April 2012 Archives

“A certain imam, an Islamic fundamentalist, had been trying to instigate jihad...” How is it that an imam, a man who had devoted his life to understanding the Religion of Peace, could misunderstand it so spectacularly as to think that jihad called for violence, and his followers could similarly misunderstand it enough to believe that rampaging and murder would be appropriate responses to the arrest of this imam who was apparently calling for...rampaging and murder? Why is it the so many Muslims misunderstand Islam in this same way, the same way that greasy Islamophobes do? Why is it that no one in the mainstream media, government or law enforcement is asking questions like these?

"Four People Die After Ethiopian Muslims Attack Police Station," by William Davison for Bloomberg, April 30 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Four people were killed in southeastern Ethiopia when Muslim protesters attacked a police station following the arrest of a preacher, said State Minister of Communications Shimeles Kemal.

The deaths occurred on April 27 in Asasa, in the Arsi Zone of Oromia region, after a crowd tried to free the imam, Shimeles said in a phone interview today from Addis Ababa, the capital. Ten policemen were injured, the police station and post office burned down and 24 people arrested, he said.

“A certain imam, an Islamic fundamentalist, had been trying to instigate jihad,” said Shimeles. “When police arrested him, his supporters tried to get him released forcefully.”...

Get the book here.

Simon Deng, Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer with our security detail for the Jessica Mokdad Human Rights Conference in Dearborn, April 29

Last night in Dearborn, Michigan, while the Islamic supremacists raged and fulminated, we held our Jessica Mokdad Human Rights Conference on Honor Killing. We told the whole truth about the justifications for honor killing in Islamic law, and other related instances of aspects of Islamic law advancing in the U.S. We stood determined to defend the principles of the equality of dignity of all people, and their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

It was a superb evening, thanks in large part to your support. The Islamic supremacist/Leftist smear and hate machine was out in force, holding a rally of their own earlier in the day and then attempting to storm our event and get in despite the fact that they had not registered. We had advertised for weeks that no one would be admitted without registering first. With their usual mendacity they have tried to spin this as our not allowing Muslims into the conference, but if no Muslims really got in, that was solely because no Muslims registered -- if indeed there were indeed no Muslims inside. In any case, while these disturbances were roiling outside the door, our crack security detail, made possible by your kind and generous donations in response to our appeal Saturday, ensured that only those who registered got in, and that thuggish Leftist and Islamic supremacist brownshirts were unable to harm the speakers or attendees.

Pamela Geller has an excellent summary report of the evening's events here.

After an avalanche of requests, my new book Did Muhammad Exist? An Inquiry Into Islam's Obscure Origins is now available on Kindle -- you can get it here.

A hardcover edition is also available, here.

This book has surprised everyone. No one expected that a book on a seldom-explored historical question, put out by a small academic publisher (ISI), would do nearly as well as it has done. Its success demonstrates the hunger people have for the truth about Islam, the jihad, and Islamic supremacism, and their awareness that they're being lied to by the mainstream media, as well as, increasingly, by government and law enforcement.

Heartfelt thanks to all who have bought the book: it is, in a small way, a blow for the freedom of speech and honest inquiry into the truth, uncowed by Islamic supremacist intimidation and political correctness.

"Circumcision is obligatory (O: for both men and women. For men it consists of removing the prepuce from the penis, and for women, removing the prepuce (Ar. bazr) of the clitoris (n: not the clitoris itself, as some mistakenly assert). (A: Hanbalis hold that circumcision of women is not obligatory but sunna, while Hanafis consider it a mere courtesy to the husband.)" -- 'Umdat al-Salik e4.3

We're constantly told that female genital mutilation is a cultural practice that has nothing to do with Islam, and are warned that only greasy Islamophobes think otherwise. Yet Mohammed Abdul not only didn't get this memo, but apparently he assumes that his hearers all share his point of view. What are the Vast Majority of Moderate Muslims planning to do about this spectacular misunderstanding of Islam?

"'Cheat genital mutilation ban by going abroad': British Muslim leader caught on camera advocating female circumcision," by Ian Garland for the Daily Mail, April 29 (thanks to all who sent this in):

A British Muslim leader has been caught on camera advocating female genital mutilation.

Mohammed Abdul, the Imam of a Bristol mosque, was filmed urging a follower to take women and girls abroad so they can be circumcised legally.

The practise was banned by law in 2003, and it's illegal to help or encourage anyone to carry out the barbaric procedure overseas.
The Masjid al-Huda mosque in Bristol, where Muhammed Abdul is an Imam

The Masjid al-Huda mosque in Bristol, where Muhammed Abdul is an Imam

The footage was obtained by an undercover reporter working for the Sunday Times newspaper, who posed as a Muslim seeking advice.

During a meeting with Mohammed Abdul at the Masjid al-Huda mosque: 'In this country, it is not possible, we cannot do that. (For) any other Muslim who likes to practise the way of Prophet Muhammad, the best way is to go to other countries.

'Some families, they go to Africa or Arab countries.

'In this country you have to fight for your religion, your cultures, They (the British) don't like your Muslim cultures.'

Although female genital mutilation (FGM) has not been advocated by Muslim scripture, a number of clerics encourage it....

"Not been advocated by Muslim scripture, and yet supported by Muhammad's words: Muhammad is depicted in the Hadith as not condemning it, but merely cautioning against going overboard: "A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said to her: Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband." - Sunan Abu Dawud 41.5251

The Islamic supremacist and Leftist brownshirts will be out in force, but we are going to stand nevertheless. Today at the Hyatt in Dearborn from 5 to 8PM we will hold the Jessica Mokdad Conference on Honor Killing. Speakers will include:

Pamela Geller is the publisher of Atlas Shrugs.com and executive director of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) and Stop Islamization of America (SIOA). She is the author of Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance (WND Books) and The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America with Robert Spencer (foreword by Ambassador John Bolton), (Simon & Schuster). She is also a regular columnist for World Net Daily, the American Thinker, and other publications.

Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and the author of twelve books, including two New York Times bestsellers, The Truth About Muhammad and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) (both Regnery). His latest book is Did Muhammad Exist? An Inquiry Into Islam's Obscure Origins (ISI). Spencer has led seminars on Islam and jihad for the United States Central Command, United States Army Command and General Staff College, the U.S. Army's Asymmetric Warfare Group, the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the U.S. intelligence community.

Simon Deng is the former slave from Sudan and leader of the Freedom walk Simon Aban Deng is a refugee from Sudan and a survivor of child slavery. He is a passionate activist who recently trekked 300 miles from United Nations headquarters in New York City to the Capitol in Washington, D.C., to call for an end to slavery and genocide in Sudan.

Nonie Darwish is the president of Former Muslims United and the author of The Devil We Don’t Know: The Dark Side of Revolutions in the Middle East (Wiley); Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law (Thomas Nelson); and Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror (Sentinel).

James Lafferty is the leader of the Virginia Anti-Sharia Taskforce (VAST). The mission of the Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force is to oppose and assist others in resisting the implementation of the radical, barbaric and anti-Constitutional Shariah law in Virginia or anywhere in America.

Michael Coren hosts The Arena with Michael Coren on Canada’s Sun News TV every weeknight at 7pm ET. He is also a weekly columnist, published every Saturday, with the Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg Sun and The London Free Press, and in more than a dozen other daily and weekly newspapers across Canada. He is also a columnist for Women's Post, The Catholic Register, The Landowner and The Interim. He is the best-selling author of thirteen books, including biographies of GK Chesterton, HG Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis.

David Wood is a Christian activist and missionary. He has degrees in philosophy and biology and is currently pursing a Ph.D. in the philosophy of religion. He is a leader of the Acts 17 Apologetics Ministry, which has sued the City of Dearborn for its free speech rights after the city endorsed Sharia restrictions on Christian proselytizing and arrested several members of his group for talking about Christianity with Muslims.

Magdi Khalil is a Coptic Christian political analyst, researcher, author and executive editor of the Egyptian weekly Watani International. He is also a columnist for Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, London, a free-lance writer for several Arabic language newspapers, and a frequent contributor to Middle East broadcast news TV. Khalil has also published three books and written numerous research papers on citizenship rights, civil society, and the situation of minorities in the Middle East. He is one of the most prominent advocates of human rights in Egypt. He focuses in his writings on minorities, including Copts in Egypt.

Robert Muise is the co-founder and senior counsel of the American Freedom Law Center. He is an expert in constitutional law. The last twelve years of his law practice has been dedicated to defending religious liberties, the freedom of speech, and the right to life in state and federal trial and appellate courts all across the country. More recently, Mr. Muise has been involved in numerous cases defending American freedoms against the growing threat of sharia. Prior to starting his constitutional law practice in 2000, Mr. Muise served thirteen years as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Darwin Jiles was a close friend of Jessica Mokdad who offers firsthand testimony to the fact that Jessica was a victim of Islamic honor killing.

Will the Islamophobia never end?

"Deadly attack on Nigeria's Bayero university in Kano," from the BBC, April 29 (thanks to a):

At least six people have been killed in a gun and bomb attack at a university in Nigeria's northern city of Kano, witnesses and police said.

A bomb squad and military units are searching for the gunmen who mounted the attack at Bayero University.

Reports suggest the violence may have targeted Christian students who were holding a religious service in one of the lecture theatres....

"The attack took place in one of the lecture theatres used as a place of worship by Christians," said Lt Iweha Ikedichi....

Mohammed Suleiman, a history lecturer at the university, said security guards had to run for their lives when the violence broke out....

No group has said it launched the attack, but the Islamist militant Boko Haram group is active in Kano.

Boko Haram carried out a bombing in Kano in January that killed about 150 people, its deadliest attack to date.

Nigeria's central government has struggled to contain the militant group, which operates mainly in the predominantly Muslim north, but has also struck as far south as the capital, Abuja.

We need your help. Now. Security is our number one expense -- just look at the madness surrounding our appearance at Temple University last week. And now this. Obviously they mean to gin up the hate in Dearborn:

'Rejecting Islamophobia: A Community Stand Against Hate' event to be held April 29 04.22.2012

DEARBORN – In order to counter-act [sic] the “Jessica Mokdad Human Rights Conference” in Dearborn that many say is being used as a platform for anti-Muslim bigotry by conservative commentator Pamela Geller and others, an event titled “Rejecting Islamophobia: A Community Stand Against Hate” will be held on Sunday, April 29th from 1 p.m. To 3:30 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hotel in Dearborn

The purpose of the event is to bring out a large group of people in support of religious freedom and tolerance in order to bring media attention to the true peaceful nature of Islam as opposed to an unbalanced view used for a political purpose of hate and division, according to organizers.

Anti-freedom Leftists and Islamic supremacists are enraged that we are standing against honor killing in Dearborn, and they're determined to stop us. We have reports of a taqiyya conference, and of a counter-demonstration intended to menace the freedom fighters who are going to speak at our event. An imam has even incited hatred against Pamela Geller during a Friday sermon. It would be nice if we could be assured that their pro-honor killing counter-demonstration would be peaceful, but remember, this is Sharia Dearborn, where freedom fighters have been physically attacked, and where Christians have been arrested for preaching to Muslims, which is a crime only in Sharia.

We are taking every precaution for the safety of those attending, and to make sure our voices are heard, but it is not cheap. We have had to triple our security personnel and spend far more than we had expected to in order to make sure this event goes on as planned in the face of Leftist and Islamic supremacist thuggery and intimidation. Because of the same thuggery and war against the truth and free speech, we had to get extra security for our event at Temple University last week as well.

The costs continue to mount. We do so much with so little. We are not backed by wealthy foundations or philanthropists, and do not have a massive donor base. We depend on you: on individuals who value the freedom of the individual and the dignity of the human person. Without your support, we would not have been able to accomplish anything. Will you help us stand against honor killing in Dearborn? Will you help us stand for the truth? Please donate via Paypal to writeatlas@aol.com or tax-deductible to director@jihadwatch.org. Your contribution will help us defray the expenses of the Jessica Mokdad Honor Killing Conference and all our work for freedom. And for that, may God bless you.

It's at minute 28:23 -- the imam starts railing against Pamela Geller for our Jessica Mokdad Conference on Honor Killing. We named the conference after Jessica Mokdad because, according to Fox News Detroit, “she left home and wasn't following Islam.” Pamela Geller has more background and details on the conference here.

This imam's words are unconscionable and clearly constitute incitement. If the mainstream media narrative about Islam were true, this imam and others would be standing with us against Islamic honor killing. There will be more and more honor killings in the West until Western authorities have the courage to address its root causes, but that day may never come. Islamic teaching contains a justification for the practice, and no one dares speak against something that is taught in Islam.

It is no accident or coincidence that Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

And here an imam in Dearborn, Michigan brands as a "bigot" a courageous freedom fighter who dares to stand against this practice.

Once again non-Muslims must accommodate Islamic law and practice, and an eager dhimmi judge does the bidding of Islamic supremacists. "Judge rules enforcing Muslim law on everyone not establishment of religion," by Peter Grady for the Greeley Gazette, April 26 (thanks to all who sent this in):

A federal judge says an Ohio prison that forces all inmates to adhere to a strict Islamic diet is not an establishment of religion because everyone eats the same food.

A federal judge recently threw out prisoner James Rivers' lawsuit against Ohio Prison director Gary Mohr's decision to ban pork from kitchens in all prisons under control of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Mohr made the decision to stop serving pork products after a Muslim on death row filed a lawsuit against the prison system.

Abdul Awkal, an inmate on death row, argued in his lawsuit that the prison’s failure to provide halal meals violated his religious freedoms.

Despite Awkal’s claims, Islamic teaching says it is perfectly acceptable to eat non-halal meat if there is no halal food available.

Islam teaches that meat such as pork is considered unclean and not to be eaten. This would include all pork products including sausage and bacon.

Awkal was later joined by a second Muslim who is not on death row. Prison authorities had argued that they provided non-pork and vegetarian options for Muslims. The Muslims said that was not good enough and still insisted that the food they were given meet halal standards.

Despite Awkal’s claims that eating halal meat is a requirement of his faith, Islamic teaching says it is perfectly acceptable to eat non-halal meat if there is no halal food available.

Prison authorities had argued that providing halal meet for the thousands of Muslims in prison would bankrupt the system.

In response to the lawsuit, prison officials stopped serving pork products to everyone; including atheists and those whose religion contains no such prohibition.

Former Navy chaplain Dr. Gordon Klingenschmitt says while the judge ruled it is acceptable to force all non-Muslims to adhere to a Muslim diet, Christians have no dietary rights.

"This is another example of the Islamicization [sic] of America. It's establishing Islam as the state religion of the prison system," Klingenschmitt contends. "The judge's reasoning is this: He said as long as all of the prisoners are forced to eat the same food, then there's no discrimination taking place. In other words, if he enforces Muslim law equally, then there's no establishment of religion. I think that's wrong, and I pray this is overturned on the appeal."

Abdo said in 2010 that he wanted to combat “Islamophobia” and “to try and put a good positive spin out there that Islam is a good, peaceful religion. We’re not all terrorists, you know?” No, not all, Abdo, but you are.

"Abdo charged with attacking a jailer," by Brandon Hartman and Christine McCarthy for KXXV.com, April 27 (thanks to Kenneth):

WACO - Naser Jason Abdo, the AWOL soldier accused of planning a deadly attack on Fort Hood soldiers last July, is now facing one additional charge for an assault on Thursday.

Court records show Abdo scratched a correctional officer's forearm outside his McLennan County Jail cell, breaking the skin and drawing blood.

According to the affidavit, Abdo then confessed to the attack.

Last week, Abdo was reportedly in an elevator when he spat on U.S. Marshals after a federal court hearing.

Abdo is accused of planning to bomb a Killeen restaurant popular with Fort Hood soldiers and then shooting the survivors.

His new charge is Assault on a Public Servant, is being added to a list of federal charges, such as terrorism and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

It is? In what way? "Obama lifts freeze on $192 million aid package to Palestinian Authority," from the Times of Israel, April 27:

US President Barack Obama has lifted a ban on financial aid to the Palestinian Authority.

Obama stated that the aid was “important to the security interests of the United States.”

The US Congress froze a $192 million aid package to the Palestinian Authority after its president, Mahmoud Abbas, defied US pressure and sought to attain UN endorsement of Palestinian statehood last September. The presidential waiver means that aid can now be delivered....

The AFP news agency quoted White House spokesman Tommy Vietor as saying the $192 million aid package would be devoted to “ensuring the continued viability of the moderate PA government under the leadership of [Palestinian Authority] President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.”

Vietor added that the PA had fulfilled its major obligations, such as recognizing Israel’s right to exist, renouncing violence and accepting the Road Map for Peace.

Oh really? They've done all that, and yet still retail genocidal rhetoric about destroying Israel? Quite a balancing act.

So many people have sent this story to me this morning that it seemed worth posting, but not as the cautionary tale it was meant to be. Rather, it is an object lesson in irresponsible journalism. Several days ago I posted this story from al-Arabiya, which has now circulated around the world and aroused considerable disgust. Even the most indefatigable Islamic supremacist apologists, such as the serial liar Sheila Musaji at The American Muslim, are embarrassed by it, and immediately tried to start explaining it away. Now Dan Murphy of the august Christian Science Monitor has come to their aid, reassuring us all that the story is "utter hooey." His evidence? Read on:

"Egypt 'necrophilia law'? Hooey, utter hooey," by Dan Murphy for the Christian Science Monitor, April 26 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Today, Egypt's state-owned Al Ahram newspaper published an opinion piece by Amr Abdul Samea, a past stalwart supporter of the deposed Hosni Mubarak, that contained a bombshell: Egypt's parliament is considering passing a law that would allow husbands to have sex with their wives after death.

It was soon mentioned in an English language version of Al-Arabiya and immediately started zipping around social-networking sites. By this afternoon it had set news sites and the rest of the Internet on fire. It has every thing: The yuck factor, "those creepy Muslims" factor, the lulz factor for those with a sick sense of humor. The non-fact-checked Daily Mail picked it up and reported it as fact. Then Andrew Sullivan, who has a highly influential blog but is frequently lax about fact-checking, gave it a boost with an uncritical take. The Huffington Post went there, too.

There's of course one problem: The chances of any such piece of legislation being considered by the Egyptian parliament for a vote is zero. And the chance of it ever passing is less than that. In fact, color me highly skeptical that anyone is even trying to advance a piece of legislation like this through Egypt's parliament. I'm willing to be proven wrong. It's possible that there's one or two lawmakers completely out of step with the rest of parliament. Maybe.

But extreme, not to mention inflammatory claims, need at minimum some evidence (and I've read my share of utter nonsense in Al Ahram over the years). The evidence right now? Zero.

Follow the progression of Murphy's thought. He first says that the chances of such legislation being voted on by the Egyptian parliament are zero. Then he says that it wouldn't pass, anyway. Then he says that he doesn't think anyone is even trying to get it passed. Evidence for his claim? None. He doesn't offer any. Then he claims that there is no evidence for the report in the first place.

By contrast, the al-Arabiya report is quite specific. It names Egypt’s National Council for Women (NCW) as mounting opposition to the measure, saying specifically that Dr. Mervat al-Talawi, head of the NCW, sent a message to the Egyptian People’s Assembly Speaker, Dr. Saad al-Katatni, complaining about it. It also names al-Ahram columnist Amro Abdul Samea, who wrote about the story.

All these specifics make this story open to easy verification. Murphy could have contacted Amro Abdul Samea, or Saad al-Katatni, or Mervat al-Talawi. But he didn't. He just decided it was "utter hooey" apparently just because it is so...icky. Or because it puts Islamic law in a bad light, especially since a Moroccan Muslim cleric has said the same thing, as Murphy grudgingly admits and then dismisses:

There was a Moroccan cleric a few years back who apparently did issue a religious ruling saying that husbands remained married to their wives in the first six hours after death and, so, well, you know. But that guy is far, far out on the nutty fringe. How fringe? He also ruled that pregnant women can drink alcohol. Remember, alcohol is considered haram, forbidden, by the vast majority of the world's Muslim scholars. Putting an unborn child at risk to get drunk? No, that's just not what they do. Whatever the mainstream's unpalatable beliefs (there are plenty from my perspective) this isn't one of them....

Maybe the story is false. Certainly al-Ahram and al-Arabiya don't have spotless records for accuracy. But that can only be established by fact-checking, not by wishful thinking, which is all that Dan Murphy offers here. The whitewash of noxious elements of Sharia is universal in the mainstream media, and when these noxious elements cannot be ignored, as in this case, it is a shame to see a staff writer for a respected publication simply waving them away without the slightest bit of evidence instead of confronting them honestly. A shame, but not a surprise.

KUALA LUMPUR: Muslims should promote moderate values so that they can counter Islamophobia worldwide, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said extremism had led some to question the nature of Islam and portray it in a negative and hostile light.

These 'extremists' are from which religion, Mr. Prime Minister? And how are they 'extremist'? As usual, he never gets around to laying out such troublesome details.

Najib said he hoped the new Global Movement of Moderates Foundation would be able to play an important part in fostering tolerance and understanding.

“I am convinced that the moderation that runs through the very heart of Islam will come to stand as the enduring value of our times,” he said during his keynote address at the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists Global Donors Forum 2012 yesterday.

Najib said the negative publicity on Islam had at times limited Muslims' philanthropic efforts.

Muslims can't give money to charity or charitable causes because of Islamophobes and Islamophobia? How outrageous!

More than ten years after the September 11th attacks, after more than 18,000 terror attacks have been committed by Muslims around the world, and after tens of thousands have been slaughtered at the hands of jihadists, we are still waiting to be convinced, Mr. Prime Minister. We have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting to be convinced that 'moderation' (however you may define it) somehow runs through the heart, liver or other internal organs of Islam. How much longer would you like us to wait?

You know, the revolution they were supposed to have nothing to do with. "Islamists rally across Egypt to 'save the revolution,'" by Zeinab El Gundy for Ahram Online, April 27:

Rallies organised by Islamist forces took place in a number of governorates across Egypt Friday to stress the importance of continuing the revolution and preventing old regime figures from reclaiming power.

Since the early morning, hundreds headed to the iconic Tahrir square. A number of banners demanding the continuation of the revolution and condemning military rule were hung around the square. Slogans include, “No elections under military rule,” “No constitution under military rule” and “No former regime icons for president.”

The April 6 movement told Reuters it would not take part in protests that pressed for demands of a single group or party and the turnout was a fraction of the previous week when tens on thousands took to the streets.

The Muslim Brotherhood organised a protest in Beheira governorate where around 3500 protesters chanted against presidential candidates Ahmed Shafiq and Amr Moussa due to their links to the old regime.

In Zagazig, the Brotherhood and other groups organised rallies that chanted against the SCAF and former regime candidates.

In Shabin El-Kom around 200 protesters joined a protest organised by one of the city’s largest mosques to protest the SCAF and former regime candidates.

Thousands of Islamists and Salafists gathered in Mansoura to demand the application of the Disenfranchisement Law, the dismissal of El-Ganzouri’s cabinet and the end of military rule.

In Tanta and Mahalla hundreds from protesters from the Muslim Brotherhood, the April 6 Youth Movement, Kefaya and Kazeboon protested to demand the Disenfranchisement Law be applied against Mubarak regime figures.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Sohag governorate to demand the Disenfranchisement Law be applied to Moussa and Shafiq.

Islamists protested against military rule in Assiut but the protest was boycotted by non-Islamists who claimed the former hijacked such rallies for their own purposes.

An Islamist rally in Qena was also boycotted by non-Islamists....

Major Egyptian Islamist parties and groups – including the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafist Calling and Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya – have issued calls few days earlir [sic] for a Tahrir Square demonstration on Friday under the banner of "Saving the revolution."

"Protests will take place in Cairo and in other Egyptian governorates," Brotherhood Secretary-General Mahmoud Hussein announced on the group's official website.

Several non-Islamist revolutionary groups, meanwhile, have expressed their refusal to participate in the event. These groups include the April 6 movement, United Maspero Youth, the Egyptian Brothers Independent group, and the Free Front for Peaceful Change....

“You have crossed all red lines and you are pushing the country to chaos, implementing an American Zionist agenda."

"Egypt’s ON TV receives kidnap threats from Jihadist Group," by Manar Ammar for Bikya Masr, April 25:

Egypt’s liberal satellite channel ON TV received a threatening letter from an unknown group calling itself “The Jihadist Group to Cleanse the Country” warning they would kidnap some of the news presenters and inflict harm on companies that advertise with channel, if the channel “does not change its media policies.”

The group threatened to kidnap popular program hosts Reem Maged and Yousri Fouda and ask for 20 million Egypt pound ransom ($3.2 million), in addition to destroying the channel’s facilities and studios.

Albert Shafik, head of ON TV, filed a police report, presenting a copy of the letter to the Giza police department.

“You have crossed all red lines and you are pushing the country to chaos, implementing an American Zionist agenda,” the letter began.

“We will not turn to the government or the law, they are the means of the weak and the poison that you spread through Maged. [They] will not affect our great nation,” the letter continued.

“We command you to stop immediately or else we will force you to donate 10 million pounds to charity or the Naguib Sawiris companies and ON TV studios will be destroyed,” the group added.

“We would kidnap your talk show hosts and ask for a 20 million pound ransom they would be assassinated. This is also a word of warning to the advertisement companies that deal with you, if they don’t not stop, we will inflict great harm upon them, so we advise you to immediately halt your destructive policies and if you do not, we will start and if we do, we will not stop,” the letter added.

However, commentators on the news mocked the letter, saying it is an attempt of the old regime to intimidate liberal voices, while others accused the military council of being behind the threats.

The channel openly supports the human rights community and dose not hesitate to expose rights violations, with activists and rights advocates as regular guests....

Abdul Rahman Zain Al Abidin might not have run afoul of the law if he had tried this in Egypt.

In any case, his punishment is Qur'an-mandated: "This is the recompense of those who fight against God and His Messenger, and hasten about the earth, to do corruption there: they shall be slaughtered, or crucified, or their hands and feet shall alternately be struck off; or they shall be banished from the land. That is a degradation for them in this world; and in the world to come awaits them a mighty chastisement" (5:33).

Sharia Alert from the Kingdom of the Two Holy Places: "Saudis behead and crucify Sudanese national for raping corpse," from Bikya Masr, April 27 (thanks to David):

The preferred method of execution in Saudi Arabia is beheading by sword, in public, followed by crucifixion.

CAIRO: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia beheaded and then crucified a Sudanese national after he was convicted of murdering a Saudi woman and then having sex with her corpse.

The man had confessed to murdering the Saudi housewife by strangling her in her sleep.

He then had sex with her corpse, stole her money and jewelry and fled after opening the gas cylinder in an attempt to kill the other family members.

The court sentenced him to death and crucifixion.

He appealed, according to a report in the Saudi Arabian Arabic language daily, Ajel.

The appellate court gave him the same sentence, which was upheld by the supreme court and then ultimately endorsed by King Abdullah.

The defendant, identified as Abdul Rahman Zain Al Abidin, was given a public execution and crucifixion in the kingdom’s capital Riyadh....

Here again, we see the human cost of misunderstanding what we all know, on pain of "Islamophobia" charges, is a Religion of Peace. Yet Islamic leaders in Italy are no more inclined than they are anywhere to try to protect young Muslims from misunderstanding Islam in this way. How curious!

"Italian convert to Islam arrested on terror charges," from JTA, April 24:

ROME (JTA) – An Italian convert to Islam arrested for suspected links to terrorism was connected to a suspect who planned to bomb Milan's main synagogue.

Andrea Campione, 28, who worked in a picture frame factory, was arrested in the Adriatic seacoast town of Pesaro on Monday during an anti-terrorism crackdown in several cities. Authorities said Campione was associated with Mohamed Jarmoune, a Moroccan man arrested last month on suspicion of plotting an attack on Milan’s main synagogue.

Reports said Campione had a Moroccan girlfriend and was apprehended as he was about to leave Italy for Morocco.

Investigators, who said Campione disseminated jihadist material, seized his computer and other digital material. They said that Campione had sent Jarmoune and others links to Internet sites containing information on how to carry out terror attacks.

Another casualty of the Afghan jihad that our political elites increasingly refuse to admit even exists. "Elite Afghan soldier kills U.S. special forces mentor," by Ismail Sameem for Reuters, April 27:

KANDAHAR (Reuters) - An elite Afghan soldier shot dead an American mentor and his translator at a U.S. base, Afghan officials said on Friday, in the first rogue shooting blamed on the country's new and closely vetted special forces.

The soldier opened fire at an American military base on Wednesday in Shah Wali Kot district, in volatile Kandahar province, said General Abdul Hamid, the commander of Afghan army forces in the Taliban's southern heartland.

"The shooting took place after a verbal conflict where the Afghan special forces soldier opened fire and killed an American special forces member and his translator," Hamid told Reuters.

At least 18 foreign soldiers have died this year in 11 incidents of so-called green on blue shootings, which are an increasing worry for both NATO and Afghan commanders, eroding trust as Western combat troops look to leave the country in 2014.

The latest shooting will be of grave concern to both sides, at it is the first involving a member of Afghanistan's new special forces, which undergo rigorous vetting as part of their selection into the country's top anti-insurgent force....

"Rigorous vetting" that doubtless includes absolutely nothing about the subject's views of Islam and jihad.

Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone text message sent to journalists, saying the Afghan soldier was "an insurgent infiltrator called Zakerullah"....

But NATO commanders argue the growing number of shootings is in proportion to the growing size of Afghan security forces towards an eventual 352,000 target.

"When we analyze the problem, it occurs for a number of reasons, and not as many as you would expect show any evidence of insurgent initiation, or insurgent backing," a senior NATO official who could not be identified said last week.

"Quite often people resolve their personal problems by resorting to the use of a weapon. It's more of a cultural thing here."

No, it's more of a jihad thing there. But I know you "senior NATO officials" aren't allowed to think about that.

Do U.S. authorities really think this sort of thing cannot and will not happen here? In fact, it is coming quickly. "Muslim lawyer pledges to 'cover Russia in blood,'" from IANS, April 25 (thanks to Stephen Gash):

Police in the Russian capital said on Wednesday they will examine a video in which a prominent Muslim lawyer pledges to "cover Russia in blood" if the authorities refuse to establish courts to implement Islamic law.

"May be you are foreigners here, and this is our home. We will set our rules, whether you want this or not," Dagir Khasavov, a lawyer and aide to an upper house committee chairman, said in an interview with the REN TV channel.

"Any attempts to stop this will result in blood. We will turn the city (Moscow) into a second dead sea," he was quoted as saying.

Russian Chief Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin condemned Khasavov's statement.

Geidar Dzhemal, head of an influential group called Islamic Committee, said there might have been a "misunderstanding".

A misunderstanding! Of course! These guys are always so hard to understand!

In FrontPage this morning is my interview with FrontPage editor Jamie Glazov on my new book Did Muhammad Exist?:

...FP: So why did you write this book? This is not a question that most people have ever even considered.

Spencer: That’s true, Jamie. The question of whether or not Muhammad existed is one that few have thought to ask, or dared to ask. For most of the fourteen hundred years since the prophet of Islam is thought to have walked the earth, almost everyone has taken his existence for granted.

FP: Of course. After all, his imprint on human history is enormous. The Encyclopedia Britannica dubbed him “the most successful of all Prophets and religious personalities.” In his 1978 book The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, historian Michael H. Hart put Muhammad in the top spot. So how can you say such a man never existed, and why does it matter?

Spencer: There is, in fact, considerable reason to question the historicity of Muhammad. Although the story of Muhammad, the Qur’an, and early Islam is widely accepted, on close examination the particulars of the story prove elusive. The more one looks at the origins of Islam, the less one sees. In Did Muhammad Exist?, I explore the questions that a small group of pioneering scholars has raised about the historical authenticity of the standard account of Muhammad’s life and prophetic career. A thorough review of the historical records provides startling indications that much, if not all, of what we know about Muhammad is legend, not historical fact. A careful investigation similarly suggests that the Qur’an is not a collection of what Muhammad presented as revelations from the one true God but was actually constructed from already existing material, mostly from the Jewish and Christian traditions.

It matters because my investigations, as the book shows, tend toward the probability that Islam was constructed as a political system foremost, and only secondarily a religious one – a point that has significant implications for the controversy today over anti-Sharia laws and how to regard the incursions of political Islam in the West.

FP: Fascinating. So what are some of those indications that Muhammad may not have existed?...

There is more.

Everywhere it is the same: the ambition of Islam comes to the top.

To begin with what has previously written, Georgia was not certain who planted the bomb under the car of ambassador the State of Israel, Yitzhak Gerberg.

However, a few days ago, on a visit to Tbilisi, the American billionaire and friend of President Saakashvili of Georgia, Donald Trump, called this country the safest country in the world. Yes, if you count as safety the fact that the bomb just did not explode, of course Trump is right. The Ambassador's driver at the time found it. Things reached the point that some people have discussed whether Mossad may have done this.

As for Donald Trump, his interest in the Middle East region and the Caucasus is in the field of investment money. He's going to build a Trump Tower in Batumi (Georgia) and Istanbul (Turkey).

As you already know, Turkey, although it is a member of NATO, its Prime Minister Erdogan and the government have clearly embarked on a path of Islamization. The fact that at the personal request of Prime Minister Erdogan in Batumi there was built a symbol of Turkish military power, the great Mosque of Sultan Abdul Aziz, is an excellent example of this. Abdul Aziz was one of the fiercest conquerors of West Georgia. On his orders were executed many thousands of Georgians who refused to accept Islam.

At the insistence of the Turkish side, the State of Israel will not participate in the NATO Summit in Chicago. So much for NATO member Turkey. Islam is Islam, a Muslim is a Muslim, always and everywhere.

Donald Trump probably will not know about the construction of the Grand Mosque in Batumi. It will be interesting to watch the guests in the "Trump Tower" when every morning they will wake up as the Turkish mullahs wail the Azan.

Iranian and Turkish influence are growing in pro-American Georgia. Georgia is increasingly moving closer to oil-rich Azerbaijan.

A few days ago, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia said that Georgia is a sovereign state and has the right to be friends with anyone it wants, but Iran has a strong and rich state in the region and good relations with them are beneficial for Georgia.

However, after an interview, the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the news agency and asked it to withdraw the words of Deputy Minister. Government officials are well aware that friendship with Iran is fraught with consequences, but in the words of the Emperor Vespasian in Rome, <em>Pecunia non olet</em>: Money does not smell. Iran's money works in Georgia. In addition, U.S. policy toward Iran is very two-faced. So why not earn extra money, while the international community wonders whether or not it should prevent Iran from joining the nuclear club.

Just on this, despite international sanctions, Georgia and Iran in Tehran signed a contract for the carriage of goods. And they began to build a motorway from Tehran to Tbilisi.

Osama Bin Laden is dead. This is worth a road in Chechnya, Tbilisi - Itum-Kale - but the terrible fact is that no one will finance it. No one needs to invest large sums of money in a project that the Russians could bomb in half an hour. The Mujahideen thus make their way through the mountain trails. A motorway from Tehran to Tbilisi can bring a lot of money.

The members of the Georgian parliament who vehemently oppose the construction of a mosque in Batumi asked at the meeting of Parliament, if Georgia has admitted the Cherkezov genocide of Muslims, why doesn't she recognize the genocide of Christian Armenians in Turkey by a Muslim?

And you know what happened? The MP representing the Azerbaijanis left him a tube of Vaseline and called him an Armenian, as if to be an Armenian a sin. And in front of the Parliament of Georgia, Azerbaijanis began to protect the interests of Turkey regarding the Armenian protest against the statement. As if Turkey had not killed and expelled more than a million Armenians.

At this time in Moscow, a representative of the Muslims said that if they do not allow the introduction of Sharia courts in Russia, Moscow, they will be flooded with blood.

Yes, Islam comes from the name of Allah and the Prophet Muhammad. We close our eyes and try to strike the pose of an ostrich with his head in the sand.

As Jihad Watch had suggested, Turkey supported the Islamic nuclear ambitions.

According to Turkey's energy minister, his country had already begun to select a contractor to build a nuclear power plant in Sinop. Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said that an agreement had been signed with China that the nuclear energy would be used for peaceful purposes and would not be used for military means or transferred to third parties.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that Ankara understands the desire of Iran to develop nuclear energy.

That's it.

Turkey and Iran say the same thing. Hence, has the nuclear deal already taken place? Should we expect sanctions against Turkey? Or will Western officials just say that Turkey has the right to nuclear energy, regardless of the genocide of the Armenians, and if Turkey has the right, then why Iran is an exception?

By this all goes. We are forced to recognize the Islamic nuclear ambitions, the construction of mosques in Christian territory, and Sharia courts. In the end we will be asked to accept Islam, and if we refuse, they know how to force us. They are taught by Muhammad.

Q: What should happen in light of the fact that the leaders of many nations believe that Iran is not only developing nuclear weapons, but also wants to share them with the Islamic world?

A: We hope that the Iranian leadership understands our concerns and that finally it will stop its nuclear program.

That in brief describes the political situation around the Iranian nuclear program ...

Statements from politicians are very scarce. Maybe this is the fault of the upcoming U.S. presidential election or the elections in France, or other political phenomena. In other words, everything is okay, but the reality is not as smooth as our words make it out to be.

Evidence of this are some facts which I will set down here.

The fact is that several countries of the Caucasus and the Middle East said that they will use unmanned aircraft of their own production.

The first in their ranks was Turkey. Then Georgia, Iran, and Armenia. The Turks and Georgians held successful tests of their flying drones.

The fact is that Ministry of State Security agents detained Iranian intelligence agents in Azerbaijan. And several days ago, the same ministry said that it had uncovered a terrorist group linked to Al Qaeda. In the north of the country there were arrested about 20 people who were accused of terrorism. Based on the names of the cities and places in which there were special operations, it can be assumed that those arrested are members of the Lezghin nation, who live on both sides of the Russian and Azerbaijani border.

The war rhetoric of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev toward Armenia is growing every day. The Armenian side is not in retreat. Every day, the local media disseminates information about the shelling of border areas.

Recently in Turkey there were arrested several former military men. Among the military men for whom there were issued warrants of arrest in Turkey were former leaders of the General Staff who were accused of coup attempt in 1997.

Recall that in February 1997, at a meeting of the Turkish National Security Council, there were adopted a number of decisions regarding the fight against Islamic supremacism. After that, under pressure from the military community, the government led by Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan fell.

Now the Ankara Prosecutor's Office is investigating, within the framework of a warrant of arrest that was issued in 1997 by former Deputy Chief of General Staff Cevik Bir for four generals who have held senior positions in the military in Turkey.

The Office also issued a warrant for the arrest of the former State Security Court Prosecutor Nuh Mete Yuksel.

Turkish police reported detaining 14 more soldiers in the investigation of the coup d'etat that was being prepared in 2003. Note that the Turkish media do not have accurate data on the number of prisoners. The Turkish television station NTV reported that previously the court issued a warrant for the arrest of 95 suspects.

Recall that in late February of this year, Turkish authorities detained 70 soldiers who were suspected of plotting against the government.

And at the same time, Turkey celebrates the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. The Turkish president in his message said that "the life of the Prophet Muhammad is a model for all mankind. He has always called people to brotherhood, tolerance and mutual assistance." President Gul also said that the life and personality of the Prophet Muhammad best reflect the light of Islam and the Quran to all mankind.

According to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, all people should be guided in their lives by the laws of brotherhood.

In turn, the leader of the Republican People's Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, stressed that all of humanity benefits from the life of the Prophet Muhammad, which is an example of charity.

The region looks like a powder keg.

On whatever side you want, light a fire and it will explode. And next to the barrel, crazy people are running around with torches. But the situation is not funny. This is the reality.

I would be happy if I'm wrong ...

The leader of the Caucasus jihadists, Dokka Abu Usman, in his last address to the mujahideen on video, explained how they should solve their disagreements.

"Please refer to the Qur'an, and you'll find the answers," he said.

I have heard many times that the Mujahideen turn to the Qur'an and the Hadith as guides. In the Hadith they read: "The Last Hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews. The Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: 'Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him;' but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews" (Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Fitan wa Ashrat as-Sa'ah, Book 41, 6985). So the Jews will hide behind trees and the trees will say, "Muslim! The servant of Allah! Come, look there is a Jew behind me, he hid here, behind me, come and punish him." Only the tree Gharqad will not say this, for it is the tree of the Jews "(Kitab al-Fitan, hadith. In 2239).

Question: Does Iran want a nuclear bomb, and will it share it with the Islamic world?

Answer: I do not know ... The ayatollahs and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said no.

It would be better if you believe what Moses said: "Let my people go."

Jihad Watch already reported about the other case from December 2010 mentioned in the end of the article ("Suspected terrorist in court: I came to Copenhagen to look at your famous fireworks"). Now a Jordanian, Turk and an Egyptian resident apparently wanted to attack somewhere in Copenhagen - possibly Jyllands-Posten:

Translated from Danish by Nicolai Sennels, Jyllands-Posten April 27: "Three arrested for terror plans":

The Police Intelligence Service (PET) has arrested three people on Friday April 27th in connection with a investigation of terrorism. The arrests occurred at two addresses in Copenhagen, and searches in connection with the arrests are being conducted at several locations in the Copenhagen area.

The Police Intelligence Service (PET) writes in a statement:

"Those arrested have been provisionally charged with illegal possession of automatic weapons and ammunition, but they are also suspected of having been in the process of preparing a terrorist act," it said.

The arrested are a local 22-year-old Jordanian national, a resident 23-year-old Turkish national and a 21-year-old Danish citizen residing in Egypt. They will be presented in the Copenhagen City Court within the next 24 hours. PET does not wish to disclose further details in the matter, nor whether the men will be presented in court ​​Friday or Saturday.

In another case, four men are currently charged with an attempt of terrorism against Jyllands-Posten / Politiken Hus (famous for having published the renowned Mohammed drawing by Kurt Westergaard).

The four deny that they had planned a terror attack shortly before the New Year in 2010 against JP / Politiken Hus in Copenhagen. They were all arrested on December 29th 2010, and are presently in the Court of Glostrup.

This essay was originally published in 2011 in Dutch in the book De Islam – kritische essays over een politieke religie (Islam: Critical Essays about a Political Religion) by Wim and Sam van Rooy. Raymond Ibrahim, Hans Jansen, Michael Mannheimer, Ibn Warraq, Bat Ye’or and others also contributed to the book.

It summarizes the main conclusions in my book Blandt kriminelle muslimer. En psykologs erfaringer fra Københavns Kommune (Among Criminal Muslims. A Psychologist's Experiences from Copenhagen Municipality), and adds a few political arguments at the end. Publishers interested in publishing my Danish book in English or other languages are welcome to contact me at nicolaisennels[at]gmail.com.

Cover on the Dutch book "De Islam – kritische essays over een politieke religie" (Islam: Critical Essays about a Political Religion)

Report from the therapy room: Why are Muslims more violent and criminal?
by Nicolai Sennels

Nicolai Sennels (born 1976) is psychologist, a popular lecturer about Muslim integration and gangs, and author of “Among Criminal Muslims. A Psychologist’s Experiences from Copenhagen Municipality” (Free Press Society, 2009). This article summarizes his experiences and conclusions as a professional psychologist in the Copenhagen youth prison Sønderbro.

This article is an invitation to come behind the normally hermetically closed doors of the therapy room and get insights into the often just as closed Muslim culture and communities. As a psychologist in Copenhagen's youth prison I had a unique chance to get insights into the culture and religion of Muslims and the causes for the violent behaviour and high crime rates among Muslim immigrants. My Muslim clients told me their stories from their families and communities, about life in their home countries, about their experiences with and views on non-Muslims and the Danish society. I had around 150 Muslim and 100 Danish clients on my couch. They all came from the same age group (12-17 years) and the two groups had on average the same social and economic background. Most of them were found guilty, but a large part also proved to be innocent. I thus had a very good opportunity to compare Muslims and non-Muslims psychologically.

