Nationalismus: Europas Osten rückt nach rechts

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Ungarn droht der Staatsbankrott, gleichzeitig driftet das Land massiv nach rechts. Jetzt leitet die EU ein Verfahren gegen Budapest ein - weil sie um die Demokratie fürchtet. Doch das Problem ist viel größer: Auch im übrigen Osteuropa sind Populisten und Nationalisten auf dem Vormarsch.

Nur anderthalb Jahre hat Viktor Orbán gebraucht. In dieser kurzen Zeit ist es dem ungarischen Regierungschef gelungen, sein Land umzukrempeln. Bürgerrechte und Pressefreiheit wurden eingeschränkt, die demokratische Gewaltenteilung ausgehebelt, eine Verfassung im Geiste des autoritär-nationalistischen Horthy-Regimes der Zwischenkriegszeit verabschiedet. Ungarn ist in der EU derzeit politisch isoliert und steht am Rand des Staatsbankrotts. Nun hat auch noch die EU-Kommission Klage eingereicht. Brüssel hält die Verfassungsreform Orbáns für einen Verstoß gegen EU-Recht - und droht damit, dem finanziell schwer angeschlagenen Land keine Hilfsgelder zu bewilligen. Eine bemerkenswerte Entwicklung für das frühere Modell- und Musterreformland, an dem sich andere Staaten der Region viele Jahre orientiert hatten.

Orbán selbst, einst ein vielbewunderter Politiker, gilt inzwischen als obskure Mischung aus Wladimir Putin und Hugo Chávez. Doch der kleine Mann aus dem kleinen nordwestungarischen Dorf Alcsútdoboz ist keineswegs nur ein Kuriosum. Orbán und sein Ungarn stehen vielmehr für das, was sich in großen Teilen Mittel- und Südosteuropas abspielt.

Im Schatten der Euro-Krise braut sich dort Gefährliches zusammen. Die Folgen der für Osteuropa so verheerenden globalen Finanzkrisevon 2008 sind kaum richtig ausgestanden, da geraten erneut immer mehr Länder der Region in eine finanzielle und ökonomische Schieflage, kämpfen mit ausufernden Schulden und hohen Haushaltsdefiziten, mit Rezession und Arbeitslosigkeit.

Aber nicht nur die fragilen Ökonomien der Region sind noch immer oder schon wieder bedroht. Viele Länder Mittel- und Südosteuropas finden auch nicht zu politischer und sozialer Stabilität. Die osteuropäischen Gesellschaften haben zwei Jahrzehnte ununterbrochener Reformen und harter Austeritätspolitik hinter sich. Nun sind die allermeisten Menschen in der Region zutiefst erschöpft, Demokratiemüdigkeit, Euro-Skeptizimus und Abneigung gegen den einst vergötterten Westen wachsen erschreckend schnell.

"In vielerlei Hinsicht läuft in Osteuropa ein ähnlicher Prozess der Desillusionierung ab wie im Sozialismus der siebziger und achtziger Jahre", sagt der ungarische Wirtschaftswissenschaftler und Publizist László Lengyel. "Die Gefahr dabei ist, dass ganze Gesellschaftsschichten oder Regionen wie Ostpolen, die Ostslowakei und Ostungarn der Hoffnungslosigkeit und dem Extremismus zum Opfer fallen." » | Von Keno Verseck | Dienstag 17. Januar 2012

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: EU Takes Legal Action Against Hungary: The European Commission has launched legal proceedings against Hungary, accusing it of breaching EU treaties with laws that undermine the independence of the justice system and central bank. The case could delay the payment of international aid needed to shore up Hungary's economy. » | cro -- wth wire reports | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Cost of Syria's Crackdown
Could the country's economic decline, spurred on by the protests, pose a graver challenge to al-Assad than the uprising?

Egypt's Islamists: Threat or Opportunity?
As Islamists emerge from elections as the country's leading political force, we ask if Egyptians should be concerned.

Interview: Abu Qatada Case
The European Court of Human Rights has blocked the extradition of Jordanian national Abu Qatada, who is alleged to have been Osama bin Laden's right-hand-man in Europe.

The court also said it would be willing to consider diplomatic assurances from Jordanian authorities that Abu Qatada would not be tortured.

But Amnesty International says that is a position it finds disappointing.

Alice Wyss, a researcher at the UK-based rights organisation, discussed the Abu Qatada case with Al Jazeera's Felicity Barr.


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God Told Pat Robertson Who Next President Will Be
Apparently God told Pat Robertson who the next president of the United States will be. Pat reads his message from God. Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur mock Robertson. Who do you think will win the GOP nomination, tell us in the comment section below.

Talk at Queen Mary Cancelled after Threats of Violence
BRITISH HUMANIST ASSOCIATION: A talk organised yesterday by the Queen Mary Atheism, Secularism and Humanism Society on ‘Sharia Law and Human Rights’ had to be cancelled after threats of violence.

