Saturday, April 23, 2011
LE POINT: À Qéna, ville de Haute-Égypte, une partie de la population manifeste contre l'arrivée au pouvoir du général Emad Mikhaïl.
Abou Georges, sexagénaire au poignet tatoué d'une croix, ne cache pas sa colère : "Nous avions bien raison de craindre la montée du fondamentalisme musulman. Voyez ce qui se passe à Qéna !" Depuis le samedi 16 avril, des milliers de manifestants se regroupent tous les jours dans les rues de cette ville de Haute-Égypte, à forte concentration chrétienne, pour dénoncer la nomination du nouveau gouverneur. Aux cris de "Notre province ne sera pas dirigée par un chrétien", ils s'insurgent contre le choix de l'exécutif, qui a attribué au général Emad Mikhaïl la fonction de gouverneur de Qéna. » | De correspondante du Point au Caire Denise Ammoun | Vendredi 22 Avril 2011
NZZ ONLINE: Noch vor fünf Wochen hätte kaum ein Experte Unruhen in Syrien für möglich gehalten. Das Land galt als stabilste Diktatur des Nahen Ostens. Mittlerweile aber erreichte die Revolution auch diese Festung. Was sie dem Volk bringen wird, ist indes schwer abzusehen.«Frage: Welche syrische Region ist die sicherste? Antwort: Der von Israel besetzte Golan.» Während Damaskus noch zaghaft und zynisch über die Lage im Land witzelt, schreien es die Demonstranten in Banias und Daraa wutentbrannt heraus: «Ihr Feiglinge, schickt eure Truppen in den Golan», rufen dort Abertausende, die von den Panzerdivisionen des Asad-Regimes eingekesselt sind. » | Ibtissam Mouré | Donnerstag, 21. April 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France has threatened to abandon European Union freedom of movement by “suspending” Europe’s Schengen Treaty due to an influx of Tunisian and Libyan migrants from Italy.
Italy has given up to 26,000 illegal migrants six-month residence permits, allowing them to travel freely in the border-free Schengen zone, which covers all EU countries except Britain and Ireland.
The decision to issue travel documents to the Tunisians and other Arab migrants has triggered a French warning over the 1995 treaty.
''It seems to us that we need to think about a mechanism that would allow us, when there is a systematic disruption at one of the EU’s external borders, to intervene with a temporary suspension for as long as the disruption lasts,” said an Elysée source. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Friday, April 22, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
PATHEOS: With the number of Muslim converts on the rise, in the next century Islam is expected to be this nation's second most widely practiced religion.One of the more interesting aspects of the Islamic faith has been its continued ability to attract new adherents. Such a tradition is rooted in the history of the religion, and facilitated its rapid spread from Arabia to the far reaches of Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Here in the United States, converts to Islam represent a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds, and account for close to one-third of this nation's 3 million Muslims. The vast majority, some 900,000 persons, are of African-American heritage, while the number of white and Hispanic converts is estimated at 75,000.
In terms of religion, converts to Islam come from many backgrounds, including Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism. By more closely examining the experience of Muslim converts, one can better understand the appeal and adaptability of the religion, as well as the future of the Muslim community in the United States. » | Uzra Zeya | Saturday, April 16, 2011
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Der syrische Präsident Baschar al Assad wähnte sich lange Zeit in Sicherheit vor den Umstürzen in der Region. Er macht die gleichen Fehler, die schon Ben Ali und Mubarak machten. Nun hat er nur noch Irans Präsidenten Mahmud Ahmadineschad an seiner Seite - ein Bündnis der Ausgegrenzten.Die Selbstgewissheit des syrischen Staatspräsidenten Baschar al Assad, dass ihm die Proteste in seinem Land nichts anhaben können, weicht einer Ernüchterung. Als zu Beginn der Umwälzungen in der Region die Präsidenten Tunesiens und Ägyptens gestürzt wurden, hatte er sich damit gebrüstet, in jenen Ländern habe sich der Volkszorn an einer amerikahörigen Politik entzündet. Syrien sei dagegen immun, ihm werde dies nicht widerfahren. Schließlich sei Syrien unter den Assads ein standhafter Hort des Widerstands wider die Interessen Amerikas und Israels.
