(Al-Mustaqbal – Lebanon)

Octavia Nasr
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Mideast Affairs

When President Barack Obama spoke in front of cadets, staff and guests at West Point to lay out his administration’s new strategy for Afghanistan, “an entire Middle East region was paying attention and analyzing his words carefully,” says Asharq Al-Awsat columnist Abdel Rahman al-Rashed.

According to al-Rashed, the biggest threat facing the Middle East today is terrorism. He says Arab governments and ordinary citizens have been waiting for a sign from President Obama since he took office to gauge his level of commitment in fighting terrorism. “Last night we all got our answer and it’s a positive one” said al-Rashed. “We heard a serious U.S. commitment to fight al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.” That, he says, is a comforting stance from the U.S. that “will encourage local governments to do their part and fight terrorism in their backyards.”

The Middle East region is very complex, and it is going through much turmoil and instability at the moment. Beyond the headlines of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran’s nuclear ambitions and Iraq’s ongoing struggle to establish itself as a sovereign nation capable of securing its citizens and borders, serious problems are brewing elsewhere. In addition to a growing number of al Qaeda-linked terror attacks in North Africa and an alarming Shiite-Sunni tension in countries such as Morocco and Bahrain, fierce clashes are raging on the Saudi-Yemen border. The rugged mountainous region is witnessing daily battles as troops from both countries try to crush a rebellion by a group known as Al-Houthis, that al-Rashed believes has direct ties to al Qaeda. “Everything is connected” he says. “If the U.S. defeats al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Arab governments continue to isolate al Qaeda in the region, all their cells will fall apart.”

Al-Rashed isn’t alone to think that al Qaeda and its allies are widespread and dangerous. He says, “They’re like cancer cells and should be dealt with as such.” He belongs to a group of analysts who believe that al Qaeda can be defeated with the right strategy. “The numbers aren’t important, 30,000 more troops or 3,000 isn’t the issue,” he told me on the phone from Dubai. What matters, he says, is Obama’s message which means commitment. “The message that says we won’t walk away from facing al Qaeda, the message that we believe we can defeat al Qaeda and we will; those are the messages that people in the region wanted to hear and heard last night.”

But not everyone in the Middle East is as optimistic as al-Rashed, skeptics have their say too. On Arab networks, analysts and commentators had mixed feelings immediately following the speech. Some compared the West Point rhetoric to that of President George W. Bush prior to deploying troops to war zones. A panel discussion on the Qatar-owned Al-Jazeera, focused on the injection of the 9/11 attacks into the speech as they called it another “Bush administration fear tactic.” On the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya, which Abdel Rahman al-Rashed is general manager of, post speech discussion focused more on Pakistan where concern was expressed whether the U.S. can be successful in thwarting al Qaeda and Taliban with more boots on the ground.

A cartoon in Kuwait’s Al-Jarida newspaper expresses another kind of skepticism popular in the Arab world. It shows a tired Obama dressed as a U.S. soldier weighed down by the quagmire of Afghanistan having a difficulty to walk but holding in his hand the new strategy for that country. The idea of the quagmire is echoed in another cartoon from Jordan’s Alarab Alyaoum showing President Obama as a U.S. soldier half submerged in water and holding an Exit sign. Lebanon’s Al-Mustaqbal newspaper showed Obama saying “I got the solution” as he falls off the cliff that is Afghanistan. While in Kuwait’s Aljarida a cartoon portrayed Obama as gambling with the “Afghan War Jackpot” and saying, “Bush played this machine for years with no payoff… but I think it’s due.” From Alwatan Newspaper in Qatar a suggestion that U.S. is driving in reverse now in Afghanistan while Alwatan in Oman’s cartoon describes the new strategy as a plan to run away from Afghanistan.

Simple cartoons describe how many in the Arab world view the U.S. at this time in history. Al-Rashed agrees that many Arabs are skeptical but he stresses, “at least it’s a positive image now in comparison to the previous administration.” Judging by the variety of reactions to the speech, it seems that most Arabs would give President Obama the benefit of proving that his rhetoric matches his actions before they pass judgment on his administration.

(Al-Arab Al-Yawm – Jordan)

(Al-Jarida – Kuwait)

(Al-Jarida – Kuwait)

(Al-Watan – Oman)

(Al-Watan Newspaper – Qatar)

The main page of Annahar in 1969.

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Mideast Affairs

From my childhood I carry a memory. It has no specific date nor factual details, but it has strong emotions. It is a memory of a yearning and undeniable desire to go to the moon.

Over the years, my mom must have told the story about a hundred times and I probably told it about a dozen times. My sisters heard it over and over and delighted at making fun of my excitement and my deep belief in what was to most a sure improbability.

‘“Sign me up to go to the moon” were your exact words,’ my mom says.

I remember her trying to reason with me that maybe I should finish school first and then go to the moon. I insisted on signing up. I was convinced there was a “list” somewhere and that my name had to be added to it before it was too late. When my incessant demand was coupled with tears, we agreed that she’d get me a toy rocket so I could practice riding to the moon.

I remember that my mom took me to the only toy shop in our town, but it was closed for the weekend. I looked and looked through the window and saw nothing that resembled a rocket and was very concerned. Luckily, when we went back during the week, they had one. I don’t remember the inscription on it but I do remember there was a USA flag painted on the side. My mom bought it (thank you mom) and I played with that rocket for a long time and built many dreams upon it.

Octavia Nasr, center, circa 1967.

Many memories jam my head right now, mostly war-related. I link them back to which school grade I was in, which teacher I had, who was my best friend, who hurt me and who saved me. So many memories from a busy life loaded with events and images that I shared with my generation but events to which no child should be exposed.

Lebanon was the battleground for a civil war that lasted 15 years. It started when I was 9-years-old and encompassed my childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. So, most of my memories rotate around shelters and bombs and weapons and death with some happy memories peppered in here and there that made growing up in Lebanon a pleasure and a privilege despite all of its dangers and inconveniences.

It shouldn’t be a surprise then that my memory of the moon was always special, clean; all by itself an episode not to be compared or contrasted with any other.

A few months ago I decided to surprise an acquaintance with something special for her upcoming birthday. Dealing with someone who has everything and is not easily impressed, I wanted to come up with something unusual. Compiling events that took place on her birthday sounded like a good idea. A search of November 15, 1969 led me to the anti-war demonstrations here in the U.S. which were organized throughout the weekend. My call to Lebanon’s leading newspaper Annahar landed me a copy of the newspaper from that day in a convenient attachment.

As I looked through the pages, I came face to face with my childhood memory. It was right there staring me in the eye with a date, a picture and even a timeline. Nothing prepared me for this moment; I never tried to find out how old I was at the time of my request to be put on a ‘list’ to the moon. I never knew what triggered the bizarre request. I always assumed maybe it was the first moon mission but it was never a priority to find out.

