Afghanistan: Politics and Football add Fresh Meaning to 9/11

Published on Oct 3, 2013 by Luke Hunt

This article first appeared in The Edge ReviewBy LUKE HUNT / KabulThe sound of gunfire rang out across Kabul. Mobs were rampaging through the streets. Foreign and Afghan troops, fearing the capital was under attack, reached for their guns as civilians scampered for cover.It was September 11, the 12th anniversary of the al-Qaeda strikes on New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania, and across Afghanistan security was tight and tensions high.The mood quickly brightened when troops realized their reaction was misguided. While bombings and firefights were being reported from the countryside, Kabul was not under attack – it was a false alarm. Afghanistan had just defeated old rivals India 2-0, winning the South Asia Football Federation Championship.Such a victory was unprecedented....

On a Warpath: Turkey’s Dangerous Take on Syria

Published on Sep 14, 2013 by Luke Hunt

This article first appeared in The Edge ReviewBy LUKE HUNT / IstanbulThroughout the Cold War, Turkey played a deft diplomatic hand. With neighbours like the Soviet Union and its recalcitrant regional satellites, Syria, Iraq and Iran, keeping the peace was the mantra underpinning Turkey’s projection of soft power within the politics of the region.It was a common sense policy that earned Ankara a wealth of respect across the Middle East and beyond – until very recently. A combination of nasty domestic differences, unfettered access to oil and gas and a leader’s uncompromising ego is heralding an end to a once peaceful approach.At the center of this policy shift is Turkey’s Prime Minister TayyipErdogan, whose formidable abilities have achieved what many....

Hazy Business, Shallow Governments

Published on Jul 8, 2013 by Luke Hunt

This article first appeared in The Edge Review.By Luke HuntBack in 1997 a rather irate Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad put a lid on local reporting of an unprecedented phenomenon. Burning off by major palm oil companies in nearby Indonesia had reached such levels that the entire region was blanketed by smog.A petulant Mahathir also yelled at foreign correspondents covering the story alleging a grand conspiracy to blacken Malaysia’s name and undermine its tourism industry. Not quite.A few years later a Malaysian minister famously snapped at critics of the government’s burgeoning love affair with palm oil plantations — and the scorched earth policy required to grow them. “What do you want?” He asked, “monkeys or gold?”Ever since companies like Sime....

Deadly Thais Saving Face

Published on Dec 6, 2012 by Luke Hunt

In early 2012, Luke Hunt travelled across the Muslim dominated provinces of southern Thailand and northwest to Krabi, meeting up with the British photographer and author Dan White. We rode on to the picturesque beachside town of Ao Nang, bought our tickets and boarded a boat to the popular tourist beach, Railay.Along the way we happened upon a simple scam. A return boat ticket was purchased but when we decided to head home the captain refused to recognize the return leg saying it was a fake. All the tourists were told to buy new tickets and urged to complain to the vendor in Ao Nang.Problem: The vendor, working in cahoots with the boat captains, had gone home.  Several hundred tourists....

A King's Final Journey

Published on Nov 5, 2012 by Luke Hunt

Half of the country’s population is expected to make the pilgrimage to Phnom Penh to pay their respects to King Father Norodom Sihanouk, demonstrating their reverence for him as well as their unease about what his absence will mean for the country’s future. Luke Hunt Reports for the Bangkok PostFor weeks, Cambodians have filed into the capital, ending a pilgrimage which for most is a once in a lifetime event. The streets along the riverside are jammed with traffic while in the parks outside the Royal Palace children dressed in white with black ribbons play and pray with their parents.From a distance the palace gates - adorned by portraits of the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk _ appear like an....

Lao's Muslims Eye Burma

Published on Sep 4, 2012 by Luke Hunt

Just over a decade ago the tiny Islamic population of Laos, like Muslims everywhere, watched on in horror as al-Qaeda carried out its suicide attacks on New York and Washington. They were then flabbergasted as a tide of Western opinion turned on them. Luke Hunt reports from Vientiane.As time passed the imams of Vientiane’s two mosques thought those days had been consigned to history, particularly in Southeast Asia, where al-Qaeda affiliates were dealt with and mostly dismantled.But now both men are again looking on in horror at the treatment of Muslims, this time right next door in Myanmar, where close to 80 people have died in unrest between religions set off by the rape and murder in June of a....

A Cambodian Cham Offensive

Published on Jul 29, 2004 by Luke Hunt

Backed by overseas wealth, conservative forms of Islam are taking rapid root among impoverished Cham Muslims. Some now fear Cambodia could be used as a hideout for terrorists. by Luke Hunt in Phum Trea and Phnom Penh, filed the following dispatch for the Far Eastern Economic Review.In the village of Phum Trea, Imam Mohamad Abdul Majit is proudly showing off his community’s latest addition. A mosque built in brilliant white marble, twice the size of the holiest mosque in Phnom Penh. Next door is a new madrassa, or Islamic school with three floors and at least 15 classrooms.The gleaming mosque isn’t the only thing distinguishes Phum Trea from most other villages in this predominantly Buddhist nation. On a relentlessly hot....