LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
October 28/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises. Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him
James 05/41/20/ Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises. Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months. He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on October 27-28/2019
Lebanon Protesters Form 170KM Nationwide Human Chain to Symbolize Unity
Popular Protests Tear Apart ‘Strong Lebanon’ Bloc
Protesters form a human chain across Lebanon
Pope Urges Dialogue in Lebanon, Support from Int'l Community
Report: Hariri's Govt. Change Bid Impeded by Hizbullah's Protection of Bassil
Jumblat: No Solution without New Govt., Non-Sectarian Electoral Law
Geagea to LF Critics: Listen to What the Lebanese Want
From Beirut to Hong Kong, protests evoke global frustration
From Lebanon to Hong Kong, Protests Evoke Global Frustration
Lebanon Protest Teach-ins Revive Pre-War Landmarks
WhatsApp in Lebanon and Arab World: An Essential but Controversial Tool

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 27-28/2019
US Donald Trump confirms killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
US raid on al-Baghdadi was staged from airbase in western Iraq: Source
Syria Kurds expect ISIS revenge attacks after al-Baghdadi death
World reacts to announcement of ISIS leader al-Baghdadi’s death
15 dead in Syria clashes between pro-Turkish forces, Kurds: Monitor
Israel’s Gantz, Netanyahu hold talks to break gov’t deadlock
At least seven Iraqi protesters shot dead by militia in Hilla: Sources
Iraq MPs tied to populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr declare sit-in at parliament
Elite troops deployed in southern Iraqi city Nasiriya to break up protests
Iraq deploys counter-terrorism forces to protect Baghdad buildings
Four Iraqi MPs resign in response to mass protests
Iranian MP: Sanctions have not hit medicial supplies
Turkish army says 1 killed in north Syria amid shaky truce

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 27-28/2019
Lebanon In The News/Sally Farhat/Annahar/October 27/2019
Lebanon's protesters continue to show united front/James Haines-Young/The Nationmal/October 27/2019
Lebanese protesters successfully form human chain across country/Lauren Holtmeier, Special to Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 27 October 2019
Hezbollah In The Eye Of The Storm/Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/October 27/2019
Behind Lebanon’s Crisis Stands Iran/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/October 27/2019
Time is up for Iraq and Lebanon’s sectarian systems/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/October 28/2019
Lebanon Revolts: How's your mental health?/Sandra Abdelbaki /Annahar/October 27/2019
"Why Are You So Silent?": Persecution of Christians, August 2019/Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/October 27/2019
Iraq: Indigenous Christians Latest in Battle for Better Society, New Government/
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/October 27/2019
The world is better off without him/Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/October 28/2019
No let-up in Iran’s foreign terror operations/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/October 28/2019
European nations sidelined on Syrian security/Cornelia Meyer/Arab News/October 28/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on October 27-28/2019
Lebanon Protesters Form 170KM Nationwide Human Chain to Symbolize Unity
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 27/2019
Tens of thousands of Lebanese protesters successfully formed a 170-kilometer-long human chain Sunday, stretching the length of the country from Tripoli in the north to Tyre in the south, organizers said. "I can confirm that the human chain was a success," Julie Tegho Bou Nassif, one of the organizers, told AFP. Tension has mounted in recent days between security forces and protesters, who are blocking roads and bringing the country to a standstill to press their demands for a complete overhaul of the political system. Lebanon's reviled political elite has been defending a belated package of economic reforms and appeared willing to reshuffle the government, but protesters who have stayed in the streets since October 17 want more. On foot, by bicycle and on motorbikes, demonstrators and volunteers fanned out along the main north-south highway. Volunteers on motorbikes helped organizers identify gaps in the chain. "The idea behind this human chain is to show an image of a Lebanon which, from north to south, rejects any sectarian affiliation," Bou Nassif, a 31-year-old history professor, told AFP. "There is no political demand today, we only want to send a message by simply holding hands under the Lebanese flag."The protests have been remarkable for their territorial reach and the absence of political or sectarian banners, in a country often defined by its divisions.
- 'National unity' -
The leaderless protest movement, driven mostly by a young generation of men and women born after the 1975-1990 civil war, has even been described by some as the birth of a Lebanese citizen identity. "We want to reinforce this feeling of national unity that has been appearing in Lebanon over the past 10 days," Bou Nassif said. The army has sought to re-open main roads across the country, where schools and banks have been closed for 11 days. In one of the most serious incidents, the army opened fire on Saturday in a clash with protesters blocking a road in Tripoli, wounding at least six people. An army statement said five soldiers and several civilians were wounded when it intervened to stop a fight between area residents and a group of people blocking the road with their cars. The statement said troops had been attacked with stones and "large fireworks", prompting them to fire tear gas to disperse the crowd. They were ultimately "forced" to fire live and rubber bullets into the air when clashes intensified, the statement added. But the unprecedented protest movement has been relatively incident-free, despite tensions with the armed forces and attempts by party loyalists to stage counter-demonstrations. Protesters have been demanding the removal of the entire ruling class, which has remained largely unchanged in three decades.
Many of the political heavyweights are former warlords seen as representing little beyond their own sectarian or geographical community.
- Brink of collapse -
The protesters see them as corrupt and incompetent and have so far dismissed measures proposed by the political leadership to quell the protests. "We've had the same people in charge for 30 years," said Elie, a 40-year-old demonstrator walking in central Beirut on Sunday morning with a Lebanese flag. Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday announced a package of economic reforms which aims to revive an economy that has been on the brink of collapse for months. His coalition partners have supported the move and warned that a political vacuum in times of economic peril risked chaos. But the protesters have accused the political elite of desperately attempting to save their jobs and have stuck to their demands for deep, systemic change. In a now well-established routine, entire families of volunteers showed up early on the main protest sites Sunday to clean up after another night of protests and parties. After dusk, the central Martyrs Square in Beirut and other protest hubs in Lebanon turn into a vast, open ground where protesters dance, sing or organize political meetings.

Popular Protests Tear Apart ‘Strong Lebanon’ Bloc
Beirut – Paula Astih/Asharq Al Awsat/October 27/2019
The unprecedented anti-government protests in Lebanon have compounded the disputes within the Strong Lebanon parliamentary bloc, headed by Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil. In recent days, MPs Shamel Roukoz and Neemat Frem have made statements that contradict those of the bloc, signaling the possibility that they may be stepping down from the alliance. Since October 17, Lebanon has been swept up in anti-government protests that have been demanding the resignation of the country’s entire political elite, who are accused of corruption and poor policies that have led the country on the edge of economic collapse. The people have vented their frustration against President Michel Aoun, his son-in-law Bassil, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri, pleading with him to resign. The protests have been unprecedented because they have brought together people from across the country, overcoming political and sectarian divides that have plagued Lebanon since the days of the 1975-90 civil war. Over a million people have taken to the streets to demand change, but, as of Sunday, no official has yet offered to resign. On Monday, Hariri presented a reform package, which did little to appease the public. Roukoz and Frem have stated in recent days that the government must resign to meet the demands of the people. Their remarks go against their Free Patriotic Movement and President Aoun. Roukoz, another son-in-law of the president, has been boycotting Strong Lebanon meetings for months since the bloc approved the 2019 budget, which targeted the rights of retired officers. Roukoz is a retired officer himself. The MP had recently hosted a meeting of former FPM members, which could be interpreted as the beginning of a new phase of confrontation with the movement’s leader, Bassil. On Saturday, Roukoz stated that some officials within Aoun’s entourage were “negatively” affecting him. “Everyone must listen to the demands of the people,” he declared. Frem took one step further in breaking away from the bloc, by joining the anti-government protests in the Keserouan region. “The Strong Lebanon bloc could not ensure the success of the president’s term,” he was quoted as saying. He also noted that the economic package proposed by the PM was not enough to salvage the situation and that government change was necessary.

Protesters form a human chain across Lebanon
Reuters/Beirut/ October 27/ 2019
Protesters formed a human chain across Lebanon on Sunday, pressing a historic wave of demonstrations against political leaders blamed for corruption and steering the country towards economic collapse. With the crisis in its second week, there was no sign of moves by the government towards a compromise with protesters whose demands include its resignation. Reflecting financial strains unseen since the 1975-90 civil war, the millers association said wheat stocks were enough for just 20 days due to problems making foreign currency payments over the past two months. Lebanon's banks will remain closed on October 28, 2019. They have been shut for eight working days out of safety concerns.

Pope Urges Dialogue in Lebanon, Support from Int'l Community
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 27/2019
Pope Francis urged dialogue in Lebanon Sunday after days of sweeping protests against the political class, urging the country to respect "dignity and freedom."Tension has mounted in recent days between security forces and protesters, who are blocking roads and rallying massively in squares, bringing Lebanon to a standstill to press their demands for a complete overhaul of the political system. "I would like to address a special thought to the dear Lebanese people, in particular to the young who... have made their cries heard in the face of the social and economic challenges and problems of the country," Pope Francis said.
"I urge everyone to seek the right solutions in the way of dialogue," he said after the Angelus prayer in Saint Peter's Square. He said he hoped that "with the support of the international community, that country may continue to be a space for peaceful coexistence and respect for the dignity and freedom of every person, to benefit of the entire Middle East." The protesters -- who have thronged Lebanese towns and cities since October 17 -- are demanding the removal of the entire political class, accusing politicians of all stripes of systematic corruption.

Report: Hariri's Govt. Change Bid Impeded by Hizbullah's Protection of Bassil
Naharnet/October 27/2019
Efforts by Prime Minister Saad Hariri to resolve the political crisis sparked by the unprecedented popular revolt have so far been hindered by Hizbullah’s insistence on keeping Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil in the government, ministerial sources said. “The serious attempts that PM Saad Hariri made and is still making have run into Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s rejection of the ouster of President Michel Aoun’s tenure, the government’s resignation or the organization of early parliamentary polls,” Asharq al-Awsat newspaper quoted prominent ministerial sources as saying in remarks published Sunday.
“Ever since the popular uprising erupted, Hariri has considered that there is a political crisis that should be resolved and that, accordingly, it cannot have a security solution. President Michel Aoun backed his stance, in his own way, when he recently spoke of a government reshuffle according to the constitutional norms,” the sources added. “But after Hizbullah’s secretary general joined the consultations, a drastic change in priorities occurred, after he completely rejected the political aspect of the protesters’ demands,” the sources went on to say.The sources also noted that Nasrallah’s indirect accusation that the Lebanese  Forces party has infiltrated the protest movement at the request of foreign forces has “led to a change in the president’s stance, although he has not said that he has shelved his proposal on carrying out a government reshuffle.”“Hizbullah has indicated that it rejects the formation of a small, independent government or a technocrat government, while sources close to Hariri have said that he supports carrying out a government reshuffle aimed at pacifying the situation,” the newspaper said. “But this can only be achieved through sacking the provocative ministers, including those of al-Mustaqbal Movement,” the sources added, attributing Hizbullah’s rejection of such a move to its insistence on keeping its ally Bassil in the government. The 49-year-old Bassil is arguably the most reviled leader among the protesters, who have launched explicit slogans against him and created the now-famous “Hela Hela Ho” chant that has gone viral on the streets and on social networking websites.

Jumblat: No Solution without New Govt., Non-Sectarian Electoral Law
Naharnet/October 27/2019
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Sunday stressed that there can be no solution to the current standoff in the country without the formation of a “new government.”“Away from conspiracy theories and skepticism whatever side they may come from, the core of the problem in most democracies lies in the flaw in the distribution of wealth, due to the liberal policy that shuns the progressive taxation system and tax on wealth and due to complete privatization,” Jumblat tweeted. “Today there can be no solution without the formation of a new government and the organization of elections under a non-sectarian law,” the PSP leader added. Tension has mounted in recent days between security forces and protesters, who are blocking roads and rallying massively in main squares, bringing Lebanon to a standstill to press their demands for a complete overhaul of the political system. The protesters -- who have thronged Lebanese towns and cities since October 17 -- are demanding the removal of the entire political class, accusing politicians of all stripes of systematic corruption. The majority of them have agreed that the current government should step down, urging the formation of a technocrat government. They have also called for early parliamentary elections.

Geagea to LF Critics: Listen to What the Lebanese Want
Naharnet/October 27/2019
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Sunday hit back at “those trying to target and attack the LF,” advising them not to “waste their time.”“Instead of wasting your time on attacking the LF, observe the unifying and comprehensive scene from Tripoli to Tyre and from Beirut to Baalbek-Hermel,” Geagea tweeted. “Listen to what the Lebanese want,” he added. Hizbullah, the Free Patriotic Movement and some of their allies and media outlets have suggested that the LF is seeking to politicize the unprecedented popular revolt in Lebanon and of being behind the road-blocking sit-ins in Jal el-Dib, Zouk, Sassine and Zahle. The LF has denied the claims, stressing that its supporters have joined the popular protests to express common grievances and that they are not organizing the sit-ins. Geagea had announced the resignation of the LF’s four ministers in Saad Hariri’s government on October 19, two days after the eruption of the protests.

