Sunday Miscellany

A bunch of notes and thoughts on politics and other stuff.

Those Pesky Lebanese:

Respect (source Alsharq Al Awsat)

Apparently, the resigned Hezbollah minister Trad Hmedeh gave Alsharq Al Awsat an interview which was published this morning. I found the interview troubling not only because it was published by a Saudi newspaper, but also for its content.

Hmedeh threatens the Majority that if a “national unity government” is not formed, it will be the “end of the Presidency”. Hmedeh sees the solution in a so-called “Saudi-Iranian understanding” (he also invited the Egyptians to join in) where a compromise President would be elected. If that didn’t happen, he threatens, the “crisis could be extended (tamdeed) for another six years”, not a very subtle reference to extending President Lahhoud’s mandate.

Hmedeh said that General Aoun is a suitable “compromise President”, but “if he was unlucky”, he will have a big say in selecting one. Interestingly, Hmedeh also suggested the Army’s Head, Michel Suleiman as another suitable “compromise candidate”.

 Mr. Hmedeh’s interview is bothering on many levels, not least because he’s publicly supporting the intervention of external countries in our affairs. 
Hariri should not listen to him or to the Saudis. If the Saudis really think they can do business with Iran after what happened in Gaza, then they’ll deserve what they’ll eventually get.

A Coming Saudi Enlightenment?

Speaking of Saudi Arabia and on a totally unrelated note, I am noticing a quiet intellectual revolution going on in the kingdom by reading their daily selection of op-eds in Alarabiya’s left sidebar. Some very enlightened articles can be found every now and then.

You know something big is happening when a Saudi Arabian media outlet translates and publishes an Irshad Manji (the notorious Lesbian Muslim “refusenik”) column entitled “Salman Rushdie is not the problem, we are”. But then again, that came right after a column by a Dubai female columnist who was lambasting the boobs of Hooters coming soon to a restaurant near her.

In general, however, the selection of articles is pretty impressive: From the role of women in Saudi Arabia, to the Arab sex googlers to an article arguing that a secular government helps Islam grows, there seems to be no taboo topics any more. As for the comments section, Priceless!

Men With Beards In Tripoli

Back to Lebanon. There is a growing Chatter among intellectuals that the Sunni community, especially in the North, is splitting into two camps: moderates and Islamists.

I just figured it would be a good thing if I, a Tripoli Sunni native, remind everyone of the following: In the last free and fair election, not a single islamist from Tripoli made it to parliament.Those people may be noisy, but they are solidly in the fringes. 

Still, it would be a good thing if their neighborhoods got the government’s attention for more schools and development. After all, every person neglected by the government is a potential suicide bomber. We don’t want that do we?