June 2012 Archives

Pamela Geller has the harrowing story:

Occupy haters (more here)

 Occupy Arrested At “F*ck The Police” March …

Over 90 Occupy #OWS anti-American groups are converging on Washington, DC to wreak havoc in the capital and desecrate the celebration of our nation's birthday.

One People's Project, part of the violent, fascist Antifa movement, is urging occupiers to disrupt (and who knows what else) my appearance at the Independence Hall Tea Party on July 4th.

That means that I need extra security, and that is expensive. I need your help.

URGENT APPEAL: Please send a contribution to cover these expenses. Please send whatever you can. Contributions can be made via paypal.com to writeatlas@aol.com.

The left is growing increasingly thuggish and violent, bent on shutting down and shutting up freedom fighters. See what they did when we spoke recently at Temple University. Don't let the destroyers, moochers, looters and haters ruin (yet again) a wonderful celebration of America. Free speech is their number one target.

ISLAMOPHOBE TO SPEAK AT INDEPENDENCE HALL ON 4th OF JULY - WHILE OCCUPY GATHERING TAKES PLACE

The Occupy National Gathering at Independence Hall in Philadelphia is going to be held from June 30-July 4, and on that last day the fireworks may start before the sun goes down. That's because the so-called "Independence Hall Tea Party" - which has not been heard from since the last time Occupy Philadelphia was around - is going to hold their own event as well. And to ensure that they are making everyone else's point that they are a hatemongering crowd, they are going to include among their speakers screeching Islamophobe Pamela Geller who announced on her blog that she will be there "at the birthplace of American freedom and exceptionalism on the greatest birthday in the history of man!" That might be news to Christians who celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but then again it's not like Geller can be confused with being about anything righteous in the first place. We do encourage those who are participate in the Occupy National Gathering to play it cool. No, we are not giving you that weak spiel about how we should ignore that crowd when they show up, because that's exactly what we don't want you to do. What we are urging is for us to handle the situation responsibly and don't let them have the day. Hate has no home in Philadelphia. Location : Independence Hall 6th & Market, Philadelphia, PA

How is it that this convert to Islam came to believe that murdering Infidels by the hundreds would please Allah? Why didn't anyone in the Muslim community explain to her that this idea represented a drastic Misunderstanding of Islam? Why does no one ask these questions, despite the fact that these Misunderstanders of Islam keep proliferating? Why does no non-Muslim authority ever call Muslim communities to account for doing nothing about this "radicalization"? Why does no non-Muslim authority ever determine that non-Muslims are going to have to fight this "radicalization" themselves and enforce their own laws before it's too late? "Fugitive Samantha Lewthwaite - the 'white widow' of 7/7 - writes chilling online blog," from the Sunday Mirror, July 1 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

The widow of one of the 7/7 bombers is writing a chilling web diary while on the run from police after being named as the prime suspect for a deadly terror attack in Kenya.

In the haunting blog, Samantha Lewthaite, whose husband Jermaine Lindsay blew up a Piccadilly Line train during the London attacks in 2005, says “fear can make you do many things” and warns she faces “many more challenges” in the months ahead.

Her blog Fears and Tears: the Confessions of a Female Muhajid is the first time Lewthaite, 28, has made any attempt to communicate with the outside world since she fled to Africa.

Its emergence comes amid a worldwide search for Lewthwaite – dubbed the “White Widow” – as she is hunted over claims she took part in a grenade attack in Kenya which killed three football fans watching the Italy versus England Euro 2012 game in a bar last Sunday.

Just three days before the blast she posted a lengthy message on her blog admitting she had “no regrets” about converting to Islam and waging Jihad.

She wrote: “My decision to revert to Islam is the most precious gift that my maker has bestowed upon me.

Samantha Lewthwaite with a friend Party snap: Samantha with a friend before she became an Islamic extremist

“From a previous life of sin and worshiping of worldly things I have lived for many years now as Muslim content with serving Allah with the knowledge that I have a place in Jannah [Paradise].”

Her rambling message goes on: “Like many revertees I have been tested and challenged but each time Allah has guided me towards the right path and ensured my faith in my religion remains constant.

“During the month of April and May I faced a great challenges (sic). Some friends have told me I have over-reacted because I’m a woman and weak.

“Yes, I am woman but I am woman who believes in Jihad and supremacy of Islam.

“With all this pressure I broke down in tears... Jihad is an obligation that we must accept – so today I’m over my fear and my tears are dry.”

The extraordinary diary has appeared on the website of the Muslim Youth Center – the Kenyan arm of Islamic militant group Al-Shabaab. On the morning of the attack in Kenya a message was posted on the site saying: “BOOM!!! Mujahideen making music.”

Hints about an attack were also posted on the MYC’s Twitter account, saying: “Tick tock there goes the count-down for the kuffar...”

It appeared alongside an image of a woman Hamas fighter brandishing an assault rifle.

Lewthwaite, originally from Aylesbury, Bucks, has been on the run since last year when police foiled a plot to blow up Western hotels in Mombasa.

She was charged in December with plotting to kill hundreds of British tourists after police found weapons and a bomb-making factory in her safe house, which also acted as a makeshift bank for the group.

Lewthwaite was released and is thought to have taken refuge in Somalia before her return to Kenya. In March the MYC announced that they were helping to shield her. Then, last week, officials in Africa said the mother of three was spotted near the nightclub targeted in the bomb attack.

A grenade was thrown into the Jericho Beer Garden, which was packed with tourists watching England play Italy. A young boy was among the three dead.

University dropout Lewthwaite is being hunted by the CIA, Kenyan police and Scotland Yard, which has a team in Nairobi to assist with the search....

Africans for Israel

Mangosuthu Buthelezi is right. It is tragic that he is one of the few political leaders anywhere in the world willing to enunciate this truth. "SA's very own 'Made in Israel' war of words," by Osiame Molefe for Eyewitness News, June 29 (thanks to A):

The exact wording proposed is unclear, but a notice issued by the trade and industry department that goods imported from Israel and manufactured in the Israeli-occupied territories ought to be labelled as such has been met by protest.

The Inkatha Freedom Party, the African Christian Democratic Party, the South African Zionist Federation and the Shembe Church – dubbing themselves “Africans for Israel” – on Thursday marched to the trade and industry department's head office in Pretoria to demand that minister Rob Davies withdraw the notice.

According to ACDP leader Kenneth Meshoe – whose human rights record includes opposition to gay rights and condom distribution and who supports the death penalty – the notice “is discriminatory, indefensible and part of the international boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign to isolate and delegitimise Israel.”

Davies' action is yet another indication that the South African government has taken Palestine's side in the conflict, IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi added. He also claimed that the notice had no basis in law.

“Our government has maintained an unstated position with regards to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and has made no effort to conceal the fact that it supports the Palestinian cause. One seldom hears an unbiased statement in Parliament. Our government has taken sides,” he said.

Buthelezi also likened the consumer boycotts against the re-labelling to those preceding the persecution of Jews and the Holocaust in Germany....

Of course. The National Socialists of Germany initiated the first BDS movement, calling on Germans to boycott Jewish-owned businesses:

Rasheda, a champion of Islam's moral code, just got a tough lesson in how exactly it works. See, even though her play was warning against what Islam identifies as social ills, school officials found another social ill forbidden by Islam: acting in plays. (Other Muslims, however, contend that only Misunderstanders of Islam believe such things. Oh, the glorious complexity of this religion!) Sharia Alert: "Bangladesh: Madrassa girl punished for acting in play," by Shariar Sharif for Khabar South Asia, June 28 (thanks to Benedict):

Seventeen-year-old Rasheda Begum didn't have the slightest idea that she could be punished for acting in a play that highlighted various social ills that are forbidden in Islam – usury, dowry, gambling, child marriage and corruption.

Her participation came at a painful cost, however. The 10th grade madrassa student was caned in front of her classmates and expelled from indulging in "un-Islamic activities" when she returned to her class on June 2nd after the end of summer vacation.

"I still do not know what my crime was," Rasheda told Khabar South Asia. "The play was all about the bad things that Islam forbids and I thought I was doing the right thing by highlighting the social ills."

For 18 days Rasheda begged her teachers at the Jagabandhu Islamia Senior Madrassa, located in the district of Kamalnagar, to let her resume her studies, but they refused.

She says they also insulted her father Mohammad Ali, a poor rickshaw puller from Pandithat, a remote village in southeastern Laxmipur district, when he accompanied Rasheda to plead on her behalf. She and her father also sought the help of village elders but they refused to intervene.

Having found no other avenue, the family reported the matter to the local human rights groups and police.

Their intervention paid off. A meeting was organised among local leaders, rights groups and the madrassa authorities to settle the issue. The madrassa not only decided to accept her back, but also agreed to bear the costs of her studies until she graduates next year.

Religious scholar: Islam does not forbid women from acting in plays

While he expressed sorrow for caning and expelling Rasheda, teacher Maulana Mohammed Ismail insists the actions were justified. "She has defiled the reputation of the madrassa by acting in the play as such acts are forbidden in Islam," he said.

An Islamic scholar, however, disagrees, saying there is no ban that prohibits women from taking part in acting, especially in a play that depicts social ills and aims to raise awareness about their pernicious effects on society.

"Islam does not prohibit women from playing any role in a drama or skit provided they wear modest dress and do not make any provocative gestures," Abdul Munim Khan, professor of Islamic Studies at Darul Ihsan University in Dhaka, told Khabar....

The case of Rasheda, who has launched a formal complaint, has triggered an outpouring of support from womens' groups and Bangladeshis opposed to the misinterpretation of Islam....

How did he become "radicalised"? What steps are Muslims and non-Muslims taking to prevent more converts to Islam from misunderstanding their faith that we all must believe is peaceful on pain of charges of "Islamophobia"? Why, nothing, nothing at all, but that doesn't bother anyone. It's Saturday night! Have a drink! More on this story. "Al-Qaeda plotting to bomb US plane," from AFP, July 1 (thanks to Kenneth):

LONDON: Al-Qaeda is plotting a terrorist attack on a US airliner, Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper reported, citing intelligence sources.

The broadsheet said Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) had recruited a Norwegian Muslim convert and given him terrorist training in Yemen, and that the group were believed to have selected a US passenger jet as a target.

“The Norwegian recruit goes under the Islamic name of Muslim Abu Abdurrahman,” the newspaper said.

“He is understood to be in his thirties and a ’clean skin’, with no previous criminal record. He converted in 2008 and quickly became radicalised.

“He later travelled to Yemen, where he has spent several months, to complete his training.”

The CIA foiled a similar AQAP plot to blow up a US-bound airliner in May, reportedly using a double agent who infiltrated the group and volunteered for the suicide attack.

AQAP has been linked to the 2009 Christmas plot in which a bomb hidden in a Nigerian attacker’s underwear failed to detonate on a plane bound for Detroit.

It is also suspected of having a hand in a 2010 attempt to blow up cargo planes heading to the United States with explosives concealed in printer cartridges. -- AFP

Why we don't see more Muslim reformers. "Religious Leader Killed in Russia's Dagestan," from RIA Novosti, June 29 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

An imam has been killed in a mosque in Russia's southern Dagestan region, police said on Friday.

The four masked assailants also killed another man and set the mosque on fire, before fleeing the scene in a stolen car.

The imam, Magomedkamil Gamzatov, was well-known for his rejection of "any form of violence and openly condemned the extremist insurgency," the National Anti-Terror Committee said in a statement....

Not allowed to fire back

Never mind that there are actual Muslim women with guns and Qur'ans ready to wage jihad against non-Muslims:

If we notice, that's "Islamophobia."

"SEAL training range won't show woman as target," by Kate Wiltrout for The Virginian-Pilot, June 30 (thanks to all who sent this in):

NORFOLK - The Navy will not use a target depicting a Muslim woman holding a gun at a new training range for SEALs in Virginia Beach.

The announcement came hours after the [Hamas-linked] Council on American-Islamic Relations asked the Pentagon to remove the target. A picture of the cardboard target, which shows a woman in a headscarf holding a pistol, was published in The Virginian-Pilot on Tuesday. The image shows verses of the Quran hanging on the wall behind the woman, which also generated criticism from the group.

Nihad Awad, executive director of the [Hamas-linked] Washington-based council, said in the letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta dated Friday that the target "is offensive and sends a negative and counterproductive message to trainees and to the Muslim-majority nations to which they may be deployed."

Panetta's press office did not respond to a request for comment. Late Friday, Lt. David Lloyd, a spokesman for Naval Special Warfare Group 2, said the materials in question would not be used on the close quarters combat training range, which was dedicated Monday at Joint Expeditionary Base Fort Story.

"We have removed this particular target and Arabic writing in question from the range in the near term, and will explore other options for future training," Lloyd said....

The 26,500-square-foot building contains 52 interconnected spaces, including mock-ups of markets, a hospital, schools, a bank, a bus depot and two mosques. It will allow small groups of SEALs to practice enemy engagement at close range....

I'm sure the mosques will be going soon as well.

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the [Hamas-linked] Islamic group, said it's important that military units not be trained to see Muslims as enemies, even if they are fighting in Afghanistan or other Muslim-majority nations.

"There are all kinds of people all over the world trying to do us harm. Why would you use this particular image in training people how to kill?" Hooper asked. "It creates the impression, we believe, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, that you should view Muslim women in headscarves with hostility and suspicion."...

From now on, this image, approved by Hamas-linked CAIR, will be used as the target:

AFP, like all mainstream media outlets, never mentions this jihadi's religion, despite the fact that it was the motivating factor behind his actions, and is preoccupied with his nationality, which played no part whatsoever in his motivations.

"Suspected al Qaeda associate arrested in NY," from AFP, June 30 (thanks to Kenneth):

NEW YORK: A man suspected of association with al Qaeda has been arrested here and charged with providing material support to the terror network and possessing and using firearms to promote violence.

The indictment of Minh Quang Pham was announced by Preet Bharara, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York and other security officials.

According to court papers, in December 2010, Pham travelled from Britain to Yemen where he showed up at the principal base of operations for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

While in Yemen, Pham took an oath of allegiance to AQAP, carried an automatic assault rifle, obtained training from the group and helped it prepare online propaganda.

Pham returned to the United Kingdom from Yemen in 2011. Prior to his arrest, Pham was held by British authorities in immigration custody.

If convicted on all counts, Pham would face a maximum sentence of life in prison, with a mandatory minimum sentence of 40 years.

His nationality has not been announced.

His name is Vietnamese. Why does it matter?

“The international law enforcement cooperation that led to today’s arrest of Minh Quang Pham, an alleged associate of a terrorist organization committed to killing Americans both here and abroad, underscores our joint commitment to identifying, prosecuting, and punishing those who would do harm to our country and our people,” Bharara said in a statement.

Maybe with his wife.

This recalls the incandescent line from Annie Hall: "Sex with you is really a Kafka-esque experience."

It also recalls a diary entry written by the Shi’ite seminarian Aqa Najafi Quchani early in the twentieth century, right after he had concluded a temporary marriage:

…Fortunately, the woman was at home and I married her for a while. When I had quietened my desire and enjoyed the pleasure of the flesh from my lawful income, I gave the woman the qeran [an old Iranian monetary unit]...It is reported that the Imams have said that whoever makes love legitimately has in effect killed an infidel.

Anyway, the really noteworthy aspect of this, aside from the comedy gold of his comparison of sex with jihad, is Hossein Dehnavi's assumption that jihad is fighting for Allah's sake, and that it is a religious obligation. Islamic apologists in the West often obscure the martial aspect of jihad, but Hossein Dehnavi considers himself to be under no such obligation.

"The rules of love, as told by an Iranian cleric," by Afshin Valinejad for the Christian Science Monitor, June 29 (thanks to Kenneth):

“Love” may be one of the most heavily used words in Persian literature. Famous poets Rumi, Hafez, and Sa’adi obsessed about “eshq” centuries ago, though their words most often referred to divine and spiritual emotions.

Discussion of physical love was another matter. As in many cultures, it was long a taboo subject, and the advent of Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution did little to change that. The trend for decades has, in fact, been evident in annual police crackdowns that target women showing too much hair, or boy-girl handholding in the streets.

So it might be a surprise that one of the hottest-selling DVDs in Tehran – at least at souvenir stores that cater for Shiite religious pilgrims to the Shah Abdol-Azim shrine, south of the capital – is one that seems to encourage something of a sexual revolution, Shiite-style.

Advertising posters proclaim, “The Art of Making Love,” and show cleric Hossein Dehnavi looking like any other young seminary-trained holy man in Iran, bespectacled and bearded, wearing a turban and religious robes.

Yet Mr. Dehnavi’s comparisons of lovemaking to jihad have ensured that, since its release in late May, religious bookshops here run out of their new stock of DVDs every afternoon.

The video is of a theological speech that Dehnavi gave during a seminar, to a gathering of newlyweds and others, in the shrine city of Mashhad in northeast Iran. It is called: “Improving the Skill of Making Love: The Peace and Pleasure in Matrimonial Life.”

In a nation where sexual dissatisfaction ranks as one reason for a high rate of divorce, even guidance from a cleric appears welcome to some.

“According to our religion, eshqbazi [lovemaking] is a form of worship,” says Dehnavi in the video.

“We have quotes from the 12 [Shiite] Imams saying that having sex with your wife is just like jihad, fighting for the sake of Allah,” says Dehnavi. “Unfortunately, some people believe sexual relationships are ugly. No, it is not an ugly behavior in Islam, it is a divine behavior and it is even a religious obligation to properly make love.”...

We might as well just all cut our own throats and be done with it. There needs to be a wholesale housecleaning at the top in both Canada and the U.S.: not just an electoral turnover, but a thorough cleaning-out and replacement of the entrenched bureaucracies, unaccountable to anyone, that are working toward our own destruction. Does any candidate have the courage to call for that, or to undertake it once in office?

"Pro-Taliban rapper gets taxpayer subsidies," by Daniel Proussalidis for the Toronto Sun, June 29 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

OTTAWA - A video glorifying Taliban attacks in Afghanistan and the slaughter of Canadian soldiers disappeared from YouTube and other sites Friday, mere hours after QMI Agency began questioning taxpayer subsidies for the francophone rapper who made it.

"The enemy approaches," rapper Manu Militari declared in the video. "I recognize Canada's colours."

Later he says, "In a few seconds they'll understand how much I hate them."

The rapper has said he tried to "humanize" Islamists by presenting a sympathetic view of Taliban fighters detonating a roadside bomb and killing Canadians.

Manu Militari says a "disproportionate" response to the video convinced him to remove it from the Internet, though on Friday afternoon his website continued to promote its official September 11 release.

Meanwhile, questions persist about taxpayer subsidies for the rapper.

"Why are we funding this garbage that gives comfort to Canada's enemies?" National Citizens Coalition director Stephen Taylor asked.

Between 2008 and 2013, Manu Militari will have received $110,000 in grants for various projects from MusicAction - a francophone arts-promoting body that gets 75% of its $8 million annual budget from taxpayers through Heritage Canada....

Shameful.

Hasan's beard: contempt for the kuffar

The trial of Fort Hood jihad mass murderer Nidal Malik Hasan has become a dreary politically correct sideshow, matching the U.S. Government's analysis of his murders, which classified his jihad as "workplace violence." They expect a jihad mass murderer of American troops to respect the American system enough to remain clean shaven? This trial should proceed quickly, whether Hasan is in court or not, and he should be swiftly executed.

"Hood shooting suspect again barred from court," by Angela K. Brown for The Associated Press, June 29 (thanks to Wayne):

FORT HOOD, Texas — A military judge ruled Friday against delaying the trial of the Fort Hood shooting suspect, an Army psychiatrist who remains banned from the courtroom because his beard violates Army regulations.

Maj. Nidal Hasan’s trial will proceed as scheduled, beginning on Aug. 20. Defense attorneys wanted the trial moved to December, saying they needed more time to prepare.

But the judge, Col. Gregory Gross, said the defense already had plenty of time. Prosecutors had indicated they were ready for trial last fall, but the court-martial was set for March and postponed first to June and then August — all at the request of the defense team.

Hasan faces the death penalty if convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the 2009 attack.

Gross said Friday that top Army officials had rejected Hasan’s request for a religious exemption — due to his Islamic faith — to the rule banning beards. An appeals court also denied a defense request to overturn the judge’s decision last week to bar Hasan from the courtroom unless he shaves.

Hasan watched Friday’s hearing from a closed-circuit television in a nearby room, as he did during last week’s hearing.

“I could have him held down and have someone shave him, but I’m not prepared to do that at this time,” Gross said.

I hope Gross or the relevant authority will soon be prepared to hold Hasan down and have someone execute him.

Gross also denied a defense request to step down as the trial judge, disputing allegations that he was biased against Hasan.

The defense ought to be deeply ashamed to play the Muslim Victimhood Card in a case like this.

Lead defense attorney Lt. Col. Kris Poppe said the judge had asked defense attorneys to clean up a court restroom after Gross found a medical waste bag, adult diaper and what appeared to be feces on the floor after a hearing earlier this month.

Hasan, who is paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by police the day of the rampage, has to wear adult diapers — but the mess in the restroom that day was mud from a guard’s boots, Poppe said.

And the bag and diaper were attached to those boots, I suppose?

Poppe also said that Hasan often gets cold because of his paralysis and had been allowed to wear a knit cap in court. But when Hasan showed up with a beard June 8, the judge ordered the cap removed because defense attorneys didn’t have a doctor’s note specifying why Hasan needed it, Poppe said....

In the West, we get these smooth lies from deceptive Islamic supremacists: "There's really no such thing as just Sharia, it's not one monolithic Continuum - Sharia is understood in thousands of different ways over the 1,500 years in which multiple and competing schools of law have tried to construct some kind of civic penal and family law code that would abide by Islamic values and principles, it's understood in many different ways..." -- Reza Aslan

But in Egypt and other Muslim countries, everyone seems to know exactly what Sharia is and what it involves: stonings, amputations, the death penalty for apostasy, the subjugation of women, the oppression of non-Muslims, etc. That's why Yasser Borhamy addresses fears of Sharia coming to Egypt not by saying "We're going to implement a benign, expansive, human-rights-respecting brand of Sharia" but by telling people that they shouldn't fear Sharia, because it is the law of Allah. He takes for granted that his audience knows exactly what Sharia is, and that he is referring to the same thing that they have in mind.

So is Boy Reza lying, or is he just stupid? The jury is still out.

"Salafi leader: Brotherhood agrees Sharia, not principles, will be source of legislation," from Egypt Independent, June 30 (thanks to David):

Prominent Salafi leader and preacher Yasser Borhamy has said that the Muslim Brotherhood has agreed with the Salafi vision to have a constitution that cites Sharia as the main source for the legislation, rather than the principles of Sharia.

Article II of 1971 Constitution, which is copied into the current Constitutional Declaration, reads "Islam is the religion of the state. Arabic is its official language, and principles of Islamic jurisprudence (Sharia) are the main source of legislation." A 1979 amendment had replaced "a main source" with "the main source."

According to legal experts, deleting the word "principles“ means that Sharia will play a bigger role in drafting legislation.

In an interview with Al-Shorouk newspaper on Saturday, Borhamy said, “we insist that the article states that 'Islamic Sharia law is the main source of legislation,’ not ‘the principles of Sharia.'

We will not give up on this matter. The Muslim Brotherhood assured us that they agree with us on the formula of Islamic Sharia law without [mentioning] ‘principles.'”

The Salafi preacher said, “What is disturbing in the Islamic Sharia law, is Sharia bothering anyone? We do not say ‘our views on Sharia,’ but we say that we want the Sharia law revealed by God. Would anyone be afraid of the Sharia that establishes justice, [public] interest and wisdom? This is very strange. How is it said that people are afraid of Sharia?”...

According to Borhamy, “this word, 'principles,' was for the purpose of repealing the article all together. Someone said one day that it's a dictatorial article. It was so in the former regime, something that we do not accept and that we consider a betrayal of Sharia and the will of the nation. What brought the Brotherhood and the Nour Party to the majority in the parliamentary and the presidential [elections] is that they seek the application of Sharia.”

Suicidal naivete, or yet another Which Side Is He On Alert: "Obama administration considers turning Taliban detainees over to Afghanistan," from the Associated Press, June 29 (thanks to Wimpy):

The Obama administration is considering a new gambit to restart peace talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan that would send several Taliban detainees from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to a prison in Afghanistan, U.S. and Afghan officials told The Associated Press.

Under the proposal, some Taliban fighters or affiliates captured in the early days of the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and later sent to Guantanamo under the label of enemy combatants would be transferred out of full U.S. control but not released. It's a leap of faith on the U.S. side that the men will not become threats to U.S. forces once back on Afghan soil. But it is meant to show more moderate elements of the Taliban insurgency that the U.S. is still interested in cutting a deal for peace....

If you're here in the Los Angeles area, don't miss this: Ms. Sadighi will be screening “I Am Neda” at the “Neda For A Free Iran” Event, on Sunday, July 1, 2012, at United University Church Center of the University of Southern California, 817 West 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90089.

"'I am Neda,'" by Jamie Glazov in FrontPage, June 29:

Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Nicole Kian Sadighi, an actress, writer and now first time Director of the award winning movie, “I Am Neda.” The daughter of famous Iranian journalists, she was born in Tehran, Iran but has lived in London, England since the age of two. She is a graduate of Brookland Performing Arts School and holds a degree in Fine Arts.

Ms. Sadighi will be screening “I Am Neda” at the “Neda For A Free Iran” Event, on Sunday, July 1, 2012, at United University Church Center of the University of Southern California, 817 West 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90089.

3pm & 6pm followed by a Q&A for Ms. Kian Sadighi.

For more information, visit IAmNeda.com.

FP: Nicole Sadighi, thank you for joining Frontpage Interview.

Let’s begin with why you decided to make a film about Neda.

Kian Sadighi: Thank you Jamie.

For me, Neda was the representation of a courageous Iranian woman. Since the inception of the current regime in Iran, Islamic laws have enforced limitations on the lives of the Iranian people, prohibiting their fundamental human rights — whether they are the religious minorities, the labor force, the students or women. Sadly, women have been the most exploited and targeted of the penal codes.

At the same time, it’s also been the Iranian women who have been at the forefront of the ongoing demonstrations — as there is a massive women’s movement in Iran. When the world watched with bated breath as the streets of Tehran erupted in 2009, those of us Iranians living outside of Iran were glued to our television and computer screens, multi-tasking every news that came out through the social media and leading news outlets. And of course, we saw this young woman Neda, one minute innocently standing there, and then the next she was gone right before our eyes.

We usually see casualties in the aftermath of the war and turmoil but never during, never as close up as this. It was so shocking. There are no words to describe it. You go through an array of emotions. I was angered when I first saw it. She didn’t deserve it. I wanted to know more about this girl called Neda. What inspired her, what were her beliefs, her likes, dislikes? What was she like in private amongst her loved ones, what was her driving force? Who was she?

So I started to research her and put pen to paper and wrote her story through my eyes. I say through my eyes, but this film is really through her eyes. This film, as I feel, is Neda’s calling card. She is my inspiration.

It’s difficult not to get involved in someone’s story whilst researching it. She saw the world with such hope and romance and beauty despite the depressing restraints of the country she lives in. Wow, what a woman! It doesn’t matter who you are, Iranian or otherwise, Neda’s story translates all language barriers. It’s a human story. And that is exactly what I have hoped to have achieved with “I Am Neda.”

FP: You have received a fantastic reception at various festivals, specifically at the Cannes and Houston film festival where you were awarded the top prize. How do you feel about this great success?

Kian Sadighi: I cannot begin to express my excitement and pride for this film. Since we locked the final cut last autumn, it has been awarded the Platinum Remi Special Jury Award at Worldfest Houston International Film Festival and was the Honorable Mention Winner at the Los Angeles Movie Awards, and so far it has been showcased at eleven film festivals, most recently as a finalist at Cannes American Pavilion.

Receiving this tremendous news is a great sense of achievement for me as a first time director. But what all this really means is that these festivals believe in the message of the movie, and appreciate it as an artistic form of telling a story. They are moved by Neda’s story as I have been. At the same time, amongst the celebrations, it is also a time to sit back and reflect on why I began walking the path to make this movie in the first place. A moment in history, that was engulfed by tragedy, an inspiring legacy that Neda left behind. Like the nameless man standing in front of the tanks in Tiananmen Square, or the little naked girl running away from the napalms during Vietnam, Neda is an iconic image forever engraved in our minds. Whether they are aware of it or not, these great festivals are giving a voice to the voiceless, for which I will be internally grateful because they believe in this movie as I do. They are not only giving this movie a platform but also something much greater than all of us. This is huge. It gives me a sense of warmth and hope.

FP: Aside from the awards, what do you hope that your film will achieve? And what is the film’s one single message that you would like to get through to people?

Kian Sadighi: The world only knows of Neda in her tragic death. We will never forget that beautiful face. Those glaring eyes. I wanted to know her in life and I wanted to share what I had discovered with everyone. Neda was no different from any other young woman. There are many preconceived ideas, particularly in the west, of Iranians in Iran. They are no different from the rest of us. Neda had the same dreams and aspirations as anyone. There’s nothing unusual about the Iranian people living in Iran that is any different from the rest of the world, except for the tragic circumstances they live in.

I hope that an audience member can see that no matter what language we speak, Neda could be any one of us, your sister or brother, your girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband, your children, your best friend or you. I wanted to bring a human factor to this tragic image that we saw of her. In addition, I wanted to show the innate difference between the people of Iran and the Iranian regime. The two should not be confused. Neda represented that difference. The tragedy is that the government has made enemies of its own people.

Read it all.

"The Muslim Brotherhood will have a significant role to play in post-Mubarak Egypt. And that is good thing [sic]." -- Reza Aslan

"Mohamed Morsi vows to free blind sheikh jailed in US," from the Guardian, June 29 (thanks to David):

Egypt's president-elect Mohamed Morsi has vowed to free the blind sheikh jailed in the US for a plot to blow up New York City landmarks.

In his first public speech, addressing tens of thousands of people in Tahrir Square, Morsi promised to work to free Omar Abdel-Rahman, the spiritual leader of men convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

He also promised to free detained Egyptian protesters facing military tribunals.

Morsi earlier read the oath of office and defied the country's military rulers by saying: "I fear no one but God."...

"There is no power above people power," Morsi said to wild cheers from the crowd, many of whom were supporters of the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood....

At Jihad Watch I often label Islamic jihad terrorists "misunderstanders of Islam," in light of the mainstream media and government dogma that Islam is a Religion of Peace and only those who misunderstand its teachings would dare commit violence in its name. Why there are so very many Misunderstanders, all over the world, is never explained by the learned analysts. And notice that these Muslim leaders never bother to explain exactly how the terrorists misunderstand Islam, except to repeat that Islam teaches tolerance. How the teaching of tolerance overrides the many exhortations to jihad warfare against unbelievers that can be found in the Qur'an and Sunnah is also left unexplained.

"Terrorists misunderstand Islam, religious leaders say," by Yenny Herawati for Khabar Southeast Asia, June 29 (thanks to Lachlan):

Umar Patek's conviction and sentencing provide a valuable lesson for anyone contemplating acts of terror in the name of Islam, prominent religious representatives said after the June 21st verdict.

"Patek's sentence is a good example [showing] that our government's commitment to combating terrorism is beyond doubt. Indeed, it is a good example to show the world that terrorism and radicalism are not part of Islam," said Muhammad Sutoyo, chairman of the Indonesia Ulemas Council (MUI) in Madiun.

He and other Islamic teachers met there on June 24th for a meeting and study session at a mosque, during which they called for mutual respect and tolerance.

Patek was handed a 20-year prison sentence for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings, in which 202 people died. Judge Encep Yuliadi said he was guilty of disrupting the economy, disturbing the public, causing mass casualties and agony for the families of the victims, and fleeing justice in the aftermath of the terror attack.

Speaking to Khabar Southeast Asia, Muhammad said many wrong interpretations of Islam have spread in the community, mostly because individuals are not familiar with the values of the religion they profess to trust.

"Islam is a religion of peace with teachings of mutual respect," he said. "If Muslims commit any act of violence on others, it means they are not practicing Islamic values."

Islamic cleric Agus Baidhowi, a member of the Ahbaabul Musthofa madrassa, agreed. "Terrorism is not part of Islam," he said. "We do not endorse the terror attacks that happened in Indonesia or other countries. Those are warped interpretations of Islam."

Extremists have narrow understanding of Islam

Those who contemplate harming others in the name of Islam have an inadequate understanding of what their religion teaches, according to Nurkholis Ahmad, head of the Madiun boarding school Roudhotul Mubtadin.

"The main cause for people to commit acts of violence in the name of religion is that the person has a very narrow view of religion," he said. "[Such] people just practice the form of religion without understanding the real substance, so that violence is ultimately seen as doing the right thing according to his view of religion. And when he or she does so, he or she feels has become a 'hero'," he told Khabar.

In reality, he said, Islam is a religion "with broad teachings, covering various aspects of human life including tolerance. The concept of tolerance in Islam is based on the spirit of Ukhuwah Islamiyah (the attachment of the heart and soul based on the Islamic Sharia)."

Meanwhile, the head of a leading Christian association in Madiun said all the major religions share a common ground and should strive for co-existence.

"I believe all religions teach positive elements to their followers. Any religion whether it is Muslim, Christian, Catholic, Buddhist, Hindu and Confucian are similar," said Edwin Susanto, chairman of BAMAG (Consultative Body of the Churches' Association in Madiun).

"Tolerance can be realised through respect for religion and faith of others, respect for the worship carried on by others, and not destroying places of worship or insulting the religious teachings of others. Give others an opportunity to practice their own religion."

Calls for better religious education

Religious leaders across the faiths agreed that better religious education is key to preventing extremists from misusing religious faith. According to Muhammed, the MUI chief, it is important to teach children at a young age the value of tolerance and the drawbacks of falling into radical extremism....

Give them a few more billion, that will fix this.

(Meanwhile, you gotta hand it to the ISI: they published my book Did Muhammad Exist?, after all.)*

Friend and Ally Update: "'ISI behind Afghan Taliban attacks on US bases,'" from ANI, June 23 (thanks to Lachlan):

`ISI behind Afghan Taliban attacks on US bases` Washington: Referring to the recent spate of attacks on US military bases in Afghanistan, Western analysts have warned that the attacks serve as growing evidence that Pakistani Intelligence agency (ISI) is stepping up its support of insurgent groups ahead of the scheduled 2014 departure of US combat troops from the country.

The attacks point to a resilient Taliban with a steady supply of arms, apparently being supplied from Pakistan, and one that US troops, try as they might, are proving unable to interrupt, reports the Christian Science Monitor....

* Note to the incurably humorless and literal-minded: Yes, yes, I know it's a different ISI. Relax. Have a drink.

Crew members and passengers thwarted the murderous jihadis. Bravo. "China says plane hijack attempt thwarted," from AFP, June 29:

Six members of China's Uighur minority tried to hijack a plane flying from a restive city in the far-western Xinjiang region on Friday but crew members and passengers thwarted them, authorities said.

The plane returned safely to the airport in Hotan city -- which has seen a spate of violent clashes between mainly Muslim Uighurs and police due to simmering ethnic tensions -- and the suspects were detained, authorities said.

"The six hijackers are Uighurs," Hou Hanmin, a spokeswoman for the government of Xinjiang told AFP.

"For the moment, we don't know the purpose of the hijack. It's still under investigation," she said, adding at least seven crew members and passengers had been injured in the incident....

Uh, maybe jihad? Naaah. That couldn't be it.

Acts of war. "Kenya plot: Fears Iran widening covert war," from UPI, June 28 (thanks to David):

NAIROBI, Kenya, June 28 (UPI) -- The recent arrest of two Iranians in Kenya on suspicion of plotting bomb attacks has heightened fears that Tehran is widening its covert war against Israel and the United States as Washington expands its secret intelligence operations across Africa.

The Iranians have rarely mounted major covert or intelligence operations in Africa, although they have used Sudan as a key conduit for weapons destined for the Palestinian Hamas militants and their allies in the Gaza Strip in recent years.

But West Africa and the Horn of Africa have largely been operational areas for al-Qaida, a Sunni organization that's religiously and ideologically opposed to Shiite Iran, and its Somali offshoot, al-Shabaab.

Kenya security authorities, aided by U.S. and British agents, arrested the two Iranians June 20 in Nairobi, the West African country's capital. The men reportedly led authorities to a cache of 33 pounds of military-grade explosive, believed to be RDX.

They were charged Monday with intent to carry out bombings, which they deny. But the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi issued a warning Tuesday to Americans to avoid traveling to Kenya.

The arrest of the Iranians suggests that "the suspects may have been preparing to deliver the next blow in the covert intelligence war that has raged since 2007 between the United States, Israel and their allies on one side and Iran and its allies on the other," the U.S. global security consultancy Stratfor observed....

They were just "trying to get into the Olympic spirit," doncha know. Everyone knows how enthusiastic Islamic supremacists are for sporting events. More on this story. "Police quiz pair spotted 'acting suspiciously' in dinghy near canoe venue," the London Evening Standard, June 29 (thanks to Mick):

Two men were continuing to be questioned today on suspicion of a plot to attack an Olympic site.

The men, aged 18 and 32, were seized yesterday at addresses in east London after a tip-off that they had been seen acting suspiciously near the canoeing venue.

They were said to have been seen in a dinghy on the river Lea on Monday night. Police are combing the banks of the river, close to the venue in Waltham Abbey, Hertfordshire. Nothing has been found so far. A man who said he was a friend of the detainees, who are both Muslim converts, identified the 18-year-old as Jamal ud-Din, and said the older man was someone he knew only as “Zakariya”.

Mizanur Rahman, 29, said the arrests “might have had something to do with the fact they recently went canoeing” on the Lea, a branch of which runs through the Olympic Park in Stratford. He said the pair had also recently gone shooting with an air rifle in Essex.

Mr Rahman said he thought the activities were innocent and “it’s just people trying to get into the Olympic spirit”, but he believed authorities would try “painting it as jihad training”....

"Allah Wakbar" looks like a native Arabic speaker who is not too familiar with English attempting to render "Allahu akbar."

"NYPD Probes 'Allah' Graffiti at WTC Memorial," by Michael King for WNBC New York, June 28 (thanks to Mackie):

NEW YORK -- The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating after the words "Allah Wakbar" were found written on a granite seat at the Sept. 11 memorial on Tuesday, law enforcement sources tell NBC 4 New York.

A private custodian cleaning the area found the graffiti, written in pink and black marker, on a seat in the plaza area between the north and south pools around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Investigators believe someone wrote the words that day. No incidents were reported on Tuesday, and the area is not in the view of any security cameras.

After cops were called, the words were removed by a power washer, sources said. The rest of the memorial was inspected, but no other graffiti was found....

The Danes are the world’s most trusting people. Historians and researchers believe that the Danes' nature of trusting other people goes back to the time of the Vikings. The Vikings' domestic economy was simply built on trust: If you live in a time with no police or courts, and you entrust some animal furs to a trader, you need to be able to trust that trader to pay you your money once he returns - often months or years later - from his trade trip.

Trust is very important for the economy to function. According to some researchers, a "10 percent negative change in the level of trust in a population will cause a half percent negative change in economic growth." Both Vikings and anybody who has ever borrowed or lent money knows that trust is important when it comes to finances. Without trust, there will be either no deal or a lot of resources will need to be invested in insurance, lawyers and bureaucracy.

Trust is also believed to be a prerequisite for happiness (Trust Hormone Associated With Happiness, Happiness flows from trust - etc.). Trust increases the feeling of security, and feeling secure is - unless you are looking for certain types of excitement - a necessity for feeling happy. No wonder the most trusting people are also the happiest.

Trust and sharing values

It is easier to trust people if you feel that you know them. This is why businessmen take the effort to travel to meet their clients personally. If you know that the other party shares the same basic values, you already know a lot about that person - because you know yourself. Sharing values means knowing each other, and knowing each other increases trust. This is why criminal gangs - which are built on a high level of trust - are mostly monocultural.

So what happens when people with very different cultural backgrounds and religious values live together? The level of trust naturally goes down. In order to preserve trust and the many benefits coming from this important feeling and experience, the different groups tend to live together in enclaves separated from the other groups. It is important for people to feel "at home" - but what makes that feeling of being at home? It’s the feeling of being surrounded by a recognisable environment and culture where one does not have to communicate excessively to reach mutual understanding and thereby trust.

A decrease in trust leads to a decrease in the feeling of safety and happiness as well. As psychologist Abraham Maslow showed us in his hierarchy of needs, and as all who have been able to learn from life's ups and downs know, not having our basic needs fulfilled leads human beings to focus more on their own basic needs before focusing their efforts on benefiting those around them. Thus a decrease in trust means an increase in egotism.

Proponents of multiculturalism may think that they are working for more confluent societies with more tolerant citizens by waging lawfare against our national borders and thereby forcing us to live with people from cultures that we basically do not know and understand. But their efforts are clearly counterproductive, as the result is cultural segregation and individuals focusing more on themselves. The multiculti segment clearly lacks knowledge of human nature, and their ivory tower theories completely overlook normal real life experience, established psychological theories and well known facts.

