Canada, Diminished and Faltering

"One could argue that we've lost that unifying sense of right and wrong."

"The very sense of [the] liberal, permissive, non-judgmentally embracing society that our countries were fundamentally founded on is now being openly exploited for the purpose  of reshifting the balance." 

Former Vice-Chief of the Canadian Defence Staff, Mark Norman

 

"Symbolic politics has never been sufficient, it is a sign of weak leadership. Condemnations without enforcement, statements without consequences and gestures without policy are not leadership."

"Canadians do not need additional legislation layered over existing statutes. We need the consistent application of the laws already in force.e"

"Canada is lost and no longer immune. A nation cannot remain open if it forgets how to be a nation. The choice is not between tolerance and cohesion. It is between a confident pluralism anchored in shared civic norms, and a politics of endless accommodation that dissolves the very framework that makes diversity possible."

Larry Maher, CEO, Exigent Foundation

Anti-Israel protesters block a downtown Toronto street to pray as police watch. Photo by Caryma Sa’d/X

 

It took no more than a  decade to fundamentally alter Canada, reverse many of its values, not the least the outstanding human right assurance of equality and rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. With that assurance came the expected responsibility of each member of society to respect the social contract that ensured equal opportunities (if not equal outcomes) to succeed and prosper for Canadian citizens who obeyed Canadian laws and whose experience in the general education system helped them to understand their citizen obligations to the country. 

 

In an earlier era those rights and obligations were unevenly applied and issues of discrimination against minority groups reflected a European heritage of entitlement and belittlement of the exotic 'others' who had made their way into North America, many as refugees fleeing persecution and conflict. Under moderately good governance evinced by leaders who at best understood their own guiding obligations to the people they served, laws were passed that ushered Canada into an era of fair justice and social cohesion.

 

Migrants from abroad who entered Canada in the first half of the 20th century as immigrants from impoverished backgrounds to make a home for themselves in a new country where opportunities abounded worked hard, obeyed laws, and accommodated themselves to a new culture with values that suited their own notions of being and belonging. Canadian authorities refined immigration rules to eventually reflect Canada's needs in a point system that rewarded education, professional qualifications, age suitability and an assessed philosophical fit.

 

A succession of Liberal governments in more recent times gradually morphed toward the kind of liberal progressivism that loosened qualifications and requirements of suitability to join the Canadian population. Sympathy for people searching for haven from authoritarian governments, from endemic poverty, from societal crime rates, from conflict zones opened the gates of entry to Canada wide, including the refugee class and illegal migrants who bypassed normal entrance procedures to declare themselves refugees. 

 

Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, is greeted by Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, centre, as he arrives in Doha on Jan. 18. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

 

The intake swelled, fulfilling what government and business leaders professed to be a need to replace an aging, low-child-bearing population with new recruits to build Canada's working population. Entry to the country no longer relied on screening for adaptability and suitability for integration into the prevailing culture, its values and its laws. To the point where landed immigrants and new citizens openly declared their defiance of those values and accompanying laws, bringing havoc and division and open discrimination to the very streets of the cities throughout the country where they settled in influential numbers.

 

Newcomers to the country felt no loyalty to the country that had adopted them and there were no expectations from government that they should integrate and accept the prevailing social order as it was. Instead religious and ideological divisions erupted and with no amending reaction from government and institutions at any level, those divisions deepened, becoming more publicly expressed, including through deliberate acts of law-breaking.   

 

Canadians of long standing were treated to displays of overt challenges to the  public order in universities and cultural institutions where mass protests took to the streets, bringing foreign campaigns, conflicts, ideological convictions averse to Canada's own, to the fore, with no government intervention at any level. All the while Canada congratulated itself as a bastion of liberal democracy. Politicians rather than applying themselves to Canada's and its populations' defense, eyeing the numbers of voluble protests and the votes they represented, chose appeasement of activist groups.

 

Canadian PM Mark Carney : China's President Xi Jinping AP

 

And from the outside world, lax attention to the actions of foreign powers that invaded Canada's sovereignty through the infiltration of foreign agents acting on their behalf on the social, academic and political levels exercised the 'soft power' of authoritarian regimes and of extremist movements, effectively interfering in Canada's politics as well as the social contract unique to Canada. Russia, China, Iran, 
Qatar, Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood all have made an indelible impact within Canada with their malign presence. 

