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Human Rights Issues in the Middle East - A Liberal Perspective

Local and international press articles gathered here highlight the dismal state of human rights in Arab and Muslim countries, but these back page articles don't get much attention from Western media, human rights groups and progressive organizations. Saudis don't like "Black and Brown" people from Africa and nobody seems to like homosexuals. Everyone loves women of course, as long as they know their place.

Repressive legislation and practices against women, homosexuals, minorities and dissidents are the rule in most countries of the Middle East, with the possible exceptions of Israel and Lebanon. Turkey's record is marred by repression of its Kurdish minority, but it claims it is now improving the treatment of Kurds in order to gain admission to the EU. Syria continues to persecute and disenfranchise its large Kurdish minority, resulting in periodic riots that are repressed by mass murder. It would seem that these urgent human rights issues in the Middle East and Muslim countries should be at the top of the urgent concerns of progressive groups and media reporting on the Middle East.  Unfortunately that is not the case.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other countries have repressive legislation against women and homosexuals. Rates of female literacy are much lower than male literacy in many Arab and Muslim countries, because girls are not sent to school or are taken out early. Women cannot drive or vote in Saudi Arabia, and their behavior is supervised by an all-male "Virtue Commission." Wife beating is allowed on the grounds that it is commanded by the Qur'an. "Honor Killings" are regular occurrences in the Arab and Muslim world, though they are not necessarily sanctioned by Islam. A woman who has "dishonored her family" by having premarital or extramarital sex is often killed, or in some cases, blackmailed into performing a suicide bombing. In countries like Iran, women are sentenced to death for adultery. Racism and religious persecution and discrimination are rife. Adolph Hitler's Mein Kampf is a best seller in Arab countries, as are the forged Protocols of the Elders of Zion and other anti-Semitic literature. Mustapha Tlass, former Syrian Defense Minister,  wrote a popular book claiming that the "Blood Libel" is true: Jews murder Christian children and use their blood to bake Matzoth for Passover. However, racism and religious persecution are not limited to Jews. Converts from Islam to any other religion often face death, and anything that might be construed as missionary activities including possession of the New Testament are outlawed in many countries.

Very oddly, repressive legislation and blatant racism in Arab and Muslim Middle Eastern countries get scant coverage in the world media and scant attention from human rights groups.

Below are articles from the local and international press  that reflect problems and progress in human rights. .

In "Say No to Beggars," published in Arabic in Okaz and in English in the Saudi government Arab News Journal
(http: //www.arabnews.com/?page=13&section=0&article=69132&d=28&m=8&y=2005) , Abdullah Abou-Alsamh writes:

Brown and black non-Saudi beggars will continue to roam the streets of our cities, posing major problems, for as long as there are those who collude in prolonging a problem that has proved difficult to solve. It is true that both local government and non-governmental bodies have made many attempts to combat the phenomenon but their efforts have had little impact. The only solution is in the hands of members of the public - citizens and expatriates alike. Had we all joined together to address the problem by considering the root causes, we would have succeeded in ending the vile practice that is truly a black spot on the body of our country. The solution is very simple: Stop giving to beggars. Don't give them a riyal or even a halala. In short, we have to cut off their supplies...

People should immediately stop giving money to beggars. Otherwise, even more of Africa will move into our streets.

Can you Imagine the outcry if such an article was printed in a government newspaper in Great Britain, concerning Arab or Muslim immigration to the UK? Can you imagine the protests that would be initiated if an article like that, targeting Palestinian Arabs, or Africans, appeared in a major Israeli newspaper? Could we imagine such an article about any minority in government media in any Western country?  "Politically Correct," however, has not come to Saudi Arabia yet. What can you expect from a country that only abolished slavery (officially in any case) in 1961? Beggars are bad because they are "brown and black," and giving them money will bring more of "Africa" to their streets. The oil-rich kingdom has no cash, not even a "halala" to spare for brown and black beggars from Africa. It is un-Islamic argues the article.  Of course, the Africans got there because they came for exploitative job opportunities offered to foreign workers for a pittance. Saudi newspapers abound in stories about maid abuse and servant abuse. But if they quit, there is no way for them to support themselves, or even to collect the fare to go home, because nobody will give money to black and brown beggars. They better paint themselves white first. This is hardly the most extreme expression of racism, since it is showcased as an example of enlightened opinion by Arab News, a government journal.

