Common Ground News Service
Partners in Humanity
for constructive & vibrant Muslim-Western relations

18 - 24 March 2008

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Inside this edition

1) Lebanon on the counterterrorism front by Bilal Y. Saab
Amidst prolonged sectarian conflicts and stalled decision-making
processes in Lebanon, Bilal Saab, a senior assistant researcher at the
Brookings Institution, considers the collective effort being made by
Lebanese officials and organisations to curb radicalisation through
developmental, educational and health projects.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 18 March 2008)

2) A smart Arab investment by Ghassan Michel Rubeiz
Ghassan Michel Rubeiz, a former member of the Early Childhood
Development International Consultancy Group, examines how investing in
pre-school education and early childhood programmes can be a powerful
tool to eradicate poverty, limit social instability and bring about
social change in the Arab world.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 18 March 2008)

3) A redistribution of power in Lebanon by Graeme Bannerman
Graeme Bannerman, a scholar at the Middle East Institute, describes
under what conditions a redistribution of power in Lebanon could bring
peace, prosperity and democracy.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 18 March 2008)

4) A veiled Muslim view of art by Bashir Goth
In the last article of a series on freedom of expression, Somali poet
and journalist, Bashir Goth considers the purpose of art, in light of
the recently reignited debate over the Danish cartoons portraying the
Prophet Muhammad, and the larger issue of art and freedom of
expression when it comes to Muslim-Western relations.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 18 March 2008)

5) ~Youth Views~ The hijab - from the university to the workplace by
Nathalie Nahas
In light of the recent Turkish parliamentary decision to lift the ban
on wearing headscarves in universities, Nathalie Nahas, a graduate
student at the American University of Beirut, assesses the broader
implications for Muslim women across the region as they prepare to
leave university to enter the workplace.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 18 March 2008)

1) Lebanon on the counterterrorism front
Bilal Y. Saab

Washington, DC - In spite of its ongoing political crisis, an
institutionally crippled Lebanon is performing well on a front it
ironically has little experience in: counterterrorism.

Five months after the Lebanese army's bloody though ultimately
successful battle in the North against the al Qaeda-inspired group,
Fatah al Islam, Lebanese are still concerned about a repeat of the
scenario of Nahr al Bared in another Palestinian refugee camp. And
they have every right to worry.

The militant Salafi current in Lebanon may have suffered a heavy blow
in Nahr al Bared, but given its fluidity and the favourable
circumstances it operates in - an acutely polarised political
environment with heightened sectarian tensions - it is capable of
regrouping and finding new leaders. Al Qaeda in Iraq still has its
eyes on Lebanon and the Syrian-Lebanese borders are yet to be secured.

But there is stronger reason for optimism. The recent efforts and
initiatives by Lebanese public officials, civil society groups, and
official religious institutions aimed at curbing the radicalisation
current in the North suggest that the country as a whole is starting
to think strategically about the threat of Salafi militancy.

The healthy consensus inside the Lebanese military and security
institutions on the limitations of the use of force as a means to
neutralise the threat of militant radicalism suggests that the
counterterrorism campaign is moving in the right direction. Most
Lebanese public officials are becoming aware of the tenet that
Lebanon's most potent antidote to extremist and militant ideology
involves a socio-economic vision that is rooted in policies of
balanced development.

A few weeks ago, Parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri announced
the launch of $52 million worth of major developmental, educational
and health projects in Tripoli, Akkar and other regions in the North
(initially, those projects were slated to be carried out by the
Lebanese state, but funding was severely lacking due to the budget
deficit).

Meanwhile, the newly-elected Lebanese Mufti of Tripoli and the North,
Sheikh Malek Al Sha'ar (the highest ranking Sunni religious scholar),
declared the promulgation of a new comprehensive program for Dar al
Ifta', the Sunni religious establishment in Lebanon, which aims at
creating a directorate for religious education tasked with supervising
Islamic schools, colleges and institutes, and an advisory board
consisting of all Islamic parties and groups in the North. This
directorate should be of great help in making sure Islamic groups'
activity in the North does not stray or flirt with extremism.

At the Lebanese internal security forces (ISF) directorate, Major
General Ashraf Rifi met with a large delegation of Sunni preachers and
religious scholars as well as directors and presidents of Salafist
organisations and institutes in the North. The purpose was to start a
dialogue and form a cooperative relationship with these individuals
and bodies, whose access to Sunni Muslim constituencies and role in
convincing extremist elements to snub extremism and militancy is
critical.

