Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
November 15, 2005

The Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

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ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

1. “American and Muslim Women Working Together” by Hiam Nawas
In this second article of a series of views on "The Role of Women in US-Muslim Relations,” Hiam Nawas, a Jordanian-American expert on political Islam and political analyst with the Rothkopf Group, speaks directly to American women’s groups who are fighting for women’s rights in the Muslim world. Counseling them on the diverse state of women’s affairs and varied needs of women across the region, Nawas urges Western women’s rights groups to work more closer with their Muslim counterparts, to avoid projecting a “what is best for us is best for them” mentality, and to involve more Muslim women in their local organizations.
(Source: CGNews-PiH, November 15, 2005)

2. “Falling in the Mud of Madness” by Khaled Duzdar
Khaled Duzdar, a Palestinian writer from Jerusalem, is outraged by the recent bombs in Jordan, the latest terrorist attack to muddy the name of Islam. He calls on Muslims to work within their own societies to put an end to the actions of these few individuals who are sullying their image and falsely portraying Muslims as “evil, terrorists, savages and people with no mercy.”
(Source: CGNews, November 11, 2005)

3. “Toward a Virtual Caliphate” by Peter Mandaville
Peter Mandaville, Director of the Center for Global Studies and Associate Professor of Government & Politics at George Mason University, points to an interesting phenomenon “of a countervailing effort by mainstream Islamic scholars to challenge al-Qaida's global rhetoric.” He introduces Yusuf al-Qaradawi, founder of several Muslim institutions and websites that articulate a more cosmopolitan understanding of Islam that speaks to the unique problems of the modern world while remaining firmly grounded in the traditions of Islamic law and scholarship, as a viable alternative to Zarqawi’s version of Islam for many Muslims. Although hoosing Qaradawi over Zarqawi, Mandaville warns, “will not produce a generation of Muslims favorably predisposed to US foreign policy, it will represent a consolidated, critical mass of influential and respected Muslims with whom meaningful dialogue with the hope of tangible progress can take place.”
(Source: YaleGlobal, October 27, 2005)

4. “Articulating An American Voice Of Islam And Justice” by Muslims for Mukhtaran
Asifa Quraishi, Shirin Sinnar, Farhan Memon, Asif Shaikh, and Uzma Siddiqui of Muslims For Mukhtaran, a group working to organize the American Muslim community to provide an Islamic response to violence against women in Muslim countries, discusses the valuable role that Muslims are playing in America, from sending aid to help relieve earthquake victims, to championing the rights of women to be free from rape and violence, such as that which befell Mukhtar Mai. Although they feel that working with the courts and politics of Pakistan is best left to those who live there, they feel they are “responsible for presenting a clear, articulate American voice of justice in Islam”
(Source: Alt.Muslim, October 31, 2005)

5. “What's on during Ramadan? Antiterror TV” by Charles Levinson
Charles Levinson, a correspondent with the Christian Science Monitor, writes about the new television shows that appear in the Middle East during Ramadan, similar to the November television-sweeps in the United States. This year’s shows include lesbianism, Arabs in post 9/11 America and challenges to the Islamic justification for terrorism, and take place against such backdrops as Iraq, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. Yet, despite the controversial nature of these themes they are receiving largely uncensored and unprecedented broadcasting across the Middle East.
(Source: Christian Science Monitor, November 3, 2005)

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ARTICLE 1
American and Muslim Women Working Together
Hiam Nawas

Washington, DC - American women activists and women's organisations have long been lobbying the Bush administration to press issues concerning women’s rights when dealing with Muslim countries. Recently, for instance, women’s organisations in the United States and in Iraq voiced their concerns over the status of women under the new Iraqi constitution. Many questioned whether the blood of US-service men and women was being shed to support a rollback of women’s rights in Iraq, a country where women have enjoyed equal rights in the past. In fact, many women served in high-level government positions when Saddam Hussein was in power.

