Terrorist leader Ata Shinbari killed in Gaza shootout. Debka: 'After 10 Qassam missiles were fired into Israel in 48 hours, Israeli troops were hunting the Palestinian launchers and their crews in northern Gaza Monday when confronted with a large group of gunmen. Both parties opened fire. Nine armed Palestinians were killed and 20 injured. Shinbari was a senior commander of the Popular Resistance Committees, which is active in the missile offensive and was Hamas’ partner in kidnapping Gideon Shalit in June. Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of a massacre on the first day of Eid el Fitr. Another three Palestinian gunmen were killed in a clash with Israel soldiers operating against smuggling tunnels on the Philadelphi strip in S. Gaza.' (Debka)
Totten: Nabih Berri crosses the Red Line. Michael J. Totten writes on some surprising comments by Lebanon's Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. 'A few days ago Lebanon's Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri floated the idea of opening peace talks with Israel. ... Lebanon is a hard country to read from afar. I can't tell you how many times a government official said some boilerplate nonsense in public that almost everyone knew wasn't sincere. You had to know the Lebanese "street," and you had to look at the target audience. Most statements on foreign relations are intended for foreign consumption, especially the bits about Syria. The same goes for Israel. ... Even so, advocating peace talks with Israel was a "red line" when I was in Beirut. Some Lebanese did it anyway, but they only did it in private.' Go read the full article at the link. (MJT)
Muslim clerics: Woman raped by father-in-law must leave husband. The Muslim Woman:
Soon after a Muzaffarnagar district court in Uttar Pradesh convicted and sentenced the father-in-law of Imrana for raping her, clerics say her husband should leave her.
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The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has also remained silent over the clerics’ reaction and the court verdict. AIMPLB’s silence was much stonier when a fatwa was issued by leading Islamic seminary Darul-uloom Deoband, annulling Imrana’s marriage and asking her to marry the rapist last year when the case was reported.
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On June 6, 2005, 28-year-old Imarana was raped by her 69-year-old father in-law Ali Mohammad. Since then the case has raked up heated issues like uniform civil code, the role of panchayats and Shariat in India.
Despite a ten-year jail term for the rapist, Imrana, the mother of five, is now a terrified woman. She says her priorities are her children and she will abide by law and religion.
Full post at the link. (TMW)
Commentary. If you're having trouble keeping track of the players on the strategic stage (I know I am), keep watching Dreams Into Lightning. I'm planning a new "database" feature consisting of short, factual roundups on various persons, places, and events. On the TypePad site, these will be grouped under the new category "Database". And watch for more format tweaks.
What is there to say about the repulsive misogyny in Imrana's case? Only that it shows a mentality in which women are treated as objects and the victim is seen as a suitable object for punishment.
The courageous Bangladeshi journalist Jamil Ziabi writes: 'We can draw a comparison. On the one hand, what Al-Qaeda does: it adopts Islam as a slogan, and operates in words and deeds in its name. Its leader is Osama bin Laden, who uses his money and capabilities to beguile youth, and to push them into the folds of terrorism, so that they will eventually explode themselves, kill innocent people, and spread fear and terror. On the other hand, there is what Muhammad Yunus and Muhammad Abdu Latif Jameel are doing with their money and capabilities in order to fight poverty, and to contribute to security, stability and international peace.' But are enough people reading and heeding his words? When books are being confiscated in Jordan, you have to wonder. But as ODIE says, "it is a sign of fear".