From Beirut to Hong Kong, protests evoke global frustration
Associated Press/October 27/2019
BEIRUT: Mass protests and clashes are erupting all over the world in recent weeks for a myriad of reasons. The demonstrations are fueled by local grievances, but reflect worldwide frustration at growing inequality, corrupt elites and broken promises. The ongoing protests in Hong Kong started in June after the city passed an extradition bill that put residents at risk of being sent to China’s judicial system. In Lebanon, hundreds of thousands of people filled the streets after the government proposed a new tax on WhatsApp in response to a fiscal crisis.Unlike previous waves of protests like the 2011 Arab Spring, the latest demonstrations unfolding on three continents are rattling elected governments. The unrest is also raising fresh concerns over whether the liberal international order can still deliver on its promises.

From Lebanon to Hong Kong, Protests Evoke Global Frustration
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 27/2019
In Hong Kong, it was a complicated extradition dispute involving a murder suspect. In Beirut, it was a proposed tax on the popular WhatsApp messenger service. In Chile, it was a 4-cent hike in subway fares.
Recent weeks have seen mass protests and clashes erupt in far-flung places triggered by seemingly minor actions that each came to be seen as the final straw. The demonstrations are fueled by local grievances, but reflect worldwide frustration at growing inequality, corrupt elites and broken promises.
Where past waves of protests, like the 2011 Arab Spring or the rallies that accelerated the breakup of the Soviet Union, took aim at dictatorships, the latest demonstrations are rattling elected governments. The unrest on three continents, coupled with the toxic dysfunction in Washington and London, raises fresh concerns over whether the liberal international order, with free elections and free markets, can still deliver on its promises.
THE PEOPLE STILL WANT THE FALL OF THE REGIME
Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese poured into the streets after the government floated a new tax on WhatsApp on the heels of an austerity package that came in response to an increasingly severe fiscal crisis.
The protests rapidly escalated into an indictment of the entire post-civil war order, in which a sectarian power-sharing arrangement has transformed former warlords and other elites into a permanent political class. In the three decades since the war ended, the same leaders have used patronage networks to get themselves re-elected again and again even as the government has failed to reliably provide basic services like electricity, water and trash collection. A similar story has unfolded in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, where a government that distributes power and top offices among Shiites and minority Sunnis and Kurds has calcified into a corrupt stasis, with parties haggling over ministries as services and infrastructure fall into further ruin despite the country's considerable oil wealth.
"Thieves! Thieves!" protesters in both countries chanted this week.
"Massive economic mismanagement coupled with spiraling corruption have pauperized large segments of the Arab people," said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics. "It is no wonder then that millions of Arabs are fed up."
The protests in both countries target governments that are close to Iran and backed by its heavily armed local allies, raising fears of a violent backlash. Nearly 200 Iraqis have been killed in recent clashes with security forces, and supporters of the Iran-backed Hizbullah have brawled with protesters in Beirut.
"There is no magical bullet or easy answer to the severe crisis of governance in Arab lands," Gerges said. "The struggle will be fierce and long and costly, but there is no turning back."
RISING UP AGAINST A RISING CHINA
Hong Kong's protests erupted in early June after the semiautonomous city passed an extradition bill that put residents at risk of being sent to China's judicial system. At one point, protesters said they had brought 2 million people into the streets.
Authorities were forced to drop the extradition proposal , which was triggered by the need to resolve the status of a murder suspect wanted for killing his pregnant girlfriend in Taiwan. But by then, the movement had snowballed to include demands for full democracy in the form of direct elections for the city's top leader.
Since China took control of Hong Kong from Britain in 1997, the city's leaders have been selected by an elite committee made up mostly of pro-Beijing tycoons. Local councilors and half of the Asian financial center's legislature are directly elected, but the other half are chosen by representatives from the finance, tourism, catering, accounting and other industries, which adds to the public discontent over stifled promises of democracy.
Underlying the Hong Kong protest movement are rising fears about China's tightening grip on the city and worries that Beijing is reneging on promises not to meddle with Hong Kong's Western-style civil liberties, such as freedom of speech and an independent judiciary.
Protesters also fear China's technology-powered authoritarianism. Wearing masks to conceal their identities, they have cut down "smart lampposts" and smashed surveillance cameras. They worry about artificial intelligence-powered facial recognition surveillance systems capturing their biometric data and sending it for processing by Chinese technology giants to track and identify them.
UNREST IN WEALTHY, DEMOCRATIC CHILE
On Friday, an estimated 1 million Chileans filled the streets of the capital Santiago, more than ever took to the streets during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet or the democratic governments that came after him.
The protests were sparked by the subway fare hike but soon morphed into a mass movement against inequality in one of Latin America's wealthiest countries. At least 19 people have been killed as protesters have clashed with police in recent days.
Protesters tried to force their way onto the grounds of Chile's legislature Friday, provoking an evacuation of the building. Police fired tear gas to fend off hundreds of demonstrators on the perimeter as some lawmakers and administrative staff hurried out of the legislative building, which is in the port city of Valparaiso.
Marta Lagos, head of Latinobarometro, a nonprofit survey group in Chile, said the protests have exposed the shortcomings of the country's political system. "There is a failure of the system of political parties in its ability to represent society," Lagos said.
Struggling to contain the strife, President Sebastián Piñera's administration announced increases in the minimum wage, raised minimum pensions by 20% and rolled back the subway fare increase.
He put a 9.2% increase in electricity prices on hold until the end of next year, but with analysts predicting his resignation and fresh elections, the consequences of that move could fall to his successor.
CATALAN PROTESTS TAKE A VIOLENT TURN
For years, Catalan separatists have held peaceful, festive marches, but the movement took a violent turn last week when protests erupted over the imprisonment of nine leaders who led a bid for independence from Spain in 2017.
That failed attempt left the separatist movement rudderless, with 12 of its leaders arrested and most of the rest fleeing the country, including former Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont.
New activist collectives have emerged in their place, including one calling itself the Tsunami Democratic, which uses its own app and encrypted messages to call for "civil disobedience."
But one of its first calls to protest, after the Oct. 31 Supreme Court ruling jailing the leaders, turned into a massive siege of Barcelona's international airport, with rioters clashing with police late into the night.
The group has borrowed some of its tactics and rhetoric from the Hong Kong protesters, and protesters in both places have staged demonstrations in support of one another, though most Hong Kong protesters have been careful not to push for independence from China - one of President Xi Jinping's "red lines."
That one movement is struggling against domination by one-party China while the other is rising up against a European democracy is a distinction that has been lost in the tear gas.

Lebanon Protest Teach-ins Revive Pre-War Landmarks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 27/2019
The Lebanese capital's iconic egg-shaped cinema looming large behind him, Jamil Mouawad lectured around 20 students on the politics of public space, as demonstrations swelled in the streets below. "It's a political act to be able to teach here," said the professor of political science at the American University of Beirut (AUB), perched on a rectangular base underpinning the bullet-ravaged and long-abandoned building. "This is a place where knowledge and practice can meet," he said, as chants against the ruling elite echoed upwards -- part of a days-long protest that has forced public access to this and other Beirut landmarks.
Built in the 1960s, the Egg was to be part of a multi-use complex, before Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war damaged the building and scuppered development plans. After the conflict ended, it was threatened by a privatized post-war reconstruction process that leveled architectural landmarks in central Beirut, replacing them with glitzy high-rises. Solidere -- the controversial company in charge of developing much of the area, including the Egg's environs -- limited public access to the space, although the building briefly hosted underground festivals and parties in the 1990s and 2000s. But since unprecedented, cross-sectarian protests demanding the removal of an entrenched political elite engulfed central Beirut last week, the Egg has been among several pre-war spaces occupied by academics and demonstrators.
They have organized raves and movie screenings inside, injecting new life into the once-dreary center of the capital, which hasn't seen such a lively social scene since Solidere transformed the area into a luxury zone. "I live 200 meters away from the Egg and I had never stepped foot inside" said Bachar el-Halabi, a researcher at AUB, who moderated a lecture at the site on Friday. "The history of Beirut is inside it, and the capital's present and future are just outside, on the streets."
'Eggupation' -
One recent afternoon, more than 100 people -- mostly students -- streamed into the Egg's hollowed interior as an economist and former minister delivered a lecture on "Capitalism in Crisis," while heavy rain fell outside. "This space is more important than any university," Charbel Nahas, an AUB professor, told a cheering crowd of students, the walls around him plastered with slogans demanding the "fall of the regime." Posters hanging from metal rails announced the "Eggupation" of the concrete edifice, as a coffee vendor walked through the crowd, clinking small cups.
The talk was part of a series of daily lectures, followed by open discussions among students and activists who try to give structure to an otherwise loose protest movement that has yet to deliver a unified set of demands. Less than a hundred meters away, an abandoned theater -- fenced off since the end of the war -- was also briefly occupied by demonstrators.Protesters poked their heads out of the theater's windows and lined its roof, and some marveled at its crumbling interior. Mouawad gave his students a tour of the structure, known as 'The Grande Theater', just before security forces boarded it up. The moments before the building reverted to its forbidden status were "tense and political," he said. Under a nearby tent, facing the Mohammad Al-Amin mosque, Mona Fawaz, a professor of urban studies at AUB, moderated a discussion between her students and other demonstrators.
"In the city that Beirut has become, there are no more public spaces, we are confined to the doors of the university," she said.
"It is time for us to recover these spaces."

WhatsApp in Lebanon and Arab World: An Essential but Controversial Tool
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 27/2019
From organizing mass protests in Baghdad and Beirut to coordinating rescue missions amid grinding conflict in Syria, WhatsApp has become an indispensable connector for millions across the Arab world. In Lebanon, where telecommunications are highly regulated and expensive, citizens have increasingly relied on WhatsApp for free calls. When the government announced a tax on these calls on October 17, it sparked protests that grew to an unprecedented scale. After 11 days of demonstrations, protesters have rejected the term "WhatsApp revolution", saying the phrase diminishes what is a demand for drastic political change. But they acknowledge the technology is instrumental in mobilizing rallies that have attracted hundreds of thousands from a population of about six million.
Yasmine Rifaii, 24, a protest organizer from Tripoli in northern Lebanon who works at a local NGO, said WhatsApp was operating as a virtual "backstage for the revolution.""We are connected to all of these WhatsApp groups -- Lebanon is a small country, everyone knows someone else from another city. We are reaching out across religions and locations," she told AFP. Over the border in Syria, WhatsApp can be the difference between life and death.
Mustafa al-Hajj Younes, who heads a group of first responders in Idlib province, said civilians use group chats to appeal for help from rescue teams.
"We coordinate on these groups whenever there is a need for our services," he said. WhatsApp is especially useful because of weak telecommunications infrastructure in areas under opposition control. "People can only contact us through WhatsApp or cell phones," he said.
- 'Most dangerous app' -
Across the region, digital authoritarianism is increasing, with some governments regularly blocking popular social media applications including WhatsApp, especially its free calls feature. Users in Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates cannot make internet calls without a proxy server. Messages deemed offensive in court have even landed some users in jail in the UAE.
It is a similar story in Morocco, where the government banned free voice over internet protocol (VoIP) calls in 2016.
A 26-year-old Moroccan journalist who relies on the app to liaise with officials and sources told AFP it was a "national drama" when the decision came into effect, provoking a swift public backlash. In the wake of small-scale protests in Egypt, police have randomly stopped and frisked people to examine social media content on their phones. Police arrested many on the spot after inspecting their mobiles, AFP witnessed in September. That month, the attorney-general's office said prosecutors had orders to "inspect the social media accounts and pages of those detained."
In Iraq, where nearly 200 people have died in protests during October, another battle is being waged online.
When anti-corruption demonstrations broke out in many cities early this month, authorities cut internet services in an attempt to quell unrest -- a tactic they have used in the past. "We consider WhatsApp to be the most dangerous application at this stage," a well-placed security source who preferred to remain anonymous told AFP. "Cutting the connection to WhatsApp was meant to prevent these gatherings from happening", he bluntly admitted. Yasser al-Joubouri, an Iraqi activist who participated in the protests in Baghdad, said the app was crucial for forming activist groups to disseminate details about protests. "We created (WhatsApp) groups specifically to share information quickly and distribute it on social networks like Facebook and Twitter," he said. This sharing of information provokes an "existential fear" for governments that were caught off-guard by the Arab Spring uprisings, said Adel Iskandar, a media studies professor at Simon Fraser University in Canada. But governments also see that such apps could be beneficial, he added. "The state sees these platforms not merely as a threat but rather as an opportunity to supplant critical messages with supportive ones," Iskandar told AFP.
'Making things easier'
With over 1.5 billion users worldwide, WhatsApp remains the most popular social media program in terms of usage in the youthful, tech-savvy region, according to a recent survey by Northwestern University in Qatar. Aside from sharing harrowing content and connecting protesters from turbulent hotspots via in-built encrypted messages, the app is also used for everyday conversations, like elsewhere in the world. Jordanian officials, as well as other policymakers across the region, regularly communicate with journalists in groups broadcasting statements; they even give sensitive interviews on the freely available instant messaging service.
Jamila Sharaf, a mother-of-two from east Jerusalem, keeps up with activities for her children with the school's administration informing her and other parents in a group. "The application makes things easier and helps to spread information very quickly," she said. In Iran, officials banned the more secure app Telegram, saying it was used to fuel unrest during a wave of protests in January 2018. This has driven many young people to WhatsApp. "The ban on Telegram has made me use WhatsApp more," said Ramin, a 26-year-old from Tehran.
She described the idea of taxing social media to plug budget shortfalls as "ridiculous"."I would (be prepared to) help my government in that situation, but not by paying for something which is meant to be free."

