Middle East Politics.Net » identity http://middleeastpolitics.net Facts, News, Trends, Analysis Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:56:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Turkey: Effectiveness of Changing Curriculum http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/05/effectiveness-of-changing-curriculum/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/05/effectiveness-of-changing-curriculum/#comments Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:14:08 +0000 cicek http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=3589 “Although the national curriculum has changed since 2004, a militaristic and ultra-nationalist mindset still exists in elementary school textbooks, according to research by the History Foundation.”

This summarizes all of the problems that Turkey has, and will have for more than a decade, unless there is change and development. The reason is simple enough: the educational system in Turkey is truly terrible. And I dare to say this because I came from that system, and I have experienced the trouble and difficulty this system causes our causal thinking. Everything is to be memorized, textbooks are almost as concrete as holy books, and teachers are to be respected and feared, not to be challenged intellectually. So what the History Foundation has concluded is accurate. And sadly, even curriculum changes are not a solution to this problem. The most important question is what is there to do?

Aylin Cicek

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/05/effectiveness-of-changing-curriculum/feed/ 0 Maronite Bishops Encourage Unity Before Elections http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/03/maronite-bishop-encourages-unity-before-elections/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/03/maronite-bishop-encourages-unity-before-elections/#comments Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:15:13 +0000 Samantha Foley http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=3422 Maronite bishops warned that growing divisions between Lebanese political groups would only lead to “chaos” in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Some political voices have made statements that the current political situation in Lebanon is not conducive to elections. The bishops came out criticizing these statements saying that it would create chaos and be more costly to try to obstruct these elections. The bishops added that these differing opinions posed a problem for daily life in Lebanon. Political leaders must unite at this critical time. If these various political figures and groups can put aside their differences for the sake of the country, then Lebanon has a chance at successful elections. It is now that all political groups must consider the national interests of Lebanon. If these divisions continue and there is a volatile political situation in Lebanon, this will only further the destruction of the nation.

Samantha Foley

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/03/maronite-bishop-encourages-unity-before-elections/feed/ 0 Selling Syria to the U.S. http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/02/selling-syria-to-the-us/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/02/selling-syria-to-the-us/#comments Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:21:37 +0000 sanajong http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=3278 Imad Moustapha, Syria’s ambassador to the U.S., gave an interview with U.S News about Syria’s fragile and tentative relationship with the United States, especially after the U.S. launched a raid in eastern Syria in October killing eight civilians, in an attempt to target supposed Al Qaeda operatives.

Sade San A Jong

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/02/selling-syria-to-the-us/feed/ 0 Hamas Tells Sympathetic Israeli Reporter to Leave Gaza http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/02/hamas-tells-israeli-reporter-to-leave-gaza/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/02/hamas-tells-israeli-reporter-to-leave-gaza/#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:27:06 +0000 jbhughes http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=3292 An Israeli reporter who defied her country’s blockade of Gaza returned to Israel after Hamas told her to leave due to security concerns. Amira Hass is an award-winning writer for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. She arrived by boat with pro-Palestinian activists who were trying to draw attention to the hardship in Gaza. Israel let the boats through, but denied a Libyan freighter on a humanitarian mission. Hass had hoped to stay in the region until January.

Gaza groups had kidnapped reporters in the past, but none have been taken since Hamas seized power. Hass was accompanied by Hamas security officials while she was in Gaza, though she did not request protection. Hass is well known for her sympathetic coverage of the Palestinians and is well known in the Gaza Strip.

Jamie Hughes

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/02/hamas-tells-israeli-reporter-to-leave-gaza/feed/ 0 Hamas Blocks Pilgrims from Performing Hajj http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/01/hamas-blocks-pilgrims-from-performing-hajj/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/01/hamas-blocks-pilgrims-from-performing-hajj/#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:47:17 +0000 yerxa http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=3140 Hamas has blocked thousands of Pilgrims from making the trip to Mecca “in the latest twist of the territory’s internal political divisions.”

Pilgrims were turned back from the Rafah border by Hamas forces, and some even claimed they were beaten in their attempts to make the Hajj. Egyptian officials have reported that the border has been open for several days in order for pilgrims to pass, placing the responsibility on the shoulders of Hamas.

Pilgrims who applied for visas through Hamas were rejected, bringing into question “Saudi Arabia’s recognition of the Hamas government structure in Gaza as legitimate.”

With Gaza residents already suffering under the strain of closed borders and blockades, Hamas’s mismanagement of the situation could result in resentment against the group. With Abbas, Fatah and the Palestinian Authority attempting to consolidate power, Hamas will need to handle this situation as delicately as possible.

