February 2013 Archives

Tonight in my weekly segment on his Sun TV show.

"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

Not really:

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

"Sudan man's foot, hand 'amputated' by court order," from AFP, February 28:

Government doctors in Sudan amputated a man's hand and foot to carry out a sentence for robbery, rights groups said on Wednesday, describing the extremely rare punishment as a form of torture.

The amputation of Adam Al Muthna's right hand and left foot took place by court order at the interior ministry's Al Rebat hospital in Khartoum on February 14, the rights groups said, citing "reliable sources."

Muthna, 30, was convicted of armed robbery related to an attack on a truck carrying passengers, said a statement issued by New York-based Human Rights Watch, also on behalf of the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies, London-based REDRESS and US-based Physicians for Human Rights.

"Cross amputation is a form of state-sponsored torture," said Vincent Iacopino, senior medical adviser at Physicians for Human Rights.

Sentences of amputation have previously been handed down under Islamic sharia law, whose introduction in 1983 sparked a devastating 22-year civil war.

But since 2001 there have been no known cases of such sentences being carried out, the rights groups said.

The Sudanese authorities "routinely" order flogging penalties and last year issued two sentences of death by stoning for adultery, although the capital punishment was later overturned, they added.

Sharia marriage, justice and revenge come to Brooklyn. "'Arranged marriage' threat bust," by Mitchel Maddux, Kate Sheehy and Kenneth Garger for the New York Post, February 27 (thanks to Creeping Sharia):

A ruthless Brooklyn cabby allegedly kidnapped and shipped his daughter back to Pakistan for an arranged marriage, threatening to kill her if she tried to escape.

Then, when a sympathetic cousin helped her flee back to New York City, the irate father vowed to kill the relative and other kin if his daughter did not return to Pakistan, law-enforcement sources said.

But Amina Ajmal refused her father’s demand — and Monday, someone made good on the dad’s heinous threat to do harm.

The sister and father of the brave cousin who helped Ajmal flee Pakistan last month were fatally shot in the province of Punjab, authorities said.

Ajmal’s father, yellow-taxi driver Mohammad Ajmal Choudhry, 60, is being held by authorities in Brooklyn. He was charged with visa fraud after trying at some point to illegally arrange for his daughter’s husband to enter the United States, officials said.

Choudhry is expected to be charged with making the death threats, too.

The dad had allegedly forced Ajmal, a US citizen in her early 20s, to travel back to Pakistan more than three years ago to marry Abrar Ahmed Babar.

The cabby ordered his brother to hold Ajmal captive until the wedding this past November, sources said.

But Ajmal escaped back to the United States with the help of her cousin and the US Embassy. She agreed to participate in a wiretap to help the feds nail her dad.

In two taped conversations, on Feb. 20 and 21, Choudhry allegedly threatened the cousin and kin.

Ajmal’s brother, Shakeel Choudhry, 33, last night acknowledged, “My dad was angry and said he’d kill their family, but it meant nothing.’’ The timing of the murders and his dad’s threats “was all a coincidence,’’ the Brooklyn man said.

Of course!

Egypt’s Rose El-Youssef magazine boasted in a December article that six highly-placed Muslim Brotherhood infiltrators within the Obama Administration had transformed the United States “from a position hostile to Islamic groups and organizations in the world to the largest and most important supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

"NSF leaders refuse to meet Kerry in protest against US pro-Morsy stance," from Egypt Independent, February 28 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

Hamdeen Sabbahi and Mohamed ElBaradei of the National Salvation Front (NSF) will not meet US Secretary of State John Kerry during his visit to Egypt, said Heba Yassin of the Popular Current Party.

The United States insists on painting a positive image of President Mohamed Morsy, despite the criticisms and demands of the opposition, the political figures claim.

Kerry is visiting Egypt early in March. It is his first visit to the country since he took over from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this month. Kerry plans to meet with Egyptian officials to discuss regional and international issues.

US President Barack Obama had told Morsy on the phone that Kerry would meet government officials and opposition forces in an effort to encourage collaboration, and support the nation’s burgeoning democracy.

The NSF is boycotting the parliamentary elections scheduled for 22 April on the grounds that there are no guarantees for the integrity of the electoral process, and no neutral government to oversee and manage it.

“There is US pressure on the opposition to support the Muslim Brotherhood, Washington’s allies in Egypt,” Yassin said. “The boycott puts Morsy in a predicament that the United States is trying to avoid.”

The talking points were altered to erase references to al-Qaeda's involvement in the Benghazi jihad murders -- for that involvement points up the suicidal nature of Obama's support for the Libya "rebels" who turned on Ambassador Stevens and killed them, despite all he had done to help them.

"Republicans: CIA nominee involved in Benghazi talking points," by Julian Pecquet for The Hill, February 26 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

President Obama's pick to head the CIA was involved in crafting controversial talking points about last year's attack in Benghazi, Republicans said Tuesday after viewing intelligence documents.

Lawmakers had vowed to block John Brennan's nomination unless they got to see internal communications about how to describe the attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Several said the email chain of several pages, which they'd been seeking for months, doesn't change how they plan to vote either way.

“Brennan was involved,” Senate Intelligence Committee Vice-Chairman Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) said after the briefing. “It's pretty obvious what happened.”

“At the end of the day it should have been pretty easy to determine who made the changes and what changes were made.”

He described an “extensive, bureaucratic and frankly unnecessary process” that led to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations publicly linking the attack to a peaceful protest gone awry. Republicans have accused the White House of twisting the talking points to avoid harming Obama's national security reputation ahead of the November elections.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the panel's chairwoman, said Brennan's involvement was “small” and should play no part in his confirmation. The committee is scheduled to vote Thursday now that members have seen the documents....

Why we don't see more genuine Muslim reformers, part 7432. An update on this story. "Suspected terrorist pleads guilty to threatening Dearborn attorney," by Niraj Warikoo for the Detroit Free Press, February 28 (thanks to Kenneth):

A suspected terrorist in Ireland pleaded guilty Wednesday to threatening a Dearborn attorney over the phone because he held an anti-terrorism rally in Detroit. And he's now to be extradited to the U.S. to face separate terrorism charges.

Ali Charaf Damache, a native of Algeria who lived in Ireland for several years, admitted to calling Dearborn attorney Majed Moughni in January 2010 after Moughni held an anti-terrorism rally outside the federal courthouse in Detroit during a hearing for the underwear bomber. Moughni, who is Muslim, wanted to send a message that Islam is against terrorism.

"I would put a bullet in your head ... when I catch you, you will pay," Damache told Moughni over the phone, according to a recording of the call. Moughni had testified via video conference from Detroit earlier in the trial, and was glad to hear of the guilty plea.

"I'm pretty relieved," Moughni said. "We shouldn't be afraid of those who try to silence people who stand up for freedom."...

Ain't that the truth.

Then the friends and allies of Islamic supremacist clowns like Abu Islam say that counter-jihadists are demonizing jihadis. This is what actual demonization looks like: "Egyptian Cleric Abu Islam: Christianity Emerged from Penis Worship; Christian Women Raise Dogs to Replace Husbands," from MEMRI, February 13:

Following are excerpts from an address by Egyptian cleric Abu Islam, which aired on Al-Omma TV (via the Internet) on Feburary [sic] 13, 2013.

Egyptian cleric Abu Islam: I swear to God the Almighty – and believe me, I am not lying – that the Church worship originated in the worship of the penis. I swear to God. This is documented in dozens of pictures.

Let me tell you something – it's indecent, but true. Take a look at a picture of Jesus, and you'll see a penis, right here. Or is it on this side? Oh, it's on the right side. A penis, right here. There are many pictures like this. They worship it.

