Shiite Muslims flagellate themselves with knives on chains during an annual prayer ritual at Athens' main port of Piraeus on Monday March 1, 2004. (AP)
ATHENS, Greece - Greek police have increased scrutiny of Muslim immigrant groups and makeshift mosques in Athens — a city with no official place of worship for Muslims — ahead of the Olympics.The surveillance, confirmed to The Associated Press by police sources, was intensified following the deadly train bombings in Madrid on March 11 and seeks to gain insights into Greece's small and often insular communities of nonnative Muslims.
Er... what IS that thing in the bottom left corner of the pic??? It's in the shadows, but looks very suspicious to me!
Ahem. I did of course mean bottom RIGHT! D'oh!
it is his handle to his whip.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
The Lord of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and the final Prophet, Muhammad
(Peace be with them all)
The American Muslim Association of North America, AMANA
Would like to comment on the movie “Passion of Christ”.
By delivering to you a two verses from the Qur’an:
And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah." But they did not kill, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was created to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him [the real Jesus], for certain. “Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.” (al-Nisa’, 4:157 & 158)
IN THE PASSAGE ABOVE MOHAMAD TRIED TO DISCOUNT THE CRUCIFICTION AND SAY BUT ANOTHER WAS CREATED TO RESEMBLE HIM. WELL GOD THEN WENT A VERY LONG WAY TO CREATE ANOTHER JESUS. THEN MOHAMMAD WANTED TO THROW DOUGHT ON TOP OF HIS STATEMENT SAYING THERE IS NO CERAINT KNOWLEDGE OR PROOF THAT IT HAPPENED EVERYONE JUST ASSUMES THAT IT HAPPENED AND THEY DID NOT REALLY KILL JESUS HE JUST RAISED JESUS UP TO HIM. WELL LETS TALK ABOUT THIS. IF MOHAMAD WAS SUCH A GREAT PROFET THEN WHY DID NOT GOD RAISE HIM UP JUST LIKE HE ROSE JESUS. I WOULD SAY FROM THIS STATEMENT ALONE THAT SOME EVIL IS BEING PERPATRATED. IF I WERE READING THE KURAN AND CAME UPON THIS STATEMENT I WOULD SAY WHAT TYPE OF TRICORY IS BEFALLING ME.? THIS IS A BAD RELIGION THAT JUST IS NOTHING BUT TROUBLE FOR THE WHOLE WORLD. IN THE PARAGRAPH BELOW IT SAYS THAT IF YOU ARE NOT MUSSLIM THEN YOU ARE FORBIDEN OR IN OTHER WORDS EVENTUALLY THEY WILL GET RID OF YOU. I BELIEVE THAT IS WHY THEY WANT THE JEWS GONE FIRST. THERE ARE SO MANY CONFLCTS IN THIS RELIGION THAT THEY BELEIVE IN THE FATHER OF MOSES BUT THEN WANT ALL JEWS DEAD. JUST EVIL. IF THEY BELIEVE IN THE OLD TESTIMENT THEN THEY WOULD ALSO BELIEVE THAT GOD SAID THE JEWS WOULD BE ON THE EARTH UNTIL THE END. SO WHY ARE THEY TRYING TO KILLL THEM? JUST AN EVIL RELIGION. MY THOUGHT ARE THAT THE DEVIL AFTER CHRIST WAS CRUCIFIED NEEDED A WAY TO COMBAT THE GOOD THAT WAS HAPPENING BY CHRISTS FOLLOWERS SO HE SWAYED MOHAMMED TO DO HIS EVIL BIDDING. THE DEVIL IS AT WORK TODAY, THREW THIS RELIGION. WITH INTOLERANCE AND HATREAD OF THE LIFE OF OTHERS.
(1)*(AYAH OF THE WEEK [Verse from the Qur'an])
Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good (Islam), enjoining Al-Ma’ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam calls for) and forbidding Al-Munkar (polytheism and disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden). And it is they who are the successful. (Qur’an, Al-Imran 4:104)
They didn't always even give him scripture. Half the time they fobbed him off with folk tales from the Talmud. (eg the story of Adam embarrassing the Angels with his greater knowledge of the names of things.)
Applying a reductionist analysis to the quran, there are really only 3 possible sources.
1) Like Mo said. The perfect and unadulterated work of God, passed to humanity via an Angel dictating the truth to God's greatest prophet.
2) Inspired by the devil
3) The plagiaristic ramblings of a self serving man.
Fortunately for us, a quick study of either the quran or Mo's life allows us to realise that only the last two are plausible.
PS. upper case PETER. Do you mind using a different tag so people don't confuse us. Thanks.
Um, PETER... Please don't shout...
Back to the topic on hand ;-)
Hamas assured the Greek media today that they do not plan to hit the Olympics; Greeks have been great friends to Palestinians.
So folks, I guess it's safe for all of us to attend the Games this summer, eh? Hamas said so! At this point, Greeks are really worried they're throwing a very expensive party and nobody will attend.
And btw, there's no way the Greek police can scrutinize the Muslim community, there are whole neighbourhoods in Athens full of illegal immigrants (Iraqi, Pakistani, Palestinian, etc.). Greek police are not exactly famous for their investigative skills (it took them almost 30 years to track down 17 November), and it's a little late to start scrutinizing now.
Hamas said it won't hit the Olympics. Hmm, reminds me of scene from a movie, I believe, Braveheart, when the Scotish lords were invited to a sitdown with their foe. Once the Scots were inside,the English shut the doors and burned down the building, thus eliminating the Scottish leaders in one inferno.
