The corpse of Kim Jong II, North Korea's former dictator, has become the country's latest tourist attraction.

Young Pioneer Tours, a western tourist group, were given access to the former leader's mausoleum last week.

Gareth Johnson , the group's director, told reporters:

"We were hopeful that if we timed it right, the mausoleum would be open and we would gain access," he said. "It was a combination of great planning and a little luck."

As for Kim Jong II's appearance: "He looks like a person," he said. "Not waxy at all."

Kim Jong II died on December 17, 2011 after suffering a heart attack.

North Korea will be reopened to tourists later this year.

(Source)

Mohammed Morsi was announced the winner of Egypt's first democratic election on Sunday.

Thousands of Egyptian protesters gathered in Tahrir Square to hear the commissioner announce their new president.

Mohammed Morsi won with over 50% of votes in the run-off election.

The crowd jumped for joy, shed tears, and shared hugs as Morsi became the fist Islamist to lead an Arab state.

"In my dreams, I wanted this to happen, but it is unbelievable,"said 20 year old Hudaida Hasan.

The presidential elect promised to be "a president for all Egyptians" in a state wide broadcast on Sunday.

"We as Egyptians, Muslims, and Christians, are preachers of civilization and building; so we are, and so we will remain God willing." he said. "We will face together the strife and conspiracies that target our national unity."

He continued, "We are all equal in rights, and we all have duties toward this homeland," he added. "But for me, I have no rights, I only have duties."

Morsi moved into the presidential office on Monday.

Respected Life is all for educating its' readers through different perspectives which is why we enjoy publishing guest posts.

We found this amazing article from Michael Rank online.

Michael Rank is a doctoral candidate in Middle East history who also writes at the educational website, Five Minute Courses. He has studied Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Armenian, and French but can still pull out a backwater Midwestern accent if need be. He has also worked as a journalist in Istanbul where he reported on religion and human rights.

This particular article questions the possibility of Modern Liberal Islamists. Enjoy :)



This is the question asked in the NY Times by Turkish journalist Mustafa Akyol. I’ve had the pleasure to meet Mr. Akyol on many occasions and he speaks intelligently on many topics: from religion and the free market to global human rights. In this column he asks whether Muslim countries can be pious yet accept personal liberty (or modernity, as some would call it) for its non-religious citizens. Here is his key idea:

The main bone of contention is whether Islamic injunctions are legal or moral categories. When Muslims say Islam commands daily prayers or bans alcohol, are they talking about public obligations that will be enforced by the state or personal ones that will be judged by God?

Reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei celebrated the end of 'the culture of fear' on Wednesday.

The day marked the first free presidential election for Egypt.

In an AP Interview, ElBaradei emphasized that national unity is more important than the election's winner.

"I think the most crucial factor is to get Egyptians to understand that they need to agree on the basic common values that they're going to live under in the future," he said.

The winner will be announced on June 21 and will succeed long time ruler Hosni Mubarak.