TASK DEFINITION: Your task is to extract the thesis of an opinionated news article by selecting some of its text segments. The thesis is a summarization of what the author wants to persuade the reader of. Your answer should consist of segments of the given text. Note that you are not allowed to combine different sentences.
PROBLEM: The Iranian opportunity. The instability and chaos sweeping across the Arab world today represents both a threat and an opportunity for Iran . Instability in Yemen, Libya, Syria and Iraq are case-in-point examples that Iran can realise its short and long-term objectives to become the region's main hegemon . Surrounded by countries with significant Shia minorities, Iran seeks to cultivate the image of "protector state" for these populations . And eventually, Iran could become the "core country" in this hotly contested region . Toward this end, Iran has stirred Shia-Sunni divisions, creating sectarian identities for the various clashing groups . In the case of Yemen, this was done within the borders of one country where Iran contrived to create a distinct Shia identity for the Houthis who ended up taking control over the course of the past few months . The Iranian strategy is focused on building a new political model in the region - one that relies on Iran's "centrality" through which it can exercise power and influence both on the regional and international levels . Especially after the election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Iran has been keen to develop working relations with the West and the US (particularly with regard to "fighting terrorism" - as it had done before in Afghanistan) . It is also eager to play a similar role in Iraq . This Iranian eagerness, however, cannot be isolated from the larger vision . This vision sees such cooperation as advancing the Iranian model of emphasising its geopolitical centrality for Shiism, as well as its hegemonic desires over the region, including the Arab Sunni states . To become the centre of gravity of the Middle East, Iran needs to amplify its role as both a protector and hegemon for its much weaker and unstable Arab neighbours . These neighbours would be relegated within the Iranian model to the status of periphery states . To do that, Iran uses its old revolutionary rhetoric and slogans to describe its brand of Islam as "authentic and original" while describing pro-West Sunni Arab states as having an "American-Islam" , which it presents as an illegitimate form of Islam . In his Washington Post op-ed last September, "Time to Engage", Rouhani outlined the Iranian objectives and the key areas in which Iran can cooperate with the US and the West . Although Rouhani laid out the Iranian strategic perspective and the parameters through which Iran can work and cooperate with the West , there was an important point, which he left unsaid . He was essentially saying that the US must recognise the failure of its old policies, especially in the region, and at the same time tacitly acknowledged that Iran had made mistakes in dealing with the US during the past eight years . Nevertheless ,  he opened the door for US-Iranian cooperation on combating terrorism and emphasised the Iranian role in solving the region's thorniest problems, such as the Palestinian cause and the conflict with Israel . View of superiority . Current Iranian discourse - political and cultural - revolves around advancing the view of superiority of the Iranian race, Shia Islam, and Iranian culture . Such discourse focuses on the uniqueness of the Iranian race as one that is steeped in civilisation, juxtaposed with the Arabs who represent, according to this view, the "other", i.e  less civilised . In realpolitik terms, amid the instability and chaos plaguing Arab states, Iran presents itself as the alternative power to fill the vacuum in the region . From the Iranian perspective, the US has failed to solve many of the international crises and in some cases, it has created them . Iran, in this respect, is positioning itself as a rising power that will replace the US as the dominant power in the region . Echoing such discourse, Kazem Sajjadpour, an advisor on Strategic Affairs to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran said, in Persian, during his participation in the roundtable discussion on the website Shia News Association, that while the Arab world suffers from fragmentation and strategic paralysis - while under the influence of western powers- Iran enjoys territorial integrity and cohesiveness, and is endowed with strategic resources . All of these are factors that could make Iran the new rising power in the region . Indeed ,  Iran is making the case that the entire Arab world revolves around it - and cannot survive without it .

SOLUTION: The Iranian strategy is focused on building a new political model in the region - one that relies on Iran's "centrality" through which it can exercise power and influence both on the regional and international levels To become the centre of gravity of the Middle East, Iran needs to amplify its role as both a protector and hegemon for its much weaker and unstable Arab neighbours