The conclusion is that there are strong psychological differences between Muslims and non-Muslims. It is also clear that Muslim culture influences Muslims in a way that makes them more likely to become criminal and display anti-social behaviour - especially towards non-Muslims and non-Islamic authorities.

The crime rate among Muslims in the West is catastrophically high. Seven out of 10 inmates in Danish youth prisons have immigrant backgrounds, and almost all of them are raised in Muslim families. The first seven or eight places on the top-10 list of criminals' nationality are occupied by immigrants from Muslim countries (Danes come in as number nine, followed by a long list of purely non-Muslim immigrants). This list is published by the Danish state's Bureau of Statistics, and is corrected according to the criminals' economic and educational status. The crime statistics also show that crime rates among immigrants get worse, not better, in subsequent generations. Time does not heal the problems, on the contrary. Second generation immigrants (born and raised in Denmark) in the age group 20-29 years are thus 76 percent more criminal than first generation immigrants (born outside Denmark) in the same age group. Second generation non-Western immigrants are five times more violent than Danes. 22 percent of the second generation immigrants between 20-29 years received one or more sentences in 2005 (http://avisen.dk/unge-efterkommere-er-de-mest-kriminelle_6193.aspx). In 2006 the number had risen to 23 percent (http://jp.dk/indland/krimi/article1371018.ece). The share of immigrants among youth criminals in Copenhagen rose from 56 percent in 2007 to 67 percent in 2008 - that is an increase of 20 percent in just one year (http://politiken.dk/indland/article560520.ece).

The question is of course: Why are Muslims so much more criminal, violent and seemingly non-empathetic than non-Muslims?

I conducted therapy with the Muslim and Danish inmates in both groups and individually: Individual therapy, Anger Management groups and Mindfulness training. During the hundreds of hours with both Danish (and a very small percentage of non-Muslim immigrants) and Muslim clients, a psychological profile of the Muslim culture became evident. We have to acknowledge the psychological differences between Muslims and Westerners if we want to understand the unsuccessful integration of Muslims in the West and its increasingly problematic consequences.

As Jihad Watch reported recently: "Copenhagen: Four new mosques. 16 churches to be closed." Now priests and politicians are discussing what to do with those 16 closed-down churches. For many people, including the owner of the churches -- the Church Foundation -- it hurts to see how Christianity is getting smaller while most other religions, including the fastest growing religion in Denmark, Islam, are growing.

Translated from Danish by Nicolai Sennels, Jyllands-Posten April 25: "Can a closed down church be used as a mosque?":

Former Church Minister Birthe Rønn Hornbech (Liberal Conservative) also participated in the debate about the future of the closed-down churches. She completely rejects the possibility that the churches can be taken over by Muslims.

"I am against Christian churches being used by a religion that is a direct enemy of Christianity, which Islam is. Although not necessarily applicable to Danish Muslims, Islam is an enemy of Christianity," Rønn Hornbech wrote in an email yesterday to Berlingske News Agency.

The current church minister Manu Sareen (R) is more cautious in his wording on the future use of the churches. However, he asks for consideration:

"I do not have a specific opinion about what a church can or should be used for when it is shut down. But there are many emotions attached to the churches, and it seems to be the general view in the public that a church should not be used for anything that is in strong contradiction with what it was used for in the past," Sareen wrote in an email to Jyllands-Posten.

Jihad Watch has been reporting about the problem several times: "Western Muslims' Racist Rape Spree"; "Islamic cleric misunderstands Islam, issues fatwa permitting jihadis to kidnap, imprison, and rape infidel women"; "Stavanger, Norway: Nine out of ten rapists are 'men from minority groups'," etc.

The jihad on "uncovered meat" has just begun. Norway distinguishes two kinds of rapes: rape and attack-rape. In rapes, the rapist and the victim know each other beforehand, while an attack-rape is when the two do not know each other before the rape. In Oslo, 100 percent of the attack-rapes are committed by non-Western immigrants with a "view of women" that makes them rape, according to the leading police officer, Hanne Kristin Rohde.

With 76 rapes during the first 91 days of 2012, the number of rapes in Oslo has increased by an alarming 69 percent compared to the same period last year. Translated from Norwegian by Nicolai Sennels, Aftenposten April 16: "Alarming rise in reported rapes in Oslo":

Last year, the number of reported rapes in the Norwegian capital rose by 30 percent. 2012 has only gotten worse.

- Overall, in the first quarter, there is an increase of 69 percent in reported rapes and attempted rapes. There are 27 more cases than in the same period last year.

Police Inspector Hanne Kristin Rohde does not like the stats she has extracted on sexual crimes in the Oslo police district.

- Very ugly numbers, she concludes.

- Is this a real increase, or are there others who choose to report rape?

- We do not know. But there has been a lot of talking about rape in the public, so we think that the increase is a result of people's willingness to report rapes to the police.

During this year's first 91 days, Oslo police have received reports on 76 rape cases, compared to 45 during the same period last year. The so called attack-rapes were included.

Get the book we're discussing here.

Video courtesy Clay and Water.

Imagine how this must drive the Leftists and Islamic supremacists crazy: my new book Did Muhammad Exist? is the #1 bestselling book on Islam. That means it is outselling anything and everything by John Esposito, Karen Armstrong, Tariq Ramadan, Reza Aslan -- you name it.

Islamic supremacists and their non-Muslim Useful Idiots have consistently refused my invitations to debate, claiming that I am some sort of fringe character whom they do not wish to dignify. But this gives the lie to their claim: the reality is that many, many people are listening to what I am saying and what other Islamorealists are saying, and they refuse to debate me for one reason only: because they know they'll be soundly defeated.

In fact, we have sent out invitations to Esposito, Armstrong, Aslan, Juan Cole, the Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and others to debate me on this question. But I won't be waiting by the phone for an acceptance from any of them.

Featuring Pamela Geller, Nonie Darwish, Simon Deng and me. More yelling from the Left fascists, but a few worthwhile moments.

The heroic Simon Deng's harrowing personal story gives the lie to the Leftist/Islamic supremacist claim to represent human rights and equal justice for all.

Giving a firsthand account of the hatred and rage that Islamic supremacists instill in their children from the earliest ages.

Telling the truths that Leftists and Islamic supremacists can't stand to hear.

Facing down the jackbooted Leftist and Islamic supremacist thugs.

In "Fighting the fascists at Temple University" in WND, April 24, Pamela Geller tells the story of the battles we had with Leftist and Islamic supremacist brownshirts at Temple University Monday night:

Last week, Islamic Apartheid Week was announced at Temple University in Philadelphia. A singular brave student organization at Temple wanted to counter the blood libel and propaganda of Israeli Apartheid Week, which is so common and so awful on college campuses, with the reality of the Shariah and the oppression, subjugation and persecution of women and non-Muslims living under Islam.

No sooner was it announced than the Islamic smear machine went into high gear. Numerous articles appeared in the Philadelphia City Paper, Naked City and elsewhere, smearing and defaming the speakers (Robert Spencer, Nonie Darwish, Simon Deng and me), but most egregiously me. Hamas-CAIR sent out a string of email alerts in support of the Occupy Muslim student groups’ protests.

The Blaze ran a big story on the pro-Shariah media blitz. The Blaze noted that the leftists and Islamic supremacists were pulling out all the stops: “Occupy Temple is joining with the International Socialist Organization, Students for Justice in Palestine and the Party for Socialism and Liberation for a ‘multi-racial fightback against these racist hatemongers.’ ‘Geller is known to her fans and critics alike as “Queen of the Muslim Bashers,”‘ the Facebook hate page for the protest states. ‘Her views are by no means within the boundaries of reasonable debate.’”

The Nazis were cocky, too. Once.

The young, brave student leader, Álvaro Enrique Watson of Temple University Students for Intellectual Freedom, which organized the event in conjunction with the David Horowitz Freedom Center, wrote before the event about protests that were being orchestrated by leftists and Islamic supremacists:

“The protests are being organized, yet again, against ‘the biggest bigots in the world and at Temple University.’ Once again, the opportunists are using side-bar issues/events (Trayvon Martin, and a couple of others, whom you guys all know about) to advance and fuel their protest.”

In their Goebbels propaganda, the leftist fascists cited the honor killing by her family of Shaima Alawadi as a “hate crime,” when that libel has long been exposed by law enforcement.

Thus it was predictable that the event was the silly zoo that all pro-freedom activists have unfortunately come to expect from events at universities all over the country: loud, raucous know-nothing tools spewing illogical insults into the ether with the sole purpose of stopping the truth from being heard. Yawn.

Their furious and frenzied opposition to our message was ironic in light of the fact that we were there to stand for the freedom of the individual: the freedom of speech, the freedom of conscience, and equal rights for women and non-Muslims in Muslim societies as well as in Muslim communities in the West.

Our program was dedicated to exposing the suffering of millions of women and non-Muslims living under the oppression and subjugation of the Shariah, as well as to debunking the vile lies and blood libels spread about the state of Israel by Islamic supremacists and their lapdog apologists (notably during Israeli Apartheid Week).

Simon Deng, Nonie Darwish and Robert Spencer were magnificent, brilliant and brave. And Simon Deng is a powerful presence – the room gets quiet when he approaches the podium. Deng’s devastating story as a slave in Sudan shames the leftist tools as they scream on about hate and justice....

Read it all.

The war on terror keeps being declared over -- here is an example from August 2009. How many times will it have to be declared over before the jihadis stop plotting mayhem against the West? Even more importantly, how many times will it be declared over before Islamic supremacists stop trying to impose Sharia in the West by nonviolent means?

They will never stop, of course. And official Washington, with more of its signature wishful thinking and myopia, is legitimizing those who want to impose Sharia by peaceful means, while stigmatizing only those who are less patient and resort to violence. "Can Obama Safely Embrace Islamists?," by Michael Hirsh in the National Journal, April 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):

In an article in the current National Journal called "The Post Al Qaida Era," I write that the Obama administration is taking a new view of Islamist radicalism. The president realizes he has no choice but to cultivate the Muslim Brotherhood and other relatively "moderate" Islamist groups emerging as lead political players out of the Arab Spring in Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere. (The Muslim Brotherhood officially renounced violence decades ago, leading then-dissident radicals such as Ayman al-Zawahiri to join al Qaida.)

It is no longer the case, in other words, that every Islamist is seen as a potential accessory to terrorists. "The war on terror is over," one senior State Department official who works on Mideast issues told me. "Now that we have killed most of al Qaida, now that people have come to see legitimate means of expression, people who once might have gone into al Qaida see an opportunity for a legitimate Islamism." (In a Tuesday night update to this post, White House spokesman Tommy Vietor clarified that while the "war on terror" concept has been dropped, "we absolutely have never said our war against al Qaida is over. We are prosecuting that war at an unprecedented pace."...

Our AFDI/SIOA Jessica Mokdad Human Rights conference is this Sunday in Dearborn, and the defenders of honor killing are planning a rally to oppose our stand for freedom. We also fully expect they'll be trying to disrupt ours, as they increasingly are adopting the tactics of Hitler's brownshirts.

"Pro-honor killing"? Yes. Remember: these groups are playing the usual Islamic supremacist Orwellian game, claiming to represent human rights and freedom and demonizing us as hatemongers, when in reality, by doing so, and by ignoring and denying the Islamic justifications for honor killing, they are running interference for the practice, and making sure that more girls will be honor-killed in the United States in the future.

These Islamic supremacists and Leftist tools are claiming that Pamela Geller and others originated the idea that Jessica Mokdad was the victim of an honor killing. In reality, Darwin Jiles, a close friend of Jessica, has said this: “Jessica was someone who wanted to have liberties, like every other young lady that is born in America outside of the traditions of Islam are able to do, to pursue her own happiness and to pursue her own dreams.…Jessica would wear [the Islamic headcovering, the hijab] it when she was with her family, and when she wasn’t with her family, she let it be very known that she didn’t want to wear it, that she did not want to be a part of this forced Islamic religion. She was very clear with that to me. And so Cassandra really is portraying a false picture. And Pamela has every right to place the conference to be named after Jessica in regards to this, because it was Islam that caused her death.”

"Local, National Groups to Host Islamophobia Town Hall Sunday in Dearborn," by Jessica Carreras for the Dearborn Patch, April 25 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

Local and national Arab American and Muslim groups will gather this Sunday at the Doubletree Hotel just outside of Dearborn in hopes of counteracting an anti-Islamic conference being held at the same time.

In a statement sent out Wednesday, the Arab American Institute announced that they will host a community town hall on Islamophobia at 1 p.m. on Sunday with a slew of local and national speakers–including religious leaders, media representatives, and political leaders.

The event they seek to fight is the Jessica Mokdad Human Rights Conference, also taking place Sunday at Dearborn's Hyatt Regency Hotel. Hosted by political commentators and outspoken critics of Islam Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, the conference aims to expose what they claim is blatant evidence of the persecution of women in the Muslim faith.

Jessica Mokdad, for whom the conference was named, was murdered in 2011 in Warren, MI. Police arrested her stepfather for the crime, and some–Gellar included–have speculated that the shooting was an "honor killing" due to her rejection of Islam.

Mokdad's family told Fox News Detroit that "absolutely it was not."

Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, said in a statement that the community should not stand idly as the conference takes place.

"They are exploiting the tragedy of a young Arab American girl to promote a bigoted agenda," she said. "It is shameful.

"And unlike the irrelevant (Quran-burning Pastor Terry) Jones, Geller and Spencer have thousands of followers, and are given airtime to spew their hate on major American news networks," she added. "This group, we cannot ignore."

The Islamophobia Town Hall will include multiple speakers, including AAI President James Zogby, journalist and blogger Sara Posner, Executive Director of the Council for American-Islamic Relations of Michigan Dawud Walid, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee of Michigan Director Imad Hamad, Imam Sayed Qazwini, state Rep. Rashida Tlaib and several others.

According to Al Ahram, Egypt’s leading newspaper, a shadowy organization calling itself the “Jihad Group to Cleanse the Country” is threatening On TV, one of the nation’s leading liberal media stations, which regularly exposes the Islamist agenda. It sent a letter to the president of the station threatening to target its studios and facilities, as well as kidnap some of its top reporters and journalists, holding them for a $20 million ransom or otherwise "liquidating" them. The message further threatened other media and organizations dealing with On TV with “painful and severe punishments.”

The reason for all this? According to the letter, the media policy of the channel “seeks to destroy the nation and create chaos to implement the American and Zionist agenda”—or, more accurately, the media policy of the station is exercising free speech, and thus exposing the nefarious agenda of groups like this "Jihad to Cleanse the Country."

Pamela Geller has just posted an incisive piece by Richard Miniter in Forbes, and her comments are worth repeating:

For years I have been pointing out how bad the rule of Islamic law, Sharia, is for women, non-Muslims, Muslims who want to leave Islam, girls who want to live free lives, and ultimately for every free soul. And I was one of the only observers to be on to the "Arab Spring" from the beginning, showing that it wasn't an outpouring of pluralism and democracy but an Islamic supremacist putsch, in Egypt and elsewhere. And now Richard Miniter shows in Forbes why all the Islamic countries of the world are economic basket cases except for those that have been blessed with oil, an accident of geology: Islamic rule is bad for economies, as well.

At one point in this article Miniter says: "If a party doesn’t elect its leaders in fair, multi-candidate elections, then it is not going to be a democratic and peaceful force if it comes to power. Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and Tunisia’s Islamists meet this test. Hamas and the Polisario Front do not." But there is no way that Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood or Tunisia’s "Islamists" are going to be "democratic and peaceful" forces once fully in power. Other than that, however, this article is eye-opening and essential reading.

"Is Arab Spring Bad For Investors? by Richard Miniter for Forbes, April 25 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

CASABLANCA—For almost a year, diplomats, experts and journalists have been telling investors not to worry about the new Islamist governments emerging in the wake of the Arab Spring. They are wrong.

The optimist argument was simple: “democratic realities will force Islamists to maintain economic growth in order to win the next elections.” Arab spring will not immediately shift to winter; responsibility makes politicians responsible and so on.

Certainly, the Islamists talked a good game. Morocco’s Islamists, in their party platform and in their speeches, stressed that a freer economy would attract foreign investors and boost jobs. They said that reducing youth unemployment was their No. 1 issue. They said that they wanted to return annual GDP growth to 7% per year—making Morocco into an “Asian tiger.” They said they wanted free-trade agreements with their neighbors. (The kingdom already has free-trade deals with the United States and the European Union). They said they favored deregulation and privatization and even proposed a modest tax cut. So things looked good.

And the fear of fickle voters was supposed to discipline the Islamists. When the Islamist parties won this past November, they even carried Morocco’s commercial center of Casablanca. They persuaded small-business owners and professionals to shift their allegiance from the liberal and socialist parties, which had commanded their votes in 2007, to the Islamists, in November 2011. These swing voters expected economic reforms and modest social changes—not the reverse. If the Islamists don’t deliver on the economy, they will be out.

To be sure, Morocco was never going to adopt F.A. Hayek’s constitution of liberty. The Islamist leaders said their economic models came from Turkey and the center-right parties of France, not Singapore or Chile. But, importantly, they weren’t looking at Iran or China either. Turkey was, until recently, a high-growth country that combined entrepreneurialism with a growing deference to Islam. (In the past 18 months, however, Turkey embodies the dangers of Islamism in politics; the ruling AKP has launched a jihad against the republics’ secular generals and its dissidents, grown diplomatically closer to Iran, economic growth has stalled, and investors are looking for the exits.)

Now, after a few months in power, the ruling Islamist party in Morocco is revealing a new agenda—one that is already frightening the native business community as well as foreign investors.

One Islamist government minister—in a series of private discussions—has suggested that government agencies, and even firms partly owned by the state, should no longer advertise in newspapers and magazines that also advertise alcohol, a legal product in Morocco. That means that the state airline, Royal Air Maroc, can no longer place ads in most major dailies. The problem for publishers: Both airlines and alcohol are major advertisers, losing either one would be painful. Indeed, some publications could close no matter which side they chose. So far, this is not a regulation, but a whispering campaign. But local publishers are getting the message.

Another Islamist, the Minister of Communications, was publicly considering an order forcing television stations to pre-empt popular programs to run sermons instead, on prime-time weeknights. This is deadly for ratings and therefore for ad revenue. It also signals that Morocco is changing from its welcoming ways—philosophically moving from Paris to Riyadh. Where would a foreign investor rather spend a weekend?

Even before the rule could be finalized, it was seen as an omen, a harbinger of the Islamists’ economically destructive ideas. The conversation in the business community here moves quickly from observation to extrapolation. Whenever politicians become more interested in symbols than realities, they are seduced by a poisonous poetry that forces their people into the clammy embrace of poverty. There doesn’t have to be a conflict between mosque and market; but the Islamists learned their economics from Arab and Eastern European socialists. Many of them still like the idea of a command economy and like the idea of issuing commands. That works no better in Iran than it did in Belarus. Why try it in Morocco, which has a diversified modern and relatively free economy? That’s why investors and local entrepreneurs are nervous.

A few days ago, the king asked to see the head of the government and the communications minister. He reminded them that the new government had to respect the constitution, which gives broadcasters free speech, and he reminded the government leaders to respect the diversity of peoples in Morocco. Not everyone is Muslim, he said, and wouldn’t necessarily be served by a sermon.

Read it all.

Over at Gatestone Institute (via RaymondIbrahim.com), I chronicle the latest abuses:

The war on Christianity and its adherents rages on in the Muslim world. In March alone, Saudi Arabia's highest Islamic law authority decreed that churches in the region must be destroyed; jihadis in Nigeria said they "are going to put into action new efforts to strike fear into the Christians of the power of Islam by kidnapping their women"; American teachers in the Middle East were murdered for talking about Christianity; churches were banned or bombed, and nuns terrorized by knife-wielding Muslim mobs. Christians continue to be attacked, arrested, imprisoned, and killed for allegedly "blaspheming" Islam's prophet Muhammad; former Muslims continue to be attacked, arrested, imprisoned, and killed for converting to Christianity.

To understand why all this persecution is virtually unknown in the West, consider the mainstream media's well-documented biases: also in March alone, the New York Times ran a virulently anti-Catholic ad, but refused to publish a near identical ad directed at Islam; the BBC admitted it will mock Jesus but never Muhammad; and U.S. sitcoms were exposed for bashing Christianity, but never Islam.

Is it any wonder, then, that this same mainstream media ignores or at best whitewashes the nonstop persecution of Christians under Islam? Exposing such ugly truths would undermine their narrative of Islam as the "religion of peace."

Categorized by theme, March's batch of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed in alphabetical order by country, not severity:

"Islam: A Will-o'-the-Wisp of Political Faith" at The Rule of Reason is Edward Cline's insightful review of my new book Did Muhammad Exist?:

Reading Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, one cannot help but marvel at the thoroughness of Sherlock Holmes’s use of reason to piece together disparate clues and evidence and conclude that the least plausible explanation was the most obvious, true one. The legendary, spectral hound that haunted the Dartmoor bogs for two centuries was a piece of unsubstantiated folklore exploited by a devious criminal whose only purpose was to seize wealth that wasn’t his. He bought a hound, coated it in phosphorous, and launched his nefarious designs.

If his plans worked out, everyone would believe that the heir to the Baskerville estate was really killed by an elusive, evanescent hound, just as the heir’s uncle apparently was. No one would investigate further. After all, the locals might be offended.

Holmes shoots it as it attacks another Baskerville heir. The Hound from Hell was an invention, based on an apocryphal curse. The Hound was a fraud. A hoax. As insubstantial as marsh gas.

Islam, however, is the very real Hound from Hell now roaming the earth, causing unimaginable suffering and death in nations where Islam rules, invading Western countries
with hordes of assimilation-hostile faithful imbued with an implacable enmity for Western values and culture, waging constant violent and stealth jihad in countries its advocates mean to conquer and bring under Islamic and Sharia rule.

The aspect that makes it frightening is the phosphorous of moral certainty that it is invincible and ineluctable. But the bogeyman is a phony. A contrivance. A will-o'-the-wisp designed to frighten men into submission or silence. Ignis fatuus. Mere methane.

Robert Spencer calls its bluff.

Spencer performs a super detective service for the West in Did Muhammad Exist? An Inquiry into Islam’s Obscure Origins, but to a degree and extent that would make Holmes green with envy. He examines virtually every aspect of the composition and history of Islam and its purported founder, Mohammad.

Let us begin with one of his summations:

A careful investigation makes at least one thing clear: The details of Muhammad’s life that have been handed down as canonical – that he unified Arabs by the force of arms, concluded alliances, married wives, legislated for his community, and did so much else – are a creation of political ferments dating from long after the time he is supposed to have lived. Similarly, the records strongly indicate that the Qur’an did not exist until long after it was supposed to have been delivered to the prophet of Islam. [pp. 214-215]

The Qur’an, the Islamic canon alleges, was the eternal “perfect book,” coexisting with Allah, who sent it to earth via the Angel Gabriel to whisper into Mohammad’s ear on Mount Hira, and which he, an illiterate, was able to communicate to the world in its entirety, unalterable, unchanged, and untouchable.

Well, because he couldn’t write, he had secretaries to whom he dictated the Qur’an. No, wait.

Those secretaries began recording the good book after he had died. No, wait…

As Spencer demonstrates, it did not come into existence until long after Mohammad’s death (presuming he even existed) in 632. (Gabriel was the “Prophet Whisperer.”) The Hadith, the companion to the Qur’an purportedly a collection of Mohammad’s sayings and doings, did not begin to accumulate until a century after his death. As Spencer shows, the Hadith became a kind of cottage industry for caliphs, Islamic clerics, scholars and anonymous scribes to invent its contents over the centuries for reasons that can partly be explained, and that partly remain conjectural.

Islam, Mohammad, and even Muslims did not begin to enter anyone’s consciousness until early in the 8^th century following Arab conquests of the Mideast and North Africa. Spencer emphasizes, and demonstrates, that it was Arabs, and not necessarily Muslims, or Moslems, or Mohammadans who waged jihad on that part of the Dark Age world. And those Arabs, while they were monotheists, were not necessarily Muslims. Spencer demonstrates that possibly it was the biblical and Judaic Abraham who was the “prophet,” not the person Mohammad. Surviving commentaries by chroniclers were ambiguous on the point. Moreover, that monotheist creed regarded Christians and Jews in a far more tolerant light of fellowship than would the Islam that finally emerged centuries later. It would explain many of the contradictory verses in the Qur’an, especially the earlier, abrogated ones.

Up until the time the Qur’an was being diligently assembled by a succession of clerics,
politicians, and charlatans, no mention is made in the earliest documents that can be linked to Islam of the Qur’an or to Mohammad. What chroniclers referred to when writing about those events and those Arabs – which include fictive battles that Mohammad fought – were Hagarians, Saracens, or Taiyaye.

The invaders referred to themselves as Muhajirun, “emigrants” – a term that would eventually take on a particular significance within Islam but that at this time preceded any clear mention of Islam as such. Greek-speaking writers would sometimes term the invaders “Magaritai,” which appears to be derived from Muhajirun. But conspicuously absent from the stock of terms that invaded and conquered people used to name the conquering Arabians was “Muslims.” [p. 33]

There is much more. Read it all.

According to the Egyptian website Youm 7, Azza al-Jarf, a female Member of Parliament representing the Muslim Brotherhood’s “Freedom and Justice Party,” is trying to abolish several laws currently enjoyed by Egyptian women—including preventing them from divorcing or even separating from their husbands, because “the man has the authority and stewardship” (see Koran 4:34); mandating that fathers must circumcise their daughters; and trying to get the Egyptian educational system to ban the teaching of the English language—on the grounds that it is an “infidel” tongue—while separating boys and girls in classrooms and mandating that girls wear the hijab.

Ms. Jarf, of course, is not the first Muslim female in Egypt opposed to her own gender; earlier, another female politician declared that "women are deficient in intelligence and religion," and that, in agreement with Sharia, it is impermissible for them to take over the presidency.

At any rate, repressive and discriminatory laws, not to mention laws that mutilate the human body—such represent the Muslim Brotherhood’s idea of “Freedom and Justice," the ironic name of their political wing.

An unsigned editorial in the Washington Times tells truths that most of the mainstream media would prefer to ignore. "EDITORIAL: Obama embraces Islam: If Islamism is OK for Egypt, why not America?," from the Washington Times, April 25 (thanks to David):

The Obama administration is doing its utmost to promote the fortunes of the Islamist parties in Egypt. A State Department official declared that with the rise of these radical groups after the Arab Spring, “people who once might have gone into al Qaeda see an opportunity for a legitimate Islamism.” They see this as a victory. The problem is, so do the terrorists.

Last year, the White House began peddling the line that the uprisings in the Middle East were a repudiation of the al Qaeda model of seeking change through terrorism. The argument was that while America opposed violent extremism, the rise of nonviolent radical movements was just fine, and even commendable. Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri quickly dismissed this claim, saying that from the terrorists’ point of view, it didn’t matter whether an Islamist victory came through violence or not. The means were unimportant except as they related to the end state: the imposition of hard-line Shariah-based laws and policies.

From Zawahri’s point of view, it makes no difference whether the caliphate is born of the ballot, bomb or bullet. The important thing is the victory of Islamism, which the White House also seems to endorse.

The notion that there is a legitimate form of Islamism reflects a serious intellectual failing on the part of the Obama administration. President Obama seems to believe the Islamists are legitimized simply by participating in the political process. Some argue that the demands of electoral politics will moderate the Islamist parties, whose members will evolve from stern-eyed theocrats into social reformers. Others believe the only path to modernity is through embracing the Muslim Brotherhood’s barbarous values....

Read it all.

David Wood and I will be debating this Sunday night on ABN, shortly after the live broadcast of the Jessica Mokdad Human Rights Conference in Dearborn. If you don't get ABN via satellite, be sure to watch it live at www.ABNsat.com.

Be ready for the debate: get the book here.

And watch David's primo debate challenge here.

Leftist Useful Idiot British politician George Galloway has been a faithful servant of the Islamic supremacist agenda for years now, so it was no surprise at all when reports began to circulate that he secretly converted to Islam years ago. He denies it now, but questions remain. In any case, this question is rather like that of whether or not Obama is secretly a Muslim -- if he were, his policies wouldn't be any different from what they are now, so what's the big deal?

"George Galloway denies claims he converted to Islam," from the Telegraph, April 26 (thanks to David):

Respect's George Galloway today denied claims he had converted to Islam at a secret ceremony more than a decade ago.

The maverick MP took part in the "shahadah" conversion ceremony, attended by members of the Muslim Association of Great Britain, at a hotel in Kilburn, London, it was reported today.

Jemima Khan, who converted to Islam ahead of her failed marriage to cricketer Imran Khan, claimed in an article for the New Statesman she knew someone who had attended the event.

But the Bradford West MP, who has repeatedly refused to answer questions about his faith, dismissed it as "totally untrue".

In the days ahead of his shock landslide by-election victory last month, a letter - which Mr Galloway denies being behind - went out to voters highlighting his record of support for Palestine, his work for "the freedom of Kashmir" and his abstention from alcohol.

It added: "God knows who is a Muslim. And He knows who is not. Instinctively so do you."

Ms Khan, who interviewed the MP in his new constituency, which has a large Muslim community, starts the article: "George Galloway, MP for Bradford West, is a Muslim.

"He converted more than ten years ago in a ceremony at a hotel in Kilburn, north-west London, attended by members of the Muslim Association of Great Britain.

"Those close to him know this. The rest of the world, including his Muslim constituents, does not."

Ms Khan tells Mr Galloway she knows someone "who attended your shahadah" and says, "so you converted?"

According to the article he replied: "I can't answer that. God knows who is a Muslim."...

Mr Galloway claimed today the article was littered with "deliberate falsehoods" and "schoolgirl howlers".

In a statement he added: "The opening paragraph of Jemima Khan's piece in the New Statesman, referring to an alleged conversion ceremony, is totally untrue.

"Moreover I told her it was fallacious when she put it to me. I have never attended any such ceremony in Kilburn, Karachi or Kathmandu.

"It is simply and categorically untrue."

In response the New Statesman defended its interview, saying: "It is notable that Galloway does not deny being a Muslim convert – and he did not deny it when it was put to him at the time of the interview, which is on tape.

"Contrary to his press release, nor did he deny that the ceremony took place when it was put to him during the interview."

Crisis Magazine today has an excerpt from my new book Did Muhammad Exist?:

Did Muhammad exist? It is a question that few have thought to ask, or dared to ask.

For most of the fourteen hundred years since the prophet of Islam is thought to have walked the earth, almost everyone has taken his existence for granted. After all, his imprint on human history is enormous.

The Encyclopedia Britannica dubbed him “the most successful of all Prophets and religious personalities.” In his 1978 book The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, historian Michael H. Hart put Muhammad in the top spot, explaining: “My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level.”

Other historians have noted the extraordinarily rapid growth of the Arabian Empire in the period immediately following Muham­mad’s death. The Arabian conquerors, evidently inspired by his teach­ing, created an empire that in fewer than one hundred years stretched from the Iberian Peninsula to India. Not only was that empire immense, but its cultural influence—also founded on Muhammad’s teaching—has been enduring as well.

Moreover, Islamic literature contains an astounding proliferation of biographical material about Muhammad. In his definitive two-volume English-language biography of Muhammad, Muhammad at Mecca (1953) and Muhammad at Medina (1956), the English histo­rian W. Montgomery Watt argues that the sheer detail contained in the Islamic records of Muhammad, plus the negative features of his biography, make his story plausible.

However sharply people may differ on the virtues and vices of Muhammad, and on the value of his prophetic claims, virtually no one doubts that he was an actual person who lived in a particular time and a particular place and who, more to the point, founded one of the world’s major religions.

Could such a man have never existed at all?

There is, in fact, considerable reason to question the historicity of Muhammad. Although the story of Muhammad, the Qur’an, and early Islam is widely accepted, on close examination the particulars of the story prove elusive. The more one looks at the origins of Islam, the less one sees.

This book explores the questions that a small group of pioneering scholars has raised about the historical authenticity of the standard account of Muhammad’s life and prophetic career. A thorough review of the historical records provides startling indications that much, if not all, of what we know about Muhammad is legend, not historical fact. A careful investigation similarly suggests that the Qur’an is not a collection of what Muhammad presented as revelations from the one true God but was actually constructed from already existing mate­rial, mostly from the Jewish and Christian traditions.

The nineteenth-century scholar Ernest Renan confidently claimed that Islam emerged in the “full light of history.” But in truth, the real story of Muhammad, the Qur’an, and early Islam lies deep in the shadows. It is time to bring it into the light.

There is more.

What's this? I thought the "war on terror" was over! Didn't the jihadis get the memo? "Feds urge vigilance 1 year after bin Laden's death," by Mike Levine for FoxNews.com, April 26 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

WASHINGTON – Just days before the one-year anniversary of Usama bin Laden's death, federal authorities are telling partners around the country there is no specific, credible threat to the U.S. homeland but they remain concerned "lone wolf" terrorists could use the date to avenge the former Al Qaeda leader's death.

In an intelligence bulletin issued late Wednesday, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Northern Command note that terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab in Somalia, Northern Africa's Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and the Pakistani Taliban have called for revenge against the United States for killing bin Laden during the May 1, 2011, raid on his hideout in Pakistan.

The bulletin says Al Qaeda or its affiliates would view an attack "on this anniversary as a symbolic victory," especially in the wake of losses suffered by Al Qaeda through U.S. drone attacks and other efforts overseas.

In addition, according to the bulletin, authorities remain concerned that so-called "lone-wolf" extremists not already identified "will execute attacks with little or no warning on or about the anniversary of bin Laden's death."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan issued a warning to Americans in Islamabad, telling them to avoid restaurants and markets for the next two weeks. In a message posted online, the embassy cited "security concerns," but it's unclear if the warning is related to the one-year anniversary of bin Laden's death.

A report issued Wednesday by the European Union, looking at how terrorism has changed in Europe over the past year, says the "threat has evolved" since the deaths of bin Laden and other terrorist leaders.

"[L]one actors or small EU-based groups are becoming increasingly prominent, as is the Internet as a key facilitator for terrorism-related activities," Interpol's E.U. Terrorist Situation and Trend Report says. "Al Qaeda's call for individual violent jihad through the execution of small-scale attacks may result in an increase in such attacks. The more Al Qaeda's core is under pressure, and the more difficult it becomes to prepare large scale attacks, the more Al Qaeda will try to recruit individual supporters in the West to plan and execute attacks."

The EU report cites a "solo terrorist" of Moroccan descent, who adhered to Al Qaeda ideology and was arrested in August 2011 for "planning to poison the water supplies of tourist locations in Spain, in retaliation for the death of bin Laden."...

This is the talk that the Islamic supremacist thugs at Hamas-linked CAIR tried to shut down. Thanks to them, it was attended by four times more people than initially had registered. Find out what they're so afraid of -- get the book here. The peerless Urban Infidel was there. My main talk was not filmed but Urban Infidel captured the Q and A in 7 videos:

In America, the newspapers are the jihad's best allies. Are they that different in Nigeria, or did this guy choose the wrong target? "Nigeria: 6 killed in newspaper office bombings," from the Associated Press, April 26 (thanks to Kenneth):

ABUJA, Nigeria – A suicide bomber detonated a car loaded with explosives Thursday at the office of a major Nigerian newspaper in the country's capital and another man threw a bomb near another newspaper office in Kaduna, killing at least six people in the attacks, witnesses said.

The attack in Abuja struck the offices of ThisDay, an influential daily newspaper. The bombing in Kaduna struck a building housing offices for ThisDay, The Moment and The Daily Sun newspapers, witnesses said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, though they mirrored others previously carried out by a radical Islamist sect responsible for hundreds of deaths in Nigeria this year alone.

In Abuja, the suicide bomber rammed his car through the gates of the ThisDay office and drove into the reception area before the explosion, said Nwakpa O. Nwakpa, a spokesman for the Nigerian Red Cross. The blast killed at least three people and wounded others, Nwakpa said....

Over at PJ Media today Barry Rubin interviews me about my new book Did Muhammad Exist? and other matters:

RUBIN: What is the basic aim of the Jihad Watch site and of your books?

SPENCER: The aim of all my work is to alert the public in the United States and around the world about the nature and magnitude of the jihad threat, with particular attention to the aspect of the threat that has been most obfuscated and obscured: its motives, goals, and root causes, as explained by the jihadis themselves. At Jihad Watch I post on a daily basis news stories showing jihad activity, both violent and stealthy, in the U.S. and worldwide. In my books I explore aspects of the issue in detail, most notably the chief motivating factors named by jihadis themselves: the Qur’an and the example of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.

RUBIN: How have your books fit together to portray the broad picture of the issues you are engaging with?

SPENCER: In eleven books now I’ve covered the nature of the jihadist challenge to the Free World from a variety of angles. The principal books explore the life of Muhammad, showing why jihadis see him as a model and guide (The Truth About Muhammad); the texts of the Qur’an that incite Muslims to violence and hatred (The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran); the comparative capacity of Christianity and Islam to incite believers to violence (Religion of Peace?); the non-violent initiatives to assert elements of Islamic law in the West (Stealth Jihad); the jihad doctrine and how it is being put into practice in the modern world (Onward Muslim Soldiers). I’ve also written an introduction to the elements of Islam that make it problematic in the West, and a survey of the most celebrated episode of the “clash of civilizations” (The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)), as well as my new book, an examination of the historical value of the writings I explored in The Truth About Muhammmad: Did Muhammad Exist? An Inquiry Into Islam’s Obscure Origins. With Pamela Geller I cowrote The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War On America.

The person who reads all these books would have, I believe, a comprehensive understanding of the motives and goals of jihadists and Islamic supremacists, as well as of the aspects of Islam that give rise to violence, terror, and supremacism, and the uniqueness of those aspects to Islam itself as compared to other religions.

RUBIN: What are the main reasons you think it is so hard for Western policymakers, journalists, and academics to understand and deal accurately with Islam and political Islamic movements?

SPENCER: I think the main reason is that Islam is a religion. If it were a secular political ideology, many non-Muslims who support it now would have no problem opposing its authoritarian and supremacist aspects, its denial of the freedom of speech and freedom of conscience, its oppression of women and non-Muslims, and more. But Islamic advocacy groups in the U.S. have been canny in obscuring Islam’s political aspects, and in portraying efforts to resist political and supremacist Islam as infringements upon Muslims’ religious freedom. They have also deftly appropriated the language of the civil rights movement and portrayed Muslims as victims, despite the ever-mounting number of jihad attacks and plots — and victim language always causes the American Left to swoon and fall at one’s feet.

RUBIN: How would you analyze the connection between political Islamism and Islam as a religion? Are there also contradictions between the two?

SPENCER: I don’t see any contradiction. There has never been any historically. Islam as a religion has never been separate from or distinct from Islam as a political program until 1924 when the secular Turkish regime abolished the caliphate, and that event is seen by those who claim the mantle of Islamic orthodoxy and authenticity worldwide as a grave insult, an error that must be corrected, a drastic weakening of and outrage to Islam that they are working to eradicate. Moreover, Islamic apologists, even reputed “moderates,” frequently point to the fact that Islam traditionally has no distinction between the sacred and the secular, i.e., between religion and politics, as evidence of its comprehensiveness and hence superiority over the Western Judeo-Christian societal model that limits the influence of religion in the political sphere. The idea that there is an “Islamism” that is some sort of variant of or deviation from or corruption of Islam proper, which in this view is a religion solely, enjoining peace and universal brotherhood and having no political or supremacist agenda, is a fiction born of Western wishful thinking and ignorance.

RUBIN: In what ways do academics respond to your works?

SPENCER: People of a particular political and academic perspective that is opposed to mine dominate the study of Islam and related issues in academia today. People who hold to my views generally can’t get jobs in colleges and universities today. That said, however, I am confident of my ground and ready to defend my views in any forum. While politically correct and compromised academics such as Carl Ernst, John Esposito, Juan Cole, Omid Safi, and Caner K. Dagli heap scorn upon my work, they do not and cannot show where it is incorrect, and have declined my invitations to debate. I have no doubt that if any of them ever accepted the invitation we would see immediately the real reason why they were reluctant to debate in the first place.

Read it all.

Leftist film producer Tommi Trudeau joins Dwight Schultz and Evan Sayet on The Glazov Gang — and battle breaks out. Part I dealt with the Left’s War on Ann Romney; Parts II and III focused on Jihad Denial, and are above.

Will the Islamophobia never end? "Pakistani Christian Villagers Forced to Pay Muslim Cleric to Get Drinking Water," by Ashfaq Fateh for ASSIST News Service, April 26 (thanks to Twostellas):

TOBA TEK SINGH, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- Scientists say that “a man or woman cannot live without air, water and food,” as these three elements play a vital role in human life.

Most countries ensure the fundamental rights to its citizens to ensure the availability of all these three elements. Citizens pay taxes to get pure drinking water and other facilities.

However, the story of Christians living in village #700/42, Pirkadiayana, Tehsil Kamalia, District, Toba Tek Singh, Punjab, Pakistan, is a different one where their supply of water was on the condition that they not only had to pay the required water tax and also pay a Muslim cleric of a mosque in the village.

In Pakistan, municipal corporations (MC) supply drinking water through their water supply schemes. Underground pipelines have been laid and a citizen applies for the connection and government then connects the house with a water supply, thus the citizen gets drinking water. The bill is collected annually.

In villages and remote areas, the government in installs the water supply system and then asks locals to form their management committees to run the system and develop their own system of collection, time table, repairs, payment of electricity bills and issuing connections. The committees run the system and try to provide water connections without any religious discrimination.

Now ASSIST News Service-Pakistan has come to know about the story of this village where poor Christians have been forced to pay water tax as well to the local Muslim cleric.

ANS-Pakistan decided to highlight this story which shows the miseries faced by Christians and an example of their unity and faith to work together despite the challenges.

The 244 Christian families of Pirkadiayana village paid extra charges to a Muslim cleric from the local Mosque from 1997-2009 to get drinking water.

A local Christian, Aslam Masih, told ANS-Pakistan: “In 1997, Pir Ali Raza Shah, a member of the Punjab Assembly provided funds for the water supply scheme for the village, and the Muslims formed the management committee and did not include any Christian from the village.

“The management committee invited applications for water connections. One hundred thirty-five connections were provided to Christians of the village. The committee decided to charge Rs. 140 from each connection-holder, Rs. 110 per month for water tax and Rs. 30 for a Muslim cleric of the local mosque. The Christian elders protested against paying illegal tax to Muslim priest but the committee threatened to exclude them from water supply scheme for nonpayment to the Muslim leader.”

Another Christian, Arshid Sadiq, said: “We were forced to accept the demands of the management committee as they were powerful and if we refused to pay, our women and children had to fetch drinking water from miles away and our most of the time was spent in this exercise. Therefore, there was no alternative.”

Jamil Masih, another believer, stated: “For almost 10 years the system remained smooth and Christians were supplied enough water. However, since 2007 the energy crises hit Pakistan and prolonged power outages become common, the management committee started discrimination with Christian connection holders.

“When the electricity restores for one or two hours out of 24 hours, the committee supplied water to Muslim connection holders only. The Christian connection holders remained without water for days. The Christians protested against acute shortage of water but no avail.”

