In the version of the video containing remarks from the jihad murderer in London today that can be found above, he clearly mentions Surat at-Tawba at the beginning. (Thanks to Kenneth.)

Why has this video been edited to remove his references to the Qur'an?

He says, "Surat at-Tawba through...many, many ayat throughout the Qur'an that...we must fight them as they fight us..."

Surat at-Tawba is the ninth chapter of the Qur'an, and according to Islamic scholars is the last one or one of the last ones to have been revealed that contain doctrinal content -- which means that it takes precedence over the others. Some highlights:

"And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." -- 9:5

"Fight them; Allah will punish them by your hands and will disgrace them and give you victory over them and satisfy the breasts of a believing people and remove the fury in the believers' hearts. And Allah turns in forgiveness to whom He wills; and Allah is Knowing and Wise." -- 9:14-15

"Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled." -- 9:29

"O Prophet, fight against the disbelievers and the hypocrites and be harsh upon them. And their refuge is Hell, and wretched is the destination." -- 9:73

"O you who have believed, fight those adjacent to you of the disbelievers and let them find in you harshness. And know that Allah is with the righteous." -- 9:123

This Bloomberg story is the height of mainstream media politically correct ridiculousness. We are told that the rioters were born between 1991 and 1995, as if that is the salient point to make clear why they are rioting. Nowhere is it mentioned that they are Muslims, although in other stories this has been made clear in other stories that mention the rioters' "spokesman," Rami al-Khamisi. "Swedish Police Arrest Eight as Husby Riots Spread in Stockholm," by Niklas Magnusson and Johan Carlstrom for Bloomberg, May 22 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

Swedish police arrested eight people after riots in Husby spread to other Stockholm suburbs last night as young people set fire to cars and schools and vandalized property.

About 30 cars burned overnight in suburbs including Husby, Jakobsberg, Norsborg and Vaarberg, Kjell Lindgren, a spokesman for the Swedish Police, said by phone today. In Husby, a school and the Husby Gaard cultural center were set on fire while rubbish bins burned across Stockholm’s western and southern suburbs. A school was also set alight in the Skaerholmen suburb, and a police station and buildings in central Jakobsberg were vandalized.

The riots began in Husby on May 19, about a week after a 69-year-old man brandishing a knife was killed by police in an apartment. Sweden, which has Scandinavia’s highest youth unemployment rate, has suffered from riots before. In 2008, young people in Rosengaard in the southern city of Malmoe clashed with police after setting fire to cars and bins. Those riots also spread to the Stockholm suburbs of Tensta and Husby.

“There is a core, as there often is, of young men who believe in using violence and who believe that this use of violence is above our democratic values and above Swedish law,” Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told reporters in Stockholm yesterday. “The people of Husby must get their suburb back because the majority want to live in calmness and safety.”

The people arrested for vandalism and setting cars on fire were born between 1991 and 1995, police spokesman Lindgren said. The police officers who patrolled the capital city’s suburbs last night “felt the atmosphere was less confrontational than on previous nights,” said Lindgren. Police remain prepared in case of further riots tonight and is probing claims that officers used racist slurs, he said.

Watch the video above: he refers to the Qur'an right at the beginning. It is quite clear. It is not surprising at all that the British press would leave out his reference to the Qur'an. "Chilling video of London attacker explaining machete attack on reported soldier," by Max Fisher in the Washington Post, May 22 (thanks to Suneil):

It’s not clear how or why two men attacked a man believed to be a British soldier in the London neighborhood of Woolwich, but U.K. officials are already investigating it as a possible act of terrorism.

A video broadcast by the U.K. network ITV purports to show one of the two attackers explaining himself to a camera immediately after the attack. His hands are covered in blood, a knife and a machete in his right hand. The victim is clearly visible on the ground with a crowd gathering in the background. Here’s what he said:

We swear by Almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you. The only reasons we have done this is because Muslims are dying every day. This British soldier is an eye for an eye a tooth for tooth. We apologise that women had to see this today but in our lands our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government. They don’t care about you.

The Guardian cites eyewitnesses as describing the attack as a “beheading.” The BBC talked to an eyewitness who describes what he saw after arriving in the middle of the attack:

I saw two people lying over him and I thought they were trying to resuscitate him. I went down to the garage and another bloke come along and told me they were actually stabbing him. Apparently they actually ran the car into him and knocked him down before they did anything. And the next minute a silver car came along and a man got out and shouted he was going to phone the police. The next thing that happened was he actually pulled a handgun out. It was a gun that looked as if it could take about 12, 15 rounds so I definitely know it was handgun because I actually seen it in his hand.

The same witness also said that some unarmed police were nearby but did not want to approach the men, who appeared to be armed, until armed “Trojan” police arrived.

The two attackers were shot by police and are currently receiving medical treatment.

Update: The Washington Post’s Anthony Faiola, reporting from London, listened to the ITV video very carefully and came away with a different quote than the one circulating in British media. The first part of the attacker’s quote is difficult to hear because the ITV anchor is speaking over him. It’s not clear to me where the above version, which is cited in The Guardian and elsewhere, first appeared. Here’s the quote as heard by Faiola:

There are many, many ayah throughout the Koran [referring to religious verses] that says we must fight them as they fight us, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. I apologize that women had to witness this today but in our land women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government, they don’t care about you.

At least two of the victims were Jews, and were brutally murdered on September 11, 2011 by having their throats slit. The Qur'an designates the Jews the worst enemies of the Muslims (5:82) and directs believers to "strike the necks" of the unbelievers (47:4). "Ibragim Todashev implicated Tsarnaev, himself in triple homicide before FBI shooting," from CBS News, May 22:

A friend of Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev implicated himself and Tsarnaev in an unsolved triple homicide before authorities say he instigated a violent confrontation that resulted in his death early Wednesday morning, CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports.

Law enforcement sources told Orr that the man, a Chechen identified as Ibragim Todashev, implicated himself and Tsarnaev to authorities in the 2011 killings in Waltham, Mass., under questioning Wednesday at Todashev's apartment in Orlando, Fla.

Authorities went to the apartment after having obtained what the sources described as strong evidence to suggest that Todashev, Tsarnaev and his brother Dzhokhar were involved in the killings on the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The FBI had already interviewed Todashev more than once before Wednesday.

The sources also said that authorities have no evidence tying Todashev to last month's deadly terrorist bombing at the Boston Marathon that the Tsarnaev brothers are accused of carrying out.

Sometime after midnight Wednesday morning in Orlando, an FBI special agent from the bureau's Boston field office was accompanied by at least two troopers from the Massachusetts State Police and a Joint Terrorism Task Force agent to question Todashev, the sources said. The questioning primarily focused on the 2011 killings.

While the FBI's investigation into Wednesday's shooting is ongoing, the preliminary details are that after Todashev implicated himself and Tamerlan Tsarnaev he became angered when authorities pressed him for a full confession, the sources said. Todashev brandished a knife, prompting the officials to feel that their lives were in danger.

The FBI agent then shot Todashev and received some minor abrasions in the process, the sources said.

The Tsarnaev brothers and Todashev apparently knew the three people killed in Waltham, the sources said, describing the 2011 killings as brutal and grisly, with all three bodies nearly decapitated. The bodies had marijuana and thousands of dollars in cash sprinkled on them....

More details about today's jihad attack. "Cops shoot 2 as 'soldier is beheaded' in suspected terrorist attack," by Karen Morrison, Harry Haydon and Jo Sayer for The Sun, May 22:

CHILLING footage has emerged of a man with bloodied hands armed with knives speaking into a camera phone - just minutes after a soldier was allegedly beheaded.

The tall black man talks brazenly with a London accent to the shocked onlooker who filmed the knifeman making a series of twisted rants after the terrorist attack.

The knifeman and his accomplice are believed to have killed serviceman in the brutal knife attack after ramming the victim - who was wearing a Help For Heroes t-shirt - with a car.

The two suspected terrorists were then shot when cops arrived. They were then taken to hospital, one of them in a serious condition.

Police confirmed one man has died who is believed to be the soldier.

David Cameron vowed Britain would “never buckle” in the face of terrorism and condemned the "absolutely sickening" attack.

In footage, obtained by The Sun, one of the terrorists speaks directly in to the camera bragging about the horrific attack boasting the public and their "children" were targets of extremists.

He says: "We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you...Your people will never be safe.

“In our land our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe.

"Remove your governments they don't care about you.

"You think David Cameron is going to get caught in the street when we start busting our guns you think politicians are going to die? No it's going to be the average guy, like you, and your children.

"So get rid of them. Tell them to bring our troops back so can all live in peace.”

The victim – who was wearing a Help For Heroes t-shirt – was said to have been attacked by men armed with knives, including a meat cleaver.

Eyewitnesses said the two men - suspected Islamist terrorists - were “hacking” at the victim “like a piece of meat”.

A number of witnesses have told how a blonde woman got out of her car and ran towards the suspects confronting them to stop attacking.

The attackers were then shot after trying to attack police responding to the barbaric incident.

Senior Whitehall sources said the attackers are thought to have tried to film their attack whilst shouting "Allahu Akbar" - God is Great. The men were said to have been of Muslim appearance.

Blood on his hands. And on those of all the purveyors of the "Islamophobia" myth -- all those who insist that resisting jihad terror is "hate."

Video thanks to Pamela Geller.

Happy that they had pleased Allah with the murder of an Infidel. "Man dead in suspected Woolwich terror attack," from the BBC, May 22:

A man has died and two are injured after police responded to a reported machete attack in south-east London.

The government is reported to be treating the assault as a suspected terrorist incident and the prime minister said it was "truly shocking".

Eyewitnesses said a man was brutally attacked in a Woolwich street by two men who were later shot by officers.

Local MP Nick Raynsford said the dead man was a soldier at Woolwich barracks but this has not been confirmed.

Home Secretary Theresa May has summoned a meeting of the government's emergency response committee Cobra to assess the incident.

Mrs May said she had been briefed by the director general of Security Service MI5, Andrew Parker, and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe on the "sickening and barbaric" attack.

"It has been confirmed to me that a man has been brutally murdered," she said. "Two other men were shot by armed police and they are currently receiving treatment for their injuries."

One witness, identified only as James, said two men had attacked another man, aged about 20, who was wearing a T-shirt of military charity Help for Heroes.

"These two guys were crazed. They were just animals. They dragged him from the pavement and dumped his body in the middle of the road and left his body there," he told LBC radio.

He said after the "horrendous" attack, the two men, who were also in their 20s, stood around, waving knives and a gun, and asked people to take pictures of them "as if they wanted to be on TV or something".

"They were oblivious to anything, they were more worried about having their photo taken, running up and down the road," he said.

Thomas, a witness who contacted the BBC, said: "I got there minutes after it happened because you could hear gunshots from Woolwich High Street.

"Basically two men carried out an axe attack on a young army cadet walking along the street, by the looks of things the police responded and then shot them in front of the public, at the same time I couldn't really tell if the cadet was fatally or not hurt as police were crowded around him."

Downing Street said Prime Minister David Cameron, who was planning to stay in Paris overnight after meeting the French president, would be returning to the UK tonight.

Whitehall sources have told the BBC it is "a fair supposition" that the incident was a terrorist incident but police have not commented publicly on the suggestion.

BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the police view is that the attack may have been filmed and footage may exist.

According to senior Whitehall sources the people carrying out the attack were heard to say Allahu Akbar [God is Great], said our political editor.

On Twitter, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson described the attack as a "sickening deluded and unforgivable act of violence".
School lock-down

Mr Raynsford, the Woolwich and Greenwich MP, said he had spoken to local police and understood a number of weapons had been seized at the scene including a gun, knives, and a machete.

Scotland Yard said the initial attack happened in John Wilson Street, the A205, at 14:20 BST.

Metropolitan Police Commander Simon Letchford said the two attackers were then shot by armed officers.

He said: "Police were called to reports of an assault... where one man was being assaulted by two other men. A number of weapons were reportedly being used in the attack, and this included reports of a firearm....

In the face of appeasement and denial everywhere in the West, the jihad grows more brazen. Here is the feed from the BBC:

1753:

Senior aides to Mayor of London Boris Johnson describe the Woolwich killing as a 'sickening deluded deranged act of violence', says the BBC's Robin Brant.
1744:

Senior Whitehall sources have told the BBC that the Woolwich attackers are thought to have tried to film their attack whilst shouting "Allahu Akbar" - God is Great, says political editor Nick Robinson.

The men were said to have been of Muslim appearance.

The Prime Minister is expected to speak to the Home Secretary at 18:15 BST from a train to Paris about what is now being treated by government as a suspected terrorist attack, Mr Robinson says.
1738:

Witness Graham Wilders told the BBC he arrived on the scene to find a car crashed into a wall and a man on the ground.

"Two people were lying over him and I thought they were trying to resuscitate him," he said.

But Mr Wilders said he drove on to park his car, and when he returned another witness told him the two men were stabbing the man on the ground.

1734:

Prime Minister David Cameron tweets: "The killing in #Woolwich is truly shocking - I have asked the Home Secretary to chair a COBRA meeting."
1729:
A crowd standing outside the police cordon Police have closed the area around the crime scene

Police, who have given little information so far, say they will issue an official statement between 17:30 BST and 18:00 BST.
1727:

Sources tell the BBC's James Landale Mrs May has also spoken to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, and the head of MI5, asking to be updated on the incident.
1726:

The Home Secretary Theresa May summons a meeting of Cobra, the government's emergency response committee in Whitehall, to assess the incident in Woolwich.

1718: This eyewitness wishes to remain anonymous

"I was walking my dog and heard some shouting about 50 yards from me. A man was running down the road and being chased by a car. The car then screeched to a halt and two men got out one had some kind of sword. They literally swung at the other guy's head. The armed police turned up and there were some shots. We were told to go home and now they won't let us out. We're in lockdown. There actually now seems more activity than there was before. I can hear helicopters and there are police officers with guns."
1716:
A helicopter at the scene Police and ambulance helicopters were sent to the incident

The Ministry of Defence said it was urgently looking at the reports that the incident involved a soldier, but had no further comment.
1714:

London Mayor Boris Johnson says his thoughts are with the victims' families.
1711:

Ministry of Defence cannot confirm that a serving soldier died in the Woolwich attack.
1702:

One witness, identified only as James, said two men attacked another man, aged about 20, who was wearing a Help for Heroes T-shirt.

"These two guys were crazed. They were just animals. They dragged him from the pavement and dumped his body in the middle of the road and left his body there," he told LBC radio.
1658:

Police say they are not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident in Woolwich.
1656:

Mr Raynsford says police have removed a "substantial number of weapons" from the scene, including knives and at least one firearm.
1654:

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) confirms it has been informed of the incident.

In a statement, the IPCC says: "Investigators have been deployed to the scene and to the post-incident process."
1652:

The incident happened close to Woolwich Barracks, and local MP Nick Raynsford says the dead man was a soldier serving there.
1650:
An aerial shot of the crime scene Police have cordoned off the scene to investigate

David Dixon, head teacher at Mulgrave Primary School which is in the area, went out into the street when he heard a disturbance.

"There were lots of police and emergency vehicles etc and I saw a body lying in the road," he said.

"All the traffic had stopped. There were gunshots after that so I'm not sure about the situation after that, but all I needed to know was that there was an emergency and that we needed to go into our emergency procedures and make sure that the children were as safe as possible."
1641:
An aerial shot of the crime scene Police have cordoned off the scene in Woolwich

Two injured men have been taken away from the scene, and London Ambulance Service says one is in a "serious" condition.
1636:

London Ambulance Service confirms one man was found dead at the scene.

Thomas

contacted the BBC. He was at the scene. This is what he said: "I got there minutes after it happened because you could hear gun shots from Woolwich high street, basically two men carried out an axe attack on a young army cadet walking along the street, by the looks of things the police responded and then shot them in front of the public, at the same time I couldn't really tell if the cadet was fatally or not hurt as police were crowded around him."
1632:

Whitehall officials say the incident in Woolwich is not connected to any intelligence-led operation, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner reports.
1629:

Mr Raynsford tells BBC Radio 5 Live: "What I have heard from both the borough commander and the station commander of the barracks indicate this was a serious incident involving a number of weapons including firearms.

