'If you choose to live in this country, you live by its rules', judge: Muslim extremists jailed for arson attack on Jewel of Medina publisher's home

Novel 'The Jewel of Medina' motivated the extremists to commit the arson attack

On one side I think the writer of 'Jewel of Medina' was a bit of a dreamer - as there is a group of people who have set out to disprove all those who are critical of aspects of Islam - its like they are saying 'I've met Muslims and they were very nice' so therefore I create my own reality. And although I do have some criticism of Islam - I'm a cut above those who are into 'Islam bashing' - as one person put it. And then they go along in their bubble of illusion - and write a book on Islam and are surprised when there is controversy and people are attacked.

On the other hand can we let thugs like this - determine what we say and what we do in a free society. But then to write such as book without a full acknowledgement of what takes place in the Islamic world when Islam, its tenets and its Prophet are perceived to be maligned in anyway - is foolhardy.

Here the judge seems to understand it better - 'if you choose to live in our country - live by our rules', i.e. not by the Shari'a. In Islamic societies around the world there is an acceptable level of violence - that is directed at non-Muslims, those perceived to be non-Muslims, those who do or say anything against Islam and those who leave Islam. This is why they call the Islamic world the 'conquered lands' Dar al Islam - but this behavior directly contradicts life in the free society. Here we guarantee religious rights, we guarantee freedom of choice - but in the Islamic world - no one would bat an eyelid if these people were chopped down.

I'm saying if you want to take on a project - that explores the darker or uncomfortable aspects of Islam - then at least have your expectations grounded in reality - of what these 'nice' Muslim people will find acceptable conduct - where Islam is seen to be challenged.


Three men were today jailed for an arson attack on a publisher after discovering he was going to produce a book about the Prophet Mohammed and his child bride.

Martin Rynja had the door to his home in Lonsdale Square, Islington, north London, doused in diesel and set ablaze in September last year.

Ali Beheshti and Abrar Mirza admitted, and Abbas Taj was found guilty of, planning the attack on Gibson Square Books Ltd.

In the days before the arson attack Jones' book had been likened to The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, which provoked a storm of protest in the Muslim world.

Abrar Mirza, Abbas Taj and Ali Beheshti (l-r) were sentenced to four and a half years in jail each

Today Mrs Justice Rafferty, sitting at London's Royal Courts of Justice, sentenced each of them to four and a half years in jail at London's Royal Courts of Justice.

As he jailed them she said: 'If you choose to live in this country, you live by its rules'.

During the Croydon Crown Court trial, the court heard how Taj, a minicab driver, waited in a car as the other two men poured diesel through the letterbox and lit a fire at Mr Rynja's home, which was also his office.

Taj, of Field Road, Forest Gate; Beheshti, unemployed, of Tavistock Gardens, Ilford, and Mirza, a mobile phone salesman, of Eastfield Road, Walthamstow, were planning to spend the night at the Regent's Park Mosque as part of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

But shortly after they arrived, the trio set out for Lonsdale Square with 'fire-making equipment'.

Diesel bought by Beheshti was transferred to the boot of Taj's Honda Accord the evening before the arson attack.

The defendents used diesel as an accelerant, causing damage to the front door of the publisher's house

Ali Beheshti had previously used his baby daughter to spread a message of support for Al Qaeda

Taj claimed to have 'no idea' about the plot and said he was simply 'giving a lift' to the two other men, an account the jury rejected.

The Jewel of the Medina traces the life of A'isha, Mohammed's first and favourite wife.

It tells of her marriage aged nine to the much older Mohammed, and how she uses her wits, courage and sword to defend her position as he takes another 12 wives and concubines.

While the basic facts of the narrative are generally accepted, critics say it 'misinterprets and falsifies sacred history' by adding fictional scenes.

Most controversially, it includes a description of the night Mohammed and A'isha consummate their marriage.

Mr Rynja agreed to publish the novel after Random House cancelled a £54,000 deal, fearing a violent reaction by 'a small radical segment' of Muslims.

Beheshti has hit the news before for his extremist tendencies when his baby daughter was pictured wearing a hat with the slogan 'I love Al Qaeda' when he took her along to a protest against Danish cartoons of the prophet Mohammed.

He proudly called her 'the youngest member of al Qaeda' and waved banners vowing to 'Massacre those who insult Islam' and promising 'Europe, your 9/11 will come'.

Beheshti, who has a previous conviction for the attempted murder of his own father, also set fire to his hands with petrol outside the U.S. embassy during the same protest.

Barrister Andrew Hall QC, for Beheshti, argued today in mitigation that the arson attack was 'an act of protest born of the publication of a book felt by him and other Muslims to be disrespectful, provocative and offensive.

'He wishes me to say now, publicly, that he considers his conduct to have been misguided, disproportionate and counter-productive.'

Ali Beheshti poses with a gun in this Metropolitan Police photo

Joel Bennathan QC, for Mirza, said the attack was a 'protest which crossed the line into criminality' and told the judge 'it was a low risk fire'.

David Waters QC, for Taj, who played a lesser role as driver, said: 'He was by nature a non-political person. He was very much a lesser party to this and got involved at a late stage.'

Mrs Justice Rafferty, sentencing the three, said: 'If you chose to live in this country, you live by it's rules.

There is no such thing as "a la carte citizenship" and, in your case, there is no such thing as a la carte obedience to the law.

'I do not accept that your plan was restricted to firing the door but not the premises.

'The object, was according to you, to protest or, according to the Crown, to punish the owner of Gibson Square Publishing for taking on The Jewel of Medina.

'He, principled man that he is, had done two things - exercised critical judgement on a literary work, and stood up to be counted, knowing that publishing it put him at risk.

'As he said, in an open society there has to be open access to literary works, regardless of fear.

'Whatever label it attracts, the attitude of you three was an aggravating feature.

'The public must hear that deterrence is built in to the sentence and the term of years you must serve will reflect that,' the judge concluded, handing down terms of four and a half years to each man.

The 277 days each has spent on remand was ordered to count towards those sentences.

The book is available in both the UK and U.S.

Daily Mail

Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei gets Dickipedia entry

Dickipedia:

Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hoseyni Khamene'i (born July 17, 1939) is an Iranian politician, brutal dictator in religious leader's clothing, and a dick. He is not to be confused with Ayatollah Khomeini, although good luck---that whole Khomeini/Khamenei thing is really confusing.

Ayatollah Khamenei has been described as one of the three biggest influences on the Islamic Republic, the others being Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the revolution, and the tag-team of The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkov, whose victory over Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda in WrestleMania 1 remains one of the proudest moments in Iranian history.

President from 1981 to 1989, Ayatollah Khamenei succeeded Ayatollah Khomeini as Supreme Leader of Iran. Anyone who takes the title "Supreme Leader" is also, by definition, a supreme dick. Well, maybe except for Diana Ross, but even she's kind of being a c-u-next Tuesday about Michael Jackson's will.

Khamenei is a Shia Muslim, as opposed to a Sunni Muslim, two sects of Islam who hate each other both despite and because of their extreme underlying similarity, sort of like Sean Hannity and Keith Olbermann.

For most of his tenure, Khamenei has been more of a behind-the-scenes dick, a Puff Daddy to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Notorious B.I.G., so to speak (and we all know how that ends, with Ahmadinejad gunned down on his way home from the Soul Train Music Awards).

During the presidential elections and subsequent protests of June 2009, however, Khamenei whipped out his dickishness for the whole world to see. Good luck getting him to zip it up, now. Silver lining: it just might be worth dredging up those old "Ayatollah Ass-a-hollah" T-shirts you've had in your basement since 1989.

Don't let the dastar fool you. Once he gets a couple of dooghs in him, Ayatollah Khamenei can Baba karam with the best of them.

Huffington Post

Radical Muslim preacher Abu Izzadeen back in prison

Abu Izzadeen interrupts the speech of British Home Secretary John Reid, in this Wednesday Sept. 20, 2006 file photo as he addressed a Muslin audience in east London.

Radical Muslim preacher Abu Izzadeen has been returned to prison after breaching the terms of his release, BBC News understands.

Izzadeen, also knows as Omar Brooks, was released from prison in May after his four-and-a-half-year sentence for inciting terrorism was cut on appeal.

He was found guilty in 2008 of urging worshippers at a London mosque to fight US and British troops in Iraq.

Izzadeen, 34, once heckled former home secretary John Reid at a meeting.

