Fatwa: Muslim Women May Not Appear On Oprah And Dr. Phil

It might be those clerics worst nightmare to see Muslim women on Oprah telling the other women how their husband beats them, and about all the freedoms they don't have... Or having Dr. Phil tell the Muslim guy, hey, you are not really that important , why can't you respect your wife...

But this fatwa is about asking for 'financial' help on Oprah or Dr. Phil ~ another example of where Islam is clueless...


In response to a question by a Moroccan woman residing in the United States, the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, which is part of the Egyptian Endowments Ministry, ruled that Muslim women may not appear on the talk shows of Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Phil to ask for financial help, because it harms the image of Muslims. The fatwa advises Muslims in need of help to appeal to their fellow Muslims in the U.S.

CNN Mideast Affairs editor loses post after tweeting her respect for militant cleric

CNN was being so weird when it came to Islam ~ like we are all in need of patronizing {how can you say attract more Arab advertising $$$}, so it wasn't a terrible surprise to hear that someone from the news agency praised a Hezbollah leader. But now it appears CNN does have a limit to its Islam pandering, and surprised everyone by throwing out one of their best Arabic correspondents!

Al Jazeera!! I'll bet she ends up there!! We will soon see!! Almost all of their CNN International Muslim correspondents left for Al Jazeera..


Octavia Nasr, CNN’s senior editor of Mideast affairs, lost her post Wednesday amid mounting criticism of a message she posted on Twitter expressing sadness at the death of a Lebanese cleric who once was an influential spiritual leader of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

Nasr, who had worked for the cable news network for two decades, had already apologized in a blog post on CNN.com for “an error in judgment” in writing that Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah was “one of Hezbollah's giants I respect a lot" after his death Sunday.

At one time Fadlallah was considered a major spiritual leader of Hezbollah. In recent years, however, he had lost influence as he distanced himself from many elements of radical Islam and had condemned violence against women. Fadlallah continued to call for the elimination of Israel and was designated a terrorist by the U.S., Nasr noted in her blog post.

Nasr’s remarks were condemned by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which called Fadlallah “an international ‘godfather’ of terrorism” and asked CNN to formally repudiate the comment.

Somalia: Islamists infighting kill 10

Oh dear!!

At least 10 people were killed and other dozens wounded after rival Islamists clashed in Mogadishu, witnesses said late on Tuesday.

Militias from Hizbul Islam and Al-Shabaab clashed late Monday in the southern Mogadishu village of Labo-dhagah.

A resident Abdihakim Omar told AfricaNews that eight Hizbul Islam militias were shot dead by gunmen in minibus while other two Al-shabaab militias were killed minutes later outside a close by mosque as retaliation.

Reports say the clash erupted after both groups disagreed over administration power-sharing in the areas controlled by Hizbul Islam.

Last month, Al-Qaeda linked group of Al-shabaab urged Hizbul Islam to join their group. “If Hizbul Islam refuses the call, we will consider them as enemy,” said spokesman Ali Mahamud Raage.

Iran regime seeks Islamic paradise for its people through the proper male haircut

What will the Iranian regime seek to control next ~ how the women change a baby's diaper. Perhaps its a proper way to do that as well! The things Muslims put up with are truly amazing ~ they hand control of their lives over to others ~ and they delude themselves into thinking they are better for it!

The Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance's new dictate on acceptable male hairstyles might seem absurd, even silly. The government agency has drawn international attention by requiring Iranian men to choose from a handful of "Islamic" haircuts. But the restrictions, another in a long line of Islam-touting regulations on the daily life of Iranian citizens, are no joke. That they are arbitrary and bizarre is precisely the point.

Whatever you think of the Iranian leadership's judgment, it's unlikely that they feel particularly threatened by spiked hair or frosted tips. While the regime often cites religion in such laws, Koranic scholars will find little in Shia doctrine forbidding hair gel. The regime's chief goal is control of the public sphere, which it has aggressively pursued for years. Westerners will be most familiar with the clunky black chador forced on Iranian women by the often violent Islamic police. There are also tight controls on the media, on who may attend private social gatherings, and even laws forbidding unmarried, unrelated women and men from publicly interacting. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sees these restrictions as essential for maintaining , and the more that Iranians agitate for democracy the more he will respond by grinding personal freedoms into the sand.

Another Christian killed in Mosul after bomb placed under his car

Residents mourn during the funeral of Iraqi Christian student Sandy Shabib, who died after wounds sustained from previous bomb attacks targeting buses carrying university students, in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, May 11, 2010.

Across the Islamic world if you are a non-Mulim it is hard to live with dignity ~ dignity and protection under the law is reserved for Muslims ~ as the higher citizens ~ there Christians are regularly attacked [few are charged if anyone is arrested at all], kidnapped [where the kidnappers are often protected], beaten and arrested by the state. But the lawlessness in Iraq makes it one of the worst places in the Muslim world for Christians.