The President of the Society, describes what happened:

‘Five minutes before the talk was due to start a man burst into the room holding a camera phone and for some seconds stood filming the faces of all those in the room. He shouted ‘listen up all of you, I am recording this, I have your faces on film now, and I know where some of you live’, at that moment he aggressively pushed the phone in someone’s face and then said ‘and if I hear that anything is said against the holy Prophet Mohammed, I will hunt you down.’ He then left the room.

‘The same man then began filming the faces of Society members in the foyer and threatening to hunt them down if anything was said about Mohammed, he added that he knew where they lived and would murder them and their families. On leaving the building, he joined a large group of men, seemingly there to support him. We were told by security to stay in the Lecture Theatre for our own safety. On arriving back in the room I became aware that the doors that opened to the outside were still open and that people were still coming in. Several eye witnesses reported that when I was in the foyer a group of men came through the open doors, causing a disruption and making it clear that the room could not be secured. Unfortunately, the lack of security in the lecture theatre meant we and the audience had to leave and a Union representative informed the security that as students’ lives had been threatened there was no way that the talk could go ahead.

» | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Santorum Staffer Says Women Shouldn’t Be President Because It’s Against God’s Will

THINK PROGRESS: In an article about the reasons Rep. Michele Bachmann’s campaign fizzled, the Des Moines Register points to “sexism among conservatives", singling out an offensive email written by a staffer to Rick Santorum:

Rival presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s Iowa coalitions director, Jamie Johnson, sent out an email saying that children’s lives would be harmed if the nation had a female president. [...]

“The question then comes, ‘Is it God’s highest desire, that is, his biblically expressed will, … to have a woman rule the institutions of the family, the church, and the state?’" Johnson’s email said.

Johnson, who remains on Santorum’s staff, complained that the email was “blown out of proportion” and should not be held against him because it was sent from a personal email account. » | Marie Diamond | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Sir Salman Rushdie's Name Dropped from Indian Literature Festival over Safety Fears
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Sir Salman Rushdie's name has been dropped from an Indian literature festival amid fears for his safety after threats of protests by the country's most influential Islamic seminary.

The author of Midnight's Children, voted the best Booker Prize winner of the last 40 years, was quietly deleted from the Jaipur Literature Festival programme after the government voiced security concerns and said the opinions of protesters could not be ignored.

Sir Salman has spoken at Jaipur in the past without controversy but his scheduled appearance at this year's festival, which opens on Thursday, was seized on by political parties after the Darul Uloom Deoband seminary – one of Islam's most powerful bodies – called on the government to revoke his visa or stop him entering the country.

The seminary's head Abul Qasim Nomani said the author could never be forgiven for the 'blasphemy' contained in his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses, which provoked outrage throughout the Islamic world.

He went into hiding after the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Iranian Shia leader, issued a fatwa calling for his death over claims made by the novel's narrator that disputed verses in the Koran had been disclosed by the Archangel Gabriel.

The novel was banned throughout the Islamic world, including India, which has a Muslim population of just under 180 million. » | Dean Nelson, New Delhi | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

How surprising! This is the religion of peace and love and tolerance and forgiveness we are talking about, isn't it? This must surely be a very unusual decision for Muslims! – © Mark

This comment also appears here

Related »

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: 'Do Not Mix Politics and Islam'
BBC – NEWSNIGHT: Dutch former MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who has received death threats for her defiance of Islam, said Muslims "needed to unite for freedom and change" in women's rights.

She told Emily Maitlis there was a need to separate Islam and Sharia law from politics. Watch video » | Broadcast on Monday, March 28, 2011

Is Rapid Rise in UK Sharia Law Cases a Cause for Concern?
BBC: There has been a rapid rise in the use of Sharia law to settle legal disputes in the UK, with the number of cases being dealt with by informal courts trebling in recent years, according to the largest Sharia body.

The courts have no legal standing, but many Muslims and some non-Muslims see them as a quicker and more efficient way to resolve disagreements.

But there is also opposition from some groups who argue that the practice discriminates against women, as the BBC Asian Network's Divya Talwar reports. Watch video » | Monday, January 16, 2012

Sharia Law Compatible with Human Rights, Argues Leading Barrister
THE GUARDIAN: Sadakat Kadri says religious courts, such as the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, could benefit the community as a whole

A leading barrister has called for the UK to become more sharia-literate, while arguing that Islamic law can be compatible with the toughest human rights legislation.

Sadakat Kadri told the Guardian that so-called "sharia courts", such as the Muslim arbitration tribunal, were good for "the community as a whole" by putting Sharia on a transparent, public footing and should be more widely accessible to those who want to use them.

