Monday, June 7, 2010
SIOA Rally with Pamela Geller, Spencer, Nonie Darwish, at Ground Zero [Video]
On June 6, 2010 (D-Day) SIOA (Stop The Islamization of America) held a Rally at Ground Zero to protest the building of a mega-mosque 600 feet from Ground Zero. There were many speakers.. This is Pamela Geller from SIOA.
On June 6, 2010, D-Day, SIOA (Stop The Islamization of America) held a Rally at Ground Zero to protest the building of a mega-mosque 600 feet from Ground Zero. There were many speakers. Part 2, is Robert Spencer, co-founder of SIOA.
On June 6, 2010, D-Day, SIOA (Stop The Islamization of America) held a Rally at Ground Zero to protest the building of a mega-mosque 600 feet from Ground Zero. There were many speakers. Part 3, is Nonie Darwish, ex-Muslim and author of "Now They Call Me Infidel" and "Cruel and Unusual Punishment" (about Sharia)
On June 6, 2010, D-Day, SIOA (Stop The Islamization of America) held a Rally at Ground Zero to protest the building of a mega-mosque 600 feet from Ground Zero. There were many speakers. Part 4,is Anders Gravers of SIOE (Stop Islamisation of Europe)
Stop The Construction Of The 9-11 Mosque Attracts 1000's [Video]
I think what we are being told is that only Muslims have sensitivities ~ that should be respected!
Hey build a church in Saudi Arabia ~ no that's 'too sensitive' ~ but the Saudis can fund a $100 million mosque right next to where mostly Saudi men tore down some of the world's tallest buildings in the name of ~ Islam!
London adverts to promote positive view of Muslims ~ reality doesn't matter!!
"We are proud of being British and being Muslim."Just a little Islamic law ~ pleeeease!!
"The rights of women are sacred"Except if you are a 9 year old girl! And not a woman yet!
"I believe in social justice. So did Muhammad."You can believe in social justice ~ but don't drag Muhammad's name into it!
What did he do to that poet-critic ~ again? And to the Jews of Arabia who rejected his new vision for the old Kaaba religion? And how about the blind guy who put a sword through the woman he loved, while she was nursing, because in her house she dared to criticise Muhammad. No disgust, only glowing approval as proof of the man's loyalty from the Prophet!! And what still terrifies Muslims most is criticism of Muhammad!
At least this time there is no attempt to drag Jesus into their ad campaign. Saying things like Jesus would have agreed with Muhammad's beheading, stonings, amputations, child marriages and the like!
LONDON — An advertising campaign aimed at countering negative views of Muslims was launched in London on Monday as a survey showed that a majority of Britons linked Islam with terrorism.
The adverts, which will appear on London taxis, underground trains and bus stops, feature pictures of Muslim professionals.
The Inspired by Muhammad campaign is organised by the Exploring Islam Foundation, a group run by British Muslim professionals which aims to challenge 'damaging stereotypes about Islam through the medium of creative resources.'
A YouGov poll of 2,152 adults conducted for the foundation last month found that 58 percent associated Islam with extremism and 50 percent associated the religion with terrorism.
Some 13 percent thought Islam was based on peace and six percent associated it with justice.
Asked if Muslims had a positive impact on British society, four in 10 disagreed.
The poll also found that 69 percent thought Islam encouraged the repression of women.
"We are very concerned about the way our faith is perceived by the public," said the foundation's campaigns director Remona Aly.
"We want to foster a greater understanding of what British Muslims are about and our contribution to British society. We are proud of being British and being Muslim."
They launched the campaign Monday against the backdrop of London's iconic Tower Bridge, with the slogan "The rights of women are sacred" and an Internet link written on the side of a taxi.
Other adverts have slogans like "I believe in social justice. So did Muhammad."
A spokesman for Quilliam, the counter-extremism think tank, said: "We welcome the Inspired By Muhammad campaign as a valuable and timely step to help improve relations and foster deeper understanding between British citizens."
At the last census, conducted in 2001, there were 1.6 million Muslims living in Britain -- 2.8 percent of the population -- making it the second most common religion after Christianity.
London had the highest proportion of Muslims in Britain, at 8.5 percent.
AFP: Adverts to promote positive view of Muslims
Germany: Religious Muslim boys more violent, study says
Got to make the jihad, got to make the jihad.
A study that shows boys growing up in religious Muslim families are more likely to be violent seems set to reignite the debate over religion and integration, a media report said on Sunday.
Family strife blamed for high suicide rate among Turkish women - Society (21 May 10)
The study, which involved intensive questioning of 45,000 teenagers from 61 towns and regions across the country, was conducted by Christian Pfeiffer of the criminal research institute of Lower Saxony.
This 3 part video looks at how a German convert to Islam is gradually radicalized.
Pfeiffer said he was dismayed by the results, and told the Süddeutsche Zeitung he was a strong critic of political campaigns which painted foreigners as criminals – such as those led by Roland Koch and Thilo Sarrazin.
Pfeiffer’s work took into account the level of education and standard of living in the families of the children – aged between 14 and 16 – who were questioned. He also asked them how religious they considered themselves, and how integrated they felt in Germany.
Pfeiffer said that even when other social factors were taken into account, there remained a significant correlation between religiosity and readiness to use violence. There were some positive correlations too he said, noting that young religious Muslims were much less likely than their non-Muslim counterparts to drink alcohol – or to steal from shops.
The increased likelihood to use violence was restricted to Muslim boys Pfeiffer said – Muslim girls were just as likely to be violent as non-Muslim girls.
This led him to conclude that there was not a direct link between Islamic belief and violence – but an indirect one. He pointed to Christian teachings which justified domestic violence and male dominance of society for a long time.
His researchers asked the teenagers a range of questions about their ideas of manliness, for example whether they thought a man was justified in hitting his wife if she had been unfaithful. They also asked about what media and computer game violence they were exposed to, as well as whether their friends were involved in crime or violence.
The results showed that Muslim boys from immigrant families were more than twice as likely to agree with macho statements than boys from Christian immigrant families. The rate was highest among those considered as very religious, Pfeiffer said. They were also more likely to be using violent computer games and have criminal friends.
Added to that, the more religious Muslim boys felt the least integrated into German society, with only 14.5 percent of the very religious Turkish boys (the largest group of Muslims in the study) saying they felt German, although 88.5 percent had been born here.
Pfeiffer said he thought the responsibility for the macho culture lay with Imams in Germany, who he said usually come from abroad and often cannot speak German or have much understanding of the culture.
“We have to prevent attempts at integration from being destroyed by Imams who preach Turkish provincial stories and a reactionary male image,” said Pfeiffer.
He also called for Germans to reconsider how they treat Muslims, saying that since the September 11 attacks in 2001, there had been a damaging loss of trust.
“Exclusion starts already when the Muslim child is not invited to a birthday party,” he said.
Religious Muslim boys more violent, study says - The Local
A study that shows boys growing up in religious Muslim families are more likely to be violent seems set to reignite the debate over religion and integration, a media report said on Sunday.
Family strife blamed for high suicide rate among Turkish women - Society (21 May 10)
The study, which involved intensive questioning of 45,000 teenagers from 61 towns and regions across the country, was conducted by Christian Pfeiffer of the criminal research institute of Lower Saxony.
This 3 part video looks at how a German convert to Islam is gradually radicalized.
Pfeiffer said he thought the responsibility for the macho culture lay with Imams in Germany, who he said usually come from abroad and often cannot speak German or have much understanding of the culture.