Multiculture destroys trust

It is understandable when people from countries, where you need to be more egoistic to survive, have less reason to trust others to the same degree, and tend to exploit the good will and trust from others. The same goes for people from religions that tell them that adherents of other faiths are unworthy of the same respect.

A recent sample conducted by the Danish tax authorities among Somali immigrants showed that 92 percent of Somali immigrants evade taxes. On average they cheat Denmark of 8,300 USD yearly. This is possible because of the Danish system Tast-Selv ("type in yourself") that allows taxpayers to type in their income to the IRS themselves. It is a system built on the state's trust in the taxpayers and is meant to save a lot of time and money. We are also seeing an alarming increase of so-called trick thefts committed by foreigners and immigrants. Here the thieves, often disguised as police or nursing assistants, deceive the home owner into letting them into the house. This type of crime is another example of exploitation of the typical trusting Danish/Western nature. The alarmingly high degree of tax evasion and social fraud among non-Western immigrants, especially Muslims, is well known but politically incorrect to speak about. A large investigation in Høje-Taastrup, Denmark, showed that 75 percent of all social fraud is committed by immigrants - other countries have similar problems.

Trust makes people happy and countries rich, but letting people from less trust-based cultures into our fellowship turns this strength into our most dangerous weakness. Multiculturalism corrodes trust, a cornerstone for happiness, economic well-being and social cohesion - and thereby eats away at our whole way of life.

A typical problem in modern Muslim marriages: wife and daughters refuse to be beaten. For some reason Demir, a self-appointed Sharia lawyer, has not been charged for not reporting the violence to the police.

German Spiegel Online, June 20, 2012: "In the Name of Allah. Islamic Mediators and Germany's 'Two Legal Systems'":

Demir's typical clients are husbands whose wives have left them and fathers of couples who are having problems. They often complain about their wives and daughters, namely Muslim women who rebel against corporal punishment or want to free themselves from the confines of marriage, even if they have children. ...

Arnold Mengelkoch, the official in charge of immigrant affairs in Berlin's Neukölln district, is familiar with the "informal Islamic family justice system" in his neighborhood. He estimates that 10 to 15 percent of Muslims in the religiously conservative community use the system to resolve their conflicts.

"There are two legal systems," says Sabine Scholz, a family law attorney in the northern city of Flensburg, "a German one and an Islamic one, which puts women at a disadvantage."

For some Muslim immigrants, Islamic law is more important than German law. Mathias Rohe, an Islamic law expert in the Bavarian city of Erlangen, encountered cases in his field studies "in which Muslim parties performed marriages or divorces, for example, exclusively in accordance with traditional Islamic norms."

Some Muslims mistrust government organizations, says Rohe, who sees himself as an intermediary between the Islamic and German legal cultures. According to Rohe, some people are trying "to establish a religious parallel structure, because they do not want to submit to the institutions of a secular, non-Islamic state."

As a result, imams and arbitrators in Berlin, the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein apply Sharia law on a daily basis, even though it is sometimes incompatible with the German constitution and German family law. In particular, Islamic law discriminates against women in the following ways:

• They are not permitted to marry non-Muslims;
• In an arbitration, family unity takes precedence over the woman's right of self-determination, even in cases involving violence;
• In a divorce, the man receives sole custody of the children;
• Polygamy and marriages with minors are allowed; under German law, 16-year-old girls can only marry with the permission of a family court.

This is a short addition to the Jihad Watch article "Norwegian man" trained by al-Qaeda, poised to attack the West. Translated from Norwegian by Nicolai Sennels, VG, June 27: "Terror trained Norwegian connected to Bhatti":

In their official threat assessment for 2012, the Norwegian Security Service (PST) writes that "We expect an increase of young Norwegians supporting extremist Islamic ideology." ... PST are keeping several Muslim converts under surveillance.

We carry the war into the homeland of the enemies of Allah...

Arrange hell on earth for them...

No one in power can stop the jihad.

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar...

Many times I have heard these calls from the mouths of the Mujahideen.

And who are the enemies? Why doesn't anyone ask about the Muslims who are holding guns? What they are fighting for? Why do they kill and die?

Ask them, and they'll tell you these words.

And why don't people believe their eyes and ears? And why do they think that the trouble will not come to their house, as is has with so many other victims of Islamic terror?

They want to move soldiers into the territory of their enemies. Who are their enemies? Ask them and they'll tell you.

Ask them: who is the enemy of the Muslims? Who is the enemy of Islam? And you will get a response.

But some of us are even afraid to ask a question or discuss these things. It's as if they think that if you do not ask, the problem will evaporate, disappear. If you do not ask and say nothing, the martyrs will disappear.

Is this going to stop Jihad? I do not think that will happen.

Think of the phrase "carry the war into enemy territory." It is not hard to understand what it means. This is a 9/11 in New York, Beslan and Nord Ost in Russia, the daily shelling of Israeli cities, terrorist attacks against Israeli diplomats, the attempt on the life of the ambassador of Saudi Arabia. And how many of those who were killed were innocent people?

But some still try to justify these attacks.

Islam is a religion of peace, the left and liberals argue. They say that the problem is just that millions of his followers misunderstand what is written in the Koran.

Tell that to a relative of those who perished at the hands of terrorists and murderers, who were shouting Allahu Akbar. And to the many who fell captive to the jihadists. And to those who were forced to convert to Islam, and if they refused, were tortured and often killed.

Now move on to the facts. The Iranian media has published assertions that the "Iron Dome" can not protect Israel from rockets. They are happy that the shelling of Israel could kill many people.

In Azerbaijan, several months ago dozens of Iranian intelligence agents were arrested for preparing terrorist acts against Israeli citizens and the U.S.. Common sense says that such agents are active in other countries of the Caucasus and beyond. In a hypothetical attack on Iran, they may be involved.

On the other hand, the newly strengthened Turkish Sunni military machine also poses a risk to stability in the region. The Islamization of a NATO member, an ally of Azerbaijan against Armenia, and instability in the region are all benefits for Iranian intelligence, and are what they would have introduced into the Caucasus. It turns out that will do everything to facilitate their nefarious plans, including bribing and terrorizing.

They can strike a blow not only to Israel and the United States, but also in other countries. They have everything they need to do so. The Georgian government turns a blind eye to this. To transfer the war onto foreign territory is a common thing for the soldiers of Allah.

If one of the terrorists detained in Azerbaijan had said during the questioning that his responsibilities included the creation of a terrorist network in Georgia, and if he had created such a network, and if the representatives of the U.S. administration had come in contact with it and offered money to its leader Aziz, and if he had not agreed to cooperate, would this not mean that Iran is preparing for war and not only on its territory? And is it possible in this case to say that Iran is a country that supports terrorism? Their spiritual leader, the President and the government are also supporting terrorism.

In this case, is it sufficient to declare a financial and economic embargo to Iran? Negotiate with its leaders so that they will abandon uranium enrichment?

When I asked Shamil Basayev (the author and performer of terrorist acts in Budyonnovsk and Beslan, which by their brutality shocked the world), what he needed to get the Mujahideen to perform terrorist acts, he jokingly replied, "Allah will give me the money, and the rest will come from technology."

Here is the answer.

During Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with Barack Obama, he gave him the scroll of Esther, recalling that the Persians once wanted to destroy the Jewish people. When Haman planned to exterminate the Jews, she had to plead with the king, so he canceled the order for destruction.

My brother, who spent a year in captivity to the jihadists, wrote in his book that someone who was imprisoned with him could not tolerate the torture, and so set fire to the hay around him and burned himself to death so that he could no longer be tortured.

Before that, he mutilated himself so that he could be no longer beaten and humiliated. He thought that he would be treated like a wounded animal, which is killed immediately, not tortured. But he was wrong, Muslims did not kill him ...

My brother told me that during an entire year, he and the other prisoners only saw the sun one time, and that was during the solar eclipse in1999. And this is the Religion of Peace?

Even the most ardent defender of Islam, and our opponents are ardent, must understand that they do not want to experience even a small part of what my brother and me went through when we were in captivity.

Yet the "Religion of Peace" is developing, expanding in all geopolitical areas.

Only prayer will not help, and financial and economic sanctions are unlikely to, either...

Oddly enough, it was Sunnis misunderstanding Islam and murdering more Shi'ites. Sunni-Shi'ite Jihad Update: "Blast kills 13, including Shia pilgrims, in Quetta," from Dawn, June 28 (thanks to Mark):

QUETTA: At least thirteen people, including policemen and Shia Muslims, were killed and 20 people were injured when a bus carrying pilgrims was targeted with a bomb in Hazar Ganji area on the outskirts of Quetta, DawnNews reported.

The passengers of the bus were returning back from Iran’s city Taftan after a religious pilgrimage....

“A bus carrying Pakistani Shia Muslims was coming to Quetta from Iran when a bomb exploded near it, killing eleven people including nine Shia pilgrims and two escorting policemen,” senior local police official, Hamid Shakeel, told AFP....

Around 5,000 people have been killed in outbreaks of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia militant groups in Pakistan since the late 1980s.

But remember: the real problem is "Islamophobia."

Yet still no Muslim organization in the West does the slightest thing to prevent other Muslims from misunderstanding Islam in the same way. "APNewsbreak: 2 terror suspects arrested in London," by Raphael Satter and Paisley Dodds for the Associated Press, June 28 (thanks to Holly):

LONDON (AP) — Two Muslim converts were arrested in London on suspicion of terror offenses Thursday, a British security official told The Associated Press, but it was unclear whether the men were taken into custody as part of an alleged plot.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said he didn't know whether the arrests were related to the upcoming Olympic Games. Security is tight ahead of the London games, which begin on July 27....

Send them a few more billion. That'll fix it.

"74% Pakistanis consider United States an enemy country," from PressTV, June 27 (thanks to Maxwell):

Three-in-four Pakistanis consider the United States an enemy country, a new survey conducted by the Washington-based Pew Global Attitudes Project indicates.

The Pew survey, which was published on its website on Wednesday, said that last year 69 percent used to hate the US but in 2012 the figure jumped to 74 percent.

The survey also showed an exceptionally low regard for US President Barack Obama among Pakistanis. They believe Obama is as bad a leader as former US President George W. Bush had been during his final year in office....

Well, at least we agree on that.

Can we get our billions in aid money back? Can we at least stop giving them more? "26/11 Mumbai terror attacks suspect 'confirms Pakistan role,'" from the Telegraph, June 27 (thanks to Benedict):

India's home minister on Wednesday said a key suspect in the 2008 Mumbai attacks had provided information confirming Pakistani "state support" for the deadly assault.

Abu Hamza, also known as Sayed Zabiuddin, an Indian-born member of the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, was detained at Delhi international airport on June 21 when he arrived from the Middle East.

Indian police believe he was one of the handlers based in the Pakistani city Karachi, who issued orders by telephone to 10 Islamist gunmen as they stormed two luxury hotels, a Jewish centre, a restaurant and a train station in Mumbai.

The November 2008 attacks, which India has blamed on Lashkar-e-Taiba, left 166 people dead and more than 300 wounded.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram, speaking to reporters in the southern state of Kerala, said police interrogation of Hamza had confirmed Indian accusations that Pakistani state actors were also involved.

"The argument that non-state actors were behind the massacre is no longer valid. He has confirmed that he was in the control room (and) this has confirmed our suspicion that there was some organised effort," Chidambaram said.

"When I say, state actors, at the moment, I am not pointing my finger at any particular agency.

"But clearly there was state support or state actors' support for the 26/11 massacre," the home minister said....

It was a great evening last Saturday as we stood for freedom and exposed Hamas-linked CAIR's hypocrisy and fronting for Islamic jihad and the death penalty for apostates. Pamela Geller has a full report here. Here are a few scenes from a memorable night.

Nonie Darwish

Spencer

Walid Shoebat

Coptic Christian activist Joseph Nassralla with Pamela Geller

Jamie Glazov, editor of FrontPage Magazine (right), with me

Egyptian ex-Muslim Amani Mustafa brought the audience to tears

Ibn Warraq (left)

Somehow I doubt the story of this nameless rabbi who is so impressed with Islam, but this is a good example of the triumphalism and supremacism that characterizes contemporary Islam (and Islam throughout history, for that matter).

"Islam is the religion of the future," by Hassan Tahsin in the Saudi Gazette, June 28 (thanks to Christine):

When it became clear that the Egyptian presidential runoff offered a stark choice between an Islamist and a liberal, Israel and the United States were restless for fear of the victory of an Islamist. Though they held two meetings with a delegation of the Muslim Brotherhood, the results of the meetings were not announced and it was not known whether or not they were meaningful.

Here, the embarrassing question is: Why are Israel and the West afraid of Islam? Is the real reason for this fear what they call “Islamic terrorism” or is it because of religious hostility as a result of Jewish superstitious myths that are believed by some poor Jews and Christians?

While the children of Israel are spreading these myths, a Jewish rabbi has spoken out about Islam and has said that it is the religion of the future. He spoke about the three major religions of the modern world and their ability to survive and about which one would eventually prevail, and become the religion of the future.

In the beginning, the rabbi speaks about Christianity, saying that it does not provide a clear governing system. The case, he says, is similar with Judaism. Both of them have become politicized. There are several Christian democratic parties. As far as Israel is concerned, it is governed by Jewish religious parties. This means, he says, that Christianity as a religion that provides a spiritual base for the people has died.

As for Islam, the rabbi said, it has a strong ideology that can withstand changing developments in the world. Islam grew up in a way that was different from the emergence of Christianity. It had a real and living leader to whom the Qur’an was revealed. There is not an iota of doubt in this. This was not the case with Christianity. There are differences of opinion about the growth of the religion even among its followers.

However in Islam, he said, it is very clear that there was one Prophet (pbuh) to whom the Qur’an was revealed and he established a religious society, and on the basis of this a new society was developed with new teachings.

Today, the rabbi said, we live in an era when rampant atheism is engulfing the world and when Christianity prevails only in certain heritage buildings and little remains of Judaism by virtue of it having fallen under the influence of Zionism. Hence, in the present world, nothing prevails except Islam. Muslims are in constant contact with their Creator. As far as a Christian is concerned, if he goes to church every Sunday, then it is good. As for a Muslim, he kneels down to pray five fixed times a day.

The rabbi said: “When I traveled to Europe, there was a quiet prayer corner at the airport. When the time of prayer came, I went there. Then, two Muslims also came. I stood to perform prayer while the other two spread out newspapers and knelt down while praying. This is Islam and it has many implications. A man performs prayers five times daily and these prayers are not long.”

The rabbi continues: “I had access to the prayers of Muslims and looked at what is written in the Qur’an. It is not long, but is very serious and profound. While performing prayer by bowing, kneeling, and reciting from the Qur’an, within a few minutes, a man is actually addressing Almighty Allah. This is an important thing and this has great implications. Hence, Islam, as a whole, is the religion of the future.”

If the world is heading precipitously toward disaster, the rabbi said, it is because the state of Israel does not have the right to exist. Disaster is inevitable unless there is an elimination of this state, which is, in fact, the origin of evil. If it were eliminated, I think, after 70 years, more people in the world would embrace the religion of Islam, because this religion is true and strong and can lead people in the right direction.

“Yes,” he adds, “there are some problems between Shiites and Sunnis, and there is disagreement between them in some matters. Now, this is understandable, but I hope that if the origin of evil (i.e., Israel) was eliminated, then such problems between them would disappear. Then most people on the earth would become followers of Islam. Today, this is clearly visible.”

The rabbi concludes: “They (Muslims) have begun to spread and grow to the extent that a European country has banned the construction of new mosques. The future of the world is in Islam and this is the truth provided the prevailing problem was put to an end.”

This is what the rabbi said about Islam. He endorsed the Prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) and the truthfulness of the Qur’an, and he explained how Islam is the religion of future and will prevail in the world.

Throughout the Egyptian presidential election campaign, Israeli armored forces were standing on the Egyptian-Israeli border, and the American Sixth Fleet violated the sanctity of Egyptian territorial waters. Only after the victory of the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, did the Israeli forces withdraw, but I am not sure where the US Sixth Fleet is?

Good question!

TWO Indian cultural organisations were taken by shock recently when they applied to use the auditorium of the government’s official Taman Budaya park in Penang for their classical dance concerts.

It was not so much that their applications were rejected that bothered them. What smarted was that the shows were disallowed purportedly because they contained ceremonial acts and the placement of a [non Islamic] deity on stage, which are much part and parcel of classical Indian dance.

The Taman Budaya is operated by the National Culture and Arts Department. Ironically, it is on the grounds of the birthplace of Tan Sri P. Ramlee – one of the finest liberal performance artistes to emerge from Malaysia in modern times. The auditorium is even named after him.

The National Culture and Arts Department is an arm of the Malaysian federal government. The top leadership of this government department, according to this organization chart posted at their website, appears to be 100% Muslim. So a government department run by Muslims wouldn't ban non Islamic deities from being portrayed in stage performances, would they? Obviously all those Muslim officials and directors and ministers are misunderstanding the tolerant, pluralistic religion of Islam somehow.

The two groups – the Temple of Fine Arts and the Penang Hindu Association – claimed to have been told that the auditorium stage must not have the relevant images and statues because of their [non Islamic] religious allusion.

But such items are integral historical and creative components of the age-old practice of disciplines such as the Bharatanatyam and the Kathakali. This is because the presentations are to a large extent based on ancient mythologies that are rooted in the cultural fabric of the shows.

And such references to ancient mythologies are common features of performing arts in other cultures. It is not only Indian dances that have such invocations. Many ancient disciplines from other civilisations also employ ceremonial or ritualistic acts.

One can see similar elements in the Beijing Opera of China, the Kabuki of Japan, the Kechak of Indonesia and Passion Play of Europe. Such elements are also ingrained in the Wayang Kulit or shadow puppet shows that have played across the Nusantara region for centuries.

So when the two groups protested that they were not allowed to hold such performances despite the features in question being traditional elements, it beguiles the mind.

It is only beguiling for those who are either blissfully unaware of the Malaysian government's real agenda, or for those who still deny the longstanding official policy of Islamic supremacy. For those who still think Islam can somehow peacefully coexist with other traditions, cultures and belief systems, look no further than Malaysia.

"The Muslim Brotherhood will have a significant role to play in post-Mubarak Egypt. And that is good thing." -- Reza Aslan

Learn how to use the indefinite article, Reza.

"Exclusive: Muslim Brotherhood Preaching Israel Destruction After Election," from IPT News, June 27:

"Every Muslim will be asked about the Zionists' usurpation of al-Aqsa Mosque. Why did he not seek to recover it, and wage Jihad in His way? Did he not care about the fatwa of the ulema [scholars] of the Muslims, 'Jihad of self and money to recover al Aqsa is a duty on every Muslim?'" asked Mohamed Badie, General Guide of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, in a June 14^th speech translated exclusively by the Investigative Project on Terrorism.

The speech from the Brotherhood's Ikhwan Online website is evidence that the group has not moderated its position even an iota, despite assurances to Western audiences.

"How happy would be the Muslims if all Muslim rulers made the Palestinian cause a pivotal issue, around which Muslims, rulers and the ruled, would line up," he stated. According to Badie, they would ally to make "the sole goal for all of them the recovery of al Aqsa Mosque, freeing it from the filth of the Zionists, and imposing Muslim rule throughout beloved Palestine."

"The Lord of Glory has threatened these murdering Zionists criminals with a penalty of a kind which operates in this world before the Hereafter, he said, before referencing a Quranic quote calling Jews "apes, despised."

"We say to our people and our brothers in Palestine (all of Palestine): Unity, unity, persistence, persistence, reconciliation, reconciliation, and patience, patience. Make your motto and your starting point be in confronting the Zionists," he added.

Badie also made reference to the role of Hamas-tied convoys, in aiding in the effort to eliminate the Jewish state.

"Know that there stands by you every sincere Muslim mujahid from all over the world, and all the honorable nationalists. Do not presume that you are alone in the field, but there stands at your side and with you every free honorable noble man who rejects injustice, murder and bloodshed," he said, before stating, "Not far off are the Freedom flotillas which will come to you from various States, and Miles of Smiles which touched you from all over the world."

The most recent convoy by Miles of Smiles, which is linked to the U.S. terrorist designated, British organization Interpal, was led by Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood head Hammam Saeed. Hamas' Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called that convoy "the declaration of victory over the siege and the declaration of the enemy's strategic failure in Gaza."...

President Obama issued a press release upon Morsi's victory. "We look forward to working together with President-elect Morsi and the government he forms, on the basis of mutual respect, to advance the many shared interests between Egypt and the United States."...

Time for a War On Bee Stings in the UK. It would make about as much sense as the policies the UK and US have been pursuing in Afghanistan, as well as domestically. In any case, there haven't been any jihad terror attacks for awhile, and therefore there never will be any ever again. And stealth jihad and Islamization? Pah! Go back to sleep, willya?

"Bee stings killed as many in UK as terrorists, says watchdog," by Martin Beckford for the Telegraph, June 28 (thanks to John):

Bee stings kill as many people in Britain as terrorist attacks do, according to a report by a Government watchdog who claims the risk from extremists has fallen “markedly” in recent years.

David Anderson said that no one has even been injured by an Islamist in this country for more than two years, while the number of convictions has dropped to a “handful”.

As a result he suggested that ministers could relax some anti-terror laws without endangering public safety, such as by allowing terror suspects to apply for bail or making it harder to ban certain groups....

Projection Alert: in reality, jihadists such as the Taliban and Osama bin Laden have funded their jihads via the drug trade, and Hizballah has trained the Mexican drug cartels in terror tactics. And it is Islamic supremacists worldwide who are embarked upon a program of warfare against unbelievers in order to subjugate them and annihilate their cultures.

"'Zionists to blame for world drug trade,'" from Ynet News, June 27 (thanks to Lachlan):

In blatantly anti-Semitic speech, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi condemned the "Zionists" and the teachings of the Talmud for "inciting global drug trade and addiction in a bid to annihilate non-Jewish communities," Iran's Fars News Agency reported Wednesday.

Rahimi, who spoke during a ceremony marking International Day against Drug Abuse held in Tehran on Tuesday, said that it is, in fact, the Talmud, which is a central text of Judaism, that "teaches (Zionists) how to destroy non-Jews so as to protect an embryo in the womb of a Jewish mother."

The Jews' direct involvement in the global drug trade "is why you cannot find a single addict among the Zionists," he stated."

Rahimi then added that the Talmud teaches Jews to think that "God has created the world so that all other nations can serve them… But there is a difference between Jews who honestly follow the prophet Moses and those (who are) the main elements of the international drugs trade."

"The Islamic Republic of Iran will pay for anybody who can research and find one single Zionist who is an addict," Rahmini said. "They do not exist. This is the proof of their involvement in drugs trade."...

Or maybe proof of their intelligence and common sense.

"The Muslim Brotherhood will have a significant role to play in post-Mubarak Egypt. And that is good thing." -- Reza Aslan

Video thanks to Blazing Cat Fur.

One of the largest Jewish organizations in America "is effectively enforcing the blasphemy laws under the Shariah."

Many background articles over at Atlas Shrugs.

What was old is new again

"The Muslim Brotherhood will have a significant role to play in post-Mubarak Egypt. And that is good thing." -- Reza Aslan

Learn how to use the indefinite article, Reza.

"Egypt to Block Jewish Pilgrims From Holy Site," by Gabe Kahn for Israel National News, June 27 (thanks to David):

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it had told Israel that it would not be “appropriate” for Israeli pilgrims to make an annual visit to the tomb of a 19th-century Jewish holy man in the Nile Delta.

Egypt notified Israel two months ago that it would be “impossible to hold the annual ceremony because of the political and security situation in the country,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

Wednesday's announcement came as Muslim Brotherhood activists mobilized to block the pilgrimage route.

Ceremonies at the tomb of Rabbi Yaakov Abuchatzeira have triggered yearly political sparring in Egypt throughout most of the last decade.

An Islamist politician involved in organizing protests against the march meanwhile said that visiting the gravesite in the village of Daymouta, 180 kilometers (112 miles) north of Cairo would be a “suicide mission” for Israelis.

“Normalization (of relations) with Israel is forced on the people, and the visits too come against the will of the people and despite popular rejection,” said Gamal Heshmat of the Muslim Brotherhood....

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari must have fallen in with greasy Islamophobes; where else could he have gotten the crazy and hitherto unheard-of idea that jihad had something to do with murdering Infidels?

An update on this story. "Texas jury convicts Saudi bomb plot suspect," by Betsy Blaney for the Associated Press, June 27 (thanks to all who sent this in):

AMARILLO, Texas (AP) - A Saudi man accused of buying chemicals online and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction was found guilty Wednesday in federal court in Amarillo.

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, who was legally in the U.S. on a student visa, was arrested in February 2011 after federal agents secretly searched his apartment near Texas Tech University in Lubbock and found bomb-making chemicals, wiring, a hazmat suit and clocks.

Authorities also discovered Aldawsari's journal, handwritten in Arabic, in which he wrote he'd been planning a terror attack in the U.S. for years and that it was "time for jihad," or holy war, court documents show....

He faces up to life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 9 in Amarillo....

His attorneys claimed that because Aldawsari didn't have a bomb made or a target pinpointed, he couldn't have attempted to use a bomb....

He was in the early planning stages, therefore he was innocent. Got it.

Cogdell said Aldawsari was likely to appeal the verdict at some point. He described his client as "the antithesis of what you'd expect him to be."

TNP, the chemical explosive that Aldawsari was suspected of trying to make, has approximately the same destructive power as TNT. FBI bomb experts said the amounts in the Aldawsari case would have yielded almost 15 pounds of explosives - about the same amount used per bomb in the London subway attacks that killed scores of people in July 2005.

Aldawsari entered the U.S. in October 2008 from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to study chemical engineering at Texas Tech, then transferred in early 2011 to nearby South Plains College, where he was studying business. A Saudi industrial company was paying his tuition and living expenses in the U.S....

Dearborn continues its weary slide into Sharia, with no American authorities showing any sign that they particularly care. "American Muslims Stone Christians in Dearborn, MI," from Answering Muslims, June 26 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

The Dearborn Saga continues.

There's no questioning the fact that Ruben Israel's group came to the Dearborn Arab Festival to provoke a response from Muslims. But their actions were protected by the U.S. Constitution. The violent response they received from Muslims, however, was illegal. Every bottle, rock, or milk crate thrown was an assault.

I'm no fan of Ruben Israel. Indeed, I'm appalled at some of his group's antics. Yet I can't help but think that the city has brought this on themselves. Why did Ruben Israel come to the festival? Because Dearborn Police started arresting Christians (myself included) for peacefully sharing the Gospel in 2010. Thus, Ruben's message is: "If you're going to start messing with Christians, you're going to have to deal with us."

And so the Dearborn Arab Festival has become a beacon for anyone who wants a confrontation with Muslims. If festival security hadn't started entrapping and assaulting Christians in 2009, and if Dearborn Police hadn't unveiled their strategy of arresting Christians in 2010, I doubt Ruben would have ever set foot in Dearborn....

(Videos courtesy Pamela Geller)

Cowardice in the face of Islamic supremacist intimidation and authoritarian quest to destroy the freedom of speech and render it a criminal offense to tell the truth about Islam and jihad. "Jewish group 'giving in to Islamic intimidation,'" from WND, June 26:

One of the largest Jewish organizations in America “is effectively enforcing the blasphemy laws under the Shariah,” according to a prominent author, blogger and rights activist.

Pamela Geller, who writes at Atlas Shrugs and is the author of “Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance,” made the comments to WND after the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles canceled a speech she had planned to give.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Geller was to deliver a lecture Sunday to the Zionist Organization of America, but the event, scheduled at the federation facilities on Wilshire Boulevard, was canceled.

“By canceling my talk, the LA Jewish Federation, one of America’s largest Jewish organizations, is effectively enforcing the blasphemy laws under the Shariah,” she said.

“This defines the modern dhimmi Jew. A leading Jewish organization felt more comfortable silencing a fellow Jew who was addressing the greatest threat that Israel and the Jewish people are facing than standing up to pressure from Islamic supremacist hate groups that are either part of jihad organizations or actively support the destruction of the state of Israel,” she said.

She said it was key to the issue to note that the reason for her visit to Los Angeles in the first place was a human rights town hall.

That event, “Summer Night for Human Rights,” was held with a panel of 10 former Muslims, “who for the first time could tell their harrowing and heartbreaking tales of leaving Islam, and the ostracism and often life-threatening dangers they faced for doing so,” Geller told WND.

Officials with the center declined a request from the Times to comment. But there had been pressure from Muslim interests against Geller’s event.

Officials with a California branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations had issued a statement warning the Jewish center over its decision to “offer a platform to the leader of an anti-Muslim hate group.”

“We are extremely shocked and alarmed to see a mainstream Jewish organization associating itself with one of the nation’s leading Islamophobes who doesn’t hesitate to share the podium with European racists and whose admirers apparently include Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik,” said the Muslim organization of the Jewish group’s plans.

“Religious leaders and institutions have an increased and urgent responsibility to promote tolerance and mutual understanding among all Americans, instead of giving aid and comfort to fear-mongers like Geller.”

CAIR-California said the statement was on behalf of CAIR, the Islamic Circle of North America-Southern California, Islamic Shura Council of Southern California and others....

It's a way to instill "Islamic identity" in the game players, doncha know.

"Salman Rushdie fatwa turned into Iranian video game," by Saeed Kamali Dehghan for the Guardian, June 26 (thanks to Twostellas):

Salman Rushdie was the target of a notorious fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic of Iran, 23 years ago. Now, the author of The Satanic Verses is the subject of an Iranian computer game aimed at spreading to the next generation the message about his "sin".

The Stressful Life of Salman Rushdie and Implementation of his Verdict is the title of the game being developed by the Islamic Association of Students, a government-sponsored organisation which announced this week it had completed initial phases of production.

News of the computer game came as Tehran on Tuesday played host to the country's second International Computer Games Expo. "The organisers considered the event as an opportunity to introduce Iranian culture, value and Islamic identity, and also a way to present Iranian products to international computer games designers and producers," the English-language state television channel, Press TV, reported on its website....

Little has been revealed about the game but its title suggests players will be asked to implement Khomeini's call for the killing of Rushdie.

Iranian authorities have complained in recent years that "enemies" have targeted their country in a "soft and cultural war" using illegal satellite channels, western novels, Hollywood films and computer games. Western hairstyles and garments have also been condemned as part of the "cultural invasion".

Iran has struggled to counter this with a presence in cyberspace. Mohammad-Taqi Fakhrian of the student association said producing computer games was one way to combat the cultural war against Iran. "We felt we should find a way to introduce our third and fourth generation to the fatwa against Salman Rushdie and its importance," he told the semi-official Mehr news agency....

In February 1989, Khomeini described The Satanic Verses as "blasphemous against Islam". His fatwa caused international controversy and the UK severed diplomatic relations with Iran for years....

Shameful, but not surprising: Obama has had close associations with antisemitic foes of Israel and allies of the jihad throughout his political career, as Pamela Geller and I document in our book The Post-American Presidency.

"The Incredible Shrinking U.S.-Israel Security Cooperation," by Shoshana Bryen for Algemeiner, June 27 (thanks to David):

President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan walking along the Colonnade at the White House. Photo: wiki commons.

In light of increased sensitivity to intelligence leaks, it seemed innocuous – or even admirable – when the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) asked the Senate to remove a few words from the US-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act: the “sense of the Senate” part of the bill included the sentence, “Expand already close intelligence cooperation, including satellite intelligence, with the Government of Israel;” ODNI wanted the words “including satellite intelligence” to go.

An ODNI spokesman said it was “simply a matter of clarifying the intelligence aspects of the bill and being sensitive to the level of specificity of the language…nothing nefarious here, just more clear language.”

Yeah, right.

This is just the latest example of the Obama Administration making clear that it does not want to be seen as Israel’s partner in regional affairs – several of them predicated on Turkish desires. Despite Israel’s status as a Major Non-NATO ally, a NATO “partner” country, and a member of NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue, Turkey is increasingly insistent that Israel be isolated and cut out. This surrender to Turkey — which Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has for years been aggressively making ever more fundamentalist — coincides nicely with the Administration’s increasingly open courtship of Turkey’s Islamist-leaning and virulently anti-Israel Prime Minister and what appears to be the desire of the Administration to enhance security relations in the Arab-Muslim world as it dials back visible cooperation with Israel.

This is no small matter. Israel’s security is threatened — above all by the refusal of the Arab States to accept that it is a legitimate, permanent part of the region in which it lives. For the U.S. or Turkey — formerly a partner in regional security – to distance themselves from Israeli security is to raise hopes among enemies that they will ultimately be able to threaten Israel without fear of a U.S. or NATO-allied response.

Yet still Muslim groups in the West, despite their claims to reject the idea that Islam teaches warfare against unbelievers, do nothing to prevent Muslims from getting the crazy idea that it does teach that. "6 Muslims found guilty on terrorism charges," from Geo.TV, June 26 (thanks to David):

BRUSSELS: Six Muslims have been found guilty on charges of terrorism. The leaders of the gang received 11 and 8 years' imprisonment, others were given penalties up to 5 years.

The suspects spread messages of hatred and were talking about possible bomb attacks in Belgium, judges argued.

7 people had to defend themselves against charges of terrorism. All of them had links with a radical mosque in Molenbeek, Brussels. One of them also travelled to Iraq to take part in the "Holy War" against the West a couple of years ago.

When he returned, he and his friends tried to convince other Muslims to take up the arms and take part in the war. For that purpose, they used a website, spreading messages of hatred. During tapped telephone conversations, they talked about bomb attacks in Belgium. The court found this unacceptable, and decided to inflict heavy punishments.

The lawyer of one of the leaders was not too preoccupied. He told reporters that his client is presently in Syria, fighting the Assad regime, and suggested the court to arrest his client there.

One suspect was cleared of all charges. According to the court, he does have extremist ideas, but he was involved in the gang's activities.

How did he get the crazy idea that mass murder would please Allah? What are Muslim organizations in the U.S. doing to prevent other young Muslims here from misunderstanding their peaceful religion in the same way?

"Texas bomb plot defense presents no evidence," from the Associated Press, June 27 (thanks to all who sent this in):

AMARILLO, Texas – Defense attorneys for a Saudi man accused in a plot to bomb Americans made quick work of their case: They rested without calling any witnesses or presenting any evidence.

Closing arguments in the federal trial of Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari in Amarillo are expected Wednesday morning.

The 22-year-old former Texas Tech chemical engineering student faces up to life in prison if convicted of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors say he had long-planned an attack, amassing nearly all the necessary materials and creating a target list that included former President George W. Bush's home in Dallas.

Prosecutors capped three days of testimony Tuesday by playing a recording of Aldawsari saying he'd get "maximum satisfaction" and would be "smiling" after carrying out a terror attack in the U.S.

Defense attorneys contend he never took the necessary "substantial step" because he didn't make a bomb.

Federal agents secretly searched Aldawsari's apartment and hid microphones therein that they say captured him speaking out loud the night before his Feb. 23, 2011, arrest. Authorities said that Aldawsari was alone when he was recorded.

In the recording, Aldawsari is speaking as if he's someone else commenting on a terror attack that he carried out. He says the perpetrator of the terror attack would be "smiling" and getting "maximum satisfaction" from the destruction caused.

Aldawsari says Americans deserved the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and must die "because you people deserve it" for causing the deaths of others.

"This is the ideology he follows," Aldawsari says on the recording, speaking about himself.

A computer forensics expert testified that Aldawsari had searched online for former President George W. Bush's "farm"; locations where Bush would be signing copies of his book, "Decision Points"; and Bush's home, including an aerial photo of the North Dallas residence.

Capt. David Parker, who is also a detective with the university's police department and a member of a joint terrorism task force, said Aldawsari appeared to be considering an attack at the October 2010 Texas vs Oklahoma football game. The student wrote in his journal that he should "buy a ticket that is higher than the excellent seats" because the police wouldn't bother him. On a scrap of paper found among his belongings, Aldawsari said an explosive could be hidden inside popcorn, Parker testified.

Also Tuesday, authorities showed videos they said they found on a flash drive in Aldawsari's apartment. One showed a masked man speaking in Arabic about the chemicals needed to create picric acid, an explosive. Other agents have testified that Aldawsari sought — and failed — to obtain phenol.

"Following these steps, you would get picric acid," FBI forensic examiner Robert Mothershead testified.

Authorities said Aldawsari also kept the recipe for picric acid in several emails and journal entries. In one entry, he said he was close to obtaining phenol and had obtained other necessary items, "so I may use them in missions to please God."...

How careless, mendacious and indifferent to the truth is the Leftist media? Here's a case study.

Practicing Saul Alinsky's recommended tactic of demonizing and attempting to isolate and marginalize someone they hate, fear, and cannot refute, the Leftist media is in an uproar over a David Horowitz Freedom Center trip to Turkey scheduled for September 7 through 15, featuring Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute, author and journalist Claire Berlinski, and me. Think Progress and Truth Dig are pressuring Rubin to denounce me and drop out of the trip, following their usual practice of trying to dictate to freedom fighters whom they can associate with and who is outside the bounds of acceptable public discourse.

News of this trip is also traveling far and wide on Twitter:

...to the degree that one Islamic supremacist professor, Haroon Moghul, pleaded with his readers to go to Turkey with him instead of with me:

Aside from the whiff of the Stalinist show trial and its attendant denunciations and demonizations, there is just one problem with all this: the Turkey trip has been canceled for months. On March 15, Pamela Geller and I sent out a national press release announcing our International Freedom Defense Congress, which will be held in New York City on September 11. How could I be in both Turkey and New York City on September 11? I know that Leftist and Islamic supremacist spokesmen think I possess Zionist black arts that allow me to cast passages into the Qur'an and Hadith, but I've never before known that they think I can bilocate as well.

Obviously we would not have announced that I'd be cohosting an event on September 11 in New York City if I was going to be in Turkey that day -- and our press release went out March 15, fully two and a half months before the Think Progress piece was published, and over three months before the one in Truth Dig. Nor did Ali Gharib and Eli Clifton, the hard-Left propagandists who authored the Think Progress piece, or Nathan Lean, Reza Aslan's gunsel who wrote the TruthDig piece and has issued veiled threats to me and my family, bother to contact the David Horowitz Freedom Center to see if the trip was still on. In reality, this trip was first planned in 2010, but dropped after the Mavi Marmara jihad flotilla incident dampened interest in traveling to rapidly Islamizing Turkey. Then in June 2012 some Leftist found an old DHFC flier, and the frenzy began.

Lean's contribution to that frenzy is a lengthy farrago of half-truths and outright lies, including one about my graduate study. Ordinarily I wouldn't address this at all, as I have never based anything I say on some argument from authority that depended upon my having an MA -- to do so would be absurd, and in any case most of what I know about Islam I have learned in independent study anyway. However, it is illustrative of how brazenly the Left lies. Lean says: "Spencer does not hold qualifications that allow him to speak with authority on Islam or Turkey. In fact, religious studies professors at the university where he obtained his one-year graduate degree in early Christian history have consistently rejected the notion that he is someone whose writings are anything other than armchair agitation."

The idea of asserting that I have a "one-year graduate degree" is to portray me as some kind of moron who couldn't or didn't take a full Master's program, and to buttress the absurd but oft-repeated Islamic apologetic claim that one has to have a degree in Islam in order to be able to speak about it accurately. The point here is not that my degree is important, but that Lean is lying: I have a full MA, and it is not in "early Christian history." The University of North Carolina doesn't offer degrees in early Christian history. It's in Religious Studies, and in reality I began studying Islam in earnest at that time. I studied Islam with Gordon Newby, author of The Making of the Last Prophet and A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam -- which is not to say that he and I saw eye-to-eye on much of anything. While in grad school also I wrote an extensive study of how the Qur'an's teaching on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (see 4:157) was influenced by Gnostic Christian traditions.

Again, my graduate school record is howlingly unimportant. I would never have thought about those years again if the enemies of freedom didn't keep bringing them up. The only point I am establishing here is how the Left media and Islamic supremacist spokesmen lie outright to make their case. One-year degree? No, a full MA: here's my transcript (the "H" grade, by the way, means "High Pass," the highest possible grade):

Early Christian history? No, Religious Studies: here's the report of my oral examination committee -- note the "Excellent" recommendation for doctoral study (which I did not pursue because the field was already too politicized, and it has only gotten worse):

Ancient history, and completely unimportant, except to show that the Left and Islamic supremacists care nothing for the facts. Nathan Lean is not only a two-bit thug; he's a liar, as is his boss Reza Aslan.

UPDATE 2:06PM (Pacific): TruthDig appears to have taken down Lean's article, without explanation or apology, although the comments to it linger like orphan ghosts. Apparently some lies are too outlandish even for the hard Left media.