"I am told that one of the individuals involved in the incident... is a soldier serving in the Army in the barracks."
1627:

Local MP Mr Raynsford says a soldier serving at a nearby Army barracks has died in the incident.
1623:

Local MP Nick Raynsford says one person has been killed in the incident and two others have been seriously injured.
1623:

A witness claims two men in a car ran over another man, then got out of the car and attacked him, the BBC's Matt Prodger reports.

It is claimed the victim was wearing a Help for Heroes charity T-shirt, but this has not been confirmed.
1620:

Eyewitnesses say two men attacked another man with a "machete-style knife".

Reports also suggests shots were fired, although details are not yet clear.
1617:

Local primary school head teacher David Dixon tells the BBC News Channel he saw a body in the road and "there were gun shots after that".

He instructed staff to lock all the gates of his school and an air ambulance landed in the playground.

Most of the children have now gone home. Mr Dixon said everything inside the school was "calm and orderly".
1615:

Firearms officers are at the scene and a cordon has now been established.
1613:

Posts on Twitter claim one man was attacked with a machete, but police have not confirmed this.
1611:

Police said they were called to reports of an "assault".

London Ambulance Service said an air ambulance and four crews were at the scene.

Police say the area around John Wilson Street has been shut down.
1609:

Police are responding to reports of a "serious incident" in Woolwich, south London.

Initial reports suggest a man has been attacked, and pictures posted on Twitter appear to show three people lying on the ground.

Scotland Yard said the incident took place in John Wilson Street, at 14:20 BST.

His friend is hard at work claiming victim status for him, but doesn't explain why he attacked the agent. "FBI agent shoots and kills Orlando man with ties to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev," by Wesley Lowery and John R. Ellement for the Boston Globe, May 22 (thanks to all who sent this in):

A Chechen man with ties to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was shot and killed by an FBI agent in Orlando early today when the man attacked the agent, the FBI said in a statement.

The FBI identified the person shot and killed as Ibragim Todashev, 26.

According to the FBI and local news accounts, the shooting took place in an apartment building on Peregrine Avenue while Todashev was being questioned about the bombings and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

“The agent, along with other law enforcement personnel, were interviewing an individual in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing investigation when a violent confrontation was initiated by the subject,’’ the FBI said in a statement released around 9:30 a.m. today.

“During the confrontation, the individual was killed and the agent sustained non-life threatening injuries,’’ the FBI said. “As this incident is under review, we have no further details at this time.”

Khusen Tamariv, a friend of Todashev told WESH-TV in Orlando, that both he and Todashev were questioned about his ties to Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout in Watertown with police on April 19; his younger brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is in federal custody and facing charges that could bring the death penalty.

The bombings killed three people and wounded more than 260 people. MIT Police Officer Sean Collier was also allegedly murdered by the brothers.

Today, the FBI said a Washington-based deadly force investigative team is being sent to Orlando to investigate the shooting.

Taramiv said he was released by the FBI, but Todashev was still being questioned by the agents.

Taramiv said Todashev met Tsarnaev when both lived in Massachusetts, and that the two men spoke with each other “months before” the April 15 bombings.

Taramiv said his friend was not close to Tsarnaev. “They were not best friends,’’ Taramiv told the Orlando station.

Taramiv insisted that Todashev was not a radicalized Muslim, and that he had no role, nor did he know anything about the Marathon bombing attack.

“He was not a radical. He was a Muslim,’’ Taramiv said. “I’m a Muslim. That’s it... He never had a gun... He was shocked’’ by the attacks.

Taramiv said Todashev was worried about the direction of the questioning by the FBI agents, that he was going to be “set up’’ by the law enforcement agency.

“He had a bad feeling,’’ Taramiv, who quoted Todashev as telling him that the FBI was “making up this crazy stuff’’ that there was a connection between the terror suspect and himself....

Rich on the kuffar dole

"Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued." -- Qur'an 9:29

As British jihadist Anjem Choudary said: "The normal situation is to take money from the kuffar. You work, give us the money, Allahu akbar."

"Accused Fort Hood Shooter Paid $278,000 While Awaiting Trial," by Scott Friedman for NBCDFW.com, May 21 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

The Department of Defense confirms to NBC 5 Investigates that accused Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan has been paid more than $278,000 since the Nov. 5, 2009 shooting that left 13 dead 32 injured.

The Department of Defense confirms to NBC 5 Investigates that accused Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan has been paid more than $278,000 since the Nov. 5, 2009 shooting that left 13 dead 32 injured.

The Department of Defense confirms to NBC 5 Investigates that accused Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan has now been paid more than $278,000 since the Nov. 5, 2009 shooting that left 13 dead 32 injured. The Army said under the Military Code of Justice, Hasan’s salary cannot be suspended unless he is proven guilty.

If Hasan had been a civilian defense department employee, NBC 5 Investigates has learned, the Army could have suspended his pay after just seven days.

Personnel rules for most civilian government workers allow for "indefinite suspensions" in cases "when the agency has reasonable cause to believe that the employee has committed a crime for which a sentence of imprisonment may be imposed."

Meanwhile, more than three years later soldiers wounded in the mass shooting are fighting to receive the same pay and medical benefits given to those wounded in combat.

Retired Army Spc. Logan Burnett, a reservist who, in 2009, was soon to be deployed to Iraq, was shot three times when a gunman opened fire inside the Army Deployment Center.

“I honestly thought I was going to die in that building,” said Burnett. “Just blood everywhere and then the thought of -- that's my blood everywhere.”

Burnett nearly died. He's had more than a dozen surgeries since the shooting, and says post-traumatic stress still keeps him up at night.

Burnett is now fighting a new battle; only this one is against the U.S. Army.

The Army has not classified the wounds of the Ft. Hood victims as “combat related” and declines to label the shooting a “terrorist attack”, [sic]

The “combat related” designation is an important one, for without it Burnett and other shooting victims are not given combat-related pay, they are not eligible for Purple Heart retirement or medical benefits given to other soldiers wounded either at war or during the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon.

As a result, Burnett, his wife Torey, and the families of other Fort Hood victims miss out on thousands of dollars of potential benefits and pay every year.

To Burnett the shooting felt like combat.

“You take three rounds and lose five good friends and watch seven other people get killed in front of you. Do you have another term that we can classify that as?” asked Burnett.

The Army has categorized the shooting as a case of “workplace violence.”

“Sickens me. Absolutely sickens me. Workplace violence? I don't even know if I have the words to say,” said Burnett....

Actually, he sent teargas to the Muslim Brotherhood oppressors of Christians. "Obama vows US support as Myanmar leader visits," by Matthew Pennington and Nedra Pickler for the Associated Press, May 21:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Monday told Myanmar's president during a long-awaited White House meeting that he appreciates the Asian leader's efforts to lead the country on its sometimes difficult path to democracy and assured him of U.S. support.

Obama spoke as he sat in the Oval Office with former general Thein Sein, who became the first president of Myanmar to visit the White House in 47 years. Activists object to the invitation because of concerns over human rights in the country, but it marks a turnaround in international acceptance for Myanmar after decades of isolation and direct military rule....

In a speech at a university in Washington, Thein Sein called for a new era in U.S.-Myanmar relations. On domestic challenges, he vowed to ensure that communal violence between Buddhists and minority Muslims that has claimed hundreds of lives over the past year would be brought to a halt and that all the perpetrators are brought to justice.

Obama said he expressed concern about violence against Muslims in the country. "The displacement of people, the violence directed toward them needs to stop," he said....

No one particularly cares about the bloody ideology that incites all this murder. To investigate that would lead to uncomfortable questions about the texts and teachings of Islam. Better to focus on the latest "Islamophobia" report instead.

Note also that there will be no international outcry over the "desecration" of these mosques. That is because the bombers were Muslims; that kind of moral opprobrium is reserved solely for the kuffar.

"Fresh bombings in Iraq target Shiite mosque, 9 killed," from ANI, May 21:

Beijing: At least nine people were killed and 53 others wounded in bombing attacks against two Shiite mosques in Iraq's southern city of Hilla on Monday, a police source said.

A suicide bomber wearing explosive vest blew himself up at Al- Wardiyah mosque in Hilla, some 100 km south of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, and about five minutes later a bomb exploded in the nearby Al-Galagh mosque, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The two attacks targeted worshipers in the Shiite mosques and some of the wounded people were in critical conditions, he added.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks, but the al-Qaida front in Iraq, in most cases, were responsible for such massive attacks in the country, raising fears that the terrorist group and other militia could return to widespread violence.

Earlier on Monday, a series of car bombs and shootings mainly targeting Shiite areas across Iraq killed at least 61 people, including several Iranian pilgrims, and wounded some 200, apparently in an attempt to stir up sectarian strife among Iraqis....

Open season on Christians in Pakistan, and the world yawns. "Christian student killed by firing of Muslims in native village of Shahbaz Bhatti," from the Pakistan Christian Post, May 20 (spelling and grammar as in original):

Faisalabad: May 20, 2013. (PCP) A Christian village named Khushpur in sub-district Samundari of Faisalabad district came under attack of Muslims on May 19, 2013, killing one Christian student of 10th Grade and injuring many Christian by firing.

Father Felix, a European missionary who established a number of villages like Mariamabad in Shekhupura district, Francisabad in Shorkot, Jhang district in Pakistan. “Felix” is the Latin word for "happy". The village was thus given the name of "Khushpur" in Urdu, the "land of Fr Felix" or “land of Happiness”.

Many important Catholic public figures come from the village in government records shown as Chak Number 451/GB; people like Bishop John Joseph, Bishop Rufin Anthony, Ilama Paul Ernest, and Shahbaz Bhatti were born and raised in this remote village;

On informations of Muslims attack, contingents of police reached to village and prevented further killing by Muslims.

Faisal Patras, a Christian student of class 10th of High School was killed by firing of Muslims while Danish Masih who is brother of Faisal Patras and Patras Masih father of deceased was seriously injured with bullet wounds when trying to safe Faisal Patras.

After agricultural revolution in Pakistan, many Christians peasants of these Christian villages in Punjab province of Pakistan which were distributed without any cost by Catholic and other missionaries moved to cities and sold this gifted land to Muslims.

Muslim attack was on a petty dispute on a piece of land which Christian of Khushpur have sold to Muslims.

According to Samundari Social Media Network, there was killing of one Christian in other Christian village Chack Number 468/GB in this district one months ago by firing of Muslims and killers are at large, this other killing happened.

Mr. Khalid Gill, Chief Orgnizer of All Pakistan Minorities Alliance APMA have stronly condemned attack on village Khushpur and killing of a Christian student.

Mr. Gill have demanded immediate arrest of killers and security of the Christians which are under constant attack of Muslims in Punjab province of Pakistan.

This is a result of Muhammad's exoneration of his favorite wife, Aisha, who was suspected of adultery. Allah gave him a revelation requiring four male witnesses to establish such a crime: "And those who accuse honourable women but bring not four witnesses, scourge them (with) eighty stripes and never (afterward) accept their testimony - They indeed are evil-doers" (Qur'an 24:4). The problem with this is that women who accuse men of rape but cannot produce four male witnesses are often accused themselves of zina -- unlawful sexual intercourse -- and jailed as a result.