Behnam Sabti, a Syrian Orthodox, was killed yesterday by a bomb placed under his car. The man worked as a nurse at the state Jumhuriya hospital in Mosul. According to anonymous sources the motive of the murder is his religious identity.

Mosul (AsiaNews) - The agony continues for the Christian community of Mosul, the most dangerous city in Iraq. Yesterday July 5, in a targeted attack yet another Christian was killed. 54 year old Syrian Orthodox, Behnam Sabti worked as a nurse at the Jumhuriya state hospital of Mosul. A bomb fixed under his car exploded while the man was driving, killing him instantly. Local sources, anonymous for security reasons, tell AsiaNews, they are convinced that the motive of the murder was the man’s "religious identity". Married with three children, he will be buried in Bashiqa Kemal, his native village in the north.

According to the latest data, released in late June by the Iraqi ministries for Defence, Health and the Interior, violence has declined on a national scale. Nevertheless, people are still despondent and living in fear. The number of Iraqis killed violently, in June, fell to 284 compared with 437 the same month in 2009.

Imam leaves United States under plea deal in terror case

He's the Imam who said he had to decide where to go once he is deported ~ looks like he successfully managed to get into Saudi Arabia. When you get caught for taking part in terrorist acts there they send you to cushy rehab centers where you get to draw pictures all day and recite the parts of the Koran that don't call for you to kill thy neighbor. Good-bye to bad rubbish!!

(CNN) -- A New York imam who pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents as they investigated an alleged terror plot left the United States on Monday as part of his plea deal, a government spokesman and the imam's attorney told CNN.

Imam Ahmad Afzali and his wife left on a 2 p.m. flight to live in Saudi Arabia, said Afzali's attorney, Ron Kuby.

A government spokesman confirmed Afzali's departure.

After his guilty plea earlier this year for lying to federal agents in the case involving Najibullah Zazi's alleged subway bombing plan in New York City, Afzali had 90 days to "self-deport" from the United States and was required to wear an ankle monitor until his departure, according to Kuby. The ankle monitor was removed before Monday's flight, Kuby said.

"Imam Afzali did his best to assist authorities when they asked for his help," said Kuby, who claimed Afzali was the victim of a turf war between the New York Police Department and FBI over the terrorism investigation.

"For his part, he leaves the United States with great sadness and no bitterness," Kuby said. "The United States is the only home that he knows; this country remains home to his parents, his children, and his brothers."

Zazi and two other suspects planned to attack trains at New York City's Times Square and Grand Central stations, according to a law enforcement source.

Afzali, a Muslim cleric and funeral director from the New York borough of Queens, was originally charged in a four-count indictment in the Zazi case.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of lying about whether he tipped off Zazi that the FBI had been asking questions about Zazi's activities. Zazi subsequently pleaded guilty to conspiring to detonate explosives in the United States.

During a plea hearing in March, Afzali told the court that police had asked him to help provide information about Zazi and two other suspects, Adis Medunjanin and Zarein Ahmedzay. He said he knew Zazi and Medunjanin fairly well from when the men were teenagers and would attend his mosque for prayers and to play volleyball.

"The police interest in these men led me to believe that they were involved in some criminal activity, but I had no idea of its seriousness," Afzali said after his March plea hearing.
He said he called Zazi on September 11, 2009, a day after he was contacted by authorities.
"I told him that our phone call was being monitored," Afzali said. "I told Zazi, 'Don't get involved in Afghanistan garbage and Iraq garbage, that's my advice to you.' "

Two days later, Afzali said, he was interrogated by FBI agents for the first time.
"I believed that the FBI was angry at me for calling Zazi," he added. "When I was asked whether I had told Zazi about law enforcement being interested in him, I lied and said I did not. My intention was not to protect Zazi but to protect myself."

He admitted to repeating the lie during another interview with prosecutors a few days later, saying, "In doing so, I failed to live up to my obligation to this country, my community, my family and my religion. I am truly sorry."

The two other suspects in the case, Ahmedzay and Medunjanin, pleaded not guilty in February to new charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property in the United States, as well as several other counts. The two had previously faced lesser charges.
Prosecutors say the men -- 25-year-old U.S. citizens and residents of Queens -- conspired with Zazi "to attack the New York subway system in mid-September 2009." A fourth suspect in the case is in custody in Pakistan, according to a law enforcement source.

Pakistan: Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar 'arrested'

Kabul, 6 July (AKI/Xinhua) - Mullah Omar, the head of the AfghanTaliban, was arrested Tuesday in Pakistan, according to Afghan television Tolo television. But a Taliban spokesman denied the news.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, contacted by news agency New China, denied the news calling it western propaganda.

The popular Afghan television network Tolo also showed a still photo of the reclusive one-eyed Mullah Omar without giving more details.

Mullah Omar was Afghanistan's head of state at the time of the US invasion in 2001. He is believed to be directing the Taliban's war with Nato from neighbouring Pakistan.

Taliban militants have vowed to intensify activities against Afghan and Nato-led troops based in Afghanistan.