SECOND UPDATE 2:32AM (Pacific): Nathan Lean just wrote me to alert me to the fact that his Truth Dig piece is back up, with no corrections or changes. It thus becomes a key illustration of the fact that the Leftist media simply has no regard for truth or accuracy to the slightest degree.

Why should they have to explain anything to you, kuffar? Yet another Which Side Is He On Alert: "State Dept. Won’t Explain Terrorist WH Visit," from the Washington Free Beacon, June 26 (thanks to Wimpy):

The U.S. State Department “refuses to explain” how a member of an Egyptian terrorist group was allowed into the White House for a visit.

According to a daily briefing transcript published by Jennifer Rubin at the Washington Post:

QUESTION: . . . .It has to do with the visa for the Gama’a al-Islamiyya member. You said last week that there was a – you were looking into the circumstances of how this was issued. Has – have you determined how this – how it happened? And are you aware that Representative King has asked – formally asked Homeland Security to find out how he was in fact allowed entry, quite apart – separate from the visa issue?

MS. NULAND: On the latter, yes, I’ve seen the reporting. As we promised, we did look into it. Unfortunately, you’re not going to be happy with me when I tell you that we are not going to get into the details of confidential visa issuance. He and the rest of that delegation who were here last week have all now returned to Egypt.

QUESTION: Do you regard it as a mistake to have issued him a visa, given that he is self-proclaimed a member of Gama’a al-Islamiyya?

MS. NULAND: Well, let’s start with the fact that we have an interest in engaging a broad cross-section of Egyptians who are seeking to peacefully shape Egypt’s future.

Underneath all the moderate rhetoric that Morsi and the Brotherhood are purveying these days, there is this. "Report: Brotherhood Has Egyptian Caliphate Plans," from IPT News, June 24:

Watch out Egypt: Now that Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi has been declared the country's new president, Sharia punishments may be making their way to a public square near you.

And that's only the start of it.

According to an Arabic-language report last Tuesday of a closed-door senior-level Brotherhood confab, the Islamist group intends to get rid of film and "artistic heritage," replace police uniforms with "Islamic garb," and make memorization of Islam's holy book a pre-condition for advancement in school. These sweeping changes—dubbed the "Jazira Plan"—are to "be put into execution on the first day Dr. [Mohamed] Morsi assumes the presidency."

The first step in the plan is to "replace the national anthem with the so-called anthem of the Islamic Caliphate," soon after followed by "the abolition of the Ministry of Information and replacing it with an Islamic media organization" whose sole aim would be to "publish Islamic heritage only."

The plan speaks to the Brotherhood's deep-seated, and oft-referenced, "dream" of reinstating the Caliphate. Yet, when pressed to expound upon its goals by an unfriendly audience or in the West, the group instead turns ambiguous, speaking in terms of Western concepts of freedom, dignity, and justice....

On this week’s Glazov Gang, Nonie Darwish, Eric Allen Bell and Dr. Nancy Bonus gathered to discuss How Our Enemies Brainwash America. The discussion shed light on how our jihadi adversaries mold our thinking and get our leaders to do their bidding. Above is Part III of a three part series. To see Part I, which dealt with When Egypt Fell, click here. To see Part II, which dealt with Islamic Slavery, click here.

Walter Scott, The Talisman, the Crusades, Richard I of England and Saladin: Myths, Legends and History
by Ibn Warraq
Part 19
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13 / Part 14 / Part 15 / Part 16 / Part 17 / Part 18

Scott did make an effort to get the details of the Western costumes, arms and armour right, for which he was aided by the antiquarian researches of Joseph Strutt [1749-1802] and Samuel Meyrick [1783-1848]. Strutt was a distinguished engraver whose meticulous research in the reading room of the British Museum resulted in beautifully illustrated volumes such as The Regal and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of England, and Manners, Customs, Arms, Habits of the People of England. Meyrick’s A critical enquiry into antient armour as it existed in Europe, but particularly in England, from the Norman conquest to the reign of King Charles II, with a glossary of military terms of the Middle Ages [1842] was particularly important for arms and armour. Otherwise Scott’s knowledge of the Crusades was derived from Charles Mills [1788-1826], a solicitor turned historian whose works included History of the Crusades for the Recovery and Possession of the Holy Land [1820], History of Mohammedanism, and History of Chivalry -- the latter was much influenced by Scott’s novels. Scott also helped Mills with some references from Scottish chronicles for the History of the Crusades. [1] I have already mentioned Scott’s reliance on Anna Comnene for his novel Count Robert of Paris, but he must surely have had access to the same sources as Edward Gibbon, the first volume of whose history came out in 1776. And yet Scott got the history wrong, or else consciously took great liberties with it.

Other literary influences on Scott are well summarised by Robert Irwin: “Scott’s vision of chivalry was influenced perhaps by the Gothic novel and certainly by [Edmund] Spenser [1522-1599] and [Sir Thomas] Malory [1405-1471]. When in the opening of The Talisman Sir Kenneth rides across the desert towards the Dead Sea, he is re-enacting the ride of the Red-Cross Knight in the opening of Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, Canto I [1590]:

A Gentle Knight was pricking on the plaine,
Y cladd in mightie armes and siluer shielde...

Irwin continues, “As for Scott’s reading of Malory’s Morte d’Arthur [1485], this resurfaced in The Talisman in such elements as the strange vision of the ladies in the chapel, the dwarf and the samite arm [Chapter V]. George Ellis’ Specimens of Early English Romances in Metre (1805) fuelled Scott’s medievalism. Folklore also played a part in the shaping of the novel and the central device of the talisman was inspired by legends attached to the Luck of the Lockharts of Lee”. [2]

The Germans taking part in the Third Crusade come off the worst in Scott’s novel. They are described as essentially and irremediably barbaric:

The Germans, though still possessing the martial and frank character of their ancestors, who subdued the Roman empire, had retained withal no slight tinge of their barbarism. The practices and principles of chivalry were not carried to such a nice pitch amongst them, as amongst the French and English knights, nor were they strict observers of the prescribed rules of society, which among those nations were supposed to express the height of civilisation. Sitting at the table of the Archduke, Conrade was at once stunned and amused with the clang of Teutonic sounds assaulting his ears on all sides, notwithstanding the solemnity of a princely banquet. Their dress seemed equally fantastic to him, many of the Austrian nobles retaining their long beards, and almost all of them wearing short jerkins of various colours, cut and flourished, and fringed, in a manner not common in Western Europe.

Given that Scott’s focus is on the Crusaders and their internecine bickering, which had a historical basis, and the fact that Saladin is always presented as the reasonable, honorable and cultivated Saracen in contrast to the barbaric Germans and coarse Franks, Scots and Englishmen, the overall and overwhelming impression can only be that the Crusaders were fanatical, expending needless energy on a futile enterprise, and the Muslims were patient, forbearing, tolerant of other religions, and simply defending their homelands.

[1] Robert Irwin. Saladin and the Third Crusade in ed, Michael Bentley. Companion to Historiography, London: Routledge, 1997 p.141.
[2] Ibid.

To be continued.

Ibn Warraq is the author of numerous books, including Why the West Is Best and Why I Am Not A Muslim.

Join The Jamie Glazov Show that aired Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at 8-9 pm Pacific (11-12 pm EST) on Blog Talk Radio. The show focused on the dark consequences of the Muslim Brotherhood taking Egypt.

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.

He hadn't opened the bottles -- therefore he was harmless. Such is the state of American legal reasoning today. More on this story. "Agent: Chemicals found in Saudi man's apartment," by Betsy Blaney for the Associated Press, June 22 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

AMARILLO, Texas (AP) - Federal agents who searched the Texas apartment of a Saudi man accused of gathering materials to make a bomb found sulfuric acid and nitric acid, among other things, an FBI agent testified Friday.

During the first day of testimony in the trial of Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, Special Agent Aaron Covey walked jurors through the 22-year-old former chemical engineering student's apartment in West Texas using photos taken hours after Aldawsari's Feb. 23, 2011, arrest. Prosecutors contend Aldawsari gathered bomb components with the goal of targeting sites across the U.S.

Prosecutors presented more than 80 exhibits Friday, many of them photos that gave jurors a first look at Aldawsari's sparsely furnished apartment near Texas Tech University. In addition to the bottles of sulfuric and nitric acids, prosecutors showed photos of cellphones, Christmas lights, journals and notebooks, a laptop computer, wiring, a stun gun, a hazmat suit and a baby scale.

Aldawsari faces up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. Investigators say the targets he researched included the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush, dams and nuclear plants.

Defense attorney Dan Cogdell argued that though Aldawsari had intent, he never took a "substantial step" to make or use a bomb. Under cross-examination, Covey confirmed that none of the bottles of sulfuric and nitric acid had been opened....

Aldawsari came to the U.S. in October 2008 from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to study chemical engineering at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. He transferred in early 2011 to nearby South Plains College, where he was studying business. A Saudi industrial company, which was not identified in court documents, paid his tuition and living expenses....

Prosecutor Jeffrey Haag described "10 blocks of evidence" he would present to the jury, including emails, writings and recordings of phone conversations in which Aldawsari described his desire to attack Americans.

"Maybe they deserved 9/11 and maybe it should happen again and again because these people actually deserve it," Aldawsari allegedly said, according to Haag....

Court documents say Aldawsari wrote in Arabic in his journal that he had been planning a terror attack in the U.S. even before he came to the country on a scholarship, and that it was "time for jihad," or holy war. He bemoaned the plight of Muslims and said he was influenced by Osama bin Laden's speeches.

FBI bomb experts have said they believe Aldawsari had sufficient components to produce almost 15 pounds of explosive - about the same amount used per bomb in the London subway attacks that killed scores of people in July 2005.

Will the Islamophobia never end? Sunni/Shi'ite Jihad Update: "Iraq bomb kills 9 young soccer players, fans: officials," from Reuters, July 25 (thanks to all who sent this in):

(Reuters) - Nine young soccer players and fans were killed when a bomb exploded near a pitch in southern Iraq, health officials said, in the latest of a wave of attacks raising fears of a return to widespread sectarian violence.

The explosion in a predominantly Shi'ite Muslim area of the city of Hilla came the same day as police and hospital sources said a roadside bomb killed five people near a pet shop popular with young people in a Sunni Muslim area of the northern city of Baquba.

Over at FrontPage Magazine (via RaymondIbrahim.com), I discuss Congressman Al Green's recent demands to have hearings dealing with the threat "blue-eyed, blond-haired" female Christian terrorists pose to America. A snippet follows:

[...] Fair question—"Why not have a hearing on the radicalization of Christians?" Before responding, we must acknowledge that the word "radicalization" simply means "to go to the root or origin of something," in this case, religion: a Muslim radical goes to the root teachings of Islam; a Christian radical goes to the root teachings of Christianity. Accordingly, there are certainly "Christian radicals" in America. The question is, do they pose the same risks to America as Muslim radicals?

Green and all moral relativists naturally do not want to pursue such a question, opting to pretend that any form of "radicalization"—regardless of the "root teachings"—is evil. They are certainly not interested in determining the fundamentals of Christianity and Islam, and whether they are equally prone to violence, terrorism, conquest, etc. While this is not the place to contrast modern Christianity's apolitical and largely passive nature with modern Islam's political and largely aggressive nature—a theme elaborated here—suffice it to say that, while thousands of modern-day Muslim leaders are on record quoting Islamic scriptures to justify violence and hate, one is hard pressed to find examples of modern Christian leaders preaching violence and hate—and justifying it through scripture.

The Saudi Grand Mufti, the highest religious official of Saudi Arabia, Islam's holiest nation, called on the destruction of all regional churches, quoting Islamic texts. Can Green find an example of an equally authoritative Christian leader calling for the destruction of mosques—and supporting it through the Bible?

Green went on to ask "Why don't we go to the next step and ask, how is that a blue-eyed, blonde-haired, white female in the United States of America can become radicalized to the point of wanting to do harm to this country? We don't have that type of hearing. That's the problem."

Thus, not only does the Congressman irrationally conflate the teachings of all religions together, he also conflates religion with race (and gender) implying that the only reason there are hearings on Muslim radicalization is because Muslims are not white, whereas those "equally-dangerous" blue-eyed, blond-haired female Christian "radicals" are apparently getting a free pass to terrorize America.

This logic is flawed on many levels. Islam is not a race; there are Muslims of all colors, just like there are Christians of all colors. Moreover, there are indeed "blue-eyed, blond-haired" terrorists in the world, including females—yet these, too, are overwhelmingly Muslim. It is dishonest for Green to try to take the focus off of Islamic radicalization and pin it on that all-purpose bogeyman, "racism."...

According to a story in yesterday’s Mideast Christian News, Muslims in the village of Basra in Alexandria, Egypt, surrounded the local Coptic church, St. Lyons, during divine liturgy, “demanding that visiting Copts leave the church before the completion of prayers, and threatening to burn down the church if their demand was not met.” The priest, Father Severus, hurriedly contacted police by phone asking for aid only to be told to comply with their demands, "and do not let buses with visitors to come to the church anymore.” In face of such threats, Christian worshippers exited the church halfway through liturgy to jeers outside. As they drove away, Muslims hurled stones at their buses, and the priest was warned by “salafis and extremists” never again to allow visitors to the church, otherwise they would “destroy it.”

As the great philosopher once put it, Well duhh. "U.K. spy chief: Arab Spring creates "permissive environment" for al Qaeda in Middle East," from CBS News, June 26 (thanks to Kenneth):

(CBS/AP) LONDON - Britain's spy chief has warned that the Arab Spring, which has shifted the power from several long-time autocrats in the Middle East, is also creating an opening for al Qaeda to move back into countries where Islamic militancy was born.

Not so long ago, 75 percent of the terror threats prioritized by British spy agency MI5 had links to Afghanistan or Pakistan. But Britain's efforts, along with those of its international partners, have brought that percentage down to below 50 percent, MI5 Director General Jonathan Evans said in a Monday speech in London.

Evans warned that the international terrorist threat is no longer "monolithic," with al Qaeda affiliates in Yemen, Somalia and across north Africa becoming, "more dangerous as al Qaeda in Pakistan has declined."

Although the Arab Spring revolutions have brought about radical political changes in some countries, they have also brought fresh opportunities for al Qaeda affiliates to seek refuge.

Evans said the Arab Spring has once again made parts of the Arab world a "permissive environment for al Qaeda."...

According to the MI5 boss, Britain has noticed a "small number of British would-be Jihadis are also making their way to Arab countries to seek training and opportunities."

"Some will return to the U.K. and pose a threat here," Evans said. "This is a new and worrying development and could get worse as events unfold. So we will have to manage the short-term risks if there is to be a long-term reward from the Arab Spring."

Over at the Investigative Project on Terrorism (via RaymondIbrahim.com), I discuss three recent incidents that clearly expose the Muslim Brotherhood for an anti-infidel, anti-Christian organization bent on enforcing Sharia, including through lying and cheating:

Egypt's longtime banned Muslim Brotherhood—the parent organization of nearly every subsequent Islamist movement, including al-Qaeda—has just won the nation's presidency, in the name of its candidate, Muhammad Morsi. That apathy reigns in the international community, when once such news would have been deemed devastating, is due to the successful efforts of Muslim apologists and subversive agents in the West who portray the Brotherhood as "moderate Islamists"—irrespective that such a formulation is oxymoronic, since to be "Islamist," to be a supporter of draconian Sharia, is by definition to be immoderate.

Obama administration officials naturally took it a step further, portraying the Brotherhood as "largely secular" and "pluralistic."

Back in the real world, evidence that the Brotherhood is just another hostile Islamist group bent on achieving world domination through any means possible is overwhelming. Here are just three examples that recently surfaced, all missed by the Western media, and all exposing the Brotherhood as hostile to "infidels" (non-Muslims) in general, hostile to the Christians in their midst (the Copts) in particular, and on record calling on Muslims to lie and cheat during elections to empower Sharia:

Anti-Infidel: At a major conference supporting Muhammad Morsi—standing on a platform with a big picture of Morsi smiling behind him and with any number of leading Brotherhood figures, including Khairat el-Shater, sitting alongside—a sheikh went on a harangue, quoting Koran 9:12, a jihadi favorite, to portray all those Egyptians who do not vote for Morsi—the other half of Egypt, the secularists and Copts who voted for Shafiq—as "resisters of the Sharia of Allah," and "infidel leaders" whom true Muslims must "fight" and subjugate.

The video of this sheikh was shown on the talk show of Egyptian commentator Hala Sarhan, who proceeded to exclaim "This is unbelievable! How is this talk related to the campaign of Morsi?!" A guest on her show correctly elaborated: "Note his [the sheikh's] use of the word 'fight'—'fight the infidel leaders' [Koran 9:12]; this is open incitement to commit violence against anyone who disagrees with them…. How can such a radical sheikh speak such words, even as [Brotherhood leaders like] Khairat el-Shater just sit there?" Nor did the Brotherhood denounce or distance itself from this sheikh's calls to jihad and takfir....

Here is the speech that the cowardly dhimmis of the LA Jewish Federation canceled under pressure from Islamic supremacists, and then apologized for doing so.

Geller speaks eloquently and passionately at the beginning and at the end about the Leftist/Islamic supremacist war on the freedom of speech, and about how we must not acquiesce in the enemies of freedom defining what is acceptable discourse and what isn't.

That is, of course, the motto of the Muslim Brotherhood. "Egypt presidential candidate seeks Constitution based on Sharia Law," from Russia Today, May 13 (thanks to Business Insider):

Egypt’s Constitution should be based on the Koran and Sharia law, presidential candidate from the Muslim Brotherhood Islamist movement Mohamed Morsi said.

“The Koran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader, jihad is our path and death in the name of Allah is our goal,” Morsi said in his election speech before Cairo University students on Saturday night.

Today Egypt is close as never before to the triumph of Islam at all the state levels, he said.

“Today we can establish Sharia law because our nation will acquire well-being only with Islam and Sharia. The Muslim Brothers and the Freedom and Justice Party will be the conductors of these goals,” he said....

Danes have the world record when it comes to believing that "Greater interaction between Muslim and Western worlds is a threat" (Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue, January 2008 - page 25). 79 percent of Danes think that greater interaction is a threat. We are also the happiest people in the world, our self-confidence is the highest (19,3 times higher than Arabs) and we are among the world's most trusting people.

Is there any any connection between mental strength and not being politically correct? Yes: Psychological Explanations of Political Correctness

More reasons for Muslims not to immigrate to the land of Holger the Dane:

Translated from Danish by Nicolai Sennels, Ugebrevet A4, June 21: "Denmark is a Tea Party-movement":

The study shows, among other things, that 59 percent of Danes think that the term 'religious fanatics' describes immigrants from the Middle East well. In the U.S., only 37 of the population share this view. In Norway, the percentage is 47. ...

'We need to go all the way back to the time after 9/11 to find similar opposition to Muslims in America. The position you see in Denmark is very similar to those we see in the Tea Party movement in the U.S.' ...

59 percent of Danes think that immigrants from South Asia are willing to integrate, while only 16 percent of Danes think that this applies to immigrants from the Middle East. ...

Only 19 percent of Danes think that immigrants from the Middle East are law-abiding ...

Three out of four Danes believe that immigrants from the Middle East increase the level of violent crime. ...

Only 20 percent of Danes think that immigrants from the Middle East are willing to learn Danish.

Over at Atlas Shrugs I answer this burning question:

“Which is the more serious problem today: Islamic extremism or anti-Islamic bigotry?”

This is the question Reason magazine’s Cathy Young asks in a new piece on “Islamophobia.” Young long ago demonstrated that she had no understanding of the nature or magnitude of the jihad threat, and tended to blame those who were calling attention to it rather than the real perpetrators. So it is no surprise that she would now be fronting for the manipulative Muslim Brotherhood coinage of “Islamophobia,” which is designed to guilt-trip people into being afraid to resist jihad, but in a new piece, “Young: Islam navigates shoals of extremism,” published last week in Newsday, she rises to a whole new level of Useful Idiocy.

So which really is worse? Well, let’s see. All genuine bigotry is absolutely unacceptable, but in fact, Muslims are rarely its victims. FBI statistics show that there is no “Islamophobia.” Contrary to media emphases and preoccupations, many “anti-Muslim hate crimes” have been faked by Muslims, and Jews are eight times more likely than Muslims to be the victims of hate attacks.

And as for “Islamic extremism,” recent jihad plotters include Naser Abdo, the would-be second Fort Hood jihad mass murderer; Khalid Aldawsari, the would-be jihad mass murderer in Lubbock, Texas; Muhammad Hussain, the would-be jihad bomber in Baltimore; Mohamed Mohamud, the would-be jihad bomber in Portland; Nidal Hasan, the successful Fort Hood jihad mass-murderer; Faisal Shahzad, the would-be Times Square jihad mass-murderer; Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, the Arkansas military recruiting station jihad murderer; Naveed Haq, the jihad mass murderer at the Jewish Community Center in Seattle; 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.

All of them and many others invoked the Qur’an and Sunnah to explain and justify their deeds. But as far as Cathy Young is concerned, it is hard to tell whether they represent a greater threat than a virtually non-existent anti-Muslim bigotry.

Many American Muslims stress the importance of combating not only anti-Muslim bigotry but extremism in Muslim ranks. The modernization of Islam is an essential priority for the world. Right-wing Islamophobes such as bloggers Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer are hostile to this effort, insisting that Islam is beyond reform and any talk of moderation is a deceptive smoke screen.

Which American Muslims “stress the importance of combating not only anti-Muslim bigotry but extremism in Muslim ranks”? The main Muslim advocacy groups in the U.S., such as Hamas-linked CAIR, focus exclusively on painting resistance to jihad and Islamic supremacism as “anti-Muslim bigotry,” and never do a single thing to fight “extremism in Muslim ranks.” I have no idea who Cathy Young might mean, outside of Jasser and Manji, both of whose Islam is wholly eccentric and non-traditional, and Young doesn’t say.

What is “right-wing” about fighting for the freedom of speech, the freedom of conscience, and equality of rights for all people before the law? Again, Young doesn’t say, but that she considers people fighting for freedom to be her enemies is telling, as is her use of the Muslim Brotherhood neologism “Islamophobia.”...

There is more.

On this week’s Glazov Gang, Nonie Darwish, Eric Allen Bell and Dr. Nancy Bonus gathered to discuss Islamic Slavery. The discussion shed light on the continuing barbaric practice of slavery in the Islamic world and its roots in Islamic theology. Below is Part II of a three part series. To see Part I, which dealt with When Egypt Fell, click here.

Walter Scott, The Talisman, the Crusades, Richard I of England and Saladin: Myths, Legends and History
by Ibn Warraq
Part 18
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13 / Part 14 / Part 15 / Part 16 / Part 17

Richard the Lionheart’s main concern was to see the terms of Acre’s surrender fulfilled, and accordingly he began pressuring Saladin for a precise timetable for the implementation of the peace settlement’s terms. For Richard, speed was of the essence, for various tactical, and military reasons -- ultimately, he risked the collapse of the entire crusade. Saladin knew this, and so he began delaying tactics. The deadline of the first payment of the money -- 12 August -- passed, and Saladin “began deliberately to equivocate” [1], and even sought to introduce new conditions into the original deal. Saladin had obviously miscalculated, for Richard marched out of the city with 2,700 Muslim prisoners, who were bound in ropes, and ordered their mass execution in full sight of the Muslim camp.

John Gillingham [2], formerly professor of medieval history at the London School of Economics, argues that Richard’s act was “a reasoned decision, driven by military expediency”. [3] Here is Christopher Tyerman’s assessment: “Richard I’s butchery of his Muslim captives was an atrocity not uncommon in war. It was not an act of random sadism, less so, for example, than Saladin’s own execution of the Templars and Hospitallers after Hattin [4]… Even [Bahā’ al-Dīn] Ibn Shaddād recognized that Richard’s action contained logic: revenge for Muslim killing of surrendering Christians during the siege of Acre ‘or that the king of England had decided to march on Ascalon…and did not think it wise to leave that number in the rear’. Richard and his apologists, and many observers not noted for their sympathy towards him, insisted on the justice of the killings, even their legality. One favourable source declared that, without the agreement with Saladin, the lives of the defeated garrison were forfeit jure belli, ‘under the rights of war’”. [5]

Here are some examples of Saladin’s subsequent reactions taken from the Arabic history of Bahā’ al-Dīn Ibn Shaddād:

1. “At this camp, [Saladin] was brought two Franks who had been snatched by the advance guard. He commanded their execution and they were slain. Many of our men fell upon them with swords to vent their anger.” [6]

2. “Another two men taken from the fringes of the enemy host were brought before [Saladin] and they were most cruelly done to death, as he was still in an extreme rage at what had been done to the prisoners at Acre.” [My emphasis -- Ibn Warraq] [7]

What does “cruelly done to death” mean? It means the prisoners were first horribly tortured and mutilated, and then executed. No clemency, humanity, and magnanimity is in evidence here.

3. Another prisoner is ordered to be executed, but this time “he forbade any mutilation”. [8]

4. Two other Crusader prisoners were ordered executed. [9]

5. Six more prisoners were ordered executed. [10]

6. Fourteen Frankish men and one woman were also executed on Saladin’s orders. [11]

7. In early September, 1191, Saladin ordered that two Franks be beheaded. [12]

8. On 7th September, one more execution ordered. [13]

9. On 10th September, two crusaders executed. [14]

10. On 25 September, Saladin arrived at the town of Ramla. “He viewed the town and viewed its church and the great size of its construction, then ordered its demolition and the demolition of the castle at Ramla.” [15]

[1] Ibid.,p.451
[2] John Gillingham. Richard I. New Haven:Yale University Press, 2002, pp.166-71; 260-1.
[3] Thomas Asbridge, op.cit.,p.455.
[4] To be discussed in part III.
[5] Tyerman, op.cit.,pp.456-457
[6] Bahā’ al-Dīn Ibn Shaddād, op.cit.,p.168
[7] Ibid,p.168
[8] Ibid.,p.169
[9] Ibid.,p.169
[10] Ibid., p.169
[11] Ibid.,pp.169-170.
[12] Ibid, p.174
[13] Ibid. p.176
[14] Ibid, p.177
[15] Ibid.

To be continued.

Ibn Warraq is the author of numerous books, including Why the West Is Best and Why I Am Not A Muslim.

Join The Jamie Glazov Show that will air on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at 8-9 pm Pacific (11-12 pm EST) on Blog Talk Radio. The show will be focusing on the dark consequences of the Muslim Brotherhood taking Egypt.

This week’s guest will be 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.

It wasn't just the BBC. The entire mainstream media poured out enthusiastic story after story about how the "Arab Spring" was a flowering of democracy and pluralism. On Fox back in the winter of 2011, I said it was a Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic supremacist takeover, and Juan Williams derided me for "fearmongering," while the other assembled talking heads spoke about how no one in Egypt supported the Brotherhood, and how a new democratic era was dawning there. Yet none of those pundits, even though they are consistently wrong, are ever held accountable; instead, they continue to appear on show after show to this day, and keep on offering learned analyses that will prove to be howlingly wrong in a few months' time.

"Our coverage of the Arab Spring was over-excited, admits BBC," by Paul Revoir for the Daily Mail, June 25 (thanks to David):

The BBC’s coverage of the Arab Spring has been heavily criticised – by the corporation’s bosses.

Head of news Helen Boaden admitted that her journalists got carried away with events and produced ‘over-excited’ reports.

She told a BBC Trust report that in Libya, where reporters were ‘embedded’ with rebels, they may have failed to explore both sides of the story properly.

Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen was among those criticised in the study into coverage of the uprisings, which found that ‘excitement’ did sometimes ‘infect’ the reporting, which some viewers described as ‘too emotive’ and ‘veering into opinion’.

The document, published yesterday, also raised concerns about the corporation’s use of footage filmed on mobile phones and other user-generated content. It noted that the BBC failed to warn viewers with ‘caveats’ about the ‘authenticity’ of such footage in 74 per cent of cases.

It also warned that the corporation ignored events in some countries as it concentrated on ‘big’ stories.

Miss Boaden is quoted saying: ‘In the conflict in Egypt in the beginning . . . we might have sounded over-excited – you can take on the colour of who you’re with. I had to say “just be careful about your tone”.

‘In Libya too, where we were essentially embedded [with the rebels] at the start, we might have sounded over-excited – you have to be careful if you can’t get to the other side of the story.’...

What an intriguing report. One wonders how it is that European security officials know so much about this Muslim, but apparently are not in a position to apprehend him. Note also that AP, like all mainstream media sources, and probably taking their cue from those Eurocops, thinks that the most salient detail about this al-Qaeda-trained Muslim, the one to put in the headline and lead paragraph, is not his Islamic faith, although he himself would point to it as his motivation, but his Norwegian nationality, although it is utterly irrelevant to his actions.

Meanwhile, yet another convert to Islam misunderstands his new, peaceful faith. And yet Muslim groups in the West have done nothing -- nothing -- to keep new converts from misunderstanding their new religion in the same way. Now, why is that?

"Norwegian trained by al-Qaida, awaiting orders to attack," from Associated Press, June 25 (thanks to all who sent this in):

STOCKHOLM — European security officials say a Norwegian man has received terrorist training from al-Qaida’s offshoot in Yemen and is awaiting orders to attack the West.

Western intelligence officials have long feared such a scenario: a convert to Islam trained in terrorist methods who can blend in easily in Europe and the United States and travel without visa restrictions.

Officials from three European security agencies confirmed Monday that the man is “operational,” meaning he has completed his training and is about to receive a target. All requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.

One official described the man as a Norwegian in his 30s who became radicalized after converting to Islam in 2008. He spent “some months” in Yemen and is still believed to be there.

Now we will see when these quivering cowards are going to reschedule Geller's talk. But this is a victory for the freedom of speech and common sense: "LA Jewish Federation Cancels Event Citing Muslim Threats," by Zachary Lichaa for Algemeiner, June 25 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

At the last minute, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles cancelled a Sunday morning event where Pamela Geller was scheduled to speak on the issues of war in the Middle East and the historical hatred of Jews in the Muslim world.

Citing security concerns that the building might be stormed by Muslim activists, the Federation informed the Zionist Organization of America – which was hosting the event – that the speech would be called off.

“We said, ‘we will pay for additional security so there will be no problems,’” Morton Klein, President of the ZOA, told The Algemeiner. “They rejected that, saying ‘we’re not going to let Pam Geller or any of your people in the building.’”

Klein says the event was posted for months on the Federation’s website and that everything was done transparently throughout the process of scheduling Geller to speak, and that the timing of the cancellation was upsetting.

“If there was a problem, we should have discussed it earlier, but we shouldn’t cancel a talk because of threats and condemnations from the Muslim world,” Klein said.

The Jewish Federation of Greater LA has not returned requests for comment on this story.

Geller, who is a controversial author and activist criticized by some for her beliefs towards Islam, says the Jewish Federation in LA has set a dangerous precedent.

“I think it was a disaster. Zionism is not welcome at the LA Jewish Federation,” she said in an interview with The Algemeiner. “It was almost a historical moment where they would cave to a group who is affiliated with Hamas,” she said, referring to reports that the [Hamas-linked] Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has been linked to the terrorist group by the U.S. Congress, was responsible for the event’s cancellation....

Suggestions that the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles may have made their decision based on threats from “left-wing” donors, and not Muslim activists, were made to The Algemeiner by numerous sources.

And according to Klein, officials from the Federation have apologized to the ZOA for the cancellation.

“They called and told us they made a mistake,” he said.

“We have nothing against the Federation. They do important work and they help Israel,” Klein added.

But doing anything other than assuming the loyalty of Muslims in the military would be "Islamophobic." It would be better for hundreds or thousands die in a jihad attack by one of these Muslims in the military than for military officials to commit an act of "Islamophobia." Death (other peoples') before political incorrectness! "FBI Tracking 100 Suspected Extremists In Military," by Dina Temple-Raston for NPR, June 25 (thanks to Holly):

The FBI has conducted more than 100 investigations into suspected Islamic extremists within the military, NPR has learned. About a dozen of those cases are considered serious.

That probably means that the other 88 and more include Muslims in the military who said or wrote something pro-jihad or anti-American, but who don't seem to be planning an attack or communicating with "dangerous individuals" right now. What they might do tomorrow is anybody's guess.

Officials define that as a case requiring a formal investigation to gather information against suspects who appear to have demonstrated a strong intent to attack military targets. This is the first time the figures have been publicly disclosed.

The FBI and Department of Defense call these cases "insider threats." They include not just active and reserve military personnel but also individuals who have access to military facilities such as contractors and close family members with dependent ID cards.

Officials would not provide details about the cases and the FBI would not confirm the numbers, but they did say that cases seen as serious could include, among others things, suspects who seem to be planning an attack or were in touch with "dangerous individuals" who were goading them to attack.

Details Revealed At Closed Congressional Hearing

The FBI and the Department of Defense declined to discuss the figures on the record, but three sources with direct knowledge confirmed that the numbers were revealed in a closed session of a House-Senate committee hearing in December. The FBI also declined to say whether it has compiled more up-to-date figures since that time.

Why is it only coming out now?

"I was surprised and struck by the numbers; they were larger than I expected," Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut and chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, told NPR. He stopped short of confirming the numbers....

The FBI compiled its tally of Islamic extremist cases in the military late last year for a joint hearing that Lieberman co-chaired. The hearing was looking at possible threats to military communities inside the United States, and the number of cases was revealed at that time....

"This number speaks not only to the reality that there is a problem of violent Islamic extremists in the military, but also that the Department of Defense and the FBI since the Nidal Hassan case are working much more closely together," said Lieberman.

Officials stressed that the FBI and the Department of Defense track all kinds of extremism within the military community from white supremacists to neo-Nazis, not just Islamic extremists.

Yes, of course. Mustn't appear "Islamophobic." After all, the KKK has tried to pull off so many terror attacks in the U.S. military lately.

But the Fort Hood shooting inspired new reporting procedures aimed at catching plots before they unfold. Since 2001, law enforcement officials have foiled and prosecuted more than 30 plots or attacks against military targets within the United States.

A Conviction Last Month

Just last month, an AWOL Muslim soldier named Naser Abdo was convicted of plotting to attack Fort Hood. Officers found components for an explosive device in Abdo's hotel room not far from the base.

Abdo told the judge that the plot was supposed to exact some "justice" for the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. In an audio recording played during the trial, Abdo said his Islamic faith was part of the reason he planned the attack....

But remember: unless you pretend that he didn't say that or didn't mean it, or that he is yet another Misunderstander of Islam, you're a greasy Islamophobe.

But of course we don't need anti-Sharia laws in the U.S. Sharia is benign and completely compatible with Western values and principles of human rights. That's what Muslim spokesmen such as the Imam Rauf and Hamas-linked CAIR always tell us, and we know they're as honest as the day is long.

"Iranian pair face death penalty after third alcohol offence," by Saeed Kamali Dehghan for the Guardian, June 25 (thanks to David):

Two Iranians have been sentenced to death for persistent consumption of alcohol under the country's Islamic Sharia law, which forbids the use, manufacturing and trading of all types of alcoholic drinks.

The two, who have not been named by the authorities, have each previously been lashed 160 times after twice being arrested for consuming alcohol. Being convicted for the third time makes them liable for the death penalty.

The head of the judiciary Seyed Hasan Shariati, based in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan Razavi, told the semi-official Isna news agency that the supreme court had upheld their death sentences and that officials were preparing for their execution.

"Two people who committed the offence of consuming alcohol for the third time have been sentenced to be executed. The verdict has been confirmed by the supreme court and we are preparing to administer it," he said.

Under Iranian Sharia law, certain crimes such as sodomy, rape, theft, fornication, apostasy and consumption of alcohol for the third time are considered to be "claims of God" and therefore have mandatory death sentences.

Sentences for such crimes, which are called Hodud in the Islamic terminology, are not at the discretion of the judge but are defined by Sharia law.

For some of these crimes, including theft and lesbianism, the death penalty is only handed down if the convict is a re-offender who has already been punished three times for the same crime in the past. In the case of alcohol, the death penalty comes on the third offence....

So much for the Arab Spring's flowering of democracy: Egypt's first elected president will likely be its last -- opposing him will be "un-Islamic." Or is Rif'at Al-Said just a greasy Islamophobe?

I tried to tell you: "Leader of the Egyptian Al-Tagammu’ Party Rif'at Al-Said: The Muslim Brotherhood Will Never Relinquish the Presidency," from MEMRI, June 6:

Following are excerpts from an interview with Rif’at Al-Said, leader of the Egyptian Al-Tagammu’ Party, which aired on Dream 2 TV on June 6, 2012.

Rif’at Al-Said: The danger in the Freedom and Justice Party [of the Muslim Brotherhood] lies in its being a Salafi organization, which relies upon peddling in religion. They believe that if their candidate becomes president, Islam itself will have come to power, and will serve as an umbrella for the rule.

Therefore, if Muhammad Mursi, the Freedom and Justice Party’s candidate, is elected, any opposition to him will be considered opposition to the Islamic enterprise, to the rule of Islam, and to the implementation of the shari’a.

If he takes the seat of power, he will never get up again. What advocate of political Islam has ever relinquished power? The ayatollahs in Iran came to power, and will remain in power until Judgment Day. When Omar Al-Bashir came to power, he talked about free elections, and so on. Meanwhile, Sudan has disintegrated in his hands, and the economy is dead, but he remains in power, and will continue to do so, even if all that remains is the single square meter on which his throne is located. With Hamas, the loyal disciples of the Muslim Brotherhood, it is the same story.

Interviewer: If you object to Muhammad [Mursi], you can remove him from power after four years.

Rif’at Al-Said: That will never happen. I can tell you that right now.

Beheadings for Sharia. The Pakistani Taliban has apparently fallen under the influence of greasy Islamophobes who somehow convinced them that Sharia was not as benign and compatible with Western notions of human rights as Imam Rauf would have us believe.

"Pakistan: As many as 13 soldiers killed, 7 beheaded," by Jill Langlois for the Global Post, June 25 (thanks to David):

More than 100 Taliban members crossed over from Afghanistan and attacked three Pakistani military posts Sunday night.

Reports say that anywhere from eight to 13 Pakistani soldiers were killed, and seven were beheaded, according to Reuters. At least 14 militants were also killed in the attacks.

Reuters also reported that the Malakand faction of the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks, and threatened more.

"Our fight will continue until the establishment of sharia law in Pakistan ... We will fight whoever tries to stand in our way," Sirajuddin Ahmad, the faction's spokesman, told Reuters....

More flowering of democracy and pluralism in the glorious "Arab Spring" Tunisia. "Seven and a Half Years for Accused in Mahdia Blasphemy Case Following Appeal," by Sana Ajmi for Tunisia Live, June 25 (thanks to David):

The verdict in the case of Jabeur Mejri – a young Tunisian man who was sentenced in April to seven and a half years imprisonment on charges of attacking public order and morality - was unchanged following today’s appeal.

According to Ahmed Ali Msalmi, a lawyer representing Mejri’, the verdict remains unchanged. “The two men were sentenced to seven and a half years in prison each. This is not acceptable. There is a possibility of a second appeal,” he said.

Mejri and Ghazi Beji – another artist who managed to flee to Greece before the trial – were indicted for posting caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad and manuscripts critical of Islam online. Mejri has been in prison in Mahdia since March this year.

Mohamed Trabelsi, Beji’s Lawyer, explained that because his client was tried in absentia, he would not be given the opportunity to appeal unless he returned to Tunisia.

Beji’s book, Wahm al Islam – the Illusion of Islam – and Mejri’s book Dark Land, include caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, which are considered sacrilegious to many Muslims....

In a celebratory mood over the Muslim Brotherhood victory in Egypt, Hamas resumes its murderous jihad against Israel. "Rocket Attacks Resume on Southern Israel," by Chana Ya'ar for Israel National News, June 24 (thanks to Voice of the Copts):

Palestinian Authority terrorists resumed firing rocket attacks on southern Israel Sunday afternoon.

Three short-range Qassam rockets were launched at the Eshkol Regional Council district area by Gaza terrorists at about 4:30 p.m.

One of the missiles exploded in a residential area, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, but residents of the area had managed to reach their bomb shelters in time.

No one was physically injured, authorities said, although residents with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) had symptoms triggered by the attack....

"Israel issues warning after swarm of rocket attacks," from the Vancouver Sun, June 25 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his military is ready to use "greater force" to halt rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. Despite a truce agreed on Wednesday, 20 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on Saturday, injuring an Israeli factory worker. Another three were fired Sunday. The homemade Qassam rockets landed mostly in uninhabited areas, suggesting they were designed as a display of force rather than a serious attempt to up-grade the conflict. They were answered with three Israeli air strikes in which two Palestinians were killed and 10 injured.

For the first time in more than a year, Hamas has claimed responsibility for the missiles, apparently abandoning a policy of passive resistance.

Sheikh Mubarak al-Bathali of Kuwait recently objected to the name of the late Egyptian singer, Umm Kalthum (1904-1975), widely regarded as the greatest female singer in Arab music history. He insisted that “Umm Kalthum is the [name of the] daughter of the Messenger of Allah and lord of humanity [Muhammad], and so she [the singer] should be called “Umm al-Thum” [“mother of garlic”], since garlic comes from a sly tree that harms others,” in reference to the fact that many Muslims who listen to her non-Islamic music are deluded.