 

The moral, institutional foundations of Canada's principles of equality and human rights have been assailed by Islamist, Marxist, socialist and other radical engagements in destabilizing Canada, as well as other Western nations they have entered both legally and under the radar. What all these Western nations appear to have in common is an attitude of oblivious disinterest in the interference and subtle changes being wrought in normalizing abnormal social behaviour and its effect on their institutions.

 

The exploitation of liberal societies, priding themselves on their Democratic principles of inclusion appear willing to accept the slow erosion of their adherence to the public weal rather than risk being labelled racist, exclusionary or 'Islamophobic'. Identity politics, moral relativism, and DEI guide governments content to do nothing in response to the unravelling of their nations' stability and social coherence. If there is a solution to Western democracies' inaction in the face of this dilemma, it has not yet shown its face. 

 

Canadian universities have seen a surge of pro-Palestinian protests following similar demonstrations across North America.  University Affairs

 

Historical Wrecking Balls

"We will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make."

"Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."

U.S. President George W. Bush, post 9/11

 

"Canada condemns Israel's strikes in Qatar -- an intolerable expansion of violence and an affront to Qatar's sovereignty."

"Regardless of their objectives, such attacks pose a grave risk of escalating conflict throughout the region, and directly imperil efforts to advance peace and security, secure the release of all hostages, and achieve a lasting ceasefire -- efforts in which Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani plays a highly constructive role."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney

AFPTV footage shows smoke billowing after Tuesday's explosions in Qatar's capital Doha  Getty Images

 

In 2001, Canada, all the Western world, NATO and the United Nations were 'with' the United States. The international community, those most tied to the United States as democratic allies sent their military forces, their diplomats and NGOs arrived to provide humanitarian services in 2001 when Afghanistan was invaded after its Taliban leaders refused to surrender al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, responsible for the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Towers, the Pentagon and the overpowered terrorists that led to another plane crash in Pennsylvania. 

 

Britain, Spain and France all experienced their own Islamist terror attacks, when the world became familiar with the rise of  'political', 'radicalized' Islam. But no country has ever experienced the level and number of attacks that Israel  has been exposed to -- by its neighbour-states and by terrorist groups fostered, armed, trained and funded by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Shia theocracy has its laser focus on Israel's destruction, and has never been modest in airing that ambition even in the hallowed chambers of the United Nations whose function is to promote peace among nations.

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, is accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump, center, at a dinner in the Blue Room of the White House  Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

 

Iran is supported in its aspiration of genocidal obliteration of Jews by Qatar, which acts as a covert bland buffer between the Republic and its Sunni majority neighbours, while presenting itself as a trusted intermediary to the West. Qatar's vast oil-resourced treasury serves as a silver salver to entree in the United States, funding universities and supporting the infiltration of a fellow Islamist generator of antisemitic assaults among the large and growing Muslim diaspora settling in the West, the Muslim Brotherhood. 

 

Qatar has dedicated itself to the stealth promotion of terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, in tandem with the Islamic Republic of Iran. More latterly, Turkey, a risible member of NATO, has joined them in their nefarious schemes against Israel. Both Turkey and Qatar have shielded Islamist terrorism, given them haven, described them as loyal servants of Islam, upholding its most sacred precepts. The Palestinian Authority has done likewise, but it is in sharp competition with Hamas for leadership of the Palestinians.

 

This handout picture released by Qatar’s Amiri Diwan shows Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (right), meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in Doha, on September 10, 2025. (Qatar Amiri Diwan / AFP)

 

Israel, on the other hand, has since its re-emergence as a Jewish state on the geographic terrain of its ancestral heritage, has been forced repeatedly to emphasize its right of existence by defending itself militarily and in the process defeating its regional enemies. The attacks, once conducted by states now reconciled to Israel's indomitable presence, have been dominated by death-cult groups whose focus is trained solely on Israel's dismemberment while the Muslim Brotherhood and indeed Iran/Qatar have longer-range missions; world domination in the name of Islam, the 'religion of peace'. 

 

And it is the Islamist powers that Canada, France, Spain, Ireland, Britain, Norway, Australia and others cater to. Not only because they fail to look behind and beyond the facade spoonfed them by skilled propagandists, but as a result of having been flooded by emigrants, migrants and refugees from the Islamic world who now constitute in numbers a powerful incentive to cater to them as a voting bloc. They take seriously Qatar's presentation as a skilled mediator in talks between embattled Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas whose leaders reside in palatial comfort far from the fray while dictating to the Palestinian population to remain defiant (as does certainly the Palestinian Authority/Fatah/Mahmoud Abbas) and accept their sublime fate as martyrs for Islam.