Lebanon In The News
Sally Farhat/Annahar/October 27/2019
In show of unity, Lebanese form longest human chain
The line quickly connected from Tripoli to Sour. Organizers made sure to move volunteers from one area to another to complete the chain.
BEIRUT: From its far North to its far South, Lebanon witnessed the formation of the longest human chain. A record breaker? Maybe. Nonetheless, the goal was not to enter Guinness World Record, but rather to show the strength of unity of the Lebanese protesters and their insistence on their demands.
“This human chain represents a breath of hope for the Lebanese," Vivianne Freiha, one of the protesters, said. Souraya Tabet, another protester that has joined in forming the chain, told Annahar that “this initiative is a symbolic representation of people’s unity, which everyone has been seeing among protesters since day one. We will make it, hand in hand." The line quickly connected from Tripoli to Sour. Organizers made sure to move volunteers from one area to another to complete the chain. This was the case in Jal el-Dib, where protesters were asked to move to Dbayeh.
Protests rattle the postwar order in Lebanon and Iraq. “200,000 people are expected to join us today to form the human chain,” Muriel Aboulrous, one of the Beirut organizers, explained to Annahar. “We have around 40 meeting points along Lebanon's coastal from Tripoli to Sour.”
Aya Fakih, a mom of two, knew about the human chain from a Facebook post and immediately felt an obligation to join with her children in Martyrs Square. “This human chain is very important, it teaches our children the importance of holding hands and moving forward as a team. It’s the most peaceful and human way to tell the world that no matter how much they will try to break us, we will remain united,” Fakih said. Hussam Shbaro, a pharmacy student at the Lebanese University, heard about the initiative from his friends and ultimately, decided to join. “I think it’s one of the greatest ways to show politicians that we’re stronger than they will ever be. We’re holding hands with people from places we’ve never heard of, from different religions, sects, and backgrounds. We’re all here for one goal.” Sunday marked the 11th day of Lebanon's demonstrations. Protesters have rejected the proposed government reforms, asking for the resignation of the government, early elections, and the formation of a technocrat government.
*Christy-Belle Geha, Chiri Choukeir, and TK Maloy contributed to this article.

Lebanon's protesters continue to show united front
James Haines-Young/The Nationmal/October 27/2019
Major highways remain shut heading north of Beirut as protesters keep the country at a standstill
Roadblocks set up by protesters near the centre of Lebanon’s capital Beirut were lifted on Sunday morning.
The move, however, was not a victory for the security forces, who made several unsuccessful attempts throughout Saturday to open the main thoroughfare ring road. It was instead a move by those on the streets to allow more to join their ranks for what activists said was going to be a major rally on the 11th day of nationwide protests.
At the main protest sites around Martyrs and Riad Al Solh squares, community spaces sprang up, running arts and crafts workshops for children. People gathered there to discuss the future of the anti-government movement and the country as traders did brisk business selling water, snacks and food.
On Saturday, police and the army attempted to clear protesters from a stretch of the ring road that connects east and west Beirut, before another group blocked the road further along. After hours going back and forth, the police appeared to give up at around nightfall and cede the highway to the demonstrators.
What appeared to be a new chant sprang up, with protesters modifying an almost-ubiquitous song that insults Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil to “Hela Hela Hela Hela Ho, el tariq msakkar ya helo," meaning “the road is closed, good looking”.By dawn on Sunday, the main highway from Beirut towards Tripoli and the north was still blocked, despite security heads meeting discuss a plan on how to clear roads in a bid to get the country back to work and end the rallies.
Initially sparked by a raft of new taxes, the spontaneous uprising demands an end to years of corruption, inequality, inefficient governance, unemployment and poor service provision.
Among the many issues facing Lebanon is a shortage of US dollars, a currency used interchangeably at a fixed exchange rate in the country.
On Sunday, thousands headed to the main north-south highway in an attempt to create a human chain from northern Lebanon’s Tripoli to southern Lebanon’s Tyre. “We have meeting points set up and people are already joining. We just have started the chain but have no idea how many people are here,” said Ghinwa, who was helping at one of the rally points. She declined to give her full name, saying the organisers were working as Lebanese people, not individuals.
The idea started on Instagram and Ghinwa said that within a few hours Julie had 3,000 people saying they would attend.
“We want to show that Lebanese people are organised without sect or political affiliation. “We’re not trying to tell politicians anything, this is not related to politicians but it’s just to show we’re very united,” she said.
Maronite Patriarchate Bashara Rai used his Sunday sermon to call on politicians to meet protesters demands “before it’s too late”.
“Seek what satisfies the people and do not ignore this uprising … respond to our people’s needs with an act of love that would free you,” Mr Rai said.
It was a continuation on Saturday evening, when tens of thousands gathered on the streets of central Beirut and in towns across the country.
In the Beddawi, near Tripoli, the army appeared to open fire on protesters, leading to several casualties. They said, however, that they had only intervened when an altercation erupted, and that demonstrators had thrown stones and firecrackers.
The incident did not deter tens of thousands from gathering in central Tripoli, with footage on local media showing a raucous crowd chanting and singing, despite efforts by the government to announce new reforms to ease their anger.
State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat said on Sunday that he had ordered a freeze on permits that allow businesses and exchange traders to take large quantities of dollars out of the country.
Throughout the weekend, discussion of which cash machines were still stocking dollars was common at protests and while banks insisted there should be no shortage of the currency, many said they had to try several bank branches to it.
On Saturday, the presidential palace denied reports that President Michel Aoun had blocked a bill to create an anti-corruption commission, saying that he had returned the legislation to parliament for revision.
“The adoption [of anti-corruption measures] must be expedited so that the law meets requirements but does not create areas of weakness or contradiction,” a statement said. The bill returned is not the same as measures the president discussed during his first address to the nation on Thursday, his office added.
Sami Nader, Director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs in Beirut, told The National that it was clear that protesters want a new government, without the main political parties, to solve the acute economic crisis the country faces. They also want to start fixing the country’s fragile infrastructure and to unlock the US$11 billion in grants and loans from the international community that is tied to yet to be implemented political reforms.
“If it was a corrupt administration but provided economic solutions and services, maybe it would work, but [the administration] has led to a bankrupt country, no liquidity and no jobs,” he said.
He said a body of experts and technocrats who are not affiliated with any party was the solution.
“We are in a different situation to Libya, Algeria, [and other Arab states], we have a constitution and we’re happy with it — more or less — we just want a new government,” Mr Nader said.

Lebanese protesters successfully form human chain across country
Lauren Holtmeier, Special to Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 27 October 2019
As the protests in Lebanon moved into their 11th day, tens of thousands of Lebanese protesters successfully formed a 171-kilometer-long human chain throughout the country from Tripoli in the north down to Tyre in the south. Cars whooshed by honking with flags waving. Others handed out water to protesters forming the chain. Videos quickly emerged on social media of people filing in all over the country to participate. Mostly peaceful protests have taken place across the country, with protesters uniting across sectarian and class lines in a country where sectarianism is rooted in its every fiber. The Taif Agreement, put in place at the end of the civil war in 1989, installed a power sharing agreement that mandated that the president be Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim. Today, many in Lebanon have turned away from traditional sectarian lines and have banded together to call for the end of the regime. The revolution’s popular chant kullon yani kullon - all of them means all of them - refers to their call for the entire political ruling class to step down. “The significance of the human chain is honestly to show the sheer number of people who are actually against the regime and what the government has been doing for the last 30 years,” Wael Abifaker, a participant in the Beirut chain link, said. “It needs to be seen by the world, all of Lebanon, and especially by the corrupt government to show that we are all unified.”Following a year of worsening economic conditions, including a dollar shortage and additional taxes imposed, the most recent of which was a WhatsApp tax that would cost users of the otherwise free app up to $6 a month, protesters took to the streets. The WhatsApp tax was quickly reversed, but those in the country pay some of the highest bills in the region for telecommunications. Additionally, citizens already pay dual bills for water and electricity where the state fails to provide potable water and round-the-clock electricity. Living costs are high compared to salaries, and many Lebanese fail to make ends meet. The recent protests, the largest since the 2005 Cedar Revolution, are a marked departure from the old sectarian ways. Organizers estimated that it would take 171,000 people to complete the chain.The human chain, largely organized on social media and through WhatsApp groups, was yet another sign of Lebanese shedding their sectarian identities. “We are not going to be divided the way the government wants us to be, and we’re standing together, and we won’t back down,” Abifaker said.

Hezbollah In The Eye Of The Storm
Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/October 27/2019
Following all political forces, Hezbollah has faced the popular protests in Lebanon, and considered them directed against it. Ten days ago, the Lebanese people of all sects with no exception, took to the streets after the situation reached unprecedented levels.
They did not target certain political forces, did not raise slogans against Hezbollah or others, they held only their Lebanese flag, carried only their concerns, and rebelled against their tragedies.
But Nasrallah understood very well that it was his party and his allies who caused the unparalleled protest movement.
With two speeches, Nasrallah rushed to justify his position and to threaten his opponents. He moved from self-defense to the attack, before he finds himself alone in the eye of the storm.
Nasrallah used his political weight to preserve what he called the “present tenure”, calling it a red line. He is in fact the godfather of the political settlement that made the militia leader the first decision-maker in Lebanon. He has engineered the arrival of a pro-Hezbollah president to power; he has also designed the first-time 30-minister-government, including 18 ministers from his own party and allies.
He did not realize that today, he is confronting people whose energy is greater than his - and who are more powerful than his threats. Today, he is facing the Lebanese people of all sects, Christians and Muslims, Sunnis and Shiites, Maronite, Orthodox and Druze.
The problem is more complicated than Hezbollah’s attempts, over the past decades, to buy time under the threat of weapons. Angry Lebanese have recently declared that their country’s sectarian and quota-based system, which is hindering development process, has to change.
It seems that Prime Minister Saad Hariri is convinced that the change of government is coming, albeit delayed, after he became alone, without allies within his government, following the resignation of the Lebanese Forces ministers. But Hezbollah firmly rejects this option.
Not only did Nasrallah regard the present tenure as a red line, threatening everyone not to touch it, as if it were a holy book, but he also mocked the protesters’ demands to form a technocratic government. He is well aware that he is the biggest loser in any future changes to the political system that is currently burdening the Lebanese.
So Nasrallah not only warned the protesters, but threatened them with a “civil war.” He, alone, possesses the tools of this war, not the unarmed people.
The annihilation of political considerations, no matter how necessary for the Lebanese people, is merely an inherent habit of Hassan Nasrallah, who has never been known to consider the interests of the Lebanese, given his continued religious and political subordination to the Supreme Leader who is based in Iran.
However, the Iranian project, which Nasrallah is fighting to adhere to, is contrary to the nature of Lebanon.
Hezbollah and its leader have openly declared that they are confronting everyone and that they continue to use Lebanon, with its people and state, as human and economic shields to protect their interests.
The lie of the present tenure has expired irrevocably. This is no longer a purely Lebanese tenure, but the “Hezbollah era” that Nasrallah defends.
The Lebanese roaring voice cannot be stopped by Hezbollah, neither by threat nor by intimidation, nor by the militias that Nasrallah boasts as the strongest on the ground.

Behind Lebanon’s Crisis Stands Iran
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/October 27/2019
The Lebanese scene has always been part of the great regional field, and it has been used by the region’s powers. It has become almost monopolized by Iran through its proxy Hezbollah and forces loyal to the Syrian regime.
The US, too, has increased its activity in Lebanon with the imposition of sanctions on Iran. The Americans realized that they have to stifle the routes through which Tehran evades sanctions, and its most prominent route is Lebanon.
Washington has stepped up its crackdown on Hezbollah’s financial resources, tracing them to Latin America, Africa, Australia, and elsewhere. These financial resources are derived from drug trafficking, cigarette smuggling, and even selling fake Viagra.
In the past decade, Tehran has used Hezbollah and made it carry out missions beyond Lebanon’s borders. Iran has turned Hezbollah into a military battalion fighting on its behalf in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere.
Tehran has also turned Lebanon into a center that serves its propaganda and legal, political, and financial agendas. To do that, Hezbollah seized almost complete control of the state — the airport, ports, border crossings, telephone networks, security, and service ministries. This is why the US made Lebanon the target of its scrutiny and sanctions, and there might be further pressure.
The anger we see on the streets in Lebanon is partly the result of Hezbollah’s insistence on turning the country into a confrontation line with the West. The consequences are bad and might get worse.
Hezbollah must realize that when it takes the country hostage to the desires of Iran’s supreme leader, it risks a confrontation with all the Lebanese people, including Shiites, their latest victims. As we have seen, the voices that have risen up publicly against Hezbollah are also Shiite. Confrontations against it have taken place in its areas of influence, such as Nabatieh, Baalbek-Hermel, and elsewhere.
Lebanon, without an armed Hezbollah that is loyal to Iran, could be the most prosperous country in the region. But Lebanon, as it is today, is destined to worse days.
It is true that Hezbollah is not the only local player, as it has partners that must also share the blame. The current uprising has raised a slogan rejecting all the leaders in government, and calling for reform of the failing political system because it allows political powers to divide influence and interests at the expense of Lebanon and its people.
It may not seem reasonable to the Lebanese public that they are paying the price for Hezbollah’s intrusion in the region and its threats against Western interests. But this is the reality that has partly caused the economy to deteriorate, and has placed the government between the hammer of the West and the anvil of Hezbollah. Unless the group curtails its services to Iran, it will suffer and make Lebanon and its people suffer more than before.