Advocates of women's rights will surely appreciate "Punishing Disobedient Wives" published originally in El Watan and likewise showcased in the Saudi government's Arab News. The good news is that the Quran does not, according to the author, sanction wife beating in all cases. Wife beating, it is claimed should only be practiced for incorrigibly disobedient women:

 The verse - number 34 in Surah IV - reads as follows: "Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore, righteous women are devotedly obedient and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. And to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first) and (then) refuse to share their beds (and last) beat them (lightly), but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means of annoyance."

It is quite obvious here that Islam adopts a gradual approach starting with verbal admonishment of the wife, then seeks a period of refraining from conjugal relations and, finally, if the husband finds the situation very serious, he may strike his disobedient wife.

Many  men will welcome this sensible approach perhaps, and maybe that is why the US government and the rights organizations are so kind to Saudi Arabia. But what about the women's groups, why aren't they protesting? The article continues:

A rebellious woman who is not moved by kind works, persuasion and admonition is a woman of no feeling and must therefore be punished by beating. Psychiatrists tell us of people, including women, for whom a cure lies in beating.

The controversy over the beating of disloyal and rebellious women is part of the campaign against Islam. If beating disobedient wives was advocated by Western scientists, it would have been widely supported by the same people who criticize Islam and special centers would have been set up all over the world to train husbands on how to beat their wives.

Now it is clear why nobody complains about wife beating: Agitation against wife-beating must be part of the "islamophobia" campaign.

Recently, an alarming rumor spread through Saudi Arabia. It was widely believed that there was a danger that the Virtue Commission might have female members. The rumor is not true. Maha Akeel writes in Arab News:
(http ://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=67416&d=24&m=7&y=2005 )

JEDDAH, 24 July 2005 - The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice never has and will never employ women, said a source at the commission.

The emphatic denial came in response to enquiries about a report carried by Al-Riyadh Arabic newspaper recently claiming that the commission is studying establishing a unit for its female employees to perform their duties concerning women violators.

If it had you worried, you can rest easy now. There won't be any women in the Saudi virtue commissions.

In Egypt, persecution of gays is getting worse, according to a Human Rights Watch report: (reported in http://www.afrol.com/articles/11415)

There, the report says, the gay men were routinely subjected to torture. "Doctors there compel the men to strip and kneel; they massage, dilate and in some cases penetrate the prisoners' anal cavities, subjecting them to intrusive, abusive, and degrading examinations to 'prove' the men have committed homosexual acts."

Also in Egypt, a conference of Copts called for ending persecution:

According to the Coptic Church of Egypt, there is a "long and enduring persecution of the Copts in Egypt." To end this, the symposium found, the Egyptian government needed to enact special legislation through the Egyptian legislature "to correct all inequities resulting from historical neglect and discrimination."

Unfortunately, it probably won't happen any time soon.

Of course, this is just a tiny sample. In Iraq, women are worried that the new constitution enforces "liberal" Islamic laws like those about wife-beating. In Jordan, honor killings are still rife, and the list goes on and on.

Wife beating, persecution of religious minorities, racism against Africans and Jews and torture of gay persons  won't end unless we make them end. Human rights groups, women's groups like Women in Black, the UN, the EU and your government have to be alerted to these abuses and they must be forced to do something about it. It took over a decade to focus world attention on genocide in Darfur. How long will it take before these abuses are stopped?

Don't forget that these countries are virtual client states of the United States. Egypt gets $2,000,000,000 (that's $2 Billion) in US aid each year, most of which is squandered on military purchases. Saudi Arabia benefits from the US presence in the Persian Gulf, a bauble that costs the American taxpayer about $10 billion a year. As for Iraq, we don't need to explain how much that is costing the American taxpayer.

