Levitt Letter Extra News

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – The Saudi religious police launched Thursday a nationwide crackdown on stores selling items that are red or in any other way allude to the banned celebrations of Saint Valentine’s Day, a Saudi official said.

Members of the feared religious police were inspecting shops for red roses, heart-shaped products or gifts wrapped in red, and ordering store owners to get rid of them, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Red-colored or heart-shaped items are legal at other times of the year, but as Feb. 14 nears they become contraband in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom bans celebration of Western holidays such as Valentine’s Day, named after a Christian saint said to have been martyred by the Romans in the 3rd Century.

Most shops in Riyadh’s upscale neighborhoods have removed all red items from their shelves. A statement by the religious police, informally known as the muttawa, was published in Saudi newspapers, warning shop owners against any violations.

“Those who don’t comply will be punished,” the statement said, without spelling out what measures would befall the offenders.

The Valentine’s Day prohibition is in line with Saudi’s strict Wahhabi school of Islam that the kingdom has followed for more than a century. The birthplace of Islam also bans several Muslim holidays except the two most important ones because it considers them “religious innovations” that Islam doesn’t sanction.

Even birthdays and Mother’s Day are frowned on by the religious establishment, although people almost never get punished for celebrating them.

Many Saudis who still want to mark the popular Valentine’s Day do their shopping weeks before the holiday.

Each year, the religious police mobilize ahead of Feb. 14 and descend on gift and flower shops, confiscating all red items, including flowers.

Attitudes toward Valentine’s Day vary across the Arab world, with devout Muslims opposing the holiday as a Western celebration of romantic love that corrupts Muslim youth.

The Egyptian capital, Cairo, is a sharp contrast to the Saudi restrictions, with shops and restaurants going overboard in red ribbon and heart decorations.

Dubai, a conservative Muslim city-state with a Western outlook, is every year taken over by a Valentine craze. Luxury hotels are draped in red, offering romantic dinner specials. Malls and cafes are decorated with giant hearts and flower shops offer promotional deals on roses and fancy bouquets.

Apparently prompted by the Saudi ban, a group in the Philippines advocating the welfare of Filipino overseas workers — a million of whom work in Saudi Arabia and another million elsewhere in the Middle East — cautioned its countrymen to celebrate Valentine’s Day only in private and refrain from publicly greeting anyone with “Happy Valentine’s” across the region.

“We are urging fellow Filipinos in the Middle East, especially lovers, just to celebrate their Valentine’s Day secretly and with utmost care,” said John Leonard Monterona of the Migrante group.

He said the group advised against carrying anything that is red, including toys, hearts, and flowers, or even wearing red dresses or T-shirts. Instead, he urged Filipinos to visit Internet cafes to chat with their loved ones, give them a call or send text messages.

By Patrick Goodenough, International Editor, CNSNews.com

Photo: Dutch politician Geert Wilders following a court appearance in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Jan. 13, 2010. He is seeking to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly inciting hatred against Muslims with his film, ‘Fitna. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

The complaint also refers to comments he has made about Islam in the Dutch media, in particular an open letter published in 2007 calling for the Koran to be outlawed in the Netherlands on the grounds that it contains verses instructing Muslims “to oppress, persecute or kill Christians, Jews, dissidents and non-believers, to beat and rape women, and to establish an Islamic state by force.”

As part of the effort to prove his contention that his views on the nature of Islam are accurate, Wilders had wanted the court to hear, in their own words, van Gogh’s unrepentant and Koran-quoting killer as well as two hard-line Iranian ayatollahs, a radical imam based in The Hague, and a controversial Sunni scholar.

Also on his witness list were scholars and researchers specializing in Islam, human rights and law, including a former Muslim who is an expert in sharia (Islamic law).

The public prosecutor opposed Wilders’s request, and the court last week agreed that he could call only three of the 18.

One of the three is Wafa Sultan, a Syrian-born critic of Islam who caused an uproar in a 2006 al-Jazeera interview when she spoke of a clash “between civilization and backwardness, chaos and rationality, a conflict between freedom and oppression, democracy and dictatorship, human rights on the one hand and the violation of these rights on the other, between those who treat women like animals, and those who treat them like human beings.”

The other two permitted witnesses are Dutch scholars Hans Jansen, an expert on Islamic fundamentalism; and Simon Admiraal, whose research focuses on radicalization in Arabic sermons.

The judges also ruled that the three witnesses’ testimony would have to be heard behind closed doors.

“Apparently the truth about Islam must remain a secret,” the Wilders trial website commented.

In their ruling, the judges said the accused would have ample opportunity to tell the court during the trial how he views its decision to disallow most of the witnesses he had requested.

‘A judgment on Islam’

Among those rejected by the court were:

– Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the secretary of the powerful Council of Guardians and current Friday prayer leader in Tehran, who frequently rails against America.

– Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, a former head of Iran’s judiciary, who said in February 2000 that the fatwa issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989 calling for the death of Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie was “divine” and “irrevocable” and would be carried out, “Allah-willing.”

– Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an influential Egyptian Sunni scholar controversial for having called Palestinian suicide bombings against Israelis justifiable “martyrdom operations.”

Radio Netherlands International reported that “some feared that had the judges allowed all seventeen [sic] defense witnesses, the trial would become a judgment on Islam, rather than a judgment on whether or not Geert Wilders has incited hatred.”

Robert Spencer, author on The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran and the editor of Jihad Watch – and another of those on Wilders’s list turned down by the court – said last week that Sultan, Jansen, and Admiraal would be “excellent” witnesses.

“Nonetheless, this decision indicates the court’s bias against Wilders, and so does not bode well for him,” he commented.

Spencer said the court was “railroading” Wilders.

“He had wanted to call Mohammed Bouyeri, the Qur’an-inspired murderer of Theo Van Gogh, who would have proven his point immediately, and others who would have buttressed the truth of what he has said,” he said. “That the court has hindered his ability to do this shows that the railroad tracks are being laid into place.”

By Dr. Jonathan Halevy

In the days following the Haiti earthquake, the international press was awash in astonishing reports commending Israel’s tremendous work in medical disaster response and setting up a field hospital operation that had other nations looking on in awe. Even as these reports left us feeling intense pride, our reaction back in Israel has been one of far less surprise.

Dr. Jonathan Halevy

From CBS to CNN to MSNBC and numerous other outlets across the media landscape, wide-eyed medical reporters witnessed the Israeli operation with an underlying tone of combined admiration and jealousy.

Why is it that of the dozens of countries contributing to the relief effort, with delegations of all shapes and sizes, it’s the Israelis who travel halfway around the world and within hours have a fully operational hospital in place? Journalists pointed with amazement at our mobile imaging machinery and sedated patients on ventilators and asked outright why anyone else couldn’t be doing this.

The reason we in Israel are not surprised is because we know that we’ve been training for years for just these types of scenarios. We can also appreciate that Israel sees part of its mandate as a military and medical leader to make sure that expertise and know-how will benefit the international community should the opportunity present itself.

And so, as much as our enemies desire to paint the IDF solely as a hawkish, war-seeking powerhouse, the mission in Haiti shows just the opposite to be true.

Admittedly, Israel’s adeptness in launching these types of operations stems from a history of confronting hostilities and being prepared to address every possible threat. I personally recall from my days as commander of a field hospital in the First Lebanon War that we set up such a field medical facility within hours and that “real-life” training was just one of many invaluable tests that would benefit the IDF Medical Corps in the future.

Over the years, the brave men and women of our army have recalled those lessons on all too many occasions, both here and, just as often, in ports of call in other parts of the world.

So when the news came across the wires that Haiti had been rocked by a devastating earthquake, the question was never if Israel would be there to respond, but only how soon.

Those of us involved in emergency management and disaster response know all too well that Israel has a unique advantage over most, if not all, nations in this discipline. Every week, a major drill is held at a hospital somewhere in Israel. Our protocols and emergency departments have become models for hospitals all around the world.

Despite our relatively small size and urban landscapes that pale in comparison to most of the West, our Home Front Command has made it a principal training objective to remain ever-ready for all types of disasters.