Time is up for Iraq and Lebanon’s sectarian systems
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/October 28/2019
When Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah asserted that protests could provoke “chaos” or “civil war,” was this a warning or a threat? Within minutes of his speech, motorbike convoys of Hezbollah supporters fanned out across Beirut, breaking up rallies. Throughout the day, demonstrators were attacked by masked men chanting “Labaik Nasrallah.”
Protesters derisively rejected Nasrallah’s patronizing platitudes, threats and half-baked conspiracies. Rebutting his suggestion that suspicious foreign elements were sponsoring the protests, citizens videoed themselves declaring “I am sponsoring this revolution.” I witnessed tangible examples of this outbreak of national solidarity, with friends of mine purchasing umbrellas and plastic raincoats for fellow demonstrators when it rained. Others distributed food or provided entertainment.
Comparable defiance against foreign interference played out across Iraq this weekend, with posters of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei torn down in Shiite holy cities, chants against Qassem Soleimani, and attacks against proxy paramilitary offices. More than 63 were killed and 2,500 injured in a single weekend, despite Iraq’s fragmenting administration pledging to avoid lethal force. In towns across the south, ugly clashes between protesters and Iran-backed militants create the impression of a nation perilously close to the brink of civil war.
For those of us who have long despaired of Lebanon’s political direction of travel, this assertion of national identity represents an exhilarating beacon of hope that radical change is possible. Protesters are grimly aware that their demands won’t be achieved overnight. Yet a fresh zeitgeist of collective national unity has been awakened vis-a-vis the corrupt and complicit governing classes, which have conspired to pillage the nation’s wealth — with detested figures like Gebran Bassil the focus of particular ire.
After decades trapped within a sectarianized straitjacket, Lebanon’s sects recognize this poisonous narrative of “divide and conquer” for what it is. They poured on to the streets as a single nation, declaring their common aspirations of “dignity,” jobs, accountability, and protecting Lebanese sovereignty.
For decades it was possible to deny the extent of Iranian interference. Previously, it was the Syrians who sought to micromanage our lives. We meekly accepted Hezbollah’s rhetoric that it was protecting us against Israel’s or, latterly, Daesh’s hostile designs. But was Hezbollah defending Lebanon when it massacred Syrian oppositionists? Or when hard currency is sucked out of the economy to cushion Tehran from the impact of American sanctions? Or when Nasrallah declared that Khamenei is “our imam, our leader, our master… the Islamic Republic of Iran is the heart of the axis, its main center, its strongest supporter?”
How dare Nasrallah accuse patriotic demonstrators of accepting foreign assistance when he is the living embodiment of foreign meddling: Iranian arms, Iranian money, Iranian identity, and Iranian orders.
How dare Nasrallah accuse patriotic demonstrators of accepting foreign assistance when he is the living embodiment of foreign meddling.
The “barrier of fear” has been shattered, with an erosion of the unquestioning loyalty Hezbollah demands from Shiite communities. Mothers mourned children returning from Syria in body bags. With a sharp fall in Iranian salaries for fighters, stipends to the families of “martyrs” and welfare payments, there is growing realization of the downsides of dependence on Tehran, particularly when the cost may ultimately be a ruinous war with Israel.
More than a million Lebanese on the streets, dancing, singing and chanting for revolution, represents a fundamental challenge to everything Hezbollah stands for. This includes aspirations for Lebanon’s cultural and economic renaissance and for a model of governance that is genuinely accountable and representative — as opposed to avaricious factions monopolizing the right to represent us by default due to the sect or community we were born into.
Tehran’s malicious intentions are more glaring in Baghdad, with the government dominated by Iran-backed paramilitaries with Iraqi blood on their hands — including that of dozens of protesters murdered by militia snipers. These paramilitaries control vast areas of Iraq, yet it was in their strongholds that the most significant outbursts of anti-Iranian rage have manifested themselves.
Shiite Arabs are waking up to the realization that the ayatollahs of Tehran aren’t generously donating billions of dollars for the pious causes of protecting pilgrims and refurbishing religious seminaries. This isn’t kinship, it’s a naked power grab. Soleimani would happily forge alliances with Satanist cults or atheist revolutionaries if it served his goal of dominating Arab nations. Last week’s disclosure that an Iranian assassination squad targeted Iranian dissidents in Albania illustrates Tehran’s obsession with spreading terrorism and mayhem around the globe.
Permanent Iranian hegemony over proud Arab nations is impossible. The Islamic Republic itself is imploding, not due to outside pressures but from Iranians themselves courageously emerging year after year to challenge their oppressors. The mullahs’ regime is a fleeting moment in history and, the moment they cease exporting billions of dollars of stolen national wealth to bankroll overseas anarchy, their hated mercenary proxies will vanish in the blink of an eye.
We must take Nasrallah’s civil war threats seriously. Tehran cast Syria into the inferno of civil war to protect its puppet Bashar Assad. The Lebanese are still living the acrimonious ramifications of their previous civil war, which ended 30 years ago.
Infiltrators triggering disturbances and violence at rallies are simply the beginning of coordinated efforts to sow “fitnah” (rebellion) among Lebanese citizens once again; because, when the Lebanese are at one another’s throats, beholden to sectarian lies, they become powerless and easily dominated.
If the entire Lebanese nation can sustain its miraculous unity, all things become possible. There are two stark options: United, Lebanon can again flourish as the “Switzerland of the Middle East;” divided, it will continue its current trajectory as an impoverished, isolated Iranian satellite.
The sectarian, kleptocratic governing bureaucracies of Lebanon and Iraq are like mighty fortresses built of glass. Some of those standing on top of these glass citadels have already realized that their best interests lie in climbing down and uniting with fellow citizens. Woe betide those still posturing atop these glazed follies when the nations ultimately decide that the time has come to shatter them to pieces.
*Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

Lebanon Revolts: How's your mental health?
Sandra Abdelbaki /Annahar/October 27/2019
BEIRUT: Lebanon has been revolting for the past 11 days. Among the echoing cheers and radiant hope, protesters need to keep in mind one question: Am I taking good care of my mental health? In this light, a group of called "Bedna Nthour, Bedna Naa'ref," which translates in English to we want to revolt, we want to know, organized a public teach-in titled "Mental Health during Revolution" on Saturday October 26 at Gibran Khalil Gibran garden. The aim of the discussion was to remind people of the importance of taking care of their mental health. Hosted by Ghina Ismail, Assistant Professor of Psychology at the American University of Beirut and a clinical psychologist, and Mia Atoui, Instructor of Psychology at AUB and a clinical psychologist, the discussion acted as a platform for people to share their thoughts. It might sound controversial, but what we have to know today is our limits,” Atoui said during the discussion. “We have to know how much we can contribute to this revolution.”According to Atoui, the revolution gives the protesters a rush of adrenaline. This rush pushes the protesters to think that they have to do everything and participate in all of the activities at once.
“We have to ask ourselves: Am I able to close a road? Am I capable of doing a sit in? Can I handle pressure during times of danger? Can I do all this at once?” Atoui added.
What people watch on television or see on social media might look easier or simpler than what it is in reality. This is why one should always ask him/herself if he/she is physically or emotionally able to take all this pressure. Any contribution is a good contribution. In other words, there is no contribution greater than another. “You might only be able to take a picture or post a post on social media, and that is a contribution,” Atoui explained. “The moment an individual pushes his limits because he/she feels guilty, there’s a higher risk that he/she will do a burnout.”Another point that was highlighted during the discussion was the feeling of uncertainty. “No one really knows where this revolution is heading which makes us feel anxious,” Ismail explained. “But it’s normal to feel this. You should always remember that you are not alone.”
Aside from the feeling of uncertainty, feelings of anger should also be taken into consideration. Anger in revolutions plays a positive role and helps make the revolt a success. Yet, according to Ismail, some studies have shown that during revolutions, people are most likely to mix between their personal anger and the anger for the revolution.
“We have to know how to differentiate between our personal anger and our anger for this revolution. And what’s even more important is not to think of this revolution as a vacation from our old problems,” Ismail explained. Ismail pointed out that people have definitely had their own personal problems before the revolution started. This is why one should deal with any problem he/she has and not avoid it or forget about it just because there is a revolution. “The revolution will end at some point, and people will be left with their own problems at the end of the day,” Ismail said. Tears and smiles enveloped attendees as they started sharing their personal stories. “I’ve been projecting my anger on everything and everyone for a while,” one of the attendees said. “But, after this discussion, I realized what I’ve been doing is wrong and I decided to take today as a break.”
“I have been sleeping for two hours everyday and I haven’t been eating,” another attendee shared. “Today, I decided to go and get myself a croissant from my favorite place. I realized that I have to take care of myself because if I don’t, then I can’t take care of anything else.”
Atoui and Ismail also stressed on the importance of taking digital breaks from social media and being aware of what is being shared. “Make sure to know what you’re sharing on social media, and always ask yourselves: why am I sharing it in the first place?” Atoui explained. “If it gave you a feeling of anger then think twice before sharing.”Atoui and Ismail reminded the attendees that embrace’s hotline “1564” is always ready to listen to anyone who is going through tough time during this revolution.
*Emotional support and suicide prevention hotline in Lebanon: 1564 | For more information, visit: www.embracelebanon.org

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 27-28/2019
US Donald Trump confirms killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 27 October 2019
ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed, said US President Donald Trump in a televised address on Sunday. “Last night, the United States brought the world’s number one terrorist leader to justice. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead,” said Trump. Trump gave a detailed description of the US raid on al-Baghdadi’s compound, which he said he watched live last night. Al-Baghdadi died by detonating a suicide vest, having run into a “dead-end tunnel” being pursued by US troops. “US personnel were incredible, I got to watch much of it. No personnel were lost in the operation,” said Trump. “He died after running into a dead-end tunnel, whimpering and crying and screaming all the way. The compound had been cleared by this time.”“We took highly sensitive material from the raid. Much of it to do with ISIS,” added Trump, who described how children were removed from the compound while al-Baghdadi’s supporters were killed.Trump went on to emphasize the importance of the event and praise the US for carrying out the operation. “Al-Baghdadi’s demise demonstrates America’s relentless pursuit of terrorists … Our reach is very long,” said President Trump, as he described the “heinous” crimes committed by ISIS. Trump also thanked Russia, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, as well as the Syrian Kurds, for their assistance in finding and killing al-Baghdadi.
Ending his speech by saying the world is now a safer place, Trump declared: “God Bless America.”Answering questions after his confirmation of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death, Trump said that eight helicopters took place in the mission, which he described as highly dangerous.
“He died like a dog, he died like a coward,” reiterated Trump in response to one question. Trump added that he has been looking for al-Baghdadi for three years. The US will be releasing details of how many ISIS fighters were killed in the raid during the next 24 hours, he added. Responding to a question about whether he regreted pulling out US troops from northeast Syria after the help provided by the Syrian Kurds, Trump said he stuck by his decision. The US will stay and fight for the oil in northeastern Syria if it needs to, but it doesn't want to stay there, he said, claiming that Turkey and Syria have been fighting for thousands of years. He also used the speech to condemn leaks from the White House and reiterate his praise for the US special forces.
Towards the end of the press conference, Trump repeated his claims that he had been pursuing al-Baghdadi for the whole three years of his presidency. He also claimed that he had opposed the 2003 Iraq War and that he had called for the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden more than a year before the September 11 attacks in 2001. Trump continued to give further details about the attack in response to questions, describing how al-Baghdadi killed three children when he detonated his suicide vest. He ended the press conference by talking about Kayla Mueller, the American human rights activist who was held captive by ISIS before being killed in an airstrike, finishing by describing al-Baghdadi as a “gutless animal.”The White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said on Sunday that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s remains will be “disposed of properly,” and that DNA confirmation came this morning.
Other countries react
Trump thanked Russia, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, as well as the Syrian Kurds, for their assistance in finding and killing al-Baghdadi. After Trump's speech, Russia said that it had no reliable information concerning the US operation. Earlier in the day, several of these parties had claimed a role in the operation.
"There has been intelligence work on the ground for five months, and a thorough pursuit until terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was eliminated through this joint operation. We thank everyone who contributed to this great work," tweeted the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander Mazloum Abdi.
Senior SDF official Redur Xelil said at a news conference that his forces would now intensify intelligence operations and efforts to chase down ISIS sleeper cells. Turkey on Sunday said there was “coordination” between Ankara and Washington before the operation which US media reports said targeted and killed ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.“Prior to the US Operation in Idlib Province of Syria last night, information exchange and coordination between the military authorities of both countries took place,” the Turkish defense ministry said in a tweet. It did not give details. ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi arrived at the location in Syria where he was reportedly killed early on Sunday in a US raid some 48 hours before the operation, a senior Turkish official said. The Turkish army had advance knowledge of the US operation in Syria’s Idlib, the official said, adding that Turkey would continue to coordinate its actions on the ground with the “relevant parties.”Iraqi intelligence learned al-Baghdadi’s location and passed it on to the US after arresting an Iraqi man and woman from al-Baghdadi’s inner circle, an Iraqi intelligence official claimed on Sunday. The detainees gave “valuable information” which led to a secret location in the Iraqi desert containing documents with al-Baghdadi’s location and movements, added the official.

