Islamization Watch

UK: Islamic Extremists 'Given Cash From Anti-Terror Fund'

2011-06-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

In dealing with the Islamic ideology ~ there are some of the issues that we are going to have to face ~ there is the fact that from its inception Islam has been foisted on those who then became its followers, and from this ~ you can say permission has been granted or the idea is that a similar force or terror ~ should be used to bring people under the rule of Islam again.

There was an interesting conversation where a British India [non-Muslim] journalist, who was interviewing British [likely] Pakistani radial Islamist ~ and she asked him ~ when the Muslims sought to convert India ~ a lot of people died. And he answered ~ but when they took the sword out ~ we had Islam. A clear acknowledgement of the violence ~ needed or used to spread Islam. The idea being ~ that once the violence is over then they would appreciate these new Islamic controls.

The phrase those outside of Islam are 'ignorant'.

Conversely is also the understanding that if violence or terror is not used ~ then people will not follow it.

Its the belief is that any country or peoples would be grateful to have Islam ~ thereby justifying its enforcement ~ as a result there is likely no religion on earth ~ ever to have killed more in the name of religion ~ than Islam. And a lot of people who may not be willing to take part in the violence ~ are willing to get out of the way ~ and allow what happened to them ~ happen to another group of people. Blinded by Islam [Obviously some hope that people would come to submit to Islamic rule willingly.. and if they don't what is the belief?]

What is happening in the UK and likely across Europe with the radicalization ~ is first we have seen the control of women ~ a sudden shift from cultural or regional dress to a uniformity ~ in line with the Gulf Arab states.

It started with more headscarves ~ worn a specific way [outside of the traditional form] ~ then it moved to all black and then the burqa. So then we have to look to the men. First they control the women ~ then they look outside to control the area ~ to bring uniformity into the immediate area [which is where some areas are now] ~ logically next is wider society.

Some people think that they can negotiate with it ~ where sillily the determining factor is whether you are deemed to be 'racist' or not. But to do this you must both be holding the same set of cards.

Yes there are many shades ~ but the shade that really matters is Islam and its laws. And a society which wants to remain free ~ must understand its goals and its methods.

If anything at all it should not be funded by the public purse.

Money from the Government's £63m-a-year anti-radicalisation budget has been given to the very extremist organisations it should have been confronting.

The Prevent strategy was launched four years ago to counter home-grown terrorism, but the Government now admits it failed on many fronts.

Announcing sweeping changes to its tactics and remit, Home Secretary Theresa May said the programme had not lived up to expectations.

In a statement to the House of Commons, she said Prevent had "failed to tackle the extremist ideology that not only undermines the cohesion of our society, but also inspires would-be terrorists to seek to bring death and destruction to our towns and cities".

Signalling a change to the way in which many anti-radicalisation programmes are funded, Mrs May said: "In a world of scarce resources, it is clear that Prevent work must be targeted against those forms of terrorism which pose the greatest risk to our national security.

"Currently, the greatest threat comes from al Qaeda, and those they inspire."

Vowing to correct the mistakes of the past, the Home Secretary said the programme - while trying to reach out to those at risk of radicalisation - had sometimes funded the very extremist organisations that Prevent should have been tackling.

(Prevent has) failed to tackle the extremist ideology that not only undermines the cohesion of our society, but also inspires would-be terrorists to seek to bring death and destruction to our towns and cities.

Home Secretary Theresa May

She added: "The majority of Prevent resources and efforts will therefore be devoted to stopping people from joining or supporting al Qaeda, its affiliates, or like-minded groups."

The review found "no evidence to indicate widespread, systematic or deliberate funding of extremist groups, either by the Home Office or by local authorities or police forces".

But it conceded that "there have been cases where groups whom we would now consider to support an extremist ideology have received funding".

The revised strategy will include better communication of Government security and foreign policies to rebut claims made about them.

It will also see an emphasis and more projects in schools, communities and the criminal justice system to enable "understanding of and challenge to terrorist ideology".

Programmes to support vulnerable people and stop radicalisation - which have been criticised for being disproportionate, intrusive and restricting free speech - are "essential", according to the Government.

Sky News

Eulogy: Bin Laden's No. 2: Muslims will destroy America

2011-06-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

Ayman al-Zawahiri was Al-Qaeda's second in
command before the death of its leader Osama bin Laden

"We promise him obedience... in jihad for Allah and to set up sharia (Islamic) law," he added.

Perhaps we should check the other houses around the Pakistani military acedemy ~ might find the Al Qaeda No. 2!!

DUBAI (AFP/ AP)— Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda's long-time number two, has vowed in a video eulogy to Osama bin Laden that he will pursue his late leader's jihad against the West, SITE Intelligence Group reported on Wednesday.

"Today, praise God, America is not facing an individual, a group or a faction," he said, wearing a white robe and turban with an assault rifle leaned on a wall behind him. "It is facing a nation than is in revolt, having risen from its lethargy to a renaissance of jihad."

"He went to his God as a martyr, the man who terrified American while alive and terrifies it in death, so much so that they trembled at the idea of his having tomb" he said.

Al-Zawahri — who referenced the toppling of rulers in Tunisia and Egypt and continued uprisings in Libya, Yemen and Syria — tried to cast recent developments as in line with his group's longtime goal: to destroy America and its allies. He said America now faces the international Muslim community.

"Our brothers who are working in Islam in all places, I tell you that our hands are extended to you and our hearts are open to you, so that we can work together to make Allah's word the highest and to make Islamic law in Muslim lands the ruler, not the ruled," he said in a video released on militant websites.

"We will pursue the jihad until we expel the invaders from Muslim lands," he was quoted as saying in the eulogy to bin Laden who was killed in a US raid in Pakistan on May 2.

"The man who terrified America in his life will continue to terrify it after his death," he added in the video message titled "The Noble Knight Dismounted," which SITE said was posted on jihadist online forums on Wednesday.

"You will continue to be troubled by his famous vow: You shall not dream of security until we enjoy it and until you depart the Muslims' lands," added the Egyptian militant, who was in white garb and a turban with a machinegun behind him.

He vowed to make sacrifices needed to "deprive America of security."
Zawahiri also vowed allegiance to the leader of Taliban, Mullah Omar.

"We renew our allegiance to the leader of the believers, Mullah Mohammad Omar," said Zawahiri speaking of the one-eyed leader who has a $10-million US bounty on his head.

"We promise him obedience... in jihad for Allah and to set up sharia (Islamic) law," he added.

Last month, the Taliban fiercely denied Omar had died after an Afgan intelligence source called a handful of reporters to tell them that he had been killed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency.

The claims came exactly three weeks after the killing of bin Laden by US Navy SEALs in Pakistan and amid a fierce wave of targeted attacks as the Taliban said it was launching a spring offensive.

In an audio message on May 22, Zawahiri backed the wave of Arab revolts and called for sharia Islamic law to be applied in Egypt.

But he warned Libyans the NATO-led aerial bombing campaign against Moamer Kadhafi seeks to replace the strongman with its own tyrannical regime.

Security officials say armed tribesmen control parts of Yemen’s second-largest city

2011-06-08T14:23:00.000-07:00

Armed Yemeni tribesmen stand on the back of a vehicle in Taiz, Yemen, Wednesday, June 8, 2011

SANAA, YEMEN [AP]— Hundreds of armed tribespeople have taken control of part of Yemen’s second-largest city, Taiz, security officials said Wednesday.

The advance on Taiz showed the government’s already tenuous control over the country has slipped further since President Ali Abdullah Saleh was wounded in a rocket attack on his compound in the capital Sanaa on Friday and left for medical care in neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Saleh left as Yemen was edging closer to civil war.

A Yemeni boy looks inside a car which was burnt in recent clashes between security forces and tribesman, loyal to Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar, the head of the powerful Hashid tribe, in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, June 8, 2011.

Security officials said Taiz, a city of about a million located 250 kilometres south of Sanaa, was quiet Wednesday after two days of fighting during which troops loyal to the regime fought rival tribesmen trying to storm the presidential palace there. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Members of the Yemeni security forces take up positions inside the Ministry of Industry and Trade, during clashes with tribesmen, loyal to Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar, the head of the powerful Hashid tribe, in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, June 8, 2011.

The Interior Ministry has denied that armed men are controlling Taiz, according to Yemen state TV.

Taiz has been the scene of some of the largest anti-Saleh protests since an uprising against his rule began in February — and also the scene of some of the fiercest crackdowns. Tribal fighters entered the city late last week and attacked government troops, apparently to protect protesters or to seek revenge for deaths in the crackdowns.

Yemeni army soldiers prevent anti-government protestors, demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, from approaching a governmental area, in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, June 8, 2011.

Violence has escalated since Saleh went to Saudi Arabia and left behind a power vacuum in the Arab world’s poorest and most unstable country. The United States fears that this power vacuum will give freer rein to al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen — one of the terror network’s most active franchises which was behind two attempted terror attacks on U.S. targets.

In a rare positive development, a spokesperson for the tribal chieftain whose followers fought loyalist troops in recent days in Sanaa said tribal forces have made a partial withdrawal from state buildings they had occupied during fighting last week with Saleh’s forces.

The move, which covered the offices of the national news agency and at least one ministry, was being verified by a Yemeni mediation force, said the spokesperson Abdul-Qawi al-Qaisi.

On a visit to Egypt on Wednesday, Chair of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said the United States was relieved by the relative calm that had returned to Sanaa after the Saudi-brokered ceasefire announced Saturday.

“I would certainly urge leaders from every side of this challenge to be calm and try to resolve the issues peacefully,” Mullen said in a meeting with reporters. “This, again, in Yemen is about the people of Yemen, and it’s about their repression and it’s about what they don’t have that they want for the future.”

Mullen said the U.S. was particularly concerned about further chaos in the country giving militants a greater range of operations.

“In that regard, just as to the al-Qaida piece of it, it is incredibly dangerous and made that much more dangerous in the ongoing chaos,” Mullen said.

Still, the challenges continue to pile up in the face of any attempt to bring peace and stability to Yemen. Muslim militants, for example, last week seized Zinjibar, provincial capital of the troubled Abyan province in southern Yemen, demonstrating their rising power. The Yemeni government claims the militants are connected to al-Qaida. But their true identity remains unclear. On Tuesday, the defence minister said its troops have killed at least 30 militants just outside Zinjibar.

There are numerous armed Islamic militants in Yemen, most of them not directly affiliated with the al-Qaida terror network, and many brand them as sometime-allies of Saleh’s government.

Resentful of central government authority, many tribes have gained added powers since the uprising against Saleh began. Many members of these tribes, however, subscribe to a militant interpretation of Islam, so while they are not al-Qaida followers, they are unhappy about the secular trappings of Saleh’s regime.

Divisions within the opposition present the country with another challenge, including failure to produce one figure behind whom the country could rally. Instead, traditional political parties — weak and co-opted by the regime over the years — and youth groups behind months of massive anti-Saleh street protests appear headed toward confrontation.

The groups want Saleh’s regime dismantled and its stalwarts brought to justice. The parties prefer a much more gradual approach in line with proposals put forward by Gulf Arab nations.

Washington and Saudi Arabia are pushing Yemeni officials to seize the opportunity of Saleh’s absence for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia to immediately begin a transfer of power and formation of a new government. The U.S. ambassador in Sanaa spoke with Vice-President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who is acting head of state, to press the American view, State Department spokesperson Mark Toner told reporters Tuesday.

U.S. officials said Tuesday that Saleh’s wounds were more serious than initially thought, casting doubts on a quick return to Yemen and deeper instability ahead. Saleh has been in power for nearly 33 years.

In Taiz, the first attack on the palace was on Sunday and left four soldiers and one attacker dead. The tribespeople tried again the following day, but there were no casualties. However, four people, including three children, died when a shell fired by a tank near the palace landed in a nearby residential area.

In Sanaa, the attack on Saleh’s palace compound Friday culminated two weeks of battles in the capital between government forces and opposition tribespeople determined to drive him from power. The fighting pushed the country closer to civil war after some four months of street protests by hundreds of thousands of Yemenis failed to oust Saleh.

On Wednesday, a key coalition of the anti-Saleh youth groups condemned the attack on the president’s compound, saying it was contrary to the peaceful methods it has been using to force out Saleh’s regime. The attack, however, was indicative of Saleh’s loss of control over the country, spokesperson Tawakul Karaman told a news conference.

The coalition, she said, intended to immediately start consultations with political groups to set up an interim council along with a government of technocrats to run the country until elections were held and a new constitution was drafted.

Karaman also warned Hadi that he has the choice of either supporting the “revolution” or be held to account as a member of the Saleh regime.

Toner, the State Department spokesperson, said he was not sure how long Saleh would undergo treatment in Saudi Arabia, or whether he still planned to return. But he said Yemen needed to move forward in the meantime.

“We need to see all sides moving forward on a constructive basis,” he said.

On Monday, Hadi said Saleh, in his late 60s, was improving after a series of operations in Saudi Arabia and would return home “within days.” If Saleh were to return, it would almost certainly reignite the fighting in the capital, which is only barely being contained by a Saudi-brokered ceasefire.

But the revelations by U.S. officials suggested Saleh was in no condition to return soon. Three officials said Saleh had burns over 40 per cent of his body and bleeding in his skull. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Yemeni officials have said Saleh suffered heavy burns on his face, neck and chest. One of the operations in Saudi Arabia was to remove wood fragments embedded in his chest.

Spanish journalist threaten by members of the band called 'Islam' ~ Its the same old song!!

2011-06-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

Pilar Rahola

The song's chorus "I'll kill Pilar Rahola"

Journalist and author Pilar Rahola is under police protection after a death-threat clip recorded by a band named "Islam" was posted to YouTube. The song repeats "I'll kill Pilar Rahola", and the clip is accompanied by a woman wearing a burka. Rahola lodged a complaint about the clip, and the Spanish authorities had turned to the US Authorities to remove the video in question. [ed: the video was already removed]

Islam - the Band

Pilar Rahola is known for her denunciations of Islamic and Arab dictatorships, as well as for defending the rights of women in Islamic societies. She recently published a book titled "The Islamic republic of Spain". IN the past she got death threats and was designated an 'enemy of Islam' by Spanish Muslim organizations for her positions favoring Israel and opposing Palestinian terrorist organizations.

Islam in Europe, Periodista Digital

Hijab Ban Dashes Iran Women's Olympics Dreams - 'Headscarf is an obligatory code of dress in Islam'

2011-06-07T06:54:00.000-07:00

Eskimos dress modestly ~ why don't we see more Eskimo dress on Muslim women??

They are controlled to the hilt!

Iranian officials said that the FIFA ruling has thrown a killer stone for women sports in the Islamic Republic. "Headscarves are simply what we wear in Iran,” said Mozafar.

The killer stone?? Who's talking about stoning women!!

To go without a headscarf in Iran is a crime. It is not 'simply what they wear' it is simply what they are forced to wear.

But the rules for the Olympics are that no religious or political items can be displayed.

Possibly they seek to come to the games as being above human!! Look at our supreme Muslim women. All very Hitleresque!!

Most of the women from the Islamic world are forbidden to take part in the games anyway!

In Iran woman are not allowed to attend men's football games ~ to look at men playing ball is forbidden.

CAIRO – Dashing Iran's hopes of playing in the 2012 London Olympics, football's governing body has ruled that the footballers' Islamic dress code broke FIFA rules, The Washington Post reported Tuesday, June 6.

“This ruling means that women soccer in Iran is over,” said Shahrzad Mozafar, the team’s former head coach.

FIFA ruled on Monday that the Islamic dress of the Iranian women football team broke its rules, which ban the manifestation of religious symbols.

In April 2010, FIFA announced that it was planning to ban hijab and other religious outings during the 2012 Olympics.

"Players and officials shall not display political, religious, commercial or personal messages or slogans in any language or form on their playing or team kits," the rules say.

To be in line with FIFA rules, Iran's teams designed a special headscarf that players wrapped tightly around their heads and necks.

"We made the required corrections and played a match afterwards," Farideh Shojaei, the head of women's affairs at Iran's football federation, told Reuters TV.

"We played the next round and were not prevented from doing so, and they didn't find anything wrong.

That meant that there are no obstacles in our path, and that we could participate in the Olympics."

But FIFA said that the Iranian dress code violate its rules for the 2012 London Olympics.

"FIFA's decision in March 2010 which permitted that players be allowed to wear a cap that covers their head to the hairline, but does not extend below the ears to cover the neck, was still applicable," FIFA said in an e-mail to Reuters.

"Despite initial assurances that the Iranian delegation understood this, the players came out wearing the hijab, and the head and neck totally covered, which was an infringement of the Laws of the Game.

"The match commissioner and match referee therefore decided to apply correctly the Laws of the Game, which ended in the match being abandoned."

Under Iranian rules, all women are required to cover their body head to toe.

In order to be allowed to function domestically and compete internationally, the women football team play in full tracksuits, headscarves and neck warmers.

The FIFA verdict came days before a crucial second-round Olympics qualifying match between Iran and Jordan on Friday.

Killer Stone

Iranian officials said that the FIFA ruling has thrown a killer stone for women sports in the Islamic Republic. "Headscarves are simply what we wear in Iran,” said Mozafar.

Headscarf is an obligatory code of dress in Islam.

Iran's female athletes have excelled during international events in sports such as karate and volleyball.

“When a serious women athlete can’t participate internationally, which ambitions are left for her?” Mozafar said.

Iranian officials said that the ban was an insult to Muslims worldwide.

"The FIFA decision was an insult to all Muslims whose only aim was to show their (religious) belief in sports arenas," Shojaei told Mehr news agency.

The Islamic Republic is planning to appeal against the FIFA ruling.

"We will file a complaint against the match's FIFA organizer to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA)," said Ali Kafashian, head of Iran's Football Federation.

Muslim group furious that UK government will no longer fund their Islamic Caliphate ambitions

2011-06-07T06:28:00.000-07:00

Hizb ut-Tahrir run some questionable schools in the UK ~ which receive government funding!

Hizb ut-Tahrir's manifesto is bunkers ~ if you do leave Islam you must keep it to yourself ~ or else. A list of madness. Why should any free state fund this. Naturally in this Caliphate dreamworld ~ Muslims will be superior ~ and everyone else will be inferior under the law ~ unless you convert [and become superior!]

Taji Mustafa, media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain, rejects coalition's 'colonial' approach:

"This policy has nothing to do with security. It is about forcing a set of values on a community simply because their beliefs do not conform to secular liberal norms, and is proof that liberals can be supremacist.

"After bombing Afghanistan and Pakistan, does Mr Cameron still expect people to believe in the Blairite delusion that it is Islamic beliefs that are the cause of security threats to the UK? Most serious observers have abandoned this discredited world view, which continues to be propagated by some politicians, and self-serving think tanks and academics whose funding relies on such nonsense.

"This Conservative-Liberal government has decided to display an open hostility to Islam - threatening to cut funding to some groups - in order to impose Cameron's definition of 'British' values, and coercing Muslims to leave any Islamic values that the government labels 'extremist'.

"It is worth recalling that the Blair-Brown government's definition of 'extremism' included a belief in the Islamic Caliphate system of governance in the Muslim world; Islamic values in relation to intimate relations between men and women; and views on resistance to Western occupation in the Muslim world.

"Our message to the Muslim community is: let the government keep their funding and let us keep our Islamic values. Prevent funding has been largely rejected by the Muslim community who look at those who took it with suspicion so this 'withdrawal' is unlikely to affect many.

"This community built thousands of mosques, businesses, and schools largely without government funding. It was through initiative, hard work and most of all the help of Allah. No amount of government funding will compensate for us abandoning our Islamic principles and values.

"Our community would be doing a great injustice to itself and destroying decades of hard work if it did what Cameron and his government ask of us: to put loyalty to him above loyalty to the wider Muslim Ummah; to feel happy and proud when he orders British troops to kill Muslims in colonial wars; to accept his version of sexual morality as the norm; and to remain silent when oppression of the Ummah conflicts with British foreign policy interests.

"At a time when people in the West are seriously questioning the capitalist economic system, the West's destructive colonial exploits around the world, the sexualisation of youth culture, the breakdown of family life, and the rise of disrespect and antisocial behaviour, does Mr Cameron seriously expect Muslims - in Britain or elsewhere - not to look to Islam for answers that would best suit their community and indeed the wider world?

"For years, governments in the Middle East that had accepted British and American money in order to curb the rise of Islamic values and secure Western interests are now reaping the response from their oppressed and exploited people. Now, it seems Mr Cameron hopes to bring this discredited colonial approach to Muslim communities within Britain.

"The Muslim community should reject such proposals to compromise our Islamic values as a condition of citizenship and instead work hard to preserve and uphold Islamic values, and engage with the people in the wider society based upon these noble values."

Politics UK

Terrorism works: Convert & Islamic preacher told students at UK University

2011-06-07T05:40:00.000-07:00

a.k.a - Abdur Raheem Green found 'peace'
in Islamic terrorism

It is exactly what Muhammad figured out ~ he fancied himself the prophet ~ but while he was saying no compulsion, no compulsion ~ he was ignored. He had 100 followers, which probably included wives and children. But once he picked up the sword ~ like in the Mafia movies ~ you come to the shop ~ you are getting the loaf of bread for free ~ no problems! Muhammad's sword solved the problem of spreading Islam ~ a message which if it had real substance would have caught on on its own. And today, it is not one of Islam's followers, who is not living in fear of that same sword. How a Muslim would get over this feeling of terror is to abide by the Islam rules as stated!!

Now we are seeing the same coercive measures taken against non-Muslims in the west.

Islam was brought to them through the sword and they are governed via the sword. The aim of today's terrorism is to bring the whole world under this same order. The idea has failed repeatedly, once the people start to relax and be normal again, the idea would be to increase the penalties for not following Islam ~ its logical conclusion is 7th century Arabia.

Green is not PC convert to Islam!!

London, June 7: An Islamic preacher told his students that it was difficult to argue with the views of Osama bin Laden and said “terrorism works” during a speech at a university in London.

Abdur Raheem Green, a Muslim convert and former public schoolboy, said that a “permanent state of war exists between the people of Islam and the people who opposed Islam,” while addressing students at University College London (UCL).

He gave the speech to the university’s Islamic society while Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab, the Detroit bomber, was a student there in 2005, the Telegraph reports.
Referring to Osama in his 2005 UCL speech, Green, who claims he is not an extremist, said that it was difficult to argue with his views.

“His rational [sic] is, we are going to keep on killing your women and children until you stop killing our women and children. How do you argue with that?” said Green in his speech.

The other thing is that it seems that terrorism works. We certainly have precedent,” he added.

The disclosure follows a statement by Theresa May, the Home Secretary, in which she said there had been “complacency” by universities about Islamic extremism.

Qasim Rafiq, a spokesman for the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, invited Mr Green to speak at UCL along with two speakers from the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir and another who has supported the Taliban.

Since then, Mr Green has been invited to give lectures at London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies, Queen Mary and Bart’s and at UCL.

Referring to bin Laden in his 2005 UCL speech, Mr Green, who claims he is not an extremist, said: “His rational [sic] is … we are going to keep on killing your women and children until you stop killing our women and children. How do you argue with that?”

Citing the IRA, he added: “The other thing is that it seems that terrorism works. We certainly have precedent.”

Saqib Sattar, a trustee of the Islamic Education and Research Academy, where Mr Green works, said: “The aim of the talk was to combat indiscriminate violence and terrorism and not advocate it.”
A spokesman for UCL said the inquiry had been aware of the speech but added: “Provided the law is observed, we do not operate a 'no platform’ policy in relation to speakers with controversial, distasteful or even repugnant views.”(ANI) Telegraph

US designates Gaza based 'Army of Islam' as terrorist organization

2011-06-07T05:07:00.000-07:00

The Army of Islam with the armed wing of the governing Hamas movement and the Popular Resistance Committees, captured Israeli soldier 19-year-old Gilad Shalit.

This is not them, this is the Popular Resistance Committee!!

The United States has designated the Army of Islam, or AOI, as a terrorist organization. The terrorist designation bans Americans from doing business with the group and freezes any assets it might have in the United States.

AOI was founded in 2005 and is based in the Gaza Strip. It has been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks against Israel and Egypt, as well as American, British and New Zealand citizens. These actions include a number of rocket attacks on Israel, the 2006 kidnapping of two Fox News journalists in Gaza, and the 2007 kidnapping of a British citizen, journalist Alan Johnston, in Gaza. The Army of Islam is also responsible for attacks on Egyptian civilians in Cairo and Heliopolis in 2009.

The group is led by Mumtaz Dughmush and operates primarily in the Palestinian territories. It subscribes to a Salafist ideology of global jihad and supports armed Palestinian resistance. The Army of Islam has previously worked with Hamas and is attempting to develop closer ties with al Qaida.

On May 7th, AOI released a eulogy for Osama bin Laden via its Al Nur Media Foundation.

The designation of terrorist organizations plays a critical role in the United States' fight against terrorism. It is an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to abandon terrorism. The consequences of these designations include a prohibition against U.S. persons providing material support or resources to, or engaging in other transactions with AOI and the freezing of all property and interest in property of the organization that are in the United States, or come within the United States, or the control of U.S. persons.

This is a time of great movements toward freedom and democracy across the Middle East and North Africa where people are rejecting the extremist narratives and charting a path of peaceful progress based on universal rights and aspirations. There is no better rebuke to terrorist organizations like Army of Islam and their murderous ideologies.

VOA

Malaysia: "Obedient Wife Club" urge Muslim women to be 'whores in the bed'

2011-06-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

It is like Malaysia is hoping for a different result from
doing the same Islamic things again and again!

Almost a creepy approach to Islam. Like they are trying too hard.

Malaysian Muslims divorce rates are at an all time high ~
one every 15 mins ~ beating out all other groups.

KUALA LUMPUR — A group of Malaysian women launched an "Obedient Wife Club" on Saturday, urging members to be "whores in bed" and obey their husbands to curb social ills like divorce and domestic violence.

Islamic group Global Ikhwan held the club's inaugural meeting in Kuala Lumpur, giving women tips on how to keep their men satisfied and prevent them straying.

"A good wife is perceived to be prim and proper -- you just take care of the children -- but not much is emphasised on fulfilling sexual needs of the husband. If he needs sex, obey him," Rohaya Mohamad, the club's vice-president told AFP.

Rohaya said 30 percent of the club members were in polygamous marriages while the rest were in monogamous relationships and that the club was open to non-Muslims.

"You must satisfy your husband. A good wife should be a whore in bed," said 46-year-old doctor, whose husband has three other wives.

She said the club boasted 800 Malaysian members so far with another 200 from across the Middle East.

Over 1,000 guests and supporters turned up for the launch in a leafy suburb, held in conjunction with a mass wedding of ten couples, with the brides all members of the new club.

"If the wife is obedient, then the husband feels good and is entertained and this builds a closer relationship and greater love and no one strays," said groom Mohamad Shurahbil Amran, 23.

His bride Umuhani Lokman Hakim, 19, dressed in a golden white Arabic wedding gown, was unforthcoming when asked why she joined the club and would only say: "It is the right thing to do to keep the family together."

The club has come under criticism from Malaysian women's groups who say the onus on keeping a family together is being unfairly placed on women.

"With obedience comes submission, which may lead to domestic violence and marital rape," Women's Aid Organisation head Ivy Josiah told AFP.

"We should really be forming equality in marriage clubs," she added.

Women's rights group EMPOWER said the club was a step back for the progress of the equality movement.

"We cannot go back to caveman days where the man pulls the woman by the hair and takes her to the cave to have his way. We must recognise that women contribute a lot more than just being a sex toy," the group's executive director Maria Chin Abdullah told AFP.

Polygamy is legal for Muslims, who make up more than 60 percent of Malaysia's population, allowing Muslim men to take up to four wives.

In 2010, a study by a Muslim activist group found men in polygamous relationships find it difficult to meet the needs of all their wives and children, and that the result is often unhappy and cash-strapped families.

Egypt’s Christians Fear Violence as Changes Embolden Islamists - They Want Equal Rights With Muslims

2011-06-05T07:53:00.000-07:00

A slight bit more honesty coming for the New York Times in this article.

“The Copts are the crucial test case,” said Heba Morayef, a researcher with Human Rights Watch here, adding that facing off against “societal pressures” may in some ways be ever harder than criticizing a dictator. “It is the next big battle.”

Human Rights Watch to their credit did a report on the treatment of converts from Islam in Egypt ~ which is an illegal act. Some choose not to register the birth of their babies, and live in hiding, so they can emerge in the next generation as documented Christians.

But so far, there is little encouragement in the debate over how to address the sectarian strife. Instead of searching for common ground, all sides are pointing fingers of blame while almost no one is addressing the underlying reasons for the strife, including a legal framework that treats Muslims and Christians differently.

Calling the conflicts between Muslim and Christian in Egypt 'sectarian' is inaccurate ~ because it seems to imply that the Christians are responsible for starting an equal portion of these conflicts ~ when nearly 100% start with a Muslim mob ~ openly attacking ~ Christian places of worship, shops and businesses and property ~ with the military or police at times taking part ~ but rarely if ever there to halt these actions.

The 'legal framework that treats Muslims and Christians differently' are the Islamic Sharia dhimmi laws ~ which are in operation to varying extents in every Islamic nation. And are based on the idea of Islamic or Muslim supremacy.

The common ground is our common humanity ~ which Shari'a law acknowledges only for Muslims. There need be no search.

ElBaradei presidential hopeful

Here's an ElBaradei spokesperson ~ says that Egypt needs a bill of rights. They need a proper civil law with no clause II ~ which stipulates laws cannot contradict the Shari'a.

Still, many liberals argue the sectarian conflicts prove Egypt should establish a permanent “bill of rights” to protect religious and personal freedoms before holding elections that could give power to an Islamist majority. It would “remove the sense of angst that exists today in Egypt,” said a spokeswoman for Mohamed ElBaradei, a liberal presidential contender.

Its a sad dhimmi-ing around ~ because if you are poor in the Muslim world ~ you can think at least I am better than my non-Muslim neighbor ~ as a way to bolster one's self-esteem. But after a thousand years of dhimmitude for non-Muslims ~ someone has to be thinking ~ what has it brought them.

The arrogant ideas pre-revolution, that were coming out of Egypt was that the west needed to learn from the Egyptian example ~ and that western democracy needed Shari'a ~ would hardly be given an ear now. We have laws which establish equality for a reason ~ and across the western/free world has benefited enormously from them.

CAIRO — The headline screamed from a venerable liberal newspaper: Coptic Christians had abducted a young Muslim and tattooed her with a cross. “Copts kidnap Raghada!”

“They tied me up with ropes, beat me with shoes, shaved my hair,” Raghada Salem Abdel Fattah, 19, declared, “and forced me to read Christian psalms!”

Like many similar stories proliferating here since the revolution, Ms. Abdel Fattah’s kidnapping could not be confirmed. But for members of Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority, the sensational headline — from a respected publisher, no less — served to validate their fear that the Egyptian revolution had made their country less tolerant and more dangerous for religious minorities. The Arab Spring initially appeared to open a welcoming door to the dwindling number of Christian Arabs who, after years of feeling marginalized, eagerly joined the call for democracy and rule of law. But now many Christians here say they fear that the fall of the police state has allowed long-simmering tensions to explode, potentially threatening the character of Egypt, and the region.

“Will Christians have equal rights and full citizenship or not?” asked Sarkis Naoum, a Christian commentator in Beirut, Lebanon. A surge of sectarian violence in Cairo — 24 dead, more than 200 wounded and three churches in flames since President Hosni Mubarak’s downfall — has turned Christian-Muslim tensions into one of the gravest threats to the revolution’s stability. But it is also a pivotal test of Egypt’s tolerance, pluralism and the rule of law. The revolution has empowered the majority but also opened new questions about the protection of minority rights like freedom of religion or expression as Islamist groups step forward to lay out their agendas and test their political might.

Around the region, Christians are also closely watching events in Syria, where as in Egypt Christians and other minorities received the protection of a secular dictator, Bashar al-Assad, now facing his own popular uprising.

“The Copts are the crucial test case,” said Heba Morayef, a researcher with Human Rights Watch here, adding that facing off against “societal pressures” may in some ways be ever harder than criticizing a dictator. “It is the next big battle.”

But so far, there is little encouragement in the debate over how to address the sectarian strife. Instead of searching for common ground, all sides are pointing fingers of blame while almost no one is addressing the underlying reasons for the strife, including a legal framework that treats Muslims and Christians differently.

Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the 80 million Egyptians, say the revolution has plunged them into uncharted territory. Suppressed or marginalized for six decades here, Islamists entering politics have rushed to defend an article of the Egyptian Constitution that declares Egypt a Muslim country that derives its laws from Islam. Christians and liberals say privately they abhor the provision, which was first added as a populist gesture by President Anwar el-Sadat. But the article is so popular among Muslims — and the meaning so vague — that even many liberals and Christians entering politics are reluctant to speak out against it, asking at most for slight modifications.

“Our position is that it should stay, but a clause should be added so that in personal issues non-Muslims are subject to the rules of their own religion,” said Naguib Sawiris, a secular-minded Christian tycoon who has started his own liberal party.

He would prefer to remove religion from the laws entirely the way Western separation of church and state does, he said, but that idea could not prevail in Egypt. “Islam doesn’t separate them,” he said.

The most common sparks for sectarian violence, however, come from Egyptian laws dating from the end of the colonial era. One imposes stricter regulations on building churches than on mosques. Christians often look to get around the restrictions by constructing “community centers” with altars and steeples — sometimes provoking Muslim accusations of deceit and Christian charges of discrimination.

Often, Christians who want to divorce convert to Islam — and try, after the divorce, to convert back. The law has spawned many rumors of sectarian “kidnappings” to abet or prevent such a conversion for some Coptic women. The rumors ignite most outbreaks of Muslim-Christian violence, including at least three riots since the revolution, and many other controversies. In Ms. Abdel Fattah’s case, the Cairo police said the account was fabricated, while Ms. Abdel Fattah’s mother said her daughter was too traumatized to speak to reporters.

But despite widespread recognition of the law’s role as a catalyst of sectarian violence, the idea that civic law should enforce religious morals is so deeply embedded here that almost no one is proposing to alter the rule.

“It is explosive,” said Hossam Bahgat, founder of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, one of the few groups that advocate changing the law to at least allow the choice of a civil, nonreligious marriage.

When Copts held a weeklong sit-in to demand equal legal treatment, many who attended nonetheless insisted on the preservation of separate, binding laws on Christian marriages. “So no one will be able to get around the religion,” said Yusef George, a 30-year-old businessman. A spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest Islamist group, said it, too, supported the rule.

Some blame their own church for depending too much on Mr. Mubarak. In a pattern common to Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, Coptic leaders cultivated the patronage of Egypt’s secular dictator, with Coptic Pope Shenouda III trading political support for favors and protection. As in Iraq, with the leader deposed, the Christians felt exposed.

“Coptic rights were reserved to be discussed between Mubarak and the pope,” said Mona Makram Ebeid, a Coptic scholar and former lawmaker who suspended her membership in the liberal Wafd party because its newspaper published the headline about Ms. Abdel Fattah, “and the Copts were left out of it completely.”

Church leaders, in turn, blame Islamic fundamentalists they say the revolution has emboldened. “They don’t want any Copts present in Egypt,” said Father Armia Adly, a spokesman for the church.

The Muslim Brotherhood, meanwhile, has named a Christian as deputy leader of its new political party. “We are calling for a civil state,” said Essam el-Erian, a prominent leader of the Brotherhood, adding that the group hoped to promote laws derived from the elements of Islamic law common to other great religions, like “freedom of worship and faith, equality between people, and human rights and human dignity.”

Still, many liberals argue the sectarian conflicts prove Egypt should establish a permanent “bill of rights” to protect religious and personal freedoms before holding elections that could give power to an Islamist majority. It would “remove the sense of angst that exists today in Egypt,” said a spokeswoman for Mohamed ElBaradei, a liberal presidential contender.

New York Times

Keep the Persecution of Egypt's Christians in Correct Perspective

2011-06-05T07:51:00.000-07:00

The Catholic press tries to address some of the downplaying of the media reports of attacks on Coptic Christians ~ offering a bit of history. And it focuses on the contents of a Reuters article.

The article mentions a few. For instance, Copts are severely restricted when it comes to employment opportunities for government jobs. They want equal opportunity. The history of the Copts is not included in school textbooks, and they want it included in the curriculum. In addition, Copts are not allowed to build or repair their churches unless they get special permits which are not required for mosques, so they want these restrictions eased.

Although this list is far from complete, it gives us some idea how restricted the Copts are in present-day Egyptian society.

Imagine this lot outside of your church/place of worship!!
Christians arrested from praying outside of a church [in a house] without a permit, when churches are not allowed to be built!

KNOXVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) - On May 26, 2011, Reuters published an article, "Christians Worry Egypt Being Hijacked by Islamists." The article begins by informing us about Coptic fears of rising Islamist fundamentalism since Mubarak stepped down as President of Egypt in February of this year, but then it seems to downplay those fears. Consequently, I am reminded how important it is for us keep the harsh reality which the Copts are experiencing in proper perspective. With this thought in mind, I will review four points mentioned in the Reuters article.

First, the article seems to associate the Copts' fear of rising Islamist fundamentalism with a group called the Salafists. Of course, such fears have other roots too, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, but the Salafists appear to be responsible for much of the increased violence and tensions in Egypt of late.

The Salafis are followers of a movement that models itself on Islam's patristic [early] period. The Salafis believe that this time period, which lasted for the first three generations, reflects the pure and authoritative teaching and practice of Islam. Contemporary Salafism is seen as a literal and puritanical approach to Islam, and a minority of Salafis espouse violent jihad against the civilian population. Members of this violent minority are referred to as Salafists.

Second, the article suggests other explanations for the recent wave of attacks against the Copts. It floats the idea that the protests in January and February somehow weakened law and order. This idea does not make much sense to me as it stands. However, forcing Mubarak out so fast did risk creating a power vacuum, and Egypt could be struggling with this problem. Some reports appear to corroborate this idea. They indicate that the military may be having difficulty keeping order among certain groups of fundamentalists such as the Salafists.

The article also suggests that the increased lawlessness may be due to the mass breakout of convicts from jail during the historic demonstrations in January and February. But the attacks against the Copts are overwhelmingly sectarian. Reports indicate that the attacks are being carried out by local Muslim communities and their leaders, not escaped convicts. For instance, the article mentions an incident last week in Ain Shams, an eastern district of Cairo, where local Muslims and Salafists reportedly blocked Christians from going to church and threw cinder blocks at them.

Third, according to the article, some Egyptians think the alarm over the recent sectarian violence is being overdone, and some blame Coptic leaders for stoking fears and making the Christian community more defensive. It even quotes a Christian thinker, Milad Hanna: "If there are events which could lead to clashes every now and then, this may happen. They (Muslims) are normal people, not angels." Then the article says that "The sectarian clashes have prompted many Christians to vent pent-up grievances at perceived discrimination since the 1970s. "

The Copts are hardly venting pent-up grievances at perceived discrimination, though I have no doubt that their grievances are pent up. After all, they have been suffering discrimination for well over a thousand years, ever since Muslim armies conquered Egypt in the seventh century. Discrimination against the Copts is real, not perceived or imagined. They do not have to go looking for it to try to find it. It is in their face every day.

Furthermore, significant clashes between Copts and Muslims since Mubarak stepped down have not been "every now and then." And there is good reason to believe that these clashes are increasing in intensity and frequency. I have written about some of them in previous articles. In February, at least three monasteries were attacked by the military: the Makarios Monastery of Alexandria, the Saint Bishoy Monastery, and the fourth century monastary of Saint Boula. In March, the Coptic community of Soul was attacked by a mob of 4000 Muslims? Then there was the protest in Cairo that turned violent. And in May there was the conflict at the Saint Mina Church. Not far away, the Virgin Mary Church was set on fire that same evening in Imbaba, Cairo.

Nor are Coptic leaders stoking fears or overreacting. That is what some people do in America. We are not talking about someone threatening to burn the Koran or people protesting the building of an Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero, which caused mass hysteria among some people in this country; we are talking about Coptic churches, businesses and homes being destroyed and people being attacked, wounded and killed because they are Christian. These are acts of real hatred, violence and destruction.

The fourth and final point I will review concerns the rights which Copts want. The article mentions a few. For instance, Copts are severely restricted when it comes to employment opportunities for government jobs. They want equal opportunity. The history of the Copts is not included in school textbooks, and they want it included in the curriculum. In addition, Copts are not allowed to build or repair their churches unless they get special permits which are not required for mosques, so they want these restrictions eased.

Although this list is far from complete, it gives us some idea how restricted the Copts are in present-day Egyptian society. The Copts are not asking for fictitious rights, as is happening in America over such contentious issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. They are asking for fundamental rights that all people need in order to live. They are asking not to be driven from their land or killed, which is happening to Christians throughout the Muslim world.

Thus, the Copts have real reasons to fear rising Islamic fundamentalism. This is the harsh reality of life for the Copts, and it is important for us to keep it in proper perspective. Perhaps one reason it is important is so that we will continue to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters around the world and help build up the Body of Christ.

Egyptian Military Court Prosecutes Only Christians in Muslim Church Attacks

2011-06-05T05:56:00.000-07:00

Islamic day out ~ Attack a Church Day!!

Whenever Muslims attack in Egypt ~ Christians are jailed ~ if it happens otherwise ~ there would be true surprise.

On the morning of May 19 two Coptic priests went to St. Mary and St. Abraham Church in Ain Shams and opened it together with some of the Coptic residents, but later in the day thousands of Muslims surrounded the church to protest its opening, hurled stones at the church building and the Copts, who responded by throwing stones. The army and the police stood there watching and did not intervene (video).

Here is an account from one of the jailed Copts:

Emad Ayyad said he was looking down the street from his balcony and saw his son Ayad Emad Ayad arguing with an officer, so he went down to see his son. The officer took him together with his son and shoved them in the police armored car along with a black handbag which belonged to the officer, as evidence to use against them. The police did not say how the weapons were confiscated from them. According to forensics no shots were fired from the weapons.

Egyptian Coptic Christians demonstrate in Cairo in March

Copts, who held a sit-in earlier this month after Muslim mobs attacked to churches elsewhere in Cairo, said the government had promised to reopen closed churches, including the one in Ain Shams. [+]

The thing you want to know is that you never want to live in an Islamic country as a native non-Muslim. Its hell on earth. Here they are just trying to reopen a church. Its the same in Pakistan ~ in both places there has to be sufficient international attention for authorities to act on the behalf of the Christians ~ even when people are killed.

(AINA) -- A Military court in Egypt has sentenced three Christian Copts to 5-years imprisonment on charges of possession of firearms and pocket knives. The Court released all other Muslims and Copts arrested following clashes on May 19 over the re-opening of St. Mary and St. Abraham churches in Ain Shams West (AINA 5-24-2011). Copts Emad Ayyad and Ayman Youssef Halim were convicted of carrying firearms. Emad Ayyam's son, Ayad Emad Ayad, was convicted of carrying a pocket knife.

Eight Copts, mostly students, were arrested in Ain Shams West and charged with rioting, violence and causing injury to citizens. Three of the Copts were also charged with possession of firearms and knives. Police arrested three under-age Muslims on charges of throwing stones at the army.

Defense lawyer Abraham Edward said "This is a very unjust, severe and cruel verdict." He said that as lawyers they are unable to fathom what is going on. "Today's case is very strange, a case where there is not one shred of evidence to indict them. If this case went in front of the International Court of Justice they would all be set free." He criticized the five-year prison sentence handed down to Ayad Emad Ayad for carrying a pocket knife. According to the law this is punishable by a six months suspended sentence.

Emad Ayyad said he was looking down the street from his balcony and saw his son Ayad Emad Ayad arguing with an officer, so he went down to see his son. The officer took him together with his son and shoved them in the police armored car along with a black handbag which belonged to the officer, as evidence to use against them. The police did not say how the weapons were confiscated from them. According to forensics no shots were fired from the weapons.

Edward said the defense team was advised they could petition the military governor for a retrial, which they have already done.

The three Muslims who were released all minors were represented by the Coptic defense team which asked for their release, especially a 14-year-old boy who was released on the same day.

Mr. Hitham Refaat Shaker, one of the defense attorneys, said in an interview on May 23 that he is sure the charges were fabricated against the Copts. "It is impossible to imagine the incident as described by the officer who wrote the report, that the Christians threw stones at other Christians in order to accuse Muslims of doing it" (video).

The Military Council pressured the Copts to call off their 13-day sit-in in Maspero, Cairo "in exchange for the release of five of the eight Copts arrested, while the release of the other three would be negotiated once the sit-in ended," said Father Mattias Nasr, head organizer of the Maspero sit-in.

By Mary Abdelmassih

Fear of power vacuum as Yemeni president flees to Saudi Arabia

2011-06-05T05:18:00.000-07:00

These ultra religious countries scare people off ~ tourism, no industry ~ tourists suffer from jihadist attack and kidnap. The country becomes hostile and unwelcoming. Diplomats have been attacked from the UK as well as South Korea. It is not clear how this country will emerge from this situation. Its like Muslims want friends, but they want them at the North Pole.

Fears are growing of a power vacuum in Yemen that could be exploited by terrorists, after the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and several senior government ministers fled to Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

The president, prime minister, speakers of both houses of parliament, and several senior officials, were wounded in an attack on the presidential place on Friday, but how seriously is not known.

Abdo al-Janadi, the deputy information minister, told Al Jazeera television that Mr. Saleh’s powers had devolved to the vice-president, Abdo Rabu Mansur Hadi, “until the president returns.”

“The state has its institutions that can deal with these kinds of circumstances,” Mr al-Janadi said. “Constitutional procedures will be followed.”

Protesters in the central city of Taiz launched fireworks and sang songs throughout the night in Freedom Square, a week after it was burnt and bulldozed by the army.

“The reaction to Saleh departure was spontaneous as huge marches went out in the city and people fired fireworks to celebrate the event,” said activist Bushra al-Maqtari from Taiz. “Everyone is happy for the departure of the president.”

But although predictions of a rapid escalation of Yemen’s violence into an all-out civil war following Friday’s attack, Saturday have proved unfounded so far, western governments fear extremists such as al-Qaidia in the Arabian Peninsula will take advantage of the chaos.

President Barack Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, held talks with ken with Mr Hadi about events in Yemen on Saturday, the White Hose said.

Mr Brennan visited Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates last week to discuss the crisis in Yemen.

William Hague, the UK foreign secretary, told the BBC he was “very worried” about the threat to Britain if Yemen descending into chaos, describing it as “a much more serious threat’’ to UK national security.”

Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen scholar at Princeton University, said it was difficult to predict what bearing the departure of so many senior figures would have until their condition was better known.

After four-months of anti-government protests, pro-regime forces have been locked in deadly clashes with tribal gunmen for over a week and the situation in Sana’a is increasingly unclear. The fighting combat that engulfed much of the capital on Friday has waned significantly, although the gunfire could still be heard, witnesses said on Saturday. Witnesses reported renewed gunfire in the city central city of Taiz on Sunday.

There were unconfirmed reports on Sunday that many top ministers and government officials, along with their families, were spotted trying to board flights from the capital’s airport, suggested that the regime’s stalwarts have lost control of the situation.

Local media reports that members of Mr Saleh’s family, which includes leaders of Yemen’s most powerful security organs, had also fled the country by air, likewise could not immediately be confirmed.

A representative of several powerful army units that have defected from the military in recent weeks delivered an official statement expressing concern that the political situation not give way to violence. “We renew our commitment to a peaceful revolution,” said former defence minister Abdullah al-Alleiwah.

There had been growing speculation about the condition and whereabouts of Mr Saleh on Saturday as the government repeatedly denied reports that he was travelling to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment after being wounded in the attack on his palace.

Mr Saleh, sounding weary, gave a brief audio address on Yemen’s state television on Saturday, leading to speculation about the severity of his injuries.

The Saudi-backed al-Arabiya news channel was reporting that Mr Saleh was in a military hospital in Riyadh Saturday night with wounds in the neck and chest, and that he had arrived late Saturday along with 35 other people also injured in the palace attack.

“His excellency the president agreed [to be moved] and expressed his desire to complete treatment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” a Saudi statement said

Financial Times

Anatomy of Thought Crime - Robert Spencer's tough ride at Ohio University - Video

2011-06-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

It appears that while your average student was scared off ~ the people who did attend ~ seem to be Muslim or having some direct connection to Islam.

Its embarrassing because if Islam was a religion that promoted humility ~ it would not be having these problems.

Its crazy, because on one side you have human nature ~ where there are no differences ~ Muslims have these rules from Islam ~ really directing their behavior against their better nature ~ if followed to the letter. So that long term Muslims and today's new ~ especially politically correct converts ~ [the new converts that run with al Qaeda and the like, got the whole message] ~ but for the others they are stuck explaining the more radical and troubling parts of the Islamic doctrine. They are literally trying to iron out its lumps, at least publicly, that just won't go away.

Understanding Muslims

On one side ~ there has to be some understanding for Muslims ~ because in most of the countries they come from ~ they can't legally leave the religion ~ your father was Muslim and you will be Muslim and your children and your grandchildren will be Muslim ~ or else!! That's conditioning ~ they are conditioned to fear ~ the consequences ~ of having a single thought that in anyway questions of challenges the religion. And its contagious ~ because now they want us to feel that same fear!! What in the western world ~ especially to do with religion ~ we can't question ~ say Islam!!

We have got to question all over it!!

The Muslim guy in this video who picks up the mic ~ who says that there is no jizya or tax on non-Muslims in Islam ~ as Robert Spencer rightly points to Koran 9:29, the jizya's collection was only stopped in the Islamic world on western colonization. And it is still collected now in the tribal regions of Pakistan. Hindus and Sikhs are now forced to pay it ~ many flee to safer parts or to India. They also have to wear a red patch on their clothes ~ in some parts to show that they are non-Muslim.

Imam Rauf

Obviously, like most Muslims, asked to speak on Islam ~ will try to protect the religion ~ where truth is a casualty.

700 Jews

700 Jews were attacked in Mecca ~ and the Muslims took the women as wives and slaves ~ Muhammad took one for himself but she refused to marry him.

This protection he is talking about ~ is similar in terms of the Mafia ~ everything is going okay ~ they attack you, then you find you need protection ~ hence the jizya ~ which is literally a protection tax. Which is why Turkey was recently thinking about reintroducing it ~ as a way to protect Christians living there from attack. As was done during the Ottoman Empire years ~ sadly when the Christians asked for equal rights ~ it was deemed offensive ~ where Muslim and non-Muslims cannot be equal [under Shari'a] ~ and the rest is history. There are no Christians.

Muhammad's problem with the Jews was not personal ~ he was attacking everyone. He was saying my new Kaaba religion [versus the old] contains your Judaism plus Christianity all rolled into one! And the brushed him off. They already had a god ~ and Muhammad wanted them to worship his Kaaba god stripped of all the other Kaaba gods. They did not buy it and he killed them ~ and he obviously never got over it ~ as the Koran is laced with anti-Jew text. At one stage to bring in the Jews he had his followers pray towards Jerusalem ~ when he made no headway it was back to facing Mecca.

Deceiving you

This is the problem ~ that is why Robert Spencer and others are making this effort ~ because Islamic values and the values established in the west are not the same ~ if anyone tells that they are ~ then they are deceiving you ~ and attempting to turn us into places like Egypt or Pakistan ~ where if you are a Muslims you have limited rights and as a non-Muslim you have significantly less. [They face not only religious and political restrictions, but who they can marry]

This is based on the dhimmi laws ~ where the Jews of Mecca took protection from attack ~ a part of the deal was that they also had to be subjugated. The dhimmi status was only for the Jews and the Christians at first ~ that meant if you worshipped any of the pre-Islamic Kaaba gods, or other local deities ~ if you did not convert to Islam ~ there was no dhimmi protection for you ~ you were slaughtered, raped [Muhammad ordered his men to rape non-Muslim women in front of theirs husbands ~ when he saw some of his men were reluctant]. It was literally convert or die!!

9/11 Mosque and the Rabat

One the site of conquest or attack or seizure ~ Muhammad ordered a Rabat to be built ~ which was impart a community center, a garrison to carry or further attacks and a mosque to propagate the Islamic message in the newly acquired area.

Woman Known for Handing Out Korans Stabs 2 Outside Bloomington Library - Video

2011-06-03T17:24:00.000-07:00

Islamic group's Jesus ad offends Christians

2011-06-03T12:58:00.000-07:00

Jesus ad, which is soon to appear on public buses in Sydney,
Australia, has drawn fire from a Catholic bishop

Muhammad likely would have did everything
in his power not to kill Jesus!!

Not a match made in heaven
~ but perhaps Jesus could forgive Muhammad.

Here is a good sign:

Jesus forgives Muhammad!!
Muhammad repents of his sins!

So amazing Jesus was against stoning women and Muhammad was for it!!

Islam originates from the Kaaba ~ which was there for 700 before Islam ~ plenty of time to accept Jesus!! But they did not. It was a place where any number of Gods could be worshiped and it was only through Muhammad's sword that they were forced to get rid of them. It was probably on the whole a nice place to go ~ on making the pre-Islamic Hajj to Mecca you could bring any God.

The Goddess or Daughters of Allah were worshipped in Syria, and across the region and even in Greece ~ where Allah's daughter Al-Lat became Leto. And it was 800 years after Muhammad that Arabia finally stamped out the worship of the Goddesses.

It is possible that some of the people who were fighting for the spread of Islam did not fully understand it ~ because what they were supposed to be saying, that within the pantheon or Allah family you should now only worship Allad the Dad. But some people did not quite get this, in India ~ there is a mosque which is dedicated ~ I believe to the Goddesses Al-Uzza and possibly the other goddesses ~ mentioned in the Koran 53:19 ~ as they believe they were important to the prophet. And they were right. Hence the Salman Rushdie trouble ~ in his satire the Satanic Verses ~ he suggested that perhaps Muhammad ~ or the Angel Gabriel was correct the first time. To curry favor Muhammad, after saying don't worship the Goddesses of his father ~ he said worship them. And then some months or a year later ~ its don't worship them again. But period was long enough for the news to have traveled to Ethiopia ~ where some Kaaba worshipers rejoiced at Muhammad's change of heart ~ in allowed the Goddesses to be worshiped again.

Obviously these things go to the heart of Islam ~ and the story as they want it to be told ~ that is why you had the Iranian fatwa against Salman Rushdie where every Muslim in the world was required to kill him for so-called offending Islam.

Freedom two way street

That is why we need freedom of speech ~ because Muslims can say offensive things. If you look at Jesus's life and compare it to Muhammad's there is no way he could have been following Jesus. In this sense ~ linking the two up ~ becomes offensive to many. It is clear that many Muslims can't even fathom some of Muhammad's antics. But a lot of them are afraid to question it. And that fear is real. At the same time ~ Muslims should also accept that people are going to say things which they find offensive. A part of their objection ~ is an expression of that fear ~ in the past when Islam entered a place it was usually through violence ~ and any challenges to it were dealt with violently ~ with the majority of western Muslims being immigrants ~ when someone challenges Islam ~ they are expecting some sort of violent response ~ because they have been so conditioned. And because they make so much noise, the temptation is to somehow alter freedoms to accommodate this ~ and that would be wrong ~ because you would quickly end up with an Islamic state ~ they can say Jesus was a Prophet of Islam ~ but all of the challenges to Islam would be deeded too offensive. That is the typical Islamic state ~ only Muslim sensitiveness are legally obliged.

(CNSNews.com) – “Jesus: A prophet of Islam” states the provocative tagline in a “public awareness” advertising campaign launched by a Muslim group in Australia’s largest city.

The group, calling itself Mypeace, says its aim is to inform, not offend – but offend it has, with one Catholic bishop calling the assertion about Jesus “a direct assault on Christian beliefs.”

Roadside billboards in the metropolitan Sydney area carry one of four simple slogans: “Jesus: A Prophet of Islam,” “Holy Qur’an: The Final Testament,” “Muhammad: Mercy to Mankind” and “Islam: Got Questions? Get Answers.”

Each banner invites people to get in touch by phone or online, for literature and a free copy of the Qur’an. Mypeace says the ads will stay up for four weeks, and later this year will be run on scores of public buses in the city.

One of the billboards featuring the Jesus slogan was vandalized a day after it was erected.

Mypeace says its aim is to “address the many misconceptions on Islam, to educate fellow Australians on Islam, invite them to ask any questions that they may have.”

Islamic awareness campaigns are not new, but the slogan referring to Jesus is causing a stir. Muslims and interfaith advocates sometimes invoke Jesus to assert some sort of commonality with Christians, implying that Muslims, too, “believe in Jesus.”

Two of the ads placed by an Australian Muslim group on billboards in Sydney. (Image: Mypeace)
But Muslims, and the Qur’an, deny the central Christian beliefs regarding Jesus – his divinity, crucifixion and resurrection.

Elsewhere on its Web site, Mypeace states that “the Qur’an … repeatedly reminds that Jesus was a human prophet sent by God, not part of God Himself.”

“In Australia with its Christian heritage a billboard carrying the statement ‘Jesus A prophet of Islam’ is provocative and offensive to Christians,” Julian Porteous, auxiliary bishop at the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, responded in an article.

“Central to Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ is more than a prophet,” he said. “He is the Son of God. He is acclaimed Lord and Savior of humanity. This statement is a direct assault on Christian beliefs.”

Porteous said religions should not “set out to antagonize those with differing beliefs.”

“Dialogue between the religions can only take place when it is founded in mutual respect. It is not fostered by provocative statements.”

Porteous urged Mypeace to withdraw the ads.

Islamic doctrine holds that the 7th century Arabian Mohammed was the last in a long line of prophets of Islam stretching back to Adam, and including Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Jonah, John the Baptist – and Jesus. (The “Got Questions?” ad in Sydney also describes Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed as “prophets of Islam”.)

Pakistani journalist killed after investigative report on military base assault

2011-06-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

Its a disaster up there!

He went missing in Islamabad while on way to participate in a TV talk show on 29 May. Two days before his abduction, Saleem Shahzad published an article in the Asia Times Online investigating reasons behind a daring militant attack on a highly guarded naval base in Karachi.

Shahzad was the third journalist killed this year. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has termed Pakistan the “deadliest in the world for journalists”.

Islamabad, 1 June (AKI) - Pakistani Qamar Yousafzai five years ago spent time in captivity with fellow reporter and compatriot Saleem Shahzad. Shazad's battered corpse was identified on Tuesday, two days after his disappearance. Now Yousafzai doesn't want Shazad's case to go unsolved and is asking for his friend's killers to be brought to justice.

"I appeal to the world's journalist community to get justice. Or for the Pakistani government to help us find the truth. I ask all to please take a strong stand on this case.

"If we have the investigative journalistic knowledge we will reach our goal," Yousafzai, an editor for Islamabad Times and a freelance journalist, said Wednesday in an e-mailed statement sent to Adnkronos International (AKI).

Shahzad's body was identified in eastern Punjab province and was brought to Islamabad. His body showed signs of torture and a news report said he was shot in the stomach. Following his disappearance, reports said he was being held by the powerful Pakistani secret service, the Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI.

Shahzad's death prompted Pakistani interior minister Rehman Malik to announce the legalisation of small-calibre arms for journalists.

Since 2010, 15 Pakistani journalists have been killed, making Pakistan one of the world's most dangerous countries for the profession, according to press watchdog Reporters Without Borders.

"I'm not afraid of these militants. We're reporting on the war on terrorism and we must work for peace," he told AKI by telephone on Wednesday from Islamabad.

Yousafzai and Shahzad in November 2006 were kidnapped by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan's Helmand province, where they reporting. They were held for a week on suspicion of espionage, subjected to a mock trial by their captors and released after they admitted 'wrongdoing'.

Shahzad had worked for Adnkronos Intermnational since 2004. He was also Hong Kong based newspaper Asia Times Online's Asia bureau chief.

Artwork ~ Bride in Burqa ~ Covered Up - Too Sensitive!!

2011-06-03T11:37:00.000-07:00

Aidan Salakhova's sculptures, including the work "Waiting Bride" (right), have been covered by sheets

This the real Black Stone of the Kaaba in
Mecca and is the focus of all Muslim prayer
it is the only thing that is allowed to be used for
intercession with Allah. After Muhammad successfully

defeated his relatives for control of the Kaaba,
he ran over and kissed the stone.
A practise to this day Muslims try to emulate.
Allah was the supreme God of the Kaaba in
pre-Islamic times.

Muhammad's family were keepers of the Kaaba

for 700 years before Islam. Allah was said to have

three daughter ~ mentioned in Koran 53:19.
Find out more about Allah's Daughter here.

VENICE. Two large-scale sculptural works by Moscow-based artist Aidan Salakhova, on show at the entrance of the Azerbaijan National Pavilion, were yesterday hidden from view under drapes following protests from the Azerbaijan president. The Art Newspaper understands that Ilham Aliyev took offence at the pieces because of their references to Islam. One work, Waiting Bride, 2010-11, which shows a woman covered in a black veil from head to foot, was deemed as promoting an unacceptably strict form of Islam. The other sculpture, which depicts the Muslim relic, the Black Stone of Mecca, contained in a vagina-like marble frame, was considered insensitive to the religion. The works will remain under wraps for a week.

“I am very surprised as the Azerbaijan government was aware of the works I planned to bring to Venice,” Salakhova told The Art Newspaper. In the official press material for the pavilion, she had written: “I am very proud to represent Azerbaijan, a secular country where Islam and civility are closely woven together.” The Azerbaijan Culture Ministry could not be reached for comment.

The artist is presenting “Destination”, her first sculptures, in Venice. Salakhova, who was a co-founder of First (the Soviet Union’s first contemporary art gallery in 1989) before opening the Aidan Gallery in 1992, intertwines modern and mystical imagery, and has an interest in gender and Islamic themes and their interconnection. Her sculptures in Venice, some of which weigh more than a tonne, are on display at Palazzo Benzon (to 27 September).

Yet another nail in the coffin for Bin Laden - A pork fat bullet may have been used

2011-06-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

Do Islamic jihadists require halal bullets??

Did a pork-coated bullet kill Bin Laden? Yes, says firm who claim its pig fat gun oil is bought by U.S. military personnel

Dubious: Osama bin Laden 'was killed by a pork-soaked bullet, if one rather shady website, that peddles gun oil containing pig fat, is to be believed

Was Osama bin Laden shot with a bullet soaked in pork fat, denying him a place in paradise?

Yes, if one rather shady website, that peddles gun oil containing liquefied pig fat, is to be believed.

The makers of Silver Bullet Gun Oil claim it contains 13 per cent USDA liquefied pig fat thus making the product 'a highly effective counter-Islamic terrorist force multiplier.'

The apparent owner of the gun oil site, who goes by the name 'The Midnight Rider,' explains how the pig fat will transfer onto anything the bullet strikes.

This 'effectively denies entry to Allah's paradise to an Islamo-fascist terrorist,' Rider adds.

The oil, which costs $8.95 for 4oz, apparently puts the 'fear of death into them (terrorists)'.

In Islam consumption of pork is forbidden, but the Quran also states that if one is forced to consume the meat then they are guiltless and therefore not disqualified from paradise.

The website also notes its customers include members of the U.S. military.

'Thousands of bottles of Silver Bullet Gun Oil have been distributed since July of 2004 by its creator to members of ALL U.S. Military branches,' it claims.

Product: The website claims its Silver Bullet Oil is popular with members of the U.S. military

Claim: The oil distributors make their Bin Laden claim in a promotional video on YouTube

A promotional YouTube video for the oil shows a picture of Bin Laden and the claim: 'Killed with a weapon using Silver Bullet Gun Oil'.

'Midnite Rider' also known as 'Warrior of YAHWEH,' claims to be a former Marine scout sniper on the site.

Pictures of the 'production line' show a masked men wearing regulation Marine camouflage uniform, that is officially off-limits for civilians.

Special force: Bin Laden died after being shot in the head by a U.S. Navy Seal in a secret Pakistan compound last month (file picture)

A disclaimer on the website also reads: 'This product is for use on armed Muslim terrorists only.

'We do not promote discrimination against any race or religion, only terrorists.'

A spokesman for the U.S. Army's weapons-procurement command told the Southern Pverty Law Center's Hatewatch - a not-for-profit that monitors the evolving problem of online bigotry - that he was unfamiliar with Silver Bullet, 'though he conceded that a soldier or marine could theoretically purchase the oil on his or her own and use it on the battlefield.'

Daily Mail

High court action in Pakistan to ban 'offensive' and 'blasphemous' Holy Bible

2011-06-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

Apparently it is better understood in Arabic!!

Whatever it says in the Bible ~ it says nothing about Muslims.

But it seems that some of its stories ~ offend Muslim sensibilities!!

Subtle threat ~ any excuse for jihad:

There were no chances of any clash between the two religions as long as the courts are functioning, said Farooqi. “Our lawyers are preparing to ask the court to ban the book; we will not follow in the footsteps of Terry Jones and burn the holy book”, he said.

He is also saying ~ that if the court doesn't give us our way ~ then we might attack.

Muslims simply don't get Christianity ~ there is not the same slavery to the scripture ~ large portions of the Old Testament are seen as stories and historical accounts. They are not going to kill anyone because they disagree with these!!

Party leader Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi and other clerics quoted “immoral Biblical stories” and stated that “such insertions strongly offend Muslims, who hold all prophets and holy books in high esteem as part of religious belief and never even think of committing any blasphemy against them.”

Clueless...

Unlike the Koran there is no call for violence ~ for the establishment of a Shar'iatopia. Whereas calls for the Koran to be banned in the west are based on the book's incitement to violence.

Speaking of cover ups

There are some attempts to ban the Islamic history in India. Historical accounts show 60 million to 100 million ~ slaughtered on Islam's foray into India ~ many of these accounts where from Muslim leaders themselves. In recent years a group of Muslims applied to the court ~ to have this history negated or banned ~ because it was deemed 'offensive' to India's Muslims.

In the interest of getting along a lot of things will have to be forgotten ~ but since the 1970's some Hindus are saying that 49 million Hindus of Pakistan and Bangladesh ~ have disappeared off census records. And that these governments have never fully explained this occurrence. This with just 3.1 million Hindu converts to Islam. [Perhaps it offers insight into Pakistan's relationship with its militants ~ partners in crime?]

Hindus make up a mere 1.85% of the Pakistani population now ~ down from 25-30% during the time of the Partition in 1947.

Christian politicians and Church leaders June 2 strongly condemned allegations made by a Muslim organisation of “pornography” in the Bible.

Julius Salik, convener of World Minorities Alliance and a former federal minister, said it was an injustice to Christians and a violation of their religious freedom.

“The undue interference in our religious matters would cause disputes and discord among the followers of both religions”, he stated in a press statement.

A religious political party is seeking redress for what it claims is “pornographic” content in the Bible.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam appealed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan to examine “blasphemous materials” in the Bible during a press conference on May 30 in Lahore.

Party leader Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi and other clerics quoted “immoral Biblical stories” and stated that “such insertions strongly offend Muslims, who hold all prophets and holy books in high esteem as part of religious belief and never even think of committing any blasphemy against them.”

There were no chances of any clash between the two religions as long as the courts are functioning, said Farooqi. “Our lawyers are preparing to ask the court to ban the book; we will not follow in the footsteps of Terry Jones and burn the holy book”, he said.

The Church in Pakistan, and the rest of the world, condemned Pastor Terry Jones of Florida for ordering the burning a Qur’an more than two months ago. However the aftermath continues as Church leaders feared.

“These are attempts to wage crusades”, said Father James Channan, regional coordinator for the United Religious Initiative.

He termed the clerics’ demand a “strong blow to Christians” in the country. “It’s a degrading move. We shall defend our manual for life at every level. The supreme court cannot head to such madness.”

“Nobody in the world can judge the Bible. It’s a mad response to an equally mad act done by an individual”, said Bishop Timotheus Nasir, head of the United Presbyterian Church.

UCA

Saudi Arabia Looks to Ban Child Brides

2011-06-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

Looks as in 'looks at' a ban on child marriages ~ like that rolling desert out there nothing much changes quickly.

The practice of families marrying off their underage girls to elderly, usually wealthy, men has long been criticized by local and international human rights organizations. But the most conservative Saudis, including many in the religious establishment, are loath to disrupt age-old customs that are often assumed to have a basis in Islam as well.

"It is wrong to claim that marrying a girl under the age of 15 is unlawful," Al Al-Sheikh asserted girls when the debate on child marriage peaked in 2009. "When a female passes the age of ten or twelve, she is ready for marriage, and anyone who claims otherwise wrongs her."

Thus many activists are sceptical that the minimum age will see its way into the law anytime soon. Huwaider said Saudi Arabia's decision makers were not "brave enough to protect the little girls,” a view echoed by Khuloud Al-Fahad, a Saudi women's rights activist from Dhahran, who said she welcomed the Shoura Council's vote.

"I'm not optimistic at all that this will become law," Al-Fahad told The Media Line. "The radical Islamists are the ones who decide, and they don't believe in women's rights."

Possibly Hamas members each taking a child bride!!
If that is true it looks like a crime.

But effort to make marriage more female-friendly raises conservatives’ ire

The case of a nine-year-old girl given away in marriage by her father to a 58-year-old man because of argument with his wife shocked many Saudis. Widespread media coverage brought the plight of child brides to the fore in the oil-rich Gulf kingdom where no law currently protects children like "the Unayzah girl," as she was called after her home town, from the misery of early marriage.

That was two years ago. Finally, the Shoura Council, Saudi Arabia's 150-member consultative body, voted this week by a large margin in favor of setting a minimum marriage age for women. The council is only an advisory body, so the matter has been sent to the Justice Ministry for enactment. Government sources told the on-line daily Ilaf that the ministry would set the minimum marriage age at 17.

"The only way to stop this legal rape is to pass a law," Wajeha Al-Huwaider, a Saudi woman activist, told The Media Line. "They can start with age 15, like most Gulf countries, and then they gradually increase it."

The practice of families marrying off their underage girls to elderly, usually wealthy, men has long been criticized by local and international human rights organizations. But the most conservative Saudis, including many in the religious establishment, are loath to disrupt age-old customs that are often assumed to have a basis in Islam as well.

Thus many activists are sceptical that the minimum age will see its way into the law anytime soon. Huwaider said Saudi Arabia's decision makers were not "brave enough to protect the little girls,” a view echoed by Khuloud Al-Fahad, a Saudi women's rights activist from Dhahran, who said she welcomed the Shoura Council's vote.

"I'm not optimistic at all that this will become law," Al-Fahad told The Media Line. "The radical Islamists are the ones who decide, and they don't believe in women's rights."

The proposed ban of May-December weddings comes amid a wider effort to make marriage law friendlier to women. The planned changes would be a small advance for women in a country where their rights are among the most severely constrained in the world -- banned from driving, voting in what few elections there are, or mixing with men who aren’t related to them.

A proposed amendment to the law would make it easier for Saudis to marry foreigners and limit the age difference allowed between men and women who marry in Saudi Arabia to 25 years. But conservatives oppose that change, too, for exposing Saudi women to foreign gold-diggers.

Al-Fahad said conservatives justify child marriage by arguing that the Prophet Muhammad married his beloved wife Aisha when she was nine. They then accuse domestic opponents of child marriage of being un-Islamic and they have the backing of Saudi Arabia's grand mufti, Abd Al-Aziz Al-Sheikh, the highest religious authority in the kingdom.

"It is wrong to claim that marrying a girl under the age of 15 is unlawful," Al Al-Sheikh asserted girls when the debate on child marriage peaked in 2009. "When a female passes the age of ten or twelve, she is ready for marriage, and anyone who claims otherwise wrongs her."

Al-Fahad said that as troubling as the phenomenon was, marrying off young girls is still quite rare in Saudi society and mostly limited to rural areas. She insisted that the majority of Saudis condemn the practice.

Official data recently published in Saudi Arabia supports Al-Fahad's claim. According to a recent poll conducted by the Saudi National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), two thirds of Saudis oppose marriage for girls under the age of 18.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia has joined international conventions that ban the abuse of children and women, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the Kingdom ratified in 1996, and the Treaty for the Rights of Women, which Saudi Arabia joined in 2000.

"Marriage of underage girls is a murder of innocence and a violation of childhood," Zoheir Al-Harithi, a Shoura Council member who tabled the proposal told the Saudi daily Okaz. "Minors are financially and physically exploited; they cannot grasp the consequences of this connection nor fathom its repercussions."

Last January, the Shoura Council for the first time defined childhood as the age between birth and 18. But the council deliberately excluded the matter of child marriages from the debate.

Council member Al-Harithi said he believed the international treaties are a secondary reason to support legislation banning chid marriage.

"More important is that we have a social problem and legal-humanitarian one, which we are not embarrassed to admit, especially considering that [this issue] has started affecting our lives and the future of our children," he told Okaz.

Media Line

Wilders calls Islam ‘an ideology of hatred’ in demanding acquittal

2011-06-02T05:24:00.000-07:00

Geert Wilders, the inflammatory Dutch legislator charged with racial hate and discrimination for his anti-Islam comments, demanded he be acquitted Wednesday as his trial came to a close.

Wilders insisted he was “defending freedom” despite advocating a ban on the Koran [a book which calls for attacks on those who don't believe in it ~ that incites violence and everlasting bigotry] and other symbols of Islamic expression [The Swiss did the same and so have the French and Belgium ~ and the Netherlands will follow also ~ the tide has turned.]. He went on trial last October for criticising Islam and likening the Koran to Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” [Does this buch call for more livingroom ~ for the spread of a supremacist ideology!].

Muslims across Europe don't want to integrate ~ because they reject ~ the very idea of freedom. Their ideas on freedom are limited to the practise of Islam and the forcible or otherwise ~ effort to get others to respect the same.

Other than this it is just a game.

What do we have to gain from being more like the Islamic world? Imagine that too can be ours!! And if it is so great why are Muslims fleeing to Europe ~ and any part of the free world they can get to?

The Islamic world ~ in all its disastrous state is their work. They reject religious freedoms they reject basic rights ~ and they puzzle over why they live in a dictatorship? But these Islamic ideas laced with fear and dread of what might happen if they are abandoned ~ die hard. And everywhere they go becomes another outpost to set up another Islamic state ~ just like the one they left ~ they only hope that in this one there will be more money and for many state subsidies ~ paid by the non-Muslim peoples.

We can say no!

“I do not encourage hatred, I do not encourage discrimination,” Wilders, 47, insisted. “I defend the character, the identity, the culture and the freedom of the Netherlands.”

Following is a transcript of his final remarks:

Mister President, members of the Court,

I am here because of what I have said. I am here for having spoken. I have spoken, I speak and I shall continue to speak. Many have kept silent, but not Pim Fortuyn, not Theo Van Gogh, and not I.

I am obliged to speak. For the Netherlands is under threat of Islam. As I have argued many times, Islam is chiefly an ideology. An ideology of hatred, of destruction, of conquest. It is my strong conviction that Islam is a threat to Western values, to freedom of speech, to the equality of men and women, of heterosexuals and homosexuals, of believers and unbelievers.

All over the world we can see how freedom is fleeing from Islam. Day by day we see our freedoms dwindle.

Islam is opposed to freedom. Renowned scholars of Islam from all parts of the world agree on this. My witness experts subscribe to my view. There are more Islam scholars whom the court did not allow me to call upon to testify. All agree with my statements, they show that I speak the truth. That truth is on trial today.

We must live in the truth, said the dissidents under Communist rule, because the truth will set us free. Truth and freedom are inextricably connected. We must speak the truth because otherwise we shall lose our freedom.

That is why I have spoken, why I speak and why I shall continue to speak.

The statements for which I am being tried are statements which I made in my function as a politician participating in the public debate in our society. My statements were not aimed at individuals, but at Islam and the process of islamization. That is why the Public Prosecutor has concluded that I should be acquitted.

Mister President, members of the Court,

I am acting within a long tradition which I wish to honour. I am risking my life in defence of freedom in the Netherlands. Of all our achievements freedom is the most precious and the most vulnerable. Many have given their lives for freedom. We have been reminded of that in the commemorations of the month of May. But the struggle for freedom is much older.

Every day the armoured cars drive me past the statue of Johan de Witt at the Hofvijver in The Hague. De Witt wrote the “Manifesto of True Freedom” and he paid for freedom with his life. Every day I go to my office through the Binnenhof where Johan van Oldenbarneveldt was beheaded after a political trial. Leaning on his stick the elderly Oldenbarneveldt addressed his last words to his people. He said: “I have acted honourably and piously as a good patriot.” Those words are also mine.

I do not wish to betray the trust of the 1.5 million voters of my party. I do not wish to betray my country. Inspired by Johan van Oldenbarneveldt and Johan de Witt I wish to be a politician who serves the truth end hence defends the freedom of the Dutch provinces and of the Dutch people. I wish to be honest, I wish to act with honesty and that is why I wish to protect my native land against Islam. Silence is treason.

That is why I have spoken, why I speak and why I shall continue to speak.

Freedom and truth. I pay the price every day. Day and night I have to be protected against people who want to kill me. I am not complaining about it; it has been my own decision to speak. However, those who threaten me and other critics of Islam are not being tried here today. I am being tried. And about that I do complain.

I consider this trial to be a political trial. The values of D66 [a Dutch leftist liberal party] and NRC Handelsblad [a Dutch leftist liberal party] will never be brought before a judge in this country. One of the complainants clearly indicated that his intentions are political. Even questions I have asked in parliament and cooperation with the SGP are being brought as allegations against me by Mr Rabbae of GroenLinks [the leftist Dutch Green Party]. Those on the Left like to tamper with the separation of powers. When they cannot win politically because the Dutch people have discerned their sinister agenda, they try to win through the courts.

Whatever your verdict may be, that is the bitter conclusion of this trial.

This trial is also surrealistic. I am being compared with the Hutu murderers in Rwanda and with Mladic. Only a few minutes ago some here have doubted my mental health. I have been called a new Hitler. I wonder whether those who call me such names will also be sued, and if not, whether the Court will also order prosecution. Probably not. And that is just as well. Because freedom of speech applies also to my opponents.

My right to a fair trial has been violated. The order of the Amsterdam Court to prosecute me was not just a decision but a condemning verdict by judges who condemned me even before the actual trial had begun.

Mister President, members of the Court, you must now decide whether freedom still has a home in the Netherlands

Franz Kafka said: “one sees the sun slowly set, yet one is surprised when it suddenly becomes dark.”

Mister President, members of the Court, do not let the lights go out in the Netherlands.

Acquit me: Put an end to this Kafkaesque situation.

Acquit me. Political freedom requires that citizens and their elected representatives are allowed to voice opinions that are held in society.

Acquit me, for if I am convicted, you convict the freedom of opinion and expression of millions of Dutchmen.

Acquit me. I do not incite to hatred. I do not incite to discrimination. But I defend the character, the identity, the culture and the freedom of the Netherlands. That is the truth. That is why I am here. That is why I speak. That is why, like Luther before the Imperial Diet at Worms, I say: “Here I stand, I can do no other.”

That is why I have spoken, why I speak and why I shall continue to speak.

Mister President, members of the Court, though I stand here alone, my voice is the voice of many. This trial is not about me. It is about something much greater. Freedom of expression is the life source of our Western civilisation.

Do not let that source go dry just to cosy up to a totalitarian regime. “Freedom,” said the American President Dwight Eisenhower, “has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.”

Mister President, members of the Court, you have a great responsibility. Do not cut freedom in the Netherlands from its roots, our freedom of expression. Acquit me. Choose freedom.

I have spoken, I speak, and it is my duty – I cannot do otherwise – to continue to speak.

Thank you.

National Post

Wilders defends anti-Islam rhetoric on final day of court hearings - Will Dutch legal system become portal for Islamic blasphemy laws ~ Perhaps they might follow up with a complimentary beheading!!

2011-06-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

Geert Wilders Final Remarks at The Amsterdam Trial - English Subtitles

We know free speech will win out ~ because whatever Islam wants ~ if indeed it can want anything at all ~ can't happen here.

The dhimmification of the non-Muslim ~ the subjugation of women ~ the denial of basic rights ~ of freedom of conscience, of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Can't win here ~ no matter who is offended!!

When freedom offends ~ we need to take a better look at why that is.

You can almost feel Arab states ~ and others like Jordan [are they Arab now too!!] ~ lining up their lawyers ~ nevermind that our people need to eat ~ they've been hungry ~ we need to go after those who offend Islam ~ as the Prophet laid down [with his sword] ~ the Dutch court's hair-brain scheme could become a way for the most radical [sorry, fundamentalist] unfree ~ Islamic nations to reach into Europe and attack freedoms. A conviction for Wilders would not be the end ~ it would only be the beginning.

The idea of the perfect multicultural society works when you have tolerance at both ends ~ not excusing intolerances ~ because it might offend. Religious freedom offends ~ lets get rid of that ~ let's tone it down a bit. We need to make accommodation ~ this social utopia.

What is not being mentioned is that at least one Dutch politician was openly talking about Islamic law in Holland as being okay ~ some Dutch political meetings of the former leaders of the coalition government [now voted out] held meetings where men and women were segregated. And of course if you object to these and other tinkerings ~ you are a "racist".

Look at North Africa ~ Muslims want to import that same system of law to Europe. And everyone who speaks out against this is hateful. Its integration on the cheap ~ get rid of a few rights and freedoms Muslims feel uncomfortable with and they will feel more at home ~ is delusionary ~ because home for many Muslims is the Caliphate. And the only thing many of those who refuse to integrate ~ or adapt to western/European culture ~ will be satisfied with ~ is the restoration of the violent brutal and now thankfully, past Caliphate.

Appeasement is not going to work. They will just ask for more. Until we end up like Egypt, Syria Jordan all these places that used to be Christian ~ and Muslims still aren't satisfied with even that. Their ideas are failed. And they must respect that here in Europe Islam is not the order. ~~[Koran 9:29]~~

Amsterdam - Dutch politician Geert Wilders on Wednesday defended his anti-Islamic rhetoric during the final day of hearings in his trial for inciting hatred and discrimination, Dutch media reported.

'The Netherlands is threatened by Islam. Islam is an ideology of hate and destruction. Islam threatens Western values and norms,' Wilders told the judges, the daily 'De Volkskrant' reported.

The case against the leader of the anti-Islam PVV (Freedom Party) began last October, but collapsed following claims that the judges were not impartial. A retrial began earlier this year.

Wilders, 47, faces five counts of causing offence to Muslims and of inciting hatred against Muslims and people of non-Western immigrant background, in numerous public statements since October 2006.

The public prosecution has called for Wilders to be found not guilty. A verdict is expected in late June.

M&C

Egypt cleric Al-Huwayni says Muslim money problems can be solved via jihad ~ raid and plunder of infidels and their wealth - Video

2011-05-31T19:29:00.000-07:00

Tell it like it is ~ preach it!!

This was what the Islamic world was built on!! Muslims want it back. We only assumed that it would be without the taking of slaves, mass killings and out right plunder of everything, from gold to knowledge.

Everything they had was gained via conquest. The world became like the passing caravan back in Muhammad's day.

Muslims today almost appear like a broken robot ~ because they keep trying to go back to those glorious olden days ~ but the story has been cleansed ~ not included was how they acquired those things ~ it has become in the realm of myth and legend. Oh no ~ not us ~ we didn't kill 200-300 million people [1/5 - 1/3 to every Muslim today] ~ and enslave countless millions!! The worst being India/Afghan region ~ the region was named after their slaughter ~ Hindu Kush or Hindu blood. Though Muslims enjoy pointing out everyone else's faults and past misdeeds ~ could never look at their own!!

Also it must be said that ~ it was the prospect of losing the wealth or spoils ~ that allowed for these mass atrocities. Just as with Muhammad [al-Qrophet] when he went out on one of his so-called battles [read marauding] he was upset by the fact that some of his men ~ did not rape [hadith: 'have intercourse with'] the 'captive' women in front of their husbands ~ he conjured Koran 4:24 as a way to order them to do it. Likewise in India in particular ~ the Muhammad followers or jihadists of the day ~ were required to slaughter 100,000 people in a single day ~ some of these guys are like Muhammad ~ have that ruthless streak ~ while others are going to say ~ well we captured them ~ and they are right over here ~ but when the leader saw this ~ he said whoever doesn't kill their captives, will lose all their property and booty gained from the raid ~ and more all of it will be given to the one who told on them.

It ain't the good news!!

At least he is being honest ~ that's a start.

Muslim beauty contestant, 19, 'stoned to death ~ for violating Islamic laws

2011-05-31T15:20:00.000-07:00

Katya Koren was attacked after taking part in a beauty contest
which her friends said angered hardline Muslims

Update ~ it did seem a little out of place ~ Ukraine ~ Islam ~ the girl according to official reports was not a Muslim and had Christian Russian roots ~ believe her death had nothing to do with Islam ~ and was possibly carried out be a deranged classmate. [+]

Just waiting for the apologists to say ~ oh no stoning have nothing to do with Islam!!

A waste of life.

A teenage Muslim girl was stoned to death under 'Sharia law' after taking part in a beauty contest in Ukraine.

Katya Koren, 19, was found dead in a village in the Crimea region near her home.

Friends said she liked wearing fashionable clothes and had come seventh in a beauty contest.

Murdered: Katya Koren was attacked after taking part in a beauty contest which her friends said angered hardline Muslims

Her battered body was buried in a forest and was found a week after she disappeared.

Police have opened a murder investigation and are looking into claims that three Muslim youths killed her, claiming her death was justified under Islam.

One of the three - named as 16-year-old Bihal Gaziev - is under arrest and told police that Katya had 'violated the laws of Sharia'. Gaziev has said he has no regrets about her death.

Stoning is a divisive subject among Muslims, with some groups interpreting it as Islamic law and others disagreeing.

According to Amnesty International's annual report on death sentences worldwide, issued in April, there were no reports of judicial executions carried out by stoning in 2010.

Rural: Katya Koren lived in the Crimea region of the Ukraine where her body was found buried in woodland

However, new death sentences by stoning were reportedly imposed in Iran, the Bauchi state of Nigeria and Pakistan.

At least 10 women and four men remained under sentence of death by stoning at the end of the year in Iran, where adultery is the only crime which carries that penalty under Sharia law.

It was widely imposed as a sentence in the years following the 1979 Islamic revolution, and even though Iran's judiciary still regularly hands down such sentences, they are now often converted to other punishments.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was
sentenced to death by stoning for adultery

The barbaric practice was thrown into the international spotlight last year when an Iranian woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery after suffering years of abuse at the hands of her drug addict husband.

Miss Ashtiani's lawyer said she was allegedly beaten and sold for sex by opium-addict Ebrahim Ghaderzade, who she is accused of killing.

She was jailed for ten years for murder and sentenced to death for adultery. She was also convicted of having illicit relations for which she received 99 lashes.

The Iranian authorities eventually suspended the stoning after an outcry from the international community.

The European Union has called the sentence 'barbaric', the Vatican pleaded for clemency and Brazil, which has tried to intervene in Iran's stand-off with the West over its nuclear programme, offered Miss Ashtiani asylum.

A number of celebrities, including Robert Redford, Robert De Niro and Sting called for her release in an open letter to the Iranian regime, backed by more than 80 actors, artists, musicians, academics and politicians.

EXECUTIONS ACROSS THE WORLD: DEATH SENTENCES IN 2010 (REPORTED)
China (1,000s)
Iran (252+)
North Korea (60+)
Yemen (53+)
Vietnam (46+)
United States of America (46)

Saudi Arabia, Singapore (27+)
Libya (18+)

Syria (17+)
Bangladesh (9+)

Somalia (8+)
Sudan (6+)
The Palestinian Authority (5)
Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Taiwan (4)
Belarus, Japan (2)
Iraq, Malaysia (1+)
Bahrain, Botswana (1)
Source: Amnesty International, Death Sentences and Executions 2010

Key: Where the '+' symbol is used, the figure is understood to be higher
United States of America (46)
Saudi Arabia, Singapore (27+)
Libya (18+)

Syria (17+)
Bangladesh (9+)

Somalia (8+)
Sudan (6+)
The Palestinian Authority (5)
Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Taiwan (4)
Belarus, Japan (2)
Iraq, Malaysia (1+)
Bahrain, Botswana (1)
Source: Amnesty International, Death Sentences and Executions 2010

Key: Where the '+' symbol is used, the figure is understood to be higher
Saudi Arabia, Singapore (27+)
Libya (18+)
Syria (17+)
Bangladesh (9+)

Somalia (8+)
Sudan (6+)
The Palestinian Authority (5)
Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Taiwan (4)
Belarus, Japan (2)
Iraq, Malaysia (1+)
Bahrain, Botswana (1)
Source: Amnesty International, Death Sentences and Executions 2010

Key: Where the '+' symbol is used, the figure is understood to be higher
Syria (17+)
Bangladesh (9+)
Somalia (8+)
Sudan (6+)
The Palestinian Authority (5)
Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Taiwan (4)
Belarus, Japan (2)
Iraq, Malaysia (1+)
Bahrain, Botswana (1)
Source: Amnesty International, Death Sentences and Executions 2010

Key: Where the '+' symbol is used, the figure is understood to be higher
Somalia (8+)
Sudan (6+)
The Palestinian Authority (5)
Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Taiwan (4)
Belarus, Japan (2)
Iraq, Malaysia (1+)
Bahrain, Botswana (1)
Source: Amnesty International, Death Sentences and Executions 2010
Key: Where the '+' symbol is used, the figure is understood to be higher
Key: Where the '+' symbol is used, the figure is understood to be higher
When Carla Bruni, the French First Lady, prominently gave her support to the 43-year-old mother-of-two, Iran responded by launching two scathing attacks on Miss Bruni, branding her an adulteress with a 'vastly immoral lifestyle'.

Last week Amnesty international called for 'clarification' on the legal status of a jailed lawyer who represented Miss Ashtiani, Javid Houtan Kiyan.

It issued a statement that read: 'If – as appears - he is held solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression, including in connection with his work as a defence lawyer on behalf of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, he should be released immediately and unconditionally.

'The allegations that he has been tortured while in detention should be investigated immediately and anyone found responsible for abuses brought to justice.'

The Islamic republic says the death penalty is essential to maintain law and order and is applied only after exhaustive judicial proceedings.

Murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are all punishable by death in Iran.

In March, Iran hanged a woman convicted of murdering a love rival.

Shahla Jahed, 40, had been a 'temporary wife' of Nasser Mohammad Khani, a former striker for the Iranian national football team.

The execution was thought to be the 146th so far this year. At least 270 people were executed in 2009.

Daily Mail

Dreamscape: ’No contradiction between Islam and democracy,’ say EU political and religious leaders

2011-05-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

European Council President, Herman Van Rompuy, European Parliament President, Jerzy Buzek, European Commission President Manuel Barroso and representatives from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Muslim communities gathered at EU headquarters in Brussels on Monday for an annual meeting at which freedom of religion and religious tolerance were the main topics.

Religious freedom and tolerance ~ are the main topics ~ and are the main stumbling block.

“Arab people are liberating themselves,” Mr. Van Rompuy said at a news conference. “These are their revolutions and we have common values.”

The question is what do Muslims in the Islamic world want? Obama's latest speech to the Muslim world ~ laid out some of the real sticking points in a moderate way ~ he said there should be rights for women ~ and more importantly, respect for religious minorities.

In Egypt there is one simple clause in the Egyptian constitution ~ that denies minorities their rights, that is the Clause 2 ~ which states that no law can contradict the Sharia. Muslim women might be happy to forgo equal rights and full citizenship ~ because they think, generation after generation, that it is for some greater good or other, but to impose personal religious restrictions on non-Muslims or those which choose to practise Islam differently ~ is where the problem for the Arab spring and the so-called renewal, lies.

Christian minorities in the Middle East are facing political and security challenges. They have been targeted in Iraq and forced to flee from Baghdad to Syria, Kurdistan and Europe. The Coptic Christian minority in Egypt is also being targeted by Islamist groups.

What is likely to happen ~ is that Muslims will seek rights for Muslim men and somewhat for women and not at all for religious minorities ~ its the selfish kind of love Muhammad practised.

However, they expressed concerns over the post-revolution period. “We are living through an interesting time, after the Arab spring, but I hope that this spring will lead to summer, and not to a cold, harsh winter,” said the the Chief Rabbi of Moscow, Pinchas Goldschmidt, who is anxious that religious freedoms in these countries should be preserved. [Europolitics]

Moscow Rabbi, voice of reason ~ but he says religious freedoms should be 'preserved'. Religious freedoms for non-Muslims in the Islamic world is like being served bread and water ~ while watching everyone else eat a proper meal. This, along with being told how grateful they should be.

The whole thing can be summed up with - its equal rights stupid!!

Islamic law doesn't respect equality ~ so you could see a functioning democracy ~ with millions not receiving the same protections under the law.

The average Muslim / moderate or radical ~ will say nothing to challenge these laws. So that it must be understood that any calls for Islamic law in the west ~ this is what they want here. Its kind of a lazy ~ its what god wants approach.

The whole thing is marked by its laziness. The idea is that you put into place this perfect government run under Shari'a ~ with the understanding is that if it is done right ~ it should work out perfectly. No further input needed. Islamic governance is for them like putting together a puzzle with the picture on the box. Keep in mind that Iran had a revolution and now it is ready for another one.

They are blind.

Its Muhammad's backward children ~ in that they are forever looking backward ~ not forward ~ trying to reinvent some dead system. And they are not even permitted to leave the religion ~ hence individual thought is barred. Freedom to think out loud ~ nil. Its the trouble with the Islamic world.

The seventh annual meeting of religious leaders with the EU institutions focused on human rights and democratic freedoms - in the context of the 'Arab spring'. Around twenty high representatives of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim and Buddhist religions held talks, on 30 May, with Presidents José Manuel Barroso (Commission), Herman Van Rompuy (Council) and Jerzy Buzek (Parliament). They discussed how a partnership for democracy can be established, and how to work for shared prosperity in Europe while promoting rights and freedoms. [+]

Declaring that there was “no contradiction between Islam and democracy,” political and religious leaders of the European Union have called for more religious tolerance in Europe and its neighboring countries.

European Council President, Herman Van Rompuy, European Parliament President, Jerzy Buzek, European Commission President Manuel Barroso and representatives from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Muslim communities gathered at EU headquarters in Brussels on Monday for an annual meeting at which freedom of religion and religious tolerance were the main topics.

“Arab people are liberating themselves,” Mr. Van Rompuy said at a news conference. “These are their revolutions and we have common values.”

The meeting was the second under the Lisbon Treaty, which formalized this open and regular dialogue between the EU and representatives of various religions.

Referring to the “Arab Spring,” Mr. Van Rompuy said: ”These revolutions are not the work of extremists or fanatics. On the contrary, it shows there is no contradiction between Islam and democracy as indeed is the case of the other religions.”

“Expectations of respect are great in the EU, the closest neighbors” to the Arab people, he said.

Christian minorities in the Middle East are facing political and security challenges. They have been targeted in Iraq and forced to flee from Baghdad to Syria, Kurdistan and Europe. The Coptic Christian minority in Egypt is also being targeted by Islamist groups.

EU leaders raised the issue with top Egyptian officials in March, and at the G8 meeting last weekend in Deauville, France.

“Respect of religion is a fundamental right and it will be a test for the rule of law and democracy in Europe as well as in other countries,” Mr. Barroso, the European Commission president, said. He said that Egyptian officials gave a commitment to assure the security of the Copt minority.

The EU is proposing to its neighbors in the south to build a new “Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity,” Mr. Barroso said. “The EU must be on the side of those who aspire to political freedom, social development and justice.”

“This is a matter of values and it is also in the EU’s interest,” he said.

The revolutions in Tunis and in Egypt forced many Europeans to change their readings of the evolving situation in the Arab societies. The two revolutions were not a religious uprising. Young generations took the lead in the events in Tunis and Tahrir Square in Cairo.

The next elections in both countries are strongly expected to test the Islamist parties’ ability to cooperate with the largely secular European countries, among other things.

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/05/31/151318.html

Dutch anti-Islam politician 'never goes too far' in criticizing Islam: lawyer - Dutch step into realm of Shari'a law

2011-05-31T06:21:00.000-07:00

Dutch anti-Islam deputy Geert Wilders (R) and his lawyer Bram Moszkowicz sit in court on May 23, 2011 in Amsterdam

You may need an Islamic lawyer to defend yourself in Holland soon!!

Criticizing Islam is an offence!!

Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders often "went far" in his criticism of the Muslim religion, but he never overstepped acceptable boundaries, his lawyer said in court Monday.

"He goes far, but he never goes too far," lawyer Bram Moszkowicz told the Amsterdam district court where the flamboyant politician faces hate speach charges.

"He doesn't speak out because it's funny. He speaks out over the gravest danger facing our Western civilisation: an increased Islamisation," Moszkowicz told judges.

"Acts of terror have been committed... with the Koran in hand, in London, in Madrid," he added, referring bombings in the two capitals.

"If there's a threat, Mr Wilders speaks out about it," said Moszkowicz in the trial, broadcast live on Dutch national television's website.

Dutch prosecutors also last week argued for Wilders's acquittal, saying that while his comments may have caused anxiety and insult, they were not criminal.

Wilders, the leader of the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV), went on trial on October last year for criticising Islam and notably likening the Koran to Hitler's "Mein Kampf".

The trial ended abruptly after three weeks when the judges were ordered to step down by a panel of their peers who upheld claims of bias by the 47-year-old politician.

The trial resumed in March, with prosecutors again stating a previous position that there was no case against Wilders as he was critical of Islam as a religion and not Muslims as a people, and therefore committed no criminal offence.

Wilders, 47, became notorious in 2008 by making a short film, "Fitna", mixing Koranic verses with footage of extremist attacks.

The parliamentarian, whose PVV party gives parliamentary support to a right-leaning coalition, risks up to a year in jail or a 7,600-euro (10,300-dollar) fine for comments made in his campaign to "stop the Islamisation of The Netherlands".

Prosecutors initially dismissed dozens of complaints against him in June 2008 but appeals judges in January 2009 ordered that Wilders be put on trial as his utterances amounted to "sowing hatred" -- compelling an unwilling prosecution to mount a case against him.

US a very young nation with too much power – ex-Pakistani spy chief - Video

2011-05-31T06:12:00.000-07:00

Pakistan and its Islamic militants!

The Pak ex-spy chief doesn't seem to be bothered by Shari'a. The one issue with Shari'a is its containment. Wherever it arises ~ they seem to want to spread it by force ~ people don't seem to want to gravitate toward it ~ it gravitates towards them ~ making them hostages to it along the way!

Why would Bin Laden's 3 wives be shacked up in a house with another man?

His reluctance to give up the cover story shows that they likely made it up in the first place ~ Bin Laden was sick and died a few years ago.

And this whole WWIII with America thing ~ in his mind they are attacking Libya ~ [another Islamic nation ~ no doubt is what he is implying] ~ but if Pakistan is attacked ~ they have something for the Americans ~ but can't go into it right there and then!!

A load of nonsense.

Granted they do have nuclear weapons and that would be the only thing the US and many others would be interested in. Let the terrorist put him in a burqa!!

Calling the US a young country ~ he must think he is still apart of wider India!!

Amid the fallout between Washington and Islamabad over the killing of Osama Bin Laden, RT spoke to Hamid Gul, former chief of Pakistan's Intelligence Agency. He calls the US a haughty empire spoiled by a sense of authority.

“You have to understand the arrogance of the West, especially the US. They are a very young nation that received too much power. They created the image of Bin Laden to justify war with Afghanistan,” said Gul. “They wanted to finally look as if they are victorious and make the world believe it, because they can’t forget the defeat in Vietnam.”

Hamid Gul stated that while US had been using the image of Bin Laden for the past several years, the terrorist had been dead for a long time already:

“Osama Bin Laden was not killed. He died of natural causes years ago. In any case, even if he was alive, he was a living dead. Because if he was hiding in Pakistan, let’s assume that the story is right, then how effective could he be from there?” stated Gul.

According to former chief of Pakistani Intelligence Agency the US had an obvious aim in staging Bin Laden’s death.

However, Gul maintains Bin Laden’s death will on no account cause terrorism to double.

“Osama was not a symbol of resistance. I don’t think he did much, I don’t think he carried out 9/11,” he said.

Russia Today

Pakistan & Sharia law: Christian sisters kidnapped, after men threaten father with guns, and force them to marry wealthy Muslim - police tell man to 'forget his daughters'

2011-05-28T04:37:00.000-07:00

Christian and Hindu girls, the priest continues, are forced to marry Muslims and convert to Islam, while police and local authorities "are paid" to settle the bureaucracy to avoid reports. The officials are in the hands of extremists and religious leaders in Friday sermons "speak openly of killing and kidnapping Christian girls." And the government, said Father John, "is complicit."

Rehmat Masih is desperate: the police asked him to forget his daughters, leaving him defenseless.

Here is a quaran verse which tells Muslims they are better. But the problem for Muslims is that these things don't materialize automatically ~ because there is no difference between one human being and another ~ so that in some way this supremacy must be achieved. And one of the ways Muslims do this is through the capture and rape of non-Muslim women ~ as a part of the subjugation of all others. Because in Egypt the exact same things are done ~ means that these practises have their root in Islamic laws. Once a woman is captured she is yours ~ Koran 4:24.

[2:221]. Do not marry idolatresses unless they believe; a believing woman is better than an idolatress, even if you like her. Nor shall you give your daughters in marriage to idolatrous men, unless they believe. A believing man .is better than an idolater, even if you like him. These invite to Hell, while GOD invites to Paradise and forgiveness, as He wills. He clarifies His revelations for the people, that they may take heed.

Faisalabad (AsiaNews) - A powerful Muslim businessman, with the help of a group of accomplices, kidnapped two Christian sisters, forced them to convert to Islam and marry him. The girl's father reported the kidnapping to the police but the police blocked investigations by reversing the facts: the daughters fled because of their father’s violence. A priest from the diocese of Faisalabad points out that the kidnapping of young women has become "common practice", because the authorities and police are "puppets in the hands of extremists."

The father of two girls, Rehmat Masih is a Christian carpenter from Jhung District, in Faisalabad, Punjab province, an arena of repeated violence against religious minority. Muhammad Waseem - the parent explains to AsiaNews, - is a Muslim businessman in the area, long time leader of a banned extremist group. A few weeks ago he came to my house, along with gunmen, saying he was concerned about my daughters and wanted to marry them. " In case of refusal, the man continues, the Muslim businessman threatened to abduct the two girls.

Masih filed a complaint with the police, but authorities did not want to open an investigation. On May 24 the dramatic epilogue, "My daughters were returning from the market - he says - and a vehicle owned by Muhammad Waseem intercepted them and threw them inside, taking them away." The parent returned to the police to report the kidnapping. In response, officials said that "Waseem is a respected and admired businessman, the accusations against him are" false. "The authorities say the girls would fled because their father is an alcoholic who had "abused" them with "immoral actions."

A neighbour argues the defence of the Christian father, emphasizing his goodness and integrity. "I've known Rehmat for 20 years - Shahid Malik told AsiaNews – he is a decent man. I have never heard words out of place out of his mouth. " On the contrary, Muhammad Waseem is an influential man and we have seen him repeatedly threaten the Masih family. The police, he adds, are reversing the facts because "he can not do anything against Waseem, which is collusion."

The next day, May 25, Muhammad Waseem married by force Saima Masih, in the presence of Mullah Muhammad Qasim Zubair. With the ceremony, according to Islamic laws, the Christian woman was "converted" and has embraced the Muslim faith. Local sources also make clear that the religious leader who officiated the ceremony is linked to outlawed Islamist groups (-e-Sahaba Sipe), protagonists of numerous kidnappings of Hindu or Christian women.

Rehmat Masih is desperate: the police asked him to forget his daughters, leaving him indefenseless. "Instead of serving the Punjab government - says the father - [the police] are the servants of extremist groups."

Fr. John William, a priest of the diocese of Faisalabad, confirms that the kidnapping of young women has become "common practice", because the authorities and police are "puppets in the hands of extremists." In recent days, AsiaNews reported the tragedy of another young girl, again from Punjab, seized by force and forced to marry a Muslim (see AsiaNews, 12/05/2011 Punjab: Christian student nurse forced to convert to marry Muslim man).

Christian and Hindu girls, the priest continues, are forced to marry Muslims and convert to Islam, while police and local authorities "are paid" to settle the bureaucracy to avoid reports. The officials are in the hands of extremists and religious leaders in Friday sermons "speak openly of killing and kidnapping Christian girls." And the government, said Father John, "is complicit."

Norway - Pakistani rapist admits women have no rights or opinions in Islam - 100% Oslo rapes by Muslim men

2011-05-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

Volumes probably can be written about Muhammad's relationship with women ~ couple of passages below ~ but the real clincher is when Muhammad ordered his men to rape ~ utterances which led directly to Koran 4:24. Shows an embarrassing lack of questioning on Muslims' part ~ which has for the most part left them in the dark ages.

::

The following passages demonstrate the level of manipulation Muhammad uses to turn his men ~ in to savages ~ and how he uses his god power or claim to be the messenger of god to get them to go against their better nature.

Here Muhammad dismayed at his men's reluctance to rape non-Muslim women/ captives in front of their husbands:

The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives.

Some of the Companions of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur’anic verse: (Sura 4:24) "And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess." (Abu Dawud 2150, also Muslim 3433)

And here is the Koran verse shows Muhammad's evil designs as he twists a call to rape into a Koran verse:

004.024 And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess. It is a decree of Allah for you. Lawful unto you are all beyond those mentioned, so that ye seek them with your wealth in honest wedlock, not debauchery. And those of whom ye seek content (by marrying them), give unto them their portions as a duty. And there is no sin for you in what ye do by mutual agreement after the duty (hath been done). Lo! Allah is ever Knower, Wise.

And we would be foolish to believe that these Koran verses are not driving Muslim behavior. In both Pakistan and Egypt Christian and Hindu girls are abducted and gang raped, and or kidnapped and forcibly married and converted to Islam. The police in both countries almost never intervene ~ in Pakistan, the police told the Hindu parents of an abducted child they don't intervene in cases of religious conversion. In one case some years ago, a couple of pre-pubescent Christian girls, were snatched, forcibly married and converted to Islam ~ and their parents had to go to court to get them back ~ where the court protected the kidnapper ~ we see the same thing in Egypt where Copt family members have been imprisoned for 'rescuing' their daughters ~ who once they are abducted become the property of the man. In Pakistan and a young Hindu girl was kidnapped and her parents were told, she was now the 'property of the mosque'.

I think it is safer to put a moratorium on the immigration ~ particularly from these countries where ~ these systems of laws exist.

If a person is determined that ~ God gave them this right ~ and that this is the absolute right way to be if they want to be ~ it is like a wild animal ~ at the very least extremely hostile.

::

In Australia ~ they are having the same problem ~ and when some Afghan refugees arrived, as soon as they got off the plane ~ they went on a raping spree. But when they finally got caught and the judge ~ threw the book at them with 25 years each sentences, the grand sheik of Australia, said in a sermon, that if you leave the meat out, can you blame the cat for taking it. To laughter. He said women should stay in their rooms.

These beliefs must be seen as hostile.

::

More, where Muslim women really got shafted, when Muhammad removed the female deities of the Kaaba ~ in a prayer to Allah ~ he said if I am your messenger ~ how can you have these females before me? [Book of Idols][Koran 53:19 daughter goddesses] By removing the respected female presence ~ these goddesses were widely respected ~ in Greece, Allat, became Leto. So that his version of the Kaaba religion became ~ male centric. Without a strong female presence. They admire Aisha but she was as young as 5 years old [in solar yrs] when he married her ~ so that the image of women is usually connected to vulnerable and helplessness.

Also if you look at a lot of Islamic world films ~ rape is featured more than anything else ~ because it is wrong to have a normal relationship ~ so that it has to be expressed in an extreme way ~ but the rape theme ~ feeds into the idea of the helplessness of the female ~ which they believe the woman is.

And Muslim woman feed into this as well. One of the main features of Islam ~ is about one's actions making one superior ~ its for show ~ inner peace is for Buddhists. From their powerless position, which Muslim women justify, by telling themselves that being a Muslim woman makes them better than western women, and they are not shy, they strike at the core, they tell themselves they are better mothers, that western women don't love their children, that freedom of the western woman is like being a prostitute ~ and because they are not free and they are better women.

It is like a little perpetuating cycle they have got going on there.

The men don't believe in the women and the women don't believe in themselves ~ so it finds support in that fashion. And this spills out onto their view of western women.

::

All that said, we do have to understand that in parts of the Islamic world, Muslim men are able to rape non-Muslim women with impunity. The immigration policy for the free world should in part reflect this understanding.

In the South of France 85% rapes are by Muslim men.

In the UK there are Pakistan rings, of rape and exploitation of under-age non-Muslim girls. Which some in the former government thought was too culturally sensitive to stop ~ as they might look racist ~ for stopping girls from getting raped.

In the infamous East London mosque, men attended a sermon where they were told it was permissible in Islam to rape non-Muslim women.

Indeed one member of that mosque raped a British woman, and in court, to everyone's horror ~ in the gallery burqed women called the rape victim a whore ~ as the man was convicted.

A practicing Muslim man raped and threatened a young Norwegian girl for several hours. Numerous rapes in Sweden over the past several years have been committed by "non-Western men," e.g., Muslims. In fact, in the past year, all rapes in Oslo have been committed by non-Western men.

"He said that he had the right to do exactly as he wanted to a woman. Why? Because that is how it was in his religion. Women did not have rights or opinions. He was in charge."

Islam teaches utter disrespect for women, who are mere possessions of savage men, to be raped whenever the beasts feel like it. At least this rapist admitted that fact of Islamic misogyny and sexism, which should be obvious to anyone with eyes to see.

"Women are your fields: go, then, into your fields whence you please." Quran 2:223

"Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and forsake them in beds apart, and beat them." Quran 4:34

"A male shall inherit twice as much as a female." Quran 4:11

"Call in two male witnesses from among you, but if two men cannot be found, then one man and two women whom you judge fit to act as witnesses..." Quran 2:282

Chicago Court: Attended over 50 ISI [Pak Secret Service] training sessions: Headley, on Mumbai attacks on Jewish residence - Video

2011-05-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

CHICAGO: David Headley has concluded his testimony in the 26/11 trail by saying he had attended over 50 training sessions with the ISI.

He also revealed that his handler ISI’s Major Iqbal used a cell phone with a US number to stay in touch with him from Pakistan, while he was in Mumbai, Indian media reported on Friday.

On the last day of his testimony, David Coleman Headley also revealed that a Pakistani Navy man was present during discussions with Major Iqbal on landing sites and arrival of LeT terrorists by sea.

But interestingly, for the first time since his trial began, when asked about whether he was proud of the 26/11 attacks, Headley said, "No".

Headley also said he had sent some emails to Rajaram Rege of the Shiv Sena, with direct messages from Major Iqbal.

Headley said he befriended filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt’s son Rahul and offered to take him on a sight-seeing tour of Pakistan’s tribal areas, but disagreed with the defence that there was a plan to kill or kidnap him.

While, India and US tracking the developments closely, Foreign Minister SM Krishna said, "We have been following keenly testimony of Headley trial in Chicago. He had made damaging statement about ISI involvement in terrorist attack in India. In this new light of evidence, ISI and government of Pakistan have lots to answer, not only to India, but to the world. We have always kept pressure on Pakistan, I hope Pakistan will act."

David Headley, under questioning from a lawyer for defendant Tahawwur Rana, admitted that by sharing the Mumbai attack plan with Rana he violated the espionage training he received from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence directorate (ISI) and Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group blamed in the raid that killed 160 people.

Rana is charged with conspiring in the Mumbai attack and the Danish plot and with providing support to Lashkar. The 50-year-old Canadian could face life in prison.

The trial is being watched closely for clues of Pakistani government involvement in the attack that could heighten US-Pakistani tensions following the American killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

Defense lawyer Charles Swift, who says Rana was duped by Headley and was unaware of the Mumbai plot, challenged Headley about what evidence he had of his ISI contact, known as Major Iqbal, who provided guidance during Headley’s surveillance work in Mumbai.

"You can’t even identify him, or find him?" Swift asked, to which Headley agreed.

Headley testified this week that ISI and elements of Pakistan’s military - namely a retired army major he knew as "Pasha" - coordinated Lashkar’s attacks.

Iqbal and Pasha are among six Pakistanis charged in the US case who are not in custody.

By pleading guilty and agreeing to testify in US District court, Headley has avoided the death penalty and cannot be extradited.

"Major Iqbal said to give Dr Rana only generalities?" Swift asked. "Just what he needed to know," Headley confirmed.

"That was one of the lessons (of Headley’s espionage training): trust no one," Swift said. "They could give you away, sometimes without even knowing ... . Yet you violated every rule that you had been taught?"

"I violated some," Headley said.

Headley brought his Muslim second wife, covered in Muslim garb, to the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai more than a year before the raid on the hotel and other targets. Swift said the misstep could have exposed his cover as a non-Muslim American opening an immigration office for Rana.

"Definitely I was being careless," Headley said.

The trial was expected to last four weeks, and is about half over.

http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=179777

East London: Jihadi gang found guilty of slashing religious teacher's face, for being a non-Muslim and teaching Islam to Muslim girls - got caught in terror drag net

2011-05-27T02:11:00.000-07:00

On the surveillance tape Hussein, who had a niece at the school, was heard saying: “How can somebody take a job to teach Islam when he’s not even a Muslim himself?”

None of the others had a connection with the school, which teaches pupils of mainly Bangladeshi backgrounds. Mr Smith followed the national curriculum by teaching all six of the main religions along with ethical issues such as abortion and euthanasia, the court heard. [+]

Judge: 'Your belief is that you carried out a duty to your God and you did so with no mercy'
Gang to get at least 19 years behind bars for grievous bodily harm with intent
Jihadi fanatics thought they had got away with it but were caught following suspicions of terrorist plot

Popular teacher: Gary Smith, 38,
has been left traumatised after he was attacked
by four men in East London

He was an ‘able, enthusiastic and popular’ religious education teacher who loved his job at an inner-city girls’ school.

But when a gang of Islamic extremists decided his lessons for Muslim girls were ‘mocking Islam’, they unleashed a sickening attack on Gary Smith, slashing his face and battering him with such force that his own mother didn’t even recognise him.

Akmol Hussain, 26, Sheikh Rashid, 27, Azad Hussein, 26, and Simon Alam, 19, ambushed the 38-year-old as he walked to work because they did not approve of a non-Muslim teacher giving lessons on religion to Hussain’s niece.

In a ten-minute attack, the fundamentalist mob smashed him over the head with a concrete block and iron rod and slashed his face from the corner of his mouth to his right ear with a Stanley knife. They punched and kicked him in the stomach, head and face, before driving away ‘praising Allah’ as they left their victim covered in blood and unconscious with a fractured skull and shattered jaw.

The Jihadi fanatics thought they had got away with it. But, following suspicions of a terrorist plot, the security services had planted a bug in their car that recorded them snarling: ‘This is the dog we want to hit, to strike, to kill.’

Despite the ferocity of the attack, Mr Smith was back in the classroom yesterday as his attackers were given an indeterminate sentence for public protection.

Sentencing the gang at Snaresbrook Crown Court to at least 19 years behind bars for grievous bodily harm with intent, Judge John Hand QC told them: ‘If you think that people around you in society present an insult or threat to God then you will not hesitate in attacking again.’

MI5 considered the gang such a threat to national security that they asked the Home Secretary for permission to plant a covert recording device in Hussain’s car. But it wasn’t until detectives listened to the tapes after the assault in July last year that they were arrested.

In a recording played to the court, Hussain was heard plotting the attack outside Central Foundation Girls’ School in Bow, East London, where Mr Smith worked as head of religious education.

Hussein said: ‘He’s mocking Islam and he’s putting doubts in people’s minds. How can somebody take a job to teach Islam when they’re not even a Muslim themselves?’ Just moments before the gang struck at 8am on July 12 last year, Hussain told the others as they donned gloves and black bandanas: ‘Does everyone remember the drill? One time, bang, bang, bang, bang.

The recording then fell silent for ten minutes while the attack took place. The gang later fled in a car boasting of their success. Hussain could be heard saying: ‘Praise to Allah. I turned and hit him on the face with the rod and he went flying and fell on his stomach.’

Vicious attack: Azad Hussain, 26, and 26-year-old Akmol Hussein (R) were deemed ringleaders of the attack on Gary Smith in Tower Hamlets, east London

Brutal: Sheikh Rashid was given four years in jail and Simon Alam to five (R)

Mr Smith taught topics such as abortion, euthanasia and the role of women at the high-performing specialist state school, which has a high proportion of Bangladeshi students who do not speak English as their first language.

Prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse said: ‘He was targeted as the victim of this attack quite simply because of his position as head of religious studies at the school.’

Mr Smith did not regain consciousness for two days. He underwent emergency surgery to treat bleeding on the brain, leg injuries and nerve damage.

He also had three operations to repair his face, but was left with a four-inch scar, memory loss and back pain. His mother, Heather, 75, said: ‘His injuries were so bad I didn’t recognise him. It was a horrific and evil attack.

Mr Smith said: ‘They were all armed with knives. I tried to defend myself and run away but they all jumped me and that’s the last thing I remember.

In the victim impact statement, he added that he has grown a beard in an attempt to conceal the scar. He can only do 75 per cent of his previous working hours and can no longer ride his motorbike or practise martial arts.

The judge said: ‘He enjoyed living in Tower Hamlets where he had lived alone for a number of years, but now is anxious about being alone and has gone back to live with his mother. He lives in constant fear of being attacked again.

‘He forgets about meetings and students’ names, something he never did before the attack.’

The four gang members appeared at court wearing traditional Islamic robes. Their wives and mothers dressed, in full burkas, wept as they were sentenced after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The defendants claimed they had heard rumours that the teacher raped a girl at the school, but this was unfounded.

Hussain and Hussein were given an indeterminate sentence but told they would serve a minimum of five years. Alam was told he would remain in a Young Offenders’ Institute for at least five years, before being released on a five-year licence.

Rashid was told he would be eligible for release after four years, when he too would be subjected to a five year licence.

A fifth man, Badruzzuha Uddin, 24, a mechanic who admitted helping the thugs by hiding blood-stained clothing, was jailed for two years.

Alam, who was born in Germany, faces deportation.

Scene: Burdett Road, East London, where the gang ambushed Mr Smith

Innocent teacher: The men were taped planning the attack saying they wanted to hit or kill him just because he was the head of religious studies at the Central Foundation School for Girls in Bow, East London

Daily Mail

Islamists Project Islam's Worst Traits, onto Christians: The Stark Inequality Between Christians and Muslims of Egypt

2011-05-26T06:04:00.000-07:00

Pictures of some of the hundreds of Coptic
girls to be abducted without a trace in Egypt

Unfortunately a similar picture can be painted of Pakistan
with both Hindu and Christian girls ~ it is okay to abduct them
for any purpose ~ but most notably for conversion to Islam

Islamists regularly abduct, abuse, brainwash, and compel Coptic girls to convert—and now Copts are accused of doing the exact same thing;
Islamists regularly smuggle and stockpile weapons, including in their holy places—and now Copts are accused of doing the exact same thing;
Islamists are constantly either trying to break away or conquer infidel nations—and now Copts are accused of doing the exact same thing;
Islamists seek to eliminate or subjugate the infidel according to the doctrine of jihad and dhimmitude—and now Christians are portrayed as seeking the exact same thing;
Islamic martyrdom means waging and dying in jihad—and now Christian martyrdom is defined as the exact same thing.

Muhammed set up the perfect dictatorship system in Islam ~ in that once a dictator takes over ~ his major concern is how others might try to do the same to him. With Islam, it came about by force, so that its followers only understand that this must also be the aim of others. Look at Mecca for example, the primary reason for not allowing non-Muslim entry is fear of being attacked ~ obviously no one is interested in the Kaaba stone ~ the instrument through which Allah is channeled or where intercession with the deity can be gained ~ but the fear is that others will want to do to them as they have done to others.

In a recent AP article ~ on attempts to ban the use of Shari'a law in US courts ~ it cited that Muslims in the US feared ~ that they would be prevented from turning to Mecca to pray and going to the mosque and so on [even more ridiculous that they would be prevented from abstaining from drinking alcohol] ~ which no one had imagined ~ and the reason why they did, was because in the Islamic world this is precisely what they believe is their God given right to do to others.

In Egypt a Coptic priest was arrested for holding a bedside vigil over an aged stoke victim ~ charged with carrying out an 'unauthorized' prayer session, in Algeria an European Catholic priest, is likely still in jail serving his 3-5 year sentence for holding an 'unauthorized' prayer session with illegal migrants in his own home [or in a private residence]. You could perhaps understand Muslim fears in the US and Europe, around the practise of their religion ~ in that in their own countries this is what they will do without thought to others.

In recent weeks, we saw how the Muslim world's obsession with gaining converts evinces, in the words of one Muslim intellectual, an "inferiority complex"—a deadly one at that.

As it happens, inferiority complex is not the only psychological ailment besetting the Muslim world: some Muslims are also projecting the worst traits of Islam onto the beleaguered Christian communities living among them.

Take Egypt's Christian Copts, for example. Much of the recent violence inflicted upon them is based on the constant—but baseless—accusation that the Coptic Church is abducting and tormenting Coptic women who convert to Islam. Amazingly, it is precisely the opposite scenario—Muslims kidnapping Christian women and forcing them to convert to Islam—that is a notorious phenomenon in Egypt.

Indeed, a bipartisan group of eighteen members of the U.S. Congress wrote last year to Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, director of the State Department's Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Office, documenting how Coptic females are increasingly subject to "fraud, physical and sexual violence, captivity, forced marriage, and exploitation in forced domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation, and financial benefit to the individuals who secure the forced conversion" (see Christian Solidarity International's full report on the abuse of Christian women in Muslim Egypt for complete details).

Abu Ishaq al-Huweini, who boasts that jihad
allows the wholesale plundering of "infidels"
and the enslavement of their women and children

A well-known psychological phenomenon, "projection" is defined as "the attribution of one's own ideas, feelings, or attitudes to other people." An academic article dealing with violence and projection states, "Projection allows the killer to project his (unacceptable) desire to kill (torture, rape, steal, dominate, etc.) onto some target group or person. This demonizes his target, making it even more acceptable to kill."

Of course, projection has long been a means to demonize Israel. Islamists accuse Israel and the Jews of living for "perpetual war," "legitimizing land theft in the name of God," and "plundering their opponent's property."

In fact, nothing less than Islam's holy law, Sharia law, mandates perpetual war, land grab, and the plundering of non-believers. Muslim scriptures, history, and current events are rife with examples; the overwhelming majority of what constitutes the Muslim world was taken by force. Only recently, popular Muslim preacher Abu Ishaq al-Huweini boasted about how jihad is one of the highlights of Islam, specifically because it allows the plundering of infidels and enslavement of their women and children.

Yet, because Muslims are currently in a weakened position, they see themselves as victims—not just vis-à-vis a stronger Israel, but even small and vulnerable communities like the Copts.

Pope Shenouda, beleagured head of the Copts

For example, even as the military cooperates with the Islamists to make Coptic life a living hell, the prominent Egyptian cleric Khalid al-Jundi complains that in Egypt "Muslims have fewer rights than Christians, and even do not have the right to worship like Christians," insisting that more mosques need to be built, "for those which have been built are not enough."

In reality, it is Egyptian churches that cannot be built or even repaired—in accordance with Islamic law—without a presidential decree. For example, during Mubarak's final weeks, Egyptian security stormed the St. Mary church in Talbiya, forcing a stop to construction, demolishing stairs and toilets.

And while al-Jundi complains of Christians receiving more rights than Muslims, the fact remains: "More than one million Copts live in the Talbiya area, without a single church to serve them, having to travel for miles every Sunday with their children to the nearest church. The protesters pointed out that the area is full of mosques without licenses, but when it comes to the Copts, they toil for years to obtain a permit for a church, then security comes out with some sort of excuse to stop them from praying there."

More proof was supplied days ago, when thousands of Muslims surrounded a church in Egypt, refusing to allow it to open, insisting that it not have a cross on the dome and threatening to burn it down like other Coptic churches.

Islamist projection was particularly obvious when Muhammad Salim al-Awwa, former secretary-general of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, appeared on Al-Jazeera last September and, in a wild tirade, accused the Copts of "stocking arms and ammunitions in their churches and monasteries"—imported from Israel no less, "the heart of the Coptic Cause"—and "preparing to wage war against Muslims." He warned that if nothing is done, the "country will burn," inciting Muslims to "counteract the strength of the [Coptic] Church."

Al-Awwa further charged that Egypt's security forces cannot enter the monasteries to investigate for weapons—an amazing assertion, considering that Coptic monasteries are not only at the mercy of the state, but are easy prey to Islamist and Bedouin attacks, with monks tortured and crucifixes spat upon. When the monks of an ancient desert monastery in Egypt tried to erect a fence to keep the Bedouin raiders out, the military destroyed it and opened fire on the monks, while shouting "Allahu Akbar!"

Because of all these wild projections, the 86-year-old ailing Coptic Pope Shenouda III was portrayed last year as "a U.S. agent, an abductor and torturer of female Muslim converts from Christianity, who was stockpiling weapons in monasteries and churches with a view to waging war against the Muslims and dividing Egypt to create a Coptic State."

Nor have these charges subsided; mere days ago "forty six Islamist lawyers filed a complaint with the Attorney against Pope Shenouda III, demanding the Pope open churches and monasteries for inspection to verify of the existence of weapons, and illegal places for the detention of citizens."

All of these accusations are as inapplicable to the Coptic Church as they are perfectly applicable to Islamists. As we have seen, it is the Islamists who habitually kidnap Christian women and force them to convert to Islam. Equally ludicrous is the charge that the Copts are stockpiling weapons in monasteries and churches.

In a country where Islam reigns supreme, where Sharia (which mandates the subjugation of non-Muslims, a la the Koranic verse 9:29) is part of the Constitution, where Copts have been conditioned over centuries to be content with just being left alone—is it reasonable to believe that these selfsame, down-trodden Christians, who make up 10-15% of the population, are planning a violent takeover of Egypt?

It is easy to see, however, why such charges resonate with Muslims. After all, Islamists are constantly stockpiling weapons, including in mosques, as they prepare to violently seize power across the nations, Egypt being an especially coveted target. Indeed, at one point the aforementioned al-Awwa himself slipped by saying that "Muslims are arrested every day [in Egypt] for extremism and the possession of arms."

Then there is the charge that Copts are trying to divide Egypt to create their own state, which is primarily based on a candid remark made by Coptic Bishop Bishoy months ago: "Muslims are guests in this country, Christians are the original residents. Prior to the Arab invasion of Egypt, which took place in the seventh century, the majority of Egypt's population was Christian." As usual, this otherwise historically accurate observation has enraged Muslims and been cited as "proof" that the Copts seek to divide Egypt and establish their own state.

In fact, it is Muslim minorities who habitually try to secede from non-Muslim countries. Whether by creating their own nations (e.g., Pakistan), or creating enclaves in the West, the notion of separating from the infidel is commanded in the Koran (e.g., 3:28, 4:89, 4:144, 5:54, 6:40, 9:23, and 58:22), codified in the doctrine of al-wala' wa'l bara', and imprinted on the Muslim psyche. Unsurprisingly, then, Muslims have come to project this divisive impulse onto the Copts as well.

There is perhaps no clearer example of Muslim projection than in the field of theology, whereby Muslim doctrines are projected onto Christianity. For example, in the midst of the accusation that the Copts are stockpiling weapons to wage war on Muslims, the Al Azhar Scholars Front, which consists of Al Azhar alumni, declared: "Christianity…is constantly defining its overt and covert policy of eliminating all its rivals or degrading [the followers of other religions] and depriving them of every reason to live so that they will be forced to convert to Christianity."

In fact, this is precisely what Islam does: through jihad, "eliminate all its rivals," or, through the institution of dhimmitude, "degrade [the followers of other religions] and deprive them of every reason to live so that they will be forced to convert to" Islam. This is both historically and doctrinally demonstrable.

Blood-splattered mural at the Coptic church in Egypt where at least 21 Christians were killed from an explosion during last New Year's mass

Similarly, when Bishop Bishoy declared that Egypt's Christians are reaching the point of martyrdom due to the increase in persecution, this, too, was thoroughly "Islamicized" as a declaration of "war-to-the-death," including by al-Awwa, who, during his Al Jazeera rant, asserted that "Father Bishoy declared that they would reach the point of martyrdom, which can only mean war. He said, 'If you talk about our churches, we will reach the point of martyrdom.' This means war."

Of course, the notion that a martyr is someone who wages and dies in jihad, or "holy war," is intrinsic to Islam (e.g., Koran 9:111). Even the authoritative Hans Wehr Arabic-English Dictionary translates shahid ("martyr") as "one killed in battle with infidels." On the other hand, Christian martyrdom has always meant being persecuted and killed for refusing to recant Christianity—and this is precisely the definition that has for centuries applied to Egypt's Copts, the definition that Bishop Bishoy clearly meant (see this article for more on the important differences between Christian and Muslim notion's of martyrdom).

To recap:

Islamists regularly abduct, abuse, brainwash, and compel Coptic girls to convert—and now Copts are accused of doing the exact same thing;
Islamists regularly smuggle and stockpile weapons, including in their holy places—and now Copts are accused of doing the exact same thing;
Islamists are constantly either trying to break away or conquer infidel nations—and now Copts are accused of doing the exact same thing;
Islamists seek to eliminate or subjugate the infidel according to the doctrine of jihad and dhimmitude—and now Christians are portrayed as seeking the exact same thing;
Islamic martyrdom means waging and dying in jihad—and now Christian martyrdom is defined as the exact same thing.

From here, one can understand the recent lament of Coptic activist Mounir Bishai: "Suddenly we [Copts] have shifted from complaints to self-defense, from demanding [our] rights to [trying to] convince the public that we are not depriving others of their rights... now we are being accused of amassing weapons... How have we suddenly turned from persecuted into persecutors, from the weak [party] into the strong and tyrannical [one], from the attacked [party] into the infamous attackers, and from the poor [party] into the rich exploiters? How did these lies become widespread, without us gaining any ground or improving our situation one whit?"

How, indeed. Quite simply, as all humans are wont to do, some Muslims see themselves—project themselves—in others, no matter how ludicrous or inapplicable the projection is. Indeed, this is not unlike the way Western liberals are constantly projecting their secular/liberal worldview onto Muslims, despite all evidence otherwise.

Postscript: Let it be noted that Islamist projection is not confined to the Middle East, but is present in the United States as well. For example, in their recent—and failed—attempt to compel Everett Community College to disinvite me, CAIR and other Islamists insisted that yours truly was "spreading hate"—thereby projecting the hate that permeates their own scriptures and worldview, onto me and others who merely quote that hate.

Raymond Ibrahim is associate director of the Middle East Forum

Middle East Forum

Arabia, which allows no one to leave Islam, seeks to replace sword as method of conversion, to more modern ways of spreading its tarnished faith

2011-05-26T03:16:00.000-07:00

Riyadh's Deera Square is best known for
being the site of public executions
(hence its grim nickname, "Chop Chop Square" [+]

It is a dilemma for the Islamic world ~ having to think on their feet ~ having forcibly converted the ancestors of most of the people who call themselves Muslims today ~ through slavery, for example ~ much of the areas below the Sahara were brought to Islam via mass slavery ~ the European ~ more Portuguese sailors found a lucrative trade in non-Muslim slaves in Sub-Saharan Africa ~ in exchange for gold with either Africans who had previously been converted to Islam in North Africa and the region just below it or Arab slave traders.

And obviously it was a miserable existence if you did not convert, all non-Muslims had to pay a tax called the jizya and if they were unable to pay, they were often enslaved. [By the same token not all those who converted to Islam were freed from slavery - so you still have this two tier system in the Islamic world ~ where many of the north Africans are referred to as Arab slaves]. The tax laid down in Islamic law is a protection tax, basically to protect the non-Muslim from being killed, or attacked ~ and it was only brought to an end during the western colonial period, which also brought to an end to the taking of slaves.

From forcibly converting people ~ to subjecting them to a miserable existence under Islamic dhimmi laws ~ the Arabs are faced with how do they go out and make an honest convert. Obviously they will try to promote the story of Islam's glorious past, when 100s of millions were killed, mass slavery from India, Africa and parts of Europe [Southern Europe had to fortify the coast against these snatch and grab attacks, but even up to Ireland and the Scandinavian countries, people were taken as slaves by Muslim slave ships some converts to Islam knew these areas well]. The Arabs would want to show that these glory days can return again. And if one joins them they can too have supremacy over others under Islam.

Islam is a tarnished brand ~ and unfortunately for it ~ the CEO can never be replaced!!

JEDDAH: Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh Al-Asheikh has emphasized the need for utilizing modern information media including the Internet and FM radio stations to spread the message of Islam.

“FM radios with shortwave have been found more effective in propagating Islam,” the minister said, adding that it has been successfully used in African, East Asian and Southeast Asian countries.

“We can reach a large number of people through FM radios than satellite channels and at lesser cost,” he said and urged philanthropists to make use of this dynamic media for dawa work.

He said Islamic scholars in the Kingdom can give classes and lectures through the Internet, targeting audience in different parts of the world. “Many people all over the world wanted to know more about Islam.”

Al-Asheikh also stressed the need to use social media such as Facebook and Twitter for Islamic propagation, saying the younger generation uses this media for communication and exchange information.

He expected satellite channels would slowly disappear within 10-15 years as people would shift their focus to the Internet. “So, we should have a greater presence on the Internet and we should spend more money to develop this media,” the minister said.

Last Monday, Al-Asheikh launched a new website for Hadith named www.alssunnahnet.com to highlight the life and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The website also offers religious rulings and legislative consultations, which are answered by a group of specialist scholars.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article430210.ece

Islam's Gulen Movement's 'New Islamic World Order' High Hopes

2011-05-25T15:22:00.000-07:00

Blinded by the light of the Islamic Shari'a utopia ~ Muhammad's failed
dream ~ that keeps much of the Muslim world in mental bondage.

It is like every generation ~ their heads are filled with the same delusion!!
And in this most ambitious plan to take the whole world
what of the non-Muslims ~ if it a recapturing of the
Ottoman Empire ~ then what about others? Fables of the time,
tell of Muslims and Christians getting along ~ but where are those Christians?

It is a scary thought.

Here is the scheme ~ despite the tolerance talk publicly -
here is what Gullen was reported to have said in private:

...video which surfaced in 1999, in which he seemed to tell his followers
that they should deliberately attempt to infiltrate mainstream structures:

"You must move within the arteries of the system, without
anyone noticing your existence, until you reach all the power centres.
You must wait until such time as you have got all the state power,
until you have brought to your side all the power of the constitutional
institution in Turkey."

Turkey's Gulen movement, which promotes service to the common good, may have grown into the world's biggest Muslim network. Is it the modern face of Islam, or are there more sinister undercurrents?

From Kenya to Kazakhstan, a new Islamic network is attracting millions of followers - and billions of dollars.

Inspired by a little-known Turkish imam, the Gulen movement is linked to more than 1,000 schools in 130 countries as well as think tanks, newspapers, TV and radio stations, universities - and even a bank.

This massive network is unlike anything else. It has no formal structure, no visible organisation and no official membership.

Its supporters say they simply work together, in a loosely affiliated alliance inspired by the message of charismatic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who promotes a tolerant Islam which emphasises altruism, hard work and education.

Turkish businessmen are attracted by what they see as his international outlook and pragmatic approach to issues like using credit.

In Turkey today, it is thought to have up to 10 million supporters. A recent study suggests many give between 5%-20% of their income to groups affiliated with the movement.

In US Gullen schools teachers complained of less qualified Turkish teachers being brought in and paid more. Wikileaks reports brain washing that goes on in the schools. Dutch Gullen schools are barred from receiving public funding ~ as the state believes the groups true aims are subversive. [+][+]

I think the problem is ~ people want to say ~ we can trust someone from the the Islamic community ~ in fact people are often desperate to demonstrate this social cohesion /multicultural, etc.. ~ but when it comes to the Islamic religion ~ this is where such alliances become problematic. At least understand ~ the command [See Koran 9:29] that they need to subjugate you ~ or get you to join them, in either staying out of their way ~ or helping to subjugate others. Kind of like the cold war weapons ~ you need to know what is there and the thinking around them. Muslims try to get us to focus on their Islamic 'peace' ~ that they have not even achieved ~ apparently it can be understood [with study and time...], often knowing full well that this peace is meant to be found at the end of the Sharia-utopia-bow ~ where non-Muslims don't get a good deal ~ in this sense the Koran conversely becomes a manual for war and deceit. Their peace means your demise, subjugation ~ for all others ~ one has to be deceitful.

Its unfortunate because sometimes you do not select a hand you are dealt one ~ Islam and all that comes with it ~ is one of those hands you are dealt. These are Muhammad ideas, no one has been able to question them, and they have been passed down by force. Number one ~ frightened people, delusional or brainwashed people can easily follow, especially when combined with the coercion that Islam uses...

We should know who we are dealing with.

Here was a Prophet that called his men to rape non-Muslim women [in front of their husbands, dismayed that some of his men ~ displayed a shred of human decency and ~ would not go along with it, these orders led to Koran 4:24], demonstrates that whatever Muslims say Islam is ~ it is not for you the non-Muslim.

Critics claim its aim is to gain power, to spread socially conservative Islamic attitudes on issues like marriage and alcohol around the globe, and to suppress any opposition.

In the past year, three of its most prominent critics have been jailed in Turkey, sparking claims that it has become a sinister controlling force in its native land.

Mr Gulen's critics point to a video which surfaced in 1999, in which he seemed to tell his followers that they should deliberately attempt to infiltrate mainstream structures:

"You must move within the arteries of the system, without anyone noticing your existence, until you reach all the power centres. You must wait until such time as you have got all the state power, until you have brought to your side all the power of the constitutional institution in Turkey."

The following year, Mr Gulen faced charges of trying to undermine Turkey's secular state.

He left for the United States, claiming the recording had been tampered with. He was later cleared in absentia of all charges.

Today, aged 70, Mr Gulen lives a reclusive life on a country estate in Pennsylvania.

He has urged his followers to build schools instead of mosques, and encourages interaction with people of other faiths through dialogue societies, including one in the UK.

Social mobility
The movement's schools usually boast hi-tech facilities, and many students are on scholarships funded by Gulen-inspired businessmen.

Although the schools are secular, teachers are expected to act as role models. Smoking, drinking and divorce are frowned upon.

Fatma Disli first came across the movement - which she prefers to call "Hizmet" ("service" in Turkish) - at a school it founded to help students pass university admissions tests.

"The people I met through Hizmet were really hard-working, virtuous people who were practising their religion, but at the same time had important jobs. I realised that it's possible to be religious and to have a career."

Gulen supporters argue that the movement has also played a part in the growth of Turkey's economy by bolstering exports.

Serdarj Yesilyurt, from Turkey's Federation of Businessmen and Industrialists, says 95% of his members are Gulen supporters.

"Mr Gulen put forward some international values which helped to bring down mental barriers about doing trade abroad, and helped people to think big."

The combination of philanthropy and business has been powerful, he says, with Gulen-inspired schools supporting and smoothing the way for Turkish businessmen in emerging markets like Africa and Central Asia.

Press freedom threat
However, a media group run by Gulen supporters, which includes newspapers, TV and radio stations and a news agency, has been criticised for being too close to the Islamic-rooted governing party.

There are claims that supporters of the movement dominate parts of the police and the judiciary.

Last year, a police chief who wrote a book on this subject was jailed. Earlier this year, two Turkish investigative journalists, Ahmet Sik and Nedim Sener, were arrested after investigating similar claims.

As Sik was arrested, he shouted: "Whoever touches them burns!" All three men are still in jail.

They were arrested in connection with an alleged plot by right-wing extremists, hardline secularists and army generals to overthrow the state.

Press freedom campaigner Ferai Tinch says most journalists in Turkey believe that they too will suffer if they criticise the movement.

“It's illogical to think that Gulen followers would be involved [in arresting critics]”

Cemal Usak

"The imprisonment of journalists is the tip of the iceberg. Nobody dares to write directly against the Gulen movement," he says.

The movement insists it had nothing to do with the arrests.

"It's illogical to think that Gulen followers would be involved [in arresting critics]," says Cemal Usak, of the Gulen-linked Journalists and Writers Foundation.

"That would do the biggest harm to the movement. They must be out of their minds to think such a thing."

The only point that both supporters and critics seem to agree on is that it wields huge power in Turkey - and that its global expansion shows no sign of slowing.

BBC

Even more Islam for the Islamic region - Algeria shuts 7 churches

2011-05-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

Apparently the problem is not enough Islam - in North Africa!!

The government accuses the Protestants of proselytism, a serious crime in a country where Islam is the State religion and Muslims are not allowed to convert to other religions.

What with the mega mosque right on top of the 9/11 site - surely we should demand something in return!

In 2006, the Algerian government passed a law that punishes anyone who tries to convert a Muslim to Christianity, punishable with two to five years in prison and fines ranging from five to ten thousand euros.

They also - introduced laws around the same time ~ that imprison people for having more than one bible ~ can you just imagine the uproar ~ if Muslims were arrested in the west for being in possession of more than one Koran!!

At a time of riots and revolutions across the region for better living standards and more food on the plate ~ the Algerian government has laid out plans to build a $1.2 bi$$ion mosque, the 2nd largest outside of Mecca with the tallest [moonaret] minaret in the world ~ with a good enough set of speakers, perhaps the hope is it can be heard all the way into Europe or perhaps they thought this will help the country's fortunes ~ put bread on the average person's table ~ long term!!

The amount the spent on mosques ~ then America is expected to dish out money for them ~ whenever they hit a snag. While closing down the _ _ churches!!

Since the riots - the Saudis / other oil'd Arabs ~ have pledged $2 billion ~ for development in the region / North Africa up pass Jordan ~ its all the 'extended' Arabia now ~ but the Algerian mosque cost $1.2 billion, and another mosque proposal in the South of France ~ where large portions of the North African immigrants are unemployed or low waged ~ was to cost 'I believe' about $100 million/ Euro$ ~ then there is the Saudi sponsored mega mosque in Poland ~ and the $150 relatively cheap, by comparison, ground zero [advanced post] mosque in New York.

(ANSAmed) - ALGIERS, MAY 24 - A new clampdown on Christian protestants in Algeria. The Algerian 'wilaya' (province) of Bejaia has ordered 7 places of worship of this religious group to be closed. The measure, el Watan reports on its website, was issued on May 8. It was made executive on the 22nd and announced yesterday. Sources in the Vatican nunciature in Algiers have told ANSAmed that Catholic churches are not affected by the measure, and that the measure does not regard national territory. Mustapha Krim, president of the Protestant Church in Algeria, has appealed against the measure, which speaks in general terms of the closing of places of worship ''for religious worship other than the Islam''. Krim has said that he has visited the Ministry of Religious Affairs in an attempt to postpone the implementation of the measure. He underlined that he has not been informed about it in time. Protestants, a rapidly growing movement in Algeria, has been targeted for several years by the Islamic religious authorities and civilians. The government accuses the Protestants of proselytism, a serious crime in a country where Islam is the State religion and Muslims are not allowed to convert to other religions. In Algeria, other religions than the Islam can register and obtain an official status, provided they will not try to recruit new followers among the local population. The small Catholic community in fact counts nearly only foreign members, with a few Algerians from the time of French colonialism. The attitude of the Protestants is different: in 2001 some North American Protestant ministers started preaching in the Berber region Kabylie. According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, today there are around 50 thousand Protestants in the country, with 10 thousand observant Protestants divided in 33 communities. In 2006, the Algerian government passed a law that punishes anyone who tries to convert a Muslim to Christianity, punishable with two to five years in prison and fines ranging from five to ten thousand euros. Several Protestant churches have been closed in the past. Early in 2010 a Protestant place of worship in Tizi-Ouzou, around 60 km east of Algiers, was attacked and set on fire by groups of Muslim extremists; the police did not intervene. (ANSAmed).

UK Court: Muslim four boasted of beating up state religious ed teacher, then praising Allah - accusing him of 'mocking' and spreading doubts about Islam in sister's class

2011-05-24T13:06:00.000-07:00

Gary Smith savagely attacked for teaching Islam
in a non-religious format.

Making the kids think ~ was deemed punishable by death,
by the four accused

Hussein says: “This is the dog we want to hit, to strike, to kill.

“He’s mocking Islam and he’s putting doubts in people’s minds, How can somebody take a job to teach Islam when they’re not even a Muslim?”

Its worrying because, someone bright person would come up with the idea that only Muslims can teach religion - to avoid causing offence ~ ensuring that everyone else is otherwise out of a job in most city areas! The understanding being that ~ when Muslims are not offended ~ no one is attacked...

Miss Whitehouse said Mr Smith was kicked and hit in the stomach, on the head and in the face. “He was smashed with a brick of some sort and a rod,” she said. “He pleaded with his attackers not to kick him.”

During the attack Mr Smith, 37, was slashed from the corner of his mouth to his right ear and he suffered a fractured skull and shattered jaw.

In a second series of excerpts played to the court, the four attackers can be heard boasting about the attack.

Miss Whitehouse said: “They rejoice and praise Allah for the successful execution of their plan.”

Four Muslims who beat up a teacher for lecturing Islamic pupils were caught on a covert recording saying: “This is the dog we want to hit, to strike, to kill.”

Akmol Hussein, 26, Sheikh Rashid, 27, Azad Hussain, 25, and Simon Alam, 19, discussed the plan to ambush Gary Smith outside his school nearly a month before attacking him in the street.

A bug, which could have been put in Akmol’s car by the security services, captures the gang discussing the plot, then praising Allah as they drive from the scene of the attack. Excerpts of the recording played in Snaresbrook Crown Court disclose Hussein setting out the plan to ambush Mr Smith, the head of religious education at Central Foundation Girls’ School in Bow, east London.

Hussein says: “This is the dog we want to hit, to strike, to kill.

“He’s mocking Islam and he’s putting doubts in people’s minds, How can somebody take a job to teach Islam when they’re not even a Muslim?”

Sarah Whitehouse, prosecuting, said Mr Smith taught a “wide variety of topics such as abortion, euthanasia and the role of women”. Mr Smith was ambushed by the gang shortly after 8am as he walked to the school from nearby Mile End on July 12 last year. Miss Whitehouse said: “He was targeted as the victim of this attack simply because of his position as head of religious studies at the school.”

The court heard that moments before the gang attacked Mr Smith, Hussein can be heard saying: “Does everyone remember the drill? One time, bang, bang, bang, bang.” The recording is then silent for 10 minutes while the attack takes place.

Miss Whitehouse said Mr Smith was kicked and hit in the stomach, on the head and in the face.
“He was smashed with a brick of some sort and a rod,” she said. “He pleaded with his attackers not to kick him.”

During the attack Mr Smith, 37, was slashed from the corner of his mouth to his right ear and he suffered a fractured skull and shattered jaw.

In a second series of excerpts played to the court, the four attackers can be heard boasting about the attack.

Miss Whitehouse said: “They rejoice and praise Allah for the successful execution of their plan.”

The bug was not found in the car until Aug 18 last year.

The court was told that a fifth man, Badruzzuha Uddin, 23, a mechanic, hid bloodstained clothing at the garage where he worked. Miss Whitehouse said: “The blood on the clothes was that of Gary Smith.” DNA testing found that the clothes belonged to Hussein and Alam. Traces of Mr Smith’s blood were found in the car.

The five men were arrested in July and either refused to comment or denied being involved.

All five were arrested again in August after some of the material recorded in Hussein’s car was transcribed. Hussein, of Bethnal Green, Rashid, of Shadwell, Hussain, of Wapping, and Alam, of Whitechapel, all from east London, have all admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Uddin, of Shadwell, admitted assisting an offender.

The court was told that Hussein. a devout Muslim, had a previous conviction for drink-driving.
Despite his horrific injuries, Mr Smith, of Chingford, east London, has pledged to return to teaching. He needed three operations to repair his face and was in hospital for 10 days.
His mother, Heather, who stayed at his bedside every day, said: “His injuries were so bad I didn’t recognise him.”

Telegraph

Chilling warning about the rise of Islam from Copt Bishop to the Germans ~ first it was us 'you're next' - Video

2011-05-23T16:36:00.000-07:00

In the US in particular ~ now it is common to hear that Islamic law is 'open to interpretation' [please keep a straight face], what is certain is that people can use their own minds, to determine the way they want to act. We should deal with people directly, and never with the Arab agent Islam.

Islamic law decrees that non-Muslims should be second class citizens ~ never equal ~ to be a good Muslim ~ one must abide by these laws.

It is possible that the Copt Christian mistakenly thought that they could negotiate with Islam ~ by offering up the best of Christianity. [according to Copts a lot of their clergy were attacked and killed on Islam's entrance] ~ possibly like other parts of North Africa they did not stand a chance ~ against Islamic invaders. The best of Christianity now - represented in the remnants of a wiped out people.

But today in Europe, this is another kind of invasion. Because you have large numbers of people, who have little or no interest in integrating, only creating an Islamic state. The rise in numbers is through the practise of marriage, so that eventually Europe may see 1 million newlyweds, with one partner from the Islamic world / each year!! Shari'a police operating openly on the streets in many areas, regulating behavior and dress and even carrying out punishments according to Islamic law, with no one daring to stop them ~ words like 'its racist to tell them to stop' ~ would have long been forgotten ~ replaced with outright fear ~ where the average citizens lives like the moderates and Christian//other non-Muslim in the Islamic world ~ words and deeds said or done without the proper respect to Islam will result in retribution, we will watch in silence as government ministers are gunned down, and non-Muslim places of worship burnt out ~ just like people do today in the Islamic world.

We can never imagine, saying anything but Islam means peace, now!

Of course unlike today, those setting out to negotiate with Muslim 'community' leaders will no longer do so from a position of authority ~ without the higher ground, we will have to take what we can get ~ with respect to Islam's subjugated dhimmi status ~ as found in Koran 9:29.

The only problem with this dream is that we don't have to give our freedoms away in the first place ~ we sidestep Islam and we deal directly with people. Islam and the wild rantings of the Prophet are Muslims to play with ~ it is nothing in it for us ~ but for this to work they must knowingly fool [convince] us into believing there is something in it we need.

"The Dutch will, from now on, have to live with unpredictable limitations of the freedom of speech": Expert witness in Wilders trial

2011-05-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

Trimming free speech ~ except you don't get a beautiful garden!!

Hmm... wonder why people are so desperate to leave the Shari'a world??

Perhaps some in Holland imagine that if they could just get Wilders to shut up ~ this will all go away. That things like unrestricted immigration and the slide towards a more Islamic Netherlands [or the pruning of rights and freedoms in respect to Islam] will just get back to normal.

Islamic scholar Hans Jansen and expert witness in the Geert Wilders show trial, has sent this statement on the trial and 'witness tampering' judge Tom Sch alken to Jihad Watch:

The Dutch will, from now on, have to live with unpredictable limitations of the freedom of speech and, even worse, with the legality of attempts to sabotage the foundation of all Western politics: the separation of the three traditional powers of the Western state: the executive, legislative and judicial power.

The Amsterdam court charged with condemning the elected member-of-parliament Geert Wilders decided today that the trial must go on where it derailed last fall. In October and November 2010 it became known that Justice Tom Schalken (Amsterdam) had dinner with one of the few expert witnesses the court had allowed to the defense of Mr Wilders. This dinner took place a few days before the witness had to appear in court. These contacts could easily be understood as attempts to influence the witness. It is actually rather difficult to understand them in any other way.

Justice Tom Schalken, we now know, also had also played a role in the executive when as a functionary of the Ministry of Justice he formulated the laws that make it possible for Geert Wilders to be summoned to court by private citizens even when the state prosecutor does not see a winnable case. He, moreover, had been active behind closed doors, influencing Dutch opinion makers; and published ‘scholarly’ articles arguing the case against political dissidents like Mr. Wilders. Finally, as the crown on all this work, he had signed (and probably personally written) the order that imposed on the prosecutor the duty to go to trial to get Mr. Wilders condemned.

Nevertheless, the Amsterdam Court did not see a problem here, and Dutch justice will run its course. Or, actually, the Court did see the problems, but did not think they were relevant to what they were doing to Mr. Wilders. Only decades of studying and practicing law in the Netherlands will help outsiders to understand this decision, but it is seriously to be doubted whether sane young men and women will take the trouble to do so.

The trial, hence, goes on where it got derailed in the fall of 2010. From now on, someone who speaks in the Netherlands about Islamic theology, law or religious practice will have to be extremely careful. Librarians will have to clean their shelves: books from whatever period may have to be removed. Tourists who bring books or newspapers with them from the outside world must hope for the best. Publishers and bookshops will surely spontaneously understand their patriotic duties. The multicultural state shall have its way.

It goes without saying that Christianity, Judaism and Atheism cannot receive similar protection from the multicultural state – because if that were the case, the Koran and all handbooks of Mohammedan law would have to be forbidden because of the offensive and abusive language these religious texts employ when discussing non-Muslim religious viewpoints. And, as we all know, to forbid Islamic books would be a very unmulticultural thing to do indeed.

WikiLeaks: Saudi Arabia, UAE funded Pakistani jihadi networks & schools, which children are selected for violent tendencies, to the tune of $100m/yr

2011-05-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

It said those sources claimed that financial aid from Saudi and United Arab Emirates was coming from "missionary" and "Islamic charitable" organizations ostensibly with the direct support of those countries' governments.

It described how "families with multiple children" and "severe financial difficulties" were being exploited and recruited.

"The path following recruitment depends upon the age of the child involved. Younger children (between 8 and 12) seem to be favored,"

Teachers in [madrassas] assessed the inclination of children "to engage in violence and acceptance of jihadi culture."

It is clear that the violent aspect of Islam is of its highest order ~ and not everybody is cut out for that. Perhaps these Arab states understand something that others do not ~ or more would like if others were not to know.

Hadith ~ sayings of the Prophet which led to Koran verse 4:24

The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives.

Some of the Companions of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur’anic verse: (Sura 4:24) "And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess." (Abu Dawud 2150, also Muslim 3433)

The actions of the gulf states ~ surely acknowledge the truth of how Islam was spread ~ that without the sword, people would not have listened to [a no-compulsion Muhammad].

It does bring to mind ~ that the "Prophet's" message was insignificant ~ so that people had to be compelled to follow it ~ Jesus on the other hand had an enormous following [no arm twisting, he even threw in a few miracles]. And that Muhammad, realizing that his message lacked real substance ~ took the title of Prophet by force. A man whose example ~ Muslims conquered and wills broken long ago ~ seek to emulate without question. What has been done to them ~ in their view ~ must be imposed on others ~ it is what the Prophet would have wanted.

Bin$aden

The discovery that Osama bin Ladenwas living in a Pakistani town not far from Islamabad until he was killed in a raid by US forces earlier this month has severely damaged ties between Washington and Islamabad.

The question is was Islamabad working under Arab orders with Arab state finance to harbor Osama Bin Laden?

(Reuters) - Islamic charities from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates financed a network in U.S. ally Pakistan that recruited children as young as eight to wage holy war, a local newspaper reported on Sunday, citing Wikileaks.

The cable alleged that financial aid for a "sophisticated jihadi recruitment network" was coming from "missionary" and "Islamic charitable" organisations in the Gulf, ostensibly with the direct support of the Saudi and UAE governments.

The 2008 cable, purportedly sent by an officer at the US consulate in Lahore, was obtained by WikiLeaks and published by Pakistan's Dawn newspaper on Sunday.

A U.S. diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks said financial support estimated at $100 million a year was making its way from those Gulf Arab states to a jihadist recruitment network in Pakistan's Punjab province, Dawn newspaper reported.

The November 2008 dispatch by Bryan Hunt, the then principal officer at the U.S. consulate in Lahore, was based on discussions with local government and non-governmental sources during trips to Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province.

It said those sources claimed that financial aid from Saudi and United Arab Emirates was coming from "missionary" and "Islamic charitable" organizations ostensibly with the direct support of those countries' governments.

Asked to respond to the report, Saudi foreign ministry spokesman Osama Nugali said: "Saudi Arabia issued a statement from day one that we are not going to comment on any WikiLeaks reports because Saudi Arabia is not responsible for these reports and we are not sure about their authenticity."

Saudi Arabia, the United States and Pakistan heavily supported the Afghan mujahideen against Soviet occupation troops in the 1980s.

Militancy subsequently mushroomed in the region and militants moved to Pakistan's northwest tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan, seen as a global hub for militants.

Since then there has been a growing nexus between militant groups there and in Punjab. In recent years militants have been carrying out suicide bombings seemingly at will in Pakistan, despite military offensives against their strongholds.

The discovery that Osama bin Laden was living in a Pakistani town not far from Islamabad until he was killed by U.S. special forces earlier this month has severely damaged ties between Washington and Islamabad.

The United States wants Pakistan to be a more reliable partner in its war on militancy.

CHILDREN SENT TO TRAINING CAMPS

But militancy is deeply rooted in Pakistan. In order to eradicate it, analysts say, the government must improve economic conditions to prevent militants from recruiting young men disillusioned with the state.

The network in Punjab reportedly exploited worsening poverty to indoctrinate children and ultimately send them to training camps, said the cable.

Saudi Arabia, home to the fundamentalist Wahhabi brand of Islam, is seen as funding some of Pakistan's hardline religious seminaries, or madrassas, which churn out young men eager for holy war, posing a threat to the stability of the region.

"At these madrassas, children are denied contact with the outside world and taught sectarian extremism, hatred for non-Muslims, and anti-Western/anti-Pakistan government philosophy," said the cable.

It described how "families with multiple children" and "severe financial difficulties" were being exploited and recruited, Dawn reported.

"The path following recruitment depends upon the age of the child involved. Younger children (between 8 and 12) seem to be favored," said the cable.

Teachers in seminaries would assess the inclination of children "to engage in violence and acceptance of jihadi culture."

Families would be approached by "supposedly charitable" groups, and clerics would then offer to educate thier children and "find them employment in the service of Islam".

Martyrdom was later discussed, the cable alleged, with parents offered a final cash payment estimated at $6,500 by local sources. Recruits "chosen for jihad" would then be taken to "indoctrination camps".

"The initial success of establishing madrassas and mosques in these areas led to subsequent annual "donations" to these same clerics, originating in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates," the cable stated.

Al Jazeera

The discovery that Osama bin Ladenwas living in a Pakistani town not far from Islamabad until he was killed in a raid by US forces earlier this month has severely damaged ties between Washington and Islamabad.

US lawmakers and senior American officials have said before that Saudi donors and charities were still directing financial support to extremists in the region, including in Afghanistan.

But the cable was notable because it indicated that financial support was now reaching a once moderate area of southern Pakistan that observers had been warning was becoming more radical. [..]

Dutch court's foolhardy attempt to introduce 'Insulting Islam' charge into Dutch legal system - rejects anti-Islam MP's bias claim

2011-05-23T05:07:00.000-07:00

Dutch anti-Islam deputy Geert Wilders
stands in court next to his lawyer Bram Moszkowicz
on May 23, 2011 in Amsterdam

The Dutch courts could become like a portal for Muslim countries and groups to attempt to silence criticism of Islam ~ its objectives and its practises. We have free speech for a reason. The Dutch court seems to be seeking out a reason to break with this ~ for the purpose of making concessions to Islam [an ideology].

More the Islamic world is called 'not free' for a reason. And so there must be some acknowledgement that when people come from the Muslim world ~ that they bring with them the 'not so free' ideology and that many the will have the expectation that these repressive laws and norms be implemented in the west. That a significant portion of Muslim immigrants will reject the very idea of freedom and the right of the individual. That these newcomers identity is not only tied up with Islam as a religion ~ but as the law.

Its a religious thing ~ which they want to make a legal thing - but then Europe also becomes 'not so free'!!

THE HAGUE (AFP)— An Amsterdam court rejected a claim by far right leader Geert Wilders that an earlier court decision was biased and that hate speech charges against him should be dropped.
"The request is denied," said Judge Marcel van Oosten, during a hearing broadcast on the Internet by Dutch public television. "The trial must go on."

Wilders, 47, faces five counts of giving offence to Muslims and of inciting hatred against Muslims and people of non-Western immigrant origin, particularly Moroccans.

On May 2, Wilders' lawyer Bram Moszkowicz argued his client no longer had recourse to a fair trial and that charges against him should be dropped.

In 2008, prosecutors had initially dismissed dozens of complaints against Wilders but an appeals court reversed that decision.

Wilders' defence team claims that one of the judges involved in that decision, Tom Schalken, tried to persuade Arab world expert and defence witness Hans Jansen of supporting the trial at a 2010 dinner party.

"It isn't plausible that Schalken tried to influence Jansen," said Judge van Ousten. "We cannot conclude that the defendant's rights were violated."

The allegations against Wilders arise partly from the 2008 short film "Fitna", in which he mixes Koranic verses with footage of extremist attacks.

Wilders likens the Koran to Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf".

The MP, whose Party for Freedom came third in elections last year and gives parliamentary support to a right-leaning coalition, faces up to a year in jail or a 7,600 euro (10,300 dollar) fine for comments made in his campaign to "stop the Islamisation of The Netherlands."

Authorities, Islamists in Egypt Stop Orthodox Church from Re-Opening - Threaten to Kill Copt Clergy

2011-05-23T04:31:00.000-07:00

Setting the stage for a Muslim only Egypt:

Rizq added that all was quiet at press time but still very tense. Imams were walking through the area surrounding the church building “calling for jihad,” but the army had cordoned off the area...

“I 100 percent don’t think they will open the church there, because they [the Muslims] are completely against the idea of having a church there,” he said. “Even yesterday someone [a protestor] said, ‘You can open up the church, and I will go and blow myself up inside it.’”

Typically after an attack on Christians it is they who are arrested [unless there is an international outcry then something may be done] ~ this time it was the clergy.

Peter Rizq, a lay minister at the church, said he, the priests and others trapped in the building found a way to sneak to safety after Muslims threatened to kill the head priest of the congregation...

The men left the church building one by one, but some of them were later arrested and charged with illegal possession of weapons, a charge Rizq said was untrue.

When no law can contradict the Sharia [Clause II in the Egyptian Constitution] ~ Christians cannot receive equal treatment ~ however individual Muslims might feel.

“In general, they are very friendly, as neighbors and friends and invite each other for weddings and celebrations,” he said. “But when it comes to building a church, they all stand up and disagree with it.”

Rizq said all the congregation wants is equal protection under the law.

CAIRO, Egypt, May 20 (CDN) — Hundreds of Muslims, angered by the prospect of a government-closed church re-opening in their neighborhood, protested outside the church yesterday, causing the provisional military authority to back away from its promise to allow Orthodox clergy to reopen it.

Protestors started gathering on Thursday afternoon (May 19) outside the Church of the Virgin Mary and St. Abraam in Ain Shams, a poor section of northeastern Cairo. The church was scheduled to reopen that day, but protestors surrounded the building, preventing anyone from getting into it and trapping priests who were inside.

Several people were injured in fights between the Copts and the Muslims. Protestors threw rocks at each other, according a witness. One Coptic bystander was seriously injured, another witness said, when he took out a cell phone camera to record the protest and a group of Muslims surrounded and beat him. Several Copts were arrested, according to church officials.

It was unknown if any of the Muslim protestors have been arrested.

Peter Rizq, a lay minister at the church, said he, the priests and others trapped in the building found a way to sneak to safety after Muslims threatened to kill the head priest of the congregation.

“He [the priest] told us, ‘We need to go home now,’” Rizq said. “He told us we couldn’t stay any longer in the church because it would cause more problems.”

The men left the church building one by one, but some of them were later arrested and charged with illegal possession of weapons, a charge Rizq said was untrue.

Intimidation
This is the second time the church has been closed because of local Muslim opposition. Three years ago, in November 2008, Egypt’s State Security Intelligence service closed the church building after a group of protesting Muslims blocked the entrance.

Prior to their attempts to open the church building, members of the congregation held meetings in two rented apartments. Eventually the congregation gathered donations and bought a plot of land with a building, converting the inside of it into a worship place. Other than signs outside the building, there were none of the structures traditionally associated with a Coptic Orthodox church, such as crosses or domes.

Problems started soon after the renovations began. A group of Muslims bought a piece of land across from the church building and hastily started constructing a mosque. When the mosque was still unfinished, the Muslims blocked access to the church building; on the day it was scheduled to open, they placed prayer mats in front of the makeshift mosque, extending the rows to the entrance of the church.

The church building has been closed since the confrontation in 2008.

Coptic Demand
In March, in response to an attack against the Church of the Two Martyrs St. George and St. Mina in Sool, protestors filled the front lot of the Radio and Television Building in Cairo, demanding among other things that the Church of the Virgin Mary and St. Abraam be reopened.

On March 4, a group of rioting Muslims set the Church of the Two Martyrs on fire to punish the Christians for a relationship between a Christian man and a Muslim woman. The church building was left in ruins but rebuilt by the military one month later.

Military officials conceded to the demands of the Christian protestors in March but were slow to fulfill promises to allow the church to reopen. The issue was given new impetus after a set of attacks in Imbaba, Cairo on May 7 in which 15 people were killed and two churches were attacked, one of which was nearly gutted by the fires set by members of the Salafi movement.

The rioters claimed they were attacking the churches to free a woman they said had converted to Islam from Christianity and was allegedly being held against her will by Coptic priests.

Salafi Muslims claim to pattern their beliefs and practices on the first three generations of Muslims. They have attacked Christians increasingly since the Jan. 25-Feb. 11 uprising that led to the ousting of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Rizq said normally relations between Copts and Muslims in his community are peaceful.

“In general, they are very friendly, as neighbors and friends and invite each other for weddings and celebrations,” he said. “But when it comes to building a church, they all stand up and disagree with it.”

Rizq said all the congregation wants is equal protection under the law.

“We want the law to take place,” he said. “A decision was taken by the government and the prime minister, so we want everything to be official, done according to the law.”

Rizq added that all was quiet at press time but still very tense. Imams were walking through the area surrounding the church building “calling for jihad,” but the army had cordoned off the area. A meeting convened by the army is scheduled tomorrow (Saturday) between the priests of the church and the Islamic elders of the community.

Despite this overture, Rizq said he has little hope the church will ever open.

“I 100 percent don’t think they will open the church there, because they [the Muslims] are completely against the idea of having a church there,” he said. “Even yesterday someone [a protestor] said, ‘You can open up the church, and I will go and blow myself up inside it.’”

Libya clerics see big role for Islam after Gaddafi - Oh dear!!

2011-05-22T16:08:00.000-07:00

A Libyan family walks along Tripoli street in central Misrata May 22, 2011. Residents of the battle-scarred city of Misrata in west Libya searched for food from poorly stocked shops on Sunday..

In signs of greater Muslim piety, some rebels have grown longer beards, public prayer has become ostentatious, religious books are selling well and plans are afoot for more centres for the study of sharia, or Islamic law -- all of which, under Gaddafi, could have led to arrest and imprisonment.

Under the autocratic Gaddafi's idiosyncratic brand of communal socialism overlaying Islam, worship was carefully regulated and any apparent manifestation of political, or militant, Islam drew harsh security crackdowns.

In the west on the other hand if you say political Islam is a problem ~ you are accused of 'hurting' Muslim feelings, called a racist and a few other invented phrases. But in every Muslim country there is a struggle with the limits of political Islam. The Islamic dictators understand ~ political Islam means limits are placed on their authoritarian power. Here in the west ~ political Islam will mean limits placed on western freedoms and hard won rights. In the argument for the Islam in politics ~ there seems to be a disconnect between what is going on in the Islamic world ~ and these innocuous requests ~ where Muslims say they simply want to introduce a 'little' or the favorite word is 'aspects' of Islam into western government or law.

This is the problem with removing the dictators.

Are we going to see North Africa turn into the Barbary coast again.

PakibyaStan - Why go to Pakistan?

Salaaby said more sharia schools would reduce the likelihood of extremism. "When scholars have a role in the education of the people, in their understanding of religion, there will not be extremism, terrorism or perverted ideas," he said.

Islamists and secularist working together ~ for what purpose?? Islamist get their way through coercion ~ moderates are going to save their lives ~ and let the Islamista take what they want!

"We've been mixing, and the Islamists and the secularists are coming together to create a middle road," said Jaber.

OMG!!

"Look at Saudi Arabia. The people here want Islam closer to that of Saudi Arabia," he said, referring to Saudi's strain of Wahhabi Islam, which among other things bans women from driving and in some cases calls for a thief's hand to be cut off.

"Did the Saudis' Islam affect it politically? No. Has it succeeded or failed in the modern world? It has succeeded," said Jaber.

Dhimmi laws - Rights for Muslims only !!

"The constitution should reflect the make-up of the people. And the people are Muslim, so we ask for sharia to be a source for the constitution," he said. "Then the people will vote on it. And if they want to change it, it's up to them."

A constitution based on Shari'a makes non-Muslims second class citizens ~ and limits women's rights and even men's rights!!

We should hope we are not doing the duty work for this lot!!

By Mohammed Abbas

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - An Islamic revival is taking hold in rebel-held eastern Libya after decades of tough curbs on worship by Muammar Gaddafi, but clerics say this will not be a new source of religious extremism as the West may fear.

Restrictions on Islamic piety have become history in the east of the Arab North African state since its takeover by anti-Gaddafi insurgents, and clerics see a much bigger role for Islam in the country if Gaddafi is ultimately driven from power.