Pfeiffer said he was dismayed by the results, and told the Süddeutsche Zeitung he was a strong critic of political campaigns which painted foreigners as criminals – such as those led by Roland Koch and Thilo Sarrazin.
Pfeiffer’s work took into account the level of education and standard of living in the families of the children – aged between 14 and 16 – who were questioned. He also asked them how religious they considered themselves, and how integrated they felt in Germany.
Pfeiffer said that even when other social factors were taken into account, there remained a significant correlation between religiosity and readiness to use violence. There were some positive correlations too he said, noting that young religious Muslims were much less likely than their non-Muslim counterparts to drink alcohol – or to steal from shops.
The increased likelihood to use violence was restricted to Muslim boys Pfeiffer said – Muslim girls were just as likely to be violent as non-Muslim girls.
This led him to conclude that there was not a direct link between Islamic belief and violence – but an indirect one. He pointed to Christian teachings which justified domestic violence and male dominance of society for a long time.
His researchers asked the teenagers a range of questions about their ideas of manliness, for example whether they thought a man was justified in hitting his wife if she had been unfaithful. They also asked about what media and computer game violence they were exposed to, as well as whether their friends were involved in crime or violence.
The results showed that Muslim boys from immigrant families were more than twice as likely to agree with macho statements than boys from Christian immigrant families. The rate was highest among those considered as very religious, Pfeiffer said. They were also more likely to be using violent computer games and have criminal friends.
Added to that, the more religious Muslim boys felt the least integrated into German society, with only 14.5 percent of the very religious Turkish boys (the largest group of Muslims in the study) saying they felt German, although 88.5 percent had been born here.
Pfeiffer said he thought the responsibility for the macho culture lay with Imams in Germany, who he said usually come from abroad and often cannot speak German or have much understanding of the culture.
“We have to prevent attempts at integration from being destroyed by Imams who preach Turkish provincial stories and a reactionary male image,” said Pfeiffer.
He also called for Germans to reconsider how they treat Muslims, saying that since the September 11 attacks in 2001, there had been a damaging loss of trust.
“Exclusion starts already when the Muslim child is not invited to a birthday party,” he said.
Religious Muslim boys more violent, study says - The Local
Fmr. White House Aid takes on Al Jazeera and Fmr. Egyptian Ambassador on Iraqi war [Video]
Are Bush and Blair above the law?
07 June 2010 — Discussion Tony Blair and George Bush war crimes. Al Jazeera
Holding the fort against the usual diatribe. No one in the Middle East can say the terrorists killed people, and more this thing would have been over a long time ago if they hadn't.
07 June 2010 — Discussion Tony Blair and George Bush war crimes. Al Jazeera
Holding the fort against the usual diatribe. No one in the Middle East can say the terrorists killed people, and more this thing would have been over a long time ago if they hadn't.
It's settled: marriage of a 13, year old Egyptian girl, to Nigerian Muslim Senator, 49, in accordance with Islam, says scholars
Another pitiful example of the realities of Islam ~ as they are practised in the real Islamic world.
Islamic scholars yesterday ruled at a one day public seminar in Abuja that Senator Ahmed Sani's marriage to an Egyptian girl was in order and in line with Islamic dictates.
The scholars, Dr Adam Ahmed, Sheik Tajudeen Bello, Hajia Fatimo Idris and Malam Idris Usman spoke during a one-day marriage seminar entitled: 'Marriage In Islam and Child Rights Act' organised by Muslim Consultative Forum (MCF) in Abuja.
The Muslim Consultative Forum (MCF) yesterday rose in defence of Senator Sani Yerima over his alleged marriage to a 13 year old Egyptian girl. The group said that the National Assembly lacked the powers to deliberate on the formation, annulment and dissolution of marriages conducted under Islamic Law.
In a communiqué issued after a one day seminar organised to examine marriage under the Islamic Law in relation to the Child Rights Act, the group took exception to the move by the Senate and the House to probe the said marriage contracted by the former governor of Zamfara State. It argued that the age of eighteen (18) as stipulated in the Child Rights Act for marriage contract was neither the age of puberty nor the age of maturity under Islamic Law.
It expressed displeasure with some provisions of the Child Rights Act, stating they are in conflict with the tenets of Islam and the provisions of the Qur’an. The group alleged that some states in Nigeria were being forced to adopt and implement the Child Rights Act in spite of these impediments. MCF argued that marriageable age for women was based essentially on natural occurrence and remained the only valid instrument to determine when a girl was ripe for marriage under Islamic law.The age of puberty in Islam, the group argued, commences at “t.. [hmm...] This Day
In his presentation, Ahmed , however, warned that such marriage, must be contracted in line with Islamic principles and dictates of Prophet Muhammad.
The scholar who recited various portions of the Qur'an and sayings of the Prophet to justify his assertions, said some provisions in the Child Rights Act are unislamic as it contradicts the laws of Allah.
He said Muslims should concern themselves with the tenets of Allah, by obeying all the provisions as contained in the Qur'an and Hadith as against defective man-made laws.
Speaking in the same vein, Sheik Tajudeen Bello who listed 25 rights of a child under Islamic law, defined a child as a matured person with no age attached.
He said Islam, more than any other religion, gives more rights to children and women, if only people study and practise Islam, the way it supposed to be.
Bello argued that Muslims by their orientation are guided by both Qur'an and Hadith in all their affairs, as any other laws contrary to that should be jettisoned.
Hajia Fatima Idris, who delivered the talk alongside her 13 year- old daughter, Fatima, listed advantages of early marriage for girls in the country.
She argued that apart from the divine injunctions, it would go a long way in solving some societal problems like abortion, prostitution, child abuse and promiscuity.
On his part Idris said the argument on health problems on minor marriage have been linked to mismanagement during child labour, which was not restricted to only girls of marriageable age but adults.
Various contributors at the one day seminar called for more public enlightenment on some Islamic principles across the country to minimize misrepresentation of Islamic faith.
allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Scholars - Yerima's Recent Marriage is Islamic
FLOTILLA: We Con the World [Video]
Lyrics:
There comes a time
When we need to make a show
For the world, the Web and CNN
There's no people dying,
so the best that we can do
Is create the greatest bluff of all
We must go on pretending day by day
That in Gaza, there's crisis, hunger and plague
Coz the billion bucks in aid won't buy their basic needs
Like some cheese and missiles for the kids
We'll make the world
Abandon reason
We'll make them all believe that the Hamas
Is Momma Theresa
We are peaceful travelers
With guns and our own knives
The truth will never find its way to your TV
Ooooh, we'll stab them at heart
They are soldiers, no one cares
We are small, and we took some pictures with doves
As Allah showed us, for facts there's no demand
So we will always gain the upper hand
We'll make the world
Abandon reason
We'll make them all believe that the Hamas
Is Momma Theresa
We are peaceful travelers
we're waving our own knives
The truth will never find its way to your TV
If Islam and terror brighten up your mood
But you worry that it may not look so good
Well well well well don't you realize
You just gotta call yourself
An activist for peace and human aid
We'll make the world
Abandon reason
We'll make them all believe that the Hamas
Is Momma Theresa
We are peaceful travelers
We're waving our own knives
The truth will never find its way to your TV
We con the world
We con the people
We'll make them all believe the IDF is Jack the Ripper
We are peaceful travelers
We're waving our own knives
The truth will never find its way to your TV
We con the world
We con the people
We'll make them all believe the IDF is Jack the Ripper
We are peaceful travelers
We're waving our own knives
the truth will never find its way to your TV
The truth will never find its way to your TV
Category:
Comedy
Al-Azhar University where non-Muslims are not allowed ~expands religious television programming in 4 new languages
Egyptian students shout anti- Israel slogans as they burn an Israeli flag during a rally to protest against the addition of two Islamic shrines to a list of Israeli national heritage sites, at al Azhar university in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010.