On appeal, Izzadeen's sentence for terrorism fundraising and incitement was cut by one year, leading to his release on licence in May.

Fierce battle

Izzadeen had been released under tight restrictions, which included a curfew and monitoring arrangements involving both police and probation officers.

A Muslim convert, Izzadeen was convicted along with five others of supporting terrorism in speeches made at London's Regent's Park mosque on 9 November 2004.

The speeches came as US troops were engaged in a fierce battle in the Iraqi city of Falluja.

Clips of the men speaking about jihad, Osama Bin Laden and prejudice towards Muslims were played at their 2008 trial, including one during which Izzadeen said that Allah had given mujahideen (holy warriors) a "chance to kill the American".

Izzadeen defended his actions, saying he and other British Muslims had "no other weapon than our tongue" to fight against what they saw as a "massacre" of Muslims by Western forces in Iraq.

His lawyers argued on appeal that his sentence should be reduced because of his pre-trial time in custody.

Four of the other men convicted alongside Izzadeen also had their sentences reduced.

BBC News

London Bombing: Tributes paid at 7 July memorial [Video]

Prince Charles has paid tribute to the families who lost loved ones in the 7 July 2005 London bombings, at a memorial in Hyde Park.

He said that their bravery "offered us hope for the future".

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Minister for London Tessa Jowell joined the Prince of Wales at the unveiling of the 52 steel pillars.

Fifty-two people died after suicide bombers detonated explosives on board three Underground trains and a bus.

The victims' relatives at the unveiling said the permanent memorial, between the park's Lover's Walk and Park Lane, was a "fitting tribute".



Architects Carmody Groarke said the 3.5m (11.5ft) tall stainless steel pillars should convey the random nature of the loss of life - how it could have been anyone travelling in London that day.

THE VIEW FROM THE MEMORIAL
Peter Hunt, BBC royal correspondent "When the bombers struck", one of the bereaved told me, "they took away my today and my tomorrow." Four years on, the emotions are still raw, but mixed with the pain is a sense of pride that a national memorial now exists.

What was very striking about this simple, sombre service was the sheer number of relatives gathered in front of the 52 stainless steel pillars. Hundreds of lives have been affected directly by the attacks. Their loved ones were of all ages, both sexes and many races.

After Prince Charles had delivered a powerful and personal address, the relatives, in the pouring rain, moved forward and placed flowers beside the memorial. I saw a boy in shorts and a baseball cap next to an elderly woman in a wheelchair. They all brought roses. A red one symbolising love, a white rose for peace.

Prince Charles said the date of the bombings "would be etched vividly on all our minds as a brutal intrusion into the lives of thousands of people".

He said: "The families of the victims, the survivors and the stout hearted emergency services remain very much in our thoughts and prayers.

"You are a moving example of holding together bravery in the face of such inhuman and deplorable outrage and you offer us hope for the future," he added.

Mrs Jowell said that each column represented "a unique person and a unique grief."

She added: "Each one casts a shadow just as they do - each one standing tall and proud just as they did, and each one will in an individual way absorb and reflect light just as they did."

Director Kevin Carmody said the firm worked closely with the families through monthly liaison meetings to ensure the finished product was what they required.

"It took a long time to get to the strong ideas like symbolising the single and collective loss of life," he said.

“ It's an amazing tribute to my mum and the 51 others who were so viciously and brutally taken from us ”

Saba Mozakka

He said 26 of the stelae were grouped to represent those killed on the Underground near King's Cross.

Other clusters represented Tube bombing victims at Aldgate and Edgware Road, with the remainder symbolic of those who died on the number 30 bus in Tavistock Square.

"Hopefully people will have an almost magnetic propulsion towards it," said Mr Carmody.

He said it could be viewed from afar as a single entity but that as they moved closer, people would discover the significance of the four groupings and individual columns.

Though the stelae are anonymous, they are inscribed with the date, time and location of the bombings they represent.

"We're very happy that the families are pleased with the result," Mr Carmody added.

A representative of the bereaved families' group said: "The memorial is a fitting tribute, honouring the 52 lives lost on 7 July 2005, ensuring that the world will never forget them.

"It represents the enormity of our loss, both on a personal and public level.

'Horrific events'

"We hope this memorial will speak to visitors so they can understand the impact of these horrific events."

Thanks to the open casting process used to make the columns, with molten stainless-steel being poured into sand moulds, each one has a unique finish.

Saba Mozakka, 28, from Finchley, north London, was one of six family members to sit on a liaison board during the memorial's design.

Her mother, Behnaz Mozakka, 47, a biomedical officer, was killed on a Piccadilly line train near King's Cross station while commuting to work.

Ms Mozakka described the memorial as "truly incredible".

"I'm very happy. It's very poignant," she said.

"It's an amazing tribute to my mum and the 51 others who were so viciously and brutally taken from us."

Prince Charles and Mrs Jowell addressed the unveiling ceremony before the names of the victims were read out and a minute's silence was observed.

The prince then laid a wreath on behalf of the nation while the Duchess of Cornwall left a floral tribute for the families.

In addition to the prime minister and London Mayor Boris Johnson, Conservative leader David Cameron, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, former London Mayor Ken Livingstone and senior figures from the emergency services were present.

BBC NEWS

Pirates 'smuggling al-Qaeda fighters' into Somalia

So far this year, more than 120 attacks have been reported off the coast of Somalia, resulting in the seizure of more than 35 ships and the kidnapping of more than 600 crew members who were held for ransom

The Taliban-style Shabab group , which has already siezed control of much of the lawless nation, has enlisted the pirates' services to smuggle in al-Qaeda fighters from across the Middle East, according to Somali government ministers. They claim that up to 1,000 have arrived in recent months, swelling the ranks of the Shabab in its bid to topple the fragile US-backed administration in Mogadishu.

The warning was issued by Somali's first deputy prime minister, Professor Abdulrahman Adan Ibrahim, during a visit to London last week. He is lobbying for Britain and other Western countries to give more financial help to stamp out the piracy problem along the country's vast 2,000 mile coastline.

"The Shabab are requesting the pirates to bring people in for them," Prof Ibrahim told The Sunday Telegraph. "Somalia's borders with neighbouring countries are now tightly policed, so the only corridor for them is via the sea. The pirates smuggle them, and if anybody stops them, they just say they are passing fishermen."

Prof Ibrahim's visit came as Mogadishu witnessed some of its fiercest fighting in recent months, with around 20 people killed in clashes between government forces and the Shabab, which already controls parts of the capital. Residents spoke of corpses lying in the streets, including those of young children killed in the crossfire. Some were buried without being identified. "The streets were horrific," said Ali Muse, an ambulance service official. "We've transported 20 dead bodies and 55 injured in the latest fighting."

Until now, no clear evidence has emerged of co-operation between the Shabab and the pirates, despite widespread fears that some of the pirates' multi-million dollar ransom payments might be channeled to them. Last November, the guerilla movement declared buccaneering to be "un-Islamic", and threatened to attack a pirate gang that hijacked the Sirius Star, the $100 million Saudi oil tanker that was the pirates' biggest catch last year. Some believe, though, that this was simply a posture to ensure that pirate gangs paid the Shabab bribes to turn a blind eye, a theory backed by Prof Ibrahim.

"We are not saying that the Shabab is actually sending out their own people to do pirate operations," he said. "But we think they share some mutual interests with the pirates. The pirate gangs are bribing the Shabab not to attack them, and the Shabab are getting the pirates to bring in fighters."

Prof Ibrahim is now attempting to persuade the British government and others to provide funding to train a new, 1,000 strong version of the defunct Somali navy. The navy's commander-in-chief, Farah Ahmed Omar, has no boats at present, and has not put to sea in 23 years. But the government argues that building up a local force - backed by land units - will be a more effective long-term solution against the pirates than the international naval fleet offshore.

The picture painted by Prof Ibrahim of terrorists hitching rides in pirate skiffs across the Gulf of Aden is not universally accepted. Somali politicians have been accused of exaggerating the threat from al-Qaeda in the past, knowing that it wins the attention of Western governments in a way that clan feuding does not.

Roger Middleton, the world expert on piracy at London's Chatham House thinktank, said: "There are lots of people engaged in all kinds of gun running, people smuggling and other illicit activies in the Gulf of Aden. It is therefore not clear why the Shabab would specifically need pirate help to smuggle al-Qaeda fighters in."