Because trees play a role in Islam, especially eschatology, al-Bathali infuses his attack on the dead singer with cosmic significance. For instance, this fatwa, after quoting Muhammad banning Muslims from mosque prayers after eating garlic, “for the angels will be offended,” continues:

The trees (all except the Gharqad) which will show the Jews to the Muslims so that they may kill them during the great battle at the end of time. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The Hour will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them. The Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will say: ‘O Muslim, O slave of Allah! There is a Jew behind me, come and kill him!’ All the trees will say this except for the Gharqad (box-thorn), for it is one of the trees of the Jews."

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood President-elect Morsi is wasting no time showing his true colors, and deceptive Islamic supremacists in the U.S. such as the clownish adolescent Reza Aslan couldn't be more thrilled:

Aslan's enthusiasm for the Jew-hating, Islamic supremacist Brotherhood is nothing new. He said this in January 2011: "The Muslim Brotherhood will have a significant role to play in post-Mubarak Egypt. And that is good thing." -- Aslan in the Washington Post

"President-elect Mursi wants to expand Iran ties as Israel sees ‘darkness in Egypt,’" from Al-Arabiya, June 25 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Egypt’s President-elect Mohammed Mursi said in an interview with Iran’s Fars news agency on Monday that he was looking to expand ties with Tehran to create a strategic “balance” in the region, as Israeli media expressed almost unanimous concern and warned of a difficult new reality.

Fars quoted him as saying he was interested in better relations with Tehran, Reuters reported. “This will create a balance of pressure in the region, and this is part of my program.”

Fars also quoted Mursi as saying that he wants to “reconsider” the peace deal with Israel, according to AFP. Reuters also quoted Mursi as saying the same statement.

“We will reconsider the Camp David Accord,” Mursi was quoted as telling a Fars reporter in Cairo on Sunday, just before his election triumph was announced.

However, Al Arabiya was not able to confirm the report about reconsidering the Camp David treaty with Israel, especially that the President-elect had vowed to respect all international treaties on his first speech to the nation on Sunday night.

Mursi said the issue of Palestinian refugees returning to homes their families abandoned in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and the 1967 Six-Day War “is very important.”

He added though that “all these issues will be carried out through cabinet and governmental bodies because I will not take any decision on my own.”...

The Church of England is about to cover itself with shame. What do these trendy, politically correct Leftist divines think will happen if the Palestinian jihadists they support win the day? The bloodletting in Israel in that event would be a new Holocaust. But the Anglican clerics would probably sip their tea and say, "Well, they had it coming..."

"The Church of England Battles the Israeli Satan," by Giulio Meotti for Israel National News, June 25:

A resolution calling for “non violent actions to end the occupation” of Israel will be discussed by the Church of England’s General Synod at its meeting next month.

The motion is being proposed by John Dinnen, a Synod member who already backed an attempt to force the Church to divest from companies said to be “profiting from Israel’s occupation”.

We have seen this before.

Precursors to the Anglicans

The Anglican Friends of Israel, a small but brave group of Christian members who oppose the attacks against Israel, declared that an eventual approval by the Church’s synod would be like “adopting the ‘Nakba’ agenda”.

Indeed.

A Muslim party in the Netherlands that says it was striving to "decrease the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims and to improve Islam’s image in the Netherlands" has closed up shop, saying that "the Dutch Muslim community is too politically divided." Generally Muslim rhetoric in the West about decreasing the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims and building bridges between the two camps is just thinly-veiled proselytizing, as the premier Muslim Brotherhood theorist, Sayyid Qutb, made clear in Milestones: "The chasm between Islam and Jahiliyyah is great, and a bridge is not to be built across it so that the people on the two sides may mix with each other, but only so that the people of Jahiliyyah may come over to Islam."

Likewise attempts by Muslims to "improve Islam's image" generally involve pretending that non-Muslim analysts, not Islamic jihadists, are responsible for linking Islam to terrorism, and demonizing those who are working to resist jihad and Islamic supremacism.

Still, it is noteworthy that the Muslim community in the Netherlands is so rent by political divisions that this part can't get off the ground. Do Muslims in the Netherlands oppose attempts to "bridge the gap" between Muslims and non-Muslims, even if such attempts consist essentially of dawah?

Henny Kreeft, eh? Any relation to Peter Kreeft? It would seem that they hold a good many views in common. "Dutch Muslim Party dissolved," from Radio Netherlands, June 25 (thanks to David):

The Dutch Muslim Party (NMP) no longer exists.

Board members Henny Kreeft and Jacques Visker have resigned, and dissolved the party.
The two men have decided that the Netherlands is not ready for a Muslim political party in parliament. Kreeft and Visker say the Dutch Muslim community is too politically divided.

The NMP was founded in 2007 but has not been a success. In local elections in 2010, the NMP did not garner any municipal seats. The party had planned to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, but was unable to pull together an organisation to do so.

The NMP’s stated purpose was to decrease the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims and to improve Islam’s image in the Netherlands. Remarkably, co-founder Henny Kreeft was a supporter of Islam-critic and politician Pim Fortuyn, who was mudered [sic] in 2002. Kreeft converted to the Islamic faith in the 1990’s.

Ah. He must be a close relative of Peter.

In PJMedia today I take up Congressman Al Green's call: investigate the radical Christians!

During last week’s House Homeland Security Committee hearing on “The Radicalization of Muslim-Americans,” Congressman Al Green (D-TX) took issue with the hearing’s focus on Islam and Muslims, asking the witnesses testifying before the Committee: “If you agree that radicalization exists within all religions to some extent, would you kindly extend a hand into the air.” Noting triumphantly that “all the hands are raised,” Green then asked: “Why not have a hearing on the radicalization of Christians?”

The immediate answer is obvious. On the one hand we have recent jihad plotters in the U.S., including Naser Abdo, the would-be second Fort Hood jihad mass murderer; Khalid Aldawsari, the would-be jihad mass murderer in Lubbock, Texas; Muhammad Hussain, the would-be jihad bomber in Baltimore; Mohamed Mohamud, the would-be jihad bomber in Portland; Nidal Hasan, the successful Fort Hood jihad mass-murderer; Faisal Shahzad, the would-be Times Square jihad mass-murderer; Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, the Arkansas military recruiting station jihad murderer; Naveed Haq, the jihad mass murderer at the Jewish Community Center in Seattle; 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.

All of them and many others invoked the Qur’an and Sunnah to explain and justify their deeds.

And on the other hand, we have recent “radical Christian” acts of violence committed by people who invoked the Bible and Church teaching to explain and justify their deeds, including — no one at all. Not one. Even the much-vaunted abortion clinic bombers number only a handful, versus nearly 19,000 jihad attacks around the world since 9/11, and have been repudiated by all Christian sects and leaders — as opposed to the many Islamic authorities that teach jihad warfare against unbelievers and exhort their faithful to commit acts of violent jihad.

Rosie O’Donnell enunciated the idea memorably a few years ago: “radical Christianity is just as dangerous as radical Islam.” Since then, this has become a commonplace of mainstream media political discourse — remarkably enough, since it has absolutely no evidence to back it up.

Emblematic of how hard it is to find a “radical Christian” — that is, someone driven to violence by the teachings of Christianity, as opposed to genuinely radical Christians like Mother Teresa and the Amish — is that when Green spoke about “the radicalization of Christianity,” he was actually referring to Islamic jihadists, not to Christians at all.

This became clear when he said: “I do not, not — N-O-T — oppose hearings on radicalization. I do oppose hearings that don’t focus on the entirety of radicalization. And if you agree that we have Christians, as has been mentioned by more than one member, Christians who become radicalized, they become part of Islam and they become radicalized as is being said, why not have a hearing on the radicalization of
Christians?”

Green’s statement is fundamentally incoherent. “Christians who become radicalized” and “become part of Islam” are not Christians at all, but converts to Islam. Thus a hearing on the radicalization of Muslims, and possibly of converts to Islam, would be needed, not a hearing on the radicalization of Christians....

There is more.

Walter Scott, The Talisman, the Crusades, Richard I of England and Saladin: Myths, Legends and History
by Ibn Warraq
Part 17
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13 / Part 14 / Part 15 / Part 16

The real incident is even more disagreeable, an unpleasant piece of casuistry. The scene takes place soon after Saladin’s victory over the Crusaders, when he took many prisoners, including King Guy and Prince Reynald of Chatillon. Bahā’ al-Dīn Ibn Shaddād continues the story: “Then [Saladin] summoned King Guy, his brother and Prince Reynald. He handed the king a drink of iced julep, from which he drank, being dreadfully thirsty, and he then passed some of it to Prince Reynald. The sultan [Saladin] said to the interpreter, ‘Tell the King, ‘You are the one giving him a drink. I have not given him any drink.’’ According to the fine custom of the Arabs and their noble ways, if a prisoner took food or drink from whoever had captured him, his life was safe. His intention was to follow these noble ways…. [Saladin] said to [Reynald], ‘Here I am having asked for victory through Muhammad, and God has given me victory over you.’ He offered him Islam but he refused. The sultan then drew his scimitar and struck him, severing his arm at the shoulder. Those present finished him off and God speedily sent his soul to Hell-fire. His body was taken and thrown down at the door of the tent.” [1]

Far from showing each other respect, Saladin and Richard in reality accused each other of bad faith, which led to bloody reprisals on both sides. Here is the historical outcome of the Fall of Acre. After a long siege, a deal was struck on 12 July, 1191 whereby the Muslims surrendered to the Franks the city and its contents, though the lives of the Muslims within were to be spared. Furthermore, “the captive garrison would then be held hostage as guarantors against the fulfillment of further punitive terms: the payment of 200,000 gold dinars; the return of the relic of the True Cross captured at Hattin; and the release of some 1,500 Frankish prisoners ‘of common, unremarkable background’, as well as 100 to 200 named captives of rank.” [2]

[1] Bahā’ al-Dīn Ibn Shaddād, The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin, Trans. By D. S. Richards, Burlington, VT: 2002, p. 75.

[2] Thomas Asbridge, The Crusades, New York, 2010, p. 443.

To be continued.

Ibn Warraq is the author of numerous books, including Why the West Is Best and Why I Am Not A Muslim.

Following up on this appalling story, Pamela Geller has an update here:

We live in times when those who control the establishment media and mainstream organizations are increasingly afraid of confronting the true evils of our day, and cowed by the forces of Islamic supremacism and oppression. It saddens me to number the Los Angeles Jewish Federation among these compromised elites, but it cannot be denied in light of their cancellation of my planned address there this morning. LA's failed Jewish leadership follows in the rich tradition of its forbears who worshipped the golden calf. Imagine: Zionists are not welcome at the LA Jewish Federation.

I am extremely happy to report, however, that the proud Jews of the ZOA Western Region, led by the indefatigable Orit Arfa, were not willing to go quietly into the night. Within half an hour of when the event was supposed to take place, they swiftly organized a protest outside the Jewish Federation building, and called out the Federation leaders for capitulating to the Islamic supremacist Jew-haters of Hamas-CAIR. Scores protested in defense of free speech. They also quickly found an alternative venue, The Mark, where an enthusiastic crowd gathered to hear the Photo-9address that the Jewish Federation was too frightened to allow to be heard. Mention must be made of Steve Goldberg, who went toe-to-toe with the craven Jay Sanderson of the Federation, who actually claimed that he was afraid that Muslim protestors would storm the building -- when we all know it wasn't that at all.

Of course, I had to speak about what had happened, and about how the Jewish community's acquiescence to the marginalization of freedom fighters is ultimately self-defeating to the point of suicide -- and above all, about how we have to challenge the left's control of the narrative. We take for granted as acceptable what a sane society would identify as monstrous evils: the "Palestinian" genocidal jihad against the Jews, and the jihad against the West and against civilization in general. We tolerate Islamic honor killing, female genital mutilation, polygamy, cultural annihilation, enslavement, and so much more -- for fear of being accused of "Islamophobia." We have to challenge all this and call evil what it is. If we don't, history shows us where all this leads.

The LA Times was at the protest. Of course, we know the spin they'll put on it.

Pamela has much more here.

Obama has supported the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt ever since he invited them to his speech in Cairo in June 2009, so this is no surprise. "White House congratulates Egypt's Morsi," by Byron Tau for Politico, June 24 (thanks to Benedict):

The White House congratulated Egypt's president-elect Mohamed Morsi on his victory in that country's presidential election, calling it a "milestone" in the country's transition to democracy.

President Obama called Morsi Sunday evening, telling him that the United States would stand by Egypt in its transitional period — and said that he looked forward to working together.

"We look forward to working together with President-elect Morsi and the government he forms, on the basis of mutual respect, to advance the many shared interests between Egypt and the United States," press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement....

Spencer with Congressman Allen West (R-FL) at Restoration Weekend 2011

There are a few too many politically correct usages of "radical" in this statement, but no one in Congress knows more about the threat of jihad and Islamic supremacism than my friend Congressman West, and it is noteworthy that he is the only Congressman courageous enough to call for these common-sense measures.

"The Muslim B'Hood takeover in Egypt shows Arab Spring is radical Islamic nightmare," by Congressman Allen West, June 24 (thanks to Wimpy):

A year ago there were those of us who warned the Obama Administration of a Muslim Brotherhood takeover in Egypt. We were castigated as alarmists and loose cannons. Today our predictions have come to reality and the ominous specter reminding us of the Iranian revolution is evident. The Muslim Brotherhood claimed they would not run a presidential candidate. Clearly the Arab Spring is nothing more than a radical Islamic nightmare. Now we need to unequivocally reiterate our support to the Coptic Christians and Israel. What an incredible foreign policy faux pas by the second coming of President Jimmy Carter, the Obama Administration. I call upon President Barack Obama to cut off American foreign aid to Egypt, denounce the results of this election, repudiate the Muslim Brotherhood, and all radical Islamist political entities.

Dhimmitude in Britain long ago reached the tipping point of absurdity. Now British officials have to go to greater and greater lengths to top one another in their capitulation to Islamic supremacism. It would all make more sense if it turned out to be something like an extended reality-based Monty Python movie.

"Taliban soldier who killed in battle wins fight to stay in UK - to spare him from persecution by... the Taliban," by Andy Whelan for the Daily Mail, June 23 (thanks to Benedict):

An Afghan Muslim who claims he killed people while fighting for the Taliban has used the Human Rights Act to remain in Britain – despite Government efforts to deport him.

Zareen Ahmadzai, who spent three years fighting in Afghanistan, has admitted using a Kalashnikov rifle and firing rockets, as well as supplying weapons and food to the Taliban.

The Home Office rejected his claim for asylum, and when his appeal also failed, Ahmadzai was detained at Harmondsworth immigration removal centre in West London while awaiting deportation.

Yet when the 30-year-old – who initially did not speak English – mounted a fresh appeal, he was able to overturn the Home Office’s case on the grounds that his life would be at risk if he returned home.

The decision is another setback for Home Secretary Theresa May, who is under pressure to reform human rights laws following a series of high-profile cases in which Muslim extremists have avoided deportation....

There's a problem? Sharia Alert from rapidly Islamizing northern Mali: "Wine, women and song tempt Mali's Islamists," by Romaric Ollo Hien for AFP, June 23 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

OUAGADOUGOU — Wine, women and song are putting Malian Islamists to the test as they talk about the future of their divided country with regional mediators in Burkina Faso.

"The problem is that in our hotel we can't help looking at the beautiful women and listening to the music," sighed Algabass Ag Intalla, a member of the hardline Ansar Dine, one of the groups controlling northern Mali since March.

"It's a real test for us Muslims to have to look at all that as well," he added, pointing to rows of alcoholic drinks in full view from the lobby.

An Ansar Dine delegation arrived in Ouagadougou on June 15 at the invitation of Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore, named chief mediator in the Malian crisis by the Economic Community of West African States.

The Islamists met Compaore on June 18 and have since been continuing talks with his aides. The Burkina government has put them up in a luxury hotel in the well-heeled Ouaga 2000 district.

"President Compaore asked us to stay, so we are still here," delegation leader Algabass, dressed in a white robe and turban like his five colleagues, told AFP.

Soft music drifted through from the bar as they sat on couches in the hotel lobby.

Delegation spokesman Cheick Ag Wissa, speaking broken French, asked for the sound to be turned off, but only succeeded in having it lowered.

"The manager has told us not to switch it off until the bar is closed," a member of staff explained.

It is a sharp contrast from the situation in northern Mali, where Ansar Dine and other Islamist groups, including Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), are trying to impose Muslim Sharia law by force.

Their ultra-conservative doctrine punishes smokers, drinkers, adulterers and even football fans. On Wednesday, in the desert city of Timbuktu, a couple who had a child out of wedlock were given 100 lashes.

The Ansar Dine representatives, whose chief Iyad Ag Ghaly has remained in Mali, are also watching what they eat and where they pray.

"In the morning we have meat at the home of a friend, we always eat fish," Algabass said. "They say the food is halal, but we still prefer fish.

"We pray at a friend's, we don't go to the mosques here."

Cheikh Ag Wissa, like the others a member of the desert Sahel region's nomad Tuareg tribes, chimed in, "There's something else we miss: dates and camel's milk."...

Who wouldn't?

Listening to music: haram. Murdering people who listen to music: halal.

Hadith Qudsi 19:5: "The Prophet said that Allah commanded him to destroy all the musical instruments, idols, crosses and all the trappings of ignorance." (The Hadith Qudsi, or holy Hadith, are those in which Muhammad transmits the words of Allah, although those words are not in the Qur'an.)

Muhammad also said:

(1) "Allah Mighty and Majestic sent me as a guidance and mercy to believers and commanded me to do away with musical instruments, flutes, strings, crucifixes, and the affair of the pre-Islamic period of ignorance."

(2) "On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will pour molten lead into the ears of whoever sits listening to a songstress."

(3) "Song makes hypocrisy grow in the heart as water does herbage."

(4) "This community will experience the swallowing up of some people by the earth, metamorphosis of some into animals, and being rained upon with stones." Someone asked, "When will this be, O Messenger of Allah?" and he said, "When songstresses and musical instruments appear and wine is held to be lawful."

(5) "There will be peoples of my Community who will hold fornication, silk, wine, and musical instruments to be lawful ...." -- 'Umdat al-Salik r40.0

"Blast at Afghan music market, two dead: officials," from AFP, June 23 (thanks to Charles):

KABUL — An improvised bomb exploded at a music market in an Afghan city on Saturday, leaving two people dead, officials said, a day after Taliban militants stormed a lakeside resort near Kabul, killing at least 18.

The blast at the market in the eastern city of Jalalabad, close to the border with Pakistan's militant-infested tribal areas, wounded four people, local government spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said.

Two of the casualties later died from their injuries, Sayed Afandi Sayedi, a senior doctor at the local hospital, said.

Under the hardline rule of the Taliban, overthrown by a US-led invasion in 2001, music was regarded as un-Islamic and banned, and Afghan music shop owners particularly in Jalalabad, have recently complained of being threatened by extremists....

Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood for "Palestine," is overjoyed that the Brotherhood has won in Egypt. Clearly they think war with Israel is in the offing. "Gazans celebrate Brotherhood victory, Hamas hopes for new focus on Palestine," from Egypt Independent, June 24 (thanks to Benedict):

The Gaza Strip erupted in into celebration on Sunday after news that the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate won the presidency in neighboring Egypt, with one person killed by celebratory gunfire.

Tens of thousands of joyous Palestinians took to the streets across the territory after Egypt announced that Mohammed Morsy won last weekend's runoff election, the first time an Islamist won that nation's highest office.

Gunmen fired automatic weapons into the air, while mosque loudspeakers rang with prayer. Some revelers handed out candy on street corners. Others waved Egyptian flags and blasted the country's national anthem from car speakers.

A Gaza health official said that one person was killed and six others wounded by celebratory gunfire.

Gaza is ruled by Hamas, a local offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood....

"Today is new era for us in Gaza. The days of suffering due to the Egyptian authorities are over," said Rawhi Talab, 51, a storeowner. "It's a day of joy ... I voice my hope that Egypt will work to improve our life here.”

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh phoned Morsi to congratulate him on becoming Egypt's first Islamist president. "This is a victory for all Arabs and Muslims, and this is God's promise to his believers," the Hamas leader said to the newly elected president....

Gaza resident Alam Mansour handed out candy to revelers. "Today is a festival for Gaza," the 25-year-old engineering student said. "I am sure that the president of Egypt will lead the Islamic nation to great prosperity, and he will help us here in Gaza," he said....

The impoverished enclave burst into celebration upon hearing that the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsy had won elections after former president Hosni Mubarak fell in a people's revolt last year....

"We will look to Egypt to play a big, leading role, a historic role, regarding the Palestinian cause, in helping the Palestinian nation get freedom, return home, and totally end the Gaza siege," Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas government, told Reuters Television....

Pamela Geller has the details here:

If you're in LA, come to the Jewish Federation at 6505 Wilshire Boulevard at 11AM. We will be protesting this craven capitulation of the Jewish Federation to Islamic supremacist Jew-haters.

In a jaw-dropping act of cowardice and submission, LA Federation is not allowing ZOA (Zionist Organization of America) to hold the event where I was scheduled to speak this morning.

Jewish leadership is on the trains and thinks we will go quietly. This is tragic. Imagine, without so much as firing a shot, they're caving in to a Hamas front group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Hamas's fundamental goal is the annihilation of Israel.

This mirrors Nazi Party Representatives attending a 1933 Berlin Jewish Community charity drive gathering -- back on December 20, 1933, three thousand Jews attended the first official Jewish gathering in which uniformed Nazis participated. The mass meeting was arranged by the Berlin Jewish community to open the special campaign for winter relief. And we know how that worked out.

Is it any wonder that the American Jewish left has become a problem for Israel? Who are these people? What is their role? What is their mission? What's the point of Jewish lay leadership if they submit before their executioners? Shame on our cowardly leadership for throwing one of our own under the bus. We expect that from kapos, not from proud Jews who should hold the freedom of speech as a fundamental Jewish value.

Proud Jews and lovers and free speech will be protesting outside the LA Jewish Federation building at 11 am, and another venue will be announced shortly.

Here is the ZOA's statement on the cancellation:

Dear Guest of the Pamela Geller Event on June 24, 11 am.

Thank you for coming out to hear one of America’s strongest voices for truth and reason.

Unfortunately, with just a few hours notice, the Jewish Federation has backed down on its agreement to let us host Ms. Geller in their conference room. The topic: “Islamic Jew Hatred as the Root Cause of Failure to Achieve Peace.” As tenants of the Jewish Federation, the ZOA has the privilege of using the conference room with advanced notice, which the ZOA has with secured with the management weeks in advance.

While the Jewish Federation has expressed security concerns (which in and of itself bespeaks the intimidation tactics of Muslim groups), we believe that the Jewish Federation has succumbed to political pressure by Muslim and Left-wing Jewish groups not to let a rational voice of criticism of Islam and its war against Israel be heard on its premises. These Muslim and Jewish groups have blown up the blogosphere with lies about Ms. Geller and harsh criticism of the ZOA for hosting her at the Jewish Federation.

This backing down is exactly the type of appeasing behavior that Muslims groups seek, and it effectively shuts down free speech.

We encourage you to stay with the ZOA outside the Jewish Federation building and protest this act of cowardice that only serves the Islamic agenda of shutting down free speech and fostering animosity between Jews, who must stay united during these dangerous times of assaults against Israel and Jews the world over.

We urge the Jewish Federation not to succumb to pressure and to act with honor, dignity, courage and reason by holding to its advance agreement to let the ZOA host its event at the Jewish Federation building.

Sincerely,
The ZOA Team

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I tried to tell you. Will all the learned analysts who assured us back in January 2011 that the Brotherhood played no role in the Egyptian uprisings, and that a Western pluralistic republic would be created, now apologize or be considered discredited? Don't hold your breath. "Islamist Morsi Named Egypt’s President," from the Associated Press, June 24:

Mohammed Morsi was declared Egypt’s first Islamist president on Sunday, chosen in the freest elections in history that left the nation deeply polarized between supporters of an old regime figure and those eager for democratic change.

It was the culmination of the tumultuous first phase of a transition launched 16 months ago with the uprising that ousted autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak, who was replaced by a ruling military council headed by Mubarak’s defense minister of 20 years. It is the start of a new struggle with the military to restore the powers that the ruling generals stripped from the presidency even before the victor was declared.

And it was not the outcome desired by most of the liberal and secular youth groups that drove the uprising.

“The revolution passed an important test,” said Yasser Ali, a spokesman for Morsi’s campaign. “But the road is still long.”

Morsi now has to calm public fears that he will push to remake Egypt as an Islamist state and show that he will represent a broader swath of the public beyond his own fundamentalist group, the Muslim Brotherhood. He will also have to try to urgently address the major problems facing Egypt, a sharp deterioration in security and a flailing economy....

Walter Scott, The Talisman, the Crusades, Richard I of England and Saladin: Myths, Legends and History
by Ibn Warraq
Part 16
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13 / Part 14 / Part 15

By contrast, here are three passages of real history that contradict the above noble sentiments. The damning passages are taken from the Arabic life of Saladin by Bahā’ al-Dīn Ibn Shaddād [1145-1234], who was permanently enrolled in the service of the Sultan in 1188, and for the rest of Saladin’s life was “his intimate and close confidant, being seldom absent for any length of time” [1]:

[A] “…[A] Frank [a Christian crusader] who had been taken prisoner was brought before him [Saladin]. He ordered his head to be cut off, which was done in his presence, after the man had been offered Islam and had rejected it.” [2]

[B] “[Saladin] once ordered his son, al-Malik al-Zahir, lord of Aleppo, to execute a young man that came forward, called al-Suhrawardi, of whom it was said that he rejected the Holy Law and declared it invalid. His son had arrested him because of reports about him that he heard. He informed the sultan [Saladin] of this, who ordered his execution and his body to be publicly displayed for some days. This was done.” [3]

[C] [After the Battle of Hattin, July 1187, Saladin summons the prisoner Prince Reynald of Châtillon]: “He said to him, ‘Here I am having asked for victory through Muhammad, and God has given me victory over you.’ He offered him Islam but he refused. The sultan then drew his scimitar and struck him, severing his arm at the shoulder. Those present finished him off and God speedily sent his soul to Hell-fire. His body was taken and thrown down at the door of the tent."

Here is an example of Saladin’s Eastern hospitality. Towards the end of the novel, Scott takes a real incident and uses it to dispatch the villain, Grand Master of the Templars. The latter is about to taste a refreshing drink from a goblet, “but those lips never touched that goblet's rim. The sabre of Saladin left its sheath as lightning leaves the cloud. It was waved in the air,—and the head of the Grand Master rolled to the extremity of the tent, while the trunk remained for a second standing with the goblet still clenched in its grasp, then fell, the liquor mingling with the blood that spurted from the veins”. Saladin then explains why he had to decapitate the Grand Master just at that moment, "but had I not hastened his doom, it had been altogether averted, since, if I had permitted him to taste of my cup, as he was about to do, how could I, without incurring the brand of inhospitality, have done him to death as he deserved? Had he murdered my father, and afterwards partaken of my food and my bowl, not a hair of his head could have been injured by me. But enough of him—let his carcase and his memory be removed from amongst us."

[1] Baha al-Din Ibn Shaddad, The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin, Trans. By D. S. Richards, Burlington, VT: 2002. Introduction, p.2.
[2] Ibid., p.30.
[3] Ibid., p.20.

To be continued.

Ibn Warraq is the author of numerous books, including Why the West Is Best and Why I Am Not A Muslim.

Livestreaming tonight at 6PM Pacific, 9PM Eastern: AFDI/SIOA's Summer Night for Human Rights:

We will be livestreaming our historic townhall, "A Summer Night for Human Rights," tonight from Manhattan Beach, California.

The world ignores the oppression, subjugation and slaughter of non-Muslims and secular Muslims under the Sharia. We are calling for human rights and equality for all under the law.

Hamas-linked CAIR is holding a cynical and propagandistic "A Summer Night for Civil Rights" down the street from our event, featuring "Islamophobia" victimhood posturing from Islamic supremacist hate propagandist Dean Obeidallah and others -- with nary a word about the plight of apostates from Islam or other victims of human rights abuses sanctioned by Islamic law. At our "Summer Night for Human Rights" we will be calling them out on their hypocrisy. The world's leading apostates from Islam will be speaking at our AFDI/SIOA event at the Marriott Manhattan Beach.

Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer host:

Nonie Darwish: Ex-Muslim and human rights activist raised in Gaza; director of Former Muslims United; author of Now They Call Me Infidel; Cruel and Usual Punishment; and The Devil We Don't Know.

Ibn Warraq: Pakistani ex-Muslim and renowned scholar; author of Why I Am Not A Muslim; The Quest for the Historical Muhammad; Leaving Islam; Why the West Is Best; and many other books.

Walid Shoebat: Palestinian former jihad terrorist and member of the Muslim Brotherhood; now a Christian and a peace activist.

[Redacted]: Originally from Morocco, the son of a religious Muslim family. Because of rumors that he was an apostate, he was stabbed several times in his stomach and left for dead on the streets of Morocco by people crying "apostate." Now he has gained asylum in the U.S.

Wafa Sultan: Psychologist and Syrian ex-Muslim; author of A God Who Hates.

Dr. Bushra Qader: Originally from Iraq, she is an activist for the rights of former Muslims.

Ramin Parsha: Iranian NajatTV host who was born and raised as a devout Shiite Muslim is Shiraz, Iran. He is associate Pastor at Nejat Church with Pastor Reza Safa, who also was an Islamic supremacist in Iran and is now one of the most prominent ex-Muslim Christian pastors in America.

Amani Mustafa: Ex-Muslim from Egypt, TV producer and host of a Christian show, The Muslim Woman, appealing to Muslim women in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula. Her show reaches 300 million households globally with 50 million viewers per live program.

Mohammed Asghar: Originally from Bangladesh, ex-Muslim author and an authority on the Qur'an.

Stand against sharia and the death penalty for Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, sentenced to death in Iran for apostasy. All the schools of Islamic law, without exception, mandate death for those who leave Islam. We’ve dedicated the Town Hall to Pastor Youcef because he is in imminent danger of being murdered for his beliefs, and we’ve invited numerous apostates from Islam to speak about the death sentence they must live under every moment because they have dared to leave Islam. We’re calling upon Hamas-linked CAIR to stand up for Pastor Youcef and other victims of Islam’s apostasy law at their so-called "Civil Rights" conference and to stand for human rights for all.

Join us, join the fight. Become a member of SIOA here and here. Follow us on twitter, SIOAmerica.

Help us fight Hamas-linked CAIR. Support us, donate via Paypal to writeatlas@aol.com or tax-deductible to director@jihadwatch.org.

How refreshing that Israel National News says "Mohammed, who Muslims believe was a prophet" instead of the ubiquitous mainstream media locution "the prophet Muhammad," as if we were all Muslims now. "Palestinian" Muslims make clear their desire for peace and harmonious relations with the Jews in Israel: "Praise for Mohammed on Synagogue Walls," by Maayana Miskin for Israel National News, June 22 (thanks to Benedict):

Residents of the small agricultural community of Maor, east of Hadera, went to their synagogue Thursday for afternoon prayers and were appalled to find that it had been vandalized.

The vandals sprayed the walls of the building with the words of Muslim prayers, written in Arabic, and with praise for Mohammed, who Muslims believe was a prophet.

Police are investigating the incident.

Last month vandals desecrated the ancient synagogue in Naaran, next to Jericho. Jews who visited the site found swastikas and slogans in favor of “Palestine". The synagogue’s unique ancient musaic [sic] floor had been damaged.

MK Uri Ariel of the State Control Committee said the Jericho incident “proves that the only ones who are able to, and want to, defend Jewish holy sites are our security forces.” Ariel said he has asked officials to repair the damages immediately, and has asked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to restore the area to Israeli control.

MK Michael Ben-Ari called on police to “treat the damage to a synagogue as if it had been a mosque.”

This situation is likely to end soon in rapidly Islamizing Turkey. The idea of accommodating the Toyota work schedule is out of the question, just as Muslim workers in the U.S. increasingly demand that work schedules, dress codes, and other features of their workplaces change in order to accommodate Islam. The question then arises: did these pious employees of Toyota's Turkey factory just become pious, after living with Toyota's schedule for some time? Or did they just get hired and are already making demands? Or were they reasonably pious but made up their prayers when they were off work, as some imams allow, until some Islamic supremacist convinced them that it was better to make demands?

"‘Work, don’t worship,’ Toyota tells pious employees," from Today's Zaman, June 21 (thanks to Block Ness):

A former employee at Toyota’s Turkey factory has said his pious co-workers were told that working is also worshipping God when they asked to rearrange their lunch break so that they could attend the Friday prayer.

Speaking to Today’s Zaman in Sakarya, 43-year-old N.E. said he had always been pressured by the Japanese car manufacturer’s management in the factory because of his religious views, but the latest incident took place some two months after he was laid off.

According to his allegations, management met with the employees of the painting section on May 24 and told them to continue working at noon -- a time when all Muslim men should attend the Friday prayer. He also accused factory management of trying to make it harder for pious employees to perform ablutions by putting “Don’t wash your feet here” signs in the restrooms. “But there are no special sinks where we can wash our feet as we are required when performing an ablution. So what they are actually doing is barring their employee from practicing their religious beliefs,” he said.

“They had already taken the pieces of cardboard on which we prayed away from us [they used the cardboard to kneel on when praying in lieu of a carpet], but we were still trying to observe our religious duties. One day the deputy general managers called me. They asked me if I was praying daily, and I told them I was. They then told me that they did not want to see me continue doing so, that I was a hardworking employee, but I could have been used by some religious sects,” said the employee, who worked at Toyota for 18.5 years, part of that time as chief of the quality control section. He was, however, not the first to raise such allegations against the Japanese car maker. A news report emerged in the Turkish media late last month that Toyota’s Turkish branch discriminated against employees -- the majority of whom fast during the holy month of Ramadan -- and then sacked 143 employees because of their religious commitments.

The former general manager of the Toyota Boshoku factory, which produces supply materials for Toyota vehicles, said in a letter he sent to the Star daily that he was laid off simply because he performed his religious duties. “I was banned from attending the Friday prayer. I was accused of being a member of an Islamic terrorist organization just because I was praying,” he was quoted as saying by Star, which did not reveal his name.

Clearly Toyota is in the crosshairs.

"Allah did not create man so that he could have fun. The aim of creation was for mankind to be put to the test through hardship and prayer. An Islamic regime must be serious in every field. There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humor in Islam. There is no fun in Islam. There can be no fun and joy in whatever is serious." -- Ayatollah Khomeini

Drinking alcohol and having fun: haram. Murdering people who are drinking alcohol and having fun: halal.

More on this story. "Taliban attack Kabul resort, citing 'illicit fun' and alcohol (+video)," by Tom A. Peter for the Christian Science Monitor, June 22 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Taliban militants attacked a popular resort near Kabul late Thursday night and battled with Afghan security forces well into Friday morning, underscoring the group's continued ability to mount serious challenges to security even in the capital.

Up to seven insurgents stormed a restaurant and hotel at 11:30 Thursday night and took the guests hostage, including children. Afghan police officials say that between 250 and 300 hostages were freed within the first hours of the clashes, but another 40 weren’t freed until morning. Several guests jumped into the lake to escape the attack, but, unable to swim, clung to a stone wall until police could rescue them in the morning. At least 20 people died in the fighting....

The Taliban claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack, saying that Afghan government officials and foreigners frequent the restaurant and hotel and drink alcohol there.

“The mujahideen entered a small hotel and attacked a neighboring hotel that was used by foreigners for their illicit fun and having parties. It was a special hotel for Afghan government officials and foreigners,” says Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban.

Mr. Mujahid claimed that only foreigners and Afghan government workers were killed in the attack and that the fighters took special effort to protect children caught in the fighting.

Such Taliban statements are common, and the group often reports killing Afghan and international soldiers when they have actually killed civilians....

The fleeing students must have fallen under the influence of greasy Islamophobes who somehow convinced them that Sharia was not as benign and compatible with Western notions of human rights as Imam Rauf would have us believe. "Mali: Students Flee Sharia in Northern Schools," from AllAfrica.com, June 22 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Bamako — Strict Sharia, or Islamic religious laws, imposed by the Islamist rebels controlling vast swathes of northern Mali are driving thousands of students out of schools. Dress codes have been imposed, boys and girls are forced to learn separately, and subjects deemed to promote "infidelity" have been struck off the curriculum.

Outraged parents are transferring their children and some students are opting to miss examinations rather than learn under these conditions....

Boubacar Sissoko, a schoolmaster in Timbuktu - a UNESCO World Heritage site - said the Islamists "terrorize the children" with the new laws. "They have introduced their own programme and new subjects like Islamic education, or collective prayers that they themselves conduct," he said. The arrival of the Islamists in the north in March and the unrest that followed have left only 107 students out of 429 at the school.

Mali's education ministry estimates that around 5,000 students have fled to schools in Bamako and other southern towns since Islamist fighters of Ansar Dine, an Islamist group that wants to apply Sharia law throughout Mali; the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), a small Islamist group; and the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA), who want to create a separate secular state in the north, seized northern Mali when a military coup on 22 March ousted president Amadou Amani Touré in Bamako.

The combination of conflict, harsh drought, food insecurity, and now the imposition of Sharia law, has internally displaced 146,900 people, and more than 150,000 others to neighbouring Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Although schools have taken the brunt of the draconian Islamic laws, residents can also no longer watch television, men cannot shave their beard or use tobacco. On 20 June, a Timbuktu couple was flogged 100 times in public for having a child out of wedlock, sparking condemnation by shocked and angry residents.

"I was really shocked to see these poor youths undergo such punishment simply because of having a child. It made me cry. It's a shame," said Mariama, a schoolgirl.

"We are living in another world," said Attaher Maiga, a Timbuktu resident, pointing out that the Koran does not forbid football, tobacco or shaving one's beard.

But the Islamists defend their laws.

"Sharia has to be applied whether the people like it or not, we will enforce it. We are not asking anybody's opinion. We are not democrats. We are servants of Allah who demands Sharia," Sanda Ould Boumama, Ansar Dine's spokesman in Timbuktu, told IRIN.

Girls are forced to wear djellabas, or full-body robes. "On 7 May, Ansar Dine and its ally, Al Qaeda in Maghreb, reopened schools in Timbuktu and Gao, a town to the east, but students began a new system [of learning] unknown to them before the occupation of the region," Timbuktu Education Director, Abou Bacri Cissé, told IRIN.

"Not only did they impose a new education system, separating girls and boys in classrooms, they also separate the students in groups - boys learning in the morning, and girls in the afternoon," he said.

In classrooms in Gao, "Boys sit in front and girls at the back, like in mosques," Beydi Koné, a journalist in the town, told IRIN.

Amahane Touré, a teacher in Gao, said only 21 pupils remain in her eighth and ninth grade French class, among them three girls. Previously there were 69 pupils, including 19 girls.

"We are searched every day before going to classes for fear that we are teaching the subjects banned under their Sharia. They forbid us from teaching certain subjects like biology, philosophy, civic education, under the pretext that they promote infidelity," she said.

"I understand the plight of the parents who fled with their children, but as teachers we have the duty to teach those who remain, even if the conditions are tough, especially due to Sharia imposed by Ansar Dine," Touré said.

In the weeks after the military coup, heavily-armed MNLA rebels and Islamists gained an unprecedented hold over northern Mali. The MNLA declared independence soon afterwards, but the move was rejected by its Islamist allies as well as the international community, and caused divisions among the armed groups in the region....

Remember: when in Muslim countries, abide by Islamic laws and mores. And when in non-Muslim countries, abide by Islamic laws and mores. "Catalonia: Muslim Pupils Force Other Pupils to Stop Eating Ham Sandwiches," by Cheradenine Zakalwe for Islam Versus Europe, June 22 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Four Spanish mothers have written a letter denouncing the goings-on at a school in Tarrasa, Catalonia, where, they say, indigenous pupils are routinely harassed by their Muslim classmates and the school authorities always seem to take the side of the aliens.

According to the letter, the nursery school does not meet the legally-mandated minimum of having at least 20% of the class speaking the native language as their mother tongue! Arabic has become the dominant language in the corridors and playgrounds. The school is now sending out official notices in Arabic and Catalan only, not Spanish. In one class, 83.33% of the pupils speak Arabic. There is even a letter in Arabic posted on one of the school doors, in violation of the law.

The outraged mothers also claim that Muslim pupils prevent their own children eating sandwiches if the sandwiches contain ham or other meat derived from pigs. The offending sandwiches will simply be plucked from their hands and thrown in the bin by the Muslims.

Dhimmi double standard in the Netherlands: "No racial hatred charges for British Sharia law expert," from Dutch News, June 22 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

The public prosecution department has no plans to bring charges against a British-Palestinian expert in Sharia law for allegedly making comments which incited hatred and discrimination in Amsterdam earlier this year, news agency ANP reports.

