The culture of denial is so pervasive and prevalent in Pakistani politics that the government is now unable to govern the tribal areas. That much was clear yesterday when the Pakistani Taliban shot 14 year-old Malala Yousufzai in the tribal province of Swat as she walked home from school. Yousufzai is a prominent campaigner against
The High Court yesterday issued a final ruling on the extradition of Abu Hamza and four other men saying they will be handed over to American authorities to stand trial on terrorism charges. It’s unusual for the courts to lump different cases together like this, and that’s one of the things supporters of Babar Ahmad
Thousands of Iranians took to the streets this week to protest inflation and the collapse of Iranian currency on international markets. Tehran’s historic Grand Bazaar closed for business with many of its merchants leading the demonstrations. This will worry the government because traders there are normally seen as bridging the gap between clerics and Iran’s
Expect to hear Barack Obama talking about ‘economic patriotism’ in tomorrow’s first Presidential debates. The idea is a simple one: that American’s should keep their money within the United States, place their deposits in American banks, and pay the full measure of their taxes. It’s providing an effective way to undermine Romney’s complex financial arrangements
For years he was the face of radical Islam in Britain – a living caricature of the ‘mad mullah’ — the hook handed, eye patch wearing cleric Abu Hamza. Famous for holding congregational prayers on the streets of Finsbury Park and railing against the West, the era of Abu Hamza is now finally drawing to
Everyone knows something of what happened the night American Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad. Frenzied reports followed the news of his death as information, much of it erroneous, flooded the public domain. Bin Laden was armed and engaged the Seals in a fire fight; he was cowering
Militants operating in the Sinai breached Israel’s borders for the second time in six weeks on Friday. One soldier was killed during the latest incursion, prompting demands that Egypt do more to reign in groups operating in the Sinai Peninsula. Mohammed Mursi acted swiftly last time militants crossed into Israel, but insists his hands are
England have just beaten Afghanistan in the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup currently being held in Sri Lanka. In the end, it was a comprehensive victory for Stuart Broad’s men but how wonderful it is to see cultural and sporting life returning to a country where such ‘frivolities’ were outlawed by the Taliban. This is Afghanistan’s
One of the most significant revelations from last week’s furore surrounding ‘The Innocence of Muslims’ film has been the way Western governments reacted to it. The White House condemned the film as did the American embassy in Cairo. That much is understandable. To condemn a film as offensive, silly, or provocative is not to undermine
Conventional wisdom suggests that Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime will crumble from within if given enough time. That’s the reasoning which has, in part at least, prevented Western governments from intervening in the conflict so far. Tony Blair challenged proponents of that view yesterday. ‘People say inevitably he will go. I don’t think it is inevitable,
All roads lead back to Salman Rushdie. At least, that’s what the Iranian Ayatollahs would have you believe. Following last week’s furore over a poorly made YouTube video which mocked the life of the Prophet Mohammed, the Iranians are baying for Rushdie again. Ayatollah Hassan Sanei, who leads a semi-official foundation to honour the memory
Just when it seemed like Babar Ahmad had exhausted all his options to avoid extradition to the United States on terrorism charges, a new twist has emerged. Yesterday, a wealthy tycoon from Newcastle, Karl Watkin, said he would bring a private prosecution against Ahmad. In theory, anyone can bring a private prosecution if they can
Have Pakistani children been the unintended victims of last year’s mission by the United States to kill Osama bin Laden? It might seem a ridiculous question to pose, but it’s clear they are being made to bear the brunt of that decision by an increasingly paranoid official and clerical establishment. The latest manifestation of this
If you ever needed an indication of how the media spouts the propaganda of authoritarian regimes like loyalist apparatchiks faithfully repeating the party line then look no further than Iran. Coffee Housers will remember that last week I highlighted the damning speech given by Mohammed Mursi in Iran during the Non-Aligned Movement conference where he took the
Far from being upset about Archbishop Desmond Tutu repeating something he first said nine years ago, Tony Blair should be proud of his achievements in Iraq. This aspect of Blair’s legacy was raised again over the weekend when Tutu pulled out of an event where he was due to share a stage with the former
I took the opportunity yesterday to catch up with the BBC’s new comedy ‘Citizen Khan’. Focusing on a Muslim family based in my hometown of Birmingham, it lampoons the trials and tribulations of the self-appointed, self-important, and self-obsessed Mr Khan. Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of British Muslim communities will recognise the basic truths
It is not uncommon for new leaders of new nations to flex their muscles. And in spite of its millennia of history as a nation, this is precisely where Egypt now finds itself. It has hosted its first free and fair democratic elections, and, for the first time, has a civilian occupying the Presidency. In
The remorseless smears of the alleged victims of serious sexual assault by George Galloway MP and Craig Murray, our former ambassador to Uzbekistan will have serious consequences for the victims of sexual assault on British shores. Both men are guilty of some of the most callous behaviour of modern political times in their intemperate outbursts,
Trying to read the tea leaves on Islamist politicians is notoriously tricky. What else could explain why so many Middle East observers have misinterpreted Mohammed Mursi’s decision to visit Iran later this month as confirmation that Cairo’s Islamists are seeking closer union with Tehran? These fears are misguided. Egypt has not had any official diplomatic
The British state’s curious relationship with radical Islam appears to have gone full circle. I’ve just found a picture on an internet forum affiliated with al-Qaeda showing Abu Baseer al-Tartusi carrying a rifle in Syria. Al-Tartusi is a little known cleric who was granted political asylum in London and who gave Islamic lectures in Tower
