Germany: Armed police storm passenger jet to arrest two jihadists who left suicide notes

"...saying that they wanted to die for the "jihad" or "holy war."...

Holy War? Oh really? And I thought "Jihad" was just that internalized struggle.

a good article on Muslims in Germany:

I tried to just post the link, but the computer would not allow it, gremlins I suppose....

at any rate...this article has many interesting points and gives the reader some insight about Muslims in Germany...

MUSLIMS IN GERMANY
Life in a Parallel Society
By Norbert F. Pötzl

In Germany, Islam is often equated with fundamentalism and fanaticism, a perception that imposes a heavy burden on the country's 3 million Muslims. Their relationship to Western society is divided between integration and sometimes self-imposed exclusion.

The name of the salon is German -- Goldene Finger (Golden Fingers) -- but the services it offers are listed in the window in Arabic and Turkish. In the front of the shop, 40-year-old Palestinian Toufic al-Rifae gives men haircuts and trims their beards. Veiled women disappear into a back section behind a curtain, where female hairdressers do their hair and, using thick lines of the traditional Middle Eastern cosmetic preparation known as kohl, apply their makeup in the Arab style.

Diagonally across the street, Ris A, a restaurant specializing in grilled meats, advertises its poultry as "halal," or slaughtered according to Islamic religious rules. The place is reminiscent of a McDonald's fast-food restaurant, with its colorful plastic tables and chairs and tiled floor. In an open kitchen in the corner, 72 chickens are being roasted over coals on a large rotating grate. The name of the restaurant, explains the owner, a 35-year-old Lebanese man, "means in Islam: 'What Allah has bestowed upon me'."

Al Sundus is a shop specializing in "Arab lingerie," Arab water pipes, known as shishas, are bubbling away in the El Salam café and neighborhood bakeries sell rectangular cakes coated in white cream or decorated with bright green pistachios. One Middle Eastern business after another lines the northern end of Sonnenallee, a prominent street in Berlin's Neukölln neighborhood.

For some, Sonnenallee is a colorful, quirky shopping street. Others refer to it derisively as the Gaza Strip.

Most businesses that are not in the hands of Arabs are Turkish-owned: Mehmet Özçelik's bakery, which sells sweet baklava; a Turkish Airlines travel agency; the supermarket run by Nazik Balabanoglu and her husband Ergin; the funeral home owned by Mustafa Mutlu, whose employee Islam Cenaze Servisi makes arrangements to send the bodies of deceased Muslims to their native countries or organizes their funerals in an Islamic cemetery (more...) next to the grand Sehitlik Mosque on Berlin's Columbiadamm Street. The unemployed Turks killing time at the Taxi Café call the neighborhood "Little Istanbul."

Being able to speak German is not a requirement for daily life in this immigrant neighborhood, where the street scene is one of bearded men wearing knit caps and women in headscarves. Not all businesses are Turkish or Arabic, however. German senior citizens congregate on Tuesdays for dance evenings at Zum Ambrosius, one of Berlin's traditional corner pubs, which seems exotic in this environment. But even this traditional German establishment was recently purchased by a man of Lebanese descent.

Some would call the souk in downtown Berlin picturesque. The Neukölln Museum, an institution run by the district administration, now offers guided tours through the Muslim "kiez" or "hood." Abeer Arif, an Iraqi-born German citizen, is in charge of the "Oriental Tour of Discovery."

But there is also something oppressive and ghetto-like about this Middle Eastern business district in the middle of Germany's most densely populated Muslim neighborhood.

The Neukölln district is home to 300,000 people, and half of them live in the northern part that Sonnenallee runs through. One-third of Neukölln's population are immigrants -- including about 60,000 Muslims, who are concentrated almost exclusively in the northern section.

There are 20 mosques in Neukölln alone, out of about 80 in all of Berlin. Few of these houses of worship are recognizable as such from the outside. Most are reached through gates or rear courtyards, where former workshops and factory buildings have been converted to prayer rooms with colorful patterned carpets laid out on the floor. Sweets, tea and soft drinks are sold in adjacent shops.