US administrations, including the present one, have often been hesitant to address the question of the status of women in the Muslim world. One reason is that the US does not want to be perceived as “interfering” in the internal affairs of Muslim countries. This attitude, however, seems to be changing.

During her visit to the Middle East in September, Karen Hughes, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, raised the issue of women in almost every Muslim country that she visited. This effort was not well received in some circles. Many Muslims, including Muslim women, apparently felt that Ms. Hughes was there to lecture them on how to treat women the “American way”. They accused Ms. Hughes of not understanding the Muslim world and the values that its people espouse.

It is quite true that there are universal values that Muslim and American women share, but one needs to remember that the Muslim world is not homogeneous.

Firstly, not all Arabs are Muslims and not all Muslims are Arab. Secondly, Muslims are heterogeneous, so finding common ground between women in the US and women in the Muslim world will vary depending on the Muslim nation in question. For example, areas of common ground are more likely to exist between American and Turkish women than between American women and their Saudi or Pakistani counterparts. In Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, women do not have even basic rights such as the right to leave the house without male approval, whereas in Turkey the constitution guarantees such basic rights.

Thirdly, one of the most common problems that Muslim women face is their marginalisation, not only in social life, but also with respect to the political and business arenas. For example, Saudi women are not allowed to drive or participate in matters of state. Yet in Indonesia, the most populous of Muslim countries, a woman was elected president.

Finally, Muslim political groups, especially in Egypt and Jordan, fear that adopting Western values may drive their women away from Islam.

The majority of these groups believe that the “gender” concept means encouraging women to abandon the values and laws of Islamic culture. These groups depict modernism as Westernism and describe secular values as directly opposed to religion. As a result, some Muslim women reject Western values because they perceive them as “un-Islamic”.

What is the solution?

We need to recognise that the social structure in the Muslim world is very different from America's. American women need to understand that what is best for them is not necessarily what is best for Muslim women. Advocacy of women’s rights in the Muslim world must show sensitivity to local political realities.

It would also be useful if American women activists coordinated more with their counterparts in the Muslim world on issues of concern in each particular country. American organisations would then be more effective when lobbying the US administration on the behalf of Muslim women. A focus on abstract equality of the genders, for example, runs into religious roadblocks. A focus on practical rights such as the right to education, health, and equal pay for equal work faces less resistance and allows local women activists more manoeuvering room.

Additionally, American women’s organisations can pressure the US to raise the issue of “honour killings” whenever the US enters into a treaty with a Muslim country. (Honour killing is against the true teaching of Islam. To his credit, the mufti of the republic of Syria, Dr. Baderaddin Hassoun, recently issued a fatwa declaring honour killing a crime and that the killers should be tried for first-degree murder.) In keeping with its desire to be seen as a defender of democracy, the US should also insist that women be given the right to vote and to run for public office as a precondition to doing business with the US.

Moreover, while Muslim Americans do not always agree with US foreign policy, they are virtually unanimous in their high regard for American values. It would therefore behoove American women’s organisations to involve more Muslim American women in their efforts.

Finally, the message must be clear that there can be no real democracy in the Muslim world without the full participation of women in society.

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* Hiam Nawas is a Jordanian-American expert on political Islam, and a political analyst with the Rothkopf Group.
Source: This article is part of a series of views on "The Role of Women in US-Muslim Relations", published in partnership with the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) and United Press International (UPI).
Visit the CGNews-PiH website at http://www.commongroundnews.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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ARTICLE 2
Falling in the Mud of Madness
Khaled Duzdar

Jerusalem - The recent targeted suicide attacks on innocent civilians in Amman have shocked us all. It is unclear what message the suicide bombers were conveying and there is no logical cause for such insane acts. What could be the aim of these attacks and what were these mad executioners aiming to achieve? At the beginning, they were claiming that they are the defenders and fighters of Islam and the Muslim world, yet Islam is absolved from these people and their acts and ideologies - if we believe that these people are carrying any ideology at all. They promote nothing more than killing and they are only aiming to bring the region to a state of lawlessness by disturbing its stability.

