The Different Meanings of Ummah in the Noble Quran

By Sheikh Salman Al-Oadah at IslamToday.net

The Arabic word “ummah” is often translated as “community” or “nation.” In fact, this word appears in the Qur’an with numerous meanings which can be summarized into five general categories as follows:

1. A leader or role-model

We find this meaning in the verse:

 إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ كَانَ أُمَّةً قَانِتًا لِّلَّهِ حَنِيفًا وَلَمْ يَكُ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

Abraham was indeed a role-model (ummah), devoutly obedient to Allah, and true in faith.

[Surah al-Nahl 16:120]

This conforms with how most commentators on the Qur’an understand the verse. Another interpretation of the verse is that Abraham was indeed a community unto himself. This interpretation was suggested by the Prophet’s Companion Ibn Abbas, and by the Successor Sa’id Ibn Jubayr, as well as others.

Farwah ibn Nawfal relates the following conversation he had with another eminent Companion, Ibn Mas’ud:

Ibn Mas’ud once said about his fellow Companion, “Mu’adh was indeed a role-model (ummah), devoutly obedient to Allah, and true in faith.” When I heard this, I said to myself, “Ibn Mas’ud has made a mistake. Allah sad that Abraham ‘was indeed a role-model, devoutly obedient…’” Ibn Mas’ud turned to me and said, “Do you know what an ummah is? Do you know what it means to be devoutly obedient? I said, “Allah knows best.” He said, “An ummah is someone who teaches people what is good. A devoutly obedient person is one who obeys Allah and His Messenger. This is Mu’adh ibn Jabal. He used to teach people what is good, and he used to obey Allah and His Messenger.”

2. A specific historical period

We find this usage in the Qur’an in the verse:

 وَقَالَ الَّذِي نَجَا مِنْهُمَا وَادَّكَرَ بَعْدَ أُمَّةٍ أَنَا أُنَبِّئُكُم بِتَأْوِيلِهِ فَأَرْسِلُونِ

But the man who had been released, one of the two who had been in prison, and who now recalled after so long a space of time (ummah)…

[Surah Yusuf 12:45]

We find this usage again in:

 وَلَئِنْ أَخَّرْنَا عَنْهُمُ الْعَذَابَ إِلَىٰ أُمَّةٍ مَّعْدُودَةٍ لَّيَقُولُنَّ مَا يَحْبِسُهُ ۗ أَلَا يَوْمَ يَأْتِيهِمْ لَيْسَ مَصْرُوفًا عَنْهُمْ وَحَاقَ بِهِم مَّا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ

If We were to withhold the punishment from them until a stated period of time (ummah), they would certainly say: What prevents it? Now surely on the day when it will come to them, it shall not be averted from them and that which they scoffed at shall beset them.

[Surah Hud 11:8]

We can discern a strong connection between the idea of an ummah as a nation and that of a specific historical timeframe, since a nation persists for a period of time and then comes to an end.

As Allah says:

 وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلٌ  فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهُمْ لَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً  وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ

To every nation (ummah) is a term appointed: when their term is reached, not an hour can they cause delay…

[Surah al-A’raf: 7:34]

3. A way of thinking or a school of thought, whether correct or misguided.

Allah says:

لْ قَالُوا إِنَّا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءَنَا عَلَىٰ أُمَّةٍ وَإِنَّا عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِم مُّهْتَدُونَ

Nay! they say: We found our fathers on a path (ummah), and surely we are guided by their footsteps.

[Surah al-Zukhruf 43:22]

Though they were clearly misguided, they were steadfast in their adherence to the ways of their forefathers. Therefore, this usage of the word Ummah is appropriate here.

4. A faction or grouping of people, whether large or small.

Allah says:

 وَلَمَّا وَرَدَ مَاءَ مَدْيَنَ وَجَدَ عَلَيْهِ أُمَّةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ يَسْقُونَ

When he arrived at the watering place in Madyan, he found there a group (ummah) of men watering their flocks…

[Surah al-Qasas 28:23]

We also find:

كُلَّمَا دَخَلَتْ أُمَّةٌ لَّعَنَتْ أُخْتَهَا حَتَّىٰ إِذَا ادَّارَكُوا فِيهَا جَمِيعًا

Every time a new group (ummah) enters the Fire, it curses its sibling group that went before, until they all follow each other therein.