The Al Azhar, Egypt's highest religious authority, issued a controversial fatwa that compared building churches to building barns for dogs, cats and pigs. And that it was considered a sin for Muslims to contribute in anyway.
There is now a new man in charge of the mosque/university. But before the old leader died, he forbade girls to wear the burqa inside the school, saying that the clothing was an Arab tradition and not a part of Islam.
CAIRO - An Arabic satellite television channel affiliated with al-Azhar University said Monday it is expanding its service to include programs in four other languages, as the world's pre-eminent Sunni Muslim institution looks to reach out to a broader global audience.
The channel, known as Azhari TV, was launched last year to give moderate Islam a greater voice to offset what critics say is growing radicalization in the Muslim world. The channel, which is closely linked to al-Azhar University, began airing last year in Arabic but is now expanding to English, French, Urdu and Pashto.
'There is a wide open market for religious moderation on the airwaves,' Sheik Khaled el-Guindy, who heads Azhari TV and is also a member of Egypt's Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, said in a statement. 'We are competing with voices of intolerance for the attention and loyalty of young people. We believe we have the better product.'
The new channel, Azhari TV 2, includes news programs, children's series, drama series, lectures, and call-in shows dubbed into English, French, Pashto and Urdu. It is expected to reach more than 325 million households in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
The channel was launched shortly before President Barack Obama's call last year for greater dialogue between the West and Islamic world, and was aimed at promoting tolerance within the Islamic world as well as showing Islam's mainstream moderate side.
But el-Guindy said the channel has run into what he described as violent opposition.
"Those who misinterpret Islam for selfish purposes often see us as a threat" said el-Guindy. "We have been threatened with death due to our programming, as well as our social action. As Muslims, we must get away from this trend toward violence."
The station, in the statement, said it received a bomb threat after it took full page ads in Egyptian newspapers criticizing attacks on Coptic Christians earlier this year. The January attack, in which gunmen killed six Copts in southern Egypt, highlighted what activists and analysts say are tensions between Egypt's Christian minority and the Muslims who make up about 90 per cent of the country's population.
"These threats serve as a vivid reminder that we are up against extremist elements who oppose our emphasis on dialogue and understanding between peoples of different faiths and cultures," said el-Guindy.
Al-Azhar University expands religious television programming in 4 new languages | Macleans.ca - Canada - Features
2 N.J. Men Arrested at JFK on Terrorism Charges [Video]
New York, June 7 (ANI): The two young men from the New Jersey suburbs, who converted to a radical form of Islam, and were nabbed at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport Saturday night, will appear a Newark court on Monday.
They were arrested before they could embark on a trip to wage a jihad in Africa.
Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 24, of Elmwood Park, and Mohamed Mahmood Alessa, 20, of North Bergen, were about to board separate flights to Egypt on their way to Somalia, the New York Daily News quoted officials, as saying.
"A lot of people need to get killed, bro, swear to God," Alessa allegedly said in one of many conversations recorded by an undercover NYPD officer who befriended them.
He added: "My soul cannot rest until I shed blood. I wanna, like, be the world's known terrorist."
Both suspects are American citizens - Almonte a naturalized citizen from the Dominican Republic and Alessa the US-born son of Palestinian immigrants.
Those who know them told the Daily News they had mystified their parents and friends by abandoning the sports and videogames for hardcore rants about Middle Eastern politics.
"They were just normal kids. Then, after a while, everyone said they were getting carried away. Religion just became everything I guess. They stopped hanging out," the NYDN quoted James Fracione, 22, who knows them both from the neighborhood, as saying.
According to the criminal complaint, the two men were under the sway of Yemen's Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born cleric who encourages terrorism and inspired the Ft. Hood gunman, who killed 13 people. (ANI)
Geert Wilders on the campaign trail ~ quick chat with A lJazeera [Video]
Controversial Dutch politician, Geert Wilders could be on the verge of a big political breakthrough. His Dutch Freedom party is predicted to double its seats in parliament in the Netherlands' general election on Wednesday. Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher reports from Spijkenisee, Netherlands.
Interview with Former Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz: 'We Should Reduce Our Military Dependency on Israel'
Pro-Palestinian woman pray near the entrance of Israeli ambassador's residence, in the background, in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, May 31, 2010, as they protest against Israel. Pro-Palestinian Turk protests against Israel in front of police near the entrance of Israeli ambassador's residence in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, May 31, 2010.
To go and pray outside the Israeli ambassador's residence ~ is in itself an aggressive act!
Relations between Israel and Turkey are strained to the breaking point following last Monday's raid by Israeli forces on an aid convoy heading to the Gaza Strip. Former Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz told SPIEGEL that Turkey could have helped prevent bloodshed, but that Israel is ultimately to blame.
SPIEGEL: The attack on the Mavi Marmara has shattered relations between Turkey and Israel. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called it 'state terrorism.' Is he right?
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators set fire to a picture of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu depicting him as a a pirate with a hook arm next to the insciption: 'The Flotilla of Humanity Against Pirates' during a protest in Ankara on June 6, 2010 against Israel's deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ship.
Yilmaz: An unarmed vessel was boarded in international waters, and the Israeli armed forces resorted to disproportionately brutal methods. This was a clear violation of international law.
SPIEGEL: Israeli military officials maintain that the activists were not interested in bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza, but rather in breaking the blockade.
Yilmaz: I have absolutely no understanding for such an interpretation. If the activists really only wanted to attract the attention of the media, then the Israelis have done an outstanding job of helping them achieve this objective.
SPIEGEL: The Israelis maintain that Hamas supporters were on board the Mavi Marmara.
Yilmaz: Of course there are Hamas supporters in Turkey. But that does not justify the approach used by the Israelis. The Israeli authorities now have to prove that there were actually weapons on board.
SPIEGEL: Shouldn't the Turkish government have dissuaded the organizers of the Gaza aid fleet from going through with their plan?
Yilmaz: Indeed, our government has failed in this crisis. It was clear that the Israeli side would not allow the convoy to dock in Gaza. But the Turkish government failed to use diplomatic channels. The tragedy of the Mavi Marmara could have been prevented.
SPIEGEL: Turkey has also cooperated militarily with Israel for a long time. Do you support a continuation of this relationship?
Its Turkey ~ believe it or not!
Yilmaz: We should use the current crisis to significantly reduce our military dependency on Israel.
SPIEGEL: One has the impression these days that Ankara would rather forge ties with Iran and Syria -- or is that inaccurate?
Yilmaz: Turkey has always maintained a reserved attitude towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is only the current government that has attempted to play a mediator role in the Middle East conflict, but its overly close ties to Hamas have largely eroded its credibility. Nonetheless, I hold Israel primarily responsible for the fact that our relations have reached a new low.
SPIEGEL: Should we expect Turkey and Israel to break off their relations?
Yilmaz: The Turkish parliament passed a resolution last Wednesday calling on the government to examine all political, economic and military ties with Israel. This means that our bilateral relations are damaged for the foreseeable future.
Interview with Former Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz: 'We Should Reduce Our Military Dependency on Israel' - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
"Dutchifying" the roadside bomber's US sentence
Wesam al-Delaema Dutch terrorist likes coiffured hair ~ but also setting roadside bombs.
A court in Rotterdam is currently deciding what 'Dutch' length of sentence should be served by Wesam Al Delaema.