Remember - every time a homosexual gets arrested in Egypt, a Kurd gets shot in Turkey or a disobedient wife gets beaten in Saudi Arabia, your tax dollars are at work.

Are you still sure that the number one problem in the Middle East is Israel?

Copyright

Please tell people about the Human Rights violations in the Middle East and link to this page.  The above article is copyright © 2005 by Ami Isseroff  and may not be copied to your Web site or reprinted without permission. Articles from the press are reproduced below with credit for non-profit educational purposes.

Say No to Beggars

 Abdullah Abou-Alsamh . Okaz

http: //www.arabnews.com/?page=13&section=0&article=69132&d=28&m=8&y=2005

Brown and black non-Saudi beggars will continue to roam the streets of our cities, posing major problems, for as long as there are those who collude in prolonging a problem that has proved difficult to solve. It is true that both local government and non-governmental bodies have made many attempts to combat the phenomenon but their efforts have had little impact. The only solution is in the hands of members of the public - citizens and expatriates alike. Had we all joined together to address the problem by considering the root causes, we would have succeeded in ending the vile practice that is truly a black spot on the body of our country. The solution is very simple: Stop giving to beggars. Don't give them a riyal or even a halala. In short, we have to cut off their supplies.

The police tell us the beggars are all members of organized gangs and that the gangs bring the people here and tell them where to go and what to do. These people are smuggled here across our borders and also on fake visas for Haj and Umrah. Many arrive from Africa and among them are children, old people and the physically handicapped. The money they receive from begging - money given by the generous members of the public who believe God will reward them - is then divided between the beggars and the gang leaders.

I don't really think there is any reward here. Generous but misguided people are giving money to those involved in an un-Islamic practice. It is common to see motorists waiting at traffic signals being approached by beggars who then began knocking at the window to draw the driver's attention. Torn between frustration and pity, drivers find themselves confused, not knowing what to do. Should they hand over a few riyals or ignore the beggar? As I see it, paying beggars is a sin in itself. People want a religious ruling issued by a relevant body clearly telling them what to do about the beggars. The problem is thus obvious and so is the solution. People should immediately stop giving money to beggars. Otherwise, even more of Africa will move into our streets. Remember by refusing to give money to beggars, you are contributing to the only solution to the problem.

Punishing Disobedient Wives

Ghada Al-Hori . Al-Watan
http: //www.arabnews.com/?page=13&section=0&article=68889&d=23&m=8&y=2005

I find it unacceptable when some people twist the meaning of a particular verse in the Holy Qur'an - especially the one which permits a husband to beat his disobedient wife. Those who do the twisting must understand that the permission is only given under certain circumstances and that the beating is intended as a remedy for specific situations. It is unfortunate that some well-known and respected Muslim scholars have either willingly or unwillingly joined a campaign seeking to distort the meaning of that particular verse.

In many cases, they have given a different meaning from the one actually intended. The verse - number 34 in Surah IV - reads as follows: "Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore, righteous women are devotedly obedient and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. And to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first) and (then) refuse to share their beds (and last) beat them (lightly), but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means of annoyance."

It is quite obvious here that Islam adopts a gradual approach starting with verbal admonishment of the wife, then seeks a period of refraining from conjugal relations and, finally, if the husband finds the situation very serious, he may strike his disobedient wife.

Some scholars have even suggested that the punishment (beating) cited here is not of the physical nature and that what the husband is required to do is stay away from the disobedient wife. In short, they say the husband should leave the house and go to another place. This is not what is actually intended in the verse.

The beating which is only prescribed in the case of disobedient wives is intended to serve as a remedy in an unusual situation. If the husband feels the wife is behaving in a disobedient and rebellious manner, he is required to rectify her attitude - first by kind words, then gentle persuasion and reasoning. Beating as a last resort must never be understood to entail using a stick or any other instrument that would cause pain or injury.

A rebellious woman who is not moved by kind works, persuasion and admonition is a woman of no feeling and must therefore be punished by beating. Psychiatrists tell us of people, including women, for whom a cure lies in beating.

