Head of Egypt’s Leading Sunni Islamic Institution Dies Suddenly

Sheikh Mohammad Sayed Tantawi, the Mubarak-appointed head of Egypt’s most prestigious seat of Sunni Islamic learning, died suddenly of an apparent heart attack in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. His deputy will assume leadership of Al-Azhar until Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak makes a permanent appointment. Whoever holds the position does so until he decides to step down or dies. State-funded Al-Azhar is the primary training ground for Sunni clergy who take up positions throughout the Muslim world after completing training in Egypt. Tantawi served as head of Al-Azhar since 1994, but according to Professor Moataz Abdel Fattah of Cairo University was not flamboyant and remained uncontroversial. Abdel Fattah told The Media Line that Tantawi’s passing will not cause an upheaval within Egypt’s religious or political circles.

Israel’s Government Hit from Within and Without on New Housing Starts

Criticism from Israel’s political opposition echoed an onslaught of international censure following the announcement that the Netanyahu administration has approved 1,600 new apartments for a Jerusalem neighborhood located on land acquired in the 1967 war. Such land is claimed by the Palestinians for a future state and is one of the most contentious issues preventing progress in the ongoing peace process. The Interior Ministry’s announcement on Tuesday that the approvals for new apartments have been given touched off a wave of protest. Domestically, opposition politicians called it “political stupidity.” International disparagement came from visiting American Vice President Joe Biden and from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud ‘Abbas called it a “provocation.” Although Prime Minister Netanyahu declared a self-imposed 10-month ban on building in post-1967 communities, like other prime ministers before him, he specifically excluded building within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem – a caveat rejected by both the Palestinians and by Washington. Regarding the new situation, some Israeli media suggest that Netanyahu was blind-sided by his own cabinet, the announcement coming from the interior minister allegedly without respecting the prime minister’s request to be informed of such decisions before they are made public. 

Israeli Newspaper: Jewish Leaders Caused European Union to Back-off of Goldstone Support

Pressure from Jewish leaders caused the European Union to back away from plans to adopt a resolution in support of the Goldstone report into the Israeli military incursion in the Gaza Strip. The daily Ha’aretz is reporting that the president of the European Jewish Congress convinced EU leaders that it was improper to be adopting the resolution before the United Nations itself had acted on the matter. It was the Christian Democrats, the European People’s Party that actually blocked the move. The resolution that stands to be adopted in its place calls for both Israel and Hamas to conduct internal investigations rather than embrace the Goldstone report. The investigation that formed the basis for the report – which was conducted for the U.N. Human Rights Council -- has been dismissed as “biased” by Israel and its supporters. 

Raid on American Christian Charity in Pakistan Kills Four

At least five people died on Wednesday when gunmen stormed the Manshera district office of World Vision, an American-based Christian charity, in northwest Pakistan. All of the dead are reportedly Pakistani employees of the organization. Officials have not offered any indication of who might be responsible for the attack, saying only that Manshera does not fall within the normal sphere of violence associated with the Taliban and Al-Qa’ida. But foreign aid groups have been attacked before by those charging their work is against Islam. Aid groups in Manshera provide support for victims of the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir. In 2008, four aid workers employed by a British organization died in a similar attack. 

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