US raid on al-Baghdadi was staged from airbase in western Iraq: Source
Reuters, Washington/Sunday, 27 October 2019
The US special operations raid into northwest Syria against ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was staged from an airbase in western Iraq, a US official told Reuters on Sunday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stressed the important role of Iraq in the mission. “Iraqi intelligence and security officials contributed to the successful outcome of the operation,” the official said. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said in a televised address that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed. “Last night, the United States brought the world’s number one terrorist leader to justice. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead,” said Trump. Trump gave a detailed description of the US raid on al-Baghdadi’s compound, which he said he watched live last night. Al-Baghdadi died by detonating a suicide vest, having run into a “dead-end tunnel” being pursued by US troops.

Syria Kurds expect ISIS revenge attacks after al-Baghdadi death
AFP, Qamishli/Sunday, 27 October 2019
Syria’s Kurdish forces said that they expected revenge attacks by ISIS following the US announcement on Sunday that the extremist organization’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been killed. “Sleeper cells will seek revenge for al-Baghdadi’s death,” Mazloum Abdi, the top commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces - the de facto army of the Kurdish administration that holds thousands of ISIS fighters in custody - told AFP. “This is why anything is possible, including attacks on prisons,” he said. The SDF, who were the US-led coalition’s main partner on the ground in Syria during years of operations against ISIS, hold an estimated 12,000 ISIS suspects in a number of different facilities in northeastern Syria. An SDF-led operation eliminated the last scrap of ISIS’s self-proclaimed “caliphate” - which once covered vast territory in Syria and Iraq - in March. The territorial defeat of the extremist group did not however mean the death of the organization or of its ideology. Small units of fighters have since gone underground and continued to carry out guerrilla-style attacks in the region. US President Donald Trump, who announced al-Baghdadi’s death in a solemn address from the White House on Sunday, had said last year that he intended to pull his troops from Syria. US forces have indeed withdrawn from some areas in northern Syria, although they are remaining in regions of eastern Syria that include oil wells. The vacuum created by the US redeployment and a subsequent operation launched by Turkey and its proxies against Kurdish forces has heightened fears of mass ISIS prison breaks. Attacking prisons to free large numbers of senior operatives has been a signature tactic in resurgence drives by ISIS’s earlier iterations. Trump thanked the Syrian Kurds “for certain support they were able to give us” in the operation against al-Baghdadi. Mazloum had said in an earlier post on social media that the operation against the ISIS supremo had resulted from joint intelligence work.

World reacts to announcement of ISIS leader al-Baghdadi’s death
Reuters/Sunday, 27 October 2019
President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that fugitive ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had died in a raid by US special forces in northwest Syria, in a major blow to the extremist group. Al-Baghdadi killed himself during the raid by detonating a suicide vest, Trump said in a televised address from the White House.
Here are reactions to the announcement:
Bahrain
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said in a tweet: “Baghdadi’s death is a severe blow to ISIS, and we applaud the “brothers and allies” for their effort and success in finding and getting rid of him.”
Russia
Major-General Igor Konashenkov, quoted by RIA news agency as saying that “The Russian Ministry of Defense does not have reliable information on the operation by US servicemen... on yet another ‘elimination’ of former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.” Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of upper house of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, tells Interfax news agency: “... Last respects have been paid to al-Baghdadi at least five times in the past. (Also) countering terrorism is a much more difficult task than the physical destruction of its leaders, even the most irreconcilable.”
France
French President Emmanuel Macron said the death of the ISIS leader is just a step, adding that the fight must continue to finally defeat the extremists.
“The death of al-Baghdadi is a hard blow against Daesh (ISIS) but it is just a stage,” Macron wrote on Twitter. “The fight will continue with our partners in the international coalition to ensure that the terror organization is definitively defeated. It is our priority,” he added. While, French Defense Minister Florence Parly said on Twitter: “Baghdadi: early retirement for a terrorist, but not for his organization. I congratulate our American allies with this operation. My thoughts today are for all the victims of the madness of Bagdhadi and the criminals who have followed him.”
Britain
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter: “The death of Baghdadi is an important moment in our fight against terror but the battle against the evil of Daesh (ISIS) is not yet over. We will work with our coalition partners to bring an end to the murderous, barbaric activities of Daesh once and for all.”
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, also said on Twitter: “Following the death of Daesh’s leader, (ISIS) we must not allow Daesh to glorify someone who actioned such inhumane & abhorrent criminal acts. The UK will continue to support efforts to #DefeatDaesh.”
Iran
Information Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi said on Twitter: “Not a big deal, You just killed your creature”, in an accusation to the United States, its longtime foe, of creating ISIS.
Turkey
Senior aide to President Tayyip Erdogan, Fahrettin Altun, in statement to Reuters said that “Turkey was proud to help the United States, our NATO ally, bring a notorious terrorist to justice ... We remember today Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s civilian victims and our military heroes, who lost their lives to protect the world from Daesh (ISIS) terrorists.”“Turkey, which has been a bulwark against terrorism, will continue to work closely with the United States and others to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. It is time to join forces and defeat all terrorist groups operating in the region without further delay.”
Israel
A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu office read: “I would like to congratulate President Trump on the impressive achievement that led to the assassination of the head of (ISIS) al-Baghdadi. This reflects our shared determination, of the United States of America and of all free countries, to fight terror organizations and terrorist states. This achievement is an important milestone, but the campaign is still ahead of us.”

15 dead in Syria clashes between pro-Turkish forces, Kurds: Monitor
AFP/Sunday, 27 October 2019
Clashes in northeast Syria between pro-Ankara fighters backed by the Turkish air force and a regime-backed force led by Syrian Kurds left 15 dead on Saturday, a monitor said. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP that nine pro-Turkish fighters and six members of the Syrian Democratic Forces were killed in a zone between the towns of Tal Tamr and Ras al-Ain.

Israel’s Gantz, Netanyahu hold talks to break gov’t deadlock
The Associated Press, Jerusalem/Sunday, 27 October 2019
Israel’s prime minister and his main rival opened a new round of unity talks on Sunday in the latest effort to break a political stalemate and avoid an unprecedented third parliamentary election in less than a year. Israel has been paralyzed by political deadlock following an inconclusive election last month, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud nor the rival Blue and White party in control of a 61-seat majority in parliament. After nearly a month of efforts, Netanyahu last week said he had failed to cobble together a coalition. Israel’s president has now given the task to Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz. Gantz, a former military chief, met with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv to discuss a possible power-sharing agreement. Gantz’s party issued a statement that the two discussed possible options and agreed to a second meeting. Ahead of the talks, Netanyahu expressed support for a “broad national unity government.” Speaking to his Cabinet, Netanyahu said such a coalition is essential for Israel to face what he said were mounting security challenges around the region. “We must make tough decisions that require a government with broad shoulders,” he said. “This is not a political question, but a national and security question of the highest order. I hope that we can advance this goal in the coming days.”With Blue and White controlling 33 seats in parliament and Likud holding 32, the two parties together have enough support to form a government together. While both men support the idea of a unity deal, they have disagreed over who should lead it. Netanyahu wants his traditional religious and nationalist allies to sit with Likud and Blue and White. Gantz has been cool to sitting together with Netanyahu’s hardline allies. He also refuses to serve under a Netanyahu-led government while the long-serving leader faces possible indictment for corruption charges. Israel’s attorney general is to decide on whether to charge Netanyahu in the coming weeks. Ahead of their meeting, negotiators from the two parties met for preparatory talks that were “held in good spirits,” according to a Blue and White statement.
It is the first time in more than a decade that a candidate other than Netanyahu has been given the opportunity to form a government. But without Likud, Gantz’s options are limited. He can try to break up Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc and win over smaller hard-line parties. So far, there is no sign of that happening. His remaining potential partners include a diverse group of parties that have little in common, including the secular ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, dovish Jewish parties and a grouping of Arab parties, which have never sat in a government before. The country has faced political paralysis since Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman refused to sit in a government with Netanyahu’s ultra-religious partners following April’s election. That decision robbed Netanyahu of a parliamentary majority, leading to last month’s inconclusive election. Lieberman has refused to endorse either candidate for prime minister and demands they reach a unity deal. If the sides fail, Israel could face a third election early next year.

At least seven Iraqi protesters shot dead by militia in Hilla: Sources
Reuters/Sunday, 27 October 2019
At least seven protesters were killed and 38 wounded in the Iraqi city of Hilla early on Sunday when members of the Iranian-backed Badr Organization militia opened fire on demonstrators, police and health sources said.
Protesters had gathered across Iraq on Saturday in a second day of anti-government protests, in which at least 65 people have died.

Iraq MPs tied to populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr declare sit-in at parliament
AFP, Baghdad/Sunday, 27 October 2019
Iraqi lawmakers linked to populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr began an indefinite sit-in on Saturday night at parliament headquarters, two MPs told AFP, amid widespread anti-government protests. A second wave of demonstrations demanding an end to corruption and an overhaul of the political system have rocked the capital Baghdad and the south since late Thursday. Al-Sadr has already demanded the current government resign, but on Saturday members of his Saeroon bloc - parliament’s largest with 54 MPs - said they would escalate. “We are on our way now to parliament for the sit-in, until the enactment of all reforms the Iraqi people are demanding,” said MP Badr al-Zayadi. Saeroon lawmakers were in touch with others to persuade them to join the move, he added. Al-Zayadi told AFP the bloc had sent an “official request” to Iraqi President Barham Saleh who, according to Iraq’s constitution, could then ask parliament to withdraw confidence from the premier. MP Raed Fahmy, a member of Iraq’s Communist Party who is allied to al-Sadr, confirmed the sit-in. “We have joined the opposition and we demand the government resign,” Fahmy told AFP. Protests first erupted in Iraq on October 1, over unemployment, poor services and perceived government graft. More than 150 people died in the initial six-day wave of protests, and another 63 have lost their lives since the rallies resumed this week. Al-Sadr has called for early elections under the supervision of the United Nations. But he himself was effectively kingmaker of the current government, after his bloc secured 54 seats in the May 2018 legislative elections. At least 63 people have died in two days of anti-government protests in Iraq’s capital and across its south, a national rights watchdog said Saturday. In a related development, the heads of powerful Iraqi paramilitary factions threatened they would take “revenge” on Saturday after their offices in the south of the country were torched during deadly protests.

Elite troops deployed in southern Iraqi city Nasiriya to break up protests
Reuters, Nasiriya/Sunday, 27 October 2019
Iraq’s elite counter-terrorism service (CTS) deployed to the southern city of Nasiriya where protesters clashed with security forces on Saturday, broke up demonstrations by beating and arresting dozens, local police and security sources said. Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi earlier ordered the CTS to deploy in the streets of Baghdad and use any means to end protests against his government, two security sources told Reuters on Saturday. Meanwhile, Iraqi lawmakers linked to populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr began an indefinite sit-in on Saturday night at parliament headquarters, two MPs told AFP, amid widespread anti-government protests. A second wave of demonstrations demanding an end to corruption and an overhaul of the political system have rocked the capital Baghdad and the south since late Thursday.

Iraq deploys counter-terrorism forces to protect Baghdad buildings
Agencies/Sunday, 27 October 2019
Iraq’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service said on Sunday it had deployed in the streets of Baghdad upon Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s orders to protect important state buildings while security forces were busy with protests. “Counter-Terrorism Service forces have been deployed in some areas of Baghdad to protect state buildings from undisciplined elements taking advantage of security forces being busy with protecting protests and protesters,” it said in a statement. Two security sources had told Reuters on Saturday that the elite counter-terrorism forces had been deployed in Baghdad and had been told to “use all necessary measures” to end ongoing protests against Mahdi’s government. Meanwhile, Hundreds of protesters hunkered down in the Iraqi capital’s Tahrir Square on Sunday, defying another night of tear gas and shuttered roads as they pledged to “weed out” the political class. They have continued to gather despite a rapidly rising casualty toll, with more than 60 people dead since the second wave of anti-government protests kicked off Thursday. “We’re here to bring down the whole government -- to weed them all out!” one protester said, the Iraqi tricolor wrapped around his head.
Government officials including Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi and parliament speaker Mohammed Al-Halbussi have suggested more than a dozen reforms, but demonstrators seem unimpressed. “We don’t want a single one of them. Not Halbussi, not Abdel Mahdi. We want to bring down the regime,” the protester said. The scene at Tahrir was chaotic, with some protesters climbing atop multi-storey business centers to wave Iraqi flags and others torching tyres in rubbish-littered streets. Large tents had been set up and volunteers were distributing food and water to demonstrators. Notably, women and students were seen in larger numbers. The persistent protests have kept the pressure up on Abdel Mahdi, as has a new sit-in by parliamentarians tied to populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.His Saeroon bloc, parliament’s largest, launched the open-ended measure late on Saturday in order to achieve protester demands, lawmakers told AFP.