 

This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's press office shows Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (L) received by Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani upon arrival in Doha on September 14, 2025, ahead of an Arab-Islamic emergency summit. (Thaer GHANAIM / PPO / AFP)

 

It is these sanctimonious actors presenting themselves as innocent of any sinister, underhanded plans to disrupt the West, to replace democracy and rule of law with Islamist Sharia law, while in practise inciting hate and suspicion and infecting a wide segment of the West with the viral affliction of violent antisemitism that have gained the support of those who -- as defenders of Judeo-Christian values should be alert to the danger posed -- cite Israel and its presence in the Middle East as the problem, and have abandoned Israel and their own national Jewish populations to a fate they cannot contemplate, soon to arrive on their own shores.

 

Qatar's Emir is furious that Israel attacked Doha for the purpose of using stealth bombers to pinpoint the presence of elite leaders of Hamas and eliminate them. Invoking the sanctity of the state against attacks on its sovereignty, he is adamant that the international community must sanction and punish Israel for this violation of international law. In fact, international law fully supports such an attack on any country that harbors and shields terrorists threatening another nation. Even so, Qatar's Emir has the ear of those like Canada's Prime Minister Carney, eager to support Qatar and condemn Israel.

 

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thanii chairs a preparatory meeting in Doha on September 14, 2025 [Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs via AFP]

 

Who Knew What, When and Who is Being Shielded?

Israeli officials said the Doha strike was carried out by 15 Israeli fighter jets, firing 10 precision munitions against a single target, the BBC reported, citing Israeli media. We don’t know at the moment what weapons were used.

Qatar and its U.S. guests have very advanced air defense systems and sensors that would provide prior alert to an impending attack, in most circumstances. With standoff munitions launched at distance the most likely means of attack, why there was no attempt to intercept these weapons if they were of unknown origin isn’t clear. The use of F-35s is possible here, as well, which may have been able to make closer proximity standoff attacks, but Israel has F-15 and F-16-launched weapons capable of reaching hundreds of miles and strike with pinpoint accuracy.

The U.S. military spotted Israeli jets flying east toward the Persian Gulf but had little time to react, according to Axios.

“The U.S. sought clarification, but by the time Israel provided it, missiles were already in the air,” the publication reported, citing three U.S. officials.

At the same time, U.S. President Donald Trump “was informed of the impending strike by his military and alerted Qatar’s leadership,” White House spokesperson Karonline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.

So exactly what the U.S. knew about the impending strike and when, and when Qatar was informed, remains disputed at this time.

Qatari officials complained that they only found out about the attack after it took place. Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said notification from the U.S. only came after explosions were heard in Doha. He did not address why his nation’s air defense system did not pick up the Israeli jets.

The W*r Zone

The satellite image taken on Sept. 10 after the attack shows damage to five buildings. (PHOTO PLANET LABS INC.

"Today's action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation."

"Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility."

Statement from Prime Minister Netanyahu's office

 

"The prime minister and defence minister believe the operation was entirely justified given that this Hamas leadership initiated and organized the October 7 massacre and has continued to launch murderous actions against the State of Israel and its citizens since then, including claiming responsibility for the killing of our citizens in yesterday's attack in Jerusalem."

Defence Minister Israel Katz 

People take part in a rally demanding the immediate release of the hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, and the end of war in Gaza, in Tel Aviv in August. (Nir Elias/Elias)

 

True to its tradition and its reputation as the most humane military in history, the Israel Defense Forces intimately knows its targets and how to secure strikes with absolute minimum collateral damage in targeted strikes that occur in juxtaposition to civilian enclaves with the potential to produce more casualties than it sets out to accomplish, and this was true in the Doha strikes, when the Israel Air Force made use of precision munitions. They would have been assured of eliminating their targets had more forceful weaponry been utilized, but the decision was to attempt what they could and spare lives, reflecting the military's mission.

 

A mission which while daring in its impudent certainty might not have been carried to fruition lacking complicity from the most interested sources; Israel's powerful patron-nation and the nation whose territory would be invaded in the event of these strikes. Neither of which would appreciate being directly implicated, so although the U.S. knew of the plans in advance, those plans fell on deaf ears, yet not sufficiently deaf as to not forewarn the country where the strikes would take place, and nor did that country seek to evade the occurrence of the mission; it simply did not 'see' what it would not envision, and therefore could not react to.