Nazir Sadiq said: “In 2009 during worst energy crises, the committee crossed all bounds and supplied water for six to seven days a month and charged full water tax and tax for Muslim priest. The Christian connection holder protested against this, the committee chairman rather threatened the committee shall stop water supply to Christians even he asked Christian connection-holders to pay more water tax.”

Here is yet more delightful evidence that Sharia is benign and completely compatible with U.S. Constitutional values, as we are constantly told. "Egypt’s women urge MPs not to pass early marriage, sex-after-death laws: report," by Abeer Tayel for Al Arabiya, April 25 (thanks to Stephen):

Egypt’s National Council for Women (NCW) has appealed to the Islamist-dominated parliament not to approve two controversial laws on the minimum age of marriage and allowing a husband to have sex with his dead wife within six hours of her death according to a report in an Egyptian newspaper.

The appeal came in a message sent by Dr. Mervat al-Talawi, head of the NCW, to the Egyptian People’s Assembly Speaker, Dr. Saad al-Katatni, addressing the woes of Egyptian women, especially after the popular uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.

She was referring to two laws: one that would legalize the marriage of girls starting from the age of 14 and the other that permits a husband to have sex with his dead wife within the six hours following her death.

According to Egyptian columnist Amro Abdul Samea in al-Ahram, Talawi’s message included an appeal to parliament to avoid the controversial legislations that rid women of their rights of getting education and employment, under alleged religious interpretations....

The controversy about a husband having sex with his dead wife came about after a Moroccan cleric spoke about the issue in May 2011.

Zamzami Abdul Bari said that marriage remains valid even after death adding that a woman also too had the same right to engage in sex with her dead husband.

Two years ago, Zamzami incited further controversy in Morocco when he said it was permissible for pregnant women to drink alcohol.

But it seems his view on partners having sex with their deceased partners has found its way to Egypt one year on.

Egyptian prominent journalist and TV anchor Jaber al-Qarmouty on Tuesday referred to Abdul Samea’s article in his daily show on Egyptian ON TV and criticized the whole notion of “permitting a husband to have sex with his wife after her death under a so-called ‘Farewell Intercourse’ draft law.”

“This is very serious. Could the panel that will draft the Egyptian constitution possibly discuss such issues? Did Abdul Samea see by his own eyes the text of the message sent by Talawi to Katatni? This is unbelievable. It is a catastrophe to give the husband such a right! Has the Islamic trend reached that far? Is there really a draft law in this regard? Are there people thinking in this manner?”

Many members of the newly-elected, and majority Islamist parliament, have been accused of launching attacks against women’s rights in the country.

They wish to cancel many, if not most, of the laws that promote women’s rights, most notably a law that allows a wife to obtain a divorce without obstructions from her partner. The implementation of the Islamic right to divorce law, also known as the Khula, ended years of hardship and legal battles women would have to endure when trying to obtain a divorce.

Egyptian law grants men the right to terminate a marriage, but grants women the opportunity to end an unhappy or abusive marriages without the obstruction of their partner. Prior to the implementation of the Khula over a decade ago, it could take 10 to 15 years for a woman to be granted a divorce by the courts.

Islamist members of Egyptian parliament, however, accuse these laws of “aiming to destroy families” and have said it was passed to please the former first lady of the fallen regime, Suzanne Mubarak, who devoted much of her attention to the issues of granting the women all her rights....

Sinners in the hands of an angry polling place official. "Abstaining Algerian voters warned: God will punish you," by Lamine Chikhi for Reuters, April 25 (thanks to David)

(Reuters) - A prominent Muslim cleric in Algeria has issued a religious decree saying God will punish anyone who does not vote in a May 10 parliamentary election, a warning aimed at the large numbers planning to abstain from a vote they view as irrelevant.

Algeria's authorities, under pressure to reform after last year's "Arab Spring" revolts in neighbouring countries, say the vote will be more free and transparent than ever before. This though is met with scepticism by many ordinary Algerians.

Sheikh Chemseddine Bouroubi, a well-known imam who follows a mainstream Algerian school of Islam, said people should vote to prevent foreign powers - who he said included Zionists - from fomenting a violent revolution in Algeria.

"Algerians must vote because it is about Algeria's stability, and it is about preserving our country from any foreign interference," the imam told Reuters on Wednesday in a telephone interview.

"Allah will punish those who do not vote... Voting is a religious obligation," said the cleric, who runs a charity organisation in the capital Algiers.

The cleric said the fatwa was his own initiative and he denied any ties to the authorities. But his message chimes with that of the government, which is worried about a low turnout on May 10 and has been urging people to vote.

Algeria's leaders say they are carrying out a gradual, managed transition towards democracy, as an alternative to the violent revolutions which have toppled leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen over the past 14 months.

The imam pointed to French celebrity-philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, who played a role in persuading Paris to help overthrow Libya's Muammar Gaddafi last year. Levy was born in Algeria when it was a French colony.

"We must do our best to prevent foreign interference in our domestic affairs. Listen to what the Zionist Bernard-Henri Levy is saying: 'Algeria is about to experience an Arab spring very soon.' This is what he said ten days ago in France."

"What he means by 'Arab Spring' is a repetition of the Libyan scenario: blood, killings, destruction," the cleric said....

Egypt slides rapidly toward Sharia, convicting Adel Imam based on Sharia blasphemy codes (which the OIC is trying to bully Western states into adopting). I tried to tell you. "Egypt’s Most Popular Comedian, Adel Iman, Guilty of Insulting Islam," by Alexander Marquardt for ABC News, April 25 (thanks to Jacob):

The verdict of a popular Egyptian comedian convicted of offending Islam has been upheld by a Cairo court, raising fears among Egyptian liberals and secularists about the Islamic tide rising since the downfall of former President Hosni Mubarak last year

Imam, one of the Arab world’s most famous actors, was first convicted in February of “contempt of religion” – illegal under Egypt’s penal code – and appealed. The case was brought against him by an ultra-conservative Islamist lawyer named Asran Mansour for three films Imam made in the early- to mid-1990s. The titles are “The Terrorist,” “Morgan Ahmed Morgan” and “Terrorism and Kebab.”

Imam, 71, played a fundamentalist terrorist in the first and a corrupt businessman in the third. Mansour accused Imam of blasphemous mocking of Muslim symbols like beards and the jilbab, a loose-fitting robe worn by some Muslims.

The sentence was three months in jail and 1000 Egyptian pounds, around $170. Imam’s lawyers have said they will appeal the verdict that was “given on the wrong legal basis.”

“My client’s films were certified, not censored, by surveillance authorities before their release to the public,” lawyer Sawat Hussein told Reuters today.

Condemnations poured in from Egypt’s art world and beyond. The Egyptian Creativity Front said the ruling would limit the freedom of expression and lead to restriction on art. Author of “The Yacoubian Building” Alaa al-Aswany said on Twitter that he disagrees with Imam politically but the ruling sends Egypt “back to the darkness of the Middle Ages.”

“This is an unimaginable crime of principle in developed nations,” Aswany wrote.

A similar situation arose in January when a case was brought against Coptic Christian businessman Naguib Sawiris by Islamist lawyers for tweeting a cartoon of Mickey Mouse with a long beard and Minnie Mouse with her face veiled. The case was later thrown out. In January, Islamists won about three quarters of the seats in parliament and several Islamist candidates are frontrunners in next month’s presidential election.

The conviction of an Arab icon with a career spanning half a century has liberals shuddering.

“[Imam's case] will make any writer, director or actor think before considering the role of a Muslim figure,” Egyptian entertainment reporter Tarek el-Shinnawi told Al Ahram newspaper.

Over at FrontPage Magazine (via RaymondIbrahim.com), I discuss how, if Anders Breivik's goals were anti-Islamic in nature, his actions, those things which we are rightly judged by—in his case, from terrorizing and killing the innocent, to planning video-recordings of beheadings—were jihadist in essence:

Anders Breivik, who went on a shooting spree in Norway last year, killing some 70 people, recently confessed his inspiration: al-Qaeda, the jihadists par excellence of the modern world.

According to AFP, "The gunman behind the Norway massacres said he was inspired by al-Qaida as he took the stand Tuesday [4/17] at his trial…. he described himself as a 'militant nationalist' and, using the pronoun 'we' to suggest he was part of a larger group, added: 'We have drawn from al-Qaida and militant Islamists. You can see al-Qaida as the most successful militant group in the world.'"

Not only was he "inspired" by al-Qaeda, but his very tactics mirrored those of the jihadist organization. According to the AP, Breivik testified "that he had planned to capture and decapitate" the former Norwegian Prime Minister, with the plan "to film the beheading and post the video on the Internet," adding that "he was inspired by al-Qaida's use of decapitation," which he described "as a very powerful psychological weapon."

In a globalized world where Islam has the lion's share of acts of terrorism—where nonstop images of jihadists killing and beheading people have metastasized in the media, and thus in the mind of the average person—discovering that al-Qaeda is Breivik's source of inspiration is, of course, not surprising.

But there is a more profound point here: Breivik is not the first non-Muslim to be "inspired" by Muslim notions; the Crusaders, for example, lived in an atmosphere thoroughly permeated and influenced by Islamic jihad, so much so that the very idea of Christian "holy war"—the use of violence and conquest in the name of Christianity—finds its ideological origins in jihad...

He dared to suggest that the Qur'an of today is not the original one. In other words, a historical claim, which ought to be subject to study and dispassionate inquiry, is ruled out of court as "blasphemy." This is the kind of law that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) wants to bring to the West.

"Fears of Rough Justice in Sampang Blasphemy Trial," by Agus Triyono for the Jakarta Globe, April 24:

The Supreme Court must move the blasphemy trial of a Shiite religious scholar off East Java’s Madura Island to prevent fueling further violence there, a rights group said on Tuesday.

The Alliance for Solidarity Over the Sampang Case, a gathering a legal organizations, said the trial should be moved to a more neutral location.

“We are proposing to the Supreme Court to move the trial to Jakarta. If moved to Jakarta there would be more advocacy groups, media and nongovernmental organizations that could monitor the case,” said Hertasning Ichlas, the coordinator of the alliance.

He said the minority Shiite community in Madura Island’s Sampang district had long felt vulnerable to attack from the large Sunni population there.

More than 300 members of the Shiite community were displaced when a mob of 500 people attacked and burned Shia houses, a boarding school and a place of worship there in December.

On Jan. 1, the Sampang branch of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) issued an edict describing the teaching of Tajul Muluk, the head of the Shiite Muslim boarding school there, as “deviant.” Two days later one of his relatives, Rois Al Hukuma, reported him to the police for blasphemy.

On March 16, the East Java Police charged Tajul with blasphemy and committing an “offensive action.”

Hertasning said that holding the trial outside Madura would minimize intervention by outsiders, including the Sampang district chief.

“We found that the Sampang district chief used hatred against the Shiite as a campaign tool and this is worrying,” he said.

The alliance also wants the Judicial Commission to monitor Tajul’s trial, he said. The trial opened at the Sampang District Court on Tuesday with the reading of the indictment.

In their indictment, the prosecutors accuse Tajul of blasphemy and insulting Islam, including by telling his students that the sacred Koran was not the original one. He face [sic] more than five years in jail if found guilty. The trial resumes next week.

“From the detention to the opening hearing, we felt that there were many irregularities. We also saw a lot of intervention and pressure,” Hertasning said after meeting Judicial Commission members in Jakarta.

He cited among the irregularities the intimidation of judges, witnesses refusing to testify in court and the defense counsel’s work being hindered....

Notice how "attacks" killed people. It isn't until the fourth paragraph that we discover that this was a jihad attack, and even then AFP tries its best to make this appear to be an ethnic conflict rather than a religious one. This obfuscation of the reality of jihad terror is common -- indeed, universal -- in the mainstream media, and keeps most of the public in the dark about the nature and magnitude of the jihad threat.

"6 dead after blast near soccer fans, gun attack in Nigeria," from Agence France-Presse, April 25 (thanks to David):

JOS- Attacks in restive central Nigeria killed five people in a village and another died in the city of Jos, where a blast also wounded nine soccer fans, police and officials said Wednesday.

The explosion in Jos took place outside a centre as spectators were leaving after watching the European Champions League semi-final between Barcelona and Chelsea late Tuesday.

"So far we have nine people injured in the stampede that followed the blast outside the soccer viewing centre," police spokesman Samuel Dabai told AFP, while military spokesman Captain Markus Mdahyelya said a body was found near the scene, but could not say if it was linked to the explosion.

The gun attack occurred in the mainly Christian village of Gwa-Rim, with the gunmen thought be from the mainly Muslim Fulani ethnic group. A number of people were also wounded.

"Five people, including two children, were killed around eight o'clock last night in Gwa-Rim village by suspected Fulani herdsmen," Plateau state government spokesman Pam Ayuba told AFP.

"The gunmen went from house to house and shot their victims dead."...

Over at PJ Media Monday there was a terrific, lengthy and detailed review of my new book, Did Muhammad Exist?. The reviewer is "Zombie," the photoblogger who won some renown a few years back for video and photos of Leftist demonstrations. A excerpt:

...Within the context of modern geopolitics, a title like Did Muhammad Exist? is actually a meta-challenge about the existence of the book itself. Considering that the author risks condemnation, ostracism and fatwas for even daring to ask such a question, the book should be more properly titled, Is It OK to Write a Book Called “Did Muhammad Exist?“? And since the answer to that über-question is “No,” then we can only conclude that the answer to the embedded question (“Did Muhammad exist?”) is “No” as well. Why? Because if Muhammad did exist, and if his existence was incontrovertibly documented, then there would be no threat in asking the question or doing an investigation. And if despite all the evidence the author doubted the existence of Muhammad anyway, then his conclusions could be easily disproven, and his thesis dismissed and forgotten. So the very fact that the book is certain to be controversial and banned in certain countries lends credence to the notion that there must be something to the arguments it presents.

There is no controversy when scholars examine the historicity of Jesus. Biblical archaeologists work freely, with no danger to their persons or their careers. Even if some literalist Christians find the scholarly conclusions distressing, no death threats are issued. Christianity has survived all critiques of its origins, relying on the strength of its message and not the provability of historical details. One would hope that Islam reacts similarly.

Read it all.

They forced him to recite the Islamic faith.

"Church Pastor Attacked in Istanbul: Four people rushed into a Protestant church in Bahçelievler district and physically attacked the pastor, threatening and insulting him," from BİA News Center, April 9 (thanks to David):

Four people rushed to the Protestant Grace Church in Bahçelievler, Istanbul and physically abused pastor Semir Sertek (58), after forcing him to cite the Islamic testimony of faith.

Sertek had depicted the attack which took place on the night of the Orthodox Easter, April 7th, to Radikal daily as follows:

"Someone knocked forcefully on the door of the church. They were aggravated. When we opened the door, they forced their way in, mocking us. I was troubled. I asked them to come back at the next day but they kept insulting. 'This is a Muslim neighborhood, there's no place for a church' they said. One of them cited the Islamic testimony of faith and asked me to recite it. He kicked me on my chest and then they ran. I fell of [sic] the stairs."

And of course if the Muslims had been shaken out of their faith altogether, they would have been under a death sentence. "Believer awaits appeal decision after 'shaking the faith' of Muslims," from Mission News Network, April 23 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

...An Algerian Christian was sentenced to five years in prison for "shaking the faith" of Muslims last May. Currently, "Kadar" is awaiting a decision on his appeal.

Kadar, who regularly shares his faith with Muslims in the city of Oran, was discussing his belief in Christ with a man at an outdoor food court last May when the man became angry and accused Kadar of insulting Muhammad. Police arrested Kadar and found a large amount of Christian materials in his apartment.

After Kadar was convicted, the judge gave him the maximum sentence of five years in prison even though the prosecutor had recommended a lesser sentence. Kadar is now out on bail awaiting the decision.

In WND this morning I explain how I wrote my new book, Did Muhammad Exist?, out of respect for Muslims:

My new book, “Did Muhammad Exist? An Inquiry Into Islam’s Obscure Origins,” is out this week, and it has already aroused anger among Muslims: A Muslim writer named Hussein Rashid, who is an instructor at the Center for Spiritual Inquiry at Park Avenue Christian Church, fulminated in Religion Dispatches that my book on Muhammad will win praise only from the “Islamophobia industry” – as if the book itself were a manifestation of hatred and bigotry.

I’m reminded of the words of the Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh as the Islamic jihadist Mohammed Bouyeri began sawing his head off in retaliation for his film “Submission” about the plight of Muslim women: “Can’t we talk about this?” No, we can’t. In America, speaking unpopular truths about Islam won’t get you murdered, but it will get you consigned to the outer darkness, where hatemongers and bigots weep and gnash their teeth. Many people wouldn’t dare write (or read) a book entitled “Did Muhammad Exist?” for fear of getting Muslims angry and getting called names.

I, on the other hand, am determined to respect Muslims and treat them as adults. In fact, that’s why I wrote “Did Muhammad Exist?” – for I believe that even in the politically correct United States of 2012, we should be able to discuss in an adult manner the historical evidence for and against the existence of Muhammad. The Scriptures and religious figures of Judaism and Christianity have been subjected to searching historical scrutiny since the 18th century. No one riots, no one threatens, no one gets killed as a result of these investigations – no one rails against the “Judeophobia industry” or “Christianophobia industry.” To be sure, some historical critics have been motivated by an animus toward the religion they’re studying, but no one in the West is interfering with their right to undertake such study. Only around Islam does the scholarly community walk on eggshells.

It’s time to stop. Not only should the quest for the historical Muhammad be carried on in our nation’s universities, but we should dare to treat Muslims as adults in other ways as well. Instead of politically correct obfuscation about the political and supremacist aspects of Islam, there should be a vigorous public debate about the ways in which Islamic law, Shariah, is incompatible with pluralistic democracy, and the ways in which Islam is incompatible with Western ideas of human rights.

Moreover, as adults we ought not to have to make patronizing references to the “Noble People of Afghanistan,” as Gen. John Allen did in his embarrassingly obsequious apology to the Afghans for the inadvertent burning of Qurans on a NATO base. As adults we ought not to have to pretend that the “Arab Spring” is a glorious flowering of freedom when in fact it is a series of pro-Shariah Islamic-supremacist takeovers....

There is more.

Saber-rattling in a prelude to discarding the Camp David accords altogether. "Egypt’s military leader responds to Lieberman with threat of violence," by Elhanan Miller for the Times of Israel, April 23 (thanks to David):

In remarks apparently directed at Israel, Field Marshal Muhammad Hussein Tantawi, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) and the country’s de facto leader, threatened on Monday to thwart any foreign aggression against Egypt. He was speaking in the wake of reports, widely covered in the Egyptian media, that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has warned of an imminent military threat emanating from Egypt.

“Our borders are constantly burning, but we do not attack any neighboring country but only protect our borders,” Tantawi told Egyptian press during a live ammunition maneuver in the Sinai Peninsula titled “Nasr 7.” “If anyone comes close to Egypt’s border, we will break their leg. Therefore, our forces must be in a perpetual state of alert.”

A second senior military figure, Major General Muhammad Higazi, commander of Egypt’s Second Field Army, also issued a tacit threat, warning that potential aggressors should “reconsider before thinking of attacking any part of Egypt’s territory.”

In Jerusalem, the Foreign Ministry sought to calm the dispute. “The foreign minister was interviewed today on two Israeli radio stations,” a spokesman said on Monday evening, “and he made it very clear that both sides have a clear interest in keeping the peace agreement.”

On Sunday, the Hebrew daily Maariv reported that Lieberman recently sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning him about a potential threat from Egypt and requesting that Israel’s southern command be reinforced by three military divisions. “The Egyptian issue is much more disturbing than the Iranian problem,” Lieberman was reported to have said during closed discussions on the topic.

Lieberman’s comments were prominently covered in Egyptian media on Monday, sparking condemnation from commentators and politicians.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry asked the Israeli government on Monday to clarify the statements attributed to Lieberman.

Foreign Minister Muhammad Amr asked his ambassador in Tel Aviv to inquire about statements comparing the Egyptian threat to that of Iran, establishment daily Al-Ahram reported Monday.

“[The Egyptian ambassador] will convey Egypt’s bewilderment at the publication of such words, attributed to a senior official in the Israeli government,” read a statement issued by Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.

According to Maariv, Lieberman also criticized the fighting capabilities of the seven battalions Egypt sent to the Sinai recently to combat al-Qaeda operatives in the peninsula. The minister could not rule out the possibility that Egypt will divert more substantial military forces to the Sinai following the election of a new president in June, in violation of the 1979 peace treaty with Israel, Maariv reported.

“The Egyptian fighter will secure the eastern borders of the country,” said Major General Muhammad Higazi, commander of Egypt’s Second Field Army, during the Sinai maneuver. “The ongoing training is a clear message for all to reconsider before thinking of attacking any part of Egypt’s territory,” he told Al-Ahram.

The daily quoted Higazi as saying that Egypt’s armed forces sent troops to the northern Sinai city of Al-Arish, near the border with the Gaza Strip, “without asking permission from anyone.”

“We act based on what influences us, not according to what the other side [Israel] imposes on us,” Higazi added.

Hussein Rashid is "a native New Yorker and Proud Muslim" who is "currently an instructor at the Center for Spiritual Inquiry at Park Avenue Christian Church and based at Hofstra University." His bio tag also says he "believes we need to start talking more intelligently about Islam specifically, and religion generally." Apparently, however, he thinks he can talk intelligently about my new book, Did Muhammad Exist?, without having read it: the press release was enough for this careful analyst who is "deeply committed to interfaith dialogue."

"New Spencer Book Denies Existence of Muhammad," by Hussein Rashid for Religion Dispatches, April 12 (thanks to David):

Robert Spencer, professional Islamophobe, has a new book coming out in which he attempts to show the historical problems with the historical record of Muhammad and Muslims. Unfortunately, the Islamophobia industry will likely get the book wide exposure.

Hussein Rashid also apparently believes that intelligent talk about Islam involves retailing the crude and manipulative Muslim Brotherhood coinage "Islamophobia," which was invented in order to intimidate non-Muslims into believing there was something wrong with resisting jihad and Islamic supremacism. Of course, no one is allowed to ask how much more of the stated Muslim Brotherhood agenda of "eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within" he is advancing through his "interfaith work," to which he is so "deeply committed."

A press release about the book, lays out several "questions" about Muhammad and the origins of Islam. I show below why the book is really a "so what" rather than a "oh wow."

Rashid thus semaphores: "Please, please don't read this book." After all, if it really were such a "so what," why did he bother devoting a column to it? Why is he so afraid of this book?

How the earliest biographical material about Muhammad dates from at least 125 years after his reported death.

Yep. Any decent historian or scholar of religion will tell you this. It’s like asking why earliest biographical material* about Jesus dates from at least two generation after his life. Welcome to the wonderful world of pre-modern history. Literacy is not such a big deal. A good resource for learning about this is Monty Python’s “Holy Grail.” It’s probably a more accurate portrayal of Medieval English history than anything Spencer concocts.

It is indeed "like" asking about the dates of the earliest biographical material about Jesus -- an endeavor on which scholars in the West have been working for several centuries. Why can't the same questions be asked about Islam? Why is only Islam exempt from historical-critical scrutiny?

And Rashid's airy dismissal of this 125-year gap -- "Literacy is not such a big deal" in "pre-modern history" -- assumes that oral transmission even for such long periods was entirely reliable, or that variations, discrepancies, and alterations that may have arisen within this period are unimportant. Yet that is by no means a given, for a variety of reasons. Certainly in oral cultures people's memories were trained to be more capacious and precise than they are today. However, no responsible historian would assume the reliability of material passed on exclusively by oral transmission even for two or three generations, to say nothing of 125 years, in any other context. The material may indeed be reliable, but that can only be determined by examining other factors. Here again, why should Muhammad and islam be exempt from such examination?

How six decades passed before the Arabian conquerors—or the people they conquered—even mentioned Muhammad, the Qur’an, or Islam.

Seems like an odd claim, since there's a whole academic sub-speciality that deals with non-Muslim accounts of the early Muslim period. Perhaps one of the most important of these works is written by St. John of Damascus, who writes about how his family served the Muslim empire from within 20 years of Muhammad's death. He uses the term "Ishmaelites" as opposed to "Muslim," so perhaps that is Spencer's technically correct claim, but St. John is clearly writing about Muslims.

Oddest sentence of an odd non-review of a book the reviewer has not read: "Seems like an odd claim, since there's a whole academic sub-speciality that deals with non-Muslim accounts of the early Muslim period." Well, yeah. That's what I examined: the non-Muslim accounts of the early Muslim period. And for 60 years after Muhammad's accepted death date, they never mention Muhammad, Qur'an, or Islam: a most curious and telling omission.

Also, I discuss what St. John of Damascus writes at some length in the book. The way he writes about the revelations Muhammad received strongly suggests that he did not know of the Qur'an as a single book at the time he was writing, which was in the first quarter of the eighth century, not "within 20 years of Muhammad's death" in 632. St. John was born in 675, according to most scholars, and it is not in the least assured that he was "clearly writing about Muslims" when he spoke of "Ishmaelites." That is precisely what is at issue; Rashid should provide evidence for his flat assertion, but he will have a tough time doing so.

The startling evidence that the Qur’an was constructed from existing materials—including pre-Islamic Christian texts.

Yup. The Qur’an says it is talking about and with earlier revelation, which it considers itself part of. In fact, the Qur'an even footnotes the Talmud (5:35). Amazingly, for scholars of other Abrahamic scriptures, they point to these scriptures borrowing from earlier sources, whether Gilgamesh or Mithra.

The Qur'an does say it is confirming earlier revelations, specifically the Torah and Gospel. That is not the same, however, as its being constructed from existing materials, which would flatly contradict the standard Islamic view that it is a perfect copy of a perfect and eternal book that existed forever with Allah. Nor does the Qur'an "footnote" the Talmud, at 5:35 or anywhere else. In 5:32, it appropriates a Talmudic dictum about how killing one person is like killing the whole world -- but it doesn't credit its source or acknowledge that it is using any source at all.

How even Muslim scholars acknowledge that countless reports of Muhammad’s deeds were fabricated.

Yup. It's part of the science of hadith collection. The Muslims who collected sayings of Muhammad knew that people were making things up and created checks and the best methodology that they could at the time to stop it. Modern scholars are revisiting the existing corpus with new tools and methods.

Quite so. And they've discovered that the "checks and best methodology" that were used to "stop" fabrication of hadiths are actually worthless from a historical standpoint, as are the hadith reports in general. It's all explained in the book, but of course Rashid couldn't be bothered to read it!

Why a famous mosque inscription may refer not to Muhammad but, astonishingly, to Jesus.

Stumped by this one. No idea what it refers to.

There's a hazard of reviewing a book you haven't read, Rashid. Find the answer in the book -- I'll send you a copy gratis. Email me at director[at]jihadwatch.org.

How the oldest records referring to a man named Muhammad bear little resemblance to the now-standard Islamic account of the life of the prophet.

But, but earlier Spencer says we don't have any early proof of Muhammad's existence. Which is it? Anyway, if you read the Gnostic Gospels** and look at the Gospels, there are very different versions of the life of Jesus. Talmudic stories are also very different from Torah studies. Is it really a surprise that people take stories and make them mean things to themselves?

We have early mentions of a man named Muhammad but he is nothing like the prophet of Islam. The point here is that as these are the earliest records, they pose a certain challenge to the canonical Islamic account.

The many indications that Arabian leaders fashioned Islam for political reasons.

Duh. Constantine, David, Solomon, etc.. Welcome to the wonderful world of reality.

This is just a silly tu quoque that does nothing to speak to the issue.

What Spencer’s press release shows is that he is divorced from the academic field that he uses for his legitimacy.

What academic field is that? Academia today is a one-party state in which intellectual conformity is ruthlessly enforced and free thought actively discouraged. I have no part in it and want no part in it. The only genuine study of Islam today is going on mostly outside the academy, which has no legitimacy to confer except the spurious legitimacy it gives to Islamic apologists and propagandists.

These are not new or provocative questions. They are the bread and butter of the field. There are truly challenging books that come out of the academia, including Steven Wasserstrom's Between Muslim and Jew and Fred Donner's Muhammad and the Believers, a recent book that deals with many of the questions Spencer raises, but that actually engages with primary material and that has been challenged by other experts in the field.

Does Rashid actually have any idea whether or not, or to what extent, I engage with primary material? Of course not: he hasn't read the book.

My fear is that the new Islamphobic strategy is to simply edit solid scholarship like Donner's into fear-mongering drivel and repackage it as their own. It's the problem when you want money over truth or knowledge. And it works because Spencer is banking on the fact that his audience won't apply the same questions he asks to their own faith traditions.

Actually, I haven't read Donner's work, and thus did not and could not have "edited" it. And Rashid's last point is particularly laughable: far from hoping my readers won't ask such questions of their own faiths, I discuss at some length in the opening chapter the impact of historical criticism on Judaism and Christianity. But how could Rashid know that? He is reviewing a book he has not read.

Spencer's work may in fact be one of the best arguments for religious studies.

And Rashid's may in fact be one of the best arguments for responsible journalism.

The world's foremost foe of the freedom of speech, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, recently invoked the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam -- a fact that should reassure no one who wants to see the freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and equality of rights of all people before the law protected. "It’s Time to Revise The Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam," by Turan Kayaoğlu for Brookings, April 23 (thanks to David):

To the surprise of many, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has shown a new commitment to advancing human rights by establishing an Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission within the organization. In the Commission’s first meeting in Jakarta, Secretary General Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu asked the 18-member Commission in his opening address to “review and update OIC instruments, including the Cairo Declaration [of Human Rights in Islam]…” If the Commission intends to indeed advance human rights, then the Cairo Declaration is the first among these instruments in need of serious revision. In 1990, the OIC approved a document that is now referred to as the Cairo Declaration in an attempt reconcile the concept of human rights and Islam. The Declaration protects many of the universal human rights: it forbids discrimination; supports the preservation of human life, supports the protection of one’s honor, family, and property; and affirms the human right to education, medical and social care, and a clean environment.

From an international human rights perspective, the controversial nature of the Cairo Declaration lies in its claim of adherence to Shari’ah. Its preamble affirms that“fundamental rights and universal freedoms are an integral part of [Islam]” and these rights and freedoms are “binding divine commandments” revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in the Quran. The central role of Shari’ah can be clearly seen in the Declaration’s articles. Article 22 states that “Everyone shall have the right to express his opinion freely in such manner as would not be contrary to principles of Shari’ah.” Article 12, affirms that “every man shall have the right, within the framework of Shari’ah, to free movement” (nothing is said about every woman). Articles 24 and 25 further makes Shari’ah supreme by asserting that Shari’ah is the Declaration’s “only source of reference.”

Such shorthand and cursory use of Shari’ah gives rise to four important shortcomings. The first is that it renders the document too restrictive. Shari’ah represents an extensive moral and legal code, and limiting rights such as free speech to a Shari’ah compatible framework of values would essentially render free-speech meaningless. Furthermore, the document is rendered ambiguous., as it does not specify what constitutes Shari’ah. Given the diversity of opinions on the subject across time and between and within madhabs (schools of Islamic law), it is impossible to know what rights are protected.

Interestingly, the declaration empowers states, not individuals. In the modern world, Shari’ah has increasingly become integrated in states’ domestic legal systems. In the absence of any international authority to decide on Shari’ah, the Cairo Declaration effectively diminishes the universality of human rights by relegating them to the discretion of governments.

Finally, the declaration conflicts with international human rights. The document provides only a subordinated status to religious minorities and also prohibits conversion from Islam. It also presents glaring evidence of discrimination against women, as it provides the right to freedom of movement or marriage only to men.

These shortcomings render the Declaration useless at best and at worst harmful for human rights.

This morning at FrontPage, Bruce Thornton, a classicist at California State University, Fresno, and author of many acclaimed books, including The Wages of Appeasement: Ancient Athens, Munich, and Obama’s America, reviews my new book, Did Muhammad Exist? An Inquiry Into Islam's Obscure Origins:

Editor’s note: Robert Spencer’s acclaimed new book, Did Muhammad Exist?: An Inquiry into Islam’s Obscure Origins, is now available. To order, click here.

One of the jihadists’ most potent psychological weapons is the double standard Muslims have imposed on the West. Temples and churches are destroyed and vandalized, Christians murdered and driven from the lands of Christianity’s birth, anti-Semitic lunacy propagated by high-ranking Muslim clerics, and Christian territory like northern Cyprus ethnically cleansed and occupied by Muslims. Yet the West ignores these depredations all the while it agonizes over trivial “insults” to Islam and Mohammed, and decries the thought-crime of “Islamophobia” whenever even factual statements are made about Islamic history and theology. This groveling behavior confirms the traditional Islamic chauvinism that sees Muslims as the “best of nations” destined by Allah to rule the world through violent jihad.

Even in the rarefied world of academic scholarship, this fear of offense has protected Islam from the sort of critical scrutiny every other world religion has undergone for centuries. Some modern scholars who do exercise their intellectual freedom and investigate these issues, like Christoph Luxenberg or Ibn Warraq, must work incognito to avoid the wrath of the adherents of the “Religion of Peace.” Now Robert Spencer, the fearless director of Jihad Watch and author of several books telling the truths about Islam obscured by a frightened academy and media, in his new book Did Muhammad Exist? challenges this conspiracy of fear and silence by surveying the scholarship and historical evidence for the life and deeds of Islam’s founder.

As Spencer traces the story of Muhammed through ancient sources and archaeology, the evidence for the Prophet’s life becomes more and more evanescent. The name Muhammad, for example, appears only 4 times in the Qur’an, as compared to the 136 mentions of Moses in the Old Testament. And those references to Muhammad say nothing specific about his life. The first biography of Muhammad, written by Ibn Ishaq 125 years after the Prophet’s death, is the primary source of biographical detail, yet it “comes down to us only in the quite lengthy fragments reproduced by an even later chronicler, Ibn Hisham, who wrote in the first quarter of the ninth century, and by other historians who reproduced and thereby preserved additional sections.”

Nor are ancient sources outside Islam any more forthcoming. An early document from around 635, by a Jewish writer converting to Christianity, merely mentions a generic “prophet” who comes “armed with a sword.” But in this document the “prophet” is still alive 3 years after Muhammad’s death. And this prophet was notable for proclaiming the imminent arrival of the Jewish messiah. “At the height of the Arabian conquests,” Spencer writes, “the non Muslim sources are as silent as the Muslim ones are about the prophet and holy book that were supposed to have inspired those conquests.” This uncertainty in the ancient sources is a consistent feature of Spencer’s succinct survey of them. Indeed, these sources call into question the notion that Islam itself was recognized as a new, coherent religion. In 651, when Muawiya called on the Byzantine emperor Constantine to reject Christianity, he evoked the “God of our father Abraham,” not Islam per se. One hundred years after the death of Muhammad, “the image of the prophet of Islam remained fuzzy.”

Non-literary sources from the late 7th century are equally vague. Dedicatory inscriptions on dams and bridges make no mention of Islam, the Qur’an, or Mohammad. Coins bear the words “in the name of Allah,” the generic word for God used by Christians and Jews, but say nothing about Muhammad as Allah’s prophet or anything about Islam. Particularly noteworthy is the absence of Islam’s foundational statement “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” Later coins referring specifically to Muhammad depict him with a cross, contradicting the Qur’anic rejection of Christ’s crucifixion and later prohibitions against displaying crucifixes. Given that other evidence suggests that the word “muhammad” is an honorific meaning “praised one,” it is possible that these coins do not refer to the historical Muhammad at all.

Read it all.

Today is the official publication date of my new book Did Muhammad Exist? An Inquiry Into Islam's Obscure Origins, and in The American Thinker this morning I discuss why it matters:

Why would it matter if Muhammad never existed? Certainly the accepted story of Islam's origins is taken for granted as historically accurate; while many don't accept Muhammad's claim to have been a prophet, few doubt that there was a man named Muhammad who in the early seventh century began to claim that he was receiving messages from Allah through the angel Gabriel. Many who hear about my new book Did Muhammad Exist? An Inquiry Into Islam's Obscure Origins ask why it would matter whether or not Muhammad existed -- after all, a billion Muslims believe he did, and they are not going to stop doing so because of some historical investigations. Yet the numerous indications that the standard account of Muhammad's life is more legend than fact actually have considerable implications for the contemporary political scene.

These are just a few of the weaknesses in the traditional account of Muhammad's life and the early days of Islam:

• No record of Muhammad's reported death in 632 appears until more than a century after that date.


• The early accounts written by the people the Arabs conquered never mention Islam, Muhammad, or the Qur'an. They call the conquerors "Ishmaelites," "Saracens," "Muhajirun," and "Hagarians," but never "Muslims."


• The Arab conquerors, in their coins and inscriptions, don't mention Islam or the Qur'an for the first six decades of their conquests. Mentions of "Muhammad" are non-specific and on at least two occasions are accompanied by a cross. The word can be used not only as a proper name, but also as an honorific.


• The Qur'an, even by the canonical Muslim account, was not distributed in its present form until the 650s. Casting into serious doubt that standard account is the fact that neither the Arabians nor the Christians and Jews in the region mention its existence until the early eighth century.


• We don't begin to hear about Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, and about Islam itself until the 690s, during the reign of the caliph Abd al-Malik. Coins and inscriptions reflecting Islamic beliefs begin to appear at this time also.


• In the middle of the eighth century, the Abbasid dynasty supplanted the Umayyad line of Abd al-Malik. In the Abbasid period, biographical material about Muhammad began to proliferate. The first complete biography of the prophet of Islam finally appeared during this era-at least 125 years after the traditional date of his death.

The lack of confirming detail in the historical record, the late development of biographical material about the Islamic prophet, the atmosphere of political and religious factionalism in which that material developed, and much more, suggest that the Muhammad of Islamic tradition did not exist, or if he did, he was substantially different from how that tradition portrays him.

How to make sense of all this? If the Arab forces that conquered so much territory beginning in the 630s were not energized by the teachings of a new prophet and the divine word he delivered, how did the Islamic character of their empire arise at all? If Muhammad did not exist, why was it ever considered necessary to invent him?...

There is more.

Serving alcohol: haram. Bombing people in a restaurant that serves alcohol: halal.

"Bomb in south Lebanon restaurant injures five," from Reuters, April 23 (thanks to Kenneth):

TYRE, Lebanon (Reuters) - Five people were injured and a building was damaged when a bomb exploded in a restaurant in the south Lebanon coastal town of Tyre early on Monday, a Lebanese security source said.

There has been a spate of bombings in majority-Muslim Tyre in the last few months of clubs, shops and restaurants that sell alcohol, whose consumption is forbidden by Islam, and several restaurants have stopped serving alcohol as a result.

The latest bomb detonated shortly after midnight in the Nocean, a restaurant serving alcohol, on the third storey of a commercial complex in the east of the city, shattering the windows of nearby cars.

"Five employees were injured, but only lightly," the source said, adding that four of them were discharged from hospital on Monday morning.

Two bombs detonated in a nightclub and a liquor shop in Tyre in November, and a restaurant selling alcohol was targeted in December. The majority of Tyre residents are Shi'ite Muslims but members of Lebanon's Christian and Sunni Muslim communities also live in the city.

"Islamophobia" is a concept that was invented by the Muslim Brotherhood in order to intimidate non-Muslims away from criticizing or resisting the jihad and Islamic supremacism. The OIC has millions and will use them to bury us in hot steaming piles of nonsense about how Islam teaches peace and tolerance and "believe us, not your lying eyes." They will use them also to continue to demonize and marginalize everyone who dares speak out in defense of human rights against Sharia. But there is one thing they will not do and could not do even if they wanted to: they will not stop jihad terror attacks committed in the name of Islam. They will not stop people from waving Qur'ans and shouting Allahu akbar before cold-bloodedly murdering innocent people, including children. And that is why their campaign, for all the money behind it, is doomed to fail. Their Big Lie is designed to obscure the Islamic motivations behind jihad terror, and to disarm resistance to jihad and Islamic supremacism, by blaring the Big Lie everywhere. But every day the truth will come out, somewhere, in the form of mangled bodies, terrified children, and horrified bystanders suddenly awakening to reality as they make their way on a ground slippery with blood.

Note this also, from Pamela Geller: "These modern day barbarians will meet a fierce army of freedom lovers. The first session of the International Freedom Defense Congress, the operating body of the human rights organization Stop Islamization of Nations (SION), will be held in New York on September 11, 2012. The principal focus of the Congress will be a media offensive against Islamic supremacist attempts to restrict the freedom of speech in the free world, and the smear campaigns against freedom fighters in newspapers and media institutions in the West."

"Muslim states agree to media blitz in fight against Islamophobia," by Abdullah Bozkurt in Today's Zaman, April 22 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

The largest platform representing Muslim countries has agreed to launch an aggressive media campaign with the purpose of raising awareness of anti-Muslim hate movements in the world, while keeping tabs on the problems that are being faced by Muslim citizens in Western and Asian countries.

In the final communiqué, adopted at the 9th session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers in Libreville, Gabon, the representatives from 57 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which is the largest intergovernmental organization after the UN, has empowered the Turkish secretary-general of the organization with a new tool to go after Islamophobic movements in the world.

The meeting saw strong messages voiced by member countries at the OIC meeting in Gabon. As representative of the hosting country and chairman of the conference, Blaise Louembe, the Gabonese minister of digital economy, communications and post, told the audience that there is a need to support the initiative of dialogue, solidarity and consultation among the OIC member countries, stressing that addressing Islamophobia through diplomatic dynamism is important. He proposed the launch of an awareness-raising campaign to eliminate violence advocated by some extremist movements. Louembe said Gabon is ready to lead the charge on these projects.

Morocco's Minister of Communication Mustapha Khalfi warned that Islamophobia is rising and campaigns targeting the image of Islam and Muslims in international media are increasing. He underlined that media institutions in the Muslim world have more responsibility to confront these smear campaigns against Islam. Khalfi also noted that OIC should be a conduit in coordinating media action among Muslim countries as well as within the UN.

The OIC Secretary General, Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, also highlighted Islamophobia as one of the most pressing issues that needs to be tackled by the OIC. He said that Islamophobia is fuelled by a misconception about Islam and Muslims and incites hatred and discrimination against them on religious and ethnic grounds.”

Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba stated that the present session is of utmost importance as it focuses on sensitive media issues. Ondimba also joined other in the conference in drawing attention to the looming dangers of Islamophobia and the growing hatred towards Muslims in the Western media. He called for a comprehensive strategy to combat terrorism, extremism and radicalism, stating that Islam and Muslims are the first victims of extremist ideology.

The OIC meeting in Gabon has adopted a number of resolutions to strengthen media coordination among the 57 member countries. According to one resolution, the OIC has adopted a comprehensive media plan directed at audiences outside of the OIC member states. Gabon will be in charge of implementing this action plan. Saudi Arabia allocated $25 million to a special fund created to promote the positive image of Islam among non-OIC media. Other member states are also expected to contribute to this fund. The program targets media in key world capitals....

The Gabon meeting also focused on how to coordinate news information among media organs in OIC member states, by approving a resolution that will pave the way for joint Islamic action among Muslim countries.

Officials at the Gabon meeting also approved a resolution that will help coordinate news information among media organizations in the OIC member states. The resolution will help pave the way for a streamlined process that will coordinate the dissemination of news information among member countries.

OIC members also approved the establishment of a “Muslim Journalists' Forum” among member countries in order to “unite journalists and foster communication between them so that it becomes a forum for facilitating cooperation and developing specific mechanisms in joint Islamic media action.”