Neukölln, like a specimen under a microscope, is proof positive of something that is slowly dawning on the rest of the country: Islam, this mysterious religion, both fascinating and alarming, has gained a foothold in Germany, which is now home to more than 3 million Muslims. But the close proximity between long-established Germans and outlandish Muslims is also a potential source of conflict, triggering resentment and fear on both sides.

Since the religiously motivated terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, many Germans perceive the faith in Allah principally as a threat. There are growing fears that jihadists will begin launching attacks and suicide bombings in Germany, fears fueled in part by repeated warnings coming from German security agencies (more...). Amid such fears, suspicion is easily extended to include the entirety of the Muslim faithful, despite the fact that there are likely no more than a few hundred Muslims promoting terror in Germany.

These suspicions, in turn, prompt many Muslims to feel excluded and rejected by the German majority. Federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble sees this as one of the central challenges of integration policy. "Muslims are part of society and our common future," Schäuble, a member of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), stressed at a February conference on the image of Islam in Germany. The difficulty, Schäuble pointed out, lies in the public's growing tendency to equate Islam with fundamentalism and fanaticism.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan hasn't exactly helped the cause of integration with his recent rhetoric. Speaking to a cheering crowd of close to 20,000 Turks, some of them already naturalized German citizens, at the Cologne Arena two weeks before the February conference, Erdogan warned his fellow Turks against going too far in their efforts to integrate. "No one can expect you to subject yourselves to assimilation," he said. "Because assimilation is a crime against humanity."

No one had asked the Turks to submit to assimilation, the total removal of cultural and religious identity. But the consequences of a refusal to be integrated into majority German society are all too apparent in the neighborhoods surrounding Sonnenallee in Neukölln.

The area is the epitome of a troubled neighborhood. One in two residents are unemployed. The number of robberies and assaults has more than tripled since 1990.

Neukölln is a good place to experience the "parallel society" firsthand. It was the district's mayor, Heinz Buschkowsky, 59, a committed Social Democrat, who first voiced this taboo term -- and who was promptly criticized for his supposed violation of political correctness. Irritated Berlin sociology professor Hartmut Häussermann was quick to inform the local politician that it would be preferable to refer to the Muslim immigrants as an "ethnic colony." "Now would you call that a more pleasant term?" Buschkowsky asked in response.

The term "parallel society" is part of a "semantics of panic" that generalizes conspicuous exceptions, says Klaus J. Bade, a historian and expert on immigration from Osnabrück in northwestern Germany. At best, says Bade, German immigration policy, which was "long opposed to integration," drives immigrants into enclaves. "A reluctant immigration country shouldn't be too surprised to find that its immigrants are sometimes reluctant themselves."

There is some truth to that. For decades, few in Germany grappled with the issue of the country's new Muslim residents and citizens. "Neither the majority society nor the immigrants themselves saw any need to be interested in one another and develop rules of behavior for living together," writes Middle East expert Michael Lüders in his book "The Long Shadow of Allah." "Both sides assumed that their interaction would only be temporary."

When it began recruiting "guest workers" in the early 1960s, Germany expected them to remain in the country for a limited period of time and then return home. Back in Turkey, the "gurbetci," as overseas Turks willing to return home are called in Turkish, became accustomed to a system in which other Turks were expected to go to Germany in their place.

But the first-generation workers decided to stay in Germany, establishing new families and bringing their Turkish relatives to live with them. There are about 2.7 million people of Turkish origin living in Germany today, and about 800,000 of them are German citizens.

For years, Germany has also attracted Muslim immigrants from other countries, especially from Bosnia, Iran, Morocco, Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon. It is hard to know exactly how many Muslims now live in Germany, though, because immigration authorities do not ask immigrants to state their religious affiliation and because Islam lacks a system of registered membership. For this same reason, Muslim congregations are unable to specify how many members they have.

According to the German Islam Conference (DIK), there are about 3.4 million Muslims in Germany today, making Islam the country's second-largest religion after Christianity and Muslims part of everyday German life. They have brought Allah, their god, to Almanya, the word for their new home in Germany in both Turkish and Arabic.