So Apollo 12 landed on the moon on November 15, 1969 and I watched it along with hundreds of thousands of Lebanese live on TV!! How odd is that? The only big live transmission event I remember vividly was the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Di in 1981.

Reading the article, I learned that what made Apollo 12 so special was that all three national Lebanese TV channels carried the moon landing and all pertinent mission events LIVE; they advertized all the different times in the local papers. It was a huge deal for Lebanon, as the country was launching its first satellite transmission from the brand new Arbaniyeh Tower.

Page four, with the Apollo 12 announcement.

So, the Apollo 12 mission was prominently reported on the main page with two editorials by the most prominent journalists of the Annahar newspaper, Ghassan Tueni and Michel Abou Jaoudeh. But it was page four that got me. Looking at those times and descriptions brought the experience back. Apollo 12 was the second landing on the moon. A 3-year-old watched in awe, dreamed and believed with all her heart that one day she too would travel to the moon.

We didn’t have a camera 40 years ago. My parents had hired a photographer to take pictures of us when I was about one and half. I share this photo with you because our Black & White TV set is featured prominently in it. Forty years ago, we were some of the fortunate few to even have a TV to watch the Apollo 12 mission.

Back then, TV programming started around 6 p.m. with the Lebanese national anthem followed by cartoons, children’s shows and other programming including local soap operas and melodramatic series. They also featured subtitled French and American soap operas and series. There was one nightly newscast at 8:30 p.m., if my memory serves me well. An Egyptian or foreign film or documentary would follow, along with local entertainment shows before the stations shut down for the night closing programming with the national anthem playing over a picture of the Lebanese flag flying high.

Carrying an international event such as the Apollo 12 mission was a big deal. I’m glad Tele Liban did; I’m deeply grateful for this memory.

Happy 40th anniversary to my first childhood memory, the timing of this discovery couldn’t be more perfect.

A political cartoon from Jordan's Al-Ghad newspaper claimed that Hasan committed atrocities as a result of American influence.

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Mideast Affairs

On TV and among ordinary Arabs and Muslims, condemnation of the Fort Hood attack was front and center. But radical Islamist groups were quick to hail Nidal Hasan as a "hero." On several radical sites, they described the shooting rampage at Fort Hood as "the blessed jihadist attack."

A fundamentalist group even produced a video clip showing images from the shooting aftermath while they played jihadi songs glorifying the act. At the end of the video they displayed this chilling caption in English:

"Our attacks will never stop till you take out your army from our lands."

Photos of Major Nidal Hasan, the suspect in Thursday's shooting spree, were flashed on TV screens across the globe. That included Arab and Muslim regions.

On Arab networks, the coverage focused mainly on the facts. Reporters and guests analyzed Hasan's Palestinian roots and stressed the fact that he was born, raised and schooled in the U.S. and served in its military.

Editorials such as one from Al-Arabiya by Elias Harfoush, tied the killing to racism as the author tried to answer why would a professional such as Hasan allegedly commit such a heinous act. Harfouche wrote, "It's a paradox that when the US celebrates its first president of Muslim origins, a Muslim American has no qualms killing 13 fellow Americans."

In the meantime, a political cartoon from Jordan's Al-Ghad newspaper claimed that Hasan committed atrocities as a result of American influence.

Wayne Drash and Octavia Nasr
CNN

The night before she was killed on the streets of Tehran, the woman the world would come to know simply as Neda had a dream. "There was a war going on," she told her mom the next morning, "and I was in the front."

Neda's mother had joined her in the street protests that erupted after Iran's disputed June 12 presidential election. But on that fateful morning, she told her daughter she couldn't go with her. As Neda prepared to leave, the mother was filled with anxiety.

"I told her to be very careful, and she said she would."

More than four months after Neda's death, her mother, Hajar Rostami, described the pain her family has endured and how grateful they are to millions across the world who have hailed Neda as a martyr - a symbol of freedom for Iran. She spoke with CNN by phone in her native Farsi from her home in Tehran a few days ago.

Keep Reading...

Saudi King Abdullah used his power Monday to overturn a criminal court sentence of 60 lashes and a two-year travel ban imposed on female journalist Rosanna Yami.

Octavia Nasr
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor Mideast Affairs

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has been called "The King of Hearts" by many of his countrymen and women. This is a reflection of what many Saudis believe are his compassionate attempts to reform his ultra-conservative kingdom and bring it up-to-date with the rest of the world.

He used his power Monday to pardon Saudi female journalist Rosanna Yami. By doing so, he saved her from 60 lashes - a sentence handed down by a Saudi criminal court – and a two-year travel ban from the kingdom.

While this is an unusual move for the King, it certainly is not unprecedented. In 2007, he pardoned a woman who was gang-raped but was still sentenced to hundreds of lashes for being in the presence of the unrelated males who raped her.

The journalist’s case started with a controversial Lebanese TV show that explores taboos of the Middle East. When 'A Thick Red Line' featured a Saudi man - Mazen Abdul Jawad - bragging about his alleged sexual escapades, the station's Saudi offices were closed and Abdul Jawad was sentenced to five years in jail and 1,000 lashes.

Yami received her sentence over the weekend. It was her punishment for working for the station that aired the show with the sex braggart. A second Saudi female journalist is still being sought in the case.

King Abdullah's surprising pardon came as the prosecutor in the case was requesting an even harsher sentence for Yami. According to local Saudi media, the prosecutor said, 60 lashes is "simply too lenient of a sentence."

For many, the pardon leaves no room to doubt where the monarch stands on the trial and the sentence.

If you are wondering why it is that King Abdullah does not use his power more frequently and forcefully to bring faster reform to his country, you are not the only one. This question is on the minds of many, especially those who question the close ties between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

There is no easy answer to the question. One important factor to keep in mind is that in an ultra-conservative society such as Saudi Arabia, with many fundamentalist, even radical constituents, the options are very limited even if you are The King!

Cairo University students wearing niqab stand outside a university dormitory on Oct. 7

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Mideast Affairs

The Arab Middle East teaches minorities some tough life lessons and shapes them in ways that might surprise you. While the effect of a conservative patriarchal society is expected to keep people under the thumb of tradition, culture and tribal and religious beliefs - sometimes too much oppression and control yields opposite results.

Having lived in several parts of the Middle East as a child, I learned that a woman doesn’t exist except as someone’s daughter, sister, wife or mother. Her opinion is not required, her emotions don’t count and she has no rights whatsoever – except those granted to her by a male.

With a few recent exceptions, an Arab woman’s testimony is not accepted in court. Most Arab women can’t travel outside their countries without permission from a male guardian, and most Arab women still can’t give nationality to their children. In Saudi Arabia women are not even allowed to drive cars. A popular Arabic saying describes it best: a good woman “has a mouth that eats but not one that speaks.”

