May 2009 Archives

Does Obama really think that strong-arming a reliable U.S. ally about these settlements will end the jihad against Israel? Or does he just not care, and is willing to throw Israel to the wolves?

"‘Obama committed to ejecting Jews from Judea-Samaria,’ says Abbas," from Israel Today, May 31 (thanks to Islam In Action):

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday told reporters in Cairo that he is convinced that US President Barack Obama is firmly committed to finally ejecting the Jews from Judea and Samaria.

Abbas spoke to the press after briefing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on his visit to the White House late last week, during which Obama apparently agreed with his guest that existing Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria must not even be allowed to experience “natural growth.”

“When the American administration talks about Israel's duty to stop the settlements - including natural growth - it is a very important step,” noted Abbas....

Yes, it is. And in no sense one that free people should applaud.

"The most compelling question, though, and always the most elusive, is why?" It is only elusive because the Islamic community in Canada, like Islamic communities all over the West, is in total denial about the phenomenon of honor killing, and Western authorities are too ignorant and cowed by political correctness and multiculturalism to call those communities to account and demand that they do something to counter this phenomenon -- institute transparent, inspectable programs teaching against the attitudes and assumptions that lead to these killings would be a start, but no one is even asking for that.

An update on this story. "Ottawa man guilty of 'honour killings': Jury convicts man for murders of sister and her fiance," by Terri Saunders for The Ottawa Sun, May 31 (thanks to Sounder):

OTTAWA - A man who killed his sister and her fiance because they brought dishonour on his family was sentenced to life in prison yesterday with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Hasibullah Sadiqi, 23, said nothing after a jury of seven men and five women found him guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in the Sept. 19, 2006 gun slayings of his sister, Khatera Sadiqi, 20, and her fiance, Feroz Mangal, 23. The couple were shot to death while they sat in Khatera's car in the Elmvale Mall parking lot just before 1 a.m.

"Your crimes have shocked and bewildered the people of almost every community in the nation's capital," said Ontario Superior Court Justice Douglas Rutherford, who sentenced Sadiqi immediately following the verdict. "The forfeiture of your liberty for the rest of your life only seems just."

Members of Mangal's family, including three of his brothers, wept in the courtroom when the verdict was confirmed by Rutherford. Hameed Mangal told the court his family's lives have not been the same since the killings....

Over the course of the month-long trial, the jury heard from witnesses that Hasibullah Sadiqi was angered by the fact his sister had decided to get engaged to Mangal without seeking the permission of her father, from who she was estranged. Khatera had also begun living with Mangal and his family, another decision which witnesses said upset Hasibullah.

On the evening of Sept. 18, 2006, the couple went for dinner and to a movie with a group of friends that included Hasibullah. Khatera and Mangal drove Hasibullah to where his car was parked near the mall at the end of the evening. Before they could drive away, Hasibullah walked to his car, pulled a loaded Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum handgun from underneath the seat, walked back to Khatera's car and shot the couple at close range. Khatera died at the scene; Mangal was taken to hospital but died 10 days later when he was removed from life support.

In a victim impact statement read to the court by assistant Crown attorney Mark Moors, Khatera's mother, Nasima Fayaz wrote about how there remain unanswered questions despite the conclusion of the trial.

"The most compelling question, though, and always the most elusive, is why?" Fayaz wrote. "In this instance, why were two clean-living, law-abiding young people so shockingly removed from this world? Can anyone convincingly answer this question?"

'TWISTED' VALUES

At the start of the trial, Moors told the jury the shootings were planned and deliberate -- an "honour killing" designed to restore honour to the Sadiqi family through the spilling of Khatera's blood. Hasibullah considered Khatera's actions to be contrary to the family's Afghan heritage, Moors said....

"And prosecutors contend in the affidavit the [terrorist] efforts [targeting Washington and Georgia] were conducted "in purported defense of Muslims or retaliation for acts committed against Muslims in the United States and in foreign nations." Looks like prosecutors will be relying on the ol' "grievances-breed-terrorism" canard.

An update on this story. "Trial looms for suspect in alleged jihad plot," by Greg Bluestein for AP, May 31:

ATLANTA (AP) — Armed with a handheld video camera, a Georgia university student drove with a friend in April 2005 to Washington, D.C., and captured scenes of the Capitol, the Pentagon and other locations.

Investigators say Syed Haris Ahmed, now 24, wasn't a tourist but a wannabe terrorist who wanted to send the videos of potential terror targets to an overseas contact. He was attending the Georgia Institute of Technology at the time.

The charges, along with an allegation that Ahmed went to Pakistan and tried to join a terrorism group a few months later, are central to a federal terrorism case against him that is set to begin Monday.

His attorney, Jack Martin, contends the federal charges are little more than "imprudent talk" and that investigators have no evidence that Ahmed, who was born in Pakistan, has committed any terrorist act.

U.S. Attorney David Nahmias, however, considers it one of his most important cases since he took charge of the office in 2004 and contends Ahmed was at the center of a plot to carry out "violent jihad" against civilian and government targets in Washington and Georgia.

Ahmed and his friend Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, both U.S. citizens who grew up in the Atlanta area, have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Sadequee's trial is scheduled to begin in August.

Federal authorities said they began to build the case after the pair hopped a bus to Toronto in March 2005 and met with at least three other targets of an FBI investigation. Authorities say they brainstormed strikes against targets that ranged from military bases to oil refineries and included a plot to disrupt the Global Positioning System satellite network.

A few months later, authorities say they drove Ahmed's pickup truck to Washington where they made the "casing" videos of the Capitol, the World Bank, a Masonic temple and a fuel depot. And they were accused of discussing an attack against Dobbins Air Reserve Base in suburban Atlanta.

Authorities also said they have evidence of more than just talk.

The two were accused of receiving "rudimentary paramilitary training" in northern Georgia in late 2004 and early 2005. And officials said Ahmed traveled to Pakistan in July 2005 to seek out Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, a Pakistan-based group linked with attacks in the disputed state of Kashmir.

Nahmias has said there is no evidence the two posed an immediate threat to the United States, but stressed that their path could eventually have led to violence.

And prosecutors contend in the affidavit the efforts were conducted "in purported defense of Muslims or retaliation for acts committed against Muslims in the United States and in foreign nations."

In court papers, Martin has accused investigators of preying on Ahmed's devotion to Islam to coax a confession and then reneging on a promise not to arrest him if he told the truth.

Martin also has cast doubt on whether prosecutors have enough evidence for a conviction. While the indictment discusses meetings, conversations and training exercises, nowhere does it say the two men obtained or tried to obtain weapons or explosives to commit terrorism.

"The case is more about talk," Martin said after a hearing.

The trial is expected to last about a week, and at the end, the federal judge will likely hear directly from Ahmed. The suspect waived his right to a jury trial this month specifically because he wants to make a public statement.

"I consider the opportunity to give the statement more important than anything to me right now," he said at a recent hearing.

Part 3 of the YouTube version of "Islam and the West: Clash of Civilizations?" (Part 1; Part 2)

About Obama's upcoming Cairo speech, one Afghani lawmaker says "One speech will not work, but it's good for a start. When you pay homage to others and respect them, you enliven their spirit." In short, the world's Muslims are waiting to see if Obama's "symbolic" prostrations will morph into real prostrations, unwarranted concessions.

"ANALYSIS - Muslims want more than fine talk from Obama," by Alistair Lyon for Reuters, May 31:

BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama has awoken hope for redress of grievances in the hearts of some of the more than a billion Muslims scattered in diverse communities across the globe.

To win their minds, sceptical after a "war on terror" waged by his predecessor George W. Bush that many saw as an assault on Islam, Obama must follow his speech to the Muslim world this week with evidence of real change in U.S. policy and outlook.

That, at least, is a common thread stressed by politicians and analysts from Muslim-majority countries -- as is the urgency of U.S. action to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

From Kuala Lumpur to Kabul, from Ramallah to Riyadh, the messages for Obama throb with that central concern, along with a yearning for a break from the divisive, militaristic, pro-Israel stance many Muslims associate with the eight-year Bush era.

"It's not too late to repair relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world," said Tifatul Sembiring, president of an Islamist party in Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population. "But Obama has to give us some proof that there will not be another opportunistic war, such as happened in Iraq."

Sembiring, who leads the PKS (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera or Prosperous Justice Party), homed in on the Palestinian issue.

"Are they (the Americans) serious about creating a real solution for Palestine? We are waiting for justice on this."

Obama's best chance to win over Muslims and Arabs was to use Washington's leverage on its Israeli ally, said Saudi political analyst Turad al-Amri. "By pressuring Israel, Obama will win in more than one area -- in terrorism, the Iran file, Lebanon."

The U.S. president has said Israel must halt all settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, a demand that sets him on a collision course with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

DEEDS NOT WORDS

For PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat, Obama's task was to ensure creation of a Palestinian state. "People of this region don't want to hear words any more. They want to see deeds," he said.

In Kabul, Afghan lawmaker Sabrina Saqib said Obama's roots, as a black American with a Muslim father, meant he understood deprivation and would work to settle the Palestinian issue.

"One speech will not work, but it's good for a start," she said of Obama's planned address on Thursday. "When you pay homage to others and respect them, you enliven their spirit."...

Read it all for more Muslim expectations.

Supported by (no surprise) "leftists." More on this story. "Muslims in fresh Athens demo over alleged Koran insult," from AFP, May 30:

ATHENS (AFP) — More than 1,000 Muslim migrants and leftists demonstrated in Athens Friday over an alleged police insult to the Koran, a week after two similar protests degenerated into clashes with anti-riot police.

The protest was called by leftist and anti-racist groups after a police officer allegedly tore up some sheets of paper with extracts from the Muslim holy book belonging to an Iraqi migrant during an identity check last week.

"We want this officer put on trial, and we ask the government to protect our prayer sites in Athens," said Zuri, a Moroccan protester.

"But we intend to set a good example and refrain from violence, Islam is a religion of peace," he said.

Scores of police on foot and on motorbikes were mobilised to maintain order and keep the migrants who marched on parliament from coming into contact with a few dozen neo-Nazi militants staging a street gathering a few blocks away.

The far-right group was commemorating the fall of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

Greece's main Muslim and migrant organisations distanced themselves from the migrant demonstration, preferring to take judicial action instead.

"Our problems can be solved by dialogue, not demonstrations," said Ahmet Moavia, head of the Greek Migrants' Forum.

"The real agenda is migrants' rights in Greece which include issues of religion," he told AFP...

There is no Muslim outrage about this book yet, but the fear of it is palpable enough for the Sunday Times to write an article about it. And if that outrage does indeed materialize, this will be yet another case, as here and here and here, of Muslims becoming outraged over accurate representations of Islamic texts and teachings. "Fears of Muslim anger over religious book," by Christine Toomey in The Sunday Times, May 31 (thanks to Twostellas):

An academic book about religious attitudes to women is to be published this week despite concerns it could cause a backlash among Muslims because it criticises the prophet Muhammad for taking a nine-year-old girl as his third wife.

Why is there no Muslim backlash against the Bukhari hadith collection (the collection of Islamic tradition that Muslims consider most reliable), which reports the same thing in no less than five places? Find it at 5.58.234; 5.58.236; 7.62.64; 7.62.65; and 7.62.88.

The book, entitled Does God Hate Women?, suggests that Muhammad's marriage to a child called Aisha is "not entirely compatible with the idea that he had the best interests of women at heart".

Not entirely, indeed. And the response Muslim women deserve is not outrage at the book, but reform where child marriage is rampant, and reform of other elements of Islam that oppress women. But nothing seems much less likely.

It also says that Cherie Blair, wife of the former prime minister, was "incorrect" when she defended Islam in a lecture by claiming "it is not laid down in the Koran that women can be beaten by their husbands and their evidence should be devalued as it is in some Islamic courts"....

Indeed, she was wrong. Wife-beating is in Qur'an 4:34 and the devaluing of testimony is in Qur'an 2:282. So now there will be a "backlash" because truth rather than falsehood is revealed?

Continuum's book may cause a backlash because it sets out to be a factual examination of religious attitudes to women. British writer Jeremy Stangroom and his American co-author Ophelia Benson, whose previous books on philosophy and science have received favourable reviews, cite ancient Islamic scholars to support their case. They roundly attack previous attempts to "soft-soap" the controversial episode in Muhammad's life. In the aftermath of 9/11, the authors argue, a wave of political correctness aimed at building bridges with the Muslim world has meant accusations of "Islamophobia" have been used to silence debate about the morality of social conduct, past and present....

Quite so. Read it all.

"We're disappointed. All of the understandings reached during the [George W.] Bush administration are worth nothing."

"Israel to U.S.: 'Stop favoring Palestinians,'" by Barak Ravid for Haaretz, May 31 (thanks to Mackie):

Tensions between Washington and Jerusalem are growing after the U.S. administration's demand that Israel completely freeze construction in all West Bank settlements. Israeli political officials expressed disappointment after Tuesday's round of meetings in London with George Mitchell, U.S. President Barack Obama's envoy to the Middle East.

"We're disappointed," said one senior official. "All of the understandings reached during the [George W.] Bush administration are worth nothing." Another official said the U.S. administration is refusing every Israeli attempt to reach new agreements on settlement construction. "The United States is taking a line of granting concessions to the Palestinians that is not fair toward Israel," he said.

The Israeli officials attributed the unyielding U.S. stance to the speech Obama will make in Cairo this Thursday, in which he is expected to deliver a message of reconciliation to the Arab and Muslim worlds....

Herzog spoke to Mitchell and his staff about understandings reached by former prime ministers Ehud Olmert and Ariel Sharon with the Bush administration on allowing continued building in the large West Bank settlement blocs. He asked that a similar agreement be reached with the Obama government....

Good luck with that.

Because it attacks "innocents" -- in this case, fellow Muslims. No word from Geelani on the propriety of attacking Infidels. "Syed Ali Geelani denounces ‘Taliban in Pakistan,’" from Dawn, May 30 (thanks to all who sent this in):

SRINAGAR: ‘Acts of terrorism’ by Taliban extremists in Pakistan are un-Islamic, a politician campaigning for Kashmir's independence from India said Saturday.

Referring to Thursday's spate of bomb attacks in Pakistan's northwestern cities, in which 15 people were killed, Syed Ali Geelani told reporters that, ‘such attacks are forbidden in Islam as innocents are killed.’

‘Islam is a religion of peace and such attacks defame the religion,’ said the 79-year-old Geelani, who supports a two-decade insurgency against India's rule over half of Kashmir.

Geelani, who heads a faction in the region's main separatist alliance, the Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, called on the Taliban to lay down their arms and hold peace talks with Pakistan's government.

‘Taliban leadership needs to give up violence and adopt peaceful means to get their demands addressed,’ Geelani said, warning that killings of ‘innocent people cannot be tolerated.’...

Part 2 of the YouTube version of "Islam and the West: Clash of Civilizations?" (Part 1 here; thanks to Ran-for-Sanity).

An imam was involved. Why didn't he instruct the plotters about the true, peaceful Islam? "Taliban target Britain on 'orders' from al-Qaeda," by Duncan Gardham for the Telegraph, May 29 :

A Taliban-trained terrorist was part of a cell sent to bomb Britain as revenge for their presence in Afghanistan, it has emerged.

The terrorist informant has told prosecutors he was trained by Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistan Taliban, and was planning a series of suicide attacks with 11 other men.

The informant, known as "Ahmed", told investigators the bombers were to work in pairs using a "device carried in a backpack with a third person to detonate a remote control" in order to ensure the bombers went through with their mission....

It is claimed the attacks were to begin on the Barcelona underground system and then spread to the other European countries with a presence in Afghanistan, thought to include Britain, according to new documents.

The information echoed claims made by British security services that a terrorist cell was sent to Manchester from the Taliban heartland in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas.

British investigators believe that the cell, which was allegedly planning attacks on the Trafford and Arndale shopping centres over the Easter holidays, had connections with al-Qaeda, and Spanish prosecutors say their cell may also have had links with al-Qaeda....

The 10 men arrested in the north west are fighting deportation on national security grounds after Government lawyers accused them of being members of a "UK-based network linked to al-Qaeda involved in attack planning".

Spanish police found chemicals including nitrocellulose and potassium perchlorate along with batteries, timers and cables in the raids.

They also found "materials for indoctrination" relating to attacks against Nato forces in Afghanistan and books and DVDs.

Spanish prosecutors submitted documents laying out their case earlier this month and Dolores Delgado Garcia, a prosecutor at Spain's National Court, told the Daily Telegraph she believed the Barcelona cell was inspired by speeches by Osama bin Laden about the "loss of Andalucia" once part of the Muslim Ottoman empire.

"Al-Qaeda has been targeting Spain because of its historic associations with Andalucia," she said. "But other cities in Europe where countries have troops in Afghanistan were also targets."...

They have named Maroof Ahmed Mirza, 40, an imam at a mosque in Raval, as the leader of the cell along with Elia Mohammad Ayud Bibi, 64, while three others, Afees Ahmed, Qadeer Malik and Iqbal Sabih, were allegedly the bomb-makers.

The suicide bombers are said to have included Mohammed Shoaib, Mehmooh Khalid, Imran Cheema and ur-Rehman Aqeel Khalid.

Their other targets are said to have included Germany, France and Portugal.

See a pattern?

Feigning outrage and claiming discrimination -- it's a very effective tactic to deflect criticism and scrutiny.

"Florida Case Angers Muslim Groups," by Joel Millman for the Wall Street Journal, May 30 (thanks to Twostellas):

A federal immigration judge denied bail Friday to a 23-year-old engineering student from Tampa who has been charged by the U.S. government for engaging in terrorism.

The defendant, Youssef Megahed, has already been acquitted by a federal jury of related charges. But now, he faces essentially the same charges again in an immigration court, where if he is found guilty he faces deportation back to his native Egypt.

The case has inflamed Muslim immigrant groups, and has become a cause célèbre in Egypt, where President Barack Obama makes a much anticipated trip next week. The issue: Whether an immigrant defendant who is acquitted in one U.S. court can be detained and then retried in an immigration court, without invoking protection against double jeopardy, which forbids prosecutors from trying defendants more than once on the same evidence.

The undergraduate from the University of South Florida was arrested in 2007 in South Carolina with a companion, another USF student from Egypt named Ahmed Mohamed, driving a car that allegedly had explosives in the trunk. Mr. Megahed's companion explained the lengths of PVC pipe and chemical compounds were simply home-made fireworks that Mr. Mohamed planned to detonate for fun during a vacation. Mr. Mohamed later agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of providing material support to terrorism -- and submit to a 15-year sentence -- while six charges of transporting explosives were dropped.

Mr. Megahed decided to fight those charges in court and was acquitted April 3 on four criminal counts stemming from the arrest. He had already served nine months in jail before making bail prior to the opening of his trial in March in Tampa.

But three days after the acquittal, Mr. Megahed was arrested a second time by federal agents at a local Wal-Mart store where he was shopping with his father. Mr. Megahed was charged under the Immigration and Naturalization Act as someone a U.S. official "knows, or has reason to believe, is engaged in or is likely to engage" in terrorist activity. He was also designated for deportation to Egypt, the country he emigrated from in 1998, when he was 12 years old....

More on this story. "Police training program upsets Seattle Muslims," from Associated Press, May 30 (thanks again to Twostellas):

A Seattle police training program has upset some Muslims because it comes from a Jewish group they accuse of spreading fear about Islam.

The racial awareness program, "Perspectives on Profiling," was produced by the Simon Wiesenthal Center of Los Angeles. It's known for Holocaust education work and tracking down Nazi war criminals.

Muslim critics are unhappy about films on Islamic extremism the Wiesenthal Center has distributed.

Arsalan Bukhari, president of the Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says the group "has an anti-Muslim agenda."...

Nothing, of course, about CAIR's unindicted co-conspirator status, etc.

Right now they're talking about restricting free speech in connection with dissent from the stimulus bill. Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform (of all things), writes this: "Update on Recovery Act Lobbying Rules: New Limits on Special Interest Influence," from the Whitehouse.gov Blog, May 29 (thanks to James):

Following OMB’s review, the Administration has decided to make a number of changes to the rules that we think make them even tougher on special interests and more focused on merits-based decision making.

First, we will expand the restriction on oral communications to cover all persons, not just federally registered lobbyists. For the first time, we will reach contacts not only by registered lobbyists but also by unregistered ones, as well as anyone else exerting influence on the process. We concluded this was necessary under the unique circumstances of the stimulus program.

Second, we will focus the restriction on oral communications to target the scenario where concerns about merit-based decision-making are greatest –after competitive grant applications are submitted and before awards are made. Once such applications are on file, the competition should be strictly on the merits. To that end, comments (unless initiated by an agency official) must be in writing and will be posted on the Internet for every American to see.

Third, we will continue to require immediate internet disclosure of all other communications with registered lobbyists. If registered lobbyists have conversations or meetings before an application is filed, a form must be completed and posted to each agency’s website documenting the contact.

OMB will be consulting with agencies, outside experts and others about these principles and will publish detailed guidance, but we wanted to update interested parties on the outcome of the initial review. We consulted very broadly both within and outside of government (including as reflected in previous posts on the White House blog) and we are grateful to all those who participated in the process.

In "White House moves to restrict criticism of stimulus projects" at the Washington Examiner, May 30 (thanks again to James), Mark Tapscott explains the implications:

This is the Camel's nose under the tent, being poked because of special circumstances. Let government restrict political expression - i.e. lobbying of government officials regarding policy - in one small, supposedly specialized area and not long after the specialized area starts expanding. Eventually, all political expression regarding all policy will become subject to government regulation.

More on this as it develops. And trust me, it will develop.

With the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) making an all-out international effort to restrict free speech about Islam, including speech designed to alert non-Muslims to the motives and goals of the global jihad movement, and Obama making conciliatory gestures toward the OIC, it is not at all difficult to look down the path and see the day coming when it will Sharia provisions restricting speech about Islam will be in place in the United States of America, and it will be illegal to speak about the Islamic supremacist agenda.

Most, of course, will dismiss such concerns the way they always dismiss them: with a wave of the hand and an invocation of the First Amendment -- as if the First Amendment were some kind of inviolate shield that cannot itself ever in any way be impeached or impugned. Would that it were so. But the Obama Administration is already showing how little it cares for free speech and open dissent. And with an Obama-compliant Supreme Court judging cases that challenge their actions and interpreting the First Amendment for us, what's to stop the Administration from playing ball with the OIC and building wonderful new bridges with the Islamic world in this way?

Even though "the sheriff's office was complying with workplace health laws governing face masks authorized for use in jail emergencies." More Muslim attempts for special accommodation in non-Muslim lands -- while non-Muslims can forget about mere equality in Islamic lands. "Muslim fired by sheriff's office files suit," by Gary Grado for the East Valley Tribune, May 29:

A Muslim man has filed a religious discrimination suit against Maricopa County and Sheriff Joe Arpaio alleging he was fired from his job as a jail detention officer over a fight to wear a beard.

Sinan Fazlovic alleges in the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix that when he was hired the sheriff's office had no problem with his beard, which he wore in accordance with religious tenets.

It became a problem when he met personally with Arpaio while he was in the training academy in 2005.

Fazlovic's superiors made him shave the beard under orders from Arpaio and then later upheld the decision by saying he would need to be clean shaven for a self-contained breathing apparatus to fit snugly on his face, the suit alleges.

Detention officers sometimes have to wear the devices in emergency situations.

Chief of Custody Gerard Sheridan said the sheriff's office was complying with workplace health laws governing face masks authorized for use in jail emergencies.

"The sheriff's office is committed to providing a safe environment for employees and inmates," Sheridan said.

The sheriff's office then created a new policy forbidding facial hair.

Fazlovic alleges he sought a special accommodation for which he was denied and told he would need to change jobs in order to wear a beard.

He grew his beard anyway and over the next year he sought other jobs in the sheriff's office. He sought to keep the same pay as a detention officer to no avail and he filed grievances, the suit claims.

He was fired July 27.

As the list below shows, the slaves were variously beat, terrorized, blinded, raped, and so forth. But there is one thing they all experienced: they were all forced to convert to Islam (i.e., "Islamized"), revealing their tormentors' priorities.

"232 Sudanese Slaves Liberated," from Christian Solidarity International, May 29:

CSI Urges President Obama to Help Stamp out Slavery in Sudan

WASHINGTON, May 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Christian Solidarity International (CSI) issued a report on the liberation of 232 Sudanese earlier this month. The slaves - Christian and traditionalist members of the Dinka tribe - were liberated, with CSI's support, from Arab masters in Darfur and neighboring Kordofan. The released captives were then repatriated to their homeland in Southern Sudan by Arab retrievers working in association with local Arab-Dinka Peace Committees. The enslavement of these Black non-Muslim Sudanese took place during jihad raids undertaken by Arab militias backed by Sudan's Islamist government during the late North-South civil war (1983-2005).

Interviews with all 232 slaves conducted by CSI representatives reveal a clear pattern of physical and psychological abuse. The liberated slaves reported having been subjected to beatings, death threats, rape, female genital mutilation, forced conversion to Islam, racial and religious insults and work without pay. Some slaves reported witnessing the execution of fellow captives.

Among the interviewed slaves were:

Achan Mawien Guat - pregnant 17 year-old: Enslaved, Raped, Circumcised, and Islamized.

Peter Akot Dut Hol - 19 year-old Christian: Enslaved, Islamized, Father Murdered, Mutilated and Terrorized.

Majok Kon Maliith - 17 year-old: Enslaved, Islamized, Terrorized, Beaten, and Blinded in one Eye.

Mary Atak Geng Baak - 18 year-old Christian: Enslaved, Islamized, Sexually Abused, Terrorized, and Economically Exploited.[...]

Slavery persists in Sudan, despite the signing in January 2005 of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Islamist Government of Sudan (GOS) and the secular, Southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLM). The Agreement failed to include a mechanism for overseeing the liberation of slaves and their safe repatriation...

Raymond just posted the story about the Saudis crucifying a young man. The Reuters story says: "Saudi Arabia says it is implementing Islamic sharia law to the letter..."

Indeed. The Qur'an recommends crucifixion as a punishment for those who "spread corruption in the land":

"The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom." -- Qur'an 5:33

"Saudi Arabia says it is implementing Islamic sharia law to the letter and that sharia ensures full rights for Muslims and non-Muslims." "Saudi Arabia puts executed on display as deterrent," from Reuters, May 29:

RIYADH, May 29 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia executed a man for double murder on Friday and displayed his body in public as a deterrent, state media said.

The body of the man, beheaded by sword, was put on a cross in the Saudi capital Riyadh, state news agency SPA said, quoting the interior ministry.

Rights activists said authorities only rarely use this form of deterrent in a bid to stop crimes spreading.

Ahmad Adhib bin Askar al-Shamalani al-Anzi had been convicted of killing a man and his 11-year old son in a shop in Riyadh, SPA said.

Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally, usually carries out executions by public beheading for murder, rape, drug smuggling and, increasingly, armed robbery.

Saudi Arabia says it is implementing Islamic sharia law to the letter and that sharia ensures full rights for Muslims and non-Muslims, who must abide by the laws of the desert country....

“'This wasn’t collateral damage. It was human sacrifice by the Taliban. Deliberate civilian murder.'... If not enough women and children were killed, the Taliban made plans to use grenades to ensure an international outcry over civilian deaths."

"B-1 Video Shows Taliban ‘Human Sacrifice,’ Military Claims," by Noah Shachtman for Danger Room, May 29:

Earlier this month, a series of American airstrikes on a village in western Afghanistan killed dozens and dozens of people — including at least 25 civilians. Now, U.S. forces are weighing the release of a classified video, taken from a B-1 bomber involved in the battle. The military is convinced that the footage will justify American troops’ actions during the firefight — and show that the Taliban committed “human sacrifice” in the village of Garani. Human rights groups say the video may only reinforce just how questionable those airstrikes really were.

“There is indeed video from a B-1 bomber,” U.S. Central Command chief Gen. David Petraeus tells National Public Radio. “What it will prove is that the targets of these different strikes were the Taliban.”

[...]

A B-1 bomber, flying far overhead, dropped four one-ton munitions onto a pair of large mud-brick compounds. Villagers say more than 160 civilians, mainly women and children, had taken shelter inside the buildings, which were near a mosque and residential compounds. According to the military, observation from forces on the ground and the video from the B-1’s weapons sight show that the buildings were on the outskirts of the village, and packed with Taliban. The video shows two groups of fully-grown adults going inside the compounds. Radio traffic confirmed the the insurgents’ presence. Additional footage shows women and children streaming into other buildings that were not bombed, the military says.

The U.S. also claims it has intelligence showing that the “Taliban’s deliberate planning to create a civilian casualty disaster for us,” Lt. Commander Christine Sidenstricker, a spokesperson for U.S. Forces Afghanistan, tells Danger Room. The militants planned to draw U.S. fire onto buildings crammed with innocents, she says. If not enough women and children were killed, the Taliban made plans to use grenades to ensure an international outcry over civilian deaths. American intelligence also shows Taliban fighters congratulating themselves on forcing survivors to lie to doctors — and on taking American compensation money meant for the victim’s families, Sidenstricker adds. “This wasn’t collateral damage. It was human sacrifice by the Taliban. Deliberate civilian murder.”...

Many Western analysts, even at the highest levels, seem to think that if a country is holding more or less free elections, then it attained "freedom," and that that in itself will be, in very large part if not in full, an effective antidote to the problem of "terrorism." Yet in Iraq, Shi'ites in particular used the electoral process to advance their agenda of establishing a Shi'ite state in Iraq, and now Hizballah acknowledges that they, too, regard elections as a useful tool in their jihad. The next time someone tells you that Hizballah is moderating, and that its participation in the electoral process is an indication of that, remember this one.

"Hizbullah Official: Elections Part of Jihad Battle," from Israel National News, May 28 (thanks to all who sent this in):

(IsraelNN.com) Lebanon's June 7 parliamentary elections are part of "part of our jihadist and political battle in Lebanon" and an opportunity for obtaining support for the line of the resistance, said Hizbullah political council chairman Ibrahim Amin Al-Sayyid. His comments were translated by MEMRI from an Iranian News Agency report....

A "reconciliation" coerced by arrest: You've got to hand it to the proponents of Sharia and its subjugation of women and non-believers: They can outdo Orwell himself. An update on this story. "Egypt: Two Copts rearrested in Abu Fana murder," from Compass Direct News, May 29:

ISTANBUL, May 29 (Compass Direct News) – Police this month released two Copts wrongfully arrested for killing a Muslim during an attack on Abu Fana monastery in Egypt in May 2008, but then re-arrested them as part of an intimidation campaign against Christians, their lawyer said.

More worrisome to the Christians in custody is that their fate most likely will be decided outside of the justice system, in “reconciliation meetings.” The state prosecutor investigating the case has not announced the results of his findings on the true identity of the murderer, as he is awaiting the outcome of the out-of-court talks between Copts and local Muslims.

Brothers Refaat and Ibrahim Fawzy Abdo have been incarcerated for a year. On May 3 the two brothers were released on bail, but the Minya State Security Services issued a new detention order and had them arrested on May 20 for “security reasons.” Egyptian security forces can incarcerate people without reason according to provisions in criminal law.

A criminal court in Cairo ordered the release of the Fawzy Abdo brothers twice, but each time the interior ministry issued another arrest order. Advocacy groups say the interior ministry is working with local police and the investigating officer to keep them detained, force a confession and make the Copts look guilty in the Abu Fana attack.

“Police arrested them for reasons of ‘security concerns’ in spite of no evidence,” said Ibrahim Habib, chairman of United Copts of Great Britain. “They are comforting Islamists by scapegoating Christians.”

The two men worked as building contractors on the walls of Abu Fana monastery in Upper Egypt when nearly 60 armed Muslim residents attacked it in May 2008. The attack left one Muslim dead and four Christians injured, and two of three monks briefly kidnapped were tortured.

Five days after the attacks, security forces arrested the Fawzy Abdo brothers, charging them with murder. In November they were sent to El Wadi El Gadid Detention Camp near the Egypt-Sudan border and tortured as authorities tried to extract a false confession of murder, their lawyer said.

Minya Gov. Ahmed Dia el-Din claimed the Muslim murdered at Abu Fana was killed by one of the brothers from 80 meters away. But the Coptic brothers’ lawyer, Zachary Kamal, told Compass that an autopsy showed a bullet fired from a short distance.

The two men have faced extreme conditions in prison such as solitary confinement and broken teeth from beatings, and they have not been allowed to see their families, who are undergoing extreme hardship. Refaat Fawzy Abdo has six children and Ibrahim Fawzy Abdo has seven; both Christians are the breadwinners of their households.

Reconciliation Instead of Justice?

Reconciliation meetings with area Muslims continue with the participation of Coptic businessmen, the diocese of Mallawi, a member of Parliament and attorney Kamal, all under the auspices of the police.

Such meetings are somewhat customary in Egypt, in which different parties come together to settle legal matters out of court. They carry a social purpose of restoring faith and communal harmony in the face of sectarian tensions.

Kamal said he was not opposed to a reconciliation meeting instead of normal judicial channels, but that terms of the discussion were unacceptable. Authorities want the brothers to admit to the murder of the Muslim and the Copts to pay compensation to the victim’s family.

“They want the Copts to accept guilt, but that means they will carry the blood of the victim the rest of their lives,” Kamal said.

Other Copts worry that the meetings are a substitute for administrative justice, and that police are using the brothers as a bargaining tool to force Abu Fana’s monks to drop charges against local Muslims and call off the investigation of the attack...

And Islamic clerics stormed the courtroom to demand a guilty verdict, in an update on this story (scroll down to the second half of the article). "Pakistan: Islamic radicals storm 'blasphemy' hearing," from Compass Direct News, May 29:

ISTANBUL, May 29 (Compass Direct News) – Radical Pakistani Muslims in a town outside of Lahore this month overran a courtroom in hopes of swaying a judge in a “blasphemy” case against a Christian couple, and a member of the prosecution later threatened to kill the wife.

Some 50 molvis (Muslim clergy) on May 14 burst into the courtroom in Mustafabad, where a bail hearing was taking place in the case against Munir Masih and his wife Ruqiya Bibi, according to the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS).

“Nobody could stop them as they rushed into the court,” said CLAAS’s Tahir Gull, sole representative for the accused. “They said, ‘No non-Muslim has the right to keep a Quran in his house, they have done this so they are liable to be punished.’”

Masih and Bibi, both in their 30s, were originally accused under section 295-B of Pakistan’s penal code with defiling the Quran by touching it with unwashed hands on Dec. 8 of last year. Masih was taken to prison and remained there until Jan. 22, when a Muslim neighbor who had asked him to store some of his possessions, including his Quran, testified on his behalf and the case was dropped.

The complainant, Mohammad Nawaz, subsequently filed another accusation on Feb. 12, this time under 295-C, blasphemy against Muhammad, Islam’s prophet. This charge carries a death sentence, whereas defiling the Quran calls for life imprisonment.

Despite pressure from the crowd of clerics, Judge Shafqat Ali – also a molvi – granted the couple bail. Following the hearing, however, a member of the prosecution team approached Bibi outside the courtroom and threatened to kill her.

“Ruqiya was waiting outside the court,” said Gull, “and one man came and said, ‘Whatever the decision, we will kill you.’”

A prosecution lawyer read portions of the Quran while presenting his case, he added.

“He was not explaining the law in which the accused were charged,” said Gull. “He was trying to influence the court religiously.”

Charges of blasphemy are common in Pakistan and particularly incendiary, often leading to strong shows of religious zeal. It is not uncommon for sections 295-B and 295-C of the Pakistani penal code to be invoked in retaliation for personal grievances.

“It is very easy to grab any person for religious reasons,” said Parvez Choudhry, chairman of Legal Aid for the Destitute and Settlement, who specialize in blasphemy cases. “There are many personal cases involving property, or money, or business that motivate the complainant against the accused person. All the cases are falsely charged.”...

Building on S&P's new Sharia-compliant index. "Sharia ETF poised for launch," from the Globe and Mail, May 29:

Islamic financial services company UM Financial Inc. has teamed up with Jovian Capital Corp. (JOV-T 7.500.456.38%) in a bid to list Canada's first sharia-compliant exchange-traded fund (ETF).

On Wednesday, Standard & Poor's launched the S&P/TSX 60 Shariah Index. In compliance with Islamic law, the index avoids firms involved in financial services, alcohol, gambling and pork products.

As if there existed a compartmentalized Sharia that excludes the many nastier aspects of the system (beheadings, amputations, inequality of men and women, believers and unbelievers before the law), which, we're endlessly assured, are just "cultural."

The proposed product from UM and Jovian would be based on the S&P/TSX 60 Shariah Index so the two firms are in discussions with Standard & Poor's to get a licence for the new index to start the Islamic ETF later this year. Eventually, "the goal is to launch a family of ETFs," UM chief executive officer Omar Kalair said yesterday.

The sharia ETF would target Canada's Muslim population (which numbers about one million), as well as foreign investors, Mr. Kalair said in an interview.

Jovian's BetaPro Management unit is a provider of leveraged and other ETFs, while its AphaPro Management unit has actively managed ETFs. "Any product launched would come from BetaPro," Mr. Kalair said.

In recent years, sharia-compliant ETFs have popped up in various countries including Britain, India, Singapore, Dubai, Malaysia and South Africa. In March, a sharia gold ETF was launched in Dubai.

Barclays Canada, which administers the iShares ETFs and is the largest ETF provider in the country, "has no plans to go down this route," said Oliver McMahon, its director of product development. "It's not in our existing product pipeline."

Jasmit Bhandal, a spokeswoman for Standard & Poor's in Canada, said there have been talks with ETF, mutual fund and structured products providers for use of the S&P/TSX 60 Shariah Index, but nothing is final. But a licence with an ETF provider is typically an exclusive one, she said.

A couple of sharia-compliant mutual funds are sold in Canada, but both have less than $2-million in assets.

A Toronto-based investment firm, frontierAlt Management Ltd., launched Canada's first sharia-compliant mutual fund, frontierAlt Oasis Canada, in 2007. The firm also later started sharia-compliant funds frontierAlt Oasis World and frontierAlt Global Income funds, but these were closed last fall because it was no longer cost effective to run them, said Taras Hucal, president of frontierAlt Management.

The two Oasis stock funds invested in firms in the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes. The income fund invested in sukuk, which is similar to conventional bonds, but pays out a share of revenue from a designated pool of assets or services rather than interest. Islamic principles prohibit receiving interest income.

Sharia Alert. As was the case the last time the jihadists took over, it hasn't taken long for them to move against music and, in general, fun, in their drive to impose "order."

"Somalia: Islamists in Kismayo Ban Filming In Weddings & Music," by Abdinasir Mohamed for Somaliland Press, May 29:

Mogadishu, 29 May 2009 (Somalilandpress) - The Islamic Administration in Kismayo, Lower Jubba [southern Somalia] has banned ways wedding celebrations are conducted in the town and have imposed various restrictions meant to align it with the teachings of Islam and change the way these celebrations are conducted.

Sheikh Abdirashid Ma’alin Ahmad alias Abu Yonis who is among officials of the Alshabaab militants Administration in Kismayo said there will be no music or dancing by men and women in weddings that are held in the town since it involves men and women who are not allowed to mingle and is against the teachings of Islam.

“Escorting of couples with a convoy of vehicles has also been banned as it creates unnecessary traffic jam in the town. We will not allow more than three cars which we will ensure that they are carrying the immediate relatives of the two couples. The Administration will not also be allow any filming of the wedding,” said Abu Yonis.

He warned that certain measures that are in line with the Islamic Shariah will be taken against those found to be violating these restrictions imposed by the Administration.

The restrictions imposed on the way weddings are conducted in the town banning dance, music and filming during the event has been received with mixed reactions by residents of the town.

Many bachelors in the town who were looking forward to get married have said that they are in favor of the restrictions as it will completely eliminate some of the expenses they would have incurred. Women in the town have received the news with dismay saying that it is too restricting and favors the men.

A few years ago I was an expert witness in a case against the Byron Union School District in California, where public school students had been made to memorize and recite prayers and portions of the Qur'an, and to make affirmations of Islamic faith in the course of answering test questions -- questions would be worded "True or False: Muhammad is the messenger of Allah," instead of "True or false: Muslims believe that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." But the parents who brought the suit lost the case; the court ruled that it was all just role play, a recognized pedagogical tool, and consequently was nothing to be concerned about.

The same controversy appears to be playing out in this case: was the teaching mandating prayer to Allah, or just leading students in a role-playing game? Officials here again say it was the latter, but some parents aren't so sure. And if it was just role play, why was the teacher fired?

"Teacher sacked after 'making pupils kneel and pray to Allah' during RE lesson," from the Daily Mail, May 29 (thanks to all who sent this in):

A teacher has been sacked after parents claimed that their children were forced to pray to Allah during a religious education lesson.

Alison Phillips was accused of giving two pupils detention after they refused to kneel down and 'pray to Allah' during the class.

However, an investigation by the school concluded that there was no truth in the allegation.

Parents were outraged after stories emerged that the two boys, aged 11, were allegedly punished for not wanting to take part in a practical demonstration of how Allah is worshipped.

They said children should not be forced to take part in the exercise, which included wearing Muslim headgear, was a breach of their human rights.

But governors at Alsager High School, near Stoke-on-Trent, denied Mrs Phillips made pupils pray or that two boys were put into detention for refusing to do so.

The school suspended the teacher last July after receiving complaints and a lengthy disciplinary process was carried out.

A statement released on behalf of the school by Cheshire East Council said: 'It can be confirmed that following a long and rigorous disciplinary process, a member of staff at Alsager School has been dismissed from her post.

'The member of staff was suspended in July 2008 following parental complaints and newspaper reports relating to an RE lesson.

'In reaching this decision, the governing body wish to make very clear that they were completely satisfied that at no point did that member of staff make children pray to Allah or put boys in detention for refusing to do so.

'The RE lesson in question contains an element of role play which complies with acceptable practice.'

At the time of the alleged incident, one parent - Sharon Luinen, said: 'This isn't right, it's taking things too far.

'Being asked to pray to Allah, who isn't who they worship, is wrong and what got me is that came away thinking they were being disrespectful.'

Another parent, Karen Williams, said: 'I am absolutely furious and I don't find it acceptable.

'I haven't got a problem with them teaching my child other religions and a small amount of information doesn't do any harm.

'But not only did they have to pray, the teacher had gone into the class and asked them watch a short film and then said "we are now going out to pray to Allah".'

The grandfather of one of the pupils in the class added: 'It's absolutely disgusting, there's no other way of putting it.'

Parents had claimed that their children were made to bend down on their knees on prayer mats which the teacher had got out of her cupboard.

This is good to see, and it is the sort of thing we should have been seeing much, much more of all over the Western world if the conventional wisdom about Islamic terrorism being the result of the hijacking of the religion by a Tiny Minority of Extremists™ really were true.

One of the moderates said: "We have been fighting these Muslim extremists for you. They represent nobody but themselves. The community decided to move them on because the police won't. We have asked them, but they did nothing." That reflects poorly on the UK police, and provides yet another example of official Britain's generally supine response to the domestic jihadist challenge.

And in line with the deeply ingrained nature of Islamic antisemitism, the worst insult the "extremists" can think of to throw at the "moderates" is "Get back to your synagogue" -- i.e., you're acting like Jews.

"Extremists behind anti-war protest driven off the streets by moderate Muslims," from the Daily Mail, May 29 (thanks to Jean):

Muslim extremists behind a protest against soldiers on a homecoming parade have been driven off the streets today by members of their own community.

Fights broke out and traffic ground to a halt when moderate Muslims confronted a group of about 12 men who regularly preach from a stall in Bury Park - the heart of Luton's Muslim community.

After Friday prayers, more than 200 members of local mosques turned on the group who sparked outrage in March when they disrupted a parade by the Royal Anglian Regiment through the town centre....

Angry words were exchanged and scuffles broke out between members of both groups, with the extremists shouting 'Shame on you' and 'Get back to your synagogue'.

One police officer and two community support officers struggled to hold them apart until more officers arrived.

Buses and cars were unable to move as the crowd spilled into the road.

Farasat Latif, of the Islamic Centre in Luton, which was firebombed after the protest against the soldiers, said moderate members of his community took action because police had failed to move the group on.

He said the extremists, who follow the militant group led by Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammed, had fuelled feelings against the Muslim community which led to a march last Sunday in Luton which was disrupted by white, right-wing extremists.

Mr Latif said: 'We have been fighting these Muslim extremists for you. They represent nobody but themselves.

'The community decided to move them on because the police won't. We have asked them, but they did nothing.

'I don't know if they will be back. We have been the victims twice over - from the stupidity of Muslim extremists who metaphorically pour petrol and fan the flames of the right wing extremists.

'This was a peaceful demonstration and we hope they get the message that the law-abiding community is sick and tired of them.'...

"The official said that the basis of the Obama White House's resolve is the conviction that it is in the United States' as well as Israel's interest to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

Does it not ever occur to anyone in the Obama White House that however much it might be in the interests of the United States and Israel to "end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," it may not be within the power of the United States or Israel to "end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict"? The Obama White House seems to be unshakably committed to the proposition that the Palestinians are just passive reactors to Israeli aggression, and that peace will come as soon as the Israelis decide to get on with it.

The Obama White House does not ever seem to consider the proposition that the Palestinians might fight on until they achieve the total destruction of Israel, and that the jihad doctrine of Islamic supremacism mandates that they pursue no other course.

Quotes from "Netanyahu: 'What the hell do they want from me?,'" from Foreign Policy, May 28.

This letter is far from perfect, and contains some highly questionable assertions and recommendations. Helping Pakistan in its war against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda? We have been doing that for years, and have only ended up helping the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, via double dealers in the Pakistani government. Calling on Obama to support a two-state solution in whatever form is to call upon him to support the destruction of Israel, and in any case he already favors the two-state solution -- and asking him to boast about America's disastrous jihad-enabling policies in the Balkans is just as bad. However, the letter does call the President to pursue a path that would be considerably more realistic and responsible than the one he has been pursuing and is likely to continue to pursue.