Even with the very limited traditional communication tools that exist between Israel and our rescue teams in Haiti, I had the chance to be in touch with my colleagues from the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem on several occasions after they landed in the earthquake zone. The underlying tone that came across was one of overwhelming shock at the scope of the disaster they faced, yet they admitted that they felt as prepared as humanly possible for the medical realities they were confronting.

What has been most challenging, without a doubt, has been the emotional experiences. Many of those in the field hospital were seasoned veterans of the military and have treated hundreds if not thousands of victims of warfare and terrorism. However, they reported that perhaps more than ever before, in Haiti desperate questions of medical ethics had to be asked even before the ones over the best course of treatment. Each patient had to be judged based on the chances for his or her survival. The medical process only then commenced if the doctors and nurses believed that this case had better chances for a positive outcome than the victim that lay immediately next in line.

These were devastating questions for even the most hardened medical professional and ones that challenge Israel’s medical teams countless times each day.

Beyond these stories of disaster and loss, the Israeli experience in Haiti still has been one of hope and promise. The world quickly learned that the “successes” we achieved there came because we appreciated the continuous need for this type of training. Even more so, it is recognized that we have a role in contributing to the greater welfare of the international community.

Perhaps it’s unfortunate that it took the devastating tragedy in Haiti for the world to understand this valuable lesson that Israel has an enormous amount of good to contribute, both in good times and bad. Yet we can also be hopeful and confident that it’s one not soon forgotten.

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Dr. Jonathan Halevy is director-general of Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. This piece first appeared in The Jerusalem Post.

By Daniel Williams, www.Bloomberg.com

On a side street in the far northeast Cairo suburb of Ain Shams, the door of a five-story former underwear factory is padlocked.

This is, or was supposed to be, the St. Mary and Anba Abraam Coptic Christian Church. Police closed it Nov. 24, 2008, when Muslims rioted against its consecration. Since then local Copts have had to commute to distant churches or worship in hiding at each other’s homes.

While Muslim leaders criticized the Nov. 29 vote in Switzerland that banned construction of minarets, they don’t support Christians who want to build churches in some Islamic countries. Restrictions in Egypt have exacerbated sectarian violence and discrimination, say Copts, a 2,000-year-old denomination that comprises about 10 percent of the population.

The day after the Swiss vote, Ali Gomaa, one of Egypt’s top Muslim clerics, called the decision “an attempt to insult the feelings of the Muslim community in and outside of Switzerland.”

Copts quickly said that neither Gomaa nor any other Islamic leader mentioned the Christian situation in Egypt.

“Without the merest attempt to put our house in order, are we in any position to taunt others to put theirs?” Youssef Sidhom, editor-in-chief of the Cairo-based Egyptian Coptic weekly newspaper El-Watani, said in a telephone interview. “They should be ashamed.”

The contrast between criticism of the Swiss and silence about local parallels isn’t limited to Egypt. Censure of Switzerland, where about 5 percent of the population is Muslim, was widespread in Islamic countries where Christians face restrictions on practicing their faith.

“The decision of the Swiss people stood to be interpreted as xenophobic, prejudiced, discriminative, and against the universal human-rights values,” said the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which represents 57 Muslim-majority nations.

Members include Saudi Arabia, where non-Muslims are arrested for worshipping privately; Maldives, the Indian Ocean atoll where citizenship is reserved for Muslims; Libya, which limits churches to one per denomination in cities; and Iran, where conversion from Islam is punished by death, according to a 2009 U.S. State Department report on religious freedom.

“The Copts are a minority. Why do they need more churches?” Ain Shams café owner Harbi Muhammed Ali said in an interview. “There are other churches around. If you have one car, do you need two?”

As for Switzerland, “the West is always preaching human rights,” he said. “It’s their problem.”

Requests for interviews with government officials and state-controlled Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt’s largest institution of Islamic learning, went unanswered. Requests for interviews at the Islamic conference’s Geneva office, which issued the criticism of the Swiss ban, were rejected because officials were too busy, said a person who answered the phone there.

Local officials oversee permits for church construction and renovation, which must receive endorsement from Muslims in the neighborhood and final approval from President Hosni Mubarak.