The targets are no longer just the western world, western ideologies and foreign cultures; no longer only imperialism and American global domination. The target is now Muslims themselves, Arabs and Palestinians. These actions are baseless killing for the sake of killing and destruction for the sake of destruction.

When actions target innocent civilians, regular people celebrating the wedding of their children and friends, where are the aims and targets of these suicide actions? Who is targeted and why are they targeted? What are they aiming to achieve in killing innocent civilians?

Who benefits from theses actions? Who has an interest in disturbing the stability of regional countries? It is now more obvious than ever that whoever is responsible for the tragic incidents in Beirut and Sharm El-Sheikh is the same party responsible for the attacks in Amman. All these attacks serve only one purpose: to convulse security and stability in the region.

Muslims, Islamic countries and Arab countries now face a crucial challenge. There should be no excuse now for neglecting and denying the dangerous, wide spread of the carriers of this new mad disease. For that, serious actions and plans should be taken to eliminate and exterminate this wide spreading disease from our society and from Islam. Muslims and Arabs should not only have condemned the global terrorist acts carried out everywhere around the world, but also should move to isolate these destructive, invented beliefs promoted by a group of insane people and carried out in the name of defending Islam and freedom fighting.

Now and not later, is the time for us Muslims and Arabs to take over this responsibility. All Muslim and Arabs should unify in one mission, which is to fight the mad ideologies presented by mad secessionists from what Islam really brought to the world and what Islam really wants to promote. Their acts only cause severe damage to Islam and Muslims around the world. The false messages they are presenting in the name of Islam have resulted in a global misunderstanding about real Islamic belief. The evil belief of these mad people has sentenced Islam and Muslims to be stained as evil, terrorists, savages and people with no mercy.

Islamic governments and scholars shouldn't stay passive. They should assume their responsibilities now and think and plan how to cure and secure our families and societies from this widely spreading disease. They can't close their eyes and ears from the growing danger and say it isn't our problem and they don't affect us. These insane missionaries are now knocking on our doors – Hello, we are at your front doors. Hello, we are here to take you children from you. Hello, we are now killing your families -. Governments should act immediately on uprooting them from our societies. Serious actions should include plans to cripple those people and their freedom of movement, to impede providing them shelter, to draw plans to act on how to cut those people off from their financial sources and capabilities to recruit people, and mosques should be prevented from being misused. Islamic scholars should draft plans on how to defend real Islam from the distorted allegations and should raise public awareness that today our enemies are ourselves. Society should also act in defending their children from being brainwashed and should isolate any intruding damaging members into their society.

Furthermore, specifically as a Palestinian, I do accuse those people for damaging our cause and destroying our years of struggle for freedom. They can't take our cause as an excuse for their evil and mad beliefs. No matter where they are acting; in Baghdad or New York, in Istanbul or Paris, in Madrid or Amman, in Cairo or London, in Beirut or Jerusalem, or even in Bali, it only causes damage for us. Especially in times where we Palestinians are searching for international support to bring to life the long hoped for Palestinian state.

Our condolences are not just for the four senior Palestinians killed in the last suicide attack in Amman, not just for people we knew, like "Brig. General Bashir Nafea' and Colonel Abed Alon," our condolences are not only for the families of the innocent people whose only crime was to attend the wedding of their beloveds. Our condolences are for Islam and what Islam should really represent. Our condolences are for ourselves, who have fallen in the mud of madness.

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* Khaled Duzdar is a Palestinian writer from Jerusalem.
Source: CGNews, November 11, 2005
Visit the website at www.commongroundnews.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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ARTICLE 3
Toward a Virtual Caliphate
Peter Mandaville

Arlington, Virginia - The recent "Zawahiri- Zarqawi Letter" – purportedly a missive on strategy and tactics from Al-Qaida's #2 to their man in Iraq – once again raises the question of bin Laden's capacity to inspire and animate Islamist radicalism across borders and continents. All the more so when considered in light of the July bombings in London and renewed attacks in Bali, Indonesia.