[…]

[Christian women] raise cats and dogs as a substitute for husbands. They train their dogs to play the husband. I swear to God, I am not lying. They buy dogs for this purpose. They train dogs to play the husband on them. Christian women do that.

It is a commonplace of Islamic supremacist propaganda these days that there are "extremists" on both sides: jihad terrorists on the one hand, and counter-jihadists on the other. Never mind that counter-jihadists have never instigated or advocated any violence, and are defenders of the freedom of speech and the principle of the equality of rights of all people, which jihadists are trying to subvert. Here the New York Times enthusiastically advances that propaganda line, and declares in effect that if jihadis murder counter-jihadis, it's the counter-jihadis' fault for provoking the poor dears.

A new low in a sorry mainstream media record full of nadirs -- a particularly craven new apologia for the thuggery of Islamic supremacists and jihadists: "Danish Opponent of Islam Is Attacked, and Muslims Defend His Right to Speak," by Andrew Higgins for the New York Times, February 27:

COPENHAGEN — When a would-be assassin disguised as a postman shot at — and just missed — the head of Lars Hedegaard, an anti-Islam polemicist and former newspaper editor, this month, a cloud of suspicion immediately fell on Denmark’s Muslim minority.

Politicians and pundits united in condemning what they saw as an attempt to stifle free speech in a country that, in 2006, faced violent rage across the Muslim world over a newspaper’s cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Since then, the newspaper that first printed the images, Jyllands-Posten, has been the target of several terrorist plots.

However, as Mr. Hedegaard’s own opinions, a stew of anti-Muslim bile and conspiracy-laden forecasts of a coming civil war, came into focus, Denmark’s unity in the face of violence began to dissolve into familiar squabbles over immigration, hate speech and the causes of extremism.

But then something unusual happened. Muslim groups in the country, which were often criticized during the cartoon furor for not speaking out against violence and even deliberately fanning the flames, raised their voices to condemn the attack on Mr. Hedegaard and support his right to express his views, no matter how odious.

The Times doesn't mention the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's global campaign against the freedom of speech. Nor does Andrew Higgins give any examples of Hedegaard's alleged "stew of anti-Muslim bile and conspiracy-laden forecasts of a coming civil war," or explain just what is so "odious" about Hedegaard's defense of the freedom of speech, the freedom of conscience, and the equality of rights of all people.

The writer, who for several years edited a mainstream Danish daily, Information, is a major figure in what a study last year by a British group, Hope Not Hate, identified as a global movement of “Islamophobic” writers, bloggers and activists whose “anti-Muslim rhetoric poisons the political discourse, sometimes with deadly effect.”

Bruce Bawer has characterized the Hope Not Hate report as "a thoroughly repulsive piece of work. One repulsive thing about it is that it brings together the names of serious, respectable, and well-informed critics of Islam – individuals and organizations that are profoundly concerned about the rise of Islam in the West because they recognize it as a threat to freedom and human rights – with the names of neo-Nazis."

That Danish Muslims would rally to defend Mr. Hedegaard, a man they detest, suggests a significant shift in attitudes, or at least in strategies, by a people at the center of a European debate over whether immigrants from mostly poor Muslim lands can adjust to the values of their new and, thanks to a long economic crisis, increasingly wary and often inhospitable homes.

“They have changed their approach,” said Karen Haekkerup, Denmark’s minister of social affairs and integration. “It is a good sign that the Muslim community is now active in the debate.”

When the news broke on Feb. 5 that Mr. Hedegaard had narrowly escaped an attack on his life, recalled Imran Shah of Copenhagen’s Islamic Society, “we knew that this was something people would try to blame on us. We knew we had to be in the forefront and make clear that political and religious violence is totally unacceptable.”

The Islamic Society, which runs Denmark’s biggest mosque and played an important role in stirring up passions against the cartoons of Muhammad, swiftly condemned the attack on Mr. Hedegaard. It also said it regretted its own role during the uproar over the cartoon, when it sent a delegation to Egypt and Lebanon to sound the alarm over Danish blasphemy, a move that helped turn what had been a little-noticed domestic affair into a bloody international crisis.

Another Islamic organization, Minhaj ul Quran International, the Danish offshoot of a controversial group in Pakistan that has taken a hard line at home against blasphemy, added its own voice, organizing a demonstration outside Copenhagen’s city hall to denounce the attack on Mr. Hedegaard and defend free speech.

“We Muslims have to find a new way of reacting,” said Qaiser Najeeb, a 38-year-old second-generation Dane whose father immigrated from Afghanistan. “Instead of focusing on the real point, we always get aggressive and emotional. This should change. We don’t defend Hedegaard’s views but do defend his right to speak. He can say what he wants.”

The response from native Danes has grown more equivocal over time, with some suggesting Mr. Hedegaard himself provoked violence with his strident views and the activities of his Danish Free Press Society, an organization that he set up in 2004 to defend free expression but that is best known for denouncing Islam.

“I think that Hedegaard wanted this conflict,” Mikael Rothstein, a religious history scholar at the University of Copenhagen, said during a discussion on Danish television, adding that “brutal words can be as strong as the brutal physical act of violence.”

Oh, really? And has Hedegaard ever called for or justified violence? Why, no, he hasn't. So what in his writings makes them akin to "the brutal physical act of violence"? Apparently the fact that Islamic supremacists dislike them is enough to establish that. But are they true and accurate? That is a question the Times doesn't dare to examine.

Previously shunned by Denmark’s intellectual and political elite, Mr. Hedegaard, who was uninjured in the attack and is living in a safe house under police protection, has been front-page news, even in newspapers that consider him a deliberately provocative racist, which he denies.

Surfacing last week from a safe house for a meeting in the Danish Parliament organized by his Free Press Society, Mr. Hedegaard received a standing ovation after a speech in which he said, “I don’t have a problem with Muslims but do have a problem with the religion of Islam.”

Asmat Ullah Mojadeddi, a medical doctor and the chairman of the Muslim Council of Denmark, a group set up after the cartoon crisis to counter radical Muslims prominent in the news media, described Mr. Hedegaard as a mirror image of reckless Muslims who shoot off their mouths heedless of the consequences.

“There are stupid people everywhere,” Dr. Mojadeddi said. “Mr. Hedegaard is an extremist, and there are definitely extremist Muslims.”

There is the moral equivalence that is the fashionable line these days among Islamic supremacists: those who hijack planes and fly them into buildings full of civilians are the same as those who resist such hijackers.

It's absurd, but it's in the Paper of Record, so it must be true.

Hoping to take advantage of the furor stirred by the attack, a tiny but vociferous anti-Muslim outfit called Stop the Islamization of Europe organized a rally Saturday in central Copenhagen. Its leader, Anders Gravers, a xenophobic butcher from the north, fulminated against Muslims and the spread of halal meats, but only 20 people turned up to show support. There were many more police officers, on hand to prevent clashes with a larger counterdemonstration nearby.

There is nothing "xenophobic" about my colleague Anders Gravers, who is trying to stop the spread of Sharia in Europe. The problem is not "the spread of halal meats," but of halal meat not being labeled as such and sold to non-Muslims who may object to it. Don't expect the Times, however, to care about such distinctions.

Who tried to kill Mr. Hedegaard is still a mystery. In an e-mail, he wrote, “My attacker was an immigrant or descendant of immigrants — Arab or Pakistani. He spoke Danish with no accent.”

Mr. Hedegaard described how a man dressed in a postal worker’s jacket had come to his apartment building to deliver a parcel, and, “as I was standing with the package in my hands, he immediately pulled out a gun and fired at my head,” he said. Though less than a yard away, the gunman missed and fled after a struggle, Mr. Hedegaard said.