[Surah al-A’raf 7:38]

5. People united by a common faith.

This is the usage that is most commonly found in the Qur’an, like where it says:

كَانَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً فَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ النَّبِيِّينَ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ

Humanity was a single community (ummah), and Allah sent Messengers with glad tidings and warnings…

[Surah al-Baqarah 2:213]

Ibn Abbas and others among the Companions and Successors relate to us that all humanity had at one time been united upon right guidance. For ten generations after the time of Adam, humanity remained united in religious belief and were steadfast in monotheism. Then, devilish elements lured them from their faith, so Allah sent prophets to humanity to warn them and give them glad tidings.

We need to give this some thought. We know that even among Adam’s own children, there were those who were disobedient and sinful. We see this in the story of Cain and Abel. Indeed, humanity has been tried and tested ever since Adam and Eve were sent out from Paradise. Therefore, it might be possible that the verse stating humanity was united in faith refers to the state of the overwhelming majority of people during those first ten generations, and not to every single person. And Allah knows best.

The Best Community

Allah says:

 كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ

You have been the best of communities brought forth for humankind: commanding good, forbidding evil, and believing in Allah.

[Surah Ali Imran 3:110]

What this verse is saying is that this is the community wherein the best of humanity is to be found. They are those who are not concerned with themselves alone. They do not simply fulfill their own needs. They exist for all humanity, to teach them, guide them, and show them the way to Paradise.

Ibn Abbas said:

They are the people who emigrated with Allah’s Messenger from Mecca to Medina.

Umar pointed out:

Had Allah wished, he could have said, “You are the best of communities…” Instead, He said, “You have been the best of communities…” This shows that the verse is speaking particularly about the Prophet’s Companions and those who follow their example.

Umar also said:

This verse refers to the first of us and not to the last of us.

He bases this interpretation on the verse’s use of the past tense verb. The Muslims, at the beginning, were as the verse describes them to be. They commanded what was right and forbade what was wrong on the strength of their faith. As for those Muslims who neglect these duties or who come together as a community on a basis other than faith, they are not proper witnesses for humanity and the verse does not apply to them. It is wrong to think that this honor of being the best of communities comes from merely identifying with Islam. It is not an ascribed status that the community inherits from its historical background.

Qatadah relates that Umar saw some people behaving badly during the Hajj pilgrimage. He recited the verse, “You have been the best of communities brought forth for humankind…” Then he said, “If you wish to be part of this community, then fulfill the condition Allah has placed on it.”

He meant that they must command what is good and forbid evil, united in their faith.

We should realize that even during the Prophet’s lifetime, his Companions read the verse with the past tense, “You have been the best of communities…” They understood from it that the past tense referred to Allah’s prior knowledge of their state as a community.

It is more likely that Umar’s understanding is based less on the past tense verb in this verse, but rather on another group of verses altogether:

وَالسَّابِقُونَ السَّابِقُونَ

أُولَٰئِكَ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ

فِي جَنَّاتِ النَّعِيمِ

ثُلَّةٌ مِّنَ الْأَوَّلِينَ

وَقَلِيلٌ مِّنَ الْآخِرِينَ

Those foremost in faith will be foremost in the Hereafter… a large number of people from the earliest times and a few from those of later times.

[Surah al-Waqi’ah 56:10-14]

In any case, the condition that Umar points out is a true qualifier for anyone wishing to be counted among the best of communities, “…commanding good, forbidding evil, and believing in Allah.”

(www.faithinallah.org / 25.08.2012)

EU move to upgrade relations with Israel

Wide-ranging boost to bilateral relations undermines Brussels over West Bank, say critics

The EU will offer Israel upgraded trade and diplomatic relations in more than 60 areas at a high-level meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, just weeks after European foreign ministers warned that Israeli policies in the West Bank “threaten to make a two-state solution impossible”.

In advance of the annual EU-Israel Association Council meeting on Tuesday, a diplomatic source shared with the Guardian details of the package of benefits that will be offered to Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s foreign minister.