"Sharp rise in jail terms for Afghan rape and abuse victims," by Dean Nelson in the Telegraph, May 21 (thanks to Pedro):

The number of Afghan women and girls jailed for fleeing sexual abuse, domestic, violence and forced marriage has increased dramatically, according to new official figures.

Statistics obtained from Afghanistan's Interior Ministry by the campaign group Human Rights Watch reveal the number of women and girls convicted of 'moral crimes,' which include running away from home has increased by 50 per cent in the last year from 400 to 600.

Many of the 600 women jailed in the last year are victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse whose only crime was to run away from their assailants, the group said.

It called on the Afghan government to enforce its own Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW), and to stop its judges punishing female victims.

Although it is not a crime in Afghanistan for women to run away, the group said the country's judges, including members of its Supreme Court, regard women who run away from their homes as criminals. Many of them who flee rapes and other assaults have been charged with seeking sex outside marriage, known as Zina in Afghanistan.

Those jailed for Zina include women and girls who have been raped or forced into prostitution, the group said.

Earlier this year Human Rights Watch released its report I had to Run Away, which revealed that half of all women and 95 per cent of girls in Afghan jails had been convicted of 'moral crimes' of running away or sex outside marriage.

A report by Oxfam found that 87 per cent of Afghan women had suffered sexual and physical abuse and been forced into unwanted marriages.

Earlier this year a 22 year old woman, Gulnaz, who was jailed for Zina after she was raped and impregnated by her cousin's husband decided to marry her attacker to spare her daughter the stigma of being born out of wedlock. She had been 'pardoned' for her crime by President Karzai and released following an international outcry....

Video thanks to ygalg.

This is a staggering number in a country in which the electorate numbers fifty million. It is a manifestation of the widespread Egyptian discontent with the Muslim Brotherhood and Sharia rule. But it is unlikely -- in fact, inconceivable -- that Obama will support these pro-democracy protesters. He only supports such people when they are working to establish an Islamic supremacist regime, not when they're working against one.

"Egypt's 'rebels' gather millions of signatures to protest Morsi," by Charlene Gubash for NBC News, May 21 (thanks to Robert):

CAIRO – Once again, a handful of activists has managed to galvanize and inspire Egypt’s grumbling masses in a way no opposition political parties have been able to.

Their concept is simple. They are inviting the Egyptian electorate to sign a petition expressing “no confidence” in President Mohamed Morsi, a move they hope will trigger early presidential elections.

The response has been eye-opening. So far, 6,000 volunteers for the grassroots campaign dubbed “Tamarod” or “Rebel” have collected over 2 million signatures, according to the group’s spokesman Mahmoud Badr. Egypt’s electorate numbers about 50 million, with half of those voting in the last presidential election.

The movement has grown quickly, with opposition parties announcing support, widespread press coverage and black and white leaflets plastered across nearly every Cairo neighborhood. The “Rebel” Facebook page has attracted 150,000 “likes” in one month.

At a busy intersection in Mohandiseen, an upper-middle class Cairo neighborhood, at least 20 people stopped last Thursday to sign the leaflets and jot down national ID numbers to verify their identity.

Egyptian volunteer Basma Sherif, 24, hands out 'Rebel' petitions calling for no confidence in President Morsi and calling for early elections.

“Yesterday was even more crowded,” said Basma Sherif, as she handed out forms.

“There were accidents because people were leaving their cars in traffic to come and sign,” said Sherif, a 24-year-old insurance company employee.

People from all walks of life and throughout Egypt are signing the petition – from upper class educated elites to truck drivers and housekeepers – even people who voted for Morsi in the last election are now taking part in the campaign.

"People come from the cars to sign – poor, rich, middle class, everybody has one opinion,” said Sherif.

Those signing the petition were anxious for change. “I don’t want Morsi,” said Khaled Mostafa, a 27-year-old lab technician. “There is no security, no stability and their economic program failed… If we get several million signatures, we will have early elections.”

Amal Ragab, a middle-aged human resources manager, said that the revolution that toppled Mubarak made her believe people have the power to bring down a president. “For us, the Muslim Brotherhood is much worse and weaker than Mubarak with all of his power and security apparatus,” she added.

The group’s goal is to collect 15 million signatures, almost 3 million more than the number of votes Morsi received when he was elected by a narrow margin in June last year. They plan to deliver the petition for early elections to the Supreme Constitutional Court, Egypt’s highest court, on June 30, the one-year anniversary of Morsi’s inauguration, and to hold a massive demonstration in front of the presidential palace that day.

A symbolic move

But even diehard supporters admit there are no legal grounds to call for early elections based on a “no confidence” petition. They say the campaign is really meant to prove that Morsi has lost his majority and, with it, his legitimacy.

Hamza Abdullah, a 37-year-old lawyer who has been coordinating the campaign in three Cairo districts was carrying an armload of signed petitions on Thursday.

“This is a peaceful way to apply pressure and prove that people are against Morsi,” he said. “It is not legally binding, but it is like a poll to prove that he is not popular and not approved as president of Egypt.”

Protesters call for the removal of the Egyptian government in Tahrir Square in Cairo on May 17.

Not so fast, say Muslim Brotherhood

Members of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood, however, pooh-pooh the challenge.

Dr. Mohamed Beltagy, a senior leader of the Brotherhood’s political arm, issued a statement calling the petition “no more than a public survey,” saying it was useless unless organizers “transform the millions of participants they’re talking about into a political party.”

Others gave veiled warnings. “If some want to toss out the constitution, then they should admit their aim and bear the consequences because it is a complete and utter crime,” Essam Arian, deputy chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood, told the Al Fajr newspaper.

A lawyer for the Brotherhood, Abdel Moneim Abdel Maksoud, said that, “Hijacking a political democratic legitimacy constitutes a violation of the law.” And one Brotherhood-linked group launched a rhyming pro-Morsi petition called Tagarod, or “Impartiality.”...

We need a few politicians like this in the U.S. "Australian MP Calls For Egypt’s Ambassador To Be Called In Over Coptic Persecution," from the Australian Coptic Movement, May 11 (thanks to Jonah):

Mr Laurie Ferguson MP, Federal Member for Werriwa has written to the Australian Coptic Movement Association (ACM) confirming that he requested Senator the Hon. Bob Carr, Minister for Foreign Affairs to call in the Egyptian Ambassador following ongoing attacks on Copts in Egypt.

Below is an excerpt from Mr Ferguson’s letter to Senator Bob Carr:

“I appreciate the seriousness of calling in an Ambassador to indicate Australia’s concerns about particular issues. However, events in Egypt appear to demand such action.

On April 14th I attended a sizeable rally in Sydney’s Martin Place with a significant number of NSW and Commonwealth parliamentarians in the aftermath of violent attacks on mourners at Cairo’s St Mark’s Cathedral”.

The ACM welcomes Mr Ferguson’s stance and we look forward to a prompt response from the Senator Hon. Bob Carr. We also demand that the Australian Government immediately makes strong representations on this serious issue at the United Nations.

It is quite clear that The Egyptian government has not only failed to take appropriate action to afford protection to Egypt’s vulnerable Coptic community but also directly participated in the persecution.

We are also deeply concerned over the welfare of 24 year Demiana Nour. She has been held by Egyptian police in Luxor since 8 May 2013 under ‘defamation of religion’ charges. Demiana is a young teacher who was merely undertaking her teaching duties.

We demand that the Egyptian authorities immediately release Demiana and all Copts who have been have been charged under flimsy ‘defamation of religion’ charges.

Not that the young Tsarnaev brothers could have picked up anything from their environment. "4 dead, 44 hurt in Dagestan bombing, security officials say," by Nick Paton Walsh for CNN, May 20 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Makhachkala, Dagestan (CNN) -- At least four people are dead and 44 are injured after two bombs exploded Monday in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region, the Ministry of Health's website says.

Thirty-one of the injured were hospitalized, it says.

The incident -- which occurred in Makhachkala, capital of the semi-autonomous republic of Dagestan -- also caused significant damage. Security officials say they believe law enforcement officers may have been the target because the explosion occurred outside a local marshal's building.

One car bomb was discovered by a police patrol, who called in a unit to defuse it. Before that could be done, the bomb went off, but the explosion was minor, security officials said. Then, as a crowd of people gathered, a second, more powerful device detonated, causing the casualties.

An Islamic insurgency has taken hold in the North Caucasus and there is a strong presence of Islamic militants fighting Moscow's rule.

Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev -- the suspects in the Boston Marathon terror attack last month -- had ties with the region. The brothers are ethnic Chechens who lived in Kyrgyzstan and Dagestan....

Dangerous

The dangers of speaking one's mind in what is rapidly becoming a Sharia state. "Amina Tyler, Tunisia’s ‘topless jihad’ activist, caught and under arrest," from Al Arabiya, May 21:

After months of reportedly going into hiding, the outspoken Tunisian feminist who sparked a trend of “topless jihad” has been found and arrested by Tunisian authorities earlier this week and may be charged for conducting “provocative acts.”

Amina Tyler, 19, was found in the midst of police scuffles with hardline Salafist group Ansar al-Shariah in the central Tunisian city of Kairouan on Sunday.

Tyler previously described herself as a member of the Ukrainian feminist group Femen, which uses nudity in protests.

Witnesses said she allegedly scrawled “Femen” on the wall near the main mosque and may have intended to hang a banner on the building before an angry crowd gathered and started shouting at her to leave, according to The Associated Press.

Video posted by the Tunisian online Nawaat news site shows Tyler, with dyed blonde hair, clutching a banner and being hustled away by police and put into a van as residents chased her.

A local resident shouts at the camera: “She is dishonoring us. We will protect our town, but a dirty girl like her shouldn’t come among us.”

Mohammed Ali Aroui, the spokesman for the Tunisian interior ministry, described her acts as provocative and said she was under investigation and may be charged for her behavior on Sunday. He added that he understood the angry reaction of local residents to her appearance.

The ministry had banned Ansar al-Shariah’s annual conference, citing it as a threat to security and public order, and sent 11,000 soldiers and police to prevent hardline Muslims, known as salafis, from entering Kairouan.

In March, Tyler posted pictures of her topless body with the phrase “my body is my own” scrawled on it, and she went into hiding after receiving death threats. Her family took her to stay with relatives outside the capital before she escaped and hid with friends.

A month later, Tyler had been trying to leave Tunisia, her former lawyer said after a video surfaced in which the woman recounted being drugged and given virginity tests by relatives.

“Free Amina” rallies held by bare-breasted Femen activists hit Paris last month as Tyler’s supporters feared she would soon face criminal prosecution.