The Arab Middle East taught me that sexual expression is exclusive to men. Men can have pre-marital sex, and when they’re married, their extra-marital affairs are ignored, justified or blamed on the wives. Their bodies are their own to do with them what they want. A woman’s body, however, represents her family’s honor. So, girls and women are expected to cover their bodies and repress their sexual feelings to protect the honor of the family.

This is such a deeply-rooted belief that, to this day, girls and women are killed by fathers, brothers or cousins at the suspicion of sexual activity. Even if a girl or woman is the victim of rape or assault, she can be killed under the pretext of “cleansing the family’s honor.” The practice known as “Honor Killing” is still common among all religions in the Middle East; it is even justified under the law and carries no penalty.

As someone who grew up and spent my early adulthood in the Middle East, I also learned that men run the show and they run it for life. Imagine that with the exception of a few, all Arab leaders haven’t changed since I was a child; and those who died were replaced by their sons. So far, the customary behavior has been such that if you wanted change, you had to ask men for their permission, their blessing, their support, their approval, their orders, and their actions to bring that change.

The women in my family were very active in the women’s rights movement of the 60s, 70s and 80s. Men listened to them, gave them a forum to express their desire to become equal through conferences, speeches and occasional articles in the media. They even gave them some rights – like the right to vote in some countries and the right to run for office in others. But, women’s rights were always controlled by men’s approval and that didn’t go far at all. As a matter of fact, a quick look at the Arab Middle East shows you that with very few exceptions it remains a region controlled by the ruling few who are unwilling to relinquish power. They resist change as if it were a contagious disease that will lead to their demise if they ever catch it.

Enter the age of the computer and the Internet, the age of blogging and connecting with the world. The only age that will allow a Saudi female cartoonist to draw pictures depicting how a woman feels when her husband takes on a second or third wife. It simply rips her heart out she draws.

A Saudi female cartoonist's rendition of how a woman feels when her husband takes on a second or third wife.

Islam accepts polygamy and blesses it with a caveat which men enthusiastic about the practice tend to ignore. You can take multiple wives, but “if you want to be fair, marry only one,” the holy Muslim book guides. While not many in Saudi Arabia might care about how Hana Hajjar feels, a whole world outside the kingdom, is paying attention, supporting and perhaps even lending a hand.

The online traffic we witnessed in the aftermath of Iran’s contested elections and the outpour of support Iranian reformists received through social media are perfect examples of the effect of international support on local activism. In the case of Iran, it energized and helped spread the message to far reaching corners of the world.

Other stories that have captured the world’s attention are bloggers jailed in Egypt and Saudi Arabia for speaking up against the Status Quo in their countries and demanding social justice and political reform. We are learning about what’s going on inside the most conservative and most police-controlled countries in the region through bloggers who are not allowing the intimidation of prison, harassment or abuse to silence them.

It is obvious now there is a growing number of Arabs, men and women, who not only want change but they are willing to get to that change on their own. They grew tired of demanding it and not receiving anything in return, so they made the decision to truly become the change and live it in practice.

Now, you have bloggers like Wael Abbas in Egypt who openly criticizes President Hosni Mubarak’s policies and screams out slurs against his country’s secret police that detains him for hours and confiscates his laptop without any explanation or apology whatsoever.

You also have the gay and lesbian Middle Eastern community publishing their online magazine which deals with issues they find important. They discuss sexual orientation out in the open and provide a voice and an outlet they wouldn’t have even dreamed of a few years ago. Their headlines read, “Who we sleep with is nobody’s business” and “Homophobia and Paranoia: Words that Ryhme.”

The Lebanese Association of Women Researchers ‘Bahithat’ just organized what is dubbed a cornerstone of Arab Feminism through a conference at the American University of Beirut. Women from all over the Middle East - including Iraq and Iran - were there promoting the idea that “change will have to be imposed not demanded anymore” says Lebanese Feminist Zeina Zaatari, one of the most vocal voices at the conference.

The Feminist Collective promoted the event online through social networking sites such as Twitter. They drew the world’s attention to hear the voices of powerful women who gave themselves the right instead of waiting for officials to give them permission to speak or express themselves. Zaatari captured the limelight as she linked a woman’s equality with a woman’s sexual freedom and sexual expression. “A woman can’t be free if she doesn’t own her body and has full control of it and if she doesn’t express her sexuality,” she told me in a phone interview from Beirut.

The December 2008 Issue of Jasad.

Another example of women taking matters into their own hands is a quarterly magazine called ‘Jasad’ which means ‘Body’ in Arabic. It’s a racy magazine that was launched by a woman in Lebanon at the end of 2008 dealing with the female body and its deepest sexual desires. ‘Jasad’ is banned and its website is blocked from many Arab countries.

“This doesn’t stop subscriptions from being delivered by courier mail,” founder and editor-in-chief Joumana Haddad told me as she was busily preparing the fifth issue. She says the magazine is doing well despite the fact that “no one dares to advertize” in it. She talks about threats she and her editors receive on a regular basis and unending harassment since they all use their real names. She says it is the support she receives from within the Middle East and outside that keeps her going and that “nothing will stop ‘Jasad’ from being published.”

Several new lines are being drawn in the Middle East’s desert sand simultaneously.... If they continue to be drawn at this rate longer and thicker, it’s hard to foresee any governments, censors or jails being able to stop them.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives home Saturday after attending the U.N. General Assembly.

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Mideast Affairs

How large is Iran’s nuclear ambition? How peaceful? The recent revelation about a clandestine uranium enrichment facility coupled with military exercises – not to mention a consistent defying rhetoric - can’t be comforting to anyone observing the Middle East region. Iran says its nuclear enrichment program is intended for peaceful purposes, but the international community accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons.

In December 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Holocaust was a “myth” that Europeans invented as an excuse to allow the creation of the state of Israel. At the time, Mr. Ahmadinejad suggested that since the “Europeans are the ones who killed the Jews,” they should negotiate with the United States or Canada to give them portions of their land to establish a Jewish state.

Since that time and throughout his presidency, the Iranian President has reiterated the same line in many different variations and at different venues. As he addressed the United Nations General Assembly last week he said, “Countering this Zionist regime is a humanitarian principle. In fact the existence of the Zionist regime is an insult to human dignity. They try to support their myth of Holocaust, they lie.”

Mr. Ahmadinejad is set to serve a second four year term as President of Iran. His victory was challenged by street protests and outcries of dismay accusing him of “stealing the vote.” Despite all of that, and in total disregard of the crowds of Iranians denouncing him outside the UN Headquarters in New York, he spoke to the general assembly with confidence, “Our nation has successfully gone through a glorious and fully democratic election, opening a new chapter for our country in the march toward national progress and enhance international interactions. They entrusted me, once more the large majority, with this heavy responsibility.”

A heavy responsibility that he ushered in with some explosive developments: First, the shocking announcement about the Uranium enrichment facility. This drew harsh condemnation from the U.S., France and Great Britain and threats of sanctions if Iran doesn’t disclose all of its nuclear plans by December.