The controversy over the beating of disloyal and rebellious women is part of the campaign against Islam. If beating disobedient wives was advocated by Western scientists, it would have been widely supported by the same people who criticize Islam and special centers would have been set up all over the world to train husbands on how to beat their wives.

Our scholars should focus on explaining to people, especially the young, the real teachings of Islam in order to avoid causing uncertainty and confusion.

Virtue Commission Not to Have Female Members

 Maha Akeel, Arab News

http ://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=67416&d=24&m=7&y=2005

JEDDAH, 24 July 2005 - The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice never has and will never employ women, said a source at the commission.

The emphatic denial came in response to enquiries about a report carried by Al-Riyadh Arabic newspaper recently claiming that the commission is studying establishing a unit for its female employees to perform their duties concerning women violators.

The newspaper quoted a source at the commission as saying that the job of the female members of the commission would be, if the unit was approved, to assist in apprehending and advising women in violation of rules within the commission's authority. The female members would remove some of the awkwardness for the male members in dealing with women and entering places designated for women or places suspected of having women in them illegally.

They would also spread the commission's principles according to Shariah. The article stated that the study would determine the possibility of establishing the unit based on Shariah regulations for women to be members and to conduct their duties.

The study would also define the female members' role in participating with the men when entering places to follow up on complaints or tips - such as women tailor shops, shopping centers, amusement parks and wedding halls.

Officials at the commission headquarters in Riyadh refused to answer questions on whether it is conducting this study and whether they do have women working for them now and if not, why not. However, a commission member who did not wish to be named said, "The commission never has and never will employ women in an official capacity. The women you sometimes see accompanying the commission's men in their jeep are their wives or sisters volunteering to act as advisers to other women in public places."

Women employed at the Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah are not members of the commission but rather are employees of the General Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques' Affairs, explained the source.

Another source with the commission said that this proposal of employing women has been made before but was turned down by the head of the commission.

Torture of Egyptian gays turns systematic

http://www.afrol.com/articles/11415

afrol News, 1 March - A new study on the Egyptian government's purge against homosexuals shows that the torture is used systematically. The crackdown started in 2001 is still ongoing and has turned into a permanent government campaign against homosexuals.

According to a 144-page report released today by the New York-based group Human Rights Watch, the Egyptian government is increasingly repressing men who have sex with men. The trial of 52 men in 2001 for the "habitual practice of debauchery" - the legal charge used to criminalise gays in Egyptian law - had only been the most visible point in the ongoing and expanding crackdown.

- Today, Egyptian police use wiretaps and a growing web of informers to conduct raids on private homes or seize suspects on the street, the study found. "Undercover police agents arrange meetings with men through chat rooms and personal advertisements on the Internet - and then arrest them."

The human rights group found that Egyptian police "routinely torture men suspected of homosexual conduct." The report cites testimonies of victims telling how they were bound, suspended in painful positions, burned with cigarettes or submerged in ice-cold water, and subjected to electroshock on their limbs and genitals. Numerous testimonies in the report accuse Taha Embaby, head of Cairo's Vice Squad, of direct participation in torture.

- Doctors participate in torturing suspected homosexuals, under the guise of collecting forensic evidence to support the charge of 'habitual debauchery', Human Rights Watch found. Prosecutors refer suspects to the Forensic Medical Authority, an arm of Egypt's Ministry of Justice.

There, the report says, the gay men were routinely subjected to torture. "Doctors there compel the men to strip and kneel; they massage, dilate and in some cases penetrate the prisoners' anal cavities, subjecting them to intrusive, abusive, and degrading examinations to 'prove' the men have committed homosexual acts."

Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch, who presented the report at a conference in Cairo, warned against this systematic use of torture in Egypt. "The prohibition against torture is absolute and universal, regardless of the victim, he said. "Accepting torture of unpopular victims - whether for their political opinions or their sexual conduct - makes it easier for the government to use this despicable practice on many others."

This documented use of torture had also made Egyptian human rights group to join the protests of Mr Roth. At earlier stages, Egyptian groups had preferred not to be associated with campaigns against the government's gay purges as they feared the issue of homosexuality would alienate Egyptians. Five Egyptian human rights groups today joined Mr Roth at the presentation of the report in Cairo.