The OIC will also open media coordination offices in some key countries to project the true image of Islam. The OIC general secretary will use these offices to implement media plans on many issues of utmost importance such as Islamophobia, the Palestine issue, development, trade, environment, tourism and the fight against poverty as well as other major issues. The OIC conference discussed a proposal for training journalists to counter stereotypes about Islam and Muslims in Western media.

Launching an OIC satellite channel was also another novel idea proposed by Gabon and approved by all members at the conference in Libreville. OIC TV will be an official media outlet, which can help the organization reach out and affect the public's opinion of Islam by conveying its messages. The OIC meeting also approved the Turkish proposal for establishing the OIC Broadcasting Regulatory Authorities Forum (IBRAF) among Muslim countries.

Noting that the recommendation made by Morocco on “Countering Defamation of Religions” was important, the meeting called on all Muslim countries “to support tabling the proposal at the UN so that a draft recommendation could be adopted calling on all states to respect the image of religions in all the various media and not to cause prejudice to religious symbols and sanctuaries, in demonstration of Islamic solidarity.”...

The conference has set up a committee to follow-up on the resolutions adopted at the conference. The committee members include Morocco, Gabon, Iran (past, present and next chairmen) and the OIC Secretary General. Iran will host the next meeting in 2014.

Allah has a little joke at the expense of five of his warriors. "Islamist militants killed by own bombs: Nigerian army," from Agence France Presse, April 23:

KANO, Nigeria: Five suspected Islamist militants were killed when bombs they were assembling exploded during a shootout with government troops in northern Nigeria, a military commander said Monday.

"I can confirm that five suspected members of Boko Haram were on Saturday night blown to pieces by IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices)," they were assembling, Colonel Victor Ebhaleme told AFP....

Ebhaleme said the insurgents had thrown a bomb at the soldiers when the other bombs inside the house went off "killing the five suspects and destroying the house".

A prelude to war. "Egypt scraps Israel gas supply deal," from the BBC, April 23 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

Egypt's state-owned gas company says it has scrapped a controversial deal which supplies Israel with 40% of its natural gas at lower than market prices.

Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) complained it had not been paid by the Israeli-Egyptian firm that buys gas from Egypt and sells it to Israel.

Israel denied the claim and warned Egypt that it was violating an economic annex of their 1979 peace treaty.

Egypt's military rulers have not yet commented on the deal's cancellation.

The deal was widely unpopular in Egypt, but solidly backed by former President Hosni Mubarak who was forced to step down last February after mass protests.

The termination of the gas deal between Egypt and Israel is more than just a trade dispute; it has serious political and diplomatic consequences.

The historic Camp David Accords ended 30 years of war between these neighbours but only ever led to a cold peace. Since President Hosni Mubarak, an advocate of the deal, was ousted last year, relations between the two countries have deteriorated.

The pipeline delivering Egyptian gas to Israel has been attacked repeatedly. In September, there were riots outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo after Egyptian policemen were killed on the border. Israeli forces had been pursuing militants who crossed illegally from Egypt to carry out a deadly attack. In recent weeks, the Egyptian media and parliament have criticised Coptic Christians and the Grand Mufti of al-Azhar for visiting Jerusalem.

The latest development is another reminder that ties are unlikely to improve soon. Israel is worried about the rise of Islamists in Egypt and a new confidence among its general public about expressing anti-Israeli views....

Mohammed Ansar describes himself as a "Muslim commentator; Public Speaker; Legal Advocate; MCB Interfaith & Education; SEEFF; Children & YP Select Ctte; Lay Imam / Chaplain; MD."

But whatever he is, he is no advocate of free speech or free inquiry: he'd like to see me silenced. And hey, that's understandable: it is so much easier than refuting what I say.

It is hard not to treat stories like this as jokes. But for this poor woman, there is no joke. Sharia Alert from the Kingdom of the Two Holy Places: "Sri Lankan held for 'witchcraft' in Saudi Arabia," from Reuters, April 18 (thanks to Sparta):

(Reuters) - A Sri Lankan woman has been arrested on suspicion of casting a spell on a 13-year-old girl during a Saudi family's shopping trip, a police spokesman said on Wednesday, and may face death in a country where convicted sorcerers are beheaded.

The spokesman, Mesfir al-Juayed, confirmed to Reuters by phone that details of the woman's arrest published in local media were correct.

The daily Okaz reported that a Saudi man had complained his daughter had "suddenly started acting in an abnormal way, and that happened after she came close to the Sri Lankan woman" in a large shopping mall in the port city of Jeddah.

"He reported her to the security forces, asking for her arrest and the specialized units dealt with the situation swiftly… and succeeded in arresting her," Okaz reported on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, is an absolute monarchy that has no written criminal code and where court rulings are based on judges' interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

"The punishment is always beheading for anyone found guilty of witchcraft," a Saudi lawyer and human rights activist, Waleed Abu al-Khair, told Reuters by phone.

In December, Amnesty International condemned the beheading of a woman in Saudi Arabia convicted on charges of "sorcery and witchcraft," saying it underlined the urgent need to end executions in the kingdom.

Amnesty said the execution was the second of its kind last year. A Sudanese national was beheaded in the Saudi city of Medina in September after being convicted on sorcery charges, according to the London-based group.

Watch the video here.

Pamela Geller has more details here, including this useful summation of events:

1. He was in a 120 mile per hour wild police chase.
2. He told the 911 dispatcher that he was armed and would use the weapon.
3. When stopped, he ran, then turned.
4. It's dark. Is that a pistol in his hand?
5. He gets into a shooting stance. (Does anyone really think the police will spend much time wondering if that thing in his hand, which they cannot see clearly, is a pistol?)
6. Cops open fire.

Jihad Watch reader Dominic calls this "a clear case of suicide by cop by a teen who could easily pass for Hispanic/Latino" -- in other words, the idea that this shooting was motivated in any way by "ethnic prejudice" against Muslims is ridiculous, and even more so when you see Arian's threatening behavior in the video above. Dominic adds: "He called 911, claimed to have a gun which he planned to use against cops. Video clearly shows him aiming something at cops MANY times before cops kill him. Nonetheless, Islamist shakedown artists pressured the LAPD into a 'fence-mending' meeting when NO mending is needed."

And indeed, Los Angeles Muslims are playing the victimhood card to the hilt in this case, and the clear evidence of the video above is not deterring them. Nor does the LAPD seem to have anyone with the guts to stand up and say, "Stop this nonsense. Watch the video. The young man was clearly threatening police officers. They responded appropriately."

"LAPD meets Muslim community in Granada Hills to discuss police shooting death of Abdul Arian, 19," by Bob Strauss for the Los Angeles Daily News, April 20:

Los Angeles Police Department officials met with members of the Muslim community on Friday to mend some fences in the wake of the fatal police shooting of a local 19-year-old Afghan-American.

The commanding officer of Devonshire Division and the department's inspector general appeared at the Islamic Center of Northridge's mosque in Granada Hills.

About 50 members of the congregation stayed following afternoon prayers to hear Devonshire Captain Kris Pitcher explain what he could about the incident.

On April 11, Abdul Arian, a Winnetka resident, led LAPD officers on a chase after a traffic stop in Northridge, ending on the freeway. He was shot and killed by officers after he gestured and pointed at them with an object in his hand, though no gun was found.

But since not many concrete facts are available until exhaustive investigations inside and out of LAPD are completed, Pitcher mainly tried to mend fences with the Valley Muslim community, many members of which believe ethnic prejudice was a factor in Arian's death.

"It's not the police department against anybody, it's the police department working with each one of you," said Pitcher, who appeared in casual civilian clothing.

"Are you always right? No," Pitcher continued. "Am I always right? Absolutely not. But you know what? We're humans, we're fallible, we make mistakes, we get by and we try to live together in peace and in harmony."

Pitcher was accompanied by the department's inspector general, Alexander R. Bustamante, and his assistant Django Sibley. They said the IG's office is conducting its own independent investigation of the incident, and will turn over their facts to the Police Commission. The data will be released publicly after the case is adjudicated.

So, until then, not many specifics. Pitcher did reveal that the eight officers involved in the shooting were removed from the field immediately afterward and underwent psychological assessment and some updated training, and were scheduled to return to duty Friday night.

A spokesman for the mosque said the police representatives were invited to help counterbalance some of the anger in the community that has been evident on comment sections of websites, at protest demonstrations and at Arian's funeral Tuesday.

"The main reason we invited them here was to cut through the fog of misconceptions about LAPD acting beyond their scope," said Mahmood Payind, a member of the non-profit religious corporation's board. "We say that they're law enforcement and they enforced the law. The community should not just jump to conclusions and be emotional. We should be rational; that's what Islam says. Islam is about peace, not about making chaos."

Congregants weren't necessarily satisfied by the Q&A session, but they seemed to appreciate the department's effort.

"I didn't get my questions answered in a black-and-white manner," said Porter Ranch resident Syed Khalil. "They gave rather unclear answers, which I understand has to do with their policy.

"But it's very helpful that they came here," added Khalil, an energy company executive who immigrated from India 25 years ago. "The moment you come down, it's like giving importance to the community, because we are a minority. A minority always has a complex, so at least their appearance makes us feel like we're being treated as equal partners in society."

"I let them know as much as I could now, and as the investigation unfolds I'm sure the chief's office will be releasing more facts," Pitcher said after the meeting. "This was a great opportunity to come out and to open the process up for transparency."

Capitulating to a Big Lie is not transparency.

Will the Islamophobia never end? "Muslim mob torches Khartoum church," by Mohamed Saeed for the Associated Press, April 22 (thanks to Tom):

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — A Muslim mob has set ablaze a Catholic church frequented by Southern Sudanese in the capital Khartoum, witnesses and media reports said on Sunday.

The church in Khartoum's Al-Jiraif district was built on a disputed plot of land but the Saturday night incident appeared to be part of the fallout from ongoing hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan over control of an oil town on their ill-defined border....

The witnesses and several newspapers said a mob of several hundreds shouting insults at southerners torched the church. Fire engines could not put out the fire, they added.

One newspaper, Al-Sahafah, said the church was part of a complex that included a school and dormitories. Ethiopian refugees living in the Sudanese capital also used the church....

The Q Society, the courageous group of freedom fighters that sponsored and organized my speaking tour of Australia last December, has the story:

AFL Mandates Prayer Rooms in all Australian Footy Stadiums - Will the call of the muezzin soon ring out at quarter time?

22 April 2012, Melbourne - Q Society of Australia Inc acknowledges the right of the AFL and stadium operators to provide whatever facilities they deem necessary to encourage and increase patronage at their functions. However, as representatives of citizens concerned with the spread of political Islam and sharia law in Australia, Q Society voices strong objection to such ill-advised developments.

It is important to outline the reasons for this objection.

Observant Muslims can take part in football just as they take part in other activities without needing a prayer room wherever they go. Koran and Hadiths clearly acknowledge (references below) the need to modify the prayer schedule, especially when in non-Islamic countries. Missed prayers can be made-up later when there is opportunity. The Islamic religion is much more practical than some Muslim fundamentalists want us to believe.

Requests for prayer rooms in secular spaces do not come from average Australian Muslims. Do we recall the Pakistani or Bangladeshi cricket teams complaining? Are visiting sport teams from the Middle East on public record with such requests? These demands are conceived by fundamentalists and Islamic activists seeking to impose their divisive religious lifestyle on to what they perceive our ‘infidel’ society.

This seemingly simple and apparently moderate request for pious Muslims to be able to practice their religion while in public venues, heralds once more the stepped introduction of Islamic sharia law. It starts with a multi-faith prayer room, moves to a Muslim-only prayer room, on to gender-segregated Muslim prayer rooms, then Muslim-only ablution facilities and eventually a staffed mosque. Examples abound in our universities. Spreading from one facility to another, gender segregation and religious apartheid are suddenly entrenched in our society. No other religious group has similar aspirations.

This is not an extremist reaction, but a factual response based on documented methods used by political Islam to achieve its long-term aim of imposing sharia law worldwide.
Verifiable history plays out before our eyes. Europe shows us the next steps in this process.

Many European cities reveal how segregation has advanced to Muslim-only zones where the indigenous population dare not venture. All from the same well meant, but ill-advised path some short-sighted Australian politicians and the AFL are beginning to tread.

Q Society stands with the majority of Australians for a free and integrated community, with one secular law applied equally to all Australians. There is no place for gender segregation or religious apartheid anywhere in our Commonwealth. There is no place for sharia law, even at its most basic level, in Australia.

Q Society believes religion belongs in churches, synagogues, temples and mosques, not in footy stadiums or any other secular public space in Australia.

References:

Koran Sura 4:101
"And when ye go forth in the land, it is no sin for you to curtail (your) worship if ye fear that those who disbelieve may attack you. In truth the disbelievers are an open enemy to you."

Hadith narrated by al-Bukhaari (571) and Muslim (631):
“O Messenger of Allaah, I could hardly pray ‘Asr until the sun had almost set.” The Prophet said: “By Allaah, I did not pray it either.” We went to Bat-haan and he did wudoo’ for prayer and so did we, then he prayed ‘Asr after the sun had set, then he prayed Maghrib after that.

Hadith narrated by al-Bukhaari (572) and Muslim (684):
“Whoever forgets a prayer or sleeps and misses it, the expiation for that is to pray it when he remembers.”
About Q Society of Australia Inc
Q Society of Australia Inc is a national grassroots organisation run by volunteers since 2010.
Our members are concerned about the socio-political problems associated with the rise of Islamic sharia law in Australia; as well as religiously-motivated human rights abuses against women and indigenous religious minorities in OIC countries. We seek to inform and lobby for a free and open discussion about the socio-political impact of Islam in Australia. We oppose the Islamisation of our society and attempts to silence critical debate under the pretence of multicultural tolerance. No tolerance for the intolerant.

This article says that female genital mutilation is a cultural practice that is widespread across Africa. In fact, while others may practice it, it is justified in Islam: "Circumcision is obligatory (O: for both men and women. For men it consists of removing the prepuce from the penis, and for women, removing the prepuce (Ar. bazr) of the clitoris (n: not the clitoris itself, as some mistakenly assert). (A: Hanbalis hold that circumcision of women is not obligatory but sunna, while Hanafis consider it a mere courtesy to the husband.)" -- 'Umdat al-Salik e4.3

Muhammad himself did not condemn it, but merely cautioned against going overboard: "A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said to her: Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband." - Sunan Abu Dawud 41.5251

And as such, it is not practiced just in Africa, but in other Muslim areas, such as Iraq and the Maldives. Oh, and Britain.

Until its Islamic justifications are confronted, and the denial that this piece represents with its attribution of the practice to "culture" ends, more girls will suffer.

"100,000 British women mutilated," from the Telegraph, April 22 (thanks to all who sent this in):

As many as 100,000 women in Britain have undergone female genital mutilations with medics in the UK offering to carry out the illegal procedure on girls as young as 10, it has been reported.

Investigators from The Sunday Times said they secretly filmed a doctor, dentist and alternative medicine practitioner who were allegedly willing to perform circumcisions or arrange for the operation to be carried out. The doctor and dentist deny any wrongdoing.

The practice, which involves the surgical removal of external genitalia and in some cases the stitching of the vaginal opening, is illegal in Britain and carries up to a 14 year prison sentence.

It is also against the law to arrange FGM.

Known as "cutting", the procedure is traditionally carried out for cultural reasons and is widespread across Africa.

It is thought to be needed as proof of a girl's "purity" for when she marries, but victims are rarely given anaesthetic and frequently suffer long-term damage and pain.

Research suggests that every year up to 6,000 girls in London are at risk of the potentially fatal procedure, and more than 22,000 in the UK as a whole.

The Metropolitan Police said since 2008, it had received 166 reports of people who fear they are at risk of FGM.

It is the same story for all 43 forces across England and Wales with no convictions for the offence ever taking place, according to The Sunday Times.

The newspaper added that only two doctors have been struck off by The General Medical Council since 1980.

According to Forward, a charity which campaigners against FGM, an estimated 100,000 women in the UK have undergone mutilation.

Supermodel Waris Dirie, who was mutilated as a child, is a vociferous opponent of the practice.

Calling for a crackdown on FGM, she said: "If a white girl is abused, the police come break down the door. If a black girl is mutilated, nobody takes care of her. This is what I call racism."

Indeed. Or multiculturalism. Or fear of being labeled "Islamophobic."

Because what does Britain need for what ails it? Obviously it needs more jihad terrorists. "European court 'tipped off Abu Qatada over deadline to help him make last-ditch appeal to stay,'" by Brendan Carlin in the Daily Mail, April 21 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

European human rights judges have been accused of ‘alerting’ radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada to the fact he still had time to lodge a last-ditch appeal against deportation.

Furious Home Office sources last night claimed that it was the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) itself that privately told Jordanian-born Qatada that there was still the possibility of an appeal

But they say there was no similar attempt by the Strasbourg-based court to warn Home Secretary Theresa May of the impending deadline.

Senior sources in Mrs May’s department told The Mail on Sunday that the ECHR had reminded Qatada last Monday that he still had the option to appeal.

One said: ‘They took it upon themselves to go to Qatada’s legal team and say, “You haven’t appealed yet. Are you likely to appeal?” ’...

But Tory MPs denounced the court for ‘an outrageous and partisan’ interference with the UK’s internal affairs and called on the Government to demand a ‘detailed explanation’ of the court’s actions....

Leftist dupes displayed by their Islamic supremacist handlers in the belly of the beast. Useful Idiots were seldom this idiotic, if not actually useful. In 2012 it is not news that U.S. academics are traitors who consort freely with the enemies of their country. They're just window dressing for the mullahs, who must have been laughing up their sleeves at their earnest professorial naivete.

Corruption of the Academy Alert: "US Professors Attend an Occupy Wall Street Conference in Tehran," from MEMRI, February 22 (posted at MEMRI more recently):

Following are excerpts from a report on the Tehran University Occupy Wall Street Conference, which aired on Press TV and was posted on the Internet on February 22, 2012:

Reporter: The Occupy Wall Street Movement Conference in Tehran – university professors and scholars from around the world discuss various aspects of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

[…]

Experts also told us about the impact of the movement and its future.

Alex Vitae, professor at Brooklyn College: Well, we know it's had some impact both locally and nationally, but the impact has still been limited. I think many people are waiting to see what effect it may have on this year's national elections, and whether or not this will have momentum that could have more far-reaching implications.

Heather Gautney, professor at Fordham University: The "Occupy" movement is entering more into social institutions, and trying to pressure politicians or pressure leadership within those institutions to try to put money back into them and to support public programs. So I think that is one important aspect. The other is that we have elections coming up in November, and I think that the movement is going to be incredibly active in pressuring politicians to start addressing issues of social inequality.

[…]

John Hammond, professor at City University of New York: I know that I will be returning to the United States on February 25, and on February 29, there is a big movement planned in New York City, called Occupy the Corporations. Down the road from there, in May, the G-8 Summit will occur in Chicago, and many groups are planning to converge on Chicago with some kind of demonstration.

"The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with 'Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death)." -- Bukhari 7.62.88

In Islam, Muhammad is the supreme example of conduct (cf. Qur'an 33:21). Thus he is exemplary even in his marriage to a child: Muslims take this seriously and imitate Muhammad in this. Article 1041 of the Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran states that girls can be engaged before the age of nine, and married at nine: "Marriage before puberty (nine full lunar years for girls) is prohibited. Marriage contracted before reaching puberty with the permission of the guardian is valid provided that the interests of the ward are duly observed."

The Ayatollah Khomeini himself married a ten-year-old girl when he was twenty-eight. Khomeini called marriage to a prepubescent girl "a divine blessing," and advised the faithful: "Do your best to ensure that your daughters do not see their first blood in your house."

"Saudi mufti okays marriage for 10 year old girls," World Observer, April 21 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti okayed marriage for girls starting at age 10 and criticized those who want to raise the legal marriageable age, according to news reports.

Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al al-Sheikh said a girl becomes ready for marriage at 10 or 12 according to Islam and stressed that Islamic law is not by any means oppressive to women, the London-based al-Hayat reported Wednesday.

"Those who call for raising the age of marriage to 25 are absolutely mistaken," al-Sheikh said in a lecture he gave at the faculty housing mosque of Imam Mohamed bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh.

"Our mothers and grandmothers got married when they were barely 12. Good upbringing makes a girl ready to perform all marital duties at that age."

Al-Sheikh's statements came in response to a question from a female attendee about marrying minor girls without their consent.

The Saudi National Human Rights Association (NHRA) has criticized the prevalence of the marriage of minors in the kingdom and considered it a violation of childhood. The association has sought to work with authorities to curb the practice and protect children's rights.

NHRA stressed that underage marriages are also a breach of several United Nations treaties including the Child Rights Treaty, which Saudi signed in 1996 and the Treaty for the Rights of Women that the kingdom joined in 2000.

Last year a similar fatwa, or religious ruling, by Salafi preacher Sheikh Mohamed al-Maghrawi allowing girls as young as nine to marry was condemned by Morocco’s Supreme Scientific Council. The council said it lacked religious validity because it was based on only one case—the marriage of Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) to Aisha bint Abu-Bakr.

But isn't Muhammad's example normative, as per Qur'an 33:21?

What a surprise. I tried to tell you, back in January 2011. "Muslim Assailants in Egypt Escape Prosecution," from Compass Direct News, April 20 (thanks to David):

ISTANBUL, April 20 (CDN) — A recent “reconciliation meeting” between members of a Muslim mob that attacked a Christian-owned school in Egypt and school administrators was nothing less than an attempt at legalized extortion, the director of the school said.

In exchange for peace, members of the sword-wielding mob that stormed the school last month without provocation – and held two nuns hostage for several hours – initially demanded in the meetings that the school sign over parcels of land that include the guesthouse the Muslim extremists attacked.

Magdy Melad, manager of the Notre Dame Language Schools in Aswan Province, told Compass that despite the risk of more attacks, he refused the assailants’ demand. Doing so, he said, would set a precedent in Aswan of Muslims attacking and seizing Christian-owned property and then using reconciliation councils to give the appearance of legitimacy.

“If we give in to that, they will take everything,” Melad said.

He conceded that although he escaped with the property, and the victims escaped with their lives, he may have given away something more precious – he agreed not to prosecute any of the hundreds of people who attacked his school.

“The only thing we had to give away was our rights,” Melad said sardonically, adding that the threat of future violence forced him to make the agreement. “This was all against the law.”

“Reconciliation meetings” are held throughout Egypt after incidents of “sectarian” violence in order to restore calm. Increasingly used during the administration of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the meetings are loosely based on traditional Arabic tribal councils. Supporters of the reconciliation process, mainly government and Islamic leaders, say the meetings offer a way to defuse tensions. Those who oppose the process, including numerous human rights groups and Coptic rights activists, say the meetings are just a way to pressure powerless groups and people into giving away what little rights they have.

On March 4, about 1,500 villagers chanting Islamic slogans and brandishing swords and knives surrounded a guesthouse at the privately run, public language school in the village of Abu Al-Reesh. The mob accused nuns trapped inside of building a church in the guesthouse and threatened to burn them out unless they surrendered. The situation lasted for eight hours until police were finally able to bring the nuns to safety.

The women faced “unimaginable fear,” Melad said, adding, “No matter what I say, I cannot give a picture of the fear and the worry they had.”

During the attack, Muslims began shouting over loudspeakers from three nearby mosques, summoning more villagers to surround the guesthouse.

“People of Abu Al-Reesh, get down [there] – the Christians are building a church and building a monastery; the Christians took our ancestors’ land and are building a church,” the Muslim leaders demanded, according to Melad Kamel Garas, owner of the school.

The mob ransacked the building, stealing security cameras, electrical equipment and a satellite dish on top of the guesthouse, among other items, Melad confirmed....

This would be consistent with Obama's refusal to support the Iranian demonstrators, who were opposing an Islamic Republic, and his enthusiasm in supporting the "Arab Spring" demonstrators, who were paving the way for Islamic rule. Which side is he on, anyway?

"Ousted Maldives President Claims Obama Approved Islamist Coup," from Breitbart, April 20 (thanks to all who sent this in):

The Washington Post reports that Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of Maldives, claims the United States has given legitimacy to the Islamist coup which deposed him.

Mohamed Nasheed won the presidency in Maldives’s first multiparty elections in 2008, after a lifetime advocating democracy and human rights and several long stints in jail.

Less than three years later, he was forced to resign by an angry mob of police officers and soldiers, in what he says was a coup engineered by his autocratic predecessor.

“We have to have an election,” he said in an interview while visiting the Indian capital, New Delhi. “In the absence of that, Islamic radicals are gaining strength in the Maldives.”

Nasheed, whose multiple instances of torture and imprisonment prevented him from witnessing the birth of his daughters, removed various Islamic prohibitions that created legal inequality for Maldives citizens.

He noted that he also restored diplomatic relations with Israel that had been suspended for three decades under Gayoom, advocated closer ties with the United States and Maldives’s giant neighbor India, introduced benefits for single mothers and tried to protect women forced by Islamic radicals to wear burqas and veils.

But when he announced his resignation in a nationally televised statement Feb. 7 — after police and soldiers had, he said, basically taken him hostage — both the United States and India moved swiftly to recognize his successor, former vice president Mohammed Waheed Hassan, without taking the trouble to find out what had really happened, he says.

“We did so much to make the Maldives more liberal,” he said. “To suddenly see the United States, so quickly — they could have held onto their horses for a few minutes and just asked me — so quickly to have recognized the status quo, that was very sad and shocking.” [emphasis added]

Nasheed now urges that the country hold new elections to install a legitimate government, but he fears his successor will make it impossible for the people to threaten the regime's power....

They would have considered the Muslim victims to be apostates for their service to the occupying Infidels or to their client regime -- or apostates simply for acquiescing to that regime.

"Afghan forces arrest five men with 10,000kg explosives," from Reuters, April 21 (thanks to David):

Afghan security forces have detained five insurgents with 10,000kg (22,046lb) of explosives, an intelligence agency spokesman says.

The men – three Pakistani citizens and two Afghans – were said to be planning to use the explosives in multiple attacks in crowded areas. They were detained in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

"If this amount of explosives had been used, it could have caused large-scale bloodshed," said Nazari, a spokesman for the National Directorate of Security, who uses one name.

The Taliban have financed their operations via drug sales for years, and there is probably a connection between them and these sales, since they are intent upon infiltrating the Afghan military -- and given the many attacks on NATO personnel by Afghan soldiers, apparently they've been successful. In any case, it is understandable that American soldiers would turn to drug use, given the utter madness of our Afghan operation and the impossible rules of engagement under which they must labor, and this indicates yet again that our supposed allies in the Afghan military are actually anything but.

"Afghan military recruits found dealing drugs to US soldiers, Army documents show," by Catherine Herridge for FoxNews.com, April 20 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

Afghan forces are being trained by the U.S. military to take over the mission by 2014, but new documents obtained by Judicial Watch through a request under the Freedom of Information Act show that some of the Afghan recruits stand accused of dealing drugs to U.S. soldiers.

“It's really troubling that our troops are being placed in this situation where they're under enough pressure as it is,” Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton told Fox News. “But evidently our allies there are acting as drug pushers in some ways.”

Fitton and his investigators found that between January 2010 and December 2011, the Army investigated 56 soldiers in Afghanistan for the possession, use or distribution of opiates. Heroin was cited 26 times.

A December 2011 report from Army Criminal Investigation Command shows that at one forward operation base the drugs hash, pot and heroin were purchased "from various Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police personnel."

In another case, an Afghan interpreter sold various opiates to soldiers, and other drugs were also available. A CID report dated August 2010 said a soldier admitted to buying the painkiller "nalbin from a local national, while attempting to purchase steroids."

In a separate report from February 2011, a specialist bought "heroin and xanax (an anti-anxiety drug) from local national juveniles at multiple locations on Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan."...

Enjoying the sex slaves allowed by the Qur'an (men may enjoy "what your right hands own," 4:3) and Islamic law. "Muslim gang jailed for kidnapping and raping two girls as part of their Eid celebrations," by Katherine Faulkner in the Daily Mail, April 20 (thanks to all who sent this in):

A group of Muslim men who abducted and raped two teenage girls as part of their Eid celebrations laughed in court yesterday as they were jailed for a total of 38 years.

The girls, aged 15 and 16, were lured miles from their home to a dingy hostel.

In a horrifying weekend-long ordeal, they were plied with alcohol and repeatedly raped by two men, Shamrez Rashid and Amar Hussain, before being offered to a number of others who also ‘used them for sex’.

The 16-year old was forced to have sex six times with four different men.
The younger victim was raped by one man and then sexually assaulted by another.

One defendant, Rashid, 20, was said to have claimed the girls had enjoyed the sex, which he said had taken place as they celebrated the Muslim festival of Eid.

‘It was Eid,’ he said. ‘We treated them as our guests. OK, so they gave us [sex] but we were buying them food and drink.

‘They could have anything they wanted. They enjoyed it.’

His accomplice Amar Hussain, 22, claimed the girls were ‘slags’.

But Judge Melbourne Inman QC said the girls had still been children at the time of the offences.

He said it was quite obvious they had been frightened of the men, but this had had ‘no effect at all’ on their attackers’ behaviour.

‘They were still children and still living with their families,’ Judge Inman said. ‘In a civilised society, such people should be helped. You all abused them.

‘They were extremely vulnerable and you took advantage of that.’

The five defendants laughed and smirked as the horrifying details of their offences were described in court yesterday.

Rashid – who had already been found guilty of two rapes, an attempted rape, child abduction and an attempted sexual assault – grinned, laughed and made gun gestures in the dock.

His supporters in the public gallery hurled abuse at the judge as he passed sentence later....

Abdo said in 2010 that he wanted to combat “Islamophobia” and “to try and put a good positive spin out there that Islam is a good, peaceful religion. We’re not all terrorists, you know?” No, not all, Abdo, but you are.

"Judge won't toss confession in Fort Hood bomb plot," from the Associated Press, April 20 (thanks to Kenneth):

A federal judge on Friday rejected a defense motion to throw out a confession from the soldier accused of planning to bomb a Texas restaurant filled with Fort Hood troops.

Lawyers for Army Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo say authorities did not read his Miranda rights or grant his request for a lawyer before he told them of plans to blow up the building and shoot survivors. They also asked the judge to suppress evidence obtained after Abdo was detained in July at a Killeen motel near the Texas Army post.

U.S. District Judge Walter Smith rejected the motions Friday after a four-hour hearing in Waco.

Abdo, 22, faces up to life in prison if convicted of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and eight other charges. His trial is set for May.

In a muffled recording played in court Friday, a Killeen police detective, Sgt. Eric Bradley, is heard saying he saw footage of Abdo in area stores and asking if the soldier knew about events in Killeen, including the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood in which an Army psychiatrist is charged.

Abdo tells the detective in the recording that he applied for conscientious objector status but it was put on hold after he was charged with having child pornography.

"So I'm AWOL ... and I was planning an attack here in the Fort Hood community," Abdo says in the recording.

Another Killeen detective testified that he read Abdo his Miranda rights shortly after placing him in a police car, but said the audio did not record because of a delay and no other officers were present. Bradley talked to Abdo in the police car after that.

C. Michael Owens, an FBI special agent, testified that he read Miranda rights to Abdo twice _ before interviews with him on July 27 and 28. Prosecutors showed documents signed by Abdo agreeing to talk to investigators and waiving his rights to an attorney. During the first six-hour interview, Abdo said he was in Killeen to make things right with Allah because he had sinned against Allah, Owens testified.

Abdo was AWOL from Fort Campbell, Ky., when he was arrested. Authorities say they found a handgun, ingredients for an explosive device and an article titled "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom" in his room and backpack. An article with that title appears in an al-Qaida magazine....

Here is yet more evidence of how Sharia is benign and fully compatible with the U.S. Constitution, as Islamic apologists insist. The sex in public should have been penalized in some way, but the caning is barbaric.

"Indonesian 'punks' caned for pre-marital sex," from AFP, April 20:

LANGSA, Indonesia — Sharia police in Aceh, the only Indonesian province to practise the Islamic law, caned a homeless "punk" couple nine times Friday after they were caught having pre-marital sex in public.

Around 100 people in the town of Langsa watched and cheered when sharia police in green-and-black hoods caned the 21-year-old woman and her 23-year-old boyfriend, along with 11 others convicted of gambling.

"Those kids are punks. They were caught having sex by the public and were arrested by sharia police," Langsa prosecutor's office head Putra Masduri told AFP.

Masduri said the couple were often seen loitering on the streets dressed as punks, however they dressed in traditional white Islamic clothing for their caning.

Although they were arrested for pre-marital sex, their punishment comes amid a crackdown on punks in the province, in which police have raided cafes and parks to detain youths contributing to what authorities call a "social disease"

In December, more than 60 young punk fans were detained at a concert and forced to undergo a 10-day "moral rehabilitation" camp run by police.

The youths had their hair cut or shaved, and were forced to bathe in a lake, wear conservative clothes, and pray, provoking a flurry of criticism from human rights groups and punk fans around the world.

Aceh, on the northernmost tip of Sumatra island, adopted partial sharia law in 2001 as part of a special autonomy package aimed at quelling separatist sentiment.

Only Muslims can be charged under sharia law, although the non-Muslim community is expected to follow some of the rules out of respect....

In FrontPage this morning I detail the latest in the ongoing war against the freedom of speech that Leftists and Islamic supremacists are waging:

Leftist and Islamic supremacist thugs are planning to protest the Islamic Apartheid Conference that the David Horowitz Freedom Center is sponsoring at Temple University Monday. Hosted by Students for Intellectual Freedom, the Conference will feature Pamela Geller, Nonie Darwish, Simon Deng and me. In reporting on the coming protests, however, the Philadelphia City Paper noted only that “two of America’s most high-profile anti-Muslim bigots” will be speaking – Geller and me – and doesn’t mention Darwish or Deng even once. The omission was telling, revealing the hypocrisy of the protests as a whole.

Nonie Darwish is an ex-Muslim who grew up learning hatred for Infidels in a Muslim school in Gaza. Simon Deng is a South Sudanese Christian who was held as a slave by Muslim captors for several years. Both of them know Islamic apartheid firsthand, and have been its victims. The Leftists at the City Paper therefore could do nothing but omit them from their story attacking the Conference, for to include them would in itself have been to reveal the reality of what they’re denying: Islamic apartheid.

The City Paper’s story focuses on Pamela Geller, retailing hard-Left talking points against her consisting entirely of distortions, misrepresentations, and outright falsehoods about things she has said and positions she has taken. Its objection to the Conference appears to be that Geller, and apparently therefore also the Conference as a whole, is “anti-Muslim.”

The irony is thick: organizing the protests are Occupy Temple, the International Socialist Organization, Students for Justice in Palestine, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and other hard-Left community and student organizations, none of which have ever raised the slightest objection to Temple’s Israeli Apartheid Week. Nor would any of them characterize the very idea of Israeli Apartheid Week as anti-Semitic, although anti-Semitism is rife at such events (and our event will not actually be “anti-Muslim” at all). The chief difference, however, between Israeli Apartheid Week and our Islamic Apartheid Conference is simply that there really is Islamic apartheid, but there is no Israeli apartheid.

In Israel, Arab citizens are represented in Knesset and enjoy full legal equality. The very idea of “Israeli Apartheid”  is an attempt to stigmatize, and ultimately destroy, Israel’s efforts to defend itself. Islamic Apartheid, however, is a very different matter. Is it “anti-Muslim” to point out that Islamic law mandates institutionalized discrimination against women? Muslim women are the first victims of Islamic law’s denial of basic rights for women; is it “anti-Muslim” to speak out for them and say that as human beings they deserve better?

Women are greatly burdened in many Muslim countries. Across the Islamic world, they endure restrictions on their movements, their marital options, their professional opportunities, and more. In Kuwait and elsewhere, women cannot vote or hold office. According to Amnesty International, in Saudi Arabia “women…who walk unaccompanied, or are in the company of a man who is neither their husband nor a close relative, are at risk of arrest on suspicion of prostitution or other ‘moral’ offences.”

The oppression of women in Muslim lands is not an accident. The proposition that, as the Qur’an says, “men have a status above women” (2:228) is all-pervasive in the Islamic world. Aisha, the most beloved of the Muslim prophet Muhammad’s many wives, admonished women in no uncertain terms to submit: “O womenfolk, if you knew the rights that your husbands have over you, every one of you would wipe the dust from her husband’s feet with her face.”

The oppression of women sanctioned by the teachings of Islam, and often by its holy book, manifests itself in innumerable ways. Among its most notorious are female genital mutilation, which an Islamic legal manual approved by Cairo’s prestigious al-Azhar University states is required “for both men and women.” Then there is wife-beating, sanctioned by nothing less than the Qur’an itself, which tells men to “beat” women from whom they “fear disobedience” (4:34). The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences has determined that over ninety percent of Pakistani wives have been struck, beaten, or abused sexually — for offenses on the order of cooking an unsatisfactory meal. Others were punished for failing to give birth to a male child. Dominating their women by violence is a prerogative Muslim men cling to tenaciously. In Spring 2005, when the East African nation of Chad tried to institute a new family law that would outlaw wife beating, Muslim clerics led resistance to the measure as un-Islamic.

There is more.

Those dastardly right-wing extremists! "Three men from Birmingham held at Heathrow Airport 'with terror documents,'" by Richard Hartley-parkinson for the Daily Mail, April 20 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of possessing articles and documents with intent to use them for terrorist purposes overseas.

The men, from Birmingham, were detained at Heathrow Airport last night after arriving on a flight from Oman.

They were arrested under Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000, West Midlands Police said.

Two of the men, aged 33 and 39, are from the Small Heath area of the city and the third, aged 33, from Alum Rock.

The arrests, made by officers from the West Midlands counter terrorism unit, were pre-planned and intelligence-led.

West Midlands Police said they were not made in response to any immediate threat to public safety.

A police spokesman said: 'Three men from Birmingham were arrested last night on suspicion of possessing articles and documents with intent to use them for terrorist purposes overseas (contrary to Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000).

'All were detained at Heathrow Airport after arriving on a flight from Oman.'

Recent JihadWatch posts on Breivik: "Main source for Norway mass murderer Breivik's twisted worldview: Wikipedia", "Norway mass murderer Breivik reveals his true inspiration: 'We have drawn from al-Qaida and militant Islamists'"

Translated from Norwegian by Nicolai Sennels, Nyhetene April 18: "Breivik rejects Fjordman as inspiration":

It was a more confrontational atmosphere in court Wednesday, when Anders Behring Breivik continued his explanation. Breivik was grilled about his trip to Liberia and London in 2002, but said repeatedly that he did not want to answer questions about these trips. Lawyers asked Breivik whom he felt inspired by, and Breivik denied that he was inspired by the blogger Fjordman.

"It is ridiculous to conduct a witch hunt on Fjordman. He is against violence and for democracy," Breivik said in court.

Breivik also testified that concerning his methods he was inspired by Al-Qaeda. Breivik was also asked about his opinion on Adolf Hitler. Breivik explained that he himself was an anti-Nazi.

Breivik clarified his views on immigration.

"A national socialist wants all non-Norwegians thrown out of the country. I am much more liberal. I can accept a small percentage of immigrants, but not that Norwegians will be a minority. I have a duty to prevent my ethnic group from being destroyed. This belongs to the human rights," said Breivik.

What race is the jihad and Islamic supremacism again?

Anyway, the Danish freedom fighter Lars Hedegaard, who has been on trial for telling truths about Islam and Muslims, has been acquitted of charges of racism. This is a major and welcome setback for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's ongoing effort to intimidate Western states into criminalizing speaking the truth about Islam under the guise of "hate speech."

So far I can find the news only in Danish here (thanks to David).

The Left and Islamic supremacists will not let the facts deter them from using the Norway mass murderer Breivik to try to destroy all opposition to the jihad. In "The Scandalous Lies of ‘Hope Not Hate’" in FrontPage this morning, Bruce Bawer takes on their hypocrisy and lies:

The list reads, in large part, like an honor roll of courageous truth-tellers. In the U.S., people like David Horowitz, Daniel Pipes, Ibn Warraq, Mark Steyn, Robert Spencer, and Andrew McCarthy. In Canada, Ezra Levant. In the U.K., Roger Scruton. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders. In Denmark, Lars Hedegaard. And so on.

But no, this isn’t meant as an honor roll. It’s a list of individuals – and organizations, too, among them the David Horowitz Freedom Center – that, according to a new “Counter-Jihad Report” by a British group called Hope Not Hate, make up a nefarious network of Islamophobic extremists who inspired the Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring-Breivik.

It’s no coincidence that this “report” was issued to coincide with the beginning of Breivik’s trial, which started on Monday. For the people at Hope Not Hate seek to draw an explicit cause-and-effect connection between writings by various critics of Islam and the atrocities of July 22.

One thing’s clear: Breivik has been a terrific gift to those who, for whatever reason, have long been eager to shift focus away from the danger of Islam and to argue that it’s the criticism of Islam that’s the real danger.

It hasn’t been easy for these folks. Over the last decade, as a result of one brutal jihadist atrocity after another – 9/11, Madrid, London, Beslan, Bali, Mumbai, etc., etc. – Islam has been associated in the Western mind with bloodthirsty slaughter. Then, on July 22 of last year, a single man, acting alone, killed dozens of people, purportedly in the name of anti-jihadism. His actions provided everyone who’d like to whitewash Islam with an opportunity to associate not Islam, but its critics, with savage violence.

The people at Hope Not Hate didn’t let this opportunity pass them by. So – voilà, the “Counter-Jihad Report,” the implicit premise of which is that to be opposed to jihad is, by definition, not only a bad but a downright dangerous thing.

Not that the “report” actually addresses the subject of jihad – no, jihad itself is left almost entirely out of the equation. Indeed, to read this thing, you’d almost think that jihad were some fantasy cooked up by “counter-jihadists” in order to smear Islam.

I won’t mince words: the “report” is a thoroughly repulsive piece of work. One repulsive thing about it is that it brings together the names of serious, respectable, and well-informed critics of Islam – individuals and organizations that are profoundly concerned about the rise of Islam in the West because they recognize it as a threat to freedom and human rights – with the names of neo-Nazis. Also repulsive is the masthead on >this page, on which pictures of David Horowitz and Geert Wilders are juxtaposed with a photo of Breivik, in full faux-military regalia, aiming his gun.

In a sane world, such a juxtaposition of images would be more than enough to make it clear that Hope Not Hate is a despicable organization and that its “report” is not to be taken seriously. Yet this isn’t, alas, a sane world. Issued only a few days ago, the “report” has already been embraced by the international media, and the formerly obscure Hope Not Hate is suddenly being treated as if it were a definitive source of objective information.

In Norway, for example, TV2′s coverage of the Breivik trial has included fawning interviews with a representative of Hope Not Hate and screen shots of that appalling masthead. (On the authority of Hope Not Hate, TV2 has labeled Jihad Watch a “radical right” website.)

TV2 isn’t alone. In the U.S., MSNBC treated Hope Not Hate’s “report” as gospel. Here’s how MSNBC’s reporter, Kari Huus, began her story about it: “Anti-Islamist groups and individuals like those that inspired Norwegian Anders Berhing Breivik to launch his bloody attacks in Norway last July are growing in number, reach and interconnectedness, according to a new report published in Britain.”

Huus described the “report” as arguing “that the 9-11 attacks by Islamic extremists provided fuel for counter-jihad extremists — themselves provoking violence by individuals like Breivik.” Note Huus’s use of the word extremist to equate, in essence, the jihadists who murdered three thousand people on 9/11 with writers who have simply sought to clarify those jihadists’ ideology....

There is no shortage of hard-Left pseudo-journalist propagandists like Kari Huus, and even though they're in the dominant mainstream, they always must fight an uphill battle, because they're trying to substitute fiction for facts.

Anyway, there is more from Bawer. Read it all.

With Francois Hollande as president, Muslims will be able to import even more Muslims and have even higher social benefits -- that in turn will attract even more Muslims that can (vote for) vote for even more Socialists. 95 percent of Muslims in France vote for the socialists. The socialists' strategy is clear: burden your own countries with weak immigrants from a less civilized culture in order to secure your own reelection. Invite people to our part of the world who have many children and are only able to manage few kinds of jobs, and who will therefore always vote for the Left.

The Danish elections in September 2011 were decided by only 8,483 votes. With at least a hundred thousand Muslim voters in Denmark, of whom 89.1 percent vote for the Left, it is fair to say that Muslim demography put the Danish socialist government in power.

More on the Left's import of Muslim votes: "Muslim demographics: Pull and push factors".

Before reading the bad news from the Washington Times below, take a look at socialist candidate Francois Hollande's music video, which Cheradenine Zakalwe from the excellent blog IslamVersusEurope rightfully presents in this way:

Socialist Candidate: "Vote for me, Niggas in Paris!"

How do you get young non-white people to vote for you when you’re a middle-aged balding white man? François Hollande has the answer.

Take a popular song by two famous US rap stars. Film yourself surrounded by black and Arab voters who say 'big-up'. Change your name to initials only. Get some Final Cut whiz kid to paste it all together with a load of fast-forward and zoom. Set up a YouTube account with the word 'crew' in it.

And upload.

"'Fed up’ French Muslims mobilize to unseat Sarkozy," from the Washington Times, April 19:

"PARIS | France’s Muslim community is mobilizing voters to reject President Nicolas Sarkozy in Sunday’s election to punish the conservative leader for his anti-immigrant and anti-Islam rhetoric.

“[French] Muslims can’t stand it anymore. They are fed up with these debates about national identity, halal meat, the veil or fundamentalism all over the place,” said Francoise Lorcerie, a sociologist with the Institute of Studies on the Arab and Muslim World near Marseille.

“The terms [Islam, immigration and fundamentalism] are being used interchangeably, without care, with people being targeted, denigrated and used for [votes].”

The debates and rhetoric aren’t new and have been at the heart of French political campaigns for the past decade.

Muslims - especially those living in the “banlieues,” France’s poor immigrant suburbs - sometimes have been courted by candidates with promises of jobs and better living conditions, but they mostly have been stigmatized as threats to the French identity, analysts say.

The rhetoric escalated last month after Mohammed Merah, a French-born Muslim who claimed to be inspired by al Qaeda, killed seven people in a shooting spree.

Mr. Sarkozy, of the conservative Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party, called for tightening immigration because there are “too many foreigners” in France.

Marine Le Pen, the presidential candidate of the far-right National Front party, talked about “green fascism” (a reference to the color of Islam) and wondered “how many Mohammed Merahs are arriving on boats and planes each day, filling France with immigrants.”

The speeches infuriated French Muslims and reignited the debate over origins and identity. As Europe’s largest Islamic community, French Muslims account for as much as 10 percent of the country’s 65 million people. ...

Mr. Mechmache says what residents of the banlieues really need are education and jobs, not a fight over Islam: The youth unemployment rate is above 45 percent in some of the neighborhoods.

In November, AC Le Feu launched an initiative to warn candidates about addressing the situation in these districts. It is working with Muslim community groups to get out the “Muslim vote” in the banlieues, which have had nonparticipation rates as high as 50 percent in some elections. ...
Without mentioning any candidate’s name, the association accused some politicians of dividing the nation and “betraying the republican pact” and warned against “those hoping to win or retain power by stoking fear, xenophobia, the rejection of others.” ...

In April 2007, polls found that French Muslims voted mainly for the Socialist presidential candidate: Segolene Royal won 64 percent of their vote, while Mr. Sarkozy got just 1 percent in the first round and 5 percent in the second. ...

For now, French Muslims, like a slim majority of their compatriots, seem to prefer Socialist Francois Hollande: He is the clear front-runner in the runoff on May 6, according to polls.

“Hollande said he will lower rents and bills. That’s what everybody cares about because our salaries aren’t enough to make ends meet,” said Chaker Alain, 28, a Parisian born to French parents of North African descent. “Besides, when you listen to the right-wing speeches, the way they call immigrants and their religion every name, automatically you lean toward the left.

Town Hall on Terror
A Jamie Glazov Production

In its own words, the Muslim Brotherhood is engaged in a “grand Jihad” with the intention of “eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within.” Like it or not, we are in a showdown with evil. But what exactly is the nature of the threat we face and how can we best confront it?

We want YOU to join the discussion. “Town Hall on Terror” is the first in a series of Town Hall meetings sponsored by Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and the David Horowitz Freedom Center, to allow your voice to be heard.

Your host is Jamie Glazov, editor of Frontpagemag.com and author of United in Hate and Showdown with Evil.

The four panelists who will kick off the discussion are:

Nonie Darwish, author of the new book The Devil We Don’t Know
Mark Tapson, Shillman Journalism Fellow at David Horowitz Freedom Center
Bosch Fawstin, creator of the superhero Pigman, the jihadist’s worst nightmare
Dwight Schultz, Hollywood actor and expert on Hollywood and media bias

Tuesday, May 1, 2012
6:30 p.m. Sign in
7p.m. Start of program
Sherman Oaks Woman’s Club
4808 Kester Ave.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403

For purposes of meaningful discussion, there will be limited seating, so RSVP NOW!
It’s your turn to come and be heard!

$20 per person – cash or check at the door
Register by email at RSVP@cjhsla.org
For more information call 818-704-0523

Until now Muslims in the capital of Denmark have managed to squeeze into basements and rented facilities. Islam is growing in Copenhagen, and the local politicians in the Copenhagen municipality -- which has a Socialist mayor -- have agreed to allow the building of four brand new mosques, of which at least one will have minarets.

Now the Diocesan Council of Copenhagen has decided to close 16 churches, because nobody, or hardly anybody, ever attends the sermons. Translated from Danish by Nicolai Sennels, Jyllands-Posten April 19: "16 churches in Copenhagen will be shut down":

The Diocesan Council in Copenhagen has decided to close 16 churches in Copenhagen. It happens after it has emerged that several priests are preaching in empty or almost empty churches on Sundays.

"We had a meeting where we have decided to close 16 churches. It was a unanimous decision," says Inge Lise Pedersen, Chairman of the Board.

In addition to the 16 churches, one more church might be closed as well.

According to the Arabic website Al Shorfa, an al-Qaeda affiliated group in Yemen, called Ansar al-Sharia (or the “Supporters of Sharia Law") beheaded a woman on April 11 for “practicing magic and sorcery.” Members of the group broke into the home of Sharifa Amr—a local healer who used natural herbs to treat sick people—“beheaded her, and then hung her severed head in front of the home of another popular healer in the region, as a warning that he might share her fate.”

The remainder of the report notes how several Yemeni officials condemned the attack—not because it is absurd to murder herbalists-deemed-sorcerers, but because the “Supporters of Sharia” actually contradicted Sharia, at least somewhat.

According to Sheik Jabri Ibrahim, general director of Yemen’s Ministry of Endowments and Guidance, punishing “sorcerers and magicians” can only be performed after “first summoning the magicians to a council with the ulema [Sharia scholars], who are obligated to advise and persuade him, showing him evidence from Sharia that Islam forbids the practice of sorcery and magic.”

But then, if the witchdoctor still refuses to cease and desist practicing the black arts, other legal (i.e., Sharia-endorsed) actions will be taken against him—including, evidently, the maximum penalty, execution. In short, al-Qaeda acted hastily by killing the woman; she should have been given more time and opportunities to repent before being beheaded.

In a sane world, reporters would be approaching "moderate" Muslim leaders and asking them to explain how Zazi is wrong on Islamic grounds, and asking them what programs they have implemented to make sure no one in the mosques or Islamic schools misunderstands Islam in the same way he did. But this is not a sane world. "Qns. trio rushed ‘NYC terror’ plot ‘to shake Obama,’" by Mitchel Maddux and Dan Mangan in the New York Post, April 19 (thanks to Chris):

They wanted to send a bloody message to Barack Obama.

Al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan urged three terrorists-in-training from Queens to rush back to the Big Apple in 2008 and launch suicide bombings to “shake” then-President-elect Obama, the group’s admitted mastermind revealed in court yesterday.

One operative “was saying that they need to send a message to the United States, especially to Obama,” testified subway bomb plotter Najibullah Zazi in Brooklyn federal court at the trial of his alleged co-conspirator, Adis Medunjanin.

“He said, ‘When you go [home] you have to do this in less than two months — build the bomb and do the operation,’ ” Zazi said of his handler’s instructions.

“He just wanted to shake Obama” to remove combat troops from Afghanistan, the admitted jihadist said.

In a “martyrdom” video made before leaving Pakistan, Zazi said he mentioned “that woman gang-raped in Iraq.”

“I said, ‘This is for her,’ ” Zazi recalled, apparently referring to the 2006 rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl by US soldiers.

Zazi and fellow confessed plotter Zarein Ahmedzay admit to traveling to Pakistan with Medunjanin to be trained by al Qaeda after failing to join the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The three jihad-bent pals and their al Qaeda handlers “discussed [bombing] targets that would damage the US economy.”

“I said if it’s about the economy, I know the stock market [the New York Stock Exchange], I work nearby,” Zazi testified.

And Zazi pointed out that mass transit was ripe for an attack because “transportation is the heart of everything in New York City.” The trio later decided on Grand Central Terminal.

“I knew there was going to be three bombs. Three of us would go to different locations,” he said. “I would make the bombs, and we would all be suicide bombers.”...

Zazi admitted on cross-examination by the defense that he didn’t care if women, children, babies or cops were killed during the attack, saying that he believed at the time it was justified “in jihad.”

But he also expressed remorse, saying, “I believe my crimes are very bad. And if God gives me a second chance, I would appreciate it.”

God might; the American justice system shouldn't.

Anyway, he once believed that killing women and children was justified "in jihad," but now he believes that his crimes were "very bad." Has he come to a new understanding of jihad? Or has he discarded jihad and Islam? Or is he just expressing courtroom remorse? Unfortunately, the reporter doesn't follow up.

Just in case you thought the banning of the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist presidential candidates was going to ensure a Sharia-free future for Egypt, this statement from the new leading candidate indicates that Egypt is sliding toward Sharia and Islamic Jew-hatred one way or the other. "Egyptian presidential front-runner promises tougher line on Israel," by Elhanan Miller for the Times of Israel, April 18 (thanks to Benedict):

Egyptian presidential front-runner Amr Moussa pledged to adopt a tougher stance on Israel than his predecessor Hosni Mubarak if elected president next month.

In an 80-page political program released by his office on Wednesday, Moussa dedicates the final chapter to “national security and foreign policy.” Under the article titled “returning to historic, honorable principles in dealing with the Palestinian question as a priority of Egyptian national security,” Moussa writes that Egypt has experienced “years of laxity” in its dealings with Israel.

He adds that “all forms of political, economic and legal support must be given to Palestinians in their struggle for rights.” The Arab Initiative for comprehensive peace with Israel ratified in 2007 will serve as his primary guideline, writes Moussa, with the goal of “solving the conflict rather than managing it.”

Moussa concludes that he will tie development of Egyptian-Israeli relations to “Israel’s level of willingness to end the conflict, step by step and commitment by commitment.”...

Of course. It is always up to the kuffar to make concessions.

Were this a non-Muslim country mocking and celebrating the mass murder of Muslims, the international outcry would be immediate and insistent. But no one cares about this -- despite its multicultural protestations, the multicultural Left actually holds Muslims to a lower standard, revealing itself to be actually guilty of the sins it accuses anti-jihad freedom fighters of committing. "Iranian cartoons mock Holocaust: Tehran marks Holocaust Remembrance Day by running cartoons denying the crimes," by Sam Ser for the Times of Israel, April 18 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

While Israel marks Holocaust Remembrance Day, Iran is playing Holocaust-denying cartoons on public television, Channel 2 News reported on Wednesday night.

The cartoons show Jews fabricating stories about the Nazis’ atrocities and 6 million Jewish deaths, and then exploiting the Holocaust to enrich themselves and displace the Arabs from Palestine....

The South's declaration of independence from the pro-Sharia, Islamic supremacist North always did seem too good to be true: it seemed inconceivable that the jihadis of the North would allow the kuffar to go in peace. And so here we are.

"Sudan President Declares War On South Sudan," from Ya Libnan, April 19 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, Thursday declared war on South Sudan, vowing to topple its government.

The move comes after Sudan’s parliament passed a resolution branding South Sudan’s ruling party an enemy that “must be fought until it is defeated.”

Sudan and South Sudan are embroiled in the worst clashes along their poorly defined border since the secession of the South last summer. The United Nations Security Council is considering sanctions on both countries in an attempt to end the violence, and demanded South Sudanese forces withdraw from their occupation of the 60,000-barrels-a-day oil field Heglig oil field. Both countries continue to ignore calls to end the fighting.

On a visit Thursday to the oil-rich, restive border state of South Kordofan, Bashir rallied his troops, which are now engaged on three fronts with South Sudan.

“Heglig isn’t the end, it is the beginning, and we shall go all the way to [South Sudanese capital] Juba,” Bashir told a rally.

South Sudan’s army spokesman, Col. Philip Aguer, dismissed Bashir’s threat, saying that the South’s army would keep Sudan’s aggression at bay.

“If they didn’t defeat us when we were a green army, how will they defeat us now,” he said....

Bashir accuses the South of implementing the agenda of foreign countries which backed its secession bid, at the expense of its own people....

Good luck. A Constitution incorporating or at least favorable toward Sharia provisions requiring second-class status for non-Muslims is much more likely in today's Turkey. "Turkish minorities: We want a constitution that embraces us all," by Alİ Aslan Kılıç in Today's Zaman, April 16 (thanks to AINA):

A parliamentary commission has received the representatives of some minority groups, including Catholics and Romas, to hear their suggestions for the new constitution currently being drafted. The representatives said their biggest problem is a lack of acknowledgment.

With the parliamentary Constitutional Reconciliation Commission, which has been assigned the task of drafting the text of a new constitution for Turkey, hearing from various segments of Turkish society, representatives from Turkey’s Council of Catholic Bishops, the Ülkü Ocakları Education and Culture Foundation -- Ülkü Ocakları is a youth organization of the far-right political front -- the Human Rights Association (İHD) and the Roma Association were received by the commission on Monday so they could make suggestions regarding the new constitution.

Expressing his contentment after the meeting, Monsignor Ruggero Franceschini, the president of the Council of Catholic Bishops, said it was sincere and friendly. Franceschini said they talked about the biggest problems minorities in Turkey face: “All of us expressed our views as to how to resolve the problems of all religious groups. Our biggest problem is the issue of receiving acknowledgment. Other Catholic churches carry out their services with the help of associations; but we, Roman Catholics, cannot even repair our churches. We can’t properly administer our properties. I am an Italian, and I think that historical churches are the richness of all humanity, not only of the people belonging to that church.”

Syriac Catholic church leader Chor Episcopus Yusuf Sağ noted that the fact that they were invited by the commission to contribute to the new constitution’s formation process is proof of how pro-liberty the new constitution will be. He added: “We hope the new constitution will highlight freedoms. We want a constitution that accepts and embraces everyone like a mother. We don’t have expectations different from those of Muslim Turks. As Syriacs that have been living on this land for 4,500 years, we expect to receive the same rights as Muslim Turks.”...

But remember: to speak out against the words of Ayatollah Javadi-Amoli, and to uphold the dignity of every human person, would be "Islamophobic"!

"Homosexuals are inferior to dogs and pigs, says Iranian cleric," by Saeed Kamali Dehghan in The Guardian, April 18 (thanks to all who sent this in):

An influential Iranian cleric who is entitled to issue juristic rulings according to the Sharia law, has condemned western lawmakers involved in the decriminalisation of homosexuality, saying those politicians are lower than animals.

Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi-Amoli, an Islamic scholar based in Iran's holy city of Qom, said in a speech among his followers that homosexuals are inferior to dogs and pigs, according to the news website Khabaronline.

"If a society commits a new sin, it will face a new punishment," he said while interpreting Qur'anic verses about prophet Lot whose tribe Isalmic [sic] scholars say was punished by God for sodomy. "Problems like Aids did not exist before."

Citing the Qur'an, Javadi-Amoli said politicians who pass laws in favour of homosexuals are lower than animals. "Even animals ... dogs and pigs don't engage in this disgusting act [homosexuality] but yet they [western politicians] pass laws in favour of them in their parliaments."

Homosexuality is punishable by death according to fatwas issued by almost all Iranian clerics. Until recently, Lavat (sodomy for men) was punishable by death for all individuals involved in consensual sexual intercourse.

But under new amendments approved recently in the Iranian parliament the person who played an active role will be flogged 100 times if the sex was consensual and he was not married, but the one who played a passive role will still be put to death regardless of his marriage status....

Whether Mubarak's regime will be able to stave off the will of the people indefinitely remains to be seen -- and it is clear to any objective observer that the people of Egypt largely want Sharia. "Disqualified Islamist candidate: Egypt army wants to keep power," from Reuters, April 18:

The Muslim Brotherhood's candidate who was disqualified from Egypt's first presidential race since Hosni Mubarak was ousted said on Wednesday his ejection was a "crime" that showed the ruling army was not serious about handing power to civilians.

"Mubarak's regime is still ruling even if names have changed," Khairat al-Shater, a millionaire businessman and top Brotherhood official, said a day after an election committee barred him from the race because of a criminal conviction during Mubarak's rule when the group was banned.

The committee also disqualified a popular ultra-conservative Islamist and Mubarak's former spy chief, Omar Suleiman.

The developments add to the turbulence of a transition to democracy that has been punctuated by spasms of violence and political rivalries between once-banned Islamists, secular-minded reformists and remnants of the Mubarak order that was overthrown in last year's popular uprising.

Shater called for a protest on Friday in Tahrir Square, the focus of the anti-Mubarak uprising, adding to tensions ahead of the first round of the presidential vote on May 23-24.

"We are going to head to Tahrir on Friday because the revolution is being hijacked ... We have to wake up because there is an attempt to hijack the revolution," Shater told a news conference.

"The military council does not have the serious intention to transfer power," he said....

Be sure to register for our Jessica Mokdad Human Rights Conference on honor killings on April 29th in Dearborn, Michigan. Register here.

There will be more and more honor killings in the West until Western authorities have the courage to address its root causes, but that day may never come, but Islamic teaching contains a justification for the practice, and no one dares speak against something that is taught in Islam.

It is no accident or coincidence that Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

And here the killer got 17 years. 17 years for a brutal premeditated murder? Why not life in prison, at very least? Only because he showed remorse? I am sure his performance was Oscar-worthy, but there is an issue of justice involved.

Switzerland seems to be becoming like Muslim polities that lessen penalties for honor killings. The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

"Father gets 17 years for killing daughter with axe," from The Local, April 18:

The 53-year-old Pakistani man who killed his 16-year-old daughter, Swera, at their home in Zurich-Höngg in 2010 has been sentenced to 17 years imprisonment.

The Zurich District Court found the father guilty of murder, and concluded that although it had not been an honour killing in the sense most commonly understood, the man had killed his daughter “to get out of a humiliating situation and to restore his honour”.

The court stated that the father, referred to as Scheragha R, had used “really excessive violence” and that he had killed his teenaged daughter with “reckless brutality”, newspaper Tages Anzieger reported.

The court listened as the defence lawyer, Matthias Brunner, described a man who had reached the end of his tether, both physically and emotionally, having been particularly burdened by his two younger daughters’ psychological, behavioural and developmental problems.

The discovery that his favourite eldest daughter wanted to move out of the home finally destroyed the family ideal he had held and sent him over the edge, Brunner said.

But the prosecution, represented by Ulrich Krättli, went in hard and asserted that the father “had downright massacred his daughter”.

The court found that the brutality was such that Scheragha R deserved a life-sentence, although this was partially reduced because the 53-year-old had confessed to the murder and demonstrated feelings of remorse.

Each of the remaining children will receive between 12,000 and 15,000 francs in compensation for suffering.

From whom?

The murder took place on May 10th 2010, not long after 16-year-old Swera had been picked up at a Zurich police station by her parents. She had been caught stealing cigarettes.

It was the first time the girl had seen her father for two weeks: she had run away after her father had allegedly tried to electrocute her by throwing a hairdryer into the bath, online news site 20 Minuten reported.

Once back at their apartment Swera said she wanted to leave home permanently and started to pack a bag. She then went down to the basement of the building to get a pair of shoes. While she was gone, her father allegedly retrieved an axe from the balcony and hid it in the bedroom he shared with his wife.

Once she was back in the apartment, the girl went into her parents' bedroom to pick up some of her belongings. When she bent down to retrieve some items from the wardrobe, her father hit her with the axe on the back of the head, the prosecutor says. The man struck his daughter 19 times with the axe: 12 times with the blade and seven with the blunt end.

The teenager did not die instantly, but lay on the ground in agonizing pain for several minutes until her life finally slipped away.

After washing his hands, Scheragha R left the apartment and called his wife to say he had killed his daughter. Fifteen minutes later, he called the police, who arrested him shortly after near his apartment.

Apparently the heroin sales aren't bringing in all they need. "Taliban post on-line request for donations," from AGI, April 18 (thanks to C. Cantoni):

(AGI) Kabul - The Taliban have posted a modern on-line an appeal to the Muslim world, requesting donations to finance their Holy War, jihad, against the "infidel invaders". The message includes various toll-free numbers and email addresses so as to make things easier for "benefactors." "According to Shari' a, all Muslims everywhere have the duty to unite in jihad with money and with the spirit" says the request. "The Taliban are still carrying out their legitimate jihad alone and with no support, only the help of ordinary and honest believers of Islam and we urgently need financial aid from Muslim brothers all over the world for military and other expenses." . .

Yes, a few smiling Muslims will make the West forget all about the activities of Muslims such as Naser Abdo, the would-be second Fort Hood jihad mass murderer; and Khalid Aldawsari, the would-be jihad mass murderer in Lubbock, Texas; and Muhammad Hussain, the would-be jihad bomber in Baltimore; and Mohamed Mohamud, the would-be jihad bomber in Portland; and Faisal Shahzad, the would-be Times Square jihad mass-murderer; and Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, the Arkansas military recruiting station jihad murderer; and Naveed Haq, the jihad mass murderer at the Jewish Community Center in Seattle; and Mohammed Reza Taheri-Azar, the would-be jihad mass murderer in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Ahmed Ferhani and Mohamed Mamdouh, who hatched a jihad plot to blow up a Manhattan synagogue; and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the would-be Christmas airplane jihad bomber; and many others like them who have plotted and/or committed mass murder in the name of Islam and motivated by its texts and teachings -- all in the U.S. in the last couple of years.

No amount of propaganda, however skillful, will paper over that. However, a lot of people will indeed be fooled, just as they are now. "OIC will launch channel to counter Islamophobia," by Yusuf Jameel for the Deccan Chronicle, April 18:

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will soon launch a satellite television channel to be named as “OIC” to counter Islamophobia, the prejudice against and hatred or irrational fear of Islam or Muslims.

Though the term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, it came into common usage mainly in the West after the 9/11 terror strikes in the United States. The 57-member group of Islamic nations is also planning to establish an “OIC Muslim Journalists Union”....

What? Not that hateful mass-murdering wannabe Spencer? "Norway killer Anders Behring Breivik trial: day two live," from the Telegraph, April 18 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

The questioning resumes. What was the greatest influence on Breivik's ideology? What was the main source for his worldview? His answer is emphatic: "Wikipedia".

When will we hear that Wikipedia has the blood of innocent Norwegian children on its hands? Answer: never. It doesn't fit the mainstream media objective of demonizing and marginalizing those who are fighting for human rights against Sharia.

Meanwhile, the more Breivik speaks, the more unstable and incoherent he appears, and the more unseemly is the rush to blame counter-jihadists for his evil deeds. No one is responsible for his heinous crimes but himself. Those who are trying to use him to demonize and silence those who are fighting for freedom of speech and equality of rights for all people, however, will have a great deal to answer for when the last lights of freedom are extinguished in the West.

Muslim claims that eminent Western figures—whether William Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, or Leonardo Da Vinci—were Muslim believers are as frequent as they are unfounded.

Here is yet another attempt: During an interview on Arabic TV, a Shia Muslim cleric, apparently in the context of discussing how Islam (supposedly) came to America before Christopher Columbus, tried to prove his claim by pointing to California. After presenting the U.S. state as “the most important in America,” he referred to “its most important city,” which according to him is San Jose. He then proceeded to offer the etymology of the city's name. He correctly explained that “San” means “saint”; but then the lunacy began: according to the cleric, “Jose” (pronounced ho-zay) is the Latin word and pronunciation for one of Shia Islam’s most important figures, “Hussein.”

He triumphantly concluded, “You see, San Jose is really Saint Hussein!”—all while the host interviewing him mused in wonder, sighing “Oh Allah!” The cleric then asked, “Now how did Imam Hussein get to California? See, these are the matters that need investigating.”

Of course, as millions of people known, "Jose" is Spanish for Joseph, as in “Saint Joseph.” But such blatant facts are irrelevant for those in need of constant validation.

Breivik says he was inspired by al-Qaeda. All you sick Islamic supremacists and Leftists who blamed me for him can leave your apologies in the comments field below.

"Anders Behring Breivik: Was inspired by al-Qaida, would do killing spree again (with video)," by Nina Larson for AFP April 17:

OSLO — The gunman behind the Norway massacres said he was inspired by al-Qaida as he took the stand Tuesday at his trial, after a judge who called for him to face the death penalty was dismissed.

Rightwing extremist Anders Behring Breivik said his attacks last year were aimed at defending "ethnic Norwegians" from rising multiculturalism, and that he "would have done it again."

Insisting "universal human rights" gave him the mandate to carry out his acts, he described himself as a "militant nationalist" and, using the pronoun 'we' to suggest he was part of a larger group, added: "We have drawn from al-Qaida and militant Islamists."

"You can see al-Qaida as the most successful militant group in the world," Breivik told the court during questioning on the second day of the trial.

Granted clearance earlier to address the court with a prepared text, Breivik described his killing of 77 people on July 22 last year as a "preventive" attack to avoid a European culture war with Muslims.

After describing Christians as "a persecuted minority," the 33-year-old asked the court to acquit him while making clear he had no remorse over the bomb attack in central Oslo and shooting spree on a nearby island.

Breivik said that spending his life in prison or dying for his people would be "the biggest honour."...

Clearly this individual is insane. And just as clearly, he has absolutely nothing to do with the counter-jihad struggle for equal justice and the human rights of all people.

Remember the explanation the New York Times gave to Pamela Geller for why it refused to publish our "It's Time to Quit Islam" after it had published a "It's Time to Quit the Catholic Church" ad just days before? That's right: they said our ad "could put U.S. troops and/or civilians in the [Afghan] region in danger."

Yet this New York Times story contains a link to a Los Angeles Times story that includes photos (complete with facial images and name tags) that are sure to put U.S. troops and/or civilians in the Afghan region in danger." Once again, the Leftist media is arrogant, hypocritical, and self-contradictory -- not to mention fanatically opposed to the defense and safety of the United States (which is not to say that our national security is being protected by the fool's errand in Afghanistan).

Jihad Watch reader David comments on the photos: "I have a different explanation for these abuses: When you put inexperienced young men and women in the psychologically traumatic situation of repeated extended overseas deployments and combat and you explain their mission to them in a way that is incoherent and incomprehensible, this is what happens. At some point they can't take it anymore, they break. This is the result of the horrible, pointless abuse of our armed forces by politicians who have no concept of the stress these men and women are under."

"Photos Show U.S. Soldiers Posed With Afghan Body Parts," by Graham Bowley and Alissa J. Rubin in the New York Times, April 18 (thanks to David):

KABUL — Photographs apparently showing United States soldiers posing with body parts of a dead insurgent drew strong condemnation on Wednesday from American officials including Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and the commander of international forces in Afghanistan.

The Los Angeles Times published on the front page of its early editions a photograph of what it described as a soldier from the Army’s 82nd Airborne with a dead insurgent’s hand on his shoulder. It said it was one of 18 photographs of soldiers posing with the corpses of insurgent fighters given to the newspaper by a soldier who served in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne’s 4th Brigade Combat Team from Fort Bragg, N.C. The paper said the Afghan died planting a bomb, citing police.

The story was later posted to the paper’s Web site with another photograph of soldiers posing with dismembered legs held upright by ropes.

The photographs were believed to have been taken in 2010, according to a spokeswoman for international forces in Afghanistan. She said it was not yet clear where the photographs had been taken, the number of service personnel involved nor whether they were still serving in the U.S. military.

According to the newspaper, the photographs were taken in Zabul Province in 2010. Zabul is in the south of the country and is one of Afghanistan poorest provinces where the Taliban has a strong presence.

The story said in one photograph two soldiers posed holding a dead man’s hand with the middle finger raised....

Mr. Panetta said in an emailed statement that the photographs did not represent the “professionalism of the vast majority of U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan today.” He also voiced displeasure at the newspaper for publishing the images, saying he was “disappointed that despite our request not to publish these photographs, the Los Angeles Times went ahead.”

Gen. John R. Allen, the senior allied commander in Afghanistan, condemned the actions apparently depicted in the photographs. "The actions of the individuals photographed do not represent the policies of ISAF or the U.S. Army,” he said in a statement, referring to the NATO coalition in Afghanistan. “This behavior and these images are entirely inconsistent with the values of ISAF and all service members of the fifty ISAF countries serving in Afghanistan.”

Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker also said in a statement: “The U.S. Embassy strongly condemns the actions depicted in photos recently made public, which appear to show members of the U.S. military committing disrespectful acts with the bodies of insurgents, killed in their own suicide attacks in 2010.” He said such actions were “morally repugnant, dishonor the sacrifices of hundreds of thousands of U.S. soldiers and civilians who have served with distinction in Afghanistan, and do not represent the core values of the United States or our military.”

General Allen said the military would collaborate with Afghan authorities to investigate the photographs.

The strongly worded statements seemed to be in part an attempt to head off reaction in Afghanistan to the photographs. The photograph — along with a story under the headline “U.S. troops posed with body parts of Afghan bombers” — showed a young soldier posing with what seemed to be a hand on his right shoulder. What appears to be the body of a dead insurgent lies in the background.

Nadir Nadiry, an Afghan human rights activist in Kabul, said Afghans would likely react negatively...

No kidding, really?

This is without a doubt the most entertaining and thought-provoking debate challenge ever. If you only watch one video out of all those I have posted, make it this one. Wood's description of how Islamic supremacists generally respond to intellectual challenges is as dead-on as it is entertaining. Islamic supremacists generally tend to be arrogant, chest-thumping, empty-headed clowns who, in response to debate challenges from me, hurl adolescent insults and find a way to duck the debate altogether. The real reason why, of course, is that they know they'd get demolished, but they claim it's because I'm so hateful or stupid or greasy or whatever that they will not dignify me with a debate -- instead, they just try to get me shut down altogether.

The field of cowardly creeps who have refused to debate me, ignored my challenge, or weaseled out of it in some other way includes such "luminaries" as Suhail Khan, Reza Aslan, Caner K. Dagli, "Danios of Loonwatch," Ahmed Rehab, Omid Safi, and many others.

So David Wood will do their work for them. We will meet up after the Jessica Mokdad Conference on Honor Killing, for which you can still register. It will be held on April 29 in Dearborn, Michigan. Register here.

And you can get the book we're debating about, Did Muhammad Exist?, here.

Four Muslim Swedish citizens are charged for planning terror against Jyllands-Posten -- famous for publishing the Muhammed cartoons: Charges 'imminent' for Swedish terror suspects (5 Dec 11), Suspects planned to 'kill as many as possible' (2 Mar 12), 'Secret judges' in Danish terror case: Swede's rep (8 Apr 12), Swedish terror suspects plead 'not guilty' (13 Apr 12).

Translated from Danish by Nicolai Sennels, Politiken April 17: "Suspected terrorist: I came to Copenhagen to look at your famous fireworks"

The 46-year-old accused, MD, explained in court today that he arrived in Copenhagen at the end of December 2010 to celebrate the New Year.

"It was mostly for the fireworks. Your fireworks in Denmark is very famous. I would walk the streets and meet people. I would go to bars. You do not drink when you go out," said MD in court in the city of Glostrup.

MD is -- along with three other men -- accused of planning a terrorist attack against Jyllands-Posten / Politiken Hus in December 2010 as revenge for the publication of the Muhammad cartoons.

The explanation came when the prosecutor Gyrith Ulrich asked MD to explain his trip from Stockholm to Copenhagen. In the car were also OA and MA, both indicted in the case.

MD explained that he knew that OA and MA came to visit some mosques and meet people in Copenhagen.

The car the men drove in was rented until the fourth of January. The prosecutor wanted to know why MD had so few clothes with him when he was planning to be away for 6 to 9 days.

MD replied: "Is it not possible to buy clothes in Denmark? I always do."

In addition the prosecutor noted, "It's a little expensive in the long run."

"It might be to some, but that is how I normally travel. I have done so for all my life since I was 15," said MD.

MD and the other defendants were arrested on December 29, 2010, as police stormed an apartment in the city of Roskilde, where the men slept.

The prosecutor explained that a machine gun was found in MD's backpack, and that a gun was crammed in between the mattresses that he was sleeping on.

MD explained that he had been living a criminal life in Stockholm, and that there was always somebody who was threatening him.

MD further explained that the machine gun was broken and was to be repaired in Copenhagen, where his machine gun repairman "MISHU" is.

"We were going to meet at a train station on January 3rd. He would have the machine gun and he would repair it. If he sold it, it was fine, I would then get the money back," MD explained in court today.

MD was also questioned in court yesterday. He explained that in November 2008 he left his wife and their child, and his wife's sister -- whom he also had a child with -- and a mistress to live a life as a drug smuggler between Turkey and Iran.

MD also explained that he traveled in a number of countries, while he supported himself as clothing and carpet trader, dishwasher and other odd jobs. It gave him the opportunity to save up. In sum, he seems to have saved 20,000 USD.

This corresponds to the amount that was found by police along with the guns in the apartment in Herlev on December 29, 2010.

According to the Danish Police Intelligence Service (PET), the men planned to carry out an attack against Jyllands-Posten at the Town Hall Square in Copenhagen.

Recently the United Arab Emirates imprisoned six Islamic supramacists because they had refused to seek alternative citizenship after the UAE had revoked their status as citizens. The six Muslims were asked to leave their former country because they are considered a threat to national security.

People should not be citizens of the country they wage war against. Nor should those who preach or teach terror. After having served their sentence, they should not enjoy membership in the society they tried to destroy, but should be expelled without the possibility to return.

Depending on the definition of terrorism, such laws could be very relevant, should Muslim-dominated areas inside our countries create physical fronts and show violent and persistent hostility towards the state. Whoever does not voluntarily leave such violent self-declared autonomous areas when asked to do so by the authorities could be considered a terrorist with the aim of using violence and threats in order to remove the rule of law in parts of the country, provoke a state of terror in the general public to obtain religious or political goals, or even achieve some degree of secession.

Considering the speed of how violent hostility towards non-Islamic authorities and non-Muslims in general grows in thousands of Europe's Islamic ghettos, we are witnessing what could be a prelude to the no-longer-so-unthinkable: the illegal borders, guerrilla warfare, terror and kidnappings that have always characterized the borders between the Houses of Submission and Jihad -- Sharia Land and the infidels.

Confronted with an organised attack -- whether staged by lone wolves, groups or whole city blocks -- with the aim of destabilizing or destroying our countries, citizenship should no longer be unconditional.

Endnote: related articles of mine "Integration, immigration and Islam-related problems: 23 suggestions for laws" and "What is Islamization? An incomplete list."

Many Muslim callers called in and confronted Nonie -- quite a show.

Tune in to the Jamie Glazov Show that aired live on Tuesday, April 17 from 8-9 pm Pacific (11-12 pm EST) on Blog Talk Radio. This week’s guest was Nonie Darwish, the author of the new book, The Devil We Don’t Know: The Dark Side of Revolutions in the Middle East.

To listen to the program, click here.

Or go to: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/radio-jihad/2012/04/18/the-jamie-glazov-show

Phone-in # is (347) 857-1380.

Unclear on the concept

Give him the hundred bucks and let him go. With any luck, he will become a Taliban trainer. As long as our fool's errand in Afghanistan continues, we can at least hope that Mohammad Ashan becomes a key Taliban leader. "Taliban commander turns self in... for reward on ‘Wanted’ poster," by Kevin Sieff for the Washington Post, April 17 (thanks to Maxwell):

Sometimes, capturing a Taliban commander requires vast resources and complex operations. Last week in eastern Afghanistan, it required neither. The wanted poster for Mohammad Ashan.

Mohammad Ashan, a mid-level Taliban commander in Paktika province, strolled toward a police checkpoint in the district of Sar Howza with a wanted poster bearing his own face. He demanded the finder’s fee referenced on the poster: $100.

Afghan officials, perplexed by the man’s misguided motives, arrested him on the spot. Ashan is suspected of plotting at least two attacks on Afghan security forces. His misdeeds prompted officials to plaster the district with hundreds of so-called “Be on the Lookout” posters emblazoned with his name and likeness.

When U.S. troops went to confirm that Ashan had in fact come forward to claim the finder’s fee, they were initially incredulous.

“We asked him, ‘Is this you?’ Mohammad Ashan answered with an incredible amount of enthusiasm, ‘Yes, yes, that’s me! Can I get my award now?’” recalled SPC Matthew Baker.

A biometric scan confirmed that the man in Afghan custody was the insurgent they had been looking for.

“This guy is the Taliban equivalent of the ‘Home Alone” burglars,” one U.S. official said....

Those dastardly anti-jihad extremists!

"Pakistan school grenade attack kills 6 year old boy," by Shaan Khan for CNN, April 16 (thanks to Kenneth):

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- A suspected militant tossed a hand grenade into a school in northwest Pakistan, killing one child and wounding two others Monday, police said.

The attack took place at a co-educational school on the outskirts of Peshawar, said police official Tahir Ayub.

A 6-year-old boy succumbed to his injuries from the blast while two second graders were in serious condition, Ayub said....

No group immediately claimed responsibility but "this seems to be the work of militants," Ayub said.

No kidding, Ayub? Wow! What kind? Islamophobes, I guess, eh?

Hitler would be so pleased. "Arab seller of Hebron house said sentenced to death," from the JTA, April 16 (thanks to David):

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Jewish leaders in Hebron have called for international intervention to help the Palestinian man sentenced to death for selling a home near the Cave of the Patriarchs to Jews.

A letter on behalf of Muhammad Abu Shahala, a former intelligence agent for the Palestinian Authority, was signed by Hebron Jewish community leaders David Wilder and Noam Arnon, and addressed to, among others, the secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon; U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; the president of the European Council of the European Union, Herman Van Rompuy; and the director general of the International Red Cross, Yves Daccord, among others.

Shahala reportedly was sentenced to death for his part in selling what has become known as Beit Hamachpela (the Machpela House) to a group of Jews. He reportedly confessed to the sale after torture and was subject to a rushed trial, according to Arutz-7, which cited various news agencies. Palestinian officials said Shahala was not authorized to sell the home.

The death warrant still must be signed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to reports.

“It is appalling to think that property sales should be defined as a ‘capital crime’ punishable by death,” the Jewish leaders write in their letter. ” The very fact that such a ‘law’ exists within the framework of the PA legal system points to a barbaric and perverse type of justice, reminiscent of practices implemented during the dark ages.

“What would be the reaction to a law in the United States, England, France, or Switzerland, forbidding property sales to Jews? Actually, less than one hundred years ago, such acts were legislated and practiced, known as the infamous ‘Nuremberg laws.”...

I hope they were. I hope that in 1997 the U.S. and Israel had a clear enough realization of what the triumph of Sharia would have meant in Turkey that they took steps to prevent it. Certainly they're doing nothing, or nothing effective, now to stop Turkey's re-Islamization.

"US, Israel behind Feb. 28 coup d'état, claims Çandar," from Today's Zaman, April 16 (thanks to Joshua):

A veteran journalist who suffered greatly during the Feb. 28, 1997 coup d'état after newspapers -- under orders from the coup generals -- manufactured false news stories about him, claiming that he was being paid by the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has alleged that both the US and Israel supported the coup.

In an interview with the Taraf daily on Monday, journalist Cengiz Çandar, who was a target of the Feb. 28 generals along with several other journalists, said that in addition to the media, employee unions, some professional unions and businesses supported the intervention, but that the US and Israel were also involved.

“The US did not support a direct intervention, but supported Feb. 28,” which was an unarmed intervention that forced the government to resign after a National Security Council (MGK) dominated by the military issued a series of threatening resolutions. Çandar said he was an eyewitness to US involvement in the Feb. 28 project.

“I was in the US in 1999 and 2000. I was co-authoring a book about Turkey. We had meetings with the other writers of the book. The editor was former US Ambassador to Ankara Morton Abramowitz. Alan Makovsky, the head of the Turkey department of the Washington Institute, a think tank of the Israeli lobby in the US, frequently came to Ankara and visited the General Staff. At the meeting of the writers working on the book on Turkey, he asked me why I wasn't at the meeting “on the seventh floor.”

I was really curious. It turned out there was a meeting called by then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on the seventh floor of the US State Department building on March 12, 1997, about Turkey. The meeting was held two weeks after the MGK meeting of Feb. 28. Recall that the Refah-Yol government stepped down in June.

Bernard Lewis, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle -- they were all in that meeting. They talked about what to do about Turkey. The general trend in the meeting was that “this government should go without a direct intervention.”...

"Editor's note: On April 13, Lars Hedegaard, President of the Danish Free Press Society, appealed to Denmark's Supreme Court overturn his conviction by Denmark's Superior Court on May 3, 2011, after two years in lower courts, on charges of alleged Hate Speech. Under Denmark's Article 266(b), it is immaterial if what one says is true; evidence to support of the truth is inadmissable. All that matters is if someone has said somethiing in public that might cause someone to "feel offended," or if the prosecutor thinks someone might be justified in "feeling offended." After Mr. Hedegaard spoke privately about the Muslim treatment of women, a tape of his remarks was disseminated, apparently without his knowledge or approval. The accuracy of what he said was not in dispute. A verdict is expected this week."

"Response to Charges of Hate Speech," by Lars Hedegaard. From the Gatestone Institute, April 16 (thanks to David):

"The price that we all have to pay for this freedom is is that others have a right to criticize our politics, our religion and our culture."

Honourable Supreme Court,

My attorney has presented juridical arguments to the effect that I must be acquitted and I shall refrain from elaborating.

However, allow me to express my quiet bafflement that somebody can claim that it has been my intention to accuse every last Muslim father in the world of abusing his children – particularly in light of the fact that I have carefully explained that it was never my intention to disseminate such an absurd contention.

For precisely that reason, I would have welcomed an opportunity to review the statements I now stand accused of having uttered before they were placed on the Internet. If the interviewer had fulfilled this basic journalistic obligation, I would have demanded that my remarks be corrected so as to reflect my true opinions and the prosecutor could have saved the trouble of dragging me through the courts.

