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| Middle East |
| Arab interior ministers to cooperate against Islamists. Really. |
| 2003-01-17 |
| Arab interior ministers have agreed on a multi-phase plan to bolster security cooperation against Islamic insurgents. The interior ministers finished the 10th meeting organized by the Arab League with a series of agreements to fight insurgents and help block their financing. The forum of interior ministers was chaired by Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz. Officials said the interior ministers plan to explore ways to end Islamic propaganda for the recruitment of insurgents and planning of attacks. The plan would also cover sermons given in mosques during after Friday prayers as well as Islamic fundamentalist literature distributed in and around mosques. That might involve firing and/or jugging a few imams and muftis and such, so I doubt if it'll happen in most places... Other elements of the proposal would draft regulations on financing to Islamic charities that would stress transparency of funds. Arab League justice ministers have also joined the effort in drafting legislation against money-laundering. The tugs in the other direction from this measure will probably make it nothing but lip service, too. I doubt if the Arabs will really start cleaning up their own houses until Iraq's been settled and probably not until the Axis of Evil member after them goes down. They still think of themselves as the winning side... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |