June 17, 2008 Common Ground News Service
Faisal Abbas analyzes the potential of new online media like YouTube to create accessible, global dialogue. She cites Queen Rania of Jordan, who recently launched her own YouTube channel in the hope that this technology can create an unprecedented level of conversation between the Arab and Muslim world and the West. Understanding, according to Queen Rania, is an incredibly valuable but rare asset with regards to Arab-West dialogue. Fortunately, she says, “‘YouTube fosters much needed conversations on tolerance, compassion, and understanding. What I’m seeing on YouTube today is exactly that desired dialogue which at its best dispels old suspicions by forming new communities.’” Find out how new media like YouTube may foster a new form of global dialogue.
June 15, 2008 Gulf News
Hailed as “a rare gesture of unity and amity with their brothers in Islam,” Saudi Sunnis recently performed Juma prayers at a Shiite mosque in Qatif. The act, intended to assuage the alienation felt by Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority, displays the dedication of some sheikhs to unifying both the country and Islam. The visiting Sunni Shaikh Mukhlef Bin Daham Al Shamri proposed that a Shiite delegation make a similar visit to a Sunni mosque, reflecting a new national attitude of “reciprocal respect.” Find out more about the common ground Sunni and Shiite Muslims are discovering in Saudi Arabia.
A new path to Mideast peace: Make jobs, not war
June 12, 2008 World Politics Review
Frida Ghitis makes the case that if Israelis and their Arab neighbors cannot find a peaceful resolution politically, then perhaps it is possible economically. This World Politics Review story documents numerous entrepreneurial ventures undertaken jointly by Israeli and Arab investors; what were a few years ago small-scale enterprises are now becoming billion-dollar investments. None is more visionary than the “Valley of Peace,” a proposed channel connecting the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. The project is to be financed and developed together by Jordanians, Israelis, and Palestinians. Discover how economic prosperity is creating common ground for enemies in the Middle East.
June 12, 2008 Common Ground News Service
This Jordan Times editorial argues that, for any chance at peace with Israel, Palestinians themselves must find common ground with one another. It hails President Abbas’s recent call for Fatah-Hamas reconciliation and proposes that serious negotiations with Israel will only come to fruition if both groups are heard and embraced. Find out more about how overcoming internal division may lead to the end of societal divides for Palestinians.
June 12, 2008 Famagusta Gazette
Dora Bakoyiannis, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, commented recently about Greece’s continued efforts to end the Turkish occupation of the northern third of Cyprus and reunite the country. Though the conflict is still tense, she noted the openness of President Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat to a “bizonal, bicommunal federation.” Bakoyiannis pointed out, though, that Greece was not forcing either party’s hand – “Bakoyiannis said it was “not a matter of pressure” but for the two communities to find common ground.” Read more about the international effort to find shared paths to peace in Cyprus.