While questions persist about the authenticity of the letter, it nevertheless provides an opportunity to reconsider the larger question of how Islamic religious authority functions in a globalized world. While many hold up the specter of al-Qaida as a de-territorialized "brand name" seeking to rally the masses of the umma (the world community of Muslims) around militant religious radicalism, al-Qaida is not the only game in town in terms of the transnational forces competing for Muslim hearts and minds. Indeed, it is possible today to point to an emerging infrastructure – on the internet and satellite television, in widely-circulated books, through major international conferences and research centers – of a countervailing effort by mainstream Islamic scholars to challenge al-Qaida's global rhetoric.

In Islam's Sunni tradition, to which approximately 90 percent of the world's Muslims adhere, there is no formal or centralized structure of religious authority, as in the Catholic Church. Instead, a variety of local religious scholars and specialists in shariah (religious law) compete with regional and – increasingly – global voices of religious authority.

Historically, Muslim states and dynasties have often relied on cadres of co-opted religious scholars for political legitimacy. At other times, religious scholars have played important civil societal roles in checking the excesses of state power. Until 1924, however, there was in the Sunni tradition a nominal global figurehead in the person and office of the caliphate. The caliph ("successor" to the Prophet Muhammad) was understood to be the worldly guardian of a divine moral order. Not in any sense a cleric, the office of the caliph – whose theoretical jurisdiction extended to all lands under Muslim rule – is better understood as fulfilling the executive branch function of implementing and preserving the law.

The issue of the caliphate provides a valuable space in which to explore the question of contemporary globalization and religious authority. This is not only because a number of Islamic political movements (Al-Qaida among them) aim to re-establish caliphate institutions, but also because wider debates about the waning influence of the nation-state under globalization may render such models of transnational religious polity more attractive.

Perhaps most interesting, however – but certainly least noticed – is a diverse body of "superstar" religious scholars whose efforts might serve as a more metaphorical embodiment of the caliphate. For this group, the caliphate is not so much a political institution attached to sovereign territory, but rather an ideal of pan-Islamic ecumenicism – a moderate and relatively inclusive form of lowest-common-denominator orthodoxy. In their minds, this community of shared knowledge and religious interpretation is explicitly designed as an antidote to bin Laden and the radical jihadis. Given the means of its establishment and propagation, such a tendency might perhaps best be thought of as a "virtual caliphate."

The figure at the forefront of this movement is Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a Qatar-based Egyptian religious scholar who trained at the venerable institution of Al-Azhar in Cairo – the Oxford of the Islamic religious sciences. In recent years, he has sought to articulate a more cosmopolitan understanding of Islam that speaks to the unique problems of the modern world while remaining firmly grounded in the traditions of Islamic law and scholarship. Qaradawi became a household name in the Arabic-speaking world during the 1990s through his popular al-Jazeera program "Islamic Law & Life," in which he directly engaged issues such as medical technology and sexuality. His approach also gained him a strong constituency outside the Arab world; in the last five years, translations of his books have consistently been top sellers in Islamic bookstores around the world.

Qaradawi's greatest contribution lies not in his ideas, but rather in the institutions he has created and the cross-national collaborations he has fostered among Islamic scholars. Qaradawi has helped to develop a sustainable infrastructure for the growth and propagation of cosmopolitan traditionalism through a global network of websites (such as the popular Islam Online) and regionally based research and outreach centers (of which the European Council for Fatwa and Research in Ireland is the best known). He played a key role in the establishment of the International Association of Muslim Scholars, a network of leading representatives from various Islamic schools of thought, orthodox and heterodox alike, seeking to counter radical Islamists who claim to monopolize authentic Islam.

But what is the actual content of this new approach? What are its goals? Its pronouncements and fatwas underscore the importance of emphasizing the similarities, rather than differences, among Islamic schools of thought. Likewise, the scholars have also condemned attempts by radical groups to declare Muslims who do not agree with them to be apostates to the faith. Qaradawi refers frequently to the Quranic injunction against extremism and the emphasis on Muslims as a moderate community of the middle (Quran 2:143).

