Egyptian Reformists Facing Harsh Realities

Egyptians overwhelmingly approved changes to their Constitution during a weekend referendum. Those changes play into the hands of former President Hosni Mubarak's old party and the Muslim Brotherhood and against the younger reformists whose peaceful protests toppled the regime.

More than 75 percent of the 18 million Egyptians who voted approved the changes, which clear the way for parliamentary elections this fall and a presidential election as soon as December.

That schedule offers little time for fledgling parties to organize and get their message out, while the Brotherhood and the National Democratic Party (NDP) have both money and organizations in place. Both groups strongly pushed for the referendum's passage.

Rather than wallow in the results, a vocal opponent of both entrenched powers is choosing to accentuate the positive. Mahmoud Salem, who blogs under the name "Sandmonkey," issued a compelling call to action in the wake of the vote urging people to "see it as the gift it is."

The referendum provides data showing how people voted in districts throughout the country. Analysis of that information will help younger, more secular reformists plot their strategies and develop their message. "We have a nation-wide base," Salem wrote. "Sure, 20%, is small, but it's not insignificant, and you can totally build on it."

Those who took to the streets to topple a dictator need to "stop playing revolution, and start playing politics for the sake of the country." That means advocating causes that resonate throughout society – like a minimum wage – and taking on the entrenched political powers including the Brotherhood.

For the Brotherhood, Salem recommends that reformists remind voters that "they wanted to ban books and music videos and the net. Tell people what Hamas- the MB of Ghaza- did t the population the moment they seized power (No music, No shisha, no concerts, no free media, intimidation and fear). Start creating banners accusing them of being agents for wanting to sell the country's soul to the Gulfies, and start asking loudly where their seemingly endless money comes from during this economic crisis."

To have any success, reformists need money. "The NDP has all the money they stole from the country and the MB has all the money they get from Saudi & Qatar, so we need to get our own. Hit up for donations everyone you know in Egypt who isn't interested returning the corrupt to power or having this country turn into a theocracy."

That doesn't mean religious leaders should be ignored. Salem wants reformists to court them and build coalitions on economic issues to win popular support. While it would be ideal to separate religion and politics, that's not yet practical in Egypt, Salem argued. "We are religious people, and whether we like it or not, Imams and Priests are community leaders. We have to engage them, get them on our side and have them help us with the hearts and minds of their flock."

The essay is pragmatic and well worth reading in its entirety here. But note that a blogger who calls himself "Sandmonkey" is prone to writing in irreverent, sometimes profane language.

Arab Leaders - Bullets, Bribes for Protests

New protests erupted in Syria, while violence by the Yemeni government against protestors reached unprecedented levels. Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia's monarch combined handouts and threats to insulate his kingdom from regional unrest. The emerging pattern of bullets and bribes has characterized the most recent round of Middle East unrest, which threatens to unseat regimes that were previously considered stable.

Yemen has entered a distinctly new phase in anti-government demonstrations, where at least 40 protesters were killed by security forces and government supporters in a single day. The level of violence dwarfed previous crackdowns and sparked a government announcement of a state of emergency, as well as renewed calls for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down and for the resignation of senior members in his government.

Saleh was quick to claim the violence came from clashes between "citizens and demonstrators" and that "the police were not present and did not open fire." His statements did not satisfy foreign allies, as France condemned the violence and President Obama called for his Yemeni counterpart "to adhere to his public pledge to allow demonstrations to take place peacefully."

Syria saw its first serious protests across the nation, after it broke up demonstrations outside of the main mosque in central Damascus. Security forces killed four protestors with live fire in Daraa, a town south of the capital, while demonstrations also broke out in the Islamist stronghold of Hams and the coastal city of Banias.

Bahrain's violent crushing of protests this week was followed by the destruction of the pearl in the Pearl Roundabout, the symbolic center of the protests. Intervention by the Gulf Central Coordination, led by Saudi Arabia, brought the protests to a swift and brutal end. It also enraged Shiites across the region, moving Shiite anger from tiny Bahrain to Iran and Iraq, where demonstrators vowed to join the fight against the Sunni kingdom.

The Saudi response to unrest within its own borders was more nuanced. King Abdullah ordered the handout of billions of dollars in benefits to Saudi citizens and the creation of 50,000 more domestic security jobs. He also told media that they must respect the monarchy and clerics, or face stiff penalties. The king has been serious about protecting the kingdom's public image, including the recent revocation of accreditation for a Reuter's reporter after he authored less than flattering accounts of the regime's reaction to protests.

