Crescent Magazine

By Fahad Ansari in London

Will the concept of an Islamic human rights activist ever be fully acceptable in Western society? During my many years working at the Islamic Human Rights Commission, several valuable minutes were wasted every morning deleting hate mail which often described the organisation as an oxymoron or a contradiction in terms before descending into a volley of Islamopho-bic and racist abuse. For those who send such emails, Islam and human rights cannot coexist. They are mutually exclusive. Recent events in the UK suggest that such views are not just shared by bigoted cowards who hide behind their desktops using pseudonyms.

By Zia Sarhadi

Regardless of US spin, the endgame in Afghanistan has begun. Aware that they cannot defeat the Taliban militarily, the Americans have changed tune. They are now talking about enticing “moderate” Taliban from the hardcore in order to weaken the insurgency but as even Mike Mullen, Chairman US Joint Chiefs of Staff admitted early last month, the insurgency has spread to Afghanistan’s northern provinces as well, much beyond the traditional Taliban stronghold in the south and west.

American officials including the top US general in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal, have admitted that there is no military solution. McChrystal said that every military campaign must have as its endgame a political solution. When generals start talking about political solutions, it is a tacit admission that they have failed in their military mission and are looking for a face-saving exit strategy. Whether the Taliban will offer one is open to question.

By Gamal Moheddin

Israeli Mossad agents were involved in the January 20 assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, Hamas’s top military commander, who was visiting Dubai. Al-Mabhouh was assassinated in Al-Bostan Rotana Hotel. Dubai police released photos of 11 people, six of them carrying British passports, three Irish passports, one German and one French that were involved in the assassination. All had used disguises such as wigs, beards or glasses to enter Dubai. A woman was among the murder team. The six Britons whose identities were used are all Jewish and currently live in Israel.

A report published in the British newspaper, Times Online (February 20), said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had personally authorized the assassination in early January. According to the Times, Netanyahu had met Mossad chief Meir Dagan in early January at the spy agency’s headquarters and given the go-ahead. It was further reported that Mossad had received intelligence that al-Mabhouh, who had lived in Damascus since 1989, was planning a trip to Dubai. Hamas has vowed to avenge the assassination of its top commander; it has also accused two members of the Fatah group of providing intelligence to the Zionists. While staying short of accusing Fatah itself of colluding in the assassination of Al-Mabhouh, Hamas made clear who from Fatah ranks were involved.

By Yusuf Dhia-Allah

Tiny Qatar likes to punch above its weight in the international arena. From its Al-Jazeera television network that has now become a household name at least in the Middle East, to its upstart airline, Qatar Airways that competes with such regional rivals as Emirates (of Dubai) and Etihad (of United Arab Emirates), Qatar is really asserting itself. The tiny country is also a major base for the US military. Given all this, Qatari rulers can rightly thumb their noses at their larger Saudi rivals. It is, however, at the international level that Qatar has started to act way above its size and weight.

Last month, the Saban Center at Washington’s Brookings Institution and the Government of Qatar hosted the Seventh Annual US Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar (February 13 to 15).  Each year, the forum brings together rulers and wannabes from across the Muslim world for dialogue with key US officials and policymakers. It is essentially a talking shop where US officials project their policy priorities and line up their Middle Eastern clients behind them. This year was no different and given the line-up of US officials that descended on Doha — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; White House Senior Director for Global Engagement Pradeep Ramamurthy; US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke; and Senator John Kerry, chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee — it is clear that the US takes the forum quite seriously. And it should, for obvious reason. The US has much to do to furbish its jaded image.