Then, in a show of force over the weekend, Iran test-fired long-range missiles it claims can reach as far as parts of Europe. What were supposed to be routine “war games” by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, turned out to be full-fledged missile and rocket tests. The news of the successful test-launch rattled the Middle East region and got many nations on edge, Israel in particular.

The timing couldn’t be more symbolic. On Monday, the same day as Yom Kippur – the holiest holiday in the Jewish calendar – Iran held a series of short-range missile tests followed by the testing of Shahab-3 and Sajil missiles – both long range missiles that Iran claims can reach as far as Moscow, Athens and southern Italy. Iran’s air force commander hailed the exercises and boasted that “Iran is fully prepared and determined to stand against all threats.”

It’s hard to pin down the “threats” the commander is talking about. Could they be “threats” posed by neighboring countries? Regional powers? Western forces? It’s difficult to to say for sure; but what we do know is that earlier this year, Iranian authorities announced that they would be testing long-range missiles that “will reach Israel and US bases in the Middle East.” This kind of statement makes people in many countries nervous. Not just Israel and the U.S., but nations such as Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which are all hosts to US bases in the region.

It is possible that Iran’s behavior so far is what got it to sit at the table in Geneva today with the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany. Would such a meeting have taken place if Iran didn’t push forth with its nuclear program? The U.S. hopes to convince Iran to halt its nuclear activities. Is it even reasonable to make this request at this time? More importantly, is it reasonable to expect Iran to comply?

Paul Ingram is the executive director of the British American Security Information Council in London; he studies Iran and nuclear nonproliferation. He believes Iran's revelation of the new site could "strengthen their hand" as Tehran heads into the Geneva talks. Ingram said the timing of Iran's revelation - inbetween the U.N. General Assembly sessions and today’s meeting - is deliberate on Iran's part. "This will make it more difficult to persuade them to abandon enrichment," he said.

All eyes are on Geneva to see what if anything will come out of those talks. Some words will certainly fly – such as demands for “unfettered access” to Iran’s nuclear facilities and its newly declared Uranium enrichment plant. As always, what will matter more than the words, the sanctions and the threats, will be what Iran does or does not do after all is said and done. And that, we already know by now, is impossible to guess.

Follow Octavia on Twitter @OctaviaNasrCNN

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Mideast Affairs

A Muslim call to prayer can now be accessed any time and anywhere thanks to social media networks such as Facebook and You Tube.

Across the world, Muslims are creating online communities to discuss and promote their religion. At the same time, this open discussion is exposing and highlighting issues and concerns considered taboo within Islam and the cultures in which they live.

Syrian blogger Ammar Abdel Hamid sees Facebook as a niche for the otherwise voiceless. “The internet came and gave an opportunity for activists for new voices for young people, for democracy promoters, for human rights activists' he says.

In the Arab world, gays and lesbians are taking to the internet to mingle with like-minded people and promote tolerance and understanding. This is especially significant because in their culture they are mainly rejected and still referred to in derogatory terms.

In Jordan, the first lady, Queen Rania al-Abdullah, is promoting the use of social media for opening dialogue and building bridges.

In Saudi Arabia and Egypt, bloggers face tough censorship and even jail for expressing views ranging from social equality to political reform.

Syrians are starting to find ways around heavy censorship and joining some conversations on Facebook.

For now, however, those Syrian conversations revolve around how much they like their first lady and their President Bashar al-Assad.

It is only a matter of time before Syrians will join their Arab and Muslim counterparts and bring to the table the more serious issues on their minds.

Follow Octavia on Twitter @OctaviaNasrCNN

Saad Hariri said he will discuss taking the position of Lebanon's prime minister with his allies.

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Mideast Affairs

The news out of Lebanon today was loud but not clear. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri “declined” to form another cabinet after his proposed one was rejected by the country’s opposition. He “quit,” according to news wires; others wrote that he “stepped down” and he “resigned.” Still, others described the Lebanese billionaire’s decision not to submit another cabinet line-up as “giving up.”

With very few exceptions, the summary of a critical moment in Lebanon’s complex political landscape was reduced to an underlying message that Hariri is a “loser” who “failed” to form a national unity government. A natural expectation follows that now someone else will “succeed” where Hariri “failed.” But, anyone with good knowledge of Lebanon – its regional role and its stature in the world – should know better.

The same groups who wanted us to believe that the Hezbollah-backed opposition was heading toward a clear win in Lebanon’s parliamentary elections in June, want us to believe today that Saad Hariri is “quitting” and “stepping down” or “resigning” from forming a government.

The fact is that Saad Hariri is only the Prime Minister-designate. That means he becomes Prime Minister only when his cabinet gets approval from President Michel Sleiman and then the vote of Lebanon’s parliament. According to the constitution, the Premier-designate can present as many cabinet combinations as necessary to secure all approvals.

In Lebanon the formula differs from any other parliamentary system because of the division of power among the country’s religions and sects. With a major win in the parliamentary elections, Hariri’s bloc, known as ‘March 14,’ gets to nominate its candidate to form the government and lead it. This will not change. Lebanon’s next PM will be a Muslim Sunni who belongs to the ‘March 14’ bloc or will be its designee.

The opposition, which is made up mainly of Muslim Shiite groups and supporters of Christian Maronite former General Michel Aoun, has been demanding key cabinet portfolios and imposing names for these cabinets. One main name that is “not negotiable” says Aoun, is his own son-in-law, Gibran Bassil, for Ministry of Interior. Bassil ran for the parliamentary elections and lost in his district.

When Hariri presented his cabinet selection to President Sleiman earlier this week after negotiations that lasted more than two months, he made it clear that if this cabinet was not approved, he would “decline” from forming a government. What this meant then and means now, is that he believes the opposition is playing hardball and he intends to do the same.

His announcement today that he told the President he would “decline from forming a government,” confirms those plans.

This is a political position, some might call it maneuvering. After all, it is Hariri’s bloc that will designate the next Prime Minister and the same cabinet is likely to be proposed. Hariri himself might end up as Premier-designate and it shouldn’t be a surprise if he re-submits the same cabinet.

The bottom line is that with his “declining to form a government” Hariri added his group’s deadlock to an already existing opposition deadlock. The only guarantee at this point is that no government will be formed under these conditions.

While on the surface, this might seem a normal process in any other parliamentary system, in Lebanon, this means the circus continues, and personal politics plays a role in the nation’s future and its people.

Who’s the biggest loser, you ask? None other than the great nation of Lebanon, home of the majestic Cedars and birthplace of Kahlil Gibran. Today, like many other important milestones in history, Lebanon stands to pay the price of personal preferences and political games. While Lebanese politicians play hardball, the people of Lebanon are divided – some cheer on the politicians, while many others watch from the sidelines wanting only to live, prosper and keep pace with world.