Mr Roth also said he was "saddened" by the fact that his group had been "documenting torture in Egypt for over a decade. The government’s recent initiatives to improve its human rights image mean nothing unless it lives up to its obligation to investigate and punish those responsible for torture."

Human Rights Watch called on the Egyptian government to reform the criminal justice system to protect all citizens against torture and abuse. It also called on the Cairo government to end arrests and prosecutions based on adult, consensual homosexual conduct.

By staff writers

© afrol News

Egypt's Copts appeal for end to persecution

http://www.afrol.com/articles/14330

afrol News, 29 September - Egyptian Coptic leaders from around the world have urged the government of President Hosni Mubarak to initiate a "special legislation" designed to end what they call a "long and enduring persecution" of Christians in Egypt. The Copts expected the help of all Egypt's Muslims in this quest for freedom.

This appeal was made at the conclusion of the First International Symposium on Egyptian Copts in Zurich, Switzerland, this week. The conference resolutions concluded with a call to "strengthen relationships of love and respect between Egyptians, both Muslim and Christian," and with the declaration "what is good for the Copts is good for Egypt."

According to the Coptic Church of Egypt, there is a "long and enduring persecution of the Copts in Egypt." To end this, the symposium found, the Egyptian government needed to enact special legislation through the Egyptian legislature "to correct all inequities resulting from historical neglect and discrimination."

- We sincerely solicit the help of all Muslims to stand side by side with the Copts in their quest for freedom and equality, the declaration said. Religious leaders of Egypt's Copts and of the Muslim majority traditionally have worked well together.

The new legislation called for by the Coptic society should "establish equality" among Egypt's religious groups. As the religious minorities form a relatively large part of Egypt's society, the Copts hold that legislation should institute "a total separation of religion and state through constitutional reforms, and the removal of emphasis on religion and its role in government institutions, emphasising the secular nature of the state."

The ancient religious group - which has its roots among the first Christian societies almost 2000 years ago, also asks for more political powers. Egypt should allocate a "proportionate and just percentage" of government appointed positions to Copts, "to guarantee appropriate participation." This, they proposed, should be around 10 to 15 percent of government posts. Parliamentary seats equally should be allocated after this model.

Further, the minority religion urged that religious identification should be removed from every government issued document, form, or application. The Egyptian constitution was guaranteeing freedom and protection of religious beliefs, but this was not properly enforced, the statement said.

New legislation also should end "the practice of treating all Coptic issues, including their struggle to attain equal rights, as 'State Security Matters' and removing what is known as the 'Coptic File' from the grip of the State Security Intelligence Apparatus," the resolution said.

- We also express our conviction that a better Egypt, besides adopting this 'Special Legislation', should dedicate itself to strengthen relationships of love and respect between Egyptians, both Muslim and Christian, through encouraging cooperative projects in all areas of life, the text added. "We believe that what is good for the Copts is good for Egypt and what is good for Egypt is good for the Copts," it concluded.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Don't stifle the freedom of Iraqi women

http ://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=17894

By Souheila Al-Jadda

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The future of Iraq now lies in the hands of the Iraqi National Assembly after the writing committee of the Iraqi constitution submitted its draft Monday evening. The document will serve as the foundation of the future Iraq. There are still some outstanding differences to be resolved between the parties, and committee members expressed hope that these would be resolved through amendments agreed in the National Assembly in the next few days.

Heavy is the weight on the shoulders of the women in the National Assembly, who make up 31 percent of its representatives (86 out 275 members) and who must fight for the rights of all Iraqi women, who make up 60 percent of the population. In the critical days before the assembly presents the draft constitution to the Iraqi public to be voted on in a referendum on October 15, these women must wrestle with the ayatollahs in order to guarantee rights that have long been enshrined in secular laws of the past.