The EU will widen its relationship with Jerusalem on a range of areas including migration, energy and agriculture. It will remove obstacles impeding Israel’s access to European government-controlled markets and enhance Israel’s co-operation with nine EU agencies, including Europol and the European Space Agency.

The wide-ranging boost to bilateral relations stops just short of the full upgrade that was frozen after Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip in January 2009.

One senior EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that despite private complaints of the inconsistency of chastising Israel with one hand while rewarding it with the other, not one minister was prepared to oppose Tuesday’s agreement.

“I was struck by the fact that a whole range of relations was offered to Israel – at the request of Israel – as if nothing is happening on the ground,” the diplomat said. “Most ministers are too afraid to speak out in case they are singled out as being too critical towards Israel, because, in the end, relations with Israel are on the one hand relations with the Jewish community at large and on the other hand with Washington – nobody wants to have fuss with Washington. So [ministers] are fine with making political statements but they refrain from taking concrete action.”

The Brussels-based bureaucrat points out that Europe’s 500 million consumers constitute almost 60% of Israel’s trade and are an under-utilised bargaining tool.

“The only possible tool for the EU to make Israel change its behaviour is to use the weight and power of these relations,” he said. “We should be using [Tuesday's] dialogue to get what we want, which is Israel’s compliance with its obligations under international law.”

Catherine Ashton, the EU’s high representative for foreign and security policy, a particularly voluble critic of Israel’s expansion into the West Bank, which is illegal under international law, has taken the unusual step of delegating representation at Tuesday’s meeting to Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, the Cypriot foreign minister.

As recently as 8 June, she issued a statement deploring Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s decision to build an additional 800 homes in occupied territory – compensation for the 17 Israeli families the country’s high court had ordered to be removed from the Migron settlement.

“Settlement activity is detrimental to current peace efforts, including by the Quartet [the UN, EU, US and Russia], and puts those efforts at risk,” she said.

On 14 May, the EU’s 27 foreign ministers unanimously condemned Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes, its continuing settlement expansion and the rise of settler violence against Palestinians – which the UN says has leapt by 150% in the past year, largely due to the impunity of Israeli perpetrators. EU officials argue that far from a package of rewards, Tuesday’s agreement constitutes part of an existing action plan to promote co-operation, in progress since 2000. But while all 60 agreements in the package may have been discussed previously, they are being made concrete for the first time this week. In its entirety, this is the most significant package offered to Israel since the upgrade in relations was frozen.

Among the most controversial is the addition of areas of co-operation in the Agreement on Conformity, Assessment and Acceptance of industrial products, or ACAA – a deal first agreed in principle two years ago. In this agreement, the EU formally accepts for the first time the authority of Israeli ministers over goods produced in West Bank settlements.

The package also promises to “further bilateral co-operation” between Israel and key EU agencies, including the EU’s Judicial Co-operation Unit and the European Police Office.

Paul Hirschson, a spokesman for the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs, admits the EU and Israel may have their differences, but, dismissed the idea of trade sanctions as nonsensical:

“Both sides would suffer terribly if we start throwing eggs at each other. With Greece and Spain imploding, it doesn’t make sense for the EU to do anything to damage trade with anyone at this point,” Hirschson said, pointing out that two-thirds of Israel’s imports are bought from EU member states.

“The upgrade process may be frozen but both parties are finding ways to increase cooperation when it suits them,” he added.

(www.israeli-occupation.org / 25.07.2012)

Netherlands helps Palestinian trade while safeguarding Israeli security needs

The Netherlands supports improved movement of goods to and from the Palestinian Territories by financing a container scanner. The past year Minister Rosenthal acquired support for this project from both Israel and the Palestinian Authority in close cooperation with the Office of the Quartet Representative.

Yesterday he signed an implementation agreement for the scanner. The scanner will be placed at Allenby / King Hussein bridge, the border crossing with Jordan. This border crossing is a bottleneck for the export of Palestinian products and import of goods for the Palestinian Territories. Currently security checks are very time consuming. The new scanner will accelerate this process, which could increase the import and export up to thirty three percent, while safeguarding Israel’s security concerns.

