

The nation is considered among the more progressive in the region, and was among the first to allow women to run for public office. (JPost)

Labels: Bahrain, Freedom of Religion

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 11:04 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

In the latest attack targeting Yemen's few remaining Jews, rebel Houthi militiamen destroyed several homes that had belonged to the now-absent Jewish community in the northwestern Saada province.

All 67 members of Saada's Jewish community fled following threats from the Houthis, the rabbi says. Some locals say the Jews were threatened because they had been selling wine to Muslims - an accusation the Jews deny, according to Reuters.

A local said the Shi'ite rebels attacked the houses of other Jews after looting the rabbi's. (JPost)

Labels: Freedom of Religion, Yemen

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 10:15 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

In a rare departure from government practice, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is planning to convene an interfaith conference for Muslims, Christians and Jews, according to the Saudi-owned Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper.
The call for religious dialog to include Jews is the first by the monarch, whose country's laws prohibit the importation of non-Muslim religious objects including crucifixes and stars of David.
The Saudi King said representatives of the three major monotheistic faiths need to work together "to defend humanity" from harm, speaking in an address he delivered in Riyadh on Monday. (Haaretz and AP)

Labels: Freedom of Religion, Saudi Arabia

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 10:31 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

The Saudi Arabian parliament on Monday rejected a recommendation to adopt an international agreement that forbids insulting religions, prophets and clerics, the Saudi daily Al-Watan reported.

Seventy-seven members of parliament rejected the recommendation, claiming that if they adopted the agreement, they would have had to recognize the legitimacy of idolatrous religions, such as Buddhism. (Link)

Labels: Free Speech, Freedom of Religion, Saudi Arabia

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 8:27 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

The Vatican is holding talks with Saudi Arabia on building the first church in the kingdom, where some 1.5m Christians are not allowed to worship publicly.

Archbishop Paul-Mounged el-Hachem, one of Pope Benedict XVI's most senior Middle East representatives, said the discussions had begun a few weeks ago.

But the archbishop cautioned that the Vatican could not predict the outcome.

The discussions come in the wake of King Abdullah's historic meeting with the Pope at the Vatican last November.

A Catholic-Muslim Forum was also set up by the Pope two weeks ago to repair relations between the two faiths after the crisis caused by a speech he gave in Germany in 2006, in which he appeared to associate Islam with violence. (Link)

Labels: Freedom of Religion, Saudi Arabia

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 10:06 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Thousands of Christians took part on Saturday in the first mass at Muslim Qatar's only church, opened this week despite threats from Islamists.

Vatican envoy Cardinal Ivan Dias presided over the eucharist attended by around 15,000 worshippers at Our Lady of the Rosary Roman Catholic church in Doha, thanking "God and Qatar for this great gift".

The church, which like elsewhere in the Gulf Arab region has no bells or crosses on its exterior, opened on Friday ahead of western Christianity's celebration of Easter, which this year falls on March 23.

It is the first of five to be constructed in the gas-rich Gulf state. (Link)

Labels: Freedom of Religion, Qatar

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 6:31 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Just in time for Easter, Christians in Qatar got their first church on Friday, joining fellow believers in many other Gulf countries who have long been able to worship in their own churches rather than homes or other venues.

An exception is Saudi Arabia, which adheres to a rigorous doctrine of Islam known as Wahhabism. The ultra-conservative kingdom bans all non-Muslim religious rituals and materials.

In contrast, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the UAE host churches that cater to hundreds of thousands of expats and, in some cases, tiny local communities.

Ironically, Qatar also adheres to Wahhabism but it has opened up to other faiths in the past decade. (Link)

Labels: Freedom of Religion, Qatar

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 7:17 PM 0 Comments Links to this post