Professional Observation

My major and profession is website development. I have been doing most of my work for local business and individuals, and haven't had to do much thinking on a global scale. More recently though I did some work for a religious organization and had to take into account their beliefs and what they thought and wanted. This got me to thinking; even though I will probably not be going abroad for work or doing any work for major corporations, I will have to consider the requirements the client has beyond that of the technical aspects. Even further, I have to take into account that a website is global, and that means that I need to be precise and careful with what I do and what I put my name on. While it is surely a minority there are plenty of incidents in the Middle East, and the rest of the world, that are sparked by modern media, including the internet. As we learn more in class and get to study how different forms of media are used by the Middle East I learn more about the true power of what I do.

Damascus Blast Said to Kill at Least 15

Today the fighting continued in Syria with a car bomb that detonated at the Syrian Central Bank, across the street from a primary school in Damascus. Jayda al-Kanna was cooking in her kitchen above the school when the blast shook a six foot hole in her living room wall. The Syrian government blames its opposition for the explosion that killed 15 and wounded at least another 53.

            The use of car bombs has taken a terrible toll on the people of Syria. Both the government and some rebel factions have been enraged by the use of them. The people are much more fearful now with the use of car bombs since they are usually used to target busy city areas. Before their use the fighting was limited to small arms and road side bombs targeting Syrian security forces. The people are now witnessing a scene similar to Iraq with many check points and blast walls.

            Some people of the opposition have actually accused the government of using the car bombs to make the uprising seem brutal and unfavorable. This myth was debunked when an extremist group Nusra Front began claiming the attacks were theirs.

            The war in Syria has been going on for two years now and it doesn’t seem to be making any progress. Attacks are still very common and innocent civilians are being killed in the streets. Like many problems in the Middle East we are off on the sidelines and left wondering what to do about it.

Ariele's # 4 Blog post- observation or commentary (COR 330 Comparison)

Through taking the COR classes; Make Films Not War and the Arab Spring many thing that we have talked about lead back to each class ultimately making a connection between the two.  An observation that I have made throughout the semester is that "resources" play a huge role in the Middle East.  In the class the Arab Spring we have talked about the benefits of helping out  Middle Eastern countries and one of the main benefits is oil.  In Make Films Not War we have talked about resources as well and how resources have the ability to fuel problems between countries.  I have learned that in many situations if one can't benefit from something than the odds of them doing it is slim.  I find this to be a bad way of looking at things, but in some cases it is true.  Through making this observation I have looked at the assistance given by the United States in a much different light.  In some of the Arab countries, the United States have made comments or have stepped in and I'm wondering if they only did that so they could be in power of certain resources.  Through making this observation a few questions arose.

1. How far will a country or group go in order to come into reach or have the power those highly needed resources?

2.  How important are resources in this day and age?

3. Where will we and our resources be 20 years from now?

COR 330 Comparison

4. An observation or commentary that links ideas and questions from our course with learning that you are carrying out in your other COR 330 course this semester. Consider this blog posting reflective.

My other COR 330 course is Gender Issues in the Muslim World. We are currently learning about important women leaders in Middle Eastern society. We also have read the book The Muslim Next Door by Sumbul Ali-Karamali, which particularly relates to our COR 330 – Make Films Not War course. It highlights the differences in the Middle East between culture and religion. It also evokes an understanding of the vast misconceptions about Islam and how many people in the West view it as a “backwards” religion, when that could not be farther from the truth. Many of the questions in our course raise issues of Western misconceptions and that is the parallel that I draw from my two COR courses. Most specifically the Western idea that all women are oppressed in the Middle East: This is very untrue. Oppression of women usually derives from culture and each Middle Eastern culture is vastly different from the next. Not all women in the Middle East sit at home and are locked within the confines of their home. Women in the Middle East are lawyers, hold positions in government, help build infrastructure, develop non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and even win Nobel Peace prizes. Both courses have helped me acquire a greater understanding of the Middle East, Islam and women’s rights issues. I am confident that I would be able to have a comprehensive conversation with someone about the Middle East now that I have taken these courses, something I could not have said before this semester. 