Parliament to debate bill to ban the burqa

Why don't Muslim men volunteer to wear the burqa for the women ~ and then the Muslim women could wear western clothes like the men do!

France's parliament debates a bill to ban the full Islamic veil Tuesday, with little opposition expected despite concerns that the text could prove unconstitutional and further marginalise the country’s Muslim minority.

A French bill to ban wearing full Islamic veils in public goes before parliament on Tuesday, where it is expected to face little opposition from the Socialist Party, despite warnings that the text could later be struck down as unconstitutional and regarded as an affront to France’s Muslim community.

The bill is the pet project of President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has said the full-face veil, which is sometimes referred to as the burqa or niqab, is “not welcome” in France. “It's not a religious symbol, but a sign of subservience and debasement,” Sarkozy declared on the subject last year in his first state of the nation address.

We have not learnt the lesson of the July 7 suicide bombing

Whose law? Members of Islam4UK leave a London press conference in January

By Douglas Murray

Tomorrow marks the fifth anniversary of the day suicide bombing came to Britain. On July 7, 2005 three young British-born men exploded their devices simultaneously on the London Underground. A fourth man detonated his an hour later on a bus in Tavistock Square. Together they left 52 people dead, many more injured, and a country only starting to realise that a problem it had long exported had found its way home.

While July 7 was the first time that jihadi terrorism had come to British streets, these were not the first streets to which British-born Islamists had brought terror. Two years earlier, two young British men had gone to Mike's Place, a bar in Tel Aviv, and carried out a suicide bombing. Almost a decade before July 7 – in 1996 – the man said to have been Britain's first suicide bomber died in Afghanistan, self-detonating to kill opponents of the Taliban forces he was fighting alongside.

By 2005 British-raised jihadis had fought around the world, spurred on by radical clerics at home, backed by British networks and allowed to operate by a government and security service who believed that this was a problem for other people. It took 10 years for Britain to extradite to France the Algerian man accused of blowing up the Paris Metro in 1995. Britain had become a soft touch: a magnet for foreign jihadis and a hub of home-grown radicalisation.

Islam Today: Iran Moves to Stone Mother Accused of Adultery: Video

Faith by the sword !!

Car bomb explodes in Kirkuk, Chaldean archbishop’s residence hit

Iraqi Christian prays in front of a gypsum statue of Jesus Christ made by a local resident at the town of Qaraqush in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh May 10, 2010.


Kirkuk (AsiaNews) - A car bomb exploded Saturday morning near the residence of the Chaldean archbishop of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, causing damage to the building and the cathedral. According to preliminary reports, the target of the attack was an imam of the Kurdish PUK, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, who was wounded in the attack. AsiaNews sources in Iraq speak of a "difficult July" for the country, gripped by a political stalemate which - after four months from the elections - has failed to lead to the formation of a new government.

An eyewitness said that yesterday, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, a car packed with explosives blew up just 50 meters away from the Chaldean archbishopric of Kirkuk. The target of the attack was the Head of the assets Office of the local Sunni community, who had recently left the office on his way home. He is a Kurdish religious leader linked to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and was injured in the attack. His bodyguards were also wounded.

Christian sources for AsiaNews confirm damage to the Archbishop’s residence: The bomb destroyed doors and windows and also damaged the nearby cathedral. Despite the incident, the faithful packed the building for Mass on Sunday evening.

Mideast: Israel rejects Turkey's demand for raid apology

Pro-Palestinian 'peace' activists hold down an Israeli commando on the Gaza-bound Turkish ship Mavi Marmara in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea early May 31, 2010.


Notice knife....

Jerusalem, 5 July (AKI) - Israel is adamant it will offer no apology for the deadly commando raid it carried out on a humanitarian aid convoy bound for the Gaza Strip at the end of May. Foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday that Israel had no intention of offering an apology after nine Turkish citizens were killed by Israeli naval commandos who stormed the six-ship flotilla in international waters.

Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper earlier quoted Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu saying Ankara may break off relations with Israel.

"It either apologises, or accepts the findings from an international commission investigating the raid, or Turkey will cut off ties," the daily quoted Davutoglu as saying.

But Lieberman rejected this possibility. "We don't have any intention to apologize. We think that the opposite is true," he told reporters after meeting Latvia's foreign minister during a visit to the Baltic state.

"We are concerned about what we have been seeing and hearing from Turkish officials, such as the possible Turkish vote against Iran sanctions at the UN Security Council," said Lieberman, cited by the Israeli daily, Haaretz.

"Such remarks are part of Turkey's about face and new policy, which is an internal affair in which we cannot meddle."

Pakistan: Top Taliban commander 'killed'

Pakistan Taliban have been blamed for some of the deadliest bomb attacks in the country.

Islamabad, 5 July (AKI/DAWN) - Top Pakistani Taliban commander Ameerullah Mehsud has been killed in a shootout with soldiers in the militant bastion of North Waziristan near the Afghan border. He had a 234,000-dollar bounty on his head, the Pakistani army said on Monday.

Mehsud was shot dead at a security checkpoint in Miramshah, the main town of North Waziristan tribal area, which borders Afghanistan, the army said. It did not state when Mehsud had been killed.

The Pakistani Taliban has been blamed for some of the deadliest bomb attacks of a three-year terror campaign that has killed more than 3,400 people.

Pakistani military commanders have felt under increasing US pressure to launch a decisive campaign against Taliban and Al-Qaeda strongholds in the northwest tribal belt.

Outrage over Brit Islamist leader's call on Oz Muslims to 'shun haram democracy'

Here are some of the 'other brothers' saying pretty much the same thing but up in Afghanistan.

Sydney, July 5(ANI): Australian Protectionist Party (APP) activists have protested against British Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) leader Burhan Hanif's advice to Aussie Muslims to spurn secular democracy and join the struggle for a transnational Islamic state.

Sydney organizer for the APP, Nick Folkes, said that the HT should be banned in Australia and thinks that practicing sharia law should be illegal in the country.

"Sharia law is an archaic legal system that treats woman as second-class citizens," The News.com.au quoted Folkes, as saying.

"We're not asking them to change their skin colour or religion, but if they come here, they must reject sharia law," he added.

Earlier, Hanif had said that democracy is "haram" for Muslims, and insisted that their political involvement could not be based on "secular and erroneous concepts such as democracy and freedom".

"We must adhere to Islam and Islam alone. We should not be conned or succumb to the disingenuous and flawed narrative that the only way to engage politically is through the secular democratic process. It is prohibited and haram," Hanif had said.

Taliban beheads headmaster in Afghanistan

Kabul: Suspected Taliban militants beheaded a headmaster and torched two schools in southern Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday.

Sakandar Shah Mohammadi, head of Al Berooni School in Qara Bagh district of Ghazni province was beheaded on Saturday, the education ministry said in a statement.

On the same day, dozens of militants, riding on motorbikes, came to Zardalo area of the district and torched two elementary schools, Muhibullah Khepilwak, district governor, said. One of the schools was a girls' school and the other for boys.

India: Muslim extremists chop off Catholic professor’s hand for examination question on Islam

Exacting Islamic law!

Suspected Islamic militants have chopped off a Catholic professor’s hand in Kerala for allegedly insulting Islam in an exam question paper.

Professor T.J. Joseph was attacked on July 4 in while returning home from Sunday mass with his mother and sister, a Catholic nun.

Kochi inspector-general of police, B. Sandya, told ucanews.com that an Islamic extremist group is suspected of the crime and have arrested four people and impounded a vehicle.

She said the attackers used the vehicle to block Joseph’s car before dragging the professor from his vehicle and chopping off his right hand. The attackers then threw the hand away before fleeing.

Church-managed Newman College in Thodupuzha had suspended Joseph, its Malayalam professor, on March 25 for allegedly preparing a question paper with insulting references to the Prophet Muhammad.

Fuel to Iran jets refused in Europe, Dubai

Airports in Britain, Germany, UAE refuse to allow Mahan Air and IranAir planes to refuel after US Congress passes sanctions, ISNA news agency reports. Iranian air official: Prices of flights to Europe will double

Airports in Britain, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates are refusing to provide refueling services to Iran's airlines, according to a report Monday in the Iranian news agency, ISNA.

According to the report, the decision to halt cooperation with the Iranian airlines was made last week and is one of the consequences of the international sanctions.

"Ever since last week, airports in these countries are not supplying fuel to Iranian airplanes," said Mehdi Aliyari, secretary of the Iranian Airlines Guild.

According to Aliyari, this situation is compelling Iranian airplanes to make stopovers in other countries, which doubles flight costs. "As of now, the airlines that have encountered this problem are Mahan Air and IranAir, which fly a lot to Europe."

Aliyari called upon the International Civil Aviation Organization to attend to this "illegal" move, and noted, "The Iranian foreign ministry and government representatives abroad must solve this problem and take legal action against it."

Over the weekend, US President Barack Obama signed a bill intended to enforce the recent round of sanctions drafted by the US Congress over Iran's refusal to suspend their nuclear program. The law forbids the export of gas and petroleum products to Iran and prohibits American banks from doing business with foreign banks that provide services for the Revolutionary Guards.

Last week, the UAE confirmed reports that Iran is using Dubai's sea ports in order to smuggle equipment used in its nuclear program, becoming the first Arab country to officially recognize a main smuggling channel. Dubai made its notification to the International Atomic Energy Agency a month after British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported that an Iranian company acquired German-made control systems via a Dubai trading company.

A number of companies have recently announced that they would break ties with Iran in light of the new round of sanctions. The most significant of these firms is the French oil giant Total SA, which stopped exporting to Iran. Germany recently intercepted and confiscated a Russian delivery destined for the nuclear reactor in Bushehr, a move that angered Moscow.

YNetNews

Islamunist Iranian government presents 'Islamic haircut catalogue' for males

Islamic Republic's culture ministry releases pictures of appropriate male: Short hair – in, ponytails – out

Iran on Monday released a catalogue for male hairstyles approved by the culture ministry to help Iranian men choose appropriate Islamic haircuts.

The catalogue was presented by ministry officials in a press conference ahead of the "Modesty and Veil Festival". It includes pictures of men sporting short and conservative haircuts, some styled with gel.

"These hairstyles are inspired by the Iranians' complexion, culture and religion, and Islamic law," said Jaleh Khodayar, who is in charge of the festival, which will be held later this month. "We are happy that the government has backed us in designing these hairstyles."

The move, which is being implemented together with the University of Tehran and the local association of barbers, is to distribute the permitted haircuts for men in the Islamic Republic, "in order to avoid inappropriate hairstyles and encourage an Islamic culture.

'Brits Behind Most UK Islam-Linked Terror'

The bulk of Islamism-related terror offences in the UK over the past decade involved British citizens with links to al Qaeda, according to a new report.



The Centre for Social Cohesion found that 69% of such incidents between 1999 and 2009 were carried out by home grown terrorists or would-be terrorists.

The research also suggested that seven of the UK's eight major bomb plot cells contained individuals with direct links to al Qaeda.

Only the failed London bombers of July 21, 2005, lacked undisputed evidence of direct contact with any proscribed organisation.

Saudi clerics battle over adult-breastfeeding unrelated men, music fatwas

Hmmm... how can we be sensitive to Muslim women having to breastfeed unrelated men ~ as the prophet requested according to the Hadiths... and Aisha ~ as at least one of Muhammad's wives ~ who took part in nursing grown men... LOL !! Enough is enough.

One cleric's endorsement of breastfeeding for grown men and another's saying music is not un-Islamic have opened up a pitched battle in Saudi Arabia over who can issue fatwas, or Islamic religious edicts.

Hardline and progressive religious scholars, judges and clerics have taken the fight public in what some describe as outright "chaos" in the once ivory-tower world of setting the rules that govern much of life in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom.

Much of the fight in the past week has focused on a fatwa endorsing music issued by Adel al-Kalbani, a Riyadh cleric famed as the first black imam at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam's holiest city.

Happy Independence Day !!

To the maintenance of Freedom!!

“God has commanded us to kill those who leave Islam” Video of threats to apostates in Egypt

Watch this stunning German video about the plight of two prominent Egyptian apostates, who converted to Christianity, the Gohary and Hegazy families.

The reality of life in the Islamic world ~ nothing like the fluffed up PC that has little to do with the reality of how Islam is practised.

Maher El Gohary and his daughter, Dina, who converted to Christianity, have been denied by the Egyptian government permission to change their identity cards identifiying them as Christians. The Goharys live clandestinely in Cairo. They daily face the threat of possible extra judicial punishment, including death. Dina, the Gohary daughter wrote President Obama following his Cairo speech at al Azhar University in June 2009 drawing attention to their plight. In her letter to President Obama, Dina Gohary noted:

Mr. President Obama, we are a minority in Egypt. We are treated very badly. You said that the Muslim minority in America are treated very well, so why are we not treated here likewise? We are imprisoned in our own home because Muslim clerics called for the murder of my father, and now the Government has set for us a new prison, we are imprisoned in our own country. The Egyptian girl asked President Obama to mediate with the Egyptian government on their behalf.

Maher El Gohary had filed a legal acton in Egyptian courts. His petition was rejected: Gohary said:

If the Egyptian nationality is the cause of my imprisonment within my home and being unable to move, then I do not want it,” he said. El-Gohary said he’d rather hold any other nationality than stay in Egypt where he said he and his daughter are suffering imprisonment within the walls of my apartment and without any freedom.

Islamic hard-liners in Indonesia pledge war against Christians; government remains silent

Members of the Indonesian Islamist hardliners rally outside the US embassy in Jakarta on June 1, 2010 demanding the government cancel a visit to Jakarta cancel a visit to Jakarta this month by US President Barack Obama.

BEKASI, Indonesia (AP) — A banner with a picture of a young, bespectacled Christian man is draped in front of a mosque, a fiery noose around his neck and the words, "This man deserves the death penalty!"

Churches are shut down. And an Islamic youth militia held its first day of training.

Though the events all occurred less than nine miles (15 kilometers) from Indonesia's bustling capital, making headlines in local papers and dominating chats on social networking sites such as Facebook, they've sparked little public debate in the halls of power.

"I really see this as a threat to democracy," said Arbi Sanit, a political analyst, noting leaders never like to say anything that can be perceived as "un-Islamic," because they depend heavily on the support of Muslim parties in parliament.

"Being popular is more important to them than punishing those who are clearly breaking the law," Sanit said.

Indonesia, a secular nation with more Muslims than any other in the world, has a long history of religious tolerance, though a small extremist fringe has become more vocal in recent years. Members of the Islamic Defenders Front, or FPI, have been known to smash bars, attack transvestites and go after minority sects with bamboo clubs and stones.

Now, they are targeting Christians in the fast-growing industrial city of Bekasi.

Outsiders have steadily poured into the Jakarta suburb in search of work, bringing with them their own religions, traditions and values. That has made conservative Islamic clerics nervous. Some have used sermons to warn their flock to be on the lookout for signs of proselytization.

So, when 14 busloads of villagers arrived on June 30 at the home of Henry Sutanto, who heads the Christian-run Mahanaim Foundation, rumors quickly spread that he and Andreas Sanau, the condemned man whose face appeared on the mosque banner, were planning a mass baptism.

A spokeswoman for the group, Marya Irawan, insisted the crowds were invited as part of efforts to reach out to the poor.

The FPI was not convinced. Video footage provided by the hard-line group shows hundreds of people getting off buses and entering the residential complex, many of them women in headscarves holding babies in slings, and milling about the pool. When a questioner thrust the camera in their faces, demanding to know why they came, most just looked bewildered.

"Someone asked if I wanted to come," one woman said with a shrug. Others accepted a ride into the city because they were bored, and thought they would at least get a free lunch out of it.

When the questioner found Sanau, who had one ear to a phone, he asked if baptisms would be taking place. The 29-year-old Christian's brow furrowed. He shook his head, "No, no." Asked if he had an ID card, Sanau flashed it at the interviewer, who zoomed in on his home address. The house has since been abandoned.

"He should be executed!" said Murhali Barda, who heads the Bekasi chapter of the FPI. "He tried to carry out mass baptisms!"

Days later, Barda's group joined nine others in recommending at a local congress that Bekasi mosques help set up youth militias to act as moral police and to intimidate Christians who are trying to convert Muslims.

They started training Saturday morning, about 100 young men turning out on a field wearing martial arts uniforms. Barda stressed there was no plan to arm them.

"We're doing this because we want to strike fear in the hearts of Christians who behave in such a way," he said. "If they refuse to stop what they're doing, we're ready to fight."

A regional leader of the Indonesian Muslim Forum, Bernard Abdul Jabbar, said the youths were given physical training and taught about Islam. "They will guard the Islamic faith and preach the right path to the people," he said.

Priest Andreas Yewangoe, a chairman of the Communion of Indonesian Churches, said the militia will only create fear, nervousness and unrest in the nation. "The government must protect all citizens from anarchist action as mandated by the constitution," Yewangoe said.

Religious-led violence has been on the rise for months in Bekasi.

Mobs have forced shut two churches this year. Last month, a statue of three women was torn down by authorities after hundreds of hard-liners wearing skull caps and white robes took to the streets, claiming the monument symbolized the Holy Trinity.

Weeks earlier, black-clad youths attacked a Catholic-run school over an anonymous blogger's "blasphemous" website.

Increasingly, the public has jumped into the debate.

Stories appear regularly on the front pages of newspapers about FPI. Opinion pages are filled with letters calling for the group to be banned. More than 50,000 people signed petitions on Facebook, which has turned into a portent political force.

The government has made no public comment except when three lawmakers were attacked by FPI during a meeting in East Java.

Taliban coming up with its own 'media regulatory authority', promises execution for non-compliance

Firefighters try to put out a fire in a building which was attacked by Taliban insurgents in Kunduz July 2, 2010.

Islamabad, July 4 (ANI): Taking a cue from the Pakistan Government, the Taliban has said that it would launch its own 'media regulatory authority' to monitor television, radio channels and newspapers to desist them from running an anti-Islam 'propaganda'.

In a statement received by various media houses through e-mail, a self-proclaimed spokesman of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Muhammad Omar said a media regulatory authority would come up within few days, which would keep tab on country's media so that it can not present the Taliban in bad light.

"We are working on a Taliban media regulatory authority, which should be operational in the next few days. It's main objective is to monitor the media closely, so that no false statement regarding Islam and its ideologies is made, nor any disputed matter is discussed in the media," The Daily Times quoted Muhammad, as saying.

"If anyone tries to carry out such practices, he or she will be fined first. If he or she does not refrain from such practices, then the person will be executed under a suo motu action," the e-mail added.

It may be noted that the Pakistan Government is also mulling to stifle country's media through a bill, which is to be tabled in the National Assembly soon.

According to reports, the government is in the process of finalising a regulation under which the television channels would be barred from showing images or programmes on suicide bombings, terrorists or the bodies of victims of terror attacks, and such other related material.

Hezbollah spiritual leader, senior Lebanese Shi'ite cleric Fadlallah dies

Lebanon's Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, one of Shi'ite Islam's highest religious authorities, died on Sunday at the age of 74, a medical source at a Beirut hospital said.

Fadlallah had a wide following beyond Lebanon's Shi'ites, extending to Central Asia and the Gulf. He was a supporter of Iran's Islamic Revolution and the spiritual leader and mentor of the Shi'ite guerrilla group Hezbollah in the first years after it was formed in 1982.