Follow Octavia on Twitter @OctaviaNasrCNN

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi (second from left) arrives in Tripoli, Libya.

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Mideast Affairs

It’s been hard to convince Arabs that Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was released only on compassionate grounds. They’ve been calling his release a deal and they’ve been discussing the facts as well as the fallout, the noise and controversy that ensued.

For Libyans, it was no doubt a victory. On the same day, they descended on a palace of their leader Moammar Ghaddafi, cheered him on and called him their “happiness maker.”

For the rest of the Arab world, it was considered a deal early on. First, the timing was suspect. His release occurred one day before the beginning of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, about a week ahead of Libya’s 40^th anniversary of the revolution that brought Moammar Ghaddafi to power, and a month before Ghaddafi’s planned trip to the US where his visit - and the air-conditioned tent that will house him - are already the subject of controversy.

Then came the hero’s welcome, which effectively sealed Arab suspicions. And if that wasn’t enough, Ghaddafi’s son and heir apparent, Saif al-Islam, spoke to a local station and said that al-Megrahi’s release was part of every negotiation with the British government. He said it was part of a “trade deal” struck between the two countries. These comments angered the UK and the US but overjoyed the majority of Libyans and got some Arab editors and commentators talking.

For most Arabs, this is a business deal. Columnist Obaidaly Obaidaly says “al-Megrahy is just one element of this deal which involves closing the Lockerbie chapter forever and opening a new chapter in relations between Libya and the west.” According to Kwaileet, oil, gas, technology and defense contracts involving primarily U.S. and British companies are likely to be signed, if they haven’t been signed already.

The facts remain the same. The only man convicted in the Pan Am flight 103 which killed a total of 270 people, mostly Americans, walked free with a big smile. He received warm congratulatory hugs by one of the most influential people in his country, and the first words he uttered publically were a declaration of his innocence.

In his opinion piece for Al-Arabiya.net, Obaidaly concludes that “al-Megrahi is the key to the future relations between Libya and the west” which the author has no doubt “will become obvious in the near future.”

So, if Scottish authorities cite compassion as the grounds for his release and Libyan leaders talk about his release as an integral role in “deals,” does that make al-Megrahi’s release a compassionate deal?

As the tension rises between the US and the UK over this high-profile release, an Arab world watches in awe and disappointment. One opinion editorial described what happened last week as a “cautionary tale.”

“It is not about the rights and wrongs of the decision taken by the Scottish Justice Minister” the piece argues. “It is not about British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s clumsy handling of the matter and it is not about sending a positive signal to terrorists as a handful of US senators and FBI director Robert Mueller have suggested.” The author then concludes, “It is simply that when the truth is absent, division, heartache and anger remain.”

The Arab world has a history of searches for the “truth” between assassinations, coups and revolutions that bring leaders to power for decades or for life. Many Arabs, especially intellectuals, think that they can trust western governments with the truth. Judging by the reaction, this is one case that’s making them re-consider.

Most of the Pan Am 103 victims were Americans. It is in this country that the outrage is loudest against the release of al-Megrahi and the hero’s welcome he received in his native Libya. So how will Americans welcome Ghaddafi when he lands on US soil and heads to his mobile home (an air-conditioned tent that travels with him wherever he goes) in New Jersey in September? One can only imagine.

Follow Octavia on Twitter @OctaviaNasrCNN

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Mideast Affairs

Have you ever heard of Klash the rapper? If you haven’t it could be because he’s from Saudi Arabia. Yes, the same Saudi Arabia, home of Islam’s holiest shrines and host to the yearly Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Klash sings about love and other things usually not openly discussed in Middle Eastern society; definitely not a topic of conversation in his native kingdom. Saudi Arabia is known more for its strict Islamic rule and ultra conservative society than for its men and women seeking earthly pleasures of any kind. Saudi women can’t even drive cars in their country or be seen in public with unrelated males by blood or marriage.

Like many of his fellow rappers around the world, Klash pushes the envelope. Take these lyrics to one of his popular songs for instance:

“Women are like cigarettes
Once you smoke them
You step on them
with your shoe.”

Saudi authorities were “offended” by such lyrics. They jailed Klash and forbade him from singing until he promised to clean his act.

Turki is another Saudi man who sings about love but only in his spare time. He appeared on Lebanon’s contentious show Thick Red Line to talk about the first and only woman who stole his heart. “She is the love of my life,” he told the reporter. Turki talks with passion about the many times he met his Saudi girlfriend and how they spent hours together on a beach, hidden away from a society where they knew their relationship may have been misunderstood.

But Turki has no illusions about Saudi Arabia’s culture. He says, "According to our traditions and our religion, loving a girl or kissing her without being married is a sin... But we didn't care."

Confessions like Turki’s have become routine on the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation’s Thick Red Line – the station's most controversial show.

On his shows, seen in Saudi Arabia and other countries across the region, host Malek Maktabi tackles some of the most taboo subjects of the Middle East. Most guests, fearing repercussions, appear in disguise. Even women have spoken openly about experiences that are rarely discussed in that part of the world. In one episode, a fully covered 26-year-old Badriya talked about spousal abuse.

She described in graphic details how her husband whom she married at the age of 15 abused her for years before he divorced her and threw her away. "He used to beat me up and burn me with the iron” she said. She then described how her whole body is disfigured. She also said that her husband used to lock her up in the bathroom for days without food. “He was a monster” she said, but explained that she didn't dare complain of fear that he would kill her and she didn’t want to leave the children with him.

Last month, a Saudi man appeared on the show and claimed to have picked up dates around Saudi cities and brought them to this room where they allegedly engaged in wild sex.

The episode drew harsh criticism from conservative quarters inside the Kingdom. The man was arrested and he might face the death penalty for "bragging about sinful behavior."

The Saudi offices of The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation were shut down in outrage, despite the fact that the station is half-owned by Saudi Billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.

Change comes slowly to this Kingdom but it seems like people are doing their part.

Turki offers a romanticist’s approach to very serious - and even deadly - societal restraints. "With the exception of my love and this ocean, everything can change” he says.

In the meantime, many Saudis like Turki are taking risks and living their lives outside traditional cultural boundaries, hoping they won’t be discovered.

Follow Octavia on Twitter @octavianasrCNN

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Mideast Affairs

Have you had a Falafel sandwich lately? I have had at least five in the past month alone. You see, Falafel is my favorite food and I won’t miss an opportunity to enjoy the vegetarian sandwich. From Beirut to Singapore, I’ve tried all kinds of local twists and turns on the richly spicy chick pea and fava bean-based deep fried ball patties.

There is something wild about Falafel. I’m not the only one devoted enough to admit my love of this spicy vegetarian food; there are people all over the world posting silly videos of themselves idolizing the Middle Eastern specialty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV9y24S_NF0&feature=related

Falafel is comfort food for Arabs and Israelis alike. Each group claims to have the best and tastiest mix of ingredients. On both sides you can find the Kings of Falafel; and if this weren’t enough, I did eat once at a shop called “King of all kings of Falafel.”