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

As you prepare to address the “Muslim world” on June 5th from Egypt, we ask that you remain mindful of the power of your words. You have the ability to inspire the countless individuals who wither under the control of repressive governments, encourage Middle Eastern governments to engage important issues, and remind the world of America’s commitment to protecting religious freedom for all people of faith, including Muslims.

The Middle East has historically been a place of religious pluralism and cultural diversity. However, groups espousing extremist ideologies based upon Wahabbism and Khomeinism have marginalized and repressed both non-Muslim and Muslim women, youth, reformists, pro-democracy advocates, human rights activists, as well as ethnic and religious minorities. Groups such as the Taliban and al Qaeda, whose ideology is intent on dividing humanity between Muslims and non-Muslims, have killed countless individuals, including Muslims, in an effort to overthrow Middle Eastern governments and weaken other non-Muslim governments.

Based on these facts, we urge you to call upon all governments to join the international community in declaring al Qaeda and the Taliban a threat to humanity, and urge them to fight these radical Islamists.

We also ask you to urge Middle Eastern governments to relentlessly lend their support to the marginalized, weak, and oppressed segments of their societies by recognizing the universal importance of basic human dignity.

In a recent opinion piece published in The Washington Post, Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu proclaimed that “repression cannot be rewarded; the voices of those it has silenced must be heard as if the walls of their jails did not exist.” It must be made clear that the United States will stand with all those that are oppressed around the world, from the Baha’is in Iran to the imprisoned blogger in Egypt.

Countless dissidents can attest that their lives improved when their plight was raised publicly by leaders in the West. The pressure put on the Egyptian government by Members of Congress and the Administration following the imprisonment of famed Egyptian dissident Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim helped lead to his eventual release in 2003, after almost three years in prison. We therefore ask you to raise the individual cases of dissidents that languish in the prisons, and others that face persecution, to assure them that they are not forgotten by the American people. We ask you to advocate for the region’s struggling religious minorities as is consistent with our own rich tradition of religious freedom.

We ask you to call upon the governments of the Middle East to commit to defend freedom and democracy in pluralistic Lebanon, and to call for a stop to political assassinations and a disbarment of militias within their borders. We urge you to ask the Arab League to help the mostly Muslim population of Darfur, which is subjected to a genocide at the hands of a regime whose president is under indictment by the International Criminal Court. We urge you to ask them to help Pakistan in its war against the Taliban, al Qaeda, and other terrorist organizations. We ask you to call on the Organization of Islamic Conference to abandon its goal of imposing so-called “Defamation of Religions” laws which will repress reformists and groups seeking democracy in Muslim and non-Muslim societies alike.

We urge you to ask the governments of the Middle East to commit to a just and lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict via a two states solution based on a mutual recognition between Israel and any Palestinian state-to-be. The starting point for this should not be Israeli concessions, but the recognition of Israel and its right to exist.

Please remind your audience that while the international community is committed to help Muslim minorities around the world, including those in India, Russia, China, and the West, at the same time we must ensure that all other minorities inside the "Muslim world" are granted their basic rights. We urge you to ask them to discuss the root causes of what they call “Islamophobia,” particularly the rise of radical Islamist ideologies, which have generated tensions and violence worldwide among Muslims and non-Muslims alike. We urge you to ask them to help Egypt fight the scourge of terrorism and stand by its own Coptic minority, often targeted by extremists’ violence. We urge you to ask them to speak out against radical Islamists all around the world and not condone their behavior with complacency.

We urge you to highlight the contributions of the American people to ameliorate suffering in Muslim communities around the world. For example, the United States military saved countless lives in the hours and days immediately following the tsunami that ravaged Indonesia. Similarly, our military forces were the first on the scene to deliver humanitarian relief and medical treatment to Pakistan in 2005 when that country was hit by a terrible earthquake. In fact, your Administration recently announced $100 million in aid to provide relief to the Pakistani people who are affected by the effort to rout Taliban extremists in that country. These are efforts of which the American people can be proud, and which your speech could rightly highlight.

Similarly, your speech can remind the Muslim world of U.S. efforts in the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts to prevent Muslim massacres and ethnic cleansing, as well as American efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan which liberated 50 million people, mostly Muslim, from the jaws of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship and the cruel violence of the Taliban terror regime.

Mr. President, you have a great opportunity to engage and inspire Middle Eastern governments and Muslims around the world with your words. We urge you to consider including these important recommendations in your speech.

Sincerely yours,

Frank Wolf
Member of Congress

John Shadegg
Member of Congress

Sue Myrick
Member of Congress

Ted Poe
Member of Congress

Zack Wamp
Member of Congress

Trent Franks
Member of Congress

Dan Burton
Member of Congress

Paul Broun
Member of Congress

Yesterday I headlined my post about this mosque bombing, "Islamophobes bomb mosque in Iran, killing 15 -- no, wait..." I was, of course, being sarcastic. But now an Iranian official is essentially saying the same thing, and Jalal Sayah is serious.

"Iran official accuses US over mosque bomb," from the BBC, May 29 (thanks to JE):

A provincial official in Iran has accused the United States of being behind Thursday's bombing of a mosque that killed at least 19 people.

Jalal Sayah, deputy governor of Sistan-Baluchestan province, said three people had been arrested following the attack.

"According to the information we obtained they were hired by America and the agents of arrogance," he said.

Some 60 people were hurt in the attack during evening prayers at the mosque in Sistan-Baluchestan's capital, Zahedan....

Hotel caves to Islamic intimidation. Free Speech Death Watch Alert: "Muslim Group Shuts Down Conservative Conference," from Newsmax, May 28 (thanks to all who sent this in):

The manager of a prominent Nashville hotel cancelled a contract with a conservative foundation to hold a conference this weekend on radical Islam, apparently after learning that the group would feature a keynote address by controversial Dutch parliamentarian and filmmaker, Geert Wilders.

Muslim groups succeeded in preventing Wilders from screening “Fitna,” his 15-minute movie on radical Islam, in the House of Lords this February, on claims it was insulting to Muslims, and dogged him during a recent U.S. tour as well.

Thomas A. Negri, managing director of Loew’s Vanderbilt Hotel and Office complex in Nashville, told Newsmax on Wednesday that he had taken the extraordinary step of cancelling the conference at the last minute “for the health, safety and well-being of our guests and employees.”

Negri refused to say why he felt the conference would adversely affect the “health, safety and well-being” of the hotel’s guests and employees, except to refer to the website of the New English Review, the group organizing the conference.

The website features articles that warn about radical Islam written by activists, journalists and scholars, including former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, and former Muslim scholar, Ibn Warraq.

One article, written by a retired U.S. army intelligence officer, Jerome Gordon, warns of the growing problems caused by the recent influence of several thousand Somali Muslim refugees who have come to work for a nearby Tysons Food plant to replace illegal Hispanic meat packers....

Heroes all. Our own Hugh Fitzgerald is also speaking at that conference.

Close down Gitmo! Bring the prisoners stateside!

"Jordan: Four arrested for terror plots," from the Jerusalem Post, May 29 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Four Jordanians arrested in Jordan in April had planned to perpetrate terror attacks in Israel in retaliation for Operation Cast Lead, DPA reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, judicial sources told the news organization that the four were expected to be charged with illegal possession of arms.

The suspects were named as Sakhr Abu Zaid, Hassan Talaq, Mohammad Abu Ourah and Osama Abu Kabir, the report continued, adding that Abu Kabir had been incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay prison for several years.

The IDF launched Operation Cast Lead in December 2008 in an effort to stop incessant Palestinian rocket fire against southern Israel. Over 1,000 Palestinians - many of them gunmen - were killed during the operation. Ten IDF soldiers and three Israeli civilians were also killed....

I have received several emails from people saying they were not able to view my debate with Hamid Dabashi from the ISI website. Here's a YouTube version, the first of seven parts.

"Pigs being beaten with iron bars, piglets being stabbed and animals being kicked alive into bulldozer buckets"

An update on this story. "Cairo accused of conspiring with Islamists to cull 'unholy' pigs: Egypt's pig killing spree causes sectarian tension," by Mustafa Suleiman and Mona Moussly for Al Arabiyya, May 28:

CAIRO/DUBAI ()

As an Egyptian church refused to hand over its pigs to the authorities without compensation and an online video showing pigs being tortured surfaced, tensions over the government’s anti-swine flu measures continued to prompt allegations of discrimination by the Christian community.

For most countries swine flu is simply a health issue. But in Egypt the virus has raised concerns over government discrimination against the Coptic Christian population – who make up 10-12 percent of the population -- who accuse the authorities of threatening their livelihood and purposely attacking them.

Although no cases of swine flu have been reported in Egypt, since the news of the virus broke, Cairo has ordered a mass culling of the country's 250,000 pigs, which are found in the city slums and which pose a serious risk to a nation already suffering from an outbreak of bird flu.

Al-Soryan Monastery said it would not give up its remaining 330 pigs to Egypt's national committee for swine flu unless the government compensated them for the huge financial loss.

"Pigs and other animals represent the economic independence of the monasteries in which they are raised," Bishop Abdul-Maseeh, professor of theology at the Egyptian church, told Al Arabiya.

"We have agreements with the biggest hotels in Egypt," he said. "There's no way the government will just kill them and the monasteries bear such huge financial losses."

Conspiring with Islamists

Thousands of swine breeders, nearly all Copts, have protested, rioted and slammed the government's decision to slaughter all pigs, a measure the World Health Organization (WHO) criticized as "unnecessary" and that several right groups slammed as an attack on the minority population.

"They were not so radical against the birds [during the bird flu scare] as they are now against the pigs,” Inspire, a U.K.-based Christian monthly magazine, quoted the president of the Society for the Protection of Animal Rights Egypt as saying. “We would like to ask them, ‘Why?’ Is there a special reason?”

Egypt's minister of agriculture and land reclamation, Amin Abaza, denied accusations of discrimination and said health conditions at pig farms, which are located in city dumps, were unbearable.

Arab intellectuals, both Christian and Muslim, have accused President Hosni Mubarak's government of conspiring with the Islamist opposition Muslim Brotherhood, which opposes rearing pigs "on Islamic land."

"The Copts are victims of the flu without ever having been contaminated," said Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun, adding that the government "clearly acted under pressure from Islamists" when it ordered the mass cull.[...]

Earlier this month a video of pigs being culled surfaced on YouTube and caused outrage at the way the animals were slaughtered.

The clip posted by Egypt’s independent newspaper al-Masry al-Youm showed gory images of pigs being beaten with iron bars, piglets being stabbed and animals being kicked alive into bulldozer buckets...

According to some supporting a gay Muslim program. So what if Muhammad, Allah's Messenger and most perfect of all creation, condemned homosexuals to death, and they are being actively persecuted in jihadi hotbeds such as Iraq? "Gay Muslim story for EastEnders," from BBC, May 28:

EastEnders is to tackle a storyline which will feature a Muslim man embarking upon a gay affair.

Newcomer Syed Masood, played by Marc Elliott, will fall for openly gay man Christian Clarke (John Partridge) and the pair will share an on-screen kiss.

The plot is expected to hit TV screens from next month.

"I think EastEnders would be doing the programme a disservice if they didn't give a voice to various communities," Elliot told the BBC Asian Network.

"I think that's really important because I think London is a very ethnically diverse multicultural place, and EastEnders has a job to reflect that in the storylines it gives people and the characters they have on board."[...]

However, the gay storyline has been criticised by Asghar Bokhari of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee.

"The Muslim community deserves a character that represents them to the wider public because Islamophobia is so great right now," he said.

"There's a lack of understanding of Muslims already and I think EastEnders really lost an opportunity to present a normal friendly Muslim character to the British public."

But the show's executive producer Diedrick Santer said it was important to tackle issues which reflect real life.

"It's really important that on EastEnders we give the Masoods big stories.

"Sometimes there's a danger of being too careful with black or Asian characters that we might go into territories that might offend.

"But it seems to me if we steer away from any controversy, they don't stand a chance of being a great EastEnders family - they'll just be in their kitchen unit making curries for years and years and that's not going to be very interesting."

Yusuf Wehebi from Imaan - an organisation that supports gay Muslims - agreed with him.

"It is high time that the invisible minority became a visible minority," he said.

"It is entirely possible to be Muslim and gay and there's many of us in Britain today."...

Some interesting Fox News opinions on the Taliban and truces: "Truces Mean Nothing to Nuts," by Greg Gutfeld for Fox News, May 28:

On Tuesday, the Pakistani Taliban decided that it wants a peace deal — kind of like the one they had originally before they ramped up killing and maiming people in awful ways (which to them, is basic yard work.) And then, quickly and appropriately, they got their hairy asses handed to them on a goat.

No wonder they're up for a truce!

And here we find another lesson on how the world really works: Truces mean nothing to people consumed by fanatic ideology. And a resident fool, I'm willing to suggest it's the very unwillingness to compromise that makes them fanatics! And vice versa.

The Taliban, for example, want their Sharia law — along with their unmanageable beards, their institutionalized abuse of women and gays, their barbaric notions of justice — and nothing is ever going to shake this twisted worldview from their lice-infested heads.

Well, there is one way: death.

The latest round of fighting eliminated roughly 1,100 Taliban from our pleasant, noisy orb — a development that transcends all language barriers and religious differences. The simple ultimatum — "stop hurting people or face death" — is the only way you can talk to freaks that hate you and want you dead.

In this strange new world, it helps to be reminded of this: While the symbolism of an "unclenched fist" soars in speeches, it makes little impact when you want to hit someone.

And if you disagree with me, then you sir are worse than Hitler.

"(Kenya) became the enemy of Islam ... and must (be) ready (for) Alqaeda attacks and revenge any time." Amazing: al-Qaeda attacks Kenya over the years, killing 240 people, and it wants "revenge" because Kenya has detained Somali jihadis.

"Norway embassy in Kenya threatened with attack," from Reuters, May 27 :

NAIROBI, May 27 (Reuters) - Norway's embassy in Nairobi and two Kenyan media organisations have received emails threatening attacks, the Norwegian ambassador and one of the media groups said on Wednesday.

Two bomb attacks in the last 12 years have killed 240 people in Kenya. Both were blamed on al Qaeda.

"Yes it is true we have received an email with some threats," said Elisabeth Jacobson, Norwegian ambassador to Nairobi. "Of course it's a reason for concern and we have informed the Kenyan police," she said.

The email, seen by Reuters, said Norway had backed what it said was a Kenyan bid to claim waters of the coast of neighbouring Somalia for oil exploration and that Kenya had detained Somali "mujahideen".

"(Kenya) became the enemy of Islam ... and must (be) ready (for) Alqaeda attacks and revenge any time," the message said.

Jacobson declined further comment on the threats...

The Swedish publication The Local wants to consider these jihadists "Swedes," but it is doubtful that they consider themselves as such.

"Swedes killed in fighting in Somalia," from The Local, May 29 (thanks to Lazy Buddha):

Several young men who left Sweden to join the radical Islamic militant group al-Shabaab in Somalia have been killed in battle, according to Sweden’s security service Säpo.

Säpo estimates that about 20 people have left Sweden to train and fight with al-Shabaab, a militant group with alleged ties to al-Qaeda.

So far, a handful of people with Swedish passports have also been killed in the fighting, Säpo reports.

“For the time being, it is believed there are ten or so Swedes on the ground in Somalia. They are either taking part in the violence or in training camps, but there may be more as of yet unknown cases. What worries us is that it’s ongoing and growing,” said Säpo counterterrorism analyst Malena Rembe to the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper.

The recruits aren’t only Swedes with Somali backgrounds, but are also individuals of mixed ethnicity, according to Rembe.

Some of them are leaving Sweden without telling their relatives what they are planning to do.

“These are people who are going down on their own initiative. They see themselves as a part of a global struggle and want to contribute,” said Rembe....

In the featured article at FrontPage today I discuss the 65-year sentences given to the leaders of the Holy Land Foundation, once the nation's largest Islamic charity:

In a major blow to terrorism financing on American soil, the founders of the Holy Land Foundation, once the nation’s largest Muslim charity, were both sentenced this week to sixty-five years in prison for funneling at least $12.4 million in charitable contributions to the terrorist group Hamas. The decision, which can still be challenged by appeal, also has important implications for the nation’s most prominent Islamic organization, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as well as for American Muslims in general.

The HLF founders, Shukri Abu Baker and Ghassan Elashi, were convicted in November 2008 of aiding a terrorist organization by sending money to Hamas. The two were also convicted of tax fraud and money laundering.

Nevertheless, the defendants maintained that the HLF was really a charity organization. So far from funding terrorism, they were distributing urgent financial aid to needy individuals and orphans in the West Bank and Gaza – a claim that reprised the now-defunct HLF’s purported mission of aiding “human suffering through humanitarian programs that impact the lives of the disadvantaged.”

The Soviets had kept the jihad in check, and after the fall of the Soviet Union it took some time for the global jihadist resurgence to reach Central Asia, but it is there now.

Meanwhile, the analysis in this story, that poverty causes terrorism, has been disproven by study after study. But that never seems to get through to anyone.

"Islamic extremism on the rise again in Central Asia," from Asia News, May 28 (thanks to C. Cantoni):

Tashkent (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A police man was killed and others injured in a suicide attack in the city of Andijan yesterday. Unknown gunmen also fired at Uzbek policemen in Khanabad on the border with Kyrgyzstan. Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), on offshoot of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan accused in the past of various attacks in Central Asia, and have reignited fears of a rise in Islamist militancy in the Ferghana Valley, an area that borders on several countries.

Kyrgyz sources said that four policemen were killed in Khanabad when they tried to stop a car that was trying to drive through a border checkpoint into Kyrgyzstan, something that Uzbek authorities have denied. Uzbekistan said instead that it is in perfect control of its territory and that Uzbek troops are patrolling the border.

Whatever the case may be, such incidents are a sign of widespread instability and violence in the Ferghana, a valley that is divided between the two countries and Tajikistan that has been affected by significant social unrest since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

It is also one of the poorest areas of Central Asia with high unemployment and limited social assistance from governments.

Making matters worse the circumstances “could make the population susceptible to radical groups who provide a means of channelling this discontent,” said Matthew Clements, Eurasia editor in the Country Risk Department for Jane's Information Group.

Although unemployment is high in Uzbekistan and millions of Uzbek men and women have left the country for seasonal jobs in Russia, Kazakhstan, and even impoverished Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the Uzbek government continues to claim that unemployment is less than 1 per cent....

Overtures to the Islamic world continue, all based on the bedrock assumption that if the U.S. shows enough good will, that good will eventually will be reciprocated. Or at very least, a marriage of convenience can be sustained at least for awhile. And certainly many such marriages have been entered into and sustained. But the fact remains that the doctrines of jihad and Islamic supremacism, insofar as they are held by the officials in the country in question (and it would be hard to find a Muslim country where there are no such people at high levels) will always prevent these marriages of convenience from becoming real alliances, and indeed, will act as a corrosive upon them.

"Libya-US: Libyan Interior Minister Meets With US Ambassador," from ANSAmed, May 28 (thanks to Insubria):

(ANSAmed) - TRIPOLI, MAY 28 - Libyan Interior Minister Abdel Fatah Yunis Al-Obaidi has recently met in Tripoli with Gene Cretz, the US Ambassador to Libya. Cretz said he was willing to promote relations between the two countries and highlighted recent developments in bilateral agreements signed by Libya and the U.S. Cretz also said that the US is ready to exchange technical experience with Libya, specifically in sectors involving combating crime, controlling drug trafficking and terrorist activities, and said that he is ready to organise specific training courses in these fields. The US Ambassador then underlined the importance of facilitating procedures in order for Libyan and American citizens to enter and leave the country and to allow for visas to be granted faster, as mutually agreed upon. Minister Al-Obaidi stressed the developments in relations between the two countries.

There was, of course, no corresponding gift to Netanyahu -- only challenges to make various accommodations.

"Obama, Abbas talk peace," by Farah Stockman for the Boston Globe, May 28 (thanks to James):

WASHINGTON -- President Obama received Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House today with a valuable welcoming gift: a toughly-worded, categorical US demand for Israel to stop settlements in Palestinian territories.

But hours before the two men met, the Israeli government flatly rejected the demand. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said that "normal life in those communities must be allowed to continue," meaning that some construction will continue in existing settlements.

Obama and Abbas appeared to see eye to eye, speaking of the need for increased support from Arab governments to support the peace process by showing good faith in their promise to recognize the existence of the Jewish state if Israel strikes a peace deal with Palestinians.

But nowhere was the confluence of views so striking as in the Obama administration's position on settlements, which the president outlined directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week at the White House.

After meeting with Abbas, Obama told reporters he stands firmly behind "core principles" toward peace, including a two-state solution, Israel "stopping settlements," and Palestinians preventing attacks on Israel.

"I am confident we can move this process forward," if all sides live up to prior obligations and negotiate in good faith, the president said.

And what makes him think that the Palestinians will do that when they have never done it before?

"Senior U.S. officials said the Taliban received significant donations from Pakistan -- where sympathy for the group is widespread in the country's Pashtun community -- and Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait."

Tiny Minority of Extremists Alert. And with respect to the involvement of Gulf nations, this story again demonstrates the urgency of achieving as much energy independence as possible, as quickly as possible. "Taliban's Foreign Support Vexes U.S.," by Yochi J. Dreazen for the Wall Street Journal, May 29:

WASHINGTON -- U.S. officials recently concluded that the Afghan Taliban may receive as much money from foreign donors as it does from opium sales, potentially hindering the Obama administration's strategy to rehabilitate Afghanistan by stopping the country's drug trade.

Gen. David Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said in a recent interview that the Taliban has three main sources of funding: drug revenue; payments from legitimate businesses that are secretly owned by the armed group or that pay it kickbacks; and donations from foreign charitable foundations and individuals.

"You have funds generated locally, funds that come in from the outside, and funds that come from the illegal narcotics business," he said. "It's a hotly debated topic as to which is the most significant and it may be that they are all roughly around the same level."

Gen. Petraeus estimated that the Taliban raise a total of "hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars" each year from the three sources, and said the U.S. doesn't have precise figures.

The Taliban have depended in part on foreign support for decades. In an interview last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said some Afghan militants could draw on "external funding channels" created in the 1980s for wealthy Muslims -- with U.S. support -- to funnel money to Islamic fighters battling the Soviet military. "It wouldn't surprise me if those channels have remained open," he said.

Two senior U.S. officials said the Central Intelligence Agency has identified individuals and charities suspected of providing the bulk of the Taliban funding, but declined to name them, citing continuing operations to disrupt the money flows.

Senior U.S. officials said the Taliban received significant donations from Pakistan -- where sympathy for the group is widespread in the country's Pashtun community -- and Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Pakistani Ambassador Hussein Haqqani said his government had frozen hundreds of bank accounts tied to the Taliban and other extremist groups and said the effort is a "work in progress."

"The extremist networks continue to find new financing schemes and methods to evade law enforcement," he said.

A senior Saudi official here said his government regularly arrested citizens suspected of funneling money to armed groups such as the Taliban but questioned the extent of the practice. The official said Saudi charities are barred from sending money outside the country.

That official's attempt to make the Saudi government look diligent in its counterterror efforts exposes another angle: If they're "regularly" arresting citizens suspected of funding "armed groups," they've sure got a lot of people "misunderstanding" Islam's purported message of peace and tolerance.

"If the Americans have actionable intelligence on Saudis who are supporting the Taliban, they should provide us the intelligence, and we will act on it," he said.

Officials from the Kuwaiti Embassy declined to comment....

The article states that "Shariah law, based on the teachings of the Koran, does not allow for investment into companies that deal in pork, alcohol, gambling or pornography," and hey, that sounds nice, doesn't it? But here is the problem: Efforts to compartmentalize Sharia are undertaken for Western consumption, in order to give the impression that there is a core set of "friendly" values within Sharia, while the nastier things we hear about are just -- you know -- "cultural." However, Islamic law itself is not broken down as such, and the notion that such seemingly innocuous practices are available to be ordered off the Sharia menu à la carte serves to advance the legitimacy of the entire body of laws.

"Canadian index allows investors to follow Shariah law," from CTV, May 27:

Standard & Poor's is launching a Shariah compliant version of the S&P/TSX 60 that will exclude companies that don't meet criteria outlined within Islamic law.

Shariah law, based on the teachings of the Koran, does not allow for investment into companies that deal in pork, alcohol, gambling or pornography.

Banks are also excluded because investors are not allowed to earn profit from interest.

"Companies which have high levels of debt or high levels of interest earnings are also screened out," Alka Banerjee, Vice President of Standard & Poor's Index Services, told CTV.ca in an interview from New York on Wednesday.

At present, companies which have debt less than 33 per cent of their market capitalization are allowed within the index.

A Shariah Supervisory Board, comprised of Islamic scholars, determines if a company qualifies.

Banerjee said Shariah-compliant indexes are still in their infancy but interest is growing.

"A lot of Islamic investors would like to invest along their religious beliefs as well as the rise of petro-dollars in the Middle East, as well as the prosperity in southeast Asian has all led to a demand for Shariah indices and other kinds of products," Banerjee said.

Including the Canadian launch, S&P now has Shariah compliant indices in 52 markets.

Other markets include the S&P 500 Shariah, S&P Europe 350 Shariah, S&P Japan 500 Shariah and S&P CNX Nifty Shariah to name just a few.

The S&P/TSX 60 Shariah Index currently has 25 companies that meet the board's requirements.

"This number can change month-to-month," Banerjee said.

Some of the companies that made the cut include EnCana Corp, Research in Motion, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Barrick Gold Corp., Suncor Energy Inc., Goldcorp Inc. and Petro-Canada.

There is a great deal of misunderstanding about this issue. Arabic-speaking Christians have used the word "Allah" for the God of the Bible for centuries -- some sources say since before the advent of Islam. But a Malaysia court now says the word is the property of Muslims only.

Islamic Tolerance Alert and an update on this story: "Malaysia court refuses to let Church use ‘Allah,’" from Dawn, May 28 (thanks to all who sent this in):

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian court refused to let the Roman Catholic Church use the word ‘Allah’ even temporarily Thursday, upholding a government ban that has become a symbol of religious tensions in this Muslim-majority country.

The federal government blocks non-Muslims in Malaysia from translating God as ‘Allah’ in their literature, saying it would confuse Muslims in this multiethnic, Muslim-majority country.

Christian groups say the ban is unconstitutional, arguing that the word ‘Allah’ predates Islam.

The High Court rejected an appeal by the church’s main publication in Malaysia, the Herald, to have the ban suspended while waiting for a court decision on the ban’s legality, said Herald lawyer Porres Royan....

The Taliban launches another attack on Peshawar, even as they ask to return to the truce they failed to observe in the first place, so they can regroup and fail to observe it some more. "Bombs, gun battle, rock Pakistan's Peshawar," by Alamgir Bitani for Reuters, May 28:

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Two bombs exploded in a market in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Thursday, killing six people, and gunmen on rooftops ambushed police as they arrived at the scene.

Militant violence in nuclear-armed Pakistan, an important U.S. ally, has surged since mid-2007, with attacks on the security forces, as well as on government and Western targets, and the Taliban threatened more on Thursday.

Pakistan is vital for U.S. plans to defeat al Qaeda and cut support for the Afghan Taliban, and the United States has been heartened by a military offensive against the Taliban in their Swat bastion, northwest of Islamabad.

But there have been eight militant attacks since the army began battling militants in the region in April, and there is a danger the violence could erode public support for the campaign.

Shortly after the bombs exploded in Peshawar, a suicide bomber attacked a paramilitary post in another part of the city, killing three soldiers, a hospital official said. A wounded soldier said earlier five comrades had been killed.

The attacks came hours after the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide car-bomb and gun attack in the city of Lahore on Wednesday that killed 24 people, saying it was revenge for the Swat offensive.

"We were looking for this target for a long time," Hakimullah Mehsud, a commander loyal to Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, said by telephone.

In Peshawar, the two bombs were planted on motorbikes in the Storytellers Bazaar in the old city and caused extensive damage. Six people were killed and about 70 wounded, provincial government minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour told Reuters.

Soon afterward, gunmen on rooftops began firing at police in lanes below. Television showed policemen firing back while colleagues strapped on bullet-proof vests. Police later said two gunmen had been killed and two suspects detained. [...]

The military released on Wednesday what it said was a tape of an intercepted telephone call between the Taliban spokesman in Swat, Muslim Khan, and an unidentified militant in which Khan says soldiers should be attacked.

"Strikes should be carried out on their homes so their kids get killed and then they'll realize," Khan said on the tape, which was broadcast by media.

The unidentified man on the tape said orders had gone out to strike wherever possible....

Whoever turns out really to have done this, do you think there will be worldwide protests at the desecration of the mosque? Or are such protests reserved only for when American or Israeli troops respond to fire that comes at them from mosques?

"Iran mosque bombing kills 15 worshippers," from AFP, May 28 (thanks to Sr. Soph):

TEHRAN (AFP) — A bomb blast at a Shiite mosque in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan on Thursday killed 15 worshippers and wounded 50, the provincial governor general told state television.

The evening explosion struck the Amir al-Momenin mosque in Zahedan, the restive capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province, which has a subtantial Sunni minority, the official IRNA agency reported.

"The bomb exploded at the time of evening prayer and killed a number of worshippers," Ali Mohammad Azad, the governor general of the province bordering Pakistan and Afghansitan told state television.

"So far 15 people who were killed have been identified and 50 others have been wounded. They have been transferred to city hospitals."

Fars news agency reported a higher toll, saying 20 people were killed and 55 wounded.

It said the mosque is the second biggest Shiite mosque in Zahedan and is also a "gathering place for revolutionary Shiites."

The agency said no group had so far claimed responsibility for the bombing, and that security and police services were in control of the area....

"I told them that there are restrictive rules in Islam for waging holy war. Jihad must be under the umbrella of the state and should be approved by one's parents." Unfortunately, probably many of the Muslims who hear this message know that in Islamic law defensive jihad becomes obligatory upon every individual Muslim when a Muslim land is attacked -- which is why jihad groups today couch their appeals and justifications in terms of defensive jihad. To wage defensive jihad a Muslim needs neither state direction nor the approval of one's parents. But this kind of thing goes down well with Western non-Muslims, and that's all that matters.

"Syria Tries Rehabilitating Extremists," by George Baghdadi for CBS News, May 28 (thanks to Twostellas):

Alarmed to see suspected terrorists coming out of its jails even more dedicated to radical Islam than they went in, Syria offered a few-month-long, soft approach rehabilitation program to turn the vulnerable youths away from fanaticism and jihad....

The rehabilitation program, which was adopted last year, enlisted 60 state-backed clerics to counter radical teachings with moderate passages from the Quran, Islam's holy book. The government would not say whether the program was still underway.

"I was asked by the government last summer to talk to these people, to cleanse their minds from radical ideologies and try to fit them back into the Syrian society," Sheik Mohammad Habbash Habbash, one of the program counselors, told CBS News.

"I told them that there are restrictive rules in Islam for waging holy war. Jihad must be under the umbrella of the state and should be approved by one's parents," he said.

"My lectures to four different groups were on how Islam views jihad, how Islam forbids people to go for fighting if that was not under the directives of the ruler," said conservative sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Khateeb, another program counselor.

"The state here is following this issue. It is keen that the people are educated enough in the right way so that they are not influenced by wrong teachings and corrupted ideals," he added....

It is a crime, apparently, to cast Islam in a negative light, and once again those who commit this crime are not violent Islamic jihadists, but those who speak about the actions or motivations of those jihadists.

"Christian couple convicted for anti-Muslim booklets," from AFP, May 28 (thanks to Twostellas):

SINGAPORE (AFP) – A Christian Singaporean couple were found guilty of sedition on Thursday for distributing evangelical publications that cast Islam in a negative light, court officials said.

Ong Kian Cheong and his wife Dorothy Chan had been charged with distributing a seditious publication to two Muslims in October and March 2007 and sending a second such booklet to another Muslim in December that same year, a district court official told AFP.

The publications were found to have promoted feelings of ill-will and hostility between Christians and Muslims, the Straits Times said on its website....

The sedition charge carries a jail term of up to three years or a fine of up to 5,000 Singapore dollars (3,437 US) or both....

The National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW) says it was all a frame-up: the diabolical FBI first persuaded these innocent Muslims that their religion mandated violence against unbelievers, and then involved them in this plot to blow up synagogues.

Well, that makes sense. After all, who ever heard of a Muslim arriving on his own accord at the idea that his religion teaches violence against unbelievers?

"US Muslim Women: NY Synagogue Bomb Plan was FBI Plot," by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu for Israel National News, May 28 (thanks to all who sent this in):

...[NAMAW] said that the FBI is “creating the illusion that all Muslims are either terrorists or potential terrorists, thereby substantiating the use of racial and religious profiling on Muslims and Arabs.

“The FBI, posing as Al Qaeda-backed militants to brainwash and coax 'vulnerable' men into the walking trap of their own foiled terrorist plot, causes grave concern to the representatives of Muslims in American society," the organization said in a statement....

They also charged that the FBI informant “persuaded these men into believing that their religion obligated them to carry out acts of violence in the United States in retaliation for U.S. war crimes being carried out in the Muslim world.'

Terence Kindlon, a lawyer who defended the last terror suspect to be tried in New York State, told the Times of London, “It is almost as if the FBI cooked up the plot and found four idiots to install as defendants.”

Referring to nearly 100 law enforcement officers involved n the arrests, he added, “Did they really need all those men in ninja suits with M16 rifles to arrest four idiots? Somewhere, someone in Al-Qaeda must be laughing.”

Yes, Kindlon. At you.

Read it all.

He did it because of the dope, doncha know. He was high, that's all, and just having some fun by trying to bring down an airplane. What's the big deal? I mean, who ever heard of a Muslim trying to crash an airplane as part of his jihad?

"Man jailed for shining laser at landing plane," from the Belfast Telegraph, May 28 (thanks to Twostellas):

A man was jailed today for shining a laser at a passenger plane preparing to land.

Hossein Hosseiny briefly illuminated the cockpit of the Dublin to Cardiff aircraft which was carrying 52 people on board on the evening of March 8.

The pilot said the actions of the 21-year-old father-to-be from the Countisbury Avenue area of Llanrumney, Cardiff, caused a "momentary loss of concentration" during his approach to the runway due to a "dazzling green light".

The incident was reported immediately by the pilot to air traffic control and Hosseiny, a failed asylum seeker from Afghanistan, was arrested soon after in the nearby Porthkerry Park area of Barry.

Prosecutor David Thomas told Cardiff Crown Court that, during a search, officers found Hosseiny in a car intoxicated with a friend. Cannabis was also found in the vehicle which Hosseiny later admitted supplying to his friend.

In interview, the defendant told the police he had taken to selling cannabis as a means of funding his own habit.

At a previous court hearing, Hosseiny pleaded guilty to endangering the safety of an aircraft and supplying drugs....

Not that he has ever accepted the principle of a Jewish state. In any case, I expect that the contrast between this meeting and Obama's chilly meeting with Netanyahu will be marked, and we will see considerably more warmth and enthusiasm -- and considerably less talk of responsibilities and obligations -- from the sainted new American President.

"Mideast: Abbas To Meet With Obama Today, Wants Assurances," from ANSAmed, May 28 (thanks to Insubria):

(ANSAmed) - WASHINGTON, MAY 28 - U.S. president Barack Obama will be meeting with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas today at the White House for talks bound to focus on the need for Palestinians to receive reassurances on the U.S. commitment to the "two-state" solution, and the pressure on Israel to stop its enlargement of settlements in the West Bank.

The talks will inevitably be influenced by the negative outcome of the meeting at the White House a few days ago between Obama and Israeli premier Benyamin Netanyahu, which highlighted the differences of opinion between the two leaders on the direction to be taken to resume peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. On the eve of his meeting with Obama, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas reiterated that premier Netanyahu must agree to the principle of a Palestinian state before peace talks can resume.

One of Abbas's spokesmen has said that the Palestinian president intends to stress to Obama the need to "to move from speaking to acting" as concerns Tel Aviv's promises to block the expansion of settlements. U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton reiterated yesterday that the Obama administration has asked Israelis to freeze their settlements in the West Bank "without any exceptions". However, within the Palestinian delegation there is much scepticism over the ability of the United States to effectively intervene in the new Israeli government, which seems to have set aside for the time being the commitment made in Annapolis (by the previous government) to move in the direction of a two-state solution, one Israeli and one Palestinian, as the only way to peace.

Meanwhile in the UK, Muslims get to go around screaming through loudspeakers that Jesus was a Muslim. "Pakistan: Pastors arrested for use of loudspeakers," from Compass Direct News, May 27 :

Police claim amplified Easter Sunday service defamed Islam.

ISTANBUL, May 27 (Compass Direct News) – Nine pastors from two neighboring villages in Pakistan could face prison time for using loudspeakers to broadcast prayers and sermons from their churches on Easter Sunday. Martinpur and Youngsnabad, 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of Lahore, are majority Christian villages. The nine pastors who lead congregations there say that local Muslim security forces have twisted the law to solicit a bribe....

The ulema would like Muslims to limit their use of Facebook -- even though it certainly has its uses. "Indonesia: Muslim edict issued against Facebook," from Adnkronos, May 27:

Jakarta, 27 May (AKI) – Around 700 ulama or Islamic religious leaders have issued an edict to limit use of the popular Internet networking site Facebook in Indonesia. However, it seems that many people from the country, which has the world's largest Muslim population, use Facebook often and it is growing in popularity....

"Angered by a recent upsurge in Christian evangelism in the area, church members said, radical Muslims had sent several threats to the Christians warning them to stop their activities." Sounds similar to recent events elsewhere in the Muslim world.

"Tanzania: Radical Muslims drive church from worship place in Zanzibar," from Compass Direct News, May 26:

Authorities do nothing to help threatened Christians.

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 26 (Compass Direct News) – Worship in a house church near Zanzibar City, on a Tanzanian island off the coast of East Africa, did not take place for the third week running on Sunday (May 24) after Muslim extremists expelled worshippers from their rented property. Radical Muslims on May 9 drove members of Zanzibar Pentecostal Church from worship premises in a rented house at Ungunja Ukuu, on the outskirts of Zanzibar City.

Angered by a recent upsurge in Christian evangelism in the area, church members said, radical Muslims had sent several threats to the Christians warning them to stop their activities. The church had undertaken a two-day evangelism campaign culminating in an Easter celebration. On the morning of the attack, more than 20 church members had gathered for Saturday fellowship when word reached them that Muslim extremists were about to attack.

As the radical group approached, the Christians fled in fear of their lives. “The group was shouting, saying, ‘We do not want the church to be in our locality – they should leave the place and never come back again,’” said one church member who requested anonymity.

"[T]he attack targeted the 'nest of evil' in Lahore, and was a 'humble gift' to the mujahideen." "TTP claims Lahore suicide bombing," from The News, May 28:

ISLAMABAD: Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Wednesday claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing on rescue 15 police building that killed 24 people, a US specialist Islamist monitoring group said.

A group calling itself "Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)" made the claim in a Turkish-language statement posted on Turkish jihadist websites through an organisation called Elif Media.

The Islamist monitors SITE cited the group as saying the attack "targeted the 'nest of evil' in Lahore, and was a 'humble gift' to the mujahideen who suffer beneath the attacks of Pakistani forces in Swat."

It specified that a vehicle laden with 100 kilos of explosives was blown up outside a security building in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province in Pakistan, destroying the building and injuring hundreds more.

"TTP asks Muslims in Pakistan to stay away from areas where the enemy is 'taking advantage' of them, so that they are not harmed by jihadi attacks," SITE added. The blast was the third deadly attack to rock the country's liberal cultural capital in as many months.

A top security official told media after nightfall that 24 people died, including 13 policemen, civilians and security officers....

They did warn that, "If we now kill schoolgirls, you shouldn't be surprised." "Taliban blow up girls’ school in Hangu," from the Daily Times, May 26:

LAHORE: The Taliban destroyed a girls’ school in Hangu on Monday, a private TV channel reported. According to the channel, the Taliban had planted explosives at the government school in Shahidkhel area in the wee hours of the morning, and the consequent blast destroyed the entire building. No casualties were reported.

In the featured article at Human Events this morning, I discuss jihadist recruitment in prisons, which should be a chief concern of law enforcement officials in the wake of the Bronx synagogue jihad plot, and the implications of all this for the Gitmo inmates.

Should we bring Guantanamo inmates to U.S. prisons, as the Obama administration has proposed? FBI Director Robert Mueller doesn’t think that it would be wise to house such prisoners even in the ultra-high security Supermax facility: “The concerns we have about individuals who may support terrorism being in the United States run from concerns about providing financing, radicalizing others.” Radicalizing others is a real possibility: two of the four Muslims, James “Abdul Rahman” Cromitie and Onta “Hamza” Williams, who were arrested last week for plotting to blow up synagogues in the Bronx and shoot down an airplane, converted to Islam while in prison. When they went to prison, both were Baptists.

This really shouldn’t be surprising to anyone. Mueller sounded the warning some time ago, saying that America’s prisons were “fertile ground for extremists.” And a new Rand Corporation study, released just this month, has found that Islamic jihad groups have long targeted prisons as key centers for recruitment.

Rabbi Weiss's words are yet another example of the denial that is almost universal among analysts of the jihad threat today: in most circles, if you don't affirm that Islamic jihad supremacism as it is manifested today all over the world has nothing to do with the true, peaceful Islam, you won't even get in the door.

So there is nothing unusual about what he says here, but as Pamela Geller observes here, it was a tremendous missed opportunity. The Rabbi had an opportunity to tell the world, at a moment when the world was watching, about the global jihad; about how Sharia mandates the conversion of Jews and Christians to Islam, or their subjugation as dhimmis, or their death; and about Islamic antisemitism and the need for all the groups that the Islamic jihadists have in their sights to join together to resist them.

Instead, he parroted the party line, and lulled back to sleep people who were awakened or should have been awakened to a threat to their freedoms and their very lives. The only ones who ultimately benefit from this are the Islamic jihadists, who can continue to work and count on the ignorance and indifference of most of the populace.

Pamela has further trenchant observations here. Also, I explained here why jihadists love attacking Jews. The dangers of ignoring or denying this should be obvious.

"Riverdale rabbi: Don't blame Islam for terror plot to bomb synagogues," by Tanyanika Samuels and John Lauinger for the New York Daily News, May 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):

In the Bronx neighborhood targeted by a terror plot, a prominent rabbi cautioned Sabbath worshippers Saturday against condemning the Muslim religion.

"We dare not condemn Islam over this one act," Rabbi Avi Weiss told congregants at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale.

Weiss' temple was not targeted in the alleged conpsiracy [sic], but two other Riverdale synagogues were.

The four Jew-hating suspects were homegrown jailhouse converts to Islam - not hardened extremists trained in some Middle Eastern camp.

Weiss said that fact "reminds us that Islamic fundamentalism has spread here and attracted congregants."...

"This cell was caught, but how many others are out there?" he questioned.

The foiled attack should send a sobering message to people of all faiths, Weiss said, noting the suspects appear to have randomly selected their targets.

"It could have been any synagogue. It could have been any temple," he said.

"We dare not forget that an attack against any house of worship is an attack against every house of worship."

And yet people from only one house of worship seem interested in attacking others.

In the recent case, it was a load of pro-Shi'ite books from Iran that was destined for the bottom of the Helmand River. Ironically, the Afghan government has thus ignited sectarian strife by supposedly aiming to prevent it. And the question remains: are they concerned about Shi'ite Islam as a vehicle for Iranian influence, or simply because it is not Sunni Islam? Beyond that, there are several points of interest:

First, transparency is a prized attribute of a functional government, at least in the Western sense; it does not co-exist well with official corruption. But when a society and a government believes it is permissible to lie or equivocate in order to smooth things over or guard against non-believers (cf. Qur'an 3:28), there exists a disastrous precedent for how the government may do business when officials think no one is looking.

Second, the principle is expandable: What else will the government suppress in order not to "insult" this or that brand of Islam? Quite a bit, if the case of Syed Parwez Kambakhsh is any indication. And that begs the question of what kind of government Western forces are spending untold amounts of blood and treasure to prop up.

Above all, however, the story belies the harmony that would supposedly break out under a pure Islamic state: To say nothing of unbelievers, there could be no harmony as long as everyone was not in agreement about the "purity" of said state, and its fidelity to and enforcement of Sharia law. Even without the sense of entitlement of the "true believers" to govern and the call for open-ended warfare against unbelievers, stories like this make quite a case for the separation of religion and state.

From our Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old Boss department: "Afghan gov't destroys books it says insult Sunnis," by Amir Shah and Heidi Vogt for the Associated Press, May 27:

KABUL – The Afghan government quietly dumped more than 1,000 Shiite texts and other books from Iran into a river after a local governor complained that their content insulted the country's Sunni majority.

The move appeared to be an attempt by President Hamid Karzai's U.S.-backed government to smooth over a potential thorn in relations between the Muslim sects.

Whoops.

But instead of burying the issue along with the books at the bottom of the Helmand River, the government was facing condemnation Wednesday from Shiite leaders after news leaked a month after the dumping.

"It is a humiliation for all Shiites," said Mohammad Akbari, a prominent Shiite member of parliament. He said a joint commission of Sunni and Shiite leaders should have reviewed any complaints about the books.

Merchants who'd ordered the books for shops in Kabul said there was nothing offensive about their content and that they were destroyed simply because of prejudice against Shiites, who make up about 20 percent of the population.

The dispute highlights the continuing tension between Sunnis and Shiites in Afghanistan despite efforts by the government to preach tolerance across the sectarian divide.

Shiites were persecuted under the largely Sunni Taliban regime that ruled the country until the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. Since then, the two sects have settled into an uneasy coexistence, with the post-Taliban constitution giving Shiites the right to create some laws that apply only to them.

The latest episode started six months ago when a container full of books arrived in western Nimroz province from neighboring Iran, said the governor's spokesman, Haaji Nazir.

Nestled among boxes of computer and English instruction manuals were more than 1,000 history and religious books promoting Shiite Islam, Nazir said. Iran is a mostly Shiite country.

"Books like these are more dangerous than Taliban bullets," Gov. Ghulam Dastagir Azad told The Associated Press.

But the Kabul booksellers who ordered the books said ethnic prejudice motivated the governor, a Sunni from the country's dominant Pashtun ethnic group. Many Afghan Shiites are ethnic Hazaras.