The attack followed a failed ax attack in 2010 by a Somali Muslim on Kurt Westergaard, the artist who drew a cartoon of Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, and a foiled plot to behead journalists at the office of the newspaper that first published that cartoon and 11 others in September 2005.

Mr. Hedegaard and his Free Press Society championed the newspaper’s right to publish. They also railed against those in Denmark who seemed to contend that the newspaper’s lack of respect for Muslim sensitivities deserved much of the blame for the violent reaction in Muslim countries, which included attacks on Danish diplomatic missions in Syria, Lebanon and Iran.

Mr. Hedegaard has also fanned wild conspiracy theories and sometimes veered into calumny. At a private gathering at his home in December 2009, he declared that Muslims “rape their own children. It is heard of all the time. Girls in Muslim families are raped by their uncles, their cousins or their fathers.”

The comments, recorded by a journalist, later appeared online and led to legal action under a Danish law that prohibits racist hate speech. Mr. Hedegaard was convicted but later acquitted by the Supreme Court.

What race are Muslims again? Is the statement true, or not? Does anyone care?

In an e-mail, he did not deny making the remarks that led to his prosecution but said he had not given permission for them to be published.

He said he was skeptical that Muslims had changed their attitudes, or even could shift toward greater accommodation of European norms.

“There is no such thing as ‘moderate’ Islam, and there never has been,” Mr. Hedegaard said. “There may be shades of opinion among Muslims, but as a totalitarian system of thought, Islam has remained unchanged for at least 1,200 years.”

True, or not? Is truth not a defense anymore for the New York Times, or the Leftist Western intelligentsia in general?

Secretary of State John Kerry is reading up, learning that Islam is "not represented by a lot of jihadists and others," but is, rather, "a beautiful religion." He said this a few days ago in Berlin:

And unfortunately, in too many parts of the world, some religions – not – and I’m not just speaking of one religion or another. You have intolerance in a number of different kinds of religions or points of view in different things. I know that Islam is not represented by a lot of jihadists and others. I know it’s a beautiful religion. I’ve read more and more about it.

I’ve been reading a book recently called No god but God, which is the history of the Prophet and where he came from and how it developed as a religion. It’s fascinating. If I went back to college today, I’d probably go back and be a comparative religion major and a comparative literature major, because those are the things that help you understand what makes people tick and how they’re working and how they think. But the important thing is to have the tolerance to say you can have a different point of view.

What could possibly go wrong? This: No god but God is a whitewash of Islam written by none other than the childish Islamic supremacist pseudo-academic Reza Aslan. Aslan is Board member of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). In 2008, NIAC chief Trita Parsi sued Seid Hassan Daioleslam for defamation after Daioleslam's investigative reporting exposed Parsi's and NIAC's deep and incontrovertible ties to high-level agents of the Iranian regime. Parsi lost the case, and NIAC was establish as a front group for the bloody mullahcracy in Tehran.

According to Iranian human rights activist Arash Irandoost, "Trita Parsi contributes to the regime's agenda and serves the interests of those in power in the Islamic Republic of Iran, not the Iranians, nor the Iranian-Americans." And the Progressive American-Iranian Committee says that when NIAC received funding for various projects from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), "NIAC's projects were approved and welcomed by the Iranian regime." NIAC coordinated its work inside Iran with Hamyaran, a "government initiated agency incepted [sic], initiated, founded and managed by the Iranian regime." NIAC even lobbied the U.S. Congress to "stop appropriating funds for independent democratic movements and NGOs that were not under Hamyaran or regime's control."

Yet Reza Aslan remains on its Board.

Is it really wise for John Kerry to be learning about Islam from a Board member of an Islamic Republic front group?

Not only that. Reza Aslan has called for the vandalism of our AFDI ads -- that is, the forcible denial of our freedom of speech by thugs.

Is it really wise for John Kerry to be learning about Islam from an enemy of the freedom of speech and endorser of the "heckler's veto"?

It is no surprise in light of Aslan's NIAC connection that he has tried to pass off Iran's genocidally-minded President Ahmadinejad as a liberal reformer. He has called on the U.S. Government to negotiate with Ahmadinejad himself, as well as with Hamas -- that is, with two of the most barbaric, genocide-minded and murderous adherents of Sharia.

Aslan has even praised the jihad terror group Hizballah as "the most dynamic political and social organization in Lebanon," as well as the anti-Semitic, misogynist, Islamic supremacist Muslim Brotherhood, which is dedicated in its own words, according to a captured internal document, to "eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within." Aslan wrote: "The Muslim Brotherhood will have a significant role to play in post-Mubarak Egypt. And that is good thing." He has not revised this view despite the Muslim Brotherhood regime's increasing authoritarianism and brutality toward its opponents, or its escalating persecution of Egyptian Christians.

Is it really wise for John Kerry to be learning about Islam from a man who has praised the ascendancy of the brutal Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt?

Aslan also has numerous ties to Islamic supremacist groups in the U.S. that are linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. He has spoken at events sponsored by the Muslim Students Association, a Brotherhood group, and at an event co-sponsored by the Los Angeles chapter of the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and moderated by the notorious Edina Lekovic, the Muslim Public Affairs Council flack whom Steve Emerson caught lying on national television, denying she was editor of a Muslim student publication that praised Osama bin Laden as a great mujahid. Emerson produced copies of the magazine, showing Lekovic's name on the masthead as editor on the very same page on which the praise for Osama appeared.

Is it really wise for John Kerry to be learning about Islam from a man who cheerfully and repeatedly associates with unsavory, jihad terror-tied individuals and groups?

Kerry's choice of reading material underscores a point I have made often lately: today's public square is so debased and befogged with propaganda that mediocrities like Kerry and Aslan can rise to the top, not because of the quality of their work or the wisdom of their insights, but solely because they echo the acceptable politically correct opinions. The only ones who will be made to pay the price will be the American people.

Don't the Bangladeshi authorities realize that Islamic supremacists are never, ever guilty of wrongdoing? "21 dead in Bangladesh after Islamist death sentence," from AFP, February 28 (thanks to Lookmann):

DHAKA — A wave of violence killed at least 21 people in Bangladesh Thursday as Islamists reacted furiously to a ruling that one of their leaders must hang for war crimes during the 1971 independence conflict.

At least 17 of them were shot in clashes between police and protesters that erupted after Delwar Hossain Sayedee, the Jamaat-e-Islami party's vice president, was found guilty of war crimes, including murder, arson and rape.

He is the third person to be convicted by the much-criticised domestic tribunal whose previous verdicts have also been met with outrage from Islamists who say the process is more about score settling than delivering justice.

The latest clashes brought the overall death toll to 37 since the first verdict was delivered on January 21.

Also among the dead were two policemen who were beaten to death after thousands of Jamaat supporters attacked a base in the northern district of Gaibandha, local police chief Monjur Rahman told AFP.

"At least 10,000 Jamaat supporters attacked us with weapons. We were forced to open fire," Rahman said, adding two protesters were shot dead.

Seventeen other people were also killed as violence spread all over the country, police said.

About 300 people including scores of policemen were also injured, doctors and police and local media said.

Police also reported attacks on several Hindu homes and temples by Islamists in the southern Noakhali district.

Security forces had been braced for trouble ahead of the verdict against Sayedee, who reacted to the judgment by saying it had been influenced by "atheists" and pro-government protesters who have been demanding his execution.

Sayedee, best known in Bangladesh these days as a firebrand preacher, was convicted for setting ablaze 25 houses in a Hindu village and abetting the murders of two people including Hindu man, according to a copy of the verdict.

He led a pro-Pakistani militia who abducted three Hindu sisters and raped them for three days at a Pakistani camp. He also forced at least 100 Hindus to convert to Islam and made them say Islamic prayers.