But where did this recipe originate? The jury is out. Serious debates are raging on this subject. The Israeli Ministry of Tourism uses Falafel in a campaign to lure tourists to the country; while the Lebanese Industrialists Association launched its own campaign called, "hands off our food" threatening to sue Israel for what they call their signature ethnic foods - Falafel, Tabbouleh and Hummus. http://www.ali.org.lb/

In Egypt, Falafel is such an indispensable staple that even the local McDonald's carries a special sandwich called - what else?– MAC Falafel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfFXK1V6mNM&NR=

In Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other Israeli and Palestinian cities, people enjoy a local pita pocket stuffed with the small deep fried vegetarian patties and a variety of other ingredients - from fried eggplants, fried cauliflowers, pickles, French fries and hummus.

In Lebanon and Syria, the sandwich - with falafel, tomatoes, greens and Tahini sauce - is served tightly rolled and ready to be wolfed down.

A man at a popular Falafel stop in Beirut expressed what many Falafel enthusiasts feel, "I came in from Dubai” he said, “ I've been here for a couple of days and I don't want to leave before having one of these sandwiches."

Falafel is such an important staple in the Middle East, it inspired Falafel, the movie.

http://www.falafelthemovie.com/Synopsis.html

Author and Director Michel Kammoun chronicled the life of a Lebanese man whose life he compared to a Falafel ball trying in vain to escape its fate. In the movie, Kammoun makes up tales glorifying the importance and even miraculous role of Falafel in the life of the masses. In a scene, one of his characters boasts, "In the island of Sumatra once, it rained Falafel for 30 straight minutes over poor areas."

Not to be outdone, an Israeli company created an online game of Falafel for those who just can't get enough of it.

http://www.falafelgame.com/eng/falafel.html

And one company took the Falafel experience to a whole new level.

http://www.maozusa.com

It used the unique recipe to describe a history of the company with the ingredients as props. Take the case of an image of its worldwide stores, drawn with Tahini sauce.

Trying to understand why this modest food has such a following in the region – and all over the world – is a mystery to some. What is certain is that for Falafel lovers like me, just mentioning the word conjures up images of a delicious sandwich and a favorite place that offers it; and THAT there is no arguing about.

So, are you a POCKET or ROLL Falafel person? Where is your favorite Falafel store? What is your Falafel story?

Khidir, now 8, was kidnapped and held hostage for two years by operatives with al Qaeda in Iraq.

Khidir and his father, Abdul Qader, recently talked to CNN about his ordeal.

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Middle East Affairs

He looks like any 8-year old at first glance. He likes to play with his toy car and he dreams of one day becoming a police officer just like his dad. But, if you look closely into these innocent-looking eyes, would you be able to guess that this little boy was kidnapped, tortured and forced into hard labor before being rescued by Iraqi forces? Physical scars from nails being hammered into his legs and cigarettes put out on the bare skin of his shoulders, are visible on his tiny body. But can you see the psychological scars much deeper underneath? Can anyone?

I grew up during Lebanon’s civil war and I’ve seen and heard many horror stories of some people who survived torture and others who weren’t as fortunate. There is still something terribly touching about every story I hear, especially when it involves children and innocent bystanders who have nothing to do with the war or its games. They don’t carry guns, they don’t shoot at anyone, they are in no one’s way, they just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Khidir was in the wrong place at the wrong time when al Qaeda operatives in Iraq gave his father an ultimatum. They wanted the Iraqi forces to release some prisoners and because Khidir’s father is a police officer they kidnapped his six-year-old son to pressure him to release the prisoners. But Khidir’s father said he would have preferred his son to die a martyr than to release the terrorists. He didn’t realize his son would remain in captivity for almost two years. Khidir endured physical abuse and was made to work in the fields for his captors. Last December, he was rescued by Iraqi forces.

Eight-year-old Khidir now describes, in a matter-of-fact kind of way, how his nails were pulled out of his fingers and his bones were broken from the beating of a shovel. His teeth were pulled with pliers for no specific reason. He was laughed at when he suffered the most. He tells CNN all these horrible tales almost with no emotion. He points out the healed scars on his legs, back, shoulders and hands. He tells CNN what kept him going during his ordeal was just the thought of his mom and dad. He then hugs his father and laughs just like any ordinary 8-year-old. He smiles and enjoys the warmth of a parent and the thought of unconditional protection and love.

His father, Abdul Qader, tears up as he speaks with the CNN crew. "When he tells me about how they would torture him, I can't tolerate it. I start crying," he says.

Many people would feel the urge to cry when they hear the story of Khidir and how much he had to endure at such a young age. What we might never know is how Khidir really feels about his ordeal, and what kind of an Iraqi adult man he will become. How long and how deep will his scars serve as reminders of a date and place where people went to war and committed atrocities – in this case against an innocent child – who, on the surface, seems to have moved on.

People ask me often how I survived the war and its atrocities. Mine is a simple answer - which might apply for Khidir too – “I didn’t have a choice.”

Ahmadinejad waves after being sworn in as Iranian president for a second time.

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Middle East Affairs

In his inauguration speech at the Iranian parliament, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had something to say for almost everyone - his supporters, his opponents and those he called "enemies" without naming names.

He hailed what he called an "epic election" but didn't go into the turmoil of the past two months that ensued.

No word on the reformist movement calling the vote rigged or demonstrators who chanted for weeks slogans such as, "Death to Ahmadinejad." No mention of those who demanded new election and posted messages on the Internet as they did repeatedly today on the social networking site Twitter saying, "This is the voice of Iran, Ahmadinejad is NOT our president."

Instead, Mr. Ahmadinejad stressed that, "The victor is all the people, the revolutionary values, and the Islamic establishment."

Keep reading...

Editor's Note: On Wednesday, a Saudi court  sentenced Mazen Abdul Jawad to five years in prison and 1,000 lashes for bragging about his his sex life on television, according to Ministry of Information officials. Read Octavia Nasr's blog about the incident – and the uproar it caused – below.

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Mideast Affairs

This is one for the Middle East’s record books; a story that falls under the ‘unbelievable but true’ category.

In August, a 32-year-old Saudi man appeared on an Arabic satellite channel and discussed – without reservation and in great detail – his sexual likes and dislikes, his favorite sex toys and how he lost his virginity to a neighbor at the age of 14. Mazen Abdul Jawad described how he picked up women in the ultra-conservative Muslim Kingdom, brought them to his bedroom and had sex with them.

But in a region where sex is considered taboo, Jawad’s public admission of his sexual exploits outraged religious conservatives in the Muslim state. He was arrested more than a week ago and now faces charges under the strict Islamic sharia law code.