"He has no respect for the Hazara people," said Mohammad Ibrahim Sharyati, who said he lost about 2,600 books worth about $40,000.

After seizing the books, authorities in the western province held them at a customs warehouse and sent samples to the Information and Culture Ministry in the capital for a ruling.

A commission found that at least some of the books were "dangerous to the unity of Afghanistan" because they contained interpretations of religion that are offensive to Sunnis, said Deputy Culture Ministry Aleem Tanwir.

"They included incorrect statements about the advice of Prophet Muhammad, and this is very dangerous for our Sunni community," Tanwir said.

"We contacted the governor of Nimroz and we told him that he cannot allow these books in Afghanistan," Tanwir said, adding that the books carried propaganda from Iran.

He said the ministry agreed to the idea of dumping the books in the river along the Iranian border as an alternative to burning, because it is against Islam to burn a book that contains the name of the prophet....

Read it all.

“They are not investigating it as they would if the attack had been on a mosque.”

"Suspected Al Qaeda, Taliban Militants Destroy Pakistan Church, Christians Say," from Worthy News, May 26 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (Worthy News)-- Suspected Muslim militants with links to the terror groups Al Qaeda and the Taliban attacked a historic church in northwestern Pakistan and burned Bibles and other Christian books, but police are reluctant to investigate the case and detain suspects, Christians said Tuesday, May 26.

The destruction of the St. George Grecian Church was discovered by workers renovating the building, said the church's pastor Ijaz Masih in a statement distributed by rights group International Christian Concern (ICC).

Masih said that shortly after he presided over a Sunday service, workers “were shocked when they arrived” in the morning of May 12, “and found the church's cross broken in pieces, the altar demolished and partially burned, Bibles and hymnbooks burned and torn apart, and the pews reduced to ashes.”

He said attackers also ransacked bathrooms and cemented over a plaque inscribed with the names of the donors responsible for the original construction of the building.

ICC quoted local Christians as saying they were “astounded” that the attackers could sneak into the church and vandalize it without being noticed by anyone in the neighborhood. “They are especially concerned because the church is located within a military zone and thus is considered to be in a very secure location.”

Ijaz said he had started as the pastor of St. George Church two years ago, and that the Christians in Bannu Cantt had been living peacefully with their Muslim neighbors. He believes the attack was carried out by “radical Muslims linked to the Taliban or Al Qaeda with the goal of provoking a clash between local Christians and Muslims.”

A Christian advocacy group in Pakistan, the Center for Legal Aid, Assistance, and Settlement (CLAAS), said that although police have registered the attack, “they are not investigating it as they would if the attack had been on a mosque.” There was no immediate comment from police, although the government has pledged to crackdown on Islamic extremists....

"Clash of Civilizations"

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute recently posted a video of a debate I had with Columbia University’s Hamid Dabashi, entitled, “Islam and the West: Clash of Civilizations?” In part due to Dabashi's adamant and passionate position, I consider this one of the more meaningful debates I have engaged in.

Intellectual successor to the late Edward Said, Dabashi, according to his website, is “Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York, the oldest and most prestigious Chair in Iranian Studies…. Professor Dabashi has written 18 books, edited 4, and contributed chapters to many more. He is also the author of over 100 essays, articles and book reviews in major scholarly and peer reviewed journals on subjects ranging from Iranian Studies, medieval and modern Islam…”

Prior to our debate, ISI took Dabashi and me to dinner. I found him to be an affable man, even if we went on to strongly disagree over any number of issues in our debate.

"Jurors found him guilty on 34 charges, including support of Hamas, money laundering and tax fraud."

An update on this story. "Holy Land Foundation chief sentenced to 65 years," by Jason Trahan for the Dallas Morning News, May 27:

DALLAS — One of the founders of the Holy Land Foundation was ordered to serve 65 years in prison Wednesday morning as sentencing began for five men convicted on charges in the largest terrorism financing case in American history.

"I did it because I cared, not at the behest of Hamas," Shukri Abu Baker, 50, of Garland, told the judge during a long address to the court where he explained why he founded what was once the nation's largest Muslim charity organization.

U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis, after cutting him off over the objections of his defense attorney, told the convicted man, "You didn't tell the whole story. Palestinians were in a desperate situation, but that doesn't justify supporting Hamas."

Another defendant, Mohammad El-Mezain, 55, was sentenced to 180 months in prison, followed by three years of supervisory release after serving that time. Jurors found him guilty of providing support to Hamas, having been acquitted on 31 other charges in 2007.

The sentences come six months after a federal jury in Dallas convicted the men on Nov. 24 of funneling more than $12 million to the Palestinian group Hamas.

It has been illegal to offer Hamas support since it was designated a terrorist organization by the Unites States in 1995.

The group has taken credit for hundreds of suicide bombings targeting Israeli civilians.

The across-the-board convictions on 108 separate charges were a major victory for the Bush administration following a 2007 mistrial of the same five men on nearly identical charges.

The men were not accused of violence.

Rather, Holy Land contributed money to, among other things, agencies that supported survivors of suicide bombers.

Sometimes Holy Land officials sent those families money directly.

Holy Land's supporters say the prosecution was a politically motivated product of Bush's "war on terror" and a prime example of post-Sept. 11, anti-Islam hysteria.

Their lawyers portrayed them as pious Muslims who only wished to help their Palestinian brethren in need.

The government's case, which was streamlined for the second trial, chronicled the founding of Holy Land in the late 1980s by Hamas supporters as the group's primary source of fundraising in the United States.

Evidence showed that Holy Land organizers' openly pro-Hamas rhetoric at fundraising rallies in the early 1990s was toned down after President Bill Clinton designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Baker was born in Brazil in 1959, moved to Palestinian territory as a child and lived in Kuwait before coming to the U.S. in 1980. He served as Holy Land's CEO. Jurors found him guilty on 34 charges, including support of Hamas, money laundering and tax fraud.

The sentencings were expected to take most of the day.

"In Swat valley's capital, Mingora, the business and administrative hub of the district, the military said troops carried out house-to-house searches, while clashes in the area left eight insurgents dead." Now the Taliban's "concern" for the people of Mingora makes sense.

"Swat capital to be clear of Taliban in days: Pak," by Lehaz Ali for AFP, May 27:

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — Pakistan vowed Wednesday to wipe out the Taliban from a key district capital within three days, as fierce fighting raged during a month-long offensive to crush the insurgents.

Around 2.4 million people have fled fighting as soldiers struggle to wrest back the northwest Swat and two nearby districts from the Taliban, who advanced last month to within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the capital Islamabad.[...]

In Swat valley's capital, Mingora, the business and administrative hub of the district, the military said troops carried out house-to-house searches, while clashes in the area left eight insurgents dead.

"Mingora city will be cleared of militants in next 2-3 days," it announced in a daily briefing update on the offensive...

"Mr. Obama: reconciliation cannot be separated from reciprocation. The Islamic World must not demand from us that which they are unwilling to return to us and to extend to their own citizens of other religions. I hope you help them understand reconciliation is a two-way street." As Obama prepares to demonstrate his respect for the Islamic world, he would do well to in fact ponder this interconnection between reconciliation and reciprocation.

"A Message to President Obama From Christian Copts of California: Reconciliation With the Islamic World is a Two-Way Street," from Earth Times, May 27:

LOS ANGELES, May 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On June 4, 2009, Mr. Obama will be traveling to Cairo, the Egyptian Capital, to deliver a message to the Islamic World. The speech is expected to address ways to mend the differences between the Islamic World and the United States. The hope is for the speech to bring some kind of reconciliation between the two.

The relationship between the United States and the Islamic World has suffered serious setbacks in recent years. The Muslim World has been voicing feelings of grievances against the USA. As a result many Muslim radical groups emerged with agendas opposing the USA. The groups perpetrated a series of major attacks against Americans and U.S. interest worldwide. [...]

Of course, it is crucial for the USA to listen to the Islamic World's point of view. I hope somebody tells them it is equally crucial for them to listen to America's point of view. Historically the USA has done sufficient favors for the Muslim World to earn respect rather than such vehement hatred. Somebody needs to remind them the USA has been good to them. A large part of U.S. foreign aid has been going to Islamic countries.[...]

Ironically, some of such are neighboring Muslim nations. Somebody needs to remind the Muslim World that polite reciprocity for generous kindnesses shown is supposedly an Islamic custom.

Internally, Muslims seeking residency on USA soil have been welcomed with open arms. American Muslims enjoy the same freedoms, equality and justice every American citizen expects. There are no restrictions on their religious practices and they are free to expend efforts to convert as many Americans as they can to Islam. Mosques, Islamic centers and schools are freely built allover the country. Such freedoms are most definitely not offered to those of other faiths within the boundaries of the Islamic World.

An example is Egypt, the capital of the Islamic World, where Mr. Obama has chosen to deliver his speech. Egyptian Muslims seeking to convert to Christianity or to any other faith are not permitted to do so. Christians need presidential decrees to build new churches and governor's approval to repair existing ones. There have been instances where Christians were arrested for praying in their homes without a permit. Egypt's Christians number around 15% of the nation's total population. Yet, they are represented by less than 1/2 % of elected parliamentary representatives. An imposed quota on some jobs limits the hiring of Christians to 2% or less. Many high ranking jobs are completely out of reach of Christians.

Mr. Obama: reconciliation cannot be separated from reciprocation. The Islamic World must not demand from us that which they are unwilling to return to us and to extend to their own citizens of other religions. I hope you help them understand reconciliation is a two-way street.

No surprise, since five years ago, Uzbekistan was predicted to be the "New Terror Central." "Islamic Jihad admits responsibility for attacks in Khanabad," from Interfax, May 27:

Moscow, May 27, Interfax - The Islamic Jihad group has said it was responsible for the attacks in the Uzbek town of Khanabad on Tuesday.

The Islamist organization issued a statement in the wake of the attack: "several editor's offices received a statement from a person who claimed that he represented the Islamic Jihad," the Uznews.net website reports.

The authors of the statement claimed that "a group of Mujahideen of the Maveranahr unit of the Islamic Jihad organization carried an armed attack on the departments of police and the National Security Service in the town of Khanabad, Andizhan region."

"Mujahideen completed their mission and successfully, without losses, returned to their quarters," the statement reads.

The statement "was written in correct Uzbek language using Cyrillic script," the Uznews.net website said.

According to the statement, the attack was revenge against Uzbek authorities for "the murder of innocent Muslims."

Islamic Jihad also took on responsibility for explosions which took place in the Andizhan region on May 26.

According to the Uznews.net, a total 16 people were killed in the May 26 events in Khanabad and the Andizhan province. Sources in Andizhan said that more than one explosion rocked Andizhan, the website reports. A second explosion occurred in the Istanbul shop where, according to one of the theories, "one or several armed suspects were hiding and soldiers were called in to neutralize them," the website reports.

Speak out against religious apartheid, Mr. President!

The story says he will attend no public events, but why not? As long as he wants to show the Islamic world that he respects Muslim culture, why not pay his respects to the local culture? No visit to Riyadh would be complete without a stop at Chop-Chop Square!

Or maybe he could use the occasion of the visit to stand up for human rights against Sharia, but I won't be holding my breath.

"Obama Adds Saudi Arabia Stop to Mideast Trip," by Michael D. Shear for the Washington Post, May 26 (thanks to James):

President Obama will travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for a previously unannounced visit during which he will discuss Mideast peace with King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, press secretary Robert Gibbs said today.

The visit will take place the day before Obama is to deliver a speech in Cairo, Egypt. In the speech, he is expected to speak broadly to the Muslim world and also discuss his hopes for peace in the region.

Gibbs said that Obama will hold no public events in Riyadh but will have a private dinner with the King and will spend the night in the city before heading to Egypt...

"They have confessed to having strangled Amandeep and smashed his face with stones.”

Islamic law, of course, forbids a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man, although a Muslim man may marry a non-Muslim woman -- thus ensuring that non-Muslim communities are forever diminishing as the House of Islam expands.

"Missing schoolboy murdered; body found with face smashed," from Express News Service, May 27 (thanks to G.S.):

Mumbai: A 14-year-old schoolboy from Kurla’s Bailbazar area was found murdered at Khalapur in Raigad district, bringing alive memories of the Adnan Patrawala and Mukeem Khan kidnap and murder cases.

Police said the body of the boy, Amandeep Banwait, was found in a ditch near a highway in Khalapur, face smashed beyond recognition. Using a tailor’s tag on the shirt as clue, Khalapur police traced the boy’s family.

Two college boys and a student of Class XII have been held in connection with the murder. Police inquiries reveal they were against the closeness of Amandeep with a girl, said to be the sister of two of the suspects....

Police enquiries with residents of the neighbourhood led them to the suspects. “Some residents told us they had heard of an affair between Amandeep and the cousin of two of the suspects. They said they had seen him and the girl’s elder brother warning Amandeep to stay away from her,” said Padhalkar.

Fahad, his brother, reported to be a minor, and their friend Salim have been held. “We arrested the three. They confessed that when Amandeep hadn’t paid heed to their warnings, they plotted to murder him. A day before abducting him, Fahad and Salim rode to Khalapur in a motorbike to ‘finalise’ the spot and on May 18, Amandeep was lured into accompanying them for a ‘sightseeing’ trip. He was taken to Khalapur. They have confessed to having strangled Amandeep and smashed his face with stones,” police added....

A much-needed review of an important new book, Defeating Political Islam: The New Cold War by Moorthy S. Muthuswamy. "BOOK REVIEW: Reversing U.S. policy in AfPak," by Diana West in the Washington Times, May 27:

As the U.S. military slogs on, confused, trying to win the "trust" of the Afghan people; as the Obama administration, illogically, attempts to explain its way through Pakistan's "uneven" record of fighting jihad to a new $7.5 billion aid package (on top of $12 billion spent by the Bush administration), it is great luck to come across a book like Moorthy S. Muthuswamy's "Defeating Political Islam: The New Cold War." It contains all the answers to the questions looming over our widening and deepening presence in "AfPak," and more.

In short, the United States fails to understand Pakistan - whose army, not incidentally, sports the motto "Faith, piety, and holy war in the path of Allah" - for what it is: a member state of what the author calls "the axis of jihad," which also includes Saudi Arabia and Iran. These three nations - with their arm's-length proxy armies of the Taliban, al Qaeda and Hezbollah - are the most aggressive purveyors of what the book describes as "political Islam," the jihadist creed based on Islamic doctrine that is destabilizing the world, from India's Kashmir region to Britain's old mill towns, from all of Israel to Parisian banlieues.

This destabilization is happening in plain sight, but incredibly, few see it as clearly as Mr. Muthuswamy. Nearly eight years after Sept. 11, 2001, such blindness marks the epic negligence of our leadership, beginning with former President George W. Bush. On Sept. 12, 2001, the brand-new "war president" embarked on what may be remembered as his most successful campaign: his "Islam is peace" offensive, which to this day confuses our policies, not to mention our people.

Mr. Muthuswamy, an Indian-born, U.S.-educated nuclear physicist, draws the opposite inference from the "Islamic trilogy," including the Koran, the Hadiths (traditions of Muhammad) and the Sira (biography of Muhammad). He instead argues that "extremism - not moderation - is the mainstream among Islamic traditions." Such a viewpoint stands the basis of post-Sept. 11 security policy on its head, from constructive engagement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, as recommended by the 9/11 Commission (whose "major blunder," Mr. Muthuswamy believes, was exonerating Saudi Arabia), to coalition-building efforts with Iraq and Afghanistan.

Working with "moderates" in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, he explains, hasn't weakened political Islam in these nations. While it may have temporarily deflected jihadist attacks on the West, he writes, "Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have continued to direct jihad at Israel, India and others. With political Islam as their guide, these societies have changed little since 2001." As a result, Mr. Muthuswamy argues, it is high time to reverse the bizarre U.S. policy that, in effect, holds political Islam in the same esteem that the Islamic world does.

This is the PC or "politically correct" policy that informs not only our engagement with "axis of jihad" nations but also our occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Muthuswamy writes: "As an occupying power in need of local cooperation, America could in no way afford to totally discredit political Islam, since it represented mainstream Muslim religious institutions. ... America's best chance of weakening political Islam and achieving true liberation in these areas, as it did with the former Soviet Union-based communist movement, is to function as a non-occupying power."

"True liberation"? Doubtful. But "weakening political Islam"? You bet. Taking this paradigm of the "non-occupying power" and other lessons from the Cold War, Mr. Muthuswamy urges, for example, a propaganda campaign against political Islam akin to that waged against communist ideology. It would target "educated Muslims" in the West, he writes, who "would benefit from the local media and the government propaganda machinery willing to discredit the theological roots of political Islam."...

Read it all.

Once again, it doesn't seem to occur to this writer that "Islamophobia," if any irrational hatred of Muslims actually exists at all, is caused by Islamic jihadists doing evil and justifying it in the name of Islam -- not by "negative coverage."

If Muslims around the world don’t want Islam to be perceived as encouraging violence, they should take these five steps:

1. Stop committing violent acts.

2. Stop justifying those violent acts by reference to the Qur’an and Sunnah.

3. Stop saying violent or hateful things in private when they think no non-Muslims are around. For example, the imam Umar Abdul-Jalil, executive director of ministerial services for the New York City Department of Correction, was secretly recorded a few years ago while speaking at an Islamic conference in Arizona. Muslims, he said, invoking Qur’an 48:29, must be "compassionate with each other" and "hard against the kufr [unbelief]." In Britain, Hamid Ali, imam of the mosque frequented by the July 7 bombers, praised the bombers and called their terror attack "good" in a conversation secretly recorded by an undercover journalist. Publicly, he had condemned the attacks. In a mosque in the Czech Republic, a Muslim secretly filmed by a documentary filmmaker says Islamic Shari’a law, including the stoning of adulterers, should be adopted by the Czech Republic. Cleveland imam Fawaz Damra, who has since been deported for failing to disclose his ties to terror groups, signed the Fiqh Council of North America’s condemnation of terrorism, despite having declared at an Islamic conference that "terrorism, and terrorism alone, is the path to liberation."

Do such incidents mean that every Muslim who professes to have adopted Western notions of pluralism and the equality of dignity and rights of non-Muslims and Muslims is dissembling? Of course not. But they do mean that non-Muslims are perfectly justified in being suspicious of Muslim protestations of moderation and opposition to terror. Consequently deeds, not just words, are needed. To conclude my five recommendations, genuinely anti-terror Muslims should:

4. Begin comprehensive international programs in mosques all over the world to teach against the ideas of violent jihad and Islamic supremacism.

5. Actively work with Western law enforcement officials to identify and apprehend jihadists within Western Muslim communities.

"Islamophobia’s impact on the world," by Faraz Omar for the Saudi Gazette, May 27 (thanks to Maxwell):

“It just seems now that all we ever get in the media is Muslims and Islam. The working class seems to have been forgotten. (Some) 25 years ago, I didn’t know what a Muslim was or that Muslims followed Islam. Now we can’t escape hearing about Muslims.” – A disgruntled reader commenting on a recent Guardian piece

NEGATIVE coverage of Islam and Muslims in the media is no secret and it’s making people averse to Islam, not to mention the amount of hassles innocent Muslims are facing with authorities in non-Muslim countries. The revelations of how MI5 is blackmailing British Muslims; the case of award-winning Pakistani writer, Mohammed Hanif, being detained for over two hours at New Zealand airport last week; the case of Indian actor Mammootty being grilled for two hours at New York airport earlier this month; and the dramatic arrest and subsequent release of 12 Muslim students in Britain over suspicion of terrorism last month are examples of what is happening everyday around the world.

Further, communities are totally disconnected from the reality and truth about Islam and Muslims. A joint survey by Gallup and Coexist Foundation published in the first week of May 2009 found that European Muslims are more loyal than other citizens to their respective countries. But only a small percentage of non-Muslim citizens trusted Muslim citizens for their loyalty. For example, 76 percent of British Muslims believed in the integrity of the justice system as opposed to 55 percent of the general populace and 82 percent of them said British Muslims were loyal citizens, but only 36 percent of their neighbors believed Muslims were loyal citizens. What a total disconnect!

And of course, there are no reasons for this mistrust. It is irrational and springs out of nowhere.

After 9/11, negative reporting of Islam took an unprecedented shift. What were once extreme abusive criticisms by a selected minority of right-wing neoconservatives began to be accepted in the mainstream media. The Pentagon invested heavily in information warfare. The 2003 Pentagon document “Information Operations Roadmap” signed by the then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (declassified in 2006) revealed US military plans for psychological operations, including: public affairs officers who brief journalists, psychological operations troops who try to manipulate the thoughts and beliefs of an enemy, computer network attack specialists who seek to destroy enemy networks. (BBC, Jan. 27, 2006) The objectives were clear and the investment was huge. Islamophobia entered every medium of communication, from major media outlets to bloggers, movies to soap operas and popular sports to video games – nothing was spared.

Result? The Guardian reported a UK study in 2007 that “91 percent of articles in national newspapers about Muslims were negative.” Research into a week’s news coverage found only 4 percent of the 352 articles positive....

This statistic came out in the New York Times last week, and then the Times reporter seemed to backpedal on it. Now the Pentagon has reaffirmed it.

"One in 7 who leave Guantanamo involved in terrorism," from Reuters, May 26 (thanks to Sr. Soph):

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seventy-four, or one out of every seven, terrorism suspects formerly held at the U.S. detention site at Guantanamo Bay are confirmed or suspected of having returned to terrorism, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

Of more than 530 detainees transferred from the U.S. base in Cuba, 27 are confirmed and 47 suspected of "reengaging in terrorist activity," according to a written Pentagon summary.

The total of 74 has more than doubled since May 2007, when the Pentagon said about 30 had gone back to terrorist activity, and increased slightly since January, when the figure stood at 61....

Citing information from the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon provided the names and brief details of 15 former detainees it said had been confirmed as having returned to terrorism and 14 suspected of doing so.

The list included former detainees accused or convicted of terrorist offenses in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Russia.

Among the more recent cases mentioned were two men repatriated to Saudi Arabia in 2007, Abu Sufyan al-Azdi al-Shihri and Mazin Salih Musaid al-Alawi al-Awfi, said to have announced in a video message in January that they were leaders of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a new group.

Among those accused of the most serious offenses was Said Mohammed Alim Shah, also known as Abdullah Mahsud. Repatriated to Afghanistan in 2004, he blew himself up to avoid capture by Pakistani forces in July 2007, the summary said.

According to a Pakistani official, he directed an April 2007 suicide attack that killed 31 people, it said....

And "demand" an apology. More on this story. "Greek Muslim associations sue policeman," from SETimes.com, May 26:

ATHENS, Greece -- Muslim associations in Athens have filed a lawsuit against a policeman who allegedly desecrated a copy of the Koran last week, media reported on Monday (May 25th). Last Thursday, the policeman allegedly took a Koran from a customer during a police check at an Athens coffee shop, ripped it apart, threw it on the floor and stomped on it. Police say the officer did not know it was Islam's holy book.

The Pakistani community in Greece called on the government to assume responsibility for the incident and demanded an apology from authorities. The incident prompted two days of protests by hundreds of Muslims in central Athens. Violent clashes with police on Friday injured at least 14 people and damage several businesses; 46 people were arrested.

"And left despite her refusal." This account tries to imply that, by going against her wishes, this young jihadi was behaving erroneously. In fact, he almost certainly was aware of that centuries old ruling that, when jihad becomes an individual obligation (i.e., defensive jihad, deemed a fard ayn), the permission of the father is not required for any young would-be jihadis. If that's the case, obviously the permission of the mother is moot.

"Saudi Arrested in Pakistan Asked Mother's Blessing to Perform Jihad…And Left Despite Her Refusal," by Turki Al-Saheil for Asharq Alawsat, May 25:

Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- The mother of Fawzi al-Rashidi, one of the four Saudi nationals arrested by Pakistani authorities whilst disguised as a woman, could not convince her son to turn away from what he described as performing "Jihad for the sake of God" on Afghan soil.

Naif al-Rashidi informed Asharq Al-Awsat that his brother Fawzi, who appeared on television screens last week dressed in traditional brown Pakistani garments had attempting to obtain his mother's blessing to join the ranks of the fighters along the Pakistani – Afghan border.
Naif told Asharq Al-Awsat "Fawzi would sit next to my mother and insist that she allow him to go and perform Jihad. He was attempting to go with her consent, but her position was clear on this issue, and she said that she would not forgive him if he went there."

However Fawzi, who gave a false name to the Pakistani authorities after he was arrested in Pakistan's tribal region along with three other Saudi nationals, did not heed his mother's repeated calls against travelling to Afghanistan. According to Naif al-Rashidi, his brother Fawzi did not have a history of ideological fanaticism or religious extremism during his youth, and that he dropped out of education after completing Middle School.[...]

Naif al-Rashidi told Asharq Al-Awsat that his brother Fawzi, who used to work for a private company selling Japanese cars, would publicly repeat that he was going to perform Jihad as people had "guaranteed his entry into Paradise."...

Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca ("The people of sunna and consensus"). Reading this report, however, one would think they're just another "armed" Somali group, with no Islamist overtones. "Somali Armed Group Says It’s Poised to Defeat Al-Shabab," by Peter Clottey for the Voice of America, May 26:

A Somali armed group has vowed to defeat hard-line insurgent groups, including al-Shabab, which aim to topple the new government. The Alhu Sunna Waljamaca armed group claims it would have destroyed al-Shabab a long time ago if President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed had taken its advice soon after he was elected leader of the government.

On Monday, President Sheikh Sharif pleaded with the international community to help his administration ward off Islamist rebels who have reportedly drawn in hundreds of foreign fighters to their ranks.

Al- Shabab refuses to recognize the new Somali administration, vowing to topple the government.

Sheik Abdulkarim Rasik is a leading member of the al-Sunna armed group. He told VOA that the group needs the support of the president to destroy al-Shabab.

"The country has been at war for almost 20 years and when the president came to Mogadishu, we talked. And we told him that it was better for him to obey the Alhu Sunna Waljamaca because they know the problem of these groups, especially Shabab or Hizbul Islam," Rasik said.

He said the current administration has so far failed to adhere to warnings of the group despite holding negotiations with the president and his ministers.

"The president has not accepted our suggestion. Although we were continuing our fighting in the central regions… we succeeded, I think," he said.

Rasik said the risk of the government being toppled by al-Shabab and other foreign fighters would be minimal if the administration had listened to them.

"The president realizes the problem and now he is facing a lot of challenges. So we think and know that this is not progress, because the situation is deteriorating day after day," Rasik said.

He said the new administration is now realizing that the threat of the government being overthrown is growing rapidly.

"The president is fed up and they (foreign fighters) are determined to topple this government. And they think they are succeeding in the fighting of their war," he said.

Rasik said all the administration needs is to ask for help from the armed group to help ward off the insurgents.

"If the president needs help or support from us, we will support if Allah wills. But he may change because he and al-Shabab were in the same group when they were in the ICU (Islamic Courts Union)," Rasik said.

Rasik said Alhu Sunna Waljamaca is capable of defeating the Islamic insurgents and other foreign fighters, including al-Shabab...

However, the Taliban now claims to be concerned for the "safety of civilians" in the Mingora region -- where it once ordered the killing of women seen in the market place. "Taliban will avoid combat in Mingora," from the Daily Times, May 26:

ISLAMABAD: The Taliban urged Mingora residents on Monday to return to the town where they promised not to attack the security forces because of concern for the safety of civilians. Asked if that meant a ceasefire, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said, “No... Our aides will remain there in Mingora.” “We will fight for the enforcement of sharia law till the last drop of our blood,” he told AFP

I promise not to be. But many of the learned analysts will be -- after all, why doesn't Obama's Moderate Taliban rise up and put a stop to this sort of thing?

"'If We Now Kill Schoolgirls, You Shouldn't Be Surprised,'" by Matthias Gebauer and Shoib Najafizada in Spiegel, May 26 (thanks to C. Cantoni):

Responding to threats from the Taliban, at least 10 girls' schools have shut down near Kunduz in northern Afghanistan. Visiting the schools is a dangerous proposition -- a trip leading directly into the heart of Islamist territory.

When the deputy director of Aqtash High School talks of the government, he isn't referring to Hamid Karzai's central government in Kabul. Nor does he refer to the provincial administration in Kunduz. "The Taliban are our government," Bashir says. "They have taken over our region, their commanders give the orders here."

Bashir is standing in a dusty classroom on the ground floor of his modern school, roughly half an hour from Kunduz by car. As recently as just one month ago, he says, some 400 girls were still coming to the school in three daily shifts to learn reading, writing and arithmetic. Figures and formula are still scrawled across the blackboard.

But now, the girls' classrooms have been left to deteriorate. The desks and chairs are still laid out in neat rows, but a film of dust has collected, and Bashir stands helplessly in the middle of the room. "Parents in Aqtash are afraid to send their girls to school anymore, after the death threats," he explains. The school director speaks quietly and carefully. He too is afraid, and several of his teachers double as informants for the Taliban. The bearded fighters, he says, would certainly not like it if they knew a reporter was at the school in Aqtash. "You should leave quickly if you want to get out of Aqtash alive," he whispers.

'Apprehended and Killed'

Bashir's warning is hardly an exaggeration. Not 30 minutes after our arrival in Aqtash, located 15 kilometers northeast of Kunduz just off the main north-south arterial, a group of a dozen Taliban fighters, armed with AK-47s, gathers in front of the blue arch at the entrance to the school. "What do you want here?" one of the fighters calls. "This is our region, the Islamic Emirate of North Afghanistan."

Memo to Honest Ibe Hooper of CAIR: Shouldn't that be the Misunderstanders of Islam Emirate of Afghanistan?

Anyway, read it all.

In Sharia court a woman’s testimony is worth half as much as that of a man. Says the Qur’an: “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; so that if either of them commit an error, the other will remember” (2:282).

Islamic legal theorists have restricted the validity of a woman’s testimony even further by limiting it to, in the words of one Muslim legal manual, “cases involving property, or transactions dealing with property, such as sales” (’Umdat al-Salik, o24.8).

Otherwise only men can testify. And in cases of sexual misbehavior, four male witnesses are required. Not just witnesses who can testify that an instance of fornication, adultery, or rape happened: these witnesses must have seen the act itself. This peculiar and destructive stipulation had its genesis in an incident in Muhammad’s life, when his wife, Aisha, was accused of infidelity. The accusation particularly distressed Muhammad, since Aisha was his favorite wife. But in this case as in many others, Allah came to the aid of his Prophet: he revealed Aisha’s innocence and instituted the stipulation of four witnesses for sexual sins: “Why did they not produce four witnesses? Since they produce not witnesses, they verily are liars in the sight of Allah” (Qur’an 24:13).

Consequently, it is very difficult to convict men of what the Sharia considers to be sexual crimes (zina). As long as they deny the charge and there are no witnesses, they will get off scot-free, because the woman’s testimony is inadmissible. Even worse, if a woman accuses a man, she may end up incriminating herself.

"Bangladeshi single mother caned over paternity row," from AFP, May 26 (thanks to Religion of Peace):

DHAKA (AFP) — A 22-year-old unmarried Bangladeshi woman who was caned 39 times for alleging a neighbour was the father of her son is fighting for her life in hospital, police said.

The case has shocked the impoverished Muslim-majority nation, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordering the woman to be shifted from her village home to the capital for proper medical treatment.

Local police chief Moshiur Rahman told AFP that the woman, from Comilla, 70 kilometres (43 miles) east of the capital Dhaka, had angered Islamic clerics when she told friends that a neighbour had fathered her six-year-old son.

They called her and the alleged father to appear before a makeshift Islamic court, but the man denied the paternity claim, Rahman said.

"He held a Koran in one hand and swore to the village clerics that he was not the father of the boy. The village court found him not guilty," he said.

"They also issued a fatwa that the woman should be caned 39 times for lying."

The woman, seriously injured after the caning, was admitted to a local hospital but was later shifted to the country's largest hospital in Dhaka on the orders of the Prime Minister, Rahman said.

Two of the clerics have been arrested for repression of women, he said, and DNA testing had been arranged to determine the father of the child.

In other words, can we just have the deal you offered us before we tried to take over the whole country? But this time the Pakistani government is saying No Dice.

"Taliban seek return to peace deal in Pakistan," from CNN, May 26 (thanks to DJ Martyr):

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Pakistani Taliban -- under pressure in fighting with the military -- said Tuesday it wants to return to a peace deal that recently collapsed.

That collapse sparked the ongoing massive military operation, a Taliban spokesman said Tuesday.

Taliban militants in Swat Valley have announced that they are willing to disarm if the Pakistani government allows sharia, or Islamic law, to be implemented in the region, a spokesman for Taliban mediator Sufi Mohammed said.

The government rejected the offer, saying the Taliban must pull out of Swat or face arrest, state information minister Syed Sumsam Ali Shah Bukhari said Tuesday. According to Bukhari, the offer shows that the Taliban's morale is down and they are retreating....

Think this can't happen in the West? Geert Wilders is already on trial in The Netherlands for insulting Islam. But this can't happen in the United States -- we have the First Amendment, right? Sure. But the Organization of the Islamic Conference is pushing hard at the UN to criminalize what it considers to be insults to Islam, including truth-telling about how jihadists use Islamic texts and teachings to gain recruits among peaceful Muslims. All it would take would be one President who wants to cozy up to the UN and the OIC, and who pushes legislation classifying Islamorealism as "hate speech" -- and a compliant Supreme Court that would specify that such "hate speech" was not protected under the First Amendment.

Couldn't happen? I hope you're right.

"Turkish author on trial for insulting Islam," by Ibrahim Usta for AP, May 26 (thanks to James):

ISTANBUL (AP) — A Turkish author on trial over accusations that his latest book insulted Islam denied the charges Tuesday and insisted he was respectful of religion.

Nedim Gursel faces up to a year in prison if found guilty on charges of humiliating religious values and inciting religious hatred in his novel "The Daughters of Allah."...

A case against him began last year after a citizen complained that the novel — set in the 6th century and describing the advent of Islam — was blasphemous. Gursel has repeatedly said his book, published in Turkey last year, is fictitious and that he did not intend to offend....

"A source in federal law enforcement told Fox Chicago that the case is similar to one that unfolded in New York yesterday" -- that is, May 21, when the Bronx synagogue plot was foiled. Bronx synagogue plot background here. "Police Raid Apartment, 2 In Custody," from MyFoxChicago, May 22 (thanks to Pamela):

Glenda Johnson saw so many police and plain clothed federal agents on her block that she thought someone had been shot.

"The police was so crowded, you couldn't even walk past. They was in trucks, they was in cars, they was in regular cars. It looked like someone had killed someone," said Johnson.

That swarm of badges consisted of the FBI, Chicago Police and the Joint Terrorism Task Force. In their sights were two buildings on the 6300 block of North Artesian. People who live in a six flat there say the feds were very interested in its basement, specifically, two storage lockers....

“They was looking for someone who lives in this building. So I was like ‘what's the cause?’ They said ‘we don't want to say yet, but it's a life and death situation.’ I was like ‘wow,’” said Johnson.

A source in federal law enforcement told Fox Chicago that the case is similar to one that unfolded in New York yesterday.

Choi notes (via Pamela) that the raid took place on the same street where a Muslim was arrested for threatening a Jewish school a few months ago.

FBI Director Robert Mueller was recently quoted saying that American prisons were "fertile ground for extremists." And a 2006 study, "Out of the Shadows," said that "tight-knit communities of Muslims in prison are ripe for radicalization, and could easily become terrorist cells."

That study is three years old. Mueller's warning is not brand-new either. It is not only that already existing “tight-knit communities of Muslims in prison” are “ripe for radicalization, and could easily become terrorist cells.” It is also that there are numbers of people who, already alienated from society and already dangerous to it, find their solace not in a turn to Christianity, where the outcome is likely to be far different, but in an acceptance of Islam. For Muslim missionary activity goes on unmonitored and unchecked all because the Bureau of Prisons, and the FBI and the CIA and others whose duty it is to recognize and thwart dangers to this country, dangers to its legal and political institutions and physical dangers to its citizens, are afraid to recognize that what Islam inculcates in these prisoners gives them an ideological framework, a justification, for their hostility to the circumambient “Infidel” society. Islam offers them a view of the universe in which the central theme is Us and Them -- Muslims against all non-Muslims, with the duty of every Muslim to promote and protect only Islam, to be loyal only to fellow Muslims, to do whatever it takes to engage in the “Jihad” or “struggle” to remove all obstacles to the spread, and then the dominance, of Islam. And that “struggle” can, but need not where it is ineffective, include violence.

How big is the problem? According to a report in The Times, 30,000 to 40,000 prisoners, mostly black, convert to Islam every year. What has been done since the problem has been identified? What members of Congress, what people who are responsible for protecting us, have not only identified this problem, or part of it (as the authors of the 2006 study above did) but suggested ways for it to be dealt with? It is not enough to take at face value the claims of this or that Muslim chaplain who ostentatiously expresses his “horror” at, say, the just-publicized case of the four would-be Muslim terrorists, three of whom, apparently on their Spiritual Search, were easy prey for Muslim missionaries and became Muslims. That did not mean they had to do more than repeat the Profession of Faith, and one doubts that they knew a great deal about many aspects of Islam, including its ban on music and on most forms of artistic expression. And of course they would have had Islam presented to them as a vehicle for carrying their resentment against America or Amerikkka, rather than as a vehicle of Arab supremacism.

True to form, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) jihadists claim they are only responding to aggression -- despite the fact that the Filipino government allowed them to establish Sharia in the southern part of the country.

"Muslim rebels bomb bridge, attack village in southern Philippines," from Deutsche Presse Agentur, May 26 (thanks to Religion of Peace):

Manila - Muslim separatist rebels bombed a bridge and attacked a village in the southern Philippines on Tuesday, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes, an army spokesman said.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Ponce said Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels set off an improvised explosive device before dawn at Lintokan Bridge in Datu Piang town in Maguindanao province, 960 kilometres south of Manila.

Ponce said the rebels then swooped down on the nearby village of Reina Regente, looting homes, local stores and farms before torching at least eight houses.

More than 250 residents were forced to flee their homes as fighting erupted between MILF guerrillas and responding soldiers.

'The flow of relief goods has been hampered because of the MILF's terrorist acts,' Ponce said, noting that heavy vehicles have not been allowed to pass across Lintokan Bridge following the bombing.

More than 27,000 residents have remained in evacuation centres in Maguindanao province after fleeing their homes amid fierce fighting between the MILF and the military last year, he said.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied the rebels had started the hostilities, saying, 'We have forces in the area and they will fire back when attacked.'

The MILF is the largest Muslim rebel group fighting for a separate Islamic state in the southern region of Mindanao...

In "The Halimi Cover-Up" in Israel National News, May 26, Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs discusses the strange silence surrounding the trial of the killers of Ilan Halimi -- a silence that is sadly typical when it comes to incidents of violence in the West committed by Muslims who claim inspiration from the Qur'an and other Islamic texts:

The abduction and murder in Paris of a young Jewish man by a gang of Muslim immigrants calling themselves the Barbarians shocked the whole of France in 2006. But now that the accused are on trial - silence.

A French judge has ordered the latest issue of the magazine Choc ("shock") removed from the shelves. The cover showed a man with duct tape completely covering his head, except for a small opening around his nostrils. His nose is bloody. His hands are also bound with duct tape.

It was a photo of Ilan Halimi, the 23-year-old Parisian Jew who was kidnapped and tortured for 24 days by the Barbarians. His captors took the picture and sent it to his family. A lawyer for Halimi's family had complained about the magazine, but Choc's editor-in-chief Paul Payan responded: "Of course, we understand the anguish of the parents and, of course, we share their anguish.... But what's so harrowing is not the publication of this photo. What's harrowing is what it represents, what happened, the reality behind it."

And it gets worse. The New York Times reported last week that "in the two and a half weeks since 27 people went on trial [in Paris] for the brutal 2006 kidnapping, torture and killing of a young Jewish man, little has filtered out about the proceedings." Worse still, the little that has emerged indicates that French government and law enforcement have done everything in their power to obscure the Islamic Jew-hatred that led these Muslims to commit this crime.

The corrupt media, aligned with the jihad forces, has long blacked out the truth about Halimi's homemade concentration camp and the inconceivable horrors that were suffered by this French Jew, chosen by Islam's soldiers for unimaginable torture. They covered up the religious aspects of this depraved barbarity. Law enforcement did as well.

No one said anything about the Koran's statement that the Jews are the Muslims' worst enemies. No one referenced Muhammad's words: "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say, 'O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.'" Never was there heard anything about the Islamic tradition that says: "When judgment day arrives, Allah will give every Muslim a Jew or Christian to kill, so that the Muslim will not enter into hell fire."

Ilan's uncle, Rafi Halimi, reported that "the gang phoned the family on several occasions and made them listen to the recitation of verses from the Koran, while Ilan's tortured screams could be heard in the background."...

Read it all.

In her May 22 column "Is It All About Britney?" (thanks to Boneshack), columnist Mona Charen takes down Dinesh D'Souza's ridiculous 2006 book The Enemy At Home, which I discussed here and in many other places at Jihad Watch.

In his book "The Enemy at Home," Dinesh D'Souza shows little patience with the leftists who reacted to 9/11 by declaring that America had it coming. And yet, his book is a variant on that theme. It was our cultural decadence, our foul popular movies, music and pornography, D'Souza argues, that enraged traditional Muslims worldwide and moved some to violence....

For the sake of argument, let's stipulate that America's cultural exports in the form of movies and music are the principal cause of Muslim hatred of the United States. This cultural rot did not set in, D'Souza acknowledges, until after the 1960s. Yet the godfather of the radical movement that spawned Osama bin Laden was the Egyptian writer Sayyid Qutb, who formed his fanatical beliefs after living in the United States in the late 1940s .

Qutb was offended by everything about America, from its food to its delight in football and money, and particularly by what he saw as sexual libertinism. "Jazz is the American music," Qutb wrote, "created by Negroes to satisfy their primitive instincts — their love of noise and their appetite for sexual arousal." Attending a church social in (dry) Greeley, Colo., in 1949, Qutb was revolted by what he saw: "Dancing naked legs filled the hall, arms draped around the waists, chests met chests, lips met lips, and the atmosphere was full of love."

So the America Qutb despised was one that most conservatives consider pretty tame. Yet it was to his eyes a sewer. This suggests the cultural divide between American conservatives and Muslim conservatives is more like a chasm. D'Souza speaks approvingly of traditional Muslims seeking to "preserve the innocence of their children," perhaps forgetting that throughout large swaths of the Muslim world, child brides are quite acceptable. When Khomeini took power in Iran, the marriage age for girls was reduced to 9. It has since been increased all the way to 13.

There are other troubling aspects of traditional Muslim family life that D'Souza glosses over. The tradition of honor killing — husbands, brothers and fathers killing their female relatives who engage in immodest behavior — is widespread and uncontroversial in Muslim lands and even in Muslim communities in Europe. Temporary marriage permits Muslim men to "marry" any number of women, for as little as a couple of hours — a barely disguised form of prostitution, which they piously condemn in the West. Rape victims are stoned to death, and so forth.

But even if the radical Muslims are truly enraged by American decadence and see it as an assault on traditional Muslim values — by what stretch of the imagination do they take to suicide attacks as a response? That's some movie review. Besides, no one holds a gun to their heads and forces them to buy the output of Paramount and Time Warner. One can easily imagine a country in the Middle East excluding such things, unencumbered as they are by a First Amendment....

Yes. Read it all.

In FrontPage this morning I discuss Muslim condemnations of the Bronx synagogue jihad plot:

The Muslims who were arrested last week for plotting to blow up two Bronx synagogues and bring down an airplane have exposed yet again the virulence and ugliness of Islamic anti-Semitism. Said one plotter: “If Jews were killed in this attack ... that would be all right.” Plotter James “Abdul Rahman” Cromitie, a jailhouse convert to Islam, said: “I hate those mother-------, those f------ Jewish b------ .... I would like to get [destroy] a synagogue.”

Muslim groups were quick to condemn the plot. Quick to issue statements were the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), and New York Muslim leaders.

Fozia Khan of the American Muslim Women’s Association said: “We believe that violence has no place in our community and is in no way a part of the tenets of Islam. Unfortunately, incidents of this kind hamper our efforts to create harmonious relationships with other religious organizations within our community.”

Since Fozia Khan’s holy book calls for warfare against Jews and Christians until they submit as inferiors to Islamic rule (Qur’an 9:29), and mandates the beheading of unbelievers (47:4), among many other belligerent passages, her assertion that violence “is in no way a part of the tenets of Islam” could bear some elucidation. None, however, was forthcoming from her. Khan complained: “In recent years, we as an organization have had to condemn far too many acts of violence committed in the name of Islam. We would like to stress that the people who commit these acts are misguided and confused and ignorant or unaware of Islam’s ideology of peace and tolerance.”

So why not teach them? One might wonder why Muslim groups don’t become more proactive, and institute programs in mosques and Islamic schools in the West (as well as in the Islamic world) to teach Muslims why the views of Osama bin Laden et al are wrong, and how the true Islam eschews violence against and hatred of unbelievers. Yet CAIR, ISNA, MPAC and the rest have never instituted or even called for such a program. They are ready with the condemnations after arrests or explosions, but why wait passively? Why not act to head off jihadist activity by Muslims?

Yesterday a Jihad Watch reader wrote to me taking issue with an article I posted here at Jihad Watch four years ago, "The Golden Rule and Islam," by Ali Sina of Faith Freedom, author of Understanding Muhammad: A Psychobiography of Allah's Prophet. "All religions," Sina argued, "invariably, are based on the Golden Rule. Islam is not." Here is the letter I was sent responding to Ali Sina's article:

Islamic Text on the Golden Rule: The Quran: “Serve God, and join not any partners with Him; and do good- to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (ye meet), and what your right hands possess [the slave]: For God loveth not the arrogant, the vainglorious” (Q:4:36)

(In fact the Quran goes beyond saying the Golden Rule by stating in more than four places that "Return evil with Kindness." (13:22, 23:96, 41:34, 28:54, 42:40))

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh):
“None of you have faith until you love for your neighbor what you love for yourself” (Sahih
Muslim)

“Whoever wishes to be delivered from the fire and to enter Paradise…should treat the people as he wishes to be treated.” (Sahih Muslim)

"None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself"(Forty Hadith-Nawawi)

“None of you is a believer if he eats his full while his neighbour hasn’t anything.” (Musnad)

“Do unto all men as you would wish to have done unto you; and reject for others what you would reject for yourselves.” (Abu Dawud)

“Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.” (Farewell Sermon)

“There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.” (Ibn- Majah)

I asked Ali Sina for a response, and he very kindly sent me this:

Hello Robert,

The Quran is a book of double standards. Indeed there are exhortations to Muslims to be kind to the poor, the traveler, the orphan and the sick. This is to be expected. If you want to start a religion you must preach something good or you’d not find anyone to believe you. You cannot preach only evil. In order to attract followers you must teach things that people like and can easily identify as good. Once they accept you as a prophet, guru or their spiritual guide, then you can do whatever you want and get away with it.

