The US State Department has appointed its first Special Representative to Muslim Communities. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Farah Pandith would play a leading role in US efforts to “engage Muslims around the world”.
Several Uighurs held at Guantanamo Bay prison have appealed to the German government for asylum. A remote Pacific island has agreed to accept them but only on a temporary basis. Seema Saifee, a lawyer for the Uighur detainees, told Spiegel Online that their case had been put to the German government. “Our clients implore the…
According to its annual report on terrorism, the U.S. State Department stated that “Spain remained an important transit and logistical base for terrorist organizations operating in Western Europe.” The State Department also said that Spain’s government and citizenry “were concerned that their country remained a principal target of domestic terrorism and Islamic extremism.” During 2008,…
When President Obama visits Turkey early next month, some observers are expecting he will use the occasion to deliver on his promise to deliver a major foreign policy speech from a Muslim nation in his first 100 days. But indications are that he will not give the speech in Turkey. The White House and State…
Ingrid Mattson was chosen to speak at President-elect Barack Obama’s inaugural prayer service Wednesday. Mattson has been the guest of honor at State Department dinners and has met with senior Pentagon officials during the Bush administration. However, in 2007 and as recently as last July, federal prosecutors in Dallas filed court documents linking the Hartford,…
