Report: “Education targeted as threat to Islam”
Scotsman News reporter Michael Slackman:
— “As Iran’s universities prepare to start classes this month, there is a growing fear that the government will purge political and social science departments of professors and curriculums deemed ‘un-Islamic'”
— “The concerns have been stoked by speeches by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as well as confessions of political prisoners that suggest that the study of secular topics and ideas has made universities incubators for the political unrest unleashed after the disputed presidential election in June.”
— “Khamenei said last week that the study of social sciences ‘promotes doubts and uncertainty.’ He urged ‘ardent defenders of Islam’ to review the human sciences that are taught in Iran’s universities and ‘promote secularism'”
— “For years, the study of subjects such as philosophy and sociology has been viewed suspiciously by Iranian conservatives. During the earliest days of the Islamic Revolution, the nation’s leaders closed universities and tried to sanitise curriculums to fit their Islamic revolutionary ideology. The efforts ultimately failed under the weight of more pragmatic forces eager to engage with Western economies, and a student population hungry for contemporary ideas and contact with the West.”
— “But in recent years, academics who attended conferences abroad, or took part in cultural exchange programmes, have often been vilified at home or viewed suspiciously. Some have been arrested on charges of trying to organise a soft revolution.”
— “The recent speeches by the country’s leaders suggest they may no longer be willing to live with such ambiguity after months of unsuccessfully trying to extinguish the political and social crisis set off by the election.”
Month: September 2009
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood says ideology “universal”
Egypt arrests 155 for “not fasting” during Ramadan
Egyptian Copts abroad call for national strike in Egypt – on September 11
Egyptian Copts abroad call for national strike in Egypt – on September 11
Voice of Copts report: “Egyptian Regime protecting drug dealers and abusers”
California: Not guilty pleas in group attack of Latino man
California: Not guilty pleas in group attack of Latino man
— Orange County Register reports:
— “‘White Power’-tatooed people face attempted murder, hate charges”
— “Four people authorities describe as white supremacists pleaded not guilty at an Orange County Superior Court today to attempted murder after prosecutors and police say the group attacked a Latino man in Huntington Beach”
— “Erin Brooks, 24, Brian Hanson, 26, Michael Powell, 21, and Bret Hicks, 30, also pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault with hate crime enhancements, which could lead to 20 years in prison each. The four did not comment during today’s hearing and were represented by private attorneys.”
— “The four are being identified as white supremacists based on their tattoos, which say “Skinhead,” “White Pride” and “Hate” and have references to “Heil Hitler” and a Nazi swastika, prosecutors and court documents said.”
Communist China: Shanghai Petitioner Poisoned by Authorities, Husband Says
“Shanghai Petitioner Poisoned by Authorities, Husband Says”
— Epoch Times reports on Ms. Zhou Minzhu:
— “Both Mr. Tang and Ms. Zhou are members of the Chinese League of Victims, a Hong-Kong-registered society of people with grievances against the Chinese authorities.”
— “She was arrested shortly after returning and taken to Shanghai’s Huangpu District Detention Centre, where she was told that if she didn’t withdraw from the Chinese League of Victims, she would be sent to a labor camp.”
Report: North Korea in ‘final phase’ of uranium enrichment
Telegraph: North Korea in ‘final phase’ of uranium enrichment
— “North Korea, which already has a handful of plutonium nuclear devices, had promised to begin enriching the uranium three months ago after UN Security imposed sanctions on Pyongyang following its second nuclear test in May.”
— “If successful, it would give North Korea a second way of making nuclear weapons”
Communist China: Google China chief quits suddenly after months of clashes with censors
Google China chief quits suddenly after months of clashes with censors
— Telegraph reports:
— “The head of Google in China, Kaifu Lee, has quit the company abruptly after several turbulent months of clashes with the Chinese government.”
— “‘My next move is to create a platform for young Chinese. I want to be actively involved in the work and to have full control of it,’ he wrote, on his popular blog.”
Florida: Fathima Rifqa Bary Case – Judge keeps girl in Florida, orders mediation
— MyFOXOrlandao: “Judge seals police report for runaway”
— “The judge signed the order Thursday sealing the report for at least ten days until lawyers for 17-year-old Rifqa Bary, her parents and child welfare officials can read it. The hearing was to determine whether the teen should return to Ohio or stay in Florida.”
— “The teen ran away to Florida in July, saying she feared being killed for changing religions.”
— “The judge said two weeks ago that he would postpone deciding whether Bary should return to Ohio until after the investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was completed.”