The difference between a true spiritual teacher and a conman is in their consistency. There are several teachings of Muhammad that can be compared to those of Jesus, but the teachings of Jesus are consistent while those of Muhammad are not. Even a criminal can give you good advises, this does not mean this criminal is a good person.

When I was young there was a radio show in Iran called A City within Our City. Every week the producer interviewed a prison inmate on death roll and the criminal would tell the story of his life and what brought him to crime. At the end of the program the producer would ask, whether the criminal had any advice for young people. These criminals often had the best advices. They knew exactly the difference between right and wrong. I recall thinking, if only someone complied the advices of these criminals he could write the best book of guidance. Good words are dime a dozen. If they are not accompanied by good actions they are worthless. In fact the difference between a great man and a conman is in how much their word and deed differ. Even Obama came to power by giving good talks. His entire life however he befriended conmen, terrorists and hateful people. Demagogy is the domain of all charlatans and they are good at it.

We find similar good exhortations in the teachings of Jim Jones who actually based his religion on “social justice”. He even adopted children from many races to set the example.

The problem with the good teachings of Muhammad is that they are reserved for fellow Muslims. When the hadith says “None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself,.” it is talking about the fellow Muslims. The brotherhood in Islam does not extend to everyone. The Quran (9:23) states that the believers should not take for friends and protectors (awlia) their fathers and brothers if they love Infidelity above Islam. In fact there are many verses that tell the Muslims to kill the unbelievers and be harsh to them. A clear example that Islam is not based on the Golden Rule is the verse (48:29): “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are strong against Unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other.” This is the perfect definition of fascism.

There are many other verses that show the brotherhood in Islam is not universal. The non believers have no rights and should not be treated in the same way that Muslims are to be treated. The entire Quran is a breach of the Golden Rule. The Quran tells Muslims to slay the unbelievers wherever they find them (2:191), do not befriend them (3:28), fight them and show them harshness (9:123), smite their heads (47:4), etc. Are these verses compatible with the Golden Rule?

Islam is the only doctrine that calls upon its believers to do evil to others for the simple fact that they are not believers.

According to Muslims it is not the Golden Rule that defines the good and bad, it is Muhammad who does it. They believe that what is good for Islam is the highest virtue and what is bad for Islam is the ultimate evil. This is the definition of good and evil in Islam. This is the ethos of all cults. From Asahara’s “Aum Shinrikyo” to Jim Jones’ “People’s Temple”; from Sun Myung Moon’s “Unification Chruch” to David Koresh’s “Davidian Branch”, the recurring theme is that the cult’s interests override the human understanding of right and wrong. In order to advance the interest of the cult, which is regarded as the ultimate good, everything, including lying, and even murder and assassination are permissible. The end is deemed to be so lofty that it justifies the means. This is the same idea of fascism where the glorification of the state and the total subordination of the individual to it are enforced.

None of the verse quoted above have anything to do with the Golden Rule.

Verse 13:22 tells the believers to be patient and generous with their money. This is what all cults demand from their followers. The more sacrifice the cultist makes the more he or she can be manipulated. Verse 23:96 asks Muslims to repel evil, whereas the definition of evil for Muhammad was contradicting him. Verse 41:34 is a Meccan verse where Muhammad and his followers were the underdogs and here he preached patience and said repel evil with good so your enemy becomes as friend. Could he have done anything else? These orders changed when Muhammad came to power. In Medina Muhammad banished and massacred entire populations just because he suspected that they may not be friendly to him. 28:54 is a repetition of 23:96 and 42:40 says whoever forgives and amends, he shall have his reward from Allah. However, Muhammad never forgave those who mocked him. As for Muhammad’s unforgiving nature it is enough to recall the fate of Oqba the man who when Muhammad was in Mecca used to mock him and when he was captured in the Battle of Badr, Muhammad ordered his decapitation. He ventured to expostulate, and demand why he should be treated more vigorously than the other captives who were kept for ransom. ‘Because of your enmity to God and to his Prophet,’ replied Muhammad. ‘And my little girl!’ cried Oqba, in the bitterness of his soul, ‘Who will take care of her?’ – ‘Hellfire!’ exclaimed the heartless conqueror; and on the instant his victim was hewn to the ground. ‘Wretch that he was!’ continued Muhammad, ‘and persecutor! Unbeliever in God, in his Prophet, and in his Book! I give thanks unto the Lord that has slain you, and comforted mine eyes thereby.’

How do you reconcile the claim that Muhammad in his farewell sermon said, “Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.” With the fact that in his deathbed he said, “No two religions are allowed in Arabia” and ordered the forced conversion, expulsion or ethnic cleansing of the Jews and Christian and the murder of Pagans?

The sura 9, which is the last words of Muhammad, is a manifesto of discrimination and human rights abuses. This sura alone is proof that Islam is against the Golden Rule

The first requisite to feel the pain and suffering of others is to accept that they have feelings like us and they also feel hurt the way we do. If we deny such feelings on others we do not feel any remorse in abusing them. Muhammad claimed all those who disbelieve in Allah are the worst creatures. He even said that all non-believers will end up in hell where they will be tortured for eternity. How then Muslims can treat equally those whom they believe to be worst than beast and that deserve eternal punishment?

There is nothing in the Quran and Hadith that would make us believe that Islam is compatible with the Golden Rule.

Common sense analysis -- such as is sadly lacking in Washington -- on the jihad threat. "If the Terrorists Misinterpret Islam …," by David Steinberg for Pajamas Media, May 25:

[...] The world’s current conflicts: an Islamic revolt in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq; an Islamic butchery in Sudan; an Islamic civil war in Somalia; an Islamist civil war in Sri Lanka; an Islamic invasion into Chad (perpetrated by the Sudanese butchers); an Islamic insurgency in Thailand; an Islamist insurgency across all of Northeast Africa (the Maghreb); an Islamic separatist movement in Kashmir; an Islamist insurgency in the Philippines; and a sustained Islamic belligerency against Israel involving Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. [...]

First, we withheld judgment on the religion of the attackers. President Bush stood on rubble and promised “the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.” But he also stated, again and again, that we are not at war with Islam, simply with a perverted form of the great religion. It was a subjective, anti-intellectual conclusion. It was not based on reason, and the correct response regarding liberalism’s stance toward Islam should have been: “We have not reached an answer yet.”

The left took a similar stance, if only initially — they withheld judgment on the religion of the attackers but then chose to blame Western policy towards Islamic lands for motivating the terrorists. Subjective is not a descriptive enough word for this. Essentially, that was the end of the Left’s investigation — which, stunningly, is exactly what Leftism required.

The non-Left liberals? Those with any connection to the beliefs of the classical liberal have spent the past decade asking the questions they are required to ask:

• Do societies ever turn to terroristic, totalitarian behavior solely because of outside oppression, or do the movements arise from within?


• Is Islam as it is practiced by terrorists and aggressive Islamic countries a new phenomenon? Or does it predate contact with the West?


• Is it possible for one religion/culture to be more worthwhile to humanity as a whole than another?


• Is it racist to think Islam is inherently violent?

These questions researched, the next step was to thoroughly examine the Koran, the Hadith, and the Sira, and the accepted interpretations of such by Islamic scholars and leaders.

• Quite simply, what was Mohammad’s life like? How does it compare, objectively, to other prominent religious figures? How did subsequent Islamic leaders interpret Mohammad’s teachings, and — most importantly — how did they act in response? If Islam as interpreted by the terrorists is not true Islam, what is the strain of moderate Islam called? Who are its leaders and its followers? What is their literature? Where is it practiced?

Almost eight years following 9/11, eight years to address these questions, and I am hard-pressed to find any sort of sizable leftist group of voters who know a bloody thing about the contents of the Koran.

The classical liberals? We’ve done what was required of us in the name of defending liberty. Feel free to challenge our bulletproofed conclusion, but we promise your failure:

If the terrorists misinterpret Islam, then so does Mohammad.

The evidence concerning Islam is as much logic and reason as any government can ever hope to get regarding an international crisis. As an Islamic leader chases the bomb, we do not intend to wait for the illiberal, unreasoned, irrational half-thinkers of the left to simply ask a proper question.

Because they never will.

Read it all.

Years of activity by Iran and by Hizballah in Latin America, encouraged by radical, anti-U.S. leaders, will likely come back to haunt the region. One they're there, getting Hizballah cells in particular to leave will be ugly if a future regime decides they are no longer welcome -- for example, if they are implicated in jihadist attacks in the Western Hemisphere, or if they become involved in local anti-government activities. And there are many possibilities for disaster beyond that. While Chávez and Morales see Iran as an ally against a common enemy (the U.S.) in the short run, at the end of the day, infidels are infidels in the eyes of Islamic law and foreign relations, and Iran has its own agenda to advance in the area. "Foreign Ministry document: Venezuela sends uranium to Iran," by Herb Keinon for the Jerusalem Post, May 25:

In a sign the Foreign Ministry may be switching its focus from dealing primarily with the Palestinians to more "classic" functions involving the rest of the world, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon will travel to South America next week to attend the meeting of the Organization of American States.

Ayalon's visit to Honduras will be a prelude to a visit there later this year by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who has also said he will travel to Africa by the end of the year.

Ayalon told The Jerusalem Post that in the last few years Israel had not paid sufficient attention to Latin America, and that his trip was the beginning of efforts to rectify that situation.

He said that Israel had numerous business and political interests in South America, one of which is to "raise the flag" regarding inroads made both by Iran and Hizbullah in the region.

He pointed out that Hizbullah has "sleeper cells" in South America, including those believed to be responsible for the bombings in the early 1990s of the embassy and the Jewish community building in Buenos Aires. [...]

Another official, however, took a somewhat different view, saying that Lieberman was indeed focusing more attention on South America and Africa than in the past, but that this was primarily due to a feeling that it was urgent to counter Iran, which was making inroads in both continents.

According to a Foreign Ministry document that was published on Ynet on Monday, Iran and Hizbullah are indeed making deep inroads into South America. According to the document, Hugo Chavez's Venezuela was not only helping Iran bypass UN Security Council economic sanctions, but also, along with Bolivia, was providing the Iranians with uranium.

According to the document, Iran moved into Latin America in 1982, through Cuba, and eventually opened a number of embassies in the region, in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela and Uruguay. Teheran developed extensive economic ties with these countries that continue to this day.

Chavez was also responsible for Iran's developing ties with the leftist, anti-American bloc in Latin America made up of Bolivia, Nicaragua and - increasingly - Ecuador, according to the document.

Iran recently opened new embassies in Bolivia and Nicaragua, and Bolivia as well as Venezuela broke off diplomatic ties with Israel after Operation Cast Lead earlier this year.

Israeli concern about Teheran's inroads into Latin America is not new, and emerged at a meeting then-foreign minister Tzipi Livni held with her visiting El Salvadoran counterpart in November, during which she warned that South America was fast becoming a platform for spreading Iranian ideology.

"Iran is searching for openings, and countries it can penetrate, to compensate for the vulnerability created by the [economic] sanctions [against it]," Livni said at the time. "We are witness to the disturbing phenomenon of Iranian infiltration into South America, so much so that Latin America has become a convenient base for spreading Iranian political and economic ideology. The strengthening of ties between South American guerrillas and the Iranian terrorism activists is plain to see."

After Bush declined the offer in 2006. When will the long-winded letters start? "Ahmadinejad Renews Call for Open Debate with US President," from the Fars News Agency, May 25:

"As I invited the US president to a debate in (my address to) the United Nations during my visit to New York in the past, I repeat my call for a debate (with the US president) to study the root causes of global problems and management and collective participation in (the establishment of) sustainable security and peace," Ahmadinejad told foreign reporters in a press conference at the presidential office here in Tehran today.

"The human being and powers should change their view about world management as this is the only way to establish sustainable peace," Ahmadinejad said, and added, "And a major part of this change should take place in the kind of look that the dominant ruling systems have over the world, and a new system should be created in the world equations."

Ahmadinejad offered Bush a televised debate before he traveled to the United Nations in 2006, a proposal that was spurned by the White House which said the suggestion was not serious.

"They say Seattle police should not be undertaking training sponsored by a group they believe is spreading fear of Muslims, regardless of how good the training is." In short, they are angry that the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which, among other things, ignited Muslim rage when it built the Museum of Tolerance atop a centuries abandoned Muslim grave, produced the program.

"Muslims criticize producers of Seattle police training program," by Janet I. Tu for the Seattle Times, May 25:

Saying it's not going to take sides in someone else's feud, the Seattle Police Department is going ahead with a racial-awareness training program that has raised concerns among some local Muslims.

They are troubled not by the content of the training program but by the organization that produced it: the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a 32-year-old Los Angeles-based Jewish human-rights organization perhaps best known for its Holocaust education work.

They accuse the Wiesenthal Center of spreading fear toward Islam by producing or promoting films about extremism within Islam. And they, like many other Muslims elsewhere, are also angry at the center for building a Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem partially on top of what once was an ancient Muslim cemetery.

"The center has an anti-Muslim agenda, to be frank," contends Arsalan Bukhari, president of the Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The Wiesenthal Center disagrees.

The disputed land on which the Jerusalem museum is being built has been used as a parking lot for about the past 50 years, according to the center. And Liebe Geft, director of the center's Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, says the films in question take on anti-Semitism and the dangers of a small subsection of Islam, not Islam as a whole.

The center "does not condemn Islam. It actively confronts Islamophobia," Geft said.

The Seattle Police Department got caught in the middle when it began looking for a training program for employees on race issues.

It found Perspectives on Profiling, a Wiesenthal Center program geared toward people in law enforcement. The program features interactive exercises and vignettes on CD-ROM of real-life scenarios officers might encounter.

The goal is to make officers more conscious of what and how they think about race, and how their thinking might affect the split-second decisions they make on the streets every day.

The department considered other programs but "this was far and away the best quality," said Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer. The cost was also "remarkably low," he said: about $18,000.[...]

That decision disappoints a local coalition composed of mainly Muslims, but including people of other faiths as well.

They say Seattle police should not be undertaking training sponsored by a group they believe is spreading fear of Muslims, regardless of how good the training is...

What's the big deal about Shariah Finance? No one seems particularly concerned about it, but they should be. Here is an illuminating presentation on a key aspect of the stealth jihad: "Law Offices of David Yerushalmi present Shariah-compliant finance 'disclosure' seminar for online viewing," from DavidYerushalmi.com, May 15:

As Shariah-compliant finance continues apace, professionals and policy specialists continue to ignore a fundamental danger: the lack of disclosure of all the material facts relevant to a post-9/11 investor. This presentation is intended as an in-depth analysis of this critical failure in the current regulatory framework.

The Law Offices of David Yerushalmi, P.C., has prepared this online presentation to assist legal professionals, policy specialists, SEC regulators, Treasury officials, and investors to understand that the Black Box of Shariah compliant finance (SCF) presents a real and present danger not just to our Western financial institutions built on disclosure and transparency, but to our very system of governance and our way of life.

This presentation is entitled: Shariah-compliant Finance: Benign? or Belligerent? It is timely and important for two reasons: first, the interest and investment in Shariah-compliant finance in the West continues to grow, and second, the fragile state of our financial system of late is due to the catastrophic impact of toxic financial products designed as highly sophisticated black box solutions to undisclosed market risk.

Be sure to read it all.

"Unrest in Greece's community of Muslim immigrants is something new, analysts say. 'For so many years, they've been scared and defensive,' said Takis Geros, a lecturer of anthropology of the Middle East at Panteion University. 'To suddenly come out in broad daylight with their faces exposed and trash 75 cars indicates a massive change in attitude.'" More on this story.

"Muslim anger ignites violent new response," by Iason Athanasiadis for the Washington Times, May 25:

Far-right-wing vigilantes burned a makeshift mosque in Athens over the weekend after Muslim immigrants in Athens attacked police with rocks and bottles over an incident in which a policeman reportedly defaced a Koran.

Although Greece has a history of political violence from radical leftists and anarchists, sectarian bloodletting represents an entirely modern phenomenon.

The latest incident began with a policeman who made an identification spot check on an immigrant from Iraq. When word spread that the policeman had ripped and stomped on the suspect's Koran, things got ugly.

Chanting "God is great" and waving leather-bound copies of Islam's holy book, about 1,000 Muslim immigrants demonstrated with a march on Parliament Friday.

When the crowd dwindled to about 300, remaining protesters began throwing rocks and bottles at police and smashing windows at a luxury hotel in central Syntagma Square, according to an account by the Associated Press.

Far-right-wing vigilantes replied over the weekend by setting fire to a Muslim prayer hall. Taken together, the incidents represent some of the worst sectarian violence witnessed in modern Greece.

A spokesman for the Greek police claimed that the policeman did not rip up a Koran, but a folded and glued sheet of paper containing unidentifiable writing in Arabic.

"The isolated and under-inquiry incident does not excuse rioting by individuals committed to damaging citizens property and seriously disturbing the citys social and economic life," said Christos Markogiannakis, the deputy interior minister. "The state will not permit such radical behavior."

Unrest in Greece's community of Muslim immigrants is something new, analysts say.

"For so many years, they've been scared and defensive," said Takis Geros, a lecturer of anthropology of the Middle East at Panteion University. "To suddenly come out in broad daylight with their faces exposed and trash 75 cars indicates a massive change in attitude."

Hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Muslim Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia cross into Greece illegally every year from neighboring Turkey or by sea...

There is no telling who did this at this point. It could have nothing at all to do with jihad.

So why am I posting it?

Because New York Islamic jihadist Youssef al-Khattab, who calls for genocide and has threatened others, hates Starbucks (and how very interesting that he has removed the video to which Jawa linked).

Also, jihadists in London hate Starbucks.

And Sheikh al-Qaradawi hates Starbucks.

Worth watching.

"Explosion outside UES Starbucks," by Scott Curkin for WABC-TV, May 25 (thanks to the Jawa Report):

NEW YORK (WABC) -- An explosive device blew out the windows of a Starbucks coffee shop in a blast that rocked an Upper East Side neighborhood.

The loud blast was heard at the intersection of Third Avenue and East 92nd Street just before 4 a.m.

The explosion took place on 92nd and 3rd avenue.

Police are still looking for the person who left the device outside of the Starbucks.

The time of day echoed that of a pattern of unsolved early morning blasts that have occurred outside the British Consulate, the Mexican Consulate and the Armed Forces recruiting booth in Times Square over the past two years....

UPDATE: Islam in Action has al-Khattab's Starbucks video.

SECOND UPDATE, 3PM PDT: Pamela has photos, plus telling new details, including a noteworthy statement from New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Even though, as this story notes, the last time the Filipino government conceded to sharia law, the more violence came out of it. "Creation of more Shariah courts across the country pushed Philippine lawmaker tables bill for more Sharia courts," by Gilbert Felongco for the Gulf News, May 24:

Manila: A southern Philippines lawmaker is pushing for the creation of more Sharia courts in the country.

Representative Pax Mangundatu believes the move will help Filipino Muslims attain more access to legal services.

Mangundatu, of the first Congressional District of Sultan Kudarat province, said although government permitted Sharia courts, the number of these tribunals were mainly concentrated in the areas in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

"The Sharia courts are only in limited areas of Mindanao and the ARMM. This situation is inconvenient and difficult for Filipino Muslims in solving their personal legal problems," the lawmaker said.

The areas included under the ARMM are the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Basilan, Sharif Kabunsuan and Tawi-Tawi. They also include the cities of Basilan and Marawi.

To address Filipinos Muslims' lack of access to legal services in areas within the ARMM and even those outside the autonomous region, Mangandatu tabled House Bill 6,337.

The bill aims to strengthen the Sharia district court system by establishing Sharia courts in areas where there are large concentrations of Filipino Muslims.

In proposing the creation of a system of Sharia courts, Mangandatu cited Presidential Decree 1,083.

Presidential Decree 1,083 stipulates that the State shall consider the custom, traditions, belief and interest of Filipino Muslims in implementation of government policies.

According to the government, there are an estimated eight million Muslims out of a population of 85 million people.

Mangundatu said his proposals on the creation of Sharia courts aim to help Filipino Muslims resolve their legal conflicts in relation to their distinct personal and family laws.

When monks were abducted, tortured, and forced to spit on the cross. "Two Christian Copts Detained for Third Time in Egypt," by Mary Abdelmassih for AINA, May 21:

(AINA) -- Two Christian Copts, brothers Refaat and Ibrahim Fawzy Abdo, who were falsely accused last May of killing one of the militant Muslim raiders on the Abu Fana, Monastery, have been detained for a third time.

In spite of having been released again by a court ruling this month and the Ministry of Interior losing its appeal against this ruling, Minya State Security Services issued a new detention order, and the brothers were transferred back yesterday for the third consecutive time, to the New Valley detention camp. They were awaiting the implementation of the Court verdict to release them at the Minya prison.[...]

Nader Shoukry of Copts-United says: "The state security is now putting pressure on the families of the Coptic Abdo brothers to leave town, which they rejected, since it is not possible after detaining the brothers for a whole year, to also make their families homeless."

The majority of Coptic activists believe that the Coptic brothers, who have been detained for almost a year, despite being released twice by the courts, have been pushed into this case by the State Security, as 'scapegoats' to draw the attention from the scandal of the Arab attack on the 4th century Abu Fana Monastery last May; a scandal which shocked the world and gave rise to angry Coptic demonstration in all the western cities...

Today is a rather unusual Memorial Day, in that as we remember those who have fallen to preserve the American Republic, the new President is proceeding for the most part according to the assumption that conflicts never need to be solved with wars. All we need to do is understand each other a little better, show the opposition a willingness to give, to compromise, build a few schools, teach our children not to hate, show some respect, and antagonisms and furious hatred will melt away, and all manner of thing will be well.

Unfortunately, sometimes an antagonist may understand his enemy quite well, and receive his largesse, and note his respect, and yet still want to kill or subjugate him for reasons of one's own -- reasons that don't proceed from the Kumbaya-singer's actions at all.

Barack Obama has never shown any sign of having considered this possibility. And he is by no means alone in his apparently unshakable conviction that all conflicts can be solved through negotiated concessions. This is so much a part of the air they breathe in Washington and in all the other capitals of the West that it would be unthinkable even to question it. It isn't even a matter of daring -- no one would ever even get the idea to ask, "What if we offer the opposition everything they have ever demanded and more, and implement state-of-the-art aid and infrastructure packages, and conform to all their foreign policy and cultural demands, and they still hate us?"

They would regard this is an impossibility. The Muslim on the international stage -- be he Ahmadinejad, or Khaled Meshaal, or Abu Qatadah, or any other -- is as far as Obama and the rest are concerned just a reactor, not an actor. He has no power to act apart from the West. He just reacts to what we do. He is, ultimately, at our mercy, and it is up to us and us alone to pacify him. Could he hate us for reasons that are quite independent of what we may be doing or not doing to him? Inconceivable!

The unconscious paternalism of this is ironic, coming as it does from the most besotted of relativist multiculturalists, but in any case, the fact of Memorial Day, and the reality of those who died in this nation's conflicts, shows it all to be false. Sometimes there are disputes between peoples that can't be smoothed over by any amount of negotiation, any package of concessions, anything. And in that case, a nation thus attacked has to fight. If it cannot or will not do so, it will cease to exist.

Today Obama and others who believe we have moved beyond wars, beyond fighting, control the nation's policymaking and decision-making apparatuses. They control the mainstream media. And they have declared the conflict with the global jihad to be essentially over. However, the jihadists themselves have not gotten that memo. We still face a foe, a foe found in virtually every corner of the globe, who believes war and fighting, and the subjugation of those who believe differently, is his religious duty. He will not be pacified. He will fight on as long as he is able. And wherever he succeeds, he will destroy the freedom of speech, the freedom of conscience, the equality of rights of women with men, and the equality of rights of all people before the law. He will destroy the principle of non-establishment of religion, and will establish a state that denies people essential rights on the basis of their religious beliefs.

A huge adjustment in our political and military culture is called for if we are going to defend ourselves effectively from this scourge. It is a matter of will. And part of the the will that we must summon to fight and defend ourselves involves remembering that we are only here to fight this battle today, and only free, because others fought and died throughout history for our nations, our peoples, and the principles of genuine freedom for which we stand.

So let us not just honor them today, but, each in our way, seek to emulate them.

Just after the Pope praised efforts for a Palestinian state comes this show of gratitude from Palestinian Muslims. "PA Muslims Desecrate Christian Gravestones," by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu for Israel National News, May 25:

Palestinian Authority Muslims went on a rampage Sunday and desecrated 70 Christian graves two weeks after the pope praised efforts for a new PA state and tried to appease Muslim anger over previous disputes between the two religions.

The vandals smashed gravestones and knocked metal and stone crosses off graves in the village of Jiffna, near Ramallah, home to approximately 900 Christians and 700 Muslims. Greek Orthodox Church official George Abdo told Reuters the head and hand of a statue of Madonna also was severed....

Sunday’s anti-Christian attack follows years of harassment from Muslims that has escalated a lengthy exodus of Christians from Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The areas enjoyed strong economies from 1967, when Israel took over administration of the areas following the Six-Day War, until 2000, when PA terrorists launched the Oslo War, also known as the Second Intifada.

However, the PA and foreign news agencies have blamed Israel for harsh economic conditions that have chased away Christians. Reuters told its readers that “[Arab] officials say many Christians have emigrated in recent decades. Most cite economic hardships under Israeli occupation, though some also voice fears of less tolerant forms of Islam growing among Palestinians.”

The news agency also quoted Issa Kassissieh, an advisor to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, as saying that the attack was "an isolated act against Christian symbols” and that "Palestinian Christians and Muslims have always lived in harmony in the Holy Land.”...

Dhimmis always say that. If they say anything else, they could be targeted.

Read it all.

You're never too old to resist. "Hero cruise ship Britons fight off armed Somali pirates with deckchairs and tables," from the Daily Mail, May 22 (thanks to all who sent this in):

British pensioners on a cruise ship bravely fought off machine gun-armed Somali pirates by hurling deckchairs and tables at them.

The holidaymakers were enjoying a midnight Mozart concert onboard MSC Melody when pirates armed with Kalashnikovs attempted to board it using grappling hooks and ladders.

But passengers forced them back to their boats by throwing chairs and tables over the stern of the ship as Israeli security guards onboard the cruise liner fired warning shots....

They left Islamic countries, or their parents did, for the West. But in the West -- abetted by multiculturalism -- they maintained or imbibed Islamic sensibilities, and returned to the jihad when the call to do so went out. "The daily said security officials have seen more than 290 fighters from Britain, the United States, Canada, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia enter Mogadishu in recent weeks."

"US anti-terror authorities see Western fighters in Somalia," from AFP, May 24 (thanks to Sr. Soph):

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US counter-terrorism official on Saturday said US nationals had likely joined the ranks of insurgents in Somalia, where Islamist rebels are waging a bitter war against the Western-backed government.

"There is reason to believe that nationals of Western countries, including the United States, have joined up with terrorist groups in Somalia," the official said....

The daily said security officials have seen more than 290 fighters from Britain, the United States, Canada, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia enter Mogadishu in recent weeks.

The violence also comes as evidence grows that some Western-based Muslims have funded jihadi groups operating in Somalia.

Last week a naturalized Canadian man of Somali descent pleaded guilty to conspiracy and providing material support to the extremist network Al-Qaeda.

Mohammed Abdullah Warsame, 35, who lives in Minneapolis in the US state of Minnesota, gave material support to Al-Qaeda by providing training at camps, supplying personnel and providing funds to the group.

In March 2000, according to his plea agreement, Warsame joined an Al-Qaeda training camp near Kabul, and months later traveled to the Faruq training camp where he met Osama Bin Laden....

Senator Joseph Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, told a hearing on the issue that Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, "has radicalized and recruited young Somali men" in Minneapolis to return to Somalia for training and fighting.

"Perhaps as many as 20 Somali-American teenagers and young men have vanished from their homes in Minneapolis and turned up in Somalia," Lieberman said....

Here is a poor quality video of my appearance on Fox News this morning discussing how jihadists are recruiting in prisons all over the country. If anyone has a better quality video, please let me know!

And as is so often the case when jihadists rampage in Muslim countries, the local police did nothing. "Terrorists Attack ISKCON Temple in Chittagong, Bangladesh," from ISKCON News Weekly, May 23 (thanks to Religion of Peace):

On May 18, ISKCON News Weekly received a distraught message from an obviously emotional monk at ISKCON’s Nandankanan Sri Sri Gour Nitai Ashram in Chittagong, the main seaport of Bangladesh.

On May 14 at 3pm, the devotee said, he and his peers were busy preparing for a weekend festival when fifty to sixty terrorists burst into the temple, brandishing knives and iron bars. They first destroyed the kitchens, devotee accommodation, and Gaura Nitai deities. Then, as the devotees ran into the temple courtyard in a panic, the attackers poured boiling water on them from the balcony, badly burning many.

The terrorists also stole ten to twelve thousand taka (Bangladesh’s monetary unit) from the temple donation box, as well as a further ten thousand from individual residents. Devotees phoned the nearby police station again and again, but to no avail.

“Their negligence of duty came at a terrible cost,” Chinmoydham Dasa said in his message to ISKCON News. “Many devotees were injured and had to be brought to the hospital’s emergency room.”

By the time the police finally arrived, the terrorists had caused 80,000 taka worth of damage. Neither did they seem remotely intimidated by the presence of law enforcement. And it was soon clear why. When the terrorists threatened the devotees, “You must all leave now and hand the temple over to us!” the police remained silent, not voicing any defense....

Some background here.

Cleansing his "honor."

"'Honor' Murder in Beit Jan," from Israel National News, May 23 (thanks to Religion of Peace):

(IsraelNN.com) A resident of Beit Jan arrived at the Carmiel police station on Saturday night with his badly wounded daughter, aged 23. The man told police he had shot the young woman in an “honor” attack, because her behavior violated the tenets of Islam....

The young woman died shortly thereafter.

No one is forcing you to stay in this hell, Mr. Mohamud.

"Minneapolis Imam Decries ‘the Hell of Living in America,’" by Patrick Poole for Pajamas Media, May 22:

As the FBI has ongoing investigations in numerous cities across the country looking into the disappearances of possibly dozens of young Somali men who have left the country to presumably join the jihad and train in terror camps back home, attention has recently been focused on one Minneapolis imam. Hassan Mohamud (Jamici) has been singled out by some in that community as being one of the radicalization influences in the Twin Cities.

Minneapolis has the largest Somali population in the country. In an interview with USA Today, Mohamud denied any connection to the missing men. But the findings of one recent news report by the Minneapolis Fox News affiliate is sure to keep Mohamud in the spotlight.

According to that Fox News report, the imam appeared in a fundraising video posted on YouTube (now since removed) for his mosque, the Islamic Daw’ah Institute in St. Paul. In his appearance he encourages viewers to donate to the mosque’s project, which he says “can save you from the hell of living in America.”...

He was also asked about the following comments he had made two years ago when he was interviewed by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine about the legitimacy of suicide bombings for an article:

L&P: The Quran equates the taking of an innocent life with killing all of humanity, yet some Muslims say suicide bombings are justified. Can you explain this contradiction?

HM: There are scholars who say that there is one place where suicide is not prohibited. It’s an exceptional case for them because they have no other means. It is Palestine. This is because it is the only means they have to free their country. Otherwise, any other places in the world, suicide means becomes prohibited.

Read it all.

"Imam Questioned About Controversial Statements," by Tom Lyden for MyFox9.com, March 18 (thanks to Patrick Poole):

ST. PAUL, Minn. - An Imam is being questioned about comments he made about the United States in a YouTube video.

Many credit Imam Hassan Mohamud, from the Islamic Da'wah Center in St. Paul, for saving youth's lives from sin.

But other question comments he made on a YouTube video meant to raise money for the center. "This is a project that can save you from the hell of living in America," Mohamud said in the video....

"The hell term is a religious term," said Mohamud. "It has the meaning of suffering and pain."

Uh huh.

Over the years Russia has again and again shown itself to be dangerously short-sighted in aiding the global jihad. Here is yet another example. "Russia sees Hamas taking more 'realistic' path," from the Associated Press, May 24 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):

Russia's foreign minister said Sunday that Hamas is following a more "realistic" path after Israel's crushing war against the Palestinian terror group controlling the Gaza Strip....

Russia, which has sought to boost its role in the Middle East, has chosen to engage the group, unlike the other members of the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers _ the United States, the United Nations and the European Union. It has invited Hamas leaders to Moscow for talks, including political leader Khaled Mashaal, whom Lavrov met Saturday in Damascus.

"We noticed a more realistic evaluation of the situation, the responsibility that Hamas feels not just for what happens in Gaza but for the fate of the entire Palestinian people," Lavrov said in remarks broadcast Sunday on Russia's state-run Vesti-24 television.

'Hamas won democratic elections'

Lavrov also met with Syrian President Bashar Assad to discuss a proposed Middle East peace conference that Moscow wants to host. The conference would include an effort to restart peace talks between Israel and Syria....

Lavrov said he pressed Hamas to try to maintain a halt to rocket fire. "The ideal thing would be to conclude a formal truce," Russia's RIA-Novosti news agency quoted him as saying....

Lavrov defended Russia's engagement with Hamas, saying that all sides must be included in peace efforts and that shunning Hamas helped lead to the Gaza crisis, according to RIA-Novosti.

"This should have been done much earlier, when Hamas won elections in 2006 that everyone accepted as democratic, free and honest. But because of political prejudice, most Western countries did not recognize the Hamas government," Lavrov said.

And they should stand firm in that.

The Israeli flag will remain, as Netanyahu refuses to play the dhimmi at Obama's behest. "Bibi Rejects Obama's 'UN Flag at Kotel'; Star of David to Remain," by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu for Israel National News, May 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu vowed at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem Thursday night that the Israeli flag will continue to fly over the Western Wall (Kotel). The first prime minister in years to appear at the venerable yeshiva on Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day), he ignored U.S. President Barack Obama’s apparent trial balloon that he wants to see the United Nations flag fly over the Old City holy sites.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II said the president put forward the proposal during his visit to the White House last month.

Prime Minister Netanyahu declared, "The flag that flies over the Kotel is the Israeli flag... Our holy places, the Temple Mount -- will remain under Israeli sovereignty forever.”...

I was on Fox News a little after 7AM Pacific time this morning to discuss jihadist recruitment in prisons with Eric Shawn.

The segment doesn't seem to have made it anywhere onto the Internet, but if it does, I will post it here.

Who will surely assimilate there about as well as their counterparts in DC. "Belgium still ready to take in Guantanamo inmates," from GEO, May 22:

BRUSSELS: Belgium's foreign minister says his government remains committed to taking in several detainees from Guantanamo Bay when the U.S. military prison closes down.

Speaking to La Premiere radio during his current trip to Washington, D.C., Karel De Gucht says it remains to be seen how many former inmates may be taken in.

De Gucht says in Friday's broadcast that he spoke to the White House's national security adviser Gen. James Jones about the issue. He says the matter is complicated by the free travel regulations within the European Union, which would allow the former prisoners to change their country of residence without informing the authorities.

Belgium first offered to accept ``a certain number'' of prisoners freed from Guantanamo when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Brussels in March.

So says an Egyptian security chief; apparently Egyptian al-Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri does not count. "Egypt arrests Qaeda cell over deadly Cairo bombing," by Samer al-Atrush for AFP, May 23:

CAIRO (AFP) — Egypt said on Saturday that police have arrested seven members of an alleged Al-Qaeda-affiliated cell over a Cairo bazaar bombing three months ago that killed a teenaged French tourist.

The interior ministry said those arrested over the February attack were a French woman of Albanian origin, a British man of Egyptian descent, two Palestinians, a Belgian man of Tunisian descent and two Egyptians.

"(Police) were able, through information received and surveillance, to identify a group, some of them Egyptians and others foreigners, affiliated with Al-Qaeda... and seven of them were arrested," it said in a statement.

An Egyptian minister had on Monday announced the arrest of suspects over the February 22 attack in the famed Khan al-Khalili bazaar, but gave no details on the number detained.

A French girl was killed and 24 people, mostly tourists, were injured in the bombing, the first deadly attack on tourists in Egypt since 2006.

The ministry said members of the cell, which called itself the Islamic Army of Palestine and was led by two Egyptians living abroad, were found in possession of weapons and explosives.[...]

Egypt saw a spate of deadly bombings, which killed dozens of tourists and Egyptians, in Sinai resorts on the Red Sea between 2004 and 2006 which the authorities blamed on militants loyal to Al-Qaeda.

On May 10, a small bomb hidden in a car detonated outside a Cairo church, without causing casualties. A security official told AFP that it was similar to the one used in the Khan el-Khalili attack, but police were not linking the two.

A security official told AFP that police believed the Khan el-Khalili attack was the first in Egypt with organisational links to Al-Qaeda.

"This is a big issue, it's the first time we can say Al-Qaeda is in Egypt," he said...

Somali jihad update: "At Least 7 Die In Suicide Attack As Clashes Intensify In Somali Capital," by Mayur Pahilajani for AHN, May 24:

Mogadishu, Somalia (AHN) - At least seven people were killed in Somali capital city of Mogadishu after a suicide bomber attacked as the government forces and hardline Islamist fighters clashed in the central region of the war-torn country.

According to reports, a bomber rammed a truck laden with explosives at the gate of a military base and detonated it in front of the guards.

The attack killed a civilian and six government security personnel. At least seven people were wounded, who were taken to a nearby hospital.

The deadly blast was carried out two weeks after the intense fighting with the Islamist insurgent groups like Al-Shabab and Hisb-ul-Islam groups.[...]

The Islamist militants reportedly have fired mortar bombs at the AU peacekeepers and the presidential palace as fighting rages on Saturday night.

The government troops have reported that the militants are backed by foreign fighters. The AU peacekeepers have called on the United Nations to implement sanctions on Eritrea for allegedly supporting the militants in Mogadishu.

The hard-line Al-Shabab group is reportedly planning to overthrow the transitional government led by moderate Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who was elected by a unity government in January.

He is being holed up in his compound along with the AU peacekeepers and government guards as the battle intensify.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that the internally displaced people are moving to makeshift camps south-west of the capital that already are home to some 400,000 people...

You'll want to read this sitting down. "Jailed Islamic extremists want ban on women prison officers," by Justin Penrose for the Mirror, May 24 (thanks to Twostellas):

Jailed Islamic extremists want women prison officers banned from guarding them during Friday prayers - claiming it's against their human rights. Terrorists at Wakefield jail say having them there while they pray is an "insult to their religion".

The group at the West Yorks jail - led by convicted terrorist Kamel Bourgass who killed a cop during an anti-terrorism raid - told jail governor Jacqui Tilley of their anger.

Female and male prison guards oversee prayers from a glassed office.

Services are held in the prison's gym after the 60-strong group refused to pray in the jail's multi-faith chapel because it was used by "non-believers".

Their single-sex guards demand was refused - but it's feared they could now take their complaint to the European Court and use the Human Rights Act to claim they are being victimised.

A prison source said: "They do not believe female guards should oversee Friday prayers - and they go mad when they are told what to do by a woman. But that's life."

One person interviewed below insists that this situation arises out of "ignorance," not Islam. Indeed, whenever embarrassing issues in Muslim countries come under international scrutiny, we are assured that the problem is not with Islam, but with "culture." However, wherever women's rights are concerned, two aspects of Islamic teachings are very much at issue: The first is the doctrine of segregation of men and women except where the two are not eligible to marry (hence the "breastfeeding" fatwa from an al-Azhar imam). The second is that it is a matter of Islamic belief that women are beneath men (Qur'an 4:34: "Allah hath made one to excel the other"), and "deficient in religion and intellect" (Bukhari 1.6.301). Thus, they are behind men in order of priority for education and employment, among other things.

The consequence of these teachings, together with the social, political, and physical liabilities of insufficient adherence to Sharia law and a sense of entitlement to control over female relatives as a source of "honor," is the avoidance of "shame" at the expense of life itself.

"Gender issues worsen Iraq's medical woes," by Katarina Kratovac for the Associated Press, May 24:

SAQLAWIYAH, Iraq (AP) — This part of Iraq, says Dr. Ayad al-Hadithy, is so conservative that a man would rather have his pregnant wife die in labor than be touched by a male nurse or doctor.

It's just one of the difficulties faced by U.S. and Iraqi officials as they struggle to nurse the war-ravaged province of Anbar back to health. One showcase of their efforts is the reopening last year, for women only, of the Nursing School in Anbar's capital, Ramadi. Another is a field school in the town of Saqlawiyah that has just graduated its first batch of 10 female nurse's aides.

Nowhere are nurses more badly needed than in Saqlawiyah and its surrounding villages, where 50,000 people have no women doctors and only one female nurse and one midwife, both old and overworked.

The area's most recent records, from five years ago when the anti-U.S. insurgency was just beginning, show that one in five women dies in childbirth, and many women never even see a doctor.

The strictures on women as nurses stems from the province's strong tribal society and its puritan reading of Islam. But al-Hadithy, a 49-year-old mother-and-child care specialist, doesn't accept it.

"This is ignorance, not Islam," he said. "Nowhere does Islam say: 'Let your wife die.'"

Another obstacle, he said, is the reluctance of husbands to let their wives travel 25 miles to Ramadi to train as nurses. So three months ago, the center in Saqlawiyah was opened.

But first al-Hadithy had to persuade the village imams to back the project — or at least not preach against it — and the husbands to let their wives train with him.

Yet another problem is that female nursing is a profession held in low regard by Iraqis, because it requires night work and contact with male patients. "But I knew if I could teach them some basic first aid — how to give a shot or take someone's blood pressure — these women would be accepted," al-Hadithy said.

Muzdalifa Hamza, 33, was told about the program by her cousin, Saqlawiyah's only ambulance driver. Her husband approved and the mother of four even persuaded her sister Khulud, 40, to come along.

"When someone knocks on my door in the middle of the night, I now know enough to go out and help a sick person," Hamza said. "But someday I want to be a real nurse." In the fall, she plans to enroll in a three-year course at the Nursing School.

The Saqlawiyah project was spearheaded by Vernon Pressley, a senior public health adviser from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the head of the local U.S. reconstruction team attached to the Marines in Ramadi.

"The sheiks would never have agreed to let women leave for training far away, so I thought of bringing it to them," Pressley said. The Saqlawiyah project has cost $12,000, and the 10 trainees share a monthly wage of $250.

The sum is small compared with the $847 million the U.S. says it has spent on Iraq's health needs since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. But in Anbar, the security issue was huge. The province was a stronghold of the insurgency and the Saqlawiyah center couldn't open until after tribal sheiks switched sides two years ago and joined U.S. troops in the fight.

The nursing shortage is only part of Iraq's hollowed-out health care system, plagued by corruption, mismanagement and a lack of equipment and medicines. [...]

F.R., one of 10 siblings, is a high school graduate who persuaded her family to let her study nursing, telling them that someday she would have a job and bring in money.

"I believe women can work and still be respected," said the 20-year-old.

But their teacher, Suad Aziz, says old prejudices run deep, even in urban Ramadi.

"It's the attitude that nurses are loose women," said Aziz. She looks at her class with hope, saying: "Once we have them graduate and working, things will change."...

Maybe they won't need to, with the stealth jihad advancing almost unresisted there. "Al Qaeda recruits back in Europe, but why?," by Sebastian Rotella in the Los Angeles Times, May 24 (thanks to Danielle):

Reporting from Brussels -- Determined to die as martyrs, the French and Belgian militants bought hiking boots and thermal underwear and journeyed to the wilds of Waziristan.

After getting ripped off in Turkey and staggering through waist-deep snow in Iran, the little band arrived in Al Qaeda's lair in Pakistan last year, ready for a triumphant reception.

"We were expecting at least a welcome for 'our brothers from Europe' and a warm atmosphere of hospitality," Walid Othmani, a 25-year-old Frenchman from Lyon, recalled during an overnight interrogation in January.

Instead, the Europeans -- and at least one American -- learned that life in the shadow of the Predator is nasty, brutish and short.

Wary of spies, suspicious Al Qaeda chiefs grilled the half-dozen Belgians and French. They charged them $1,200 each for AK-47 rifles, ammunition and grenades. They made them fill out forms listing next of kin and their preference: guerrilla fighting, or suicide attacks?

Then the trainees dodged missile strikes for months. They endured disease, quarrels and boredom, huddling in cramped compounds that defied heroic images of camps full of fraternal warriors.

"What you see in videos on the Net, we realized that was a lie," Othmani told police. "[Our chief] told us the videos . . . served to impress the enemy and incite people to come fight, and he knew this was a scam and propaganda."

Disenchantment aside, the accounts of four of the returning militants arrested in Europe combine with intercepts to paint a detailed picture of Al Qaeda's secret compounds. They also reinforce intelligence that a campaign of U.S. Predator drone airstrikes has sown suspicion and disarray and stoked tension with tribes in northwestern Pakistan, anti-terrorism officials say.

At the same time, the case shows that wily militant leaders still wage war in South Asia and train a flow of foreign recruits. The few trainees from the West remain an urgent concern. Anti-terrorism forces have detected at least one American, a convert to Islam, who trained with Al Qaeda in Pakistan during the last year, Western officials say....

Militant paths from the U.S. and Europe may cross: Prosecutors in Brussels have made a request to interrogate a witness now in the United States who was in Pakistan with the European suspects, a Belgian anti-terrorism official said.