Rosenthal: “The knife cuts both ways. Goods for the Palestinians, security for Israel. The agreement on this scanner could only be reached thanks to our good relationship with both Israel and the Palestinians. “

The scanner will be owned by the Palestinian Authority and will be operated by the Israeli customs. The tender for the purchase of the scanner is outsourced to the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

(pal.nlmission.org / 25.07.2012)

ISRAELPROMOTIE ANWB ROEPT BOZE REACTIES OP: KAMPIOEN DOET AAN WITWASSEN LANDROOF, BEZETTING EN KOLONISATIE

De ANWB doet in haar juni- en juli-nummers van De Kampioen aan witwassen van de Israelische kolonisatiepolitiek. Heel apart, zo precies bij 45 jaar 1967-bezetting (juni) en 8 jaar uitspraak van het Internationaal Gerechtshof over ‘de Muur’ (juli). Diverse ANWB-leden reageerden dan ook boos.

STAAT DE A VAN ANWB VOOR APARTHEID?

In het ’positief reisadvies’ van de Kampioenjournalisten (juli) m.b.t. Israelreizen blijkt dat ze kampioen zijn in het wegkijken, vreemd sowieso voor journalisten en nog eens extra voor een blad van een toeristenorganisatie die toch ook verder wil kijken dan de neus lang is.

In de ANWB-doelstelling lezen we ’Mensen willen in vrijheid en met plezier kunnen reizen en bewegen’; dan moet bij een Israelbezoek zeker meer opvallen dan de ANWB-journalisten lukt.

Weggekeken wordt in de Kampioen onder andere van

- de verdrijving in en rondom 1948 door Israel van het merendeel der Palestijnen uit wat Israel werd, waarbij de verdrevenen de terugreis door Israel werd en wordt (!) ontzegd tot op de dag van vandaag;

- de ‘schilderachtige’ situatie van de Palestijnen in Israel, als tweederangs burgers;

- het feit dat (foto) Oost-Jeruzalem bezet gebied is;

- dat ‘de trekpleister Jeruzalem’ voor het merendeel der Palestijnen ontoegankelijk is gemaakt door Israel;

- de toch niet te missen ’Muur’, door Palestijnen Apartheidsmuur genoemd;

- het feit dat Israel het mensenrechtenactivisten ‘moeilijk maakt’ Palestijnen in de in 1967 bezette Palestijnse gebieden bij te staan; velen worden door Israel belemmerd te komen;

- het bijzondere feit dat Israel bezoekers met een Arabische naam een ‘zeer speciale behandeling’ geeft;

- Enzovoorts.

STAAT DE B IN ANWB VOOR BLINDHEID?

Hierna (*) één der reacties. Goed voorbeeld kan doen volgen. Mailadres van ANWB’s Kampioen: kampioen@anwb.nl

Te attenderen onder andere op Zochrot http://www.zochrot.org/en/, ICAHD http://www.icahd.org/ (Doe-vakantie) en ATGhttp://www.atg.ps/

Een november-nummer van de Kampioen over door Israel van Palestijnen verwoeste of geroofde eigendommen (in Israel, en in de in 1967 bezette gebieden) zou een passende aanvuling kunnen zijn. Met in ieder geval aandacht voor Lifta…

Op 29 november is het 65 jaar na de voor Palestijnen beruchte verdelingsresolutie (zelfbeschikkingsrecht werd de bewoners van Palestina onthouden), 65 jaar na de aftrap voor de etnische zuiveringen om Israel mogelijk te maken.

 

(*)

 

—– Original Message —–
From: K.T.
To: kampioen@anwb.nl
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2012 3:50 PM
Subject: Reizen naar Israel