The Iraqi-born Dutchman was extradited to the United States in 2007 to be tried for plotting to kill American servicemen in Iraq. His extradition only went ahead on condition that he could serve his sentence in the Netherlands and that it would be reduced to a more 'Dutch' length.
Last year the so-called roadside bomber was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment by a court in Washington D.C. following a plea bargain.
Wesam Al Delaema was born in Fallujah but fled Iraq in 1993. He was granted political asylum in the Netherlands, took Dutch nationality and worked as a ladies hairdresser in the town of Amersfoort.
However, following the US invasion of Iraq he became an activist and visited Fallujah several times. Apparently he was obsessed with telling the world 'the truth' about the US occupation of Fallujah. In 2005 he was arrested on suspicion of planning terrorist attacks.
"Dutchifying" the roadside bomber's US sentence | Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Britons link Islam with extremism, says survey
If the moderates don't want to be associated with the extremists ~ they should instead make every effort to show that they want to be a part of society ~ rather than taking part in a campaign of demands ~ that say that society should be a part of them.
All this talk of Islamic law doesn't help. After the horrific terrorist attacks ~ it is gall to think ~ now you are going to lay an Islamic foundation ~ once people understand Islam better! There is no humility in it. And it is no wonder it was rebuffed.
But further people must know the reality of Islam ~ not as a polished western savvy Islamic spokesperson might put it ~ but as it is practised within the Islamic world. And a lot of things the Muslims spokespeople are telling us ~ are contradicted by the reality for non-Muslims as well as Muslims [including apostates] in the Islamic world.
I think Muslims are baffled by the fact that they are not in control. With all the hype they have been taught about Islam ~ how great it is and how great it was ~ for the most part they find themselves well behind the industrial world. The only thing they are able to do is to try to convince us that we need their leadership. Most of the Islamic world was conquered by the sword ~ that is not an intellectual decision. And those who did not convert are still subjugated. It is hard to move away from that mentality ~ that is pervasive in the Muslim mind.
Most people in the UK associate Islam with extremism and the repression of women, a survey has suggested.
The online YouGov poll was conducted for moderate Muslim organization the Exploring Islam Foundation.
Some 58% of those surveyed said they linked Islam with extremism.
Asked if Muslims had a positive impact on British society, four out of 10 disagreed with the statement while seven out of 10 said the religion encouraged the repression of women.
Negative picture
Half linked Islam with terrorism, just 13% thought it was based on peace and 6% associated it with justice.
BBC home editor Mark Easton says the survey, conducted by YouGov for the foundation, paints a negative picture of British attitudes to Islam.
The foundation has been established to challenge what it calls "damaging stereotypes" and misconceptions about the religion.
It represents part of an international liberal Islamic movement that has developed to challenge negative views among non-Muslims and counter those Muslims who claim Western cultural values are a threat.
The foundation's campaign stresses the ways in which Muslims balance religious tradition with contemporary human rights and social responsibility.
BBC News - Britons link Islam with extremism, says survey
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Pamela Geller vs Imam on CNN Sunday Morning June 6, 2010 [Video]
It is easy to have the luxury of supposing that the verses of violence and subjugation in the Koran don't exist ~ when you live in a free and open democracy. But when you live in the Islamic world ~ as a non-Muslim you are subject to these laws ~ you are made a second class or a non-citizen by them. Then these imaginings that the Islam teaches only peace and respect are a luxury no more!
We are being asked to make a decision between respecting Islam or respecting the truth.
Here is example of an 'erroneous translation': 9:29
Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.
If he is from Egypt ~ they are the frontrunners in forcibly converting their Coptic citizens to Islam. Yet he talks about there is no compulsion ~ it is extremely offensive to those imprisoned and persecuted for not practising Islam or those who are being forced to be Muslims! It is extremely offensive...
Poll favourite may put anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders in Cabinet
+in+next+week%E2%80%99s+parliamentary+elections.jpg)
Geert Wilders, the far-right Dutch politician who wants to tax Muslim headscarves and ban mosque building, could join the next government, the leader of the country’s biggest party said.
Mark Rutte, who is tipped to be the next Prime Minister after Wednesday’s vote, told The Times that he was prepared to share power with the anti-Islamic MP in a new coalition.
Mr Rutte’s right-wing Liberal Party (VVD) is expected to win the largest number of seats in the general election and polls suggest that it could form a majority with the Christian Democrats and Mr Wilders’ Freedom Party.
Mr Wilders, 46, was prohibited from visiting Britain last year by Jacqui Smith, the then Home Secretary, because of his inflammatory views but managed to overturn the ban. His party is in fourth place after briefly topping opinion polls this year.
Geert Wilders, the far-right Dutch politician who wants to tax Muslim headscarves and ban mosque building, could join the next government, the leader of the country’s biggest party said.
Mark Rutte, who is tipped to be the next Prime Minister after Wednesday’s vote, told The Times that he was prepared to share power with the anti-Islamic MP in a new coalition.
Mr Rutte’s right-wing Liberal Party (VVD) is expected to win the largest number of seats in the general election and polls suggest that it could form a majority with the Christian Democrats and Mr Wilders’ Freedom Party.
Mr Wilders, 46, was prohibited from visiting Britain last year by Jacqui Smith, the then Home Secretary, because of his inflammatory views but managed to overturn the ban. His party is in fourth place after briefly topping opinion polls this year.
Mr Rutte dismissed suggestions that his country could suffer an international backlash if he offered a Cabinet post to Mr Wilders. He said that he saw the Freedom Party as “just another party”, and disagreed with its policies on headscarves and mosques. He and Mr Wilders agreed however that the Netherlands should restrict immigration and cut benefits to recent arrivals.
Speaking to The Times during a break in campaigning in The Hague, Mr Rutte, 43, said that he was open to forming a coalition with Mr Wilders, just as he was with the Labour Party led by Job Cohen, the former Mayor of Amsterdam, which is second in the polls. “For me, the Wilders party and the social democratic Labour Party — we do not rule out a coalition with any of the two,” he said. “With both of them, we have many points of difference. But I am not distancing myself from Wilders on the basis of morality, like the Labour Party leader Job Cohen. He is saying Wilders’ party is wrong.
“The problem with Wilders is that he is quite left-wing on the economy . . . while at the same time we agree with some of the measures we could take on immigration in the Netherlands. We disagree on this issue of Islam.”
Asked if he thought that the Netherlands would suffer from problems in the Islamic world if Mr Wilders were part of the government, he said: “I don’t think so. For me it is just another party.”
Latest polls for the 150-seat Parliament put the VVD on 36 seats, Labour on 29, the Christian Democrats on 24, the Freedom Party on 18 — double its current number of MPs — and the Socialist Party on 12.
Dutch commentators believe that Mr Rutte is keeping open the possibility of coalitions involving Mr Wilders and Mr Cohen to try to attract their voters.
Dutch party leaders
Jan Peter Balkenende, Christian Democrats (CDA), 54
Prime Minister four times since 2002 without completing a full term due to crises that have broken up his coalitions.
A doctor in law, married with a daughter, likened to Harry Potter because of his round glasses and boyish looks.
Supported intervention in Afghanistan, the issue which brought down his fourth government when Labour walked out over his plans to extend Dutch troops’ mission.
Hit controversy in the election campaign for evading a female TV presenter’s questions and explaining that she was “looking so sweetly” at him.
Mark Rutte, People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), 43
Beat more prominent MPs to become leader in 2006, served as a minister in the first two Balkenende governments from 2002-06.
