A THIRD INTIFADA?
Hamas and Fatah, the two dominant factions in the Palestinian territories, are again engaged in an escalating tit-for-tat struggle in their respective spheres of influence. The latest round began on July 25th, when a bomb attack killed five senior Hamas militants in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in a bloody coup last summer, responded quickly, arresting 200 Fatah supporters in Gaza and raiding offices and sports and cultural clubs affiliated with Fatah. In the West Bank, where Fatah still holds power, President Mahmoud Abbas returned the favor, incarcerating dozens of Hamas militants. The West Bank crackdown evoked a furious response from Hamas, who directly threatened the Fatah leader: Once the protection of the Zionists [Israelis] is over, people will enter your headquarters and kick you out. Perhaps more ominously, Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, raised the specter of "a new intifada against the occupation and its supplementary tools in the West Bank." (Times of London, July 28, 2008; Reuters, July 29, 2008; Beijing Xinhua, July 29, 2008;)
IRANS IDEOLOGICAL BACKLASH
A respected Shi'ite Ayatollah in Iraq has issued an unexpected fatwa challenging Iran's radical theological doctrine. Ayatollah Muhammed Esehak Al-Fayyadh, a prominent ally of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's most influential cleric, issued a religious edict ruling in favor of the separation between church and state, a direct rebuke of Iran's velayat-e-faqih, or rule of the jurisprudent, which fuses political and religious power in the hands of unelected clerics
Al-Fayyadh, however, is not the only one pushing back against the Iranian model. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has urged lawmakers to ban religious imagery in election campaigns in legislation now under debate in parliament. Maliki is urging that mosques be off limits for political campaigns. His administration hopes to eliminate the practice seen in the 2005 elections and popular in Iran in which candidates highlight their affiliation (or subordination) to revered religious figures rather than articulate a political platform. (Los Angeles Times, July 4, 2008; London Al-Quds al-Arabi, July 15, 2008)
[Editor's Note: The fatwa, and Maliki's ruling, add fuel to a contentious debate underway within Shi'a Islam. History and tradition had imbued Shi'ites with a strong preference for quietism, in which clerics take an apolitical, backseat role to the functions of the state. Ayatollah Khomeini turned this tradition on its head with his velayat-e-faqih, imbuing clerics with ultimate political authority and transforming Iran into a theocracy. Ayatollah al-Fayyadh's fatwa adds to mounting signs that Shi'ite clerics in Najaf, the historic center of Shi'ite religious doctrine, are preparing to reassert their historic religious dominance over Iran's seminaries and return their sect to its more apolitical traditions.]
A POISON SPREADS IN CENTRAL ASIA
In yet another sign of a worrying trend that has taken hold in Central Asia, Tajikistan is reporting a growth in the influence of the Salafi brand of Islam championed by al-Qaeda and other radical Sunni Islamists. Tajik authorities have noticed a proliferation of Salafi literature - some 6,000 books, audio and video tapes distributed each week - while long beards and rolled up trousers, the Salafi calling card, have grown more prevalent. The ranks of Tajikistan's Salafists have grown by some 20,000 in recent years, by the estimate of Muhammadi Rakhmatullo, a Salafi leader trained in Pakisan's madrassas. The Salafists are said to be preaching anti-Shi'ite propaganda and a rejection of Sufism, a moderate and mystical form of Islam popular in Tajikistan. Though so far authorities have been reluctant to confront the Salafist clique head on, at least one prosecutor in Soghd province plans to "strengthen control over the activities of Salafiyyah members." (Radio Free Europe, July 27, 2008)
NUKES FOR AZERBAIJAN?
In what may be a common headline for years to come, a new Muslim power is preparing to build its first nuclear reactor. Though the plans are modest, Azerbaijan intends to join the nuclear club with a $119 million, 10-15 megawatt reactor fashioned after Turkey's own research reactor at Istanbul Technical University. Located 15 kilometers north of Baku, the site and plans will be studied by the IAEA from 2009-2011, when design and construction are set to begin. The government has dismissed concerns about potential ecological problems and a lack of technical expertise, despite the ongoing use of Soviet-era standards for radiation and environmental monitoring. (Eurasianet.org, July 28, 2008)
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