However, many people do view Somalia as a potential new al-Qaeda bolthole. Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned recently that President Barack Obama's operations to squeeze the movement in both Afghanistan and Pakistan could see its fighters relocate to the Horn of Africa region. Already there are believed to be at least 500 fighters holed up in remote mountainous regions of Yemen, where they have been blamed for a spate of recent kidnappings and carbombings. Yemen lies just 200 miles across the Gulf of Aden from Somalia and is well within reach of pirate crews, who generally have little trouble evading foreign anti-piracy patrols .

"I am very worried about growing safe havens in both Somalia and Yemen, specifically because we have seen al-Qaeda leadership start to flow to Yemen," Adml Mullen told the US Brookings Institution in mid-May.

Last month, Mr Obama authorised nearly $10 million worth of arms and military training to help the Somali government quash the Shabab. Critics fear the US-donated weapons may end up falling into insurgent hands.

While most US estimates put the number of foreign fighters in Somalia at around 400, Prof Ibrahim said Somali government estimates put the figure at around 1,000. "We have seen people from Afghanistan, Pakistan and some other African countries like Kenya and the Comoros Islands," he said.

The Shabab was initially allied with the Islamic Courts Union, a relatively moderate Islamic movement which won some popularity in Mogadishu three years ago when it briefly imposed a degree of law and order on a city that plagued for years by warlords. It was seen as more effective than the Western-backed Transitional Federal Government, whose members had not even been able to sit in the capital because of security fears.

But when Ethiopian troops ousted the Islamic Courts Union in early 2007 and re-installed the TFG, the Shabab began a fierce insurgency, which has since returned the capital and much of the rest of the country to a warzone.

In Shabab-controlled regions, brutal intepretations of Sharia law are in place. In the southern town of Kismayo last autumn, a 13-year-old girl was stoned to death on trumped-up charges of adultery. And in Mogadishu last week, four men convicted of stealing mobile phones and guns were punished by having a hand and foot cut off each. A traditional curved sword was used to carry out the sentence in front of hundreds of onlookers.

Telegraph

Clipper ship traveling from Malta to Libya hit by Shari'a: no boobs and no US passports

OFFICERS on a cruise ship which called at Libya this week were in a panic over a topless lady ... the ship's figurehead.

The sailing ship ROYAL CLIPPER has an ornate carving on her prow, modelled on owner Mikael Krafft's daughter Marie.

Before sailing from Malta to Tripoli, crew had to cover her ample bosom with a burkha-like shroud, leaving only her face showing.

Other rules imposed by the Libyan authorities included a ban on alcohol sales, and no American passport holders.

The Sun

Iran frees British embassy worker, leaving 1 jailed

Worshipers at Friday Prayer in Tehran. Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said that embassy employees would be tried for their role in inciting protests after the election.

In another move to crack down on information flowing out of Iran, the Islamic republic's judicial chief has ordered the prosecution of individuals "who cooperate with satellite television programming providers," a reformist newspaper reported Sunday.

"The individuals, who in any way collaborate with these networks or are entrenched in the nucleus of organizations which are active through Internet sites, must be adequately and properly subject to legal actions. It is imperative that this phenomenon be seriously dealt with, by all judicial authorities of the country as well as by provincial judicial authorities," Ayatollah Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi said in his order, which was quoted by the newspaper Hamshahri.

(CNN) -- Iran has released a British embassy staffer, leaving one of the embassy's local staff in jail, the Foreign Office in London said Monday.

"We are confirming that one of our staff remains in detention," a Foreign Office representative told CNN, declining to be named, in line with British government policy. "It remains our top priority to get all our staff freed."

A leading Iranian cleric said Friday that the remaining British embassy staffer could be tried for inciting unrest in the wake of Iran's disputed June 12 presidential election.

However, Britain's foreign secretary warned Sunday that there would be "consequences" if Iran did not release the remaining embassy staffer.

"The whole of the European Union and actually the international community more broadly has been absolutely united in saying that there's no place for this sort of intimidation or harassment and that there will be consequences if it continues," David Miliband told a BBC Sunday morning talk show.

Miliband said he was angry about the treatment of the embassy staff but wanted to keep diplomatic channels open.

"It's very important that my anger, my cold anger about the way our staff have been treated -- Iranians, in this case -- doesn't turn into a rhetorical volley to the Iranian regime, because that doesn't do anything for our people or for reform in Iran," he said.

The embassy employee who has been threatened with trial in Iran has done nothing wrong, the minister said.

"He is an honorable, patriotic Iranian who has been working in an open, transparent way for the United Kingdom," Miliband said.

Iran also released a journalist, Washington Times reporter Iason Athanasiadis, government-run Press TV reported Sunday.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi confirmed the release, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Athanasiadis, who also goes by the name Jason Fowden, holds British and Greek passports.

He and the embassy staffers were among many detained in the wake of the presidential election. Officials said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the four-way race in a landslide.

His opponents said the race was rigged, and Iranians took to the streets for two weeks of protests.

Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi, one of the defeated candidates, plans to form a new political party aimed at reining in the power of the Islamic republic's leadership, a leading reformist newspaper reported Sunday.

Moussavi told supporters the party will be focused on upholding "the remaining principles of the constitution," according to Etemad-e Melli, a newspaper aligned with fellow opposition candidate Mehdi Karrubi. He is expected to file papers with Iran's Interior Ministry to establish the party before Ahmadinejad is sworn in for a new term, the newspaper reported.

Moussavi's and Karrubi's supporters turned out in crowds estimated in the hundreds of thousands to demand the results be overturned, but Iran's Guardian Council -- which oversees the elections -- has declared the official count will stand.

In another move to crack down on information flowing out of Iran, the Islamic republic's judicial chief has ordered the prosecution of individuals "who cooperate with satellite television programming providers," a reformist newspaper reported Sunday.

"The individuals, who in any way collaborate with these networks or are entrenched in the nucleus of organizations which are active through Internet sites, must be adequately and properly subject to legal actions. It is imperative that this phenomenon be seriously dealt with, by all judicial authorities of the country as well as by provincial judicial authorities," Ayatollah Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi said in his order, which was quoted by the newspaper Hamshahri.

The scope of the reported threat -- and whether it was referring to international networks, reporters and freelancers -- was not immediately clear. Because international journalists have been limited in their ability to gather news in Iran, CNN has not been able to confirm the news report.

However, the government has been trying to limit the flow of online information and other forms of communications in Iran, according to activists and human rights officials. Since the election, the world has had a front-row view of the unrest, thanks largely to dissidents using online tools to spread the news.

News from Internet users has been vital as Iran's government began kicking out some reporters from traditional media outlets, arresting others and restricting the movements of those who remained. More than 1,000 people have been arrested over the election fallout, including several journalists, according to the human-rights watchdog Amnesty International.

Most recently, the semi-official Fars news agency reported that a journalist for Newsweek magazine who was arrested in Tehran confessed to doing the bidding of Western governments, though CNN could not verify the report. Maziar Bahari, 42, made his alleged confession at a news conference Tuesday.

Fars reported that the Canadian-Iranian reporter, who had worked for the BBC and England's Channel 4 network, admitted having filed false reports for Newsweek during the elections. The magazine has rejected the allegation.

Shari'a 101: Egypt impunity fuels persecution of Christians

Pope Shenouda III, the Pope of The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, waits for President Obama at Cairo University.

The terrible consequence of forced ’reconciliation’ in the absence of truth or justice

(ANS) -- Since early 2007 the Egyptian government has been appeasing Muslim fundamentalists by settling matters of sectarian conflict out of court in line with Islamic Sharia law. That prohibits Christians from bringing evidence against Muslims. The government brokers 'reconciliation' sessions where the Christians are forced to drop all the charges they are making (arson, looting, assault, kidnap, robbery, criminal damage, rioting, torture, rape, murder) in exchange for Muslim guarantees of 'peace'. This 'reconciliation' Egyptian-style emboldens belligerent Islamists by rewarding their violence with impunity. It creates a climate of terror for Christians and is fuelling escalating persecution. Over recent years Muslim pogroms have become more violent; they have attracted more participants; and they have spread from the desert villages to the suburbs of Cairo. Along with this, the Muslims are becoming more demanding. Innocent Christians are losing basic rights and even going to jail just so Muslims can be appeased.


Coptic Christian burnt alive on Egyptian streets - it was thought he may have had a liking for a Muslim girl.


A small explosive placed outside of one of Egypt's most sacred churches.