Referred to as the most eligible bachelor in Dutch politics, he was a senior executive at Unilever in Rotterdam before entering full-time politics.
Characterised by opponents as “Wilders lite” for his tough stance on restricting immigration, but is careful never to attack Islam.
Same age as David Cameron and Nick Clegg and knows both, saying that his policies are closer to Mr Cameron’s.
Job Cohen, Labour Party (PVDA), 62
Made his name as Mayor of Amsterdam from 2001, quitting in March to lead Labour into the election.
Married with two children, a former academic at Maastricht University whose Jewish grandparents were victims of the Holocaust. Describes himself as throughly secular.
Conducted the first gay wedding ceremony in Amsterdam and has led a crackdown on the city’s red light district.
Geert Wilders, Freedom Party (PVV), 46
Instantly recognisable from his bouffant dyed blonde hair, he was forced to leave the VVD in 2004 for refusing to follow the party line of support for EU membership for Turkey.
Lives under constant armed guard with his wife after receiving numerous death threats for hardline anti-Islamic views, which include a headscarf tax and a ban on building mosques. Has likened the Koran to Hitler’s Mein Kampf and produced a controversial film called Fitna (Strife) which juxtaposed images of the Koran with the 9/11 attacks, beheadings and anti-western demonstrations.
Poll favourite may put anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders in Cabinet - Times Online
Pope launches Middle East bishops group, to counter the imposition of Islam
To the Pope!!
(CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI launched a 'special assembly' of bishops focused on the Middle East on Sunday, during a visit to the divided island of Cyprus.
The group aims to 'help to focus the attention of the international community on the plight of those Christians in the Middle East who suffer for their beliefs,' he said in announcing the group, a part of the Catholic Church's Synod of Bishops.
A Vatican statement outlining the church's position on Christians in the Middle East, introduced by the Pope on Sunday and On the Vatican website, says the interfaith strife arises from Muslim theocracies.
"Often times, relations between Christians and Muslims are difficult, principally because Muslims (make) no distinction between religion and politics, thereby relegating Christians to the precarious position of being considered non-citizens ... The key to harmonious living between Christians and Muslims is to recognize religious freedom and human rights," the statement says.
The 51-page document says lamented that with the exception of Turkey, in countries with a Muslim majority, Islam is generally the religion of the state and the principal source of legislation, inspired by sharia, or Islamic law.
"In some countries, the State is Islamic and sharia is applied in not only private life but also society, even for non-Muslims, with the consequent deprivation of human rights. Islamic States generally do not recognize religious freedom and freedom of conscience," the statement says.
"Furthermore, with the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, attacks against Christians are increasing almost everywhere."
It calls for "joint action" against extremists "clearly a threat to everyone, Christians and Muslims alike."
"Political Islam includes different religious groups who wish to impose an Islamic way of life in Arab, Turkish or Iranian society and on all those who live there, Muslims and non-Muslims alike," the statement says. "These Muslim groups maintain that the cause of every evil has been the failure to follow Islamic teaching. Their solution then is a radical return to Islam, giving rise to the slogan: 'Islam is the solution.'...For this purpose, some people don't hesitate to revert to violence."
The pope called for "an urgent and concerted international effort to resolve the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, especially in the Holy Land, before such conflicts lead to greater bloodshed," according to a prepared copy of his remarks released in advance by the Vatican.
A leading U.S.-based Muslim advocate said, "This kind of rhetoric isn't helpful in building relations between Christian and Muslim communities worldwide."
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said there appear to be some misconceptions.
"Islamic law has had great respect for Christians and that has been demonstrated throughout history," he said. "The Prophet (Mohammad) himself had good relations with Christians."
Does he call life as a dhimmi or second class citizenship respectful, and as non-Muslim 'people of the book' were forced to pay the Islamic jizya tax [Koran 9:29] up until the western colonial period.
Where is Mr. Hooper when Christians are persecuted and forcibly converted under Islamic laws! The silence is deafening!
Or does he expect one day the whole world will allow itself to be conquered!
Pope Benedict is on a three-day trip to the Mediterranean island, which is divided between a predominately-Christian Greek south and a predominately-Muslim, Turkish-controlled north, which has declared itself an independent country. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is not recognized internationally.
Pope launches Middle East bishops group - CNN.com
Saturday, June 5, 2010
UK: Schools leave Christianity in the wilderness
The undoing of what Labour has done ~ brining the climate of fear around Islam to an end.
With Islam aggressively seeking dominance ~ its trying to spread itself to fill the religious void ~ with less than 3% of the population. While making sure many of the serious issues within it ~ are likely never really touched upon in schools ~ THAT WOULD BE OFFENSIVE. But what a disaster for human rights and freedoms if it really took off.
As a part of the arranged immigration marriage pact ~ with places like Pakistan ~ there are now kids in UK schools who praise the Taliban. And so fearful of offending Islam ~ when a teacher complained school officials threw him out the door.
Last year, a primary school teacher from Tower Hamlets, east London, claimed he had been forced out of his job because he had complained to his headmistress about an anti-Christian bias among pupils.
Some had allegedly praised the September 11 hijackers, while one boy had said he was glad about the death of a lawyer who had been stabbed “because he’s a Christian”.
The kids also said they wanted to be suicide bombers when they grew up and one told the teacher don't touch me ~ you are a Christian. [Ah... that would be *dirty* Christian!]
Schools have been accused of ignoring the views of their Christian pupils while paying careful attention to children of other faiths.
According to Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, teachers are failing to educate children in the core beliefs of Christianity, ignoring their legal obligation to do so.
An Ofsted report released today says stories from the Bible are often used simply to teach children about their feelings or about how to empathise with the sick, but their religious significance is neglected.
The inspectorate finds there has been a sharp decline in the quality of religious teaching, particularly in secondary schools, over the past three years.
“Insufficient attention was paid to ... pupils who were actively engaged in Christian practice,” the report notes.
“Often, their experience was ignored ... this sometimes contrasted sharply with the more careful attention paid to the experiences of pupils from other religious traditions.”
Israeli troops board aid ship bound for Gaza
The Rachel Corrie aid ship enters the military port of Ashdod in southern Israel after it was intercepted by the Israeli Navy on June 5, 2010, in Ashdod, Israel.
Wonder why no aid is being sent to the West Bank? Only to Gaza.
Israeli naval forces boarded an Irish-owned ship bound for Gaza today, just five days after killing nine passengers in a bloody raid on a previous aid convoy.
The commandos boarded the ship 'with the full compliance' of the crew and passengers without any of the violence that had marked the storming of the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara on Monday, Israeli officials said.
'Our forces boarded the boat and took control without meeting any resistance from the crew or the passengers. Everything took place without violence,' a military spokeswoman said.
The MV Rachel Corrie, carrying 20 passengers and crew as well as humanitarian aid for Gaza, had ignored orders not to break the three-year blockade of the Palestinian enclave that has been enforced by Israel and Egypt.
Once Israeli forces had taken control of the small vessel, they steered it towards the southern Israeli port of Ashdod, several hours sailing away.
The military said the goods would be transferred to Gaza through the land crossings it controls, although aid groups have complained that not all the items from previously-seized convoys had been delivered.
Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovitz, the chief Israeli military spokeswoman said Israeli commandos “didn't storm the ship — they boarded it with the agreement" of the people on board.
The passengers and crew, including Nobel Peace prize winner Mairead Maguire, were expected to be questioned and their identifies checked by Israeli officials before being deported, as happened with hundreds of people taken off the previous aid flotilla.