Of course this is not an original ploy. Hamas has "promised" not to hit the Olympics, but they don't speak for the other Jihadists. I'm afraid that the Olympics may not be well attended, and those that attend should be very nervous for their safety. Bombs and RPGs are the equivalent of medieval torches. The Olympics were suspended during WWII. Perhaps the best decision would be to follow the wisdom of the "Greatest Generation."
A truce was called in Ancient Greece for the playing of the games, as they were also a religious rite. I don't that radical, or any Muslims would see things the same way. Sorry, Greece, we would love to attend your party, but your safety record hasn't been the greatest in recent years.
Oh! I think I am about to faint.
There is something so MANLY about a hirsute, flabby, sweaty guy with a two week beard and lots of scars. =:o
Makes the stigmata seem benign.
Lili
It looks like the guy in the middle is about to give the one on the right a hand with his chopper.
Plus, can it really be legal to walk around a civlised country carrying offensive weapons, on the pretext that they are religious items?
BTW Sikh men carry a knife as part of their religion. (But tend not to advertise the fact). It goes back to when they were often persecuted by another religion. I can't remember who it was at the moment.
epg
The part that gets me is how the Greeks don't believe there is a possibility for an attack. The media is spreading propaganda that Israeli security companies are purposefully overestimating the security risks, in order to get more money. You know, "those Jews again, all they think about is money!"
Nobody mentions the terrorist attacks in Greece by Palestinians during the 80's (ferryboat hijacking, plane bombings, etc.). That was at a time when Greece was the first European country to treat Arafat as Head of State (what state?), and was in the best relations with Qadafi.
And that's not counting the internal micro-terrorism (gas-canister bombs, molotovs, small dynamite bombs) that is the M.O. of the local anarchists, communists, fascists, etc. These people are not happy at all having the Olympics there, and will surely create havoc.
Puerto Vallarta this summer anyone? :-)
There were no Palestinians before 1967 after they were chased out Jordan. Now the Muslims want it because they once occupied it. They want Spain and parts of Europe because Muslims once occupied, invaded, or even visited there. It is reported that they even claim America because a Muslim visited here on Columbus' s voyages. I think I'll go to a home in the better part of town, call on the owner, spend some time with the owner, and later claim it because I visited there. I wonder if they'll cooperate and hand me the deed and the keys. My claim is just as ludicrous as theirs.
Ewww... I had no idea that Islam had a theology that allowed for self-flaggelation. Sad, really.
The problem with Islam is that it is highly defended because, on some level, its practitioners realize they are not the only game in town - nor are they the most sophisticated of the other religions. And, they know that they came after Judaism and Christianity. As a result, they suffer from a bit of an inferiority complex. Unfortunately, we are receiving the brunt of the anger spun off from this.
As to the threats made by Hamas in the day(s) after the killing of their leader, Arabic tends to be a language lending itself to exaggeration, hyperbole and explotions of anger. The people themselves say these things, but they don't always mean everything they say in the heat of the moment. The problem is, you can't always know whether they mean it or not.
Paula, you said
"The people themselves say these things, but they don't always mean everything they say in the heat of the moment. "
When they say "from the river to the sea", they do mean it, every single time... When it comes to Jew-killing, they mean that every single time, too.
By the way the self-flagellation is part of the Shia tradition.
Yes, unfortunately I have to agree with you zorkmidden. They do mean that. Their hatred of the Jews has absolutely no sense of proportion. But, there are times when they vent and don't always mean it. That is why I qualified what I said at the end of my comments. It just depends on the context of the comments and the subject matter.
Too bad we are so civilized ... I think the Israelis have the right idea .... hopefully Yassin won't be the last jihadist/Islamist to be blown to bits or have his brains blown out.
There aren't any women in these pictures. Perhaps a good plan would be just shoot all the men on site and then take the women as sex and house slaves and brutalize them. After all, that behavior seems to be sanctioned by Islam -- either by active decree or by their silence.
By the way, that looks like a hand that guy is holding.
Think about taking part in the spirit of the Olympics as the Greeks invented them 2500 years ago. It holds a unique message of Peace and hope. And do that with a smile. Leave the rest to the Greeks, they know how to deal with their responsibilities. With trust and a smile.
"Plans to build an Islamic center and mosque — the first in Athens since Ottoman times — have stalled following opposition from local residents and the powerful Greek Orthodox Church.
..."When (mosques) are illegal, then what you're afraid of is more likely to happen," said Panayote Dimitras of the rights group Greek Helsinki Monitor." This is from the Athens article. The trouble begins when mosques are made legal. Indonesian (could be Malaysian) Muslims are employing precisely the same strategy to prevent churches being built. Once Islam gains a foothold in a society, its adherents plan to impose Islam on the whole society.
Peter, this:" And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah." But they did not kill, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was created to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him [the real Jesus], for certain. “Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.” (al-Nisa’, 4:157 & 158)" is gnostic heresy. In addition to the genealogy of Jesus, it serves to demonstrate why the Issa of Islam is not the Jesus of Christian Holy Scripture.
Helen, I agree. Still the "powerfull Greek orthodox church" does not efect the minds of Greek people, at list not as much as older times (1900-1990). Especialy the younger generation, so in about 20 years a long lasting fundametalism in Europe will stop involving in the evolution of the Greek society. Goes okey, nevermind the delay. Couldnt say the same, for the close future, of Islamic society's.
Steel, the Olympic Spirit -on it's ancient Greek consept,- is a wellcomed message in our days.
Some of the comments on terrorism in Greece are silly. Greece had no more terrorism in the 1970-90's than any other european country. At the time Reagan slammed Greece he was dealing with Tehran, the biggest sponser of terrorism at the time.
Greece was the closest non-national security state to the middle east for decades with freedom of movement and freedom of the press and hence a natural locus for proximity alone.
As far as Nov 17th terrorist group, US intelligence predictions as to its size and composure were also wrong.