The most recent clash occurred in the village of Ezbet Boshra-East, El-Fashn -- a three-hour drive south of Cairo. Whilst there is no church building in Ezbet Boshra-East the Coptic Church does own a three-storey building there housing the priest and his family, which functions as a place of meeting. Muslims attacked the property in July 2008 in protest that Christian prayers were being conducted there without 'permission'. After that, local authorities ruled that only two visitors could enter the church property at a time. On Sunday 21 June 2009, violence erupted again after a group of 25 Christians from Cairo unknowingly violated the local decree. While six of the visitors entered the property, a Muslim crowd gathering outside harassed the other visitors, suspecting that they were meeting local Christians for prayer. A Muslim woman in the mob slapped the face of a female Christian visitor. As news spread, crowds of Muslim youths swarmed in and began throwing stones and hurling abuse. Then Coptic youths arrived and a violent altercation between the communities ensued.


A convert to Christianity - Shari'a law overrides the Egyptian constitution which ensures freedom of religion - this man and his family is forced to remain a legally a Muslim.

Police charged Coptic priest Reverend Isaac Castor with sectarian sedition and detained 19 Christians while they searched and ransacked their homes. Eventually a compromise was reached between Bishop Estephanos and State Security forces: the detained Copts were released (some with broken bones) in exchange for an agreement that the Copts would stop praying in the property. According to Mary Abdelmassih, a correspondent with the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA), local Muslims were ecstatic that the Copts would be prohibited from praying in the premises. She quotes Lawyer Makkar Watany who lives in the village: 'Muslims went out in the streets, dancing and chanting "Come to Jihad" and the "Cross is the enemy of God", with the security forces chanting along with them!' The Christians have all retreated to their homes in fear and are surviving on stockpiled food. Their crops have been razed and telecommunications have been cut.

Not only is violence against Christian individuals, churches and communities escalating dangerously, but the courts are increasingly subordinating the Constitution to Sharia law. Notably, the courts are refusing to allow Muslims the right to convert. The consequences of this are huge. A woman who is officially registered as a Muslim must by law marry a Muslim and the children of a man officially registered as a Muslim are automatically deemed Muslim by the State. The few who have courageously challenged this have been forced into hiding to preserve their lives.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT:

• the suffering of the besieged Christians of Ezbet Boshra-East will bring them closer to God as they look to him and trust in him alone; may the Spirit of God give them grace to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them (Luke 6:27-36) -- a grace beautiful to behold, that points others to Christ and is rewarded in heaven.

• the Egyptian government will realise their present policy of 'reconciliation' in the absence of justice is taking the State headlong towards destabilising and destructive conflict; may God give the government courage to stand up against the Islamists.

• the Holy Spirit will awaken Egyptians to the repressive and destructive nature of Islam and its dictators; may they 'cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors' (Isaiah 19:20 NIV), and in that day may the 'Lord make himself known to the Egyptians' (v 21).

ASSIST News Service

Three killed as Ethiopian police stop church construction

The fact that Ethiopia refused to convert to Islam - must continue to confound its neighbours. Ethiopians having had a sound foundation in Christianity and Judaism before this - largely rejected the Islamic or Kaaba story - although European troops were once called in to help put down Islamic jihadist attacks intent on taking that country too.

Future: Islamic nations - hamstrung by religious restrictions - Ethiopia is well placed to excel in that region - if they could put an end to widespread persecution of their own people - the once famine stricken country might attract needed investment.

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Ethiopian police shot dead two people and injured six others as they blocked an attempt by Christians to build a church at a site also claimed by Muslims, a government spokesman said Wednesday.

Orthodox Christians attacked police Tuesday in Dessie area some 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Addis Ababa when the forces tried to stop the construction.

"They stormed the place and then they started bringing materials to continue building the church unlawfully," spokesman Bereket Simon told reporters.

"Unfortunately three lives have been claimed. Two of them were killed by bullets, one of them fell off a cliff."

In 2007, around 12 people were killed in religious riots in western Ethiopia. Bereket said there has been an "upsurge of attempts" to instigate further conflict in recent months.

More attacks on Ethiopian churches

Happy 4th July !!

Khamenei aide: Mousavi is a 'US agent' 'must face treason trial'

Political tension in Iran following a tumultuous election ratcheted up a notch when a top aide of Iran's supreme leader called the country's main opposition figure a US agent and accused him of committing crimes against the nation in an editorial published Saturday.

The editorial represents the first time that Mir Hossein Mousavi, who was the main challenger to incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran's presidential elections on June 12, has been publicly called a US agent.

Weeks of demonstrations erupted in Iran after Mousavi lost to Ahmadinejad, claiming the election was rigged; authorities maintain that the protests were instigated by foreign elements.

Kayhan accused Mr Mousavi of "killing innocent people, inciting riots, hiring thugs to assault people, evident co-operation with foreigners and playing the part of US fifth column".

The newspaper, whose editor is appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said there were "undeniable documents" proving that Mr Mousavi had links with foreign countries.

"Mousavi and Khatami should account for these horrendous crimes and evident treason in an open tribunal".

BBC

"It has to be asked whether the actions of [Mousavi and his supporters] are in response to instructions by American authorities," said Hossein Shariatmadari in an editorial appearing in the conservative daily Kayhan.

Shariatmadari, who holds no official position but is a close adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, added that Mousavi was trying to "escape punishment for murdering innocent people, holding riots, cooperating with foreigners and acting as America's fifth column inside the country."

He called for Mousavi and former reformist president Mohammad Khatami to be tried in court for "horrible crimes and treason."

The editorial added that there were "undeniable documents" proving Mousavi's foreign links.

When Iran's incumbent president was re-elected by a landslide, Mousavi and other opposition candidates cried foul sparking weeks of giant protests across the country that were eventually crushed.

Police said 20 "rioters" were killed during the violence as well as seven or eight members of the paramilitary Basij militia tasked with putting down the protests.

But the crackdown included severe limitations on press freedom, significantly against international news agencies and foreign reporters in the country. The number of dissidents killed or jailed cited by Iranian officials can therefore not be corroborated independently.

There have been no street protests since Sunday, but Mousavi has maintained his opposition to the results, issuing a defiant statement on Wednesday that he considered the government "illegitimate" in a posting on his Website, and demanded political prisoners, which he called "children of the revolution," be released.

He has been maintaining a low profile, however, and made no public appearances for days amid calls by many hard-liners [Basiji] for him to be prosecuted.

JERUSALEM POST

Basij militiaman: 'I hoped it would never come to shooting them'

A member of pro-government militia, left, stands guard on rooftop of their base demonstrators approach near rally supporting opposition candidate Mousavi Tehran Iran Monday June 15 2009

The Basij militia has been blamed for extreme brutality in the violent aftermath of the contested June 12 election in Iran. A Basij commander, who volunteers for one of the Tehran branch of the militia, describes his account of one the bloodiest clashes, on June 20.

Iran's Basij militia is a pro-government volunteer force which comes to the aid of the regime when unrest hits the streets. It was established by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 during the Iran-Iraq war. During the last three weeks the Basij has been called upon by the government to quell the post-election protests, in which at least 20 people were reported to have been killed. The opposition says the figure is much higher.

Mehdi (not his real name) is a 39-year-old Basij commander and a former classmate of one of our Observers from Tehran (who prefers not to be mentioned). Mehdi led a mission in the city centre, close to the Tehran military base, on June 20, one of the most violent days of the clashes.

I did shoot at people myself. I am a military man I have to obey my orders. The crowd was attacking us like crazy people; throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. We had to protect ourselves; to show we were serious, and we did warn them, shouting several times, before opening fire. But they continued to attack. I don't remember who I shot, I just tried to shoot at the people's feet.
Later, we moved back and went behind the vans in middle of the street and I ordered my unit to shoot into the ground in the hope of scaring the crowds from coming closer.

I hoped it would never come to shooting them. That night, I had a nightmare in which the protestors threw me on a fire. It's come back several times, and I can see the faces of the people I was ordered to shoot. I've asked a very spiritual mullah to pray for me.

I did it for Islam but it wasn't easy to kill people. We have to remember who they are though - they're deceitful people who are against the Islamic Revolution. You can't expect us to stay calm when they want to overthrow our regime."

'Jewish Ahmadinejad' blogger arrested

For some reason the Ahmadinejad family felt so uncomfortable with their name - that when they moved to Tehran it was switched from Saburjian [Saborjhian] ~ to Ahmadinejad - the family reportedly saying it was done for 'religious and economic reasons.'

