Press Review 7.13.18

Last update: 2022-04-22 09:55:17

In Saudi Arabia, female religious scholars are demanding equality with men. Despite the nations long history of regulations barring women from equal rights of men, Nawal al-Eid, a preacher and leader of a private all-girls learning center, who has 5 million followers on Twitter, is using her virtual support base to gain greater numbers of followers than any male critic has won previously. Writers for the Economist explain the history and religious background of Saudi Arabia, as well as the ways female religious leadership roles are emerging. 

 

Nawaz Sharif, age 67, has been one of Pakistan’s leading politicians for the last 30 years, write reporters for the BBC. Last week he was convicted in court for his family’s ownership of 4 luxurious flats in London. Sharif, accused and sentenced to jail in 1999, previously took a pardon that involved exile under a Saudi-brokered deal. This time, Sharif will return home from London to face his 10-year jail sentence, calling for a mass gathering of his supporters to greet him upon arrival in Pakistan.

 

Saudi Arabia has detained prominent religious scholar Safar al-Hawali, along with 3 of his sons, according to Reuters’ staff. London-based Saudi rights group says Hawali was arrested on Wednesday after he published a book criticizing the royal family. The Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman, is praised for his economic and social reforms. However, he has created unease over his detention of women’s rights activists and secretive “anti-corruption” purges.

 

Asylum seekers from Yemen arrive in South Korean resort Island, raising debate about the country’s role in the refugee crisis. The South Korean population seems to be split between calls for compassion and immediate expulsion of the refugees, explains Benjamin Haas for the Guardian.