Kadri said they played a role in safeguarding human rights: "It's very important that they be acknowledged and allowed to exist. So long as they're voluntary, which is crucial, it's in everyone's interests these things be transparent and publicly accessible. If you don't have open tribunals, they're going to happen anyway, but behind closed doors."

In 2008, Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury, sparked controversy when he appeared to suggest that sharia law should be more widely adopted.

In fact, under the Arbitration Act 1996, the rulings of religious bodies, including the Muslim arbitration tribunal, already have legal force in disputes involving matters such as inheritance and divorce.

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, has long opposed the use of sharia in the UK, and argued the rule of law "must not be compromised by the introduction of a theocratic legal system operating in parallel".

He said: "There can be no convincing case made for it to have even a toe-hold in western societies that have developed a mature and far superior legal system. I regard any legal system based on a theocratic model as being dangerous and innately unjust. There is no escaping the fact – whatever interpretation you put on it — that sharia treats women differently from men[.]" » | David Shariatmadari | Sunday, January 15, 2012

Germany Teaches Islamic Theology
ON ISLAM: TUEBINGEN, Germany – One of Germany's oldest university [sic] has opened the country's first department of Islamic theology to educate a new generation of enlightened Muslim preachers, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported.

“Religion needs to be thought through,” Education Minister Annette Schavan, who is herself a graduate in Catholic theology, said.

Opening the theology department at Tuebingen University, Schavan said the department was a “milestone for integration” of Muslims who make up 5 percent of the population.

The course, to start at the University of Tu[e]bingen, will offer bachelor programs in Islamic studies.

Students will be offered advanced Western academic qualifications.

Though the teaching will be conducted in German, Arabic, the language of the Qur’an, will be a compulsory subject.

The three professors at the department had to satisfy an Islamic advisory council that they were devout Muslims.

Tu[e]bingen department is one of four new centers in Germany dedicated to the study of Islamic theology.

Tuebingen, a public university where tuition is free, is one of Europe’s leading centers of academic Christian theology. » | OnIslam & News Agencies | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

WIKI: Tübingen University »

Turkey Responds to Perry Remarks

CNN – BLOGS – SECURITY CLEARANCE: Turkey's foreign ministry condemned Texas Gov. Rick Perry Tuesday for saying that Turkey was a "country that is being ruled by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists."

Perry made the statement during a spirited debated between Republican presidential candidates in South Carolina Monday night.

Most of Turkey was fast asleep during the live broadcast, and Turkish newspapers had already gone to print by the time Perry declared that Turkey had moved "far away from the country I lived in back in the 1970s United States Air Force. That was our ally that worked with us, but today we don't see that."

The Texas governor also argued that it was time for Washington to cut foreign aid to Ankara.
A spokesman for Turkey's foreign ministry fired back Tuesday, accusing Perry of making "baseless and improper claims."

In a statement e-mailed to CNN, Selcuk Unal said presidential candidates should "be more informed about the world and be more careful their statements." Read on and comment » | Ivan Watson and Yesim Comert | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Ex-soldier Fanatic in Fraud Bust
Arrest over charity cash
THE SUN: A BRITISH soldier turned Islamic extremist has been arrested on suspicion of fraud.

Radical convert Abu Jibreel — who says drinkers should be whipped — is alleged to have pocketed donations for foreign war victims he collected outside mosques.

Ex-Irish Guard Jibreel, 39, formerly called Paul Steven Mellor, was arrested in Leyton, East London, over allegations of fraud and false misrepresentation.

He was quizzed by detectives yesterday [December 22, 2011] over claims he used a fake ID to collect cash by saying it was for victims in civil war-torn Somalia and Libya.

Cheshire-born Jibreel — one of hate preacher Anjem Choudary's acolytes and a one-time member of the banned Muslims Against Crusades group — is then alleged to have stolen the money. » | Mike Sullivan | Friday, December 23, 2011

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Norway: Islamists, Not Far-right, Main Threat
THE JERUSALEM POST: Despite Breivik attacks, police security chief says home-grown Islamic extremism poses higher threat than right-wing extremists.

OSLO - Radical Islam remains the most serious threat faced by Norway despite the attacks by an Islamophobe extremist who killed 77 people last summer, the chief of the security police said on Tuesday.

Janne Kristiansen, head of Norway's Police Security Service, said her agency would focus on broad-based dangers from home-grown Islamic extremism even though threats against public officials have risen since the July attacks, which targeted Norway's left wing.

"In recent years we have seen a development in which (Muslim) people raised in Norway become radicalized, and for whom Norway and Norwegian society are the enemy," she told a news conference.

"These people have a lot of contact with extreme Islamists abroad. They travel to training camps in conflict areas and they travel to participate in armed combat before returning to Norway."