Four Iraqi MPs resign in response to mass protests
AFP, Baghdad/Sunday, 27 October 2019
Four Iraqi parliamentarians resigned on Sunday in anger at the government’s perceived failure to respond to mass protests, piling more pressure on embattled Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi. Rallies demanding an overhaul of the ruling regime have rocked Iraq this month, defying live rounds, tear gas and other violence that have left more than 200 dead. Parliament’s only two Communist lawmakers, Raed Fahmy and Haifa al-Amin, quit the body “in support of the peaceful, popular movement,” they said in a statement. “We are resigning because of the protests and the way they were repressed,” Fahmy told AFP.
“In 27 days, parliament has done nothing: it could not hold the prime minister nor the interior minister accountable” for reported violations by security forces, he said.Their statement called on the government to resign and for early elections under a new voting system. Two other lawmakers, Taha al-Difai and Muzahem al-Tamimi, also resigned on Sunday. Both belong to the list of former premier Haider al-Abadi. The 329-seat parliament has been in crisis since the protests began on October 1. Multiple sessions - including one on Saturday - have been cancelled after failing to reach quorum. The assembly met once in mid-October to appoint two ministers, a cabinet change which appears to have fallen short of protesters’ demands for wholesale change. The Iraqi Communist Party had allied with firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the 2018 elections to form Saeroon, which boasted the largest bloc in parliament. Al-Sadr, too, has called on the government to resign and for early elections supervised by the United Nations. Saeroon on Saturday announced an open-ended sit-in to show support for protests.

Iranian MP: Sanctions have not hit medicial supplies
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 27 October 2019
Sanctions on Iran have not had any effect on the supply of medicine and medical equipment in the country, said an Iranian MP on Sunday, reported the semi-official Mehr news agency. “There is enough medicine in the country and the people should not worry about it,” said Abolfazl Soroush, who is a member of the healthcare committee in the Iranian parliament. US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and world powers last year and reimposed sanctions on Iran as part of a “maximum pressure” policy to try to force Tehran to stop its destabilizing policies in the region. Despite sanctions, Iran “has no problems in providing medicine and medical equipment,” Soroush told Mehr. “The relevant authorities have made the necessary efforts to reach self-sufficiency in the field of medicine,” he added. “A large amount of the medicine needed in the country is produced domestically,” said Soroush, adding: “Iran has consulted with allies and neighbouring countries for the remainder of the needed medicine and on this basis, we have no problems in providing medicine under sanctions.”