PROBLEM: Boko Haram's deadly advance must be stopped, but how? Last week's massacre of perhaps 2,000 people in and around the Nigerian town of Baga, and the bombings of markets in the north-east using children perhaps as young as 10, mark not a new tactic for the violent extremist organisation Boko Haram, but an intensification of its existing behaviour . Boko Haram is pushing the boundaries of the extreme and is challenging - and seemingly succeeding - in overstretching Nigeria's 7th Infantry Division, tasked to fight the insurgents in the north-east . In recent months it has made significant territorial gains and is in control of many towns around the Borno state capital, Maiduguri , though this is in a constant state of flux as the military defends state capitals and recaptures lost urban centres . Speculation as to the aims of Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad, the real name of the network of Islamist, cultist and criminal elements that grew from a radical but initially largely non-violent movement, continues . And the logical conclusion is that it is capturing territory to carve out an Islamic caliphate in north-eastern Nigeria . But the group is decimating what is in its path . And it is greedy : the longer Boko Haram goes unimpeded and the more confident it becomes, the more it seems to want . So perhaps what is its endgame is the wrong question . Boko Haram is fighting because it can , because it is a lethal fighting force and has children and conscripts to send into the field as terrified, intoxicated and indoctrinated weapons and shields . The question that needs to be answered is how did this terrorist threat grow to such horrifying proportions, killing thousands and displacing millions- a threat unimaginable in a democratic Nigeria 10 years ago? And what can be done to stop it? Nigeria's military is around 130,000-strong, and has been previously lauded for its peacekeeping successes in civil conflicts in Africa , but now , with a worsening conflict at home, questions are being asked about just how hollowed out such an important institution has become . There are varying reports as to why the 8,500 troops deployed to battle Boko Haram have been unable to halt its advance . Allegations of corruption; misallocated resources; poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly directed troops; fear; low morale; and deficient interagency cooperation all have a basis . While promises have been made to investigate reported abuses by the Nigerian armed forces against civilians, in December 2014 an army court sentenced 54 soldiers to death for mutiny and cowardice - for refusing to fight Boko Haram . In the short term , preventing Boko Haram from expanding further relies on a more effective military response with a much-bolstered force . But this is impossible without essential leadership from the centre, without tough calls and effective management . The international community will come under increasing criticism for not doing enough to stem the tide of Boko Haram's terror . Assistance has been offered by a range of partners including the US, UK, France, Russia and China - some of it has been declined - but it is likely more offers of assistance will come . Nigeria believes its neighbours Chad, Cameroon and Niger could be doing more . But domestic and international confidence in the will or capacity - or both - of Nigeria's federal government to take the decisions to mount an effective response is fast waning in the face of increasing casualties . Nigerians will go to the polls on 14 February to vote for a new president and national assembly . How much this violence, predominantly in three of Nigeria's 36 states, will affect the outcome is unclear because Nigerians face a range of daily challenges . There are concerns, however, that the majority of people in the states at the epicentre of the conflict - thought to be potential opposition supporters- will be disenfranchised, along with over a million internally displaced people . However politicised the crisis may become in the runup to elections, the insurgency will outlast the event .

SOLUTION: Last week's massacre of perhaps 2,000 people in and around the Nigerian town of Baga, and the bombings of markets in the north-east using children perhaps as young as 10, mark not a new tactic for the violent extremist organisation Boko Haram, but an intensification of its existing behaviour