In Cologne no less, just days after "anti-fascists" there defended Islamofascism from Europeans who had the chutzpah to stand up against destruction of their culture.
Way to go, "anti-fascist" thugs. You create what you hate. You will end up hating the dhimmi culture you are creating for yourselves.
http://www.bravenewsworld.blogspot.com

"Security forces entered the Amsterdam-bound jet at 6:55 am (local time) and took a 23-year-old Somali and a 24-year-old German citizen of Somali origin into custody . . ."

Somali, eh?

Hmmmmm, from the LongWarJournal . . . Mystery surrounds hijacked Iranian ship

An Iranian-flagged and operated ship hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia is carrying a suspicious cargo.Hijacked late last month in the Gulf of Aden, the MV Iran Deyanat remains moored offshore in Somali waters and inaccessible for inspection.. .The MV Iran Deyanat was brought to Eyl, a sleepy fishing village in northeastern Somalia, and was secured by a larger gang of pirates. . . .Within days, pirates who had boarded the ship developed strange health complications, skin burns and loss of hair. Independent sources tell The Long War Journal that a number of pirates have also died. " - 50 onboard and 50 onshore.

From above:

Germany's top-selling Bild newspaper, citing police sources, said the two had been under observation for months and a suicide note was found in their apartment saying that they wanted to die for the "jihad" or "holy war."...

then from the linked article we have . . .

The two are thought to be linked to the al Qaeda-affiliated group that is alleged to have plotted attacks within Germany that were intended to kill as many Americans as possible, Wallenta said.

Happy Rama dama ding dong?

People, I just checked the Petition To Stop Shar'ia Law in Great Britain - 1,003 signatures.

Since the Petition's deadline is Oct. 4 - that's not good. Where are the other 9,000 signatories that should be there???

There are 20 mosques in Neukölln alone, out of about 80 in all of Berlin.

This must have happened since reunification. Berlin, or West Berlin, was once a quiet outpost inside Communist East Germany. The only people who looked at West Berlin a place to migrate were those in the Communist-controlled areas.

As for Muslims in Germany, one name will always be associated with them: Mohammed Atta.

darcy,
Why isn't that petition a job for Britons? The rest of us have no say in the laws passed by Parliament. If Britons don't care about Islamic law then what do they expect any of us to do about it? All we can do is look after our own house.
There should be hundreds of thousands of BRITISH signatures. If they don't care then why should we?

'72 chickens are being roasted' at Ris A, eh? There's a joke in there somewhere.... (but I fear a death fatwa, should I make it).

Oddly, when I read this one:

'At best, says Bade, German immigration policy, which was "long opposed to integration," drives immigrants into enclaves. "A reluctant immigration country shouldn't be too surprised to find that its immigrants are sometimes reluctant themselves.",

I couldn't help but think of the guest-worker Italians I'd met in Germany, who'd never be able to become citizens of that country. All were met on the individual basis that they were woven into society. Guess they hadn't heard about the "ghettoization" that was supposed to cause.

darcy,
Why isn't that petition a job for Britons? The rest of us have no say in the laws passed by Parliament. If Britons don't care about Islamic law then what do they expect any of us to do about it? All we can do is look after our own house.
There should be hundreds of thousands of BRITISH signatures. If they don't care then why should we?

Posted by: PMK at September 26, 2008 8:47 AM

Really. One thousand signatures. That is pitiful, considering that an entire civilization, the British Isles, is at stake.

l find it interesting that this should happen in Cologne, the site where so many facists ganged up on the people wanting to wake them up from their sleep. l guess bombs by islamists might do the trick.

Darcy . . .from Gates of Vienna's The Counterjihad Calendar 2009 . . . September 2008 lists the counter-jihad blogs of the UK. Here are the links (some no longer active, sigh) to send out notices to Sign Petition (UK citizens only unfortunately) :

A Tangled Web
Beer n Sandwiches
Biased BBC
Colin Meade
Dizzy Fat Plonka
Drakes Drum censured
Drunken Blogging
English Rose
EU Referendum
Free for John does not exist (censured?)
http://www.glen-jenvey.com (unknown script)

http://www.guardiansofscotland.org.uk (Forbidden
You don't have permission to access / on this server.???)
http://www.guyleven-torres.co.uk (THE REASON8 ACCOUNTS TEAM HAVE TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED THIS WEBSITE - censured)
Harry's Place
http://justifythis.bogspot.com (does not exist, censured?)
A New Dark Age is Dawning
Lionheart
Maryam Namazie
Melanie Phillips diary
The Lone Voice
Samizdata.net
http://unitedbritish.my-place.us (censured?)
UP Pompeii
Western Resistance
Holger Dansker

One thousand signatures. That is pitiful, considering that an entire civilization, the British Isles, is at stake.

by darcy

No one can save people who don't want to be saved.