Police in Europe tracked the group's radicalization and travel with the help of real-time U.S. intercepts that corroborate the confessions, and they exploited the men's reliance on the Internet. Fear of an imminent attack spurred their arrests here in December after Hicham Beyayo, 25, a Belgian just back from Pakistan, sent a troubling e-mail to his girlfriend.

"I am leaving for an O [operation] and I don't think I will return," Beyayo wrote Dec. 6, according to investigative documents. "My request has been accepted. You will get a video from me to you from the [organization]."

Beyayo told police that he was boasting to impress his girlfriend. But investigators believe the group may have been groomed for missions at home.

"They were much more valuable for operations in Europe," said the Belgian anti-terrorism official, who, like others interviewed, requested anonymity because the investigation is continuing. "Al Qaeda does not need Belgians and French to fight in Afghanistan."

Islamic resistance doesn't come cheap

Beyayo is about 5-foot-5, chubby and bespectacled. Like the others, he is of North African descent. He grew up in the tough Anderlecht neighborhood of Brussels, and his brothers have done time for robbery and arms trafficking. But he does not have a criminal record. He interspersed college courses with fundamentalist Islam.

"He is the intellectual of the family," said his lawyer, Christophe Marchand. "He bears no ill will against Belgium. He went to Afghanistan to join an Islamic resistance movement."...

There is much more. Read it all.

"Rising numbers of British-born fundamentalists are travelling to Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) for jihadist training, prompting the Bangladeshi government to launch a database to monitor the movements of suspected terrorists."

"Bangladesh is 'safe haven for British Islamic terrorists'," by Rachel Shields for The Independent, May 24:

Security experts have warned that extremists training in Bangladesh could pose a major threat to Britain, adding that the south-Asian country has become a "safe haven" for terrorists.

Rising numbers of British-born fundamentalists are travelling to Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) for jihadist training, prompting the Bangladeshi government to launch a database to monitor the movements of suspected terrorists.

UK security services are also turning their attention to the country, fearing it may become a magnet for would-be terrorists as security forces ratchet up surveillance on Pakistan. More than 4,000 British Muslims are thought to have travelled to Pakistan and Afghanistan for military training.

Senior Bangladeshi intelligence sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were keen to crack down on growing fundamentalist activity. But they admitted that lack of technology limits the means they have to monitor suspected extremists.

One source said the country is attempting to create a system to monitor potential terrorists arriving by air, and to secure its borders. He revealed that the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the south, and the land along the Indian border in east Bangladesh, including around the town of Sylhet – the home of many Bangladeshi British expats – were being investigated as possible bases for jihadist training camps.

UK security sources confirmed they stepped up surveillance of Bangladesh after seeing spikes in travel to the country. These corresponded to UK terror plots being foiled – as when 12 suspects were arrested in the north-west of England in April, when scrutiny of travel to Pakistan was at its most intense.

The sources also found that British Muslim extremists travelling to Bangladesh often have links to Asia, and travel into the country via third countries, such as South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh is setting up anti-terror joint working groups with countries including Britain and the US. This follows the visit to Bangladesh by the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, in April last year, to discuss ways the two countries could work together.

Police stepped up security in the country's capital, Dhaka, at the beginning of the month after the British High Commission was one of four foreign missions to receive threats from a group calling itself Jemaah Islamiya al-Qa'ida.

The head of a British-based charity, Green Crescent, was arrested in Bangladesh this month after bomb-making equipment was found at a school run by the group. British-born Bangladeshi Faisal Mostafa, 45, has twice been acquitted of charges of conspiracy to cause explosions, and was given a suspended sentence last year for boarding a plane with a pistol in his suitcase.

"People are now looking to Bangladesh as a potential safe haven. For a safe haven to work you need a passport you can travel on, material, and access to individuals," said Andrew Black, of intelligence and security-services firm Black Watch Global. "Bangladesh, and other countries, need to develop the systems to track and identify individuals moving in and out of the country. These systems are crucial. Jihadist strategists are thinking of new ways to transfer the knowledge, through the internet or through human training, so tracking is going to have to change too."

He was "humiliated" at the prospect of actually doing the job for which he was hired, but in this one case at least, the principle that Western law and custom must in all cases give way to Islamic law does not win out.

An update on this story. "Muslim chef loses tribunal case," from the BBC, May 22 (thanks to George McCallum):

A Muslim chef who accused the Metropolitan Police of religious discrimination when told he must handle pork has lost his tribunal case.

Hasanali Khoja was told he would be expected to handle pork products at his new job at the Empress State Building in Earls Court, west London.

The 60-year-old from Edgware, north-west London, also said racist gestures were made to him when he complained....

What the heck is a "racist gesture"?

Mr Khoja said earlier he was "stressed and humiliated" at the prospect of handling pork products, which Islam considers to be unclean.

He said even wearing gloves or using tongs to cook would not protect him from the risk of splashes.

The catering manager had also claimed that he was the victim of racism by an official when he went to discuss his situation.

What race is Islam again?

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: "We are pleased to have been cleared of allegations of discrimination on the basis of religion or belief against Mr Khoja."

She added: "Mr Khoja remains a valued member of staff."

Why?

An update on this story. "Muslim migrants riot in Athens," from The Age, May 24 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Dozens of cars have been smashed, 14 people injured and 46 arrested in riots by Muslim migrants over the alleged defacing of a Koran by a policeman.

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades at hundreds of protesters outside Parliament in the city centre.

Police said they would investigate the allegation that an officer tore up an Iraqi migrant's Koran while checking his identity papers in Athens last week. "But this isolated incident cannot justify these acts of violence," said Interior Minister Christos Markoyiannakis....

Markoyiannakis, if one wants to riot and hurt the kuffar, virtually any excuse will do.

Ezzat Attiya is the fellow who was ridiculed worldwide and fired from Al-Azhar after coming up with what appeared to be a novel solution to a long-standing problem: how could unrelated men and women work together in the same office, when Islam forbids men and women who aren't married or related to be alone together? Attiya's answer: let her suckle him. Then she will be his foster mother, and they can be alone together.

It seemed novel, as well as ridiculous, but in fact it was based on the words of Muhammad. Attiya, after all, was the head of the venerable institution's hadith department, and so he was no doubt well familiar with this and other, related ahadith:

'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hadhaifa, lived with him and his family in their house. She (i. e. the daughter of Suhail came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and said: Salim has attained (purbety) [sic] as men attain, and he understands what they understand, and he enters our house freely, I, however, perceive that something (rankles) in the heart of Abu Hudhaifa, whereupon Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said to her: Suckle him and you would become unlawful for him, and (the rankling) which Abu Hudhaifa feels in his heart will disappear. She returned and said: So I suckled him, and what (was there) in the heart of Abu Hudhaifa disappeared. (Sahih Muslim 3425)

Muhammad tells the daughter of Suhail to suckle Salim. This will make her unlawful to him, that is, he won't be able to marry her because he will be her foster child. Thus it will be lawful for him to be in the house with her, and Abu Hudhaifa will no longer be angry.

So anyway, now Ezzat Attiya has his job back.

"Egypt court annuls Azhar's decision to expel controversial sheikh: Breastfeeding fatwa sheikh back at Egypt's Azhar," from Al-Arabiya, May 18 (thanks to Twostellas):

CAIRO (AlArabiya.net) The case of the male breastfeeding fatwa, or religious ruling, just took another strange turn as the scholar who issued the controversial opinion was rehired after being fired by Egypt’s al-Azhar University.

The Cairo Administrative Court overturned the decision by al-Azhar's disciplinary committee to expel Ezzat Attiya, the president of the hadith department, for issuing a fatwa condoning the symbolic breastfeeding of grown men in 2007.

The court annulled the university’s decision to expel Attiya after he issued a fatwa permitting symbolic breastfeeding of men as a way to loosen the customs of segregation between the sexes in Egypt.

"No one can argue with a court order,” Sheikh Fawzy el-Zefzaf, head of religion and dialogue committee at al-Azhar, said in a statement Monday. “We respect the Administrative Court and follow its orders without thinking twice.”

Some students at al Azhar University who disagreed with the fatwa nonetheless endorsed the court's deicision, saying that no Azhar teacher should be expelled.

"I am glad the Attiya is back at Azhar because no sheikh should be expelled from his job for his opinions," Abdul Qader Ramadan, 23, told Al Arabiya.

Islam prohibits sexual relations between a man and the woman who breastfed him in infancy. Attiya said that if a woman were to symbolically breastfeed a male colleague, she could be alone with him since he would no longer be considered a potential mate....

No one batted an eye. But just imagine the outcry if a Christian had ridden through a Muslim area calling out on a loudspeaker that Muhammad was a false prophet.

"Jesus was a Jew—not a Muslim," a letter to the editor by Fay Cattini in the East London Advertiser, May 18 (thanks to Twostellas):

Dear Ed,

SOMETIMES people give offence to others intentionally or unintentionally. I am not sure which was the case when a white car went past my house in Spitalfields in East London with a loudspeaker calling out, “Jesus was a Muslim.”

Since I don’t know the man or where he is from, I am writing this in case he reads it as I disagree with his statement.

Jesus lived and died a Jew. We read in The New Testament that he was born a Jew, circumcised when he was eight days old, according to Jewish Law, and went to Jerusalem when he was 13 to be Bar Mitzvah.

As an adult, he observed the Jewish law and in fact said, “I have not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfil them.”...

Previously, he has glorified Khomeini, justified suicide bombing, and preached Islamic supremacism. He is now in Tehran. "Former Washington DC Imam urges stepping up Palestinian struggle," from IRNA, May 18 (thanks to Gabrielle Goldwater):

Tehran, May 18, IRNA -- Imam Muhammad Al-Asi, the Imam (leader) who formerly led the prayers at the Islamic Center of Washington, said here Monday that people from all over the world should be encouraged to go to Palestine to step up the Palestinian struggle.

Speaking at the Fourth General Convention of the International Union of NGOs Supporting Palestinian Rights, Al-Asi said, "Encourage peoples from all over the world to go to Palestine; and if that is not possible to go to Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan, or Syria."

He also called for the establishment of a radio station and/or a satellite TV channel devoted solely to the Palestinian cause....

He asked for the integration or at least coordination of strategies of Islamic Resistance in Palestine with the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon.

He said, "Establish a Palestinian genocide memorial in the capitals of selected countries of Europe and the Americas."...

That could probably be accomplished easily enough.

Yet once again he doesn't explain how exactly they're getting Islam wrong. And considering that he himself has endorsed suicide attacks against Israelis, it is unlikely that his vision would be all that peaceful in any case. One also wonders what kind of "jihad" he wants to see waged against the terrorists. An interior spiritual struggle? Or actual hot warfare? And if the latter, that in itself demonstrates that he endorses religious warfare, and we are back to square one.

And why is he backing a non-Sharia government against those who would impose Sharia?

"Al-Azhar cleric urges ‘jihad’ against terrorists," from APP, May 19 (thanks to James):

ISLAMABAD: Professor Dr Muhammad Syed Tantawi, grand sheikh of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, has urged clerics to wage ‘jihad’ against terrorists who do not surrender before the government. “Ulema and mashaikh should try to educate them and if they do not shun their activities then must wage jihad against them.” Dr Tantawi was talking to Central Imam Hussain Council Chairman Dr Ghazanfar Mehdi who called on him at the university. He prayed for security, stability and prosperity of Pakistan. Dr Tantawi urged the international community to help Pakistan in the rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons of the NWFP.

Sho nuff, or, Indeed they do

Absolutely: the restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of conscience, the institutionalized inequality of rights for women and non-Muslims -- it's just a different vision of human rights, you see.

This kind of thinking will appeal to multiculturalists. But imagine what the world would be like if FDR and Churchill had explained in 1940 that Hitler's Germany simply had a different notion of human rights from the one that prevailed in America and Britain, and that the world should respect that.

"Muslims Have Own Human Rights Systems," by Sadeq Dehqan for Iran Daily, May 18:

Head of the Foreign Ministry’s College of International Relations Bahador Aminian on Sunday said western countries have become used to abusing human rights to exert pressure on other countries.

In an interview with Iran Daily he said Iran as an Islamic state continues to promote human rights.

“The definition that Islam renders about human beings and the value system that it offers is what the masses demand from the international community. As such, Iran should not be accused for non-observation of human rights. We believe that the notion of cultural diversity and human rights can open new vistas for human rights-related issues and hence the college has attended to the issue both from academic and diplomatic perspectives,“ he noted.

On the occasion of the World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, a two-day international training workshop themed ’Cultural Diversity and Human Rights’ opened at the college on Sunday.

Aminian went on to emphasize that human rights should not be necessarily in unison with particular western values and standards as Muslim communities have their own reading of human rights.

“In the workshop we intend to convey the message that different cultures can offer different subjects which are not necessarily what the West wants to impose on the human race. If we define human rights issues by heeding diverse identities and values, we can reach a better understanding of problems visiting the world and overcome them to a great extent."...

Islamic jihadists have always been intent upon characterizing their opponents as Crusaders (or Zionists, or both, as in the indelible honorific Al-Qaeda's Adam Gadahn bestowed upon me: "Zionist Crusader"). Shortly before the beginning of the Iraq war, on November 8, 2002, Sheikh Bakr Abed Al-Razzaq Al-Samaraai preached in Baghdad’s Mother of All Battles mosque about “this difficult hour in which the Islamic nation [is] experiencing, an hour in which it faces the challenge of [forces] of disbelief of infidels, Jews, crusaders, Americans and Britons.”

Similarly, when Islamic jihadists bombed the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in December 2004, they explained that the attack was part of larger plan to strike back at “Crusaders:” “This operation comes as part of several operations that are organized and planned by al Qaeda as part of the battle against the crusaders and the Jews, as well as part of the plan to force the unbelievers to leave the Arabian Peninsula.” They said that jihad warriors “managed to enter one of the crusaders’ big castles in the Arabian Peninsula and managed to enter the American consulate in Jeddah, in which they control and run the country.”

And now comes the revelation that Pentagon briefings once carried Bible quotes. Barry Lynn huffs that U.S. soldiers "are not Christian crusaders, and they ought not be depicted as such."

Indeed. But a few Bible verses doth not a Crusader make. Did American troops in Iraq or Afghanistan impose Christianity on the populace? They did not. (Neither did the real Crusaders, for that matter, but never mind that for now.) Did they even allow proselytizing? They did not. Did the Americans allow for the establishment of Sharia provisions in the Iraqi and Afghan Constitutions that relegated local non-Muslims to second-class status in both countries? Yes, they did.

The whole controversy over these Bible verses is a contrived exercise in moral equivalence, designed once again to distract attention away from the manifest reality that there is a worldwide religious group that is waging war against unbelievers in the name of religion. And the religion in question is not Christianity.

"Pentagon briefings no longer quote Bible: Under Bush, cover pages of daily intelligence report included verses," from MSNBC, May 18 (thanks to all who sent this in):

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon said Monday it no longer includes a Bible quote on the cover page of daily intelligence briefings it sends to the White House as was practice during the Bush administration....

For a period in 2003, at least, the daily reports prepared for President George W. Bush carried quotes from the books of Psalms and Ephesians and the Gospel of Peter. At the time, the reports focused largely on the war in Iraq....

The "Gospel of Peter," eh, MSNBC? So Bush was getting quotes from ancient Gnostic texts? That should be newsworthy in itself, no? But of course...it isn't the Bible.

Anyway, wherever the quotes were from -- and I am sure that they were Bible quotes but that the Bible-illiterate MSNBC reporter got mixed up as to the names of the books they were from -- a Muslim was (stop the presses!) offended:

But they offended at least one Muslim analyst at the Pentagon and worried other employees that the passages were inappropriate.

On Thursday, April 10, 2003, for example, the report quoted the book of Psalms — "Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him. ... To deliver their soul from death." — and featured pictures of the statue of Saddam Hussein being pulled down and celebrating crowds in Baghdad.

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand," read the cover quote two weeks earlier, on March 31, above a picture of a U.S. tank driving through the desert, according to the magazine, which obtained copies of the documents.

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, on Monday said U.S. soldiers "are not Christian crusaders, and they ought not be depicted as such."

"Depicting the Iraq conflict as some sort of holy war is completely outrageous," Lynn said in a statement. "It's contrary to the constitutional separation of religion and government, and it's tremendously damaging to America's reputation in the world."

That last part is probably true. The jihadist propagandists will love this story.

Islamic Tolerance Alert: "EDITORIAL: Christians unwelcome here: The Muslim world is becoming more intolerant," from the Washington Times, May 17 (thanks to all who sent this in):

As the West continues to reach out to the Muslim world with a message of tolerance, some Muslim communities are growing increasingly intolerant toward people of other faiths. A case in point is Iraq, where Christians are being chased out of their homeland.

New research reported by Associated Press indicates that the number of Christians in Iraq has fallen to between half and one-third of the estimated population of 1.4 million before the first Gulf War. Christians have been fleeing the country after being targeted in sectarian attacks, and most find the general climate increasingly less accommodating. After a series of particularly violent anti-Christian attacks in Mosul last October, leaders of the Catholic Chaldean church and other Christian denominations wrote a protest letter stating that "it seems that Iraq is one step closer to becoming an Islamic state intolerant to non-Muslims."

The Taliban last week threatened Pope Benedict XVI, whom they call "the most important personality in the Christian world," with violence over "stupid and irresponsible acts of proselytism" they contend are being conducted in Afghanistan by "crusader" missionaries. This followed edited footage aired on al-Jazeera that appeared to show the military's top chaplain in Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Gary Hensley, encouraging troops to "hunt people for Jesus." Unedited footage released later showed the chaplain discussing in detail what constituted impermissible proselytizing and cautioning the troops not to cross the line.

For the Taliban, the mere presence of Christians in their country - not to mention Jews, Hindus and others - is anathema. Under current Afghan law - which is under the regime the United States and other Western countries are expending blood and treasure to defend - converting to another religion from Islam is a capital offense. Afghan aid worker Abdul Rahman, who converted to Catholicism, was allowed to flee to Italy after his arrest in 2006 created an international outcry....

Non-Muslims refuse to bow to demands that they abide by Islamic law in...Knoxville, Tennessee. An update on this story, posted somewhat belatedly. "The Hill to sell alcohol next week despite mosque concern," by Jessie Pounds for the Knoxville News Sentinel, May 8 (thanks to Christopher):

KNOXVILLE -- The Hill restaurant in Fort Sanders, which has been the source of controversy over sales of alcohol, will open Wednesday despite concern by members of an adjacent mosque.

The Hill owner Trevor Hill said he found out this week that his request for a liquor license has been granted by the state.

Members of Anoor mosque, which is 191 feet from the restaurant at 1105 Forest Ave., have been upset about the possibility of a business that sells alcoholic drinks and stays open late being located on property next to their mosque.

Some mosque members tried to block Hill from getting a liquor license but were unsuccessful. Knoxville’s local beer ordinance establishes a 300-foot buffer zone around churches and other community institutions for a beer permit but waives the requirement if the establishment is granted a state liquor license....

"Local sources told Compass that in the last few months there has been a wave of arrests of Christians who are held with no official charges. Sources spoke of cases where detainees are held for months in prison, where they are badly beaten and tortured.... Local church leaders believe recent pressure is a response to rumors of an increase in Christian converts in Egypt due to Christian satellite programming, although arrests go beyond converts to Coptic-born Christians."

This Christian satellite programming is none other than Haya TV, spearheaded by Father Zakaria Botros, who, incidentally and according to his biography, was also repeatedly arrested with no formal charges and tortured when he resided in Egypt. More on the Copts' increasingly dire situation.

"Egypt: Stabbing, bombing attacks strike near two churches," from Compass Direct News, May 22:

Copt leaving sanctuary knifed in Minya; bomb explodes near venerable structure in Cairo.

ISTANBUL, May 22 (Compass Direct News) – In separate attacks in Egypt earlier this month, a Coptic Christian suffered severe stab wounds as he left a worship service in Minya, and a car-bombing outside a venerable church in Cairo disrupted a wedding.

Without provocation, three Muslims repeatedly stabbed Coptic Christian Girgis Yousry, 21, as the army conscript was leaving the gates of the church of Saint Mary in Minya, Upper Egypt on May 2, according to Copts United.

The assault left him with severe injuries to internal organs, and he was taken to the district hospital, where he was still receiving treatment at press time.

When Yousry’s father went to the police station to report the attack, the Intelligence Services officer in charge threw him out of the station. Three men implicated in the stabbing, Wael Mohammed Hagag, Mohammed Nasr Anwar and Shabaan Sayed Amin, were arrested on May 5 and have been given a 16-day initial incarceration while the investigation is underway.

All three men stand accused of attempted murder without premeditation, which carries a sentence of five to 15 years.

But Mamdouh Nakhla, president of the Al-Kalema Centre for Human Rights, said he thinks it unlikely that they will be convicted.

“From my experience over the last 15 years, in Minya in particular, all cases of attacks and murder against Christians either went without punishment and [the accused] were totally exonerated, or they were given suspended sentences,” he said.

Home to Egypt’s largest community of Copts (approximately 4 million), Minya is considered a hotbed of anti-Christian violence.

“I am aware of severe injustices happening to Christians who are being incarcerated for no reason,” said Nakhla. “This is my experience of Minya.”

Local sources told Compass that in the last few months there has been a wave of arrests of Christians who are held with no official charges. Sources spoke of cases where detainees are held for months in prison, where they are badly beaten and tortured.

“Police brutality is a widely practiced policy,” said one source, “especially in rural areas, group punishment and systematic intimidation and humiliation are expected practices against all citizens, Christians included.”

This month Compass learned of three illegal arrests of Christians that have taken place since November 2008. Two of the men who were detained have since been released.

“When people are released, they have been beaten and electrocuted so that they are hardly standing up,” said a local Christian.

Local church leaders believe recent pressure is a response to rumors of an increase in Christian converts in Egypt due to Christian satellite programming, although arrests go beyond converts to Coptic-born Christians...

At least two of the four Bronx synagogue jihadis "entered the system as Baptists and were paroled as Muslims." More on this story. "State prisons are major breeding ground for Islamic radicalization," by Wil Cruz, Joe Kemp and Patrice O'Shaughnessy for the Daily News, May 22:

The four men accused of plotting to blow up synagogues and shoot down a plane all did stretches in state prisons - a major breeding ground for Islamic radicalization.

At least two of the suspects, James Cromitie and Onta Williams, entered the system as Baptists and were paroled as Muslims.

The concern about prisons incubating jihadists has been heightened in the debate over releasing Guantanamo terror suspects to facilities across the U.S.

FBI Director Robert Mueller has called America's prisons "fertile ground for extremists."

A 2006 study called "Out of the Shadows" found "tight-knit communities of Muslims in prison are ripe for radicalization, and could easily become terrorist cells."...

More on this story. "Peshawar locals warned against wearing western clothes," from The Dawn, May 21:

PESHAWAR: Taliban hardliners are warning people against wearing Western clothes in the capital of Pakistan’s northwest region where the military is battling militants, residents said Thursday.

‘I received a piece of paper written in Pushto, saying that doctors and medical workers are wearing unIslamic dress which should be stopped,’ said Abdul Hammed Afridi, chief executive of Peshawar’s main government hospital.

‘It was from Tehrik-e-Taliban because the back of the envelope was marked TTP,’ he said. ‘I have not issued any order to change dress. Anybody is free to wear whatever clothes he likes,’ Afridi added.

But people working at smaller, private companies said they were steering clear of Western-style trousers and shirts, instead donning traditional shalwar khamiz after colleagues were beaten up in the streets.

‘My office advised me in writing to stop wearing western dress and start wearing shalwar khamiz after incidents of violence,’ Mohammad Saghir, who works for a private company, told AFP.

‘Last week one of our colleagues was kidnapped by the Taliban, beaten and warned that pharmaceutical staff should stop wearing western dress,’ said Mohammad Nasir Khan, president of a medical representative’s organisation.

‘They put a warning letter in his pocket after beating him,’ he said.

‘One employee of our courier company was beaten on Tuesday and militants warned him to stop wearing T-shirts and trousers,’ an employee at a private company also told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"The United States had criticised Pakistan’s policy of making deals with the militants..." Not always. "General rules out talks with Swat Taliban," from The Dawn, May 23:

KHWAZAKHELA: Major-Gen Sajjad Ghani, who is leading the ongoing military offensive in the upper part of the valley, ruled out any possibility of talks with militants.

‘Today they stand isolated, not only in the valley but also at the national scene. I think this is a big achievement of the government as well as the military,’ military spokesman Maj-Gen Athar Abbas said.

Maj Ghani said the military was determined to eliminate the Taliban and ruled out the possibility of any talks or a ceasefire with the militants.

‘This time it has been decided to take the operation to its logical conclusion aimed at eliminating the terrorists,’ he said.[...]

The United States had criticised Pakistan’s policy of making deals with the militants but has applauded its recent resolve to fight what some US leaders have called an ‘existential threat’ to the country.

Just a few, the jihadist leader said. "British and American fighters respond to jihad call in Somalia," by Tristan McConnell for the Times Online, May 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Up to a thousand foreign fighters, including Britons, have answered the call to jihad in Somalia and are leading street-fighting Islamist extremists in the war-torn capital Mogadishu, The Times has learnt.

Early yesterday the Western-backed Government launched a counter-offensive after almost a fortnight of attacks by insurgents that have killed at least 200 civilians.

At least 45 people were killed yesterday in battles across the city, the highest daily death toll for months.

The insurgents’ attacks have threatened to topple the shaky Government of Sheikh Sharif Ahmed only weeks after the international community pledged £135 million to support him.

Senior security officials in the region say that the foreign fighters are behind the recent success of the extremists. More than 290 fighters from Britain, the US, Canada, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia entered Mogadishu in the past two weeks.

An intelligence report seen by The Times, which is due to be presented to the US Congress next week, states: “An estimated ten foreigners have taken the lead to command both Somali and foreign fighters in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia.”

“I have no doubt that some of the foreign fighters are British as well as North American and Scandinavian,” said Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the top Somali diplomat for the United Nations. One Western diplomat with experience in Somalia said: “These foreigners are the ones with al-Qaeda links. I would be surprised if Britons were not the leading foreign members of al-Shabaab.” [...]

“Al-Shabaab welcomes and calls foreign fighters for jihad,” said Jason Mosley, an Africa analyst at Oxford Analytica. In most cases foreign fighters bring religious fervour helping to radicalise the bulk of disparate al-Shabaab militants, who fight mostly for money or under duress.

Of course, if there were not broad acceptance of Sharia in letter and in principle across Somalia, the jihadists -- styling themselves as bearers of "law and order" -- would not have gotten as far as they have.

A smaller number have military skills, financing and weaponry. “We understand that these fighters are providing training to the extremist insurgents and are helping to mobilise funding and source weapons, the level of which we have never seen before,” Nicolas Bwakira, the head of the African Union (AU) Somalia mission, said.

Intelligence sources said that foreign jihadis from Britain and elsewhere had joined an alliance of al-Shabaab factions and Hizb al-Islam extremists that have coalesced around Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys. The Sheikh, who is wanted as a terrorist by the US, returned from exile in April to take on the fragile Administration of Mr Ahmed.

Apparent confirmation of this story. "Somali insurgent leader says Eritrea supports fight," by Abdi Guled for Reuters, May 22 (thanks to Maxwell):

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - An influential Somali insurgent leader said on Friday Eritrea supported the rebel fight against the government in a holy war that was as much an obligation for Muslims as prayer.

Speaking in his office in northern Mogadishu, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said a few Arab fighters had joined the rebellion, which is battling to overthrow Somalia's new government and President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.

Heavy fighting on Friday in the capital killed at least 45 people and wounded 182, the highest daily death toll in more than two weeks of intense battles, after government forces launched a dawn offensive on Islamist strongholds.

"Eritrea supports us and Ethiopia is our enemy -- we once helped both countries but Ethiopia did not reward us," Aweys, dressed in a dark suit, told Reuters in an interview.

Eritrea has been blamed for supplying the hardline Islamist insurgents with weapons -- a charge it has repeatedly denied -- and the United Nations says hundreds of foreign fighters have joined rebel ranks in recent months.

"There may be two or three Arabs who were moved by Islam to fight alongside us. But there is no large number of foreign Mujahideen in Mogadishu. We and the Arabs are all Muslims -- so we are Arabs," he said.

Curiously, he didn't say, "We are all Somali," calling to mind the ethno-religious logical gymnastics seen in Sudan, where identity as an Arab Muslim is prized over black African heritage in the ruling classes, even when the latter is obvious.

"We are not fighting for positions, but for Islam. It is agreed upon within Islam that Christians and those they support are the same -- so war is incumbent upon us, like prayer."

The insurgents want to rid the Horn of Africa nation of African Union peackeepers, impose a strict version of sharia law and overthrow an administration they see as Western stooges.

"Somalia has no government we recognize," said Aweys. "We should not be deceived by Westerners like Sharif."[...]

Aweys, who is on U.N. and U.S. terrorism lists for alleged links to al Qaeda, returned to Somalia from Eritrea in April. [...] Envoys from Ahmed and clan elders have tried to persuade him to reconcile with the president, but failed.

"Palestine, Afghanistan and Eritrea resisted war and difficulties for more than three decades," he said.

"We shall defeat the government soon, God willing. Let the injured ones and those who lost their brothers be patient -- we are left with little time -- and then God will grant us victory," Aweys said with a chuckle.

How? By prohibiting the consumption of pork in the Koran. This is a manifestation of the kind of thinking that has led to the slaughtering of pigs in Egypt, the U.A.E., and elsewhere in the Islamic world. Even though the swine flu isn't really spread by pork, it has become in the Islamic world a way to assert Islamic principles at the expense of unbelievers, and impose another element of Sharia upon them. "Nigeria: Swine Flu - Allah Forewarned U.S.," by Dr. Fahmi Mustafa Mahmoud in the Daily Trust via AllAfrica.com, May 22 (thanks to Twostellas):

Almighty Allah says: [Say (O Muhammad), "I find not in that which has been inspired to me anything forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, unless it be Maytah (a dead animal) or blood poured forth (by slaughtering or the like), or the flesh of swine (pork, etc.) for that surely is filth, or impious (unlawful) meat (of an animal) which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah (or has been slaughtered for idols, etc., or on which Allah's Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering). But whosoever is forced by necessity without willful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits, (for him) certainly, your Lord is Oft--Forgiving, Most Merciful.] (Al-An'aam: 145)

It was through modern science that people came to know the wisdom behind Islam prohibiting certain stuffs. This prohibition was made before the discovery of the microscope. The prohibited stuffs are; dead animals where bacteria find an environment to grow, blood that contains even more bacteria, and finally swine whose bodies are magnets of some morbid strains that cannot be removed by any means of purification.

The body of the swine is a place where many parasites, bacteria, and viruses grow and can be transfused to human beings and animals. Some of these parasites are limited to pigs such as dysentery balantidium, spirals trchinella, solium taenia, and cysticercosis. Some of these maladies are common to men and animals like influenza, buski fasciolopsis, and ascaris.

It's known that Balantidiasis is widespread among the swine herders and those people who mix with them. This malady may become epidemic under certain circumstances. This happened in one of the islands of the Pacific after a hurricane which spread the dung of swine all over the island. Wherever swine exists, such plagues and maladies erupt even in highly advanced countries. This is counter to their claims of the possibility of purging it through modern techniques which make the prohibition of pork invalid. In certain countries, the consumption of pork has become widespread and normalized as in Germany, France, Venezuela, and the Philippines. [...]

1- Almighty Allah says:

{He has forbidden you only the Maytah (dead animals), and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah (or has been slaughtered for idols, etc., on which Allah's Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering). But if one is forced by necessity without willful disobedience nor transgressing due limits, then there is no sin on him. Truly, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful}. (Al-Baqarah: 173)

2- Almighty Allah says:

{He has forbidden you only Al-Maytah (meat of a dead animal), blood, the flesh of swine, and any animal which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah (or has been slaughtered for idols, etc. or on which Allah's Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering). But if one is forced by necessity, without willful disobedience, and not transgressing, then, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful}. (An-Nahl: 115)

3- Almighty Allah says:

{Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah, and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience}. (Al-Maa'idah:3)

The prohibition covers all its edible parts, including its fat. The prohibition of fat for Jews only shows that it is counted as meat, since Almighty Allah says:

{And unto those who are Jews, We forbade every (animal) with undivided hoof, and We forbade them the fat of the ox and the sheep except what adheres to their backs or their entrails, or is mixed up with a bone. Thus We recompensed them for their rebellion [committing crimes like murdering the Prophets, eating of Riba (usury)]. And verily, We are Truthful}. (Al-An'aam: 146).

Prohibiting the meat also makes the fat prohibited even if used as fodder for an animal that will be later consumed by a person. At the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, no one ever imagined that such harm existed.

Who could tell such a thing except Allah; the All-Knowing, the All-Wise?! Almighty Allah says:

{But your people have denied it while it is the truth. Say, "I am not over you a manager [i.e., authority]." For every prophecy [i.e., happening] is a finality; and you are going to know}. (Al-An'aam:66, 67)

Two and a half years for aiding a jihad terror organization, and he walks immediately for time served. "'Toronto 18' man sentenced, then released from jail," from CTVNews, May 22 (thanks to Sounder):

A judge has given the first person ever convicted of helping and taking part in a terrorist organization a 2-1/2 year sentence.

However, the 21-year-old member of the so-called "Toronto 18" was freed from custody just after he was sentenced based on credit for time served in custody.

The young man, charged as a youth but sentenced as an adult, will have his identity protected by a temporary publication ban.

He will be under a 10-year weapons prohibition and will have to provide a DNA sample....

"He's somebody who's essentially found guilty of shoplifting, somebody who went to a second (training) camp that was essentially benign," Chernovsky told The Canadian Press outside the court Friday....

But in his ruling, the judge found the convicted man to be genuinely remorseful, to have renounced violence and with plans to become a productive member of society, he said.

Oh, well, then!

He said in his judgment at that time that there was overwhelming evidence that a homegrown Islamic militant cell did exist -- and that it had set its sights on Canadian targets....

Yeah, but who cares? He said he was sorry!

They were members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and were captured at an Al-Qaeda training camp. Bring them to the U.S.! Let McGovern and Delahunt put them up!

"Lawmakers demand Guantanamo Uighurs move to US," from AFP, May 21 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Two lawmakers of President Barack Obama's Democratic Party appealed Thursday to let Uighurs locked up at Guantanamo Bay move to the United States, saying they were victims of injustice.

The plea came despite an overwhelming Senate vote a day earlier to block money to transfer inmates out of the deeply controversial "war on terror" prison in Cuba, which Obama on Thursday vowed again to shut down.

US authorities four years ago cleared 17 imprisoned Uighurs -- members of a largely Muslim group in northwestern China who the State Department says face worsening persecution by Beijing.

But they are stuck at Guantanamo Bay due to fears that Beijing would torture them if they return. The United States has asked Germany, home to a large Uighur community, to take them in.

"We cannot expect the world to miraculously resolve this problem of our own making," Congressman Jim McGovern said.

"It is not enough, quite frankly, to ask that they be placed in Germany or in some other European country. I believe that we have an obligation to resettle at least some of the Uighurs here in the United States."

He and other lawmakers were addressing a world assembly of Uighurs, including dissident leader Rebiya Kadeer, who were meeting at the US Capitol in a bid to showcase their international support.

"Despite all of our words and our resolutions, we have let you down and we have put America's judicial system and our moral standing in the world at risk," said Bill Delahunt, like McGovern a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts.

"The Uighur people are not enemies of America. In fact, I know you admire our fundamental ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," he said....

Obama's full speech at the National Archives can be found here. Among other things, Obama said:

After 9/11, we knew that we had entered a new era – that enemies who did not abide by any law of war would present new challenges to our application of the law; that our government would need new tools to protect the American people, and that these tools would have to allow us to prevent attacks instead of simply prosecuting those who try to carry them out.

"Enemies who did not abide by any law of war." Really? Jihadists from Osama bin Laden to lone attackers like Mohammed Taheri-Azar cite Islamic texts and history extensively to justify their actions, both with respect to the rationale and goals for fighting (see, for example, 8:39, 9:5, 9:29) and the methods they use (5:33, 5:38, 47:4). Indeed, matters from the need (and divine approval) for revenge (2:178) to the treatment of captives (4:3) are all covered therein and followed by jihadists the world over who continually "misunderstand" the "peaceful" and "humane" teachings of Islam with striking uniformity.

Unfortunately, faced with an uncertain threat, our government made a series of hasty decisions. And I believe that those decisions were motivated by a sincere desire to protect the American people. But I also believe that – too often – our government made decisions based upon fear rather than foresight, and all too often trimmed facts and evidence to fit ideological predispositions. Instead of strategically applying our power and our principles, we too often set those principles aside as luxuries that we could no longer afford. And in this season of fear, too many of us – Democrats and Republicans; politicians, journalists and citizens – fell silent.

"Our government made decisions based upon fear rather than foresight, and all too often trimmed facts and evidence to fit ideological predispositions." To paraphrase a well-known slogan, "Yes, You Did!" And the Bush administration did as well. Decisions were made on the basis of fear, and facts and evidence were indeed trimmed to fit ideological predispositions -- specifically, of political correctness. The unwillingness to engage the jihadist ideology in its proper context of Islamic scripture and jurisprudence has hobbled efforts in the War on Terror/Hirabah/Man-Caused Disasters/Your-Euphemism-Here since 9/11, and even before. More on that below.

In other words, we went off course. And this is not my assessment alone. It was an assessment that was shared by the American people, who nominated candidates for President from both major parties who, despite our many differences, called for a new approach – one that rejected torture, and recognized the imperative of closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Setting aside for the moment the Senate's clear disagreement on the Guantanamo issue, have we gone off course? Well, yes, but not in the way Obama thinks. For that matter, in several important ways, we were never on course in the first place:

- Our goals in Afghanistan: The goal of preventing another 9/11 seems to have fallen by the wayside in favor of winning "hearts and minds," currying favor with duplicitous allies, and propping up a democracy for its own sake. Yes, Afghanistan has an elected president and legislature, but it also endorses Sharia as the highest law in the land (naturally, without repudiating or even admitting the existence of tenets of Sharia that are at variance with human rights), and shows a distinctive tendency to throw human rights out the window save for intense international scrutiny and criticism (see, for example Abdel-Rahman, Syed Parwez Kambakhsh, and most recently, the Shi'ite family law).

- The opium trade: To avoid "radicalizing" local populations and win "hearts and minds," the West for years looked the other way from the opium trade despite not only the social impact of opiate addiction, but also the source of funding it provided for the Taliban to regroup.

- Ideology: Above all, willful denial of the basis for acts of jihadist violence in the Qur'an and the sayings and life of Muhammad, as well as for the human rights violations enshrined in Sharia law, sets back Western efforts to prevent jihadist warfare and the advancement of the jihadist agenda impose Sharia law. If the problem is understood to involve "misunderstanding" of Islam or a Tiny Minority of Extremists, it is being vastly and perpetually underestimated. If a sense of dogmatic relativism prevents criticism of Islamic teachings from a Western perspective (both Judeo-Christian and secular-democratic), we are disarmed of a right or reason to prefer one system over another. And if we have already surrendered our right to identify, examine, and criticize the ideology of the jihadist enemy (rather than naïvely outsourcing the job to "sensitive" Islamic or "interfaith" groups), we have already surrendered. It would be difficult to get any more "off course" than that.

The joys of multiculturalism in microcosm. Outrage over nothing, intimidation, cringing dhimmitude, naivete -- it's all here. "Hallway culture clash: In a Toronto apartment building, a feud has broken out over a neighbourly 'hello.' What hath multiculturalism wrought?," by Matthew Coutts in the National Post, May 22 (thanks to Stlreader):

When the landlady of my Toronto apartment building said an outraged neighbour had filed a complaint about me over an apparently inappropriate hallway interaction with his wife, my mind raced through the countless conversations I've had with fellow tenants, none of which seemed a possible source of offence.

It turns out, it wasn't a salacious transaction that had caused the complaint, but rather a neighbourly and -- to me -- entirely forgettable greeting, little more than a brief "good morning" as I passed my neighbours on the way to work.

Still, it was enough of an affront for the man -- once a doctor somewhere in the Middle East, my landlady clarified -- to feel I had broken a cultural taboo. The incident started an awkward feud which has involved warnings not to repeat my indiscretion and one face-to-face shouting match, which included allusions to my impending death.

I expect the battle will wage on, as we appear to be stuck at an impasse.

His Muslim upbringing has ingrained in him a sense of entitlement to demand I not speak directly to his wife; and my prairie upbringing has ingrained in me a duty to strive for polite cohesion with my neighbours.

My landlady, who has handled the complaint with tittering trepidation, hasn't helped dispel the friction. She has told me to adhere to the demands because the man "could be dangerous," directing me to literally turn my back to the couple as they pass, never make eye contact and never hold the elevator for them, no matter what.

Life among neighbours has become increasingly complicated by multiculturalism, in this case making even the most affable salutation or good Samaritan gesture a practice in walking on eggshells. But in trying to adapt to a patchwork of often conflicting cultures, has civility become the casualty of accommodation?...

The funny thing about this is that if this man did start ignoring his neighbors, never holding the elevator for them, never greeting them, etc., onlookers would think him "xenophobic" and say that his coldness was the kind of thing that made Muslim immigrants feel alienated and lash out in terrorist acts.

Wherever it goes, the Taliban forbids public entertainment (unless they think executions qualify), music, videos, and movies, so this attack is both an act of intimidation against Peshawar, where anxiety has already been high, and one of "commanding the right and forbidding the wrong" (Qur'an 3:104, among others). "Pakistan: Heavy casualties in suicide attack in northwest," from Adnkronos Internatonal, May 22:

Peshawar, 22 May (AKI) - At least 10 people were killed and more than 75 were critically injured when a massive car bomb exploded outside a cinema in Peshawar, in Pakistan's troubled northwest. The bomb attack occurred at around 8 pm local time when at least 36 people were inside the cinema.

The suicide bombing is believed to be part of a militant backlash against the government's continuing military operation in the Swat district of North West Frontier Province.

No-one had claimed responsibility for the attack late Friday.

But Senator Zahid Khan, a leader of the secular Awami National Party, told a local TV channel that the incident was carried out by members of the Taliban who slipped out of Swat and were blending in with local people....

Iran?

What claim does Iran have to Jerusalem?

Wouldn't this be a horrific, illegal, immoral occupation?

"PA Peace Plan: Iran to Share Rule over Temple Mount," by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu for Israel National News, May 22 (thanks to Pamela):

Israel may find Iran as one of the administrators of the Temple Mount, according to a new Palestinian Authority plan reported Thursday by the Hebrew-language newspaper Haaretz.

PA sources said giving up claims to the Temple Mount and handing over control to the 57-member Saudi-based Islamic Conference Organization is conditional on Israel’s agreeing to a final status agreement.

That is the group that is trying to destroy free speech at the UN.

Iran, which is classified as Persian and not an Arab country, is part of the Islamic group....

The PA's official website as far back as 2005 rejected the Jewish connection with the Western Wall (Kotel), the remains of the wall that surrounded the Holy Temple area. Muslim legend claims that Mohammed tied his horse to the wall before ascending to heaven, even though the city of Jerusalem is not even mentioned in the Koran.

Writer Daniel Pipes several years offered one million dollars to anyone who can find the name "Jerusalem" explicitly written in the Koran....

Dr. Pipes will never have to pay out that million. The Muslim claim to Jerusalem, based on Muhammad's ascent into Paradise from the Temple Mount, is never mentioned in the Qur'an. Nor is Jerusalem mentioned anywhere at all. Qur'an 17:1 refers to Muhammad's journey to the "farthest [al-Aqsa] mosque," but doesn't say where that mosque is, and the mosque that bears that name now in Jerusalem hadn't yet been built.

A commenter at Jihad Watch has written of Barack Obama’s "utter lack of real life experience as most of us know it in every facet of life..."

He's had plenty of "real life experience." What he hasn't had is plenty of book-learning, of hours in the library, familiarizing himself with the texts and tenets of Islam, so much so, so repeatedly, that he thoroughly understands and assimilates the Total Belief-System, understands the politics and geopolitics of it, and comes to understand the inculcated division between Believer and Infidel.

And even more book learning is necessary: the kind of learning you can acquire from Bat Ye'or's "The Dhimmi" and "The Decline of Easter Christianity Under Islam" and from a dozen other books. Unless he had spent years in a Muslim country, he has to do this. And even that would not be a guarantee of anything were he not able to sink below the surface of life, knowing the local language, able to penetrate the barriers to mental entry -- not merely the obvious deliberate deceptions practiced on all foreign non-Muslims, the taqiyya and kitman, but also the everyday deceptions practiced, each upon each, in societies suffused with Islam.

Two unindicted co-conspirators in a Hamas jihad terror funding case, CAIR and ISNA, join the ADC, MPAC, and New York Muslim leaders in condemning the New York synagogue jihad plot.

"N.Y. muslims [sic] denounce terror in response," by Gary Stern for LoHud.com, May 22 (thanks to News4U):

Muslim groups across New York found themselves having to denounce terrorism yesterday because of the arrests of four men who authorities said wanted to "commit jihad" by bombing two synagogues in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.

It's become a predictable exercise for American Muslims whenever terrorist attacks are committed in the name of Islam anywhere in the world.

Indeed it has. One might wonder why Muslim groups don't become more proactive, and institute programs in mosques and Islamic schools in the West (as well as in the Islamic world) to teach Muslims why the views of Osama bin Laden et al are wrong, and how the true Islam eschews violence against and hatred of unbelievers. Yet CAIR, ISNA, MPAC and the rest have never instituted or even called for such a program. They are ready with the condemnations after arrests or explosions, but why wait passively? Why not act to head off jihadist activity by Muslims?

"We believe that violence has no place in our community and is in no way a part of the tenets of Islam," said Fozia Khan of Armonk, president of the Westchester-based American Muslim Women's Association. "Unfortunately, incidents of this kind hamper our efforts to create harmonious relationships with other religious organizations within our community.

Since Fozia Khan's holy book calls for warfare against Jews and Christians until they submit as inferiors to Islamic rule (Qur'an 9:29), and mandates the beheading of unbelievers (47:4), among many other belligerent passages, her assertion that violence "is in no way a part of the tenets of Islam" could bear some elucidation. None, however, was forthcoming from her, at least from the looks of this article.

"In recent years, we as an organization have had to condemn far too many acts of violence committed in the name of Islam," she said. "We would like to stress that the people who commit these acts are misguided and confused and ignorant or unaware of Islam's ideology of peace and tolerance."

So why not teach them?

Anees Shaikh, spokesman for the Thornwood-based Upper Westchester Muslim Society, said Muslims in New York, like all New Yorkers, were relieved that the alleged plot was stopped.

"The local Muslim community, including the Upper Westchester Muslim Society, has said many times, and continues to say, that we reject terrorist acts and hate-motivated crimes regardless of who perpetrates them or seeks to commit them," Shaikh said. "It's especially disturbing that in this case houses of worship were apparently targeted."...

Yes, indeed.

MPAC, meanwhile, is outraged:

"MPAC Outraged Over NYC Synagogue Plots," from MPAC, May 21 (thanks to Michael):

The Muslim Public Affairs Council is outraged over the alleged plan of four men to carry out attacks against Jewish houses of worship in New York City. The four men were arrested after planting what they thought were explosives near a synagogue and community center. MPAC applauds the FBI for foiling the group's plot to bomb New York City synagogues and use surface-to-air missiles to attack U.S. military planes.

Earlier this morning, MPAC Executive Director, Salam Al-Marayati, wrote to Rabbi Schneier, President and Founder of the New York based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, and other Jewish leaders stating:

"I write to you today with shock and dismay over reports that four Muslims planned to bomb synagogues in the New York City area. This criminal attitude is reprehensible and wretched. On behalf of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, I want to demonstrate solidarity with you and all Jewish Americans against any attack motivated by anti-Semitism. We, Muslims and Jews, are all believers in the One God who wants justice in our society. We are all American citizens who band together to protect our country against any threat. We are all members of humanity who want to work for the betterment of society, in building bridges of understanding, against those who want to destroy those bridges. Thank you for all the work you do at the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. I hope to be with you in the near future by the will of God."

Islam considers the use of terrorism to be unacceptable for any purpose, and MPAC reaffirms the position of condemning acts of violence against any faith group in the name of Islam. Additionally, those seeking to carry out acts of violence should be swiftly brought to justice....

Strong words, good words. In fact, MPAC has been saying this sort of thing for years -- making it even odder that their "counterterror" guidelines appear to be more concerned about misbehavior by non-Muslim law enforcement officials in mosques than about the possibility of terrorist activity in those mosques. Details here.

ISNA condemns the plots also. ISNA has admitted its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. The Brotherhood is waging, in its own words, "a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and Allah’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”

"ISNA Condemns Plots to Attack Synagogues and National Targets," from ISNA, May 21 (thanks again to Michael):

(Plainfield, IN - May 21, 2009) The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is relieved to learn that law enforcement agencies were able to foil a plot to blow up two synagogues in New York, and is appalled that suspects planned to attack places of worship and to commit crimes against national institutions.

"We commend the FBI and other law enforcement agencies for preventing the planned acts of violence by fanatics," Dr. Ingrid Mattson, ISNA president stressed. "We reject unequivocally such violence or any attempt to undermine public safety and national security. We are repulsed by the hatred directed towards the Jewish community and stand in solidarity with our Jewish neighbors," she added....

ISNA seems to blame the media for identifying the suspects as Muslims, although many jihadist and Jew-hating statements from the perps are on record:

Several media reports referred to the suspects as Muslim. ISNA rejects the association of Islam with such criminality, hatred and bigotry....

Of course, that is a tried-and-true tactic. When Islamic preachers preach hate and bloodshed in mosques, these "moderate" groups say nothing. But when Geert Wilders dares to depict their preaching disapprovingly in a film, it's..."Islamophobia"! And the whole world pretends that it is he, not the preachers, who has associated Islam with violence.

CAIR is also concerned that the media not link Islam to these plots, despite the fact that the alleged perpetrators have linked Islam to these plots:

"CAIR Applauds FBI for Preventing Attacks on NY Jewish Sites," from CAIR, May 21 (thanks yet again to Michael):

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/21/2009) -­ The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today applauded efforts by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies that apparently thwarted an alleged plot to attack Jewish institutions in New York....

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

“We applaud the FBI, the New York Police Department and the other law enforcement agencies that took part in the investigation for their efforts in helping to prevent any harm to either Jewish institutions or to our nation’s military.

"We repeat the American Muslim community’s repudiation of bias-motivated crimes and of anyone who would falsely claim religious justification for violent actions. Members of the American Muslim community should remain vigilant in reporting any activities that could harm the safety and security of our nation or its citizens.”

CAIR also requested that media outlets and public officials refrain from linking this case to mainstream Islam and to challenge those who will inevitably exploit this disturbing incident to promote anti-Muslim fear and stereotypes.

Along with innumerable condemnations of other terror incidents, CAIR has in the past launched an online anti-terror petition drive called “Not in the Name of Islam,” initiated a television public service announcement campaign of that same name and coordinated a “fatwa,” or Islamic religious ruling, against terrorism and religious extremism.

SEE: CAIR’s Anti-Terrorism Campaigns

[NOTE TO EDITORS: American Muslims are often accused of not speaking out forcefully against acts of terror committed in the name of Islam. This statement, along with the many other past anti-terror statements by mainstream Muslim groups, reaffirms the American Muslim community’s unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms.]...

You can get the links at the CAIR site. Meanwhile, here is an explanation of why CAIR's anti-terrorism campaign rings hollow.

And finally, the ADC:

"ADC Condemns Alleged Plots to Attack NYC Jewish Temples," from the ADC, May 20 (thanks still once more to Michael):

Washington, DC | May 20, 2009 | The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee(ADC) is appalled by the alleged hate-motivated crime that took place earlier today against the Bronx Riverdale Temple and the Riverdale Jewish Center in New York City. An FBI press release earlier this evening indicated that four individuals attempted to set explosive devices at the Jewish houses of worship.

ADC National Executive Director Kareem Shora said, "This alleged act of hate is absolutely unacceptable. ADC has been consistent in condemning hate-motivated crimes and any attacks aimed at civilians, especially houses of worship, no matter who the victims or the perpetrators may be," Shora said, " ADC urges the FBI to make every effort to track down all perpetrators responsible for this alleged crime and bring them to justice immediately. We welcome the FBIs proactive efforts in this investigation and remind media outlets and the public that hate-motivated violence is not associated with nor representative of any specific race, religion, or ethnicity.”...

In other words, stop noticing that these guys were Muslims, motivated by Islamic teaching.

I am not saying these condemnations are necessarily or ipso facto insincere. But why are these high words never backed up with deeds? And why all the lacunae in the condemnations, instead of unequivocal and unmistakable language? Is it too much to ask that Muslim groups stand against the jihad doctrine and Islamic supremacism clearly and openly in both deed and word? And if it is too much to ask, as apparently it is, then why are these groups still so widely regarded as "moderate"?

"Perhaps Israel at one point had just a small window of opportunity to exercise the military option, or, in other words, the possibility of attacking sites in Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons." But that window has apparently closed.

"Obama quashed Israel military option against Iran," by Yossi Melman in Haaretz, May 22 (thanks to Chetz):

Israel's military option against Iran has died. The death warrant was issued courtesy of the new U.S. administration led by Barack Obama.

All the administration's senior officials, from the president to his vice president, Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and others are sending strong, clear hints that Israel does not have permission to strike Iran. Yet, given their familiarity with the Israeli client, they have not made do with simple hints and intimations. Washington dispatched the new CIA director, Leon Panetta, to Israel. Panetta made clear to Netanyahu, in so many words, that an Israeli attack would create "big trouble."

Perhaps Israel at one point had just a small window of opportunity to exercise the military option, or, in other words, the possibility of attacking sites in Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. This is assuming, of course, that Israel indeed has the military capability for carrying out such a mission - an assumption that raises many questions. This is a mission that requires gathering pinpoint intelligence, to identify the precise targets without harming thousands of innocent civilians....

Read it all.

In "Fast Times at Disaster High," in The American Thinker today, Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs skewers Obama's disastrous policies -- and the public indifference to them:

The sick, slumbering American wakes up in his Obama tee shirt and boxers, rubs his swollen eyes, hungover from a night of hope, change, spending, debt, and government takeover. He's in the back of a runaway stagecoach headed for a cliff, unaware the driver has fallen off.

That describes all too many Americans today. That's the American who is sure that the country's big problem is Christian conservative gun owners, while Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton give one hundred million dollars to Pakistan, even as the Taliban continues to make gains in that country, and even as Taliban fighters have been spotted toting American weapons - arms we gave to Pakistan to help them fight the Taliban.

This is the sick, slumbering American who is sitting by, besotted by American Idol, while Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton give Pakistan a hundred million dollars at the same time that the jihad is within striking range of seizing Pakistan's nukes.

The unacceptable becomes the inevitable. There are no words for such stupidity.

The former US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton wrote recently that "Pakistan must move to the top of our strategic agenda." Bolton said that the U.S. must be ready to take "hard steps" to keep Pakistan's nukes away from the Taliban. He warned that "neither greater economic assistance, nor more civilian advisers upcountry, nor stronger democratic institutions will eliminate the strategic threat nearly soon enough... We must strengthen pro-American elements in Pakistan's military so they can purge dangerous Islamicists from their ranks; roll back Taliban advances; and, together with our increased efforts in Afghanistan, decisively defeat the militants on either side of the border."

But instead, Obama is giving the Pakistani government a hundred million dollars. To what end?

That's not all. Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, a U. S. military "security coordinator," is training "Palestinian" Authority troops in the West Bank. Dayton explained: "We also have something in our pocket called the West Bank Training Initiative where we have plans to continue a series of courses in the West Bank on logistics, leadership, first aid, maintenance, English language, battalion staff training and driver education."

Why are the U.S. and its allies giving the "Palestinian Authority" military this kind of training? The broken thinking is they're hoping that American-trained "Palestinian" military personnel will then turn and fight Hamas.

Read that again. Such deductive reasoning would be possible without a premise so false. This represents a nonsensical foreign policy and a willful ignorance of what and who the enemy is. Islamic jihadists are going to fight Islamic Jihadists...not the Jews? This is beyond stupid; it's bloody frightening. The training of "Palestinian" military units by U.S. advisers is taking place, mind you, at the same time the PA is negotiating to join forces with the Hamas terrorist organization, which rules Gaza....

Read it all.

Obama’s policies since he became President have revived suspicions that he is secretly a Muslim. He's not a Muslim. He's a naif. But so are a great many people in Washington. They are like high school kids who, when asked by an inquiring reporter what they intend to be, say with absolute conviction: "An astrophysicist." This despite not having any understanding of what kinds of study that would entail, and most of them are incapable of such study.

The previous Administration ended up squandering money on the sentimental messianism of what metamorphosed into a Light-Unto-the-Muslim-Nations Project, where "freedom" would be brought to "ordinary moms and dads," in Bush's unforgettably comic formulation. “Freedom” was defined as mere head-counting at election time, not as a resulting advanced Western democracy with guarantees for minorities and solicitude for individual rights, and with the Shari'a as the ultimate authority -- the Shari'a that in letter and spirit contradicts the most important principles of advanced Western democracy.

This update on the Bronx Synagogue Jihad story shows again the inveterate Jew-hatred that animates so much jihad activity. "'Terror' Thugs' Sick Bloodlust," by Rebecca Rosenberg, Murray Weiss and Dan Mangan in the New York Post, May 22 (thanks to James):

Four Muslims accused of trying to bomb two Bronx synagogues and shoot down military planes "are extremely violent men who eagerly embraced any opportunity" to kill Americans, a prosecutor said yesterday -- as relatives revealed that the suspects became radicalized in the state prison system.

"These are people who were eager to bring death to Jews and the Jewish community," Assistant US Attorney Eric Snyder said in White Plains federal court. "It's hard to envision a more chilling plot."

One of the ex-cons, David "Daoud" Williams, was "bragging, boasting he'd shoot anyone who tried to stop him" from carrying out the terror plot Wednesday night, and eagerly anticipated watching news accounts of the attacks, Snyder said.

Williams wanted to be able to say, "I'm the one who did that; that's my work right there," Snyder claimed.

"In a group of extremely violent men, he stands out as more violent," Snyder said of the shackled Williams, who snarled, mumbled answers to a judge and struggled to keep his pants from falling down during the hearing.

Williams and his co-defendants -- alleged ringleader James "Abdul Rahman" Cromitie, Onta "Hamza" Williams and Laguerre "Amin" Payen -- were ordered held without bail....

The Bronx and Morocco this week, and elsewhere, all over, on an ongoing basis -- and why is it that fanatical Muslims so relish attacking Jews? Is it really all about Israel?

Anti-Semitism in the Islamic world has often been attributed to the baneful influence of Christianity. Many analysts assert that the Islamic designation of Jews (as well as Christians) as "People of the Book" indicates a higher level of respect for them than was manifested by Christians who derided Jews as bestial "Christ-killers." Journalist Lawrence Wright writes in this vein in The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11:

Until the end of World War II ... Jews lived safely--although submissively--under Muslim rule for 1,200 years, enjoying full religious freedom; but in the 1930s, Nazi propaganda on Arabic-language shortwave radio, coupled with slanders by Christian missionaries in the region, infected the area with this ancient Western prejudice [anti-Semitism]. After the war, Cairo became a sanctuary for Nazis, who advised the military and the government. The rise of the Islamist movement coincided with the decline of fascism, but they overlapped in Egypt, and the germ passed into a new carrier.

This is a common view, but in reality there is a strong native strain of anti-Semitism in Islam, which is rooted in the Qur'an. The Muslim holy book contains a great deal of material that forms the foundation for a hatred of Jews that exists independently of the Christian variety. It is also, in many ways, more virulent and harder to eradicate. The Qur'an portrays the Jews as the craftiest, most persistent, and most implacable enemies of the Muslims--and there is no Muslim equivalent of the Second Vatican Council to mitigate against destructive interpretations. The Qur'anic material on the Jews remains the prism through which far too many Muslims see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict--and Jews in general--to this day.

A vivid illustration of this came in 2004 from Islam Online, a website founded by, among others, the internationally influential Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi in 1997. Although al-Qaradawi has won praise from Islamic scholar John Esposito for engaging in a "reformist interpretation of Islam and its relationship to democracy, pluralism, and human rights," that "reformist" impulse doesn't seem to carry over to his view of Jews (he has justified suicide bombings against Israeli civilians), or the view of them he has allowed to be published on Islam Online.

In 2004 the site posted an article titled "Jews as Depicted in the Qur'an," in which Sheikh 'Atiyyah Saqr, the former head of the Fatwa Committee at the most respected institution in Sunni Islam, Al-Azhar University in Cairo, depicts Jews in a chillingly negative light, illustrated with abundant quotations from the Qur'an. Among other charges he levels at the Jews, Saqr says that they "used to fabricate things and falsely ascribe them to Allah"; they "love to listen to lies"; they disobey Allah and ignore his commands; they wish "evil for people" and try to "mislead them"; and they "feel pain to see others in happiness and are gleeful when others are afflicted with a calamity." He adds that "it is easy for them to slay people and kill innocents," for "they are merciless and heartless." And each charge he follows with Qur'anic citations (including, among others, 3:75; 5:64; 3:181; 5:41; 5:13; 2:109; 3:120; 2:61; 2:74; 2:100; 59:13-14; 2:96; and 2:79).

Though he offers many examples of the alleged evil traits of the Jews supported by the Qur'an, Saqr doesn't mention the notorious Qur'anic passages that depict an angry Allah transforming Jews into apes and pigs: 2:63-66; 5:59-60; and 7:166. The first of those passages depicts Allah telling the Jews who "profaned the Sabbath": "Be as apes despicable!" It goes on to say that these accursed ones serve "as a warning example for their time and for all times to come." The second has Allah directing Muhammad to remind the "People of the Book" about "those who incurred the curse of Allah and His wrath, those of whom some He transformed into apes and swine, those who worshipped evil." The third essentially repeats this, saying of the Sabbath-breaking Jews that when "in their insolence they transgressed (all) prohibitions," Allah said to them, "Be ye apes, despised and rejected."

In traditional Islamic theology these passages have not been considered to apply to all Jews. The classic Qur'anic commentator Ibn Kathir, whose commentary is widely distributed and respected among Muslims today, quotes earlier authorities saying that "those who violated the sanctity of the Sabbath were turned into monkeys, then they perished without offspring," and that they "only lived on the earth for three days, for no transformed person ever lives more than three days." While parts of the Qur'an are hostile to the Jews, Muhammad's curse, in this case, was limited to these Sabbath-breakers, not to all Jews.

However, that hasn't stopped contemporary jihadists from frequently referring to Jews as the "descendants of apes and swine." The implication is that today's Jews are bestial in character and are the enemies of Allah, just as the Sabbath-breakers were. The grand sheikh of Al-Azhar, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, the most respected cleric in the world among Sunni Muslims today, has called Jews "the enemies of Allah, descendants of apes and pigs." Saudi sheikh Abd al-Rahman al-Sudayyis, imam of the principal mosque in the holiest city in Islam, Mecca, said in a sermon that Jews are "the scum of the human race, the rats of the world, the violators of pacts and agreements, the murderers of the prophets, and the offspring of apes and pigs."

Another Saudi sheikh, Ba'd bin Abdallah al-Ajameh al-Ghamidi, made the connection explicit: "The current behavior of the brothers of apes and pigs, their treachery, violation of agreements, and defiling of holy places ... is connected with the deeds of their forefathers during the early period of Islam--which proves the great similarity between all the Jews living today and the Jews who lived at the dawn of Islam." A 1996 Hamas publication says that today's Jews are bestial in spirit, and this is a manifestation of the punishment of their forefathers. In January 2007, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas stated, "The sons of Israel are mentioned as those who are corrupting humanity on earth," referring to Qur'an 5:64.

All this shows that leading Muslim authorities approach the Qur'an not as a document rooted in history, but as a blueprint for understanding the world today. Likewise, Sheikh 'Atiyyah Saqr describes the Qur'anic teachings that because Jews "revolted against the Divine ordinances ... they found no warm reception in all countries where they tried to reside. Rather, they would either be driven out or live in isolation." Moreover, "Almighty Allah told us that He'd send to them people who'd pour on them rain of severe punishment that would last till the Day of Resurrection." Then comes a threat: "All this gives us glad tidings of the coming victory of Muslims over them once Muslims stick to strong faith and belief in Allah and adopt the modern means of technology."

In the 1970s Sheikh Tantawi wrote a 700-page treatise, Jews in the Qur'an and the Traditions, in which he concluded:

[The] Qur'an describes the Jews with their own particular degenerate characteristics, i.e. killing the prophets of Allah, corrupting His words by putting them in the wrong places, consuming the people's wealth frivolously, refusal to distance themselves from the evil they do, and other ugly characteristics caused by their deep-rooted lasciviousness ... only a minority of the Jews keep their word. ... [A]ll Jews are not the same. The good ones become Muslims, the bad ones do not.

Nor is this just a modern view. The classic Qur'anic commentators not do not mitigate the Qur'an's words against Jews, but only add fuel to the fire. Ibn Kathir explained Qur'an 2:61 ("They were covered with humiliation and misery; they drew on themselves the wrath of Allah") this way: "This Ayah [verse] indicates that the Children of Israel were plagued with humiliation, and that this will continue, meaning that it will never cease. They will continue to suffer humiliation at the hands of all who interact with them, along with the disgrace that they feel inwardly." Another Middle Ages commentator of lingering influence, 'Abdallah ibn 'Umar al-Baidawi, explains the same verse this way: "The Jews are mostly humiliated and wretched either of their own accord, or out of coercion of the fear of having their jizya [punitive tax] doubled."

Ibn Kathir notes Islamic traditions that predict that at the end of the world, "the Jews will support the Dajjal (False Messiah), and the Muslims, along with 'Isa [Jesus], son of Mary, will kill the Jews." The idea in Islam that the end times will be marked by Muslims killing Jews comes from the prophet Muhammad himself, who said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. 'O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.'" This is, not unexpectedly, a favorite motif among contemporary jihadists. On March 30, 2007, a spokesman for Hamas, Dr. Ismail Radwan, said on Palestinian Authority television:

The Hour [Resurrection] will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them, and the rock and the tree will say: "Oh, Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, kill him!"

We must remind our Arab and Muslim nation, its leaders and people, its scholars and students, remind them that Palestine and the Al Aqsa mosque will not be liberated through summits nor by international resolutions, but it will be liberated through the rifle. It will not be liberated through negotiations, but through the rifle, since this occupation knows no language but the language of force.... O Allah, strengthen Islam and Muslims, and bring victory to your Jihad-fighting worshipers, in Palestine and everywhere.... Allah take the oppressor Jews and Americans and their supporters!

The history of Jews who lived under Muslim rule is a more or less unbroken record of theologically sanctioned humiliation and wretchedness. Although, like the Christians, Jews were allowed to practice their religion within restrictions, they were seldom allowed to forget their humiliation. Although the strictness with which the laws of dhimmitude (the subservient status of Jews and Christians) were enforced varied, they were never abolished, and during times of relaxation the subject populations always lived in fear that they would be enforced with new stringency. Muslim rulers did not forget that the Qur'an mandates that both Jews and Christians must "feel themselves subdued." One notable instance is recounted by the Arab historian Phillip Hitti: "The caliph al-Mutawakkil in 850 and 854 decreed that Christians and Jews should affix wooden images of devils to their houses, level their graves even with the ground, wear outer garments of honey color, i.e. yellow, put two honey-colored patches on the clothes of their slaves, ... and ride only on mules and asses with wooden saddles marked by two pomegranate-like balls on the cantle." A millennium later, in 1888, little had changed. A Tunisian Jew noted:

The Jew is prohibited in this country to wear the same clothes as a Muslim and may not wear a red tarbush. He can be seen to bow down with his whole body to a Muslim child and permit him the traditional privilege of striking him in the face, a gesture that can prove to be of the gravest consequence. Indeed, the present writer has received such blows. In such matters the offenders act with complete impunity, for this has been the custom from time immemorial.

In 1291 Isaac ben Samuel, a noted Kabbalist and Palestinian Jew, sought refuge in a Christian-controlled area of Spain after the collapse of the last Crusader kingdom in the Levant. He explained, "For, in the eyes of the Muslims, the children of Israel are as open to abuse as an unprotected field. Even in their law and statutes they rule that the testimony of a Muslim is always to be believed against that of a Jew. For this reason our rabbis of blessed memory have said, 'Rather beneath the yoke of Edom [Christendom] than that of Ishmael [Islam]. They [the rabbis] plead for mercy before the Holy One, Blessed be He, saying, 'Master of the World, either let us live beneath Thy shadow or else beneath that of the children of Edom' (Talmud, Gittin 17a)."

Ben Samuel's choice of Christian Spain is paradoxical, as Muslim Spain was supposed to have been a famous exception to the oppression of Jews that prevailed elsewhere among both Muslims and Christians. Islamic apologist Karen Armstrong enunciates the common wisdom when she says that "until 1492, Jews and Christians lived peaceably and productively together in Muslim Spain--a coexistence that was impossible elsewhere in Europe." Even the U.S. State Department has proclaimed that "during the Islamic period in Spain, Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived together in peace and mutual respect, creating a diverse society in which vibrant exchanges of ideas took place."

Yet the philosopher Maimonides, a Jew who lived for a time in Muslim Spain and then fled that supposedly tolerant and pluralistic land, remarked, "You know, my brethren, that on account of our sins God has cast us into the midst of this people, the nation of Ishmael, who persecute us severely, and who devise ways to harm us and to debase us....No nation has ever done more harm to Israel. None has matched it in debasing and humiliating us. None has been able to reduce us as they have....We have borne their imposed degradation, their lies, and absurdities, which are beyond human power to bear."

Notably, Maimonides directed that Jews could teach rabbinic law to Christians, but not to Muslims. For Muslims, he said, will interpret what they are taught "according to their erroneous principles and they will oppress us. [F]or this reason ... they hate all [non-Muslims] who live among them." But the Christians, he said, "admit that the text of the Torah, such as we have it, is intact"--as opposed to the Islamic view that the Jews and Christians have corrupted their scriptures. Christians, continued Maimonides, "do not find in their religious law any contradiction with ours."

Even María Rosa Menocal, in her romantic and fantastic hagiography of Muslim Spain, The Ornament of the World, acknowledges the second-class status to which Jews and Christians were relegated there. "In return for this freedom of religious conscience the Peoples of the Book (pagans had no such privilege) were required to pay a special tax--no Muslims paid taxes--and to observe a number of restrictive regulations: Christians and Jews were prohibited from attempting to proselytize Muslims, from building new places of worship, from displaying crosses or ringing bells. In sum, they were forbidden most public displays of their religious rituals."

According to historian Richard Fletcher, "Moorish Spain was not a tolerant and enlightened society even in its most cultivated epoch." On December 30, 1066, about four thousand Jews in Granada were murdered by rioting Muslim mobs--more than would be killed in the Crusaders' infamous Rhineland pogroms of the mid-twelfth century. What enraged the Granadan Muslims was the political power of the Jewish vizier Samuel ibn Naghrila and his son Joseph: the mob resented the fact that these men had authority over Muslims, which they saw as a "breach of sharia." The mob was incited to kill the Jews by a poem composed by Muslim jurist Abu Ishaq: "I myself arrived in Granada and saw that these Jews were meddling in its affairs. ... So hasten to slaughter them as a good work whereby you will earn God's favor, and offer them up in sacrifice, a well-fattened ram."

The mob heeded his call. A Muslim chronicler (and later sultan of Granada), 'Abd Allah, said that "both the common people and the nobles were disgusted by the cunning of the Jews, the notorious changes they had brought in the order of things, and the positions they occupied in violation of their pact [of second-class status]." He recounted that the mob "put every Jew in the city to the sword and took vast quantities of their property."

"Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews..." -- Qur'an 5:82.

This case again demonstrates the intriguing uniformity with which jihadists far removed from one another "misunderstand" Islam's purported message of "tolerance."

"Arrested Islamists planned to attack Jews in Morocco," from Agence France-Presse, May 21:

RABAT (AFP) — A group of alleged Islamists recently arrested in Morocco planned to attack Jewish interests in the country, a court source said Thursday, citing the charges against them.

The suspects, alleged to be members of a cell that was part of the radical Islamist movement Salafia Jihadia, were also preparing attacks against Moroccan security services, the source said.

Details of the alleged attack plans were not available.

The cell -- Jamaat Al Mourabitine Al Jodod, or New Fighters Group -- allegedly began operating in March 2008 in southern Morocco and sought to recruit militants from Koranic schools with the intention of infiltrating political parties.

Authorities announced their arrest on May 12 and they face charges including forming a criminal gang with the aim of carrying out "terrorist" acts. They are being held in jail.

"Police dismantled the cell as part of a regular operation in the battle against terrorism," the court source said.

War Is Deceit, said the prophet of Islam.

"NGO: PA lying about Jews' ties to J'lem," by Etgar Lefkovits in the Jerusalem Post, May 21 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):

The Palestinian Authority has unleashed an "unprecedented barrage of lies" negating Judaism's connection to Jerusalem, as part of a ongoing campaign to undermine the Jewish connection to the capital, an Israeli media watchdog group said on Thursday.

"Jerusalem is presented as a Muslim city, with no regard for historical reality," the Palestinian Media Watch report said. "Mention is made of the importance of Jerusalem for Christians, but Judaism has no place in the city."

The report, which was made public as Israel celebrated the 42nd anniversary of the reunification of the capital, cites top Muslim religious leaders in the city, ministers from the Fatah-run PA government in the West Bank as well as official Palestinian television denying any Jewish connection to Jerusalem.

Recently, Palestinian leaders have been defining all of Israel, and particularly Jerusalem, as land which Muslims have a religious obligation to hold on to, and which must be liberated for Islam, the report found.

In addition, the PA is continuing to pursue an "alarmist" campaign of "denunciation and demonization" by presenting as fact the "incendiary libel" that Israel is trying to destroy the Aksa Mosque as part of a "Judaization" of the city, the report said....

And the UN, to its everlasting shame, abets this demonization.

I have asked before (see my article "Waiting for Hudaibiyya") and I still want to know: what is keeping the editorial page writers for The Times, The Post, The Globe, The Daily Scream, from discovering the rules that, for Muslims, govern their agreements and treaties made with Infidels?

And I still am waiting to find out. But I now want to know from the Grave Men in Government, the Grave Men who presume to be able to protect and to instruct us, who show us day after day how confused or fearful or willfully ignorant so many of them are about Islam, and thus so incapable of constructing policies that make sense to defend non-Muslims from the "struggle" or "jihad" by Muslims, wherever they are to be found, to remove all obstacles to the spread and then the dominance of Islam.

And how many more have been similarly indoctrinated in U.S. prisons? An ideal outcome of this case would be a thorough re-evaluation of Islamic proselytizing in prisons, the appointment of chaplains, and the activity of inmates. But that is not likely to happen as long as it remains an article of politically correct faith that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with Islamic teachings with respect to warfare and human rights. More on this story. "NYC terror case latest of many homegrown plots," by Michael Hill and Jim Fitzgerald for the Associated Press, May 21:

NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The four men were ex-convicts who envisioned themselves as holy warriors, ambitious enough to concoct a plot to blow up synagogues and military planes, authorities said.

But they were amateurs every step of the way. They had trouble finding guns and bought cameras at Wal-Mart to photograph their targets. One was a convicted purse snatcher, another smoked marijuana the day the plot was to be carried out.

Muslims fueled by hatred of America and Jews, they spent months scouting targets and securing what they thought was a surface-to-air missile system and powerful explosives — all under the watch of an FBI informant.

The four were arrested late Wednesday outside a synagogue in the Bronx, following a long line of homegrown, headline-making terror plots since Sept. 11 that never came close to reality because the FBI inserted itself in the earliest stages.

The bombs they planted outside two synagogues Wednesday were useless, packed with inert explosives supplied by the FBI instead of the Pakistani terrorist group they had pledged to support, according to a criminal complaint.

Still, officials see the case as a vivid reminder of risks the U.S. faces from homegrown terrorists.

"It's hard to envision a more chilling plot," assistant U.S. attorney Eric Snyder said. "These are extremely violent men."

James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen were calm as they appeared in court Thursday with their hands shackled, to answer charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction within the United States and conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles. They did not enter pleas and were held without bail; they face life in prison if convicted.

Besides destroying the two synagogues in the heavily Jewish Riverdale section of the Bronx, they intended to shoot down planes at the Air National Guard base in Newburgh, about 50 miles north of New York City, prosecutors said.

Cue the excuses:

Relatives said the defendants were down-on-their-luck men who worked at places like Wal-Mart, a landscaping company and a warehouse when they weren't behind bars. Payen's lawyer said he was "intellectually challenged" and on medication for schizophrenia. Marilyn Reader said he has "a very low borderline" IQ.

David Williams' relatives were floored by the allegations against a man they knew as a good father to his 7-year-old daughter and newborn son.

"You don't raise your children to be terrorists," said Aahkiyaah Cummings, his aunt. "I don't know that guy that was arrested." [...]

New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said he believed the defendants knew each other from their time behind bars. Relatives said Payen, David Williams and Onta (pronounced ON-tay) Williams were introduced to Islam in prison — a phenomenon present in prisons around the country in recent years.

"The Onta I know wouldn't do something like this, but the new Onta, yeah," said Richard Williams, an uncle. "He wasn't raised this way. All this happened when he became a Muslim in prison." [...]

Indeed. He may have been a thug before converting, but afterward, he was a thug with a cause and the promise of an eternal reward for waging war against unbelievers.

Payen was apparently staying in a rundown house that neighbors say was known as a home for parolees. Penniless and jobless, he had been fighting deportation and seeking custody of his 3-year-old son, said Hamin Rashada, an assistant imam at the Masjid al-Iklahs mosque, where authorities say the informant first met Cromitie in June 2008.

Cromitie was burning with anger about the U.S. war in Afghanistan, where his parents had lived before he was born, according to the criminal complaint. He told the informant he was interested in jihad and "doing something to America" and was crestfallen that "the best target (the World Trade Center) was hit already," the complaint said.

In the same conversation, Cromitie said: "I hate those mother-------, those f------ Jewish b------ .... I would like to get (destroy) a synagogue," according to the complaint.

In one conversation, Cromitie said how he longed to shoot Jews in the head as they walked on the street near a synagogue, the informant said. In another conversation with the informant, Onta Williams said that the U.S. military is killing Muslims "so if we kill them here with IEDs and Stingers, it is equal," according to court papers.....

Qur'an 2:178 approves of retribution (qisas): "Equivalence is the law decreed for you when dealing with murder. " It is interesting, though, that Cromitie doesn't blame a non-Muslim conspiracy for the destruction of the World Trade Center, but can't put two and two together about the subsequent U.S. military action in Afghanistan to dislodge the Taliban and al-Qaeda. But that's ultimately not a problem: There are always other grievances a jihadist can decide are overdue for "retaliation" (hence the additional targeting of synagogues). To a jihadist, divine approval of revenge is the gift that keeps on giving.

Actually, it wasn't Christians protesting the Bible-burning. It was Muslims protesting an alleged desecration of the Qur'an.

"Muslims protest alleged Koran destruction in Greece," from Reuters, May 21 (thanks to Alexandre):

Hundreds of Muslims marched through central Athens on Thursday, damaging shops and cars, to protest what they said was the destruction of a Koran by a Greek policeman.

The president of the Muslim Union of Greece, Naim Elghandour, said that during police checks at a Syrian-owned coffee shop on Wednesday, an officer took a customer's Koran, tore it up, threw it on the floor and stomped on it.

In response, about 1,000 immigrants, many from Syria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, marched to central Omonia Square, smashing several shop windows and five cars, a police official said....

Second honor killing in a week in this region of Turkey. "Turkey: Honour Killing, Similar To Romeo and Juliet," from ANSAmed, May 21 (thanks to Insubria):

(ANSAmed) - ANKARA, MAY 21 - A few days after the attempted honour killing of a young women, Yildiz A. - whose nose and ears were cut off in order to disfigure her - another honour crime has been reported in the same region in Turkey, which resulted in the death of a man and the injury of a girl, as reported by Turkish daily Hurriyet.

The most recent episode, a sort of Turkish-style Romeo and Juliet, took place in Dogubeyazit (also in the Agri province), which has a large Kurdish majority and is located in eastern Turkey on the border with Iran and Armenia. Orhan Topkac, 26, and O.T., who just turned 16, belong to two families that have been involved in a bloody feud for years. Nonetheless, they fell in love and since they both knew that they would never be allowed to marry ran away to Izmir (Smirne). Their escape was not accepted by the man's family, which proclaimed that both of them must die. Orhan's older brother Mehmet was given the responsibility of performing the honour crime.

"War is deceit":

He called the two lovers and convinced them to return to Dogubeyazit, where he promised that he would give them a ride to Iran where they would be safe from the conflict between the two families. As soon as the two young lovers returned to their town, Mehmet shot them both. Orhan died immediately and the girl was injured. This did not satisfy Orhan's family members and, after the girl was put in an ambulance, they followed and tried to stop the vehicle while she was being brought to the hospital. The Red Crescent (the Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross) driver managed to escape to a local police barracks. The girl was then brought to a hospital in Erzurum, which is where Yildiz A. is currently under observation.

Eli E. Hertz of the superb Myths and Facts site sends along this remarkable and forgotten Congressional resolution from 1922, prefaced by Hertz's letter to Barack Obama:

Mr. President,

Before putting together the final touches on your anticipated 'Peace Speech' expected to be delivered in Egypt on June 4, 2009, I request of you a moment or two, to read what your fellow legislators had to say in the year 1922. The issue at the time was in respect to the recreation of the Jewish National Home - in the area designated for them by the "Mandate for Palestine," an historical League of Nations document that laid down the Jewish legal right to settle anywhere in western Palestine the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, an entitlement unaltered in international law.

Mr. President, political rights to self-determination as a polity for Arabs were guaranteed by the same League of Nations in four other mandates - in Lebanon and Syria [The French Mandate], Iraq, and later Trans-Jordan [The British Mandate]. Reducing any land already granted to the Jewish people under international law, is an injustice and a grievous handicap to the well being of the Jewish State.

Sincerely,
Eli E. Hertz
eli@mythsandfacts.org

----------------

The United States Congressional Record
1922 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
National Home for
THE JEWISH PEOPLE JUNE 30, 1922
HOUSE RESOLUTION 360 - UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED

"Palestine of today, the land we now know as Palestine, was peopled by the Jews from the dawn of history until the Roman era. It is the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people. They were driven from it by force by the relentless Roman military machine and for centuries prevented from returning. At different periods various alien people succeeded them but the Jewish race had left an indelible impress upon the land.

Today it is a Jewish country. Every name, every landmark, every monument and every trace of whatever civilization remaining there is still Jewish. And it has ever since remained a hope, a longing, as expressed in their prayers for these nearly 2,000 years. No other people has ever claimed Palestine as their national home. No other people has ever shown an aptitude or indicated a genuine desire to make it their homeland. The land has been ruled by foreigners. Only since the beginning of the modern Zionist effort may it be said that a creative, cultural, and economic force has entered Palestine. The Jewish Nation was forced from its natural home. It did not go because it wanted to.

A perusal of Jewish history, a reading of Josephus, will convince the most skeptical that the grandest fight that was ever put up against an enemy was put up by the Jew. He never thought of leaving Palestine. But he was driven out. But did he, when driven out, give up his hope of getting back? Jewish history and Jewish literature give the answer to the question. The Jew even has a fast day devoted to the day of destruction of the Jewish homeland.

Never throughout history did they give up hope of returning there. I am told that 90 per cent of the Jews today are praying for the return of the Jewish people to its own home. The best minds among them believe in the necessity of reestablishing their Jewish land. To my mind there is something prophetic in the fact that during the ages no other nation has taken over Palestine and held it in the sense of a homeland; and there is something providential in the fact that for 1,800 years it has remained in desolation as if waiting for the return of the people."

Congressman Frank Appleby N.J.

Said Rabbi Schneier: “It is reassuring to hear the voices of Muslim leaders speaking out in solidarity with the Jewish community and unequivocally condemning acts of terrorism and violence.”

Pardon me, but I would be more reassured if they were unequivocally condemning attempts to impose Sharia, whether by terrorism or other means, onto non-Muslim countries. I'd be considerably and genuinely reassured if they declared unequivocally that they believed in living with non-believers as equals in a secular society on an indefinite basis. I'd feel much better if they were unequivocally condemning Islamic antisemitism and explaining how they reject the literal understanding of the Qur'an's curses on the Jews.

Why is all that not only too much to ask, but positively "Islamophobic" even to suggest?

"Police Detail Disruption of Terror Plot," by Sewell Chan and Nate Schweber for the New York Times City Room Blog, May 21, Updated 11:06 a.m.:

A group of Jewish and Muslim leaders have scheduled a 1 p.m. news conference at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, one of the city’s largest mosques, to condemn violence.

Imam Muhammad Shamsi Ali, the spiritual leader of the mosque, on East 96th Street near Third Avenue, and Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and founding rabbi of The New York Synagogue, are to attend. “We call upon Muslim leaders to stand firm against the forces of evil,” Imam Ali said.

Rabbi Schneier said in a statement: “It is reassuring to hear the voices of Muslim leaders speaking out in solidarity with the Jewish community and unequivocally condemning acts of terrorism and violence.”

Despite fierce opposition in Congress: they don't want to be on record having voted for this when one of these guys breaks out of an American prison and launches a jihad attack on American soil. "Obama says US prisons tough enough for detainees," by Steven R. Hurst for Associated Press, May 21 (thanks to James):

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Thursday some of the terror suspects held at Guantanamo would be brought to prisons in the United States despite fierce opposition in Congress. He promised to work with lawmakers to develop a system for imprisoning detainees who can't be tried and can't be turned loose.

"There are no neat or easy answers here," Obama said in a speech in which he pledged anew to "clean up the mess at Guantanamo" that he said the nation had inherited from the Bush administration.

Obama conceded that some of the detainees would end up in U.S. prisons and insisted those facilities were tough enough to house even the most dangerous inmates.

Obama decried arguments used against his plans.

"We will be ill-served by the fear-mongering that emerges whenever we discuss this issue," he declared.

Yeah. Nothing to fear here. What could go wrong?

Still more jihad in America news. A "man," a "Minneapolis resident," a "naturalized Canadian citizen of Somali descent," for some unknown, unstated reason got mixed up with Al-Qaeda. Now why on earth would this man, this resident, this citizen, have done such a thing? True to form, Reuters offers no clue.

An update on this story. "Minneapolis man pleads guilty to aiding al Qaeda," from Reuters, May 20 (thanks to Pamela):

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - A Minneapolis resident has pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda and faces a prison term of up to 15 years, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Mohammed Abdullah Warsame, a naturalized Canadian citizen of Somali descent, was indicted in January, 2004, charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda, which plotted the September attacks.

Warsame, 35, faces a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The Justice Department said Warsame has agreed to be deported to Canada after his sentence is served.

According to the plea agreement, Warsame attended an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan in 2000, sent money to one of his former training camp commanders and met fugitive al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden....

He doesn't explain, of course, how exactly the aptly-named Laguerre ("Amin") Payen misunderstands Islam. Have you ever noticed that Muslim spokesmen who make this claim never bother to explain it? We are just supposed to take their word for it -- and of course, virtually everyone does. And the more learned and lionized an analyst you are, the more you are sure that this Misunderstanding of Islam is happening on a massive worldwide scale, and the more you are confident that this misunderstanding will ultimately be overcome by the adherents of the True, Peaceful Islam. Sure, you've never actually seen that True Islam, but you are certain it exists, certain to the marrow of your bones, as certain as Virginia was about Santa Claus after Francis Church of the New York Sun reassured her of his existence.

In this episode of our story, Hamin Rashada plays the role of Francis Church, reassuring all those jittery Virginias out there that yes, yes indeed, there is a Moderate Islam, and this silly Laguerre Payen just got it all mixed up, doncha know, like all the thousands of others.

Another update on this story. Nothing To See Here, Move Along Alert: "Mosque leader: NY terror suspect way off on Islam," from Newsday, May 21 (thanks to James):

NEWBURGH, N.Y. - A leader of a Hudson Valley mosque says one of the suspects in a New York terrorist plot is an ex-convict who has misunderstandings on the teachings of Islam.

Hamin Rashada told the Times Herald-Record of Middletown on Thursday that 21-year-old Laguerre Payen told him he was a Muslim. Rashada says Payen occasionally attended a Newburgh mosque where his statements on Islam often had to be corrected.

Rashada, an assistant imam at the mosque, says he met Payen through a program that helps parolees reintegrate after being released from prison....

Said one of the jihadists: "If Jews were killed in this attack ... that would be all right."

Another update on this story. "NYC police: Terror suspects wanted to commit jihad," from AP, May 21 (thanks to James):

NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York City police commissioner says four men wanted to commit jihad when they plotted to bomb a Jewish temple and shoot down military planes in upstate New York.

At a news conference outside the Bronx temple Thursday, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly quoted one of the men as saying, "If Jews were killed in this attack ... that would be all right."

Of course it would be, as far as he was concerned. After all, his holy book tells him: "Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews..." -- Qur'an 5:82

Yet nevertheless here is the obligatory Exoneration of Islam:

However, Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned against stereotypes. He stressed that the Riverdale Temple is open to people of all faiths, including a Muslim girl who sometimes prays there.

This one is eye-rollingly ridiculous. The jihadists targeted a synagogue and spoke of wanting to kill Jews, and indeed, killing Jews in Islamic eschatology is a good and encouraged thing -- remember the hadith about how Muslims killing Jews hastens the coming of the end times -- but look! A Muslim girl sometimes prayed in this synagogue! (Who? When? Why?) Therefore this planned attack has nothing to do with Islam, you see! Because what Muslim would plot to kill another Muslim?

But did the jihadists know the Muslim girl prayed there? Would they have cared, or just seen her as collateral damage and considered themselves to be hastening her ascent to Paradise? Does this girl's alleged occasional presence in the synagogue really nullify the Islamic Jew-hatred that was clearly part of the motivation for this attack?

Does Bloomberg even think about what he is saying before he says it?

Just did a couple of segments on the Mancow show, talking about this and that, including the Bronx jihad arrests. You can hear today's show over at the Mancow site.

Right after the Mancow segment ended the BBC called to ask me to be on a program this morning about the closing of Guantanamo. The show runs from 10AM to Noon Pacific Daylight Time, but I don't know when during those hours I will actually be on the show.

UPDATE 10AM PDT: Standing by for BBC World Have Your Say.

And in the topsy-turvy world in which we live, that is what the learned analysts believe must be done. One region of the world is rife with calls to conquer and subjugate another region, and with prayers that the supreme being rain death and destruction upon its foes. And so the threatened region, instead of calling upon the belligerents to drop their aggressive rhetoric and teach their people the virtues of living at peace with others rather than trying to destroy or enslave them, vows to show more "respect" to the belligerents.

Yeah. That'll fix it.

"Obama 'Distracted' by Biden's 'Indiscipline,' Book Asserts," by Bill Sammon for FOXNews.com, May 20 (thanks to Winoceros):

Obama, who will travel to Egypt next month to give a major speech to the Muslim world, told Wolffe he wants to convene a "Muslim summit."

"If I had a Muslim summit, I think that I can speak credibly to them about the fact that I respect their culture," Obama said, "that I understand their religion, that I have lived in a Muslim country, and as a consequence I know it is possible to reconcile Islam with modernity and respect for human rights and a rejection of violence. And I think I can speak with added credibility."

Living in a Muslim country produces, as a "consequence," the certainty that Islam can be reconciled with "modernity and respect for human rights and a rejection of violence"? Then why do so many Muslims who have never lived anywhere except in Muslim countries believe so fervently that Islam rejects Western notions of human rights and sanctions violence?

The Pentagon report containing this information has not been released thus far. Why? "Two administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said the report was being held up by Defense Department employees fearful of upsetting the White House."

Uh, guys? You're the Department of Defense. Not the Department of Not Upsetting the White House. Remember who and what you're in charge of defending.