Under the autocratic Gaddafi's idiosyncratic brand of communal socialism overlaying Islam, worship was carefully regulated and any apparent manifestation of political, or militant, Islam drew harsh security crackdowns.

Yet Libyan society remained religiously conservative in character and that is now flowering anew in the rebel-held east.

In signs of greater Muslim piety, some rebels have grown longer beards, public prayer has become ostentatious, religious books are selling well and plans are afoot for more centres for the study of sharia, or Islamic law -- all of which, under Gaddafi, could have led to arrest and imprisonment.

"The situation in free Libya will revert to its natural state -- the natural state of the practice of religion in life, in the morals of the people, their ways, their return to the mosques," said Osama al-Salaaby, a well-known cleric and professor of sharia in Benghazi, the rebels' de facto capital.

Despite NATO air strikes on his troops and armour, rebel fighters have been unable to make significant inroads into Gaddafi's western power base after failing to deal him the knock-out blow they hoped for at the start of the revolt.

MIDDLE ROAD

The rebels' slow battlefield progress has benefited the cause of Islam in Libya, said Salem Jaber, the most senior cleric in the east and head of its mosque oversight body.

"We've been mixing, and the Islamists and the secularists are coming together to create a middle road," said Jaber.

His plans for more sharia schools, the popularity of long beards and public calls for jihad, or holy war, against Gaddafi, may make some shudder in the West, where jihad and Islamic madrasas are associated with religious militancy.

A U.S. NATO commander said last month that intelligence had detected "flickers" of al Qaeda among the rebel ranks.

Jaber said the West had nothing to worry about, but picked what might seem an odd role model to support his assertion.

"Look at Saudi Arabia. The people here want Islam closer to that of Saudi Arabia," he said, referring to Saudi's strain of Wahhabi Islam, which among other things bans women from driving and in some cases calls for a thief's hand to be cut off.

"Did the Saudis' Islam affect it politically? No. Has it succeeded or failed in the modern world? It has succeeded," said Jaber.

Islam experts say the radical interpretation of Islam espoused by al Qaeda's leaders is less inspired by Wahhabi Islam than puritanical Salafist doctrines. Wahhabi sheikhs in Saudi Arabia have said suicide attacks are un-Islamic.

There has been scant sign of Salafism in Gaddafi's Libya, less than in nearby Egypt or Morocco, and al Qaeda's North African branch has no proven presence in Libya.

Salaaby said more sharia schools would reduce the likelihood of extremism. "When scholars have a role in the education of the people, in their understanding of religion, there will not be extremism, terrorism or perverted ideas," he said.

Redefining Islam's role in a new Libya will be tricky given the population's varying levels of religious observance and wariness of religious extremism at home and abroad.

Religion or any other cause or philosophy that could rally Libyans outside Gaddafi's stewardship was strictly limited after Gaddafi seized power in 1969. Islamists have been among the most prominent victims of his absolute rule.

Security forces shot dead more than 1,000 prisoners in 1996 at Tripoli's Abu Salim jail, the government's main detention centre for suspected Islamist militants, in what was probably the bloodiest act of repression under Gaddafi.

Long beards grown by pious men and even regular mosque attendance could spell trouble.

"He restricted the people to slogans of worship. Your God is only in the mosque. As for the world outside, there is no place for him there, or you'll go to prison," Salaaby said.

CONSTITUTIONAL ISLAM

The rebels eventually plan to draw up a new constitution that replaces Gaddafi's ruling principles.

Members of the rebel National Transitional Council have said they want a democratic, secular system with free elections, comments that played well with the Western powers that pushed for foreign military intervention against Gaddafi's forces.

But Salaaby and Jaber insist that Islamic sharia will play a key role in Libyan society after Gaddafi.

"There will no be law that contradicts sharia. That does not mean it will be a (strictly) religious country," said Salaaby.

Debate has already begun between more hardline Muslims and moderates over Islam's role in a post-Gaddafi Libya, he said, but so far this had not resulted in tension or strife.

"There is no tension. These are normal differences. It's the first time we've had this debate. What decides in this situation? The people," Salaaby said.

Jaber also said it would be up to Libyans to decide.

"The constitution should reflect the make-up of the people. And the people are Muslim, so we ask for sharia to be a source for the constitution," he said. "Then the people will vote on it. And if they want to change it, it's up to them."

Taliban or al Qaeda militants storm Pakistan military base in Karachi - 9 explosions - US air plane destroyed

2011-05-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

Fire and smokes erupted from a Pakistan' military air base after an attack by militants in Karachi on May 22, 2011. More than 10 militants late May 22 attacked one of Pakistan's main military bases, used by the navy and air force in Karachi, the country's biggest city, a local government official told.

KARACHI [AFP] — Militants stormed one of Pakistan's main military bases in the country's largest city late Sunday, triggering explosions and gunbattles three weeks after the US killing of Osama bin Laden.

At least 10 people were wounded as blasts and gunshots rang out at the sprawling base used by the Air Force and Navy in the centre of Karachi, where the local government confirmed that the base was under "terrorist attack".

Militants stormed one of Pakistan's biggest military bases in the country's largest city late May 22, triggering explosions and gunbattles three weeks after the US killing of Osama bin Laden.

An AFP reporter saw scores of soldiers and navy commando reinforcements entering the base, where flames and smoke could be seen rising into the night sky. An AFP photographer heard seven blasts and periodic bursts of gunfire.

Flames and smokes erupt from a Pakistan's military air base following an attack by militants in Karachi on May 22, 2011

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Pakistan's military has long been on the frontline of gun, suicide and bomb attacks blamed on the country's main Taliban faction and other Al-Qaeda-linked militant groups.

The Taliban have recently repeatedly threatened Western and Pakistani government targets to avenge the killing of bin Laden by US Navy SEALs in the garrison city of Abbottabad near the capital Islamabad on May 2.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned Sunday's attack, and ordered his interior minister to Karachi and to "coordinate the security efforts being taken by the civil and military officials," his office said in a statement.

Commander Salman Ali, spokesman for the Pakistan Navy, told AFP that members of the security forces were fighting against gunmen.

"An exchange of fire with terrorists is continuing. Their firing is fading away and we have launched a search operation," he said.

"It's a terrorist attack. More than 10 terrorists are inside. They have attacked a navy air station located in a Pakistan Air Force base," said home ministry official Sharfuddin Memon from the southern province Sindh.

"One of the four aircraft inside the premises has been damaged," he said, adding that at least 10 people had been wounded.

"I have no information whether they are the attackers or Navy personnel."

In October 2009, Taliban militants beseiged the army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi for two days, killing 22 people and raising serious questions over why it took the military so long to put down the assault.

Karachi, Pakistan's financial capital whose sea port is used by NATO to ship supplies to the estimated 130,000 US-led foreign troops fighting the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan, has recently seen a spike in attacks on the military.

On April 28, four naval personnel and a passing motorcyclist were killed in a bombing, two days after four others were killed in navy bus bombings.

Last week, a Saudi diplomat was killed in a hail of bullets on his way to work at his country's consulate in the city, just days after attackers threw grenades at the diplomatic mission.

Pakistan's seemingly powerful security establishment was left humiliated by the discovery and killing of the Al-Qaeda terror chief in a unilateral American Navy SEAL raid that has rocked relations with wary ally Washington.

In an interview with the BBC broadcast on Sunday, US President Barack Obama said he stood ready to order a similar mission to that which killed bin Laden if another high-value target was discovered in Pakistan, or any other country.

"We are very respectful of the sovereignty of Pakistan, but we cannot allow someone who is actively planning to kill our people or our allies' people, we can't allow those kinds of active plans to come to fruition without us taking some action," he added.

Earlier on Sunday, thousands demonstrated in Karachi to demand an immediate end to US missile strikes in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt on the Afghan border and urge the blocking of NATO supplies passing through the country.

Activists from the Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) led by former cricket hero Imran Khan held a two-day sit-in outside the Arabian Sea port, urging the government to end its cooperation with Washington's "war on terror".

New Al Qaeda chief sword ~ vows to strike London

2011-05-22T02:37:00.000-07:00

Egyptian Saif al-Adel is pictured in an undated file handout photo from the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists website. A leading specialist on al Qaeda said on May 17, 2011 that Adel, an Egyptian veteran militant, was acting as an interim operational leader pending the expected appointment of deputy chief Ayman al-Zawahri as successor to Osama bin Laden.

He also urged them to "crush the infidels" in America and the UK to take revenge of bin Laden’s death.

"Our new leader has asked for a big plan for London. He believes the UK is the backbone of Europe and must be crushed.

They have to understand that doing what Muhammad did, back in the 7th century is a lot harder today. The psychological impact is not the same. The idea is to frighten people into conversion to Islam ~ some people have joined Islam since 9/11 ~ but that is partly because they want to believe that Islam has a peaceful side and that its conquest side has nothing to do with the 'true Islam' ~ [you can hear the Muslims laughing] and then there are those who join ~ to join this Islamic rebellion against the west and all perceived unIslamic ~ to build the utopian Shari'a law state all over the world. But how many of these people converted to save their lives?

Muhammad sent Khalid Ibn al-Walid
to the tribe of the children of Haritha and told him:
"Call them to accept Islam before you fight with them.
If they respond, accept that from them,
but if they refuse, fight them."
Khalid told them: "Accept Islam and spare your life."
They entered Islam by force. He brought them to Muhammad.
Muhammad said to them: "Had you not accepted Islam
I would have cast your heads under your feet"

As in Muhammad's day ~ he sent his men out to forcibly convert people ~ and wielded so much power ~ people converted out of fear. There have been a few accounts in recent years. A female hostage taken, 2009/2010 by Al Qaeda of North Africa converted [at least for that the time]. Another female hostage, converted out of fear ~ when some Muslims did hijack a plane ~ she was a stewardess. Most conversions either to radical or moderate forms of Islam ~ are still by choice.

In the name of religion ~ Islam must be the most violent religion on earth. After having killed the literally 100's of millions ~ and it still has not reached its destination ~ and still not satisfied.. Muhammad's vision still not completed... it still hasn't found its 'peace'...

Islam is a -----... we are going to have to go after its ideology ~ discourage and choke off.

Al Qaeda’s new leader Saif al Adel has vowed to launch attacks on London to avenge Osama bin Laden’s killing by US Special Forces in his Abbottabad compound in Pakistan. The Sun quoted Taliban chiefs as saying that 51-year-old al Adel is determined to make Britain and the US pay a price for killing his group’s leader.

He warned that London would be the first to face a renewed 7/7 atrocity that had left 52 dead, as terrorist cells have already been dispatched there and are waiting for orders to attack.

Taliban chiefs also said al Qaeda’s caretaker leader al Adel meaning ‘Sword of Islam’ has ordered his followers to organised large-scale international operations like 9/11.

He also urged them to "crush the infidels" in America and the UK to take revenge of bin Laden’s death.

"Our new leader has asked for a big plan for London. He believes the UK is the backbone of Europe and must be crushed. This will be followed by attacks in other western countries. London was picked out because we have a big representation in the UK," Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said.

Former commando al Adel was once Bin Laden''s security chief and a key figure in terror plots.

ANI

As Indonesia takes seat on Human Rights Council, Amnesty urges caning repeal in Shari'a law enclave Aceh

2011-05-22T01:34:00.000-07:00

Sharia law official whips a man convicted of unlawful contact between unmarried man and woman with a rattan stick during a public caning in Jantho, Aceh province, Indonesia, Friday, April 8, 2011.

A version of Islamic law was introduced in the province in 2001 as part of negotiations to end the 29-year war between separatist rebels and the military. The law bans gambling, drinking alcohol and makes it compulsory for women to wear headscarves.

The Aceh legislative council also introduced stoning, but it was never fully enacted. Not because the administration disagreed with it ~ it was more to do with whether there would be enough witnesses [count 4 for the men] and the standing of those witnesses in any case involving adultery.

Wild Islam!!

Its a culture of fear ~ for example they also called for stoning in the Maldives. It is a massive problem with Islam ~ you can have skyscrapers and across the way people are getting stoned. Under the climate of fear ~ it shows you how easily ~ people can be persuaded to go back to the 7th century ~ it is a revolving loop that Muslims want the rest of the world to join in with.

Eye on Fear in Islam

To look at the religion ~ we have to look at the fear aspect, if one is forced to say that they are a 'good Muslim' ~ what they are actually saying is that they should not be attacked ~ that they should not be killed ~ there is no such similar comparison for saying, you are a 'good Christian.' And conversely the language of calling a Muslim person 'a non-Muslim' ~ is at its worst, a death threat ~ and in normal Islamic society function ~ the majority will turn their heads while this person is attacked, meted out some form of punishment or killed. What all others in the world see as violent ~ is a part of the normal framework of the Islamic religion and society.

JAKARTA - RIGHTS group Amnesty International on Sunday hit out at the use of caning in Indonesia's Aceh province, two days after the country secured a seat on the United Nations' Human Rights Council.

Amnesty urged Jakarta to repeal a by-law used by the partially-autonomous province to openly cane at least 21 men for gambling this month.

"It seems that Aceh's authorities are increasingly resorting to public caning in violation of international law," Amnesty's Asia-Pacific director Sam Zarifi said in a statement.

"The Indonesian government must act to stop these punishments, which constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and often amount to torture."

Sixteen people were reportedly caned in Aceh last year, the statement said.

Amnesty said caning violates the UN Convention against Torture, which Indonesia ratified in 1998, and urged central government to review the by-law to conform with international and national human rights law and standards.

Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, adopted partial sharia law in 2001 as part of an autonomy package aimed at quelling separatist sentiment.

Caning carried out there is mainly aimed at causing shame rather than injury.

Nearly 90 per cent of Indonesia's 234 million people are Muslims, but the vast majority practise a moderate form of Islam.

Indonesia was among 15 new nations to secure seats Friday on the Geneva-based Human Rights Council following a vote at the UN General Assembly. -- AFP

Briton accused of calling Prophet a terrorist in Dubai

2011-05-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

It just happens to be a Pakistani accuser ~ well if it works in Pakistan ~ export it!!

It shows you how dangerous it could get in the Islamic world ~ with Pakistanis ~ you have some dispute ~ they accuse you of blasphemy ~ next you are getting your head cut off!!

This Pakistani was probably incensed that there was someone who didn't have a favorable view of the Taliban.

--

BEWARE OF DUBAI!!

--

The things people are being locked up for over there is incredible.

This is Saudi Arabia toned down just a little. One of the most ridiculous cases was when a British woman, over there selling property, was spotted by a UAE/Dubai woman's two year old daughter ~ who said she saw the Brit kissing the man she was sitting next to [with others] at an outdoor or open restaurant with. On that evidence, the woman was sent to prison and then deported. The mother of the child did not actually 'see' anything ~ it was her two year old daughter who saw it.

Another woman from South Africa, who was in Dubai working as a scuba diving instructor ~ was tried and found guilty for being unaccompanied ~ with her own boss!!

And the list goes on!!

Worst of all, if a woman from the free world gets raped over these ~ they'll be locked up and interrogated.

DUBAI // A 40-year-old tourist appeared in court this morning accused of insulting Islam during a conversation about the Taliban, calling the Prophet Mohammed a terrorist.

AG, a Briton, appeared in the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours wearing shorts. He was sent away to change into more suitable clothing before he returned to the court to deny charges of insulting Islam and a Pakistani shop employee.

“I told him he was crazy, but I didn't say any of the other things he claims,” AG, who is staying at a hotel in Abu Hail area, told the court.

Muslim convert charged with threats to 'South Park' creators - over Muhammad the Teddy Bear episode - Video

2011-05-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

This is good!

If you listen to this Revolution-Muslim guy he says ~ that it is a direct command from the [Prophet] Muhammad to "terrorize" them. There are two types of converts to Islam ~ these days ~ you have the radical ones, like this guy who face the religion and look at all of the Koran and the Prophet's words or instructions [maybe not all - sleeping with the dead ~ there is a Moroccan fatwa just issued, May 2011, that allows Muslims to go with the dead - just as the Prophet did.], whether they act on them or not ~ like many in the Muslim world ~ they accept this position. Whereas, the politically correct convert to Islam ~ would likely not read anything in the Koran they were not told to read ~ they are happy it seems to be guided.

Then he goes on to say how terror needn't be violent. And this is where the nurturing of Islam's 'peaceful' image in the west is highly questionable. As it is not only, don't do this thing because our irrational belief will be offended ~ pictures of the Prophet are not drawn because the average Muslim might seek to worship it ~ but if you do do these things ~ we will get so upset, that we can't help it if you get attacked [by one of our radicals]. So for theatres across Europe ~ if you do put on that Shakespeare play ~ your safety cannot be guaranteed. Violence is insinuated, so that demand for respect for their religion becomes coercive ~ just as it has been to 1000 plus years, since Islam's take over of the ME.

Fear is deeply intertwined with the Islamic belief ~ and not so much fear of God but fear of what other men might do to you ~ within the religious framework. In the west we have to discourage ~ or put down this behavior, for the most part being imported from the Islamic world.

For now he is hiding down in Morocco ~ he'd probably be running with Al Qaeda of North Africa next!

(CNN) -- Federal authorities are using words uttered by the co-founder of a radical Islamic group to charge him with threats against the creators of "South Park."

A criminal complaint alleging the communication of threats was filed in Virginia late last week against Jesse Curtis Morton, also known as Younus Abdullah Mohammad.

A senior law enforcement source Thursday told CNN, which interviewed Morton in 2009, that the suspect is believed to be in Morocco, where he maintains Islampolicy.com, an English-language website propagating pro al Qaeda views.

That website is a successor to Revolutionmuslim.com.

Morton, a former resident of Brooklyn, New York, is the second person charged in the "South Park" case.

In February, Zachary Adam Chesser, 21, who admitted to posting online threats, was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Chesser, a Muslim convert, encouraged violent jihadists to attack "South Park" writers for an episode that depicted the Prophet Mohammed in a bear suit, court documents said.

Chesser posted online messages that included the writers' home addresses and urged online readers to "pay them a visit," the documents said.

In an affidavit accompanying the recent complaint against Morton, FBI special agent Paula R. Menges said Morton, co-founder of the group called Revolution Muslim, worked with Chesser on a "clarification statement" after Chesser's postings. The pair made website postings that were -- despite their claims -- threats, Menges said.

The agent also contends the statement contained pages of justification under Islamic law for the death of those who insult Islam or defame its prophet.

Revolution Muslim's 2008 co-founders, Yousef al-Khattab and Morton, were both interviewed by CNN's Drew Griffin in October 2009. In the interview Morton, a convert to Islam and one-time follower of the Grateful Dead, defended the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and argued that further attacks on Americans were justified.

He told Griffin he did not encourage violence on U.S. soil.

The government affidavit cites the CNN interview.

"We're commanded to terrorize the disbelievers," Morton told Griffin. "The Quran says very clearly in the Arabic language ... this means 'terrorize them.' It's a command from Allah."

Morton said he did not define terrorism as killing innocent civilians. "I define terrorism as making them fearful, so that they think twice before they go rape your mother or kill your brother or go into your land and try to steal your resources."

Efforts by CNN Thursday to reach Morton were unsuccessful.

The senior law enforcement source told CNN's Paul Cruickshank if Morton crosses into U.S. jurisdiction or into a country with extradition treaty with United States, he will be arrested.

Morocco and the United States do not have a bilateral extradition treaty, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The source said the complaint was linked to the Chesser case and that Morton's activities were a concern to U.S. counterterrorism agencies.

Revolutionmuslim.com was the subject of a CNN investigation for its radical rhetoric supporting "jihad" against the West and praising al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Its organizers insisted they acted within the law and seek to protect Islam.

In April 2010, Revolutionmuslim.com posted an entry that included a warning to "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone that they risked violent retribution after the 200th episode of the cartoon series included a satirical discussion about whether an image of the prophet could be shown. In the end, he was portrayed disguised in a bear suit.

"We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid," the posting on Revolutionmuslim.com says, "and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show. This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them."

Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was stabbed to death on a street in Amsterdam, Netherlands, by an Islamic extremist in 2004. He became the target of radical Muslims after releasing a short film about oppression of Islamic women in Europe.

Revolutionmuslim.com last spring said despite the provocative post, the site was calling simply for protest, not violence.

Chesser and Morton "purported to deny" that they were inciting violence, according to the FBI agent's affidavit, but said "our position remains that it is likely the creators of 'South Park' will indeed end up like Theo Van Gogh."

In December 2010, Revolutionmuslim.com co-founder al-Khattab told CNN the defunct website became a "bug light for Muslim misfits."

And he said he regretted that his message was taken by some as a justification to attack civilians.

"It was an idiotic thing, looking back on things now," al-Khattab told Griffin.

Morton in 2009 told CNN that "Americans will always be a target -- and a legitimate target -- until America changes its nature in the international arena."

Taliban Suicide Bomber Hits US Embassy Car in Peshawar, Pakistan - Video

2011-05-20T02:17:00.000-07:00

Jeremy Scahill: Blackwater Founder Erik Prince’s Private Army of “Christian Crusaders” in the UAE - Video

2011-05-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

Could this also be an attempt at holding up Islam.

The deal is Islam is above rights, above the human, while the leaders who control Islam - [Islam on its own is not real] also control a significant portion of the wealth and to continue this Islamic feudalism ~ rights must be limited ~ people are told for the benefit of the religion of course!

Which is why they would need a strictly non-Muslim private army ~ for god!!

There is a lot of talk about Muslim lands, this and that ~ but when Mecca was taken over by the Islamic extremists ~ during the Hajj ~ it was not Muslims they called to defend the place ~ the Saudis brought in the French Foreign Legion, to put down the revolt.

The United Arab Emirates has confirmed hiring a company headed by Erik Prince, the billionaire founder of the military firm Blackwater. According to the New York Times, the UAE secretly signed a $529 million contract with Prince’s new company, Reflex Responses, to put together an 800-member battalion of foreign mercenaries. The troops could be deployed if foreign guest workers stage revolts in labor camps, or if the UAE regime were challenged by pro-democracy protests like those sweeping the Arab world. Prince has one rule about the new force: no Muslims. We speak to investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill and Samer Muscati of Human Rights Watch.

Democracy Now

Malaysia: Christians accused of challenging Muslim 'supremacy' - promised 'jihad'

2011-05-19T06:51:00.000-07:00

“If they want a crusade, so be it. Before our followers fall in this battle, (Perkasa) leaders will first lay down their lives and die sprawling in blood.”

I had been watching this story ~ apparently an article suggesting Christians wanted to make Christianity the official religion of Malaysia and install a Christian as head of state ~ was entirely fabricated by the newspaper ~ Christians said the meeting between themselves and the countries leaders [or reps] was about something entirely different ~ although the Prime Minister has tried to clear up the matter and said, in a round about way that Islam will remain the official religion of the Malaysian state ~ but for those looking to wage some epic battle ~ promise that if the Christians 'want a crusade' that they will be prepared to lay down their lives 'sprawled in blood'.

The article is littered with key words to do with Islamic supremacy or Christian dhimmitude.

If they want a crusade, so be it. If they say that the peace that we enjoy is not good enough ... we shall take up the challenge.

Notice 'peace' in the Islamic sense for the non-Muslim is a form of subjugation.

The idea that Christians would want to wage a crusade against them ~ a holy battle ~ in order to say that the conditions arrived at under the dhimmi status are not good enough ~~ here is where the Malaysian parliamentary minister ~ can go back to Koran 9:29 ~ which allows them to fight ~ against even the people of the book ~ to bring them in line with the subjugated status and until they 'feel themselves subdued'.

So if the Christians want equal rights and want to wage a crusade to get it ~ then Muslims have the right to use violence in return to maintain the Islamic supremacist order.

>> Firstly there are no Christians talking about violence in Malaysia ~ their biggest problem is that the Malay authorities are trying to forbid them for saying writing the word Allah ~ which also means god in the malay language ~ in their church services ~ and Bibles. The Malaysian governments says Muslims may become confused!

Wacko Islam

What is so striking is that all around the Islamic mindset ~ there seems to be an atmosphere of violence. It is inconceivable, that there is no foundation in the Christian religion for going out and attacking people ~ unlike Islam.

But isn't it natural ~ if you start thinking about attacking people ~ or ways to attack others ~ then you would also have to think about ~ how they would attack you. Since Muhammad, did and called for his followers to continue to attack to take power ~ they simply can't fathom that other religions are not like this.

Similarly ~ just as you had Muhammad [Quresh] of Mecca ~ you had Davis Quresh of Wacko ~ both preparing for this imminent attack ~ as they were thinking about or where attacking others!!

The terrible irony of Islam! They are waiting for an attack ~ that no one else is interested in ~ but because they cause so much trouble ~ they end up being attacked. A self-fulfilled doomsday prophetic religion ~

I can only wish for its ultimate 'peaceful' return to Mecca.

Turkish similarities?

It must be said that the Christians of Turkey also asked for equal rights ~ And the Turkish PM said no Muslim can commit a genocide, as, likely to him they broke the conditions of the dhimmi status, called peaceful because their lives would be spared by it ~ so that to ask for rights was seen as an attack on Islam ~ and the dhimmi peace arrangement was lifted and they slaughtered them all. And so if you happen to kill them all ~ for the Turkish PM it can't be called genocide!

“If they want a crusade, so be it. Before our followers fall in this battle, (Perkasa) leaders will first lay down their lives and die sprawling in blood.”

(Malaysiakini) - Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali said that he is willing to wage a crusade against the Christians if the community allegedly continues to challenge Islam's position in the country.

“If they want a crusade, so be it. If they say that the peace that we enjoy is not good enough ... we shall take up the challenge. Don't take the silence of Muslims as a sign of fear,” he warned to cheers from about 150 people at a ceramah last night.

“Before our followers fall in this battle, (Perkasa) leaders will first lay down their lives and die sprawling in blood,” he thundered.

Speaking at a function organised by the Komuniti 1Malaysia group of Kampung Kerdas and Kampung Changkat in Gombak, Ibrahim accused the Christians of “challenging the sovereignty and dignity of Malays and Muslims.”

He was referring to the allegation that a group of pastors were plotting to make Christianity the official religion of the nation and appoint a Christian prime minister. This was reported last Saturday by Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia.

“This is an affront to the sovereignty of Muslims who are the majority... It started with race, and now it has gone to issues of religion. But when it comes to religion, it means jihad,” he said to hoots from the crowd.

According to the Pasir Mas parliamentarian, minorities are emboldened to challenge Malay and Muslim supremacy because they are encouraged by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is pandering for their votes.

“Many of the Christians in Malaysia are Chinese and many of the Christians (in the world) are American. Anwar is acting as a US mole. It all fits,” he said in his trademark fiery style.

However Ibrahim in contriving to scaptegoat the Chinese community, has his facts wrong, as it is the bumiputera Christians who make up the bulk of the community in Malaysia.

Najib has to play the numbers game

The vocal politician added that minority groups in Malaysia are further encouraged by the support from Islamic party PAS through its spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat and liberal Malays such as Bar Council constitutional law committee chief Shahredzan Johan.

“This is a matter of religion. Doesn't he know how to protect his own religion?” he said, branding the Anwar-Nik Aziz-liberal Malay alliance as an unholy trinity of sorts.

The firebrand independent parliamentarian said that the fact that Malays are split in their political support has forced Prime Minister Najib Razak to pander to the minorities.

“He told me, 'I understand that I have (to protect) the Malays, but I am also a politician ... and BN has lost. If we don't get at least 30 percent Chinese votes, we will lose again... The Malays are split (so) I have to play this game',” Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim added that this shows even the PM has lost his bargaining power, and this has led to DAP, and BN partner MCA, to ply pressure on Umno on minority issues.

“We have no other alternative. For good or for bad, Umno is the only party that we have (to protect Malay interests), and we must care for the party,” he said before leading the crowd to chant 'Hidup Melayu!' (Long live Malays!).

The other guests of honour include Umno Gombak chief Abdul Rahman Kamaruddin, his deputy, Abdul Aziz Jantan, and division information chief Ismail Ahman.

Bin Laden's last couriered message makes it out a little too late - Video

2011-05-19T00:27:00.000-07:00

Al Qaeda has released a posthumous audio recording by Osama bin Laden in which the group's ex-leader praises revolutions sweeping the Arab world and calls for more "tyrants" to be toppled.

The release comes as the terrorist organisation faces a potential power struggle fuelled by the naming of bin Laden's replacement.

