The India-Pakistan-Afghanistan Puzzle

India has restored full diplomatic relations, and has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development. But Pakistan views India’s growing influence in Afghanistan as a threat to its own interests in the region. Experts fear for Afghanistan’s stability as India and Pakistan compete for influence in the war-torn country.

Filed under: Afghanistan, pakistan, india

Human rights & peace in the middle east – Arabism & radical Islam discrimination on the «other»

Human rights & peace in the middle east – Arabism & Islam discrimination on the «other»
[Analysis] Peace will prevail when economic, social and cultural rights are granted to all … The Middle East… conflicts…  For example:

* the Israel and [so called] «Occupied Territories» (Palestine) issue

* the conflict between Hamas and the Fatah; the Iraq conflict

* the conflict in Afghanistan

* conflicts within Saudi Arabia

* the security concerns, especially the nuclear threat, that Ahmadinajad’s Iran poses

Filed under: Afghanistan, Algeria, Arab, Egypt, Iraq, Islam, Islamic countries, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Middle East, Oman, pakistan, palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Human rights

Iran Helped U.S. On Al Qaeda After 9/11

CBS/AP) Iran rounded up hundreds of Arabs to help the United States counter al Qaeda after the Sept. 11 attack after they crossed the border from Afghanistan, a former Bush administration official said Tuesday. Many were expelled, Hillary Mann Leverett said, and the Iranians made copies of almost 300 of their passports. The copies were sent to Kofi Annan, then the secretary-general of the United Nations, who passed them to the United States, and U.S. interrogators were given a chance by Iran to question some of the detainees, Leverett said in an Associated Press interview.

Filed under: Afghanistan, Iran, Middle East, political, Al-Qaeda

Taliban condition to split from Al-Qaeda

As leaked by Saudi newspaper Al-Watan:
Former Taliban foreign minister Ahmad Mutawakkil told the newspaper that the only condition for Taliban to end its cooperation with Al-Qaeda is the withdrawal of the foreign forces from Afghanistan and to be replaced by Islamic forces. According to Islammemo, this western call for talks with Taliban is a plot to: – Attempt to buy time. – Calm the situation and reduce Taliban’s fast and powerful attacks. – Create a split among the movement as it happened in Somalia. Conclusion:
– NATO forces are in a difficult situation.
– The American military equation has failed.

Filed under: Afghanistan, Islamic countries, Middle East, pakistan, political, Saudi Arabia, Al-Qaeda, Taliban

Democracy meets moderate Islamists wishes

A quick look at the Islamic countries reveals the fact that moderate Islam coordinates democratic values. In fact if democracy establishes in these countries, moderate Islamists will gain more than anybody else. They will receive the freedom of activities and get ride of cruel dictators which limits their freedom. here is more concrete examples:
In Egypt if a free and just election happens, moderate Islamists will surely achieve at least their minimum rights. Maybe they can win majority of seats of parliament.
In Turkey the situation of Islamists is better. Any time that a free election is performed the winner is an Islamic party like Adalat, Fazilat and Refah. And whenever the military forces prevent free election, the Islamists stand in weaker position.
In Pakistan if general Mosharaf issue the permission of a really free election Islamists will gain more benefits and the freedom of activity.
In Europe Moslems gain a lot of the democratic atmosphere and whenever an undemocratic decision”n like the laws against Hijab” is taken, Islamist will lose more than any body else.
Who is against democracy in Islamic countries?
1- The dictator rulers who feel unsafe about free democracy. They know that in a free democratic election they won’t win.
2- The United States of America! It is surprising if one says that the U.S.A is always at the side of dictators and stands against democracy in Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran and any other Islamic country.

Filed under: Afghanistan, Africa, albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, economical, Egypt, india, indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Islam, Islamic countries, Jordan, Khatami, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, malaysia, Middle East, Morocco, muslim, nigeria, Oman, pakistan, palestine, political, politics, Qatar, Religion, Salam Press, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

India, Pakistan and Afghanistan join hands with America to prevent Taliban

Could Pakistan fall to a Taliban-al-Qaida coup? Is India looking at the possibility of a Talibanized neighbour to its west, one with access to nuclear weapons? If Pakistan’s senior minister for information Sherry Rahman is to be believed, Pakistan is in the midst of a serious internal security threat from a collection of Taliban, al-Qaida and J&K terrorist elements who want to take over the country, according to a news report in Times of India dated 15.9.2008.   Indian security sources said they have been receiving reports of a steady infiltration of Taliban and al-Qaida elements in Pakistan’s biggest cities of Lahore and Karachi recently. In fact, in a recent incident which rang alarm bells, there were a number of Taliban posters in Karachi and Taliban spokespersons were quoted promising a better government in Sindh.

Filed under: Afghanistan, Middle East, pakistan, America, india, Taliban

What Every American Should Know About the Middle East

Most in the United States don’t know much about the Middle East or the people that live there. This lack of knowledge hurts our ability to understand world events and, consequently, our ability to hold intelligent opinions about those events. For example, frighteningly few know the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims, and most think the words “Arab” and “Muslim” are pretty much interchangeable. They aren’t. So here’s a very brief primer aimed at raising the level of knowledge about the region to an absolute minimum.

Filed under: Afghanistan, Africa, albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, economical, Egypt, india, indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Islam, Islamic countries, Jordan, Khatami, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, malaysia, Middle East, Morocco, nigeria, Oman, pakistan, palestine, political, politics, Qatar, Religion, Salam Press, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Religion

Flags of the Middle East nations

Filed under: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Middle East, Oman, pakistan, palestine, Qatar, Salam Press, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan part of one large family’-Amedinejad

UNITED NATIONS: President Mahmoud Amedinejad of Iran has warned that enhancing the US-led Nato troops and stepping up their activities in the neighbourhood could destablise the region.
Addressing a crowded news conference after delivering his address to the United Nations eneral Assembly (UNGA) he said, “Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan are part of one large family and they have historic ties and cultural links.”He said that such forces cannot achieve their objectives since the history of the region bears testimony to the fact that every invader met with a disgraceful end… 

Filed under: Afghanistan, Iran, Middle East, pakistan, Ahmadinejad

Islam and Democracy

In the article “Islam and Democracy,” by John Esposito and John O. Voll discuss the complexity of democracy in the contemporary world. In particular, there focus is on the involvement of the multiple groups in the twentieth century political seen. They argue that many of these groups “identify themselves explicitly as Islamic” as a way to enter the political scene. Once in, they take a democratic form, however, they aroused considerable controversy. Esposito and Voll argue that

Filed under: Afghanistan, Africa, Bahrain, economical, Egypt, india, Iran, Iraq, Islam, Islamic countries, Jordan, Khatami, Kuwait, Lebanon, Middle East, Morocco, Oman, pakistan, palestine, political, politics, Qatar, Salam Press, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen