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By COMPILEDTHE MEDIA LINEMuslim pilgrims gather on Mount Mercy on the plains of Arafat during the annual haj pilgrimage, outside the city of Mecca this week(photo credit: REUTERS)SOME REFLECTION, 15 YEARS LATER Al-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 11Today marks the 15th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Fifteen years have passed since the day that changed the world forever, creating wounds that would not heal even a decade and a half later.The attacks revealed not only the failure of Western intelligence services, but also of the so-called War on Terror that soon followed.After it became clear that al-Qaida stood behind the attack, the CIA dropped thousands of leaflets across Afghanistan and Pakistan, offering rewards to those who would hand over al-Qaida affiliates to American authorities. Only four days after the campaign was launched, US officials received hundreds of tips and calls from local citizens, offering terrorists in exchange for large sums of money. These financial awards ranged from $5,000 for information regarding an al-Qaida or Taliban member, to $10,000 for handing over individuals directly to the American forces. For information about high-ranking commanders in the organization, the CIA offered no less than $25 million.You can imagine the mess that quickly emerged. Afghanis and Pakistanis began pretending to hand over terrorists. In fact, in late 2001, the kidnapping market in these two countries flourished to a degree that surprised even the Americans themselves. People were forced by terrorists to grow beards and dress as Islamists, just to serve as a decoy or bate for American troops. Unsurprisingly, most of the individuals who were handed over to the Americans were found to be regular citizens with no previous involvement in terrorist activity. In 2002, the Financial Times published a report that revealed how fake documentation was even created to make individuals seem like al-Qaida members, just to reap the sought-after American prizes.All in all, the United States spent millions of dollars on these initiatives throughout the years. Many of the arrested individuals ended up in Guantanamo, only to be later released for lack of evidence. On the 15th anniversary of this tragic day, it is important to remember not only what happened in Manhattan, but also how the lives of innocent individuals elsewhere in the world were negatively affected.– Fahad Amir Ahmadi IRAN IS POLITICIZING THE HAJJ Asharq al-Awsat, London, September 8The most prominent dispute in the Middle East these days is undoubtedly the one between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The already dubious relationship between the two countries took a dip this week, when authorities in Tehran announced that Iranian citizens would not be allowed to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. Authorities cited last year’s stampede, in which 800 pilgrims died, as the official excuse for the decision, although it is clear to everyone that this verdict is political.This development is unprecedented. There are numerous Muslim countries around the region whose leaders do not see eye to eye with their Saudi counterparts, yet none of them ever barred their citizens from preforming the religious act of hajj. These include Iraq under Saddam Hussein, Yemen under Ali Abdullah Saleh, and even Syria under Bashar Assad.In this case, however, Iran chose to escalate things to a whole new level, by politicizing religion. Tehran is working tirelessly to incite the greater Muslim world against Saudi Arabia and diminish the importance of two of Islam’s holiest sites which are found in the country.Evidence from last year’s disastrous stampede even shows that individuals affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps were present on the ground, stirring trouble and wreaking havoc amid the chaos. Some were seen pushing, shoving and killing pilgrims.In the meantime, Saudi authorities announced that they would accept Iranian pilgrims even without government approval. So far, a few hundred Iranians have arrived in Riyadh via transit countries to make the hajj.The only thing left to hope for now, in the wake of this sad development, is that the absence of undercover Iranian thugs in Mecca this year will make the pilgrimage season safer than ever before, for everyone.– Abdulrahman al-Rashed WHO’S SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF LEBANON’S CHRISTIANS? Al-Nahar, Lebanon, September 11There are a few changes in Lebanon that worry me.The first is that the fate of the country, once shaped by its own political leadership, is now linked to the whims of regional actors like Syria and Iraq. The second is the loss of cultural interaction between Lebanon’s different ethnic and religious groups.However, of particular concern to me are the voices claiming to speak on behalf of Christians, lamenting marginalization and inequality, while abusing the religious and social rights of their very own constituents.These voices are the real threat to the Christian community in Lebanon. They pave the way for the uprooting and displacement of small minorities and their legacy.Leaders such as Michel Aoun and his Free Patriotic Movement, which claim to represent Maronite Christians, are forming alliances with extremists and radicals such as Hezbollah, all in the name of protecting “Christian interests.” What they refuse to understand is that Lebanon’s history sadly teaches us that such alliances do not work. When sectarian greed and lust causes so-called moderates to partner with radicals, the result is a takeover by the extremists.This week, the Lebanese parliament failed again, for the 44th time in a row, to elect a president. This time it was because Aoun’s party, together with Hezbollah, boycotted the parliamentary session, preventing those in attendance from reaching a two-thirds majority.This is a flagrant disregard of Lebanon’s democracy and rule of law.Aoun and his people are taking to the streets and calling to “restore the rights” and “end injustice,” while refusing to attend a parliamentary session in which a president is elected. Aoun’s close political allies, such as Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, have made numerous xenophobic and inciting remarks about displaced refugees in Lebanon, while disregarding the role played by their own allies, such as Hezbollah, in displacing these individuals to begin with.Where is the moral consistency? What happened to the tolerance and openness that once characterized Lebanon? These alliances are doomed to fail, and none other than Lebanon’s Christian community will pay the price.– Eyad Abu Shakrahttp://www.themedialine.org/
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