Mideast Week in Review

by Michael Isenberg.

Baghdadi alive?

Iraqi Kurds overwhelmingly vote for secession.

Saudi women to be permitted to drive.

Palestinian gunman murders three.

Egypt arrests seven for displaying rainbow flag.

All kneel before Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia, and his little friend Yoda.

Baghdadi alive? The loathsome ISIS cult may be nearly dead, at least in its present form as a territorial state. However its so-called "caliph," Abu Bakr Baghdadi may still be alive. New audio of a man who sounds like Baghdadi has been posted to an ISIS-affiliated website. In it, the speaker mentions recent events such as North Korean saber-rattling and the Battle for Mosul. Although the US Department of Defense is still analyzing the recording for authenticity, it appears that Russian claims of having killed Baghdadi in a May airstrike are greatly exaggerated.

Read more—

'New Baghdadi tape' posted by Islamic State group (BBC)

 

Iraqi Kurds overwhelmingly vote for secession: The Kurdish Autonomous Region held a referendum on Monday on seceding from Iraq and establishing an independent nation. 3.3 million people—73% of the electorate—turned out at the polls. The referendum passed by a whopping 92% of the vote.

The Kurds are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East (after Arabs, Persians, and Turks) and the only one out of the four without a state of their own.

The referendum is non-binding and will not lead immediately to independence, but it should give the Kurds considerable leverage to negotiate with Baghdad for their departure.

The bid for Kurdish independence has almost no support among the governments of the world, especially Turkey and Iran, who worry that their own Kurdish populations will get ideas. Other nations, including the United States, oppose Kurdish independence on the grounds that it will be destabilizing. One of the few supporters is Israel, which sees in the Kurdish quest for a homeland a reflection of its own cause.

In a related story, the Turkish and Iraqi armies have begun joint exercises near the Kurdish border.

Read more—

Iraqi Kurds decisively back independence in referendum (BBC)

Kexit? Iraqi Kurdistan referendum explained (BBC)

Now trending: Kurdistan (Michael Isenberg)

 

Saudi women to be permitted to drive: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—notorious for its restrictions on the freedom of women—announced a historic reversal of policy on Tuesday: starting next June, the gentle sex will be allowed to drive.

Around the kingdom, and around the world, women took to social media to celebrate. Many activists tempered their jubilation with caution: women still have a long way to go in the kingdom. In particular, the “guardianship” system still persists. Under this system, women need permission from their male custodians to travel, marry, start businesses, and many other common activities.

Read more—

Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive (NYT)

Women to drive in Saudi Arabia: Twitter goes bonkers (Michael Isenberg)

 

Palestinian gunmen murders three: On a sadder note, a Palestinian man, identified as 37-year-old Nimer Jamal, shot and killed two Israeli security guards and a border policeman at the gate of the Har Adar Jewish settlement in the West Bank. The Information Office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah Party blamed Israel.

Read more—

Palestinian gunman kills three Israelis in West Bank (BBC)

 

Egypt arrests seven for displaying rainbow flag: The government of President Abdel Fattah this week continued to pile up its abysmal human rights record. In the latest incident, seven individuals were arrested for “promoting sexual deviancy” after raising the LGBT rainbow flag at a Cairo concert.

Read more—

Seven arrested in Egypt after raising rainbow flag at concert (BBC)

 

All kneel before Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia, and his little friend Yoda: In an embarrassment to the Ministry of Education, the Saudi government released a textbook that included a photo of King Faisal signing the UN charter in 1945, while seated next to Jedi Master Yoda, of Star Wars fame. Analysts believe the picture has been photoshopped. The BBC reported that education minister Ahmad al-Isa called it an “unintended mistake.” No word yet on how it happened.

Read more—

Saudi textbook features image of Yoda with King Faisal (BBC)

Michael Isenberg writes about the Muslim world, medieval and modern. His forthcoming novel, The Thread of Reason, is a murder mystery that takes place in Baghdad in the year 1092. It depicts the war for the Muslim soul between those who seek to enforce shari’a strictly, persecute Jews and Christians, and stamp out "un-Islamic" science, and those who wink at a few sins, tolerate their non-Muslim neighbors, and write books about science instead of burning them.

Photo credit: BBC/Shaweesh/Gharem Studio

Women to drive in Saudi Arabia

Twitter goes bonkers.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—notorious for its restrictions on the freedom of women—announced a historic change on Tuesday: starting next June, the gentle sex will be allowed to drive.

Around the kingdom, and around the world, women took to Twitter to celebrate.

A bunch of people posted this awesome video:

Some speculated what the roads would be like in a kingdom where segregation of the sexes was still the law of the land:

Others wondered, now that women were mobile, why the hell they’d stay in Saudi Arabia:

Of course, social conservatives were unhappy, and announced their intention to put their foot down where their own wives and daughters were concerned. And so, #The_harem_of_my_house_won’t_drive hashtag was born.

Naturally, these assholes invoked the usual sexist stereotypes:

But such tweets soon became hard to find as harem_of_my_house was hashjacked by the forces of modernity:

I’m uncertain whether the gratitude to “Uncle Trump” was sincere or sarcastic.

I had a little trouble with the translation on this one:

I did okay with the first line, “#The_harem_of_my_house_will_not_drive Harem?! Hahahahahahaha.” But, stuck on the second line, I tweeted the author and asked her what it meant. Her reply:

I’m not sure if that’s the actual translation, or she was merely giving me advice :-)

Many took the trouble to thank the king for his decree:

But as my friend Ammar Anwer pointed out, the real heroes, “are the brave Secular activists, who are either put behind bars, like Raif Badawi, or compelled to leave the country for their own safety. It is a moment to congratulate them, not the totalitarian Extremist dynasty.”

You may recall Raif Badawi; I wrote about him previously. Mr. Badawi is a blogger who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a thousand lashes (he’s received 50 so far) for “insulting Islam.” The last I heard, his wife had had no word from him for over a year. Needless to say, he’s been unable to comment on Tuesday’s news. But the Raif Badawi Foundation tweeted on his behalf:

Among the activists who have been driven out of the country is Manal al-Sharif. In 2011, Ms. Sharif posted video of herself driving. She was arrested, lost custody of her son, and was publicly shamed. During a sermon at a mosque—with her father in the congregation—the imam called her a whore. She now lives in Australia but says she looks forward to driving in her home country. She posted this cartoon about what would happen to all the men, many of them foreign, who are currently employed as chauffeurs for the women of Saudi Arabia:

On a more serious note, Ms. Sharif pointed out that the women of Saudi Arabia still have a long way to go. In particular, the “guardianship” laws are still in place. According to the BBC, under these laws,

There are many things women must ask the men in their lives for permission to do. These things include, but are not limited to: Applying for passports Travelling abroad Getting married Opening a bank account Starting certain businesses Getting elective surgery Leaving prison

So Ms. Sharif and her allies have their work cut out for them.

One of those allies, who I also wrote about previously is Loujain Hathloul. Like Ms. Sharif, she was arrested—and held for two and half months without charges—for posting video of herself driving. Her response to Tuesday’s news was eloquent and succinct:

Michael Isenberg writes about the Muslim world, medieval and modern. His forthcoming novel, The Thread of Reason, is a murder mystery that takes place in Baghdad in the year 1092. It depicts the war for the Muslim soul between those who seek to enforce shari’a strictly, persecute Jews and Christians, and stamp out "un-Islamic" science, and those who wink at a few sins, tolerate their non-Muslim neighbors, and write books about science instead of burning them.