PROBLEM: Did Coltrane say 'Allah Supreme'? "A Love Supreme" is widely recognised as John Coltrane's masterwork, and a milestone recording in the history of jazz . Many an aficionado came to jazz through that classic album- a 32-minute-long composition organised around a four-note bass routine . The manuscript for the album is one of the National Museum of American History's treasures ; the saxophone that Coltrane used to record the piece was recently gifted to the Smithsonian Museum ; and former US President Bill Clinton, a saxophonist and Coltrane fan, is said to have "A Love Supreme" set as the ringtone for when Hillary calls . This week marks the 50th anniversary of "A Love Supreme"  . Recorded on December 9, 1964, the composition is being celebrated worldwide in concerts, festivals, academic symposia and even at churches . The Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Church - founded in 1969 by two clerics who saw Coltrane perform live in the San Francisco, and experienced a "sound baptism"- celebrated "A Love Supreme" mass on December 8, in San Francisco's iconic Grace Cathedral . The recording has long been understood to be a deeply spiritual, even devotional, piece . Its four phases - "Acknowledgement", "Resolution", "Pursuance" and "Psalms" - reflect what Coltrane described as a "spiritual awakening" in his overcoming of drug and alcohol problems . All praise belongs to God . Yet ,  what was the nature of that "spiritual awakening"? The conventional view is that by 1964, Coltrane had moved away from his Methodist upbringing, adopting a "pan-religious" outlook with a particular interest in Eastern mysticism . In spite of that , "A Love Supreme" is still described as laden with Biblical symbolism: the title "Psalm", and the rising cadences, reminiscent of black preachers' style, are offered as evidence that Coltrane was still rooted in Christianity . But ask one of the jazzmen or Muslim elders who knew Coltrane, and you get a different answer . The saxophonist Yusef Lateef, who died at the age of 93 earlier this year, worked closely with Coltrane between 1963 and 1966 . In his autobiography , "A Gentle Giant", Lateef says:"The prayer that John wrote in 'A Love Supreme' repeats the phrase 'All praise belongs to God no matter what' several times . This phrase has the semantics of the al-Fatiha, which is the first chapter or sura of the Holy Quran . The Arabic transliteration is 'al-Humdulilah ...' Since all faithful Muslims say the al-Fatiha five times a day or more, it is reasonable to assume that John heard this phrase from [his Muslim wife] Sister Naima many times." Lateef is referring to the poem Coltrane wrote and included in the liner notes of the album . Coltrane wrote:"No matter what... It is with God. He is gracious and merciful" and ends with "All praise to God..." What Lateef and others have noted is that "gracious and merciful" is a translation of "rahman raheem", the opening lines of the Fatiha . Moreover , say the elders, when Coltrane begins chanting the album's title for half a minute it sounds like a Sufi breathily repeating "Allah supreme" . The relationship between Islam and jazz is almost a century-old . It was in the 1920s that the Ahmadiyya movement, a heterodox Islamic movement that emerged in 19th century India, began sending missionaries to US cities, building a substantial following among African Americans in the decades to come . In a trend that still intrigues historians and music critics, after World War II, scores of jazz musicians embraced Ahmadi Islam . When Coltrane arrived in Philadelphia in 1943, the Muslim presence in the "city of brotherly love" would rattle the young man . As he told an interviewer in 1958:"This Muslim thing came up. I got introduced to that. And that kind of shook me." Ongoing debate in Philadelphia . The saxophonist was surrounded by Muslims : his drummer Rashied Ali was Muslim, as was his pianist McCoy Tyner (Suleiman Saud), and saxophonist Lateef . Coltrane then married Naima Grubbs, an observant Muslim . Even Coltrane's band members have pondered his relationship to Islam . If Lateef suspected that Coltrane's art was influenced by the Quran , the drummer Rashied Ali thought that the saxophonist was "a real country boy" and that "he was into being a Muslim and everything like that" . "Back then jazz and Islam were intertwined - the first time I heard the adhan on Temple University radio, I thought it was a Nina Simone song," says Imam Nadim Ali, a celebrated jazz deejay and community leader who spent his youth in Philadelphia . "Artists were deeply influenced by Islam - sometimes publicly in their art, sometimes privately." It's not inconceivable that "A Love Supreme" could have been inspired by the Quran . After all , as the elders will observe,"Celebration", that great funk hit by Kool & the Gang, was inspired by a Quranic sura . "The initial idea came from the Quran," says Ronald Bell (Khalis Bayyan), the group's saxophonist and musical arranger . "I was reading the passage, where God was creating Adam, and the angels were celebrating and singing praises . That inspired me to write the basic chords, the line, 'Everyone around the world, come on, celebration'." This song inspired by Islam - and released in 1980 - would become an international hit heard at ball games and political rallies in the US, and ironically was played by the Reagan administration on February 7, 1981, to welcome home the hostages held by students in the Islamic Republic of Iran . One also hears the argument that Coltrane wanted to title his composition "Allah Supreme"- instead of "A Love Supreme" - but was worried about a political backlash, given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East . The mass conversion of African Americans to Islam unsettled many European Americans and tensions rippled into the jazz world . Jazz critics would often dismiss the converts as "strange" and "confused" . Young converts . In his memoir, Dizzy Gillespie candidly describes the pressures that faced young converts in the jazz world . "The movement among jazz musicians towards Islam created quite a stir, especially with the surge of the Zionist movement," writes Dizzy Gillespie in"To Be or Not to Bop" . "A lot of friction arose between Jews and Muslims, which took the form of a semi-boycott in New York of jazz musicians with Muslim names... Near the end of the '40s, the newspapers really got worried about whether I'd convert to Islam." Gillespie was, as he would say,"intrigued" by "the beautiful sound of the word Quran and discussed Islam extensively with Lateef . But in 1948, in a shoot for a feature story with Life magazine, Gillespie was asked to pose shirtless, cross-legged, and bowing with his arms outstretched . The magazine published the piece and claimed (falsely) that the trumpeter was bowing in prayer towards Mecca . The media ruckus that ensued about the King of Bebop's abandonment of Christianity incensed Gillespie. He would eventually become a Bahai." Political and racial pressures still bear heavily on black and Muslim artists (especially hip hop artists) today . And we may never know what Coltrane had in mind when he composed his masterpiece . But as the US celebrates and and tries to mainstream figures from the turbulent 1960s, voices from the communities that produced the likes of Coltrane, Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, should be heard - especially as the domestic and foreign policies that pushed African Americans towards Islam a century ago are still with us . Hisham Aidi teaches at Columbia University . He is the author of the critically acclaimed Rebel Music: Race, Empire and the New Muslim Youth Culture, a study of black internationalism and global youth culture .

SOLUTION:
former US President Bill Clinton, a saxophonist and Coltrane fan, is said to have "A Love Supreme" set as the ringtone for when Hillary calls What Lateef and others have noted is that "gracious and merciful" is a translation of "rahman raheem", the opening lines of the Fatiha