Iraq unrest: Deadly blast at Baquba political rally

A suicide bomb and grenade attack has killed at least twenty two people and injured about fifty at a political rally in Baquba, Iraq. A grenade was thrown into the crowd gathered inside a large tent and, seconds later, a suicide bomber blew himself up in the same tent. This would not be the first instance of this type of violence; recently, more than eleven candidates standing in this month's local elections have been shot dead.

Due to the continuous attacks, polls in two provinces have been postponed for security concerns. But the attacks have not stopped, and they have affected candidates in other provinces as well start reports from within Baghdad. Opposition figures have accused the government of delaying the elections out of fear that anti-government candidates will sweep to victory.

 While elections will proceed as planned, one can only imagine what will happen next, and what kind of violence will be perpetrated.

Repairing Turkey and Israel's relationship

In 2010, Israel and Turkey's relationship unraveled when nine Turks were killed by the Israeli military. At the time, Israel's military was intercepting a Turkish ship that was attempting to run a blockade on supplies to Gaza. Last month, in an attempt to restore relations between the two countries, Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Turkey to meet with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. According to the NYTimes article, it is important for relations to be restored to help regain stability in the Middle East.

President Obama was recently in Israel, and during his visit he was able to broker a deal between the two countries to restore relations. Unfortunately, the are concerns of there being problems fulfilling the deal. Steps need to be taken by both sides to ensure the agreed upon deal is fulfilled.

So will Israel and Turkey's deal be accomplished? Read the article (linked below) to make a decision for yourself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/world/europe/kerry-urges-turkey-and-israel-to-restore-ties.html?ref=middleeast&_r=0

 

 Exclusive: How My Brother Tried to Kill Me in 'Honor Attack'

 By Anna Coren, CNN,  1:41 PM EDT, Thu April 4, 2013

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/world/asia/afghanistan-honor-killing-survivor/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

This article is another instance of the horror and repression that many women still face in the Middle East. Although laws are passed and people are often quick to say that times are changing or that women aren’t as disempowered as those in the West believe, situations like what the woman in this article have experienced happen with enough frequency that their inequality and inability to live freely can’t be denied. To be given away by your family to a man who abuses you would be bad enough, but then to be almost killed by your own brother after your family had refused to help you is beyond anything that should be humanly permissible. Changing laws will never be enough as long as the mind-set that women can be treated like property is still intact.

The question then is, can minds be changed when they are swayed by ancient laws that were radical for their time but that now, in need of revision, are adhered to and grossly misinterpreted by a people who believe that the “gate to revelation” has been closed?

~April Patterson

Religion here and there.

4. An observation or commentary that links ideas and questions from our course with learning that you are carrying out in your other COR 330 course this semester. Consider this blog posting reflective.

Something I have noticed about this cor class and my other cor 330 class is that a lot of the current and past issues are closely related to religion. This seems like a pretty obvious observation but in this Cor class we have been discussing the issues between Israel and Palestine through movies, and the Middle East in general through movies. In my other Cor 330 class we have been learning about the difference between the Middle East and other religions through readings and comparing the Koran to the Bible. The people that live in the Middle East are just so connected and tied to their religion that it makes them seem like extremists more so than someone who would go to church and read the bible in the U.S. They do things differently there and for some reason that makes them such a threat to the U.S. To me it always comes back to the religion that creates issues. Whether it be between two Middle East countries or the Middle East and the U.S, because they have such a strong connection to their religion it is all they do and will do anything for it. 

Israel-Gaza Border Tensions

A three day hunger strike was put into effect on Wednesday by prisoners in Israeli jails to protest the death of an inmate which was blamed on Israel. After rockets being fired into southern Israel, a response airstrike was carried out in Gaza late Tuesday night. This was the first that has been sent since the cease fire was put into place in November. This rocket was claimed by the Mujahudeen Shura Council and was said to have been launched in support of the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Wednesday morning two rockets were launched from Gaza militants and it was reported that neither caused injuries.