Die Wirklichkeit hat ihn eingeholt. Vieles, was sich in anderen arabischen Ländern ereignet hat, wiederholt sich nun in Syrien. Wie in Tunesien hat auch in Syrien die Provinz mehr Kraft, um sich gegen die Hauptstadt und den Polizeistaat zu erheben. In Tunesien war die Demütigung des jungen Gemüsehändlers Muhammad Bouazizi in einer Kleinstadt im Süden der Funke, in Syrien war es die Verhaftung von ein paar Jugendlichen in Daraa, ebenfalls einer Kleinstadt, die wegen eines politischen Graffito ins Gefängnis geworfen wurden. » | Von Rainer Hermann | Freitag, 22. April 2011
THE INDEPENDENT: Bahrain’s security forces stole ambulances and posed as medics to round up injured protesters during a ferocious crackdown on unarmed demonstrators calling for reform of the monarchy, an investigation by a rights group reveals today.The first major report on repression of the medical profession during the country’s crisis details how a doctor was abducted during an operation and injured patients lying in hospital were tortured and threatened with rape.
The investigation by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) followed a report by The Independent yesterday detailing threats faced by medical staff who treated victims of the repression. More than 30 medics have been taken away by security forces and have had little or no contact with their families.
The report said it found that security forces targeted Shia doctors in particular. The crackdown has created such a climate of fear that wounded people were too frightened to go to hospital to seek treatment. » | Patrick Cockburn | Friday, April 22, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Syria’s security forces stand accused of carrying out a “Good Friday massacre” of more than 50 protesters on one of the bloodiest days yet in the five-week uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
Mr Assad responded to growing popular pressure by lifting Syria’s draconian 1962 emergency laws. But the president’s apparently conciliatory gesture failed to signal a softening of the regime’s determination to crush dissent.
Across the country, protesters spilling out of mosques were met with live ammunition, sometimes within minutes of Friday prayers ending.
In Damascus, the capital, and towns and cities to the east, west and south, every attempt to challenge the regime was met with the same remorseless vengeance.
By dusk, there were fatalities reported from nine separate demonstrations. Up to 54 people were killed, according to a Daily Telegraph tally of reports by Syrian activists, witnesses and doctors.
Even by the blood-soaked standards of the repression that has characterised the Syrian uprising - at least 220 people have died since protests first began on March 18th - this was killing on a different order of magnitude. » | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Friday, April 22, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hilary Alexander * was given a preview of a lovingly restored and rarely seen collection of royal wedding dresses dating back to 1816.
In what was once the late Princess Margaret's apartments at Kensington Palace, the six wedding dresses, each one a fashion fairytale brimming with true stories of passion, power and politics, are bathed in the glow of concealed spotlights which capture the sheen of satin, and the twinkle of silver, still glistening after nearly 200 years.
Abiding love, love thwarted, love lost, and love ultimately denied; the deepest of all emotions are embedded in silken folds, painstaking stitches of Honiton lace, and tiny flowers of orange blossom and rose, fashioned from wax, embellishing the off-the-shoulder, 'Bertha' necklines. » | Hilary Alexander * | Friday, April 22, 2011
* We are NOT related.
TELEGRAPH PHOTO GALLERY: Royal wedding gowns in history »
STERN.DE: Ein kleines Örtchen in England kann sich derzeit vor Touristen kaum retten: Bucklebury. Ein ganz normales Dorf? Aber nein! Hier reifte Kate Middleton zur Prinzessin heran. Von Cornelia Fuchs, London
Bucklebury in Berkshire wäre auch ohne das rote Ziegelhaus am Ende einer kleinen Privatstraße kein ganz normales Dorf. Vor dem Dorf-Pub steht zur Mittagszeit eine Armada aus Land Rovern, Jaguar und Porsche. Der einzige Laden im winzigen Zentrum des Dorfes verkauft teure Stoffe und patriotische Kissen und der kleine Metzger auf der gegenüberliegenden Straßen-Seite hat Strauß- und Krokodilfleisch im Angebot.
