Saad Eddin Ibrahim Receives Prison Sentence
August 4th, 2008 by Sarah
Saad Eddin Ibrahim, prominant Egyptian dissident and member of POMED’s Board of Advisors, has been sentenced to 2 years in prison, after an Egyptian judge found that Ibrahim’s writings had harmed the country’s reputation. Ibrahim has urged President Bush and Congress to tie financial aid to Egypt to democractic reform, and has accused President Hosni Mubarak of manipulating the country’s peaceful relationship with Israel, as well as fears of Islamist extremism, to keep U.S. aid flowing.
In response to his sentence, Ibrahim states, “my real crime is speaking out in defense of the democratic governance Egyptians deserve.”
Blake Hounshell at FP Passport argues that despite the fact that Ibrahim has a lot of admirers on Capitol Hill, that “with the [Bush administration’s] ‘freedom agenda’ long dead, perhaps Hosni Mubarak’s government….thinks it can get away with it.”
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, POMED, US foreign policy | Comment »
Cracking Down on Speech
July 28th, 2008 by Sarah
Egypt has banned a book by British journalist John R. Bradley about Egyptian politics and society entitled “Inside Egypt: The Land of the Pharaohs on the Brink of a Revolution.”
In a similar move, the Egyptian government continues to target Facebook users. Noha El-Hennawy at Babylon and Beyond reports that last weekend, Egyptian police arrested about 14 Facebook activists who earlier this year called for a national strike over inflation. The arrests come a month after the proposal of draft legislation that would open Facebook activists and bloggers up to legal liability.
Posted in Arab media, Egypt, Freedom, Journalism, Legislation | Comment »
Bush Commemorates Religious Freedom Act
July 14th, 2008 by Sarah
This morning, President Bush spoke on behalf of the 10th anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Bush stated that the IRFA “placed religious liberty where it belongs — at the center of U.S. foreign policy.”
For President Bush’s full statement, click here.
A resolution sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks, and co-sponsored by 35 House members, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the IRFA is currently before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The IRFA created the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to monitor religious freedoms abroad and to issue independent recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. The Commission designates “countries of particular concern” for their ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.
Posted in Freedom, Human Rights, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: Religious Freedom in Turkey
July 9th, 2008 by Sarah
The Congressional Human Rights Caucus Task Force on International Religious Freedom invited Ziya Meral, a Turkish researcher, and Patricia Carley, Policy Director for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to lead a staff briefing on the current political and social scene within Turkey and the status of religious freedom in the country. Both speakers agreed that banning the AKP party could be disastrous for democracy in Turkey. All comments were made off the record.
For POMED’s full notes, click here.
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Event Notes, Freedom, Human Rights, Political Islam, Political Parties, Secularism, Turkey | Comment »
Egyptian Politics
July 7th, 2008 by Sarah
Almasry Alyoum reports on an Egyptian opinion poll, where a majority claim that the Egyptian government ignores the country’s economic problems, corruption, deviation, and crime. A significant percentage found the People’s Assembly to be ineffective and that the government is either unfair or despotic.
Meanwhile, RearVision (Australia) hosts an interesting interview with Tariq Ramadan, Gilles Kepel, Joshua Stacher and Matthias Küntzel on the history of the Muslim Brotherhood, where it came from, why it has been banned for the past 50 years, and what it stands for today.
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Freedom, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties, Publications | Comment »
Arresting Bloggers
July 2nd, 2008 by Sarah
Syria Comment reports that Syria has arrested at least 5 bloggers as “an additional attempt to intimidate and silence dissidents.” Reporters Without Borders claims this makes Syria “the Arab world’s most repressive country towards people who post news and information online.”
Posted in Arab media, Freedom, Journalism, Syria | Comment »
Saad Eddin Ibrahim Seeks Assurances from Egypt
June 30th, 2008 by Sarah
The Daily Star reports that Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, member of POMED’s Board of Advisors and exiled Egyptian human rights activist, wants certain assurances from the Egyptian government before he would return to the country. Ibrahim has stated that he preferred to stay outside of Egypt for the moment for fear of being arrested “or worse.”