The international community's efforts in helping Lebanon recover from
the Nahr al Bared fiasco should not be discounted either. The most
important actor is UNRWA, which has been working with some 20 non-
governmental organisations to implement preventive measures for the
children of Nahr al Bared, such as psychological and recreational
activities. UNRWA has also trained about 200 teachers to identify the
signs of trauma and refer students for help.

A donor conference is expected to be held in the second half of April
to raise money for the reconstruction of Nahr al Bared. Foreign
governments such as Saudi Arabia and Norway, and Lebanese political
parties, including Hariri's Future Movement, have also provided
substantial financial and logistical assistance to Nahr al Bared's
reconstruction process.

Shocked by the eye-opening experience of Nahr al Bared, Lebanese
society seems determined to erase the memory of last summer and make
sure that scenario never happens again. While some praiseworthy
preventive measures have been devised since then by an amalgam of
local and foreign actors, they remain largely outside the boundaries
of the Lebanese state.

To tap its full potential, the counter-terrorism campaign must be
owned by the Lebanese state. Such a campaign should be viewed by all
Lebanese (and the international community) as a collective, as opposed
to a particularistic effort. Only the state and the large resources it
can offer in terms of employment, education, social security and
general welfare can neutralise and ultimately eliminate the threat of
militant religious extremism in Lebanon. Hence the critical need to
break the current political stalemate and immediately reactivate all
Lebanese state institutions.

If the Iraqi experience is of any lesson, al Qaeda thrives on
political vacuums and looks to exploit societal fault lines. Lebanon
should know better.

###

* Bilal Y. Saab is a senior research assistant at the Saban Center for
Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. This article was
written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be
accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.

Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 March 2008, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.

2) A smart Arab investment
Ghassan Michel Rubeiz

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida - The hope for social and industrial
awakening in the Middle East and North Africa may start in unexpected
ways. The most potent indicator of social change is women's education.

Nine years of schooling for every woman would wipe out a large segment
of poverty. It would also significantly reduce children's school
dropout rates and immeasurably enhance the economic well-being of
society. Moreover, if every young Arab child has two to four years of
pre-schooling, overall educational achievement will jump considerably.

Is this too much to dream of?

Early childhood development (ECD) programmes are a well-kept secret in
the Arab world and are making their way toward effective change. ECD
is a psycho-social programme of early care and stimulation for
children, which is integrated with training activities of empowerment
for mothers whose young children are also enrolled.

I was "educated" about the magic quality of ECD in the West Bank and
Gaza. I learned that women who were shy, overburdened, submissive and
lacking in skills, could, with the help of ECD programmes, read and
write, prepare for jobs and look their husbands in the eye with pride.
In short, they learned to become active citizens.

The focus in ECD is more on emotional and social learning than on
schooling. The agency running ECD is oftentimes not a school but a
community-based social organisation that works closely with the family
in poor rural or urban neighbourhoods.

Forty-six percent of Arab women do not read or write. Jordan has
almost 100 percent literacy, while Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, Gaza and
Morocco have the highest levels of illiteracy. In as many as seven
Arab countries, more than 20 percent of children under the age of five
are stunted due to malnutrition. These findings make a strong case for
introducing aggressive remedial programmes to empower Arab women and
to stimulate the development of their children.

Literacy programmes are slowly spreading in many countries of the
region. But it will take 40 years to conquer illiteracy at the current
rate of intervention. Early childhood programmes that serve mothers
and their young children make a corrective impact on illiteracy.

Typically, an Arab child starts school at the age of six. Young
children born to families living in under-served communities are
exposed to health and developmental problems that affect their future
in big ways. Developmental delays in emotional, physical, social or
intellectual growth are often irreversible when they occur in early
childhood.

Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian territories have had some
experience with ECD programmes. Jordan has invested in nationwide
activities over the last few years in creative pre-school programmes.
Quality ECD programmes involve mothers, have trained teachers and are
community based. The results have been rewarding in enhancing school
performance in later years showing that early education saves spending
on programmes for disability.

Lebanon has probably the longest record of pre-school programmes in
the region. Thousands of Arab women leaders who have graduated from
the Lebanese American University (LAU) over many generations were
empowered through ECD education. LAU (earlier known as Beirut College
for Women) trained pre-school teachers for several decades. In the
Arab world as a whole, however, the degree of commitment to ECD as a
programme of social intervention that emphasises work with mothers
unfortunately remains weak.