 

Tuesday's airstrikes by the Israeli military carried out against senior Hamas leadership in Doha, Qatar may not have entirely realized the success visualized in planning the episode, regardless of which it will be crystal clear now to those targets which may have survived, that their survival at a future date is contestable; they are marked and their lives will be extinguished. These targeted Hamas elites were responsible for the October 7, 2023 massacre and bear further responsibility for the ongoing war facing Israel from whatever is left of Hamas. 

 

U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on a red carpet towards Air Force One, as he departs Qatar in May. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

 

The Israeli prime minister and minister of defense were at pains to own the Doha attacks, in complete exoneration of any hint of planning partnership from any outside source. Why bother? Willingness to ensure that no other political-national entity would be blemished in aiding the Jewish state in its deadly onslaught against those whose intention is to destroy its presence in the Middle East. PM Benjamin Netanyahu carefully explained his instructions to all security agencies to prepare for a focus on assassination of Hamas elite leadership abroad.

 

Spurred anew by the latest Hamas atrocity in Jerusalem when two Hamas operatives shot up a bus stop, murdering six civilians and wounding many others, some grievously, before they were themselves killed by a nearby soldier and two armed Israeli civilians firing back at them. The bombing of an army tank that killed four IDF soldiers in northern Gaza cemented that determination to excise the Hamas command living in Qatar distant from the fray, but commanding its intransigent attacks on Israel while simultaneously engaging in 'peace' talks captained by Qatari, Egyptian and American mediators.

 

The tantalizing prospect of a truce and the surrender of the remaining Israeli hostages, alive and dead, by Hamas tied Israeli negotiators to the ongoing, frustrating and unsuccessful talks in Doha where each offer was 'studied' at length by the Hamas negotiators and ultimately turned down, as unreflective of Hamas demands. One solution after another found wanting, and back to the bargaining table, an exercise in stalling for time used by the terror group for recruitment, rearming, rescheduling.

 

A damaged building in Doha following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders Tuesday. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / Reuters

 

The strikes carried out by the Israeli Air Force targeted the residences of several Hamas 'political' elites among its senior leadership. Al-Arabiya reported that Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya was killed in the strike. Khaled Mashaal, Zaher Jabarin, Mohammad Ismail Darwish, Mousa Abu Marzouk, Hussam Badran and Tahar Anunu made up the roster of the targeted elite of Hamas in Israel's crosshairs. It will be some time before their fate will be made known, since none have since appeared in public. 

 

According to a still-defiant Hamas, its top leaders survived while five lower-level members were killed, among them the son of Khalil al-Hayya and the head of al-Hayya's office. Hamas gave no proof of the survival of al-Hayya and the other senior figures. The strike took place in Doha's Diplomatic Quarter at a series of buildings housing the Hamas 'political' bureau. A meeting by Hamas officials had been scheduled. Their negotiating team was meeting to discuss the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal and return of hostages.

 

This frame grab taken from AFP TV footage shows a man looking at smoke billowing after explosions in Doha Tuesday that Israeli officials said were an attack on Hamas leadership based in the Qatari capital.. (Jacqueline Penney/AFPTV/AFP/Getty Images)

 

"[Israel's] long arm will act against its enemies anywhere."

"There is no place where they can hide. Everyone who took part in the 7 October massacre will be held fully accountable. "

"Anyone who carries out terror against Israel will be harmed."

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz 

 

Known By The Terrorist Company They Adhere To

"A terrorist with a camera is still a terrorist!"

"I commend our security forces for eliminating the terrorist Anas Jamal Mahmoud Al-Sharif, who operated under the guise of an Al Jazeera journalist."

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon 

 

"The terrorist Anas al-Sharif served as a cell leader in the Hamas terror organization and advanced plans for rocket fire against Israeli civilians and IDF forces."

"[In October, the IDF published documents seized in Gaza that] unequivocally [confirmed Sharif’s] military affiliation with Hamas."

"These documents serve as proof of the terrorist’s integration into the Qatari Al Jazeera media network."

"[In Sunday’s strike, the military] took steps to mitigate civilian harm, including] the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence information."

