Word: clericalism
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...named. There is not a single female in the department trained in the "Islamic way" to cane. Nevertheless, prominent Islamic officials in Malaysia have expressed disappointment at the reprieve. "The punishment is light and designed to shame, not to cause physically pain," Harussani Zakaria, an influential cleric, told TIME. "It must be carried out." Counters Amnesty International's Malaysia director, Nora Murat: "Whipping is a form of torture and should not be condoned...
...Over the weekend, in fact, opposition activists were dismayed to hear reports that former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani had called for unity and for all Iranians to follow Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei's orders to end the turmoil. Coming a little over a month after the influential cleric and Ahmadinejad rival had openly questioned June's disputed election results, the comments suggested that the opposition movement could be losing one of its most crucial establishment backers. (See the top 10 players in Iran's power struggle...
Still, the newfound role of renegade seems to suit Karroubi, the 72-year-old cleric who once enjoyed impeccable credentials within the Islamic Republic. Indeed, Karroubi is a battle-hardened revolutionary, having served time in prison during the Shah's reign, studied under Ayatullah Khomeini and served as speaker of parliament until 2004. In 2005, he placed third in the first round of presidential elections, losing out to then mayor of Tehran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a race that Karroubi later alleged was rigged. After his defeat in 2005, he remained on the offensive, forming a political party and newspaper...
...likely to lash out again - and Karroubi could be among its top targets. One of the leading generals of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards has already called for his and Mousavi's arrest. Karroubi's newspaper was shut down on Aug. 18, and last week the government advised clerics all over the country to lambaste Karroubi during their Friday sermons. One leading hard-line cleric called for Karroubi to be beaten with a lash...
...that's exactly what happened when pro-al-Qaeda cleric Abdel Latif Moussa gathered about 100 of his heavily armed supporters in a mosque to denounce Hamas rule and declared himself the "Islamic prince" of the new "emirate." Hamas security men moved in to disarm the group, and 24 people, including Moussa and about 20 of his followers, were killed in the ensuing firefight. Their group, Jund Ansar Allah, claimed inspiration from al-Qaeda, and condemned Hamas both for maintaining a cease-fire with Israel and for its failure to impose Islamic Shari'a law after taking full control...