Haitham al-Haddad made the comments during a debate which replaced a two-day symposium at Amsterdam's VU University. The conference was cancelled following a row over al-Haddad's views about Jews.

Anti-Islam campaigner Ehsan Jami had called for legal action against al-Haddad after he told the debate ex Muslims deserve the death penalty, as outlined in Sharia law.

However, the public prosecution department said al-Haddad had not committed any offences because he had outlined a number of conditions for applying the death penalty which made it clear this could not happen in the Netherlands.

Yet.

Pleasing their god who loves death. "Twenty dead in Taliban siege of Afghan hotel; NATO blames Haqqanis," by Mirwais Harooni and Samar Zwak for Reuters, June 22:

KABUL (Reuters) - Elite Afghan police backed by NATO forces ended a 12-hour siege on Friday at a popular lakeside hotel outside Kabul, leaving at least 20 dead after Taliban gunmen stormed the lakeside building, bursting into a party and seizing dozens of hostages.

The night-time assault on the hotel with rocket-propelled grenades, suicide vests and machine guns again proved how potent the Islamist insurgency remains after a decade of war.

The commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan said the attack bore the signature of the Taliban-linked Haqqani group that he said continued to operate from Pakistan, a charge that could further escalate tensions with Islamabad.

General John Allen's comments come days after U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Washington was at the limits of its patience with Pakistan over the existence of militant networks including the Haqqanis.

Pakistan says it is doing everything it can to fight militants on its side of the border and accuses Afghanistan of trying to shift the blame for its failure to combat the insurgency.

At the hotel, terrified guests jumped into the lake in the darkness to escape the carnage, Afghan officials and residents said. Up to 300 people had been inside the hotel when the attack began.

Afghan interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said 12 to 15 civilians, two hotel guards and a policeman were killed in the gunbattle at the Spozhmai hotel, overlooking Qargha Lake. Five attackers were also killed.

The attack, quickly claimed by the Afghan Taliban, again showed the ability of insurgents to stage high-profile raids even as NATO nations prepare to withdraw most of their combat troops by the end of 2014 and leave Afghans to lead the fight.

"Afghan National Security Forces and coalition military sources acknowledge that this attack bears the signature of the Haqqani network, which continues to target and kill innocent Afghans and blatantly violate Afghan sovereignty from the safety of Pakistan," General Allen said in a statement.

Blood was splattered over the hotel floor and the crumpled body of a man lay in the garden. Women and children were among the wounded.

"We heard a heavy explosion from a rocket-propelled grenade. We tried to escape, but we were surrounded by suicide bombers. We hid ourselves behind a tree until morning. God protected us," said Abdullah Samadi, 24.

The gunmen, Samadi said, had been closely watching their prisoners and searching for illegal stocks of wine.

"Around dawn they came closer to us and we had to jump in the water. We were there until 9 a.m. and then the situation got better and we slowly, slowly swam toward security forces," he said.

Sediqqi said the Taliban were using civilians as human shields to defend themselves and held about 50 people hostage late into Friday morning.

Elite Afghan quick-response police backed by NATO troops freed at least 35 hostages in an operation that only began in earnest after sunrise to help security forces avoid civilian deaths in night-time confusion.

The Taliban complained wealthy Afghans and foreigners used the hotel, about 10 km (6 miles) from the center of Kabul, for "prostitution" and "wild parties" ahead of the Friday religious day holiday....

Qargha Lake is one of Kabul's few options for weekend getaways. Restaurants and hotels that dot the shore are popular with Afghan government officials and businessmen, particularly on Thursday nights.

Guests at the Spozhmai must pass through security checks before entering the hotel, where tables with umbrellas overlook the water, but security is relatively light for a city vulnerable to militant attacks....

The Leftist media just can't figure out why people would think Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim. They think, as this witless article in Slate shows, that it must be because of his name, or his race. It never occurs to them, or they deliberately wish to obfuscate the fact, that Obama has repeatedly reinforced this impression throughout his presidency. Whether he is a Muslim or not, he has acted favorably toward Islam and Islamic supremacism from the day he took office. Pamela Geller included a lengthy but still partial list of the many ways he has done so in an article she wrote in June 2010:

• March 2009: Obama declares the "war on terror" is over, despite a dramatic increase in jihad war ops.
• March 2009: he floats the idea that he will talk to violent, genocidal Hamas.
• March 2009: he demands that more Muslim Americans work in the Obama administration and insists that they be recruited.
• April 2009: Obama tells Europe to admit Islamic Turkey into the EU, much to the consternation of the Europeans.
• April 2009: Obama demands that non-Muslims respect Islam (despite our differences) in a speech in Turkey.
• April 2009: Obama says in a speech from Turkey, "We are not a Christian nation."
• April 2009: Dalia Mogahed, the first hijab-clad senior adviser to Obama on Muslim affairs, says in an interview with terrorist- and jihad-supporting Sheik Yusuf Qaradawi's website, "Many have claimed that terrorists have 'hijacked Islam.' I disagree. I think Islam is safe and thriving in the lives of Muslims around the world. What the terrorists have been allowed to take over are Muslim grievances."
• April 2009: Obama lays groundwork for a partnership with Hamas.
• May 2009: Obama promises to offer his "personal commitment" to Muslims.
• May 2009: Obama calls America "one of the largest Muslim countries on the planet."
• June 2009: Obama invites the Muslim Brotherhood, a violent global jihadist group whose sole objective is a universal caliphate, to his speech to the ummah (Muslim community) in Cairo.
• June 2009: Obama makes a stunning speech to the Muslim world from Al Azhar University in Cairo. It defies explanation.
• July 2009: Obama reaches out to the violent jihadists of Hezb'allah.
• July 2009: Obama creates a new office at the State Department, Outreach to the Worldwide Muslim community, reporting directly to Hillary Clinton.
• July 2009: The State Department Welcomes Hamas mouthpiece Al-Quds TV to D.C. to film Propaganda.
• Obama promises to close GITMO.
• Obama is rebuked when plans are revealed for CIA prosecutions for 911 interrogations: Seven Ex-chiefs of CIA Oppose Case Review: ALL Sign letter to Stop CIA Persecutions.
• In July 2009, Obama sanctions the brutal crackdown of those marching for freedom in Iran and sides with the mullahcracy. He stands silent about the Iranian regime's mass executions, mass rape, and murder.
• July 2009: Obama plans to slash the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
• September 2009: Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton on Obama at the U.N.: "This is the most radical anti-Israel speech I can recall any president making...I have to say I was very shaken by this speech."
• October 2009: Obama offers millions in Muslim technology fund.
• November 2009, Fort Hood Jihad Coverup: Obama Urges Congress To Put Off Fort Hood Probe, Warns Against Turning Tragedy Into "Political Theater"
• November 2009: Obama offers the Taliban control of the Kandahar, Helmand, Oruzgan, Kunar, and Nuristan provinces, in return for a halt to the Taliban missile attacks on U.S. bases.
• November 2009: Obama reaches out to bloodthirsty jihadis in the Philippines.
• On Thanksgiving eve, Obama issues a special Hajj message to the world's Muslims.
• December 2009: Obama's "Non-Religious" White House Christmas and No Christmas Gifts for his Kids.
• February 2010: Obama names a Hafiz to the Organization of the Islamic Conference. "And as a hafiz of the Koran, [Hussain] is a respected member of the American Muslim community," Obama said in his message to the Doha meeting, using the Arabic world for someone who has memorized the Islamic holy book.
• February 2010: Obama cuts U.S. space program, orders NASA to work with Muslim countries
• February 2010: Covering up for jihadists in the White House.
• Obama's counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, Involved in Obama Passport Breach
• March 2010: Obama Obsession with Islam: Calls "entrepreneurship summit" with Muslims.
• April 2010: Libyan President Gaddafi Praises Obama: "Barakeh Obama is friend"; "He is of Muslim descent, his policy should be supported..."
• May 2010: Obama's Counterterrorism Adviser Calls Jihad "Legitimate Tenet of Islam."
• May 2010: White House Pro-Terrorism John Brennan Speechifies in Arabic, Equates Terrorists with Shoplifters, Lawmakers Call for his Firing.
• June 2010: Obama equivocates on the jihad warship convoy (affectionately named a "flotilla" by the media): Obama "Expressed a Deep Regret Over Loss of [Jihadist] Life"
• June 2010: Obama administration to Support Anti-Israel Resolution at U.N.

And that's just up to June 2010. It isn't as if he has changed course since then. And while he did approve of the killings of bin Laden and al-Awlaki, he has never done anything or said anything negative about the non-violent advance of Sharia in the Islamic world or in the West, including the U.S.

"The Muslim Rumor That Just Won't Die," by Matt Taylor for Slate, June 22 (thanks to Kenneth):

Ever since he began running for president in 2007, Barack Obama has been dogged by rumors that he's secretly a Muslim. Whether it's his exotic name and background, the color of his skin, or (most likely) some combination of the two, the Muslim lie just doesn't seem to go away.

Each time it has begun to fade from public discussion, the Muslim rumor has cropped up again, like it did last year when real estate tycoon Donald Trump, who was publicly weighing a presidential bid at the time, insisted he had evidence showing Obama wasn't born in the United States (and that his birth certificate might show that he's Muslim).

In response, the president eventually took the extraordinary step of releasing his long form birth ceritificate [sic], which showed he was born in Hawaii as claimed. But a new Gallup poll finds that even now, a healthy chunk of Americans believe the rumor:

Just 34% of Americans correctly say U.S. President Barack Obama is a Christian, while 44% say they don't know Obama's religion and 11% say he is a Muslim.

Obama is a Christian and has labeled himself as such as in his writings and interviews, and while living in Chicago he attended the Trinity United Church of Christ. Since moving into the White House, Obama has attended several different Christian churches....

Why is a huge Muslim compound going up where there are very few Muslims? And who is paying for it? Eric Allen Bell asks tough questions about the mysterious mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee: "Mysterious Money and Motive Behind Monster Mosque in Murfreesboro," by Eric Allen Bell at Global Infidel TV, n.d.:

Why is it such a big deal that a Muslim community is simply trying to build a house of worship?

Let’s start with a little math. Murfreesboro, TN is located in Rutherford County which has just over 100,000 residents. According to estimates provided by the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, there are 200 to 300 Muslim families living in the area. When they announced their plans to build a 53,000 square foot mega mosque, a lot of questions came up. One subject of concern was why they needed such a huge compound for so few families. What is particularly disconcerting is that, according to their own documents (attached 2009 annual report) the ICM only has 45 active paying member families. Naturally this begs another question – who is paying for this massive compound?

And, what will it really cost to build something that looks like this, per square foot, at 53,000 square feet, when the project is completed? How many millions of dollars will these “45 active members” be coming up with – and where is all this money coming from?

Now the question of who is paying for this Islamic compound and why is it so big, begs another question:

Why is it that after 9/11, mosque construction in America has nearly doubled?

It’s not as if the population of Muslims in America suddenly spiked – not even close. Muslims make up less than 1 percent of the United States population. So is there any logical explanation for the rapid expansion of new mosque construction?

One need only look to the history of 1,400 years of Islamic conquest to understand that according to the Hijra, the Islamic doctrine of cultural invasion, Muslims are required to build mosques following a successful attack.

But shouldn’t the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro have the right to build anyway? Is this not a right, given to all religions and protected under the First Amendment?

In order to understand what Islam is and is not, it is important to note a few basic facts. Well under 20 percent of Islamic scripture talks about religion in any way. The rest concerns itself with fighting the infidel, conquest, spreading the tyrannical Islamic political system and enforcing brutal Islamic Law (Sharia) on the non-believers.

Another glaring detail that our last few Presidents left out, when telling us that “Islam is peace” is that Islam is sort of obsessed with hating the Jews. In fact, the Prophet Mohammed had an entire Jewish tribe murdered. Here is a bit of Islamic scripture that I find to be very revealing, when it comes to “the religion of peace”:

“The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until 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.” (Sahih Muslim, 41:6985; see also 41:6981-84 and Sahih Bukhari, 4:52:176,177 and 4:56:791)

So actually, Islam is a political and legal system with a thin veil of religious doctrine, thus giving it just enough cover to be protected by our laws, provided no one shine the light of truth and thus exposes to Americans what Islam actually is.

And the glaring fact that the Islamic scripture is a hate manifesto with a blueprint for worldwide domination of the infidel, well, who wants to confront the elephant in the room and be labeled “intolerant”? That said, until someone successfully challenges this in court, Islam has been deemed a religion in the United States, and when that premise is questioned in a court of law, Eric Holder sends officials from the Department of Justice to intervene on behalf of Islam.

However, when applying a little common sense, one can look at Islam’s place in America in the following way: “Islam” means submission. “Liberty” means you own you. Liberty is one of the major founding principles upon which America stands. Liberty and submission cannot coexist. Therefore, Liberty and Islam cannot coexist. Islam runs counter to our American values.

But the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro says it’s just a place of worship, right?

According to a passage on the ICM website from 2008, since scrubbed from the web, but preserved in the attached documents, here is what the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro website used to say about an objective of their presence, in Tennessee (before they scrubbed this from the web):

“The main focus is to insure the masjid (mosque) stronghold on our community and to expand beyond religious teachings… We must work hard so that the ICM have a prominent role in the development and progression of not only Mufreesboro, but of Middle Tennessee.”

I’m sure the mosque has a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. I guess it’s really up to you to decide for yourself, whether they mean “expand beyond religious teachings” when they explicitly say “expand beyond religious teachings”.

To put the next passage in context, know that the author of the Koran, “Prophet” Mohammed (asserting it was an angel who came to him) spoke only Arabic, and coincidentally the god he created, Allah, speaks only Arabic too. And Allah only hears prayers in Arabic. That said, the scrubbed passages from the old ICM sitego on to say:

“And to add one more, the Rutherford County school system currently offers French, Latin, German and Spanish, as a second language, to see our community work with the school board to establish a program that also offers Arabic as a second language would be a great achievement in the name of Allah.”

When it comes to applying pressure on the County to teach Arabic to the children of this area, remember that the population of Rutherford County is only about 100,000 residents. And the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, by their own count, is representing around 200 to 300 families....

There is much more. Read it all.

Walter Scott, The Talisman, the Crusades, Richard I of England and Saladin: Myths, Legends and History
by Ibn Warraq
Part 15
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13 / Part 14

Other absurdities and improbabilities include Saladin, in his guise as a physician, carrying Sir Kenneth’s wounded dog away to look after it, even though Sir Kenneth recognizes that the dog is “by thy law, an unclean animal”. Saladin eloquently defends his gesture, “Where Allah hath deigned to bestow life, and a sense of pain and pleasure," said the physician, "it were sinful pride should the sage, whom he has enlightened, refuse to prolong existence, or assuage agony. To the sage, the cure of a miserable groom, of a poor dog, and of a conquering monarch, are events of little distinction. Let me examine this wounded animal."

Again there are the following noble speeches from the Saracen, arguing that he would never contemplate forcing a non-Muslim to convert: "Saladin makes no converts to the law of the Prophet, save those on whom its precepts shall work conviction. Open thine eyes to the light, and the great Soldan, whose liberality is as boundless as his power, may bestow on thee a kingdom; remain blinded if thou wilt, and, being one whose second life is doomed to misery, Saladin will yet, for this span of present time, make thee rich and happy. But fear not that thy brows shall be bound with the turban, save at thine own free choice."

And, “Nazarene, thy nation so easily entertain suspicion, that it may well render themselves suspected. Have I not told thee that Saladin desires no converts saving those whom the holy prophet shall dispose to submit themselves to his law? Violence and bribery are alike alien to his plan for extending the true faith. Hearken to me, my brother. When the blind man was miraculously restored to sight, the scales dropped from his eyes at the Divine pleasure—think'st thou that any earthly leech could have removed them? No. Such mediciner might have tormented the patient with his instruments, or perhaps soothed him with his balsams and cordials, but dark as he was must the darkened man have remained; and it is even so with the blindness of the understanding. If there be those among the Franks, who, for the sake of worldly lucre, have assumed the turban of the prophet, and followed the laws of Islam, with their own consciences be the blame. Themselves sought out the bait—it was not flung to them by the Soldan. And when they shall hereafter be sentenced, as hypocrites, to the lowest gulf of hell, below Christian and Jew, magician and idolater, and condemned to eat the fruit of the tree Yacoun, which is the heads of demons—to themselves, not to the Soldan, shall their guilt and their punishment be attributed. Wherefore wear, without doubt or scruple, the vesture prepared for you, since, if you proceed to the camp of Saladin, your own native dress will expose you to troublesome observation, and perhaps to insult."

To be continued.

Ibn Warraq is the author of numerous books, including Why the West Is Best and Why I Am Not A Muslim.

Has Hamas-linked CAIR sent out the de rigueur "Entrapment" press release yet? "Virginia Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Carry Out Suicide Bomb Attack on U.S. Capitol," from the U.S. Department of Justice, June 22 (thanks to Mackie):

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Amine El Khalifi, a 29-year-old resident of Alexandria, Virginia, pleaded guilty today in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia in connection with his efforts to carry out a suicide bomb attack on the U.S. Capitol Building in February 2012 as part of what he intended to be a terrorist operation.

The guilty plea was announced by Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office.

At a hearing today before U.S. District Court Judge James C. Cacheris, El Khalifi pleaded guilty to one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction (specifically, a destructive device consisting of an improvised explosive device) against U.S. property, namely, the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. As part of the plea agreement, the United States and El Khalifi agree that a sentence within a range of 25 years to 30 years’ incarceration is the appropriate disposition of this case. Sentencing has been scheduled for September 14, 2012.

El Khalifi, an illegal immigrant from Morocco, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint on February 17, 2012. His arrest was the culmination of an undercover operation during which he was closely monitored by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The explosives and firearm that he allegedly sought and attempted to use had been rendered inoperable by law enforcement and posed no threat to the public.

“Amine El Khalifi sought to bring down the U.S. Capitol and kill as many people as possible,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “He admitted today that he picked the targets, weapons, and means of the suicide attack while working with someone he believed was an al Qaeda operative.”

“Amine El-Khalifi today admitted that he attempted to carry out a suicide attack on the U.S. Capitol as part of what he believed would be a terrorist operation,” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco. “I thank all those responsible for ensuring that El Khalifi’s violent plans never came to fruition.”

“The FBI’s top priority is stopping terrorism, and we remain vigilant against those who attempt to commit violence against the United States,” said Assistant Director in Charge McJunkin. “Today’s plea is the result of the hard work of dedicated special agents, analysts, and prosecutors, as well as officers from our partner law enforcement agencies that make up the Joint Terrorism Task Force.”

According to the statement of facts and other court documents filed in the case, in January 2011, a confidential human source reported to the FBI that El Khalifi met with other individuals at a residence in Arlington, Virginia, on January 11, 2011. During this meeting, one individual produced what appeared to be an AK-47, two revolvers, and ammunition. El Khalifi allegedly expressed agreement with a statement by this individual that the “war on terrorism” was a “war on Muslims” and said that the group needed to be ready for war.

According to court documents, El Khalifi sought to be associated with an armed extremist group, and on December 1, 2011, he was introduced by a man he knew as “Hussien” [sic] to an individual named “Yusuf,” who was, in reality, an undercover law enforcement officer. Throughout December 2011 and January 2012, El Khalifi proposed to carry out a bombing attack. His proposed targets included a building that contained U.S. military offices, as well as a synagogue, U.S. Army generals, and a restaurant frequented by military officials....

Who stands for the right of human beings to determine for themselves what is true, and live their lives as they see fit?

If the Left and Hamas-linked CAIR have their way, no one will. Watch the video above, and you will see what happens more and more often when freedom fighters present the truth in public. Leftists and Islamic supremacists are resorting increasingly to fascist brownshirt tactics to shut down pro-freedom events: they can't refute us, so they try to shout us down and shut us up.

We are determined not to let that happen when we challenge Hamas-linked CAIR's cynical and manipulative "Summer Night for Civil Rights" tomorrow evening in Southern California. Our own AFDI/SIOA "Summer Night for Human Rights" will feature apostates from Islam speaking out for the free conscience and free thought. Just down the street from Hamas-linked CAIR's event, we will be hosting an event featuring people who live under Islam's death penalty for apostasy every day of their lives -- while they whine about "Islamophobia."

Anti-freedom Leftists and Islamic supremacists are already enraged about our event, and they are certain to try to disrupt it. 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 are hiring top-notch security personnel and will spend whatever it takes in order to make sure this event -- which will earn us no money at all and cost us a great deal -- goes on as planned in the face of Leftist and Islamic supremacist thuggery and intimidation.

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 violent intimidation? Will you help us stand for the truth against Hamas-linked CAIR's hypocrisy? You can still register for the event by writing to pamelageller@gmail.com -- it's free (CAIR's costs $100 a ticket). And 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 Summer Night for Human Rights and all our work for freedom. And for that, may God bless you.

This is a very positive development. I wonder if it will lead to a greater seriousness being paid to the numerous threats I receive, including the veiled threats from Reza Aslan's house thug Nathan Lean. "Muslim man gets 11 1/2 years in prison for threatening 'South Park' writers," by James Vicini for Reuters, June 22 (thanks to all who sent this in):

WASHINGTON -- A Muslim convert from New York was sentenced on Friday to 11 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to threatening the writers of the satirical "South Park" television show for their depiction of the Prophet Mohammad and to other criminal charges.

Jesse Curtis Morton, 33, who is also known as Younus Abdullah Muhammed, was put on three years of probation after he completes his prison term. The sentence was handed down in federal court in Alexandria, Va., the U.S. Justice Department said.

Morton, who ran a website that encouraged Muslims to engage in violence against enemies of Islam, pleaded guilty in February to making threatening communications, using the Internet to put others in fear and using his position as leader of the Revolution Muslim organization's Internet sites to conspire to commit murder.

"Jesse Morton sought to inspire Muslims to engage in terrorism by providing doctrinal justification for violence against civilians in the name of Islam," U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride said.

"His crimes not only put people's lives forever in danger, but they also chilled free expression out of fear of retaliation by violent terrorists," MacBride said in a statement.

He had worked on website postings with Zachary Chesser of Virginia, who pleaded guilty in October 2010 to sending threatening communications to the "South Park" writers and to other charges.

Morton was arrested in Rabat, Morocco, last year and brought back to the United States, where he pleaded guilty. He had faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Morton admitted he helped Chesser in taking repeated steps in April 2010 to encourage violent extremists to attack the "South Park" writers for the episode on the cable channel Comedy Central that featured Mohammad in a bear suit....

Why does it matter whether or not this is considered an honor killing? In order to help clarify for American law enforcement personnel what one is, so that future honor killings may possibly be prevented. 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."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing in the U.S., there will be many more such murders.

"Mission triple shooting not being classified as attempted 'honor killing," by Rafael Carranza for ValleyCentral.com, June 18 (thanks to Robert):

Authorities are saying that they are not treating the shooting of three people in Mission as an attempted “honor killing.”

The suspect Talal Nimer is facing attempted murder charges after shooting his estranged wife, their daughter and their daughter’s boyfriend.

Mission police the gunman's Muslim faith did not play a role in their investigation.

But when quizzed on why he did it, the Lebanese man admitted that he didn't like that his daughter was dating someone who's not Muslim.

He also felt his daughter's boyfriend was taking over as the man of the house.

Honor killings of young women dating outside their families Muslim faith or ethnic groups have been reported in England and Germany.

Another girl was killed in the Phoenix area by her father after she allegedly refused to enter in an arranged marriage.

According to Mission Police Chief Martin Garza, Nimer’s religious beliefs will not be taken into account.

Why not? He admitted they were a factor.

Garza said police will they'll focus on several other factors.

The first is that Nimer and his estranged wife were going through a divorce after he admitted to cheating on her.

The second factor are statements from the family saying Nimer had previously threatened to kill them....

Jihad rising in modern, moderate "Arab Spring" Tunisia. "Radical sheikh calls for Tunisia holy war," by Monia Ghanmi for Magharebia, June 21 (thanks to Lachlan):

A recent video from a self-avowed al-Qaeda member called for holy war against the Tunisian government, raising fears among citizens that extremist violence could escalate.

The June 11th message from 30-year-old Salim Abou Ahmed Ayoub, purportedly the second in command of al-Qaeda in Tunisia, called on citizens to wage a holy war against the government in order to establish an Islamic state and wipe out unbelievers. The online video also directly attacked President Moncef Marzouki, calling for him to be overthrown.

The tape came just a day after al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri issued his own message threatening Tunisia, and after a discovery by Iraqi intelligence services of invitations to al-Qaeda leaders to go to Tunisia and expand their military operations, in order to establish an Islamic caliphate....

"Yes, al-Qaeda is an organisation of destruction not construction for this nation," remarked Sorour Aloui. "It has only brought the Islamic world strife and the killing of innocents. They are criminals against Muslims, and one day history will hold them accountable."...

Who defines who is an innocent?

You will never believe this, but the actual perpetrators were Sunni Misunderstanders of Islam. "Bombs targeting Shi'ites kill 13, wound 100 in Baghdad," by Kareem Raheem for Reuters, June 22 (thanks to Ima):

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 13 people were killed and more than 100 wounded on Friday when two roadside bombs exploded in quick succession in a crowded Baghdad market, Iraqi police and hospital sources said, in the latest attack targeting Shi'ite Muslims this month.

A wave of bombings in June against mainly Shi'ite pilgrims and shrines has killed more than 130 people and fuelled fears that Iraq could slip back into sectarian bloodletting of the kind that has receded since its peak in 2006-07.

Tensions have run high after U.S. troops left in December as Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish political factions vie for power.

The first explosion struck Husseiniya, a market in a mainly Shi'ite area on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, where people were shopping for groceries and other goods, sources said.

The second blast followed soon afterwards as security forces and civilians gathered to tend to the casualties from the first.

"Fruit and vegetables have been scattered everywhere. Some children were wounded," said Mudhaffar Khalaf, a policeman at the scene. "We have started to evacuate the injured people."

In the northern city of Samarra, home to a key Shi'ite shrine, a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives near the entrance of the city, killing one person and wounding 10 others, including seven Iranian pilgrims and three members of the security forces, a source in Samarra operations command said.

The explosion was followed by three mortar rounds fired into the same area, the source said, as well as a roadside bomb which targeted a nearby hospital and wounded three civilians....

If an Islamic supremacist ever takes responsibility for his own acts of violence and hatred, or admits those done by any other Muslim, I will faint dead away from the shock. "‘My only crime was to be Muslim,’" from the Oldham Evening Chronicle, June 22 (thanks to Twostellas):

DESPITE being warned by trial judge Mushtaq Khokhar not to reveal his previous convictions to the jury, Shabir Ahmed ignored the advice.

Throughout the trial Ahmed ranted at jurors that his convictions in the child sex scandal had been a “conspiracy by the police, English Defence League (EDL), British National Party (BNP) and social services” and added that he had instructed his barrister, Simon Nichol, to appeal the sentence.

Ahmed said: “I will never accept that verdict here or tomorrow.

“Myself along with my countrymen were convicted — this was conspiracy by the police. It had nothing to do with justice.

“Let’s pick on the weakest segment of the community — the Asian community. We were all innocent.

“This was the Rochdale grooming case. The girls were already selling their bodies. No Pakistani went knocking on the doors in Heywood saying ‘have you got any young girls, can we have sex with them?’”...

“Then all of a sudden they concocted something else and I got charged. My only crime was to be Muslim — not of the majority race,” he added....

What race is Muslim?

British officials are saying they're doing this out of consideration for both Jewish and Muslim students, but this is transparently disingenuous. How long have Jews lived in
England without demanding changes to the school lunch?

"Pork off the menu at some U.K. schools in bid to accommodate Jews, Muslims," by Anshel Pfeffer for Haaretz, June 22 (thanks to Twostellas):

Animal welfare, religious tolerance and political correctness all seem to be conflicting with each other in Britain as politicians, educators and community leaders try to balance dietary customs and liberal values. While the government tries to find a way to accommodate Jewish and Muslim ritual slaughter and at the same time conform with what they see as acceptable limits on cruelty to animals, schools across London are taking pork sausages, a long-time staple of children's meals, off the menu.

Two reports over the weekend highlight the clash. The Sunday Telegraph reported that in many areas of Britain's capital, schools were being advised by their local councils, or deciding on their own initiative, to ban all pork products from their menus. This move was out of consideration to Jewish and Muslim children and teachers yet has not been taken following official requests by either community. While many see this as another admirable effort by local British authorities to exhibit sensitivity towards religious and ethnical minorities, the move has attracted criticism from Conservative politicians and farmers' associations who see this as yet another attempt to encroach upon the traditional British way of life, in this case embodied by the good old bangers and mash, in the name of multiculturalism.

Indeed, for all devout Jews and Muslims, this will not render the school meals more palatable, as non-Kosher and non-halal meat, beef, lamb or chicken, will still be on the menu. Jon Benjamin, the chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, told the newspaper that “this is simply not an issue. Jews of a certain level of observance would not eat in non-kosher restaurants or dining halls. Children at mainstream schools who are bothered would probably have packed lunches. Children who are comfortable with using the same cutlery and crockery as everyone else would choose their dishes from the options available. It is live and let live - we are certainly not calling for this.” (Benjamin is probably referring here to the custom of some Jews who don't keep kosher in any halachic sense, but will not eat pork all the same)....

Is there any place in the world where a Muslim minority of any significant size coexists peacefully with its non-Muslim neighbors? And why is it forbidden to ask this question and investigate its answer in Islamic theology and law?

"60 Muslims arrested in Rakhine State," from Mizzima News, June 22 (thanks to Twostellas):

Burmese security forces have arrested 60 people following the latest round of violence between Buddhists and Muslims in western Rakhine state, Radio Free Asia (RFA) said in an article on Thursday.

The arrest came after security forces investigated the deaths of 12 people on Tuesday in Yathetaung Township, said an official and local residents.

Those arrested were sent to the state capital of Sittwe, said RFA.

Hla Myint, the Yathetaung Rakhine Nationalities Development Party chairman, confirmed the arrests, saying the 60 were taken in after police and military security found bodies buried in Anautpyin village and questioned local people.

“Sixty of those who killed and buried [the victims] were arrested and sent to Sittwe today,” he told RFA.

The clashes broke out between Rohingya Muslim villagers from Anautpyin and Rakhine Buddhist villagers from Kutaung early Tuesday morning after several days of relative calm in the region. Sectarian violence has erupted in different townships since May 28.. [sic]

Mizzima reported on Monday that 22 rioters were arrested over the weekend, according to state-run media.

The arrests came as authorities patrolled Chienkhali village to maintain stability, said the New Light of Myanmar. Those arrested carried knives, rods and sharpened sticks, police said.

Which side is he on? "US-Backed Rebels Committing Christian Genocide in Syria," by Joseph DeCaro for Worthy News, June 21 (thanks to Lachlan):

DAMASCUS, SYRIA (Worthy News)– Christians are being targeted by Muslim rebels according to the Vatican and other sources amongst besieged Syrian Christian communities.

According to reports by the Vatican's Fides News Agency, the US-backed Syrian Army are sacking churches and issuing threats that all Christians will be cleansed from rebel-held territory.

"The picture for us is utter desolation," said Bishop Philip Tournyol Clos, a greek-Catholic Melkite Archimandrite. "The church of Mar Elian is half destroyed and that of Our Lady of Peace is still occupied by the rebels. Christian homes are severely damaged due to the fighting and completely emptied of their inhabitants, who fled without taking anything."

Asked whether it was the Free Syrian Army that was telling Christians to get out, Agnes Miriam, Mother Superior of the Monastery of St. James at Qara in the Diocese of Homs, said "yes … it was commander on the ground, Abdel Salam Harba, who decided that there was to be no more negotiations with Christians."

She said Christians refused to back the rebels, so the rebels used them as human shields.

Nazis and jihadis have made common cause since the Mufti of Jerusalem lived in Berlin during World War II, made broadcasts for the National Socialists, and raised up an SS division of Bosnian Muslims. As part of their Goebbels-like Big Lie today, Islamic supremacists and their Leftist allies today try to claim that counter-jihadists are sympathetic to or even in league with Nazis. This has never been the case, but the Nazi/jihad alliance has been made many times.

"German neo-Nazis helped Palestinian terrorists kill 11 Israeli athletes in 1972 Munich Massacre, intelligence files reveal," by Julian Gavaghan for the Daily Mail, June 19 (thanks to BD):

German neo-Nazis helped Palestinian terrorists kill 11 Israeli athletes during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, newly released intelligence files reveal.

Abu Daoud, who is believed to the mastermind of the atrocity, met fascist Willi Pohl in Dortmund, according to a city police dossier kept secret for 40 years.

But despite the file being passed on to the German federal intelligence agency, Verfassungsschutz, there is no evidence that they acted upon the 2,000-page report.

And this lack of action allowed Daoud, who is named in the police report as his alias Saad Walli, to travel the country to meet fellow terrorists and plan the attack.

Pohl, who is now a crime fiction author, told magazine Der Spiegel: ‘I chauffeured Abu Daoud through the entire Federal Republic where he met in different cities with Palestinians.’

The 68-year-old, who insists he had no idea the group were planning the attack, claims he unwittingly also helped Daoud obtain false passports and other documents.

But Pohl allegedly later bragged to his employer about his contact with the extremist wing of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, according to the report....

I have the feeling that people are wondering what will happen next.

If Iran constructs a nuclear weapon, if Turkey also becomes a nuclear state, if a caliphate is created. If, if, if ...

And now I will discuss the facts, without any ifs, and I hope there will be no questions.

The fact is that in Islam, there are martyrs, ready to die for Allah.

The fact is that the Mujahedeen are fighting at the behest of Allah.

For even the most left-wing supporters and defenders of the Sharia and Islam in the Western world agree with this.

The fact is that Islamic government and the Western way of thinking are different.

The fact is that Muslims enjoy the beautiful gifts of Western democracy when they need them. But they quickly return to the Islamic way after they reach their goals.

I think everyone will agree these facts -- the axioms on the basis of which I will discuss the problem of Islamic nuclear capability.

Let's start with a new challenger in the Islamic nuclear club: Turkey.

Investment in the development of a proton accelerator in the Nuclear Research Center in Ankara amounts to 45 million lire.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke about his country's desire to create its own nuclear power and the double standards faced by Iran in solving this problem.

"Those who do have nuclear power criticize our neighbor Iran. Meanwhile, each country has the right to peaceful nuclear energy. And it should be respected. On the one hand," Erdogan said, "they do not notice the flaws in the safety of nuclear power plant in Armenia, they pay no attention to Israel's nuclear program and, on the other hand, they create a crisis around Iran. This is unfair. Every country should have the right and a safe way to use the atom for peaceful purposes."

The Turkish Prime Minister also noted that his country is to build two nuclear power plants by 2023. Moreover, Turkey's first nuclear power plant will be built by the Russians. Construction of NPP "Akkuyu" in the province of Mersin in the south will be based on the principle of "build-operate-transfer". The project cost is $20 billion. The first concrete in the foundation of the future nuclear power plant is planned to be poured in 2013.

That's it. Yet another Islamic country with nuclear power.

At the same time, Iran has begun to develop its own nuclear submarines. The use of nuclear energy as a fuel for submarines is not beyond the program of peaceful uses of nuclear technology, and is practiced in most countries.

"Right now we are at the initial stages of construction of nuclear submarines," said the deputy commander of the Iranian Navy, Rear Admiral Abbas Zamin. Speaking about Iran's growing capabilities in the design and construction of various types of submarines, Zamin said that the Islamic Republic is taking its first steps toward creating nuclear submarine fuel.

Of course he is liar.

And it's all happening at a time when Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, and has offered every kind to help Turkey and Azerbaijan. By the way, for several weeks there was a conflict between the Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces. Military and civilian population were killed on both sides. And it all started after the departure of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from the Caucasus region.

I do not know to whom Mrs. Clinton has talked in Baku and Yerevan, but the fact is that on the day she flew to Turkey, the shooting began, and it grew into a larger conflict.

On the evening of June 12, the Knesset held a special meeting on Israel's recognition of the genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire (1915-1918). The initiators of the discussion were members of Zahava Galon (Meretz), Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) and Professor Aryeh Eldad (Ichud Leumi). Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin supported this proposal and provided for a separate discussion in the plenary session.

The Chairman of the parliamentary coalition, Zeev Elkin, one of the most consistent supporters of recognition of the Armenian genocide, said in his speech: "For decades, for whatever reason, the question of recognition of the tragedy of the Armenian people has not even been on the agenda. In recent years, we could seriously alter this situation -- this topic has not only ceased to be uncomfortable, but it was at the center of a lively parliamentary debate. For the first time in the history of the Israeli parliament, there was held a discussion, open to the public, in the Committee on Education. The Knesset is obliged to bring this process to its logical conclusion: the official recognition of the Armenian Genocide." Elkin added that "the State of Israel, calling for recognition from the world of the historical injustices done to the Jewish people, cannot act differently in regard to the Armenians, for the sake of short-term political interests. Unfortunately, Israel is one of the last Western countries that still does not recognize the terrible tragedy of the Armenian people. But better late than never." (IzRus)

In this situation, imagine a brutal Erdogan with "the peaceful atom."

Add to that Iran's nuclear submarines, and the cooperation of these countries. The U.S. removed Turkey from the list of countries that may receive sanctions if they do not stop cooperating with Iran.

The Iranian government and official media keep saying that the supreme spiritual leader has banned making a nuclear bomb. But has he banned the use of the nuclear submarine as a weapon of suicide bombing? If Iran has diesel-powered submarines, what would keep them from using nuclear ones? And why can't Turkey do the same?

The cost of misunderstanding Islam continues to mount. Here, a convert to Islam misunderstood his new, peaceful religion, and is looking at 12 years in prison for it. Yet Islamic groups in the U.S. seem indifferent to this plague upon their community, and have no programs in place -- none -- to prevent young Muslims from misunderstanding Islam. How curious! "Man faces sentence for online 'South Park' threat," by Matthew Barakat for the Associated Press, June 22 (thanks to JCB):

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Federal prosecutors are seeking more than 12 years in prison for a Muslim convert from Brooklyn who pleaded guilty to posting online threats against the creators of the "South Park" television show.

Sentencing is scheduled Friday in Alexandria, Va., for Jesse Curtis Morton, who founded the now-defunct Revolution Muslim website. Earlier this year, he admitted using the site as an outlet for al-Qaida propaganda. He also conspired with another man to deliver a thinly veiled threat to the creators of the "South Park" television show for perceived insults to the prophet Muhammad.

Defense attorneys are asking for a prison term of less than five years.

The other defendant in the case, Zachary Chesser, got a 25-year sentence, but he also tried to travel to Somalia to join the al-Shabab militant group.

Walter Scott, The Talisman, the Crusades, Richard I of England and Saladin: Myths, Legends and History
by Ibn Warraq
Part 14
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13

HISTORY.

Given that The Talisman is a work of fiction, it is startling to read that Sir Hamilton Gibb recommended it to his students as a book from which they could learn much Middle Eastern history. How accurate is Scott in his historical reconstructions? A short answer would be “wildly inaccurate”. Richard and Saladin never met, Saladin never treated the King of England for any illness, and neither of them displayed any clemency if it did not suit them. It was grim warfare, and politics all the way.

Let us begin with the minor actors in the drama. Scott cannot even get the title of Conrad of Montferrat, the main villain in the novel, correct. During his research, he misread the “f” in Montferrat as an “s”, and came up with Conrad of Montserrat. Scott wrote of Conrad in this manner:

Proud, ambitious, unscrupulous, and politic, the Marquis of Montserrat was yet not cruel by nature. He was a voluptuary and an epicurean, and, like many who profess this character, was averse, even upon selfish motives, from inflicting pain, or witnessing acts of cruelty; and he retained also a general sense of respect for his own reputation, which sometimes supplies the want of the better principle by which reputation is to be maintained.

And he accused the marquis of “employing his jealousy of England as the means of dissolving, or loosening at least, the league of the Crusaders.”

Extraordinarily enough, Sir Steven Runciman describes Conrad initially in strikingly similar terms: “Harsh, ambitious and unscrupulous…” But adds, significantly, “yet trusted and admired by the native Frankish nobility, would have been a strong and cunning king”. Thomas Asbridge describes Conrad as “profoundly ambitious -- guileful and unscrupulous as a political operator, competent and authoritative as a general…” Whereas for Thomas Madden, the marquis was "renowned across the Mediterranean for his skill and bravery”.

Surely, the most significant act in the life of Conrad, the marquis of Montferrat, was the magnificent and timely defense of Tyre -- a feat not celebrated in The Talisman. He arrived in Palestine in July 1187, just days after the battle of Hattin. Tyre would undoubtedly have fallen to Saladin had not Conrad taken command of its garrison and defences. As Tyerman says, “[a]ccompanied only by a single ship’s company of knights, a few score at most, Conrad brought leadership, determination, energy and optimism to the defence of Tyre”. [1] Saladin raised the siege and departed north in early 1188, leaving “a vital Palestinian port in Christian hands, a haven for Frankish refugees and a base for the naval squadrons that were beginning to arrive from the west. [2]

[1] Tyerman, op.cit., p.404.
[2] Ibid.