And it is here that many of his critics would claim that Qaradawi and his associates do not go far enough. They want to see, for example, stronger denunciation of terrorism and the rejection of threats against Jews and non-Muslims – and perhaps also a stronger emphasis on the need for Muslims to co-operate with the West. In doing so, however, they miss the point. The simple fact is that policymakers in the West – and progressive liberals more generally – are not always going to agree with the opinions of Qaradawi et al. Even very open-minded followers of orthodox scripturalism in Islam will often tend toward social conservatism, meaning that there will continue to be tensions regarding homosexuality and the role of women. It will also be difficult to find complete agreement with the West on more immediate political and security issues. While Qaradawi has strongly and consistently condemned bin Laden and Al-Qaida terrorism, his pronouncements on the insurgency in Iraq and the use of violence by Palestinians have certainly been at odds with Washington.

That said, however, perhaps the worst thing the West could do is to cast figures such as Qaradawi as part of the problem simply because his views don't precisely correspond with US goals. Since 9/11, the United States has appeared to want to do business only with hand picked and officially approved "good Muslims" – that is, to work with Muslims who fit US requirements as to what Islam should be. The problem, of course, is that the figures and groups who carry Washington's seal of approval often have little to no legitimacy among the constituencies the US wants to influence.

Viewed in the big picture and over the longer term, one has to wonder whether US goals and those of the emergent "virtual caliphate" might not overlap more than they diverge. After all, a vote for Qaradawi is a vote against Zarqawi. While increased recruitment into the Qaradawi camp will not by any means produce a generation of Muslims favorably predisposed to US foreign policy, it will represent a consolidated, critical mass of influential and respected Muslims with whom meaningful dialogue with the hope of tangible progress can take place.

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* Peter Mandaville, Director of the Center for Global Studies and Associate Professor of Government & Politics at George Mason University, is the author of Transnational Muslim Politics: Reimagining the Umma. The themes in the present piece are more fully explored in his forthcoming book Global Islam.
Source: YaleGlobal Online, October 27, 2005
Visit the website at yaleglobal.yale.edu
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication. Reprinted with permission from YaleGlobal Online, (http://yaleglobal.yale.edu) a publication of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. Copyright © 2005 Yale Center for the Study of Globalization."

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ARTICLE 4
Articulating An American Voice Of Islam And Justice
Muslims For Mukhtaran

Is it possible for a strong Islamic voice condemning violence against women to get serious attention by the American public? That's what several American Muslim organizations and individuals are trying to do in the case of Mukhtar Mai and her visit to the United States this week to be honored as "Woman of the Year" for Glamour Magazine. She plans to dedicate a portion of the $20,000 award to relief for victims of the recent devastating earthquake, as well as solicit more relief during her several speaking engagements raising awareness about the needs of women in Pakistan. Mukhtar Mai, it will be remembered, was subjected to a gang rape upon the orders of a tribal council in retaliation for alleged indiscretions by her brother. The six accused perpetrators were convicted and sentenced to death in 2002, then acquitted in March of 2005, then re-arrested days later, and now remain in custody pending an appeal before the Pakistani Supreme Court.

Yet despite this horrific incident and still waiting for justice, Mukhtar Bibi, as she is known, has emerged as a true grass roots activist for women in rural communities very much like the one she still lives in today, in a one-room home which often shelters others in need of help. She is now an iconic figure in Pakistan, working for the betterment of her people and, in particular, struggling for the rights and security of women, especially the poor and disempowered. In recognizing that what happened to her was due to "ignorance and lack of education" she established the Mai Mukhtaran School in her village, and includes classes from a woman scholar of Islam as part of the curriculum. She has reached out to victims of sexual violence providing them with essential support and consolation and called on her government to establish institutions where women can go to for help. Now with her visit to the United States, her struggle has acquired a broader audience.