Israel Defense Forces  

Funerals held for assassinated Gaza journalists   Still from Al Jazeera video

 

 

United Nations employees with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) who just happen to be members of the Hamas terrorist group, some of whom were proven to be involved in the October 7, 2023 invasion and slaughter in southern Israel, and journalists/photographers working under a Reuters byline or employed by Al Jazeera who are likewise linked to terrorist groups some of whom occupy positions that require direct acts of terrorism against Israel, writing biased columns and observations posing as neutral journalism published without hesitation by mainstream Western media.

 

One of these journalist-terrorists met his end on August 10, along with four other colleagues, in Gaza City leading world powers to condemn Israel for targeting journalists because safety is supposed to be guaranteed for members of the press in war zones, reporting the scenes of conflict that they observe -- for if combatants fail to recognize the vital importance of the objective reporters' accounts portray,  how would the world audience know what is  transpiring, whom to condemn, and which parties should be supported by world opinion?

 

The Israel Defense Forces has identified Anas al-Sharif as an actively serving member and head of a Hamas terrorist cell while doing double-duty as a journalist for the Qatari Al Jazeera network. That would be the Qatar that has given haven to top-echelon members of the Muslim Brotherhood's little offshoot, Hamas, in Doha. Al-Sharif was responsible, according to the IDF, for orchestrating and advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops.  

 

In Doha, Qatar, Al Jazeera staff members gather at the network's studio to remember their colleagues. Al Jazeera called the strike a 'targeted assassination' and accused Israeli officials of incitement by connecting al-Sharif's death to the allegations that both the network and correspondent had denied. (Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)

 

Intelligence was released by the IDF which had recovered documents in Gaza indicating al-Sharif's military role within Hamas. These documents include personnel rosters, records of terrorist training courses phone directories and salary documents substantiating the man's involvement as a combatant and a commander within the Hamas network of terrorism aimed at destroying Israel. As evidence goes, it is complete and completely damning. And like the United Nations, Al Jazeera strenuously denies that any of its employees are linked to terrorism.

 

So the fiction that the documents detail of al-Sharif's fighter status and cell-leading positions dating to 2013, including leadership in rocket units and participation in elite Nukhba battalions must obviously be confusing this journalist's background activities with someone else entirely. Only that is the version preferred for public consumption by Al Jazeera, against Israel's and specifically the IDF's allegations.

The predatory, anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian 'victimhood injustice' of Qatar and Al Jazeera carry weight in excess of what a democratic, lawful nation-state of the Western alliance is held to represent in today's world. 

 

Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif (center left), who was killed by the IDF in Gaza on August 10, 2025, shown together with the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in an undated photographed posted by the IDF’s Arabic language spokesman on August 11, 2025.

 

This innocent journalist, this producer of unbiased news reports informing the world at large of Israel's assaults against Palestinians, a member of Hamas? Perish the thought. And while we're at it, brush aside the evidence consisting of documentation damning to his purported innocence, much less photographs attesting to his role as a valued comrade in terrorist activities. 

 

Head of the Arab Media Branch in the IDF, Col. Avicha Adraeee, posted photographs Sunday showing al-Sharif taking selfies with Hamas terror leaders, including Yahya Sinwar and Khalil al-Hayya. "Only a terrorist sits in the gatherings of terrorists", wrote Adraee. While the Israeli military state that al-Sharif led a Hamas cell, the Committee to Protect Journalists and other describe al-Sharif's death and those of the other four with him as retribution against journalists documenting the Gaza conflict.

 

Of the five journalists killed in the Sunday Israeli airstrike, all were Al Jazeera staffers of whom the IDF say they target individuals they identify as Hamas terrorists posing as reporters. A year earlier, Israeli army officials had accused al-Sharif and other Al Jazeera journalists of being members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Col. Adraee had attacked Al Jazeera in a July 24 video, accusing al-Sharif as part of the Hamas terrorist group.

 

The strike that killed him and the other four Al Jazeera journalists represented a "targeted assassination" stated Al Jazeera, accusing Israel of 'incitement'. 

 

Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif (in red), who was killed by the IDF in Gaza on August 10, 2025, shown together with the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other Hamas leaders in undated photographs posted by the IDF’s Arabic language spokesman on August 11, 2025.

 

Girls' and Women's Sporting Life in the Arab Middle East

"Sometimes we face some difficulties, of course. Like, 'This is a game only for boys or males, why do you wear shorts?' --and so on. This is a huge problem we face."

"But I think with time, it's getting better and better."

Masar Athamnehy, 20, Orthodox Club women's soccer team, Amman, Jordan

 

"Life has become hell for us, as a woman we can't do anything by our choice."

