IMF Chief Arrested in NY
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, is questioned in the U.S. over an alleged sex assault on a hotel maid. Paul Chapman reports

Al-Azhar Chief 'Should Resign Over Veil Remark'
AFP: CAIRO — A Islamist lawmaker called on Wednesday for the head of the most prestigious centre of religious learning in the Sunni Muslim world to resign after he told a schoolgirl to remove the veil covering her face.

The demand to step down came as about two dozen students, wearing the face veil, known as a niqab, protested outside the state-run Cairo University, which has banned the veils from its residence hall.

Mohammed Tantawi, head of Al-Azhar University, told a schoolgirl to remove her niqab when he spotted her during a tour of an Al-Azhar affiliated school, the independent Al-Masry al-Youm newspaper reported this week.

He also said he intended to ban the niqab at Al-Azhar and made an unflattering remark about the girl's appearance when she took off the veil, the newspaper said.

"And you look like this; what would you do of you were a bit pretty," he reportedly asked, adding "I know more about religion than your parents."

Al-Azhar spokesman Ahmed Tawfiq confirmed Tantawi had asked the girl to remove the niqab, but said he spoke to her in a kindly way.

He said Tantawi, who insists the niqab is not an Islamic practice, wanted to ban the niqab from Al-Azhar classrooms on religious grounds.

"The imam always bases his decision on religious grounds," said Tawfiq.

Hamdi Hassan, an MP with the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group, said "Tantawi cannot stay in his post; he hurt's Al-Azhar every time he says something.

"I believe the niqab is not an obligation, but it is a benefit," he added. "Why ban it from Al-Azhar? It's a religious institution, not a belly dancing academy." >>> Samer al-Atrush (AFP) | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Kuwaiti MP Blasts Top Egypt Imam over Veil
ARAB TIMES: KUWAIT CITY: A Kuwaiti hardline Salafist MP on Wednesday blasted Egypt’s leading cleric Mohammed Tantawi for reportedly saying that wearing a face veil was not an obligation under Islam for women. “Tantawi’s statements against the niqab (face veil) are shameful,” Mohammad Hayef told reporters. “He is known for his bizarre and abnormal fatwas (religious edicts).” Tantawi, head of the Islamic Al-Azhar University, reportedly asked a student to take off her niqab when he spotted her in a classroom at an institute run by the university. The cleric reportedly said the niqab was a tradition, not an Islamic obligation.

The niqab has come to be associated with Salafism, a brand of ultra-conservative Islam practised mostly in Saudi Arabia and some Gulf states. Al-Mutairi, who is also the Al-Thawabet Bloc Secretary General — asserted this statement defies the actions of Islamic clerics and the spirituality code of scholars. Islamists in Egypt and the whole world launched a scathing attack against Al-Tantawi immediately after the publication of these reports. “The public has grown familiar to the appalling statements of Al-Tantawi who has continued to brandish his idiosyncrasies to the whole world,” said Al-Mutairi. [Source: Arab Times] Dahlia Kholaif, Arab Times Staff and Agencies | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Army Chief Warns of 'Terrifying Prospect' of Failure in Afghanistan
THE TELEGRAPH: The head of the British Army, General Sir David Richards, has issued a wake-up call to the public by warning of the "terrifying prospect" of a defeat in Afghanistan.

General Sir David Richards attends a conference on the UK armed forces in central London. Photo: The Telegraph
In an unprecedented intervention, the chief of the general staff described the conflict as "this generation's war" and added that failure by Nato would have an "intoxicating effect" on militant Islam.

In his first interview as the head of the Army, Sir David told The Sunday Telegraph that if Britain and Nato failed in Afghanistan the risks to the western world would be "enormous" and "unimaginable".

He said: "If al-Qaeda and the Taliban believe they have defeated us – what next? Would they stop at Afghanistan? Pakistan is clearly a tempting target not least because of the fact that it is a nuclear-weaponed state and that is a terrifying prospect. Even if only a few of those (nuclear) weapons fell into their hands, believe me they would use them. The recent airlines plot has reminded us that there are people out there who would happily blow all of us up."

The general's intervention comes at a crucial time, with the US General in charge of operations in Afghanistan calling for more troops to be sent to the country to fight the Taliban.

At home, the Government has come under increasing pressure for the way it has handled the war, with critics saying the armed forces have been under-resourced. >>> Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent | Saturday, October 03, 2009

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: General Sir David Richards: 'We can't afford to lose the war in Afghanistan' >>> Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent | Sunday, October 04, 2009

Turkey Opposed to Danish Premier as NATO Chief
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey does not back Denmark's prime minister becoming NATO's next secretary-general, a senior Turkish lawmaker said Tuesday.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen is seen as the front-runner to replace Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as NATO secretary-general when his term ends at the end of July.

Turkey, a NATO member, objects to Fogh Rasmussen because of the 2006 prophet cartoon crisis, his reported opposition to Turkey's EU membership and his stance on Kurdish rebels, said Suat Kiniklioglu, top foreign policy official in the prime minister's party.

"It is unacceptable that NATO be headed by an individual who has in the past rudely disrespected our values and religious beliefs," Kiniklioglu said in reference to Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that sparked Muslim protests.

Fogh Rasmussen defended freedom of speech amid the protests. >>> The Associated Press | Tuesday, March 24, 2009