“Church and human-rights leaders complain that many local officials intentionally delay the permit process,” the State Department report said. “As a result, congregations have experienced lengthy delays, years in many cases, while waiting for new building permits.”

Ain Shams is a sprawling district of narrow lanes and multi-story housing with a majority Muslim population. The rioting there began after Copts renovated the factory and held mass, Muslim and Christian residents said. Rioters carried a banner that read “No to the church,” chanted “There is no god but Allah” and threw stones at police who kept them at bay. Only a wrought-iron cross design on the locked front door marks the place as a church.

Just down the street, Muslim residents constructed a lime green Mosque of Light at the same time the Copts were modifying their building.

“Of course, they closed us down, but the mosque is open,” said Hossama Sedik, 30, a Coptic day laborer.

There are about 40 Coptic churches in Egyptian cities and scores more in towns and villages, especially in south Egypt, along with larger numbers of clandestine prayer houses, said Bishop Thomas, a Coptic priest who operates a retreat outside Cairo.

In October, Muslims hurled stones at Christian workers in Al-Badraman, a village south of the city, because they were going to raise the steeple and add a bell at a church, according to press reports. In 2007, riots erupted in Behma, another southern village, after word spread that Copts were going to build a church without a permit. About 27 Christian-owned houses and shops were torched.

Parallel to these incidents are clashes over such issues as conversion and alleged harassment of Muslim girls by Copts and Coptic girls by Muslims.

’’It’s a challenge to hold onto the concept of love and peace,’’ said Thomas, 52.

After he founded his retreat 10 years ago, Muslims set up four small mosques, complete with minarets — towers from which Muslims are called to prayer–just outside the four corners of the rectangular enclosure.

“They make a point that if we are here, the Muslims must be, too,” he said.

Even so, he joined Muslims in denouncing the Swiss ban.

“If I want freedom to build in Egypt, I must also want it in Switzerland,” he said.

By Marcy Oster, JTA  www.JewishJournal.com

Thanksgiving was always a day spent eating good food and watching some (hopefully) good football at my house. But in my husband’s family, Thanksgiving was truly a day of giving thanks, as each year his grandfather, J. Alex Link, spoke about his gratitude to the United States for taking him in on the eve of the Holocaust.

So when it came to our first Thanksgiving in Israel nine years ago, we had no doubt that we would celebrate—even though my three sisters-in-law, who grew up in the same household as my husband and made aliyah (moved to Israel) before us, do not mark the day.

As part of our support system in those first weeks after aliyah, we spent much time commiserating with another American family who had moved to Israel during the same year, and we found that we had kindred spirits where Thanksgiving was concerned.

That first Thanksgiving together has evolved into an annual tradition, though we have moved the meal to Friday night after waiting that first year until late in the evening when our two husbands returned from work.

In addition to a spread that includes the favorite traditional Thanksgiving foods of both families, we ask the children and adults to talk about what we have had to be thankful about since last year.

Sometimes the children are thankful for things as simple as the turkey or a good teacher. Other times their thanks are for not being caught in a Molotov cocktail attack or in bomb shelters like the children of Sderot—a poignant reminder that we are celebrating this most American of holidays in Israel.

The first year that my asking the meat and poultry counter of my local supermarket if I could order a whole turkey set off a flurry of discussion. The woman at the counter had to call the manager; the manager had to call the distributor; the distributor had to call the slaughterhouse. But in the end I got my turkey.

Now when the middle of November rolls around each year, the ladies behind the counter remind me to order my whole turkey. They even let it thaw for a couple of days in their giant refrigerator before I take it home.

Last year I had an audience when I took my turkey from the oven on the erev Shabbat (eve of the Sabbath) of our Thanksgiving celebration. My Israeli neighbor, who the previous day had seen me lugging home my turkey—it’s the size of a hefty newborn—had asked if she could come over and see what in the world I do with a whole turkey. She brought her mother, too, and they oohed and aahed over my perfectly browned bird and the savory stuffing peeking out from inside.