His lawyer Tajul Islam described the verdict as "a gross miscarriage of justice", adding that Sayedee did not live in the town where the alleged crimes took place.

"It's a case of mistaken identity. We're stunned," he told AFP.

However protesters at a central Dhaka intersection erupted in jubilation as news of Sayedee's sentence filtered through. "We've been waiting for this day for the last four decades," a protester told Somoy TV.

There was no immediate reaction from Jamaat to the verdict, but the party has enforced a nationwide strike demanding a halt to the trials. The cases against eight more Jamaat leaders are still being heard.

Earlier this month the tribunal, a local court with no international oversight, sentenced Jamaat's assistant secretary general Abdul Quader Molla to life imprisonment.

While angering Jamaat supporters, that verdict also enraged secular protesters, tens of thousands of whom have since poured onto the Shahbag intersection in central Dhaka to demand the execution of Jamaat leaders.

In January the tribunal handed down its first verdict when it sentenced fugitive Muslim TV preacher Maolana Abul Kalam Azad to death....

Yet to examine the bloody ideology that underlies this constant carnage would be an act of "hate." "Car bomb, roadside blast kill 4 people in Iraq," by Sameer N. Yacoub for the Associated Press, February 28 (thanks to Maxwell):

BAGHDAD (AP) — Officials say a car bomb at a livestock market southeast of Baghdad and a roadside bombing in the Iraqi capital have killed four people and wounded 16.

Police officials say the first attack took place on Thursday morning when a car bomb tore through the crowded livestock market in Aziziyah town, killing three people and wounding eight. Some sheep were also killed in the explosion. The town is 55 kilometers (35 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

The officials say that a few hours later, a roadside bomb missed a police patrol in western Baghdad but killed a bystander and wounded eight people. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Violence has ebbed in Iraq, but insurgent attacks are still frequent.

Yet no Muslim organization in the U.S. or the West has any program to prevent converts from misunderstanding the Religion of Peace in this way. "New report details al-Qaida membership in the US," by Hilary Leila Krieger for the Jerusalem Post, February 27 (thanks to David):

WASHINGTON – More than half of all al-Qaida operatives and their affiliates in the United States who have committed terrorist offenses are US citizens and a third were born in America, according to a new report profiling the groups’ American adherents.

The 720-page, telephone book-sized volume produced by the Henry Jackson Society and presented at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Tuesday, carefully examines the 171 cases of al- Qaida members or those inspired by the organization who have been convicted in US courts or participated in suicide attacks against the US homeland between 1997 and 2011.

The study found that 95 percent of the terrorist offenses were committed by men, 57% of whom were under the age of 30. New York was seen as a hub for their activity, with more – 14% – residing there than elsewhere and with large number of those living elsewhere trafficking through.

Nearly a quarter of the operatives were converts to Islam, with over half of those born in the US having converted.

And those who converted, all of whom did so from Christianity as far as could be ascertained, were far more likely to have carried out offenses (as opposed to having participated only in training or incitement) than others.

The group researched were fairly well-educated and employed. More than half had attended some form of college, and a quarter had done some higher study. In addition, more than half, or 57%, were in school or had a job at the time they were charged or committed their attacks.

Report co-author Robin Simcox described the operatives as “US citizens who are mostly educated, mostly employed, who haven’t been marginalized by the system. They’ve mostly passed through the system.”

However, he and Michael Hayden, the former Central Intelligence Agency director who wrote the report’s forward, suggested that more personal experiences of social dislocation could be a major factor in who ended up being radicalized.

“I’m willing to accept the possibility that this has a lot more to do with the Crips and the Bloods than it does with the Koran,” Hayden said. “Maybe this is just one expression in a post-industrial society of how young people... deal with alienation.”...

Yeah, sure, that's it. Joining al-Qaeda is just like joining the Crips or the Bloods, and stems from the same motivations. Nothing to do with the Qur'an. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Says UN Watch: "Erdogan’s misuse of this global podium to incite hatred, and his resort to Ahmadinejad-style pronouncements appealing to the lowest common denominator in the Muslim world, will only strengthen the belief that his government is hewing to a confrontational stance, and fundamentally unwilling to end its four-year-old feud with Israel." It also strengthens the belief that he is rapidly turning Turkey into a Sharia state, firmly rejecting Kemalist secularism and jailing those who protected it.

"Erdogan calls Zionism a ‘crime against humanity,’" by Raphael Ahren for the Times of Israel, February 28 (thanks to Mario):

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday described Zionism as a “crime against humanity” on par with anti-Semitism and fascism.

Speaking in Vienna at a United Nations event devoted to dialogue between the West and Islam, Erdogan decried rising racism in Europe and the fact that many Muslims “who live in countries other than their own” often face harsh discrimination.

“We should be striving to better understand the culture and beliefs of others, but instead we see that people act based on prejudice and exclude others and despise them,” Erdogan said, according to a simultaneous translation provided by the UN. “And that is why it is necessary that we must consider — just like Zionism or anti-Semitism or fascism — Islamophobia as a crime against humanity.”

The Turkish leader’s comments, made at the official opening of the fifth UN Alliance of Civilizations Global Forum, drew harsh criticism from UN Watch, a Geneva-based watchdog group monitoring anti-Israel bias and human rights abuses at the organization.

“Erdogan’s misuse of this global podium to incite hatred, and his resort to Ahmadinejad-style pronouncements appealing to the lowest common denominator in the Muslim world, will only strengthen the belief that his government is hewing to a confrontational stance, and fundamentally unwilling to end its four-year-old feud with Israel,” UN Watch said in a statement.

The group also criticized UN chief Ban Ki-moon — “who was present on the stage yet stayed silent” — for not condemning Erdogan’s remarks.

“We remind Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that his predecessor Kofi Annan recognized that the UN’s 1975 Zionism-is-racism resolution was an expression of anti-Semitism, and he welcomed its repeal,” the statement said....

Turkey's military has long been the guardians of Kemalist secularism. Now the Islamic supremacist Erdogan regime is completing its re-Islamization of Turkey, and arresting those who were Kemalism's guardians. These generals are being jailed now for what in past decades they and their predecessors were hailed for doing.

An update on this story. "More Turkish generals detained over 1997 coup," from Reuters, February 28:

ANKARA (Reuters) - The former commander of Turkey's land forces has been jailed pending trial in a widening investigation of the toppling of Turkey's first Islamist-led government in 1997, state media said on Thursday.

General Erdal Ceylanoglu, who is believed to have ordered tanks onto the streets outside the capital ahead of the military intervention 16 years ago, joined dozens already remanded in custody ahead of the court case.

The inquiry into the ousting of former prime minister Necmettin Erbakan is part of a wider extensive judicial investigation into the once-supreme Turkish military, whose power has been sharply curbed over the past decade.

In power since 2002, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, AKP, which itself has Islamist roots, has made curbing the military's political influence one of its main missions, and state prosecutors have pursued officers suspected of conspiring against current and former governments.

Political reforms in 2010 to remove the immunity of old coup leaders have given prosecutors room to delve deeper into Turkey's history. The sight of police seizing grey-haired former generals, unthinkable a decade ago, has become a familiar one in Turkey in recent years.

Erbakan, who died of heart failure aged 85 in 2011, pioneered Islamist politics in Turkey, a largely Muslim country with a secular state order, and paved the way for the subsequent success of Erdogan's AKP.

The investigation into the events of 1997, dubbed the "post-modern coup" for its bloodless nature in contrast to three outright coups in 1960, 1971 and 1980, has special significance for Erdogan who was a member of Erbakan's party.

Also detained overnight was retired major general Yucel Ozsir. Their detention comes only two weeks after the jailing of four other retired generals in connection with the coup.