To be continued.

Ibn Warraq is the author of numerous books, including Why the West Is Best and Why I Am Not A Muslim.

Jihad murder plots continue, while the mainstream media wrings its hands over an imaginary and trumped-up "Islamophobia." "Saudi man accused in US bomb plot set for trial," from the Associated Press, June 20 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

LUBBOCK, Texas – Twice in the days leading up to Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari's arrest federal agents secretly searched the Saudi man's West Texas apartment, where they say they found bomb-making chemicals as well as beakers, flasks, wiring, a hazmat suit and clocks.

They also discovered Aldawsari's journal, handwritten in Arabic, in which he wrote that he had been planning a terror attack in the U.S. for years and that it was "time for jihad," or holy war, court documents show.

Aldawsari wrote that he was planning an attack in the U.S. for years, even before coming to America on a scholarship. He bemoaned the plight of Muslims and said he was influenced by Osama bin Laden's speeches.

Jury selection in the 22-year-old's trial was set to begin Thursday in Amarillo. If convicted, Aldawsari faces up to life in prison.

The results of the two searches at Aldawsari's apartment in Lubbock in February 2011 led authorities to suspect he had nearly everything he needed to build a bomb, having purchased chemicals and other materials online in previous months. He had also researched targets — including dams, nuclear plants or the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush — and how to place bomb material inside dolls and baby carriages, court records show....

Imam Rauf must already be on his way to Timbuktu to explain to the Islamic supremacists in Mali that Sharia is completely benign and compatible with Western understandings of human rights.

"Teenager lashed 100 times in Timbuktu for having child out of wedlock," by Mike Pflanz in the Telegraph, June 21 (thanks to all who sent this in):

An 18-year-old pregnant woman and her boyfriend were both lashed 100 times by Islamists in Timbuktu in Mali as punishment for "having a child out of wedlock".

The sentence was carried out on the orders of Ansar Dine, a militant Muslim organisation that has seized territory in the desert north of the West African country.

"People were watching it was like a show," said Mohamed Ould Babby, a local official.

"I was there, I saw the youths arriving at the square, I saw them being whipped, it is the first time I have seen something like that." The woman, who was three months pregnant, has another child with her partner but the couple is not married.

According to Ansar Dine's strict interpretation of Islamic laws, that means the pair have committed the crime of "fornication", which is punishable with 100 lashes.

An Islamic police official in the town said six other women who had had children outside of marriage would soon be "punished by Islamic law".

People living in Timbuktu, the ancient city in Mali's southern Sahara desert, have reported that the Islamists have ordered women to wear full veils, whipped smokers and destroyed shopkeepers' stocks of cigarettes....

Over at Gatestone (via RaymondIbrahim.com) I document how, days before Egypt's presidential elections, Islamists expressed shock and dismay that the nation's Christian Copts were not voting for the Brotherhood candidate, and went on to try to convince the Copts that the best thing for them is to live under Sharia. An excerpt follows:

[...] Abu Ismail, the Salafi presidential candidate who was disqualified, expressed "great disappointment" in "our Coptic brethren," saying that "I do not understand why the Copts so adamantly voted for Ahmed Shafiq," portraying it as some sort of conspiracy between the Copts, the old regime, and even Israel: "Exactly what relationship and benefit do the Copts have with the old regime?"

Tarek al-Zomor, a prominent figure of the Gama'a al-Islamiyya—the terrorist organization that slaughtered some 60 European tourists during the Luxor Massacre—"demanded an apology from the Copts" for voting for Shafiq, threatening that "this was a fatal error."

To an extent, of course, Islamist attacks on Copts were due less to Coptic votes for Shafiq, and had more to do with the usual animosity for Christians—an animosity that seems to seek any excuse to attack them. By virtue of their greater numbers, many more Muslims did in fact vote for Shafiq than did Christians; even the Islamic Sufi Council of Egypt expressed its support for Shafiq instead of for the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate who advocates Islamic Sharia law.

Realizing that threats—with which Copts are well acquainted—would not prevent Christians from voting for the secular candidate, in a campaign that borders on the comical if not absurd, Islamists began imploring the Copts to vote for the Brotherhood's Morsi—who some say vows to return the Copts to bondage. Islamist kingpin Yusuf al-Qaradawi himself called on politically-active Muslims to go and meet with the Copts and "explain to them" how they have nothing to fear from an Islamist president, and convincing them that "Shafiq will be of no use to you."

Most adamant was popular TV personality Muhammad Hassan, a cleric who appeared several times assuring Copts that they have "nothing to fear from the application of Sharia," which he portrayed as the best guarantor for their safety and freedom. A day before the elections, Hassan implored the Copts "to elect Sharia and vote for Dr. Muhammad Morsi, promising them peace and security, and that they would live in prosperity under Sharia law."

Sheikh Muhammad Hassan is, incidentally, the same cleric who says Islam forbids Muslims from smiling to infidels—except whenever Muslims need to win them over. One week before he began beseeching Copts to vote for Sharia, he was in Saudi Arabia making disparaging comments about "those who say Allah has a son," the Koran's condemnatory language for Christians....

The true face of the “Arab Awakening’ continues to manifest itself. According to Al Sawt, prosecutors associated with Jordan’s Salafi movement have brought a lawsuit to the Sharia Court of Amman—a lawsuit being called “the first of its kind” in modern Jordan: they are charging a man with “apostasy from Islam.” Journalist and writer Salah Kharisat is accused of publishing an article in the media, which, according to prosecutors, “used expressions that indicate apostasy,” including rejection of the supernatural, “contempt for the Noble Koran,” and calls for universal humanism. The writer naturally denies and is calling for aid from the international community.

Cathy Young long ago demonstrated that she had no understanding of the nature or magnitude of the jihad threat, and tended to blame those who were calling attention to it rather than the real perpetrators. So it is no surprise that she would now be fronting for the manipulative Muslim Brotherhood coinage of "Islamophobia," which is designed to guilt-trip people into being afraid to resist jihad, but in this piece she rises to a whole new level of Useful Idiocy.

"Young: Islam navigates shoals of extremism," from Newsday, June 18 (thanks to Never A Groupie):

Which is the more serious problem today: Islamic extremism or anti-Islamic bigotry?

Well, let's see. All genuine bigotry is absolutely unacceptable, but in fact, Muslims are rarely its victims. FBI statistics show that there is no "Islamophobia." Contrary to media emphases and preoccupations, many "anti-Muslim hate crimes" have been faked by Muslims, and Jews are eight times more likely than Muslims to be the victims of hate attacks.

And as for "Islamic extremism," recent jihad plotters include Naser Abdo, the would-be second Fort Hood jihad mass murderer; Khalid Aldawsari, the would-be jihad mass murderer in Lubbock, Texas; Muhammad Hussain, the would-be jihad bomber in Baltimore; Mohamed Mohamud, the would-be jihad bomber in Portland; Nidal Hasan, the successful Fort Hood jihad mass-murderer; Faisal Shahzad, the would-be Times Square jihad mass-murderer; Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, the Arkansas military recruiting station jihad murderer; Naveed Haq, the jihad mass murderer at the Jewish Community Center in Seattle; 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.

All of them and many others invoked the Qur'an and Sunnah to explain and justify their deeds. But as far as Cathy Young is concerned, it is hard to tell whether they represent a greater threat than a virtually non-existent anti-Muslim bigotry.

Many American Muslims stress the importance of combating not only anti-Muslim bigotry but extremism in Muslim ranks. The modernization of Islam is an essential priority for the world. Right-wing Islamophobes such as bloggers Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer are hostile to this effort, insisting that Islam is beyond reform and any talk of moderation is a deceptive smoke screen.

Which American Muslims "stress the importance of combating not only anti-Muslim bigotry but extremism in Muslim ranks"? The main Muslim advocacy groups in the U.S., such as Hamas-linked CAIR, focus exclusively on painting resistance to jihad and Islamic supremacism as "anti-Muslim bigotry," and never do a single thing to fight "extremism in Muslim ranks." I have no idea who Cathy Young might mean, outside of Jasser and Manji, both of whose Islam is wholly eccentric and non-traditional, and Young doesn't say.

What is "right-wing" about fighting for the freedom of speech, the freedom of conscience, and equality of rights for all people before the law? Again, Young doesn't say, but that she considers people fighting for freedom to be her enemies is telling, as is her use of the Muslim Brotherhood neologism "Islamophobia."

Are there deceptive moderates? Of course. Hamas-linked CAIR portrays itself as moderate. So do Boy Reza Aslan and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. Does this mean that any and every attempt to reform Islam is insincere and deceptive, and should be met with hostility? Of course not, and I have never suggested such a thing. But as I have said many times, a genuine reform in Islam would acknowledge what needs to be reformed, not deny its existence, and violence and supremacism are deeply entrenched within mainstream Islam. Young is equating realism about the prospects of Islamic reform with "Islamophobia" -- very well, then: I ask her to produce evidence of this genuine reform of which she speaks. But she won't, because she can't.

Cathy Young is nothing special. She is just another herd thinker, thinking all of today's conventional thoughts. The problem is that she is offering false hope that will lull people into further complacency about the jihad, and damaging the efforts of those who are trying to protect the freedoms she enjoys. If anyone remembers her at all, history will judge her and her ilk with extreme harshness.

It seems actually to have been an exploding ass set off by Misunderstanders of the Religion of Peace. Oddly enough! "Blast in Pakistani frontier city kills 2 children," from Associated Press, June 21 (thanks to Twostellas):

PESHAWAR, Islamabad – A Pakistani police officer says that two children have been killed by an explosion at a Sunni shrine in Peshawar as dozens of people gathered there.

Zafar Khan said a bomb attached to a cart pulled by a donkey exploded as people visited the shrine Thursday evening.

Women and children made up most of the crowd.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. Taliban militants have often targeted such shrines in the past because they consider them a form of idol worship that is forbidden in their strict interpretation of Islam.

Green: Furious and self-righteous myopia

Recent jihad plotters include Naser Abdo, the would-be second Fort Hood jihad mass murderer; Khalid Aldawsari, the would-be jihad mass murderer in Lubbock, Texas; Muhammad Hussain, the would-be jihad bomber in Baltimore; Mohamed Mohamud, the would-be jihad bomber in Portland; Nidal Hasan, the successful Fort Hood jihad mass-murderer; Faisal Shahzad, the would-be Times Square jihad mass-murderer; Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, the Arkansas military recruiting station jihad murderer; Naveed Haq, the jihad mass murderer at the Jewish Community Center in Seattle; 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.

All of them and many others invoked the Qur'an and Sunnah to explain and justify their deeds.

Recent "radical Christian" acts of violence committed by people who invoked the Bible and Church teaching to explain and justify their deeds include, uh, gimme a minute...

"During anti-Muslim hearing, Dem calls for ‘hearing on the radicalization of Christians,’" by David Edwards for Raw Story, June 20:

Texas Congressman Al Green (D) says he wouldn’t mind Rep. Peter King (R-NY) repeatedly calling hearings on “radical Islam” if he would also conduct a “hearing on the radicalization of Christians.”

During a Wednesday House Homeland Security Committee hearing on “The Radicalization of Muslim-Americans,” Green wondered why the chairman had only focused on one religion.

“If you agree that radicalization exists within all religions to some extent, would you kindly extend a hand into the air,” Green, who is the grandson of a Christian minister, asked the witnesses testifying before the committee. He noted that “all the hands are raised.”

“I don’t think that most people oppose hearings on radicalization,” the congressman explained. “I do not, not — N-O-T — oppose hearings on radicalization. I do oppose hearings that don’t focus on the entirety of radicalization. And if you agree that we have Christians, as has been mentioned by more than one member, Christians who become radicalized, they become part of Islam and they become radicalized as is being said, why not have a hearing on the radicalization of Christians?”

He added: “I do think that it is a problem of perception. People who see the hearings and never hear about the hearing on the radicalization of Christianity have to ask themselves, ‘Why is this missing?’ Why don’t we go to the next step and ask, how is that a blue-eyed, blonde-haired, white female in the United States of America can become radicalized to the point of wanting to do harm to this country? We don’t have that type of hearing. That’s the problem.”

Which blue-eyed, blonde-haired white female Christian in the U.S. became radicalized to the point of wanting to do harm to this country? What on earth is he talking about?

Green pointed out that he had often been mistaken for a Muslim because of his appearance.

“I do know what it feels like to look like a Muslim in the minds of some people and to be demeaned in a public venue,” he said. “I look forward to the day that we’ll have that hearing that deals with the radicalization of Christians in America.”

An analysis (PDF) by [the Hamas-linked] Council on American-Islamic Relations of King’s first four hearings on Islamic radicalization determined that the chairman had “failed to produce the promised evidence to support his stigmatization of America’s Muslims.”

“King’s record of leveling unsubstantiated allegations and biased attacks on the Muslim community and habit of naming people with records of anti-Muslim bias as potential witnesses and information sources denies him any current credibility in discussions about American Muslims and homeland security,” the [Hamas-linked] group concluded.

At least that lessens the possibility of an Egypt/Iran alliance. "Egyptian Cleric Muhammad Hussein Yaaqub: MB Presidential Candidate Muhammad Mursi Told Me that the Shiites 'Are More Dangerous to Islam than the Jews,'” from MEMRI, June 13 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Following are excerpts from an address by Egyptian cleric Muhammad Hussein Yaaqub, which was posted on the Internet on June 13, 2012.

Muhammad Hussein Yaaqub: The Shura Council of the Islamic Scholars [convened], and decided unanimously to support Dr. Muhammad Mursi for president. Do you have another solution? Do any of you have any other solution? There is no other way.

But I told him [Mursi] all the things that you want. I said to him: I want a Salafi president, [who follows] the Koran and the Sunna like the early Muslims. He said: “Yes, ours is a Salafi call.” He said so. He said this, and it is recorded on video. He said it.

I asked him about the Shiites, and he said that the Shiites are more dangerous to Islam than the Jews. He said so.

I told him that I wanted a president who is not afraid of America, and he said: “I am not afraid.”

What more do you want?

What indeed?

Tiny Minority of Extremists Update: "We have information and documents to show that this is a Jihad being sponsored and we have our documents to show where they have dispatched 2,000 people to prepare for Jihad to South East, 2,500 to South-South and about 2,000 to South West."

"Nigerian Leader Claims Boko Haram to Use Poison in Jihad Against Christians," by Stoyan Zaimov for the Christian Post, June 20 (thanks to all who sent this in):

The Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram is allegedly planning to declare holy war on Southern Nigeria, where most Christians are concentrated, and might use food poisoning tactics to kill as many as possible, according to the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

"We have information and documents to show that this is a Jihad being sponsored and we have our documents to show where they have dispatched 2,000 people to prepare for Jihad to South East, 2,500 to South-South and about 2,000 to South West," said Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma, CAN Chairman and Anglican Bishop of Enugu Diocese.

The organization also warned that Boko Haram, responsible for killing hundreds of Christians since 2011 with church bombings and shootings, is planning to lace meat in these southern areas with poisonous powder. CAN specifically warned residents to be careful about eating suya, which is a shish kebab-type food that can be made with various types of meats.

According to a report from Vangard, Bishop Chukwuma said: "We are warning our people to be careful of suya because we have now heard that they will start poisoning people through suya. They know the suya they give themselves in the North and suya they give to the people in the South. So people should be careful of suya.

"That is part of the information available to us now. There is a powder that is now being imported which they will spread on suya and after two weeks it will start eating your liver and other organs. We have gotten that information also."...

"The Nigerian state and Christians are our enemies and we will be launching attacks on the Nigerian state and its security apparatus as well as churches until we achieve our goal of establishing an Islamic state in place of the secular state," Boko Haram declared in a statement last week, owning up to terrorist attacks last Sunday that killed at least six people and injured dozens....

"Are Christians no longer free to worship God on Sundays? What are the security operatives doing on Sundays when they know that Sundays have become a target to bomb Christians? What is the Inspector General of Police doing? Is changing of uniform the reformation that we want or action to make what is happening in the North to be stampeded and stopped. Again, what are the members of the House of Representatives and Senate doing to promulgate law that will sanction those perpetrating this evil?" asked Bishop Chukwuma....

What indeed?

Islamic antisemitism: the student was told that he was not allowed to wear it because he was “in a holy place.” As Rabbi Chaim Richman says, this is one manifestation of the Waqf's commitment to "eradicating all Jewish connection to the site,” in line with the Islamic practice of appropriating the traditions and holy sites of rival religions that we have documented here many times.

"Waqf tells UK student to remove kippa on Temple Mount," by Jeremy Sharon for the Jerusalem Post, June 20:

A Jewish student from the UK on a visit to the Temple Mount on Wednesday morning was asked to remove his kippa by one of the Waqf officials at the site, who told him that he was not allowed to wear it because he was “in a holy place.”

The 20 year-old from London, who studies at the University of Leeds in northern England and is in the country on a student mission, declined to remove the kippa and left the site instead.

Rabbi Chaim Richman of The Temple Institute said that incident demonstrates “the opening of new front of anti-Semitism at the hands of the Islamic Waqf committed to eradicating all Jewish connection to the site.”

The Jordanian Waqf that administers the site restricts non-Muslims from entering outside specific visiting hours, and no form of non-Muslim worship is permitted including personal prayer. Religious clothing like Kippot and Tzitzit has however always been permitted.

“Information-sharing with non-NATO actors is subject to specific arrangements and it is possible only if the allies consensually agree on it.” And that means that a rapidly re-Islamizing Turkey will leave Israel out in the cold, even though it is the nation most likely to be targeted in such an attack.

"No Israeli access to NATO data: minister," from Hürriyet Daily News, June 20 (thanks to Joshua):

Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz has rejected suggestions that Israel will be given access to data designed to protect alliance members against ballistic missile threats from a rogue nation.

“Any data or information produced by this system will only be available to the alliance, as in the case for other alliance systems,” Yılmaz said in an email message sent to the American defense magazine Defense News last week.

“Information-sharing with non-NATO actors is subject to specific arrangements and it is possible only if the allies consensually agree on it,” he said. NATO agreed in a summit meeting in Lisbon two years ago to devise a missile defense system to protect alliance members from a rogue nation in the area. As part of the system, Turkey agreed to allow the U.S. military to install a special X-band radar at a base in Kürecik in eastern Turkey.

Turkey and Israel bolstered their defense cooperation to a strategic level in the mid-1990s. Israeli defense industry upgraded Turkish F-4 and F-5 aircraft and a group of M-60 tanks. It has also built unmanned aerial vehicles for Turkey. But the former allies have become foes as a result of Turkey’s objections to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

In its lowest point, Israeli commandos killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American in a raid on the Mavi Marmara ship that was leading a flotilla attempting to break the Israeli embargo of the Gaza strip. Turkey last year downgraded diplomatic relations and cut all military ties with Israel as a result of the raid....

In FrontPage this morning I discuss The Nation's latest issue, which smears and defames freedom fighters:

The Left’s flagship publication, the Nation, has devoted its latest issue to “Islamophobia,” demonstrating yet again the lengths to which American “progressives” will go in order to run interference for their Islamic supremacist charges.

The Nation’s fondness for the enemies of America and the West is nothing new. Over a period of fifty years, its record is consistent: The Nation supported Communism through the Stalin and post-Stalin eras, and even offered comradely support to Maoism and Castroism. Thus its new role as shill for Islamic supremacists and the Muslim Brotherhood is really not new at all. Throughout its post-World War II history, the Nation has always had a soft spot for totalitarians who trample on human rights, while claiming to be the foremost defender of those rights.

On the other hand, the Nation is a Johnny-come-lately to the “Islamophobia” game. Its special issue is preceded by the smearing of critics of Islamic supremacism by Hamas-linked CAIR, the Marxist retreads at FAIR, and the Islamic supremacist-infiltrated Center for American Progress. The only innovation in the Nation’s gutter attack on those who have had the temerity to stand up for the human rights trampled on in the Islamic world is the new low achieved by Max Blumenthal in his hit piece on philanthropist Nina Rosenwald, who has given a large part of her fortune to efforts to defend freedom.

As David Horowitz and I show in our pamphlet, Islamophobia: Thoughtcrime of the Totalitarian Future, the very term “Islamophobia” is an invention of the Muslim Brotherhood designed to intimidate and discredit its critics. FBI statistics show that there is actually no serious problem of “Islamophobia.” In fact, many “anti-Muslim hate crimes” have been faked by the very organizations – CAIR in particular – that cry wolf every time an Islamic terrorist is fingered. As a matter of hard statistical fact, Jews are eight times more likely than Muslims to be the victims of hate attacks.

Meanwhile, Islamic jihadists continue to penetrate our borders and operate in the United States. Recent jihad plotters include Naser Abdo, the would-be second Fort Hood jihad mass murderer; Khalid Aldawsari, the would-be jihad mass murderer in Lubbock, Texas; Muhammad Hussain, the would-be jihad bomber in Baltimore; Mohamed Mohamud, the would-be jihad bomber in Portland; Nidal Hasan, the successful Fort Hood jihad mass-murderer; Faisal Shahzad, the would-be Times Square jihad mass-murderer; Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, the Arkansas military recruiting station jihad murderer; Naveed Haq, the jihad mass murderer at the Jewish Community Center in Seattle; 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.

Nonetheless, as far as the Nation is concerned, any attention paid to the Islamic jihad against the West is a manifestation of bigotry — Islamophobia. Genuine bigotry and persecution of innocent people is never excusable, which is why the Nation’s special issue is so repellent. To dismiss concerns about jihad and smear those who oppose it is sinister in the same way that the American progressives who worked for the Soviet Union – and thus betrayed their country — were sinister.

There is more.

On this week’s Glazov Gang, Dr. Nancy Bonus, Eric Allen Bell and Karla Moxley gathered to discuss Islamic Radicalization in America. All three parts of the three part seriescan be seen below. Part I deals with Islamic Radicalization in America, Part II focuses on Eric Holder, You Have a Problem and Part III involves a heated debate on Joy Behar Wants to See Romney’s House Burn Down.

Walter Scott, The Talisman, the Crusades, Richard I of England and Saladin: Myths, Legends and History
by Ibn Warraq
Part 13
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12

Saladin is depicted as a virtuous, calm, refined, and sagacious figure much given to uttering what Scott must take to be pearls of Eastern wisdom, but which read more like those pseudo-Confucian proverbs to be found in Chinese cookies:
[1] Know, Christian, that when one eye is extinguished, the other becomes more keen—when one hand is cut off, the other becomes more powerful; so, when our reason in human things is disturbed or destroyed, our view heavenward becomes more acute and perfect.
[2] It is better that a man should be the servant of a kind master, than the slave of his own wild passions.
[3] The sage fears nothing but Heaven, but ever expects from wicked men the worst which they can do.
[4] Fortune may raise up or abuse the ordinary mortal, but the sage and the soldier should have minds beyond her control.
[5] Thou canst cut off the head, but not cure the aching tooth.
[6] When the rich carpet is soiled, the fool pointeth to the stain, the wise man covers it with his mantle.
[7] A valiant camel-driver is worthy to kiss the lip of a fair Queen, when a cowardly prince is not worthy to salute the hem of her garment.
[8] Her eye is as the edge of the sword of the Prophet, who shall look upon it? He that would not be burnt avoideth to tread on hot embers—wise men spread not the flax before a bickering torch—He, saith the sage, who hath forfeited a treasure, doth not wisely to turn back his head to gaze at it.

On the other hand, the character sketch of King Richard is more nuanced; he is painted as a true monarch, a great leader, courageous but impetuous, irritable, haughty, coarse, and contemptuous of his brother sovereigns. He would undoubtedly have triumphantly marched to Jerusalem but for the jealousies of the Christian princes engaged in the same enterprise. However, Richard is unequivocal in his admiration for Saladin -- “my noble Saladin” -- considered a man of his word. King Richard listens to some advice, and declares, “yet now this counsel sounds not so strange in mine ear; for why should I not seek for brotherhood and alliance with a Saracen, brave, just, generous,—who loves and honours a worthy foe, as if he were a friend,—whilst the Princes of Christendom shrink from the side of their allies, and forsake the cause of Heaven and good knighthood?”

"It were well," said Richard, "to apply to the generosity of the royal Saladin, since, heathen as he is, I have never known knight more fulfilled of nobleness, or to whose good faith we may so peremptorily intrust ourselves. I speak thus for those who may be doubtful of mishap—for myself, wherever I see my foe, I make that spot my battle-ground." Elsewhere Richard again adduces Saladin’s noble qualities, “Noble Saladin, suspicion and thou cannot exist on the same ground."

While he praises the ideals of chivalry: “Sir Kenneth had full leisure to enjoy these and similar high-souled thoughts, fostered by that wild spirit of chivalry, which, amid its most extravagant and fantastic flights, was still pure from all selfish alloy —generous, devoted, and perhaps only thus far censurable, that it proposed objects and courses of action inconsistent with the frailties and imperfections of man”, and does not doubt the sincerity of individual crusaders, Scott nonetheless finds the whole crusading project irrational, “But in the Crusade, itself an undertaking wholly irrational, sound reason was the quality, of all others, least estimated, and the chivalric valour which both the age and the enterprise demanded, was considered as debased, if mingled with the least touch of discretion.”

To be continued.

Ibn Warraq is the author of numerous books, including Why the West Is Best and Why I Am Not A Muslim.

Of course we are not at war with Islam. Obviously we aren't, as the U.S. Government has a uniform view of Islam as completely benign and to be welcomed. But numerous Muslim clerics around the world have declared that Islam is at war with the U.S. That, however, is not a perspective that American officials are allowed to consider. "Military instructor suspended over Islam course," from Reuters, June 20 (thanks to all who sent this in):

(Reuters) - The instructor of a college course that taught top military officers the United States was at war with Islam has been relieved of teaching duties and the course ordered redesigned to reflect U.S. policy, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.

The elective course at the National Defense University's Joint Forces Staff College included a slide that asserted "the United States is at war with Islam and we ought to just recognize that we are war with Islam," Pentagon officials said in April as they launched a review of the course.

Colonel David Lapan, a spokesman for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Wednesday a review of the course found that "institutional failures and in oversight and judgment" led to the course being modified over time in a way "that portrayed Islam almost entirely in a negative way."

"The inquiry recommends the course be redesigned to include aspects of U.S. policy and reduce its reliance on external instruction," Lapan said in a statement. It also recommended improving oversight of course curricula.

"The elective course's military instructor has been relieved of his instructor duties until his permanent change of station, which was previously planned for 2012," Lapan said.

The inquiry also recommended a review of actions by two civilian employees of the staff college to see if disciplinary action was warranted. A second military officer will receive administrative counseling, Lapan said.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, ordered the review of the course on Islam and military education in general after a soldier complained about the content of the course entitled "Perspectives on Islam and Islamite Radicalism" at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia.

Navy Captain John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said in April that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was deeply concerned about some of the materials being taught in the course, such as the slide suggesting the United States was at war with Islam.

"That's not at all what we believe to be the case. We're at war against terrorism, specifically al Qaeda, who has a warped view of the Islamic faith," Kirby said....

What exactly is warped about their view, neither Kirby nor anyone else ever bothers to explain.

Plotting mass murder of those whom the Qur'an dubs the worst enemies of the Muslims (cf. 5:82).

"'Muslim pair planned Jihad' - court," from KUNA, June 20 (thanks to Twostellas):

LONDON, June 20 (KUNA) -- A Muslim couple were assembling components of a home-made bomb to attack Jewish neighbourhoods after becoming radicalised by al Qaida propaganda on the internet, a court heard Wednesday.

Mohammed Sajid Khan, 33, and his wife Shasta, 38, bought substances and equipment from supermarkets to assemble an improvised explosive device to carry out a terrorist attack after scoping Jewish targets, Manchester Crown Court, northern England, heard.

Behind their "apparent normality of daily life", Khan, an unemployed car valeter, and his hairdresser wife planned to carry out "jihad at home", Bobbie Cheema, prosecuting, told the court.

And the pair were only "mercifully" stopped by chance after a minor domestic row led to police being called to their house in Oldham, Greater Manchester.

Mrs Khan decided to "spill the beans", confess, to police after her brother told officers: "I think he's a home-grown terrorist".

Mohammed Sajid Khan has already pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to terrorism offences but his wife has denied any involvement. She has pleaded not guilty to engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism and three counts of possessing information useful for committing or preparing for an act of terrorism.

Opening the case for the prosecution at the start of Shasta Khan's trial, Miss Cheema told the jury: "The essence of what is alleged in this case is relatively straightforward. "It is that in 2010 and 2011 they both became radicalised by material found on the internet such as an al Qaida magazine called Inspire, the aim of which is to encourage Muslims in the West and this country to carry out violent holy war or jihad by mounting attacks in their own countries independent of any outside direction or association with any other person.

"They became radicalised by the teaching of extremist Islamists who were themselves motivated by al Qaida. "In response, the two of them began to make preparations or assisted each other to make preparations to carry out a terrorist attack on British soil, with the most likely target being an orthodox Jewish area of Prestwich in Greater Manchester."

According to Egypt’s Al Dostor, earlier this month in Tanta, Egypt, an imam of a mosque—a prayer leader and model of Muslim piety—slaughtered his own nephew with a knife because the latter refused to marry the imam’s daughter. Along with the nephew, a 27-year-old teacher who died of several stab wounds in the chest, two other relatives were attacked and hospitalized by the 52-year-old imam and his younger brother. “Prosecution ordered the accused imprisoned for four days pending investigation.”

Jihad Watch reader D.T. kindly sends in the above statement from the Borders bookstore chain in Malaysia, responding to the arrest of one of its managers for selling a book by Muslim reformist and purveyor of her own private Islam Irshad Manji.

The statement is as supine as one might expect, protesting that "there was no way for Borders to know that JAWI [Federal Territory Islamic Department] considered the books to be objectionable." Presumably, then, if it had known, it wouldn't have sold them, and free speech be damned. No stand on principle. No defense of free thought. Just weaselly protestations.

This is nothing surprising coming from a bookstore chain that, when Karen Armstrong and I both had biographies of Muhammad out at the same time, placed hers in the "Islam" section and mine in "Medieval History" -- making hers easy to find and mine next to impossible. Borders also has a company policy that Qur'ans must always be placed on the top shelf.

Cowards, fools, Useful Idiots, and dhimmis.

Pamela Geller has the story:

Dhimmitude in the West. On May 8, The Washington Post ran a hate-filled attack on the Catholic Church, the same ad that ran in the NY Times. But unlike the New York Times, the Washington Post ran the anti-Catholic ad with no changes; the Times made the atheists "soften" the headline.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation ran the ad in the New York Times urging people that it’s time to quit the Catholic Church. The NYT changed the headline to take away a bit of the edge (“It’s time to consider quitting the Catholic Church.”) The Washington Post ran the ad without  any editorial changes made to it.

I submitted the same ad, but flipped the language, inserting Islam instead of the church. The Washington Post demanded numerous copy changes.

Read it all and see the ads here.

One thing you can say about Obama: he is consistent. Consistently on the side of Islamic supremacists. "DOJ Secretly Drops Terrorism Charges In Taliban Case," from Judicial Watch, June 19 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

The Department of Justice (DOJ) refuses to explain why it has abruptly dropped terrorism charges against a member of a Middle Eastern family indicted in south Florida last year with providing material support for the Pakistani Taliban.

In all, six people were charged with sending tens of thousands of dollars to the terrorist organization, which is associated with Al-Qaeda and has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks against American interests, including a 2009 suicide bombing at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan. The ringleader in this case is a Pakistani imam (Hafiz Muhammed Sher Ali Khan) who ran a mosque in Miami. The others include his sons, daughter and grandson.

Khan founded an Islamic school that supports the Taliban’s jihad while living in Pakistan and continued controlling and funding it as an imam in Miami, according to a federal indictment. He used the school to provide shelter and support for Taliban soldiers and to train children how to kill Americans in Afghanistan, the indictment says. The rest of the family helped create a network that flowed money from the U.S. to Pakistan to purchase guns for the Taliban, according to the feds.

The story made headlines nationally because the FBI raided the mosque with terrorist ties in a manner that assured cultural sensitivity towards Islam. Federal agents actually waited for prayer service to end before moving in out of respect for Muslims and they took their shoes off prior to entering the mosque as per Islamic tradition. It made for “kindlier, gentler arrests,” under the Obama Administration’s new rules of engagement to assure more sensitivity toward religious practices.

A few days ago the feds secretly dismissed the terrorism charges against the imam’s 39-year-old son, Irfan Khan, in custody for nearly a year and facing up to a decade and a half in jail. Charges against Khan’s dad and younger brother stand and both have pleaded not guilty and remain in custody in south Florida. A local newspaper says the three other defendants are fugitives believed to be in Pakistan. Federal prosecutors did not provide any explanation in a mysterious, one-graph filing dismissing the charges against Khan.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office handling the case in the Southern District of Florida confirmed that the court has granted the request for dismissal, but refused to elaborate. “We are unable to comment on the internal deliberations that led to our decision. However, the charges against his co-defendants remain in place and trial is pending for those defendants in U.S. custody,” the spokeswoman told the local paper in a written statement.

Timely intervention of minister stopped DBKL officers from tearing down the place of worship.

KUALA LUMPUR: A temple, which was in the midst of demolition by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), was saved in Kepong today, after timely intervention of Federal Territory and Urban Wellbeing Minister Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin.

The Veppam Kaliamman Amman temple, along Jalan Kepong, received an eviction notice only at 8.30 this morning, and work to break down the temple began 15 minutes later.

The temple committee, stunned at the speed of the whole exercise, immediately called the Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Deputy Minister M Saravanan, who is in charge of temples in the federal capital.

FMT learnt that the deputy minister had in turn called top officials of the Federal Territory land office under the purview of the ministry but they refused to take orders to stop the demolition.

Saravanan was told that the land division was only answerable to the minister and when he contacted the minister, Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin, the latter immediately ordered the demolition stopped.

“Luckily the minister was available to talk… otherwise, I do not know what would have happened.

I think we all know what would have happened -- see here, here, here, here and here for a small sampling of Malaysia's sordid track record in regards to non Muslim houses of worship.

“But within 15 minutes, before I could reach the spot, DBKL enforcement officers had already torn off the temple’s awning. I am very disappointed with DBKL. They know if any temple was to be demolished, a proper discussion must be held but in this case this was not done.

“The eviction notice was prepared only yesterday and handed to the temple committee at 8.30am this morning and demolition started at 8.45am. This is utter nonsense… this is a classic case of little Napoleons running the show,” said Saravanan, who was clearly irked with the incident.

Who changed land status?

The deputy minister said he did not even ask the demolition be cancelled but just asked for it to be postponed until a proper discussion was held.

The temple even had a letter from Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak allowing it to operate on a temporary basis as it sits on government [Muslim] land, he said.

“The land was originally reserved for place of worship… but somehow along the way the status of the land was changed to a Muslim place of worship… it can’t be because the land is beside a sewerage treatment plant. I don’t think Muslims would want a surau or a mosque there.

Iran grows bolder by the day in this age of Obama, dhimmitude, willful blindness and Useful Idiocy. "Death Threat From Iran Sent To St. Louis Men," by Roche Madden for KPLR.com, June 18 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

ST .LOUIS, MO (KTVI) – Two St. Louis area men said they have received death threats from Iran and they are taking those threats seriously. The said a fatwa, or religious decree, has been put on their heads.

The letter was sent to Ali Bahkti and his pastor Mike Salazar. The envelope indicates it is from Tehran, Iran. It is apparently signed by a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Army. Mike Salazar said, ‘It`s a death threat very simply.’ Ali Bakhti added, ‘Religious decree to kill.’ Salazar said, ‘It`s something to be taken seriously.’

Ali Bakhti said he once served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard when he was a teenager. Bakhti said, ‘Dirty bombs, convert civilian streets into a mine fields.’ He said he was even assigned a suicide mission, to blow up an Israeli disco. But, he had a dramatic change of heart and faith and converted to Christianity and moved to the U.S. He met Pastor Salazar at church and since then the two have been spreading their beliefs to church goers. The two men believe that Islam is a religion that could easily radicalize a Muslim into a terrorist.

Salazar said, ‘Our message isn`t to offend Muslims.’ But, it apparently has. Now the two are under a death decree that they fear could be carried out any moment. They say that won`t stop them from preaching what they strongly believe in. Bakhti said, ‘I`m doing it for the kingdom of God.’ Salazar said, ‘Even if you die doing it.’...

Will the Islamophobia never end? Islamic Tolerance Alert from modern, moderate Indonesia: "Aceh Mob Targets Another Storefront Church," by Nurdin Hasan and Ezra Sihite for the Jakarta Globe, June 19 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

A mob of about 300 men vandalized a store that was being used for a church service by dozens of Bethel Christians in Aceh on Sunday.

There were no casualties reported in the attack.

The mob wrecked the first floor of the store located in the Pasar Peunayong village of the Kuta Alam subdistrict in Banda Aceh. The assailants broke windows and did damage to some furniture.

Around 60 local Bethel Christians were holding their Sunday service on the third floor when the mob attacked.

The police’s quick response prevented the attackers from reaching the people on the third floor.

Banda Aceh Police chief Muffan Mudji Kafanti claimed that the attackers ransacked the place because the church members had not obtained permission to hold Mass in the store.

“There are regulations if you want to make it a place of worship,” Muffan said. “Local residents couldn’t accept it and wrecked it.”

Police have not made any arrests and say the matter is still being investigated. However, 12 of the Christians were taken to the police station for questioning....

Second time this month that the jihadis have targeted NATO troops in Khost. "Afghanistan suicide bomber kills 16 in Khost," from the BBC, June 20 (thanks to David):

A suicide bomber has killed at least 16 people and wounded 34 others in the eastern Afghan province of Khost, officials say.

The attacker drove a motorbike laden with explosives into a joint Nato and Afghan military convoy in Khost city.

A spokesman for Nato said there were "some casualties" from the alliance, but did not give further details.

Hospital officials in Khost city said children and policemen were among those killed.

The head of one hospital told the AFP news agency that he received the bodies of four members of one family at his hospital.

It is the second time this month that a suicide attacker has targeted Nato troops in Khost, which is close to the border with Pakistan and hosts mainly US forces....

Reuters doesn't mention this key detail that RT has: "Reports suggest the man fired one shot from a gun and demanded to speak to the elite police unit responsible for shooting down Islamist gunman Mohamed Merah in March."

"Man claiming al-Qaida link takes hostages in France," from Reuters, June 20 (thanks to all who sent this in):

TOULOUSE - A man claiming to be a member of al-Qaida has taken four hostages in a bank in the southwestern French city of Toulouse, including the bank manager, police officials said on Wednesday.

The man took several hostages in a branch of French bank CIC and fired a shot after an attempted armed robbery apparently went wrong, UNSA police union official Cedric Delage told Reuters. Another police source said there were four hostages.

An anti-terrorist police unit was on its way to the scene and the area was sealed off, Delage said. He could not confirm the man’s claim to be a member of the al-Qaida militant group....

Administrative punishments for doing their job. These seven U.S. troops should face no punishment at all for what is not a crime under American law. This is an appalling capitulation to Sharia. "Discipline recommended for 7 U.S. troops in Quran burning," from AP, June 19 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military investigation is recommending that as many as seven U.S. troops face administrative punishments, but not criminal charges, in the burning of Qurans at a U.S. base in Afghanistan in February, The Associated Press has learned.

U.S. military officials said the classified report and recommendations for disciplinary action against the service members involved were delivered to the Pentagon more than a week ago. They have been turned over to the Army and Navy secretaries. No final decisions have been made.

According to the officials, one Navy service member and as many as six Army soldiers could face nonjudicial disciplinary actions, which can range from a letter in their file to docking their pay or assigning them additional duties.

If their pay is docked patriotic Americans should demand to know their identities and inundate them with donations.

The lack of any criminal charges is in line with early assertions from military officials that the incident, while regrettable, was a mistake. But it is likely to anger Afghans who were enraged by the burning.

Thousands took to the streets across the country in deadly riots after it happened. More than 30 people were killed in the clashes, including two U.S. troops who were shot by an Afghan soldier and two U.S. military advisers who were gunned down at their desks at the Interior Ministry.

The Qurans and other Islamic books were taken from the Parwan Detention Facility, and officials believed that extremists being detained there were using the texts to exchange messages. The religious books and other materials were put in burn bags and then later thrown into a fire pit used to burn garbage at Bagram Air Field, a major U.S. base north of Kabul.

Military officials said the investigating officer in Afghanistan completed the report and recommended the disciplinary actions. The report was approved by Marine Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and forwarded to Pentagon....

U.S. officials have said that the service members did not know what they were throwing into the burn pit and that the books were pulled out by Afghan workers before they were destroyed. President Barack Obama apologized to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the incident.

Afghan officials, however, have claimed the burning was intentional, and it reinforced perceptions in the country that Americans are insensitive to the Afghans' religion and culture.

