TAJIKISTAN RECALLS STUDENTS FROM EGYPT
Engaged in a long-running effort to combat religious extremism and promote moderate forms of Islam, the government in Tajikistan is “forcefully repatriating” students studying in Egypt out of fear of the strong strains of Islamist radicalism present there. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon earlier this year warned Tajik parents against sending their children abroad to foreign madrassas where they could be recruited as terrorists. Then, in early November, Egyptian authorities rounded up some 134 Tajik students from Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, considered by many to be the most prestigious Muslim educational institution. The Tajik government is pressuring Egypt to return all the Tajik students studying at Al Azhar, numbering some 1,000 in total, nearly all of whom are there studying there without government permission. (London Telegraph, November 9, 2010)
TURKEY SIGNS ON TO MISSILE DEFENSE, WITH PRECONDITIONS
In the run-up to NATO’s big annual summit at Lisbon on November 19-20, talk was dominated by Alliance efforts to persuade Turkey to sign on to America’s new missile defense plan, which in its early stages is designed to protect Europe from ballistic missile threats from “rogue countries,” a thinly-veiled reference to Iran. Turkey over the past year has worried its alliance partners as the ruling, Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party soured relations with former ally Israel and warmed to the leadership in Tehran. A stark example of this geopolitical shift came in July, when Turkey, the only NATO country bordering Iran, voted against a package of sanctions targeting Tehran at the UN Security Council.
In the end, Turkey signed on to the missile defense proposal at Lisbon, but only after NATO agreed not to specifically name Iran – or any other country – as a threat in its new “strategic concept” document, the alliance’s first in a decade. Under the agreement, the U.S. will place X-Band radars in Turkey which, given Turkey’s strategic location, would substantially boost the effectiveness of the defense shield against missiles emanating from the Middle East. However, disputes still remain over who will ultimately control the missile shield and where the command and control center will be based. In the run up to the meeting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan commented on the missile defense system: “If it is thought to be on our territory, then [control of the system] should definitely be handed to us.” (Deutsche Welle, November 19, 2010; Global Security Newswire, November 22, 2010)
POTENTIAL COUP PLOT BY HEZBOLLAH
When the United Nations agreed to set up a tribunal to investigate the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, the Lebanese Shi’ite militia Hezbollah – which is suspected of involvement in the plot -- denounced the decision and insisted it would reject the tribunal’s findings. In the five years since the tribunal was established, Hezbollah leaders have repeatedly criticized the investigation as illegitimate and politically motivated, and recently announced they would not hand over any members implicated in the assassination plot.
Now the Iran-backed militant group seems to be taking its contempt for the tribunal – and the Lebanese government – to new heights. A Beirut newspaper has reported that Hezbollah has constructed a coup plot in the event of an unfavorable ruling at the tribunal, including plans to arrest government officials and hold territory. According to the report by alAkhbar, Hezbollah ran field drills and plans to arrest political, security and military figures “in order to curtail their movement and get hold of major cities in Lebanon.” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned the government in late October against cooperating with the investigation. Earlier that month, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – a generous sponsor of Hezbollah – visited the militant group’s stronghold in southern Lebanon. (Abu Dhabi The National, November 3, 2010)
SAUDI KING TARGETS EXTREMISTS IN HAJJ SPEECH
Since he was formally enthroned in 2005, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah is perhaps best described as a cautious force for reform and modernization in his ultra-conservative kingdom. Abdullah has faced an uphill battle contending with a powerful and influential clergy steeped in the fundamentalist Wahhabi strain of Islam and large factions of the thousands-strong royal family that are sympathetic to extremism. The King’s used this year’s Hajj – an annual pilgrimage to Mecca for millions of Muslims worldwide – to fire his latest volley against his opponents, using his speech there to denounce terrorism and praise moderation. “The terror that threatens the world... is caused by extremists who are outside the scope of the tolerant religion of Islam. The perpetrators of terror represent none but themselves even though they appear in the guise of Islam.” The King went on to call on “everyone who hears my words” to “look at the common points of different religions, creeds and cultures and to stress the shared principles in order that we sidestep our differences... and build a world dominated by peace and understanding.” (Arab News, November 18, 2010)
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