Possible connection :: Saborjhian ~ Sabbath

The name does resemble an old Jewish name of traders from the Turkish region. Reports are also say the name or similar is used by a prominent Jewish business family in Iran.

The Iranian blogger who claimed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has Jewish roots is being detained by the authorities after he was arrested along with 150 university students earlier this week, according to sources in Teheran.

Dr. Mehdi Khazali, who reportedly participated in several recent opposition demonstrations, was reportedly summoned to a special court convened for religious figures, detained and transferred to an unknown location.

The son of a prominent, conservative pro-Ahmadinejad ayatollah, Khazali wrote on his Web site earlier this year that the president - a Holocaust denier and relentless critic of Israel - was of partially Jewish origin, asserting that Ahmadinejad had changed his family name from Saburjian, and calling for the origins of the Saburjian family in the town of Aradan to be investigated.

The assertion featured in the bitter presidential election campaign, when rival reformist candidate Mehdi Karroubi challenged Ahmadinejad in a live TV debate, reportedly stating: "My full name is Mehdi Karroubi. What is your full name?"

Ahmadinejad gave his full name, according to an Al-Arabiya TV report, but left out one surname which is said to indicate Jewish ancestry.

The "Jewish Ahmadinejad" dispute even spread beyond Iran, when Bahrain's oldest newspaper, Akhbar al-Khaleej, was briefly shut down by the governing authorities two weeks ago after it published an article recycling the claim.

Khazali, director of the Hayyan Cultural Institute in Teheran, has argued that while religion occupies an essential place in political life, too much intervention of religion in political matters is potentially dangerous for modern societies.

He recently posted a blog addressed to defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi quoting a verse from the Koran: "I am ready to give my blood, but I warn you, if you breach the trust of the nation by keeping silent, you will be held responsible..."

JERUSALEM POST

Islamic Group OIC Silent on Tehran's Brutal Tactics, Slams Foreign ‘Interference’

The OIC's parliamentary union executive committee has rallied around Iran after its disputed presidential election. In this file picture, OIC secretary-general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (Turkish) meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki

The (OIC) Organization of Islamic Conference - also supports Sudan's leadership - despite the genocide in Darfur. At least 300,000 Muslims have been killed there.

(CNSNews.com) – Less than a month after President Obama -- in a speech to the world’s Muslims -- urged governments to maintain power “through consent, not coercion,” a body representing parliaments in Islamic nations has congratulated Iran for its recent presidential election while condemning foreign countries for “interference.”

The support for Tehran over its disputed June 12 election came from the executive committee of the Parliamentary Union of OIC member states, meeting in Algiers. The OIC is the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a 57-member bloc of Muslim-majority nations.

“The Organization of Islamic Conference welcomes the results of the recent election in Iran and condemns the interference of foreigners in the country’s internal affairs,” the committee said in a final statement after its two-day meeting, broadcast by Algerian state TV and reported by Iranian media.

Sideline Israel - the pacifier to Muslims nations - which allows them to direct their people's attention away from internal pressing issues.

The committee also expressed support for Iran’s right to nuclear technology, saying Tehran was being put under pressure for “peaceful” uranium enrichment activities while Israel’s nuclear arsenal was being ignored.

Other issues discussed by the committee and cited in the statement included a call for Israel to be prosecuted for “crimes” against Palestinians, and condemnation of the International Criminal Court’s attempt to indict Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur.

Division among Islamic countries should be avoided, it said.

Despite longstanding rivalry between Shi’ite Iran and some Sunni Arab states, led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the response from most Arab governments to the post-election turmoil in Iran has been low-key, although coverage in Saudi-linked media has been critical of the regime.

Analysts have attributed the reticence to speak out against the Islamic Republic to a reluctance – in a region where democracy is largely absent – to support street demonstrations against a sitting government.

Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia are represented in the OIC parliamentary union’s executive committee which came out this week in support of Tehran, as is Iran itself. The remainder of the nine-member committee are representatives of legislatures in Turkey, Algeria, Niger, Azerbaijan, Benin and Chad.

The speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ali Larijani, took part in the Algiers meeting, telling the body that if Washington abandoned its “interfering” policies “this change will be beneficial both to the region and to the U.S. itself.”

In what may have been a reference to Obama’s June 4 speech in Cairo, Larijani said international powers were offering “beautiful remarks” that bear no fruit, adding, “apparently, we are living in the era of words.”

“The gesture of change will give hope to Muslims should it actively recognize the rights of the Palestinian people,” he said. “Otherwise, it should not be expected that Muslims will be deceived by words.”

Backed by a portrait of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks during a visit to Assalouyeh on the Persian Gulf on Thursday, June, 25, 2009. (AP Photo/ISNA)

In his Cairo address, Obama said that no system of government could or should be imposed by one country upon another.

“That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people,” he said.

“America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose.

“These are not just American ideas; they are human rights,” Obama said. “And that is why we will support them everywhere.”

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose contested re-election was confirmed Monday by Iran’s state organs, was to have had the opportunity to gather more international support on Wednesday, when he had been scheduled to attend an African Union summit hosted by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. It was reported from Tehran early Wednesday, however, that the trip had been canceled.

Turkey: Gas pipeline deal moves a step closer ... Is it time for energy change

We always look at the Muslim world and we can clearly see that they are being controlled - and very much treated like infants when it comes to information from the outside world - as well as inside of their countries - their press is not free, their internet is heavily restricted and also books and movies are censored - by their so called higher religious authorities :-)

But what is not talked about is how similar we are to the Muslim world when it comes to areas of advanced technology - in the energy field. Here there is good evidence to show that we are also being restricted and treated like children. With the advances in computing - it is strange that energy technology - such as locomotion - and other forms of power generation have virtually stood still.

The result is that we are in conflicts with people in the Middle East - largely societies with little in the way of advanced technologies. It is like the thirteen year old fighting with the five year old - in this case it is in order that a few in the advanced societies (ours) can continue to make profits.

Let's just go to what is known - a few years ago the major car companies rounded up and destroyed (crushed despite protests) all of the electric cars in production - brand new cars or virtually ones. But while the oil lobby that would have been behind this move - made record profits - these car makers found that they were almost sent to the wall - having to beg their respective governments for money just to remain operational.

I am personally shocked at where we are with energy - even nuclear is a glorified steam engine.

The conflict with the Islamic world is partly through the fact that we have met up with a people who are more interested in spreading their religion - than developing new technology - I would hardly think that if Japan had the oil - we would be having these problems. And we so admire Japan's efforts in areas of technology.

This Turkish pipeline is part of this geo-political game - that the EU is being asked to take Turkey as a member partly because of the pipeline - a 1000 year decision - accession already looks like a forced marriage - when shortly after someone could say - its now 'okay' to release this water burning or magnetic technology or some other helpful invention and what would it have all been for?

Like Muslims need freedom from this religious tyranny - we need freedom - to do with energy like we have done with computing. Likewise - we don't want to live under Muslim tyranny and neither should we be forced to live in a backward state - where we are reduced to slaves under this archaic and costly energy system.

The project is backed by several European Union states and the United States.

Ankara, 3 July (AKI) - A key international agreement to approve Turkey's Nabucco natural gas pipeline is expected to be signed in the country's capital, Ankara, in two weeks, European Union officials said on Friday. The 3,300-kilometre pipeline, designed to relieve European dependence on Russian gas, is expected to bring Caspian and Middle East (such as Iran's) gas to Europe as early as 2014.

But the project has been delayed due to a lack of supplies and conflict among stakeholders.

A firm transit agreement due to be signed on 13 July could increase competition between Nabucco and a rival Russian pipeline, allowing the EU-backed project to start work on new accords to enable firms to buy up portions of the pipeline's 31 billion cubic metre capacity.

"On July 13, the intergovernmental accord on Nabucco will be signed in Turkey," Romanian economy minister Adriean Videanu told reporters from Azerbaijan where he is on a two-day visit.

The European Union confirmed it had received an invitation to the 13 July signing ceremony.

"I can confirm that the commission has received an invitation to the signing ceremony of the intergovernmental agreement on the Nabucco pipeline in Ankara," a European Commission spokesman told the media.

The signing of the transit agreement was delayed by demands from Turkey, which has few hydrocarbon resources of its own, that it use 15 percent of Nabucco's 31 billion cubic metre capacity for its domestic usage or for export.

Videanu said Turkey's "15 percent issue" was now solved, but gave no details.

