Some 45 Jews in Sa'ada, Yemen, have fled their homes after being threatened by radical Muslims and are seeking aid from the government, according to a Jan. 21 report in the Saudi daily Al Wattan. The Jews apparently received letters accusing them of being part of an “international Zionist conspiracy" and warning them to leave their homes within 10 days. The letters threatened that those who stayed would be killed or their children abducted and their homes looted.

From the AP, Jan. 19:

CAIRO — An Egyptian blogger went on trial Thursday on charges of insulting Islam and causing sectarian strife with his Internet writings. Egypt's first prosecution of a blogger came as Washington has backed away from pressuring its Mideast ally to improve its human rights record and bring democratic reform.

Shaikh Abdul Ameer al-Jamri, a Shiite cleric who led pro-democracy protests in Bahrain in the 1990s, died Dec. 18 at the age of 67. Shiites throughout the small island state went into mourning, hanging black flags and banners outside their houses and pasting pictures of al-Jamri on walls and car windows. Over 10,000 poured in the streets of the capital, Manama, to escort al-Jamri to his final resting place at the Bani Jamrah graveyard. Black-cloaked women and young men beating their cheasts chanted slogans in his honor, as police sealed off the main streets of the city. "He was a father figure for Shiite Bahrainis," said his son, Mansour al-Jamri, a leading columnist and editor. "His legacy will start today."

From Reuters, Dec. 8:

Gunmen killed two security officers when they opened fire on a guard post outside a prison in Jidda, the Interior Ministry said. Residents said terror suspects were believed to be held at the prison. Al Arabiya television quoted a security official as saying that two suspects were arrested after a car chase. The kingdom said last week that it had detained 136 suspected militants, including a would-be suicide bomber. Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, the interior minister, said Monday that the militants, who included foreigners, were planning a series of suicide bombings and assassinations.

Now here's an hilarious conundrum for the idiot left that cheers on reactionary Islamism as heroic anti-imperialism. Are we supposed to oppose this garbage when conservative Christians do it in the US, but support it when conservative Muslims do it in Turkey? From Reuters, Nov. 23:

From Turkey's Zaman, Nov. 2:

A 92-year-old retired Turkish archaeologist has been acquitted in a rights trial in which she was accused of "inciting hatred by insulting people based on their religion.”

First this, from DPA, Oct. 25:

Police protection given to German MP in headscarf row
BERLIN - A female member of parliament from the Greens party has been given police protection after calling on Muslim women in Germany to give up wearing headscarves, a parliamentary spokesman said Wednesday. Turkish-born Ekin Deligoz has been subject to attacks in fundamentalist media in Turkey and Germany for her views and has also received a death threat.

Freedom's on the march in America's NATO ally and GWOT partner. Perhaps someone will have some well-chosen words for the current US president in the guestbook at Monticello. From the Al-Jazeera, Sept. 27:

A Turkish court has fined an elderly man 10,000 Turkish lira ($6,700) for criticising the prime minister in a visitors' book at the former home of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.