Habib Toumi

Israel has failed to demonstrate that it will conduct “thorough and impartial investigations” into alleged violations by its forces during the Gaza conflict, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Sunday.  

“Israel claims it is conducting credible and impartial investigations, but it has so far failed to make that case,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director for Human Rights Watch in a press statement.  “An independent investigation is crucial to understand why so many civilians died and to bring justice for the victims of unlawful attacks.”

The New-York based watchdog said that it met military lawyers from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on February 4 to discuss the investigations, but learned that while the military is conducting investigations, “officials did not provide information showing that they will be thorough and impartial or that they will address the broader policy and command decisions that led to unlawful civilian deaths.”

In one case, HRW said, a military investigation apparently missed an important piece of evidence: remains of an aerial bomb found in the al-Badr flour mill outside Jabalya.  Israel denied targeting the mill from the air, as alleged by the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict.  However, video footage obtained by Human Rights Watch and released today shows the apparent remains of an Israeli MK-82 500-pound aerial bomb in the damaged mill, and UN de-miners say they defused the bomb.

HRW said that it had documented 53 civilian deaths in 19 incide continue reading…

Hassan II Mosque - Morocco

Morocco will soon start training men and women preachers from Bahrain under an accord reached by the two countries.

The preachers will attend workshops on using “moderate and balanced” sermons and speeches in reaching out to people, Manama and Rabat have said.

“They will also be trained on adapting their speeches to the latest developments and changes impacting the region in order to ensure that they are not out of tune with the world,” Fareed Al Meftah, the justice and Islamic affairs undersecretary, said in a statement on Sunday.

Bahraini Sunni religious scholars and Friday preachers, like most of their Arabian Gulf counterparts, are traditionally trained or educated in Egypt, home to Al Azhar, considered as the highest seat of learning in Sunni Islam in modern times. Shiites often go to Iran or Iraq to further their studies with senior religious authorities.

Morocco and Tunisia in North Africa have been promoting moderate Islam to confront challenges from radical Islamists, often exposed to influences from the East and to mushrooming television channels. continue reading…

MP Abdul Lateef Al Shaikh - Al Menbar Chairman

A parliamentary bloc has urged the Bahraini government to commission studies that will help it tackle “alarmingly rising” divorce figures in the country.

MPs representing the Islamic Menbar, the third largest parliamentary bloc in the lower chamber, said that the government and society cannot lapse into silence as around 30 per cent of the marriages in 2008 ended in divorce.

“According to the figures we received from the justice and Islamic ministry, 4,400 couples got married in 2008. However, the courts recorded 1,280 divorce cases. This is an alarmingly high figure and a source of grave concern for those who care about family matters,” MPs Ali Ahmad, Abdul Lateef Al Shaikh, Mohammad Khalid, Ibrahim Al Hdi and Nasser Al Fadhala said in their motion.

“The government needs to act promptly and decisively. They need to carry out in-depth studies by social, psychological and academic experts to know the real causes for the high divorce rate. They should also seek to gain insights into how to tackle such problems from other countries and launch awareness programmes for young men and women,” the MPs said.

Malaysia’s success story in addressing the issue should be considered and eventually emulated, they said. continue reading…