In the Arab world, ECD is not only suitable for the poor. Early
childhood programmes can also benefit affluent Arab countries. The
young children of oil-rich Arab countries do not suffer from hunger
and disease, but they encounter different challenges: rapid social
change and over-dependence on expatriate labour in childcare. In such
countries, parents can be pre-occupied by business or passive leisure.
Parents tend to leave childcare to expatriate nannies and caregivers.
Children who are raised by low-paid, uneducated - and often labour
rights-deprived guest workers - are not likely to bond with their
natural parents and may suffer developmental delays.

In several Gulf countries the native population is a demographic
minority and expatriates constitute the majority. In such a unique
demographic setting, ECD may be a good programme for children who are
destined to face increasing challenges of social change in adult life.

Graduates of early childhood programmes do better in school and are
better adjusted in society, more likely to be employed and less likely
to go to jail. Moreover, a World Bank report on Jordan shows that ECD
programmes have contributed significantly to the national economy.
There is consistent evidence that public spending for programmes of
early childhood development is smart social investment. For every
dollar a government spends on early childhood development, society
receives plenty in return.

It is hoped that in the active search for ways to eradicate poverty
and limit social instability, Arab social planners will soon consider
ECD one tool among others that can make a difference for the future.

###

* Ghassan Michel Rubeiz is the former secretary of the World Council
of Churches for the Middle East, former director of the Washington
office of the Christian Children's Fund and a former member of the ECD
International Consultancy Group. This article was written for the
Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at
www.commongroundnews.org.

Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 March 2008, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.

3) A redistribution of power in Lebanon
Graeme Bannerman

Washington, DC - American objectives in Lebanon are clear, reasonable
and honourable. The United States wants an independent, democratic
Lebanon free from foreign interference, particularly from Syria and
Iran. It also wants a prosperous Lebanon at peace with its neighbours,
including Israel.

The question is why have these goals been so difficult to attain?
There is no single answer, but what is clear is that the United States
does not understand the long-term political changes taking place in
Lebanon and how they interfere with American objectives. Most
important among these changes is the increasing influence of the
Lebanese Shi'a community, which necessitates a redistribution of power
within the Lebanese government. Until such redistribution takes place,
the dominance of Hizbullah within the Lebanese Shi'a community is
likely to continue.

The diversity of the Lebanese population has been unique in the Arab
world since the time of the nation's founding. The large Christian
population made Lebanon the only Arab state in which the preponderance
of power rested with Christians, though Muslims still had sufficient
levers of power to prevent the government from going against their
interests.

By the mid-1970s, demographic shifts and changing regional politics
created a rift between the actual division of power, and the original
political compact no longer represented the interests of all. After 15
years of civil war, the 1989 Taif Agreement created equality between
Muslims and Christians, marking a redistribution of power that was
painful to the dominant Christian community, but essential for peace.

Since Taif, a new rift has been created. The crucial imbalance of
power this time, however, is not between Muslim and Christian, but
between Sunni and Shi'a. The Sunnis have always dominated Muslim
politics, just as the Christians dominated national politics before
Taif. Over time, the demographic and political balance has shifted in
favour of the Shi'a, but no corresponding shift in the distribution of
power within the government has occurred. If peace and normalcy are to
return to Lebanon, Shi'a interests must be protected.

Each community - Christian, Sunni, and Shi'a - must be assured that
the government cannot make decisions against its vital interests.
Currently, Christians and Sunnis have the power to block any
government action, but the Shi'a have no such protection. Christians
control the presidency and command the army while the Sunnis appoint
the prime minister and command the internal security forces. Both
groups have a blocking vote in Parliament and the Cabinet. In
contrast, the Shi'a have no controlling position in the Lebanese
executive branch and must rely on the Speaker of the Parliament and
militia to protect their interests.

The current crisis began in late 2006 when all Shi'a Cabinet members
resigned their posts, thus terminating the ruling consensus. They
thought this would force the government to reconstitute itself and
address their concerns. However, the decision was made to continue
governing without them, which highlighted the Shi'a inability to
protect their own interests within the executive branch. With limited
government powers, many Shi'a turned to their primary source of
strength outside the government - Hizbullah - for leadership and
protection.

The strength of Hizbullah is likely to continue as long as the Shi'a
feel this lack of political power. A lasting solution to the current
crisis is not likely until the Shi'a are afforded the same protection
from government mistreatment that the Christians and Sunnis enjoy. In
the short term, affording them a blocking third - 11 of 30 members -
in the Cabinet would appear to be the only way to achieve this.