Geacht redactiesecretariaat Kampioen,

Mijn mailtjes van 13 en 14 juni aan u hebben niet kunnen verhinderen, dat u in de laatstverschenen Kampioen toch het Israel reizen heeft gepubliceerd.
Jammer!
U heeft zich niet voldoende willen realiseren dat de oproep tot BDS (Boycot, Divestment en Sancties) vanuit de gehele Palestijnse gemeenschap, maar ook door kerken en NGO’s over de gehele wereld (net zoals in Zuid-Afrika in de tachtiger jaren van de vorige eeuw) brede weerklank heeft gevonden en niet bij de eerste de besten. Bij voorbeeld de Nobelprijs voor de vrede winnaar bisschop Desmond Tutu, recentelijk ook de vroegere Knesset voorzitter in Israel Awraham Burg en de Protestantse kerk in de VS (Presbiterian church) . Het KAIROS-document van alle Palestijnse kerken is er eveneens heel duidelijk over (hetgeen op soortgelijke wijze tijdens het apartheidsregiem in Zuid-Afrika ook het geval was!)
Vele Joodse Nederlanders, maar ook moslims en kerkmensen hier te lande  heeft u met uw reclame voor de Israel reizen diep gekwetst.
Uw Israelreizigers reizen straks over wegen door bezet Palestijns gebied die tevens de settlements van de kolonisten op de Westoever met elkaar verbinden. Deze wegen en de settlements zijn door de VN veroordeeld, maar Israel trekt zich er al jaren niets van aan.
Uw reizigers zullen kort oponthoud aan de checkpoints ondervinden, maar deze maken wel de levensomstandigheden en de economie van Palestijnse bevolking onmogelijk, schrijnende voorbeelden zijn daarover te melden.
Als uw reizigers de oude stad van Jeruzalem bezoeken zullen zij Israelische vlaggen in de arabische wijk zien die zijn uitgestoken op woningen in bezet gebied, veroordeeld door de VN en toebehorend aan uit hun woningen gezette oorspronkelijke Palestijnse bewoners.
U laat uw reizigers niet de 500 plekken zien die door geheel Israel verspreid aangeven waar de dorpen zijn geweest die tijdens de etnische zuiveringen van 1948 en 1967 werden vernietigd en tot het grootste vluchtelingenprobleem te wereld hebben geleid.
Ook niet Nabi Saleh, Bil’ín. Mogrin om maar wat te noemen waar wekelijks al enkele jaren vreedzaam tegen de land- en waterbronnenroof door kolonisten wordt gedemonstreerd en waar regelmatig doden vallen te betreuren vanwege het Israelische wapen-en traangasgeweld.
Tenslotte dragen uw reizigers bij aan de economie van de zionistische staat  Israel welke daarmee ook weer de wapens en geavanceerde militaire middelen kan aanschaffen waarmee het vluchtelingen concentratiekamp Gaza (ook weer geen reisdoel van u) wordt geterroriseerd.
Ik schaam me diep voor mijn ANWB die mij en vele anderen daarmee erg  teleur heeft gesteld.
Todah raba!, als u begrijpt wat ik bedoel.

(www.palestina-komitee.nl / 25.07.2012)

Why all the panic over a ‘PKK state’?

As soon as the consequences of the dissolution of the Bashar al-Assad regime become clear, panic-mongering starts. It has been as expected in Israel, totally obsessed with security and security only, but also in Turkey, the new wave of anxiety about what Syria’s Kurds will do next.