The EU executive did not comment on whether the issue had been resolved and the commission spokesman declined to provide details about the agreement, saying only that they would be made public once the agreement between the EU nations involved and Turkey was signed.

The reports came after Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters in Ankara after a recent trip to Russia that the country was technically close to completing negotiations in the Nabucco project.

The gas pipeline project is in direct competition with Russia’s rival South Stream project, developed by Russia’s gas giant Gazprom and Italy’s energy giant Eni, designed to channel Russian gas through Bulgaria to Western Europe under the Black Sea.

The Nabucco pipeline will transport natural gas from Turkey to Austria, via Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary.

It will run from Erzurum in Turkey to Baumgarten an der March, a major natural gas hub in Austria.

The project is backed by several European Union states and the United States.

Honour Crimes: Too Many Women Killed by Husbands In 'Moderate' Syria

After an increase of "wife-killings... on the pretext of adultery," Syria allows for [slightly] tougher penalties for honor killings -- two years in prison!

Syria has scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'"

Wow -- two years for murder! You can serve more time than that for serial double parking.

Why is the penalty so light for honor killings in majority-Muslim Syria? After all, we are constantly told in the West that honor killing has nothing to do with Islam. So why can't Islamic clerics agitate for stiffer penalties for honor killings? Well, because they are on the other side: a manual of Islamic law certified by Al-Azhar as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2).

In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law. In accord with this, in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

"Syria amends honour killing law," from the BBC,

Syria has scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences handed down to men convicted of killing female relatives they suspect of having illicit sex.

Women's groups had long demanded that Article 548 be scrapped, arguing it decriminalised "honour" killings.

Activists say some 200 women are killed each year in honour cases by men who expect lenient treatment under the law.

The new law replaces the existing maximum sentence of one year in jail with a minimum jail term of two years.

Justice Minister Ahmad Hamoud Younis said the change was made by the decree of President Bashar al-Assad, following a recent increase in "wife-killings... on the pretext of adultery".

The new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour "provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing".

The legislation covers any man who "unintentionally" kills his wife, sister, daughter or mother after catching her committing adultery or having unlawful sex. It also covers cases where the woman's lover is killed.

Reports say women's rights activists have given a cautious welcome to the change, with one group calling it a "small contribution to solving the problem"....

Right Side News

Muslim NHS dentist 'tried to force patients to wear traditional Islamic dress'

A Muslim NHS [National Health Service] dentist faces being struck off after a tribunal ruled he tried to force patients to wear traditional Islamic dress before treating them.

Omer Butt, 32, whose brother Hassan used to be spokesman for the banned radical Muslim group Al Muhajiroun, ordered female patients to wear headscarves and forced men to take off gold jewellery before allowing them into the dentists' chair.

He even kept a box full of hijabs at his practice so he could lend them to women before checking their teeth.

Butt enforced his religious dress code despite previously being warned by the General Dental Council for the same offence.

The GDC has ruled Butt imposed a general dress code at his practice, the Unsworth Smile Clinic in Bury, Lancashire, for more than two years from April 2005.

Butt was also found to have confrontations with two patients known as Ms B and Mr C and their families during that period.

The panel will now decide what action to take.

"Your evidence was that you regard yourself as a Muslim first and a dentist second and it is clear you were using your position as a dentist to seek to influence patients as to non-clinical issues," committee chairwoman Gill Brown told the dentist.

"You have explained you had a moral and religious obligation to persuade other Muslims to comply with Islamic requirements.

"The committee is satisfied from all the evidence that your attitude went beyond merely seeking to persuade, request or advise Muslim patients and that you sought to impose the dress code upon them."

Butt posted a sign on his waiting room wall telling Muslim patients to adhere to his strict code.

NHS managers visited the surgery in April 2005 following complaints from patients and ordered him to abandon the policy or face a formal misconduct hearing.

He removed the sign but persisted with the dress code – getting staff to take Muslim patients into a consultation room and tell them they had to wear the right clothes.

Butg phoned the police when Ms B refused to leave his clinic without a complaint form following a treatment session.

The dentist, from Manchester, told her he did not want to see her again after she brought in her son for emergency work.

During treatment Butt asked the mother if her son prayed and when she said "yes" he gave the boy composite fillings rather than silver ones. Using the precious metal for fillings is frowned upon in Islam.

Mr C made a complaint about Butt after bringing his family to register for NHS treatment at the clinic in June 2007.

The dentist asked the man to tell his wife to wear a headscarf or he would not offer the family any treatment.

Mr C then asked for a copy of the surgery admissions policy to be sent to him – which never happened – then made an official complaint.

The case continues.

Telegraph

'Iran trial' for UK embassy staff

Some UK embassy staff detained in Tehran and accused of inciting protests will face trial, says the head of Iran's top legislative body.

The British foreign office said it was urgently seeking confirmation from Iran on the matter.

Nine embassy staff were held in Tehran last weekend. The UK government says all except two have now been released.

EU governments are considering temporarily withdrawing ambassadors to Iran in protest at the detentions.

"In these incidents, their embassy had a presence, some people were arrested. Naturally they will be put on trial, they have made confessions," Ahmad Jannati, the head of Iran's powerful Guardians Council, said at Friday prayers, according to news agencies.

Protests gripped Tehran and other Iranian cities after June's presidential election, amid claims the vote had been rigged in favour of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Tehran has repeatedly accused foreign powers - especially Britain and the US - of meddling after the election and stoking the unrest

BBC

Catholic school bars Muslim teacher who refused to remove face veil so staff could identify her

Controversy: A niqab leaves only eyes visible

No one should be allowed to walk into a school with their face covered. Most of these women are originally from Pakistan or Bangladesh and up until 5 years ago or so - no one really dressed this way.

A Muslim teacher was barred from a Roman Catholic college after refusing to remove her full-face veil so staff could identify her.

The woman, who works at an Islamic school, opted to leave instead and now the college could face a claim of religious discrimination.

The teacher was at an open day at the sixth-form college with two female pupils, all of them wearing niqabs showing only their eyes.

After they were asked to remove them to comply with college policy, the girls, thought to be aged 15, agreed but their teacher refused and left.

The incident in Justice Secretary Jack Straw's Blackburn constituency comes the week after French president Nicolas Sarkozy called for the all-enveloping burkha to be banned.

He called it a sign of 'subservience and debasement' rather than of religion. Yesterday, David Cameron joined the debate.

The Conservative leader said that while women should be free to wear burkhas and niqabs, schools were a different matter.

'You can't wear the full garb and be an effective teacher,' he said. In 2006, Mr Straw said that veils could make community relations harder as they were a 'visible statement of separation and difference'.

Earlier this year, another Catholic college in his constituency, Our Lady and St John, turned away a Muslim mother from a parents' evening as she was wearing a full-face veil.

The latest incident, at St Mary's College, is said to have left the visiting teacher 'shocked and upset'.

At both colleges, any items which obscure the face, including crash helmets, are barred as the wearers cannot be identified. The rule also applies to Muslim staff and pupils as wearing veils would hamper their ability to communicate.

Governors at the 250-pupil Islamiya Girls High School, where the teacher works, are considering lodging a formal complaint. A source said: 'We have a very good relationship with St Mary's and the parents respect the education it provides.

'But this is the first we've heard of this policy – surely the onus was on them to inform us?' Yesterday, local Muslims criticised the extension of the ban to visitors.

Abdul Hamid Qureshi, the chairman of Lancashire Council of Mosques, said: 'We understand when they say it isn't conducive to learning for pupils and teachers to wear the niqab.

'But she was only visiting as part of an open day, she wasn’t teaching
a class.

‘Women who wear the niqab think that to remove it in front of men is being disobedient to God’s will, so they won’t.

‘To ask mothers and other visitors to take off their veils means they will stay away.’

But David Green, director of the think-tank Civitas, said: ‘The college is absolutely right.

‘Most Muslims would say it isn’t a religious obligation to cover the face, so if you do so in this country, you’re making a political stance.’

Schools have been allowed to restrict the wearing of veils after two key judgments in 2006 and 2007.

Classroom assistant Aishah Azmi and a 12-year-old girl lost their legal battles to wear veils in class.

Ministers opted against an outright ban, saying it was for individual schools and councils to decide.

Daily Mail

Muslim pupils and teacher ordered to remove veils


The party were from an Islamic school in Great Harwood, Lancs and were visiting St Mary's College in nearby Blackburn, which was staging its annual open day.