The Israeli vessels had earlier intercepted the ship around 35 miles (55 km) off the Gaza coast. Ms Maguire said the group would offer no resistance if Israeli forces boarded their ship. “We will sit down,” she said. “They will probably arrest us ... But there will be no resistance.”
The group had said in a statement they would let an international force, preferably United Nations inspectors, search the ship and certify the nature of its cargo before it proceeds to Gaza, to allay Israeli fears that weapons could be on board.
The 1,200 tonne ship, named after an American student crushed to death by a bulldozer in 2003 while protesting Israeli house demolitions in Gaza, had been expected in Gaza late this morning.
Israel’s treatment of the activists will be closely watched around the world after the disastrous Israeli navy raid on a Gaza bound convoy on Monday which led to the deaths of nine people, mainly Turkish activists.
The commando who killed six of those on board the Mavi Marmara is expected to be given a medal of valour, a move certain to inflame the row with Turkey over the attack on the flotilla.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, told his Cabinet on Thursday the Irish boat would not be allowed to reach Gaza but instructed the military to avoid harming the passengers on board the ship.
Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Foreign Minister, said their policy had not changed. “We have made it clear to the Irish and others, no ship will reach Gaza without a security inspection,” he said.
But Ms Maguire and her fellow passengers wanted to highlight the plight of 1.5 million Palestinians living under a prolonged closure in the Gaza Strip, whose economy and infrastructure have been destroyed by war and blockade.
Human rights activists have called Israel’s policy, designed to pressure the population against their Hamas rulers, collective punishment.
“We head to Gaza in order to deliver the humanitarian aid and to break the siege of Gaza,” Ms Maguire said.
Greta Berlin, a co-founder of the Free Gaza movement which is sponsoring the Rachel Corrie, said the activists were not impressed by Mr Netanyahu’s statements to Tony Blair, the UN Middle East envoy, that Israel would increase the amount and variety of goods which could enter Gaza by land.
“We do not trust Israel any more,” said Ms Berlin.
The former UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, Denis Halliday, said that trade unions and government officials had already inspected the ship’s cargo.
“We are 100 percent confident that there is nothing that is offensive or dangerous,” he told Israel’s Channel 2 TV. However, Israeli considers even cement a possible weapon against it, arguing it could be used by Hamas to build bunkers. It has also in the past proscribed certain herbs and even macaroni.
Michael Martin, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, who had agreed with Israel that the ship should be diverted to Israel, said the two countries had agreed that the ship’s entire cargo, including 550 tonnes of cement, would have been transported to Gaza, accompanied by two activists from the Rachel Corrie.
“In my view, such an arrangement would have offered a useful precedent for future humanitarian shipments, pending the complete lifting of the blockade,” he said.
He also called on Israel to refrain from using force on the activists.
“If, as is their stated intention, the Israeli government intercepts the Rachel Corrie, the [Irish] government demands that it demonstrate every restraint,” he said in a statement.” There can be no justification for the use of force against any person on board the Rachel Corrie.”
International condemnation of Monday’s raid continued on Friday, with protests in Syria, Greece, Mauritania, Bahrain and Malaysia, where some demonstrators burned Israeli flags and carried mock coffins. In Norway, the military cancelled a seminar scheduled for later this month because an Israeli army officer was to have lectured.
Israel claims that activists ambushed the Israeli commandos as they rappelled on board the Mavi Marmara from helicopters, and the military and Turkish TV have released videotape showing soldiers under attack.
Returning activists admitted fighting with the Israeli commandos but insisted they acted in self defence because the ships were being boarded in international waters by a military force.
On Friday, the Israeli military released what it said was an edited radio exchange with the flotilla, captured from its own communications equipment, in which unidentified male voices were heard making anti-Semitic and anti-American comments.
It was impossible to independently authenticate the tape, which the military said pieced together segments of exchanges.
Meanwhile, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the Islamic militants have refused to accept any aid from the Israeli-intercepted flotilla. “We are not seeking to fill our [bellies], we are looking to break the Israeli siege on Gaza,” he said.
Israeli troops board aid ship bound for Gaza - Times Online
Turkish ambassador calls for engaging Hamas in "final solution" negotiations
Turkish Ambassador Namik Tan is looking for a 'final solution' on the Israel issue!
As the crisis over a deadly Israeli commando raid on a vessel carrying Turkish activists continued to command the attention of top officials in Washington, Jerusalem, and Istanbul, Namik Tan, the Turkish ambassador to the United States, called Friday for engaging Hamas in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But in an unfortunate turn of phrase, Tan twice said Friday that the militant Palestinian group, which the United States and Europe have designated a terrorist organization, is a necessary and important part of the 'final solution' to the conflict.
'For a final solution, you cannot ignore Hamas. That's what we are saying,' said Ambassador Namik Tan. 'This is not the first time that we are trying to bring this into the discussion. We have told this to the Israelis, to our American friends, to our international interlocutors, everyone. How could you imagine a final solution without Hamas?'
Tan's choice of words aside, he was calling for Hamas to be included in final-status negotiations -- a prospect many Israelis would find even more objectionable than his language. The U.S. position is that Hamas must recognize Israel's right to exist, respect international agreements, and reject violence before it can be considered a legitimate player.
Erdogan nationalism and Islamism!! Turkish supremacy and Islamic supremacy combined!
The guys in masks are Hamas ~ how could Erdogan deny them now! He has become their hero!! Perhaps Iran might get jealous!
The ambassador's comments highlighted the yawning gap between the positions of the Turkish government and that of the American and Israeli administrations, as tensions linger following this week's Gaza flotilla incident.
Only yesterday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "I do not think that Hamas is a terrorist organization. I said the same thing to the United States. I am still of the same opinion. They are Palestinians in resistance, fighting for their own land."
As the Obama administration continues to try to calm the situation and contain emotions following the Gaza flotilla incident, the Turkish government is doing exactly the opposite, raising the volume of its public calls for actions by both Washington and Jerusalem.
At his embassy Friday afternoon, Tan railed against Israel, made broad threats about the Turkish-Israel relationship, and professed deep disappointment with the Obama administration and its handling of the crisis.
"Israel is about to lose a friend ... This is going to be a historical mistake," he said, calling on Israel to make a public apology if its wishes to keep its ties with Turkey. "The future of our relationship will be determined by Israel's action."
Calling the Israelis "criminals," he reiterated Turkey's call for an international investigation. "It's all criminal ... Can you imagine a criminal investigating its own wrongdoing?"
The Obama administration has made clear it supports Israel conducting its own investigation, albeit with some unspecified international participation. "Can Israel, as a vibrant democracy, with strong institutions of government, conduct a fair, credible, transparent investigation?" State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Thursday. "The answer is yes. It is fully capable of doing that."
President Obama spoke with Erdogan by phone and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had a two-and-a-half hour face-to-face meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Tuesday. But while the two long interactions were helpful in getting Israel to release Turkish citizens, they didn't produce any agreement on the overall issue, said Tan.
"There is no word of condemnation nowhere, at all levels. So we are disappointed," Tan said. "We want to encourage the United States to take certain decisions in that regard."
He also revealed that Davutoglu had been scheduled to have a meeting in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before Netanyahu canceled his visit to deal with the fallout from the flotilla incident.
Asked about the next flotilla, currently headed to Gaza, Tan said that Turkey was not discussing it with either the U.S. or Israel. In fact, he professed not to be aware of it. "Is there another flotilla? Are there even any Turkish citizens on it? I have no idea."
Turkish ambassador calls for engaging Hamas (updated) | The Cable
The Threat Of Sharia Law
This article is for those who really don't understand what Sharia is all about, and why all Americans should be better educated.