Doch im Land der Kiesauffahrten und Designer-Gummistiefel konnte von Normalität spätestens dann keine Rede mehr sein, seitdem hier die Verlobte von Prinz William wohnt. Tatsächlich verbringt Kate immer weniger Zeit im Haus ihrer Eltern, in das die 29-jährige nach Studienabschluss und von Paparazzi erschwerter kurzer Karriere in London wieder eingezogen war. Prinz William soll hier regelmäßig am Middletonschen Mittagstisch gesessen haben. Jetzt verbringt Kate sehr viel mehr Zeit in dem Bauernhaus auf der walisischen Insel Anglesey, wo Prinz William seine Zeit als Hubschrauber-Pilot des Rettungsdienstes verbringt. » | Von Cornelia Fuchs, London | Freitag, 22. April 2011
TAGES ANZEIGER: Christen in aller Welt haben am Karfreitag der Kreuzigung und des Todes von Jesus gedacht. An die Altstadt von Jerusalem kamen in diesem Jahr besonders viele Gläubige – trotz des miserablen Wetters.Erstmals seit Jahren regnete es in Jerusalem am Karfreitag heftig, und es war ungewöhnlich kalt für die Jahreszeit. Der traditionelle Kreuzweg in Jerusalem wurde von starken Gewittern mit Hagelschauern beeinträchtigt; trotzdem kamen nach Angaben von Kathpress rund 50'000 Gläubige in die Altstadt. Statt der üblichen grossen Holzkreuze trugen die Gläubigen Regenschirme und nur kleine Kreuze in der Hand. » | raa/sda | Freitag, 22 April 2011
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Au Yémen une manifestation monstre à Sanaa, nommée «vendredi de la dernière chance» demandait toujours le départ du président. Des heurts violents ont eu lieu dans l’est du pays.
Vingt soldats yéménites ont été tués ces dernières 24 heures dans des attaques attribuées à une tribu ainsi qu’à Al-Qaïda, selon des militaires. Sanaa, la capitale, a connu vendredi le plus gros rassemblement de manifestants depuis le début de la contestation.
La foule s’étendait sur environ quatre kilomètres au centre de Sanaa. La manifestation a pour nom «vendredi de la dernière chance». Les manifestants réclament toujours le départ immédiat du président Saleh. Des responsables du mouvement ont appelé à une grève générale samedi.
Des forces de l’armée et la police étaient déployées en nombre vendredi à Sanaa pour empêcher des heurts entre les partisans du président Saleh et les manifestants qui exigent sa démission.
M. Saleh s’est adressé à ses partisans. Il a répété qu’il ne lâcherait pas le pouvoir avant l’expiration de son mandat en 2013. » | ATS / REUTERS / AFP | Vendredi 22 Avril 2011
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: L’ONG Avocats sans frontières (ASF) a enquêté auprès de victimes des forces du colonel Moummar Kadhafi. Elle évoque des "crimes contre l’humanité et crimes de guerre à grande échelle" dont elle va informer la Cour pénale internationale. [E]Torture, exécutions sommaires, massacres, boucliers humains, utilisation de bombes à sous-munitions: les témoignages des violences infligées ces dernières semaines par le pouvoir libyen à la population sont multiples, estime l’avocat français Philippe Moriceau, vice-président d’ASF France.
A Benghazi et sa région, dans l’est de la Libye, les forces de Kadhafi avaient rapidement progressé mi-mars, jusqu’à entrer dans la ville de 700.000 habitants le 19 mars. Des dizaines de chars et des centaines de soldats loyalistes avaient tenu la cité 24 heures, avant d’être chassés par les bombardements aériens occidentaux et la contre-offensive rebelle. » | AFP | Vendredi 22 Avril 2011
LE FIGARO: Le musée d'Art moderne de Salzbourg en Autriche doit rendre à un héritier canadien un tableau de l'artiste, spolié par les nazis.
