The News Review:

- Liberian Muslims and the African Napoleon
- Sierra Leonean TRC subpoenas three army officers.
- Blair May Have Squandered Historic Opportunity

Liberian Muslims and the African Napoleon
إسÙا٠أÙÙ ÙاÙÙ – Sep 20, 2003
Even in the Muslim world, very few know that 25% of the Liberian population are Muslims who have established a great civilization embellished with four centuries of glories!

How Islam Spread in Liberia

In West African countries, such as Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire, Islam spread out in a peculiar and distinctive way. Many tribes embraced the monotheist faith, reverted to paganism when the presence, and hence the influence, of Muslim da`wah diminished, and embraced Islam once again when someone called for it. During the tenth century AD, a number of Moroccan Muslim marabouts headed for the south Sahara to propagate Islam among the pagan tribes. The famous Sheikh `Abdullah ibn Yassin managed to convince Wur Jay, King of Senegal, to accept Islam. Many of the kingdom’s tribes-headed by the Mandingo, Fullani and Soninki-followed their king.

Sierra Leonean TRC subpoenas three army officers.
Free with registration – Asia Africa Intelligence Wire – AccessMyLibrary.com – Sep 20, 2003
Sierra Leonean TRC subpoenas three army officers. (20-SEP-03) Asia Africa Intelligence Wire.

Blair May Have Squandered Historic Opportunity
Al-Jazeerah.info – Sep 20, 2003
Economic mismanagement had been the nail in the coffin of Labour prime ministers in the past and it played a key role in exiling the party to the political wilderness for 18 years. Giving the Bank of England its independence from the Treasury was just one of a raft of radical and widely approved changes that marked the start of Blair’s time in office. In his early years, Blair strode the world stage, giving Britain a louder voice in the European Union and playing a leading role in conflicts in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone. But analysts say the Iraq crisis, which split Europe, has left a blot on his foreign policy record. It has undermined Britain’s influence in Europe and left Blair struggling to rescue his cherished role as the bridge between Washington and the EU. He is widely expected to fail in his ambition to hold a euro referendum in this Parliament, making a mockery out of his aspiration to put Britain at the heart of Europe. Heather Grabbe, an analyst at the Center for European Reform, said Iraq and the euro have overshadowed Blair’s other important achievements in Europe, such as launching Europe’s own defense capability with France.