More on this story. "1 in 7 Freed Detainees Rejoins Fight, Report Finds," by Elisabeth Bumiller for the New York Times, May 20:

WASHINGTON — An unreleased Pentagon report provides new details concluding that about one in seven of the 534 prisoners already transferred abroad from the detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has returned to terrorism or militant activity, according to administration officials.

The conclusion could strengthen the arguments of critics who have warned against the transfer or release of any more detainees as part of President Obama’s plan to shut down the prison by January 2010. Past Pentagon reports on Guantánamo recidivism have been met with skepticism from civil liberties groups and criticized for their lack of detail.

The Pentagon promised in January that the latest report would be released soon, but Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said this week that the findings were still “under review.”

Two administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said the report was being held up by Defense Department employees fearful of upsetting the White House, at a time when even Congressional Democrats have begun to show misgivings over Mr. Obama’s plan to close Guantánamo.

The White House has said Mr. Obama will provide further details about those plans in a speech Thursday.

To relocate the 240 prisoners now at Guantánamo Bay, administration officials have said the plan will ultimately rely on some combination of sending some overseas for release, transferring others to the custody of foreign governments, and moving the rest to facilities in the United States. either for military or civilian trials, or in some cases, perhaps, to be held without charges.

But the prospect that detainees might be moved to American soil has run into strong opposition in Congress. To show its misgivings, the Senate voted on Wednesday, 90 to 6, to cut from a war-spending bill the $80 million requested by Mr. Obama to shutter the prison, and overwhelmingly approved a second amendment requiring that a threat-assessment be prepared for each prisoner now at Guantánamo to address what might happen on release.

The F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III, said Wednesday that moving detainees to American prisons would bring with the risks including “the potential for individuals undertaking attacks in the United States.”

But Michele A. Flournoy, the under secretary of defense for policy, said of the detainees: “I think there will be some that need to end up in the United States.”...

"The idea was to create a 'fireball that would make the country gasp.'"

For more information on the jihad spreading in U.S. prisons, see here (thanks to Olivia).

An update on this story. "FBI arrest four in alleged plot to bomb Bronx synagogues, shoot down plane," by Michael Daly, Alison Gendar and Helen Kennedy for the New York Daily News, May 21 (thanks to all who sent this in):

The FBI and NYPD busted a four-man homegrown terror cell Wednesday night that was plotting to blow up two Bronx synagogues while simultaneously shooting a plane out of the sky, sources told the Daily News.

The idea was to create a "fireball that would make the country gasp," one law enforcement said.

Little did they know the plastic explosives packed into their car bombs and the plane-downing Stinger missile in their backseat were all phony - supplied by undercover agents posing as Pakistani militants linked to Al Qaeda....

The suspects - three U.S.-born citizens and one Haitian immigrant - at least three of whom were said to be jailhouse converts to Islam, were angry about the deaths of Muslims in Afghanistan, sources told The News.

"They wanted to make a statement," a law enforcement source said. "They were filled with rage and wanted to take it out on what they considered the source of all problems in America - the Jews."

"Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews..." -- Qur'an 5:82

The group's alleged ringleader, James Cromitie, according to the complaint, discussed targets with an undercover agent. "The best target [the World Trade Center] was hit already," he allegedly told the agent. Later, he rejoiced in a terrorist attack on a synagogue.

"I hate those motherf-----s, those f---ing Jewish bastards. . . . I would like to get [destroy] a synagogue."

The men allegedly parked car bombs wired to cell phones outside the Riverdale Temple and nearby Riverdale Jewish Center. They were also heading to Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, Orange County, when the law swooped in on them....

Multiculturalism trumps women's rights. My column in FrontPage this morning:

A feminist professor has once again passed up an opportunity to stand up for the human rights of Muslim women. Recently Dr. Laura Briggs, Associate Professor of Women’s Studies and Head of the Department of Women’s Studies at the University of Arizona, welcomed new Ph.D. students to the department.

In the course of her address, Briggs, author of Reproducing Empire: Race, Sex, Science, and U.S. Imperialism in Puerto Rico, praised the work of other professors, including that of Saba Mahmood, Associate Professor of Social Cultural Anthropology at the University of California at Berkeley. Mahmood, said Briggs, “confronted one of the legacies of a long history of orientalism and the recent wars in the Middle East: the way we are invited to see Muslim women as hopelessly, painfully oppressed, without their own autonomy, will, or individual rights.” So apparently the oppression of Muslim women has nothing to do with Islamic law or culture; it is merely a byproduct of “orientalism and the recent wars in the Middle East” – in other words, it is the West’s fault. “If we sometimes notice other Middle Eastern women—women’s rights activists, for example,” Briggs continued, “it is only to reinforce the notion that the great mass of Muslim women are terribly oppressed by the rise of conservative religiosity, by their husbands, by the ways they are compelled to dress.”

In Human Events this morning I recap the Obama/Netanyahu meeting:

During their press conference Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called Barack Obama a “great friend of Israel” and a “true friend of Israel” and thanked him for “your friendship to Israel and your friendship to me.” He also praised Obama as a “great leader: a great leader of the United States, a great leader of the world.” Netanyahu sounded like a man who was trying to convince himself of something -- and after Obama’s performance at the press conference, that was understandable.

Obama, for his part, was far less effusive, praising Netanyahu’s “political skills” and saying that he was confident the prime minister would “rise to the occasion” as he would be “confronted with as many important decisions about the long-term strategic interests of Israel as any prime minister that we’ve seen in a very long time.” He declared, as if his solicitude for the Palestinians was quite understandable but that his concern for the Israelis was unusual, that it was “in the interests not only of the Palestinians but also the Israelis and the United States and the international community to achieve a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians are living side by side in peace and security.”

Four Black Muslims in New York don't seem to have gotten the memo that the jihad terror threat is all over. "NBC: 4 arrested in plot to bomb NYC targets: Suspects were under heavy surveillance, authorities say," from NBC News, May 20 (thanks to Pamela):

WASHINGTON - Four men have been arrested in a plot to attack several targets in the New York City area, including synagogues, federal and local authorities told NBC News Wednesday.

Authorities said the four men have long been under investigation and there was little danger they could actually have carried out their plan, NBC's Pete Williams reported.

Investigators say the four, described as Black Muslims from the Bronx, had planned to place bombs at various targets. But New York city police and federal agents got wind of the plot and kept the men under careful surveillance.

In fact, officials say, the men recently bought what they thought were explosives, which they put in storage lockers outside the city. But what the men did not know is that the material they bought was actually harmless, sold to them by informants posing as explosives dealers....

Two years ago, two Muslims pleaded guilty to plotting to attack synagogues in Los Angeles. But officials said that they knew of no connection between those arrests and this latest plot in New York.

More:

"FBI arrest four in alleged plot to car bomb Bronx synagogue," by Alison Gendar and Helen Kennedy for the New York Daily News, May 20 (thanks again to Pamela):

The FBI busted a homegrown terror cell late Wednesday night as the men sneaked around a Jewish temple in Riverdale planting what they thought were packages of C-4 explosives, sources told the Daily News.

The four men also allegedly had what they believed was a working Stinger missile in their car: officials said they wanted to shoot down a plane near Stewart Air National Guard Base.

Sources said the four men were arrested after a year long investigation that began when an informant connected to a mosque in Newburg said some militants wanted to buy eplosives.

FBI agents posing as militants sold them what they thought were C-4 and a plane-downing Stinger missile.

The weaponry was all phony.

The men were arrested as they planted fake bombs in front of the Riverdale Temple in the Bronx and under cars parked in front of the synagogue.

They also allegedly planned to blow up a second synagogue, the Riverdale Jewish Center....

This is a few weeks old, but has anything changed in the interim?

A Which-Side-Is-Obama-On analysis: "Barack Obama and the CIA: why does President Pantywaist hate America so badly?," by Gerald Warner in the Telegraph, April 24 (thanks to Marc):

If al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the rest of the Looney Tunes brigade want to kick America to death, they had better move in quickly and grab a piece of the action before Barack Obama finishes the job himself. Never in the history of the United States has a president worked so actively against the interests of his own people - not even Jimmy Carter.

Obama's problem is that he does not know who the enemy is. To him, the enemy does not squat in caves in Waziristan, clutching automatic weapons and reciting the more militant verses from the Koran: instead, it sits around at tea parties in Kentucky quoting from the US Constitution. Obama is not at war with terrorists, but with his Republican fellow citizens. He has never abandoned the campaign trail.

That is why he opened Pandora's Box by publishing the Justice Department's legal opinions on waterboarding and other hardline interrogation techniques. He cynically subordinated the national interest to his partisan desire to embarrass the Republicans. Then he had to rush to Langley, Virginia to try to reassure a demoralised CIA that had just discovered the President of the United States was an even more formidable foe than al-Qaeda.

"Don't be discouraged by what's happened the last few weeks," he told intelligence officers. Is he kidding? Thanks to him, al-Qaeda knows the private interrogation techniques available to the US intelligence agencies and can train its operatives to withstand them - or would do so, if they had not already been outlawed.

So, next time a senior al-Qaeda hood is captured, all the CIA can do is ask him nicely if he would care to reveal when a major population centre is due to be hit by a terror spectacular, or which American city is about to be irradiated by a dirty bomb. Your view of this situation will be dictated by one simple criterion: whether or not you watched the people jumping from the twin towers....

Read it all.

Find another neighborhood

Sanity in the Senate? Who would have imagined? "Senate votes to block funds for Guantanamo closure," by Andrew Taylor for Associated Press, May 20 (thanks to Stlreader):

WASHINGTON – In a major rebuke to President Barack Obama, the Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to block the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the United States and denied the administration the millions it sought to close the prison.

The 90-6 Senate vote — paired with similar House action last week — was a clear sign to Obama that he faces a tough fight getting the Democratic-controlled Congress to agree with his plans to shut down the detention center and move the 240 detainees.

The vote came as FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress that bringing Guantanamo detainees to the United States could pose a number of risks, even if they were kept in maximum-security prisons. Mueller's testimony to a House panel put him at odds with the president and undercut the administration's arguments for shuttering the facility.

"The concerns we have about individuals who may support terrorism being in the United States run from concerns about providing financing, radicalizing others," Mueller said, as well as "the potential for individuals undertaking attacks in the United States."

Good thinking, Mueller!

This is good as far as it goes, but it still endorses a two-state solution. PLO Ambassador to Lebanon Abbas Zaki said this last month: "With the two-state solution, in my opinion, Israel will collapse, because if they get out of Jerusalem, what will become of all the talk about the Promised Land and the Chosen People? What will become of all the sacrifices they made - just to be told to leave? They consider Jerusalem to have a spiritual status. The Jews consider Judea and Samaria to be their historic dream. If the Jews leave those places, the Zionist idea will begin to collapse. It will regress of its own accord. Then we will move forward."

"End-Run around Obama: 76 Senators Demand Peace without Terror," by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu for Israel National News, May 20 (thanks to Sr. Soph)

More than 250 Congressmen, including 76 senators, have signed a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, telling him “that peace cannot come while terrorism continues to wrack Israel.”

The letter was initiated on April 30 by Democratic Senators Christopher Dodd and Arlen Specter and Republican Senators Johnny Isakson and John Thune, according to New York Times journalist Edwin Black. He wrote on The Cutting Edge website that the House of Representatives version was rallied by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Republican Whip Eric Cantor.

The letter has been signed by 195 members of the House in addition to the 76 senators, and it sends a clears message to the White House about Israel’s security.

“The notion that Obama was linking Jerusalem's negotiations with Palestinians to its ability to thwart nuclear annihilation rankled many in the Jewish and non-Jewish Israel support community,” Black wrote. “In a word, Israel has gone over the president’s head and appealed directly to the Congress.” [...]

"We must also continue to insist on the absolute Palestinian commitment to ending terrorist violence and to building the institutions necessary for a viable Palestinian state living side-by-side, in peace with the Jewish state of Israel."

Official U.S. solution to this problem: Send them more arms!

"Arms Sent by U.S. May Be Falling Into Taliban Hands," by C. J. Chivers for The New York Times, May 19 (thanks to Bill):

KABUL — Insurgents in Afghanistan, fighting from some of the poorest and most remote regions on earth, have managed for years to maintain an intensive guerrilla war against materially superior American and Afghan forces.

Arms and ordnance collected from dead insurgents hint at one possible reason: Of 30 rifle magazines recently taken from insurgents’ corpses, at least 17 contained cartridges, or rounds, identical to ammunition the United States had provided to Afghan government forces, according to an examination of ammunition markings by The New York Times and interviews with American officers and arms dealers.

The presence of this ammunition among the dead in the Korangal Valley, an area of often fierce fighting near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, strongly suggests that munitions procured by the Pentagon have leaked from Afghan forces for use against American troops.

The scope of that diversion remains unknown, and the 30 magazines represented a single sampling of fewer than 1,000 cartridges. But military officials, arms analysts and dealers say it points to a worrisome possibility: With only spotty American and Afghan controls on the vast inventory of weapons and ammunition sent into Afghanistan during an eight-year conflict, poor discipline and outright corruption among Afghan forces may have helped insurgents stay supplied.

The United States has been criticized, as recently as February by the federal Government Accountability Office, for failing to account for thousands of rifles issued to Afghan security forces. Some of these weapons have been documented in insurgents’ hands, including weapons in a battle last year in which nine Americans died....

"Terrorists are perverting the teachings of Islam and scholars should speak with one voice against the militants, Gilani said yesterday." Indeed they should, if terrorists are perverting the teachings of Islam. Yet in all these years since 9/11 we have seen non-Muslims call again and again for the exponents of the true, peaceful, tolerant Islam to step forward and begin to battle the jihadists on Islamic grounds. We have been assured that they are doing so, even though no specifics are ever forthcoming. We have seen Muslims condemn terrorism in vague language that does nothing to refute the jihadists' explanations of the Islamic justification for their actions. Just today a "moderate Muslim" from Britain has been emailing me to say that my explanation of jihad is wrong, wrong, wrong -- yet he has consistently sidestepped my requests that he produce a statement from any generally recognized Islamic authority to the effect that Muslims should not wage war against unbelievers and try to impose Sharia upon them.

I repeat yet again: if anyone can produce evidence of any mainstream Islamic sect or school of Islamic jurisprudence that teaches that Muslims must coexist with non-Muslims as equals on an indefinite basis without trying to subjugate them under Sharia, send it to me at director@jihadwatch.org, and I will publicly retract my statements to the contrary. But I have made this request many times before, and despite the many people who will be reading this who are avid to discredit what I am saying and the jihad and Islamic supremacism, they have never produced this.

Anyway, all this means that Gilani is calling upon the great unicorn to help him against the Taliban. He is appealing to Santa Claus for intervention. Good luck with that.

"Pakistan Calls on Islamic Scholars to Help Combat Extremism," by Ed Johnson for Bloomberg, May 20 (thanks to Twostellas):

May 20 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called on Islamic scholars to help root out extremism, as security forces waged an urban offensive against Taliban militants in the northwestern Swat Valley.

Terrorists are perverting the teachings of Islam and scholars should speak with one voice against the militants, Gilani said yesterday.

“It is time that they stand united to protect the country from all challenges,” Gilani said at a religious affairs conference in the capital, Islamabad, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Pakistan’s government is trying to build support in the world’s second-most populous Muslim nation for its offensive against Taliban insurgents. The militants reneged on a peace accord and last month advanced on the capital, even after the government agreed to impose Islamic law in Swat and neighboring districts.

Religious schools, or madrassas, play a key role in radicalizing Pakistani youth and provide a pool of Taliban recruits who cross the border to attack western forces in Afghanistan, according to the United Nations and U.S. intelligence agencies....

Crusaders at work. "Military burns unsolicited Bibles sent to Afghanistan," from CNN, May 20 (thanks to Kapil):

(CNN) -- Military personnel threw away, and ultimately burned, confiscated Bibles that were printed in the two most common Afghan languages amid concern they would be used to try to convert Afghans, a Defense Department spokesman said Tuesday.

The unsolicited Bibles sent by a church in the United States were confiscated about a year ago at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan because military rules forbid troops of any religion from proselytizing while deployed there, Lt. Col. Mark Wright said.

Such religious outreach can endanger American troops and civilians in the devoutly Muslim nation, Wright said.

"The decision was made that it was a 'force protection' measure to throw them away, because, if they did get out, it could be perceived by Afghans that the U.S. government or the U.S. military was trying to convert Muslims," Wright told CNN on Tuesday.

Troops at posts in war zones are required to burn their trash, Wright said.

The Bibles were written in the languages Pashto and Dari.

This decision came to light recently, after the Al Jazeera English network aired video of a group prayer service and chapel sermon that a reporter said suggested U.S. troops were being encouraged to spread Christianity....

Yearning for Al-Andalus. "Spain: Police arrest 17 Al-Qaeda suspects in north," from AKI, May 20 (thanks to C. Cantoni):

Bilbao, 20 May (AKI) - Spain's police on Wednesday have arrested at least 17 suspects alleged to be members of an Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb cell in the northern city of Bilbao. The arrests were followed by raids in various neighbourhoods throughout the city.

The arrested - mostly Moroccan and Algerian nationals - are alleged to have financed Al-Qaeda by falsifying credit cards, as well as through drug trafficking and theft, Spanish media reported. A minor was also arrested in the raids.

The anti-terrorism operation was ordered by judge Eloy Velasco of the National Court of Spain, a senior court which hears cases related to terrorism and organised crime.

The arrests and raids took place early on Wednesday and continued throughout the morning.

The Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb evolved from the Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat, initially formed to create an Islamic state in Algeria, but is now believed to have more widespread goals....

Travesty of justice. "I am being prosecuted for something millions of Dutch people are thinking... Freedom of speech is being sacrificed on the altar of islam. But I am ready to fight back with my head held high."

Free Speech Death Watch Alert: "Prosecution of Wilders to go ahead," from Dutch News, May 20:

Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-Islam party PVV, will definitely be prosecuted for inciting hatred against Muslims and Islam, news agency ANP writes on Wednesday.

A request by Wilders’ lawyer Bram Moscowicz to have the decision to prosecute quashed has been rejected by the Dutch supreme court.

Amsterdam appeal court said in January Wilders should stand trial for hate speech and discrimination. The public prosecution department had said earlier there were not sufficient grounds to prosecute the MP.

The anti-immigration MP said he expected ‘a political trial’. ‘I am being prosecuted for something millions of Dutch people are thinking... Freedom of speech is being sacrificed on the altar of islam. But I am ready to fight back with my head held high’, he added.

War Is Deceit, yes, but Iran's thirst for genocide is well established, so even if they didn't successfully test this missile at this point, they're certainly working on it.

If Iran's nuclear program is entirely peaceful, as the Iranians continue to insist, this test establishes that their overall intentions are not quite so pacifistic, no? And of course, once this missile is in place, and the nukes are in place, it isn't so difficult to combine them.

"Iran says it tests missile, Israel within range," by Ali Akbar Dareini for Associated Press, May 20 (thanks to all who sent this in):

TEHRAN, Iran – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran test-fired a new advanced missile Wednesday with a range of about 1,200 miles, far enough to strike Israel, southeastern Europe and U.S. bases in the Middle East.

The announcement will not reassure the U.S. government, coming just two days after President Barack Obama declared a readiness to seek deeper international sanctions against Iran if it shunned U.S. attempts to open negotiations on its nuclear program. Obama said he expected a positive response to his outreach for opening a dialogue with Iran by the end of the year.

"Defense Minister (Mostafa Mohammad Najjar) has informed me that the Sajjil-2 missile, which has very advanced technology, was launched from Semnan and it landed precisely on the target," state radio quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. He spoke during a visit to the city of Semnan, 125 miles east of the capital Tehran, where Iran's space program is centered....

PLO Ambassador to Lebanon Abbas Zaki said this last month: "With the two-state solution, in my opinion, Israel will collapse, because if they get out of Jerusalem, what will become of all the talk about the Promised Land and the Chosen People? What will become of all the sacrifices they made - just to be told to leave? They consider Jerusalem to have a spiritual status. The Jews consider Judea and Samaria to be their historic dream. If the Jews leave those places, the Zionist idea will begin to collapse. It will regress of its own accord. Then we will move forward."

"Palestinians say were promised Jerusalem," by Ali Waked for Ynet News, May 20 (thanks to Michael):

US President Barack Obama's new peace plan for the Middle East continues to unravel, ahead of its official presentation in Cairo, on June 4.

Official Palestinian Authority sources told Ynet Wednesday that following Jordan's King Abdullah's visit to Washington, as well as other visits to the US capital, they were given the impression that any new American peace plan would call for establishing a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

The source stressed that the US official also assured them the new plan would include halting all settlement construction, as well as setting a clear timetable for the realization of the two-state solution and a commitment that the permanent peace agreement would be negotiated according to the understanding set by the Arab peace initiative.

The US plans to add "improvements" to the Arab peace plan: According to an early May report in London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi, the revised plan will include reintegrating Palestinian refugees either in various Arab nations, or in the demilitarized Palestinian state, and Israel and the Palestinian Authority would agree to a land exchange.

The revised plan is also said to call for east Jerusalem to be made the new state's capital – with the Palestinian Authority's flag waving over it official institutions and the UN banner waving over the Old City and places sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity....

"The term 'civilians' does not exist in Islamic religious law....I'm familiar with religious law. There is no such term as 'civilians' in the modern Western sense. People are either of Dar Al-Harb or not..." -- Dr. Hani Al-Siba'i, director of the Al-Maqreze Centre for Historical Studies

"Child killed in attack on Somalia peacekeeper base," from AFP, May 20 (thanks to James):

MOGADISHU (AFP) — At least two civilians, including a child, were killed in overnight fighting sparked by a rebel attack on an African Union peacekeepers military base, witnesses said on Wednesday.

The attack occured in southern Mogadishu's former government military academy where peacekeepers from Burundi are based.

Resident Abdiasis Omar said Shebab fighters attacked Jale Siad military academy Tuesday night.

"There was heavy exchange of fire involving machine-guns, mortars and anti-aircraft weapons. Two civilians, one of them a child, died in my neighborhood," he said.

Several other witnesses confirmed the fatalities.

"A woman lost her son after he was hit in the head by a stray bullet. She was trying to escape from the area but unfortunately the child strapped on her back was killed," said Muktar Saney Ali, another witness.

Major Bahoku Barigye, spokesman for the AU peacekeepers, confirmed the clashes but said the Shebab attack was not directly targeted at the peacekeeping forces, but an adjacent base housing pro-government militants....

Oh, well, then!

These are the findings of the German secret service. Are they Islamophobes now, too? "Islamic groups want Sharia law in Germany," by Jan Meyer for Bild, May 19:

Some Muslim groups in Germany want to live under Sharia law in Germany, according to a new study.

The annual report for the Protection of the Constitution revealed that active groups like 'Milli Görüs' want to be able to live under the strict Islamic rules.

And the secret service's yearly report, which will be revealed today by Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, contains some other schocking [sic] warnings:

• Increasing numbers of Islamic fundamentalists - mostly second generation immigrants and radical converts - are travelling from Germany to Pakistan to visit terror camps run by al-Qaeda and other similar groups.

Nothing new.

• German interests at home and abroad are in danger. The report reveals that Germany is an 'immediate target' for Islamist terror groups.

Nothing new.

• The internet is the most important communication and propaganda instrument – and terror groups are getting more professional at using it....

Nothing new.

The boys are being trained to fight. As for the girls: "Unfortunately also you'll have the female children sexually abused or forcibly married by older men from Pakistan, Afghanis, [Yemenis] and other foreign fighters in these shabab groups."

"Somali children offered money to fight," by Mahdi Haile for the American Chronicle, May 19:

According our source Children in Somalia are paid to join Shabab Militia We were on our way back from school when we met the Shabab. They made us carry some unknown luggages for them and then told us to go with them," says a 14-year-old caught up in the recent unrest in Mogadishu.

Abdullahi Ali, whose name has been changed for his safety, said he and other children was paid a hundred of dollars as much as $800 to join the Shabab Militia.

But his story points to a disturbing new trend. When the Shabab saw me trying to escape they shot me and was left dead, but I survived and I am happy to escape and alive he said.

In the last few months, fighting between the government and Alshabab with foreign jihadist has escalated, and more and more children are being kidnapped and recruited to bolster numbers amongst the Shabab militia. ,

Abdirahman kadiye was one of a group of 10 children recruited by Shabab Militia who have escaped from Shabab and left from Kismayu to join his family in Mogadishu some two weeks ago.

He, his six classmates were abducted in what appears to be a well-planned attempt to find new recruits.

"When we got to the camps, the Shabab told to join the military forces. They took us and threw us in a hole. We were given the Militia outfits and told we had to wear them," explains Kadiye[not his real name.

The two boys managed to escape after two days but not before they saw many other teenage boys in a similar position.

Schools

Recruitment for money and child soldiers is new in Somalia, but an employee of Aid organizations in Marka city Lower Juba who refused to be identified told us that they believes the armed militia groups are now targeting entire schools or groups of students

"We know that they're being used as assassins, suicide bombers and grenade throwers that are very clear. We have reports of children having to transport arms right now. That's very disturbing," they say.

"Unfortunately also you'll have the female children sexually abused or forcibly married by older men from Pakistan, Afghanis yemans and other foreign fighters in these shabab groups. Those are clearly some of the worst cases and then yes there are hundreds of girls missing from their families in Marka and Barawe of Lower Juba. Province. The boys might be trained as fighters – but girls go under all sorts of uses. I mean you can only imagine....

Why not? He doesn't seem to have any problem with them in government. "Hamas sees 'signals' Obama will talk: Islamist group believes president changing Mideast policy," By Aaron Klein for WorldNetDaily, May 19 (thanks to Maria):

Hamas is hopeful President Obama will open dialogue with the Islamist group in spite of congressional restrictions on such talks, Ahmed Yousef, Hamas' chief political adviser in Gaza, told WND in an exclusive interview today.

Yousef, speaking from Gaza one day after Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, said he believes Obama intends to "change" American policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

He called Obama a "smart and decent man."

"Obama will show some kind of a change of U.S. policy toward the region and toward the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis. I do believe that he is still assessing the situation and is preparing for a (new) policy. He will meet with everyone in the region, and he will be crystal clear about his policy toward the peace process," Yousef said....

Read it all. Also, there is audio at WND.

Obama said this during his press conference with Netanyahu yesterday: "I have said before and I will repeat again that it is, I believe, in the interests not only of the Palestinians but also the Israelis and the United States and the international community to achieve a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians are living side by side in peace and security."

"Rocket Attack on Sderot Home," by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu for Israel National News, May 19 (thanks to Sr. Soph):

A Kassam exploded at a house in Sderot, causing heavy damage and sending people into shock as Hamas renewed rocket attacks on Israel late Tuesday afternoon. Firefighters, police and rescue teams rushed to the scene to treat the victims, one of whom also suffered light wounds in his hand from shrapnel. A second rocket exploded nearby, causing no damage.

The attack came at the same time Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Democratic Senator John Kerry, who visited Gaza earlier this year, were discussing the Obama administration’s push for peace with the Palestinian Authority.

The explosion also coincided with the announcement by PA sources that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Fatah party, has given up trying to reach an agreement with Hamas and will announce a new government Tuesday night....

And too many such officials, on both sides of the Atlantic, continue to laugh -- not only at the possible reach of Al-Qaeda, but at the jihad and Islamic supremacist threat in general. "Intelligence officials 'laughed' at al Qaeda 7/7 bomb link," by Duncan Gardham for the Telegraph, May 19 (thanks to Sr. Soph):

Senior intelligence officials initially dismissed suggestions the July 7 bombings were al Qaeda linked, it has been claimed.

Chris Driver-Williams, a former senior IED analyst for the Defence Intelligence Staff said his claim provoked laughter at a meeting of intelligence agencies on the morning of the bombings.

One senior intelligence officer attending the Cobra meeting said the idea of an al Qaeda link was "absurd".

"When I suggested this at Cobra, I was met with laughter. This was by people in the intelligence community who knew their onions," Mr Driver-Williams said.

"Someone senior from an intelligence organisation said: 'Who are you and what possibly qualifies you to come out with such an absurd statement?"'

Later that day the al Qaida link was widely accepted by investigators as the details of the simultaneous planned attacks became clear....

They laughed when I said it was Al-Qaeda, but when the bombs started to explode...

The huge sums that continue to be spent on Muslim countries should also include the two trillion dollars -- Joseph Stiglitz, with a Nobel Prize in Economics, offers a higher estimate -- already spent, or committed to being spent on the war in Iraq. Stiglitz believes that when such expenses as lifetime care for tens of thousands of severely wounded American soldiers are factored in, the true cost for the war in Iraq to American taxpayers will be close to three trillion dollars.

And for what result? How has the Camp of Islam (a camp that unites only on -- but that is quite enough -- its hostility to all Infidels, and in the deep belief that Islam has a right spread all over the world, and then to become dominant everywhere, so that Dar al-Harb becomes enrolled in Dar al-Islam) been weakened by our Iraq venture? So far it has not been. And in fact, the Bush Administration, once it realized the justification for the war, the weapons of mass destruction, were not to be found, rapidly changed its goal, and presented it, in terms always vague and confused, as being that of what I have called the Light-Unto-the-Muslim-Nations Project. In that Project, American intervention, and tens or hundreds of billions of dollars in American aid went to Iraq, a country that has the second largest, or even perhaps the largest, oil reserves of any country in the world, but apparently no one dared suggest it borrow against future earnings. This was done in order to keep Iraqis united (by bribing some to end their insurgency) and prosperous. And that this prosperous and unified Iraq would bring "freedom" to "ordinary moms and dads" -- as if "freedom" could be dropped from a plane onto the waiting Cargo Cultists below, who would simply pick up the parachuted packages and enjoy their contents without having to modify their own views, their own Muslim beliefs and what those beliefs mean for the possibility of a real, advanced, Western-style democracy, with guarantees of individual freedoms and legal equality for all.

Once again, dhimmis allow Muslim aggression to be a win-win for them: be a sea-faring pirate and earn lots of booty; get caught and become a citizen of the Netherlands. "Netherlands: Somali pirates thinking of immigrating," from Islam in Europe, May 18:

Arrested Somali pirates who are now in the Netherlands on trial for their deeds say they would like to stay in the Netherlands. "It's a good life here."

Suspected pirate Sayid will stand trial on Monday with four of his countrymen in the first Dutch pirate trial. "I want an education during my imprisonment, and I appeal to the government not to send me back to Somalia. The people who live here respect human rights. I want to live here," he told Volkskrant.

Fellow suspect Farah also thinks the Netherlands is good. "My client feels safe here. He eat[s] well, can play football and watch television. He thinks the toilet in his cell is so fantastic," according to his lawyer Willem-Jan Ausma.

According to De Volkskrant Ausma explained to his client that he could realistically get four years in prison and that he has a chance for a residence permit. "He's naturally delighted. He hopes to do computer training and to have his family come over."

The lawyer fee[l]s that the trials in the Netherlands, but also in France, the US and Kenya, would encourage potential pirates rather than deter them. "Anything is better than sitting on a wharf in Somalia."

Women of Rotterdam

"Here entire neighborhoods look like the Middle East, women walk around veiled, the mayor is a Muslim, sharia law is applied in the courts and the theaters. An extensive report from the most Islamized city in Europe."

"Eurabia Has A Capital: Rotterdam," by Sandro Magister in Chiesa, May 19 (thanks to Martin):

ROME, May 19, 2009 – One of the most indisputable results of Benedict XVI's trip to the Holy Land was the improvement in relations with Islam. The three days he spent in Jordan, and then, in Jerusalem, the visit to the Dome of the Mosque, spread an image among the Muslim general public – to an extent never before seen – of a pope as a friend, surrounded by Islamic leaders happy to welcome him and work together with him for the good of the human family.

But just as indisputable is the distance between this image and the harsh reality of the facts. Not only in countries under Muslim regimes, but also where the followers of Mohammed are in the minority, for example in Europe.

In 2002, the scholar Bat Ye'or, a British citizen born in Egypt and a specialist in the history of the Christian and Jewish minorities in Muslim countries – called the "dhimmi" – coined the term "Eurabia" to describe the fate toward which Europe is moving. It is a fate of submission to Islam, of "dhimmitude."

Oriana Fallaci used the word "Eurabia" in her writings, and gave it worldwide resonance. On August 1, 2005, Benedict XVI received Fallaci in a private audience at Castel Gandolfo. She rejected dialogue with Islam; he was in favor of it, and still is. But they agreed – as Fallaci later said – in identifying the "self-hatred" that Europe demonstrates, its spiritual vacuum, its loss of identity, precisely when the immigrants of Islamic faith are increasing within it.

Holland is an extraordinary test case. It is the country in which individual license is the most extensive – to the point of permitting euthanasia on children – in which the Christian identity is most faded, in which the Moslem presence is growing most boldly.

Here, multiculturalism is the rule. But the exceptions are dramatic: from the killing of the anti-Islamist political leader Pim Fortuyn to the persecution of the Somali dissident Ayaan Hirsi Ali to the murder of the director Theo Van Gogh, condemned to death for his film "Submission," a denunciation of the crimes of Muslim theocracy. Fortuyn's successor, Geert Wilders, has lived under 24-hour police protection for six years.

There is one city in Holland where this new reality can be seen with the naked eye, more than anywhere else. Here, entire neighborhoods look as if they have been lifted from the Middle East, here stand the largest mosques in Europe, here parts of sharia law are applied in the courts and theaters, here many of the women go around veiled, here the mayor is a Muslim, the son of an imam.

This city is Rotterdam, Holland's second largest city by population, and the largest port in Europe by cargo volume.

The following is a report on Rotterdam published in the Italian newspaper "il Foglio" on May 14, 2009, the second in a major seven-part survey on Holland.

The author, Giulio Meotti, also writes for the "Wall Street Journal." Next September, his book-length survey on Israel will be published.

The photo above is entitled "Muslim women in Rotterdam." It is from an exhibition in 2008 by the Dutch photographers Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek.

In the casbah of Rotterdam

by Giulio Meotti

In Feyenoord, veiled women can be seen everywhere, darting like a flash through the streets of the neighborhood. They avoid any sort of contact, even eye contact, especially with men. Feyenoord is the size of a city, and there are seventy nationalities coexisting there. It is an area that lives on subsidies and residential construction, and it is here that it is most obvious that Holland – with all of its rules against discrimination and all of its moral indignation – is a completely segregated society. Rotterdam is new, having been bombed twice by the Luftwaffe during the second world war. Like Amsterdam, it is below sea level, but unlike the capital it does not enjoy an image of reckless abandon. In Rotterdam, it is the Arab shops selling halal food that dominate the cityscape, not the neon lights of the prostitutes. Everywhere are casbah-cafes, travel agencies offering flights to Rabat and Casablanca, posters expressing solidarity with Hamas, or offering affordable Dutch language lessons.

It is the second-largest city in the country, a poor city, but also the economic engine with its huge port, the most important in Europe. Most of the population are immigrants, and the city has the tallest and most imposing mosque in Europe. Sixty percent of the foreigners who arrive in Holland come here to live. The most striking thing when one arrives in the city by train are the enormous and fascinating mosques framed by the vibrant green, luxuriant, wooded, watery countryside, like an alien presence compared to the rest. They call it "Eurabia." The Turkish Mevlana mosque is imposing. It has the tallest minarets in Europe, even higher than the stadium of the Feyenoord soccer team.

Many of the neighborhoods in Rotterdam are captive to the darkest, most violent form of Islamism. Pim Fortuyn's house stands out like a pearl in a sea of chador and niqab. It is at number 11 Burgerplein, behind the train station. Every now and then someone comes to put flowers in front of the home of the professor who was murdered in Amsterdam on May 6, 2002. Someone else leaves a card: "In Holland everything is tolerated, except for the truth." A millionaire named Chris Tummesen bought Pim Fortuyn's house so that it would remain intact. The evening before his murder Pim was nervous, and had said on television that a climate of demonization had been created against him and his ideas. And his fears came true, when he was shot in the head five times by Volkert van der Graaf, a militant of the animal rights left, scrawny, head shaved, eyes dark, dressed like an environmental purist in a handmade shirt, sandals, and goat's wool socks, a strict vegetarian, "a guy impatient to change the world," his friends say.

Not long ago in downtown Rotterdam, funerary photos of Geert Wilders were placed under a tree, with a candle to commemorate his upcoming death. Today Wilders is the most popular politician in the city. He is the heir of Fortuyn, the homosexual, Catholic, ex-Markist professor who had formed his own party to save the country from Islamization. At his funeral, only the absence of Queen Beatrice kept the farewell to the "divine Pim" from becoming a funeral fit for a king. Before his death they made a monster of him (one Dutch minister called him an "untermensch," an inferior man in Nazi parlance), afterward they idolized him. The prostitutes of Amsterdam left a wreath of flowers in his honor beneath the National Monument in Dam Square, a memorial to the victims of World War II....

There is a great deal more. Read it all.

Meanwhile, a Muslim who called on the U.S. to "dialogue" with the Brotherhood is advising the White House. "Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood officials face 'terror camp' charges," from Adnkronos, May 18:

Cairo, 18 May (AKI) - Thirteen officials from Egypt's banned opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, have been formally charged with terrorism and money laundering in Cairo. According to the Arab daily, al-Hayat, the leaders have been accused of running "secret training camps called 'jihadist camps' where they trained groups of students in armed combat".

The most important member of the group, Osama Nasr, has been accused of "having supported an illegal group that uses terrorism to achieve its aims and publishes brochures and books to spread its ideological message, recycling money obtained from terrorism".

Prosecutors claim that the accused hid their training camps behind the guise of so called "sports camps" and young recruits were taught how to use arms before being sent to "war zones" to show their solidarity for besieged Gazans their and opposition to Israel's recent military offensive.

The leaders were arrested last week in Cairo and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria in the north.

The[y] were reportedly detained for 15 days on charges of "belonging to a banned group, calling for demonstrations and possessing documents seeking to spread the (Brotherhood) ideology".

The organisation's number two, Mohammed Habib, accused the government in a statement of seeking to "prevent the brotherhood from having a role in Egyptian political life."

The organisation, founded in 1928, was officially banned in 1954. Using sympathisers running as independents, the group won one-fifth of seats in the 2005 parliamentary elections.

In case you were wondering. "New Iran gov't won't stop nuke program," by Yaakov Katz for the Jerusalem Post, May 18:

A change in leadership in Teheran would be one of form and not substance, according to the latest IDF assessments, which rule out the possibility that a new president would be open to the possibility of freezing the Islamic republic's nuclear program.

There are four main contenders for the presidency: incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who denies the Holocaust and calls for Israel's destruction; former parliament speaker and reformist Mehdi Karroubil; reformist former prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi; and former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Mohsen Rezaee.

The vote will be held on June 12.

Mousavi, 67, has spoken out against Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust, and is seen by many as the candidate with the best chance of defeating Ahmadinejad.

Rezaee is one of seven Iranians for whom an Argentinean judge issued an international arrest warrant for involvement in the 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. He has been a fierce critic of Ahmadinejad's policies, saying in a recent press conference that they have led the Islamic Republic to the edge of a "precipice."

Despite the criticism of Ahmadinejad, Israel does not believe that any of the candidates - should they win - would halt Teheran's nuclear program, which according to Military Intelligence is on a fast track toward developing a nuclear weapon within 18 months.

"There is unlikely to be a change in Iran's nuclear policies no matter who wins the elections," a defense official said on Monday. "All of the leading candidates would likely continue with the nuclear program as part of Iran's overall strategy to project regional dominance."...

"Could be," mind you. "Anti-US feeling could be in Pak Army: Musharraf," from the Sakaal Times, May 19:

WASHINGTON: Former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf today admitted that there could be anti-American feeling among a section of the Pakistan army as well as in the public there.

"There's anti United States feeling in the public and also may be in the army. Yes, indeed," Musharraf said in an interview attributing this to the feeling among Pakistanis that Washington had abandoned Islamabad and was not a reliable partner.

The former Pakistani President, who ruled the country for about a decade with full backing of Bush Administration, said the US abandoned Pakistan as crucial juncture in the past from 1989 to 2001, which has created doubts in the mind of the people of Pakistan about US's reliability....

Out to capitalize on the situation, the wily Musharraf tries to attribute Pakistani anti-Americanism to the notion that the U.S. "abandoned" Pakistan, thereby making Americans feel "guilty," while exonerating Pakistani hostility. All the while, the truth is much simpler: Pakistani anti-Americanism is merely a product of Islamic hostility to all things infidel, such as Americans.

Projection Alert: Note the irony that, as political opponents accused him of being part of some nefarious campaign to "Christianize" the region, this group is now openly trying to force him to convert to Islam. "Indonesia: Muslim group threatens newly elected Christian," from Compass Direct News, May 18:

JAKARTA, May 18 (Compass Direct News) – An Islamic group in West Sumatra province, Indonesia, has issued threats against Dominikus Supriyanto, the only Catholic to win a seat in the district legislature in recent general elections, warning him that he should convert to Islam if he wants to retain the seat.

On April 23, after results were announced, a group identifying itself as the Islamic Forum of West Pasaman attacked Supriyanto’s home, slinging stones and breaking several windows. Supriyanto, who was in the house at the time, said the attackers also shouted threats and demanded that he become a Muslim if he planned to stay in politics.

Supriyanto reported the incident to police and requested protection. After a brief investigation, police concluded that the attackers had most likely acted on behalf of unsuccessful election candidates.

Elections took place on April 9, but the election commission has only recently confirmed the names of those who will take up positions at district, provincial and national levels.

Supriyanto stood as a candidate for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in West Pasaman, West Sumatra, and won a seat in the district legislature from 2009 to 2014. The district is 98 percent Muslim, but Compass sources said voters supported Supriyanto because of his rapport with the Muslim community.

Supriyanto’s party supports pancasila, Indonesia’s national policy of tolerance for all religions.

Earlier this year, supporters of other candidates engaged in a so-called “black campaign,” warning that Supriyanto would likely “Christianize” West Pasaman if elected.

Despite such accusations prior to and following the elections, Supriyanto is determined to retain his seat.

“I was elected not just by Christians and Catholics, but by Muslims,” he told Compass. “I’m going to remain Catholic no matter what happens.”

Supriyanto has requested support from fellow party members in Jakarta.

The bishop of Padang diocese, Monsignor Martinus Situmorang, said Supriyanto had won the vote fairly and that if threats continued the diocese would take the issue to a national level.

Members of the Islamic Forum, meanwhile, have pledged to demonstrate publicly against Supriyanto during his inauguration in July.

"The court ruled 5 to 4 that the top officials are not liable for the actions of their subordinates absent evidence that they ordered the allegedly discriminatory activity."

Of course, the idea that detaining Muslims after 9/11 was discriminatory is laughable on its face.

"Supreme Court Rules Former Detainee Lawsuit Cannot Proceed," from the Washington Post, May 18 (thanks to Mackie):

The Supreme Court ruled today that former attorney general John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller may not be sued by Arab Muslims who were seized in this country after the 2001 terrorist attacks and allege harsh treatment because of their religion and ethnicity.

The court ruled 5 to 4 that the top officials are not liable for the actions of their subordinates absent evidence that they ordered the allegedly discriminatory activity. The decision followed the court's ideological split between conservatives and liberals, with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy siding with the conservatives and writing the opinion....

The suit against Ashcroft and Mueller was brought by a Pakistani citizen living legally in the country when he was arrested in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Javaid Iqbal was held in solitary confinement in a section of a Brooklyn prison known as Admax-Shu, for "administrative maximum special housing unit," where he said he was subjected to numerous beatings and strip searches. He was convicted of document fraud and deported to Pakistan but cleared of any involvement in terrorism. An Egyptian Muslim who was also part of the suit, Ehad Elmaghraby, settled with the government for $300,000. Similar suits are pending.

Iqbal's case names prison guards, FBI agents, the warden of the prison -- who was the subject of a critical report from the Justice Department inspector general -- up to Ashcroft, who was attorney general at the time of the attack. Iqbal says policies formulated by Ashcroft and Mueller singled him out as a suspect of "high interest" solely because of his nationality and religion....

Incidentally, the 9/11 plotters and attackers singled out the United States as a focus for an attack because of their religion.

"The billions in new proposed American aid, officials acknowledge, could free other money for Pakistan’s nuclear infrastructure..."

"Pakistan Is Rapidly Adding Nuclear Arms, U.S. Says," by Thom Shanker and David E. Sanger for the New York Times, May 17 (thanks to DFS):

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress have been told in confidential briefings that Pakistan is rapidly adding to its nuclear arsenal even while racked by insurgency, raising questions on Capitol Hill about whether billions of dollars in proposed military aid might be diverted to Pakistan’s nuclear program.

Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed the assessment of the expanded arsenal in a one-word answer to a question on Thursday in the midst of lengthy Senate testimony. Sitting beside Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, he was asked whether he had seen evidence of an increase in the size of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal.

“Yes,” he said quickly, adding nothing, clearly cognizant of Pakistan’s sensitivity to any discussion about the country’s nuclear strategy or security.

Inside the Obama administration, some officials say, Pakistan’s drive to spend heavily on new nuclear arms has been a source of growing concern, because the country is producing more nuclear material at a time when Washington is increasingly focused on trying to assure the security of an arsenal of 80 to 100 weapons so that they will never fall into the hands of Islamic insurgents.

The administration’s effort is complicated by the fact that Pakistan is producing an unknown amount of new bomb-grade uranium and, once a series of new reactors is completed, bomb-grade plutonium for a new generation of weapons. President Obama has called for passage of a treaty that would stop all nations from producing more fissile material — the hardest part of making a nuclear weapon — but so far has said nothing in public about Pakistan’s activities.

Bruce Riedel, the Brookings Institution scholar who served as the co-author of Mr. Obama’s review of Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy, reflected the administration’s concern in a recent interview, saying that Pakistan “has more terrorists per square mile than anyplace else on earth, and it has a nuclear weapons program that is growing faster than anyplace else on earth.”...

None of the proposed military assistance is directed at the nuclear program. So far, America’s aid to Pakistan’s nuclear infrastructure has been limited to a $100 million classified program to help Pakistan secure its weapons and materials from seizure by Al Qaeda, the Taliban or “insiders” with insurgent loyalties.