The two schoolgirls agreed to take off their niqab veils, which leave only slits for their eyes.

However, their teacher refused and was taken into an office at the sixth form college and told she would not be allowed on the premises.

St Mary's College yesterday defended the move, claiming that staff had requested that the trio remove the traditional Islamic veils because they are against the school's dress policy.

Its principal Kevin McMahon said: "At the start of one of our 'taster days' for prospective students last week, some visitors did arrive wearing the veil.

"When the policy was explained to them, all except one were willing to remove it. This lady – a member of staff at the school – refused, and opted to leave the premises."

Muslim leaders condemned the college's reaction, saying it threatened to reignite the debate over religious clothing.

Abdul Quereshi, chairman of the Lancashire Council of Mosques said: "I am very disappointed. "The information I have is that this was the action of one individual and now this will once again become a big issue."

[..]
The Muslim Council of Britain condemned the remarks, while Shahid Malik, the Communities Minister, said it was "not the job of government to dictate what people should or should not wear".

St Mary's is a beacon status sixth form college for 1,450 pupils aged 16 to 18.

Telgraph

The Path to Darkness: Arab Funding of Western Learning [Video]

We know that Arabs have invested billions in western universities - yet there is a 40% illiteracy rate across the board - for women in the Middle East - and in North Africa that figure can rise to 60%. It is clear that these Arabs are not interested in education. But they know how the west gets its information - it relies on the universities.

THE PATH TO DARKNESS" Is Now In Post Production. Billions have been invested by Saoudi Arabia in US universities in the last years. At the same time, our western values have been erroded by moral relativism. This leads an entire generation to believe in new mythologies such as: a genocide is perpetrated against Palestinians, Suicide Killers are kamikazes, or freedom fighters, Cho, Eric and Dylan, the murderers of Virginia Tech and Columbine are a typical product of our repressive society, the US army is an occupation force in Iraq, and many other relativist revisions of history, leading to the path to darkness.

Pierre Rehovs latest film The Path To Darkness is currently in post-production. This endeavor has led him to investigate those mythologies, and takes us to Japan, to meet with WW2 former kamikazes, to Iraq, where he was embedded in the US Armys 4th Cavalry, into Gaza and the West Bank. And for the first time, he documents the step by step religious brain washing of a candidate to suicide-terrorism, including the rituals preceding his criminal act, and much more. Pierre also has a close encounters with families of suicide killers, and local Imams. Following the acclaimed "Suicide Killers", The Path to Darkness will take us for a journey deeper into the mind of terrorists, while debuquing the dangerous mythologies propaged among our new generations.

Ibn Warraq: Leaving Islam - Apostates Speak Out [Video]

There are certainly no penal sanctions for converting from Christianity to any other religion. In Islamic countries, on the other hand, the issue is far from dead. Any verbal denial of any principle of Muslim belief is considered apostasy. If one declares, for example, that the universe has always existed from eternity or that God has a material substance, then one is an apostate. If one denies the unity of God or confesses to a belief in reincarnation, one is guilty of apostasy. Certain acts are also deemed acts of apostasy, for example treating a copy of the Koran disrespectfully, by burning it or even soiling it in some way. Some doctors of Islamic law claim that a Muslim becomes an apostate if he or she enters a church, worships an idol, or learns and practises magic. A Muslim becomes an apostate if he defames the Prophets character, morals or virtues, and denies Muhammads prophethood and that he was the seal of the prophets. It is clear quite clear that under Islamic Law an apostate must be put to death. There is no dispute on this ruling among classical Muslim or modern scholars.

For textual evidence: http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/001590.php

In other words, kill the apostates...According to a tradition of Aishas, apostates are to be slain, crucified or banished. Should the apostate be given a chance to repent? Traditions differ enormously. In one tradition, Muadh Jabal refused to sit down until an apostate brought before him had been killed in accordance with the decision of God and of His Apostle. Under Muslim law, the male apostate must be put to death, as long as he is an adult, and in full possession of his faculties. If a pubescent boy apostatises, he is imprisoned until he comes of age, when if he persists in rejecting Islam he must be put to death. Drunkards and the mentally disturbed are not held responsible for their apostasy. If a person has acted under compulsion he is not considered an apostate, his wife is not divorced and his lands are not forfeited. According to Hanafis and Shia, a woman is imprisoned until she repents and adopts Islam once more, but according to the influential Ibn Hanbal, and the Malikis and Shafiites , she is also put to death. In general, execution must be by the sword, though there are examples of apostates tortured to death, or strangled, burnt, drowned, impaled or flayed. The caliph Umar used to tie them to a post and had lances thrust into their hearts, and the Sultan Baybars II (1308-09) made torture legal. The murtadd of course would be denied a Muslim burial, but he suffers other civil disabilities as well. His property is taken over by the believers, if he returns penitent he is given back what remains. Others argue that the apostates rights of ownership are merely suspended, only if he dies outside the territory under Islam does he forfeit his property to the Muslim community. If either the husband or wife apostasizes, a divorce takes place ipso facto; the wife is entitled to her whole dower but no pronouncement of divorce is necessary. According to some jurists, if husband and wife apostasize together their marriage is still valid. However if either the wife or husband were singly to return to Islam then their marriage would be dissolved. According to Abu Hanifa, legal activities such as manumission, endowment, testament and sale are suspended. But not all jurists agree. Some Shii jurists would ask the Islamic Law towards apostates to be applied even outside the Dar al -Islam, in non-Muslim countries. Finally, according to the Shafites it is not only apostasy from Islam that is to be punished with death, but also apostasy from other religions when this is not accompanied by conversion to Islam. For example, a Jew who becomes a Christian will thus have to be put to death since the Prophet has ordered in general that everyone who adopts any other religion shall be put to death. There is some evidence that many Muslim women in Islamic countries would convert from Islam to escape their lowly position in Muslim societies, or to avoid the application of an unfavorable law, especially Sharia law governing divorce. Muslim theologians are well aware of the temptation of Muslim women to evade the Sharia laws by converting from Islam, and take appropriate measures. For example, in Kuwait in an explanatory memorandum to the text of a law reform says: Complaints have shown that the Devil makes the route of apostasy attractive to the Muslim woman so that she can break a conjugal tie that does not please her. For this reason, it was decided that apostasy would not lead to the dissolution of the marriage in order to close this dangerous door. Source and further information: http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/001590.php For additional information, please visit: http://www.apostatesofislam.com/

Iran says arrested Newsweek journalist has "confessed"

Tehran - A correspondent for the US weekly magazine Newsweek who was arrested by Iran for allegedly writing articles slanted against the Tehran government has confessed to the allegation, the CNN network reported Thursday, citing Iranian media.

CNN cited the semi-official agency Fars as saying that the journalist, Maziar Bahari, had admitted at a press conference to having written articles slanted against Tehran prior to the June 12 presidential election with the aim of toppling the government.

Bahari, 42, of Canadian-Iranian background, was arrested by Iranian authorities on June 21.

According to the Fars report, Bahara is said to have publicly descriped how prior to the elections Western journalists were working toward toppling the government in Iran.

Among others, the Western media allegedly played down public shows of support for the leadership and described the elections as already having been manipulated ahead of time.

Newsweek called the allegations 'absurd' and defended Bahari as a a good employee who was beyond any suspicion.

The magazine also noted that since his arrest, he had not been allowed to speak either with a lawyer or with his family.

Monsters and Critics

'This Iranian Form of Theocracy Has Failed'

The Fatima mosque: "Among the grand ayatollahs in Qum, the resentment towards Ahmadinejad's arrogance is growing."


IRANIAN REGIME CRITIC MOHSEN KADIVAR

In a SPIEGEL interview, Iranian theologian and philosopher Mohsen Kadivar discusses Tehran's path towards a military dictatorship, how the country's religious leaders abuse Islam and opportunities for reform.

SPIEGEL: Ayatollah Kadivar, we are meeting you here at Duke University in the US State of North Carolina, 7,500 miles away from your home. Are you not needed more urgently in Iran now?

Kadivar: Believe me, in these dramatic hours I would much rather be in my homeland. Within the next two weeks, the future of Iran will be decided. Almost all my friends, 95 percent of them, are now in prison; and I am barely able to contact my family, the phones are almost dead.

