New Jill video, Ah!

Al-Jazeera aired a new videotape Monday of kidnapped U.S. journalist Jill Carroll, showing her wearing a veil and weeping as she purportedly appealed for the release of women Iraqi prisoners. The video is dated Saturday, two days after the U.S. military released five Iraqi women detainees but said it had nothing to do with the kidnappers’ demands to do so.

The video had no sound, but the Al-Jazeera newscaster said Carroll appealed to the U.S. military and the Iraqi Interior Ministry to release all women in their prisons and that this "would help in winning her release." The military had said before the release that it was holding nine Iraqi women, and it was not known when the others might be let go.

Source: [AP]

This time the kidnappers have decided to make the video more dramatic by showing her in hijab and weeping! What more do they need?!? Haven’t their demands been met?!? I’m not sure I will be able to watch this video this time. The knot in my stomach is more than I can bear.

UPDATE: CNN is reporting that an Iraqi justice ministry official believes the remaining four female detainees could be released soon:

Bosho Ibrahim Ali, a deputy justice minister, told CNN the remaining four female prisoners might be released with another group at another time. Ali said he had started his effort to free the female detainees for humanitarian reasons before Carroll’s abduction.

UPDATE 2:Following the release of this new video, Christian Science Monitor editor Richard Bergenheim released a statement:

Anyone with a heart will feel distressed that an innocent woman like Jill Carroll would be treated in the manner shown in the latest video aired by Al Jazeera. We add our voice to those of Arabs around the world, and especially to those in Iraq, who have condemned this act of kidnapping. We ask that she be returned to the protection of her family immediately.

UPDATE 3:The United States also released a statement saying it would not give in to the kidnappers’ demands:

"We will not make concessions to terrorist demands," US military spokesman in Iraq Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson said. He said US forces were continuing to work with Iraqi authorities "to resolve the situation as quickly as possible."

Is Danish cartoon controversy related to attacks on Iraqi churchs?

I came across this Elaph article (in Arabic) via Jameed indicating that some Iraqi sources are linking the latest attacks on churches in Iraq -– in which at least three people were killed and nine were wounded — to the current controversy involving the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten.

According to these sources, some Iraqi-Christian students at the University of Mosul were recently attacked by people upset by the publication of these caricatures in Denmark and Norway. These attacks came following the issuance of several fatwas that called for the expulsion of "the infidels and crusaders" for insulting the prophet. The Iraqi sources said it was likely that the coordinated church attacks that took place yesterday (Jan. 29) are linked with the recent anti-Christian campaign.

I’m not sure how credible this news is, as I’ve not seen mention of it anywhere else. But if it is accurate, then the world has absolutely gone crazy. What kind of a logic is this? People get upset at Danish cartoonists, so they decide to whack their fellow citizens! And who are these low-life individuals issuing fatwas that call for attacks on innocent civilians, ones who happen to belong to a religious minority. But then again, I guess I shouldn’t expect logic to pour forth from Iraq anytime soon.

It is no secret that the number of Christians in the Middle East is rapidly dwindling. According to this IRIN article, "about 150,000 Christians are believed to have left the country [Iraq] since the US occupation began in 2003." The number of Palestinian-Christians inside the Palestinian territories is also on the decrease, and I believe the same thing is happening in Egypt (please correct me if I’m wrong).

This is extremely bad news, as it would mean that, in the long run, the Mideast would lose the diversity that it has always enjoyed. I would ask clerics to issue a counter-fatwa urging believers to safeguard their Christian brethren who are amongst among the indigenous inhabitants of the Middle East who have suffered and fought hard to protect their nation.

Quick Jill update: Dulaimi renews plea

Jill Carrol at my bridal showerAdnan al-Dulaimi, the Sunni political leader who Jill was supposed to interview on the day of her kidnapping, has issued another plea for her release. Like many others, al-Dulaimi made a link between the kidnappers’ demands and the recent release of female Iraqi detainees.

"I renew my appeal to the captors of the American journalist to free her immediately following the release of the Iraqi detainees, as they no longer have any argument [to hold her]," al-Dulaimi told Agence France-Presse.

Source: [CSM]

Meanwhile, the United Nations news agency, IRIN, ran a feature about the mixed motivations behind kidnappings in Iraq .

Jordan foreign minister summons Danish consul over cartoons

After Jordan’s parliament called for for the punishment of the caricaturists that created images of the Prophet Mohammad, Jordan’s foreign minister got into things Saturday, summoning Denmark’s honorary consul to Amman to discus "the deliberate abuse to Islam and the message of Prophet Mohammad by a Danish paper." Here is the full story from Jordan’s news agency, Petra.

This controversy is snowballing and fast. Both sides feel very strongly about the issue. What one side regards as an important freedom of speech matter, the other sees as a clear case of blasphemy. This debate is likely endless. Although I believe the cartoons were truly offensive to Muslims — with all due respect to the believers — in my humble opinion, I think the issue has gotten out of control, especially with recent calls to boycott Danish products. A number of Arab bloggers have already commented on the issue. Here are some links: Naseem, Roba, Sandmonkey, and Basem.

Jordanian and other Arab intellectuals, politicians call for Jill’s release

The Jordanian daily Al-Ghad must be commended for its extensive coverage of Jill’s ordeal. In addition to the moving editorial written by Al-Ghad’s editor-in-chief, Ayman Al-Safadi (who hired Jill when he was chief editor of The Jordan Times), the daily has made sure to cover developments in Jill’s story on an almost daily basis. Al-Ghad reports (in Arabic) today that a group of 37 Jordanian and other Arab intellectuals, politicians and journalists have signed a statement calling for Jill’s release. Here is an excerpt:

What the Iraqi people need today are free and independent voices, separate from political and ideological propaganda, to expose the dimensions of this suffering and shed light on the reality. These voices must also be allowed to convey the true picture of the Iraqi people who seek freedom, independence, and the rebuilding of their country. In these crucial and dangerous times, we are shocked by the kidnapping of Jill Carroll, the American journalist, whose freedom was taken the 7th of January, despite the fact that she is well known for her independent, authentic, and objective reports — and her sympathy with the causes and daily suffering of the Iraqi people.

Consideration of her release should not be related to her nationality, but rather, to her role, message, and reports that testify to her credibility, independence, and honesty. The kidnapping of Carroll then is a kidnapping of one of the witnesses of the human suffering of the Iraqi people.

You can read the full statement in English here and in Arabic here. It is worth noting that those signing the statement include a notable number of Al-Ghad journalists. Also, the very first name on the statement is that of Ayman Al-Safadi. Mr. Al-Safadi has been continuously calling for Jill’s release, appearing on both Arabic and American TV channels to appeal to her captors. Al-Safadi first hired Jill to work in Jordan, thus facilitating her arrival in the Middle East. Kudos to him for his efforts to secure Jill’s freedom.