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Robert H. Serry, explained this issue to be "of paramount importance to refrain from violence in this tense atmosphere and for parties to work constructively in addressing the underlying issues." These cease fire agreements run the risk of undermining the understanding that has been reached between the two countries. Israel's Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon declared that once the source of the fire has been identified that it will be taken down such as in previous cases.

This issue with the prisoners came to the forefront again after Maysara Abu Hamdiya, 64, died of throat cancer that he had been diagnosed with two months prior. Palestine accused Israel of purposely delaying treatment which in turn caused his death. 

Hopefully order will be put back into place and the cease fire will continue between these countries.

Here is the link to the New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/world/middleeast/israel-palestinians-gaza.html?ref=world

Anthony Morello

Arab Spring and Free Speech

Arab Spring and Free Speech (CNN)

This video, from February 22^nd of this year, chronicles the Arab Spring’s battle with censorship as many countries are restricting the free speech rights of journalists and newscasters. Clips of the revolutions from Cairo, Benghazi, and Tunisia are showcased while the narrator of the video, Michael Holmes, talks about censorship in the Middle East. One reporter, Shahira Amin, took matters into her own hands and stepped down from her position as senior anchor and deputy head of Egypt’s state run “Nile TV” after being fed up with the censorship she had to comply with during her reporting. She is quoted in the video saying, “I felt that we were not telling the story… and that’s why I stepped down.” The video goes on to speak of smaller run, private news companies throughout the Middle East that use self-censorship in order to appease the regimes they operate under.
       It should come as no surprise that the revolutionists in these volatile areas are being met with censorship, which is a direct violation of the Universal Bill of Human Rights. However, as we watch the Arab Spring unfold with more countries rising up against their governments, it is important to remember that we are not seeing the full story, only what the regimes controlling journalism are letting through to us, or, in some cases, the news that is leaked against the will of these regimes. The Arab Spring has undoubtedly helped many countries on their route to freedom, but, as long as these countries are restricting the basic rights of their citizens, the road to true freedom is still paved with hardship.

Hamas to Prohibit Mixed-Sex Schools

In a move that should come as no surprise at this point, Hamas is introducing a law that will ban mixed-sex schools for students over the age of nine. When I first read this it struck me as an alien and archaic notion, but I soon realized that this was likely due to a particularly unfair lens that I wear over my common sense whenever I think of Islamic nations. There’s nothing particularly unusual about separating the genders in schools, even in the modern western world. The sense of incredulity only really becomes justified when you consider that this may become a regulated and enforced law, one which would even impose itself on the few private schools in Gaza which allow for boys and girls to learn together. The fact that most schools in Gaza are already segregated for the sake of tradition should not make this new law any less pertinent. How would we, as a western audience, respond to mixed-sex schools being flatly prohibited?  The matter would not be taken lately. In Gaza, is waving the banner of “asserting Hamas's Islamist credentials” enough justification to enact the law? The communities there seem perfectly willing to accept it, which speaks to the ever present—and increasingly undeniable—cultural deviations between the east and west. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21995395 

Hamas re-elects Khaled Meshaal as political leader

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has re-elected Khaled Meshaal as its political leader, officials said.Meshaal has headed Hamas, the group that governs the Gaza Strip, since the assassination of its founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, in 2004.

It's interesting to note that Khaled Meshaal himself had indicated last year that he would not be seeking a new term. However, even if it was against his wishes, the party's governing Shura council re-elected him for another foour years at a meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo late on Monday.

Another note worth mentioning is that as leader of Hamas, Khaled has agreed to delicate truce between Israel this past November and has been seeking to heal wounds between his group and Fatah.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21998860

"Twitter is for clowns" - Saudi Clerk

While much of the Middle East participated in the Arab Spring, Saudi Arabia was one of the countries that did not have any mass demonstrations. So it is interesting to see the top cleric in Saudi Arabia call the people who use twitter essentially clowns.