I am even more baffled at one of the claims about my person that has been circulated in connection with this case, namely that I am a racist. I have never been, I am not now and I shall never be a racist. On the contrary, all my life I have opposed racist attitudes, by which I mean hatred towards and denigrating speech about people due their descent, skin colour or other so-called racial characteristics – in other words, antipathy against or ill treatment of people due to circumstances over which they have no control.

Islam is not a race and therefore criticism of Islam cannot be racism.

Islam, which lurks behind this entire case, has been described from a variety of viewpoints. Some say that it is a religion, others that is an all-encompassing ideology that contains a religion, still others emphasise its cultural norms, its culturally transmitted customs and practices. Some even maintain that Islam is so multifaceted that it is impossible to describe it.

But regardless of one's approach, it must be clear that Islam is not a hereditary human attribute.

If our Western freedom means anything at all, we must insist that every grown-up person is responsible for his or her beliefs, opinions, culture, habits and actions.

We enjoy political freedom and we enjoy freedom of religion. This implies a largely unlimited right to disseminate one's political persuasion and religious beliefs. That is as it should be. But the price we all have to pay for this freedom is that others have a right to criticise our politics, our religion and our culture.

Islamic spokesmen have the freedom to advocate their concept of society, which implies the introduction of a theocracy governed by god-given laws, i.e. sharia, the abolition of man-made laws and by implication freedom of expression and democracy. They are free to think that women are inferior to men as concerns their rights and their pursuit of happiness. They are even entitled to disseminate such opinions.

I cannot recall a single instance in this country where an Islamic spokesman has been prosecuted for saying that, of course, sharia will become the law of the land once the demographic and political realities make it possible. This despite the fact that we have several examples of, e.g., imams who have openly declared that the imposition of theocracy is a religious duty incumbent on all believers.

In return, these theocrats and sharia-advocates must accept the right of those who believe in democracy, free institutions and human equality to criticise Islam and to oppose its dissemination and the atavistic cultural norms practiced by some Muslims.

It is this right – I would even say duty – to describe, criticise and oppose a totalitarian ideology that I have tried to exercise to the best of my ability.

My speech and my writings have had no other purpose than to alert my fellow citizens to the danger inherent in the Islamic concept of the state and the law.

I have made no secret of the fact that I consider this fight for our liberties to be the most important political struggle of our time.

I would not be able to live with my guilty conscience if – out of fear of public condemnation and ridicule – I refrained from telling the truth as I see it.

And regardless of the outcome of this trial, I intend to continue my struggle for free speech and against totalitarian concepts of any stripe.

Everywhere in the world it is the same: demands for "rights," leading to an increasingly separate cultural and political identity, demands for accommodation of Sharia, and inevitably, increasing conflict.

"Muslims demand separate identity in new constitution," from the Himalayan News Service, April 16 (thanks to Twostellas):

NEPALGUNJ: Muslim priests today announced protest programmes demanding constitutional identity and ensuring their rights in the new statute.

In a press meet, Maulan Jabbar Manjari, central vice chairman, Nepal Itihad Sangh and Muslim Priests, said that people of Muslim community from all the political parties have agreed to detach the Muslim community from the Madhesi list.

The Muslim community have demanded not to incorporate them in Madhesi community under any condition.

Similarly, the national chairman of Nepal Madrassa Council, Maulan Mansur Arafi demanded the Muslim community should be enlisted in a separate list in the new constitution, adding, “We should have separate constitutional identity and all Muslim organisations are united in their demand.”

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Federation of Madrassa Islamic Mutafi Liyakat Ali Khan warned that their protest would continue until the CA ensured the constitutional identity to the Muslim community.

Former central member of Federation of Nepalese Journalists, Mohammad Harun Maulan said that all Muslims will take part in the protest programme, adding, “Our protest will end only after achieving our goals.”

Maulan Kalim, chairman, Madarasha Islamiya Association, Banke, opined that it is worthless to talk about other things until their identity is ensured in the new constitution.

Bajruduja Khan, district secretary, Madheshi Janadhikar Forum, opined that there should be representation of the Muslim people on the basis of the population as the population of Muslim people is high in Madhes region.

The Muslim community has announced various protest programmes starting from April 20 to April 26 across the nation. They have also warned of intensifying their protest if their demands were not addressed at the earliest.

Why did he deny that request? Do those notes contain something that will reveal Obama and the other officials discussing how Hasan's jihadist motivations must never be discussed, and covered up in ever possible way?

"Judge considers delaying Ft. Hood shooting trial," from AP, April 11 (thanks to Kenneth):

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — A military judge on Tuesday said he would consider postponing until October the trial of the Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly Fort Hood shooting rampage.

Maj. Nidal Hasan’s attorneys asked that the trial be delayed from June until October, saying they needed more time to review the large volumes of evidence in the case. The judge, Col. Gregory Gross, previously delayed the court-martial from March until June. It’s unclear when he will decide on the defense’s second request for a postponement.

Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. He faces the death penalty if convicted in the November 2009 shootings on the Texas Army post....

Gross also denied a defense request to force prosecutors to provide notes from meetings and conversations with President Barack Obama, the defense secretary and other high-ranking government officials after the Nov. 5, 2009, shootings. Defense attorneys have said they want to determine if anything was discussed that may have unlawfully influenced Hasan’s chain of command to prosecute him....

Unlawfully influenced them to prosecute him? Was it ever a possibility that he would not be prosecuted for murdering 13 Americans in an Islamic jihad attack?

They were "within days of carrying out this attack." Will the Islamophobia never end?

Here is some useful background on this story.

"Trial opens for alleged New York bomb plotter," by Sebastian Smith for AFP, April 16 (thanks to David):

NEW YORK — The high-profile trial began of a man accused of being part of a New York trio that was only "days" from launching suicide bombs in the city's crowded subway to take revenge for the US war in Afghanistan.

The trial in Brooklyn features New York immigrant Muslims who became radicalized in the feverish post-9/11 atmosphere and allegedly became homegrown terrorists with a plan to cause carnage in America's biggest city.

Federal prosecutor James Loonam opened by pointing across the courtroom at defendant Adis Medunjanin, 27, and calling him an Al-Qaeda "terrorist."

Loonam detailed how in September 2009 Medunjanin, along with two former New York high school friends, put final touches on a plan to bomb either the subway, Times Square, or another packed location.

"Three men were prepared to strap bombs to their bodies and walk into crowded New York subway cars that were filled with innocent people," Loonam said. "These men came so close, within days of carrying out this attack, before they were stopped."

Gesturing at Medunjanin, who wore a suit, the prosecutor said: "One of those Al-Qaeda terrorists is inside the courtroom right now."

Medunjanin, a Bosnian whose family fled to the United States during the war with Serbia in the 1990s, is charged with nine terrorism-related counts.

He is accused of traveling to Pakistan in 2008 in a failed attempt to join the Taliban to fight against US forces in Afghanistan, then entering the bomb plot on his return home, and finally trying to use his car to cause bloodshed in a desperate last act before his arrest.

He has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, Robert Gottlieb, said Medunjanin was only a passionate Muslim who wanted to go to Afghanistan because he was outraged by the US drone bombing of civilians and abuses in US military prisons.

"The truth is Adis Medunjanin is not a terrorist. The truth is, in this case, the government with all its inflammatory and incendiary allegations, is just wrong," Gottlieb said.

"Mr Medunjanin never planned to bomb the New York City subways, contrary to what the government has told you. Mr Medunjanin never joined any plan, as that term is defined in the law... to go to Afghanistan to kill members of the United States military."

The other two men in the alleged plot, Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay, have already pleaded guilty and turned on their old friend in hopes that cooperation with prosecutors will earn them lighter sentences.

Ahmedzay was the first witness called by the prosecution.

He told the court that Medunjanin had helped him grow closer to Islam. Then one day, when the three of them were in a car, they "made a covenant to go to Afghanistan" and join the Taliban.

He described Medunjanin as steadfast in his ambition to become a suicide bomber on return to the United States....

But remember, the real problem is "anti-jihad extremism." "Merah wannabee pulls gun on Paris Metro," from RFI, April 13 (thanks to David):

Police in Paris on Friday arrested a man who took out a pistol and threatened commuters on one of the capital’s busiest Metro lines, ligne 13. The 30-year-old unidentified man of Moroccan origin, was detained by police mid-morning between Metro stations Saint-Denis Basilique and Université.

According to an official source, he pulled out a Colt 45 and began to threaten a passenger saying “I am Mohamed Merah and I am going to kill you “ in reference to the young Islamist killed by police in Toulouse three weeks ago after the murder of seven people.

The gun did not appear to be loaded, but the man was carrying two rounds of ammunition and was described as “not being in full possession of his mental faculties”.

Of course he wasn't. It's amazing how often we hear that jihadists and would-be jihadists are unbalanced in some way. It is striking how often their imbalances move them to do exactly the same kinds of things.

Disaster was avoided when one of the passengers pulled the emergency cord and the man used the opportunity to escape into a train tunnel where he was eventually caught by police....

Dwight Schultz, Georgette Gelbard and Tommi Trudeau recently joined The Glazov Gang to discuss Why The Left Abandoned Shaima Alawadi — a murdered Muslim woman whom the media and progressives professed immense concern for when they thought she was killed by an “Islamophobe.” Now that it turns out that she was killed by a member of her own family, the Left has abruptly lost all interest in Shaima Alawadi.

Actually the devil will not be appearing, but freedom fighter Nonie Darwish will be there.

Join the Jamie Glazov Show on Tuesday, April 17 from 8-9 pm Pacific (11-12 pm EST) on Blog Talk Radio.

This week’s guest is Nonie Darwish, the author of the new book, The Devil We Don’t Know: The Dark Side of Revolutions in the Middle East.

To listen to the program, click here.

Or go to: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/radio-jihad/2012/04/18/the-jamie-glazov-show

Phone-in # is (347) 857-1380.

But never mind. Everyone knows the real problem is "right wing extremism." "Prosecutors: Foiled terrorist pondered other NYC targets before subway plot," from CBS, April 16 (thanks to all who sent this in):

NEW YORK - A man accused of becoming an al Qaeda operative discussed bombing New York City movie theaters, Grand Central Terminal, Times Square and the New York Stock Exchange before settling on the city's subways, a federal prosecutor said Monday.

Adis Madunjanin considered the high-profile targets with two of his former high school classmates from Queens, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Looman said in opening statements.

The men "were prepared to kill themselves and everyone else around them: men, women and children," Looman said.

Defense attorney Robert Gottlieb accused the government of using "inflammatory rhetoric" about al Qaeda and terrorism to prevent jurors "from seeing the truth about this case."

"The truth is that Adis Medunjanin is not a terrorist," he said.

There's no dispute that Medunjanin and his two former classmates packed up and traveled together to Pakistan in 2008. But federal prosecutors say the three were homegrown Muslim extremists who, under al Qaeda's tutelage, came back to the United States and hatched a foiled plot to attack the New York City subways as suicide bombers.

Medunjanin, 27, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, providing material support to a terrorist organization and other charges in what U.S. officials have described as one of the most chilling terror conspiracies since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks....

Jurors also are expected to hear evidence that following his arrest, Medunjanin told the FBI he had become a more devout Muslim about four years before the plot was exposed after he and Zazi began spending time together at a local mosque, FBI reports say. He also recalled being influenced by tapes of U.S.-born extremist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, they say.

In 2008, Medunjanin and his friends decided to join the Taliban and fight U.S. soldiers in retaliation for the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, the FBI reports say. The three instead were recruited by al Qaeda operatives, who gave them weapons training in their Pakistan camp and asked them to become suicide bombers, they say.

Medunjanin told his al Qaeda handlers "he had prayed but still wasn't sure if he was ready to be a martyr," the reports say. He later was sent home on his own, the reports add, after he told them "the best thing for him to do ... was to return to the U.S. and provide financial support" for the terror network.

Zazi, after relocating to the Denver area, got as far as cooking up explosives and setting out by car for New York City in September 2009 to carry out the attack. He was arrested after abandoning the plan and fleeing back to Colorado.

The FBI reports say Medunjanin denied knowing what Zazi was up to. And the defense has claimed he spoke to the FBI under duress.

In a sworn statement, the defendant accused agents of making veiled threats against his family and denying him access to his attorney for 36 hours. Federal authorities insist his statements were voluntary....

Jihadists and Islamic supremacists always play the victim, no matter what.

We won't always have Cairo

"A clear indication of the ground which the Islamic parties have been gaining in post- Mubarak Egypt." I tried to tell you. "Intimate scenes to be banned from Egyptian public TV," from AGI, April 3 (thanks to C. Cantoni):

(AGI) Cairo - A group of Islamic supervisors of the Egyptian Public Broadcaster will be in charge of removing 'immoral ' footage from films the network has in its archives. The ban will apply to scenes featuring hugging, kissing and belly dancing. As reported by the daily Kuwait al-Anba, which quotes sources from inside the Network, such a decision could bring about either the removal of important scenes from movies that are an integral part of Egypt's cinema or their complete ban from any TV programming. Such movies have been aired several times in the past already. The daily believes that the setting up of a supervising authority on cinema and TV content is a clear indication of the ground which the Islamic parties have been gaining in post- Mubarak Egypt. According to the daily's sources, censorship will be applied to the last 50 years of filmmaking.

Do you think a group distributing a leaflet entitled "Why Not Christianity?" would have been banned? No, I don't think so, either. "Norwich church banned from using market stall after complaints about ‘hate-related’ leaflets," by Peter Walsh for the Norwich Evening News, April 14 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

A church has been banned from using a market stall to hold its weekly outreach service following a complaint about “hate-motivated” leaflets published by the group.

The Norwich Reformed Church held a weekly outreach bookstall from the Norwich City Council-owned site on Hay Hill, but has been informed it is no longer allowed to use the stall after the council received a complaint about literature on it. The complaint prompted a review of the materials produced by Reverend Alan Clifford, pastor of the church, and the council contacted police as materials, particularly the leaflet entitled Why not Islam, were considered to be hate-motivated.

The church has been prohibited from using the site, while the council-run Eaton Park Community Centre has also been contacted with a view to ceasing any further bookings made by the church.

A council spokesman said: “We received a complaint from a member of the public about material published by the Norwich Reformed Church (associated with the Farthing Trust) which uses council facilities. This was considered to be hate-motivated and, in accordance with the agreed Norfolk Multi Agency Protocol, we contacted the police.

“Although the police advised that no criminal offence had been committed, we have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to foster good relations between people of all backgrounds and religions. By allowing premises owned by the council to be used by an organisation publishing such material, we would be failing in that duty. People across Norfolk have recently been urged to stand up to hate-motivated and intolerant behaviour through a publicity campaign and as a council we have to play our part and take action where necessary.”...

Once again Hamas-linked CAIR lines up against anti-terror procedures. They've still got a perfect record in this regard. "CAIR-MI to Sue FBI, CBP Over Invasive Border Questioning of Muslims," a press release from Hamas-linked CAIR, April 12 (thanks to Twostellas):

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., April 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Friday, April 13, the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) will hold a news conference in Detroit to announce the filing of a federal lawsuit against U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the FBI over the repeated detention and questioning of Muslims about their religious beliefs and practices by federal agents at and inside the United States-Canada border....

CAIR-MI is filing the lawsuit on behalf of four American citizens who reported that CBP and FBI agents detained and handcuffed them without evidence of wrongdoing and questioned them about their religious beliefs and worship habits. The lawsuit asserts that those actions violated the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights.

Questions reportedly asked of Michigan Muslims by CBP and FBI agents have included:

* How many times a day do you pray?

* Do you pray your morning prayer in the mosque?

* Who else prays in your mosque?

"Invasive religious questioning of American citizens without evidence of criminal activity is not only an affront to the Constitution but is also a waste of limited resources," said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid....

Who will break the news to the death-loving jihadis? I suppose the Dubai International Peace Convention will be training cadres of Understanders of Islam to go among the violent and supremacist Misunderstanders and explain to them how they're getting Islam all wrong -- what's that? They have no intention of doing that at all? Why not?

"Islam is key to peace, convention concludes," by Ahmed Shaaban in the Khaleej Times, April 15:

DUBAI — Concluding three days of lectures and activities, the second edition of the Dubai International Peace Convention affirmed that Islam is the key to peace much sought after these days.

Altogether 150,000 people of different nationalities and religions attended the 16 lectures delivered by 12 scholars and spiritual gurus during the event.

The world congress, held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, is aimed to create a climate of intellectual cooperation and share the teachings of Islam in order to guide the world towards peace.

Dr Hamad Al Shaibani, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for World Peace, said the convention has been a wonderful platform for leading thinkers in the Muslim world to come together. ‘They have had a massive impact in raising awareness of our main objective, and we are delighted to have brought together different races and religions under one roof to create an interactive environment that perpetuates our vision of peace.’

‘Brotherhood in Islam’, the ‘status of women in Islam’, ‘Muhammad (PBUH) — the ambassador of peace’, ‘One world... One way... One God’, ‘action plan to achieve world peace’, the ‘role model for peace’, ‘how to build a peaceful family’, ‘the solutions for global crisis’, ‘peace in the light of the Holy Quran’, and ‘Peaceful coexistence... myth or reality’ were some of the issues spotlighted during the convention.

Some of the prominent figures who participated include Dr Zakir Naik, an internationally respected scholar in comparative religions, and Shaikh Yusuf Estes, prominent in the Islamic community in the United States; Shaikh Abdur Raheem Green from the UK; Shaikh Tawfique Chowdhury from Australia; Shaikh Muhammad Alshareef from Canada; Shaikh Hussein Yee from Malaysia; Advocate Mayan Mather from India; Said Rageah from Somalia; Dr Muhammad Salah and Abdul Bary Yahya, both from America....

Glorying in blood and death. As one jihadist put it, "We love death. You love your life!" And another: "The Americans love Pepsi-Cola, we love death." -- Afghan jihadist Maulana Inyadullah

Of course, this idea comes from the Qur'an itself: "Say (O Muhammad): O ye who are Jews! If ye claim that ye are favoured of Allah apart from (all) mankind, then long for death if ye are truthful." -- Qur'an 62:6

"Islamic Jihad Celebrates Kfar Darom Bombing," by Rachel Hirshfeld for Israel National News, April 11 (thanks to Twostellas):

On April 9, 1995, Khaled Mohammed Khatib rammed his vehicle into Israeli Egged Bus No. 36 in Kfar Darom. The collision set off the bomb in his car, killing seven Israelis, an American college student, and wounding another 60 passengers.

Islamic Jihad celebrated the attack, which they called a “great achievement,” reported the Challah Hu Akbar blog, who translated the original Arabic source into English.

The terrorist’s family said they were proud of his actions and Islamic Jihad released a video celebrating the attack.

Islamic Jihad claims that that the attack killed 10 “Zionist Soldiers,” the blog noted.

Alisa Flatow, one of victims of the attack, was a student at Brandeis University, spending a year of study in Jerusalem at the time....

Condoleezza Rice said it in January 2007: "There's still a tendency to see these things in Sunni-Shia terms. But the Middle East is going to have to overcome that." Five years and counting, Dr. Rice.

"Sunni mobs 'attack Shia villages in Bahrain,'" from Al-Jazeera, April 11 (thanks to Twostellas):

Bahrainis wielding knives and sticks attacked Shia villagers overnight, witnesses have said, as pressure grew for this month's Formula One race in the Sunni-ruled state to be cancelled over the unrest.

A day after a gasoline pipe bomb injured seven policemen, men from Sunni neighbourhoods who answered an internet call to avenge the attack converged on Shia-populated villages near Manama late on Tuesday, according to witnesses.

"I saw hundreds of men carrying knives, sticks and other sharp objects," on the outskirts of several Shia villages, said one man who identified himself only as Hussein.

"They were stopping cars and asking passengers where they lived in order to determine what sect they belonged to," he said by telephone, referring to the Sunni and Shia communities in Bahrain.

Al-Wefaq, the Gulf kingdom's largest Shia opposition group, said the attackers were in civilian clothes and "beat up" the residents of Shia villages.

A statement by the group accused security forces of failing to stop the attacks.

"The security forces did not carry out their duty. They did not disperse the [assailants] or prevent them from attacking citizens," the statement said, adding that the authorities must "deal with these militias"....

It used to be Turkey that proved that, but no one can claim that any longer with a straight face. And so Cameron, as poker-faced as possible, holds up as a paragon of Islamic democracy and rejection of "extremism" a country that is increasingly hostile to its Christians and to the Ahmadis, a Muslim group deemed heretical.

"Cameron praises Indonesia as model of democracy and Islam," from Agence France Presse, April 12 (thanks to Twostellas):

JAKARTA: British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday held up Indonesia as a model for nations in transition after the Arab Spring, praising its moderate Islam and its transformation from dictatorship.

He said democracy must not be undermined in the name of Islam in Egypt, and called on the world to oppose Syria's President Bashar Assad.

"If Indonesia can succeed, it can lead the world in showing how democracy can offer an alternative to the dead-end choice of dictatorship or extremism," Cameron told students at Jakarta's Al Azhar Islamic university.

He said extremists were trying to turn Islam into a "closed and warped ideology" opposed to democracy.

"What Indonesia shows is that in the world's largest Muslim-majority country, it is possible to reject this extremist threat and prove that democracy and Islam can flourish alongside each other."

Cameron praised Indonesia's success in cracking down on major terror networks in the past decade since bombings on the resort island of Bali in 2002 claimed 202 lives, including 28 Britons.

While the country has struggled to quell attacks by Islamic extremists, the vast majority of Indonesia's population of 240 million people practice a moderate form of Islam.

Indonesia embarked on democratic reforms in 1998 after the fall of 32-year Suharto dictatorship.

Cameron said Indonesia's rapid transition "gives heart" to Islamic nations seeking democracy, such as Egypt....

Yes, I am sure they're closely following the Indonesian model in Egypt.

Now this will be interesting: if Sunni jihadists can distract the Iranians for awhile, free people might get a breather. Unless, of course, those free people decide (yet again) to try to calm Sunni/Shi'ite tensions. Condoleezza Rice expressed the Western intelligentsia's incurable naivete and love for fantasy-based policymaking when she said in January 2007: "There's still a tendency to see these things in Sunni-Shia terms. But the Middle East is going to have to overcome that." Five years and counting, Dr. Rice, and for some odd reason they haven't overcome it yet.

"Iraq Sunni insurgents have new target: Iran," by Mohamad Ali Harissi for Middle East Online, April 12 (thanks to Twostellas):

Sunni insurgents who battled American soldiers in Iraq until their long-time enemy withdrew last year have turned their wrath on a new target: Shiite Iran....

The Islamic Group in Iraq, a coalition of 17 insurgent groups formed in 2010, said in a statement that "we will fight Iran with the same force that we fought their brothers, the Americans."

The United States was "forced" to leave Iraq "to a worse occupier, the greedy Persian coward," said the statement posted on jihadist websites.

"It has become clear beyond any doubt that Iran occupies Iraq through its traitor agents," it added....

Another group of jihadists, the Banner of Right and Jihad, vowed to continue "fighting the enemy" and urged God to grant it victory over "America and its (followers) the Safavids," in a derogatory reference to Shiites.

For its part, the Murabitun Jihad Brigades asked for God's blessing in securing "a final victory over the (followers) of the occupation and its agents represented in the government" of Iraq.

And the Islamic Army in Iraq said the US left "behind them an uglier, more brutal and ignorant occupation, where the graves are full of the innocent bodies of Sunnis."

The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), Al-Qaeda's front organisation, said that it had carried out 195 attacks against "the Safavid army and police" between December 28 and February 24....

Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, Saddam's vice president and the highest-ranking member of his regime still on the run, poured oil on the fire in a video posted online last week,

Duri charged that that Iran plans on "taking over Iraq and then destroying the nation."...

Watch what happens now: the mainstream media and the Muslims in Thailand will claim victim status any and every time Buddhists defend themselves from jihad violence.

"Thailand’s Buddhists Take Up Arms Against Insurgency," from Newsweek, April 16 (thanks to David):

A few hours’ drive from the white-sand beaches of Phuket—one of the world’s top tourist destinations—a deadly insurgency is terrorizing Thailand’s south. The separatist movement, made up of mostly ethnic-Malay Muslims, roils the region with daily threats of sectarian violence and has prompted many Buddhist villagers, and even some monks, to take up arms in self-defense. A series of coordinated bombings across two provinces on March 31 alone left 14 dead and hundreds injured.

The conflict has been gaining steam over the past eight years, even as the international community pays little attention. Since 2004, drive-by shootings, IED bombings, and point-blank assassinations have claimed some 5,000 lives in the country’s three restive southernmost provinces that border Malaysia, making the insurgency one of the world’s deadliest.

The insurgent groups rally around the belief that the provinces—where ethnic Malay Muslims are the majority—should be independent of Thailand, where more than 90 percent of the rest of the population is Buddhist. The insurgents’ preferred targets are Buddhists, especially those in the security forces or government, though they also kill fellow Muslims accused of not aligning with the separatist cause. They claim to have cells in 90 percent of southern villages; the boast, say security experts, is legitimate.

Even as a force of some 60,000 soldiers and police patrol the area, the insurgents have succeeded in spreading their network across the disputed territory, cultivating an atmosphere of perpetual insecurity for Buddhist communities living there. “First Muslim people came to our village and asked to buy our land,” says Suphorn Nison, a soft-spoken Buddhist in his mid-40s. “But they became less diplomatic when Buddhist people declined to leave.” The following month, Nison says, two men entered a convenience store operated by Nison’s father and executed him with two shots to his head. Nison claims the gunmen were Muslim and intended to send a stern message. Most Buddhists in his village left, but those who stayed, including Nison, formed a neighborhood-security force.

That was in 2006. Today such community-defense units are ubiquitous in Thailand’s south. Nison carries a revolver with him at all times. Many other Buddhists have also armed themselves, including a demure 38-year-old teacher, an acquaintance of Nison’s, who prefers a light Glock .22. While village-defense forces, or Chor Ror Bor, also operate in Muslim communities, they are often given fewer and inferior weapons than their Buddhist counterparts, and don’t receive the same level of support from the Thai Army and police, says Rungrawee Chalermsripinyorat, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit that studies ways to prevent conflicts....

Somehow Ghaleb Rabab'a has gotten the crazy idea that the Muslim quarrel with Israel is a religious one. He doesn't sound as if a Palestinian State will do the trick for him. How very odd! "Friday Sermon on Jordan TV: Jordanian Army Is Invincible, Will Shatter the Might of Israel," from MEMRITV, March 23:

Following are excerpts from a Friday sermon delivered by Jordanian cleric Ghaleb Rabab'a, which aired on Jordan TV on March 23, 2012 :

Ghaleb Rabab'a : The [Jordanian] army is invincible. Its units are filled with people who pray, with imams, and with people who memorized the Koran. This army will never be defeated, Allah willing. Jerusalem will be regained, Allah willing, by these modest and pure hands, which hold the Koran high and recite it day and night....

This army, my brothers in faith, will shatter the might of Israel, Allah willing, just as the might of the Crusaders and the Byzantines was shattered at Hittin, at Yarmouk, Al-Qadisiyya, 'Ain Jalut, Mu'ta, and Al-Karamah. [Israel's might] will be shattered by the will of Allah.

[…]

Allah will not leave for long the first direction of prayer for the Islamic nation in the hands of the slayers of the prophets.

But remember, the real problem is "Islamophobia."

"Christian leader beheaded as Islamists terrorize Mali," by Charles Gardner for the ASSIST News Service, April 7 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

TIMBUKTU, MALI (ANS) -- A Christian leader has been beheaded and others are being threatened with similar treatment as Islamic militants run amok in Mali, West Africa.

Christians have fled the town of Timbuktu in the north of the country where harsh Sharia Law has already been imposed amid reports that churches in Gao, 200 miles to the east, have been completely destroyed.

The news comes in the wake of a military coup in the country, one of the effects of which is that sanctions applied from outside has cut off electricity supplies, further delaying reports of the latest upheavals along with desperate pleas for help.

Among those affected is British Bible college graduate Timothee (Tim) Yattara, who recently returned home to his home country in a bid to help spread the gospel in this remote – and now dangerous – part of Africa located on the edge of the Sahara.

Tim has fled with his family to Bamako, the country’s main city some 400 miles away in the south-west, but without the money to rent a house.

“We have escaped in the wake of horrible death threats as the Islamists have a list of all the Christians in Timbuktu whom they intend to execute by beheading. As proof of their intentions, one leader has already been killed in this way and some churches in Gao have been demolished. Most Christians have already fled for safety, but Sharia Law has been imposed all over the north....

Teaching children to hate and kill

"Palestinian" "moderates" Instilling genocidal dreams from early youth: "PA cartoons: Teach children to seek world without Israel," by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik for Palestinian Media Watch, April 15:

Palestinian parents should teach their children that it is their role or destiny to destroy Israel, according to a cartoon in the official PA daily.

Text in book: "Palestine"
Mother's words: "This is your bride...
When you grow up you will know the dowry."
In the cartoon, a mother is showing her son a book with a map that includes all of Israel and the PA areas. The text in the book defines the map as "Palestine."

The mother tells her son:
"This is your bride... when you grow up you will know the dowry."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida,
March 31, 2012]

The message of the PA daily is that parents either are educating their children or should be educating their children to see their obligation to replace all of Israel with a state of "Palestine." The dowry - the cost of liberating Palestine - is yet to be learned.

Last week, Palestinian Media Watch reported that the Minister of Social Affairs, Majida Al-Masri, said in a speech that Palestinian unity is needed in order achieve "the liberation of Palestine - all of Palestine," meaning Israel's destruction....

Read it all.

Actually it was a Moroccan imam who said that all Muslims should leave France. Dutch-language article here (thanks to Blazing Cat Fur).

Clearly Omar al-Haddouchi is a greasy Islamophobe, and probably a racist to boot.

They also saw "Islamophobia" in French arrests of Muslims after Mohamed Merah's jihad massacre at a Jewish school in Toulouse.

The next time you see an Islamic supremacist like Honest Ibe Hooper of Hamas-linked CAIR or Boy Reza Aslan crying about Islamophobia, remember this: as far as the IINA is concerned, any action that the infidels dare take in order to defend themselves is a bigoted, racist assault on innocent Muslims. And the IINA is by no means singular among Muslims in thinking this way.

Qaradawi richly deserves to be barred from France and every Western country. In January 2009, during a Friday sermon broadcast on Al-Jazeera, he prayed that Allah would kill all the Jews: "Oh Allah, take this oppressive, Jewish, Zionist band of people. Oh Allah, do not spare a single one of them. Oh Allah, count their numbers, and kill them, down to the very last one." He also declared: "Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the [Jews] people who would punish them for their corruption. The last punishment was carried out by [Adolf] Hitler."

Qaradawi has predicted that Islam will soon conquer Europe, but that this conquest will come not “by the sword but by preaching and ideology.” He also says that Muslims should obtain nuclear weapons, explaining: “The Koran referred to this, saying: ‘Prepare against them what force and steeds of war you can, to strike terror in the hearts of the enemies of Allah and of your own enemies, and others besides them, whom you do not know, but Allah knows.’ ‘Prepare against them what force and steeds of war you can.’” That’s Qur’an 8:60.

In 2001, Qaradawi issued a fatwa approving suicide bombings against Israel. In 2003, with male jihadists being caught too often before they could strike, Qaradawi expanded the fatwa to approve suicide bombings by women. In 2004, he issued a fatwa calling for the killing of American troops in Iraq, and later expanded this authorization to include the killing of American civilian support personnel. He explained: “All of the Americans in Iraq are combatants, there is no difference between civilians and soldiers, and one should fight them, since the American civilians came to Iraq in order to serve the occupation. The abduction and killing of Americans in Iraq is a [religious] obligation so as to cause them to leave Iraq immediately.”

Yet despite his approval of violence against Israelis and Americans, he has endorsed fanciful conspiracy theories rather than acknowledge the reality of Islamic jihad violence in other contexts. When jihadists bombed a church in Alexandria, Egypt on New Year’s Eve, Qaradawi joined Hosni Mubarak as well as many Islamic spokesmen worldwide in blaming shadowy outsiders: “I fear that there may be a foreign hand behind this action, for it does not make sense for an Egyptian or a Muslim to be behind it. Perhaps a foreign hand is attempting to ignite sectarian strife.” Others directly identified this “foreign hand” as that of Israel and/or America.

Qaradawi has also endorsed Islam’s traditional death penalty for apostasy: “The Muslim jurists are unanimous that apostates must be punished, yet they differ as to determining the kind of punishment to be inflicted upon them. The majority of them, including the four main schools of jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi`i, and Hanbali) as well as the other four schools of jurisprudence (the four Shiite schools of Az-Zaidiyyah, Al-Ithna-`ashriyyah, Al-Ja`fariyyah, and Az-Zaheriyyah) agree that apostates must be executed.” He has also written approvingly of the Qur’an’s mandate for wife-beating (4:34), explaining that “blows are not effective with every woman, but they are helpful with some.”

Qaradawi is an advocate of the global caliphate, calling for the establishment of what he calls a “United Muslim Nations” as a counterweight to Western political power worldwide. Although his perspective is gaining more influence then ever as the Muslim Brotherhood increases its power in Egypt, this goal may not be any closer to fruition than it was before. Nonetheless, as Qaradawi’s star continues to rise in Egypt and all over the Islamic world, the murder and mayhem that he tells his followers is divinely sanctioned in pursuit of that goal is certain only to grow in virulence.

"France/Islamophobia: France would bar entry to Sheikh Yousef al-Qaradawi," from the IINA, March 26 (thanks to Maxwell):

PARIS, 4 Jumada Al-Awwal/26 March (Agencies/IINA)- The French government will deny entry to an influential Egyptian preacher if he accepts an invitation from an Islamic organisation to visit France next month, a close aide to President Nicolas Sarkozy said recently.

According to Reuter, Sarkozy, who is running for re-election, has announced a crackdown on people who follow extremist Islamic messages on radical websites in the wake of a spate of killings by an al Qaeda-inspired gunman.

His aide, Henri Guaino said the government would take measures to block the entry of Sheikh Yousef al-Qaradawi if he seeks to take up the invitation from the Union of French Islamic Organisations (UOIF), a Muslim umbrella group.

“The French government does not want any extremist preachers entering its territory,” Guaino, a special advisor and speech writer to Sarkozy, told French Radio J.

“This person does not require a visa because he holds a diplomatic passport, but measures could be taken to prohibit him from entering France,” he said.

Al-Qaradawi, who is based in Qatar, is one of the most widely respected Sunni Muslim clerics in the Arab world and a household name in the Middle East thanks to his regular appearances on the Qatar-based Al Jazeera news channel.

A former member of Egypt’s Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, he is independent of the group today but remains close to it.

The UOIF, one of three Muslim federations in France, is also close to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The issue of Islam and immigration in France has come to the fore of the presidential election since a French man of Algerian origin, Mohamed Merah, killed three Jewish children, a rabbi and three soldiers before being shot dead himself by a police sniper on Thursday.

Not much job security, however. And you have to change your name to "Abu Qaqa," which doesn't mean "Father of BS," despite the fact that that's what Boko Haram's spokesmen always end up purveying.

"Boko Haram kills own spokesman," from InformationNigeria.org, April 15 (thanks to David):

The division in the dreaded Islamist sect Boko Haram deepened at the weekend with the murder of Abu Qaqa II, the spokesman of the militant group suspected to have taken over from Abu Qaqa I who was captured last January and has been in the custody of the State Security Service.

Abu Qaqa II was believed to have been killed on the instruction of the leader of the sect, Abu Shekau, for attempting to back out of their reign of terror.

He was said to have tried to denounce the sect after being trailed intensively by security agents, which forced him to change locations on several occasions.

The news of his killing coincided with the disclaimer by Vice President Namadi Sambo that the Boko Haram attacks have religious undertones.

Abu Qaqa II, whose real name is Mohammed Anwal Kontagora, was from Kontagora in Niger State. He adopted the name Abu Qaqa in February after the original Abu Qaqa, also known by many aliases, including Abu Dardaa, Mohammed Shuaibu and Abu Tiamiya, was arrested in January....

THISDAY learnt that the sect was said to be shopping for Abu Qaqa III as its new spokesman.

Security sources revealed that the division and subsequent killing of the spokesman resulted from the sect’s inability to either own up or disassociate itself from the Easter Sunday bomb blast in Kaduna that killed so many commercial motorcyclists and tea vendors.

“This again might have forced Abubakar Shekau (now looking leaner) to personally appear on You-Tube to reply to a statement credited to President Goodluck Jonathan while he was in South Korea,” the source said.

However, Sambo, in Washington D.C. at the weekend, dismissed claims that attacks by Boko Haram terrorists have a religious undertone.

Sambo, while fielding questions from Nigerians in the Diaspora at a meeting on Friday in Washington DC, said the bloodletting in the north was the handiwork of terrorists.

He also spoke on efforts being made by the federal government to restore normalcy and tackle other problems besetting Nigeria.

“The security issue that is happening in the north is not a religious problem. It is an unfortunate problem being created by some hoodlums, people that have terrorist tendencies in their mind,” stated Sambo who also disputed the claim that there was religious violence-inspired emigration in various parts of the country.

Sambo sounds as if he has been taking lessons from the Obama Administration.

UPDATE: Suspended!

----------

This is what Britain is reduced to: a member of the House of Lords offers a bounty for the capture of two heads of state of Britain's chief ally. Will he face any official rebuke? In today's Britain, there's no telling.

"‘Sterling’ bounty offered for Obama, Bush," from The Express Tribune, April 15 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

HARIPUR: In an expression of solidarity with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, British parliamentarian of Kashmiri origin Lord Nazir Ahmed has announced a reward for the captor of US President Barack Obama and his predecessor George W Bush.

He made the announcement at a reception arranged in his honour by the business community of Haripur on Friday. Former foreign minister Goher Ayub Khan, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) central leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed and provincial Minister for Education Qazi Muhammad Asad were also present on the occasion.

Lord Nazir said that the bounty placed on Saeed was an insult to all Muslims and by doing so President Obama has challenged the dignity of the Muslim Ummah.

“If the US can announce a reward of $10 million for the captor of Hafiz Saeed, I can announce a bounty of 10 million pounds on President Obama and his predecessor George Bush,” Lord Nazir said, adding that he would arrange the bounty at any cost even if he was left with the option of selling all his personal assets, including his house....

Corruption of Academia Update: Cyrus McGoldrick of the New York chapter of the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) just spoke at the University of Buffalo. Apparently, from the looks of his Tweet above, he complained during his talk that "dissent is becoming criminalized."

The irony is so thick you could cut its neck with a scimitar while shouting "Allahu akbar." McGoldrick was referring to New York City's surveillance of the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Muslim Students Association -- a program so innocuous that even as ardent a dhimmi as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has defended its Constitutionality and appropriateness.

In reality, no one is trying to criminalize dissent except Hamas-linked CAIR and other Islamic supremacist groups, doing the bidding of the 57-government Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which is trying to compel Western nations to criminalize criticism of Islam, and in the meantime, Hamas-linked CAIR and other thuggish Islamic supremacist groups are doing everything they can to demonize and marginalize everyone who dares try to defend human rights against jihad and Islamic supremacism. Everywhere we speak, they do their best to get us shut down. Most recently, the Hamas-linked CAIR brownshirts strong-armed the dhimmi law firm Kramer Levin into canceling my talk on my new book, Did Muhammad Exist?, although the event will be held after all, at a different location.

So as Hamas-linked CAIR moves to crush all dissent and silence all its critics, CAIR's McGoldrick whines about dissent being criminalized. The hypocrisy is astounding.

One of the most unfortunate aspects of the politically correct straitjacket that binds contemporary public discourse is that deceitful mediocrities and intellectual flotsam and jetsam who aren't capable of independent thought or of defending their own positions except with lies and scorn, are lauded and lionized by the clueless and compromised elites, solely because they parrot currently fashionable opinions.

Foremost among these hate-filled vacuities is Reza Aslan, darling of the Colbert/Stewart set even though his record is filled with little more than lies, embarrassingly adolescent geekery, and fronting for genocidal Islamic supremacists.

And so true to form, when this self-important clown heard about the letter that the Israelis prepared for the Islamic supremacists and their Leftist tools in the "flytilla," all he could respond with was the name-calling in the Tweet above. The boy simply can't form a coherent rebuttal argument to the points the Israelis make in this letter:

By the way, the desperately insecure Aslan has blocked me on Twitter and tried to prevent me from being able to see his Tweets -- and met with the kind of success he has when trying to take on his intellectual opponents.

A demonstration of their power. "Taliban attack Pakistan prison, free 380 prisoners," by Ishtiaq Mahsud for the Associated Press, April 15 (thanks to all who sent this in):

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan—Taliban militants armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades battled their way into a prison in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, freeing close to 400 prisoners, including at least 20 described by police as "very dangerous" insurgents, authorities and the militants said.

The raid by more than 100 fighters was a dramatic display of the strength of the insurgency gripping the nuclear-armed country. The escaped prisoners may now rejoin the fight, giving momentum and a propaganda boost to a movement that has killed thousands of Pakistani officials and ordinary citizens since 2007.

The attackers stormed the prison before dawn in the city of Bannu close to the Afghan border, said police officer Shafique Khan. They used explosives and hand grenades to knock down the main gates and two walls, said Bannu prison superintendent Zahid Khan.

"They were carrying modern and heavy weapons," said Zahid Khan. "They fired rockets."

Once inside the building, the attackers headed straight to the area of the prison where death-row prisoners were being kept, he said. They fought with guards for around two hours, setting part of the prison on fire before freeing the 380 inmates, including at least 20 "very dangerous Taliban militants," said Shafique.

One escaped prisoner, Adnan Rashid, was on death row for his involvement in an assassination attempt against former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, said Zahid Khan.

The prison in Bannu housed 944 inmates.

A Taliban spokesman, Asimullah Mehsud, claimed the movement's fighters freed 1,200 of their comrades. The group is known to make exaggerated claims....

On April 29 in Dearborn, Michigan, Pamela Geller and I are hosting the Jessica Mokdad Conference on Honor Killing. This is the first such conference, representing the first pushback against the spread of this barbaric practice in the West. Pamela has more details here.

Jessica Mokdad was a 20-year-old Muslim woman in Warren, Michigan, who was brutally murdered in May 2011. Fox News Detroit reported: "Authorities say a Minnesota man killed his 20-year-old stepdaughter in Michigan because she left home and wasn't following Islam." Jessica's stepfather, a devout Muslim, tracked his stepdaughter over four states to murder her for bringing dishonor on her family.

Darwin Jiles, Jessica's close friend, said Jessica lived in abject terror. She feared she would be honor killed by her stepfather. She suffered in her father's household as well, pressured to live under Islamic law. Jessica did not want wear the hijab and "did not want to be of the Islamic religion."

Speakers:

Pamela Geller is the publisher of Atlas Shrugs.com and executive director of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) and Stop Islamization of America (SIOA). She is the author of Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance (WND Books) and The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America with Robert Spencer (foreword by Ambassador John Bolton), (Simon & Schuster). She is also a regular columnist for World Net Daily, the American Thinker, and other publications.

Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and the author of twelve books, including two New York Times bestsellers, The Truth About Muhammad and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) (both Regnery). His latest book is Did Muhammad Exist? An Inquiry Into Islam's Obscure Origins (ISI). Spencer has led seminars on Islam and jihad for the United States Central Command, United States Army Command and General Staff College, the U.S. Army's Asymmetric Warfare Group, the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the U.S. intelligence community.

Nonie Darwish is the president of Former Muslims United and the author of The Devil We Don’t Know: The Dark Side of Revolutions in the Middle East (Wiley); Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law (Thomas Nelson); and Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror (Sentinel).

James Lafferty is the leader of the Virginia Anti-Sharia Taskforce (VAST). The mission of the Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force is to oppose and assist others in resisting the implementation of the radical, barbaric and anti-Constitutional Shariah law in Virginia or anywhere in America.

Michael Coren hosts The Arena with Michael Coren on Canada’s Sun News TV every weeknight at 7pm ET. He is also a weekly columnist, published every Saturday, with the Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg Sun and The London Free Press, and in more than a dozen other daily and weekly newspapers across Canada. He is also a columnist for Women's Post, The Catholic Register, The Landowner and The Interim. He is the best-selling author of thirteen books, including biographies of GK Chesterton, HG Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis.

David Wood is a Christian activist and missionary. He has degrees in philosophy and biology and is currently pursing a Ph.D. in the philosophy of religion. He is a leader of the Acts 17 Apologetics Ministry, which has sued the City of Dearborn for its free speech rights after the city endorsed Sharia restrictions on Christian proselytizing and arrested several members of his group for talking about Christianity with Muslims.

Magdi Khalil is a Coptic Christian political analyst, researcher, author and executive editor of the Egyptian weekly Watani International. He is also a columnist for Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, London, a free-lance writer for several Arabic language newspapers, and a frequent contributor to Middle East broadcast news TV. Khalil has also published three books and written numerous research papers on citizenship rights, civil society, and the situation of minorities in the Middle East. He is one of the most prominent advocates of human rights in Egypt. He focuses in his writings on minorities, including Copts in Egypt.

Robert Muise is an expert in constitutional law. The last twelve years of his law practice has been dedicated to defending religious liberties, the freedom of speech, and the right to life in state and federal trial and appellate courts all across the country. More recently, Mr. Muise has been involved in numerous cases defending American freedoms against the growing threat of sharia. Prior to starting his constitutional law practice in 2000, Mr. Muise served thirteen years as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Darwin Jiles was a close friend of Jessica Mokdad who offers firsthand testimony to the fact that Jessica was a victim of Islamic honor killing.

Be sure to register for our Jessica Mokdad Human Rights Conference on honor killings on April 29th in Dearborn, Michigan. Register here.

There will be more and more honor killings in the West until Western authorities have the courage to address its root causes, but that day may never come, but Islamic teaching contains a justification for the practice, and no one dares speak against something that is taught in Islam.

A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

"Father tried to mow down his daughter after boyfriend proposed to her," from STV, April 12 (thanks to David):

A father attempted to mow down his daughter because he did not want her to marry her boyfriend.

Tariq Hussain, 51, drove his Honda at Saheer Hussain and her partner Adeel Abriham after he asked for Ms Hussain's hand in marriage.

He chased Mr Adeel out of the family home on Westfarm Grove, Cambuslang, before making after the couple in his car.

Hussain was convicted by a jury at Glasgow Sheriff Court of a breach of the peace and attempting to hit the couple with his car to the danger of their lives.

Defence advocate Paul Brown told the court on Thursday that Hussain was a family man and "pillar of the community", Sheriff Sam Cathcart said he could deal with the case "other than by means of custody".

Hussain was ordered to carry out 300 hours unpaid work in the community, the maximum amount that can be imposed, and meet with a supervisor over 12 months.

The court heard previously Mr Abriham went to the Hussain's family home on March 1, 2011, to ask for Ms Hussain's daughter's hand in marriage after they had been dating for a few months.

Hussain did not want his daughter to be with Mr Abriham after making some enquiries about him.

Mr Brown told the court a number of references were given by people Hussain knows. He said: "It seems he is seen as a pillar of the community. All of them describe this conviction as being completely out of character."

He sounds like a decent fellow.

"We have detected the despicable, hellish, and Satanic plan to dominate the world and to humiliate the peoples and the nations." No, he wasn't talking about the Muslim Brotherhood's stated goal of "eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within." "Egyptian TV Host Hussam 'Aql: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion Is a Matter of Undisputable Science," from MEMRI, March 23 (thanks to David):

Following are excerpts from an address by Egyptian TV host Hussam 'Aql, which aired on Al-Nas TV on March 23, 2012 :

Hussam 'Aql : The Zionist entity and the Zionist movement are constantly "playing" with revolutions. What does that mean? After the revolutions, the situation is very fluid – the state is on its knees, and its institutions are shaky. This is the perfect opportunity for the Zionist entity to deal its blow and to play its little game.

Whoever does not believe me can look at The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. This is no book of poetry or stories. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a matter of undisputable science.

There was a meeting of the Freemasons in France, and a French woman managed to smuggle out some dangerous documents, which circulated in the meeting.

Between 1897 and 1951, the secret Zionist groups held nearly 23 meetings, one of which was a large gathering, which included over 50 Zionist groups. They issued several documents: How can we gain control over the world's minds? How can we gain control of the media? How can we turn the mighty national armies into cantons, which will fight one another? How can we gain control over the flow of capital? How can we gain control over the presidents and state leaders, and turn them into collaborators?

A French woman managed to smuggle out these documents, which serve as the backbone of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion....

Sergei Nilos issued a warning and wrote research. Then in the early 20th century, along came Victor Marsden and translated The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. We have read The Protocols, and we have detected the despicable, hellish, and Satanic plan to dominate the world and to humiliate the peoples and the nations.

"There is an attempt by the old Mubarak regime to hijack the last stage of this transitional period and reproduce the old system of governance." But this will certainly not be the end of the matter, for Ghorab is certainly correct that a "major crisis" is looming.

"Egypt disqualifies top Islamists, Mubarak VP from vote," by Tom Perry and Dina Zayed for Reuters, April 14:

CAIRO (Reuters) - The race for the Egyptian presidency took a dramatic turn on Saturday when the authorities disqualified front-runners including Hosni Mubarak's spy chief, a Muslim Brotherhood candidate and a Salafi cleric whose lawyer warned that "a major crisis" was looming.

The presidential election is the climax of a transition to civilian rule being led by the military council that assumed power from Mubarak on February 11, 2011 at the height of the uprising against his three decades in power.

The generals are due to hand power to the elected president on July 1.

The disqualifications add to the drama of a transition punctuated by spasms of violence and which is now mired in bitter political rivalries between once-banned Islamists, secular-minded reformists and remnants of the Mubarak order.

Farouk Sultan, head of the presidential election commission, told Reuters that a total of 10 of the 23 candidates had been disqualified from the race.

Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, the Salafi, was disqualified because his mother held U.S. citizenship, the state news agency reported, confirming previous reports fiercely denied by the Islamist cleric who says he the victim of a plot.

Abu Ismail's lawyer, Nizar Ghorab, told Reuters he expected "a major crisis" in the next few hours.

The Muslim Brotherhood's Khairat al-Shater was among those disqualified on Saturday. His spokesman said he would make use of a 48-hour window to challenge the decision.

Omar Suleiman, Mubarak's intelligence chief and vice president in his last days in power, would also appeal, his spokesman said.

The elimination of three of the top candidates in what is being billed as Egypt's first real presidential vote would redraw the electoral map just a few weeks before the vote gets under way in May. The election is expected to go to a June run-off between the top two candidates.

On Friday, Abu Ismail's supporters besieged the headquarters of the election commission, forcing it to evacuate the premises and suspend its work. The building was guarded by security forces with riot shields.

"A MAJOR CRISIS" IS COMING

Abu Ismail is a preacher and lawyer who has galvanized an enthusiastic support base with a message that mixes revolutionary zeal with hardline Islamism.

"The presidential committee has violated all the rules of law," Abu Ismail said in remarks published on his Facebook page. "If the official decision is to violate the constitution, they should be able to deal with the consequences," he said.

His candidacy had been in doubt since the election commission said it had received notification from U.S. authorities that his late mother had an American passport, a status that would disqualify him from the race.

Abu Ismail followers have hit the streets in protests to warn against any move to disqualify him. He denies his mother ever held dual nationality.

As for the Brotherhood's Shater, his candidacy had been in doubt due to past criminal convictions widely seen as trumped up by the authorities due to political activities.

The Brotherhood, founded in 1928, has moved to the heart of public life since Mubarak was toppled. Anticipating Shater's disqualification, the Brotherhood had nominated Mohamed Mursi, head of its political party, as a reserve candidate.

"We will not give up our right to enter the presidential race," said Murad Muhammed Ali, Shater's campaign manager.

"There is an attempt by the old Mubarak regime to hijack the last stage of this transitional period and reproduce the old system of governance."

Shater had described Suleiman's last minute decision to enter the race as an insult to the Egyptians who rose up against Mubarak. Suleiman says he is running to prevent Egypt turning into a religious state....

"These were historic elections that have taken place in a democratic atmosphere." As we have seen again and again, "democracy" in Muslim countries paves the way for Sharia. "Islamists win Jordan teachers' union election," from AFP, April 14 (thanks to David):

AMMAN — Jordan's powerful Islamists and their allies won a landslide victory in leadership elections for the country's first teachers' union, results showed on Saturday.

Independent Mustafa Rawashdeh was elected president with 259 of the 283 votes cast, but the Islamist "Unionist Teacher" bloc won all the remaining 14 council seats.

"These were historic elections that have taken place in a democratic atmosphere," Rawashdeh told AFP.

"Now, we will focus on work to help enhance education in the country and improve the conditions of teachers."

There are around 120,000 teachers in Jordan, providing education to 1.6 million children in 5,000 state and private schools.

Last year, parliament passed a law allowing the formation of the country's first teachers' union, following several street protests led by Rawashdeh.

The government has been reluctant to license the union fearing it would be politicised.

Omar Hammami was afraid this was going to happen over their differences regarding Sharia, and now it looks as if it has. Odd -- why didn't they have a tolerant, mutually respectful dialogue?

"Al-Shabaab execute al-Amriki," from the Somaliland Sun, April 14 (thanks to David):

The al-Qaeda-allied group al-Shabaab executed US-born jihadist Omar Hammami on April 5th, according to unconfirmed Somali media reports.

Hammami, known as Abu Mansour al-Amriki, said he feared for his life from other al-Shabaab leaders because of strategic and ideological differences in a statement released last month.

According to Somalia's Gedo Online, Hammami was the only one absent from a recent meeting attended by top al-Shabaab leaders in Baraawe.

Al-Shabaab reportedly hunted down Hammami after he left Marka in the Lower Shabelle region. He was reportedly beheaded on the spot and buried somewhere between Marka and Baraawe.

According to the report, the alleged execution angered some al-Shabaab leaders, who accused al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane of ordering the execution.

A group of foreign fighters and other top al-Shabaab members, including Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, also known as Fuad Shongoole, reportedly fled to the Galgala Mountains following the news of the execution....

Telling the truth to the enemies of the truth. "Israel to 'thank' fly-in activists in mocking letter," by Herb Keinon in the Jerusalem Post, April 14 (thanks to Jan):

As pro-Palestinian activists set to attempt to touch down at Ben-Gurion Airport, Israel plans to present them with letter questioning choice to hold humanitarian protest against Israel rather than Syria, Iran or Hamas.

Radical pro-Palestinian activists arriving Sunday at Ben-Gurion Airport as part of the "fly-in" will be greeted with a sarcastic letter noting that while they could have chosen to protest the brutality in Syria, Iran and Gaza, they opted instead to protest against the "Middle East's sole democracy."

"Dear activist," reads the letter that will be translated in a number of different languages. "We appreciate your choosing to make Israel the object of your humanitarian concerns. We know there were many other worthy choices."

For instance, the letter – drawn up in the Prime Minister's Office -- noted, they "could have chosen to protest the Syrian regime's daily savagery against its own people, which has claimed thousands of lives".

Or, they could have chosen to protest "the Iranian regime's brutal crackdown on dissent and support of terrorism throughout the world."

Or, if they just had to come to this part of the globe, they "could have chosen to protest Hamas rule in Gaza, where terror organizations commit a double war crime by firing rockets at civilians and hiding behind civilians."

But instead, the letter read, "you chose to protest against Israel, the Middle East's sole democracy, where women are equal, the press criticizes the government, human rights organizations can operate freely, religious freedom is protected for all and minorities do not live in fear."

The letter concludes with a suggestion that the "activists" first solve "the real problems of the region," and then "come back and share with us your experience."

The letter, in an indication that Israel will not let the protestors into the country but will rather deport them back to their countries of origin, ends with the line, "Have a nice flight."

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry officials said Saturday night that responsibility for dealing with the protestors is in the hands of the Public Security Ministry, who will be contact with the consulates of the countries whose nationals will not be allowed into the country....

Bloodshed by the will of Allah: the jihadi world view is rather like a real-life game of Whack-A-Mole: Allah apparently created huge numbers of unbelievers, people whom he "made for Hell" (Qur'an 7:179), solely so that the believers could kill them.

"Islamic terrorists issue threat against Jedward ahead of Eurovision," by Brian O'Reilly in the Independent, April 13 (thanks to all who sent this in):

TERRORISTS have threatened to target Jedward and other Eurovision participants at the annual music competition in May.

The Azeri terrorists, an Islamic group, have said they will target the participants of the Eurovision song contest in Azerbaijan as they are “European scum”. It has threatened the use of “knives and chemical weapons” at the contest.

The terror group said in a statement yesterday “Blood of the European scum must be shed by the will of Allah.”

The annual musical contest has attracted entries from 42 countries from eastern and western Europe this year, but the group said the Eurovision is “a nightmare for all Muslims.”

The statement comes after a widespread crackdown by Azeri authorities on the group in preparation for the contest - 17 members were arrested and one blew up himself and a policeman in recent raids.

Jedward and other travelling participants will now have additional security measures introduced for their protection. 42 Countries will send delegations to Baku, while thousands of fans are expected to travel to the Caucus nation for the event....

The new regime has said it will not impose Sharia. It looks as if it doesn't have to. It is already there. "Tunisian jailed for desecrating the Koran," from Reuters, April 12 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

(Reuters) - A Tunisian court has sentenced a man to four years in prison for desecrating the Koran, official media reported on Thursday.

Respect for religious symbols has become a matter of furious debate in Tunisia since the 2011 democratic revolution, which led to the election of an Islamist-led government that opponents fear is bent on gradually suppressing secular ways of life.

Prosecutors in the court case said the man, Ramzi Absha, had thrown copies of the Muslim holy book into lavatories at several mosques in the southern city of Ben Guerdane, according to the official news agency TAP.

A lawyer for Absha said the sentence was unfair. "The defendant suffers from mental illness and this should be taken into account," TAP quoted Abdel Nasser Aouini as saying....

The revolution fanned underlying tension in Tunisia between conservative Muslims who believe their faith should be given a bigger role in public life and secularists who say freedom of expression and women's rights are now in jeopardy.

Note to Reuters: "Conservatives" don't jail people for abusing books, any book. In the mainstream media, you're "conservative" if you enforce Sharia, and "conservative" if you oppose Sharia.

The government, led by the moderate Islamist Ennahda party that won 42 percent of seats in the post-revolution election, says it has a duty to defend standards of public decency.

Its secularist opponents accuse it of using the judicial system to crack down on anyone who does not fall into line with religious orthodoxy.

Salafis in Germany have been frequently linked to jihad terror plots. And the Qur'an, of course, with its exhortations to violence against nonbelievers (2:190-193; 4:89; 9:5; 9:29; 9:123; 47:4; etc.) is not as innocuous a book as Rauf Ceylan makes it out to be. It is, as we document here every day, all too easily "misunderstood" by the pious.

"Govt taking free Qur’ans project very ‘seriously,’" from DPA, April 14:

The government in Berlin said yesterday that it is taking “extremely seriously” a mass give-away of translations of the Qur’an on German city high streets by Salafist Muslim fundamentalists.

“The interior ministry is taking the current Salafist efforts extremely seriously,” a spokesman in Berlin told reporters, a day before the Salafist organisation was to continue the Saturday morning handouts in dozens of city pedestrian zones.

The spokesman said police were also investigating threatening criticism by Salafists of German newspapers, which was “absolutely unacceptable”.

The newspaper Die Welt had earlier reported that a video on YouTube showed a German Salafist ranting against two daily newspapers that have attacked the project to give away 25mn copies of the translation in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Politicians across Germany’s political spectrum have assailed the give-away campaign by a Cologne-based Salafist activist and businessman, Ibrahim Abu Nagie.

The project reportedly began in October, but the controversy only erupted this week.

A professor of sociology warned yesterday that the outrage about the Muslim radicals was playing into the hands of fundamentalists.

Rauf Ceylan, who teaches sociology of Islam at Osnabrueck University, said: “They wanted to get publicity, and they have achieved their objective. Everyone is talking about Salafism now.

“Another objective is to make contact with people during the give-away. It’s not reprehensible to distribute the Qur’an. It’s not dynamite: it’s the holy scripture of Islam. What matters is who is behind it and the ulterior motive, which is missionary.”...

Muslim cab drivers at the Minneapolis airport tried unsuccessfully to institute this as a policy a few years back. There will, no doubt, be many more attempts. The overall objective is to compel non-Muslims to obey Islamic mores.

"Muslim Cabbie Kicks Out Family For Carrying Wine," by Paul Broster in the Express, April 14 (thanks to David):

A MUSLIM taxi driver has been sacked after refusing to let a family take an unopened bottle of wine into his car because it went against his religion.

Adrian Cartwright, 46, booked the cab to take his wife and young daughter on a five-minute journey to an Indian restaurant for an early evening meal.

But he was left fuming when the private hire driver booted them out of the taxi after he spotted they had an unopened bottle of white wine.

Mr Cartwright later wrote about the incident in detail on Facebook – prompting the driver’s Asian-run taxi firm to sack him.

He said: “We all got inside the car and the driver said: ‘Is that alcohol?’ When I said ‘yes’ he replied: ‘I am sorry but I can’t allow it in my cab – it’s against my religion’.

“I knew it wasn’t worth arguing so we had to get out.”

He added: “The meal I had that evening was a Halal meal, whose methods I don’t agree with, but tolerate out of respect.

“I expect anyone offering a public service to do the same, and will be contacting the licensing department to suggest that the driver is politely asked to do so, or hand his badge back.”

Mr Cartwright complained to Borough Cars in Royton, near Oldham, Greater Manchester, and the self-employed cabbie was fired 30 minutes later.

The firm, a co-operative of 70 predominantly Muslim drivers, apologised and sent another driver two minutes later.

In an emergency meeting of its chairman and four directors, the firm then decided to dismiss the unnamed driver, thought to be in his 20s, who had only been working for the company for 10 weeks.

Will the Islamophobia never end? "Islamic Extremists Beat, Mock Christians in India," from CDN, April 12 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

NEW DELHI, April 12 (CDN) — Islamic extremists in India attacked a Christian prayer meeting in West Bengal state, beating a 65-year-old widow and other women less than a month after they helped drive a young woman out of her home and village for her faith.

Islamists in Nutangram, Murshidabad district forced their way into the home of Gaffar Shaike on March 30 at around 2 p.m., as 11 Christians from Believers’ Church were gathered for lunch and worship. In the same area of Nutangram on March 9, Islamic extremists drove 22-year-old Rekha Khatoon out of her village because she dared to give thanks for healing in Christ’s name in the predominantly Muslim village; her parents helped the Islamists to beat her nearly unconscious.

Initially seven extremists led by Mohammed Aanu Shaike stormed into the home of Gaffar Shaike and ordered the Christians to stop the meeting, said Pastor Bashir Pal, founder and pastor of the village Believer’s Church.

Gaffar Shaike said the extremists called them pagans as they kicked, slapped and pushed the Christians, adding that they reprimanded him and his wife for dismissing several warnings from them to stop leading prayer meetings in their house. A year ago, the extremists had burned Shaike’s crops for his faith in Christ, he said.

“I asked the radicals why they barged into my house and why they were not allowing us to pray in my own home,” Shaike said, adding that the extremists were so blinded by fury that they only continued beating them, calling them pagans and threatening to continue doing so until they returned to Islam....

You'd think that Hamas-linked CAIR and other "moderate" "civil rights" Muslim groups would be more proactive in trying to prevent Muslims like Jubair Ahmad from misunderstanding Islam. Yet there is nary a program in any mosque in the U.S. to teach against the jihadist understanding of the Qur'an and Sunnah -- a fact to ponder. Yet all this misunderstanding of Islam is sending young Muslims to jail! You'd think that would move the nation's favorite stomach-stapled beekeeper, Honest Ibe Hooper, and his merry band of thugs to action! But it doesn't -- apparently they have no compassion for poor Misunderstanders of Islam like Jubair Ahmed.

An update on this story. "Jubair Ahmad Of Woodbridge, Va. Gets 12 Year Sentence For Giving Material Support To Terrorist Organization LeT," from WUSA, April 13 (thanks to Kenneth):

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WUSA) -- A man who lived in Woodbridge has been sentenced for providing material to a terrorist organization.

According to authorities, 24-year-old Jubair Ahmad, who is a native of Pakistan but a Woodbridge resident, was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.

Authorities say Ahmad helped promote online propaganda for Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT). Ahmad also conspired to recruit others and raise funds for the organization.

LeT was responsible for the 2008 attack in Mumbai, India that killed 160 people, including two people from Virginia. It's the military arm of the political movement Markaz al-Dawa wal-Irshad in Pakistan," according to the United States Attorney of the Eastern District of Virginia.

According to court records, Ahmad attended LeT training camps as a teen in Pakistan. In 2007, he got a visa and moved from Pakistan to the United States with his family.

Ahmad pleaded guilty to charges last year, admitting that in September 2010 he communicated with Talha Saeed, the son of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who is the leader of LeT. Talha Saeed asked Ahmad to make a video containing a prayer by Hafiz Saeed calling for the support of jihad and the mujahideen. He also told Ahmad to put violent images on the video while the prayer played in the background. Talha Saeed told him to search for "Lashkar-e-Taiba" on YouTube to find images of mujahideen operations to put in the video....

At his sentencing, the government presented evidence that Ahmad expressed intention to return to Pakistan for the LeT commando training course and to be launched on a martyrdom mission.

That is, a mass murder mission, to claim the Qur'an's promise of Paradise for those who "kill and are killed" for Allah (9:111).

Can one of the smooth and reassuring Muslim spokesmen in the U.S. straighten these guys out and explain to them how they're misunderstanding the Religion of Peace? Honest Ibe Hooper? Boy Reza Aslan? Brave Ahmed Rehab? "Man of Peace" Imam Rauf? Can one of you please go over to Nigeria and meet with Boko Haram and explain to them how jihad warfare against Infidels applied only to Muhammad's time, never to be revived?

Or is that all just blague and guff to fool credulous Infidels?

"Boko Haram threatens Jonathan," by Emeka Mamah and Sam Eyoboka for Vanguard, April 13 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

KANO – Islamist sect, Boko Haram, has threatened to bring down the Federal Government led by President Goodluck Jonathan within three months. Purported leader of the sect said this in his second video posted on the Internet yesterday.

The 14 minutes, two seconds video of Abubakar Shekau seen on YouTube was in response to Jonathan’s comments while in South Korea, about two weeks ago, that the Boko Haram phenomenon would be under control by the middle of this year.

The sect’s threat came even as police yesterday confirmed that the death toll from an attack by unknown gunmen suspected to be members of the Islamist group on a town along Nigeria’s border with Cameroon has risen to no fewer than 10. Boko Haram’s attacks have left over 1,000 people dead since mid-2009. Apart from the latest attack in Borno, about 46 people died following bomb attack on residents of Kaduna on Easter day.

Christians from the 17 Southern states of the country had at an extraordinary meeting in Lagos on Wednesday appealed to the Northern elite, including religious leaders and politicians to rise to the challenges of insecurity which is capable of breaking up the country.

“You, Jonathan, cannot stop us; instead we will devour you in the three months like you are boasting,” Shekau said in the video entitled “Message to Goodluck Jonathan”. He was flanked by four masked men holding rifles as he spoke.

“We are proud soldiers of Allah; we will never give up as we fight the infidels. We will emerge as winners … we will finish you and end your government,” Shekau said in Arabic and the Hausa languages.

Boko Haram, has killed hundreds in bomb and gun attacks in northern Nigeria and around the capital Abuja this year.

Threat to President Jonathan

In the new video, Boko Haram otherwise known as the Jama’atu Ahl-Sunnati Lil Da’awati Wal Jihad stated that President Goodluck Jonathan cannot end its insurgency in June as publicly stated.

Sheik Abubakar Imam Shekau the leader of the group also said that the Nigerian security agencies cannot take down the sect by June 2012 as earlier promised by Jonathan. The sect leader appeared agitated throughout the video recording.

In the preamble of the message, Shekau vowed that it must destroy Christians and Christianity in Nigeria particularly those killing Muslims in Nigeria just as it said it will also kill all Muslims aiding the arrest and harassment of its members.

Shekau further said: “If death is your worldly gain, for us, it is eternal victory to die working for Allah. Our joy is to die in Jihad for Allah against infidels like you…

“We are also aware of some Muslims using our name to make money, we will say nothing but let them continue, and they will meet Allah in the last day.

“We are not doing physical human service, but Allah’s work and it is clear your aim is killing us. Let me tell you with Allah we will triumph over you and your men in hundreds. We are not boasting.

“Allah that finished Pharaoh and other wicked rulers that you are not up to, will finish you and end your government. We are not afraid because we are not doing man’s work but Allah’s work. And we will see who will carry the day.”

Suspected Boko Haram members burnt down immigration and customs posts in the town of Banki in Borno state Tuesday night, and also tried to set fire to a police station where officers repelled them....

The Federal Government, Tuesday, flagged off the building of some Almajiri Boarding Primary Schools in some states across the North in an attempt to appease the Boko Haram sect but a Kaduna-based rights activist, Shehu Sani dismissed the idea, describing them as ‘’white elephant projects.’’

Meanwhile, rising from their emergency meeting in Lagos Wednesday, southern Christian leaders urged northern leaders to curtail the alleged excesses of adherents of the Islamic sect....

Over at Stonegate Institute today (via RaymondIbrahim.com), I discuss some of the semantic games, key phrases, and convenient omissions that the mainstream media rely on to uphold the traditional narrative that Muslim violence is anything but a byproduct Islamic intolerance. Here's a snippet:

Blurring the Line between Persecutor and Victim

Now consider some MSM strategies. The first one is to frame the conflict between Muslims and Christians in a way that blurs the line between persecutor and victim, for example, this recent BBC report on one of Boko Haram's many church attacks that left three Christians dead, including a toddler. After stating the bare-bone facts, the report goes on to describe how "the bombing sparked a riot by Christian youths, with reports that at least two Muslims were killed in the violence. The two men were dragged off their bikes after being stopped at a roadblock set up by the rioters, police said. A row of Muslim-owned shops was also burned…" The report goes on and on, with a special section about "very angry" Christians, till one all but confuses victims with persecutors, forgetting what the Christians are "very angry" about in the first place: unprovoked and nonstop terror attacks on their churches, and the murder of their women and children.

This is reminiscent of the Egyptian New Year's Eve church bombing that left over 20 Christians dead: the MSM reported it, but under headlines like "Christians clash with police in Egypt after attack on churchgoers kills 21"(Washington Post) and "Clashes grow as Egyptians remain angry after attack"(New York Times)—again, as if frustrated Christians lashing out against wholesale slaughter is as newsworthy as the slaughter itself; as if their angry reaction "evens" everything up.

Dissembling the Perpetrators' Motivation

The second MSM strategy involves dissembling over the jihadis' motivation. An AFP report describing a different Boko Haram church attack—which also killed three Christians during Sunday service—does a fair job reporting the facts. But then it concludes with the following sentence: "Violence blamed on Boko Haram, whose goals remain largely unclear, has since 2009 claimed more than 1,000 lives, including more than 300 this year, according to figures tallied by AFP and rights groups."

Although Boko Haram has been howling its straightforward goals for a decade—enforcing Sharia law and, in conjunction, subjugating if not eliminating Nigeria's Christians—here is the MSM claiming ignorance about these goals (earlier the New York Times described Boko Haram's goals as "senseless"—even as the group continues justifying them on doctrinal grounds). One would have thought that a decade after the jihadi attacks of 9/11—in light of all the subsequent images of Muslims in militant attire shouting distinctly Islamic slogans such as "Allahu Akbar!" and calling for Sharia law and the subjugation of "infidels"—reporters would by now know what their motivation and goals are....

Worth murdering for

Somehow I doubt that Swedish nationality or residence was what drove these men to undertake their mass murder plot, but the VOA thinks that's the only detail about them that is pertinent.

"Trial for Alleged Terrorists Begins in Denmark," from the Voice of America, April 13:

Four Swedish men went on trial in Denmark Friday on terrorism charges arising from an alleged plot to attack a newspaper that published satirical cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad – an issue that has inflamed Muslims' passions in the past.

The VOA, like every other mainstream media outlet, has now apparently recited the Shahada and become Muslim, and acknowledges Muhammad as a prophet.

Three Swedish nationals and a resident of Sweden pleaded not guilty at the start of their trial, in a courtroom outside Copenhagen. Three of the men were arrested in December 2010 while they were allegedly heading to the offices of the newspaper newspaper to carry out the attack. The other man was arrested in Stockholm the same day, and later extradited to Denmark.

Prosecutors say the men on trial had ties to militant Islamist groups and international terrorist organizations, and had planned to kill a large number of people at the newspaper.

Three of the defendants also pleaded not guilty to charges of illegal weapons possession....

This dates from 2008, but is nonetheless important, as it directly contradicts the government, law enforcement, and mainstream media dogma that all Muslims in America are completely loyal citizens with no intention to bring Sharia here by any means, and who fully and wholeheartedly cooperate with anti-terror efforts. And this is not a production of a Tiny Minority of Extremists. It's from the august and mainstream Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America.

Will the high-profile Muslim spokesmen in America explain, or make any comment at all? No, they will not, and our clueless and/or complicit mainstream media will not ask them to.

"Mainstream American Muslim Group Warns Muslims Against Working in Law Enforcement, Becoming 'Pleased with a Legal System That Does Not Come from Allah,'" from Translating Jihad, April 12:

The Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA) cautioned American Muslims in a 22-page Arabic-language paper in 2008 against working in law enforcement in countries which do not rule by Allah's dictates. One of their main concerns was that such work might cause Muslims to gain love and respect for secular laws:

...there are many evils which result from working in law enforcement, the greatest of which is compelling people to obey rulings which do not come from Allah. It could also cause reverence and love for these rulings to enter the heart of the police officer, and perhaps spread to the hearts of his family members and other Muslims who see him at the mosque or even Muslims in general. They could lose conviction of governance by Allah, and become pleased with a legal system that does not come from Allah. (italics added)

AMJA provided some allowances for Muslims to work in certain law enforcement professions, fearing that a lack of Muslim representation in this sector could bring negative effects for the Muslim community. They also reasoned that Muslims working as police officers might be able to use their positions to help the Muslim community, such as helping out with traffic near their mosques and protecting their mosques. Still, there was concern that some of these might be required to enforce laws contrary to the shari'a, such as "arrest[ing] a Muslim man whose wife said he 'raped' her."

The AMJA paper specifically forbade Muslims from working for the FBI or in national security positions, due to their alleged arbitrary targeting of certain Muslims for "their political beliefs, charity work, or some of their convictions under the shari'a"--an apparent reference to counterterrorism investigations against Muslim suspects.

The paper also made clear that Muslims are to seek justice not in secular courts, but in Islamic courts which are compliant with their shari'a: "It is not permissible to pursue justice in the man-made (i.e. non-Islamic) judiciary, except where there is an absence of a shari'a-compliant substitute capable of restoring one's rights and working out one's grievances" (see my translation of another AMJA paper on working in the judiciary here).

Throughout the paper it is made clear that the duty of Muslims is not to uphold and respect the laws of the land in which they reside, but rather to do everything in their power to make the laws of Allah--the shari'a--supreme:

[Muslims are] to seek through legal means which exist in the countries in which they reside to make it possible for themselves to seek legal recourse in their shar'ia, and (not only) for personal affairs.

The duty to make Islam supreme comes above all, even preserving one's life:

We must remember that preserving the religion comes before preserving one’s self, mind, wealth, honor, or offspring. [...] But if saving [the individual's] life destroys Islam, then saving Islam comes first, even if it means the individual is destroyed. This is the case with jihad against the infidels, and the killing of apostates, and so forth.

It is worth stressing once again that AMJA--whose stated purpose is to "clarify the rulings of the sharia which are relevant for those who live in America"--is a mainstream American Muslim organization. Their membership list contains a large number of highly-influential American imams and Muslim leaders, including Muhammad al-Majid of the Adam Center in Virginia; Hussein Hamed Hassan, director of the financial consultancy firm which advises Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, and other large American banking institutions; Zulfiqar Ali Shah, former president of Islamic Circle of North America and current executive director of the Fiqh Council of North America; and the author of this paper, Dr. Hatem al-Haj, MD, PhD, a fellow at the American Academy of Pediatrics, and founder and president of "Building Blocks of Islam."...

Full list of signatories and complete text here.

Relax: it's only on "part of its campus." Will the Sharia section of campus carry out stonings and amputations as well?

Anyway, as we all know, when in Muslim countries, non-Muslims should abide by Muslim customs, mores, and laws. And when in non-Muslim countries, non-Muslims should abide by Muslim customs, mores, and laws.

"London Metropolitan University mulls alcohol ban for 'conservative Muslim students,'" by Matthew Holehouse in the Telegraph, April 12 (thanks to all who sent this in):

A London University may become the first in the country to ban alcohol from part of its campus to attract more Muslim students, its Vice Chancellor has said.

London Metropolitan University is considering banning the sale of alcohol from some parts of the campus because a "high percentage" of students consider drinking "immoral," Prof Malcolm Gillies said.

One-fifth of the University's students are Muslim, and of those the majority are women. It is an issue of "cultural sensitivity" to provide drink-free areas, Prof Gillies told a conference, adding he was "not a great fan of alchol [sic] on campus".

"It's a negative experience - in fact an immoral experience - for a high percentage of our students," he said.

He went on: "Many of our students do come from backgrounds where they actually look on [drinking] as a negative. And given that around our campuses you have at least half a dozen pubs within 200m, I can't see there is such a pressing reason to be cross-subsidising a student activity which is essentially the selling of alcohol."

"Because there's no majority ethnic group, I think it [selling alcohol] is playing to particular parts of our society much more [than to others]"....

Avert your eyes!

Fresh outrage in Canada over the impudence of the kuffar. "Muslim woman's bra photo sparks controversy," from CBC News, April 12 (thanks to all who sent this in):

A photo of a Muslim woman wearing full Islamic dress and holding up a bra as she sorts laundry is stirring controversy in Kamloops, B.C., and the Saudi Arabian Embassy is now involved.

The photo, taken by Thompson Rivers University fine arts student Sooraya Graham, features one of Graham's friends wearing a niqab, a veil covering the face, and an abaya, a full-body cloak.

The picture was a class assignment and was originally displayed with other student photos in mid-March, until some students complained and a staff member tore it down a week later.

"I was pretty shocked and I kind of felt my personal space as an artist and a Canadian had been invaded," said Graham.

Staff member acted alone

The photo taken by fine arts student Sooraya Graham of Kamloops, B.C., was torn down from a public display, and since installed at a university art gallery.

Christopher Seguin, the vice president of advancement at Thompson River University, said the art work was removed by a staff member who was acting on their own, and not in an official capacity.

Once the institution learned of the action, it immediately returned the art and made a commitment to cover any costs for its repair or replacement.

"The university is committed to honouring artistic expression and on a campus with many international stakeholders it is important that we balance cultural sensitivity with freedom of speech, and we value the conversations that this piece of art and all our others inspire," said Seguin.

But the Saudi Education Centre in Kamloops, which is funded by the Saudi Arabian government and provides support to Saudi students and their families, is taking issue with the photo.

"The artist didn't approach the artwork let's say in a very professional way that can state and can clarify the information and clarify the idea behind the picture," said centre president Trad Bahabri.

Bahabri said he thinks text explaining the photo's meaning is needed.

"I'm pretty sure many people misinterpret and many people misunderstand it. I can guarantee that," he said.

Graham counters it's up to the viewer to interpret the meaning, but says she had hoped the photo would show the public that women who wear the niqab are the same as everyone else.

How on earth does Bahabri think people "misinterpret" the photo? Does he think it makes the woman doing laundry appear like a slut? I can't even fathom the Saudis' outrage on this one. But it can certainly be chalked up to the general Islamic pathology about women.

"And the thief, male and female: cut off the hands of both, as a recompense for what they have earned, and a punishment exemplary from God; God is All-mighty, All-wise. " -- Qur'an 5:38

This is Sharia. Opponents of anti-Sharia laws in the U.S. have never adequately explained why this and other noxious elements of Sharia will not be part of Islamic law as they observe it here. They say Muslims are bound to obey the laws of the land in which they find themselves, but they conveniently fail to mention that Muslims are also bound to try to bring Sharia to those lands. And the media, as clueless and/or complicit as ever, never challenges Sharia advocates such as the Imam Faisal Abdul "Man of Peace" Rauf, or Ibrahim "Honest Ibe" Hooper, or Boy Reza Aslan with questions about this.

"Somali militants chop man's arm off," by Abdulkadir Khalif in Africa Review, April 13 (thanks to David):

Somalia Islamic militants Al-Shabaab Thursday amputated the hand of a man accused of theft at Alamada, 18km south of Mogadishu.

The amputation of the young man, identified only as Mohamed, was witnessed by a large crowd of onlookers.

An Al-Shabaab official at the scene said Mohamed was found guilty of stealing clothes.

“A sharp sword was used to slash the right hand away,” confirmed witnesses who did not want their names mentioned for security reasons....

Omar Suleiman is positioning himself as the candidate of those who do not want an Islamic state in Egypt, if he ends up being allowed to run at all. The response to this is certain to be contemptuous charges of "fearmongering." Yet there is a mountain of evidence already that the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists intend to establish an Islamic state in Egypt -- indeed, they themselves say that's what they intend to do.

"Egypt: Candidate Suleiman warns of religious state," by Hamza Hendawi for the Associated Press, April 12 (thanks to Kenneth):

CAIRO (AP) — Hosni Mubarak's former spy chief said in comments published Thursday that he decided to run for president to prevent Islamists from turning Egypt into a "religious state," and warned that the country would be internationally isolated if one of them won the presidency.

Omar Suleiman's comments in a weekly newspaper interview came just hours before the Islamist-dominated parliament passed a bill that strips senior figures of the Mubarak regime of their political rights for 10 years. The bill was hurriedly put together this week in hopes of preventing Suleiman, who briefly served as Mubarak's vice president, from running for president....

A propagandist for mass murder of Infidels to be sentenced today. An update on this story. "Woodbridge man to be sentenced for supporting Pakistani terrorist group," by Naomi Jagoda in the Washington Examiner, April 13:

A Woodbridge man is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in federal court in Alexandria for aiding a Pakistani terrorist group by making a video that was intended to support its jihad, court records show.

Pakistani native Jubair Ahmad, 24, pleaded guilty in December to providing matetrial [sic] support or resources to terrorists.

Ahmad admitted to posting a video that would be used by Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. The organization focuses on attacks on India, especially the disputed region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

Ahmad had communicated with Talha Saeed, the son of LeT leader Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. In September 2010, Ahmad prepared a video at the request of Talha Saeed and uploaded it to a YouTube account. Ahmad had reason to believe LeT would use it to promote jihad, according to a court document....

Sharia descending upon once-secular Turkey: "Turkish Pianist Faces Prison for Tweets," by Kendra Srivastava for Mobiledia.com, April 12 (thanks to David):

A Turkish pianist is facing prison time for anti-Muslim tweets, raising questions over the state of religious and Internet freedoms in less than secular countries.

"Less than secular countries." It was just recently that Turkey was a paragon of secularism, the trail-blazer of secularism in the modern world, the proof that Islam and democracy were compatible and that Islam could be genuinely moderate on a societal level. Above all, Turkey was the secular model that all Muslim countries were soon and inevitably to follow, and so concern about jihad and Islamic supremacism was just fearmongering.

How quickly Turkey has devolved from all that into a "less than secular" country that throws people into prison for violating Sharia laws regarding saying something impermissible about Muhammad or Islam.

Note also that this story calls what he wrote "anti-Muslim tweets," as if criticizing the religion is equivalent to threatening the people. This is a tried-and-true element of the victimhood game that Islamic supremacist groups play, with willing help from the mainstream media.

Fazil Say, a virtuoso pianist and composer, faces an investigation over tweeting remarks considered offensive to Muslims, Christians and Jews. Say used Twitter to question whether Islamic heaven is like a brothel or a pub, citing Qu'ranic [sic] verses that describe rivers of drinks and beautiful women for those admitted to paradise.

How is a place featuring rivers of drinks and beautiful women whose sole purpose is to be used sexually not like a brothel?

And who are these malignant and turban'd Turks trying to kid? Offensive to Christians and Jews? Why would Christians and Jews be offended by a description of features of Muslim Paradise that are unique to Islam? And where in the world are Christians and Jews today putting people in jail for saying something offensive about their religions?

He also tweeted about a muezzin who recited the evening call to prayer in under 30 seconds, surmising the religious man was either impatient to see his lover or get drunk on a beverage called raki.

Say may have been joking about his disregard for religion, but Turkey's authorities are not laughing.

As Turkish Penal Code specifies, "Anyone who openly denigrates the religious values of a part of the population shall be sentenced to imprisonment of from six months to one year, where the act is sufficient to breach public peace."...

"If not for his arrest, he would have traveled to Pakistan to wage jihad and aim to kill American soldiers." "In another e-mail, Hasbajrami stated that he wished to travel abroad to 'marry with the girls in paradise,' using jihadist rhetoric to describe his desire to die as a martyr."

See? What Hamas-linked CAIR and other Islamic supremacist groups in the U.S. have been saying is true! They've fought anti-Sharia laws all over the country by claiming that such laws would interfere with Muslim religious practice, and even make it impossible for people to marry in an Islamic ceremony. And here is Agron Hasbajrami, in an overflow of piety, wanting to marry with the virgins of Paradise promised to those who "kill and are killed" for Allah (Qur'an 9:111; and for the virgins, 44:54; 52:20; 55:56; 55:72) and what happens? The Feds swoop in and arrest him! It's racism! It's bigotry! It's Islamophobia!

Honest Ibe Hooper, where are you on this? Call Dave Weigel! Call Eli Clifton! Call Adam Serwer! Call Ali Gharib! Call Scott Shane! Call Souad Mekhennet! This must not stand!

"Albanian National Arrested En Route to Fight Jihad Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Support Terrorists," from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, April 12:

Agron Hasbajrami, an Albanian citizen and resident of Brooklyn, pled guilty today in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York before the Honorable John Gleeson to attempting to provide material support to terrorists. At sentencing, Hasbajrami faces up to 15 years in prison. As a condition of his plea, Hasbarjrami has agreed to be deported from the United States.

The guilty plea was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office; and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New York City Police Department.

According to court documents, Hasbajrami attempted to travel to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan (the FATA) for the purpose of joining a radical jihadist insurgent group. In addition, Hasbajrami sent over $1,000 in multiple wire transfers abroad to support terrorist activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In pursuing his goal of fighting jihad, Hasbajrami exchanged e-mail messages with an individual in Pakistan who told him that he was a member of an armed group that had murdered American soldiers. In order to preserve the secrecy of their communications, Hasbajrami and the individual used multiple e-mail addresses to disguise their correspondence. In one e-mail message, Hasbajrami stated that it was difficult to ask for money from fellow Muslims because they became apprehensive “when they hear it is for jihad.” In another e-mail, Hasbajrami stated that he wished to travel abroad to “marry with the girls in paradise,” using jihadist rhetoric to describe his desire to die as a martyr.