Sharia Law is Islamic Law.
It is what sets Islam aside from all other major religions in the world, because it is not just a religion, but a strict form of government with inflexible ideologies. It is practiced to a greater or lesser degree, by all Muslims everywhere, instilled as part of the national system of laws in countries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and so forth. Muslim extremists throughout the world, including millions in Europe and America, have sworn to establish Sharia law as the law of the land, not to be compromised by any existing constitution. It is the guiding light of the Muslim Brotherhood who, by their own pen, have declared the United States as the target of ultimate destruction... from within.
They don't care if it takes twenty years or a thousand years.
Sharia imposes regulations for all aspects of Islamic life, to an including dietary laws, finance laws, social laws, criminal laws, marital laws, religious laws and a multiplicity of punishments.
Please view this chilling three-minute video ~ which sums stark Sharia.
Here's some examples of Sharia Law:
* Acts of homosexuality is punishable by death [Yes but most of the Arab world is engaging in it ~ with prison like conditions ~ a society where women and men are strictly separated ~ men take men and as I was told in the larger cities women take women to preserve their virginity.
In addition ~ in most of the Islamic world ~ it is six months in prison for walking down the street with your girl friend ~ so even to do the simplest ~ that westerners take for granted ~ it all has to become cloak and dagger!]
* A man who wants a divorce, must only recite: "I Divorce You" three times and the divorce is final. For a woman, she must receive the consent of her husband.
* A husband is permitted to beat his wife, if she refuses to comply with his demands. [Locked in close cousin marriages, where everyone is related to each other several times over ~ makes the reality for Muslim women all the more harrowing]
* A married woman who is raped, must produce four witnesses - all male - to substantiate the charges. Otherwise she is deemed guilty of adultery and can be sentenced to death by stoning. [So if the rape victim must produce 4 male witnesses ~ that might mean she needs 8 female witnesses to prove rape!]
* A woman's testimony is worth one-half the testimony of a male. [And a non-Muslim's testimony is worth less than both]
* Leaving Islam (Apostates) is punishable by death. [But most likely put in prison and tortured and be attacked by neighbors]
* Drinkers and Gamblers may be flogged [In some Muslims countries there is a surprising lot of drinking /drunkenness, but because the subject of alcohol is taboo they may not have sensible laws governing drinking and driving ~ but then for the most part it will only be the well off in a car ~ when a car can cost more than the average house. Or a working cabbie.]
* Death to Muslims who speak against Islam [There may be churches in some Muslims countries but often a Muslim is not allowed to enter them.]
* Lying and deception is permitted (Taqiyya) if it is used to advance the spread of Islam [How do you say one day we hope to suppress all others and would you be prepared to join us. Under Shari'a no Muslim and non-Muslim can have equal rights ~ the non Muslim would always be inferior. So those joining would have to think ~ if I join and maybe get my family to join then we won't be second class citizens under the new Islamo-rule! In Islam this kind of dirty back stabbing element is still a big part of Islam. One of the reasons many Jews have been leaving Iran of late ~ is that if one person converts to Islam within the family ~ than all the family's property is transferred to the convert. The convert gets it all.
I think though that the first people Muslims lie to is themselves. They know all the hypocrisy within their societies ~ yet still present it as the perfect model - for everyone to follow or else.]
Added:
- Offensive, military Jihad is a religious obligation.
- Inferior status for all non-Muslims (known as "dhimma").
- Women may not leave the house without husbands' permission; beating disobedient women, polygamy, forced child marriage, and stoning of adulterers are permitted.
- Slavery is legal.
That's a start. The article could reach fifty pages. I've provided additional links (below) for those who want to investigate further. It's quite extensive.
Virgin Mary Gets Dragged into the Burqa Fray
Compare! One is closer to Darth Vadar!
Darn right scary!
It is a delusion to think that these burqa type outfits are in anyway upholding Western values!
And if the majority don't want them they have the right to say so!
With efforts to outlaw face-covering attire now gathering speed across the West, some Muslims have begun grasping at straws. Their desperation is reflected in the cynical attempt to turn Mary, the mother of Jesus, into a poster girl for the pro-burqa crowd. When Amel Marmouri was fined for refusing to reveal her face to policemen in the northern Italian town of Novara, Izzedin Elzir, president of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, mused that Muslim women covered to the max are not only following the lead of the Virgin Mary, but also fortifying Western culture:
With efforts to outlaw face-covering attire now gathering speed across the West, some Muslims have begun grasping at straws. Their desperation is reflected in the cynical attempt to turn Mary, the mother of Jesus, into a poster girl for the pro-burqa crowd. When Amel Marmouri was fined for refusing to reveal her face to policemen in the northern Italian town of Novara, Izzedin Elzir, president of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, mused that Muslim women covered to the max are not only following the lead of the Virgin Mary, but also fortifying Western culture:
If we go and see the beautiful artistic representations of the Madonna, we see her with the veil. We don't see her semi-naked, I think.
For that reason, I believe it is the Muslims who are protecting the traditions of our country.
No word on whether Elzir asserts that Marmouri's husband upholds the "traditions of our country" by pledging to keep [his wife] Amel indoors. [In France this would be illegal.]
This picture says it all!! It is an affront to women!
However, Elzir is not alone in comparing face-concealing Muslims to the most revered woman in Christianity. Interviewed by the BBC earlier this year, French burqa-wearer Chrystelle Khedrouche struck a similar chord while discussing proposed bans:
When God ordered that women be veiled, we know that they were already veiled. Look at the mother of Jesus, Mary. She wore a veil and I have never seen an image of her where she is not veiled. So we know that women were veiled at that time and if God ordered that women be veiled, it was to add something more to what there was already.
Likewise, a recent news article on Belgian lawmakers approving a prohibition on face veils features one forlorn Muslim arguing that "the Virgin Mary also wore a veil. No one says anything about this."
Behold yet another Islamist smokescreen to muddle the issue and confuse the ignorant. Nobody can state with certainty what Mary did or did not wear two millennia ago. But give or take a few controversial works of art, she is universally depicted with a veil over her hair, not her face. This is how we know that Mary is the one portrayed, right? A completely covered figure might be Simon Peter in disguise, for all we could tell.
And that is the whole point of the laws now being introduced and implemented. Face veils dehumanize and inhibit identification; headscarves do not - which is why burqas and niqabs, as opposed to hair coverings reminiscent of Mary, are getting the heave-ho.
This debate is all about the face. Mary sets a good example by showing hers.
--------------
ISLAMIST WATCH, a project of the Middle East Forum, combats the ideas and institutions of lawful Islamism in the United States and throughout the West. Arguing that "radical Islam is the problem, moderate Islam is the solution," we seek to expose the Islamist organizations that currently dominate the debate, while identifying and promoting the work of moderate Muslims. Islamist Watch specifically does not deal with counterterrorism but works to establish that lawful Islamism is by and of itself a threat.
Virgin Mary Gets Dragged into the Burqa Fray | Culture Wars
Friday, June 4, 2010
Foreign Donations Doled Out Only To Hamas Supporters In Gaza
The idea was that Gaza was to be given back to the Palestinians ~ under international pressure ~ and as soon as Israel dragged its people out of there ~ Hamas and other Islamic groups began their attacks. Then inside this ecosystem Hamas was elevated from a terrorist organization to elected officials. And we know what happened after the election. There were gun battles in the street ~ were they attacked Fatah and there supporters. Along with continuing to bombard Israeli towns and cities with rockets. Hamas have as their mandate to destroy Israel. And Hezbollah ~ their friends ~ have acquired a larger stockpile of weapons than the Lebanese army. As a terrorist group they started a 'war' with Israel ~ before the Lebanese government official spoke to international press~ Hezbollah held a press conference ~ at the start of that conflict.