What does this have to do with American Muslims? Everything. Mukhtar Mai has been a regular news story in every major American newspaper for years, and again made news this past summer when she was scheduled to visit the United States to speak in several venues about her experience. When President Musharraf stopped her from leaving the country, several human rights and women's groups understandably condemned this restriction on her freedoms. The resulting American public discourse on the story included major misunderstandings of what Islam has to say about rape and violence against women. This prompted some individuals from the San Francisco Bay Area Muslim community to wonder if there was anything we could and should do. Our answer? Yes. First, we took steps to invite Mukhtar Mai to our local communities to raise internal Muslim consciousness about her story. But we also were acutely aware of the prevailing American image of Islam as inherently bad for women and society. If Mukhtar Mai's visit is welcomed only by secular groups and no Muslims welcome or stand with her in support, then the unwritten message is: secular human rights groups help and seek justice for rape victims; Muslims hurt them or stand by silently. We recognized the glaring need for something much more public - a loud and clear Muslim-voiced condemnation of the gang rape, basing our position specifically on the tenets of Islam. Without a powerful and public statement in solidarity with her because of Islam's intolerance for such sexual violence against women, Mukhtar Mai's story may stand for nothing else in the American memory but one more reason to fear Islam and Muslims.

Keeping this in mind, Muslim activists and organizations drafted a Statement in Support of Mukhtar Mai. The Statement affirms that sexual violence against women is a horrible crime in Islam and that our religion requires us to stand firmly behind rape victims and to seek justice when such crimes occur. We are continually encouraged by the variety of groups that have endorsed our Statement, including several major mosques from California to New York, and local and national American Muslim organizations such as ISNA (Islamic Society of North America), MPAC (Muslim Public Affairs Council), NISA (North-American Islamic Shelter for the Abused), CAIR-SFBA (Council on American-Islamic Relations-San Francisco Bay Area), AMILA (American Muslims Intent on Learning and Activism) and others. We are still gathering signatures from American Muslim organizations, large and small. (The full text of the statement, and a link for those wishing to endorse the effort, is available at muslims4mukhtaran.halalfire.com).

Some Muslims might be inclined not to support this project. Perhaps they doubt that the rape ever happened. We considered this, and after considerable research we realized that this would contradict the overwhelming consensus of the world's preeminent human rights organizations, news reports, and even the Pakistani Attorney General currently prosecuting the appeal. Besides western newspapers, major Pakistani publications such as Dawn and The News, as well as reputed Pakistani columnists like Ardeshir Cowasjee and Irfan Husain have for three years accepted that Mukhtar Mai was gang-raped and have accepted her version of what transpired on June 22, 2002. Given all this, we were confident that Mukhtar Mai's story was the more credible. Some Muslims might not support our project because they are suspicious of internal Pakistani politics that seem to be using the case to their advantage. Whatever truth there may be in that, we believe it undeniable that if one believes that a rape did occur, a prosecution must go forward. The Muslim public must demand that crucial questions of justice be separated from political fights – both in the courtroom and in the media. And we should not fall into the trap of refusing justice to someone only because of those who choose to affiliate themselves with her case. If that can be done, we might be able to create a world where sexual violence against women is simply off-limits as a political tool.

We are proud of American Muslim contributions to the earthquake relief efforts in Pakistan and recognize that the recent disaster has admirably united the Pakistani nation in a tremendous spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood as demanded by our religion. We call on our community to once again voice their support for our Pakistani sister, Mukhtar Mai.

Muslims in the United States must also remain cognizant of our unique position in the American discourse, and the imperative which that presents in high profile cases. Often, the public has already made up its mind long before the final verdict. That is going on here. Regardless of who ultimately wins the Pakistani litigation, the American court of public opinion in the United States may have already decided that Mukhtar Mai represents yet another example of the travesty of Muslim justice that must be fought. We American Muslims can start to change that opinion, but our work is not in the courts of Pakistan, nor in its political debates. That is best shepherded by Pakistanis. We are, rather, responsible for presenting a clear, articulate American voice of justice in Islam. If we do that well, we might very well change the world, inshaAllah.