Turkish army says 1 killed in north Syria amid shaky truce
The Associated Press, Istanbul/Sunday, 27 October 2019
Turkey’s army says an attack by Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria has killed one of its personnel and wounded five others, bringing Turkey’s military death toll to 11 since the launch of its operation. In a tweet Sunday, the military said the attack occurred near the border town of Ras al-Ain where its forces were conducting reconnaissance. The area falls within a 30 kilometers (19 miles) deep border zone Kurdish forces are withdrawing from, under a US-backed cease-fire. Despite that ceasefire and a second brokered by Russia, occasional skirmishes have continued. The Turkish military said its forces responded “within the framework of self-defense” to the rockets, mortars and heavy machine gun attack. A 150-hour truce brokered by Russia, allowing Syrian Kurdish forces to complete their withdrawal, runs out Tuesday evening.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 27-28/2019
"Why Are You So Silent?": Persecution of Christians, August 2019
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/October 27/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15079/persecution-christians-august
Boko Haram "has terrorised Christian communities in Nigeria for the last decade and has now splintered and spread its violent ideology into Cameroon, Niger and Chad." — Staff writer, Christian Today, August 8, 2019.
"They asked him to deny Christ and when he refused they cut off his right hand. Then he refused [again], they cut to the elbow again. In which he refused, before they shot him twice, at the head, the forehead, the neck, and chest." — Enoch Yeohanna, speaking on CBN News, August 29, 2019. Nigeria.
"Every year at least a thousand girls are kidnapped, raped, and forced to convert to Islam, even forced to marry their tormentors." — Tabassum Yousaf, a local Catholic lawyer, quoted in Newsbook MT, August 12, 2019. Pakistan.
In Turkey, St. Theodoros Trion, an abandoned, historic church — the original Greek congregation of which was purged by the Ottoman Empire — was vandalized in August; the graffiti included genocidal slogans. Pictured: St. Theodoros Trion in 2008. (Image source: Chanilim714/Wikimedia Commons)
Hate for and Violence against Christians
Cameroon: Militant Muslims, allegedly affiliated with the Nigerian-based Islamic terror group Boko Haram, "reached new heights" of depravity. Boko Haram, after devastating the Christian village of Kalagari in a raid and kidnapping eight women, later released them but some had their ears "chopped off" (image here). The report adds that Boko Haram "has terrorised Christian communities in Nigeria for the last decade and has now splintered and spread its violent ideology into Cameroon, Niger and Chad."
Nigeria: On August 29, Chuck Holton, a CBN News reporter, aired a segment on his visit with Christian refugees who had fled Boko Haram's invasions into their villages. Among the stories of death and devastation, the following, spoken by a young man, stood out:
"On 29 September 2014 was the day that they attacked my village. Around ten I had a call that they have killed my dad. They asked him to deny Christ and when he refused they cut off his right hand. Then he refused [again], they cut to the elbow again. In which he refused, before they shot him twice, at the head, the forehead, the neck, and chest."
Indonesia: A Muslim preacher in a Christian-majority region referred to the Christian cross as "an element of the devil," thereby prompting outrage among Christians and some moderates. Sheikh Abdul Somad made the comment during a videotaped sermon when he was asked why Muslims "felt a chill whenever they saw a crucifix." "Because of Satan! Was his response: "There's an evil jinn in every crucifix that wants to convert people into Christianity."
Christians and moderates condemned his words. Even so, "I can't imagine the reaction if it had been another preacher of a different religion insulting an Islamic symbol," one moderate said. "There would have been a tsunami of protests, with the perpetrator severely punished." Sheikh Somad responded by releasing another video; his excuse was that he was unaware that non-Muslims might hear his words: "The Quran reciting session was held in a closed mosque, not at a stadium, a football field, nor aired on television," he explained. "It was for Muslims internally. I was answering a question about statues and the position of the Prophet Isa (Jesus) relative to Muslims."
Burkina Faso: Although most mainstream media downplay the religious element in Muslim on Christian violence in Africa, attacks on the Christians of Burkina Faso have become so single-mindedly based on religion that on August 21, the Washington Post published a report entitled, "Islamist militants are targeting Christians in Burkina Faso." Its author, Danielle Paquette, noted that "A spreading Islamist insurgency has transformed Burkina Faso from a peaceful country known for farming, a celebrated film festival and religious tolerance into a hotbed of extremism." She noted that the jihadis have been checking people's necks for Christian symbols, killing anyone wearing a crucifix or carrying any other Christian image. In a separate report, Bishop Dabiré, discussing several deadly attacks on Christians and their churches, said, "If this continues without anyone intervening, the result will be the elimination of the Christian presence in this area and — perhaps in the future —in the entire country.
Egypt: Authorities, despite strong opposition, reinstated to the pulpit (minbar) Sheikh Yasser Burhami, a notoriously "radical" cleric and hate preacher. Burhami had previously issued numerous fatwas—clerical opinions based on Islamic scriptures—that demanded hate and hostility for non-Muslims, most specifically the nation's largest and most visible minority, the Christian Copts. Burhami has referred to them as "a criminal and infidel minority," and has invoked "Allah's curse" on them. He once went so far as to say that, although a Muslim man is permitted to marry Christian or Jewish women (ahl al-kitab), he must make sure he still hates them in his heart—and show them this hate—because they are infidels; otherwise he risks compromising his Islam. Burhami has also stated that churches—which he refers to as "places of polytheism (shirk) and houses of infidelity (kufr)"—must never be built in Egypt. He issued a separate fatwa forbidding Muslim taxi and bus drivers from transporting Christian clergymen to their churches, an act he depicted as being "more forbidden than taking someone to a liquor bar." Burhami's fatwas also called for the persecution of Muslims who apostatize from Islam; permitting Muslim husbands to abandon their wives to rape; permitting "marriage" to 12-year-old girls, and banning Mother's Day. In a video, Dr. Naguib Ghobrial, a Coptic activist, politician, and head of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights Organization—which over the years has lodged 22 separate complaints against Burhami—repeatedly questioned Egypt's leading religious authorities' decision to reinstate the hate-preaching sheikh:
"Is what Burhami teaches truly what Islam teaches—is that why no one has done anything to him [regarding the 22 complaints lodged against him]? Truly I'm shocked! Please answer Sheikh of Al Azhar; please answer Grand Mufti: are the things Burhami teaches what Islam teaches? Is this why none of you oppose him or joined us when we lodged complaints against him?... Why are you so silent? Amazing!"
The Slaughter of Christians
Pakistan: "A ten year old Christian child who chose to work in a dangerous scrap factory so he could support his mother who had to fend for a family of two boys and a drug-addict husband, was raped and tortured before being killed by his Muslim employers," according to a report (with photos). Badil, 10, worked at the men's factory in order to support his impoverished mother, Sharifa Bibi:
"I worked hard for many hours just for the sake of my two sons so that they would not have to suffer as I have suffered without education. My son Badil couldn't bear to see the struggle of his mother and insisted on working to help the family—despite my insistence that he avoid work till he was older. Badil was such a responsible son. Daily before leaving for work he asked me what should bring in the evening from his wages. I insisted that he kept his money for himself, but he brought groceries like sugar, rice, flour, ghee daily."
Badil had to walk long distances and work for many hours a day to earn the equivalent of one dollar a day. Soon his employer began to cheat him on his wages. His mother insisted that he quit, but the boy persevered; at one point he took his younger brother, 9, with him to help. When the employers refused to pay his brother anything for his contribution, Badil finally decided to quit—which angered his Muslim employer. His younger brother recalls:
"As Mr Akram heard this he ran to hit Badil but Badil ran from the shop and Akram gave chase. However, A friend of Akram was standing nearby on his motorcycle and told Akram to sit behind him, then both men chased Badil till they caught up with him. Akram then got off the motorcycle and dragged Badil back to the store. They took Badil inside the store which is full of scrap. For half an hour I was completely unaware of what was happening with Badil inside. Eventually both men came outside and pretended as if nothing had happened inside. I thought my brother had also left the store from another exit so I went to look for him. I searched vigorously for 15 minutes and then saw my mother [approaching to walk the boys home], so I rushed to her to tell her what had happened."
Sharifa and her younger son searched frantically for Badil and finally found him collapsed on the ground near their home. They rushed to him, thinking he was exhausted from the day's work and subsequent thrashing, but quickly realized that he was barely breathing: "At this point the whole situation was too much to bear for Sharifa who began to scream and wail hysterically," the report notes. Badil was taken to a hospital where, seven hours later, the boy was pronounced dead. His brother "has been traumatised following his brother's death and hasn't left his house since and often screams in terror thinking the men responsible will take him too."
Cameroon: A Bible translator "was butchered to death on Sunday morning [August 25] during an overnight attack while his wife's arm was cut off," according to a report:
"Bible translator Angus Abraham Fung was among seven people said to have been killed during an attack carried out by suspected Fulani herdsmen sometime during the early hours of Sunday morning in the town of Wum, according to Efi Tembon, who leads a ministry called Oasis Network for Community Transformation."
Fulani herdsmen are Muslim, and currently the chief persecutors of Christian farmers in Nigeria. "They went into houses and pulled out the people," Tembon said. "They attacked in the night and nobody was expecting. They just went into the home, pulled them out and slaughtered them." Fung's wife, Eveline Fung, who had her arm hacked off, was last reported receiving a blood transfusion at a local hospital.
Attacks against Apostates and Evangelists
Iran: Authorities sentenced a 65-year-old woman, a Muslim convert to Christianity, to one year in prison, on the charge that she was "acting against national security" and engaging in "propaganda against the system." According to the report:
"The hearing was owing to her arrest shortly before Christmas when three agents from Iranian intelligence raided her home and took Mahrokh to intelligence offices where she endured ten days of intensive interrogation before she was released after submitting bail of 30 million Toman (US $2,500)."
Friends of the woman said that "the judge was very rude and tried to humiliate Mahrokh after she disagreed with him."
Separately, a Kurdish bookseller in Bokan, Western Azerbaijan province, was arrested for selling Bibles. According to the August 27 report:
"Mostafa Rahimi was arrested on 11 June on charge of selling bible[s] in his bookstore, and he was released later on bail until the court issued his sentence. Hengaw Organization for Human Rights has learned that Rahimi is sentenced to 3 months and 1 day imprisonment. Later in mid-August he was arrested again, and he is currently at the central prison of Bokan."
Another report elaborates:
"Iran's government is officially Islamic, and authorities actively restrict access to Bibles and other Christian literature. Sharing one's faith is categorized as a criminal offense, usually of the national security nature. The authorities often pressure Christians so extensively, routinely violating their human rights, that they are given no choice but to escape their country."
Somaliland: An August 16 report shares the experiences a married Muslim woman, 32, underwent after her husband discovered a Bible in her possession.
"I told my husband that I found the Bible in Nairobi and wanted to read it," the woman responded. "He just pronounced the word talaq [Arabic for divorce] to me. I knew that our marriage had just been rendered null and void because I joined Christianity, so without wasting time I left the homestead.... There and then he took our two daughters [ages 4 and 7] away from me and divorced me. He gave me a stern warning that I should not come close to the children, and that if I do, he will take the Bible to the Islamic court and I will be killed by stoning for becoming an apostate."
Her former husband proceeded to expose her clandestine conversion to her Muslim family. "My brothers beat me mercilessly with sticks as well as denying me food," she said. "I feared to report the case to the police or the local administration, because they will charge me with a criminal offense of apostasy in accordance with the sharia." She has since relocated to an undisclosed location: "God has spared my life, and my fellow underground Christians in other regions of Somalia have received me and shared the little they have, but I am very traumatized." According to the report,
"Somalia's constitution establishes Islam as the state religion and prohibits the propagation of any other religion, according to the U.S. State Department. It also requires that laws comply with sharia (Islamic law) principles, with no exceptions in application for non-Muslims. Somalia is ranked 3rd [after North Korea (1st) and Afghanistan (2nd)] on Christian support group Open Doors' 2019 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian."
Pakistan: After opening a summer education program for youths, a Christian family was "terrorized" and forced to shut it down after being accused of clandestinely trying to convert Muslim children to Christianity. According to a family member:
"We started a project for interfaith harmony and education teaching marginalized children from different faiths about a year ago. In June, we started a summer camp that provided a free program for children that have dropped out of school. The design of this program was to provide guidance for these children to become civilized and tolerant."
Two weeks into the summer program, a group of men, two of whom were armed, stormed into the academy, did violence to the property and harassed the children, and beat one of the instructors:
"They threatened us with consequences if the academy was not shut down. They alleged that we were promoting Christianity and were doing Christian evangelism. For safety and security, we had no other choice but to obey the extremists and shutdown the academy.... I don't want to lose my son or any family member. This terrorizing incident has already put us into trauma."
In a separate incident in Pakistan, around 4 a.m. of August 2, seven Muslim men stormed into a parish house, where they tied up and savagely beat two young priests, Fr. Anthony Abraz and Fr. Shahid Boota, all while they "humiliated and abused them for preaching the Gospel in a Muslim-majority neighborhood." The invaders also vandalized the building, broke windows, bookshelves, and cupboards, and desecrated Christian objects, including Bibles, Christian literature, and icons. Afterwards, "We were told we will have to face consequences if this house is not vacated," Fr. Abraz reported. "They said, 'We don't want a Christian center near the mosque.'"
Finally, increasing numbers of Christian girls continue to be targeted for kidnapping, rape, and/or forced conversion in Pakistan. According to one report,
"In August, Yasmeen Ashraf, age 15, and Muqadas Tufail, age 14, were kidnapped and raped by three men in Kasur. The pair of Christian girls were taken when they were on their way to work as domestic workers. Also in August, another young Christian girl, named Kanwal, was kidnapped, raped, and forcefully converted to Islam by a group of Muslim men and a cleric in Lala Musa, located in the Gujart District. After reuniting her family, Kanwal shared that she had been beaten, sexually assaulted, and threatened with the deaths of her brothers if she refused to convert to Islam."
In the previous month of July, at least three similar cases occurred. "Oppression exists in different layers for Christian girls in Pakistan. They are suffering on the bases of gender, religion, and class. It has been documented that young Christian girls face higher levels of sexual harassment and are persecuted for their Christian faith," Nabila Feroz Bhatti, a human rights defender in Lahore, said in response to the incidents above. Similarly, the Pontifical charity, Aid to the Church in Need, announced in August that it "is sounding the alarm on the plight of young Christian women, and even teenagers, in Pakistan who are forced to convert to Islam." "Every year at least a thousand girls are kidnapped, raped, and forced to convert to Islam, even forced to marry their tormentors," elaborated Tabassum Yousaf, a local Catholic lawyer.
Meanwhile, those who try to protect Christian girls are punished. On August 16, Maskeen Khan and two other Muslim men attacked the home of Bahadur Masih, a Christian. While holding a knife, Khan and his partners tried to rape Masih's daughter, Rachel, but were prevented by the rudely awoken family that immediately and desperately responded. "Since the Christian family was defending themselves, Khan also got some injuries," Ahsan Masih Sindhu, a local Christian political leader, reported. "The family handed Khan over to police and he got medical treatment. However, he later died in police custody." Police arrested and charged four members of the family with murder, even though they were in their own home protecting their daughter from violent intruders. Other members of the family have gone into hiding due to threats from the dead would-be rapist's relatives. "We are sad about the death of Khan, however, the Christian family did have the right to defend," Sindhu explained. "The police must conduct a fair investigation into this incident." Instead, police are denying the family the "right to defend" itself.
Attacks on Churches
Algeria: On August 6, police barged into a church during worship service, evacuated reluctant worshippers, and sealed the church building off. "I am deeply saddened by so much injustice – it breaks my heart," Messaoud Takilt, the pastor said.
"This is not surprising since other Christian places of worship have been closed and sealed as was the case today. But anyway, we will continue to celebrate our services outside while the Lord gives us grace for a final solution."
When, with a veiled threat, police denied his request at least to let the worship service conclude, "The assembly finally yielded and agreed to leave the premises, but with much pain. Some went out with eyes full of tears." Police proceeded to empty the premises of all furniture and sealed off every door before the distressed pastor (picture here). Responding to this latest church closure, the World Evangelical Alliance issued a statement on August 12 calling on Algeria to cease closing churches and instead reopen them. A portion follows:
"We deeply regret that two additional churches were forcibly closed by administrative decisions, in May and in August 2019 in the city of Boudjima, northeast of Tizi-Ouzou in Kabylie Region. This brings the number of forcibly closed churches to 6, including one house church.... Many more churches are threatened with closure, amid denial of formal registration and recognition by authorities."
Indonesia: Muslim protestors compelled local authorities to revoke a permit for, and cease construction of, a Baptist church in Central Java. On August 1, residents went to the partially constructed church and padlocked its fence. A meeting was later held among members of the church, local residents, and authorities, as well as others. Although the pastor displayed the government-issued permit to build a church, Muslim residents insisted that it was wrongly given, thereby leading to a standstill in negotiations. In the previous month, July, two other churches in Indonesia were shut down following local protests.
Turkey: St. Theodoros Trion, an abandoned, historic church — the original Greek congregation of which was purged by the Ottoman Empire — was vandalized; the graffiti included genocidal slogans. According to the report,
"The vandals sprayed hate speech across the church's walls. The vandalism was largely a reference to the secularism that Ataturk, modern Turkey's founder, had forced into the governmental structure.... Just a few years ago, the same church was targeted by Islamist vandals who wrote slogans such as 'the priest is gone, he went to the mosque' — a reference to the country's genocide and the forced conversions which occurred during this time. There are no Christians attending this church. All of the congregants were victims of the genocide. They faced death, deportation, and forced conversions. Those few who survived have since fled the country. The church currently stands as a historic monument to the Christianity that once was commonplace in the region."
Egypt: A Christian toddler was the latest victim of Egypt's draconian restrictions on churches. According to an August 21 report, Youssed Ebid, a 4-year-old Christian boy (photo), was struck by a tractor while waiting outdoors for a bus to take him to church in another village. His own village is currently denied a church, forcing its Christian residents to travel long distances to attend one. Many Christians in Egypt face the same situation; accidents during their long treks frequently take place.
About this Series
While not all, or even most, Muslims are involved, persecution of Christians by extremists is growing. The report posits that such persecution is not random but rather systematic, and takes place irrespective of language, ethnicity, or location.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Iraq: Indigenous Christians Latest in Battle for Better Society, New Government
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/October 27/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15044/iraq-government-protests-christians
"The Iraqi government should accept the protesters' demand for early elections, with a new electoral system to be organized and monitored by the UN: the current Iraqi electoral system is corrupt." — Ashur Sargon Eskrya, head of the Assyrian Aid Society, to Gatestone.
"It's time to pay attention. The country [Iraq] is riddled by protests by members of almost every ethnic or religious group, and the government is unstable and ineffective, with an uncertain future If the Iraqi regime were to collapse, most of the country that Americans fought so hard and long to liberate could become, de facto, a colony of Iran." — Juliana Taimoorazy, founding president of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council, to Gatestone.
"We [Assyrian, Chaldean and Syriac Christians] were the group most ruthlessly ethnically cleansed, right under the noses of US troops, as our people became the scapegoats for any angry Muslim fundamentalists who resented America's policy. They treated us as honorary Westerners, but the West did nothing for us." — Juliana Taimoorazy, to Gatestone.
"Now we are asking again for the right to self-governance and self-defense.... The answer for Iraq is still the one that doesn't appeal to the powerful or the connected, but offers the best chance of civil peace: real, effective decentralization of political, military and economic power." — Juliana Taimoorazy, to Gatestone.
Iraq's security forces recently were joined by Iran-backed militias in a violent crackdown on anti-government protests. The mass demonstrations were sparked by widespread fury on the part of Iraqi youths at Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and what they view as his corrupt government's failure to rehabilitate Iraq after its battle against ISIS and provide basic necessities. Pictured: Iraqi PM Adel Abdul Mahdi.
Iraq's security forces recently were joined by Iran-backed militias in a violent crackdown on anti-government protests. These protests have been taking place, since October 1, throughout much of the country as well as in Baghdad.
The mass demonstrations were sparked by widespread fury on the part of Iraqi youths at Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and what they view as his corrupt government's failure to rehabilitate Iraq after its battle against ISIS and provide basic necessities, such as electricity, clean water and jobs. According to Amnesty International, activists and journalists have been brutally intimidated by Iraqi authorities and gunned down in the streets by snipers. The death toll has passed 180, with figures in the thousands for those wounded.
Among the demonstrators are Assyrians: Iraq's indigenous Christians, who remain the most vulnerable community in the country. Ashur Sargon Eskrya, head of the Assyrian Aid Society, residing in Duhok, Iraq, recently told Gatestone:
"It is so sad to see what is going on in Iraq. That Iraqi youths get attacked and killed by Iraqi security forces for requesting basic human rights is unacceptable. It is unfortunate that those asking for job opportunities, health care and an end to corruption are being treated so harshly by the government; these protesters are the real voice of the Iraqi people. They just seek a peaceful life with all sectors of their society, regardless of religion or ethnicity."
Eskrya continued:
"The Iraqi government should accept the protesters' demand for early elections, with a new electoral system to be organized and monitored by the UN: the current Iraqi electoral system is corrupt."
Eskrya also said that the Iraqi Constitution -- which states that "no law may be enacted that contradicts the established provisions of Islam" -- should be amended, particularly where problematic issues, such as the provisions concerning Sharia law, are concerned.
Eskrya went on:
"As Assyrian Christians, we pay the highest price for bad governance in Iraq. This is why many of us are participating in the demonstrations, and many of our brethren in the diaspora support the protests. Security and stability for all Iraqi people is urgent and imperative. We ask the government to treat all citizens equally and humanely, and to give official recognition to the Assyrians as the indigenous people of Iraq and to our land rights. We should be granted autonomy in our ancient homeland, the Nineveh plains or northern Iraq, and be able to have our own local forces provide security for our society and region, with the support of the Iraqi government.
"We hope Western countries will support Assyrian Christians as the indigenous people of the region, and help by providing aid to Christians to recover from the genocide by ISIS and putting more pressure on Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to respect the rights of Assyrians and let us freely elect our municipal and parliamentary representatives."
In a show of solidarity with the Iraqi protesters, Juliana Taimoorazy, founding president of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council and an advocacy fellow of Philos Project, organized a "Candlelight Vigil of Prayer for Peace In Iraq" in Chicago on October 9. Taimoorazy, an activist who has spent more than a decade providing humanitarian aid to Iraqi Christians, told Gatestone:
"Iraq has fallen off the radar of most Americans, who are relieved that the US is no longer occupying the country and that ISIS has been hammered into dormancy. But it's time to pay attention. The country is riddled by protests by members of almost every ethnic or religious group, and the government is unstable and ineffective, with an uncertain future.
"If the Iraqi regime were to collapse, most of the country that Americans fought so hard and long to liberate could become, de facto, a colony of Iran. That would damage America's vital national interests and pose a huge threat of terrorist infiltration into the wider region, including Israel. Ironically, most Shia Muslims in Iraq -- who suffered greatly under Saddam Hussein's dictatorship and at the hands of ISIS -- have no stomach for a takeover by foreign, Iranian militias. An Iranian coup would hurt both the numerous Sunnis, and other smaller religious minorities, such as the Yazidis, and my own group -- the original indigenous people of Iraq, the Assyrian, Chaldean and Syriac Christians. We were the group most ruthlessly ethnically cleansed, right under the noses of US troops, as our people became the scapegoats for any angry Muslim fundamentalists who resented America's policy. They treated us as honorary Westerners, but the West did nothing for us. Now 75% of the Assyrians whose families lived in the region since time immemorial remain in exile.
"The answer for Iraq is still the one that doesn't appeal to the powerful or the connected, but offers the best chance of civil peace: real, effective decentralization of political, military and economic power. A country as ethnically and religiously diverse as Iraq can only stay united by one of two means: vicious centralized tyranny that represses all dissent, or serious, careful dissemination of power into its regions.
"Of course, Americans naturally prefer decentralization to tyranny. In the Middle East, however, such approaches are rarely tried. My own Assyrian people, for all that they have suffered, can lead the way. Internationally, we have joined our voices with the Iraqi people, regardless of creed or tribe.
"Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, we have asked the relevant powers to grant us more autonomy in our historic homeland, the Nineveh Plain, along with the freedom to organize local defense forces to protect it. Denied that, we were the chief victims, along with the Yazidis, of the brutality of ISIS. Our men and boys were murdered; our women and girls were entered into computerized databases and sold as sex slaves. Now we are asking again for the right to self-governance and self-defense.
"The current uprising in Iraq looks different from the previous ones, and it will usher in serious change. We Assyrians are calling on Iraqi officials to show their good will; to prove to discontented Iraqis a willingness to reform; and to grant Assyrians and Yazidis seats at the negotiating table as they resolve the current crisis.
"The people on the streets are laying down their lives to demand real change. Many are calling for US intervention. Others trust in their own power to usher in a new era for their country. We ask the United States, under President Donald Trump's prudent but firm leadership, to press Iraq to accept the will of its people. Christians in Iraq are not agents of the West, as some people viewed us in the past. We, the indigenous children of the land, stand shoulder to shoulder with other Iraqis to usher in a new renaissance that promotes equality, diversity, religious freedom and a better life for all."
Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

