So this is how democracy works?

By Ramzy Baroud

(source: TehranTimes)

In 2004, France banned headscarves and school principals chased after young “defiant” Muslim girls who continued to cover their heads in school. Now, following a national referendum, Switzerland has banned the construction of minarets, because minarets also somehow symbolize oppression. Thanks to the dedicated action of the far-right Swiss People's Party, the Alpine skies will be free from the snaking menace, which would spread intolerance and taint the splendor of Swiss architecture.

In between these two peculiar events, the targeting of Muslims in Western countries and the subjugation of entire Muslim nations all over the world has never ceased. Not for a day.

Moreover, the collective targeting of small or large Muslim communities in Western countries, and the deliberate abuse and degradation of Muslim individuals and Islamic symbols (from the Holy Koran to the Prophet Mohammed (S) has also never ceased.

By Gideon Levy

(source: Haaretz)

Israel's bigwigs attacked at dawn on a wide front. The president in Germany, the prime minister with a giant entourage in Poland, the foreign minister in Hungary, his deputy in Slovakia, the culture minister in France, the information minister at the United Nations, and even the Likud party's Druze Knesset member, Ayoob Kara, in Italy. They were all out there to make florid speeches about the Holocaust.

By Tammy Obeidallah

(source: Palestine Chronicle)

The human catastrophe gripping Haiti since a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated that nation on January 12 rightfully dominated nearly every newscast for a week. With devastation of such unimaginable proportions, there are the riveting stories of despair and courage, along with a relatively new and hideous phenomenon:  politicization of the disaster and its aftermath.

Media opportunists have reached new depths of hypocrisy and ineptitude in covering the tragedy. Mainstream television networks and newspapers touted the overwhelming US military response, as well as other countries that were among the first to reach the victims in Haiti, including Israel.

Conspicuously absent from the kudos list were two of the first responders, Cuba and Venezuela.

Moulana Ighsaan Hendriks
President of the Muslim Judicial Council
Cape Town
South Africa
Cell: 083 384 6973
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mr. President

We do not wish to remind you that South Africa is a sovereign state and its security services should not be held to ransom by any foreign government.

We address this open letter to you based on the possibility that you may be meeting Shimon Peres, President of Israel, during your visit to Davos, Switzerland, next week.

We are aware that he is keen to discuss the problem of issuing diplomatic passports to agents of Shin Bet, the Israeli internal security agency, who would be operating from Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.

(source: Haaretz)

Hopes are high that President Shimon Peres will meet with his South African counterpart next week to discuss the future of the only direct flight between Israel and South Africa.

Many fear El Al's Johannesburg-Tel Aviv line will be canceled at the end of January because Pretoria refuses to provide Israeli security personnel with diplomatic passports. 

A well-informed source, who asked to remain anonymous due to the issue's sensitive nature, told Anglo File yesterday he expects Peres to attempt to solve the crisis during a meeting with President Jacob Zuma at the World Economic Forum in Davos next week.