SPIEGEL: You are said to be the co-author of the most recent declarations of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Kadivar: That is not right. Although I enjoyed his statements, they are not mine. I published my declarations separately, although I support Mousavi strongly. We have found means to communicate with each other. Via the Internet and via third parties, I am in constant contact with my homeland. Every day I receive about 100 messages.

SPIEGEL: Tehran appears quiet at the moment, at least compared with the mass protests of the week before last. Are we currently seeing the beginning of the end of the resistance -- or the end of the Iranian regime?

Kadivar: This Iranian form of theocracy has failed. The rights of the Iranian peoples are trampled upon and my homeland is heading towards a military dictatorship. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad behaves like an Iranian Taliban. The supreme leader, Mr. Ali Khamenei, has tied his fate to that of Ahmadinejad, a great moral, but also political mistake.

SPIEGEL: What has your counsel been for opposition leader Mousavi in recent days? Is he truly the undisputed head of the movement?

Kadivar: Yes, he is the leader. All reformists now support Mousavi, my friend from our days at Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran. He was a professor of political science and I was professor of philosophy and theology. I believe he should insist on new elections and continue calling for non-violent protests ...

SPIEGEL: ... which would then be violently squashed by the security forces of the regime, the Basij and the Pasdaran.

Kadivar: In the long term, a regime can hardly oppose millions of peaceful protesters -- unless it opts for a massacre and, in doing so, completely loses its legitimacy. We should again and again point to the rights granted by the Iranian constitution. In Article 27, it is clearly pointed out that every citizen has the right to protest. Our protest is non-violent, legal and "green" -- thoroughly Islamic.

SPIEGEL: That's what you say.

Kadivar: Article 56 of our constitution includes the right of God that is give to all Iranian citizens. The citizens then elect their leader, president and parliament. The constitution is very clear on that: The leader must be elected and not selected by those claiming to know God's will.

Mohsen Kadivar: The protesters "want fair elections," and "he who refuses those demands risks a civil war."

SPIEGEL: The state doctrine of Welayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists) and its highest representative, Ali Khamenei, see it quite differently. They claim the protest movement is directed against the law and against religion.

Kadivar: The people call "Allahu Akbar" from the rooftops. They carry signs asking "Where has my vote gone?" The protesters don't want to rebel against everything, but they do want justice and they do want fair elections. He who refuses those demands risks a civil war.

SPIEGEL: It is true that the protesters are using the color of Islam and chanting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great"). But have they not reached the point where they want more? They were also shouting, "Down with the Dictator!" Maybe the young people who are behind the movement want a democratic republic based on the Western model with separation of religion and state.

Kadivar: I admit that some young people are oriented towards the West. But one should not give too much weight to that. The majority of my compatriots would not want a complete separation of state and religion. Neither would I. Iran is a country with Islamic traditions and values. More than 90 percent of our citizens are Muslims.

SPIEGEL: Which values specifically are you referring to?

Kadivar: Above all, stands justice and the fulfillment of the will of the people. Under the rule of Ali, our first Shiite imam, there were no political prisoners, non-violent protests were permitted and critical comment even invited. One must not betray those values.

SPIEGEL: And Khamenei and Ahmadinejad did?

Kadivar: Yes. I plead for a truly Islamic and democratic state, a state that respects human dignity and does not refuse the rights of women, a state where people can freely elect their religious and secular leaders.

SPIEGEL: But now you are talking about a revolution -- a completely new, different Iran.

Kadivar: I am speaking of a country where religious leaders do not have the right to determine how the country is led in opposition to the majority of the community, ostensibly according to the will of God. Such a right does not exist, neither in the Shiite tradition nor in other imperatives. I do not believe in any divine rights for clergy or believers.

SPIEGEL: In 1978, Ayatollah Khomeini said in a SPIEGEL interview: "Our future society will be a free society, and all the elements of oppression, cruelty and force will be destroyed."

Kadivar: Revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini was a charismatic personage. At the beginning of his rule he had 95 percent and towards the end still over 75 percent of Iranians on his side. Mr. Khamenei is not that charismatic and he is currently in the process of destroying the tie of justice between the religious leaders and the people. When he, together with Ahmadinejad, speaks about foreign countries being behind the protests in Iran, he very much reminds me of the king (the Shah). He used the same arguments and could not recognize that he was witnessing a national and democratic protest movement of his own people. Towards the end, the shah only thought of holding up his regime. Today, Mr. Khamenei does not think any differently.

SPIEGEL: But while the shah was expelled from office by the revolution, Khamenei and Ahmadinejad seem to be firmly entrenched. Many important positions are filled with their people.

Kadivar: It seems that way. But Iran is no longer the country it was prior to the election protests. I can even imagine that Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani as head of the Assembly of Experts might actually invite the religious leader to the assembly for a frank discussion. Theoretically, he could even dismiss Khamenei. Then Ahmadinejad would fall too.

SPIEGEL: But for that to happen, the majority of the grand ayatollahs would have to oppose the two.

Kadivar: Among the grand ayatollahs in Qum, the resentment towards Ahmadinejad's arrogance is growing. Only one of the 12 has congratulated him so far. Several, including my most revered teacher Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who is greatly venerated in the whole country, spoke out sharply against the election fraud.

'This Is a Battle the Iranian People Have to Win'

Iranian Revolutionary leader Khamanei on June 24: "He very much reminds me of the king (the shah)."

SPIEGEL: Can other countries do anything to aid the opposition?

Kadivar: No. This is a battle the Iranian people have to win by themselves. I think that so far, President Obama has acted very prudently and not given those looking for any reason to attack ammunition. Ahmadinejad's insistence that Washington has fueled the unrest has no effect.

SPIEGEL: Obama compared Ahmadinejad and Mousavi and commented that the difference between the candidates is only minor. Is he correct?

Kadivar: This is correct, but then again, it is not correct. The differences regarding the nuclear question and the evaluation of Israeli politics are indeed minor. As for the right to uranium enrichment, you won't find an Iranian politician who thinks differently. But on the question of democracy, the differences are formidable. Ahmadinejad takes an aggressive position, while Mousavi emphazises the adherence to laws and the constitution. I believe that the issue of democratization is presently the central problem. Everything else, including the nuclear question, is secondary.

SPIEGEL: Western politicians see it quite differently.

Kadivar: Whoever at this point in time moves the nuclear question to the forefront will not find an open ear in Iran. Blood is flowing in our streets and you keep asking me about nuclear energy.

SPIEGEL: Some in the West fear that things could get far worse -- and they mean for the world -- if Iran obtains nuclear weapons.

Kadivar: We are particularly concerned about Israel. This country has handed its nuclear energy to the military. Every Muslim -- well, everyone -- is afraid of Israel. Israel's nuclear arsenal should be placed under the control of the United Nations and the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

SPIEGEL: Do we understand you right, that there will be no change on the nuclear question regardless of who wins the power struggle in Tehran?

Kadivar: Every Iranian government will claim the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy ...

SPIEGEL: ... but that is not the issue. We are talking about the nuclear bomb.

Kadivar: America has it, Israel has it. What is said about my country is only potentiality not reality. If the nuclear bomb is evil, then it is evil everywhere -- not only in those countries that oppose US policy. It is a double standard policy.

SPIEGEL: What would happen if Israel or the United States attacked nuclear plants in Iran?

Kadivar: That would be in contempt of all moral values. The Iranians would take up resistance, and they would do it together, regardless of political disposition and religion.

SPIEGEL: What will Iran look like five years from now?

Kadivar: I hope there will be a democratic Iran. My country has the inherent potential to become an exemplary democratic society.

SPIEGEL: And how do you see your role in this process?

Kadivar: I will go back to Iran, but not in the coming days. If I returned to Tehran now, I too would be imprisoned. The conditions there are miserable. My friend Dr. Saeed Hajarian urgently requires medication and health care -- he should be in the hospital, not in jail. I have heard that my friends Mostafa Tajzadeh and Abdallah Ramezanzadeh have been tortured. Ramezanzadeh was the spokesman of President Mohammad Khatami and Tajzadeh his deputy interior minister.

SPIEGEL: You spent eighteen months in the infamous Evin prison in Tehran.

Kadivar: I will return to Iran and I am also prepared to go back to prison, but only after legal court proceedings.

SPIEGEL: Would you take a political office in a democratic Iran?

Kadivar: As a scholar, author and professor I have an important role to fulfull. And we have excellent political leaders in Iran -- for example Mir Hossein Mousavi, whom I support.

SPIEGEL: Ayatollah Kadivar, we thank you for this interview.