It has been visible in recent days that many pundits — traditionally sworn enemies of Kurdish human rights in general and of a pro-military solution — have moved to the forefront to play with the fears of the public and exert pressure on Ankara “to do something before it is too late.” How real, feasible and immediate are the prospects of a Kurdish statelet led by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the northeastern part of Syria? When the facts on the ground are thoroughly checked, it appears clear that, while caution on upcoming chaos in those areas is called for, there is no reason for panic. In recent days, Syria observers noticed that a decisive battle to further weaken the Baathists will continue to come from the north, with the fate of Aleppo as the decisive factor. But it also appears clear that, in an irreversible manner, the northeast-north border is now under Kurdish control, with the surrounding areas. It means, as mentioned in this column, that the Assad regime is probably on the verge of losing over 70 percent of the territory (if we also count on clashes in the south). Who, then, controls the entire area between Qamishli in the east and Efrin in the west? Is it the PKK-affiliated Democratic Union Party (PYD) militants or armed militia of the Kurdish National Council (KNC), backed by at least 11 Syrian Kurdish parties? It is a blend of both. But those groups, which stand as diametrically opposed to each other vis à vis Assad’s regime and foreign intervention, operate on very fragile ground, which will sooner or later will collapse under them. An additional and decisive element is the role of Massoud Barzani and the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Peshmerga forces, who stand ready for support as the internal dynamics of Syria will demolish Baathists. So, the fear and panic rising among Turkey’s Kemalist and elitist pundits are, at the moment, widely blown-up, regarding an emergence of a “PKK state.” Neither the KNC nor the Barzani administration would allow this to happen, and both Ankara and Washington know this (although, certainly, there are obvious risks that things may spin out of control). The real fear should be the incursions into Turkey from the area, where around 4,000 PKK rebels moved in through Iraq’s al-Anbar province. But these are at the moment different issues. There are, in conclusion, some points to be made, if one is to make lucid predictions on the Kurdish actors’ patterns: Assad’s nearing end means a divided Syria, whose fate will be decided through negotiations between many internal groups. Loss of territory means the Sunnis and the Kurds gaining positions of strength in future talks. In the case of Kurds, Iraqi brethren will have to be added in. Also, an obstinately pro-Assad PKK will in the end be defeated or forced into a regional fight: against Ankara, Barzani and the USA. With Assad gone, it will be an unwanted orphan. What is blurred — deliberately by some pundits on the left or right — in Turkey is the objective fact that the Kurds of the region emerge gradually as the winners in the turmoil. If the Assads’ fall will be followed by a negotiation, it will inevitably lead to an autonomous “Syrian KRG.” Nothing less. Autonomy is the right of the Kurds, who suffered under Saddam and Assad; one cannot simply ignore this historic fact. Is Ankara aware of that? So far, nothing indicates the opposite. In fact, the strategic synch created with the Iraqi Kurdish leadership shows that Ankara would be able to accept an autonomy as long as the PKK is seen as the common enemy by the Syrian opposition and the Kurds in general. The PKK’s pro-Assad (and pro-Iran) stand per se is not enough for an orderly post-Assad architecture. What Ankara hopefully understands now is the necessity of domestic reform in Kurdish issues in Turkey in order to marginalize the PKK even further. As pointed out by Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat, a (Kurdish) former vice chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Kurdish issue is different from the PKK problem. “Education in one’s native tongue, recognition of ethnic identity and devolution are imminent steps crucial within the Kurdish issue, but freedom to PKK leaders and leaving the Kurdish part of Turkey to the PKK are unacceptable responses to the PKK problem,” he said some days ago. So, yes, it does not mean much if the PKK refuses to negotiate further with Ankara, because it will never be able to form a statelet in Syria in defiance of Iraqi Kurds and the KNC, but Turkey will not have much leverage on Syria if it refuses to act quickly to pass reforms for its own Kurds. It’s that simple. (YAVUZ BAYDAR / www.todayszaman.com / 25.07.2012)

Tunisian Media Aren’t Quite Free Yet

It all seemed so promising.

Tunisia rid itself of the shackles that had choked it for 23 years under the oppressive rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the media started breathing easier when journalists, bloggers and activists of all stripes made up for lost time with a vengeance.

But since that unforgettable December 2010 when Mohamed Bouazizi set himself ablaze to protest being roughed up by a policewoman and died of his burns, it’s been a bumpy ride for Tunisian media.

It was encouraging to see first-time, post-revolution satirical newspapers like Al Qatoos (The Cat) emerge on the scene, since publisher Salim Boukhazir had made a career of being anti-acien regime.

Screen shot of Al Qatoos Facebook pageBoukhazir likened himself to “the cat” who may not have been able to topple the old regime with his companions, but who had managed to make enough of a racket by publishing satirical articles in more than one vehicle to prevent Ben Ali from sleeping.

He was arrested in 2007 and jailed for eight months on charges of attacking a security officer, refusing to identify himself, and assaulting high morals, which various sources considered a cover for retribution against the journalist who dared to uncover corruption and abuse of power by the regime and its cronies, the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat reported.

Many seemed heartened when in March 2011 The Economist magazine published a piece entitled “It could be normal, Tunisia is getting back on track.”

It said Bouazizi’s picture adorned the main street of his hometown Sidi Bouzid, banners promised to keep his memory alive, and graffiti across its walls exhorted the population to stand up for their rights and fight for their freedom.

It referred to the Islamist Ennahda party that has since won legislative and presidential elections as promising all manner of reforms.

“Its leaders say it wants to be part of a modern democracy with a separation of powers, independent courts and a free press,” the article said.