At least 300 Anglo families live in our community, mostly Americans, but I don’t think many celebrate Thanksgiving. Many came here too young to have established the bountiful American holiday as a tradition in their homes. Others have tried hard to become as Israeli as possible, leaving behind all the trappings of their American lives, like Thanksgiving.

I see no contradiction in celebrating a quintessential American Thanksgiving.  I will always be an American and I am thankful for all that America has done for me, my family, Israel and the world. I want my children, who were very young or not even born when we made aliyah, to feel that same gratitude.

So each year we sit down to a turkey with stuffing made following my husband’s grandmother’s recipe, to sweet potatoes that our friends make according to their family’s tradition. The apple pie recipe also comes from grandma, and the pumpkin pie tastes just like it was made by our friend’s mother. In place of cranberry sauce we serve a cranberry kugel (casserole).

Kiddush (blessing) precedes the meal, accompanied by fresh-baked challah (egg bread) and completed with Birkat Hamazon (saying grace after a meal)—and we drink a fine Israeli wine with dinner.

And maybe, if we are lucky, we can catch a football game on one of the satellite TV sports stations late Thursday night or early Friday morning, just to get us in the mood for our Thanksgiving dinner.

www.Israel21c.org

In the U.S., the brilliant autumn foliage with its variations on red, orange, brown, and yellow never fails to delight the eye. In Israel and Europe, however, it’s mostly a one-color spread of yellow.

Researchers at the University of Haifa in Israel and the University of Kuopio in Finland have a new theory that stretches back 35 million years to solve the color riddle.

Their research, published in the journal New Phytologist, posits that during a series of ice ages and dry spells many tree species began an evolutionary process of producing red leaves to ward off insects.

In North America, north to south mountain chains enabled plant and animal “migration” with the advance and retreat of the ice, and the trees’ insect “enemies” migrated along with them.

In Europe and Israel, the mountains reach from east to west, so no protected areas were created. Many tree species did not survive the severe cold and the insects that depended on them for survival also perished.

At the end of the ice ages, most tree species that did survive in these areas had no need to cope with the insects because they were extinct, and therefore, over time, they no longer produced red leaves.

Agence France-Presse (AFP)

PARIS — A Paris swimming pool refused entry to a young Muslim woman wearing a “burqini,” a swimsuit covering most of the body, officials said recently, adding to tensions over Muslim dress in France.

The "burqini" was designed for Muslim women who want to swim without revealing their bodies

The incident came as French lawmakers conduct hearings on whether to ban the burqa after President Nicolas Sarkozy said the head-to-toe body covering and veil was “not welcome” in France, home to Europe’s biggest Muslim minority.

Officials in the Paris suburb of Emerainville said they let the woman swim in the pool in July wearing the “burqini,” designed for Muslim women who want to swim without revealing their bodies. [see pictures below]

But when she returned in August, they decided to apply hygiene rules and told her she could not swim if she insisted on wearing the garment, which resembles a wetsuit with built-in hood.

Pool staff “reminded her of the rules that apply in all (public) swimming pools which forbid swimming while clothed,” said Daniel Guillaume, an official with the pool management.

Le Parisien newspaper said the woman, identified by her first name Carole, was a French convert to Islam and that she was determined to go to the courts to challenge the decision.

“Quite simply, this is segregation,” the newspaper quoted her as saying. “I will fight to try to change things. And if I see that the battle is lost, I cannot rule out leaving France.”

A woman surfs a website which sells "burqinis", a swimsuit that covers most of the body

The newspaper ran a photo of the woman sporting her three-piece “burqini” which she said she purchased in Dubai during a recent holiday.

“I bought it thinking that I could enjoy swimming without having to uncover myself,” she said.

Local mayor Alain Kelyor said “all this has nothing to do with Islam,” adding that the “burqini” was “not an Islamic swimsuit; that type of suit does not exist in the Koran,” the Muslim holy book.

France has set up a special panel of 32 lawmakers to consider whether a law should be enacted to bar Muslim women from wearing the burqa.

In an address to parliament in June, Sarkozy said the burqa was not a symbol of religious faith but a sign of women’s “subservience” and declared that it was “not welcome” in staunchly secular France.