Pakistani Radicals Protest American's Release

Pakistan's release of a CIA contractor arrested for killing two men last month is drawing criticism from a radical Islamist leader.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Mohammed Saeed denounced the acquittal of Raymond Davis, who was freed after more than $2 million in blood money was paid to the families of the victims. Blood money or "diyya" is a routine means to settle murder cases in Pakistan by which families of victims have a right to settle for compensation instead of execution of the murderer.

"Besides killing two Pakistanis, Davis was involved in a number of criminal activities in the country. His freedom has hurt the sentiments of the whole nation," Saeed said in a statement issued by the JuD. He had called for "stern punishment" for Davis.

Saeed's criticism echoed in protests held throughout Pakistan Friday. The government, speakers said, sold out "Pakistani blood and honour" by freeing Davis. He reportedly opened fire on the two men after they tried to attack him.

"Diyya" which is in compliance with Sharia law, was used as a last recourse to free Davis following the Lahore High Court's refusal to accept U.S. demands for diplomatic immunity in the case.

The Press Trust of India reports that Davis may have been part of a covert CIA team monitoring Lashkar activities. A similar claim appeared in the New York Times.

U.S. officials have expressed concern that Lashkar, which has close ties to elements of Pakistani intelligence, is expanding its operations in the region. A Pentagon official told a House committee that officials are "very concerned about that interaction that LeT is having on India and the effect, the compression effect that you have between two nuclear powers when there is an attack into India from LeT."

Gaddafi Offensive Dries Up After U.N. Resolution

Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's regime declared an immediate ceasefire and new talks with rebels following a strongly-worded United Nations Security Council resolution authorizing "all necessary measures" to protect the nation's civilians. The measure, which allows everything but boots on the ground, stopped fighting around the rebel capital of Benghazi but has not completely ended the battle.

Al-Jazeera English and Al Arabiya television report continued shelling of isolated rebel strongholds, like the towns of Misrata and Ajdabiya, but security is returning to Benghazi.

The quiet may be a temporary lull in the Libyan anti-rebel campaign, as the regime sends conflicting messages. Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, said earlier Friday that "anti-terror" forces would disarm rebel forces after the army had surrounded Benghazi. He also rejected the ceasefire and claimed that there was "no bloodshed in Libya." Shortly thereafter, Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa announced that the regime had ceased operations and would cooperate.

Gaddafi himself threatened Thursday to strike France, a leader in imposing a military solution in the country, and to bomb passenger planes in response to the resolution. "Lo and behold, France has begun to raise its head, talking about striking Libya. You think attacking Libya is an easy thing, you idiot," asked Gaddafi. "We will strike you. We struck you in Algeria, we struck you in Vietnam... We struck you. You will strike us?! Just come and try it."

Gaddafi's ceasefire announcement has not stopped military planning against the Libyan regime. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters that she was not "impressed by words" from Gaddafi but "would have to see actions on the ground." British Prime Minister David Cameron told lawmakers that the U.K. would have military jets available for action "in the coming hours." Belgium, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Qatar and the United States have offered air support for the operation, while Italy has also pledged air bases.

The Libyan move "is game-playing and it would be folly for the West to fall for it," said Barak Seener, Middle East research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London. "It's a stalling tactic and he's attempting to create fissures within the international community." It's also generating mixed reviews in the Arab street, with some seeing it as neo-colonialism and others trumpeting the symbolic message to dictators in the regime.

Illinois Governor's Ill-Advised CAIR Praise

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn commended the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) -Chicago chapter Thursday in a message praising the chapter's upcoming annual banquet. "I congratulate CAIR-Chicago on another successful year of serving the needs of the Muslim population in Illinois, and for working toward ensuring justice and civil rights for all the communities you serve," Quinn said in an email message distributed to CAIR members.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown also sent their best wishes to the CAIR chapter.

Meanwhile, in federal court, the Illinois State Police is defending itself from a lawsuit brought by CAIR on behalf of a Kifah Mustapha, who has helped raise money for the group. The state police rescinded an invitation for Mustapha to become its first Muslim chaplain after the Investigative Project on Terrorism reported on evidence showing he also raised money for a charity convicted of illegally supporting Hamas.

CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in that case, targeting the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF). While a federal judge ruled that the co-conspirator list never should have been filed publicly, he also ruled that CAIR's inclusion on the list is "appropriate in light of the evidence proffered by the Government" during the HLF trial.

That evidence linked two of CAIR's founding members, Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad, to the "Palestine Committee," a group created by the Muslim Brotherhood in America to support Hamas politically and financially. Both Awad and Ahmad's names appeared on a Palestine Committee telephone list, and the organization itself appears on a committee meeting agenda, listed among the group's working organizations.

A week ago, FBI Director Robert Mueller repeated that his agency has "no formal relationship with CAIR because of concerns -- concerns with regard to the national leadership."

In rescinding its invitation to Mustapha, the Illinois State Police acknowledged that it was "aware that Mr. Mustapha was potentially identified as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's Palestine Committee."

Court documents show that Mustapha worked as a paid fundraiser for HLF from 1996-2000. A schedule of solicitors and amounts raised shows that Mustapha helped raise over $300,000 for HLF.

Politicians issuing statements in praise of CAIR and its chapters are fairly commonplace throughout the country. But a Florida mayor who examined the evidence decided to stop issuing annual proclamations of "CAIR Day."

In this case, Gov. Quinn may want to ask his state police to see what they learned from the HLF evidence that he has yet to see.

German National Indicted In Hizballah Aid Case

A man arrested in Philadelphia in November 2009 on allegations that he tried to buy antiaircraft missiles and automatic weapons was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Hizballah, according to a superseding indictment filed in federal court in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

Dani Nemr Tarraf, a German national, worked with others to "acquire weapons and other equipment for the benefit of Hizballah," including anti-aircraft missiles, from about January 2007 through November 2009, the indictment says.

In June 2009, Tarraf told undercover agents in Philadelphia that he wanted to purchase guided missiles that could "take down an F-16." He also asked the undercover agents to obtain weapons to be shipped to either Iran or Syria for use by the "Resistance."

Tarraf and others purchased stolen goods including laptops, cell phones, BMWs and other equipment to be transported to places including Lebanon, Syria and Iran. In 2009, Tarraf provided $30,000 in cash to undercover agents for a shipment of Stinger missiles, Colt M-4 carbines and anti-armor weapons to the port of Latakia, Syria.

Tarraf's arrest resulted from an undercover investigation involving stolen goods beginning in 2007. The FBI's Philadelphia Joint Terrorism Task Force four-year probe resulted in the indictments of two dozen alleged Hizballah operatives and sympathizers.

British Universities Bag Dictators' Money

One of the biggest losers in the Libyan revolt against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was Sir Howard Davies, director of the London School of Economics (LSE), who resigned in disgrace earlier this month for accepting a contribution from a charity under the thumb of the Libyan regime.

In January 2010, the LSE accepted a donation worth approximately $2.4 million from the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation. The charity is controlled by the dictator's son, Saif, who said last month that the Libyan regime would fight "to the last bullet" to stay in power. Yet last January, the LSE praised the Gaddafi Foundation as being "committed to the promotion of civil society and the development of democracy."

As the death toll rose in Libya, pressure mounted on the LSE to return the Libyan donation. Davies "resigned in shame and bemoaned the impact the donation had brought on the university's reputation," wrote Robin Simcox, a research fellow with the Centre for Social Cohesion (CSC), a British research organization.

Suddenly, "universities taking huge amounts of cash from murderous dictators was a problem," he added.

Before the revolution in Libya, British universities had a much more welcoming attitude toward taking money from dictators. In 2009, Simcox authored a report for the CSC spotlighting the role of repressive regimes in funding British universities. He found that regimes like those in Iran, China, and Saudi Arabia "were essentially buying control over British academia."

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal appointed university management committee members in Edinburgh and Cambridge. Durham University accepted cash from Iran and admitted that "pro-regime speakers" had been permitted to monopolize a school event. And Beijing was permitted to establish educational centers it termed part of its "foreign propaganda strategy."

Though no similar study has been done, American universities have similarly courted endowments from some of the same players.

The British government and university system both deserve blame for this state of affairs, Simcox said. The government seeks to use "Islamic studies centers" financed by "huge amounts of fundamentalist, often Wahhabi cash. The ideologies that drive such governments do not quell radical Islam, they fuel it," he wrote. And in "a supposed spirit of 'engagement' and 'inter-faith understanding,' cash that dictators have stolen from those they subjugate has rolled into British academia."