The world is better off without him
Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/October 28/2019
You can run, you can hide — but you cannot escape justice for ever. This is the message that the killing of Daesh founder and leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi should send to terrorists worldwide who may have, for a moment, thought that his crimes could go unpunished.
For anyone other than those who subscribe to his evil and radical ideologies, Al-Baghdadi’s killing is probably the most welcome and celebrated news the world has heard this year. And to anyone wondering if the Muslim world is an exception, the answer is: “Absolutely not.” The reality is that Daesh has no relation to Islam, and is totally unconnected with it. Daesh and Islam are beliefs in diametric opposition to each other. When Al-Baghdadi and his thuggish followers invoked the name of Islam, they did so falsely. And in doing so, they tarnished the name of Islam and its peaceful followers, and damaged our faith more than anyone has done in the past few years.
The burning alive of the Jordanian pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh, locked in a cage; the horrific executions of humanitarian aid workers; the enslavement of Yazidi women, as poignantly documented and excruciatingly narrated by one of their number, the Nobel Peace laureate Nadia Murad; the violent eviction of people from their homes, forcing our Christian brothers and sisters to flee their own villages, towns and countries — all of those people who have suffered at the hands of Daesh and its evil leader may now feel at ease with his death.
Yes, the world is better off with Al-Baghdadi gone. It is here, however, that we must take a pause, and remind ourselves that the fight against extremist ideology is far from over — we saw that with the elimination of Osama bin Laden, when he was swiftly replaced by Al-Baghdadi himself. So we should not deceive ourselves, we should not become complacent, and we should not drop our guard — because the fight against terrorism can be won decisively only when we drain the swamp where such monsters are able to flourish.
The best way to fight terrorism, apart from militarily, is to do so on the ideological front. That is why efforts being made in countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with centers dedicated to combating extremist ideology both online and on the ground, are of the utmost importance.
The best way to fight terrorism, apart from militarily, is to do so on the ideological front. That is why efforts being made in countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with centers dedicated to combating extremist ideology both online and on the ground, are of the utmost importance. The formation by Saudi Arabia of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition is a significant step, as important as the establishment in Riyadh of bodies such as the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, known as Etidal; both have given counterterrorism fighters significant headway.
The best antidote to the Daesh mentality, however, and the strongest and most effective riposte to extremist ideologies, is the program of social reforms being carried out in Saudi Arabia. They demonstrate that we believe in life, that we believe in coexistence, that we believe in tolerance. This is precisely why Saudi Arabia is opening its borders to allow residents of 49, mostly non-Muslim, countries to come here without going through the laborious process of obtaining a traditional visa. The fact that women can drive; the fact that women are working alongside men; the fact that we no longer impose the outdated draconian measures that mandated male guardianship over women — these reforms are the best answer to the evil ideology propagated by the advocates of terror.
Above all, it is significant that these reforms are taking place in the Land of the Two Holy Mosques, the center of Islam. Just as when Saudi Arabia sneezes the whole Muslim world catches a cold, when all these enlightened reforms take effect in Saudi Arabia then moderation is sure to follow in the wider Muslim world. This is how you drain that swamp of extremists.
Meanwhile, we should continue to maintain pressure on the terrorists — wherever they are, and whichever rock they are skulking under. For now, though, I believe the whole world, especially the Muslim world, should celebrate the end of the calamitous caliphate.
• Faisal J. Abbas is the editor in chief of Arab News. Twitter: @FaisalJAbbas

No let-up in Iran’s foreign terror operations
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/October 28/2019
In spite of the Trump administration’s maximum pressure policy on the Iranian regime, it is showing no signs of backing off from its belligerent policies and destructive behavior.
One of the core pillars of the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy is developing terror cells in foreign nations in order to wield influence and silence oppositional figures and groups. Most recently, the Albanian General Police Director Ardi Veliu last week revealedthat an active cell of the foreign operations unit linked to the Iranian Quds Force had been detected by Albania’s security institutions. He said: “The Albanian authorities have identified these individuals and, thanks to intelligence from informants inside the criminal organizations, have prevented the planned (attack) of March 2018 and the eventual planning of attacks by organized crime members... on behalf of Iran.”
The Quds Force is an elite branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and is in chargeof extraterritorial operations, such as organizing, supporting, training, arming and financing Iran’s militia groups; launching wars directly or indirectly via these proxies; fomenting unrest in other nations to advance Iran’s ideological and hegemonic interests; attacking and invading cities and countries; and assassinating foreign political figures and powerful Iranian dissidents worldwide.
The Quds Force has infiltrated top security, political, intelligence and military infrastructures in several countries, including Iraq and Syria. The Quds Force, which hasabout 20,000 members, can also use forces from the IRGC and the Basij paramilitary group in case of emergencies.
This is not the first time the Quds Force has attempted to create terror cells in foreign nations or trained militias and proxies to spy or carry out attacks against foreign entities. For example, the Quds Force was previously accused of failed plans to bomb Saudi and Israeli embassies and to assassinatethen-Saudi Ambassador to the US Adel Al-Jubeir in 2011. An investigation also revealedthat the group may have been behind the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. It has even been implicated in the 9/11 attacks, as US Judge George Daniels issuedan order stating that Iran was liable because its support for Al-Qaeda allowed the terrorist attacks to occur.
One of the main reasons for the Iranian regime’s terror cell in Albania is the targeting of the NCRI.
One of the main reasons for the Iranian regime’s terror cell in Albania is the targeting of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which callsfor a democratic system of governance in Iran, freedom of religion, social justice, the rule of law and respect for human rights. The oppositional group believes that the political establishment of the ruling clerics is based on authoritarianism and a religious dictatorship.
The Islamic Republic has increasingly become concerned about the NCRI because it is now consideredto be the largest Iranian opposition group in exile and it has connections with people on the ground in Iran. Many believe that this gives the opposition the crucial resources it needs to play a significant role in counterbalancing the power of the ruling ayatollahs, pushing for a democratic system of governance in Iran, scuttling the mullahs’ foreign policy objectives, and preserving the US’ national and economic interests.
The NCRI previously revealedIran’s clandestine uranium enrichment sites in Arak and Natanz. The Iranian authorities also fear that foreign governments may cooperate closely with the opposition, magnifying its power in inspiring disaffected youths in Iran to protest against the regime.
This is not the first time the Iranian regime has tried to orchestrate a terrorist operation in Europe. French officials foileda planned bomb attack against a large June 2018 “Free Iran” convention in Paris. The NCRI event was attended by many high-level speakers, including former US House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird. An Iranian diplomat and several other individuals of Iranian origin were soon arrested in France, Belgium and Germany. After a thorough investigation, French officials concluded that the Iranian regime was behind the bomb plot. If the attack had been successful, the loss of life would have been staggering, but the devastating toll it would have taken on the community that fights for human rights would have been immeasurable.
Iran’s presence was also detectedin 2018 in Denmark, where officials accused Tehran of attempting to assassinate one of its citizens.
The Iranian regime is clearly intensifying its efforts to create terror cells in foreign countries. It is incumbent on the international community to hold the Iranian leaders accountable.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

European nations sidelined on Syrian security
Cornelia Meyer/Arab News/October 28/2019
The US’ withdrawal of its troops from northern Syria and Turkey’s subsequent incursion into Kurdish territory was followed by global outrage. Western media outlets were quick to criticize America’s betrayal of its erstwhile allies, the Kurds. Western governments looked on with dismay as Daesh fighters escaped from the prisons guarded by the Kurds, whose new imperative was to defend their lives and their territory. Many of the escaped fighters are nationals of the European governments who did not want to take them back, and instead wanted them to stand trial in Syria or Iraq.
To add insult to injury, it was Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Vladimir Putin of Russia who came up with a solution to the problem. Turkey will not go further into Syrian territory than its specified corridor and Russia will police a cordon to keep Bashar Assad’s army away from the Turkish army and border.
This is indeed an unusual situation. Turkey is the easternmost member of NATO and it is now NATO’s foe Russia that is policing the border of its friend because NATO’s de facto leader, the US, withdrew its troops. To be clear, measured by the number of troops committed, the biggest member of NATO, the US, withdrew and the second largest, Turkey, has its borders policed by Russia.
Europe is uneasy about the situation. Firstly, there is much sympathy with the Kurds. Secondly, European countries such as Germany and the Netherlands have big Turkish and Kurdish minorities, which sometimes take their acrimony to the streets. Thirdly, the EU listened when Erdogan said he would open Turkey’s borders and release millions more Syrian refugees into Europe. That is precisely what the EU had tried to avoid when it made a deal with Turkey in 2016, whereby Ankara sealed its borders in exchange for the promise of €6 billion ($6.6 billion) in aid to help the country cope with the economic fallout of what was, at the time, many fewer than the current 3.6 million Syrian refugees it is hosting.
Europe was quick to criticize Turkey’s role in the recent developments in northeastern Syria, but it had no solutions.
Europe’s relationship with Turkey is complex and often fraught. On the one hand, European governments deplore Erdogan’s move toward authoritarianism and the lack of press freedom in the country. On the other hand, they need Turkey’s cooperation and goodwill with regard to refugees, which Europe is ill-equipped to deal with. Then there are, of course, the dual Turkish-European nationals whose parents came to Europe many decades ago to provide labor, fueling the postwar economic boom. Many of these are Kurds.
So Europe was quick to criticize Turkey’s role in the recent developments in northeastern Syria, but it had no solutions. Germany, in particular, has a lot at stake. It is a senior NATO and EU member country, is home to many Turkish dual nationals (some of them of Kurdish descent) and is so far the only EU country generous enough to take in a million refugees since 2016.
It therefore comes as little surprise that German politicians are pondering what to do next. The head of the Bundestag’s select committee on foreign affairs, Norbert Roettgen, has long argued that the E3 — Germany, France and the UK — should bond more closely when it comes to foreign policy interests, particularly in the Middle East — and Iran and Syria to be precise. While his aspirations should be applauded, the stark realities of Brexit are probably putting a spanner in the works.
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, also known as AKK, suggested that NATO’s European allies should patrol the Turkish-Syrian border. She got much flak for it. For one, she had not sufficiently networked her idea with Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, preferring to inform him of the decision by SMS. NATO was also not keen. While the US welcomed her initiative, the secretary of defense said he would not commit any troops to it (remember the US has just withdrawn from that particular area). NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg made it clear that any solution to the issue should come from the UN. This is understandable in light of the fact that it is America’s archenemy Russia that currently patrols the border (which would probably result in Moscow vetoing any UN Security Council resolution), and that he probably does not want to get dragged into this particular quagmire, nor does he want to aggravate the situation any further.
Whatever you say about AKK and Roettgen’s ideas, at least they are trying to live up to the fact that Europe is a near neighbor to the Middle East and needs to develop its own policies.
*Cornelia Meyer is a business consultant, macro-economist and energy expert. Twitter: @MeyerResources