As soon as the Jawad appeared on A Thick Red Line, a popular social taboos show on the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC), people all over the Middle East were quick to condemn his comments and the station that gave him a platform to commit the “sin” of “bragging about his wrongdoing.” The LBC has refrained from commenting on the situation.

The story, not surprisingly, made headlines around the region. Jawad subsequently denied it, claiming the station had fabricated the story and taken his words out of context. Saudi authorities then arrested Jawad and launched a full-fledged investigation into his real crime and tried to determine how to manage the major image crisis he had created for the kingdom.

While most people were simply shocked by his stories, others used the opportunity to discuss the antiquated societal norms of the Middle East that don’t respect people’s sexual freedoms. Others called for Jawad’s severe punishment. Suggestions ranged from flogging him on live television, to stoning him in a public place, to cutting off his sexual organs and hanging him to teach the masses and send a clear message that this type of behavior would not be tolerated in Saudi Arabia, home of Islam’s holiest shrines.

Although Jawad’s fate has become the topic of the hour in many circles around the region, what really is the basis for the investigation? What crime did he commit? Is it his sexual exploits or the fact that he bragged about them? Judging by commentaries and religious explanations, it seems that the punishable-by-death act was the bragging.

Muslim clerics and scholars quote from the Hadith – a collection of stories and tales that Prophet Mohammed’s Companions told about his time on earth to which clerics usually refer in order to come up with rulings or edicts also known as “Fatwa” – that it is a sin to brag about a wrongdoing or an offense if Allah has already covered for you by not allowing others to find out about it. It’s a complicated story and millions of Arabs - especially in Saudi Arabia – find themselves grappling with its meaning.

The show that aired Jawad’s story is as popular as it is controversial in the Middle East region. It tackles taboos sometimes never discussed in public. In most cases, the show’s guests appear wearing oversized dark shades or wigs and strange clothing to disguise their identities as their lives can be endangered for talking about such taboo subjects. Previous topics on the show have included homosexuality, polygamy, spousal abuse, deviant sexual behaviors, forced marriages and honor killings.

The host is a popular young man who talks to his guests as if he’s known them forever. Think a Middle Eastern version of Oprah Winfrey and Jerry Springer: he has the ability to get guests to reveal shocking things about themselves and admit to their most hideous behaviors. In one instance, a guest admitted he put up his children for sale and tried to justify why he continued to look for the highest bidder even though his kids were begging him to change his mind and promised to go to work or beg in order to help him with expenses.

Jawad did not use a disguise when he discussed his sex life on the show. And in a society in which sex is never discussed, that fact alone could have been the most shocking piece of this bizarre story. Jawad invited the crew to his red-themed strangely decorated bedroom where Mickey Mouse meets stuffed bears in sexually suggestive positions. The cameras gave audiences a glimpse of the room’s nightclub-like chandeliers mixed with seafood-shaped wall sconces, perfume bottles, sex toys, condoms and a book in Arabic that Jawad calls his “reference” entitled ‘101 Questions About Sex.’

On the show, Jawad, wearing a red shirt, explained that he put his number and car details (a red Mini Cooper) on his mobile's bluetooth. He said that women usually call him to ask if the car is for sale. He went on to boast, “some go out with me that same night, others take longer and in all honesty some don’t work out.” At the end of the report Jawad walked away saying, “Time to check out my luck,” – in reference to whether or not he’d be able to pick up a woman that day.

Right now, the fate of Mazen Abdul Jawad hangs in the balance. Will he get the death penalty for bragging about his sexual life? Will he be held responsible for the acts he allegedly committed?

In Saudi Arabia, terrorists such as captured al Qaeda members - whose intentions are to kill and maim in the name of religion – are given the opportunity to repent and to be set free after undergoing special rehabilitation. With such an extreme “merciful” side, it sounds strange that a man caught bragging about his alleged sexual exploits could be sentenced to death by hanging.

Neda Agha-Soltan was gunned down on a Tehran street on June 20.

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Mideast Affairs

Support and solidarity for Iran's opposition continues to be expressed in many ways and forms around the world. In cities such as New York, Stockholm, Istanbul, Vancouver and Rome, supporters of the Iranian opposition movement have been organizing concerts, demonstrations and hunger strikes.

Iranian enthusiasts have been turning street corners of the world’s major cities into activism centers where people gather and show support for Iranians who continue to dispute results of their presidential elections.

In Tehran today, Iranian police cracked down and dispersed thousands of protesters as they tried to commemorate the 40th day of mourning the death of Iran's icon, Neda Agha Sultan. Neda captured the world when her last moment of life and her death were recorded on a mobile phone camera. For Shiite Islam, the 40th day after death marks the final day of mourning.

Outside Iran, in Los Angeles, around the U.S. and across the world, people followed the news on anti-government radio stations where callers shared their eyewitness accounts of today's developments.

The Internet, and its social media, have become the method through which people remain informed – and can support - the opposition movement inside Iran.

This is where news spread about Italian designer Guillermo Mariotto - who dedicated his fashion show two weeks ago in Rome to the green color of the Iranian opposition. His models wore green wrist bands and he appeared at the end of the show wearing a T-Shirt with the words, “NEDA ALIVE,” in honor of the woman who has become known simply as ‘Neda.’

It’s just one of many ways people are paying homage to the 26-year-old whose death became a symbol of the Iranian opposition, and she became the icon of the people's resistance.

The Taliban leadership have published a guide-book for their forces.

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Mideast Affairs

A manifesto of terror was released this week. It was disguised as a 65-page code of conduct for Taliban fighters in Afghanistan under the guise of Islamic Law.

What was the Taliban leadership thinking when it released this pocket-sized booklet? It’s hard to answer this question without looking at the general situation in Afghanistan and what information the booklet contains.

Fierce battles have erupted along the Pakistan-Afghan border region over the past few months because U.S. Marines and British troops have stepped up the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda in that area. Those battles have resulted in hundreds of deaths in the ranks of both groups – as well as among civilians and NATO troops. And the situation has led to a refugee crisis where more than a million people fled the border region.

Despite the losses and setbacks Taliban and al Qaeda have suffered, their attacks continue. And their propaganda machine repeatedly produces hate messages to incite Afghans against their own government and against the West. According to Afghan authorities, at least seven Taliban insurgents wearing suicide vests and wielding machine guns struck at government and commercial targets on Saturday in the eastern city of Khost. The suicide bombers died when they detonated their vests, and at least 14 civilians - three military service members and a police officer - were wounded.

Now comes the booklet. The group decided to deliver it to the Qatar-based Arabic network Al-Jazeera instead of posting it on the Internet, which has become a common strategy adopted by many terror groups and insurgencies recently.

According to Al-Jazeera, the pocket-sized book with the blue cover contains 13 chapters and 67 articles dealing with topics ranging from recruiting and training, to rules of conduct and engagement.