Posted in Egypt, Freedom, Human Rights, POMED | Comment »
U.S. Support for Autocracies Promotes Radical Islam?
June 30th, 2008 by Sarah
Chris Zambelis at the Jamestown Foundation examines some of the factors contributing to the radicalization of Islam. Zambelis points to the use of torture by autocracies, often seen as oppressive and illegitimate, in Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia as formative in the psychology of radicalization. U.S. support for these governments “serve as a battle cry for militants to take up arms against the United States.”
In related news, Daniel Kimmage in the New York Times sees the internet as a “very practical means of countering al-Qaeda,” but laments that “the authoritarian governments of the Middle East are doing their best to hobble Web 2.0. By blocking the Internet, they are leaving the field open to Al Qaeda and its recruiters.”
Posted in Egypt, Freedom, Human Rights, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism, al-Qaeda | Comment »
Fascinating Article on Kurdish Journalists
June 12th, 2008 by Sarah
Sam Dagher of The Christian Science Monitor published a fascinating article on Kurdish journalists, based in Iraq, who advocate for reforms in Kurdistan. They risk imprisonment, torture, and death, yet the journalists continue to push envelopes. “We have a long way to reach a democratic country and civil society based on equality and human rights.”
Posted in Arab media, Freedom, Iraq, Journalism, Kurds | Comment »
Albright Sees An End to Intervention
June 11th, 2008 by Sarah
Madeline Albright writes in the NYTimes of some grim realities. “Totalitarian governments are alive and well; their neighbors are reluctant to pressure them to change; and the notion of national sovereignty as sacred is gaining ground, helped in no small part by the disastrous results of the American invasion of Iraq.”
Ultimately, she asks “Is [an international system] just a collection of legal nuts and bolts cobbled together by governments to protect governments? Or is it a living framework of rules intended to make the world a more humane place?”
Posted in Freedom, Human Rights, US foreign policy, United Nations | Comment »
Publication: Freedom of the Press 2008
May 2nd, 2008 by Amanda
Freedom House released its annual survey, “Freedom of the Press 2008″, at the Washington D.C. Newseum on Tuesday this week. The publication features rankings of media independence in 195 countries. The event payed particular attention to the high level of media restrictions in Arab states compared to the rest of the world. To view the event agenda click here.
Posted in Events, Freedom, Journalism, Publications | Comment »
Supporting the Afghani Private Sector and Culture
April 22nd, 2008 by Sharlina
Khaleda Atta and Hawa Ghaus implore Congress to pass legislation (S. 2776) introduced by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Kit Bond (R-MO), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) that would authorize President Bush to designate Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) in Afghanistan and the border regions of Pakistan. Atta and Ghaus argue that “this sustainable approach will allow Afghanistan and Pakistan to transcend political differences and to find common ground in the promise and potential of the private sector.”
Meanwhile, Afghani Minister for Information and Culture, Abdul Karim Khurram, ordered television networks to stop broadcasting five soap operas on Tuesday, saying they were not in keeping with “Afghan religion and culture.”
Posted in Afghanistan, Congress, Freedom, Legislation, Pakistan | Comment »
Saudi Restrictions on Female Athletes
April 15th, 2008 by Sharlina
Faiza Saleh Ambah at The Washington Post writes of restrictions female athletes endure in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, Ambah discusses the frustrations of teams like Jeddah United that want to represent their country abroad and compete internationally, but are not able to because of Saudi laws restricting women from performing.
Posted in Freedom, Human Rights, Saudi Arabia, Women | Comment »
Carnegie’s Arab Reform Bulletin for April
April 3rd, 2008 by Amanda
Be sure to check out the April issue of the Arab Reform Bulletin from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This month’s edition features a fascinating interview with three key female political actors from the Gulf on women’s political participation: Rola Dashti (Kuwait), Fatin Bundagi (Saudi Arabia), and Munira Fakhro (Bahrain).
