Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr told the Associated Press in an exclusive interview that Jill is still alive. Here is an excerpt:
Kidnapped Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll was still alive and being moved from place to place by her captors. He would say nothing more about the case.
Source: [Aljazeera.net]
For all those who care about Jill, please keep praying and special thanks goes out to WM for providing me with the link.
In a piece published in The Daily Star, highly esteemed Egyptian columnist Mona ElTahawy calls for the establishment of a scholarship for murdered Iraqi journalist Atwar Bahjat. She cites several examples of scholarships created to honor the memories of murdered American journalists, including Michael Kelly and Elisabeth Neuffer. ElTahawy says:
Can we learn anything from these examples? For starters, Al-Arabiyya and Al-Jazeera can set aside their traditional rivalry and be the first donors to the Atwar Bahjat Scholarship Fund. Not only would they be honoring a reporter but they would also provide a sterling example of philanthropy in the Arab world. And they would be its primary beneficiaries — ensuring a great education for journalists that they could then hire. I am sure that Atwar has many friends around the world who would like to contribute. Are Al-Arabiyya and Al-Jazeera listening?
Source: [The Daily Star]
This is such a great idea by a great writer! Atwar’s memory should live on.
We spent this past weekend with our dear friend Amal, who was in town for a few days. We met at DC’s breathtaking Union Station, where we sat, had lunch and talked like there was no tomorrow. While munching on pizza, we both came to the conclusion that life can at times surprise you, taking you places while you are just too busy to notice. We had met Amal during our Doha stint last year. So it was fascinating to realize that, at that moment, we were sitting in Washington, DC and having lunch in one of the most beautiful train stations in the country. "From Doha to Union Station," Amal giggled. "It should be the title of a book."
We did lots of touring in and around Maryland, taking Amal to the sailing city of Annapolis and then, after a wonderful lunch at Pusser’s, on to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Both cities were alive and buzzing with activity, although each had a distinctive vibe.
Amal is now on her way home to Lebanon, while we return to our daily routines. Nothing beats reuniting with a close friend! Amal is already dearly missed.
The Committee to Protect Bloggers is campaigning for Jill. They are asking bloggers to post a link of Jill’s video that is running on Iraqi stations and calling for her release. Here is the post from the Committee to Protect Bloggers.
Jill Carroll, a freelance reporter working for the Christian Science Monitor newspaper, was kidnapped in Baghdad over two months ago. All indications are that she is still alive. The Monitor has started a campaign, using Iraqi television, to distribute a video asking for Iraqis to help find and free Jill.
Jill is not a blogger but she’s got that spirit. She’s an independent intellect who is fascinated by the world and has a desire to speak what she sees. So let’s not leave it up to the newspapers and television stations. She’s ours as much as theirs.
So, I would like to ask every blogger who gives a damn about individual human life and the individual human voice, to post a link to this video on their blog, to blog about Jill and to pass along our concern to friends, family and other bloggers. Of greatest import are Iraqi blogs and blogs in the Arabic and Muslim worlds that may be read by people in a position to do good for Jill.
Yemeni lawyers have called for a newspaper editor to be sentenced to death for showing cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, his paper says. Muhammad al-Asadi was arrested after his publication, the Yemen Observer, showed the Danish cartoons in February. He denies the charges of offending Islam, under which he is being tried. The English-language newspaper has had its license to publish suspended, although its staff have continued to produce material on-line. Lawyers leading a civil case against publishers of the cartoons — in addition to the public case — cited precedents from Muslim history when the prophet was insulted by a woman and then praised her killer. Source: [BBC]
The death penalty! Geez! This is just out of control. There is an interview with him from jail right after his arrest that suggests he is at least somewhat prepared. Meanwhile, as expected, the cartoon row seems to have played an integral part in a new survey highlighting the growing negative image of Muslims and Arabs. Her are some excerpts from the Washington Post’s front page story:
As the war in Iraq grinds into its fourth year, a growing proportion of Americans are expressing unfavorable views of Islam, and a majority now say that Muslims are disproportionately prone to violence, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The poll found that nearly half of Americans — 46 percent — have a negative view of Islam, seven percentage points higher than in the tense months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, when Muslims were often targeted for violence.
The survey comes at a time of increasing tension; the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq show little sign of ending, and members of Congress are seeking to block the Bush administration’s attempt to hire an Arab company to manage operations at six of the nation’s ports. Also, Americans are reading news of deadly protests by Muslims over Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad.
As a school bus driver in Chicago, Gary McCord, 65, dealt with many children of Arab descent. "Some of the best families I’ve ever had were some of my Muslim families," he said in a follow-up interview. "They were so nice to me." He now works for a Palestinian Christian family, whose members he says are "really marvelous." But his good feelings do not extend to Islam. "I don’t mean to sound harsh or anything, but I don’t like what the Muslim people believe in, according to the Koran. Because I think they preach hate," he said. As for the controversial cartoons of Muhammad, he said Arabs seem hypersensitive about religion. "I think it’s been blown out of proportion," he said. Source: [Washington Post]