A fierce critic of the United States, Fadlallah used many of his Friday prayer sermons to denounce U.S. policies in the Middle East, particularly its alliance with Israel.

He was known in Shi'ite religious circles for his moderate social views, especially on women. He issued several notable fatwas, or religious opinions, including banning the Shi'ite practice of shedding blood during Ashura.

LA Times

Morocco Continues to Purge Nation of Foreign Christians: Bringing Total to 128 Since March

Morocco Shuts Down Christian Orphanage - March 11, 2010

New wave of deportations raises concerns for foreigners married to Moroccans.

If Europe had stared to deport Muslims ~ what would the headlines read... but when Christians are deported from Morocco, you can almost hear a snowflake fall. Though it is nice to hear that it is being dealt with at some level, especially in the US Congress. What do we want outreach to Muslim supremacy! And that because of their faith they expect to be above criticism...

ISTANBUL, July 1 (CDN) — Moroccan authorities expelled eight more foreign Christians from the country last weekend, bringing the total of deported Christians since March to 128.

Two foreign women married to Moroccan Christians were included in this third wave of deportations since March, raising concerns that local authorities intend to harass the country’s small but growing Protestant community.

“They are all in fear,” a source told Compass, “because this happened to people who are married.”

One of the women, a Lebanese national married to a Moroccan, was diagnosed with cancer last month and is the mother of a 6-year old girl whom she was forced to leave behind.

A Spanish national, Sara Domene, 31, was also deported on Monday (June 28), according to news sources. Domene was working as a language teacher in the Western Sahara, a territory under Moroccan sovereignty.

Authorities called the foreigners to police stations across Morocco on Friday (June 25) and told them they had 48 hours to leave the country on grounds of “threatening public order.”

Other nationals who were forced to leave the country over the weekend came from France, Egypt, Lebanon, Switzerland, Nigeria and Spain.

A source explained that Moroccan authorities are essentially deporting Christians for “proselytism,” which is illegal in Morocco, but in order to justify the deportations they have claimed that the foreigners pose a threat to the state.

In April nearly 7,000 Muslim religious leaders backed the deportations by signing a document describing the work of Christians within Morocco as “moral rape” and “religious terrorism.” The statement from the religious leaders came amid a nationwide mudslinging campaign geared to vilify Christians in Morocco for “proselytism” – widely perceived as bribing people to change their faith.

Iran's Bahai community fear rise in persecution

There is no penalty under Iranian law for taking the life of a Bahai. Muslims are therefore free to attack!

The religion was not recognised by the post-revolutionary constitution, and its followers have limited rights under Iranian laws.

For example, Bahais are banned from working in government offices, and they are not allowed to study at university.

Iranian inheritance laws do not apply to Bahais, and Bahai businessmen are often denied a licence to set up shop.

In Egypt Bahai children are not allowed to attend state schools either.

First there are the images of wooden beams on fire. Then buildings come into view, some without windows and doors, others reduced to rubble.

The shaky mobile phone footage posted on YouTube by Iranian human rights activists shows scenes of destruction filmed secretly from inside a car.

The activists say the footage shows the results of an attack on the properties of Bahai residents in Ivel, a village in northern Iran.

They also say that non-Bahai residents supported the demolitions.

Bahai groups outside Iran have also received eyewitness reports from Ivel.

The witnesses said that several days before the bulldozers moved in, some people in the village signed a petition demanding the expulsion of their Bahai neighbours.

Pakistan Sufi Shrine Blasts Leaves 41 Dead [Video]

While some in Pakistan blame America ~ we place the blame squarely on Islam ~ and what is permissible within it!!

UK: Muslim pupils 'withdrawn from music lessons' as families believe it is anti-Islamic

Absolutely ridiculous!! No music, no gym, no swimming, no, no, no!! This is the reason the French banned headscarves in schools along with an the reaffirmation that France was a secular state. The headscarf was the tip of the iceberg for the religious demands being made on the French state. Many French Muslim families did not want their girls to learn biology [at risk of seeing the human anatomy], they did not want their daughters to be taught by 'male' teachers, finally the French said enough is enough!!


In Saudi Arabia music is not allowed on children's TV, the sound goes off at these points!! And of course we know who is funding most western mosques. Now Muslim women will go to hell if they don't wear all black and their children learn an instrument!! But there are more changes afoot for Muslims, Saudi parents are complaining that their children are being asked to come to school dressed like the Taliban ~ it's the new Islamic!! Might we see the blue burqa!

Muslim children are being withdrawn from music lessons because some families believe learning an instrument is anti-Islamic, it has emerged.

A number of schools are allowing Muslim parents to pull their children out of classes, even though the subject is a formal part of the national curriculum.

Dr Diana Harris, a lecturer at the Open University, said she had visited schools where half of pupils were withdrawn from music during Ramadan.

By law, children are supposed to take part in all subjects and parents can only remove children from sex and religious education.