Also included are a critical look at next week’s municipal elections in Egypt by Khalil al-Anani, an examination of the fairness of Morocco’s electoral system by Michael Meyer-Resende, and an article on President Bush’s budget request for fiscal year 2009 and what it means for democracy in the Arab world, by POMED’s Stephen McInerney.
Their news roundup also covers many fascinating developments such as the opening of the first church in Qatar, a constitutional amendment in Tunisia that should make it possible for more candidates to run in the presidential election next year, and labor unrest in the UAE.
Posted in Arab media, Bahrain, Egypt, Elections, Freedom, Gulf, Journalism, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, UAE, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED NOTES: Press Freedom and Poverty Reduction
March 31st, 2008 by Kent
On Wednesday, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) hosted a roundtable on the freedom of press and its role in economic growth. Maureen Harrington provided opening remarks for the event and Alicia Phillips Mandaville moderated the discussion. Dr. Joseph Siegle of Development Alternatives, Inc., James Traub of The New York Times Magazine, Mark Whitehouse of the International Research and Exchanges Board, and Richard Winfield of World Press Freedom Committee gave their opinions on the relationship between journalism and development.
For the transcript from the event, click here.
For video footage from the event, click here.
For POMED’s full notes, click here.
Posted in Events, Freedom | Comment »
Georgetown CDACS Symposium on Thursday
March 31st, 2008 by Stephen
Our friends at Georgetown’s Center for Democracy and Civil Society (CDACS) are putting on an interesting event on Thursday - Tom Melia, Deputy Director of Freedom House, will give the keynote address at a full morning symposium of academics, American political reformers, and democracy promotion practitioners on “Assessing the State of Democracy in America: Is This the Best We Can Be?”
Click here for full details on the event.
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Events, Freedom, Human Rights | Comment »
Difficulties for Democracy in the Middle East
March 21st, 2008 by Kent
The Brookings Institution has announced the release of Tamara Cofman Wittes’ new book, Freedom’s Unsteady March. The book examines the current status of democracy and freedom in the Middle East, with Wittes concluding that the aggressive foreign policy Bush administration has failed to advance democracy in the region. She interprets political, economic, and sociological indicators as pointing to further troubles ahead in terms of governance in the region.
Posted in Freedom, US foreign policy | Comment »
Increased Women’s Freedom in Saudi Arabia
March 13th, 2008 by Sharlina
Louay Bahry at the Middle East Institute argues, “At no time in the modern history of Saudi Arabia have women enjoyed more liberties than they do today.” In an analysis of social customs like marriage and family relations, Bahry cites examples of increased freedom that “generally go unnoticed in the West.”
Posted in Freedom, Saudi Arabia, Women | Comment »
More Outcries Denouncing Arrest of Khaled Hamza
March 7th, 2008 by Sharlina
Steven Brooke of The Nixon Center writes at The National Interest of his personal relations with now-imprisoned Muslim Brotherhood member Khaled Hamza (for past discussion of this, click here and here). Arguing that this arrest is especially important because “it fits into a broader pattern of strategic repression of the Muslim Brotherhood over the past few years,” Brooke sees Khaled as an important figure in an emerging trend inside the Brotherhood, “young, politically and technologically savvy members working for reform and greater cooperation with other prodemocracy forces in Egypt, as well as the group’s outreach efforts to Westerners.”
Posted in Egypt, Freedom, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
The Elite of Qatari Education
February 12th, 2008 by Sharlina
Education City, a 2,500-acre campus on the outskirts of Doha and the largest enclave of American universities overseas, provides a glimpse of the potential seedbed of change, with “a profound impact on Qatar’s future and its relations with the United States — and perhaps, some Qatari parents worry, on their traditional way of life.” Education City is seen to represent “broad opportunities for women, in a nation where many families do not allow their daughters to travel overseas for higher education or to mix casually with men.”
Posted in Freedom, Qatar, Women | Comment »