In the 12-minute message, bin Laden, who was killed in a US raid in Pakistan on May 2, backed the uprisings which began in Tunisia and have spread across much of North Africa and the Middle East.

A voice which appears to be bin Laden's refers to the uprisings which began in the Maghreb region of North Africa.

"The sun of the revolution has risen from the Maghreb. The light of the revolution came from Tunisia. It has given the nation tranquility and made the faces of the people happy," bin Laden said in the message.

Tunisia's president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown in January, followed by Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak after mass protests centred on Cairo's Tahrir Square.

In his message, Bin Laden backs efforts to topple more leaders in the Muslim world, calling on Al Qaeda supporters to "set up an operations room that follows up events and works in parallel ... to save the people that are struggling to bring down their tyrants".

"Tunisia was the first but swiftly the knights of Egypt have taken a spark from the free people of Tunisia to Tahrir Square," he said, adding "It has made the rulers worried".

Interim leader

It has also been reported by US and Pakistani media that Al Qaeda has named Saif al-Adel as its interim leader.

The Egyptian is suspected of involvement in the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and also helped to plan the bomb attacks against the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

While some analysts believe he may have been appointed as a temporary leader, there is speculation that his accession to the top job could cause a power struggle.

Jason Burke, a journalist and author of a book on Al Qaeda, says the new leader is a veteran militant.

"He's been close to the very senior leadership of al Qaeda for a very long time," he said.

"He was active in the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan all through the 1990s in Afghanistan as part of Osama bin Laden's close circle.

"He fled Afghanistan in 2001 and is believed to have been detained in Tehran through the last decade, released in 2010... and back in the tribal areas of Pakistan we think since then.

"He's a very experienced, capable man."

Mr Burke says bin Laden's presumed successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has been given another role and he may not be satisfied with his new job title.

"Everyone who has done it for the last 10 years has lasted about two or three years before being either killed or picked up by either the Pakistanis or the Americans," he said.

"The main point of that would be that if al-Zawahiri has indeed been appointed to this position, it's pretty much a demotion. He was in line for the top slot.

"And therefore if these reports are accurate - and I have to stress that this kind of thing is an art, not a science - then it means that he's been overlooked which could well spark a succession crisis within the upper ranks of Al Qaeda."

'New zeal'

Even from beyond the grave, it is clear that bin Laden commands enormous respect among Islamic militants.

The Pakistani Taliban has vowed to fight with renewed zeal in the wake of his death.

"We have worked for his mission and we had affection for his personality. He was an invaluable asset because he stood with great zeal against the American and Zionist alliance," said Waliur Rehman, a deputy commander for the group.

"We have to carry out his mission. His mission is alive today and with his departure it will step up a gear. From every part of the world a new Mujahideen will be prepared with new zeal and spirit."

The group's primary target has been Pakistan itself, which the Pakistani Taliban sees as a slave to the US.

But Rehman says the group will also attack forces over the border in Afghanistan.

"We are in the holy duty of jihad against America, NATO and the Zionists, and the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is irrelevant for us," he said.

"With the grace of God our mujahideen are fighting on both sides of the border."

- ABC/wires

Debate: Does Islam respect human rights? - Video

2011-05-18T15:39:00.000-07:00

Robert Spencer debate last night on ABN with Sheikh Mohamed El-Hassan of the Texas Islamic Center on the question, "Does Islam respect human rights?"

The first half hour of the show is an interview with Walid Phares; the debate starts after that.

Jihad Watch

2011-05-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

In the sword we trust.

The only thing I can say for certain is that if there are no armed force of Muslims, no Jihad and no fighting, nobody would allow us to establish the Sharia of Allah.

Self-proclaimed Emir Dokku Abu Usman of the North Caucasus

This is the thing Muhammad came to understand as well ~ sitting around with his 100 followers - talking about no compulsion ~ no compulsion to my ideology ~ no compulsion ~ he must have sounded like a beggar ~ because people were walking on by. But when he picked up his sword [which he nicknamed] ~ his faith had to be in it ~ as this is what brought his results ~ willing or not followers of Islam ~ the seizure and rebranded Kaaba religion ~ the erasure of its other Gods [compare Koran 53:19] ~ making it for no God but its chief God Allah.

If you carry news by the sword ~ can it indeed be good news?

Jihad Watch

Woman and child among 26 bodies 'found in mass graves' near Syrian city - Video

2011-05-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

[18 May 2011] - Rights activists have called for international action against the Syrian regime after graves containing up to 26 bodies were allegedly unearthed by residents near the southern city of Deraa.

The government, facing more than two months of protests against its rule, yesterday denied the existence of the graves, which reportedly contained the bodies of an unidentified woman and child.

"I have spoken to eyewitnesses in Deraa who told me that five bodies belonging to one family were discovered," said Radwan Ziadeh, a Syrian human rights activist based in the US. "I spoke to the man's son. He said they discovered the bodies on Tuesday morning."

May 7th

Reuters reported that four villagers contacted the local civil defence force after finding two mounds of earth in wheat fields just outside Deraa's old city. Under the mounds were 22 to 26 decomposed bodies, they said. Videos uploaded to YouTube allegedly show people digging up the graves using shovels and mechanical diggers.

Wissam Tarif, director of the Syrian human rights organisation Insan, said he had collected testimony which suggested up to 44 bodies could have been in two separate graves.

The Syrian government said the reports were part of a "campaign of incitement" against the army and security forces. "This information is totally false," the Interior Ministry told the Syrian state news agency, Sana. The news organisation also quoted a local official in Deraa who said that five bodies had been discovered in the town on Sunday.

Ausama Monajed, of the opposition umbrella group the National Initiative for Change, said: "With the discovery of mass graves in Deraa City, it becomes very hard to ignore the need for immediate action by the international community to prevent further bloodshed in the country."

Nick Harvey, Britain's Armed Forces Minister, said it was "highly likely" the International Criminal Court would attempt to take action against President Bashar al-Assad for his role in the violent repression of pro-reform protests, which began in Deraa.

The government has continued its crackdown against protesters. Mass arrests were reported in Homs, Latakia and Deir al-Zor, while soldiers have also been deployed in Tel Kelakh, a city of about 30,000 people on the Lebanese border. Protesters are calling for a general strike today to try to force President Assad from power.

CRIN

Syrian Christians placed in precarious situation - Shot at, threatened - told to join protests or else

2011-05-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

Syrian Christians take communion during Sunday service at the Greek Catholic Church of Our Lady Al-Niyah in Damascus on May 01, 2011

In one Christian village outside the southern city of Deraa, a home came under fire by a group of masked men on motorbikes, while Muslim residents in the village of Hala have issued an ultimatum to their Christian neighbours – to join the demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad's regime or to leave.

“The situation has deteriorated... terror being spread, rumours of threats to churches ... Fundamentalist groups are threatening citizens and wanting to create ‘Islamic Emirates '... Christians especially are very fragile in the face of crises and bloody revolutions! Christians will be the first victims of these revolutions, especially in Syria. A new wave of emigration will follow immediately."

Christians comprise around 10% of the Syrian population.

If for example the revolution is put down ~ and Assad maintains his control ~ then this vulnerable Christian group would be one of the first in the line of fire ~ if they were to take part in the protests. And then if the Christians did show support in large numbers ~ for the opposition ~ the difficulty is that Muslims often believe the problem with their governments are that they are not Islamic enough ~ so if an Islamist comes along with a friendly enough face ~ they are going to jump onto extremist Islamic law ~ which again would not help the Christians.

And look at Egypt, how many Christians have been attacked and killed ~ shot dead, murdered in their homes ~ 'after' the revolution. And even the lauded reforms Egyptians are attempting to put in place ~ make no mention ~ of removing that clause 2 ~ which in effect makes all Egyptian laws Shari'a compliant ~ which makes it near impossible for Egyptian Christians to enjoy the same civil rights as Muslim citizens.

As demonstrations against the Syrian government intensify, Christians are coming under increasing pressure to join the uprising - or leave, reports Barnabas Fund.

In one Christian village outside the southern city of Deraa, a home came under fire by a group of masked men on motorbikes, while Muslim residents in the village of Hala have issued an ultimatum to their Christian neighbours – to join the demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad's regime or to leave.

Their demands are making life difficult for the Christians, who have closed their shops and are considering what course of action to take. Churches have also received threatening letters.

Barnabas Fund is one of the very few Christian agencies working to assist the Christians in Syria, and has done so for many years. They are in particular need of humanitarian help now, with food prices rocketing as the country's economy is affected by the unrest.

Christians have largely stayed away from the protests, having generally been well treated by the secular Baathist government, which has allowed them a considerable amount of religious freedom. They are fearful of what may replace it as Islamists attempt to hijack the demonstrations, which were originally concerned with political and economic change.

Muslims have been rallied by prominent Islamists in the region in support of the demonstrations.

In a letter to Western leaders, a senior Syrian church leader appealed for them to "Ask the Heads of State of Arab countries to work for real development ... But don't encourage revolutions".

He said: “The situation has deteriorated into organised crime, robbery, fear, terror being spread, rumours of threats to churches ... Fundamentalist groups are threatening citizens and wanting to create ‘Islamic Emirates '... Christians especially are very fragile in the face of crises and bloody revolutions! Christians will be the first victims of these revolutions, especially in Syria. A new wave of emigration will follow immediately."

Some fear that for Christians a post-Assad Syria could deteriorate like post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. Saddam, like Assad, restrained the influence of militant Islamists, but after his fall they were free to wreak havoc on the Christian community; hundreds of thousands of Christians were consequently forced to flee the violence. Many of them went to Syria, which has a long-standing history of welcoming Christian refugees, but the current unrest is driving some back to their dangerous homeland.

Christians comprise around 10% of the Syrian population. They are able to worship and practise their faith largely without interference, although evangelism among Muslims is strongly discouraged and conversion from Islam to Christianity is forbidden by law. It seems highly unlikely that regime change would benefit the Syrian Church.

Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Fund, said: “Syria has been a beacon of freedom and security for Christians in a largely hostile Arab world. If they are now forced to leave the country, where will they go?

"The entire region is rocked by instability, and as Islamist groups seek to capitalise on the political unrest to advance their own agenda, the future of Christianity in that part of the world looks increasingly uncertain.”

Inspire

Deadly shootout in northern Tunisia - Suspected Al Qaeda of North Africa members

2011-05-18T05:33:00.000-07:00

REUTERS - A group of suspected al Qaeda members opened fire on Tunisian forces on Wednesday, killing four, a security source told Reuters.

Three of the nine armed men were killed in the clash in the northern town of Rouhia.

Arab and Western officials have warned al Qaeda could be exploiting the conflict in neighbouring Libya to acquire weapons and smuggle them into other countries.

“Nine armed people opened fire on the military and police at a checkpoint. The military returned fire,” said the source, who declined to be named.

“The armed men were Tunisian, Algerian and Libyan,” the source said, adding they were believed to be members of al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb (AQIM).

Tunisian security forces on Sunday arrested two people suspected of being members of the North African group near the Libyan border who were carrying an explosives belt and bomb.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb is one of the group’s biggest regional branches and has also carried out kidnappings in recent years.

Syrian Christians Say ‘Arab Spring’ Changes Could Hasten Extinction - Civil Rights Extend Only to Muslims Under Islamic Law - Video

2011-05-18T03:48:00.000-07:00

Syrian Christians gather as they take part in the Sunday
service at the Greek Catholic Church of Our Lady Al-Niyah
in Damascus on May 01, 2011.

Endangered species - Christians in the Middle East

“Christians want what others want: freedom, a say in shaping their communities and lives,” said Stephen Colecchi, director of the international justice and peace office at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “The question is: will genuine democracies that respect human rights take the place of oppressive governments? Not knowing the answer produces fear.”

Islamic law was set on a war footing, where Christians and other ~ supposed attackers of Islam ~ were allowed to live [as in not convert] under the condition that they took a subjugated status. The humiliating dhimmi laws set out by the Prophet, were meant to let them know they were not Muslim [read rejected him personally] and further, that they would be so debased that they would eventually see the sense in joining it. And it worked, outside of the forced conversions, many did convert. Conversion quite simply meant a better life ~ under Islamic rule. The problem is after all these years many did not.

“History has proven to us that Christians have always had more secure lives, better treatment by people who may be looked on as dictators, like Saddam Hussein,” said Archbishop Cyril Aphrem Karim.... In Syria, “our feeling is, if the regime falls, the Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood will seize power and that is bad news for us.”

The positive thing about the typical Islamic dictator ~ is that admiration for themselves takes precedence over all ~ including and luckily for Christians ~ the Islamic religion [but they just kill a lot of people doing it].

With all eyes on Iran:

Karim, who frequently travels to Washington from his New Jersey home, has not much faith that the U.S. will help after repeated meetings with State Department officials...

“I don’t feel the U.S. is really concerned by Christians in the Middle East,” Karim said. “They listen, they show interest, but we don’t see, especially from the State Department, tangible signs they are worried and want to do something for them. There is just not much sympathy.”

Also in an effort to buddy up with Islam ~ they listen to Muslim faith adviser Dalia Mogahed's tried and failed argument that religiosity in the Islamic world is good. And with her Muslim Brotherhood connections, that MB's position is somehow worth a grain of salt.

As the Arab Spring protests reach Damascus, Syrian Christians look warily at a future without a time-tested autocrat to protect them from religious intolerance.

In Egypt, sectarian violence, an intermittent problem in the past, flared anew since the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak in February. Twelve people were killed, hundreds injured and a church was torched last week in clashes between Copts and Muslims in Cairo. Christians and secular-leaning Muslims placed blame on Salafis, who advocate a return to the practices of Islam’s earliest years.

In Iraq, where elections followed the U.S.-led invasion, Christians also have come under attack. Hundreds of thousands have fled to Syria, where minority Alawites, a Shiite Muslim sect, have ruled over the Sunni Muslim majority since President Bashar al-Assad’s father took power in 1970. They also found havens in Jordan and Lebanon.

“History has proven to us that Christians have always had more secure lives, better treatment by people who may be looked on as dictators, like Saddam Hussein,” said Archbishop Cyril Aphrem Karim, who leads a U.S. branch of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. In Syria, “our feeling is, if the regime falls, the Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood will seize power and that is bad news for us.”

Under the Assad dynasty, Syrian Christians have swelled the ranks of a professional middle and upper class, enjoying secure lives while accounting for only one-tenth of the population.

Cyber Dissidents

As the two-month-long demonstrations against Assad’s 11- year rule have gained momentum, some Christians have taken leading roles while others have stayed quiet, according to Ahed Al Hendi, a Syrian Christian who founded the Syrian Youth for Justice movement and is a member of the human rights group cyberdissidents.org in Washington.

Many in the Christian community are worried, he said in an interview. “They saw the Iraqi example, but honestly not all of them, they want to live in a democratic country.”

Iraq’s Christian population was targeted by extremist groups after the 2003 war and has fallen to about 500,000 from about 1 million before the war, according to community group estimates. The last census was in 1987.

The Syrian regime has fed on the fears of a takeover by radical Islamists to justify a brutal crackdown against political opponents. Slogans were spotted during protests in Damascus that said “Christians to Beirut, Alawis to the grave,” according to Karim.

“Christians are getting frustrated” at how many people are getting killed as the army tries to restore order, Syrian blogger Camille Otrakji, based in Montreal, wrote in response to an e-mail. Still, it “is not something they want to say publicly as it is not proper to criticize the army.”

‘Depressing Dilemma’

While Western governments have condemned Assad’s actions, they have stopped short of calling for a regime change. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said May 6 “that they have an opportunity still to bring about a reform agenda.” Human rights group Insan said at least 632 people have been confirmed dead and 2,843 detained since Syria’s unrest began on March 15.

“Christians in Syria, similarly to those in Iraq under Saddam, face a depressing dilemma,” said Habib Malik, a professor at the Lebanese American University in Beirut. “Fears about open-ended chaos or a Sunni takeover do not mean they support the existing repressive Baath regimes.”

Syria doesn’t have a state religion. At the same time, the constitution says the president must be Muslim and the country’s family law states that a Christian man can’t marry a Muslim without converting.

2,000 Years

“Christians want what others want: freedom, a say in shaping their communities and lives,” said Stephen Colecchi, director of the international justice and peace office at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “The question is: will genuine democracies that respect human rights take the place of oppressive governments? Not knowing the answer produces fear.”

Karim’s Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, the Egyptian Copts and Iraqi Chaldeans are among the myriad Christian communities that originated 2,000 years ago in the Middle East.

The bible recounts St. Paul’s conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus, whose Umayyad Mosque is said to contain the head of St. John the Baptist. Antioch, in modern-day Turkey, was the site of the first church founded by St. Peter. Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, was spoken by Jesus and his apostles.

Still, a history that predates Islam won’t guarantee the communities’ survival. Today, Lebanon is the only country left in the Middle East where Christians still hold political influence, accounting for 39 percent of the population compared with 3 percent in Iraq, according to the State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report released last November.

Learning Aramaic

As a young boy in Syria in the 1960s, Karim, now 46, recalls learning Aramaic at school in Qamishli when the northeastern Syrian city was made up mostly of Syriac Christians who had fled Armenia. Now, Muslims in his hometown outnumber Christians five to one.

That reversal, reflected elsewhere in the Middle East, has left Christian communities staring at extinction.

Karim, who frequently travels to Washington from his New Jersey home, has not much faith that the U.S. will help after repeated meetings with State Department officials and lawmakers such as Representatives Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican, and Democrat Anna Eschoo, the only member of Congress of Assyrian descent.

“I don’t feel the U.S. is really concerned by Christians in the Middle East,” Karim said. “They listen, they show interest, but we don’t see, especially from the State Department, tangible signs they are worried and want to do something for them. There is just not much sympathy.”

Bloomberg

Spotlight: Amnesty International Is Keeping Dubious Islamist Company

2011-05-17T07:37:00.000-07:00

British human rights campaigner Moazzam Begg

Captured in Afghanistan and taken to Guantonimo Bay while studying the migration flight patterns of the Monarch butterfly.

He says he was unfairly detained.

It is becoming increasingly obvious, that human rights abuses are overlooked, in some cases concealed in order to protect the image of Islam. While the US releases a report placing Egypt on Countries of Particular Concern, over systematic post and pre-revolution human rights violations against the Copts and other religious minorities, the Guardian UK, releases an article citing that the Copts very existence is down a tolerant Islamic culture ~ nevermind that the Copts were once in the majority, and no longer have equal rights to Egyptian Muslims.

And Amnesty International is paling with Islamists.

Like the Guardian UK ~ there are no doubt ideological reasons behind it.

The problem with protecting Islam is that some of its fundamental tenets go against basic human rights. And so in order to protect it ~ you become like it.

Moral And Intellectual Breakdown

The head of the human rights pressure group Liberty has previously said that Begg is a "wonderful advocate for human rights, and in particular, for human liberty."

Liberty is an interesting group ~ which has a British-Bangladeshi spokesperson [or did] ~ when the former British government tried to lift the arranged marriage age of girl from 16 to 18 ~ this being arranged marry for the purpose of immigration ~ where the young girls are put out to marry a close relative from the old country so that they can gain British status [read forced marriage].... when the government tried to lift the age ~ Liberty petitioned the court against the move. Now the current government has quite sensibly lifted the [fetching marriage] age to 21. No one is convinced that a 16 year old wants to marry her cousin, who she does not know, back in the old country ~ but 'rights group' Liberty thought it was a good idea.

You're fired: Gita Saghal, the former head of Amnesty's Gender Affairs Unit,
queried the organization's involvement with Begg, she was fired

How many human rights groups do you know that fantasize over the murder of the president of the United States?

Anyone thinking that no organization would be so egregious clearly did not reckon on Cageprisoners, the group run by former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg.

Cageprisoners claims to "exist solely to raise awareness of the plight of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and other detainees held as part of the War on Terror."

In a morally degraded attempt to portray some equivalence between President Barack Obama, a democratically elected leader, and Osama bin Laden, the most notorious mass murderer of the 21st century, Cageprisoners posted a faux-news story set in the future titled "Barack Obama is Dead."

The story consisted of a picture of "American War Criminal" Obama's corpse -- mocked up in the way that the hoax pictures of bin Laden's corpse were immediately after his death.

It outlined how Obama was killed by the Pakistani security forces after a 40-minute operation, how he was cremated after a Christian funeral on board an aircraft carrier and how Michelle Obama had been used as a human shield. You get the idea.

Cageprisoners says it was trying "to highlight the immorality of extrajudicial killings to those who justify and celebrate the assassination of Osama bin Laden."

It approvingly quotes Noam Chomsky, who recently garbled something about how President George W. Bush's crimes "vastly exceed bin Laden," and reassures us that it is "not promoting the killing of Obama."

Moral And Intellectual Breakdown

Once a human rights group has to clarify that it is not technically calling for the assassination of the U.S. president, you'd hope that any organization connected to it would be looking to cut their ties pretty fast.

However, this would be to underestimate the moral and intellectual breakdown of the human rights industry in the United Kingdom.

Cageprisoners remains funded to the tune of 120,000 pounds (about $195,000) by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, run by the pacifist Quakers.

The head of the human rights pressure group Liberty has previously said that Begg is a "wonderful advocate for human rights, and in particular, for human liberty."

Cageprisoners also regularly works with Amnesty International, which describes Begg's outfit as a "leading human rights group."

Begg himself has consistently been given a platform by Amnesty --- and in 2006 even delivered their annual lecture. Earlier this year, the groups made a joint submission to the British government's Detainee Inquiry.

Trained By Al-Qaeda

Before his transformation into a human rights warrior, Begg did not enjoy quite such a glittering career. In fact, he was believed to be a warrior of quite another kind -- one for the Taliban.

He was accused of fighting with them against the United States in the wake of 9/11, ending up in Tora Bora -- a remote, mountainous region that served as a stronghold for Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and where bin Laden was believed to be based. Begg said he was only there because he was "completely lost."

Designated an enemy combatant at Guantanamo, he signed a confession in which he admits to attending three separate Al-Qaeda terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, where he learned to fire AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades, and use explosive devices; that he "was armed and prepared to fight alongside the Taliban and Al-Qaeda against the U.S."; and that he "recruited members for terrorist camps, knowing that certain trainees could become Al-Qaeda operatives and commit acts of terrorism against the United States."

In his memoirs, Begg maintains that in this confession "there still wasn't a crime, certainly not one that I could see." Prior to his time in Guantanamo, Begg studied law at a British university. It doesn't say much about British legal training if its students cannot see how there might be potential legal issues in fighting for a murderous global terrorist organization.

Begg now says that this confession was forced, vehemently denied by the U.S. Department of Justice, which "concluded that the evidence did not support the allegation that [FBI agents] coerced Begg into signing the statement."

Amnesty 'Should Disown' Begg

Yet even what Begg still freely admits should be enough to make any human rights group not want to touch him with a bargepole. He cheerily admits to fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina and attending training camps in Afghanistan in the 1990s, where he says he was "responsible for training Kashmiri refugees in small arms and mountain tactics."

He also admits to sending money to the Jalalabad and Khalden training camps -- regarded by everyone other than Begg as elite paramilitary Al-Qaeda training camps.

Yet when Gita Saghal, former head of the Gender Affairs Unit at Amnesty, raised concerns over the organization's alliance with Begg (whom she described as "Britain's most famous supporter of the Taliban"), she was fired.

Amnesty now says that while the Cageprisoners mock-up of Obama was "certainly not" something they would have done and that they had not worked with the group recently, they have "not disowned" Begg.

They should. Begg is, at best, a veteran of the Bosnian jihad who has trained in Afghanistan and donated money to Al-Qaeda training camps.

At worst, he is a former Al-Qaeda operative who fought in a war against the United States after 9/11.

His former detention at Guantanamo does not now make him a champion of liberty. If his organization's writing snuff pieces about President Obama being assassinated does not wake up human rights groups to this, it is hard to know what will.

Radio Free Europe

Pakistan Fire on NATO Helicopters for violating airspace

2011-05-17T05:49:00.000-07:00

Pakistani fire fighter extinguish a blazing NATO supply oil tanker in
Pindi Gheb, about 110 kilometres from Islamabad late on May 1, 2011

Pakistani authorities, by shooting at NATO forces,
are simply letting everyone know
they have got everything under control !!

They had Bin Laden sitting up there for years!!

Two Pakistani soldiers were reported wounded in an exchange of fire with two NATO helicopters near the Afghan border.

Pakistani forces in the North Waziristan tribal region fired at the NATO helicopters, which returned fire, wounding the Pakistani soldiers.

But it was unclear whether the helicopters had crossed the Pakistani border.

A Pakistani military statement said the army lodged a "strong protest" with NATO, saying the alliance "violated Pakistan airspace" and demanded a meeting with officials of the alliance.

Earlier in the day, a military spokesman, Azmat Ali, told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal that the helicopters did not cross the Pakistani border.

A Western military official in Afghanistan said coalition forces were aware of the incident but could not confirm whether the helicopters had crossed into Pakistani airspace.

The incident comes after relations between the United States and Pakistan were severely strained by the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. special forces in a commando raid in Pakistan in early May.

A Pakistani policeman walks past the wreckage of charred NATO supply oil tankers after a bomb blast in the Torkham area of the troubled Khyber tribal region near the Afghan border on May 14, 2011

Pakistani security officials stand near an Afghanistan bound NATO oil tanker which was set on fire by alleged militants in Landi Kotal near Afghan border in Pakistan, on Tuesday, May 3, 2011, official said.

Radio Free Europe

'Suicide bombing' in Kazakhstan

2011-05-17T05:30:00.000-07:00

The blast took place outside the local headquarters of the Kazakhstan National Security Committee (KNB)

ALMATY (AFP)— A suicide bomber Tuesday blew himself up outside the headquarters of the security service in the northwestern Kazakh city of Aktobe, causing casualties, the Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency said.

"A suicide bomber detonated an unknown device in front of the regional security services building. As a result of the explosion, there are casualties," a source within the security services told Interfax.

News reports said the security police were searching for alleged accomplices and had cordoned off a block of the city of 277,000 inhabitants.

However no official information was available from law enforcement and security services and Kazakhstan tightly-controlled state television has yet to broadcast any reports on the event.
The prosecutor's office is to give a briefing later in the afternoon.

Such an attack is a hugely rare event in Kazakhstan, the most stable state in Central Asia which has been run since even before the fall of the Soviet Union by strongman President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Aktobe is a city in northwestern Kazakhstan, near the border with Russia. The blast took place outside the local headquarters of the Kazakhstan National Security Committee (KNB), the successor to the Soviet-era KGB.

Afghan Christians in India Face Severe Consequences If Repatriated

2011-05-17T05:22:00.000-07:00

No compulsion to Islam ~ wonder why so may are confused?

It is clear we are being told there is no compulsion to Islam for western purposes. And it is something that must Muslims in the west, who are immigrants, know very well.

In truth there can be no compulsion to Islam, Muhammad with his meagre 100 strong following got it right the first time ~ that before he saw the power to convert in his sword. But if you have left Islam, and no longer respect its tenets, what Muhammad said or didn't say is irrelevant. Except ~ enter the sword ~ in Afghanistan and several over countries, Iran and Saudi Arabia you could be sentenced to death for leaving. Although today in most other Islamic nations, converts from Islam are sentenced to prison time, torture and repeated arrest. The Maldives creative solution is to withdraw citizenship of all who leave Islam, however the Christian press is reporting communist style secret arrest and disappearance of those found out to have left Islam. In South East Asia, several prison camps have been set up to re-educate those who leave Islam in an attempt to force them back. Periods of stay seem to range for about six months.

In Afghanistan recently there was a Afghan Christian whisked out of there by the American army, once media reports died down. He had been held in jail, pending the death sentence.

The sad reality of Islam ~ resulting directly from the Prophet's own brutal actions ~ which Muslims are compelled to view as perfection.

Seven Afghan Christians and their families who fled their homeland to India and requested refugee status from the United Nations have had their petitions denied. They now face deportation back to Afghanistan, where they risk arrest and possible execution for apostasy. “Among the applicants was Aman, a husband and father of four, who has since received a letter authorizing his deportation from the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs,” said a spokesperson for International Christian Concern. “Aman and his wife converted to Christianity from Islam eleven years ago" and he studied at a Bible college in Pakistan before returning to his home country to work with an aid organization. He fled after an Afghan TV network broadcast footage of Afghan Christians being baptized in May 2010. "[I]t is impossible to live as an Afghan Christian in Afghanistan if your Christian identity is revealed to the public and to the Afghan Islamic Republic.

Crosswalk