Female journalist/blogger Wajd Bouebdellah identified by the Twitter handle @tounsiahourra (a free Tunisian) tweeted a message to her country’s cabinet minister for religious affairs with a variation on Kahlil Gibran’s famous line, “You have your Lebanon, and I have mine.”

Wajd Bouebdellah (Courtesy of Bouebdellah)Her version in a tweet to the minister was “You have your religion, and I have mine. You’ve turned (the Prophet) Mohammad’s religion into one of killing and making it acceptable to shed people’s blood and covering up instigation to murder. Shame!”

The debate over pro- and anti-secular values has been raging on Tunisian TV talk shows, with supporters of the former warning against the spread of intellectual fanaticism, while the latter charge their opponents with provoking people’s feelings and values.

“Where did all these Salafists come from?” was the headline of a feature in Al Hayat’s youth supplement on June 4, 2012.

Also in June, the Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) blasted authorities for resorting to a Ben-Ali era anti-terrorism law to prosecute a Tunisian activist who had criticized police brutality on his Facebook page and charged him with burning down a police station.

Journalist/activist Kamel Labidi lived in self-exile for several years after being dismissed from media jobs and was harassed for his activism.

Kamel LabidiHe returned to head a national commission set up by the first post-revolution cabinet to reform and update the country’s media laws ahead of legislative and presidential elections.

This summer, however, he and his commission resigned en masse out of frustration saying the members’ work was being censored by the government.

In January, Emna El Hammi expressed concern about the army — following an order by the military tribunal — becoming a censor after it had helped topple Ben Ali.

Her blog post “Freedom of expression in post-revolution Tunisia: ‘moral’ and ‘legal’ new basis for censorship” on the Nawat portal referred to the censorship of five Facebook pages that sharply criticized the army.

While censorship was more political in nature pre-revolution, there’s been a drift towards religious and moral censorship, she reported, with Islamists acting as social pressure groups and Salafists calling for an Islamic state as well as the right of female university students to wear the niqab (full-facial veil).

“‘J’accuse,’ you Islamists who are trying to unravel the state,” wrote Rajaa Ben Slama in a take on French author Emile Zola’s famous line from an open letter he wrote to then president Félix Faure in 1898 in the newspaper L’Aurore accusing the government of anti-Semitism for jailing a Jewish army general, Alfred Dreyfus, on charges of espionage.

Ben Slama accused Islamists and Salafists, claiming they had hijacked the revolution, used violence to snuff out liberal dissent, and tightened the noose around the media’s neck, all in the name of religion.

“And I condemn Mr. Rashid al-Ghannushi (head of the ruling Ennahda Party) because on the night of June 13, while a curfew was in place across the country, and our hearts were quivering, we saw him on state-run TV calling for demonstrations on Friday in support of what he deemed protecting what is holy,” she said.

The article was illustrated by a caricature in French of a bearded Salafist holding a club telling his fully veiled wife he was going to see an exhibition, under the headline “Tunisian cultural life” and the suggestion he planned to destroy the exhibits on display.

Arab & Mediterranean Music Center in Sidi Bou SaidTunisian reformers, activists, bloggers, journalists and others who suffered under Ben Ali are eager to see radical changes in record time, which may not be realistic, as the dust has yet to settle on their country’s revolution.

One of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s deserted palacesHowever, the systems needed to ensure the freedoms for which they clamor are not fully in place, and many Tunisians working in the media have to learn how to become journalists.

(www.huffingtonpost.com / 25.07.2012)

Syrian Conflict Escalates As Aleppo Targeted

Thousands of Syrian troops have pulled out of a strategic plateau in the north western province of Idlib headed for Aleppo, which is under opposition threat, according to activists.

It is claimed goverment fighter jets are targeting Aleppo – Syria’s second city – as opposition fighters attempt to seize control of the commercial hub.

In a significant escalation of the conflict, the regime has reportedly unleashed warplanes and helicopter gunships to “drop bombs” in a bid to regain control of neighbourhoods in Aleppo and the capital Damascus.

Residents and local activists say Syrian troops and President Bashar al Assad’s intelligence services are battling opposition fighters around Aleppo’s Old City.