The country has had a long-running debate on how far it is willing to go to accommodate Islam without undermining the tradition of separating church and state, enshrined in a flagship 1905 law.

In 2004, it passed a law banning headscarves (hijab)or any other “conspicuous” religious symbols in state schools to defend secularism.

The burqa debate in France has drawn chilling warnings from Al-Qaeda that it was ready to “take revenge for the honor of our daughters and sisters.”

Communist MP Andre Gerin, who heads the National Assembly’s burqa commission, called the “burqini” ridiculous and said pool administrators were right.

“We can’t allow this. This is proof that there is a political agenda behind such dress,” Gerin told Le Parisien.

By Dudi Cohen, www.YNetNews.com

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday, Sept 21,  he was proud he had managed to enrage the West by denying the Holocaust during a speech he made in Tehran in honor of Jerusalem day [actually, al-Quds Day, the last Friday of Ramadan when Muslims protest Zionism. Begun in 1979] .

Ahmadinejad was quoted by the Iranian News Agency (IRNA) as saying that the angering of “professional man-slayers is a source of pride for us and will not stand in our way”, apparently in reference to Israel and the West.

“The more these imperialists, enemies of humanity and those whose hearts have no love for the human kind run wild, screaming and throwing accusations, we know our path is correct,” said Ahmadinejad.

Al-Quds day protest against Israel in Tehran (Photo: AFP)

During his speech last Friday in Tehran University, the president once again questioned the existence of the Holocaust: “If the Holocaust was planned by the west, why won’t they let anyone investigate it? They have turned the holocaust into a black box and won’t let anyone open and examine it…if this event is so important why don’t they let us expose the truth to the whole world?”

Ahmadinejad continued to attack Israel, saying that “Zionists are the biggest criminals in history, and resisting them is a national duty, a religious commandment and a human obligation. The Zionist regime is a tree with rotten roots.”

“It is obvious this deceptive regime was founded to fulfill colonialist aspirations, and that there is no logic behind its establishment,” added the president, to which the crowd replied: “Death to Israel.”

Ahmadinejad’s words received condemnations from around the world; Britain announced that the Iranian President’s Holocaust denial is repulsive and is a sign of ignorance, adding that the national community must stand against him united.

The German foreign minister said that Ahmadinejad brings shame to his country, while the White House said his words only increase Iran’s isolation from the rest of the world.

Russia, Iran’s ally, also condemned Ahmadinejad’s speech, saying that “his words oppose the truth and are completely unacceptable. The attempt to deny history, especially in the year that marks 70 years to the beginning of the war, desecrates the memory of the victims and all who fought against fascism.”

By Hillel Fendel, www.IsraelNationalNews.com

By Daniel Pipes, www.DanielPipes.org

Glamorous Muslim Political Women

In “Hijabs on Western Political Women” (see pictorial that follows below), I displayed a brood of queens, princesses, first ladies, members of congress, foreign ministers, journalists, and even movie stars looking anywhere from faintly ridiculous to outlandishly bad as they wear some variant of a hijab.

It then occurred to me, what about Muslim political women – are they all in hijabs, chadors, jilbabs, niqabs, and burqas? A little research found that at least some of them not only avoid any Islamic apparel but fit a Western standard of beauty and glamor, making a sharp contrast to those Europeans and Americans in their tatty hijabs.

Beyond making this contrast, offering their pictures here suggests that, at least in the highest political circles, the Islamists will meet strenuous opposition from women. So, bring on the sequined gowns, jeans, jewelry, curling irons, and make-up.

Let’s start with Khadiga el-Gamal, wife of Gamal Mubarak, daughter-in-law of Husni Mubarak, and possible future first lady of Egypt.

Khadiga el-Gamal.

Queen Rania of Jordan:

Queen Rania of Jordan.

Sheikha Mawza, wife of Hamd bin Khalifa, ruler of Qatar

Sheikha Mawza of Qatar.

Mehriban Aliyeva, wife of the president of Azerbaijan:

Mehriban Aliyeva.

Asma Al Assad, wife of Bashar Al-Assad, ruler of Syria:

Asma Al Assad.

More Asma Al Assad.

