Despite the common perception that Islamic radicalisation is growing apace in west Asia, the decline in faith in Iraq belies notions of an increasingly extremist region. Exhausted by years of fear, internecine violence and empty rhetoric, many young people Iraq claim to no longer trust Islamic clergy or actively worship. Political parties, sensitive to the change in mood, are limiting their references to religion. In a country plagued by violence and uncertainty, many claim that the rise in sectarian loyalties has less to do with religious belief, but instead is part of a "fight to prove our existence."
Muslim scholars seek papal benediction Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.
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A delegation of Muslim scholars have begun negotiations with Vatican officials over arranging an audience with Pope Benedict XVI. Ever since a controversial speech in 2006, the Pope has become an unpopular figure in much of the Muslim world. The Muslim theologians hope to mend fences and strengthen inter-faith relations around their "common belief in the one god."
The toD verdict: Such dialogues - akin in some respects to the Alliance of Civilisations - seek to heal the rifts of the "war on terrorism" at a tectonic level. Noble intentions indeed and certainly worthwhile symbolically, but initiatives of this kind tend to set loftier ends than their means can provide. The various clashes within the Muslim world and between Muslims and others cannot be addressed through theological good will and robed conviviality. As the situation in Iraq above shows starkly, violence is inextricable from its social and political circumstances beneath the froth of religious institutions.
UN report angers Israel
A report released last week by the United Nations Human Rights Council argues that Palestinian acts of terrorism "must be understood as being a painful but inevitable consequence of colonialism, apartheid or occupation." The author, John Dugard, a South African lawyer and activist who cut his teeth in the anti-apartheid struggle, insisted that "a distinction must be drawn between acts of mindless terror, such as acts committed by al-Qaida, and acts committed in the course of a war of national liberation against colonialism, apartheid or military occupation." Israeli officials dismissed the report, insisting that there is no difference between terrorists whose aim is to kill civilians.
Perhaps as part of a response to Dugard's report, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon this week criticised the UN rights body, arguing that its selective condemnation of atrocities around the world discredited its objectivity and use in the international arena.
Brotherhood sweep
Egyptian authorities have conducted another crackdown on members of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group that has endured numerous arrests and restrictions of its activities.
Anti-American demonstration in Somalia
In the remote border town of Dobley, Somali residents staged a protest against the United States, demanding compensation for yet another US missile attack against the town, the fourth in 14 months. US officials believe that Islamist and al-Qaida-affiliated militants are hiding in Dobley.
Suicide blast hits Lahore college
A suicide bomber struck an army naval college in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, killing at least six people and wounding 19 others. This was the fourth suicide attack in Pakistan in the last five days, after recent elections handed heavy defeats to both Islamist parties and the allies of President Pervez Musharraf.
Austrian terrorism trial begins
An Austrian couple of Arab descent have gone on trial for allegedly posting a video online that threatened attacks on Germany and Austria if they did not withdraw their personnel from Afghanistan. The wife was barred from the courtroom because she refused to remove her burqa, which prevented judges from seeing her face.