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* Muslims For Mukhtaran is working to organize the American Muslim community to provide an Islamic response to violence against women in Muslim countries. This statement was written by group members Asifa Quraishi, Shirin Sinnar, Farhan Memon, Asif Shaikh, and Uzma Siddiqui.
Source: Alt.Muslim.com, October 31, 2005
Visit the website www.altmuslim.com.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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ARTICLE 5
What's on during Ramadan? Antiterror TV
Charles Levinson

Cairo - In addition to the fasting, feasting, and prayers, in most Egyptian households the Muslim holy month revolves around TV. Once the sun sets in the Arab world, the 30 days of Ramadan are like November television-sweeps month in the US - and then some.

This year there are dozens of mini-series and specials ranging from the story of an Arab living in post-9/11 America to a Kuwaiti drama featuring a character who is a lesbian. But every night at 10, the Refaat family gathers in their living room to watch the most talked about show in the Middle East, "Al Hoor al Ain" (The Beautiful Virgins). It's loosely based on the November 2003 bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 18 people, all of them Arab. And it's one of a handful of shows aired here this month that are challenging the view that Islam justifies terrorism.

"This show is very important because it is treating a very delicate and crucial subject," says Rafiq al Sabban, an Egyptian film critic. "It's not solving the problem, but that's not the job of art. It is forcing viewers to confront the problem and think about it."

Al Hoor al Ain, which concludes Wednesday night, was written by a confessed former member of Al Qaeda. It tells the story of a young Saudi male torn between two sheikhs with competing versions of Islam - one militant and the other moderate. The story is narrated by a Syrian girl burned in the bombing, and stresses that the attacks were Arab-on-Arab.

Militant Islamist websites have savaged the show, and some imams in Saudi Arabia have warned worshippers not to watch it. They have singled out the show's title as particularly offensive. Al Hoor al Ain refers to the virgins the Koran says await good Muslim men in paradise. While the Koran makes no mention of "martyrdom" as a qualification, militant groups have used the passage to attract young suicide bombers to their cause.Despite the objections of conservatives, it is the No. 1 show in Saudi Arabia this Ramadan, according to the Saudi newspaper Al Okaz. And many have hailed the program as a powerful attack on extremism.

"This is an integral part of the battle against terrorism," says Abe al Masry, production manager for the Saudi-owned and Dubai-based Middle East Broadcasting Corporation, which is broadcasting the show. "It shows how bad people intentionally misread religion, and exploit religion to recruit terrorists."

In the Refaat household in Cairo, the show is a source of contention. Ahmed, a 23-year-old who's studying business at Cairo University, says the show ignores the root causes of terrorism." In the show the Saudi government is made to look like the good guys," he says. "But it is their corruption and their oppression which is driving kids to blow themselves up." His sister, Amira, a 25-year-old who works at a health club, says the show teaches "that true Islam is not about killing people."

Beyond terrorism Al Hoor al Ain does not confine itself to tackling terrorism. The cast of characters living in the compound, the ultimate victims of the bombing, hail from Morocco, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and Palestine, and are trying, often in vain, to get along. They suffer the range of ills that plague their respective societies. There are abusive husbands, sterile wives, rebellious daughters, and sons who turn to drugs."

All these families want to be united, but they don't ever reach that understanding," says Mr. Sabban the Egyptian film critic. "It's a metaphor for the Arab world. They are quarreling and they are loving each other, and they are quarreling again."

Another annual Ramadan show, "Tash Ma Tasha" (Whatever Comes Comes), has provoked an even fiercer response from Islamists, who have sent death threats to the Saudi show's producers. The show portrays Islamic extremists as incompetent and unthinking half-wits. In Wednesday night's episode a small Saudi village is divided when some villagers want to install electricity and paved roads. The conservative village sheikhs warn that such modernization will destroy their way of life. The paved road will be like a huge black snake coming from hell, one religious leader warns.