Il aura fallu attendre 70 ans avant que Georges Jorisch récupère son dû. Petit-fils et unique héritier d' Amalie Redlich, une Autrichienne juive déportée en 1941 et décédée en camp de concentration, il a été reconnu comme étant l'unique propriétaire d'une oeuvre de Klimt, appartenant actuellement au musée d'Art moderne de Salzbourg. » | Par lefigaro.fr | Vendredi 22 Avril 2011
LE POINT: L'ancien raïs, soigné depuis le 12 avril à l'hôpital de Charm el-Cheikh, est visé par une enquête sur la répression des manifestations de janvier et février en Égypte.Le procureur général d'Égypte a décidé de prolonger de 15 jours la détention de l'ancien président Hosni Moubarak, dans le cadre de l'enquête sur la répression des manifestations anti-régime en Égypte, a annoncé vendredi l'agence officielle Mena. » | Source AFP | Vendredi 22 Avril 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Syria: 15 protesters killed in fresh clashes – At least 15 Syrian protesters have been killed during clashes with security forces, according to witnesses. » | Friday, April 22, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Pope has spoken about the tsunami in Japan, conflict in Iraq, the civil war in Ivory Coast and victims of multiple sclerosis in an unprecedented television appearance due to be broadcast in Italy on Good Friday.For the first time in the history of the papacy, Benedict XVI agreed to take part in a programme in which he took questions from ordinary Catholics.
More than 3,000 questions were submitted after the initiative was announced a month ago, of which seven were chosen and put to the 84-year-old pontiff.
One of the most moving was put by the parents of a 40 year old man who has suffered from multiple sclerosis since 1993 and has been in a vegetative state for the last two years. » | Nick Squires, in Rome | Friday, April 22, 2011
Related »
TELEGRAPH BLOGS – NILE GARDINER: You know things are really going badly for the White House when even The New York Times, the most powerful bastion of liberalism in America, is warning the president he is in serious trouble. Today’s New York Times/CBS News poll makes devastating reading for Barack Obama’s advisers, showing the nation’s mood at its lowest level for two years:
Americans are more pessimistic about the nation’s economic outlook and overall direction than they have been at any time since President Obama’s first two months in office, when the country was still officially ensnared in the Great Recession, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.According to the poll, a staggering 70 percent of Americans believe the country is moving down the “wrong track”, nearly three times more than the number who believe it is heading in the “right direction” (26 percent). 39 percent believe the economy is getting worse, 16 points higher than the number who think it is getting better, and 59 percent disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the federal budget deficit. Read on and comment » | Nile Gardiner | Friday, April 22, 2011
Amid rising gas prices, stubborn unemployment and a cacophonous debate in Washington over the federal government’s ability to meet its future obligations, the poll presents stark evidence that the slow, if unsteady, gains in public confidence earlier this year that a recovery was under way are now all but gone… Disapproval of Mr. Obama’s handling of the economy has never been broader — at 57 percent of Americans — a warning sign as he begins to set his sights on re-election in 2012.
THE GUARDIAN: Good Friday broadcast will make him the first pontiff to take part in a televised question-and-answer sessionThe Pope will take a small but significant step into the modern media age this afternoon when he becomes the first pontiff to take part in a televised question-and-answer session.
It will not, however, be a Today programme-style grilling on controversial issues for the Catholic church such as child abuse. The pre-recorded Good Friday broadcast will show Benedict XVI answering a small number of pre-selected questions about Jesus and the Christian thinking behind world events.
The 80-minute programme, In His Image – A Good Friday Special, on Italy's publicly owned RAI channel, will begin at 2.10pm local time (1.10pm BST) so it can be on TV at 3pm, the moment that Jesus is traditionally thought to have died on the cross, the Catholic news agency CNA said. » | Peter Walker | Friday, April 22, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama was subjected to racial abuse as a child in Indonesia and may have witnessed his mother being beaten by his stepfather, according to a new book about her troubled life.Ann Dunham died at the age of 52 in 1995 before her son embarked on the career in politics that would lead him to the White House.
At the age of 18, the anthropologist married Barack Hussein Obama Snr, an African. She was already pregnant with a baby who would become the first black president of the US.
She later divorced and married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian.
The forthcoming book, A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother, details her unconventional approach to the world, which led to turbulence in the lives of Mr Obama and his half-sister Maya but also extraordinary achievement on his part. Mr Obama has joked that his mother raised him to become a combination of Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi and Harry Belafonte.
In an interview with Janny Scott, the author, Mr Obama said that his mother was "resilient, able to bounce back from setbacks, persistent" and had made sure that her children knew they were loved.