“The rebels have moved to try and liberate downtown after taking over the neighbourhoods of al Sakhour, Masaken Hanano, Tariq al Bab, al Sheikh Najajr and al Ard al Hamra in the east and Saladin in the west,” an opposition activist in Majed al Nour said.

Opposition activist Mohammed Saeed has estimated the rebels are holding large chunks of the city and the government has responded with attack helicopters – key to its retaking of Damascus over the last few days.

Circling fighter jets have also been breaking the sound barrier overhead in an apparent attempt to cow the fighters.

“It’s like a real war zone over here, there are street battles over large parts of the city,” Saeed told reporters.

“Aleppo has joined Homs and Hama and other revolutionary cities.”

In a village north west of Hama, Syrian troops killed up to 30 worshippers as they entered a mosque to attend Ramadan evening prayers, according to opposition activists.

“Troops and shabbiha (militia loyal to Mr Assad) left the roadblock on the edge of Shariaa and crossed the main road and began firing automatic rifles at the worshippers as they were entering the mosque,” said activist Jamil al Hamwi.

And helicopter gunships have apparently targeted fighters in northern parts of the capital Damascus, while tanks moved in to force rebels out of parts of the city they had claimed last week.

There has also been fresh violence in Homs where shelling has been reported in parts of the city.

Sky News Middle East Correspondent Emma Hurd said earlier: “The fighting is continuing around Aleppo where we have these reports now that fighter planes are in the skies and reports that they have been used to drop bombs around that area.

“Now we cannot confirm this but we certainly have seen helicopter gunships in some of the videos posted online in use around Aleppo and in use around Damascus.

Meanwhile, defected brigadier general Manaf Tlas has called for the Syrian military to denounce what he describes as crimes committed by Mr Assad’s forces.

Reading a prepared statement on Saudi-based al Arabiya television, he said: “I address you… as one of the Syrian Arab Army’s sons who reject the criminal behaviour of this corrupt regime.

“The honourable people in the military would not accept these crimes.”

(uk.news.yahoo.com / 25.07.2012)

Saudi Arabia, Arab states seek new United Nations resolution on Syria

Saudi Arabia’s United Nations envoy Abdallah al-Mouallimi is proposing a U.N. General Assembly resolution which will highlight increased violence in Syria.

Saudi Arabia’s United Nations envoy said on Wednesday that the Arab League will take their concerns on the crisis in Syria to the U.N. General Assembly.

Abdallah al-Mouallimi condemned the Syrian regime’s actions, saying the “regime operates by killing those in the country who oppose it.”

“The Arab states have decided to head to the General Assembly over the situation in Syria,” the U.N. envoy said at the United Nations.

Saudi Arabia is proposing a U.N. General Assembly resolution which will reportedly highlight a Syrian government threat to use chemical weapons.

The new Arab initiative follows the failure of a western-attempt to get the U.N. Security Council to threaten sanctions against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad over the 16-month-old conflict, diplomats said. Russia and China vetoed the council resolution last week.

Mouallimi told a small group of reporters earlier on Wednesday that the resolution would be submitted in coming days and he hoped for a vote “probably early next week.”

Asked whether the resolution would mention the Syrian government’s threat made this week to use its chemical weapons if attacked, al-Mouallimi said “it will reference all of the issues that are of significance in the Syrian situation.”

U.N. diplomats said the resolution could call on the 193 U.N. member states to follow sanctions that have been ordered against Syria by the Arab League. That would be opposed by Russia and China after their veto last Thursday.

The resolution could also demand humanitarian access to conflict-stricken parts of Syria, the diplomats said on condition of anonymity as talks on the resolution are still private.

The U.N. General Assembly cannot force legally binding sanctions, like the 15-nation Security Council. But no country can veto any of its resolutions which just need a majority.

A General Assembly resolution passed in February brought the Syria conflict back to the forefront of UN debate after Russia and China blocked two earlier Security Council resolutions.

“The Arab states are frustrated at the lack of international action on Syria, particularly the vetos by Russia and China,” said one U.N. diplomat.

Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states have voiced strong support for Syrian rebels against Assad. The 16-month-old conflict has left more than 19,000 dead, according to Syrian activists.

(english.alarabiya.net / 25.07.2012)