But the billions in new proposed American aid, officials acknowledge, could free other money for Pakistan’s nuclear infrastructure, at a time when Pakistani officials have expressed concern that their nuclear program is facing a budget crunch for the first time, worsened by the global economic downturn. The program employs tens of thousands of Pakistanis, including about 2,000 believed to possess “critical knowledge” about how to produce a weapon....

Why shouldn't they be encouraged? PLO Ambassador to Lebanon Abbas Zaki said this last month: "With the two-state solution, in my opinion, Israel will collapse, because if they get out of Jerusalem, what will become of all the talk about the Promised Land and the Chosen People? What will become of all the sacrifices they made - just to be told to leave? They consider Jerusalem to have a spiritual status. The Jews consider Judea and Samaria to be their historic dream. If the Jews leave those places, the Zionist idea will begin to collapse. It will regress of its own accord. Then we will move forward."

"Palestinians see Obama statehood comments encouraging," from Reuters, May 18:

...After meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, Obama said it was in the interests of both Israel and the Palestinians "to achieve a two-state solution".

Netanyahu, in his remarks after the meeting, reiterated that he supported self-government for the Palestinians but made no mention of a state, a position underscoring a rare rift in U.S.-Israeli relations.

"The statements by Mr. Obama are encouraging while those by Prime Minister Netanyahu are disappointing," Senior Abbas aide Nabil Abu Rdainah said.

Just in case they hadn't made their point about refusing to change clearly enough.

"Hamas reiterates its refusal to recognize Israel," by Khaled Abu Toameh for the Jerusalem Post, May 16 (thanks to Sr. Soph):

Hamas reiterated over the weekend its refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist as representatives of the Islamic movement and the Fatah faction resumed "national unity" talks in yet another attempt to solve their disputes.

Sources close to the parties said that their representatives would make a final attempt in Cairo to reach agreement on the formation of a Palestinian unity government.

The fifth round of talks, which began on Saturday, is being held under the auspices of Egyptian Intelligence Chief Gen. Omar Suleiman.

The Fatah team is headed by former Palestinian Authority prime minister Ahmed Qurei, while the Hamas delegation is led by Musa Abu Marzouk, deputy chairman of the movement's "political bureau."

As the delegates began converging on the Egyptian capital, Hamas made it clear that it would turn down any demand to recognize Israel's right to exist or renounce terrorism.

In the past four sessions of talks, Fatah repeatedly demanded that Hamas recognize Israel and accept agreements already signed between the PLO and Israel as a precondition for establishing a unity government.

Hamas has stubbornly rejected the demand, each time prompting the Egyptians to suspend the talks.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said his movement was prepared to discuss any issue that did not include the three demands of the Quartet: recognition of Israel, acceptance of all previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians, and the renunciation of terrorism.

"The demands of the Quartet and the US are totally unacceptable," Barhoum said, noting that Hamas's position in this regard remained unchanged. "We are prepared to discuss with Fatah all the options except for these demands."...

And Obama seems ready to give it to them.

"Hamas wants acceptance without changing ideology," by Karin Laub for Associated Press, May 18 (thanks to James):

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Leaders of Hamas have begun reaching out to the West with conciliatory words, saying the Islamic militant group wants to be part of a Mideast solution and raising the possibility they would someday accept a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

In the most significant statement so far, Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal told British lawmakers recently that the group is open to "real peace." In Gaza, the Hamas government said last week it is ready to discuss "any approaches and proposals that can lead the region out of its current situation."

In a recent interview, Hamas lawmaker Yehiye Moussa said the group is "not demanding to destroy Israel." West Bank legislator Mahmoud Ramahi added that Hamas is ready to talk to the West — stressing the group has nothing in common with the virulently anti-Western al-Qaida.

They're not demanding to destroy Israel? War is deceit!

The new tone seems mostly aimed at President Barack Obama, who was meeting Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington. As he puts together a new Mideast strategy, Obama must decide whether the U.S. will keep shunning Hamas, which seized Gaza by force in 2007 after winning parliamentary elections.

So far, the U.S. and international community insist they will deal with Hamas only if the group recognizes Israel first.

But some foreign policy experts in the U.S. and Israel are advocating a new approach to Hamas, noting that neither the boycott nor Israel's recent war in Gaza have toppled the militants.

Those advocating change include a former Israeli military commander of Gaza, an ex-chief of Israel's Mossad spy agency and a group led by Obama's now chief economic adviser, Paul Volcker.

Volcker's group told Obama that any future Palestinian government that includes Hamas should be judged by whether it's ready to observe a truce with Israel, and allow moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to negotiate with Israel — not by whether Hamas is ready to revoke its ideology....

In other words, if they're willing to destroy Israel later rather than sooner, he thinks the U.S. should play ball with them.

On NPR Friday, two Men of Washington, deep-voiced and serious withal, delivered themselves of some thoughts about Pakistan. Pakistan, said one, deserved an extra $7.5 billion because, he said, it is a "fledgling democracy." He never mentioned that Pakistan has always, at best, been a "fledgling democracy," never quite ready for takeoff from the nest of authoritarian rule by corrupt zamindars, such as Zardari, or generals who, even if they are not quite as fanatically Muslim as the late Zia ul-Haq, are certainly suffused with the attitudes and atmospherics of Islam.

And that first grave man, asked about the policy of the American government continuing to empty its pockets for Pakistan, gravely replied: "What is the option"? By that he meant, of course, "What is the alternative"? But this grave man, you see, misuses words. This misuse, this lack of vigilance with words, this sloppiness and mere approximation in expression, is not a verbal failing alone. It reflects, or bespeaks, a failure of mind, just as the unthinking use of the latest fashionable phrases -- "an existential threat," say -- show a kind of inattention that is not only about words, but extends to the way in which people go about fulfilling their responsibilities to think for themselves, to learn for themselves, about Islam or about any other matter that requires attention to detail, to learning for oneself and not relying on staff members for their executive summaries and briefing books.

Who cares about Infidel laws anyway? "Angry planners approve Handsworth pub’s conversion into mosque," by Neil Elkes for the Birmingham Mail, May 18 (thanks to Twostellas):

THE conversion of a derelict inner-city pub into a mosque, carried out without planning permission, has been given the green light by councillors.

The Planning Committee was furious that owners of the former Bulls Head pub in Birchfield Road, Handsworth, had carried out the building work and extensions before securing their approval.

But they decided that the mosque was better than a boarded-up pub and reluctantly agreed to allow it.

Committee member Coun Margaret Waddington (Con, Sutton Trinity) said: “They know they had to have planning permission before they did anything, and yet here we are looking at an application retrospectively.

“I would not be inclined to support this for that reason, but looking at the site, the mosque would be better for local people than a derelict building attracting vandalism and anti-social behaviour.”...

Yes. Because mosques never encourage anti-social behavior.

“As for the captives, the amir [ruler] has the choice of taking the most beneficial action of four possibilities: the first to put them to death by cutting their necks; the second, to enslave them and apply the laws of slavery regarding their sale and manumission; the third, to ransom them in exchange for goods or prisoners; and fourth, to show favor to them and pardon them. Allah, may he be exalted, says, 'When you encounter those [infidels] who deny [the Truth=Islam] then strike [their] necks' (Qur'an sura 47, verse 4)” -- Al-Mawardi, al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah, (The Laws of Islamic Governance).

"Kidnapped farmer beheaded by Filipino al-Qaeda militants after family fail to pay ransom," by Lizzie Smith for the Daily Mail, May 18 (thanks to Religion of Peace):

A Filipino farmer kidnapped by Muslim militants has been beheaded after his family failed to pay a ransom for his release.

Police in the Phillipines have recovered the severed head of farm owner Doroteo Gonzales, 61, who had been snatched by gunmen on April 25.

He was taken from his house in the southern Zamboanga city to the nearby Basilan Island, where al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf rebels are holding at least another five people following a surge of ransom kidnappings....

The victim's family had failed to pay a ransom of 25 million pesos ($525,000) for his release, he added.

Regional police head Bensali Jabarani said: 'The Abu Sayyaf has been by far the most violent armed group. They resort to killing their hostages if the situation starts to drag.'...

The Abu Sayyaf, which has about 400 fighters, is believed to have received funds from al-Qaida and is on the U.S. list of terrorist organisations.

$17 million for counterterror operations. Billions to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Iraq, Gaza. What guarantee does Obama have that that money will not pass to Islamic jihadists who are determined to destroy America and her allies? Why, none. None at all.

"Obama’s Supplemental Bill Passes, Gives Billions to Enemies?," from Creeping Sharia, May 13 (thanks to Pamela):

Barack Obama’s 2009 Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Pandemic Flu was revised and “passed by the full committee”. Not sure what the next step is, but based on the summary, it gives billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to countries and entities that support sharia law and/or harbor, hide and support those who want to destroy the U.S. and our allies.

Read the summary from David Obey’s office that was quietly released last week with nary a word from any media.

• $3.6 billion, matching the request, to expand and improve capabilities of the Afghan security forces

• $400 million, as requested, to build the counterinsurgency capabilities of the Pakistani security forces

• Afghanistan: $1.52 billion, $86 million above the request

• West Bank and Gaza: $665 million in bilateral economic, humanitarian, and security assistance for the West Bank and Gaza

• Jordan: $250 million, $250 million above the request, including $100 million for economic and $150 million for security assistance

• Egypt: $360 million, $310 million above the request, including $50 million for economic assistance, $50 million for border security, and $260 million for security assistance

• Pakistan: $1.9 billion, $591 million above the request

• Iraq: $968 million, $336 million above the request

• Oversight: $20 million, $13 million above the request, to expand oversight capacity of the State Department, USAID, and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan to review programs in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq

• Israel: $555 million of the $2.8 billion 2010 request for security assistance, $555 million above the supplemental request. (Note: that means Obama’s original request did not include any money for Israel in 2009)

• Lebanon: $74 million [...]

• Refugee Assistance: $343 million, $50 million above the request, …including humanitarian assistance for Gaza. Funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency programs in the West Bank and Gaza is limited to $119 million (Note: Gaza = Hamas) [...]

• Department of Justice: $17 million, matching the request, for counter-terrorism activities and to provide training and assistance for the Iraqi criminal justice system...

360 heavenly virgins get the day off.

"Premature explosion kills 5 suicide bombers in S Afghanistan," from Xinhua, May 17 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):

KABUL, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Five suicide bombers were killed in Ghazni province of southern Afghanistan Saturday night as the explosive materials in their jackets went off prematurely, provincial police chief said Sunday.

"The incident took place in Waqhaz district in a house which had been destroyed, five suicide bombers including two Arabian were killed," Khial Baz Shirzai told Xinhua....

Yep.

"Almagor: UN Supports Terrorism," by Maayana Miskin for Israel National News, May 18 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):

(IsraelNN.com) The terror victims group Almagor lashed out at the United Nations on Sunday following the release of a UN report that heavily criticized several Israeli counterterror tactics. “The UN should be declared a terror-supporting entity,” said Almagor director Meir Indor.

"The Israeli government and the Justice Ministry should begin a public relations campaign explaining that the UN is becoming systematically anti-Israel and seeks to cause trouble over Israel's struggle against terrorism,” he continued.

According to Almagor, suspected terrorists have refrained from giving information to Israeli forces in the past because they are aware that the UN and other organizations will protect them. That fact has led to terror attacks, the group claims.

Some bereaved families are looking into the option of filing suit against UN officials and others who have allowed terrorists to withhold information or continue their activities in safety, Almagor says....

Good. I hope they do file suit.

Islam is the only religion with a functioning propaganda machine. Besides whitewashing history for present-day political purposes, Islamic spokesmen have carried out two extraordinarily successful propaganda offenses aimed at demonizing two of the foremost modern-day victims of jihad: the Israelis and the Serbs. The idea that Israel committed genocide in Gaza and the idea that Serbia committed genocide against Muslims in the Balkans are two manifestations of the same disinformation campaign. And while some people are waking up to the Palestinian propaganda offensive, many of them are still engulfed by the fog when it comes to the Serbs. But here Julia Gorin pierces through that fog.

"The Hoax that Continues a War," by Julia Gorin at Republican Riot, May 17 (thanks to Pamela):

We are still in the midst of the 10-year anniversary of our NATO attack on Serbia on behalf of bin Laden-trained/financed KLA terrorists, to help steal Serbian land because Albanians reached a majority in part of that country. The 1999 bombing lasted from March 24 to June 10, a symbolic and historic day for Albanian supremacism.

If Americans deign to recall, the “trigger” event that was used to touch off the NATO assault (which was already being planned for a year at that point), was something called “the Racak Massacre.” Following is my account — written for a compilation of essays titled “Kosovo: The Score” — of the American-staged atrocity that led the free world to join the jihad:

Perhaps nothing is more Albanian than commemorating a massacre by Serbs even after the Albanians commemorating it admitted to having staged the massacre. Sometimes there is even a double punch line, as in January when Kosovo Albanians honored the American who avenged the massacre that didn’t happen.

On January 15th, the tenth anniversary of “the Racak massacre” — disproved as such even in mainstream media such as the Toronto Sun — Kosovo “prime minister” Hashim Thaci and “president” Fatmir Sejdiu awarded the “Gold Medal of Humanity” to William Walker, head of the Kosovo Verifying Mission that ensured a NATO intervention on behalf of Walker’s KLA friends and masters in 1999. (The ceremony, “dedicated to the martyrs of the Racak massacre,” was reported by the KosovaLive news agency: “Kosovo leaders vow at Racak massacre memorial never to forget Serbian crimes.”) There couldn’t have been a better comedy roast for the year 2009, the tenth anniversary of NATO’s war against Yugoslavia — launched by a staged atrocity in the town of Racak.

This comes nine years after Thaci himself admitted the Racak ploy the very year following its success. Canadian Major General Lewis MacKenzie, former UN Protection Force commander in Bosnia, cited the admission in an April 2008 statement to the Lord Byron Foundation:

The current Prime Minister Hashim Thaci was the leader of the KLA. He has admitted that the KLA orchestrated the infamous Racak “massacre” dressing their KLA dead in civilian clothes, machine gunning them and dumping them in a ditch and claiming it was a Serbian slaughter of civilians. NATO bought into the ruse and on its 50th birthday looking for a role in the post cold war world the alliance became the KLA’s air force and bombed a sovereign nation from the safety of 10,000 ft.

In addition to telling BBC in January 1999, “We had a key unit in the region. It was a fierce battle. We regrettably had many victims. But so did the Serbs,” Thaci boasted more recklessly in February of 2000 to a roomful of foreign correspondents. But most of them dutifully kept a lid on the most sensational story of the decade, leaving only Russian National Radio to report it. From a translated summary:

Pristina, March 7th - Leader of the Albanian terrorists in Kosmet [Kosovo-Metohija], Hashim Tachi, told recently foreign reporters, quoted by the Voice of Russia, about the methods of demonizing Serbs, i.e. how his terrorist KLA committed crimes in order to urgently provoke western military intervention in Yugoslavia…According to the foreign media reports, quoted by the Russian radio, obviously “carried away”, Tachi mentioned the well known incident in the village of Racak….Tachi revealed a public secret and confessed that the KLA members committed the murder of four Serbian policemen in Racak.

…Indeed, a police action followed, but it was no punitive expedition of Serb special forces against Albanian farmers, but a legitimate operation against the Albanian extremists, who made their stronghold in Racak….[A]n independent international expertise followed, and the OSCE experts from Byelorussia and Finland, established that the bodies belonged to the KLA extremists. In spite of this, NATO and the leading western countries blamed Belgrade for the killing of the so-called Albanian farmers from Racak. That was the first in a series of accusations in an already worked out scenario for deceiving the international public, i.e. preparing the field for the NATO aggression on Yugoslavia, stressed the radio.

There is much more. Read it all.

In "Inhuman Rights: The UN’s Human Rights Council, friend to Islamists and tyrants everywhere" in the Spring 2009 City Journal (thanks to Looney Tunes), my friend Ibn Warraq and Michael Weiss discuss a topic that has appeared here many times: the corruption of the UN Human Rights Council and the Organization of the Islamic Conference's actions to impose an Islamic supremacist agenda on the UN and the West in general.

In December 2006, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), an international group established in 1971 and representing 57 countries, hosted an emergency summit in Mecca. The event became infamous after two angry imams from Denmark presented a dossier of cartoons published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that mocked the Prophet Mohammed. In the ensuing uproar, Muslims murdered several people in Europe and torched the Danish embassy in Beirut.

But the cartoon episode wasn’t the summit’s starkest example of Muslim outrage over free speech. The most critical decision that the OIC made in Mecca was to adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward perceived insults to Islam. In its “Ten-Year Programme of Action,” the OIC announced that it would create an “observatory” to monitor acts of “Islamophobia.” It would also “endeavor to have the United Nations adopt an international resolution to counter Islamophobia, and call upon all States to enact laws to counter it, including deterrent punishments”—essentially the goal of its nonbinding UN resolution on “combating defamation of religions,” which the UN’s General Assembly adopted in March 2008. And it would “participate and coordinate effectively in all regional and international forums, in order to protect and promote the collective interests of the Muslim Ummah, including UN reform [and] expanding the Security Council membership.”

The goal was simple: to infiltrate and weaken secular democratic covenants and institutions from within, in a manner reminiscent of revolutionary Marxist groups’ “entryism” into the British Labour Party in the seventies and eighties. The OIC’s plan for implementing its Islamist agenda hasn’t succeeded on all fronts, of course. But it has succeeded spectacularly on one: the United Nations Human Rights Council.

A subsidiary of the General Assembly, the Geneva-based Human Rights Council (HRC) was reconstituted from the ashes of the previous Commission on Human Rights. The 60-year-old commission had long been criticized for ignoring atrocities and allowing membership to notorious human rights violators—most notably, Sudan at the height of the Darfur genocide. In 2006, the General Assembly, backed by then–secretary general Kofi Annan, voted to scrap the commission.

The HRC was formed that March by a UN resolution, though the United States, Israel, the Marshall Islands, and Palau voted against it. The U.S. at present does not occupy a seat on the council because of the Bush administration’s skeptical view that the HRC would prove just as ineffectual and biased as the former commission. Bush did license American aid to the HRC, but in September 2007 the U.S. Senate voted to cut that off, too.

In late March, however, the Obama administration announced that the U.S. would seek a seat during the upcoming HRC elections in May. According to Susan Rice, America’s ambassador to the UN, “The U.S. is seeking election to the council because we believe that working from within, we can make the council a more effective forum to promote and protect human rights.”...

Good luck with that.

Read it all.

The evolution of Taliban radio appears to be mirroring the evolution of the Taliban itself -- from "appealing" to just plain ugly: “Women would follow all the instructions he gave in the beginning and listened very carefully to the radio, however, it lost it’s attraction for them as soon as Durran started dictating what to do and what not to do.”

"This is Radio Taliban...," by Fawad Ali Shah for the Daily Times, May 18:

KARACHI: “Da paka army na ganda army da, da kafiran di dwee na sirf sar na di prekawol pakar balkai da dwee tukri tukri kol pakar di,” (They are not the Pak army, they are infidels, not only behead them but also chop their bodies up into little pieces), this is what Zuleikha, 52, heard on Fazlullah FM, after the military operation was launched in Swat; it was Maulana Shah Duran, a close-aide of Maulana Fazlullah, who delivered the speech.

“They call the police and army infidels and have given permission to everyone to kill them,” says Zuleikha, who hails from the Khwazakhela Town of the Swat Valley.[...]

Zuleikha reveals that Maulana Shah Duran, who was one of the three speakers on Fazlullah FM, would use abusive language when talking about government officials. The FM radio would broadcast programmes from 8:00 to 10:00 pm and rebroadcast them from seven to nine in the morning. The programme schedule was divided into three segments; the recitation of Holy Quran verses and their inferences, threats to opponents and a programme titled ‘Good News’.

Many violent incidents started after Maulana Fazlullah established a FM radio station in Swat; he first used the station for the purpose of reciting and preaching Quranic verses, but later on, he and his accomplices used it to spread propaganda. This radio station was very popular among women, who traditionally stay at home in the Malakand division. On it, they could learn the Quran and the principles of Islam.

“When I heard it for the first time, I found it very informative,” the elderly woman, playing with her granddaughter’s locks said. The station would teach us Islamic rituals and other things, she added, however, she laments that later on, Maluana Fazlullah and Shah Durran started using abusive languages on the station. “Women would follow all the instructions he gave in the beginning and listened very carefully to the radio, however, it lost it’s attraction for them as soon as Durran started dictating what to do and what not to do,” Zuleikha went on to say. “Even after the peace agreement was signed they continued dictating people.”...

That's Israeli Arabs; care to take a guess what the percentage of non-Israeli Arabs is? "Poll: 40% of Israeli Arabs believe Holocaust never happened," by Fadi Eyadat for Haaretz, May 17:

Some 40.5 percent of Israeli Arabs believe the Holocaust never occurred, according to the results of a University of Haifa poll released Sunday.

The survey shows that Holocaust denial among Israeli Arabs has become more prevalent in recent years. In 2006, 28 percent of Israeli Arabs polled denied that the Holocaust occurred.

The annual poll of Jewish-Arab relations, which was conducted by Professor Sami Samuha, also found that only 41 percent of Israel's Arab minority recognize the country's right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, as opposed to 65.6 percent in 2003.

Moreover, only 53.7 percent of the Israeli Arab public believe Israel has a right to exist just as an independent country, according to the poll, down from 81.1 percent in 2003....

Interesting observation -- especially since some Israeli analysts think otherwise. "Obama: Iran existential threat to Israel," from the Jerusalem Post, May 17:

In an interview published ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday, US President Barack Obama reiterated comments made by other top officials, saying that he understands why Israel considers Iran an existential threat.

"I understand very clearly that Israel considers Iran an existential threat, and given some of the statements that have been made by [Iranian] President [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, you can understand why," Obama said in an interview with Newsweek, which was published on its Web site and will appear in print in the magazine's May 25 issue.

With respect to concerns Israel might carry out an air strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, the US president said that since Israel is "right there in the range" of Iranian missiles, "their calculation of costs and benefits are going to be more acute."

Obama remarked that he did not think it was his place to "determine for the Israelis what their security needs are."

When asked about how he intends to explain the US policy to Netanyahu in their upcoming meeting, Obama said, "the approach we are taking is one that has to be given a chance and offers the prospect of security, not just for the United States but also for Israel, that is superior to some of the other alternatives."

While he reiterated that his administration was going to reach out to Teheran and "try to shift off of a pattern over the last 30 years that hasn't produced results in the region," Obama stressed that he was not naïve and that other options were also being considered.

"I've been very clear that I don't take any options off the table with respect to Iran. I don't take options off the table when it comes to US security, period," the president told Newsweek.

"We want to offer Iran an opportunity to align itself with international norms and international rules. I think, ultimately, that will be better for the Iranian people. I think that there is the ability of an Islamic Republic of Iran to maintain its Islamic character while, at the same time, being a member in good standing of the international community and not a threat to its neighbors," he said in the interview....

“Meanwhile, the army will continue to ‘stage’ operations ... selectively to show that serious attention is being given to fighting the war on terror.”

"Swat offensive leaves India sceptical," from the Daily Times, May 18:

LONDON: The offensive against the Taliban in the Swat valley has done nothing to allay Indian doubts about the military’s willingness to crack down more widely on militants, analysts say.

That leaves both countries vulnerable to a flare-up of tensions still simmering after last November’s attack on Mumbai, which could torpedo the US administration’s plans for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It also complicates US efforts to coax Pakistan into moving troops from its eastern border with India to fight the Taliban on its western border with Afghanistan.

No intention: Gurmeet Kanwal at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies in New Delhi said he believed the Pakistan Army considered the Taliban, especially the Afghan Taliban, to be a strategic asset “and has no intentions whatsoever of fighting them”.

“Meanwhile, the army will continue to ‘stage’ operations ... selectively to show that serious attention is being given to fighting the war on terror,” he said.

Target: Indian analysts argue that Pakistan will selectively target groups such as the militants in the Swat valley to ease US pressure while leaving so-called “anti-India” assets alone....

Islamic apologists frequently point to real and exaggerated inventions by Muslims -- apparently in order to establish the greatness of Islamic civilization, and to imply that Sharia isn't so bad after all. Here at last is an invention that fully accords with the spirit of Sharia as a series of commands covering every aspect of human life and behavior.

"Saudi files for 'killer' tracking chip patent," from The Local, May 15 (thanks to DJM):

A Saudi Arabian inventor has filed for a patent on a potentially lethal science fiction-style human tracking microchip, the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) told The Local on Friday.

But the macabre innovation that enables remote killing will likely be denied copyright protection.

“While the application is still pending further paperwork on his part, the invention will probably be found to violate paragraph two of the German Patent Law – which does not allow inventions that transgress public order or good morals,” spokeswoman Stephanie Krüger told The Local from Munich.

The patent application – entitled “Implantation of electronic chips in the human body for the purposes of determining its geographical location” – was filed on October 30, 2007, but was only published until last week, or 18 months after submission as required by German law, she said.

“In recent times the number of people sought by security forces has increased,” the Jeddah-based inventor wrote in his summary.

The tiny electronic device, dubbed the “Killer Chip” by Swiss daily Tagesanzeiger, would be suited for tracking fugitives from justice, terrorists, illegal immigrants, criminals, political opponents, defectors, domestic help, and Saudi Arabians who don’t return home from pilgrimages.

“I apply for these reasons and for reasons of state security and the security of citizens,” the statement reads.

After subcutaneous implantation, the chip would send out encrypted radio waves that would be tracked by satellites to confirm the person’s identity and whereabouts. An alternate model chip could reportedly release a poison into the carrier if he or she became a security risk....

So many will find this great invention so useful.

I have just been sent this letter, which was sent by a Christian in Egypt to a Christian group. The letter appears here exactly as it was sent to me. I didn't write the bracketed material -- it was included in the letter as it is posted here.

On May 6th 2009, at 2:30pm, an attack on our home where my son, Mena Antoine Basily, existed at this time alone, took place. According to our neighbors who witnessed the accident, The attackers who knocked on the door violently were four long-bearded persons carrying swords, clubs and knives…. My son Mena opened the door for them; and when they entered the apartment, they beat him harshly, broke his bones and injured him so badly that the walls of the apartment are still stained with much of his blood….They then dragged him downstairs and forced him into a white car that was waiting for them in front of the building and carrying no plates. They then ran away swiftly without being stopped by any of our neighbors who were afraid for their lives.

When we went home, we called the police and an officer came. He inspected the apartment , saw the blood stains on the walls and questioned the neighbors who recounted what happened to him. He then recorded this unofficially, but when the father of Mena, Mr. Antoine went to the police station with this officer to make an official police report, the officer completely refused to make this report. When we could not solve this issue with the officer, we went to the office of the district general attorney and requested that he instruct the police station officers to report the accident. We wrote the following in our request to the general attorney:

[They recounted the accident as well as what happened in the police station, then they conclude their request with the following statement:

We plead your Excellency to allow us to report this accident officially and to instruct the law enforcement agencies to search for my son and bring him back to me]

The general attorney accepted the request after questioning the neighbors and gave us a written instruction to the police station to make a police report for us; but when we went to the police station and gave the general attorney’s written instruction to the officers, they tore it down and told us that they would never make this police report!! (note: The police officers in Egypt have unparalleled power given to them by the emergency laws imposed by president Mubarak since the assassination of the previous Egyptian president, El-Sadat).

We went then to the district chief prosecutor office and we wrote the same request in addition to the following statement:

We plead your Excellency to instantaneously investigate this matter by yourself and to allow us to report this incident either in the police station or in the prosecution office….. and finally we managed to have the accident reported by the prosecution delegate: report number 9565 for year 2009 Mountazaa Awal.

And my son is still kidnapped and I do not know where he is. Please, I need your instantaneous help to find my sole son…….and please, pray for me so that God may have mercy upon me and bring my son back

Signed

It has been found that this kidnapped person is now under detainment by the police (with the possibility that he is being tortured) and he is accused of having a love affair with a Muslim girl. He is accordingly being forced to convert to Islam in order to marry her [No Dhimmi can marry a Muslim woman, but a Muslim man can marry (or have sex with) an indefinte number of Dhimmi women]. The reason for this is that Muslims consider themselves in a continuous war with Dhimmi so if a Muslim man has an opportunity to have sex with a Dhimmi woman, he will consider her Halal (an Arabic word which means something allowed by Allah) because she is in his eyes a captive girl (the Quran gave Muslim men the right to marry four women, in addition to the captives his right hand possesses). It is a horrible form of Fascism.

It is obvious that the purpose of this accident is to convert this person to Islam and the Egyptian state is competely involved in this matter. The persecution of the coptic people in Egypt is therefore not just individual accidents as the Egyptian state always claims, it is however a real persection that takes place with the encouragement and the involvement of the Egyptian government whose goal is - as stated by the late Egyptian president El-Sadat who said that Egypt in a period of fifty years will have no christians and if it will, we will turn them into shoe-scrapers- to evacuate Egypt from its native people, the Copts.

A clear statement of purpose. "Islamic Movement: Zionist sun will set," Sharon Roffe-Ofir for YNet News, May 16 (thanks to all who sent this in):

"The Zionist sun will set as soon as the sun of the Islamist state rises," Sheikh Kamal Hatib, vice-chairman of the Islamic Movement in Israel's northern branch, said Friday during an event marking the 61st anniversary of the Nakba – or the "catastrophe" of Israel's inception and the subsequent displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

Thousands of the Islamic Movement's supporters gathered at a soccer stadium in the northern Arab-Israeli village of Kfar Kana to take part in the event, entitled "The right to return and the right to remain".

"Wars and conflicts are not won with F-16 planes and Merkava tanks; they are won with human strength," Hatib told the rally. "If there will be another Nakba in the future, it will not be our (Palestinian) nation that will suffer from it."

Muhammad Zedan, chairman of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, said in his speech that "this is our land. We will either live here in bliss or die as shahids (martyrs) on this land. This is what we've learned from the little children in Gaza who died as shahids.

Like the ones exploited as human shields by Hamas?

"We will not leave this land, and anyone who thinks he can force us to leave – then he is dreaming," Zedan said.

Islamic Movement Chairman Sheikh Raed Salah expressed hope that next year the Palestinians will mark Nakba Day in "the capital of the Palestinian state – Jerusalem."

"This year we celebrated during the 'Jerusalem - capital of Arabic culture for 2009' events, and we hope that next year we will be celebrating in Jerusalem, the capital of the Palestinian state; our capital," Salah said.

"We are the ones who will remain on our land; it is the occupation that will soon disappear."

Jumping on the bandwagon:

In his speech, the Islamic Movement head leveled criticism at Pope Benedict XVI, saying that during the pontiff's recent Mideast visit he should have "apologized to the Muslims for past remarks against the prophet Muhammad," adding that the pope also failed to address the "Holocaust that was carried out by the Israeli army in Gaza."...

"Jowhar is the home town of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed - and now that the country's rainy season has arrived, the town is also the only passable route into central Somalia from the capital."

"Somali militants capture key town," from BBC News, May 17:

Hardline Islamist militants have captured a strategically important town north of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, eyewitnesses say.

Members of al-Shabab, a group fighting government forces in Somalia, seized the town of Jowhar on Sunday morning.

One resident told Reuters that there had been "serious fighting" in which at least seven people had been killed.

Jowhar was in 2005 chosen as the temporary location for the country's transitional government.

The Somali government has been losing ground in recent weeks and now controls little more than the centre of the capital, with the support of African Union troops.

On 15 May, Somalia's president appealed to Islamist insurgents to negotiate as intermittent fighting continued in Mogadishu.

Jowhar is the home town of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed - and now that the country's rainy season has arrived, the town is also the only passable route into central Somalia from the capital.

Describing the clashes in Jowhar, town elder Ali Moalim Hassan told news agency AFP that "the other Islamist militia backing the government deserted their positions" - ceding control of the town to al-Shabab.

Al-Shabab is believed to have attacked the town on Sunday morning on two fronts. After entering the town, militants took over the jail and released prisoners.

At the same time, al- Shabab again attacked government positions in Mogadishu with mortars. The government's forces responded with their own artillery barrage.

Reports from the capital say at least three civilians died in the exchange.

The government is thought to be attempting to bring in reinforcements to retake Jowhar.

The BBC's East Africa correspondent Peter Greste says the loss of the town is a strategic blow to the increasingly unstable government led by Sheikh Ahmed.

The African Union's envoy has said that if need be, it would call on the help of allies like Nato and the European Union, who are operating warships on anti-piracy missions off the Somali coast.

“The Taliban are quite intelligent. They initially presented a soft image to endear themselves to the population. However, once they take control of an area, you get to see their full cruelty on display." This description is somewhat reminiscent of the founder of Islam, Muhammad -- the Taliban's ultimate role model: Initially (when he was weak and outnumbered) he "presented a soft image," what with talk of tolerance -- "you have your religion, I have mine," "there is no coercion in religion" -- and so forth. When he grew in numbers and strength, however, "full cruelty on display" evinced itself via death, decapitations, slavery, and concubinage.

"Taliban terror in Buner," by Iqbal Khattak for the Daily Times, May 17:

SHAWAI ADDA: Nineteen-year-old Naib Zada decided to leave Buner, along with several other villagers, hours after the Taliban beheaded his neighbour for being a police officer.

“That was a terrible experience and a wake-up call for all of us,” he said when talking about why he left his hometown of Kalpani in Buner district. Zada is now a resident of a private relief camp run by ‘Tarakai Trust’ in Shawai Adda, Swabi.

“The Taliban are quite intelligent. They initially presented a soft image to endear themselves to the population. However, once they take control of an area, you get to see their full cruelty on display,” 38-year-old Mian Zarin said of the Taliban’s actions following their arrival in the region. Muhammad Raziq, 65, said the conditions really became ‘ugly’ once the military decided to chase out the Taliban. “The forces were shelling any site where Taliban presence was reported, forcing us to flee for safety,” he said. Forty-five-year-old Ibrahim, meanwhile, said he ran away from Buner to protect the honour of his family’s women. He said the Taliban were expected to “dishonour our women as they did to the women in Swat”.

Govt at fault: The residents of the relief camp did not mince words against the government. “I hold the government responsible for the state of affairs in Buner because the state is unwilling to take the Taliban out,” Zarin said....

"In fact, the Christian growth rate has outpaced the Jewish growth in Israel in the last 12 years!" But you wouldn't know that reading the NYT; nor would you know that the main reason Christians are dwindling is due to Muslim persecution. "NY Times Skews the News on Christian Decline in the Mideast," by Tamar Sternthal for CAMERA, May 17:

Pope Benedict XVI's journey through Jordan, Israel and the West Bank prompted Ethan Bronner, Jerusalem bureau chief for the New York Times, to report on the declining Christian population across the Middle East. But his May 12 story, "Christians in Mideast Losing Numbers and Influence," misleads on crucial facts about this troubling trend among Palestinian and Israeli Christians. (The article also appeared May 13 in the International Herald Tribune.)

First, while the Christian population is diminishing throughout the Middle East, including the Palestinian areas, the opposite is true in Israel – a key fact Bronner inexplicably ignores.

Second, contrary to Bronner's article, Palestinian Christians are not emigrating simply because of the "economy, economy, economy," but largely as a result of systematic Muslim persecution. Again, Bronner neglects this significant factor directly related to the topic of his story.

The thrust of the Times story is that all societies in the Middle East are inhospitable to Christians, who have little future anywhere in the region. Sadly this is true in the Muslim-dominated nations surrounding Israel but it's not the case in Israel itself.

The Situation Across the Mideast

As Bronner notes, the Christian population throughout the Middle East has been declining for decades. In 1914, Christians constituted 26.4 percent of the total population in what today is Israel, the Palestinian areas, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, while by 2005 they represented at most 9.2 percent (Phillipe Fargues, "The Arab Christians of the Middle East: A Demographic Perspective," in Christian Communities in the Arab Middle East, Andrea Pacini, ed, Oxford University Press, as cited in Justus Reid Weiner's Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.)

The Ignored Exception

The exception to this regional trend is Israel, where the Christian population has thrived.

As documented in the Central Bureau of Statistics' Statistical Abstract of Israel 2008 (Chart 2.2), in the last dozen years, Israel's Christian population grew from 120,600 in 1995 to 151,600 in 2007, representing a growth rate of 25 percent. In fact, the Christian growth rate has outpaced the Jewish growth in Israel in the last 12 years! In 1995, there were 4,522,300 Jews in Israel, and in 2007 there were 5,478,2000, representing a growth rate of 21 percent – 4 percent less than the Christian population grew during the same time....

Yet the overwhelming majority of Pakistanis see the U.S. as a greater threat than the Taliban, or al-Qaeda. "Car Bombing, U.S. Missile Strike Kill Dozens in Pakistan," from Fox News, May 16:

PESHAWAR, Pakistan —
A car bomb destroyed an Internet cafe and tore through a bus carrying handicapped children in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 11 people and wounding many more, police said.

Elsewhere in the troubled region, an apparent U.S. missile strike hit a Taliban training camp, killing 29 militants, while Pakistani troops killed dozens of Taliban in their bid to re-conquer the Swat Valley, officials said.

Violence is engulfing Pakistani territory along the Afghan border as American and allied forces crank up the pressure on Al Qaeda and Taliban militants entrenched in the forbidding and barely governed mountains and valleys.

• Click here for photos (Warning: Graphic).

Washington and other nations are pouring in billions of dollars in aid and military assistance to prop up the pro-Western government in Islamabad, which on Saturday sought to allay concerns that its nuclear weapons could fall into extremist hands.

The car bomb devastated a street in the main northwestern city of Peshawar on Saturday afternoon as it was busy with shoppers, traffic and worshippers heading to mosques to pray.

Television images showed several vehicles burning fiercely and a stricken white-and-green bus that had been dropping handicapped children at their homes around the city.

All eight students still on board were injured, one seriously, along the driver and an assistant, medics and police said. Four other children and seven adults were killed, and dozens more were injured, they said.

Safwat Ghayur, a senior police official, said one of a string of shops wrecked by the blast was an Internet cafe — a favorite target for violent Islamist extremists in Pakistan who consider the Web a source of moral corruption....

Tiny Minority of Extremists Alert, and look at the workings of jihadist recruitment networks in Britain. The article includes the standard disclaimer that the recruiters "distorted" verses from the Qur'an to make their case, such as glossing over the killing of "innocents." Conspicuously absent, however, is any questioning of exactly who "innocents" are (would schoolchildren in Sderot qualify?), or that there could be any motivation to incite jihad that predates 2001. Or 1948. Or for that matter, the onset of teen angst.

'I was groomed for jihad in Britain'," by Kevin Dowling for the Sunday Times, May 17:

A teenager has revealed how he was recruited by Al-Qaeda-inspired extremists and groomed to carry out suicide attacks in Britain.

In the first insider account of how radicals are preying on vulnerable Muslim youths, the teenager describes being approached by Islamists at a mosque in south London that was used by the failed 21/7 bombers, and indoctrinated at a secret network of squats.

Aged 15, he was the youngest of about 50 recruits who were shown “martyrdom” videos and encouraged to travel to Pakistan to receive terrorist training.

The youth, who is called Adam, told The Sunday Times: “They showed us a jihadist video with the martyrdom flags behind the guy speaking, and the message I got was that I should prepare myself for martyrdom.

And not at all in the Western sense of religious "martyrdom."

“I know a few of the others accepted that they would go [for training in Pakistan]. Some of the young people said, ‘I’m going to go’. That was the ultimate purpose of what these men were doing: what they were doing was training people up to carry out operations in the UK.”

Adam, who is now 18, quit the group after a year. The whereabouts of most of the other recruits is unknown.

“It was quite shocking to me,” he said. “I started to think, ‘Well, hold on a second, I don’t want to kill anybody. Yeah, I’ve got anger inside me, but this isn’t the right way to deal with this’.”

Adam, whose real name is being withheld to protect his safety, is now enrolled in a rehabilitation programme for would-be terrorists.

The scheme is a blueprint for a nationwide “detoxification” programme backed by the Home Office and police chiefs to which 200 people — some as young 13 — have been referred.

When Adam fell under the spell of extremists at the Stockwell mosque in Lambeth in 2005, he was floundering at school, had few friends and was desperately in need of some direction.

He was the eldest of seven children whose Algerian father had died when he was just eight, and his new friends’ talk of Muslim brotherhood seemed to offer the stability he craved.

“A lot of people think that terrorists are recruited in special recruiting grounds, but the truth is that it actually goes on in mosques a lot of the time,” said the gangly south London teenager.

“You’ll go to pray and there’ll be small groups of people just away from the main group in the mosque having their own discussion, talking about jihad and all these types of things.

“They started talking to me about what’s going on in Iraq and about how all the people are dying and then they started inviting me to religious talks.”

The Stockwell mosque had previously been attended by Muktar Ibrahim and Hussain Osman, two of the four men who failed in their attempt to carry out suicide bombings on London’s transport network on July 21, 2005 — two weeks after the 7/7 attacks which killed 52 commuters.

Adam’s new mentors were Mohammed Hamid, a preacher with links to the 21/7 bombers who called himself Osama Bin London, and Atilla Ahmet, a former aide to Abu Hamza, the hook-handed cleric of Finsbury Park mosque in north London. [...]

Adam said Ahmet and Hamid, who helped to radicalise some of the 21/7 bombers at his east London home, often distorted quotes from the Koran to back their arguments.

“For example, the Koran says killing innocents is one of the biggest sins, but they would say that the innocents were just collateral damage and it was therefore okay,” said Adam....

Read it all.

This move appears to be a grossly short-sighted attempt to bolster the Somali jihadists as a counterbalance to Ethiopia, from which Eritrea separated in the 1990s. The more the jihadists prevail in Somalia, the stronger a base they will have from which to export the jihad and its goal of imposing Islamic law throughout the Horn of Africa and beyond. And if the current Somali government (such as it is) isn't "Islamic" enough in spite of broad concessions to sharia, what makes the present government of Eritrea think they are safe in the long run?

"US alarmed at Eritrea 'arms link'," from BBC News, May 16:

The US says it is seriously concerned by reports Eritrea is supplying arms to foreign fighters and Islamic hardliners fighting government forces in Somalia.

"This as a disturbing development," President Barack Obama's top official on Africa, Jonnie Carson, told the BBC.

Eritrea denies any involvement in arming or financing Islamist militants trying to overthrow the government.

Following a week of violence, 100 people are dead and 30,000 more have fled Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

There have been a number of reports of foreign fighters, with possible links to al-Qaeda, fighting alongside hardline Islamists of al-Shabaab and Hisbul-Islam, said Mr Carson, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.

"We're extremely worried about the reports."

"There seem to be fairly serious and creditable reports that al Shabaab does have, amongst its fighters, a number of individuals of South Asian and Chechen origin," said Mr Carson.

"This is a very disturbing situation and reflects the seriousness of the problem in Somalia."

Mr Carson also expressed concern about flights from Eritrea were carrying weapons and ammunition to Somalia to supply al-Shabaab.

"There have been numerous reports that the government of Eritrea has, in fact, been supplying weapons and munitions to al-Shabaab.

"These are reports that we do find credible," he said...

Why would the Saudis use the word "cell" -- implying surreptitious jihadis living underground and moving in shadows -- which cannot be the case, definitely not as in the West (except, maybe, for Britain)? After all, when it comes to over all worldview, religiosity, even appearance -- all of which revolve around sharia -- there is little difference between the average al-Qaeda member and Saudi citizen. "Al Qaeda sleeper cells still exist in Saudi Arabia - minister," by Neeraj Gangal for Arabian Business, May 15:

SECURITY MOVE: The minister said that Saudi security authorities have successfully defeated the group.

Al-Qaeda sleeper cells still exist in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and that they would be dealt with by the security forces, a senior minister said earlier this week.

The Saudi Gazette daily quoted Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior as saying: "They adapt according to circumstances and might change their methods, but the target is the same. We will awake these cells just as we have done others."

The minister said that Saudi security authorities have successfully defeated the group. "Thanks to Allah Almighty, we have attained great success in this respect."

If not already, definitely soon enough. "India thinks Pak N-sites already in radical hands: Report," from the Times of India, May 16 :

WASHINGTON: India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has told President Obama that nuclear sites in Pakistan's restive frontier province are "already partly" in the hands of Islamic extremists, an Israeli journal has said, amid considerable anxiety among US pundits here over Washington's confidence in the security of the troubled nation's nuclear arsenal.

Claims about the high-level exchange between New Delhi and Washington were made in the Debka, a journal said to have close ties with Israeli intelligence, under the headline "Singh warns Obama: Pakistan is lost." The brief story said the Indian prime minister had named Pakistani nuclear sites in the areas which were Taliban-Qaida strongholds and said the sites are already partly in the hands of "Muslim extremists." A sub-head to the story said "India gets ready for a Taliban-ruled nuclear neighbor."

There was no official word from either Washington or New Delhi about the exchanges, with India in the throes of an election and US winding down for the weekend. But US experts have been greatly perturbed in recent days about what they say is Washington's misplaced confidence in, and lackadaisical approach towards, Pakistan's nuclear assets. The disquiet comes amid reports that Pakistan is ramping up its nuclear arsenal even as the rest of the world is scaling it down.

"It is quite disturbing that the administration is allowing Pakistan to quantitatively and qualitatively step up production of fissile material without as much as a public reproach," Robert Windrem, a visiting scholar with the Center for Law and Security in New York University and an expert on South Asia nuclear issues told ToI in an interview on Thursday. "Iraq and Iran did not get a similar concessions... and Pakistan has a much worse record of proliferation and security breaches than any other country in the world."...

Apparently the Taliban's incessant bomb attacks on girls' schools are not motivated by females getting an education, but rather their getting the wrong (i.e., secular) education. According to this report, the "talibanization" of Pakistan's youth -- boys and girls --is well underway. And it's not due to poverty.

"Girls’ madrassas expanding at a dramatic rate," from the Daily News, May 16:

1,900 registered madrassas educating almost a quarter of a million girls in country

LAHORE: There are more than 1,900 registered madrassas for girls in Pakistan. And the female madrassas are expanding at a dramatic rate, educating almo