But Dr Harris claimed Ofsted inspectors sometimes turned “a blind eye” to the issue.

In one London primary school, 20 pupils were removed from rehearsals for a Christmas musical and one five-year-old girl has been permanently withdrawn from all classes.

The details emerged in a BBC London News investigation.

Eileen Ross, head of Herbert Morrison Primary in Lambeth, where almost a third of children come from mainly Somalian Muslim families, said some parents “don't want children to play musical instruments and they don't have music in their homes”.

“There’s been about 18 or 22 children withdrawn from certain sessions, out of music class, but at the moment I just have one child who is withdrawn continually from the music curriculum,” she said. “It’s not part of their belief, they feel it detracts from their faith.”

There has been a debate in the Muslim community about music and singing, with some followers claiming that they are forbidden.

Dr Harris, author of the book “Music Education and Muslims”, told the BBC: “Most of them really didn’t know why they were withdrawing their children.

“The majority of them were doing it because they had just learned that it wasn’t acceptable and one of the sources giving out that feeling was the Imams particularly Imams who had come over from Pakistan, didn’t really speak English and felt threatened.

“I think they were adhering to very strict lines about what was acceptable.

“At secondary level parents who really object to music will be withdrawing then and going to a Muslim school. At primary schools in some areas one or two permanently withdrawn but at Ramadan I’ve been to schools were 50 per cent of the Muslim student population have been removed from music class for the month.”

Telegraph

Al-Qaeda Gets Glossy New Lifestyle Mag – in English

The man in the lower picture is possibly Ken Brigley ~ who was beheaded in Iraq.


Just in time for a wave of (mostly-thwarted) homegrown U.S. terrorism: al-Qaeda has apparently launched a new magazine to move politically-frustrated Muslim youth in the West down the road of violent extremism. Think of Inspire as a lifestyle rag for the conspiracy-minded takfiri, filling the inexplicably vacant media space between O: The Oprah Magazine, Popular Mechanics and the al-Qaeda book Knights Under The Prophet’s Banner.

The magazine itself has a hefty feature well, reports the Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder, consistent with what any ambitious editor would want to see in a rollout issue. Osama bin Laden himself offers his thoughts on “How to Save the World”: blow stuff up when people disagree with you about what’s Islamic! His deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri shares his insights on what’s going down in Yemen. But the anchor is a message from Anwar al-Awlaki, the New Mexico-born preacher who’s become al-Qaeda’s biggest draw as an online propagandist. So much so that the Obama administration reserves unto itself the right to kill Awlaki, a U.S. citizen, without due process of law.

And then there are some promising front-of-the-book experiments. “What to Expect in Jihad” is self-explanatory. “The AQ Chef” gives you a step-by-step on “How To Make A Bomb In The Kitchen Of Your Mom.” And that threads the needle for the apparent purpose of launching Inspire: getting frustrated Muslim youth to buy into al-Qaeda’s holistic conspiracy theory that the crises of the modern era are attributable to a nefarious American/Jewish alliance against True Islam, and then giving them the tools to murder people.

The twist is to get Muslims living in America and other Western countries to subscribe — Najibullah Zazi, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (educated in Britain), Faisal Shahzad, Major Nidal Malik Hasan — in order to send the message that nowhere is safe for the Americans. That’s a huge, preoccupying concern for John Brennan and the rest of the Obama counterterrorism team. Online and viral media is the most efficient distribution mechanism for the extremist message, which is why al-Qaeda’s as-Sahab media unit is so prolific. And as-Sahab products run the gamut of information offerings, from high-production-value online films to cellphone videos, serving as both a recruitment tool and a rapid-response messaging shop to respond to the numerous attacks from Muslim clerics on al-Qaeda’s Islamic credentials. In its creation of a distributed virtual training camp for propaganda, recruitment and development of al-Qaeda’s bench, as-Sahab is the literal version of Lifehacker.

Which makes Inspire look anomalous. It’s not, apparently, online yet. Ambinder reports that a virus corrupted an attempted upload on extremist websites on Wednesday. And it’s not apparently an as-Sahab product: it bears a banner of al-Malahem Media, the publishing arm of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a franchise of al-Qaeda that trained Abdulmutallab on putting bombs in his underwear. And that’s even more fishy: al-Jazeera’s Gregg Carlstrom tweets that it’s not al-Malahem’s typical logo.

“It is difficult at this point to confirm its authenticity,” says Marc Lynch, a George Washington University political science professor who specializes in Arabic-language media. For one thing, al-Qaeda PDF uploads tend not to be corrupted by viruses. That’s not to say it couldn’t be a glitch — what magazine editor hasn’t experienced the pain of technical difficulties on Launch Day? — but for now, Lynch cautions, “we shouldn’t leap to any conclusions about what this means for al-Qaeda strategy.”

In other words, don’t cancel your subscription to Technical Mujahid just yet. That magazine, at least, is not afraid to be service-y.

Wired