"Unfortunately,l my dream  to make it to Afghanistan's national team] remained just a dream."

Sabera Akberzada, 17, Afghanistan

 

"You're a girl, it's not right [they tell me]."

"I fell in love with the game because it's got action. I love it a lot, more than any other sport."

Sarah Asimrin 13, Amman, Jordan

 

"There is no support for women's sports in the Gaza Strip -- no support to be like girls in other parts of the world."

Maha Shabat, team manager Beit Hanoun Al-Ahli Youth Club, Gaza

"On the internet, I see many girls [elsewhere] playing normally."

"[The biggest obstacle in Gaza is society and tradition but I just] think positively about the criticism. I will take it as a motive to proceed and challenge everyone."

Rama Ashour, 14, Gaza

Joud Shunti, 23-year-old goalkeeper, trains with the Orthodox Club's women's team in Amman, Jordan. (Raad AL-Adayleh/The Associated Press)

 

The Middle East is a geographic region where the game of soccer has enthusiastic fans everywhere. Even among girls and women for whom participation in any kind of sport, much less soccer, is untraditional and goes against the cultural/religious strain of what is viewed as fitting for women in society. In Amman, Jordan, 13-year-old Sarah Asimrin and her younger sister might be viewed as coming by their fascination with soccer as an inherited trait, since their father is himself a soccer coach at a private academy in Amman.

Mad for the men's game of soccer as the region may be, the women's game has no real status and there is little interest in financing it as long as conservative interests continue to insist that girls and sports just do not fly, along with the issue of uniforms being entirely unsuited since they typically reveal bare skin on legs and arms. Jordan stands out as one of the leaders in the region, with a network of girls' youth and school leagues.

In Saudi Arabia where only in the last few years were women given permission to even attend soccer games as spectators, the first matches of a new women's Premier League were held. For the first time the Saudi national women's team played against international teams. Tournaments newly launched allow women's teams opportunities in international competitions.

The smaller West Asian and Asian football associations held their own first women's club championships several years back. A women's club championship was inaugurated in Cairo by the African Federation last year. This year's games began in Morocco with a sizeable financial incentive for the winners even though the win was considerably less than the $2.5 million that goes to the winning men's club.

Football Player for the Egyptian National Team. Sarah Essam

 

Financial incentives are provided by Jordan's Football Association in support of forming women's teams, so that even some conservative clubs have joined. A holdup in promoting women's teams is the fact that they fail to generate income. Since Qatar was named host of the World Cup this year, it has departed from its traditional lag in promoting women's soccer, to develop women's teams at universities, holding soccer academies for girls, as a new initiative.

The region's most prominent contrast is Egypt with its men's teams -- wealthy powerhouses -- winning regional tournaments on a regular basis even while women's soccer languishes in neglect. Egypt's Wadi Degla wins most women's competitions. The price has been public backlashes where a victory by the under-20 national women's team over Lebanon led to a barrage of sexual harassment on social media of obscene comments and sneers at girls playing soccer.

The African Champions League is to require clubs in its men's tournament to include and promote women's teams, a move that should have the effect of moving the Egyptian clubs to alter their resistance to aiding the formation of women's soccer clubs. In the Palestinian West Bank, women's soccer is somewhat active, while it has a non-existent presence in the Gaza Strip where its 2.3 million residents are conservative and its Islamist government in Hamas has little patience for women's freedoms.

The Beit Hanoun Al Ahli Youth Club with 20 girls playing basketball and soccer wear pants rather than shorts, and long-sleeve shirts. Their soccer-playing days are over once they reach age 17, when they no longer play, looking toward marriage instead. And in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country, the nascent women's sport scene collapsed under order of the authorities, leaving hundreds of female athletes without recourse to the sports they love.

"I feel so worried and so sorry for women, young women who wanted to be independent. I don't think women will play sports again in Afghanistan", sighed Khalid Popal, a former captain of the women's national team now living in exile in Denmark, and desperately trying to get members of the under-15 team still in Afghanistan to safety outside her benighted country.

Soccer player Insherah Heyasat, left, gives instructions during a training of the Orthodox Club's women's team in Amman, Jordan, on Oct. 22. Women's soccer has been long been neglected in the Middle East, a region that is mad for the men's game and hosts the World Cup for the first time this month in Qatar. (Raad AL-Adayleh/The Associated Press)