A leading German Muslim official today lashed out at efforts to force the integration of Germany's 3.5 million Muslims.

Chairman of Annemarie Schimmel Forum Mohammad Aman H. Hobohm said during his opening address at the "Religion and Integration" conference in Berlin, "You can't demand integration, and it cannot be imposed by the state. The readiness for integration must come from within Muslims." He added that "the willingness of Muslims to hold a dialogue is often marred by public accusations."

Hobohm urged also Muslim leaders to focus more intensely on the issue of integration, and called on the Christian majority to play a positive role in the integration process.

The two-day Berlin conference is to focus on the incompatibility of cultural norms and values of Germans on one hand and Muslims on the other hand.

Source: IRNA, Iran, February 28, 2007

An Israeli film and an Iranian film won awards at the 13th Asian Film Festival in Fizol. Both films deal with the subject of the rape of a teenager by a family member.

In the Israeli film, Out of Sight, produced by Daniel Sirkin, the victim is a blind girl. The film received the highest gold award.

The Iranian film, Friday Evening, produced by Muna Zandi, deals with a young girl whose world has collapsed following her rape by a member of the family. The film was given the “Referee Award.”

It is the first time that either country has dealt with such a sensitive subject on film.

Source: Al-Rafidayn, February 28, 2007

The London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reports that Israel will supply the U.S. Marines in Iraq with specially equipped armored “Golan” vehicles which are specifically suited for urban warfare and can sustain attacks by RPGs and road mines.

Source: Al Sharq Al-Awsat, London, February 28, 2007

Women in Karbala, Iraq commemorate the death of Imam Hussein of the Shi'a.

Source: Karbala News Network, Iraq, February 28, 2007

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reports that Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (formerly known as the GSPC) has appointed a certain "Abu Al-Bara'," a native of Tangiers, to its 16-member Shura Council. This is the first time that a Moroccan has served on this body. The appointment took place immediately after the GSPC, which is based in Algeria, changed its name to "Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb."

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, February 28, 2007

Algerian Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni announced that the Islamist National Reform Party would not be allowed to take part in the upcoming legislative elections. Party head Sheikh 'Abdallah Jaballah decried the decision as "political," and promised to appeal the decision.

The National Reform Party is one of three Islamist parties in Algeria; the others are the outlawed Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), and the Social Movement for Peace (MSP), which is a member of the current governing coalition.

Source: El-Shorouq El-Yawmi, Algeria, February 28, 2007

Following the signing of a trilateral accord on tourism with the cities of Marseille and Haifa by Marrakesh Mayor Omar Jazouli, the Moroccan Islamist daily Al-Tajdid published a February 26, 2007 report on the accord titled "The Mayor of Marrakesh Normalizes Relations with the Ravishers of Palestine and the Destroyers of the Mughrabi Gate" along with a photo of Jazouli shaking hands with Haifa Mayor Yonah Yahav.

Al-Tajdid cited Khaled Soufiani, coordinator of the Working Group for the Defense of Iraq and Palestine, as saying: "This abominable step of normalization demands more than condemnation; there must be collective action on the part of all sectors of Moroccan society… to conduct an intifada against the Marrakesh mayor and to force him to annul this accord with the Zionists…"

The accord provides for tourism training for students from Marrakesh and Haifa in Marseille.

Jazouli explained that the only accord he signed was with Marseille. To his detractors he responded: "Perhaps they think that I should force people in Marseille to not cooperate with Haifa."

Sources: Al-Tajdid, Morocco, February 26, 2007; Aujoud'hui Le Maroc, Morocco, February 27, 2007.

The cartoon lists the four major oil companies.

Source: Sotaliraq, February 28, 2007

A new political configuration is emerging in Iraq with the formation of a parliamentary group comprising the Al-Iraqiyya group of former prime minister Ayad Allawi and most of the members of the various Sunni political forces represented in the Parliament. The new group is to be called the National Iraqi Front, and it will control 80 members of the parliament's 275 members.

Source: Al-Rafidayn, February 27, 2007

The president of Iraq's Kurdish region, Masoud Barazani, has told the Turkish NTV channel that the Kurds, who number 40 million in the Middle East, are entitled to their own state. He said that the neighboring countries, with their Kurdish, Persian, and Arab peoples should not view Kurdish independence as a threat, but as beneficial to everyone.

Source: Sotaliraq, February 27, 2007