Many argue that the Shi'a community should not be given veto power
over government policies out of fear of increasing the influence of
Hizbullah. In fact, the opposite is likely to be true. Empowerment of
the Shi'a community would allow a wider diversity of views and over
time would diminish the influence of Hizbullah.

If the American goal of a democratic, peaceful and prosperous Lebanon
and a diminished role for Hizbullah is to be achieved, then as a
prerequisite, the Lebanese Shi'a community needs a guarantee that the
government of Lebanon cannot act without Shi'a concurrence. A failure
to provide equal protection to the Shi'a is likely to lead to greater
instability and the strengthening of Hizbullah.

###

* Graeme Bannerman is an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute
in Washington, DC. He runs his own international consulting firm and
is a former staff director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews)
and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.

Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 March 2008, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.

4) A veiled Muslim view of art
Bashir Goth

Dubai - The reappearance in the media of the Danish cartoons featuring
the Prophet Muhammad, following the arrest of three Muslims accused of
planning to kill one of the cartoonists, has re-opened the debate on
art and freedom of expression between the West and the Muslim world.

It is unfortunate that violent demonstrations in different parts of
the Muslim world in response to such types of artistic expression have
often overshadowed the opinion of the silent majority of Muslims who
do not adhere to such a limited perception of Islam.

Danish newspapers described their publication of the cartoons as a
sign of protest against the attempt by Muslims to gag their freedom of
expression through fear tactics. Many people in the Muslim world,
however, viewed the cartoons as an affront to their religious beliefs
and expressed their anger through emotional outbursts and mob
demonstrations.

This is not the first time that the West and Muslims have clashed on
the issue of freedom of expression and religion. The works of writers
and artists such as Salman Rushdie, Taslima Nasreen, Nasr Hamid Abu
Zayd, Naguib Mahfouz and others have caused a furore in the Muslim
world.

It is sad, therefore, that the response to the Danish cartoons by
Muslims who follow narrow interpretations of Islam reflects the
gruesome bloodbaths that are committed daily by persons bearing the
name Muhammad, in the streets of Karachi, Kandahar, Baghdad and
elsewhere in the heart of the Muslim world.

Such Muslims, in my opinion, need to do a massive amount of soul
searching and house cleaning before they lecture to others about
values and morals.

To this end, it is helpful to revisit art in the Muslim world through
the prism of history. How some Muslims perceive art in general, and
representational art in particular, may have a lot to do with the way
Islam began. Unlike most world religions, where signs, symbols,
sculptures, arts and statutes play a pivotal role in conveying the
spiritual message, Islam was founded on the notion of eradicating idol
worship.

This may explain, for example, why some Muslims remain relatively
indifferent to the Taliban's destruction of the Buddha statues in the
Bamiyan province of Afghanistan.

One also has to remember that, historically, different kinds of art
flourished in many parts of the Muslim world - such as Iran, the
Ottoman Empire, Al Andalus and others. Even today art thrives in most
of the Muslim world, although the degree of freedom of expression in
what should be and should not be portrayed may vary according to the
different religious schools practiced in the Muslim world.

Many argue that while in the West, the writer and the artist can
indulge in their vocations with an individualistic approach, the
Muslim writer and artist have often been bound to adhere to social
conformity as prescribed by prevailing religious values.

However, this conformity has not always been the status quo, as many
artists throughout history have explored their creative abilities
through poetry and drawing, even painting pictures depicting Muhammad.

The problem may not, therefore, lie with art or freedom of speech per
se, but more so with the interpretation of art through education,
beliefs, culture and history.

What may be seen as distant history to the West still plays a role in
defining the present in the Muslim world. Crusades, colonialism and
many years of western cultural domination have left their marks on the
psyche of the Muslim nation. And the regrettable situations in
Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and elsewhere have served to re-open
these old injuries.

It is unfortunately through this kaleidoscopic prism that some Muslims
view every action that comes from the West as an affront to their
religion, a threat to their identity and an insult to their pride. And
with Islam as a centrifugal force of many Muslim nations, it is
through religion that many view their world and measure all things,
believing that art and other intellectual endeavours should succumb to
its rules.

It is time that Muslims accept however that it is unwise and indeed
unbecoming of a guest to impose his or her own rules on their host, in
this case Denmark. We do not see Americans or Europeans rioting and
burning embassies when conservative Muslim newspapers lampoon, and
extremist Muslim clerics chastise, the West and call it names.

Borrowing the Polish sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz's words, "Art does
not solve problems but makes us aware of their existence. It opens our
eyes to see and our brain to imagine."