A third show this year, "The Rocky Road," exposes the hypocrisy and corruption among the mujahideen in Afghanistan. In recent years, Ramadan miniseries have triggered controversy, frequently angering the US, Israeli, and various Arab governments, or as in the case this year, Islamic fundamentalists. Last Ramadan, a series called "The Road to Kabul," about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, was cancelled after just eight episodes. The show's creators had received death threats for portraying the Taliban in a negative light. Industry insiders, however, say the reason for the show's cancellation was US pressure on the Qatari government, which produced the show. The US reportedly feared that scenes of CIA agents selling heroin to fund the mujahideen would fire anti-American sentiment in the region.

In 2001, after the second intifada broke out in Israel-Palestine, a pair of Arab TV serials recounted the exploits of Salah Eddin, who drove the crusaders from Jerusalem in 1187. "After the last intifada, that's when these serials start getting more tense and more political," says Marlin Dick, an American researcher in Beirut.

Saudi Arabia softening Ramadan serials have long been a tool exploited by Arab governments to sway public opinion. But the Saudi support for and willingness to air such programs represents a total volte-face for the government, says Egyptian screenwriter Wahed Hamid. Mr. Hamid wrote the first-ever Ramadan serial to tackle the issue of terrorism. It aired in 1993, with the blessing of the Egyptian government, which was at the time battling its own terrorism problem."

For years the Saudis have refused to show my series because they were sympathetic with terrorists, and they were the ones encouraging these extremists," Hamid says. "Now that the terror groups have started to attack them, the Saudis are rebroadcasting it once every two months."

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* Charles Levinson is a correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor.
Source: The Christian, Science Monitor, November 3, 2005
Visit the website at www.csmonitor.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity.
Copyright © Christian Science Monitor. Please contact lawrenced@csps.com.

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The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity, brought to you by Search for Common Ground, seeks to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. This service is one outcome of a set of working meetings held in partnership with His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal in June 2003.

Every week, CGNews-PiH will distribute 5 news articles, op-eds, features, and analyses that aid in developing and analyzing the current and future relationship of the West and Arab/Muslim world. Articles will be chosen based on accuracy, balance, and their ability to improve understanding and communication across borders and regions. They will also reflect the need for constructive dialogue around issues of global importance. Selections will be authored by local and international experts and leaders who will analyze and discuss a broad range of relevant issues. We invite you to submit any articles you feel are compatible with the goals of this news service.

Partners in Humanity also regularly publishes the work of student leaders and journalists whose articles strengthen intercultural understanding and promote constructive perspectives and dialogue in their own communities through its Youth Views column. Student journalists and writers under the age of 27 are encouraged to write cbinkley@sfcg.org for more information on contributing.

We look forward to hearing from you, and welcome any questions, concerns, or comments you may have about this service. Please forward this message to colleagues and friends who may also wish to subscribe to the service. To subscribe, send an email to subscribe-cgnewspih@sfcg.org with subscribe in the subject line.

If you are a member of the media, please join us in promoting constructive dialogue to improve understanding and perceptions. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If you choose to republish any of the articles, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org

The views expressed in these articles are those of the authors, not of CGNews or its affiliates.

Common Ground News Service
1601 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite #200
Washington, DC 20009 USA
Ph: +1(202) 777-2207
Fax: +1(202) 232-6718

Rue Belliard 205 bte 13
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Ph: +32 (02) 736-7262
Fax: +32(02) 732-3033
E-mail: cgnewspih@sfcg.org
Website: http://www.commongroundnews.org

Editors:
Emad Khalil
Amman Editor

Juliette Schmidt
Beirut Editor

Elyte Baykun & Leena El-Ali
Washington Editors

Michael Shipler & Chris Binkley
Youth Views Editors

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Posted by Evelin at November 16, 2005 05:29 AM