I wouldn't read too much into the lack of signatures on that petition.

The British public know only too well that sheer force of numbers does nothing to impress upon NULabour the strength of opposition to their idiotic policies.

Say 500,000 signed this petition - what would it achieve?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Over one million of us took to the streets of London to oppose Tony Blair's illegal invasion of Iraq and what difference did that make?

None.

NULabour will do what NULabour will do and the only numbers that count, the only numbers that can make any genuine difference are the numbers that will vote against them in the next General Election.

Thanks for the list of those sites, herroyalwhyness.

Here's what Melanie Phillips had to say yesterday about the U.N giving I'm A Nutjob a platform in NYC - an "obscenity."

Others might want to read her column from yesterday. Also, she applauds Paul McCartney for going to Israel despite threats from the Barbarians.

http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/2172811/the-un-hosts-death-and-tyranny-israel-hosts-life-peace-and-rocknroll.thtml

"There should be hundreds of thousands of BRITISH signatures. If they don't care then why should we?"

Because we like Winston Churchill's concept of the solidarity of English Speaking Peoples. Our law is deeply rooted in British tradition. When that tradition is threatened, all English Speaking Peoples are threatened.

Darcy: Check out my comment on "Not Without My Daughter" on the "Summer May Not Be Over" thread on DW.

We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. -Ben Franklin

I did, skevin. Wow, that dhimmitude on the part of Amazon is from 1999? Pre-9/11? GOOD GOD!

Now I'm wondering whether I should order books from Amazon anymore.

Yesterday I went to Barnes & Noble and bought Brigitte Gabriels's new book, "They Must Be Stopped." I'm glad I didn't order it from Amazon.

Personally, I wouldn't criticize Amazon too harshly for changing their description of the movie. They didn't pull the movie, just modified the description. Yes indeed, it was appeasement - which we all understand doesn't work and shouldn't be practiced.

But, Amazon makes available a great many wonderful books. I bought my copies of Robert's PIG guide to Islam and The Truth About Muhammad from Amazon and a copy of Rachel Ehrenfeld's Funding Terror... is on it's way from Amazon right now. While Amazon may have softened the tone of its own description of the book, the reviews left by customers seem unmolested.

Was Amazon's changing of its description of this movie worthy of a boycott? I hardly think so.

One of the men was a Somali and the other was a German born in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, a spokesman said. They were hauled out of the plane just before take off about 0455 GMT.

---

The wording is a bit unfortunate. It should read as: "the other was a Somali who was later given a German passport."

That would be intellectually more honest rather than trying to sell this guy as a "German".

Puh-leese..

Since he was NOT a German at birth there is a bit of a lie involved in the official version.

The media do this all the time in Europe. They always call moslems "Asians" or "Men" or in Germany the ever-popular "of southern European appearance" designed to mislead people into thinking the perps were Greek Italian or Spanish. Anything but Turkish or Arab, which of course would bring islam into the equation.

and maybe some of their cousins in the USA nicely fed by Tyson chicken and Swift are now planning to do the same here in a lttle while . on their own time.
As far as the petition for England is concerned I am not suprised. Where are the British?
Not interested. . apparently. This petition should have circulated at the speed of a rocket and have thousands of signature

You cannot make drink a donkey that is not thirsty.
The British are happy this way.

and maybe some of their cousins in the USA nicely fed by Tyson chicken and Swift are now planning to do the same here in a lttle while . on their own time.
As far as the petition for England is concerned I am not suprised. Where are the British?
Not interested. . apparently. This petition should have circulated at the speed of a rocket and have thousands of signature

You cannot make drink a donkey that is not thirsty.
The British are happy this way.