###

* Bashir Goth is a Somali poet, veteran journalist and author of
numerous cultural, religious and political articles. This article was
written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be
accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.

Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 March 2008, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.

5) ~Youth Views~ The hijab - from the university to the workplace
Nathalie Nahas

Beirut - On 9 February 2008, 411 out of 550 members of parliament
voted in support of the reform for a constitutional reform that would
relax the ban on wearing headscarves - or hijab - in Turkish
universities, and to amend the constitution. The amendment states
"that the state will treat everyone equally when it provides services
such as university courses and that no one can be barred from
education for reasons not clearly laid down by law".

This recent event created controversy over whether wearing the
headscarf should be a state decision or a personal one. Yet, what is
rarely debated in the media, but is perhaps equally important to young
Muslim women, is the effect the hijab has on ambitious university
graduates who are eager to find their place in the working world.

Muslim women across the Middle East face two struggles: reserving the
right to choose whether to wear hijab or not, and whatever their
choice, facing the judgment of others.

When I entered one of my classes last Tuesday at the American
University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon, I looked around for my friend,
Nadine. I didn't spot her pink headscarf, so I thought that she hadn't
arrived yet and took my seat. A minute later, I was surprised to hear
her calling my name. I was stunned to see that she had removed her
headscarf.

"Hey, you removed it", I said, gesturing towards my hair. She chuckled
nervously and said, "Yes, I'm trying to become a social scientist and
wearing the hijab carries too many implications."

It is true that nowadays, the headscarf has become a symbol charged
with religious, political and social connotations. Yet, the reasons
women choose to wear it, or not to wear it, are often diverse.

The image of a woman wearing a headscarf as oppressed and dominated by
the patriarchal Arab society in which she lives is no longer assumed,
for in Lebanon at least, most young women are actively involved in
deciding whether to wear a headscarf.

People usually perceive AUB as a place where extremes meet: some young
women dress conservatively while others reveal a lot of skin.
Consequently, some young women wear the headscarf as a way to socially
distance themselves from a very liberal extreme.

Anthropologists like Robert Murphy have analysed the veil's role in
social interactions. In Social Distance and the Veil, he writes,
"Interaction is threatening by definition, and reserve, here seen as
an aspect of distance, serves to provide partial and temporary
protection to the self."

So, in a society where physical appearance is given so much attention,
and where sexual identities are somewhat in an ambiguous transitional
phase, the headscarf is often referred to as a means of protection -
and even affirmation - of one's own identity.

Some young women choose not to wear the headscarf because they could
be categorised in ways that may limit their job opportunities. One
student ironically asked me, "Have you ever seen sales representatives
who are not tall and beautiful with perfect hair? With my marketing
skills I could sell just as much as those other girls" she said
shrugging, "but if I wear a hijab, my skills will just vanish into
thin air."

This, I think, is the most unfair aspect. The real motivation leading
Nadine to remove her headscarf had been pressure and fear of being
rejected or perceived differently, not as a religious person, but as a
professional.

"Imagine if one day I have to conduct a survey on the causes of
divorce rates and conduct in-depth interviews with 'modern' women" she
said. "Somehow I doubt that they would not have a pre-conceived notion
about me when they see that I wear a headscarf."

Nadine thinks interviewees would assume that she was too much of a
traditionalist to accept something different. As a social scientist
she will be exposed to many situations in which she will want to be
evaluated on the basis of her competence; and somehow feels that her
headscarf would interfere with that judgment.

Although there is no law in Lebanon that prohibits wearing the
headscarf, some women recognise that the headscarf may hinder them
from pursuing certain job opportunities or prevent them from
progressing in certain professions.

When a woman feels that her skills and competencies are judged
according to the value that a headscarf conveys, then that becomes a
form of discrimination in the workplace, just like any other.

Some women wear the headscarf as a visible sign of their Muslim
identity or because they believe it to be a religious obligation, and
some women wear it because they feel it gives them an air of
respectability. Nevertheless, it has nothing to do with their
professional abilities and to assume otherwise would indeed be unjust.

###

* Nathalie Nahas is a graduate student at the American University of
Beirut (AUB) majoring in anthropology. This article was written for
the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at
www.commongroundnews.org.

Source: Common Ground News Service, 18 March 2008, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.

Youth Views

CGNews-PiH 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. Student journalists and writers under the age of 27 are
encouraged to write to Nancy Batakji (nancybatakji@gmail.com) for more
information on contributing.

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