Gavin Yerxa

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/01/hamas-blocks-pilgrims-from-performing-hajj/feed/ 0 Syria’s Image http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/25/syrias-image/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/25/syrias-image/#comments Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:23:23 +0000 sanajong http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=2859 Where does our image of Syria come from?

What are your first thoughts on Syria as a Middle Eastern nation and where and how was that idea formed?

How big of a role has Israel played in forming that image and how big a role has Syria played in letting that image pass as the truth? Here’s an interesting analysis.

Sade San A Jong

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/25/syrias-image/feed/ 0 Concern Over Bulgarian Arms in Iraq’s Kurdish Region http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/24/concern-grows-over-bulgarian-arms/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/24/concern-grows-over-bulgarian-arms/#comments Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:00:38 +0000 freundli http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=2804 Amidst an already tense situation in Iraq, three planeloads of small arms, delivered in September to the Kurdish region of Northern Iraq, are at the center of an expanding controversy. In Kurd-controlled Sulaymaniyah, officials are discussing the implications of the imported arms in terms of regional autonomy and the long held Kurdish aspiration for an independent state.  While Kurdish officials denounced allegations of subversive intent, citing the ongoing battle against terrorists as their primary motivation for obtaining the weapons, few in Baghdad were assuaged.  The unclear allegiance of the Kurdish “pesh merga” militia force plays a crucial role in this situation; if clear leadership fails to emerge from a central government already plagued by a sense of illegitimacy, Iraq could easily fracture along tribal and ethnic lines.  The plausible scenarios are beginning to look bleaker, and the stakes for continued American troop presence rise as Iraq hovers at the tipping point.

Zack Freundlich

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/24/concern-grows-over-bulgarian-arms/feed/ 0 Syrian Statistics and Information http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/21/the-statistics-of-syria/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/21/the-statistics-of-syria/#comments Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:47:59 +0000 sanajong http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=2693 The US Department of State has a useful statistics and information page, covering the geographical, economic, and historical aspects of Syria. This page gives good background and provides testimony to its people, culture, and religion.

Sade San A Jong

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/21/the-statistics-of-syria/feed/ 0 Jerusalem Chooses Secular Mayor http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/19/jerusalem-chooses-new-mayor/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/19/jerusalem-chooses-new-mayor/#comments Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:48:03 +0000 jbhughes http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=2616 Nir Barkat, a former high-tech business executive, has been elected Jerusalem’s mayor and is “determined to save the city.”  He has brought new hope, because he is a secularist and not Orthodox, unlike his predecessor.

He was born in Jerusalem and has degrees in computer science and business management. He later founded the BRM group, which was a pioneer of anti-virus software. He joined the Jerusalem City Council in 2003, where he led the opposition. He also founded Startup Jerusalem, which seeks to promote private investment in the city, and New Spirit, which supports students in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is proclaimed as Israel’s capital although other countries refuse to recognize it over Palestinians’ competing claims.  However, it is also one of Israel’s poorest cities and is experiencing desertion by many young, secular residents.  Jerusalem is also facing a period of job shortages and soaring housing prices. Secular communities have been worried about the expansion of ultra-Orthodox communities into new neighborhoods.

The former mayor, Rabbi Uri Lupolianski, was widely perceived to favor the ultra-Orthodox Jews of Jerusalem, as he was part of this group.

Nir Barkat has promised to draw investment back to the city and build it up as an international tourist destination.  He has said he hopes to build more Jewish homes in Palestinian and Israeli-Arab areas in the east of the city – occupied by Israel in 1967 – and is adamant that the city should not be divided.

The possible division of Jerusalem under a future peace deal is one of the most explosive issues in peace talks. It was over this issue that Barkat left the centrist Kadima party that is currently engaged in discussions with the Palestinian Authority.

Jamie Hughes


]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/19/jerusalem-chooses-new-mayor/feed/ 0 Syria Aims to Create Further Arab Integration http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/16/syria-aims-to-create-further-arab-intergration/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/16/syria-aims-to-create-further-arab-intergration/#comments Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:04:34 +0000 sanene http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=2410 This past Friday marked the start of the joint meeting of the Standing Committee of Arab Information and Arab Standing Committee for Communications and Information Technology. The conference is meant to maintain and stabilize ties between and Syria and the rest of the Arab world. Assistant Information Minister Taleb Qadhi Amin pointed to this conference as one of the important benchmarks to a sustained joint Arab initiative, markedly in the areas of communication and media.

“This joint meeting aims at discussing the integration among Arab countries in the sectors of information and communications, necessitated by the unprecedented development in the techniques and tools of communication,” Qadhi Amin claimed. This conference looks to be a sign of the increased effort by Syria to integrate itself within the Arab world and may prove to be a sign of further cooperation between Syria and the Arab world.

Samuel Anene

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