The so called twitter revolution may not have hit Saudi Arabia hard, the amount of people who use twitter in the country is still outstanding. Over half of their internet users use twitter and he is openly insulting them. In response to his remarks people have come forward with two different conclusions. One is that his remark is rather ignorant and “not appropriate”, while another is that he was only talking about certain twitter users who spread lies and try to corrupt the youth.

People may argue about what he meant, what is important is that he openly opposes the use of twitter within Saudi Arabia. For a country known for censorship to a degree, what could this mean for the future of twitter in Saudi Arabia? Also if the government were to take any drastic actions, what kind of response will the people have?

Article: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/03/20133246150585567.html

Review of Paradise Now

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445620/

For the other COR 330 class I'm taking on Islam, our class was required to watch the film Paradise Now which was also screened on campus last week I believe. I found the film to be entertaining and definitely one of the better Middle Eastern films I've seen so far.

This film is about two young Palestinian friends who are chosen to bomb the Israeli city of Tel Aviv by some terrorist organization. They're essentially brainwashed into doing it by being told that they will go to paradise afterwards and that this is what Allah wants. Allah apparently wants them to kill themselves.However, in Surah 4:29 it states "do not kill yourselves, for truly Allah has been to you most merficul. Anyone who commits these transgressions, maliciously and deliberately, we will condemn him to Hell." The Quran says they will go to hell while the terrorist leaders tell them they will go to paradise. Interesting....

There's also the part in the Quran where it mentions to not kill innocent civilians. Another important quote from the Quran in Surah 5:8, "And let not the hatred of a people cause you to turn away from justice". I won't reveal the ending but this Surah will make some sense after you see the ending.

Saudi Arabia looking into monitoring social media sites and free online phone services like Skype

It's reported that the Saudi Arabian government is investigating ways to remove user anonymity on sites like Twitter, which has become increasingly popular in the country. Without necessarily exposing a users identity to the public, they would like to be able to see such information internally.

The Grand Mufti has described users of Twitter as "clowns" who are wasting time discussing purposeless and dangerous things. The government representatives go on to argue that people misuse social networking by "sending false information and false evaluation of the situation in the kingdom and the way the policemen in the kingdom are dealing with these situations."

It sounds to me that the government is flexing their powers to remove another route of free speech for the public. Once the government can identify who is "spreading slander", what will the consequence be?

There is also a Tweet posted by Salman al-Awdah, one of the country's most prominent clerics with 2.4M followers, that openly criticizes the Saudi Arabian security policy as being too harsh.

So, it appears that the issue is still on the table for debate at this point. Hopefully the Big Brother mentality doesn't take the win.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/03/201333103422235646.html

We've struck gas!

Israel finally finds itself stepping up in the world of energy. Recently the Natural Gas in the Tamar field in the Mediterranean has begun to flow. Israel may very well be stepping itself up into a large energy exporter. With a large portion of the developed world looking for alternatives for oil, Israel has found itself a very lucrative Natural Gas field. Now what does this mean besides a large income? This may mean a greater struggle between Israel and Palestine.

Most will say that while based on history the possession of the land currently known as Israel there are secondary reasons to the struggle. Bitter rivalries between the religion created heated battles between Palestine and Israel, but what could be a large underlying cause. We see it all the time in Africa, resources. finding something like this and then giving Palestine access could boost their income tremendously and allow them to build up their country and allow them a true seat of power in the U.N. Could this mean more fighting in Israel and more intense wars now that the stakes are higher, maybe?

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/03/2013331113117512770.html

Hamas leaders in Egypt for cease-fire talks involving Israel

Tension between Palestinians and Israel is at an all time high. Knowing that ongoing strikes against each other benefits no one, the Palestinian leaders of Hamas and Israeli representatives met in Egypt to try and work out a cease fire agreement. Even during negotiations, armed conflicts have continued.  Both sides understand that a cease fire is necessary—too many innocent civilians are being caught in the crossfire and are injured or killed. Both the United States and Egypt are working with the Palestinians and Israelis in hopes that a cease fire agreement can be brokered.