On September 5, 2011, Hasbajrami purchased a one-way airline ticket to travel to Turkey the following day. Based on Hasbajrami’s e-mail communications, he intended to travel from Turkey to the FATA to join a jihadist group. On September 6, 2011, Hasbajrami was arrested at an international departures terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York. At the time of his arrest, Hasbajrami was carrying a tent, boots, and cold-weather gear. Following his arrest, a search of Hasbajrami’s residence revealed, among other items, a note reading, “Do not wait for invasion, the time is martyrdom time.”...

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Fedarcyk stated, “The defendant has admitted to attempting to provide material support to terrorists, but this entailed much more than the money he wired overseas. If not for his arrest, he would have traveled to Pakistan to wage jihad and aim to kill American soldiers. Our mission includes not only preventing acts of terrorism here but also preventing would-be terrorists from going abroad to harm Americans.”

“The plea demonstrates that Brooklyn is no place from which to launch terrorist aspirations without the good chance of being captured and prosecuted,” Police Commissioner Kelly said. “Vigilance paid dividends again.”

Watch out, Kelly. You're veering perilously close to "Islamophobia."

Q and A:

This is video from the Horowitz Freedom Center's 2012 West Coast Retreat in Palos Verdes, California, on March 30, 2012. I was on a panel entitled "Losing the Middle East," moderated by Jamie Glazov, and also featuring Bruce Thornton, David Goldman ("Spengler"), and Daniel Pipes. Toward the end of the video we also briefly discuss my new book, Did Muhammad Exist?.

Of course. You didn't think it was his fault, did you? Remember, it never is. Whether it's jihad violence or honor killing or any act of Islamic supremacism, it is always the evils of the kuffar, or the shameless provocation of the girl who had the temerity to be raped, or the big dumb Infidel culture that was just sitting there ripe for the taking, that is to blame.

"Sudbury terror sympathizer lashes out during sentencing." by Laurel J. Sweet for the Boston Herald, April 12 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

Convicted al-Qaeda sympathizer Tarek Mehanna this morning gave a defiant and rambling address to the court as he awaited sentencing in federal court in Boston for conspiring with terrorists in a failed plot to murder U.S. soldiers in Iraq

“I never, ever plotted to kill Americans at shopping malls or anywhere else,” the 29-year-old Sudbury pharmacist said, twitching at his orange prison scrubs as he spoke for about 20 minutes in his first public statements since his 2009 arrest on terror charges. “Muslims should defend themselves against foreign invaders. This is not terrorism or extremism. It’s self-defense. The government prosecuted me not because they needed to, but simply because they could.”

Discussing “oppression,” he added: “It’s because of America that I am who I am.”

Mehanna also told the court he was prosecuted because he would not become an informant.

Assistant U.S. Attorney told Aloke Chakravarty told U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. that Mehanna’s claims were “categorically false,” spurring an outburst by Mehanna.

“You’re a liar, you’re a liar!” Mehanna screamed from his chair. “Sit down!”...

Federal prosecutors said yesterday Mehanna deserved to spend the next 25 years in prison for being that “rare individual who both attempted to engage in violent actions himself and also worked to recruit others to do so.”

Mehanna was found guilty last year of conspiring to kill in a foreign country and to support terrorists and of lying to investigators in a terrorism investigation.

“His plan to murder American soldiers was thwarted not by capture or a change of heart, but only by his failure to find suitable training” during a 2004 trip to Yemen in pursuit of recruitment to a terrorist camp, prosecutors said in their 13-page sentencing memorandum.

Mehanna used the Internet to spread information about jihad and set up a blog where he posted English translations of Web pages devoted to influential jihad advocates and spiritual patrons in Afghanistan and Iraq, an affidavit said....

UPDATE: Mehanna got 17 1/2 years of prison dawah. (Thanks to David.)

Back in May 2007, Dr. Izzat Atiya, head of Al Azhar University’s Department of Hadith, issued a fatwa, or Islamic legal decree, saying that female workers should “breastfeed” their male co-workers in order to work in each other’s company. According to the BBC:

He said that if a woman fed a male colleague “directly from her breast” at least five times they would establish a family bond and thus be allowed to be alone together at work. “Breast feeding an adult puts an end to the problem of the private meeting, and does not ban marriage,” he ruled. “A woman at work can take off the veil or reveal her hair in front of someone whom she breastfed.”

Atiya based his fatwa on a hadith—a documented saying or doing of Islam’s prophet Muhammad and subsequently one of Sharia law’s sources of jurisprudence. Many Egyptians naturally protested this decree—hadith or no hadith—though no one could really demonstrate how it was un-Islamic; for the fatwa conformed to the strictures of Islamic jurisprudence. Still, due to the protests—not many Egyptian women were eager to “breastfeed” their male coworkers—the fatwa receded, and that was that.

However, because it was never truly rebutted, it kept making comebacks.

For instance, three years later in 2010, a high-ranking Saudi, Sheikh Abdul Mohsin al-Abaican issued a fatwa confirming that “women could give their milk to men to establish a degree of maternal relations and get around a strict religious ban on mixing between unrelated men and women.” But unlike Atiya’s fatwa, “the man should take the milk, but not directly from the breast of the woman. He should drink it [from a cup] and then [he] becomes a relative of the family, a fact that allows him to come in contact with the women without breaking Islam’s rules about mixing.”

Now, a report titled “Kuwaiti Activists: Husband Breastfeeding from Wife not Prohibited,” published earlier this month by Arabic RT (see also Garaa News) opens by announcing that “The adult breastfeeding fatwa has returned once again to the spotlight, after Kuwaiti Islamic activists supported the adult breastfeeding fatwa issued by the Egyptian Salafi, Sheikh Jamal al-Murakbi [different from Al Azhar’s Sheikh Atiya]. This time around, the Kuwaitis examined the adult breastfeeding fatwa in the context of relations between a man and his wife.”

While the Kuwaiti sheikhs all essentially agree that the activity is not strictly forbidden according to Sharia—only “disliked” (literally makruh)—they are divided over the particulars:

• Sheikh Nazim Misbahi, head of the Fatwa Committee of the Islamic Heritage Revival Society in Kuwait, supports the decree, agreeing that “it is not forbidden [haram] for a man to breastfeed from his wife.”
• Sheikh Bassam al-Shatti, a Sharia professor, specifies: “If the husband deliberately sucks to obtain milk from the breast of his wife, this is forbidden; however, if it happens unintentionally during foreplay with his wife, then there is no problem—though it is disliked according to the four schools” of Sharia.
• Sheikh Sa’d al-Anzi stressed that “if the man, while being intimate with his wife, sucks her nipples, it is nothing, considered foreplay; but if the milk reaches his mouth, he should spit out—even if goes down in his stomach,” i.e., vomit.

Consider for a moment the significance of these Islamic edicts: whether women “breastfeeding” coworkers (Egyptian fatwa, 2007), whether men drinking female breast-milk in a cup (Saudi fatwa, 2010), or whether Kuwaiti minutiae concerning bedroom foreplay—such fatwas are reminders of the inescapable strictures of Sharia law: while these sheikhs offers various circumstances and interpretations concerning “adult breastfeeding,” they are all confined to the words of the prophet of Islam.

This is precisely why, despite all the claims that Islam is perpetually being “misunderstood”—by terrorists, by “Islamophobes”—understanding what Islam commands and forbids is actually quite a simple matter: along with the Koran, determine what the prophet said in canonical hadiths.

It is, after all, no coincidence that the above mentioned Kuwaitis, like Sheikh Misbahi, were members of the delegation that recently went to ask Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti about Islam’s position on churches in the Arabian Peninsula: the same source that compelled the Grand Mufti to declare that all churches must be destroyed, is the same source that advocates “adult breastfeeding”: Muhammad and his teachings. All very straightforward, really.

Raymond Ibrahim is an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center.

"The funds deliver 'critical support to the Palestinian people and those leaders seeking to combat extremism within their society and build a more stable future. Without funding, our programs risk cancellation,'" said a State Department official. But which "Palestinian" leaders exactly are really "seeking to combat extremism"?

"Clinton Overrules Republican Lawmaker's Hold on Palestinian Aid," by Sara Sorcher for the National Journal, April 11 (thanks to Kenneth):

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addresses the G8 foreign ministers at the start of a working session at Blair House in Washington on Wednesday.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is allowing U.S. funds to flow to the West Bank and Gaza despite a hold by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., a rare display of executive-branch authority that angered the key lawmaker concerned about protecting her congressional oversight role.

A State Department official said that a letter was delivered on Tuesday to key members of Congress informing them of Clinton's decision to move forward with the $147 million package of the fiscal year 2011 economic support funds for the Palestinian people, despite Ros-Lehtinen's hold. Administrations generally do not disburse funding over the objections of lawmakers on relevant committees.

The funds deliver "critical support to the Palestinian people and those leaders seeking to combat extremism within their society and build a more stable future. Without funding, our programs risk cancellation," the official, who was not authorized to speak about the issue, said in an e-mail. "Such an occurrence would undermine the progress that has been made in recent years in building Palestinian institutions and improving stability, security, and economic prospects, which benefits Israelis and Palestinians alike.”

Late last month, Ros-Lehtinen sent a letter to Clinton and U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Rajiv Shah, informing them she will lift her hold on some $88.6 million of the Palestinian aid package -- out of the full $147 million -- under special conditions. Appropriations State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee Chairwoman Kay Granger, R-Texas, agreed to release her hold on the full assistance package on humanitarian grounds.

"The U.S. has given $3 billion in aid to the Palestinians in the last five years alone, and what do we have to show for it?" Ros-Lehtinen said on Wednesday in a statement to National Journal. "Now the administration is sending even more. Where is the accountability for U.S. taxpayer dollars?"

Where indeed?

Sharifi had an "unclear concept of what constitutes consent in sexual relationships." And that stands to reason, since consent is a very ill-defined notion in a religious context that allows for child marriage, per Muhammad's marriage to Aisha, and allows a man to have sex with captive sex slaves.

"Afghan refugee who said raping woman was part of 'cultural differences' is jailed for 14 years," by Richard Shears for the Daily Mail, April 12 (thanks to David):

An Afghan man who fled from the Taliban to begin a new life in Australia will spend the next 14 years behind bars after a judge rejected his claim that cultural differences had led to him raping a woman.

Esmatullah Sharifi, 30, was told by Judge Mark Dean in Melbourne that his background as a traumatised Muslim refugee was no excuse for the rape of a drunken and vulnerable teenager.

The judge noted that a psychologist had told the Victoria County Court in Melbourne that Sharifi, who arrived in Australia in 2001, had an 'unclear concept of what constitutes consent in sexual relationships'.

Rejecting that argument, the judge said Sharifi's background and flight from the Taliban was not an excuse for violence, telling the Afghan: 'You well knew the victim was not consenting to the act of sexual penetration you performed.'

It was not the first time that Sharifi had appeared in court on a rape charge - in 2009 he was jailed for a minimum of seven years for the abduction and sexual assault of a woman on Christmas Eve, 2008 - five days after he had raped the teenager.

Already serving seven years imprisonment for that offence, he was now charged with raping the 18-year-old who he had found alone, intoxicated and sitting on the pavement near a nightclub after she had had a disagreement with her friends.

Sharifi, the judge said, had driven from his home that night in December looking for a victim.

He sat down beside the teenager, began talking to her and offered to drive her to a hotel where her friends had moved on to.

But when he drove off in a different direction, the young woman became concerned and texted her friends - until Sharifi took her phone and drove to a dark street.

The teenager cried and asked if he planned to kill her. He replied by putting his hand around her neck and forcing her to remove her clothes before raping her....

Sharia Is Benign and Compatible with the U.S. Constitution Alert from the Kingdom of the Two Holy Places: "Saudi woman sentenced to flogging, for swearing in text," from Bikya Masr, April 9 (thanks to Elder of Ziyon):

CAIRO: A Saudi court sentenced a local woman to 50 lashes for swearing at her friend, following an argument, a newspaper reported on Monday.

The two Saudi women, aged 33 and 31 years, had decided to go out with their children for a weekend night but differed on where to go.

“An argument ensued and the two women decided to split … one of them later sent a text to her friend’s mobile phone swearing at her,” the Arabic language quotidian Kabar reported.

“The other woman went to court and showed the judge the message … although that woman said she was joking, the court ordered her lashed 50 times.”...

But the world is much more concerned about "Islamophobia" -- i.e. dirty looks -- than about the plight of people like Shamim Bibi. An update on this story. "Pakistani Woman Accused of ‘Blasphemy’ Illegally Held in Jail," from Compass Direct News, April 10 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

LAHORE, Pakistan, April 10 (CDN) — The mother of a 6-month-old girl has been wrongly jailed for more than a month, as Pakistani authorities have failed to file a charge sheet within the mandatory 14-day period against the young Christian woman falsely accused of “blaspheming” the prophet of Islam, her attorney said.

Shamim Bibi, 26, of village Chak No. 170/7R Colony, in the Fort Abbas area of Bahawalpur district, was charged under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s “blasphemy” statutes after neighbors accused her of uttering remarks against Muhammad. She was arrested on Feb. 28.

Speaking ill of Muhammad in Pakistan is punishable by life imprisonment or death under Pakistan’s internationally condemned blasphemy laws.

“Shamim has been implicated in a completely baseless case,” said her husband, Bashir Masih. “I was present with her at the time of the alleged incident … nothing of the sort happened. The Muslims cooked up a false story, though it’s still not clear who provoked them into leveling this accusation.”...

“The police just did not listen to our pleas and went ahead and registered a case against my innocent wife,” he said. “It’s been over a month now, but the police haven’t filed a charge sheet against her. Who will compensate for the agony that my wife and family are suffering for no fault of ours?”...

Shamim Bibi’s family had earlier told Compass that she had been accused because she had resisted pressure to convert to Islam four days before her arrest. Three relatives had become Muslims on Feb. 24 and urged her to do the same, and when she refused, neighbors on Feb. 27 accused her of making derogatory remarks – as yet unknown – about Muhammad (see www.compassdirect.org, “Pakistani Woman Charged with ‘Blasphemy’ for Refusing Islam,” March 12)....

More indication of the ongoing re-Islamization of Turkey. "Christian clerics alarmed at growing threats, persecution in Turkey," from Hürriyet Daily News, April 10 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Christian clerics in Turkey have expressed their anxiety regarding the growing threats they face in wake of an attack against Pastor Semih Serkek of the Protestant “Lütuf” (“Grace”) Church in Istanbul’s Bahçelievler district on April 7.

“Attacks against Christian clerics drop off for a while, then they begin to re-energize. [Such attacks] have begun to accelerate again in recent days. We hesitate when opening our doors and welcoming the faithful inside,” Pastor Krikor Ağabaloğlu of the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church in Istanbul told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Attack on Easter

Three unidentified individuals attacked and beat Serkek on the night of April 7, immediately after an Easter service. “They were three people around the age of 18. They wore [prayer caps] on their heads. They forced the door open and said they were going to kill me unless I recited the ‘Kelime-i Şahadet’ [Islamic confession of faith]. I received a severe blow to my chest,” Serkek told the Daily News. The attacks were not coincidental, according to Serkek, who had also served as a mentor to the three victims slain in the Malatya Zirve Publishing House incident in eastern Turkey.

Pastor Orhan Picaklar of the Agape Protestant Church in the Black Sea province of Samsun also said he has been living with a personal escort 24 hours a day for the past four years, since a plot to assassinate him first came to light. “Police [officers] keep watch at the door during mass; the believers are afraid to enter the church due to the threat to their lives,” he said. The make-shift church, located inside an apartment building, also came under attack about a month ago, Picaklar said, adding that the congregation was chagrined at being stuck in an apartment. “[The authorities] gave the green light to the construction of a new church in 2004, within the framework of the European Union harmonization laws, although with the pre-condition that it must be no smaller than 2,500 square meters. We have no budget. We appealed to establish a church building 1,000 square meters in size, but did not receive approval for it.”

Ağabaloğlu said that in the case of his church, the state intentionally refused to grant permission for the construction of a church building. “They are trying to stymie the spread of Christianity in this way.”

Islamic law forbids Christians to build new churches.

The Islamic world is obsessed with its own security.

The Iranian ayatollahs and president are well aware that military power alone will not help protect their regime. They also need a strong economy. And most importantly, diplomacy.

Although there are "small" problems, such as the worldwide financial penalties and sanctions on oil sales with Iran, over time these problems are resolved. And they are not resolved in favor of Western civilization.

According to the general director of the Iranian Oil Company, Jalil Salar, Iran is increasing its sale of petroleum products, in spite of international sanctions. According to him, in the world there will always be countries that are interested in Iranian oil. He stated this at the 17th International Oil & Gas and Petrochemical Exhibition in Tehran.

But Iran has celebrated April 8 as the National Nuclear Technology Day, marking the day its nuclear program began. In Iran, this day is called the Day of the "Yellow Cake." Isn't that ironic?

Tehran has already opened negotiations to aid in the development of nuclear power in other countries. About Turkey I have already written, and other countries may be interested in Iran's nuclear technology. If the goods are available, the buyer is always there. Muslims are well aware of this. Trade is not only part of the culture; it's part of the religion, too.

Here's another interesting fact about trade. For the further development of relations between Turkey and Iran, the countries agreed on the appointment of special envoys from each. On the Turkish side, the representative appointed was the Minister of Development and Investment, Cevdet Yilmaz, with Iran's being the Vice President for International Affairs, Ali Saidlu.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said that the special representatives were instructed to draw up a list of areas of cooperation between the two countries, and to examine the level of cooperation. Then they will prepare a report for the presidents of Iran and Turkey.

"Our goal: to increase bilateral trade to 35 billion dollars," he said.

And all this after the announcement of financial sanctions against Iran. Funny, is not it?

This has all happened at a time when the world community is waiting for what may be the solution to this problem, from a meeting in Istanbul on April 14. The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, said that the preconditions before starting a new round of talks between Tehran and the 5 +1 group were senseless and unacceptable. "These discussions are purely for informational purposes only, and none of the parties put forward any preconditions."

He said that the Iranian delegation will take part in negotiating a new round of dialogue, regardless of the rumors and reports circulated, based only on the principle of national dignity and position of the Islamic Republic.

Salehi at the same time expressed the hope that the Istanbul meeting would be more successful than previous meetings, and that the parties could move forward in addressing the issues.

The Secretariat of the National Security Council of Iran said that the first round of the new phase of negotiations between the IRI and the "Six" will be held on April 14 in Istanbul, and the second later in Baghdad. In the historic capital of the Caliphate? And will these negotiations decide the fate of Islam -- I'm sorry -- of Iran's nuclear program? Is not it symbolic?

Meanwhile, Erdogan has taken steps to legalize Ankara as a nuclear state. Turkey and China recently signed two agreements in the nuclear field.

According to reports, these two agreements were signed after the talks between Turkish and Chinese Prime Ministers, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Wen Jiabao, in Beijing on Monday.

During the ceremony, which was attended by the prime ministers of both countries, the energy ministers of Turkey and China signed an agreement on peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Then an agreement was signed between the Chinese national energy management agency and the Turkish Ministry of Energy.

The fact that the region is preparing for war is already visible even to the naked eye. Revolutionary Guards have begun a project of the Caspian Sea water desalination. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran has taken responsibility for the implementation of this project.

In the Caspian Sea, the latest technology is used for water desalination. Whence came to Iran the technology and money for such projects? This country should be under siege, according to the president and the mullahs.

In the end, these same guardians of Islam have declared that Iran has unveiled a new radar system of local production called "Samen."

Muslims in trade with each other cannot be deceived. Islamic law forbids it. But non-believers can be deceived. And maybe we want to be deceived. But is it worth the risk? And why do the Iranians need a nuclear program in the first place?

Surely our friends and allies the Saudis aren't going to allow Hafiz bin 'Ajab Al-Dawsari to persist in his gross misunderstanding of Islam. "Saudi Preacher Urges Muslims to Wage Armed Jihad to Free German Jihadi Filiz Gelowicz," from MEMRI, April 10:

On March 14, 2012, Saudi poet and preacher Hafiz bin 'Ajab Al-Dawsari devoted a sermon to Filiz Gelowicz, an imprisoned German jihad supporter and wife of Fritz Gelowicz, a German convert from the "Sauerland Cell," which allegedly plotted attacks in Germany on behalf of the Islamic Jihad Union in 2007.

Some converts from Islam get murdered. Some converts to Islam become jihad terrorists. But no converts from Christianity get murdered, and no converts to Christianity become terrorists.

In his sermon, Al-Dawsari urged Muslims to come to her aid – with donations, but also with weapons, if necessary. Using passionate and inflammatory language, Al-Dawsari repeated claims that she has been brutally mistreated in prison, and reminded his audience that freeing Muslim prisoners held by the "infidels" is a supreme religious duty.

Islamic supremacists always claim that jihadis have been "brutally mistreated in prison."

Muhammad mandated death for apostates, and that is still part of Islamic law. At least three other pastors were killed as well. Will the Islamophobia never end? "Philippines Pastors Face Death for Ministry to Muslims," by Gary Lane and Lucille Talusan for CBN News, April 11:

MINDANAO, Philippines - The Philippines is a mostly Christian nation, but in the south, Muslim fundamentalists are trying to build an Islamic state.

Christians there face persecution and even death.

The island of Mindanao on the southernmost part of the Philippines is predominantly Muslim. The area's most remote parts are a haven to terrorist groups linked to al Qaeda that carry out attacks and kidnappings in the region.

Strong Persecution

Because of this, persecution against Christians is strong. This year, at least four house churches closed down after their pastors and lay leaders were killed by Muslim extremists.

Pastor Mario Acidre was one them. His wife, Mayang, was distraught over her husband's murder, which took place right in their home.

"My husband staggered into our bedroom and I was shocked because he was full of blood," she recalled. "I brought him to the hospital right away. He was operated on for eight bullet wounds, but did not survive."

Pastor Acidre was a former Muslim who converted to Christianity. He boldly shared the gospel to his Muslim relatives and neighbors.

Despite threats to his life, he was not afraid to hold Bible studies in his home, which he eventually converted into a house church.

Sharing the Gospel

Witnesses say that just a few hours before he was killed, Acidre agitated some Muslim vendors when he told them he did not believe in the amulets they were trying to sell him.

Pastor Edilberto Beira is the coordinator of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches of the Philippines in the Muslim region.

"I admire Pastor Mario's commitment to the Lord. He tried to share the gospel to the Muslim vendors," he said.

But Beira added that, "This incident triggered threats to other Muslims who converted to Christianity, and that is why the house churches closed down."...

This comes after both secularists and Christians pulled out of the panel in protest against Islamic supremacist dominance. But this suspension is not going to end the push for Sharia in Egypt.

"Egypt Judiciary Suspends Islamist-led Constitution Panel," from AFP, April 10:

CAIRO (AFP) -- An Egyptian court suspended on Tuesday the Islamist-dominated commission tasked with drafting a new constitution amid a boycott by liberals, moderate Muslims and the Coptic church.

The administrative court in Cairo said it was "suspending the constituent assembly" without explaining the reasons, but lawyers and liberal political parties had filed a complaint accusing the Islamist-majority parliament, which formed the panel, of having abused its powers....

The 100-member panel, which is evenly divided between parliamentarians and public figures, was elected by the parliament, which also voted for a number of reserve candidates who could replace the panelists.

But most of its members are from the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist fundamentalists who hold the majority in both houses of parliament.

The head of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, Mohammed Mursi, said the FJP would not appeal Tuesday's decision.

"The Freedom and Justice Party fully respects the decisions of the Egyptian judiciary, including the decision by the administrative court to suspend the constituent assembly," Mursi said in a statement.

He said the FJP was ready to cooperate with all parties and groups in drafting a charter "that reflects all Egyptians."

The secular parties had already withdrawn from the commission, believing that their presence was only used as a smoke screen allowing the Islamists to draft a basic law that reflects their political-religious ideologies.

The prestigious Sunni Islamic institution, Al-Azhar, and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt have also decided to boycott the panel.

Islamists believe the commission should reflect the composition of a parliament where the FJP holds nearly half the seats and the Salafist Al-Nur party almost one quarter.

The secularists want a more balanced commission, fearing that the Islamist grip would lead to the strengthening of a demand for Islamic sharia law to be the point of reference for legislation.

On Tuesday, around 150 people demonstrated outside the State Council, which has the power to rule on administrative disputes, to protest against Islamist control of the constitutional project.

One banner proclaimed: "The constitution is not a matter of majorities. Egypt will remain a civil state."...

Good luck with that.

Obama continues to demonstrate his solicitude for the Muslim Brotherhood. "IPT Exclusive: State Department Barred Inspection of Muslim Brotherhood Delegation," by Steven Emerson for IPT News, April 9 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

The State Department broke with normal procedures last week when it ordered the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) not to conduct a secondary inspection on members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) on their way to visit government officials and think tanks in the United States.

This happened despite the fact that one member of the delegation had been implicated – though not charged – in a U.S. child pornography investigation, the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) has learned.

According to senior enforcement sources and documents reviewed by the IPT, investigators had information tying Abdul Mawgoud Dardery to the pornography investigation that was based in Pennsylvania. He was the senior member in the four-person FJP delegation which held court with academic groups and met with senior officials at the White House and State Department last week. (For more on what they said, click here.)

Before returning to Egypt, Dardery lived in the United States long enough to attain legal permanent residency, known as a green card. That status lapsed after he left the country for more than six months. The child pornography investigation took place during Dardery's time here and was noted in his immigration file. It surfaced when CBP officials learned of his pending visit....

In addition, the Brotherhood's relationship with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas would have triggered extra scrutiny for the incoming delegation. But that "secondary inspection" never happened, a law enforcement source said. The State Department ordered CBP not to do it.

The State Department issued a cable specifically barring Customs officials from carrying out any inspections of Dardery and the other members of the delegation on their arrival at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport. The immigration official described this action by the State Department as "extraordinary."

Beyond the State Department's prohibition on conducting extra scrutiny of Dardery and members of his delegation, the State Department barred US Customs officials from carrying out even the standard inspection mandated for foreigners arriving from Egypt, where an enhanced security program is in place as a result of the 9-11 attacks.

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 with the goal of establishing a worldwide Islamic state through jihad and martyrdom. The group is considered the parent of all Sunni terrorist groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

How did they get the crazy idea that they shouldn't obey the Infidel's laws? Why are such misunderstandings of Islam so rampant? "France: 13 Salafis before judge for indictment," from ANSAmed, April 3 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

(ANSAmed) - PARIS, APRIL 3 - Thirteen of the seventeen Salafis taken into custody by French police on Friday have gone before the investigating magistrate today who will be charging them with belonging to an illegal association linked to terrorism.

Among the charges against those detained, including the head of the Salafi group Forsane Alizza, is the ''planned kidnapping'' of a Lyon magistrate of Jewish origins, Albert Levy, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins. The dissolution of Forsane Alizza (''the Knights of Pride'') was ordered by Interior Minister Claude Gueant, who accused the organisation of training its supporters for armed struggle, of being against Republican principles and of wanting to bring ''the kingdom of Islam'' to France. (ANSAmed).

Over at Gatestone Institute (via RaymondIbrahim.com) I discuss the plight of churches in the Islamic world, in light of the Easter day bombing in Nigeria, and the significance of attacking churches on the holiest of Christian holidays, from Christmas to Easter:

Last Sunday, many Christians around the world celebrated Easter, taking it for granted that they can congregate and worship in peace. Not so; in the Islamic world, where top religious officials call for the destruction of churches, Christian holidays celebrated in church are increasingly a time of death and destruction, a time of terror.

Nigeria, for example, saw some 50 Christians killed "when explosives concealed in two cars went off near a church during Easter Sunday services in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna…. the casualty figure may go up because some injuries were really critical." The church targeted was "the Assemblies of God's Church near the centre of the city with a large Christian population and known as a major cultural and economic centre in Nigeria's north." According to the pastor holding Easter services at the time, "We were in the Holy Communion service and I was exhorting my people and all of a sudden, we heard a loud noise that shattered all our windows and doors, destroyed our fans and some of our equipment in the church."

There is little doubt that the Islamist group Boko Haram is behind the terror strike. The group has long been targeting churches—most notoriously, last December 25, when several churches were bombed in the Muslim majority areas of Nigeria, in what was described as "Nigeria's blackest Christmas ever": then, over 40 Christians were slain, "the majority dying on the steps of a Catholic church [in Madalla near the capital of Abuja] after celebrating Christmas Mass as blood pooled in dust from a massive explosion." As usual, the charred and dismembered remains of Christian worshippers were seen scattered in and around the destroyed church.

While the Christmas—and now Easter—church attacks may be Nigeria's most known, they are certainly not the only ones. Consider just the last few weeks:

- Sunday, March 11: A Boko Haram suicide car bomber attacked a Catholic church, killing at least 10 people. The bomb detonated as worshippers attended Mass at St. Finbar's Catholic Church in Jos, a city where thousands of Christians have died in the last decade as a result of Boko Haram's jihad.
- Sunday, February 26: A Boko Haram suicide car bomber killed at least three people, including a toddler, at another church in Jos. Witnesses said the jihadist drove his car into the prominent Church of Christ during morning prayers.
- Sunday, February 19: A Boko Haram bomb attack outside a church in Abuja left at least five people seriously injured and many more hurt, when a parked car filled with explosives detonated outside the Christ Embassy Church.

While the mainstream media, analysts, government officials, etc. try to portray these attacks as products of Nigerian poverty—most recently, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs insisted that "religion is not driving extremist violence" in Nigeria—the fact is, wherever in the world there are significant numbers of Muslims (Nigeria is essentially half Christian, half Muslim), churches are under siege (see sections dealing with church attacks in my "Muslim Persecution of Christians" reports for February, January, December, November, October, September, August, and July)....

Predictable, but no less monstrous for that. "Muslims in France Waiting for the Backlash," by Souad Mekhennet for the New York Times, April 10:

PARIS — The attacks in France committed by Mohammed Merah, a French-born Muslim whose parents migrated from Algeria, have millions of Muslims living in the West worried about the potential consequences. In particular, women worry that they will become the focus of campaign politics.

Many friends who wear the hijab and live in Europe reported getting angry looks after the attacks, said Malika, 29, a German of Moroccan background who works in a bank and declined to have her last name published.

Angry looks! Horror of horrors! The other day I was at a Hertz counter and a Muslim clerk gave me a dirty look -- I don't think he recognized me, but perhaps just took me for a Jew -- and ostentatiously bypassed me for the person behind me in line. Will the New York Times write about me?

Mr. Merah, 23, had traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan and claimed affiliation with Al Qaeda. He killed seven people, three of them children.

“It is terrible what he has done, and there is nothing in Islam that justifies the killing of innocents, especially children,” said Naima, 26, who also spoke on the condition that her full identity be withheld.

The problem is that Muslim hardliners consider no non-Muslim to be innocent. And the Qur'an tells us that "the unbelievers among the People of the Book" -- that is, the Jews and Christians who reject Muhammad and Islam -- are not human beings worthy of respect although they differ from Muslims in conscience, but "the worst of creatures" (Qur'an 98:6).

Naima and other Muslims in France would no doubt strongly reject such a view, but we cannot know that for sure, since they do not address it, and no mainstream media journalist ever asks them to do so.

“But will we Muslims, and especially Muslim women, have to pay the price now?”

No. The rabbi and the children Merah murdered at the Jewish school in the name of Islam and jihad already paid the price.

Naima cited the debate in France over where Mr. Merah was to be buried — in the end, Algeria refused his body, and he was buried in Toulouse — as evidence of double standards about who is embraced as French and who remains firmly Muslim.

“When someone is like Zidane, a great sportsman, they say he’s French, and when one like Merah, who is a child of this society, runs nuts and kills people, they say he’s not one of us,” she said.

You mean you want to claim him?

Naima’s parents, like Mr. Merha’s [sic], came from Algeria. She grew up in the suburbs of Paris.

Naima and many other Muslims in Europe wonder whether they are caught in a vicious cycle in which increasing xenophobia helps radicalize a generation of Muslims born in France, and they ask whether attacks like Mr. Merah’s will further increase Islamophobia.

Notice that it is "xenophobia" that helps "radicalize" young Muslims. Texts of the Qur'an and Sunnah exhorting believers to wage war against unbelievers? No, those have nothing to do with this "radicalization," nothing whatsoever. It is entirely the fault of the West, despite the fact that Muslim leaders in Europe have repeatedly warned Muslims there not to assimilate, but to form ethnic/religious enclaves. The Muslim leader Dyab Abou Jahjah in Belgium said a few years back that "assimilation is cultural rape."

Mahvish Rukhsana Khan, an American lawyer living in Los Angeles and the author of the book “My Guantánamo Diary,” asserted that “French politics have generated anti-Islamic sentiment,” but that clearly Mr. Merah “needed his head checked.”

Yet again, there is no hint whatsoever that any Muslims could have done anything to be responsible for any "anti-Islamic sentiment," if any actually exists.

“Nothing justifies his heinous attacks,” she said.

Mr. Merah also stated that France had become increasingly anti-Muslim, citing the ban of the niqab, the veil over women’s faces....

“Between having entire families massacred in Kandahar by a sociopath U.S. soldier, drones wiping out entire families or bombs dropping on weddings,” Mrs. Khan said, “there are multiple sources to anger toward Western countries.”

Yes, and no reasons at all for what Mrs. Khan would term "Islamophobia." Just never mind all those jihad terror attacks committed in the name of Islam.

Mrs. [Yvonne] Ridley said: “Western governments must start to take responsibility for their actions abroad, and these actions are not usually with the consent or in the agreement of their own citizens who elected them.”

Yes, yes, Western governments must start to take responsibility. But do Muslims need to start taking responsibility for how jihadists use the texts and teachings of Islam to incite to violence? Of course not!

"Circumcision is obligatory (O: for both men and women. For men it consists of removing the prepuce from the penis, and for women, removing the prepuce (Ar. bazr) of the clitoris (n: not the clitoris itself, as some mistakenly assert). (A: Hanbalis hold that circumcision of women is not obligatory but sunna, while Hanafis consider it a mere courtesy to the husband.)" -- 'Umdat al-Salik e4.3

"PRESS RELEASE: Female Genital Mutilation in Iraq / Study shows: FGM common in Kirkuk," from Mesop, April 10 (thanks to AINA):

For the first time, an empirical study proved that female genital mutilation is also prevalent in parts of Iraq beyond the borders of the Kurdish Region. WADI and the local women’s rights organization PANA have conducted an in-depth research about the existence and background of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Kirkuk. They interviewed 1212 women above the age of 14 and asked each of them 61 questions.

Two years ago, WADI did a similar research in Kurdish Northern Iraq which revealed an alarmingly high prevalence rate of more than 72%. Around the same time, Human Rights Watch published a qualitative study which backs and complements WADI’s results. Meanwhile, after extensive protests and lobby efforts from activists and women’s rights groups (see notably the campaign STOP FGM in Kurdistan ), the Regional Government has adopted a legal ban of FGM and other forms of violence against women and children.

Not so in Southern and Central Iraq, which also comprises the multi-ethnic, oil-rich city of Kirkuk. The public authorities assume that FGM is non-existent outside the Kurdish Region.

The new Kirkuk study proves this assumption to be utterly false. According to its findings, 38.2% of Kirkuki women live with the consequences of FGM.

With 65.4%, Kurdish women are the most affected ethnic group. Arab women hold 25.7% and Turkmen women 12.3%.

Focusing on the religious affiliations, 40.9% of the Sunnis, 23.4% of the Shi’ites and 42.9% of the Kaka’is are genitally mutilated.

No Christians were found to be affected.

The FGM prevalence rate among girls under the age of 20 is a “mere” 15% which may indicate that the practice is about to decrease gradually. Among women aged 60-70, it is up to 80%.

When it comes to the reasons for the practice, the answers are evenly divided between “tradition” and “religion”, i.e. Islam.

In most cases, FGM means the amputation of the clitoris. Some women however – in the Arab-dominated countryside it is 21% – experienced more severe types, including the cutting of the inner and/or outer labia.

The Kirkuk findings prove that FGM is a common practice also among non-Kurds – Sunnis and Shi’ites alike. This data constitutes strong evidence for the assumption that FGM is prevalent throughout Iraq. Millions of women and girls are likely to be affected by these grave human rights violations.

Therefore, we call on the Baghdad parliament to address the issue as soon as possible, support public awareness and discuss further ways to counter female genital mutilation in Iraq. The complete study will be published in June 2012.

Santorum is out of the race now, but the moral equivalence and obfuscation regarding the real evil of the Taliban that this exemplifies are still very much with us. And yes, Santorum is the American Taliban. No doubt he wants to mow down his own people who dare to dissent from his policies, blow up girls' schools, throw acid in the faces of women who get out of line, imprison and torture rivals and those who disagree with him, amputate the hands of thieves, murder apostates, stone adulterers -- you name it. Of course, Leftists probably really do believe that Santorum wants to do those things, and are attacking him on that basis, even though it doesn't seem to bother them all that much when the mullahs or the Taliban actually do them.

Obeidallah is not original in this: the clownish boy and jihad terror apologist Reza Aslan has made a very similar comparison. Obeidallah, meanwhile, hotly denies being an Islamic supremacist himself, although he doesn't seem to know what the term means, and is energetically pushing the manipulative Muslim Brotherhood invention "Islamophobia." I don't know whether he is an active stealth jihadist or simply an exceptionally dimwitted Useful Idiot, and he refused to answer any of my questions.

"Muslim Comedian Claims Santorum Sounds Like 'the Taliban' When Talking Church and State," by Matt Hadro at Newsbusters, April 9 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

According to Muslim comedian and CNN regular Dean Obeidallah, Rick Santorum speaks the language of "the Taliban" when he talks about the intersection of church and state in America. On CNN Sunday night, liberal host Don Lemon decided to have a religious discussion for Easter Sunday, and his first question was about the separation of church and state.

Obeidallah has attacked Santorum in the past, and found a way to bring him into the discussion. He referred to Santorum "saying the Bible and our laws must comport," adding later that "He was saying the same things honestly that the Taliban would say, that religious scripture and the laws of that state must agree." [Video below the break. Audio here.]

First of all, Santorum had said he was opposed to homosexuality because of "Judeo-Christian values that are based on biblical truth," a quote which Obeidallah used as fodder for his argument that Santorum wants the Judeo-Christian equivalent of Sharia law in America. He also knocked the candidate for insisting that civil law must comport to "God's law."

However, Santorum could well have referred to "God's law" as the same concept that appears in Martin Luther King's "Letter From a Birmingham Jail," where he argued man-made laws must conform to the "law of God," or natural law, in order to be just. And, in fact, Santorum has made this exact point before.

However, Obeidallah remains insistent in pushing this outlandish theory that Santorum wants something like a Christian theocracy – and Don Lemon was content to let him spout it....

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, political comedian: I think – I don't think most people have a problem with faith or a candidate that's got moral and convictions. That's actually a good thing. I think the difference is when it doesn't – when it no longer maybe influences your decisions, but actually your decisions, your policy decisions, are based on Scripture. Like Rick Santorum's saying the Bible and our laws must comport.

To me, that went beyond any kind of accepted view of politics and religion. There was no longer separation of church and state. He was saying the same things honestly that the Taliban would say, that religious scripture and the laws of that state must agree. So, I think that went too far. But, of course, people – if morals and ethics are what religion's about, and (Unintelligible) to be a better person, that's a great candidate. It's a great elected official for us to have.

Arab Spring democracy on the march! "'Every aspect of life is to be Islamicized,'" by Oren Kessler in the Jerusalem Post, April 10 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

The Muslim Brotherhood’s main presidential candidate seeks to fundamentally Islamicize Egyptian society if elected, according to newly uncovered footage of an extended address he gave supporters last year shortly after his release from prison.

Egyptian activists have transcribed Khairat al-Shater’s 90- minute address into English, offering a rare glimpse into the worldview of the normally tight-lipped candidate who is a front-runner in upcoming elections to lead the Arab world’s most populous state.

Shater delivered the address, entitled “The Islamic Renaissance Project,” in Alexandria on April 21, 2011, less than two months after his release from prison. The veteran Brotherhood financier had served four years of a seven-year sentence for money laundering and membership in the once-banned Islamist group when he was freed in the aftermath of president Hosni Mubarak’s ouster.

Footage of his remarks has been available on YouTube for the past year, but only in Arabic. Following Shater’s announcement as the Brotherhood’s candidate late last month, activists from the Egyptian Union of Liberal Youth translated and transcribed the video and last week posted it online. The English translation is now available on the homepage of Current Trends in Islamist Ideology, a journal published by the US-based Hudson Institute.

“Everywhere, the Brothers are working to restore Islam in its all-encompassing conception to the lives of people,” Shater says in the address. “Thus the mission is clear: restoring Islam in its all-encompassing conception, subjugating people to God, instituting the religion of God, the Islamicization of life, empowering of God’s religion, establishing the renaissance of the ummah [worldwide Muslim nation] on the basis of Islam... Every aspect of life is to be Islamicized....

Last week, the organization sent a delegation on a tour of Washington to meet with policy analysts, university students and the media. At every stop, the delegates assured their hosts they intend to preserve the rule of law and minority rights.

The Brothers’ Freedom and Justice Party would be “as inclusive as possible – including liberals, secularists” and Christians, a Brotherhood lawmaker told an audience at Washington’s Georgetown University, adding that peace with Israel would not be altered “unless if there is a massive popular will to change that.”

“We are... working to improve the situation of women in society, getting to the root causes of the problem of the marginalization of women,” the female editor of the Brotherhood’s Englishlanguage [sic] website assured the Georgetown audience.

Eric Trager, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the Brotherhood’s visit was an exercise in dishonesty.

“They lied constantly and emphatically, as if there were simply no evidence of contrary views to the ones they were putting out,” Trager told The Jerusalem Post. “Of course the evidence they were lying is freely available – the Brotherhood’s history of opposing laws banning female genital mutilation, and its statements about wanting to put the Camp David Accords to referendum, are all public.”

“Anyone seriously following Egypt has to know they were painting a highly inaccurate picture of themselves,” he said.

Trager interviewed Shater last year in the course of doctoral work on Egyptian opposition parties. He said the candidate’s remarks in the video largely comport with what he had told him in person.

“The idea is that the Muslim Brotherhood is trying to implement Shari’a, but an interpretive form that seeks to realize what they would call social benefits,” he said. “It’s an Islamic jurisprudential approach in which there is constant reference to Islamic law, but it’s interpreted in terms of the general aims of a given text.”

Mina Rezkalla, a member of the Egyptian Union of Liberal Youth and an intern at the Hudson Institute, said he believes the Brotherhood remains committed to the same principles that have marked the movement throughout its eight-decade history.

“They have a double voice. They play with the words, but not with the content,” he told the Post. “When talking about Israel to a Western audience, they will use the word ‘Israel’ rather than ‘the Zionist state.’ But if you had a long, deep conversation with them, they would see they never change their concepts.

They will never tell you that Israel is legitimate – they simply talk about protecting Egyptian interests.”

Watching Shater’s remarks, Rezkalla said, he was struck most by the Islamist candidate’s sincerity.

“He’s such a believer – he didn’t talk about himself or his own sacrifices. He didn’t talk about anything but the glory of the organization and the glory of the goal,” he said. “He talks about a perfect totalitarian project – to Islamicize Egyptian society from top to bottom, and to do the same all over the world.”