In-depth
Joseph Braude of Tablet Magazine takes a look at Abdullah's strategy to deal with the Arab Spring when it arrived on his doorstep.
The king’s response to the protesters, meanwhile, was carefully calibrated. Whereas last year’s despots doubled down on repression, Jordan’s king had the latitude to try something different. “Police were ordered to let the kids vent,” Baitamouni explains. “They limited demonstrations without repressing them.”
Holly Dagres of Foreign Policy presents a look at the Islamic Republic via the only social media outlet still allowed to operate.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is not a huge fan of the Internet. The Iranian government has in recent years cracked down on Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, and hundreds of independent websites and blogs — and has even tried to create its own internal, state-sponsored version of the Web. Oddly, it has yet to train its crosshairs on Instagram, perhaps because the authorities don't yet view the hugely popular photo-sharing program, which isn't widely used in the country, as a threat.
Our fear of criticizing the Brotherhood
Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed of Asharq al-Awsat urges the Arab world not to be fooled by the claim that criticizing the Muslim Brotherhood is tantamount to criticizing Islam.
When we criticize a socialist group, for example, this does not mean that we oppose social justice or its values. When we criticized the Baathists and supports of pan-Arabism, this did not necessarily mean that we rejected the concept of Arab unity! Therefore we must not bow down to slogans, religious or otherwise; these should not be immune from criticism. Those who raise such slogans are nothing more than politicians and political parties, whilst opposing the Freedom and Justice Party does not mean support for slavery and injustice!
Daily Digest
- Times of Israel: Taxi driver shot after trying to run over Jerusalem policeman
- Haaretz: John Kerry: A staunch supporter of Israel but a harsh critic of its policies
- Jerusalem Post: PM: Israel preparing for far-reaching changes in Syria
- Ynet: '124-year-old' Arab-Israeli woman dies
- New York Times: As Constitution Passes, Egyptians Face New Fights
- Washington Post: For Syrian refugees, winter makes a harsh life rougher
- Wall Street Journal: The Most Persecuted Religion
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