Egypt and the United States helped broker the cease-fire last week after Israel launched a series of military strikes on Gaza with the stated goal of halting Israel-bound rocket attacks from militants in the Palestinian territory (Rahma).

A brokered cease fire agreement  between Israel and Palestine not only demonstrate the commitment between the United States and Egypt in moving the peace process forward, but it will show the interest in the people; not just the governments. A cease fire will help both Jews and Arabs to feel safer in their homes. If the cease fire works, this may be a significant first step to encourage a peaceful resolution to the problems that exists between Israel and Palestine.

-Katie Juhl

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/26/world/meast/gaza-israel-ceasefire/index.html

"With Obama as Broker, Israelis and Turkey End Dispute"

On Friday March 22, 2013 Israel and Turkey ended their three year dispute.  As President Obama was on his was to Jordan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a phone call to the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.  Netanyahu called Erdogan to apologize for what had happened in 2010.  In 2010, there was a raid on a Turkish ship that was supplying Palestinians with aid, which ended up killing many people.  Erdogan accepted his apology but, the two are still going to be working together to further the Israeli, Turkish relationships.   With the strong efforts and somewhat pressure from Obama to end the dispute, the two countries finally did.  In an effort to look at the bigger picture, with the ongoing civil war conflict in Syria, these two countries now on the same page and can work together and with the United States to try and help end the Syrian conflict.  Along with working on helping to end the conflict in Syria, Obama helped seal ties with what some consider to be two of the United States larges allies.  In addition to Turkey and Israel Jordanians seemed to be pretty pleased with Obama as well, following the dispute resolution.   As this eventful day came to a close, Obama also ensured that the United States would be providing Jordan with an additional $200 million to help with Syrian refugees that are residing in Jordan.  Overall, it seems as though Obamas journey over to the Middle East was highly successful.  I expect that we are going to be seeing and hearing a lot more relationships and working together with numerous countries in the Middle East in the coming months.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/world/middleeast/president-obama-israel.html?_r=0

Tia Martin

World History Crash Course: Islam

Crash Course World History is a series of videos where John Green, a young adult fiction author and avid education vlogger, speeds through an insight of Islam and world history surrounding the Middle East. While the video is only thirteen minutes long, it is amazing what he can cram into one lesson. Hitting some of the most important points such as the five pillars of Islam, monotheism, alms giving, and explaining the differences between the Quran and the Hadith. John does an amazing job of explaining the highlights and important aspects of the religion and Middle Eastern culture surrounding Islam, but fails to comment on any current events in this piece. He has created, quite actually, an introductory level history lesson that will stand for years to come. There is only one thing that irks me about this video: the necessity of it being created.

John states in the very beginning that we as westerners are generally not knowledgeable about Islam and the Middle east because "we are taught that our history is the story of Christianity in Europe, when in fact our history is the story of people on the planet." This statement resonated with me, and while I have been studying Middle Eastern culture for a few months now in the CORE curriculum, it drew me in to view this lesson as if I had never heard of the Quran before. After learning about the Middle East and how the history of the region affects the rest of the world, I found it irritating that John was right. It's easy to understand how American History classes in middle school or high school drew strongly from European history, but what about World History? Maybe I'm wrong to say this, but I feel as if there was a lot of overlooked importance on the Middle East in my classrooms. Anyway, I'm glad to have seen this lesson, I just wish I had seen it before this semester so I didn't feel as if I was playing catch-up on some of the basics. 

Crash Course World History: Islam

Hamas to ban mixed-sex school

Mixed-sex school ban


Hamas is the Islamic group that governs most of the Gaza strip.  In the near future they plan to stop having kids over the age of nie go to schools with mixed sexes.  They are doing this mainly to keep Islamic credentials in order.  More than likely the ban will receive little to no opposition.  Most of the schools now on the Gaza strip are sigle sex already.