For example, in 1970, the new provisional constitution formally made women equal to men before the law, giving them the right to vote, run in politics, attend school and own property. Specifically, Article 19 declared that all citizens were equal before the law regardless of sex, blood, language, social origin or religion. Despite severe political oppression under Saddam Hussein, women enjoyed many rights in education, employment and with regards to inheritance and family laws. Iraqi women were considered to be among the most liberated in the Middle East. But now these rights are being threatened by what appears to be a religious-political government forming in Iraq.

According to the draft constitution, Iraq is considered an Islamic state and no law can contradict the principles of Islam. The Islamic clauses of the constitution would not be applicable in the Kurdish north. Provisions of the constitution were leaked last month, revealing the extent to which Islam may influence future laws. Many women's groups worried about a phrase that said that followers of any religion or sect were free to choose their civil status according to their religious or sectarian beliefs. Others complained about a chapter that stated that men and women were given equal rights as long as this did not contradict Islamic law.

Islamic law gives protection to women, but secular governments and laws, time and again, have proven better in protecting women's liberties. Recent history has shown that Islamic states have thrived best when religious institutions were separated from the state administration, as was the case during the Ottoman and Mogul empires.

In contemporary societies, attempts at establishing Islamic states have proven disastrous for women. Government interpretations of Islamic laws have too often discriminated against women. In many countries purporting to draw legitimacy from Islamic law, such as Iran, Morocco and Malaysia, women have struggled for years to ease hard-lined interpretations of certain religious edicts. Meanwhile, in countries like Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Nigeria, women continue to suffer from cruel implementation of religious and traditional laws.

While Iraqis have the right to choose Islam as their source of legislation and inspiration, there must be defensive clauses inserted into the constitution that protect all Iraqis, especially women, from harsh and often harmful applications of Islamic law. Supporters of the draft constitution point to a separate bill of rights, saying it will protect women, and point to constitutional clauses saying no law can contradict democracy or the bill of rights.

Yet will these be enough? Indeed, will women in the National Assembly be able to defend the requirement of maintaining a 25 percent female quota in all three branches of government? Only time will tell.

Women are worried. As negotiations took place over the constitution, Iraqi women took to the streets to defend their rights, carrying banners and chanting slogans of freedom. Sharouk al-Ababji of the Iraqi Women's Network recently told the Al-Iraqiyya television station that the motivation behind the group's demonstrations was that, "We want a civil law. We want to strengthen women's rights in the constitution. We want women to be active members of the political process and in the reconstruction of Iraq."

The women of Iraq are counting on their sisters in the National Assembly to ensure that women's issues not become fodder to be traded for political gain by the assembly's male majority. All eyes will be on what comes out of the assembly chambers in the days to come. Let us hope that the voices of the courageous women who marched in Baghdad with almost no security will be heard. Let us hope that their rights will be guaranteed once and for all.

Souheila al-Jadda is a freelance journalist and associate producer of a Peabody award winning news program, "Mosaic: World News from the Middle East," on Link TV. She wrote this commentary for THE DAILY STAR.

Illusions of emancipation

http: //weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/757/li1.htm

Khul' and the new family courts promised to ease women's way out of the matrimonial bond, writes Reem Leila But have For many women seeking khul', family courts have complicated the procedures instead of speeding them up

Six years into her marriage Hoda Osman, a 31-year-old housewife, decided she could no longer go on; she had made enough unconditional sacrifices for one lifetime. Pondering her life and the conditions governing it, she quickly realised all was well except for one thing: her husband; it was as if he wasn't there. She laboured, spent her money, cared for two sons; he was just relaxing. This was less of a discovery than an awakening: she had been living in denial for years. And everyone, starting from her husband's family and friends, confirmed she was an excellent wife. "I really did my best," she recounts. "But my husband's behaviour became unbearable. Responsibility was gradually shifted onto me -- the sole purpose of his job was pocket money; not a penny went into the household, which my father and I supported. My husband was just watching TV. All that he had promised in the way of fun, love and care, a happy family -- all vanished."