No one cares about this. Tell us more about "Islamophobia." "More Christians Killed in Northern Nigeria Last Year Than in the Rest of the World Combined," by Ann Buwalda for the Jubilee Campaign via AINA, May 20:

Two weeks ago I informed Nigerian Congressmen and women about this deplorable disrepute during my lecture to the Nigerian House of Representatives, Committee on Human Rights. Invited by the Chairman of the Committee, the Hon. Beni Lar, to address the topic of Ethnicity, Conflict, and Human Rights, I pointed out that the Nigerian Constitution reflects the broadest range of religious freedom exercise recognized within international law. I asked, "What good is this right in principle when in practice there is a societal actor, namely the Boko Haram, which strikes fear with bomb blasting of churches during worship services?" I called for an end to impunity because the predictable and certain result of impunity is more violence. I explained what it means within U.S. law that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a U.S. government funded agency, had just submitted its recommendation that Nigeria receive US Department of State designation as a "country of particular concern" under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act which would trigger a menu of remedies for engagement.

The discussant to my lecture, Professor Muhammed Tabiu from the Faculty of Law, Bayero University, emphasized that the religious freedom called for in the Nigerian Constitution is even broader then the freedoms articulated within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He stated that the legal framework has done all that it can do and that the improvement must take place "on the ground." With respect to religious extremism, he noted that "lack of respect for human rights are a daily occurrence." Prof. Tabiu also agreed with my criticism of the US Department of State's surprising endorsement of a federal Sharia court of appeal. Jubilee Campaign has yet to find anyone other than the Boko Haram terror group calling for more sharia. I had noted that this illustrates how the US Department of State fundamentally misunderstands and misrepresents the constitution of Nigeria. Prof. Tabiu clarified that there are state courts of appeals for the Sharia courts and that the Constitution of Nigeria reflects a "reasonable compromise" accommodating Muslims as well as Christians in the context of state level Sharia and customary courts.

I also pointed out that in addition to mistakes about Nigerian law, there are also mistakes as to facts. USCIRF for instance reported that only Muslims had been convicted of religious violence. This is however not accurate. Jubilee is involved in a case where Christians, arrested for curfew violation were wrongly convicted of terrorism. The attorney general of Plateau State also has previously provided updates of prosecutions which included a number of Christians arrested and charged in relation to incidents of violence.

Following the close of the Congressional Human Rights Committee session, four Northern Nigeria Congressmen pulled me aside to dialogue about how dangerous and "explosive" my factual statement about the religious identity of the victims in the death toll was. One of the Congressmen insisted that more Muslims have been killed by Boko Haram, and that mosques in the north were also bombed by Boko Haram affiliated actors. When I told him that my data consisting of specific incidents researched from Nigerian media and NGO sources can be found at http://factsnigeriaviolence.wordpress.com/, he could only provide anecdotal claims to support his contention that more Muslims were killed. Ironically, neither the U.S. Department of State's human rights report on Nigeria nor recent Human Rights Watch reports have provided more than anecdotal references for the same unsupported proposition that more Muslims have been killed by Boko Haram. Moreover, the fact that moderate Muslims have been killed by Boko Haram should be the real "explosive" cause for all of Nigerians to unite and seek the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the violence.

Coincidentally, the next evening of May 3 I caught an interview on Al Jazeera entitled, "Jailed Boko Haram rebels seek pardon." Imprisoned since last August, Ibrahim Mohammed told the interviewer, "Yes my belief is that there should be Islamic law, and we have chosen to take up arms against people who do not want Sharia." Another fighter detailed the attacks he perpetrated which he prefaced with the statement, "Between me and God I took up arms to fight." When asked about the death of innocent bystanders, the third militant explained that such a death would be by a "mistake" and that "if he dies he is innocent and we don't worry at all. We are forgiven by God." Chilling. Without any hint of remorse from them concerning their actions on victims or victims' families, their lawyer and the interviewer described their efforts to obtain amnesty and prompt release. Amnesty would be a travesty and injustice of the worst kind to innocent victims. Nothing indicates these three men would not resume their jihad to impose Sharia law, as they so clearly stated on camera was the reason why they took up arms.

It seems that following a plea from the governor of Borno State, Kassim Shettima, that his state was on the brink of a takeover by the Boko Haram, President Goodluck Jonathan responded with a declaration of a state of emergency as well as sending military troops to Maiduguri, known to be Boko Haram's stronghold. After the militants again attacked the government, killed civilians, and seized property, Nigeria's military sent several thousand troops and imposed a 24 hour curfew in Maiduguri. The military seized stock piles of weapons, including sophisticated rocket-propelled grenades, killed 10 militants, and arrested 63, according to Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera reported yesterday that the blockade of supply routes to Boko Haram seems to achieving the goal of causing militants to flee their bases.

The predictable response from the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned, "We are also deeply concerned by credible allegations that Nigerian security forces are committing gross human rights violations, which, in turn, only escalate the violence and fuel extremism. The United States condemns Boko Haram's campaign of terror in the strongest terms. We urge Nigeria's security forces to apply disciplined use of force in all operations, protect civilians in any security response, and respect human rights and the rule of law." The U.S. Department of State's response once again could not be more convoluted and confused as to who the perpetrators of human rights violations and spread of carnage are. In fact, as reported by Al Jazeera and others, the violent takeover of Borno state and other territories by the Boko Haram are being contained as per the state of emergency.

For example, as reported by The Independent on May 8 "The Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram is thought to have been behind a deadly siege on the northeastern town of Bama on Tuesday that left 55 people dead...Boko Haram is a terror group that wants to carve out an Islamic state in a country split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims." This article goes on to explain that its more recent tactics have resulted from "the help Boko Haram has received from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a branch of the international terrorist network based in the Saharan states of Mali, Niger and Algeria."

It seems that the Nigerian government is seeking to contain known militants responsible for weekly incidents of carnage and destruction on civilians. We continue to encourage the end to impunity and the restoration of peace for all civilians in the north of Nigeria.