A preliminary joint investigation into the matter — done by senior U.S. and Afghan military officials — concluded in early March that while mistakes were made in the burnings, there was no intent to desecrate the Qurans or other religious materials....

But then the political calculations started, and the dhimmis won out.

Pamela Geller has a report on yesterday's hearing:

We just concluded our oral argument before the US Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial & Appeal Board in a very crowded courtroom. Apparently this case has generated a good deal of interest in the US Patent and Trademark office. This is the last administrative step, following the USPTO's refusal to register our trademark, "Stop the Islamization of America." The USPTO had rejected SIOA's trademark because it found it "disparaging" to Muslims. We argued that no law-abiding Muslim could possibly be disparaged by a trademark that reflected our goal to "stop" the Muslim Brotherhood's civilization jihad, which is what we proved that "Islamization" means. More here.
 
David Yerushalmi, co-founder and senior counsel to the American Freedom Law Center, argued before the TTAB on our behalf today. There was something special about today's argument, not simply because the "senior attorney" for the USPTO's office, who handled the examination and rejection, appeared as the USPTO's attorney of record (not the examining attorney of record, as is typical), and not simply because the room was packed with USPTO employees in the audience. The oral argument was special because the USPTO had no real legal or factual arguments, but instead made reference to vague and scary "geopolitical concerns and realities" of Islam and such "loaded terms" as "Stop the Islamization of America."
 
At the conclusion of the oral argument, the chief judge commended our legal counsel on an "extremely well argued" hearing.
 
Truth is, most of these administrative appeals are rubber stamps which the applicant, AFDI, must then appeal to the federal circuit. You can bet we are ready.

The irony of all this is the sharia compliant rejection of our trademark application illustrates the chilling fallout of  the"islamization of America."

Read it all.

In "AP's war on national security" at WND, Pamela Geller discusses AP's avid quest to destroy the NYPD's counterterror program, and criticizes the Obama DOJ for engaging in collusion with Islamic supremacist groups:

The Associated Press, in a crushing violation of journalistic integrity, has filed suit against law enforcement to disarm the greatest counter-terrorism unit in the world, the New York Police Department (NYPD). It is bent on shutting down a counter-terror program that is entirely legal and legitimate, because it involves surveillance of Islamic supremacists such as the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Muslim Students Association.

Even New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has never met an Islamic supremacist he didn’t bow to, has stood by this program and defended it, but that is not good enough for AP.

Decades ago, we cringed when any news story of corruption and collusion broke about our long-venerated, trusted newsmen. We trusted those powerful subversives like Walter Cronkite, Mike Wallace, etc. These men had enormous power and they abused it; they perpetrated one of the world’s great campaigns of anti-American disinformation and propaganda. We remember Walter Cronkite as a grandfather figure, a trusted icon, when in fact he did the country incalculable harm.

Twenty years of the Cronkite legacy and we have gone that much further off the deep end. The media today is a propagandist arm whose one goal is to shape the news, change the message, even lie about the news to advance a collectivist, pro-Shariah agenda. How else could an unqualified, bitter America-hater hold the seat in the Oval Office?

The Department of Justice should be defending the NYPD, but the DOJ is finished. Corrupt. Destroyed. The House of Representatives will soon vote on contempt charges against Eric Holder. The Justice Department refuses to uphold rule of law. It’s now a center of red and green madness, where collectivists and Islamic supremacists have the run of the place. Where is our society’s first, most critical line of defense? The DOJ is AWOL. The Department of Justice is engaging in collusion with the country’s most dangerous and subversive jihadist groups.

And this is not just Department of Justice policy. It’s the policy of the Obama administration.

They are out of control. And it is only a matter of time before the Davids in the blogosphere rip these haters’ masks off and reveal how monstrous they really are. And for their flagrant violation of the public trust, they shall rot in prison.

The hardcore Hamas groups in the U.S. – Hamas-CAIR, MSU, MSA, ICNA – are doing a Hitlerian stomping jig to get these counter-terrorism measures removed, so that devout Muslims can roam free to plan the next 911....

There is more.

Good. It is refreshing to see this kind of thing being done even in this Age of Obama. But who is leaking this information, and for what purpose? "U.S., Israel developed Flame computer virus to slow Iranian nuclear efforts, officials say," by Ellen Nakashima, Greg Miller and Julie Tate for the Washington Post, June 19 (thanks to Benedict):

The United States and Israel jointly developed a sophisticated computer virus nicknamed Flame that collected intelligence in preparation for cyber-sabotage aimed at slowing Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon, according to Western officials with knowledge of the effort.

The massive piece of malware secretly mapped and monitored Iran’s computer networks, sending back a steady stream of intelligence to prepare for a cyber­warfare campaign, according to the officials.

The effort, involving the National Security Agency, the CIA and Israel’s military, has included the use of destructive software such as the Stuxnet virus to cause malfunctions in Iran’s nuclear-enrichment equipment.

The emerging details about Flame provide new clues to what is thought to be the first sustained campaign of cyber-sabotage against an adversary of the United States.

“This is about preparing the battlefield for another type of covert action,” said one former high-ranking U.S. intelligence official, who added that Flame and Stuxnet were elements of a broader assault that continues today. “Cyber-collection against the Iranian program is way further down the road than this.”

Flame came to light last month after Iran detected a series of cyberattacks on its oil industry. The disruption was directed by Israel in a unilateral operation that apparently caught its American partners off guard, according to several U.S. and Western officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

There has been speculation that Washington had a role in developing Flame, but the collaboration on the virus between the United States and Israel has not been previously confirmed. Commercial security researchers reported last week that Flame contained some of the same code as Stuxnet. Experts described the overlap as DNA-like evidence that the two sets of malware were parallel projects run by the same entity....

At Atlas Shrugs Monday I took National Review to task for an article downplaying the Sharia threat:

Last week National Review published an article by Matthew Schmitz, deputy editor of First Things, claiming that “the anti-sharia movement in this country…endangers our national security by alienating loyal Muslim citizens and assaults religious liberty.” It’s unfortunate, but not surprising, that a publication whose editors Ann Coulter long ago famously labeled “girly men” would take such an ill-informed and wrongheaded stance – a stance that ultimately threatens the freedom of all Americans.

Schmitz takes issue with Kansas for passing a new law that “forbids courts and agencies to respect contracts drawn up under ‘any law, legal code or system of a jurisdiction outside of any state or territory of the United States, including, but not limited to, international organizations and tribunals’ if the legal system does not grant the same ‘fundamental liberties, rights and privileges granted under the United States and Kansas constitutions.’”

Sharia obviously does not grant those liberties, so what could possibly be wrong with that? Schmitz concedes that Islamic law “does not grant all the rights that the U.S. Constitution does,” but he goes on to claim that “neither does Christian canon law or Jewish Halakhic law (or English or French law, for that matter).” Islamic law mandates denial of basic rights to women and non-Muslims, severe restrictions on the freedom of speech, death for apostates, warfare against unbelievers, stonings for adultery, amputations for theft, female genital mutilation, and polygamy, while Catholic canon law, Jewish Halakhic law, and English and French law do not, but this does not seem to trouble Schmitz. His main point is not that other legal systems are just as restrictive and unjust as Sharia, but that Sharia should be allowed to figure in American legal decisions when to consider it would not contradict American law: why, he asks, should a court be prevented “from honoring a contract made under the provisions of one of these ‘foreign’ legal systems if the contract does not itself violate any U.S. or state regulations, laws, or constitutional provisions?”

Good question, but only if one accepts the talking points of Islamic supremacist groups in the U.S., such as the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). They claim that anti-Sharia laws would infringe upon Muslims’ First Amendment rights to practice their religion. As Schmitz puts it: “Under one reading of the Kansas law, a contract that makes reference to canon law or sharia — but is otherwise perfectly legal — would be thrown out, while an identical one that makes no such reference would be upheld.” The purpose of anti-Sharia laws, however, is not to stop Muslims from entering into voluntary contracts based on Sharia provisions that do not violate American law, but to stop the political and supremacist aspects of Islam that infringe upon the rights and freedoms of non-Muslims.

Schmitz does acknowledge that the Kansas law may be understood in a way that does not restrict Muslim religious practice that doesn’t conflict with American law: “The other possible reading of the law is that it only bars rulings based on foreign legal systems when the rulings themselves would violate constitutional rights. But in that case, as Professor Douglas Laycock of the University of Virginia Law School has argued, the law is meaningless, for courts will not tolerate or enforce violations of constitutional rights in any case.”

If that were true, there would be no problem. But it isn’t. Several years ago a New Jersey judge declined to charge a Muslim with sexual assault on his wife because under Sharia, a woman may not deny sex to her husband at any time under any circumstances. This remarkable introduction of Islamic law into American jurisprudence was overturned, but the initial decision showed that at least one American judge was all too willing to tolerate and enforce violations of constitutional rights. Schmitz dismisses this case as a “judicial error,” and ignores its larger implications....

There is more.

Walter Scott, The Talisman, the Crusades, Richard I of England and Saladin: Myths, Legends and History
by Ibn Warraq
Part 12
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11

Sir Walter ends Chapter Two with a subtle dig at “mullahs and priests”, and religion in general, all held responsible for bringing unnatural divisiveness among men of otherwise goodwill, “Slander not him [Muhammad, the Prophet] whom thou knowest not; the rather that we venerate the founder of thy religion, while we condemn the doctrine which priests have spun from it. I will myself guide thee to the cavern of the hermit, which, methinks, without my help, thou wouldst find it a hard matter to reach. And, on the way, let us leave to mollahs, and to monks, to dispute about the divinity of our faith, and speak on themes which belong to youthful warriors,—-upon battles, upon beautiful women, upon sharp swords, and upon bright armor."

Saladin appears, as Riley-Smith put it, in a bewildering number of disguises, a trait perhaps derived from Harun al-Rashid’s habit of roaming the streets of Baghdad disguised in the Arabian Nights. Certainly, “the banner of Death, with this impressive inscription, “SALADIN, KING OF KINGS, SALADIN, VICTOR OF VICTORS; SALADIN MUST DIE” which, in Scott’s novel, was displayed among the banners above Saladin’s tent, was lifted and adapted from The Sixth Voyage of Sinbad. [1]

Robert Irwin, in a fascinating, all too brief, essay, takes Edward Said to task for totally misunderstanding The Talisman: “[Said] fastens on the passage in which Saladin Sir Kenneth meets Saladin (in disguise). Kenneth praises Saladin as an individual, yet finds it curious that his race and religion boast descent from Iblis (the Devil). Said (Orientalism, 1978, p.101) remarks on the airy condescension of damning a whole people ‘generally’ while mitigating the offence with a cool ‘I don’t mean you in particular’”. Said suggests that the accusation of descent from Iblis was something that Scott took from Beckford or perhaps Byron. In fact the descent of the Kurdish people from Iblis was part of medieval Arab folklore about the Kurds (and historically Saladin was of course a Kurd). More generally, what is missing from Said’s somewhat cursory and jaundiced reading of The Talisman is any appreciation of just how favourable Scott’s portraits of Saladin and his Saracen physician are. Courageous, intelligent and magnanimous, they really come out better than Kenneth, Richard or any of the other protagonists in the story. While one might wish that Sir Kenneth, not long in the Holy Land, would unequivocally express opinions such as that the Arabs are the equal if not the superior of Scotsmen, that Islam is a jolly good religion and the crusades are really just disguised imperialism, in the context of a novel set in the late twelfth century such remarks would strike most readers as anachronistic. Said’s reading of Scott’s novel is oddly naïve (though hardly more so than his reading of George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda).”

The Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition, tells us that there were many popular attempts to derive the name “Kurd” from the Arabic root karrada; “the Kurds would thus be the children of young slaves and the demon Djasad (“driven out” by Solomon).” [2]

[1] Robert Irwin. Saladin and the Third Crusade in ed, Michael Bentley. Companion to Historiography, London: Routledge, 1997 p.141.
[2] Encyclopedia of Islam, s.v. ‘Kurds, Kurdistan’.

To be continued.

Ibn Warraq is the author of numerous books, including Why the West Is Best and Why I Am Not A Muslim.

Dr. Nancy Bonus, Eric Allen Bell and Karla Moxley battle it out on Frontpage's television debate program.

The misunderstanding of Islam continues to take its toll on the Muslim community, claiming young Muslims on a regular basis, leading them to commit or plot to commit all manner of crimes. Yet Muslim leaders in the U.S. are doing nothing, absolutely nothing, to prevent Muslims in America from misunderstanding Islam in this way. How odd!

"New York man pleads guilty to aiding al Qaeda," by Basil Katz for Reuters, June 18 (thanks to Kapil):

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York man pleaded guilty on Monday to terrorism charges for helping the militant group al Qaeda.

Brooklyn, New York-born Wesam El-Hanafi, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to a terrorist group and one count of conspiracy.

Manhattan federal prosecutors, in a plea agreement with the defense, recommended a 20-year prison sentence.

"In July 2009 I participated in a conversation with others in which we discussed seeking out additional contacts within al Qaeda," El-Hanafi told U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood.

El-Hanafi was arrested in April 2010, along with Sabirhan Hasanoff, 36, a dual U.S. and Australian citizen who pleaded guilty on June 4 to similar crimes. The men, who were arrested abroad and brought to the United States to face charges, had been under law enforcement surveillance.

Prosecutors have said El-Hanafi bought seven digital Casio watches through Internet seller Amazon.com to send to militants in Yemen and that the alarms in the watches could be used as bomb triggers. His defense attorney said the watches were gifts to his family....

Oh honey, a time bomb! How thoughtful!

Imam Rauf, call your office. Somehow the Saudis have gotten the crazy idea that Sharia is not compatible with Western pluralistic values. "Saudi man beheaded for witchcraft, sorcery," by Douglas Stanglin for USA TODAY, June 19 (thanks to all who sent this in):

A Saudi man was beheaded today on charges of sorcery, witchcraft and owning talismans, Arab News reports, quoting the Saudi Interior Ministry.

Muree bin Ali Al-Asiri also admitted to "committing adultery with two women," the ministry says, according to the Saudi Press Agency. He was executed in the southern Najran province.

The BBC reports that a Saudi woman was executed for committing sorcery and witchcraft in December, and a Sudanese man was executed in September, despite calls by Amnesty International for his release.

The BBC's Arab affairs editor, Sebastian Usher, notes that Saudi Arabia's powerful conservative religious leaders strongly back the harshest punishment for anyone suspected of acts of sorcery, including fortune-telling and faith-healing.

Once again we see the mainstream media terming strict Sharia adherents "conservative," while simultaneously labeling Sharia opponents "conservative" as well.

The first BDS movement

Alice Walker's books aren't worth reading in the first place, so she isn't denying the Israelis anything they really need, but the idea of denying the right to translate her work into a particular language because she dislikes the policies of the people who speak it is monstrous, sets an extremely dangerous precedent (cf. the photo above), and plays into the hands of the Palestinian jihadists. "Alice Walker Refuses Israeli Publisher Permission To Translate 'The Color Purple,'" from the Huffington Post, June 19:

Alice Walker is protesting Israel's treatment of the Palestinians by refusing permission for an Israeli publisher to translate her most famous book, "The Color Purple."

The novel won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1983. It deals with the inhuman treatment of a poor black girl in the American South.

The American author sent a letter to the publisher, Yediot Books, a copy of which was published with her permission on the website of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. The New York Times confirmed with Walker’s agent that the letter was genuine.

In her letter, she thanked the publisher for the request, but then slammed their country’s treatment of their neighbors, referring to a citizen’s tribunal made up of human rights activists, including Walker, that last year investigated Israel’s alleged violations of international law.

As you may know, last Fall in South Africa the Russell Tribunal on Palestine met and determined that Israel is guilty of apartheid and persecution of the Palestinian people, both inside Israel and also in the Occupied Territories. The testimony we heard, both from Israelis and Palestinians (I was a jurist) was devastating. I grew up under American apartheid and this was far worse. Indeed, many South Africans who attended, including Desmond Tutu, felt the Israeli version of these crimes is worse even than what they suffered under the white supremacist regimes that dominated South Africa for so long....

The Shura Council of the Mujahideen of Jerusalem -- that is, the consultative council of the jihad warriors of Jerusalem. A Shura Council generally manages affairs in a mosque -- how is it that they misunderstand Islam so spectacularly?

"Islamic militant group claims attack on Egyptian-Israeli border," from Al Arabiya, June 19 (thanks to Voice of the Copts):

A group calling itself the “Shura Council of the Mujahideen of Jerusalem” claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a deadly ambush that killed an Israeli construction worker on the Egyptian border.

In a video posted on the internet, a group of masked and armed men claimed Monday’s attack and announced the formation of the “Shura Council of the Mujahideen of Jerusalem.”

“We announce the formation of the Shura Council of the Mujahideen of Jerusalem as the foundation of a blessed Jihadi operation, with a clear path and features to be a brick in the global project of bringing back the [Islamic] caliphate,” one masked gunman said in the video.

“To the foes of God - the Jews - we say, you infidels must know that what is coming is different than what has preceded and we shall make you drink from the same poisonous glass you gave to the people of Islam in Jerusalem,” the gunman added.

The final part of the video contains recorded statements made by two individuals in armed uniform, one claiming to be an Egyptian and the other insinuating to be a Saudi.

“I am the living martyr by God’s will Abu Huthaifa al-Hathly from the Peninsula of Muhammad (PBUH). We shall leave shortly to undergo a double martyr operation on the border of Egypt with Occupied Palestine today Monday 28 Rajab 1433 coinciding 18-06-2012,” said one of the two armed men who – contrary to the same video - were recording unmasked....

Brotherhood or blood. "Muslim Brotherhood warns Egypt's generals," by Jack Shenker and Abdel-Rahman Hussein in the Guardian, June 18:

The Muslim Brotherhood has vowed to face down Egypt's ruling generals in a "life or death" struggle over the country's political future, after declaring that its candidate had won the presidential election and would refuse to accept the junta's last-ditch attempts to engineer a constitutional coup.

As final ballot results trickled in and unofficial tallies suggested that Mohamed Morsi had secured approximately 52% of the popular vote, the Brotherhood deployed its harshest language yet against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf), promising to bring millions of Egyptians back on to the streets if attempts to rebuild the old regime continued.

"Over the past 18 months we were very keen to avoid any clashes or confrontations with other components of Egypt's political system because we felt that it would have negative consequences for the democratic system and for society as a whole," said Fatema AbouZeid, a senior policy researcher for the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party and a media co-ordinator for the Morsi campaign. "But now it's very clear that Scaf and other institutions of the state are determined to stand in the way of what we're trying to achieve, and we won't accept this any more. Egypt will not go back to the old regime through any means, legal or illegal.

"If we find that Scaf stands firm against us as we try to fulfil the demands of the revolution, we will go back to the streets and escalate things peacefully to the highest possible stage," she said. "Now we have a new factor in Egyptian politics, the Egyptian people themselves, who will not accept a return to the old regime in any form, not after so much Egyptian blood was shed to remove it.

"The revolution is facing a life or death moment and the Egyptian people have put their faith in Dr Morsi to represent them at this time."...

Over at Gatestone Institute (via RaymondIbrahim.com) I point out that, whether the Muslim Brotherhood candidate actually won the presidential elections or not -- many analysts in Egypt are insisting that Shafiq won -- for strategic purposes, the group had probably planned on proclaiming victory no matter what the outcome:

Has anyone stopped to ask where the headlines "Muslim Brotherhood Wins Egypt's Presidential Election!" originate? They come, of course, straight from the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies—particularly the Qatar-based Islamist propaganda machine, Al Jazeera—and were then unquestioningly picked up and spread like wildfire by the Western mainstream media and talking-heads.

Left unquoted by the Western media are the many Egyptian analysts that have a different tale to tell—that the secular candidate, Ahmed Shafiq, has won.

But what does the Muslim Brotherhood have to benefit by claiming victory now, if official results might prove otherwise on June 21, a mere three days from now? Simple: they will be able to scream foul play—and gain the world's sympathy. For days the world will have been inundated with news that the Brotherhood won, so that, when and if it hears that Shafiq won, it will naturally conclude electoral fraud—which best serves the Islamists' interests.

Mahmoud Baraka, a Shafiq campaign spokesman, maintains that "their candidate [Shafiq] won the presidency, with 52% of the votes"—precisely the same number the Brotherhood is claiming—adding that the Brotherhood's claims to victory "are bizarre and unacceptable," a "big act."

Likewise, talk show host Tawfik Okasha appeared emphatically saying that the Brotherhood's claims are "all lies," that most polls indicate that Brotherhood candidate Muhammad Morsi "failed," and that the Islamist group's motive is simply to sow "discord and dissension." He proceeded to give several examples of how the Brotherhood's claims are incongruous with reality.

But why believe Shafiq's spokesman and staunch secularist Okasha? Good question. Here's a better one: Why believe the Muslim Brotherhood?...

Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood waging violent jihad against Israel, as the group explains in its own Charter. "Hamas jubilant over Mursi’s Egyptian presidential victory claim," from Al-Arabiya, June 19 (thanks to Voice of the Copts):

Hamas leaders and supporters in Gaza Strip celebrated Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood presidential victory, according to preliminary results announced on Monday.

The Islamist bloc’s candidate Mohammed Mursi claimed he had won the election over former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq in the early hours of Monday, in line with primary results that were announced later that day.

Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zohri said that the result, which will be officially announced by the electoral body on Thursday, is a victory for the Egyptian people, its martyrs and the uprising which ousted former president Hosni Mubarak last year.

But perhaps more significantly for Hamas, an Islamist group born from the Muslim Brotherhood which controls the Gaza Strip, Zohri said that Mursi’s win will help break the siege on Gaza and support the Palestinian cause, especially on the issue of the disputed Jerusalem.

Mursi amassed 13.2 million votes, according to Al Arabiya TV, citing the primary vote counts, which resulted in a 51.8 percent win – against 12.3 million for Shafiq.

Initial results contain a margin of error of about two percentage points, meaning the result may be premature.

In related news, Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, also praised the Islamists’ preliminary win.

“We, the Palestinian people, follow the political scene in Egypt. We pin great hopes upon the Egyptian leadership, revolution, army, people and presidency to bolster the resistance of the Palestinian people, which has looked to Egypt throughout history,” Haniyeh said.

“We hope that Egypt enjoys stability, security and safety and we are still waiting for the official results of the presidential election.”...

KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 — The government views the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-sexual (LGBT) issue seriously and is controlling its spread through prevention efforts and legal enforcement, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim told the Dewan Rakyat [the lower chamber of the Malaysian parliament] today.

She said these efforts were done with the help of the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and State Religious Department (Jain) [Islamic Religious Police] through programmes such as the BEST! Tour which aimed to educate teenagers on social ills such as HIV Aids caused by homosexual lifestyles.

Of course. After thirty years of the AIDS pandemic, everyone knows that only homosexuals spread the virus that causes AIDS. With 'facts' like these, how can Malaysian education efforts on HIV or homosexuals go wrong?

“A series of rehabilitation and treatment courses will also be given to Muslims who have deviated from societal norms, while Jakim and Jain have conducted a Mukhayyam programme with repented transsexuals to obtain positive feedback from them,” she said in reply to an original question from Datuk Mohd Jidin (BN-Setiu) who wanted to know the government’s seriousness in tackling LGBT issues in the country.

'Rehabilitation and treatment' of LGBTs--apparently being a homosexual or transsexual is in the Malaysian government's view akin to being a drug addict. Under a Muslim government like Malaysia's, such views are state sanctioned and are not to be challenged, as Irshad Manji herself recently found out.

In terms of enforcement, she said laws clearly stated in the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997 (Act 559) can only be enforced on Muslims.

Of course, as to who is and who isn't a Muslim, that is up to the Government and the Sharia courts to decide. If they say you're a Muslim, then by Allah you are one. Your own say in the matter is irrelevant.

Dr Mashitah said the government and state religious authorities will take legal action against any Muslims involved in LGBT and who flout laws in each state.

There are no legal and religious provisions in Malaysia that allow homosexuality, free sex and same-sex marriages, she added. — Bernama

Sharia's provisions on homosexuality are quite harsh. Homosexuality is in fact a capital crime in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, Mauritania, and Sudan. But don't expect the official Malaysian government press agency Bernama to bother pointing out any of this.

Even this jihad mass murderer is demanding special accommodation and claiming victim status. "Judge considers delay in Fort Hood suspect's trial," from The Associated Press, June 19 (thanks to all who sent this in):

FORT HOOD, Texas — A military judge will hear arguments Tuesday on whether to delay the trial of an Army psychiatrist charged in the fatal 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas.

The judge postponed Maj. Nidal Hasan's pre-trial hearing earlier this month because the defendant had grown a beard, contrary to Army regulations. The judge, Col. Gregory Gross, has said he will bar Hasan from the courtroom and force him to watch Tuesday's proceedings through closed-circuit television if he is unshaven. Gross has the power to bar defendants from court for such violations.

Hasan has been clean-shaven in all other court appearances since the 2009 attack, which killed 13 people and injured more than 30 others. He is an American-born Muslim, and his attorneys have said they will seek an exception to the Army's rule based on his religious beliefs....

Hasan faces the death penalty if convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. The trial is expected to last at least two months, and a military jury will be brought in from Fort Sill, Okla.

Fort Hood spokesman Chris Haug said Monday that post officials wouldn't know until Tuesday whether Hasan had followed the judge's order about shaving his beard. Fort Hood officials also wouldn't say whether Hasan would be charged if he shows up unshaven, though one possible charge is failure to obey a lawful order or regulation, which carries a maximum two-year jail sentence.

Jeff Addicott, a former senior legal adviser to the Army's Special Forces who isn't involved in the case, said Hasan may be growing the beard with the hope of making a case that he is being persecuted for his faith.

"He's going to play the religious card," said Addicott, director of the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary's University School of Law. "And this is his last card to play ... because no one believes he's not going to be found guilty."

Witnesses have said that on the morning of Nov. 5, 2009, a gunman wearing an Army combat uniform opened fire after shouting "Allahu Akbar!" — or "God is great!" in Arabic — in a Fort Hood medical building where deploying and returning soldiers received vaccines and other tests. Several witnesses identified the gunman as Hasan, who was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan the following month....

KUALA LUMPUR: A store manager of a bookshop was charged in a Syariah High Court here Tuesday for distributing a book by Canadian author Irshad Manji deemed to be against the Islamic Law (Hukum Syarak) and banned in Malaysia.

Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz, 36, was accused of distributing by way of selling the book entitled, Allah, Liberty and Love (The Courage to Reconcile Faith and Freedom), which was translated into Bahasa Malaysia.

She was alleged to have committed the offence at Borders bookshop, owned by Berjaya Books Sdn Bhd, at level 3, The Gardens Mall in Mid Valley City here, between 8.41am and 9.45pm on May 23 this year.

She faces a RM3,000 fine or a maximum of two years' jail or both under Section 13(1) of the Syariah Criminal Offences Act (Federal Territories) 1997, if convicted.

RM3,000 is roughly one month's salary for most Malaysians.

Chief prosecution of the Federal Territory Ibrahim Deris prosecuted while counsel Rosli Dahlan acted for Nik Raina before Syarie judge Abdul Walid Abu Hassan.

No plea was recorded.

Earlier, Rosli applied to the court that the charge would not be read and no plea would be recorded as there were several issues that needed to be settled.

He added that Nik Raina did not own the bookshop but was only a worker.

Ibrahim said the question whether to read the charge or not was under the court's jurisdiction and not the prosecution.

Judge Abdul Walid then granted bail at RM500 with one surety, pending mention on Sept 19.

Walter Scott, The Talisman, the Crusades, Richard I of England and Saladin: Myths, Legends and History
by Ibn Warraq
Part 11
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10

Scott is not, however, afraid to point to personal and ultimately cultural differences. Here are some exquisite observations: “The manners of the Eastern warrior were grave, graceful, and decorous; indicating, however, in some particulars, the habitual restraint which men of warm and choleric tempers often set as a guard upon their native impetuosity of disposition, and at the same time a sense of his own dignity which seemed to impose a certain formality of behavior in him who entertained it. This haughty feeling of superiority was perhaps equally entertained by his new European acquaintance, but the effect was different; and the same feeling which dictated to the Christian knight a bold, blunt, and somewhat careless bearing, as one too conscious of his own importance to be anxious about the opinions of others, appeared to prescribe to the Saracen a style of courtesy more studiously and formally observant of ceremony. Both were courteous; but the courtesy of the Christian seemed to flow rather from a good-humored sense of what was due to others; that of the Moslem, from a high feeling of what was to be expected from himself.”

Edward Said’s conclusions quoted above turn out to be totally absurd when one realises that in the first two chapters the Saracen gives as good as he gets from the Christian. The Emir reproaches Sir Kenneth for feeding “like a dog or wolf”. Then as Sir Kenneth exercises his “Christian freedom” by drinking some wine, the Emir contemptuously pronounces, "That, too, you call a part of your liberty, and as you feed like the brutes, so you degrade yourself to the bestial condition, by drinking a poisonous liquor which even they refuse!"

But the Christian Knight has his reply ready, “Know, foolish Saracen that thou blasphemest the gifts of God, even with the blasphemy of thy father Ishmael. The juice of the grape is given to him that will use it wisely, as that which cheers the heart of man after toil, refreshes him in sickness, and comforts him in sorrow. He who so enjoyeth it may thank God for his wine-cup as for his daily bread; and he who abuseth the gift of Heaven, is not a greater fool in his intoxication than thou in thine abstinence."

Then follow some delicious exchanges on the relative merits of monogamy and polygamy, the Muslim delighting in the “black-eyed houris of Paradise”.

Scott ably summarises the raison d’etre of the Crusades, and what he obviously sees as the essential honourableness of the Islamic position on the Holy Land,

“for the cruel hand of your people has been red with the blood of the servants of the Lord, and therefore do we come hither in plate and mail, with sword and lance, to open the road to the Holy Sepulchre, and protect the chosen saints and anchorites who yet dwell in this land of promise and of miracle."

"Nazarene," said the Moslem, "in this the Greeks and Syrians have much belied us, seeing we do but after the word of Abubeker Alwakel, the successor of the Prophet, and, after him, the first commander of true believers. 'Go forth,' he said,' Yezed Ben Sophian,' when he sent that renowned general to take Syria from the infidels, 'quit yourselves like men in battle, but slay neither the aged, the infirm, the women, nor the children. Waste not the land, neither destroy corn and fruit-trees: they are the gifts of Allah. Keep faith when you have made any covenant, even if it be to your own harm. If ye find holy men laboring with their hands, and serving God in the desert, hurt them not, neither destroy their dwellings. But when you find them with shaven crowns, they are of the synagogue of Satan! smite with the sabre, slay, cease not till they become believers or tributaries.' As the Caliph, companion of the Prophet, hath told us, so have we done, and those whom our justice has smitten are but the priests of Satan. But unto the good men who, without stirring up nation against nation, worship sincerely in the faith of Issa Ben Marian, we are a shadow and a shield; and such being he whom you seek, even though the light of the Prophet hath not reached him, from me he will only have love, favor, and regard."

To be continued.

Ibn Warraq is the author of numerous books, including Why the West Is Best and Why I Am Not A Muslim.

As Muhammad said, "I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah, and he who professed it was guaranteed the protection of his property and life on my behalf except for the right affairs rest with Allah." -- Sahih Muslim 30

"Boko Haram claims responsibility for Nigeria church bombings," from CNN, June 18 (thanks to Wimpy):

Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) -- A militant Islamist group claimed responsibility Monday for bombings the day before that the Nigerian Red Cross said left 50 people dead at three Christian churches in Nigeria.

Boko Haram said the attacks Sunday in the Nigerian cities of Zaria and Kaduna were retaliation on Christians for destroying mosques and, according to the group, turning others into "beer parlour and prostitution joints."

"Let them know that now it's the time for revenge God willing," the group said in a statement. "From now on, they either follow the right religion or there will be no peace for them."

Government and Red Cross figures on the death toll in Sunday's attacks differed. However, the bombings at two churches and a third in Kaduna left at least 50 people dead and 131 wounded according to the Red Cross.

Kaduna state officials loosened a 24-hour curfew imposed after the attacks, saying people could be on the streets from 2 to 6 p.m. However, resident Anthony Majindadi said most people were staying indoors and his area still looked like a ghost town.

The series of attacks began when a suicide bomber drove at high speed through a barricade at the EWCA Goodnews Wusasa Zaria church around 9 a.m., congregation member Lucy Bello said.

A Kaduna state official, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said that blast killed at least 24 people and injured 125.

The Nigerian Red Cross Society, however, reported that two people died and 22 were injured in the attack.

Within minutes, another explosion occurred at the Christ the King Catholic Church in Zaria, according to Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency.

At least 10 people died and more than 50 were injured in that attack, the state government official said....

The bombings are the latest in a string of violence directed at Nigerian churches. A week ago, a car bomb killed five people during services at a church in Jos, also in northern Nigeria. Angry crowds wielding makeshift clubs fought with police after chasing security forces away from the destroyed church. Three more people died in the clashes.

And two weeks ago, two church bombings in the region killed at least 15 people....

No way to tell yet how this assurance will play out in light of the new powers the military has claimed for itself. But Sharia or civil war look like the two likeliest scenarios. "Egypt generals say they'll 'hand over power to the elected president' at end of month," by Allen Pizzey for CBS News, June 18 (thanks to Wimpy):

(CBS News) CAIRO - In spite of opposition claims that Egypt's cadre of ruling generals is setting up what they say amounts to a military dictatorship, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) announced Monday that it will "hand over power to the elected president" at the end of this month.

"The army will hand over power to the elected president in a big ceremony end-month that the entire world will witness," the official news agency MENA quoted Major-General Mohamed El Assar, a member of the ruling army council, as saying.

"Egypt is a modern democratic country that upholds all democratic values," the statement went on.

The Muslim Brotherhood claimed victory early Monday in Egypt's first freely-contested presidential election, saying their candidate Mohammed Morsi had enough votes to become the first Islamist head of state in the Middle East to be elected in the wake of the tumult of the "Arab Spring".

Official results are due on Thursday, but with more than 95 percent of votes counted from some 13,000 polling stations, the Brotherhood said Morsi had taken 52 percent. Election officials told the Reuters news agency no winner would be declared until the official tabulation was completed later in the week, but they said the Brotherhood's numbers seemed accurate from the initial counting.

Morsi's opponent, former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq - the last prime minister to serve under ousted leader Hosni Mubarak - disputed the tally and leveled charges of electoral fraud. So far, independent monitors have not backed that up....

Oddly enough, it was a Sunni Muslim jihad/martyrdom bomber who unaccountably misunderstood his Religion of Peace that forbids suicide. "Suicide bomber kills 15 at Iraq Shi'ite funeral," by Aseel Kami for Reuters, June 18 (thanks to all who sent this in):

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least 15 people mourning at a Shi'ite funeral in the northern Iraqi city of Baquba on Monday in the latest sectarian attack this month.

A wave of bombings on Shi'ite pilgrims and religious sites has killed more than 130 people in June, reviving fears of a return to widespread sectarian violence, in some of the bloodiest attacks since U.S. troops left Iraq in December.

The bomber on Monday blew himself up inside funeral tents where mourners in Baquba were paying respects to the family of an influential Shi'ite tribal sheikh, witnesses and hospital officials said.

"The bomber came in through a side entrance in one tent. When he blew himself up, all I could see was dust and people being thrown back by the pressure of the blast," said senior policeman Abbas Ali, who was off duty and among the mourners.

"It was chaos, we are still helping people out," he said by telephone from the blast site.

Violence has fallen since the height of the war, but recent bombings on Shi'ites are fuelling worries Iraq risks slipping back into major bloodshed, especially as the government's Shi'ite, Sunni and ethnic Kurdish parties feud over sharing power.

Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, is in Diyala province, once an al Qaeda stronghold and one of the most volatile regions in Iraq with its mix of Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish communities who dispute control of the area.

Iraq's al-Qaeda wing, the Islamic State of Iraq, has claimed recent attacks on Shi'ite targets, as it tries to fuel sectarian tensions and undermine Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government....

Over at FrontPage Magazine (via RaymondIbrahim.com), I discuss the parallel histories -- the parallel lies -- of 1979 Iran and 2012 Egypt, in the context of the hijab:

Many are the lessons to be learned between the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the current revolutions of the Arab world.

Consider the issue of the hijab, the female "veil"—the proliferation of which, according to one former Islamist and associate of al-Qaeda's Ayman Zawahiri, is associated with a Muslim society's downward spiral into oppression and terror.

Prior to Egypt's presidential elections, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, Muhammad Morsi, assured the nation's liberals and secularists that, as president, he would certainly not enforce the hijab: "Many people are speaking nonsense, saying that I will impose the hijab against the will of the people; no one is going to force anyone to wear a specific uniform."

These are famous words, spoken almost verbatim some 33 years earlier, in Iran, at the time of the 1979 revolution. In fact, during the early days of the revolution, Ayatollah Mahmud Taleghani, a popular mullah, to reassure the secularists who participated in the overthrow of the Shah that an Islamic government would certainly not interfere with their freedoms, declared in the March 11, 1979 edition of Iran's newspaper, Ettela'at, that "The hijab will not be a matter of coercion."

The rest is history. Within months of the founding of the Islamic Republic, the 1967 Family Protection Law was repealed, female government workers were made to wear the hijab, women were barred from becoming judges, sex-segregation laws were promulgated, the marriage age for girls was dropped to 13, and married women were barred from attending regular schools. Today, Iranian women are regularly beaten if they are not dressed in appropriate hijab.

The parallels between Iran and Egypt do not end there....

A harbinger of things to come. "Three killed in gunfight on Israeli/Egyptian border as Muslim Brotherhood declares victory in Egypt elections," from the Daily Mail, June 18 (thanks to Twostellas):

Three were killed in a gunfight on the Israeli/Egyptian border today - as the Muslim Brotherhood declared it had won Egypt's elections.

Militants fired on an Israeli crew building a border barrier on the frontier, killing one of the workers - while Israeli soldiers shot dead two of the infiltrators....

Israeli military spokesman Yoav Mordechai said: 'A terrorist squad opened fire and possibly also fired an anti-tank rocket at an area where (Israel) is constructing the border fence.'

An Israeli military source said one of the workmen, an Arab citizen of Israel, was killed by the gunmen.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, about 18 miles from the Gaza Strip.

Soldiers who rushed to the scene killed two of the militants and searched the Israeli side of the border for more gunmen, the source said....

In the most serious attack in the area since the Egyptian popular uprising, militants crossed over the Egyptian border and killed eight Israelis in August 2011.

On Saturday, at least two rockets were fired deep into southern Israel, causing no damage or casualties. It was not clear whether they were launched from Gaza or Sinai.

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, ruled by Islamist Hamas, have launched Grad rockets at Israel from the coastal territory in the past.

Israel also says militants have also crossed into Sinai to launch similar attacks on its territory.

And last night Israeli aircraft carried out a series of strikes in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire from the enclave. Medical sources in Gaza said seven people were wounded.

The rise in tension came as Islamist candidate Mohammed Morsi today declared victory in Egypt's first free presidential election since Hosni Mubarak's ouster 16 months ago.

But the military council that has ruled since the uprising issued an interim constitution, just as polls were closing, that gave the generals sweeping authority to maintain their grip on power and subordinate the nominal head of state.

Though official results have not yet been announced, the Brotherhood released a tally that showed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood took nearly 52 per cent of the vote to defeat Mubarak's last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq with about 48 per cent in a very close race....

In a victory speech at his headquarters in the middle of the night, Morsi, 60, clearly sought to assuage the fears of many Egyptians that the Brotherhood will try to impose stricter provisions of Islamic law.

He said he seeks 'stability, love and brotherhood for the Egyptian civil, national, democratic, constitutional and modern state' and made no mention of Islamic law.

'Thank God, who successfully led us to this blessed revolution. Thank God, who guided the people of Egypt to this correct path, the road of freedom, democracy,' the bearded, U.S.-educated engineer declared.

He vowed he would be a 'servant' to all Egyptians, 'men, women, mothers, sisters ... all political factions, the Muslims, the Christians.'...

Sure. As long as the women and Christians know their place.

I thought sure it was exponents of the Extreme Right. "Iran was behind bomb plot against Israeli diplomats, investigators find," by Jason Burke in the Guardian, June 17 (thanks to all who sent this in):

A multinational investigation into bomb plots targeting Israeli diplomats earlier this year has produced the clearest evidence yet that Iran was involved, illustrating the risks to the west if it fails to reach detente with Tehran over its nuclear weapons programme.

Talks on Iran's nuclear aspirations resume in Moscow on Monday, and western intelligence officials have told the Guardian the price of failure could be high. With Israel refusing to rule out military action if diplomacy fails, intelligence officials fear the volley of attacks carried out by Iranian operatives show Tehran is capable of an asymmetric response. Though the officials admit that predictions are extremely difficult to make, their concerns are based on investigations into plots against Israeli diplomats in India, Thailand and Georgia in February which point to the involvement of Iran.