Responding to critics who have said the police are neglecting the threat from right-wingmilitants like Anders Behring Breivik, who admitted carrying out the July 22 attacks, she said the threat they represent is far smaller. » | Reuters | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

THE JERUSALEM POST – EDITORIAL: Norway’s challenge: Europe’s fringe right-wing extremists present a real danger to society. But Oslo’s devastating tragedy should not be allowed to be manipulated by those who would cover up the abject failure of multiculturalism. » | JPOST EDITORIAL | Sunday, July 24, 2011

Britain Cannot Deport Abu Qatada to Jordan, European Judges Rule
THE GUARDIAN: Cleric cannot be sent back to Jordan as 'there remains a real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him'

The radical cleric Abu Qatada cannot be sent back to Jordan while "there remains a real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him", judges have ruled.

The European court of human rights [sic] (ECHR) ruled there would be a breach of his right to a fair trial "given the real risk of the admission of evidence obtained by torture at his retrial".

It is the first time that the Strasbourg-based court has found that an expulsion would be in violation of European convention on human rights article six, the right to a fair trial.

The cleric, also known as Omar Othman, featured in sermons found on videos in the flat of one of the 9/11 bombers.

Law lords ruled almost three years ago that Qatada, described as "Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe", could be sent back to Jordan, but he appealed to the court in Strasbourg, claiming he would be tortured if sent home.

But in a landmark judgment in February 2009, five law lords unanimously backed the government's policy of removing terror suspects from Britain on the basis of assurances from foreign governments.

The ECHR has now said in this case such a move would breach Qatada's right to a fair trial. » | Press Association | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Abu Qatada cannot be deported to Jordan, European judges rule: Abu Qatada, once described as “Osama bin Laden’s right hand man in Europe”, cannot be extradited to Jordan, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. » | Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

North Korea's Leader Will Not Last Long, Says Kim Jong-un's Brother
THE GUARDIAN: Kim Jong-nam, eldest son of Kim Jong-il, describes succession as 'a joke' and predicts the regime will collapse in new book

The eldest son of North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il has predicted the regime would soon fail, with or without reforms, according to a new book that the author says is based on emails and interviews with Kim Jong-nam.

The book says that Kim Jong-nam – who has never met the new leader, his half-brother Kim Jong-un – described the dynastic succession as "a joke to the outside world", and said even his father had originally opposed the hereditary transfer of power.

"The Kim Jong-un regime will not last long," Kim Jong-nam is said to have written, forecasting a power struggle. "Without reforms, North Korea will collapse, and when such changes take place, the regime will collapse."

He added: "I think we will see valuable time lost as the regime sits idle fretting over whether it should pursue reforms or stick to the present political structure."

The claims emerge in a book by Yoji Gomi, a journalist with Tokyo Shimbun, who said he exchanged emails with Kim Jong-nam over seven years. The date of the remarks on the regime is unclear.

Gomi, who lived for years in Seoul and Beijing, said he met Kim three times in total, once in 2004 and twice in 2011.

"He gave me a very good impression. He's very gentle and friendly," Gomi said. » | Jonathan Watts and Tania Branigan in Beijing | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Kim Jong-un's brother says North Korea heading for collapse: The eldest brother of North Korea's new leader says reforms needed to avert the collapse of the country's economy will lead to the end of its Stalinist regime, according to a book to be published this week. » | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Israel Doing 'Immense Damage' to Peace Process Nick Clegg Says
Nick Clegg tilted Britain’s Middle East policy sharply towards the Palestinians on Monday with an attack on Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank.

Read short article here | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Monday, January 16, 2012

The Chaste Are 'Freaks': The Archbishop of New York City Claims Sexual Promiscuity Has Become the Norm

MAIL ONLINE: Sex is so commonplace in today’s society that the chaste are now considered freaks, the Archbishop of New York has claimed.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan said that things had gone so wrong that people who waited until they were married before losing their virginity felt like deviants.

He blamed reality TV shows such as Jersey Shore - which reduce sex to 'animal rutting' - for flipping the Biblical teachings on their head.

Given the state of things, God’s word on sexual responsibility has now become 'counter cultural' as opposed to what it meant in the 1960s, he said.

Archbishop Dolan, 61, is one of the most powerful figures in the American Catholic church and is known for taking a tough moral line on a range of issues.

In his sermon at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, he said that practicing Catholics are branded holier than thou just for what they believe.

He claimed that the values of society had gone upside down and that the sexual promiscuity which was considered risque in the 1960s is now the norm.

The Catholic leader said: 'The one who, with God’s grace and mercy, tries his or her best to be pure and chaste is often thought of not as a hero, not a saint, but as a freak in our culture today.

'The biblical teaching on sexual responsibility is counter cultural.
'Anyone who tries his or her best to live it can expect a lot of temptation and even ridicule and criticism.' » | Daniel Bates | Monday, January 16, 2012