Turkey's state media Anatolian said the two generals were remanded in custody late on Wednesday after being summoned to an Ankara court along with two other retired generals and a serving colonel who were later conditionally released from custody.

The two generals were taken to a maximum security prison in Sincan, a town outside Ankara where Ceylanoglu is charged with commanding tanks onto the streets during the upheaval in 1997.

While Erdogan has promoted the trials as part of the process of ending the generals' political power, he has more recently called for the investigations to be wrapped up more quickly and has hit out at the lengthy pre-trial detentions of hundreds of officers on conspiracy charges.

More than 300 military officers were sentenced to jail in September for plotting to overthrow Erdogan in 2003. Nearly 300 other people - including politicians, academics, journalists and retired army officers - are on trial on charges of orchestrating political violence.

Why not? What could possibly go wrong? Any secular rebels there may have been have by now been completely co-opted and marginalized by jihadis, but who cares? Let's not be "Islamophobic"!

"AP sources: US weighs direct aid to Syrian rebels," from the Associated Press, February 26:

PARIS (AP) — The Obama administration, in coordination with some European allies, is for the first time considering supplying direct assistance to elements of the Free Syrian Army as they seek to ramp up pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down and end nearly two years of brutal and increasingly deadly violence.

Officials in the United States and Europe said Tuesday the administration is nearing a decision on whether to provide non-lethal assistance to carefully vetted fighters opposed to the Assad regime in addition to what it is already supplying to the political opposition. A decision is expected by Thursday when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will attend an international conference on Syria in Rome that leaders of the opposition Syrian National Coalition have been persuaded to attend, the officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the shift in strategy has not yet been finalized and still needs to be coordinated with European nations, notably Britain. They are eager to vastly increase the size and scope of assistance for Assad's foes.

Kerry, who was a cautious proponent of supplying arms to the rebels while he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been consulting with European leaders on how to step up pressure on Assad to leave power. The effort has been as a major focus of his first official trip abroad as America's top diplomat. On the first two stops on his hectic nine-nation tour of Europe and the Middle East, in London and Berlin, he has sought to assure the Syrian opposition that more help is on the way.

In London on Monday, he made a public appeal to opposition coalition leader Mouaz al-Khatib not to boycott the Rome meeting as had been threatened and to attend the conference despite concerns among Assad foes that international community is not doing enough. Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden made private telephone calls to al-Khatib to make the same case.

"We are determined that the Syrian opposition is not going to be dangling in the wind, wondering where the support is, if it is coming," Kerry told reporters after meeting British Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Hague said that the deteriorating conditions in Syria, especially recent scud missile attacks on the city of Aleppo, were unacceptable and that the West's current position could not be sustained while an "appalling injustice" is being done to Syrian citizens.

"In the face of such murder and threat of instability, our policy cannot stay static as the weeks go by," Hague told reporters, standing beside Kerry. "We must significantly increase support for the Syrian opposition. We are preparing to do just that."

The officials in Washington and European capitals said the British are pushing proposals to provide military training, body armor and other technical support to members of the Free Syrian Army who have been determined not to have links to extremists. The officials said, however, that the U.S. was not yet ready to consider such action although Washington would not object if the Europeans moved ahead with the plans.

The Obama administration has been deeply concerned about military equipment falling into the hands of radical Islamists who have become a significant factor in the Syrian conflict and could then use that materiel for terrorist attacks or strikes on Israel.

The Italian government, which is hosting Thursday's conference, said on Monday that the Europeans would use the meeting "to urge the United States' greater flexibility on measures in favor of the opposition to the Assad regime."

"They will be asking, in particular, that 'non-lethal' aid be extended to include technical assistance and training so as to consolidate the coalition's efforts in the light of what emerged at the latest meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council," the foreign ministry said in a statement. In a recent meeting, European Union foreign ministers agreed that support to the rebels needed to be boosted.

Officials in Washington said the United States was leaning toward providing tens of millions of dollars more in non-lethal assistance to the opposition, including vetted members of the Free Syrian Army who had not been receiving direct U.S. assistance. So far, assistance has been limited to funding for communications and other logistical equipment, a formalized liaison office and an invitation to al-Khatib to visit the United States in the coming weeks.

The officials stressed, however, that the administration did not envision American military training for the rebels nor U.S. provision of combat items such as body armor that the British are advocating.

The officials said the U.S. is also looking at stepping up its civilian technical assistance devoted to rule of law, civil society and good governance, in order to prepare an eventual transition government to run the country once Assad leaves.

Don't be concerned. If the Israelis make some more concessions, all will be well. "‘Iranians in Gaza, guiding rocket development,’" by Aaron Kalman for the Times of Israel, February 26:

Iranian rocket specialists are in the Gaza Strip, helping terrorist organizations develop their arsenal of projectiles, Palestinian security officials said Tuesday, hours after a rocket was fired at Israel for the first time in months.

Representatives of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were helping Hamas, which rules the Strip, and the Islamic Jihad organization develop long-range rockets, the Hebrew news site Walla reported, citing the unnamed Palestinian officials. Israeli officials confirmed there was an Iranian presence in Gaza, adding it wasn’t the first time Iranian officials had entered the Strip, the report said.

The report could not be confirmed independently.

On Thursday morning, an upgraded Fajr missile, with a range of 70 kilometers (over 40 miles), landed south of Ashkelon, breaking a truce between Israel and the terror groups in the Strip which had held since the end of Operation Pillar of Defense in November. In response to the rocket fire Tuesday, Israel temporarily curtailed operations at two Gaza border crossings.

Fatah’s military wing claimed responsibility for the attack, but Israeli reports said it was likely that Hamas — which controls Gaza — was also involved at some level.

In November, a senior Hamas official predicted that Iran would increase its military and economic aid to Gazan groups because of the victory his group claimed in Pillar of Defense, the eight-day confrontation with Israel.

“They give it to us in the name of Allah, without conditions, and I am a witness to this,” Mahmoud al-Zahar told reporters in Gaza at the time, adding, “It is our right to take money and weapons from Iran.”

Institutionalized and entrenched Lysenkoism. "State Dept. Still Downplaying Religious Element in Terrorist Threat Advisory," by Patrick Goodenough for CNS News, February 21:

(CNSNews.com) – A State Department “worldwide caution” updating U.S. citizens about potential terror threats has little to say about the fact that most of the terrorist groups targeting Americans profess themselves to be inspired by Islam.

The 2,000-plus word memo released this week does not use the word “Muslim” at all. “Islam” is used only where it appears in the actual name of a militant group (such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan), and in reference to “anti-Islamic videos and cartoons,” which the department says were linked to some anti-Western violence last September.

The memo uses the term “Islamist” only once – to describe extremist groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba that are active in South Asia.

Elsewhere the advisory is silent on the religious/ideological motivation driving the majority of anti-Western terrorist groups.

Yet, of the terror organizations it refers to, all but one are Islamist-oriented. They are al-Qaeda and “affiliated organizations,” including al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and al-Shabaab in Somalia; the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan; Hezbollah in Lebanon; the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Islamic Jihad Union and the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement in Central Asia; and in South Asia, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Harkat-ul-Jihad-i-Islami, Harakat ul-Mujahidin, Indian Mujahideen and unnamed “indigenous sectarian groups” – which could refer either to Islamic groups (such as the anti-Shia Lashkar-e-Jhangvi), or possibly radical Hindu groups.

The sole non-Islamic entity among the groups listed is the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), a secular, far-left organization that claimed responsibility for a bomb at the entrance to the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey on February 1.

The department’s worldwide caution also does not specifically mention the fact that in some countries, such as Nigeria and Iraq, Christians and churches repeatedly have been picked out as terrorists’ targets.

