IRFN (February 12-18): Saudi King Rearranges Religious Institutions

Feb 17, 2009

Features: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said February 17 that the Obama administration will make "a concerted effort" to restore the image of the United States in the Islamic world and will seek to "enlist the help of Muslims around the world against the extremists."  Clinton’s remarks were made at Tokyo University.  The Washington Post has more.

The Obama administration said late on February 15 that it would participate in planning for Durban II, a U.N. conference on racism, despite concerns that the meeting may be used by Arab nations and others to criticize Israel.  AP has more.

1.  Iran: Baha’is Accused of Having Ties With Israel

TEHRAN – Iran's chief prosecutor is accusing members of the minority Baha’i faith of sharing information on Iran with enemy nations such as Israel, the AP reported on February 15. The religion, founded in the 1860s by a Persian nobleman, has a headquarters in Israel and has been banned in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Dozens of Baha’i members have been sentenced to prison in Iran in the past year on various charges. Seven Baha’i members in custody since early 2008 have yet to face trial. A state TV report on February 15 quoted prosecutor Qorban Ali Dorri Najafabadi as saying evidence suggests the community as a whole has shared information with Israel and other enemies.

2.  Afghanistan: Twenty-Year Sentence Upheld for Translation of Quran

KABUL – An appeals court in Afghanistan upheld 20-year prison sentences for two men who published a translation of the Quran that drove religious leaders to call for their execution, the AP reported on February 15. The panel ruled on February 15 that the men were guilty of modifying the Quran, a crime punishable by death. However, the three-judge panel reiterated a lower court ruling giving the men 20 years prison sentences. The prosecutor had asked for the death penalty for the two men, Ahmad Ghaws Zalmai, a former spokesman for the attorney general, and Mushtaq Ahmad, a Muslim cleric who signed a letter endorsing the translation. The controversial text is a translation of Islam's holy book into an Afghan language without the original Arabic verses alongside. Muslims regard the Arabic Quran as words given directly by God. A translation is not considered a Quran itself, and it is believed that a mistranslation could warp the meaning. Zalmai's lawyer, Abdul Qawi Afzeli, said both men plan to appeal again, pushing the case to the Supreme Court.

3.  Pakistan: Islamic Law Restored in Swat

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani officials worked out a peace deal with a Taliban-linked group that could lead to the enforcement of elements of Islamic law in parts of Pakistan's northwest, prompting insurgents in the Swat Valley to declare a 10-day cease-fire as a goodwill gesture on February 15, the AP reported on February 15. Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said the insurgents would adhere to any deal reached with the group if Islamic law was actually implemented in the region. In announcing the 10-day cease-fire, Khan said, "We reserve the right to retaliate if we are fired upon," but he added: "Once Islamic law is imposed there will be no problems in Swat. The Taliban will lay down their arms." Arshad Abdullah, the provincial law minister, has stressed that the agreement would require the pro-Taliban group to persuade the insurgents to first give up violence. "Our agreement is conditioned on peace," Abdullah said. It remains to be seen exactly how the government will define Islamic law. A similar deal reached last year was supposed to let religious scholars advise judges in the courts, but its implementation failed. The Swat Taliban's version of Islamic law bans female education, insists on women mostly staying indoors, and forbids many forms of entertainment.

4.  Saudi Arabia: King Rearranges Religious Establishment

RIYADH – King Abdullah dismissed the chief of the religious police and a cleric who condoned killing the owners of TV networks that broadcast "immoral" content, the AP reported on February 14. The political move signaled an effort to weaken the country's hard-line Sunni establishment on February 14.  The changes made are the first that King Abdullah has implemented since coming to power in August 2005. The King appointed a female deputy minister, the highest government position a Saudi woman has attained. The King also changed the makeup of an influential body of religious scholars, giving more moderate Sunnis representation to the group whose duties include issuing the religious edicts known as fatwas. "This is the true start of the promises of reform," said Jamal Khashoggi, editor of Al-Watan newspaper and an experienced observer of the kingdom's politics. "They bring not only new blood, but also new ideas." New judges have also named, and the Consultative Council was reshuffled.

5.  UK: Dutch MP Deported

LONDON – Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch Parliament, who has compared the Koran to Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and blamed Islamic texts for inciting the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and other terrorist atrocities was detained by immigration officials at London Heathrow Airport on February 12 and forced within hours to board a return flight to Holland, the IHT reported on February 12. Wilders had been invited to a showing at the House of Lords later Thursday of his 17-minute film, "Fitna," which caused outrage in wide areas of the Muslim world in 2008 after it appeared on the Internet. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith had ordered his deportation on the grounds that his presence in Britain would be a danger to public safety.