According to this article, everything that comes in to Gaza ~ is syphoned off to Hamas supporters. Does Hamas need aid? With aid sitting on the Gaza border they are posturing ~ first demand was all the flotilla people had to be released. Now its another ridiculous demand. They don't care about aid, that Hamas leader looks healthy ~ he's eating okay! What Hamas wants are weapons. And that is why they want the blockade lifted. With Hezbollah to the north and Hamas to the south armed to the teeth ~ that is what they want. And if westerners want to help with the flotillas ~ of course they are going to be grateful.
Iran, Syria and Hezbollah leaders met recently, they all had dinner ~ to talk shop about arming against Israel. And Hezbollah said after ~ that other Arab, Middle Eastern countries should follow Iran and Syria's lead and support the resistance. A think that the Turkish Prime Minister may have confirmed his support today. There is a bigger game. And westerners should be wary they don't play into it.
You wonder if they can build those tunnels ~ they can build anything. Like a well ~ for water!
The Problem with Aid: International Donations Not Always Welcome in Gaza
The aid shipment that the Palestinian activists' flotilla was hoping to bring to Gaza before they were halted by Israeli commandos is now awaiting delivery. But Hamas will only let the badly needed goods into the territory under certain conditions. In the Gaza Strip, aid is not always greeted with enthusiasm.
Having built a three-storey house in Jabalia, north of Gaza City, Zaed Khadar used to be a proud homeowner. He ran a supermarket from the ground floor and made enough profit there to provide for his seven children. His wife bred chickens on the roof. Then came the Gaza War, a three-week conflict between December 2008 and January 2009, and suddenly Khadar's life was in ruins. His neighborhood, his house and his business were all destroyed. Since then, the 46-year-old has been helpless in every sense of the word. Donations coming to the Gaza Strip from both large and small aid organizations never arrive at the Khadars'.
Activists rounded up by Israeli forces on the Turkish-flagged aid ship Monday were returning to their homes around the world on Thursday. Here Norwegian activists (from left) Espen Goffeng, Randi Kjoes and Nidal Hejazi give a press conference in Oslo
Oh to be clueless!!
"People who are not in with Hamas don't see any of the relief goods or the gifts of money," Khadar says. On the sand dune where his house once perched, there is now an emergency shelter. The shelter is made of concrete blocks that Khadar dug from the rubble, and the roof is the canvas of a tent that provided the family with shelter for the first summer after the war. "Hamas supporters get prefabricated housing, furnishings and paid work. We get nothing," Khadar complains.
Hamas Members Take and Distribute 'at Their Own Discretion'
The reason his family receives nothing: Like many of his neighbors, Khadar is a die-hard supporter of the Fatah party, the sworn political enemy of the more radical Islamists in Hamas. That's why Khadar has little hope of seeing any of the 10,000 tons of aid that the activist flotilla heading for the Gaza Strip tried to bring to Gaza's harbor at the start of this week.
"We knew Hamas would take the goods for themselves and distribute them at their own discretion. For us, and for many of our friends, it doesn't make any difference whether the world is trying to help us. Our situation will only improve if the blockade is lifted," Khadar explains.
The mostly Turkish-flagged aid convoy that attempted to break the Israeli blockade never made it to Gaza. Israel stopped the flotilla by boarding the flagship in a bloody commando mission. Nine activists died and more than 30 were injured, along with seven Israeli soldiers.
Demonstrators during the funeral. The sign says: "All kinds of relations with Israel are a crime"
Girls just wanna have fun!!
Turkey's new brand of feminism ~ the anti-feminist!
Humanitarian Aid Becomes a Political Game
The bulk of the goods, which were temporarily confiscated, have since been released by Israel and brought to the Gaza border. But now there's another problem: Hamas is playing politics. The autocratic rulers of the Gaza Strip have placed conditions on aid delivery. The goods are not to be brought into the territory piece by piece, but all at once. All or nothing. By making these demands Hamas wants to ensure the building materials are all handed over. Since the end of the war Israel has impeded delivery of cement and steel because these items could be used for military facilities, including tunnels and bunkers.
Aid has become a political football, which is why a sack of cement, smuggled into Gaza through tunnels from Egypt, still costs $50 (around €40). Before the blockade it would have cost $7 (around €6). "I invested my total savings -- $5,000 -- in cement for our emergency shelter," Khadar notes. And he appeals to aid organizations to do everything they can to try and deliver their goods directly to the citizens of Gaza. Hamas should not be allowed to get hold of it. Khadar becomes particularly enraged when he talks about his neighbors behind the dune. The Hamas prime minister of Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, recently gave them a brand new house, complete and ready for them to move in.
'I Just Happened to Be the Winner'
And indeed, Khadar's neighbor, Aderauf al-Batsch's front door boasts a commemorative plaque celebrating that memorable event. The 35-year-old homeowner does not dispute his relationship to Hamas, but he does dispute any accusations of preference. "The construction ministry held a lottery to win a new home. And I just happened to be the winner," Batsch explains. Does he think it's a strange coincidence that he, the neighborhood's only Hamas supporter, should have won the contest? No. "Sometimes in life you get lucky," he says.
Since Israel's retreat from Gaza in the summer of 2005, Israel has enforced economic sanctions on the territory, and gradually tightened them. Whenever something happens -- when Hamas won the Palestinian elections in 2006, when militants captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit in 2006, when Hamas took control of the coastal strip in 2007 -- Israel has restricted the flow of goods even further. Egypt, the other nation adjacent to Gaza, keeps its border closed most of the time. (The border did open for humanitarian aid this week, after the naval raid.) The administration in Cairo worries that a perceived Hamas success in Gaza will only inflame Egypt's own radical Islamists' fantasies of political power.
'We Will Not Take Any Gifts That Are Blood Stained'
The United Nations (UN) has called the Israeli blockade of goods and people a form of "collective punishment." According to UN estimates, around 80 percent of the 1.5 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip are living under the poverty line, and 42 percent are unemployed as the economy has virtually ground to a halt. On Thursday, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, again called for an end to the blockade.
Hamas has consistently called for Israel and Egypt to open their borders to Gaza, which makes Hamas' obstruction at the border incomprehensible. On Thursday, Israeli newspapers were writing that the situation must not be all that bad if Palestinians are not accepting the aid. Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan was unimpressed. "We will not take any blood stained aid," he told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "If we accept the delivery of aid then we are legitimizing Israel's violent actions." Yet Radwan did leave a way out, adding that: "If the Turks ask us to let the aid shipments in, we would do it."
Donations Are 'Bad For Business'
There are people in Gaza though who will never be happy about the arrival of the aid. "Everything that arrives here, and is distributed free of charge, is bad for business," says one Palestinian pharmacist, who studied in Germany but preferred not to give his name for fear of reprisals. Every medicine and every toy that well-meaning Westerners donate endanger the few jobs that still remain in Gaza, he explains. A colleague at another pharmacy agrees. "We are being bred into dependency," he says, repeating the universal adage that guides international aid: "If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. But if you give him a fishing rod, you feed him for a lifetime."
Before Gaza can stand on its feet again and take care of itself, however, the Israeli blockade must end. That is the one thing that former homeowner Khadar, the pharmacists, Hamas, and the UN seem to agree upon.
The Problem with Aid: International Donations Not Always Welcome in Gaza - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)