Education Dept. to Probe UC Santa Cruz's anti-Israel Hostility

Note: This item has been updated to correct some incorrect information.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights is investigating allegations made by a faculty member that anti-Israeli sentiment by some faculty and campus speakers has made the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) a hostile place for Jewish students.

Allegations made by lecturer Tammi Rossman-Benjamin date back to 2001. Her June 2009 complaint says some professors used their classes to promote an anti-Israel agenda. "The impact of the academic and university-sponsored Israel-bashing on students has been enormous," she said. "There are students who have felt emotionally and intellectually harassed and intimidated, to the point they are reluctant or afraid to express a view that is not anti-Israel."

"Investigations are very common, but this is anything but the usual case," former head of the U.S. Commission on Human Rights, Kenneth Marcus said. "What they are investigating is the atmosphere throughout the university and raises very subtle questions about the definition of discrimination, the meaning of anti-Semitism and where the lines are between harassment and the First Amendment."

"We not only look forward to fully participating in OCR's review of the matter, we are confident that the agency will determine that the allegations are unfounded," UCSC counsel Carole Rossie said in a written statement.

On Tuesday, swastikas and a threatening message were found written in a campus bathroom. The message read: "Blood will be shed @ UCSC 4/20/11." It is not clear whether the graffiti is related to the investigation, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported.

The Department of Education's investigation comes on the heels of a federal civil rights complaint filed March 4 against the Regents of the University of California and the University of California, Berkeley by former UC Berkeley student Jessica Felber. Felber alleges she was assaulted on campus last year by the leader of the student group Students for Justice in Palestine because she is Jewish and was holding a sign stating "Israel Wants Peace."

In November, 2007, the Department of Education's OCR replied to a complaint filed by the Zionist Organization of America on behalf of students at the University of California, Irvine, claiming that the university had been fostering a climate of anti-Semitism. The complaint was dismissed because at the time, OCR's policy did not apply Title VI protection to Jewish students.

Uprisings Damage Intelligence Sharing

The wave of unrest sweeping the Middle East and North Africa is complicating the mission of American intelligence officials focused on tracking terrorists, the Wall Street Journal reports.

In countries like Libya, Yemen and elsewhere, popular uprisings have displaced government officials who have served as liaisons to U.S. intelligence. "It's difficult to share information when you don't know who the players are," an unnamed U.S. official told the newspaper.

In the process, the activities and whereabouts of some former Guantanamo Bay detainees now living in those countries have fallen through the cracks.

The group taking greatest advantage may be the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The Journal cites U.S. and European officials saying they've seen an increase in activity, with one source saying that, in the absence of U.S. military strikes and Yemeni crackdowns, the group is "very actively" plotting attacks against the United States.

Similar vulnerabilities now exist in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

Bahrain Cracks Down

Bahrain's monarch has declared a three-month state of emergency as troops cracked down on protests threatening the regime. The news follows the decision of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to send troops to aid the government of the tiny island nation, which is also home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet and key oil facilities.

USA Today correspondent Nada Alwadi reports that the army crackdown and curfew have made the capital of Manama into a "city of ghosts." Several people were killed as police and soldiers stormed the opposition's symbolic center in the capital, the Pearl Roundabout. Government forces used tanks, helicopters, and jeeps with machine guns, the New York Times reported. The city's financial center was deserted; banks and shops were closed. CNN also reported that police stormed the country's hospital, beating doctors who had been treating wounded protesters.

Sectarian tensions in the country have worsened significantly, with prominent Shiites resigning from the government. Bahrain's Shiite health minister quit, to "boycott the government because of the way it is dealing with the current events in the country." Twelve judges from the Shiite court circuit also resigned citing the "bloody events, use of excessive force and weapons."

The crackdown has also put regional heads of states at odds. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sided with Shiite protesters, calling the Saudi invasion "irreparable" and unjustifiable." Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who has tried to steer his nation away from violence between Sunnis and Shiites, was cited "condemning the complication" that "could lead to inflaming sectarian tension." Turkey, which enjoys good relations with both sides, told regional leaders to "cool it."

The U.S. Navy responded to fresh violence by authorizing the voluntary departure of military dependents and civilians from Bahrain, citing the security situation. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called movement of foreign troops into Bahrain "alarming" and said she wants all players in the region to keep "their own agenda" of the protests. "There is no answer to the demands for political and economic reform though a security crackdown," Clinton told CNN.

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