"But despite all those strengths, she was not a well-organised person. And that disorganisation, you know, spilled over. Had it not been for my grandparents, I think, providing some sort of safety net financially, being able to take me and my sister on at certain spots, I think my mother would have had to make some different decisions. » | Toby Harnden, Washington | Thursday, April 21, 2011
DEUTSCHE WELLE: Right-wing populist parties are on the rise across large swathes of Europe, as demonstrated in Finland this week. Bolstered by resentments over the EU, immigration and Islam, their leaders have seized the moment.
The success of the anti-immigration, euroskeptic True Finns in Sunday's elections may have proved a shock to Finland's political elite, but the signs were already there.
Populist right-wing parties across Europe have benefited from a growing resentment towards the European Union, Islam and immigration, meaning Timo Soini's True Finns are far from being alone.
Soini, whose party gained 39 seats in the 200-seat Finnish legislature, wants to reduce immigration and to oppose Finnish backing for EU bailout funds.
Across the Baltic, the like-minded Swedish Democrats garnered 5.7 percent of the vote in last September's vote, surpassing the 4 percent barrier and gaining parliamentary representation for the first time.
The party's success under young leader Jimmie Akesson meant the country's center-right and liberal coalition was forced to preside as a minority government. Despite having far-right roots, the Swedish Democrats have managed to adopt a more accessible, moderate image and have capitalized on growing resentment of immigration.
Over the border in Norway, the anti-immigrant Progress Party enjoyed its best-ever results in 2009, winning 23 percent of the vote. The party is seeking to widen its appeal by distancing itself from the more extremist views on immigration and focusing on more traditional left-right politics such as criticism of the welfare state.
Rounding out the Scandinavian countries, the Danish People's Party is building on what is now an established position within the country's parliament. It has been the third biggest party since 2001 and has garnered much support with its appeals against a perceived, creeping "Islamification" of Denmark. » | Author: Richard Connor (AFP, Reuters) | Tuesday, April 19, 2011
FAVSTOCKS: Dearborn, Michigan has become a sharia enclave much like those populating many European countries. The city of Dearborn, Michigan denied a permit yesterday for Pastor Terry Jones' planned protest outside the Islamic Center of America on Good Friday. Islamic supremacists were handed a victory for their violent intimidation and threats.
What happened to freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of expression? Terry Jones is prohibited from rallying in Michigan for fear of Islamic violence. Is that how far down the sharia rabbit hole we have gone. Why is it anytime American law comes into conflict with Islamic law, it is American law that has to give way?
How dare they prohibit this march? Nazis marched in Skokie. Americans better stand up to this enforced sharia. The idea that Muslims in America would get violent because of Jones speaks volumes about Muslims in America, does it not? Why don't we don't see Muslims taking to the streets every time there is an honor killing, or church bombing, or act of jihad, jihad piracy, forced marriage, child slavery, — where are they? » | Atlas Shrugs | Thursday, April 21, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Senior Nato military commanders have been pressing for the unmanned US planes to strike Gaddafi forces in besieged Misrata
The White House has approved the use of missile-armed Predator drones to help Nato target Colonel Gaddafi's forces in Libya.
Coalition commanders have been privately urging the Americans to provide the specialist unmanned aircraft, which have become a favoured – if controversial – weapon in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Their ability to hone in on targets using powerful night-vision cameras is considered to be one way of helping rebels in the besieged city of Misrata, where a humanitarian crisis has unfolded in the last week.
The US defence secretary, Robert Gates, said Barack Obama had approved the use of the Predators which are armed with Hellfire missiles, signalling a marked growth in the US contribution to the Nato effort.
Gates told a Pentagon news conference that the Predator was an example of the unique US military capabilities that the president is willing to contribute while other countries enforce a no-fly zone. » | Nick Hopkins | Thursday, April 21, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Christian electrician facing the sack over a religious symbol in his van has won his battle to keep the cross on display after his employer backed down, his union claimed last night.Colin Atkinson, 64, was called to a disciplinary hearing after refusing demands to remove the small palm cross from the dashboard of his company van.
But Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) is understood to have told Mr Atkinson at a confidential meeting that he can continue to display his cross, after he received backing from senior members of the Church and leaders of other faiths.
Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury had described the situation as "scandalous" and Mr Atkinson was also supported by Muslim, Sikh and Hindu leaders as well as Housing and Planning Minister Grant Shapps. Read on and comment » | Nick Collins | Friday, April 22, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Good Friday and other Easter processions and festivals have been cancelled across Syria as street unrest boils over into violence.
The country's Christian population has been forced to abandon its usually colourful and exuberant commemorations because of the number of "martyrs" who have died and the "bad situation", a senior church official told The Daily Telegraph.
The whole country is braced for a wave of protests on Friday, despite an announcement that President Bashir al-Assad had signed a decree lifting the 48-year state of emergency, a key demand.
Government promises of reform combined with violence by armed plain-clothes security forces have only served to bolster the opposition, who are planning more demonstrations after regular Muslim Friday prayers.
But today these will clash with Good Friday services, which would normally see processions and public gatherings by Syria's Christian minority, estimated at between 1-2 million, or around five per cent of the population.
"We are not receiving official congratulations," Bishop Philoxenos Mattias, Assistant to the Syriac Orthodox Church Patriarchate in Damascus, the country's biggest Christian denomination, said.
"All of the Syrian churches have decided this together because of the bad situation and because of the martyrs who have died in recent days, out of respect for them." » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Thursday, April 21, 2011
TERRASANTA: (Milan) – This year there will be no processions or public events of Christian festivities and identity. The very tense situation in Syria has compelled the Christian (Orthodox and Catholic) Patriarchs to forgo the exuberance and joy that have always accompanied Easter celebrations in Damascus, Aleppo and the other cities where the Christian minorities live. The decision has been taken due to “the present circumstances in the country” and to “honour the souls of the martyrs and innocent victims of the recent sad events.”. » | Lucia Balestrieri | Thursday, April 21, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
BBC: The Bishop of Swansea and Brecon has run a shoe-shine service at Swansea market for Maundy Thursday.The Thursday before Easter is acknowledged by Christians as the day of the Last Supper, when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.
The Right Reverend John Davies said he hoped to symbolically show shoppers the church was there to serve the needs of others.
He was also collecting donations for his Lent appeal.
His good causes are three charities nominated by clerics as they have connections with the diocese.
Bishop Davies said: "It's been pretty busy. Lots of people about. I thoroughly enjoy something like this.
"Maundy Thursday is the day when the Christian church remembers the Last Supper and Jesus sharing that final meal with his disciples.
"Then, after the meal was over, washing their feet as a sign that he was there to serve the needs of others and not sit back and have others serve him. » | Thursday, April 21, 2011
SKY NEWS: The radical cleric Anjem Choudary has told Sky News his group is still planning a protest on the day of the Royal Wedding, despite being banned from demonstrating near Westminster Abbey.It was revealed on Tuesday that the Metropolitan Police turned down a formal request by the group Muslims Against Crusades, saying they would not allow extremists to turn the occasion into a "nightmare".
But now the cleric has confirmed two of his group's supporters plan to meet police on Thursday to renew efforts to conduct a protest as close to the Royal procession route as possible.
Although senior officers denied permission for a demonstration near the Abbey, they have little in the way of powers to stop protests elsewhere in the capital. » | Mark White, home affairs correspondent | Wednesday, April 20, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei is controversial figure at odds with religious leaders, according to leaked embassy cableA close ally of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who favours cultural openness and opposes greater clerical involvement in politics, is being groomed as a possible successor to the Iranian president when he steps down in two years time.
Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's chief-of-staff, is positioning himself as a candidate who will champion a nationalist rather than a theological narrative of Iran. Mashaei, whose daughter married Ahmadinejad's son, has become the most controversial political figure in Iran, provoking harsh criticism from the conservative establishment, including the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Hardliners close to Khamenei have accused Mashaei of compromising the Islamic Revolution and the principles of Islam by focusing on Persian history.
Mashaei infuriated conservatives in 2008 when he said that Iranians are "friends of all people in the world – even Israelis". He was also criticised for applauding at a ceremony in Turkey in which women performed a traditional dance. Women are not allowed to dance in Iran. » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Thursday, April 21, 2011
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