Tribunals and Theatres
Edraak News # 19 | 6-13 May, 2026
This newsletter covers five stories from the Muslim world, sitting at the extremes: a court designed to execute, a parliament that cancelled its own renewal, journalists jailed for asking questions, 2,000 young performers in Baku gaining confidence, and Konya named the Islamic world’s youth capital.
Edraak is our newsletter that honours the Muslim world’s diversity, reflected in the multitude of its socio-economic conditions and political institutions spanning across the continents. Traced back to its Arabic origins, إدراك encompasses timely and thorough insights into the developments of the Muslim-majority countries.
We organise the Muslim-majority countries into four zones as per their current conditions of conflict, transition, stability, and development.
Zone I: Experiencing War, Conflict, Oppression, Genocide
Knesset passes October 7 tribunal law, death penalty, livestreamed trials, torture-extracted evidence admissible
On 11 May, the Knesset voted unanimously to establish a special military tribunal for roughly 300 Palestinians held since October 7, 2023. Three judges can impose death by majority vote; proceedings will be broadcast live; evidence obtained under “coercive conditions” is admissible. Co-sponsor Malinovsky compared it to Nuremberg, a comparison rights group Adalah called grotesque, noting Israel still holds 1,300 Palestinians from Gaza without charge. The law creates a parallel justice system with lower evidentiary standards applied exclusively to one population. That is not justice; it is the architecture of state-sanctioned execution.
Zone II: Transition toward Peace and Stability
Lebanon postpones elections to 2028
Lebanon’s parliament voted on 9 March to extend its own mandate to 2028. This action has been opposed by most Christian parties, who wanted a shorter deferral. On 13 May, Israeli forces crossed the Litani River with armoured vehicles and struck Deir Zahrani, Zawtar, and Tyre. The electoral postponement reflects both the wartime reality and Hezbollah’s political calculation: facing severe military and financial losses, the country cannot afford a 2026 vote while reconstruction has not begun in the south. Nawaf Salam’s technocratic government, the first competent executive Lebanon has had in years, continues to pursue IMF reforms and banking restructuring, but without a renewal of the democratic mandate in sight.
Zone III: Stable but Economically Struggling
Two Adhadhu journalists jailed on 12 May, one for asking the President a question, one for reporting on the gag order
Reporter Mohamed Shahzan was sentenced to 15 days and fined $1,620 after asking President Muizzu at a press conference why he made late-night calls to a former aide, the allegation at the centre of Adhadhu’s documentary Aisha. Journalist Leevan Nasir got 10 days for reporting on the court’s own gag order banning coverage of the documentary. Both were taken to Maafushi Jail after closed-door hearings. Adhadhu had already been raided, laptops seized, and its CEO’s passport frozen under an Islamic adultery charge.
Zone IV: Developed or Emerging Economies with Peace and Stability
Arts Olimpia 2026: 2,000 young performers across Baku’s stages
![Arts Olimpia 2026 to gather young talents from across country [PHOTOS]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QWp2!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb3104990-3b74-4ec2-9ee7-6092ba2b45d3_960x639.jpeg "Arts Olimpia 2026 to gather young talents from across country [PHOTOS]")
On 2–3 May, Baku’s Rashid Behbudov Theatre and State Children’s Philharmonic hosted Azerbaijan’s largest annual youth arts competition. Around 2,000 participants from eight cities performed across folk, academic, and pop vocals, instruments, choreography, theatrical recitation, and fine arts. JAM SS Theatre’s ensemble took the Grand Prix. ICYF President Aziz Azizov called it “key to cultural dialogue among youth.“ In a region where cultural expression often requires state sanction, a competition that draws 2,000 young performers from across an entire country and declares a theatre ensemble the winner is a meaningful act of cultural liberty.
Konya inaugurated as OIC Youth Capital 2026 on 11 May
Konya received the OIC Youth Capital 2026 title on 11 May at the Selçuklu Congress Center, beating Iran’s Tabriz and Uzbekistan’s Tashkent. Delegations from 40 OIC member states attended. The ICYF-run year includes cultural camps, media training, and a “Gaza Tribunal Aftermath Forum”. Bangladesh called for an OIC Games; Indonesia called Konya “where youth can bridge heritage and future.” Designating a city rooted in tradition as the Islamic world’s youth capital, in the same year that a Gaza tribunal law was passed, is itself a statement about what culture chooses to remember.