(Where potential terror targets are named, there is a reference to “places of worship” – no religion indicated – along with others such as hotels, clubs, restaurants, schools, sports venues, business offices, public areas and tourist destinations.)

In Nigeria, it says, “[t]he loosely organized group of factions known as Boko Haram continues to carry out significant improvised explosive device and suicide bombings in northern Nigeria, mainly targeting government forces and innocent civilians; attacks have increased since their attack on the U.N. building in the capital of Abuja last year. The president of Nigeria declared a state of emergency in certain areas in response to activities of extremist groups.”

The worldwide caution does not note that Christians have been the primary target of Boko Haram, which has vowed to cleanse northern Nigeria of Christians in its “jihad” and has also demanded that Nigeria’s Christian president convert to Islam or resign....

I am confident that Imam Rauf is jetting over to Australia as we speak, so as to explain to these four Misunderstanders of Islam that Sharia is completely benign and fully compatible with Western notions of human rights.

"Four men found guilty of sharia law whipping," from AAP, February 28:

FOUR men who took part in the whipping of a Muslim convert as punishment under sharia law for him drinking alcohol and taking drugs have been found guilty of assault in Sydney.

Christian Martinez, 32, was whipped with an electric cord at his home in Silverwater in Sydney's west between July 16 and 17 in 2011.

His mentor, Wasim Fayed, was accused of carrying out the whipping as punishment under sharia law, while the other three men held Mr Martinez down on his bed.

Fayed, 44, along with Zakaryah Raad, 21, Tolga Cifki, 21, and Gengiz Coskin, 22, pleaded not guilty to charges of assault occasioning bodily harm, causing harm in company and stealing.

Fayed also faced two charges of intimidation.

Magistrate Brian Maloney convicted the men in Burwood Local Court today.

He will sentence them at a later date.

As Fayed left the court and was bundled into a car, he told reporters, "I love him for the sake of Allah," referring to Mr Martinez.

Antisemitic conspiracy paranoia is all too common on the airwaves in the Middle East. "Lebanese Lecturer Hassan Jouni: Rich Jews Sent Poor Jews to the 'So-Called Holocaust,'" from MEMRI, February 17:

Following are excerpts from statements made in a TV show by Hassan Jouni, an international law lecturer at the Lebanese University. The show aired on Al-Manar TV on February 17, 2013.

Hassan Jouni: The Zionists made an agreement with Hitler. Of course, they helped him rise to power, and according to the agreement, the wealthy, educated Jews gathered [to leave Germany], and in return, the poor Jews, the leftists, the Communists, and so on, were executed.

It was the poor among the Jews, who entered the so-called "Holocaust," and especially the leftists and the Communists, who rejected Nazi ideology.

"If you were in front of me, I would shoot you. I would put a bullet in your head." But don't take language like that out of context, now!

"Algerian in Jihad Jane plot faces US extradition," by Shawn Pogatchnik for the Associated Press, February 27 (thanks to Kenneth):

DUBLIN (AP) — An Algerian man wanted by American authorities over the abortive "Jihad Jane" plot to assassinate a Swedish artist was arrested while leaving an Irish courthouse Wednesday and could face U.S. extradition demands within hours.

Ali Charaf Damache, 47, had just walked free from a court in Waterford, southeast Ireland, after three years in an Irish prison when detectives acting on an American extradition warrant rearrested and escorted him, handcuffed, to an unmarked police car. Court officials said his extradition proceedings could begin Thursday in Dublin High Court.

The FBI and U.S. Justice Department accuse Damache of being the ringleader behind an unrealized 2009 conspiracy to target artist Lars Vilks in Sweden over his series of drawings depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad as a dog. Muslim extremists in Iraq had offered a $100,000 reward for anyone who killed Vilks, who was never attacked.

U.S. prosecutors say Damache, who has lived in Ireland since 2000, recruited two U.S. women via jihadist web sites to help him target Vilks. One of the women who billed herself as "Jihad Jane," Colleen LaRose, was arrested by the FBI soon after she returned from Ireland in September 2009. Damache married the other woman, Jamie Paulin Ramirez, in a Muslim ceremony on the day she arrived in Ireland from Colorado that same month. Ramirez and Damache were arrested in their Waterford home in March 2010; she voluntarily returned to the United States to face charges there.

Both LaRose, now 49, and Ramirez, now 34, have pleaded guilty — LaRose to conspiring to kill Vilks, Ramirez to lesser charges of aiding terrorists — and are imprisoned in the United States pending their sentencing, which has been repeatedly delayed. LaRose faces up to life in prison, Ramirez a maximum 15 years.

Irish detectives investigating Damache's links to both women trawled his telephone records and discovered he had telephoned a Michigan attorney, Majed Moughni, the lead organizer of an Arab-American protest in Detroit called to denounce Islamic extremists. Moughni told police he received a telephoned death threat the day after that January 2010 demonstration — and taped it.

Damache had pleaded not guilty to Irish charges of making death threats until Tuesday, when prosecutors played the audiotape. A voice identified as Damache's could be heard telling Moughni: "If you were in front of me, I would shoot you. I would put a bullet in your head."

On Wednesday, Damache's lawyers said their client was changing his plea to guilty and wanted to say sorry to Moughni. The presiding judge in Waterford Circuit Court, Donagh McDonagh, described the threat as premeditated and frightening. He gave Damache a four-year sentence but suspended the final year, which meant he was eligible for immediate release given his jail time already served.

He was rearrested within minutes of leaving the courtroom....

On February 24, 2013, I accepted the "Shushan Award for Righteous Gentile" given to me by the Creative Zionist Coalition at the Shangri La Hotel in Santa Monica.

The following is a text of the introduction given by Paul Schnee:

You may have noticed how most of our political leaders have failed to confront the relentless march of Islamic totalitarianism, Indeed, it looks as if they have spent much of their time in charge of our affairs as an opportunity to catch up on some sleep.
Tonight we honor with the Sushan Award for Righteous Gentile a man who has not been using his time as an opportunity to catch up on some sleep, Mr. Robert Spencer. Indeed, he has be so successful in making the country aware about Islam's true meaning and agenda that he now has to live in an undisclosed location in order to avoid the death threats from the practioners of the "religion of peace".

A tireless advocate of Israel and the Jewish people Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and author of the New York Times best sellers, The Politically Correct Guide to Islam and the Crusades and The Truth About Muhammad. His latest book, available at fine book stores everywhere, is Did Muhammed Exist? Well, we know Robert Spencer exists as do all those who seek our ruin and wish to give us all a one-way ticket back to the 7th century.

On February 24, 2013, Pamela Geller accepted the "Queen Esther Award for Jewish Heroism" given to her by the Creative Zionist Coalition at the Shangri La Hotel in Santa Monica.

The following is a text of the introduction given by Paul Schnee:

I'm reminded of the class of 4th graders who were given, as an art class assignment, the task of drawing any famous person from history. As the teacher walked around looking at their progress she came across Sally. "Whose picture are you drawing, Sally?" She asked. Sally replied, "I'm drawing a picture of God". "But nobody knows what God looks like", said the teacher. "Well, they will in a minute", replied Sally. In a minute, Ladies & Gentlemen, you will know why Pamela Geller is receiving the Queen Esther Award.

It has been said that it's not the size of the dog in the fight which counts but the size of the fight in the dog. It therefore goes without saying that the generals who said women would be useless in combat have never met Pamela Geller.

Pamela Geller is the president of the American Freedom Defense Initiative, author of The Post American President, The Obama Administration's War on America and Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance. She also publishes
the popular and informative website AtlasShrugs.com. She has often appeared on national television and led the opposition to the construction of the Mosque at Ground Zero.