The first section is titled “Issues of Existence.” It explains, among other things, that if an Afghan government official “agrees to leave his position and join the Taliban, he should be protected.” The section also warns that, “Any Taliban member who mistreats the converted Afghan will be brought to judgment.”

One section deals with the subject of taking hostages. It gives instructions on not harming the hostages or killing them in order to use them in prisoner swap operations. In another chapter, the fate of high-ranking captured officers from what is described as the “slave government,” is left to the discretion of the local leader.

Perhaps the most significant detail in this manifesto of terror is that it stresses that no new groups are to be formed without the approval of high ranking commanders. On radical Islamist websites, commentators deduced that this could be a sign of a rift between al Qaeda and Taliban. The two groups have been operating closely and almost in the same bunker since 2001. As a matter of fact, al Qaeda’s leadership is believed to be hiding in Taliban-controlled territory in Swat Valley and in Northern and Southern Waziristan - a rugged border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The booklet does not mention al Qaeda at all, according to Al-Jazeera.

In the section on “Agents” the booklet describes what should happen if a person is confirmed to be “spying for the enemy.” In this case, the booklet says that person “is considered spoiled and only the Mullah can forgive or deport him or order him dead.”

The booklet also offers directives on suicide operations, asking that the fighters spare civilians, ignoring the fact that no suicide attack could be carried out in accordance with that rule.

For the Taliban, the publication is called, “List of the Mujahideen in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.” The group’s intention is to give a copy to every one of its members as a guideline on conduct as they fight the “infidels” and all who aid, them including the legitimate Afghan government and forces who they refer to as members of the “slave government.”

To the naked eye however, this booklet is a manifesto justifying terror while hiding behind the cover of Taliban’s own interpretation of Islamic Law. It is a simple attempt to give an outlawed organization some semblance of control, at a time when facts on the ground show the opposite.

Find more from Octavia Nasr here.

Octavia Nasr
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Mideast Affairs Editor

Marwa is already dubbed the “Hijab Martyr.” Many believe she was murdered because she’s Muslim and wears her religion on her head in a Hijab, the Muslim head cover. Her heinous cold-blooded murder in a Germany courtroom has sent shockwaves across the Middle East and now it is spreading across the world.

Marwa was 31 and three months pregnant, when she appeared at a Dresden courtroom to testify against a man who had already been convicted of verbally attacking her by calling her a “terrorist” at a playground with her 3-year-old son. Instead of justice, Marwa and her family were met by a tragic fate.

On July 1st, in the Dresden courtroom, the same man identified only as Alex M. stabbed her 18 times in front of her son and husband. As her husband tried to defend her, he got his share of the stabbing and he was shot by a police officer who mistook him for the assailant. Marwa later died in the hospital. Her husband is still in critical condition.

Two Egyptian researchers at Dresden University, Mohammed Ahmed Khalif and Magdi Khalil, told CNN that on that fateful day, their trust in Germany was shattered.

"We have fear about our family here, about our children” said Khalif. He said he is disappointed by what he believes is a muted response by the German public and its politicians.

Khalil agrees with Khalif. He adds that some people in Germany could possibly harbor an anti-Muslim sentiment. He suggested twisting this around to see how people would react to the same story. “What do you think if we have an Egyptian guy who kills a German woman in a court? What do you think would happen,” he asked.

Germany’s government spokesperson Thomas Steg stressed that, “In Germany we cannot tolerate, right wing extremism, hatred of foreigners nor Islamophobia."

For many in Egypt and across the Middle East, this response came late and wasn’t enough.

Egyptians mourned the death of Marwa with shock and outrage. As it is customary in the Middle East when someone dies young, the 31-year-old pregnant mother was buried in a procession fit for a bride, while across the nation people continue to take to the streets in sympathy.

Underneath the sadness of mourning, anger is brewing at what people in the Middle East call a hate crime. They are moved by news reports of how Marwa died.

Many have taken to the streets, waving banners that call her stabbing death a hate crime and that it’s racially motivated. They say Marwa was killed because she's Muslim and wore the Muslim headscarf.

When they felt their calls for justice were going unnoticed, Egyptians along with other Arabs and supporters from around the world, took to the Internet, which has become the voice for the voiceless in the Middle East region.

On Twitter, they asked for sympathizers to spread the message that a life was lost and they want the world to pay attention.

They accused the media of failing to highlight the murder.

They criticized Europe in general and Germany in particular for becoming increasingly extreme towards minorities, especially Muslims.

And on Facebook, they asked for justice; calling for the harshest possible sentence for the assailant and an apology from Germany. They created pages where people can pay homage to a woman who has now become known simply as the "Martyr of the Hijab."

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Octavia Nasr
Middle East Affairs Editor

“Annihilate the rioters,” demanded one of Iran’s fundamentalist clerics during Friday prayer. He believes that the opposition “defied the orders” of Iran’s Supreme Leader, who “rules by God’s design.” Therefore, “they should be punished mercilessly." Either way, his words couldn’t be harsher or more extreme. Some would say those words couldn’t be more un-Islamic.

The word Islam means “surrender.” The entire religion is based on surrendering one’s self, speech, action and thoughts to god. When moderate Muslims hear what this Mullah has called for, they wonder which brand of Islam he is advocating.

The first pillar in Islamic faith is the declaration called “Shahda” that there is no god but Allah and that Mohammed is his prophet.

The first verse of every chapter in the holy Muslim book, the Quran, goes like this, “In the name of God, most merciful, most compassionate.” Devout Muslims start many of their activities or speech with these glorious words.

Where is the compassion in the Iranian mullah’s speech? Where is the Mercy?

He’s directing his wrath at his own people; their only crime was to ask for an honest vote and to insist that their votes counted in a timely presidential election. They are the ones who shouted from their rooftops every night since their demonstrations began, “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar” –God is Great. They are the ones who were denied their legal right to demonstrate so they had to defy the regime and take to the streets anyway.

They are the Iranian opposition movement, young people, mostly students, many women who were kicked and beaten in the streets; they were shot at, detained and even killed. They were called traitors and terrorists. Despite all that, they kept going out for more show offs with Iranian police and a brutal volunteer militia known as the Basij.

The Iranian regime imposed a crackdown on foreign media which made the story impossible to cover freely. The world ended up with two views of on what’s going on: The government perspective came through the state media, radio, TV, newspapers and websites. The opposition turned itself into a media outlet where everyone with a cell phone became a correspondent. They uploaded their images to video-sharing websites and interacted with the world through social media. They provided raw, unedited picture to the entire world.

Now one cleric vowing to “teach them a lesson” is a sign of more brutality and more bloodshed to come. The only difference is that when it happens, if it happens, it will be behind closed doors. We can’t count on Iranians who turned their cell phones into newsgathering machines and became the story and journalists telling it at the same time.

What tomorrow will bring them is a mystery that no one is there to witness or report on.