In India, local agencies told ministers a bomb attack which badly injured the wife of the Israeli military attaché in New Delhi in February was the work of an Iranian "security entity". Their conclusions have not previously been made public and Indian officials have made significant efforts to avoid blaming Tehran, an ally and oil supplier.

The governments of Georgia and Thailand, which both uncovered bomb plots on the day of the Delhi attack, have also not officially blamed Iran.

European intelligence officials told the Guardian they now found it difficult to judge Tehran's "risk calculus"....

Yes, it's very tough, you geniuses.

If the OIC really wants to resolve "Islamophobia," it doesn't really have to stamp out the freedom of speech, although that is what it is determined to do. Here is a much preferable way. The OIC can do these things, and call on Muslims in the U.S. and elsewhere to do them as well:

1. Focus their indignation on Muslims committing violent acts in the name of Islam, not on non-Muslims reporting on those acts.
2. Renounce definitively, sincerely, honestly, and in deeds, not just in comforting words, not just "terrorism," but any intention to replace the U.S. Constitution (or the constitutions of any non-Muslim state) with Sharia even by peaceful means. In line with this, clarify what is meant by their condemnations of the killing of innocent people by stating unequivocally that American and Israeli civilians are innocent people, teaching accordingly in mosques and Islamic schools, and behaving in accord with these new teachings.
3. Teach, again sincerely and honestly, in transparent and verifiable ways in mosques and Islamic schools, the imperative of Muslims coexisting peacefully as equals with non-Muslims on an indefinite basis, and act accordingly.
4. Begin comprehensive international programs in mosques all over the world to teach sincerely against the ideas of violent jihad and Islamic supremacism.
5. Actively and honestly work with Western law enforcement officials to identify and apprehend jihadists within Western Muslim communities.

If Muslims do those five things, voila! "Islamophobia" will evanesce!

"OIC urges member-countries to resolve problem with Islamophobia," from Trend, June 18:

Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has urged member-countries to intensify efforts in resolving Islamophobia, the organization said today.

"It is necessary to resolve the problem with Islamophobia as it is undergoing a new phase, when it is used in Europe for political gains," he said.

He added that some European politicians promote hatred toward foreigners and Islam rather than engage in economic and social problems of the country.

As the Brotherhood claims victory in the presidential election, the military grants itself sweeping powers. But the Brotherhood declares that move "null and void." This is not likely to end peacefully. "Egypt's military grants itself sweeping powers," from the BBC, June 18 (thanks to David):

Egypt's ruling military has issued a declaration granting itself sweeping powers, as the country awaits results of Sunday's presidential elections.

The document by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (Scaf) says new general elections cannot be held until a permanent constitution is drawn up.

Opposition groups condemned the move as amounting to a military coup.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood says unofficial results show its candidate, Mohammed Mursi, has won the election.

The Scaf issued its declaration late on Sunday - just hours after the polls closed.

It confirmed on Monday that it plans to hand over power to the winner of the poll at the end of June.

However, the constitutional declaration issued by the Scaf effectively gives it legislative powers, control over the budget and over who writes the permanent constitution following mass street protests that toppled Mr Mubarak, reports say. It also strips the president of any authority over the army.

'Grave setback'

However, prominent political figure Mohamed ElBaradei already described the document as a "grave setback for democracy and revolution".

Former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, who came third in the first round of voting and was the favoured candidate of many in the protest movement, said the declaration was a "seizure of the future of Egypt".

"We will not accept domination by any party," Mr Sabahi said.

Another former presidential candidate, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, called the declaration "unconstitutional", while the influential 6 April protest movement called for mass demonstrations on Tuesday against the declaration.

Despite the celebrations by Muslim Brotherhood supporters at the Mursi campaign headquarters and in Tahrir Square that started in the early hours, this was not a clear victory.

Just as polls closed, the ruling generals issued a new constitutional declaration that will keep their hands on the reins of power and restrict the role of the new president.

The military made themselves Egypt's lawmakers after parliament was dissolved last week. They have control over the national budget and heavy influence over who writes the new permanent constitution.

At a lengthy news conference on Monday to give more details, armed forces spokesmen insisted that their legislative power would be "restricted". Maj Gen Mohamed al-Assar said a ceremony would take place at the end of the month to hand over to the new president.

If Mr Mursi is confirmed in that role, a power struggle between the Brotherhood and the military - two of Egypt's strongest forces - could ensue.

Parliament speaker Saad al-Katatni of the Muslim Brotherhood said the declaration was "null and void"....

Islamic law forbids non-Muslim men to marry Muslim women. See now benign and compatible with Western values Sharia is? "Man murdered for marrying Muslim girl," from PTI, June 16 (thanks to Twostellas):

A 24-year old man was hacked to death allegedly by the brother of a Muslim girl and his associates for marrying her, triggering tension in Idalakudi area of the district, police said.

Ramesh, a goods carrier operator based here, had married the girl belonging to Idalakudi some months ago though her family had opposed it, they said.

On June 14, two persons had stopped Ramesh's vehicle and taken him to Idalakudi where a seven-member gang including the brother of his wife attacked him with iron rods, police said, adding he succumbed to injuries at a hospital yesterday....

They only hand out sweets on the day of a very great victory, such as 9/11 or the murder of Israelis. Probably they see the latter as in the offing with the Brotherhood claim of victory in Egypt. Remember also: Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood in "Palestine." So many of those celebrating are themselves essentially Muslim Brotherhood members. "Gazans hand out sweets, celebrate claim of Islamist's win in Egypt presidential election," by Ibrahim Barzark for the Associated Press, June 18 (thanks to Twostellas):

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday welcomed the claim of a Muslim Brotherhood victory in Egypt's presidential election, distributing sweets, praising God and expressing hope for a new era of warm relations between Gaza and Egypt.

Gaza, a small, densely populated territory, borders Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. The strip's ruling militant Hamas group is a local offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood and draws inspiration from the Egyptian organization.

As the Brotherhood claimed victory early Monday in Cairo, dozens of drivers in Gaza City honked their horns and decorated their cars with Palestinian and Egyptian flags, green Hamas banners and posters of Egypt's Brotherhood candidate, Mohammed Morsi.

Hamas activists distributed sweets at the main intersections across Gaza, and loudspeakers at local mosques blared out messages of joy and victory. Shopkeepers in Gaza's main commercial center eagerly followed the claim from Egypt.

"The news from Egypt is a great victory for all Muslims and for us in Gaza," said Sameh Ramdan, a 23-year-old student and Hamas supporter....

The people the U.S. is backing in Syria are the ones who are doing this. More on this story. "Syrian Islamist opposition casts out Christians," from RT, June 14 (thanks to Wimpy):

The Christian minority in Syria is facing a growing threat and thousands are being forced to flee their homes as they face harassment and discrimination from radial Islamist factions of the opposition.

At least 9,000 Christians from the western Syrian city of Qusayr were forced to seek refuge after an ultimatum from a local military chief of the armed opposition, Abdel Salam Harba, Fides news agency reports.

In the latest outburst of violence a Christian man was shot dead by a sniper in Qusayr, which neighbors the restive city of Homs.

There have been reports last week that some mosques in the city have announced from the minarets: "Christians must leave Qusayr within six days, which expires this Friday."

Two Catholic priests who fled Qusayr confirmed to the news agency that they heard the ultimatum "with their own ears" repeated from the minarets.

"The situation is unsustainable in the area and exposed to total lawlessness," Fides sources on the ground say. They also fear that the fate of Christians in Qusayr could soon affect the 10,000 believers who live in other villages in the area....

I tried to tell you -- in January 2011. The military was the only significant to counterweight to the Brotherhood. If it really turns over power by the end of June, that will be it. Sharia will come to Egypt. "Egypt military to hand over power by end of June," from Associated Press, June 18 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

CAIRO – Egypt's ruling military council pledged Monday to honor its promise to hand over power to the newly elected president by the end of this month, hours after Islamist candidate Mohammed Morsi claimed victory in the first free presidential vote since the ouster of authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak 16 months ago.

Maj-Gen. Mohammed al-Assar, a senior member of the ruling council, said the generals would transfer power in a "grand ceremony." He did not give an exact date or mention Morsi by name.

He said the new president will have the authority to appoint and dismiss the government and that the military council has no intention of taking away any of the president's authorities.

"We'll never tire or be bored from assuring everyone that we will hand over power before the end of June," al-Assar told a televised news conference. But the military council issued an interim constitution just as polls were closing late Sunday night that gave the generals sweeping authority to maintain their grip on power and subordinate the nominal head of state.

We'll see. In Iran they thought they could contain Khomeini in 1979.

Though official results have not yet been announced, the Brotherhood released a tally that showed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood took nearly 52 percent of the vote to defeat Mubarak's last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq with about 48 percent in a very close race. The count was based on results announced by election officials at individual polling centers, where each campaign has representatives who compile and release the numbers before the formal announcement.

The Shafiq campaign rejected Morsi's claim of victory and accused him to trying to "usurp" the presidency or lay the groundwork to challenge the official result if it shows Shafiq winning.

"What the other candidate has done threatens Egypt's future and stability," said the statement, adding that initial indications show that Shafiq is undoubtedly ahead with between 51.5 to 52 percent.

If Morsi's victory is confirmed in the official result expected on Thursday, it would be the first victory of an Islamist as head of state in the stunning wave of pro-democracy uprisings that swept the Middle East the past year. But the military's last minute power grab sharpens the possibility of confrontation and more of the turmoil that has beset Egypt since Mubarak's overthrow. By midday, several hundred flag-waving supporters had gathered at Cairo's Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the uprising, to celebrate....

At PJ Media today I ask the question.

Sure, people ask it all the time about Barack Obama, but what about New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg? His latest intrusion into the lives of individual New Yorkers — the banning of large sugary drinks, as well as popcorn and milkshakes – resembles in its spirit nothing more than the recent whipping of smokers in the new Islamic state that has just been established in northern Mali.

Bloomberg, in fact, may be more Muslim than the Malians. Mali’s Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa hasn’t yet banned large soft drinks, but Big Gulps are not all that common in Timbuktu, anyway. And he is way ahead of their smoking ban, having already banned smoking indoors everywhere in New York City, and in large portions of the outdoors as well, including Central Park. Bloomberg doesn’t have defiant nicotine addicts whipped as of yet, but you never know; he might decide it’s a good idea to give his anti-smoking laws some teeth.

Of course, Bloomberg isn’t turning New York City into the world’s largest day-care center and nursery school because smoking and drinking a big soda while standing in Central Park is “un-Islamic,” but because he contends that such practices endanger the public health. But that is essentially the same thing; the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa believes that it is better for the public health for the public to follow Islamic law, and ensures the truth of this claim by whipping or otherwise brutalizing those who dare to step out of line. Both Bloomberg and the Islamic supremacists believe that individuals are generally too stupid to be trusted to make decisions for themselves, and think that they have to be forced into doing the right thing as they see it.
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This is the quintessential totalitarian impulse: to exalt the collective over the individual, and to control every aspect, every detail, of the individual’s life, from birth to death, from waking in the morning to going to sleep at night. The struggle against Sharia is a struggle for individual rights, and hence for freedom par excellence. Islamic law mandates denial of basic rights to women and non-Muslims, severe restrictions on the freedom of speech, death for apostates, warfare against unbelievers, stonings for adultery, amputations for theft, female genital mutilation, and polygamy.

Above all, however, it grants to the religious authority a measure of control over the individual that Americans in earlier, more robust ages would have found abhorrent. After so many decades of the welfare system, however, a politician like Michael Bloomberg has become possible; and with his every new and more absurd nanny state measure, he continues to erode our ability to stand up for ourselves and for the individual against state control.

The real question, then, is not so much whether Bloomberg is secretly a Muslim — of course he isn’t — but whether Islamic law is inherently totalitarian and inimical to the spirit of respect for individual rights upon which this nation was founded. And despite all the increasingly frantic mainstream media attempts to obscure Sharia’s true contents and nature from the American people, it is increasingly clear that it is....

There is more.

Walter Scott, The Talisman, the Crusades, Richard I of England and Saladin: Myths, Legends and History
by Ibn Warraq
Part 10
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9

Scott also manifests his critical attitude to the Crusades and Crusaders right from the beginning. He makes it clear in the first five pages that not all the crusaders were as chivalrous as the hero, Sir Kenneth, who, “under a calm and undisturbed semblance, had much of the fiery and enthusiastic love of glory which constituted the principal attribute of the renowned Norman line, and had rendered them sovereigns in every corner of Europe, where they had drawn their adventurous swords. It was not, however, to all the race that fortune proposed such tempting rewards; and those obtained by the solitary knight, during two years' campaign in Palestine, had been only temporal fame, and, as he was taught to believe, spiritual privileges. Meantime, his slender stock of money had melted away, the rather that he did not pursue any of the ordinary modes by which the followers of the Crusade condescended to recruit their diminished resources, at the expense of the people of Palestine; he exacted no gifts from the wretched natives for sparing their possessions when engaged in warfare with the Saracens, and he had not availed himself of any opportunity of enriching himself by the ransom of prisoners of consequence. The small train which had followed him from his native country, had been gradually diminished, as the means of maintaining them disappeared, and his only remaining squire was at present on a sick-bed, and unable to attend his master, who travelled, as we have seen, singly and alone. This was of little consequence to the Crusader, who was accustomed to consider his good sword as his safest escort, and devout thoughts as his best companion.”

Also in the same five pages, Scott presents Saladin, disguised as an emir, as an intelligent, dexterous, brave, and chivalrous warrior, whose words are never to be doubted, “The word of a follower of the Prophet was never broken”. The honour of Muslims is constantly stressed, but at their best, the Christians are similarly men of faith, integrity and rectitude; there is little to choose between them, both denominations are guilty of fanatical zeal:

“The distinction of religions, nay, the fanatical zeal which animated the followers of the Cross and of the Crescent against each other, was much softened by a feeling so natural to generous combatants, and especially cherished by the spirit of chivalry. This last strong impulse had extended itself gradually from the Christians to their mortal enemies, the Saracens, both of Spain and of Palestine. The latter were indeed no longer the fanatical savages, who had burst from the centre of Arabian deserts, with the sabre in one hand, and the Koran in the other, to inflict death or the faith of Mohammed, or at the best, slavery and tribute,, upon all who dared to oppose the belief of the prophet of Mecca. These alternatives indeed had been offered to the unwarlike Greeks and Syrians; but in contending with the western Christians, animated by a zeal as fiery as their own, and possessed of as unconquerable courage, address, and success in arms, the Saracens gradually caught a part of their manners, and especially of those chivalrous observances, which were so well calculated to charm the minds of a proud and conquering people. They had their tournaments and games of chivalry; they had even their knights, or some rank analogous, and above all, the Saracens observed their plighted faith with an accuracy which might sometimes put to shame those who owned a better religion. Their truces, whether national or betwixt individuals, were faithfully observed; and thus it was, that war, in itself perhaps the greatest of evils, yet gave occasion for display of good faith, generosity, clemency, and even kindly affections, which less frequently occur in more tranquil periods, where the passions of men, experiencing wrongs, or entertaining quarrels which cannot be brought to instant decision, are apt to smoulder for a length of time in the bosoms of those who are so unhappy as to be their prey.”

To be continued.

Ibn Warraq is the author of numerous books, including Why the West Is Best and Why I Am Not A Muslim.

"Pro-Muslim," i.e., defending special accommodations for Muslim practices in businesses and workplaces -- accommodations that would never be granted to non-Muslims. "Pro-Muslim," i.e., demonizing and marginalizing anyone who stands up and defends the freedom of speech, the freedom of conscience, and equality of rights for all people before the law, against Islamic supremacism. "Pro-Muslim," i.e., working assiduously to obscure any connection between Islam and Islamic jihad terrorism, even when the jihad terrorists themselves point to the Qur'an and Sunnah as their motivation and inspiration. "Pro-Muslim," i.e., characterizing jihadis as "insurgents," "militants," or "youths," or some other term, but never what they are. "Pro-Muslim," i.e., casting Muslim violence against non-Muslims as "clashes" between two equally aggressive groups. And on and on and on.

"American print media 'very pro-Muslim,'" by Sidrah Roghay for The News International, June 17 (thanks to Kenneth):

Karachi: Born in a sufi family in India before Partition, Shabbir Mansuri was chosen by his father to go to the United States, and do all the things that Americans do. Several decades later he was invited by the US consulate at a local hotel as an American citizen and founder of the Institute of Religion and Civics to head a talk titled ‘religion, media and politics in the United States’.

“As far as editorial content is concerned, [the] print media in the United States is very pro-Muslim,” he said talking about this one time when controversy sparked about designating an area for ablution (wudhu) at the Michigan Universities especially for Muslims.

“The Los Angeles Times protected the decision in the name of freedom of religion.”...

The mainstream media in the U.S. never challenges the defenders of the "Palestinians" in the U.S., such as Hussein Ibish and Boy Reza Aslan, about this material. Ever. They claim that Israel is the obstacle to peace, and are never called on it. Ever. If either of them or others like them ever faced an adversarial interview (the kind that is routine for counter-jihadists), they would probably start weeping with surprise and dismay.

"PA children taught to hate Jews and Christians," by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik for Palestinian Media Watch, June 17:

Palestinian Authority TV chose to rebroadcast a program featuring a little girl reciting a hate poem targeting Jews and Christians as "inferior and smaller, more cowardly and despised." It was broadcast in May and again this month.

Click to view

In addition, Palestinian Media Watch reported last month that in April, PA TV broadcast a young girl reciting a poem that included the words: "Our enemy, Zion, is Satan with a tail." One month later, PA TV

broadcast an even younger girl reciting the poem with the same hate speech, adding that the child had already recited it at the opening of a Palestinian exhibition of educational tools.

Click to view latest broadcast of "Satan with a tail"-poem
Click to view first broadcast of "Satan with a tail"-poem

Palestinian Media Watch has documented that hate speech and demonization of Israel and Jews is common in the PA and the structures under its control....

Will the Islamophobia never end? "Three blasts hit churches in Nigeria Kaduna province," from the BBC, June 17 (thanks to A):

Three blasts have hit churches in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna.

Local emergency services reportedly rushed to the scene but did not release any reports of casualties.

All of the blasts happened close to the city of Zaria. Kaduna state has previously seen attacks by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram.

Last week the group attacked two church services, sparking violence which killed seven people. Hundreds have died in its previous attacks on churches....

Boko Haram has previously justified attacks on churches by saying they were carried out in revenge for killings of Muslims in central Nigeria during earlier bouts of violence.

Recently, hardly a Sunday goes by without reports of churches being attacked in Nigeria, the BBC's Will Ross reports from Lagos.

Boko Haram says it wants Islamic sharia law in place across Nigeria and analysts suggest it is trying to trigger clashes between Christians and Muslims, our correspondent says.

Last weekend an archbishop in central Nigeria appealed to Christians not to retaliate when churches are attacked, he adds.

Of course. They couldn't be cropping up because polio vaccinations are un-Islamic.

"Pakistanis blame CIA for fresh polio cases," by Ashfaq Yusufzai for Asia Times, June 15 (thanks to Living Engine):

PESHAWAR - Pakistan's efforts to contain polio in areas bordering Afghanistan may have been setback [sic] following the conviction of a doctor who allegedly ran a fake vaccine program to locate al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

Dr Shakil Afridi, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison on May 23 on charges of treason, is said to have helped the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States track down bin Laden by collecting DNA samples from selected residents in the cantonment town of Abbottabad. Bin Laden was killed in a US raid on his secret residence in Abbottabad in May 2011. Afridi was arrested by Pakistani authorities three weeks later, leading to friction between Islamabad and Washington.

Medecins Sans Frontieres, the international medical aid charity, had then warned that the CIA's alleged use of a vaccination program as cover to spy on bin Laden threatened immunization work around the world.

Afridi's role appears to have exacerbated suspicions among people in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) that polio vaccinations are part of a US conspiracy to render their children infertile.

"The problem of refusing vaccination is not new but Afridi's fake vaccination campaign has proved to be a setback to our efforts to popularize immunization," Dr Rekhanullah Khan, a polio officer in the FATA, told IPS.

This year, Pakistan has already recorded 22 cases of polio with 10 of them from the FATA, a territory consisting of seven tribal agencies....

An act of war from an organization that has penetrated deeply into the U.S. Government. "Officials: Hamas ordered Grad attack on Israel at request of Muslim Brotherhood," by Avi Issacharoff and Gili Cohen for Haaretz, June 16 (thanks to David):

Israeli security officials say that the rockets that landed on Friday in the area near Ovda and Mitzpeh Ramon, were launched after a request by senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. According to these officials, the rockets were launched from the Sinai Peninsula by a Bedouin unit, according to Hamas orders, even though Hamas itself wasn't the initiator of the launching, but responded to the request of the Brotherhood, who wanted such an event on the eve of the second round of presidential elections in Egypt. It is yet unclear why the Brotherhood requested such an unusual action, a first military strike against Israel, or whether the strike was aimed at specific sites in the area.

So far, the Muslim Brotherhood leaders have presented a moderate stance towards Israel in their talks with the international community, stressing that they had to intention of annulling the peace accords, a position reiterated by presidential candidate, Mohamed Morsi. Still, in the buildup to the elections, Brotherhood speakers have been known to speak fiercely against Israel. In one gathering, in the beginning of May at El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Brotherhood leaders promised, in the presence of Morsi, that the object of the Brotherhood is to liberate Jerusalem. The main speaker at that gathering, Sifwat Hijazi, said that Morsi would liberate Jerusalem and that the Brotherhood's dream was the creation of the "united Arab nations," with Jerusalem as its capital. "Our capital won't be Mecca or Medina, but Jerusalem, millions of shahids will march on the city" shouted Hijazi, "the whole world should know - and we say it clearly - our goal is Jerusalem, we shall pray in Jerusalem, and if not - we shall die as martyrs on its ruins." Another speaker that day said that "tomorrow Morsi will liberate Gaza." A singer sang: "The Jews will not be able to sleep, come, lovers of martyrs, you're all Hamas. Take on arms, and prepare for prayer."...

Don't be concerned. It's multiculturalism. That makes it all right. "Mosaic Of Diversity Alert: Toronto Arab Newspaper 'Meshwar' Publishes Love Poem To Suicide Bomber," from Blazing Cat Fur, June 16 (thanks to Kathy Shaidle):

Jonathan Halevi writing in Shalom Toronto brings us news of the Muslim Community's latest contribution to Toronto's Mosaic of Diversity.

Local Arab Rag "Meshwar" has published a love poem to terrorists one of whom was a suicide bomber. Read the full story in the jpeg at right.

Said Kamal Hanani, a PFLP activist. Said Hanani, a suicide bomber, blew himself up on December 25, 2003, near a bus stop east of Tel Aviv (on Jabotinsky Street in Bnei Brak). The suicide bombing killed four Israelis (three soldiers and a civilian) and wounded 24 other Israelis....

See the cross? See it? Why are you laughing?

Warning! Your salad could be making you into an Infidel! "Salafist group warns tomatoes are 'Christian,'” by Angie Nassar for NowLebanon.com, June 12 (thanks to Lachlan)

...A Salafist group called the Popular Egyptian Islamic Association has come under fire after sending out a warning on Facebook urging its followers not to eat tomatoes because the vegetable (or fruit) is a Christian food.

The group posted a photo on its page of a tomato - which appears to reveal the shape of a cross after being cut in half – along with the message: “Eating tomatoes is forbidden because they are Christian. [The tomato] praises the cross instead of Allah and says that Allah is three (a reference to the Trinity).

[God help us]. I implore you to spread this photo because there is a sister from Palestine who saw the prophet of Allah [Mohammad] in a vision and he was crying, warning his nation against eating them [tomatoes]. If you don’t spread this [message], know that it is the devil who stopped you.”

Yeah... no.

Predictably, Facebook users expressed outrage over the post, which prompted the group to clarify its stance on the controversy with the update, “We didn’t say you can’t eat tomatoes. We said don’t cut it in [such a way that reveals] the cross shape.”...

From Answering Muslims: "Politicians, the media, and Muslim organizations assure us that Muslims have no desire to establish Sharia in America. For whatever reason, some Muslims didn't get the memo."

"Chanting the man should be killed for blasphemy, they later entered the police station and started firing." Righteous.

"One dead in Pakistan Koran protest: officials," from AFP, June 16 (thanks to David):

QUETTA, Pakistan — A mob attacked a police station in Pakistan on Saturday demanding a man detained for allegedly desecrating the Koran be handed over, leaving one person dead and 19 with gunshot wounds.

Violence erupted after police arrested a "mentally retarded" man said to have burnt pages of the Muslim holy book in Kuchlak, about 16 kilometres (10 miles) north of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, senior administration official Qambar Dashti told AFP.

"Angry protesters, mostly Afghan refugees, torched several vehicles and pelted police with stones," Dashti said.

"Chanting the man should be killed for blasphemy, they later entered the police station and started firing," he said, adding that a senior police officer narrowly escaped while his police guard was wounded in the shooting.

Police fired tear gas shells and opened fire in self defence, Quetta police chief Qazi Wajid said.

The clash left one protester dead and 19 people wounded including eight policemen, he said. "All the wounded people have bullet injuries," he added.

The protesters said the man deserved death for blasphemy and demanded police hand him over to them, he said.

"The man appeared to be mentally retarded, we have taken him into custody and ordered an investigation," Wajid said, adding that control had been restored.

Pakistan is majority Muslim and its tough anti-blasphemy laws make defaming Islam or the Prophet Mohammed, or desecrating the Koran, punishable by death....

Walter Scott, The Talisman, the Crusades, Richard I of England and Saladin: Myths, Legends and History
by Ibn Warraq
Part 9
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8

[Gray on Talisman continued:]

Having, by a bold speech, revived the drooping hopes of his brother Crusaders, and reproved the queen and his kinswoman for tampering with the Scot, Richard received him, disguised as a Nubian slave, as a present from Saladin, with whom he had been induced to spend several days. Shortly afterwards, as the king was reposing in his pavilion, the slave saved his life from the dagger of an assassin secretly employed by the grand-master, and intimated that he could discover the purloiner of the standard. A procession of the Christian armies and their leaders had already been arranged in token of amity to Richard; and as they marched past him, seated on horseback, with the slave holding the hound among his attendants, the dog suddenly sprang at the Marquis Conrade, who was thus convicted of having injured the animal, and betrayed his guilt by exclaiming, 'I never touched the banner.'

Not being permitted to fight the Teuton himself, the king undertook to provide a champion, and Saladin to make all needful preparations for the combat Accompanied by Berengaria and Lady Edith, Richard was met by the Saracen with a brilliant retinue, and discovered, in the person of his entertainer, the physician who had cured his fever, and saved Sir Kenneth, whom he found prepared to do battle for him on the morrow, with the hermit as his confessor. The encounter took place soon after sunrise, in the presence of the assembled hosts, and Conrade, who was wounded and unhorsed, was tended by the Sultan in the grandmaster's tent, while the victorious knight was unarmed by the royal ladies, and made known by Richard as the Prince Royal of Scotland. At noon the Sultan welcomed his guests to a banquet, but, as the grand-master was raising a goblet to his lips, Necbatanus uttered the words accipe hoc, and Saladin decapitated the templar with his sabre; on which the dwarf explained that, hidden behind a curtain, he had seen him stab his accomplice the Marquis of Montserrat, obviously to prevent him from revealing their infamous plots, while he answered his appeal for mercy in the words he had repeated. The next day the young prince was married to Lady Edith, and presented by the Sultan with his talisman, the Crusade was abandoned, and Richard, on his way homewards, was imprisoned by the Austrians in the Tyrol.

An Analysis of The Talisman.

Scott’s display of his knowledge of Islamic lore, customs and history begins with the title. A Talisman, according to the Oxford English Dictionary [O.E.D.], is “A stone, ring, or other object engraven with figures or characters, to which are attributed the occult powers of the planetary influences and celestial configurations under which it was made; usually worn as an amulet to avert evil from or bring fortune to the wearer; also medicinally used to impart healing virtue; hence, any object held to be endowed with magic virtue; a charm.”

The O.E.D., in fact, quotes Scott’s novel for one use of the term, which is thought to derive from the Arabic ṭilsam, in the same sense, as the Greek τέλεσµα telesm; though the final -an is not accounted for.

To be continued.

Ibn Warraq is the author of numerous books, including Why the West Is Best and Why I Am Not A Muslim.

Soldiers who were attending a briefing in the schoolyard were targeted. Soldiers guard schools because the jihadis often target teachers. So they hit the soldiers because they want to be able to murder the teachers unhindered. Will the Islamophobia never end?

"Suspected Islamist insurgents kill 3 Thai troops," from the Associated Press, June 16 (thanks to Kenneth):

Suspected Muslim separatists have killed three soldiers and wounded six others in an attack in southern Thailand.

Police Col. Samneang Luejeangkam says the attackers hurled a grenade into a school in Yala province's Krongpinang district on Saturday while soldiers were taking part in a daily briefing in the schoolyard. Soldiers guard state schools in the area because teachers are often targets of the separatists, who regard them as representatives of the government.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in Thailand's three southernmost provinces since an Islamist insurgency flared in 2004. Muslim residents have long complained of being treated as second-class citizens in the predominantly Buddhist nation.

Looks as if the non-Muslim citizens have more to complain about.

I tried to tell you -- in January 2011. "'Brotherhood claims Mursi in lead with 69% of Egypt votes,'" from the Jerusalem Post, June 16 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

'Al-Ahram' reports campaign team of Muslim Brotherhood candidate claims he has more than two-thirds of votes after first day of 2-day presidential run-off election against former Mubarak PM, Ahmed Shafiq.

The campaign team of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Mursi claimed Saturday that he had won 69 percent of the vote after the first-day of a two-day run-off election to determine Egypt's first freely-elected president in the country's history, Egyptian daily Al-Ahram reported.

Mursi is facing Ahmed Shafiq, who served as former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's prime minister in the final days of his rule.

Reeling from a court order two days ago to dissolve a new parliament dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, many question whether generals who pushed aside fellow officer Mubarak last year to appease the pro-democracy protests of the Arab Spring will honor a vow to relinquish power by July 1 to whoever wins....

That's an open question. But it may be too late now for the generals to stop the Brotherhood.

Over at Gatestone Institute (via RaymondIbrahim.com) I discuss last week's sex scandal revolving around a Salafi MP and the characteristic way he and his allies responded:

Sheikh Ali Wanis, an Egyptian parliament member and prominent figure in the Nour Party—the Salafi party which preaches a return to early Islam based on Muhammad's practices—was recently caught in a "compromising position" with a female other than his legal spouse(s). According to official reports, police found a parked car on a dark farm road and went to investigate. They found a man, with the Salafi trademark beard, performing an "indecent act" with a "young girl," who was later reported as being 19-years-old.

First, the Salafi MP told police that she was his fiancé; later, he claimed the teenage girl was his niece. One video clip shows Wanis immediately after he was arrested by police, imploring one of the officers not to report him.

Now, however, that the police did expose him—and now that it has been shown that the girl is neither his fiancé nor his niece—Wanis' story has changed yet again: according to him, this was all a "set up" by the ruling military and its security apparatus, all meant to defame him and the Salafi Nour party (somewhat reminiscent of when another Salafi politician told police that his face was bandaged because he was injured in a carjacking—when in fact he had a cosmetic nose job).

Still trying to maintain an aura of piety, Wanis even quoted the Koran in a statement meant to exonerate him as falsely accused: "O you who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest you harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance for what you have done" (Koran 49:6).

And what did his "ultraconservative" and "upright" Salafi colleagues do—they who constantly preach "morality," the need for the hijab, and the segregation of the sexes"? Did they renounce him? Perhaps a bit of public whipping, to atone for his sins? Did they, in "righteous indignation," do what two Egyptian brothers recently did when they thought their sister was being "immoral"—slaughter her, the mother, and aunt?...

Yet another round in an endless jihad. And you'll notice: while you hear "Palestinians" and their apologists often complaining that the Israelis won't make peace, you never see any peace movement among them, any protests against the jihadis, anyone going around putting flowers in their rocket launchers, or any of the grandstanding you see by Leftists in the West. Yet another point that the mainstream media and Western governments never ponder. "Rockets fired into southern Israel: army," from AFP, June 16 (thanks to Ima):

Israeli sappers on Saturday recovered the debris of two rockets fired into the south of the Jewish state, a military spokesman said.

"Soldiers have found on Saturday the remains of a rocket, apparently a Grad, near the town of Mitzpe Ramon," said the spokesman without specifying from where the rocket was fired.

Earlier on Saturday, the spokesman had said debris of another rocket fired late Friday was found.

"Last night, an explosion in the Arava valley was heard, and this morning we recovered the remains of a device we have now identified as a Grad-type rocket," the spokesman told AFP....

Condoleezza Rice showed how knowledgeable the Washington experts on the Middle East and Islam really are 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."

Sunni-Shi'ite Jihad Update: "Baghdad bombs target Shi'ite pilgrims, 26 killed," by Kareem Raheem for Reuters, June 16 (thanks to all who sent this in):

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Double car bombs targeting Shi'ite pilgrims in Baghdad killed at least 26 people on Saturday in the latest attacks by insurgents trying to tip Iraq back into widespread sectarian violence.

It was the third day of bombings to strike Shi'ite pilgrims this week. On Wednesday, a wave of bombings killed more than 75 people across Iraq in the bloodiest violence since U.S. troops left the country in December.

Saturday's car bombs exploded near Baghdad's Kadhimiya district, scattering body parts and clothing along a route used by pilgrims marking the anniversary of the death of Shi'ite imam Moussa al-Kadhim, a great-grandson of Prophet Mohammad.

"We rushed to the scene, there were dismembered bodies, shoes, plastic bags, women's robes left all around, and people were screaming everywhere," said Ahmed Maati, a policeman working nearby.

Television footage showed the charred, twisted shell of one of the vehicles used in the attacks sitting on a main Baghdad road, with other burned-out vehicles nearby.

Attacks on Shi'ite targets are reviving fears Iraq risks slipping back into the broad sectarian slaughter of its recent past, especially as the Shi'ite, Sunni and ethnic Kurdish parties that make up its fragile government feud over sharing power.

With security around Baghdad's Kadhimiya district very tight for the religious festival, one bomber on Saturday posed as a taxi driver and picked up pilgrims to access the area. At least 14 were killed in that initial blast and more than 30 wounded, authorities said.

A second car bomb exploded nearby and killed at least 12 more and wounded 28, police and hospital sources said.

AL QAEDA AFFILIATE

Al Qaeda's Iraq affiliate, Islamic State of Iraq or ISI, has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attacks, according to U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group, which follows jihadist websites.

Iraq's al Qaeda wing was weakened by its long war with U.S. and Iraqi security forces, but since the last American troops left in December, the group and other Sunni Islamist insurgents have carried out a major attack about once a month this year.

Al Qaeda in Iraq often hits Shi'ite targets in an attempt to stir up the kind of sectarian tensions that drove Iraq to the edge of civil war and killed tens of thousands of people in 2006-2007. They also target security forces to try to show the Shi'ite-led government is failing to stamp out violence.

Earlier this month, ISI claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on a major Shi'ite religious office in Baghdad, which killed 26 people, wounded 190 and evoked memories of the darker days of the country's conflict.

The violence also risks escalating tensions among the Shi'ite, Sunni Muslim and Kurdish blocks in the government....

No kidding, really?

Hitler entering the National Socialists' "Degenerate Art" exhibition

This imam manifests the totalitarian impulse within Islamic law. Totalitarian systems aim to control the very soul of the individual, and so individual expression that falls outside acceptable boundaries must be ruthlessly suppressed. The National Socialists in Germany are Sheikh Houcine Laabidi's spiritual kin. More on this story. "Tunis: Imam of Tunis mosque, Blasphemous artists must die," from ANSAmed, June 15 (thanks to Lachlan):

(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, JUNE 15 - As the city of Tunis recovers amid tensions from the wave of Salafi violence of the past days, a video is doing the rounds of the web in which Cheich Houcine Laabidi, the Imam of the Zitouna mosque, the most important mosque in the Maghreb, states that artist [sic] who create blasphemous works are "infidel" and therefore should "be killed and their blood be spilled".

The wave of Salafi violence was triggered by an exhibition in an art gallery in Marsa (a municipality in the North of the capital), of works considered to be insulting of Islam and an attack on correct behaviour. The request to kill the artists involved was reiterated three times by Mr Laabidi during a sermon he delivered yesterday.

The mosque of Zitouna has only recently been authorised to recommence its teaching activities, after its school was marginalised first by Bourghiba and then by Ben Ali.(ANSAmed).

Mali needs some Tareyton smokers

Whenever I traveled in Muslim countries in years past, it seemed as if all the men smoked like chimneys. Turns out smoking is un-Islamic. Who knew? Sharia Alert from Mali: "Islamists in north Mali burn cigarettes, whip smokers," from AFP, June 16 (thanks to David):

Islamists from an Al-Qaeda offshoot in northern Mali have confiscated and burned cartons of cigarettes and whipped those caught smoking as they enforce strict Islamic law, witnesses said Friday.

"Things really got lively on Friday, Islamists from MUJAO (Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa) took cartons of cigarettes that were on sale and set them alight," said Moussa Guindo, who works for the town council in Bourem.

A youth from the north Mali town, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "I received 40 lashes because I was smoking and continued to smoke after I was told not to."

A civil servant in the town, also asking not to be named, said he was whipped even though he was not smoking.

"It was my friend who was smoking but they whipped both of us saying that the cigarette is Satan. Shopkeepers who still have cigarettes hide them and to smoke, you have to hide," he said.

Two other residents of the town said that members of MUJAO had stopped a truck transporting cigarettes between the towns of Gao and Bourem, and set the cartons alight.

"At the moment it is the Islamists who are laying down the law here. They don't want to see cigarettes and have told us that if foreign troops come to northern Mali they will slit all of our throats," said another witness Mohamed Tangara.

MUJAO along with Islamist group Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith) and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have occupied northern Mali along with Tuareg rebels since a coup on March 22 plunged the country into chaos.

They want an Islamic state with strict sharia law and have already forbidden smoking, and forced women to wear veils, in other northern cities. -AFP

Walter Scott, The Talisman, the Crusades, Richard I of England and Saladin: Myths, Legends and History
by Ibn Warraq
Part 8
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7

THE TALISMAN

The Victorian critic Henry Grey provided a useful summary of the Waverley Novels. Here is his entry on The Talisman [1]:

During a truce between the Christian armies taking part in the third Crusade, and the infidel forces under Sultan Saladin, Sir Kenneth, on his way to Syria, encountered a Saracen Emir, whom he unhorsed, and they then rode together, discoursing on love and necromancy, towards the cave of the hermit, who was in correspondence with the pope, and to whom the knight was charged to communicate secret information. Having provided the travellers with refreshment, the anchorite, as soon as the Saracen slept, conducted his companion to a chapel, where he witnessed a procession, and was recognised by the Lady Edith, to whom he had devoted his heart and sword. He was then startled by the sudden appearance of the dwarfs, and, having reached his couch again, watched the hermit scourging himself until he fell asleep.

About the same time Richard Coeur de Lion had succumbed to an attack of fever, and as he lay in his gorgeous tent at Ascalon, the Scot arrived accompanied by a Moorish physician, who had cured his squire, and who offered to restore the king to health. After a long consultation, and eliciting from Sir Kenneth his visit to the chapel, the physician was admitted to the royal presence; and, having swallowed a draught which he prepared from a silken bag or talisman, Richard sank back on his cushions.

While he slept Conrade of Montserrat secretly avowed to the wily grand-master his ambition to be King of Jerusalem; and, with the object of injuring Richard's reputation, incited Leopold of Austria to plant his banner by the side of that of England in the centre of the camp. When the king woke the fever had left him, and Conrade entered to announce what the archduke had done. Springing from his couch, Richard rushed to the spot and defiantly tore down and trampled on the Teuton pennon. Philip of France at length persuaded him to refer the matter to the council, and Sir Kenneth was charged to watch the English standard until daybreak, with a favourite hound as his only companion.

Soon after midnight, however, Necbatanus approached him with Lady Edith's ring, as a token that his attendance was required to decide a wager she had with the queen; and during his absence from his post the banner was carried off, and his dog severely wounded. Overcome with shame and grief, he was accosted by the physician, who dressed the animal's wound, and, having entrusted Sir Kenneth with Saladin's desire to marry the Lady Edith, proposed that he should seek the Saracen ruler's protection against the wrath of Richard. The valiant Scot, however, resolved to confront the king and reveal the Sultan's purpose; but it availed him not, and he was sentenced to death, in spite of the intercessions of the queen and his lady-love; when the hermit, and then the physician, arrived, and Richard having yielded to their entreaties, Sir Kenneth was simply forbidden to appear before him again.

[1] Henry Grey. A Key to the Waverley Novels. London, 1899, pp. 9-13.

To be continued.

Ibn Warraq is the author of numerous books, including Why the West Is Best and Why I Am Not A Muslim.