Most recently she gained national attention with the anti-Jihad advertisements she placed on the N.Y. Metro, and on the sides of buses in N.Y., San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago which declared: "In any war between the civilized man and the savage support the civilized man....Support Israel—Defeat Jihad".

Ms. Geller has been in the fore-front of the vanguard warning about the sick relativism which permits Western liberals to regard "honor killings, and female genital mutilation as expressions of cultural diversity.

It is with activities of this sort that Pamela Geller has become one of the bête noirs of the Southern Poverty Law Center an organization, it seems, which rarely makes its decisions without the benefit of alcohol!

For all of these reasons and accomplishments we are delighted to award Pamela Geller the Queen Esther Award for Jewish Heroism. Will you please welcome our very own Jewish Joan of Arc, Ms. Pamela Geller.

On February 24, 2013, Steve Goldberg (reluctantly) accepted the "Mordecai Award for Jewish Heroism" given to him by the Creative Zionist Coalition at the Shangri La Hotel in Santa Monica.

The following is from the introduction given by Paul Schnee:

Steve Goldberg serves as the National Vice-Chairman of the ZOA. He acquired his law degree from New York University and specializes in commercial litigation. He has represented various Jewish organizations and activists in civil rights matters. He serves on the Executive Board of World Likud and the World Zionist Organization. He has delivered presentations on Middle East politics as a guest speaker, panelist and debater for a variety of organizations, schools and synagogues including Adat Ariel, Ariel University, Chabad, Hadassah, the Jewish Federations of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the Nixon Library, the Pacific Jewish Center, Sha'arei Tefilla and UC Fullerton amongst others. His articles on foreign policy have appeared in the Jerusalem Post and the Los Angeles Jewish Journal.

But if we only give them enough money and diplomatic means to destroy Israel, they will certainly call it off.

"Hamas Official Calls for Third Intifada," by Elad Benari for Israel National News, February 27 (thanks to Voice of the Copts):

A day after a Hamas official called on terrorists to kidnap IDF soldiers in order to force Israel to release their fellow terrorists from Israeli prisons, another Hamas official called on PA Arabs on Tuesday to start an intifada (violent uprising).

The official, Izzat al-Rishq, said in a statement he released, “Our Palestinian people will not abandon the intifada and the resistance, and they live their lives in constant conflict with the Israeli enemy.”

He added that the Israeli "aggression" which, he claimed, consists of the ongoing violation of human rights of the “Palestinian people”, the “Judaization” of Jerusalem and “defilement” of the Al-Aqsa mosque brings PA Arabs to a state of daily confrontation with the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria who, he claimed, are protected by the IDF.

Al-Rishq said the IDF's preparedness against the escalation of the ongoing riots by PA Arabs will only increase their determination to avenge the death of Arafat Jaradat, the prisoner who died while in Israeli custody.

An autopsy conducted Sunday on the body of Jaradat, who died at the Meggido Prison a day earlier, found that it is impossible to determine the exact cause of his death.

The PA’s minister of prisoners, Issa Qaraqaa, nevertheless took advantage of the non-conclusive report to blame Israel for torturing Jaradat to death, citing the preliminary findings of the joint autopsy which reported bruises on Jaradat's body, muscle damage and broken ribs. Those, however, can be caused by resuscitation attempts, according to the autopsy.

Thousands took part on Monday in Jaradat’s funeral. The funeral was held at his village, Sa'ir, near Hevron.

At nearby Beit Anun, hundreds of Arabs gathered and hurled rocks at security forces who were on high alert during the funeral. The security forces countered the rioting with riot dispersal gear....

Islamic law forbids subject dhimmi communities to build new houses of worship or repair old ones. Sharia Alert from Muslim Brotherhood Egypt: "Islamists attempt to halt construction on Shubra al-Kheima church," from Al-Masry Al-Youm, February 25 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

A group of Islamists surround the Abu Maqar Church in Shubra al-Kheima on Monday in an attempt to stop construction on the church's annex, claiming that the building is not licensed, said sources from the Qalyubiya security department.

Security forces were deployed to the area to convince the group to step down and allow work to resume, the sources claimed.

Ramsis al-Deiry, a member of the Shubra al-Kheima archbishopric's Millet Council, said group of Salafis and members affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood surrounded the building and prevented workers from resuming construction.

The church has all the required licenses from the municipality for the construction, which had been postponed due to a lack of security and ongoing political instability, Deiry said.

“When the engineer started constructing the building, we found several complaints. Consequently, West Shubra District engineers urged approval on the renewal of the work, according to license issued by the municipalities. A decision was then issued for 15 days to correct the construction. When the engineers, contractor and workers started on the correction on Monday, everyone was surprised by the group of Salafis and Brotherhood [members] who surrounded the building and prevented workers from working," he stated.

The kuffar have no rights that the Pakistani police are bound to respect.

"Punjab: Muslim attacks disabled Christian for money, police deny any investigation," by Shafique Khokhar for Asia News, February 26 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Faisalabad (AsiaNews) - "I want justice, but no one supports me to open an investigation or initiate investigations against my assailants." This is the cry of pain, dramatic and hopeless, of 35 year-old Christian Khalid Masih, a native of the district of Faisalabad, Punjab, victim of brutal violence, triggered by trivial economic issues. The police however are refusing to take the victim's statement, and three weeks on from the incident the criminals still go unpunished. As too often happens in Pakistan, when the victim is a Christian and his executioners belong to the Muslim majority and the violation of laws and rights takes place in complete indifference.

The case dates back to February 2, when the man, who is disabled and walks with the aid of crutches, was asked to act as a mediator - free of charge - in a trade that involved two people: the Christian Babar Masih, a cousin of Khalid, and the Muslim Irshad Gujjar. The first gave the second his mope head, in exchange for a horse. The next day Irshad wanted additional money, because his animal "is worth a lot more."

Khalid Masih...replied that was impossible to change the terms, because his cousin had left the village immediately after the deal. On February 6, Irshad Gujjar, with his cousin Aslam, went to Khalid's house and asked him to follow them, to go and pray at the bedside of their grandson who was very sick. The 35 year-old Christian usually earned small amounts of money praying for the poor and sick, so he did not suspect the trap.

They lead him to a distant field five kilometres from the village, dragged him from the car and stabbed him several times with a knife - injuring his hands and lips - then they shot his knee caps twice. Some farmers in the vicinity, including a Christian, heard the shots and called for help. The doctors of the Civil Hospital in Faisalabad stabilized Khalid's condition and after a few days, he recovered.

However, despite repeated appeals for justice, his assailants are at large and unpunished. "I am a poor Christian and pray for others - he tells AsiaNews - and all I am asking for is justice." The bitter comment of Fr. Aftab James Paul, director of the Diocesan Commission for Interreligious Dialogue, is that "the criminals wanted to make money illegally" from a poor man, who "deserves justice and should be assisted in all situations, including legal."

Generally when I see a mainstream media journalist coming, I know I am about to be carved up and served for dinner: I no longer expect even a semblance of fairness or accuracy, but rather hostility and a vicious mischaracterization of my work. With Pamela Geller I am sure it is no different, but in this exchange with a venomously hostile Muslim journalist, she turns the tables. "My 'prosecution' by a Muslim journalist," by Pamela Geller in WND, February 26:

Recently I was interviewed by a Muslim journalist named Rachel Elmalawany, who asked me a series of hostile, prosecutorial questions based on U.S. Islamic supremacist groups’ libels of me. Our exchange, of which I have reproduced excerpts below, is illustrative of how Islamic supremacists spread their lies and distortions, and shows the truth about the false charges Islamic supremacists frequently circulate about me and the counter-jihad movement in general.