Osman spoke to him, over and over; and "well, this is me, it's just how I am and I'm not about to change," was all he could say by way of response. Eventually divorce seemed like the only viable answer. "We were just too different, there was too much conflict for us to continue peacefully. And so," Osman says, "I decided I wanted a divorce -- he couldn't go on enjoying what luxury I could afford -- for free. But when I asked my father to intervene, I was confronted with rage: 'How could you think of such a thing -- it was never heard of in this family. And what about your kids, you want them to grow up in a broken home?' he growled. I insisted, my father went on saying no. And so I decided I'd go to court. I was advised that khul' was the fastest option." This law, introduced in 2000, grants women the right to unilateral divorce in return for giving up financial rights and handing back the dowry. Yet in Osman's experience, at least, the law does not work in practice. Four times she appealed, four times she was refused; all her husband had to do was file a petition, citing any reason at all for the marriage to continue: "When family courts were established, last October, I thought my suffering was over. But it turned out to be a vicious circle: my case just keeps moving from one court to the next."

And Osman's case is representative. According to lawyer Ashraf Zaki, indeed, the family courts have immeasurably complicated the procedure of khul'. A year ago, he says, the process was far speedier; Khul' cases were resolved in no more than six months. With the family courts in place, no less than 20 months are required; indeed before the paperwork can even start, both parties must attend a 15-day "reconciliation course", with a sociologist and a psychologist. In practice this takes three months -- and procedures have not yet started by the end of it.

Heba (not her real name), 39, applied for khul' in May 2004; she is not yet divorced. Her case kept being adjourned for no real reason until, in the new family court, she realised she had to repeat procedures already taken, including notifying her husband of the details of the case: "I discovered that my husband and I had to attend reconciliation sessions; it took them 45 days to set a date. And for two weeks both the sociologist and psychologist were simply trying to intimidate me into not filing a suit. They told me I'd lose everything, that I was better off being married. All it really did was to delay proceedings even further."

For his part Zaki attributes such delays to reluctance on the part of the judges: "The vast majority of them do not personally believe in khul' ; they think it's un-Islamic: just because it so happened that in the Prophet's lifetime a woman was granted khul' does not mean the practice should be generalised or legislated for. Unfortunately such legal illiteracy is rife among judges." Abdel-Hadi Ghozzi, another lawyer, agrees: such resistance is possible because the law was not accompanied by an explanatory document delineating its implementation; judges can choose not to apply the law the way they should. "For example," Ghozzi explains, "if either the sociologist or the psychologist is absent from court, that is a reason to adjourn. Yet their presence is not even mentioned in the law itself. The judges insist that they should attend on the pretext that a consultation might prove necessary."

A judge might also choose not to apply the law at all. According to Ghozzi, the law stipulates that the wife must return the value of the dowry as it is stated in the marriage contract. "But husbands often object -- the amount written in the contract was not the amount paid, they claim. By law the judge must abide by the contract, yet more often than not he will refer the case to a special investigative committee -- which means another long delay. Likewise, when a husband asks for gifts given to his wife back, even though the law makes no provision for such gifts, the judge will refer the case to a special committee to investigate the matter. All such legal inventions only really emerged within the new family court system. In ordinary courts women were routinely divorced in a six- to eight-month period."

In addition to an atmosphere of reluctance, many family courts are not sufficiently equipped to start operating. According to Mohamed Moussa, another disgruntled lawyer, indeed, most consist of one flat with two rooms, with no space for claimants and lawyers to wait and no filing facilities. "Early in the morning, every day, a lorry will arrive, loaded of claimants' files. The lorry is haphazardly emptied by office attendants, risking the loss of important documents."

Yet Councillor Osama Ataweya, assistant to the Minister of Justice, insists that, while this was undoubtedly the case of some courts when they first started, work is being done to remedy the situation. By, 2006, he says, new buildings will have been assigned to family courts throughout Egypt: some will be newly built, others will replace old courts, after renovations: "I believe that, by the new judicial year, everything will be far more stable. But it should be noted that the family court system services the entire family, and not only women."

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Enclycopedic Dictionary of Zionism and Israel http://www.zionism-israel.com/dic/zionism_dictionary.htm

Wikipedia article about Zionism - A comprehensive article including the history of Zionism  as well as links to specific topics and articles about anti-Zionism.

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Zionism