Princess Consort Lalla Salma, wife of Muhammad VI, king of Morocco:

Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco.

Princess Haya, wife of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai:

Princess Haya of Dubai.

Aesha Qaddafi, daughter of Mu’ammar, ruler of Libya:

Aesha Qaddafi of Libya.

Princess Amira Al-Taweel, wife of Saudi prince Waleed bin Talal:

Princess Amira Al-Taweel of Saudi Arabia.

Farah Diba, former empress of Iran:

Farah Diba of Iran.

Benazir Bhutto, the late prime minister of Pakistan:

Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan.

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Definitely not looking as glamorous, here are

Hijabs on Western Political Women

For fun, how about collecting those instances when female political leaders don the hijab (Islamic headscarf)?

Oriana Fallaci, interviewing Ayatollah Khomeini in September 1979 in Qum, Iran. The interview lasted six hours and at one point, an indignant Fallaci removed her chador and threw it at Khomeini.

Oriana Fallaci interviewing Ayatollah Khomeini, before she threw her chador at him.

Princess Diana during a 1996 visit to a cancer hospital in Pakistan. .

Princess Diana in hijab in a Pakistan hospital.

Hilary Clinton, when she was still wife of the U.S. president in 1997, traveled to Eritrea and put on a headscarf. Interestingly, her daughter Chelsea, seen in the background, did not.

Hillary Rodham Clinton traveling in Eritrea in 1997 with a headscarf on.

But on another occasion, Chelsea joined her in wearing a headscarf.

Mother and daughter, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, wearing headscarves.

Mona Sahlin, leader of Sweden’s Social Democratic Party, donned a headpiece when visiting a mosque on September 14, 2001.

Swedish Social Democratic Party leader Mona Sahlin (right) in headscarf, speaking with Mahmoud Aldebe, chairman of the Swedish Muslim Association, on visiting a mosque in Stockholm.

Prince Charles’s wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, got into complete Egyptian Muslim garb, including hijab, on a visit to Al-Azhar.

Camilla Parker Bowles with Prince Charles in Egypt.

Antje Vollmer, Green Party member and vice-president of the German Bundestag, visiting Riyadh as part of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s delegation in March 2005.

Antje Vollmer, Green Party member and vice-president of the German Bundestag, in Hijab.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visiting a mosque in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in October 2005, wearing a black cover on her hair.

Diane Sawyer of ABC’s “Good Morning America” television program interviewed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wearing a hijab in February 2007.

Diane Sawyer interviewing Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, donned a headscarf when she visited Damascus in April 2007.

Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, in Damascus.

Elsebeth Gerner Nielsen, a former Danish minister of culture, wore a hijab near the parliament in April 2007. She is the only woman on this page wearing the scarf correctly, completely covering the hair.

Elsebeth Gerner Nielsen, a former Danish minister of culture.

In June 2007, three senior Bush administration staffers wore makeshift hijabs as they listened to the president address an audience at Washington’s Islamic Center.

Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Fran Townsend (far left), NSC Senior Director for European Affairs Judy Ansley (left), and Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes (right) listen to President Bush.

On a trip to Saudi Arabia in October 2007, George W. Bush’s wife Laura wore a particularly severe-looking hijab.

Laura Bush in Saudi Arabia.

Actress Angelina Jolie also serves as a “Goodwill Ambassador” for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; in the latter capacity, she visited a earthquake-struck village in Pakistan in August 2007.

Angelina Jolie, UNHCR goodwill ambassador, in a Pakistani village in August 2007.

Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey wore a full hijab in Tehran in March 2008 as she signed a natural gas deal with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (March 19, 2008)

Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey meets with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore a headscarf while visiting the Green Mosque in Bursa, Turkey.

Queen Elizabeth in a Turkish mosque.

Norway’s Queen Sonja wore a headscarf as she visited the mosque of the Islamic Cultural Centre Norway in Oslo.

Norway’s Queen Sonja.

Hillary Clinton, now U.S. secretary of state, donned a hijab to tour the Sultan Hassan Mosque in Cairo along with Barack Obama.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Sultan Hassan Mosque in Cairo.