Rachel Elmalawany: Do you see any similarities between the anti-Islamization movement rhetoric and other movements of American history? For example, the Italians in the late 19th century/early 20th century, the Jews (even today there’s a strong anti-Jewish rhetoric among some groups), the Japanese and African-Americans? If not, what are the differences between the anti-Islamization movement and these other movements?

Pamela Geller: This is a common slur against the work I do, but there is no substance to it. The three groups you mentioned were unjustly and falsely accused. None had a program in which they stated in their own words their intention of “eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within,” as the Muslim Brotherhood states as its goal in a captured internal document. The fact that some groups have been falsely accused does not mean that any group accused of subversive activities is ipso facto innocent.

Elmalawany: What about the denial of free speech, freedom of conscience and institutional oppression of women and minorities in this country and others that is not at the hands of Islam? What is it that has made you want to fight a Muslim’s oppression rather than anyone else’s oppression like, for example, Orthodox Judaism or Hinduism (or any other religion for that matter)? In the U.S., one in four women will experience abuse (and it can be at the hands of a very religious Christian or an atheist – abuse is abuse) while in Malaysia, the highest Muslim population in the world [actually that's Indonesia – PG], that number is much smaller, and in Syria that number is slightly lower. How would you explain these statistics?

Geller: Spousal abuse occurs in all cultures. Only in Islam is it given divine sanction, with an exhortation in the Quran itself to beat disobedient women (4:34). This not only perpetuates a culture of abuse; it also leads to severe underreporting of spousal abuse in Muslim countries. Since Allah sanctions such abuse, all too many women take it as their due, and wouldn’t dream of reporting it, both for the dishonor that such reporting would bring upon their family and for the threat of further abuse if they do so. They have to face the prospect of being abused or being shamed and punished further, perhaps even ostracized and killed, if they complain about or report the abuse.

Elmalawany: Just as people of the anti-Islamization movement point out that Muhammad never killed anyone, I would say you also never killed anyone. However, your movement is largely associated with the strong anti-Muslim sentiment that average Americans hold due to their reading or listening to your materials and drawing conclusions. Just last December, Erika Menendez killed someone in a New York subway because she thought him to be Muslim. Perhaps she had read your book. If a Muslim were to kill someone and had read a book of radial ideas (good or bad), would the blame not be put on the author of that book? The fact that your website explicitly mentions only the crimes that Muslims have committed, purportedly in the name of Islam, may lead (and has been said to have actual influence) many to assume Islam is bad, and therefore Muslims are bad. If the majority of Muslims don’t support terrorist attacks and the few Muslims who do are fighting foreign presence, what does that mean for the goal of your organization and movement?

Geller: Ibn Ishaq says that Muhammad personally beheaded between 600 and 900 men of the Jewish Qurayzah tribe. Muhammad also ordered people killed, including Abu Afak, Ka’b bin Ashraf and Asma bint Marwan. I have never killed anyone or ordered anyone killed. Your comparison is odious, as is your invocation of Erika Menendez, who has a history of violence and attempted to kill a non-Muslim firefighter several years before she murdered the Hindu man in the subway. She is clearly insane. Also, why don’t you mention the subway murder perpetrated just a week or so before that of Menendez, when a devout Muslim who went to mosque daily, Naeem Davis, murdered a non-Muslim? How do you know Menendez wasn’t motivated by that?

My books and other writings never advocate any kind of violence, or anything but the defense of freedom. If you think that books that do not advocate violence can lead to violence, what must you think of the Quran, which in many, many passages advocates violence? Your assertion about Muslims not committing terrorist acts in order to advance Islam is also inaccurate. Numerous terrorists have explained that that was exactly what they intended to do, and numerous Muslim spokesmen have also made supremacist statements about how Islam will take over the world – including Ahmadinejad and Qaradawi, among many others.

Read it all.

"Men are the managers of the affairs of women for that God has preferred in bounty one of them over another, and for that they have expended of their property. Righteous women are therefore obedient, guarding the secret for God's guarding. And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them." (Qur'an 4:34)

Muhammad’s example is normative for Muslims, since he is an “excellent example of conduct” (Qur'an 33:21) – and according to a canonical hadith, Muhammad’s favorite wife, his child bride Aisha, reports that Muhammad struck her. Once he went out at night after he thought she was asleep, and she followed him surreptitiously. Muhammad saw her, and, as Aisha recounts: “He struck me on the chest which caused me pain, and then said: Did you think that Allah and His Apostle would deal unjustly with you?” (Sahih Muslim 2127) Aisha herself said it: “I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women.” (Sahih Bukhari 7.72.715)

The Koran commentary Ruhul Ma’ani reflects mainstream Muslim understandings of this verse when it gives four reasons that a man may beat his wife: “if she refuses to beautify herself for him,” if she refuses sex when he asks for it, if she refuses to pray or perform ritual ablutions, and “if she goes out of the house without a valid excuse.”

"Nearly half Saudi women are beaten at home," from Emirates 24/7, February 26 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Nearly half Saudi women are beaten up by their husbands or other family members at home and many of them are hit by sticks and head cover, according to a university study published in local newspapers on Tuesday.

Surprisingly, the study found that the Bedouin men who still dwell the desert in the conservative Gulf Kingdom, are less violent than Saudi men in urban areas.

The study was conducted by Dr Lateefa Abdul Lateef, a social science professor at King Saud University in the Capital Riyadh. It involved female students at the university and some Saudi women covered by the government’s social security.

“The study showed that nearly half those covered by social security and more than a third of the female students at the university are beaten up at home,” Dr Lateefa said, quoted by the Saudi Arabic language daily Almadina.

“Husbands were found to be beating their wives more than others….they are followed by fathers, then brothers then sons…hands and sticks were found to be used mostly in beating women, following by men’s head cover and to a lesser extent, sharp objects.”

The study showed that husbands beating their wives included both educated and non-educated men and that “those dwelling in the desert are less violent with their wives than those living in cities or villages.”

The study found that the main reasons for violence against women include poor religious motives, drug addiction and alcoholism, arrogance and a tendency to control, psychological problems, poverty, and unemployment.

Over at FrontPage Mag (via RaymondIbrahim.com), I discuss Libyan fanaticism:

Four foreign Christians—including one who holds American-Swedish citizenship—were arrested days ago in Libya. According to the Guardian, their crime is arousing “suspicion of being missionaries and distributing Christian literature, a charge that could carry the death penalty.”

Apparently the four Christians had “contracted a local printer to produce pamphlets explaining Christianity.” Proselytizing to Muslims—that is, preaching to them another religion—was banned even under the late Col. Muammar Gaddafi.

Libyans—strongly supported by U.S. President Obama in the name of “freedom”—got rid of Gaddafi but kept the distinctly anti-freedom law.

Discussing this case, Libyan security official Hussein Bin Hmeid, trying to justify the Islamic ban on free speech, observes: “Proselytizing is forbidden in Libya. We are a 100% Muslim country and this kind of action affects our national security.” Indeed, Muslim governments—most notably Iran’s—constantly suppress any talk of Christianity, claiming it threatens “our national security.”

Such is the tribal mentality of Islam which everywhere seems to declare: If you’re not one of us, you must be an enemy trying to subvert our way of life.

Is the flip side of this prevalent mentality also true—that if Muslims are not one of us, they must be trying to subvert our way of life?...

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, there will be many more such murders.

"Police: Slain Bedouin teen likely victim of 'honor killing,'" by Ilana Curiel for Ynet News, February 25 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

A Bedouin man from southern Israel is the prime suspect in the murder of his 16-year-daughter, whose body was found in a well in the Kuseife community in the Negev.

The man is suspected of an act of "honor killing," allegedly throwing his daughter down the well over what the family deemed an "undesirable romantic involvement."

The investigation in the case was launched after the father filed a missing persons report with the police on Sunday, saying his daughter had disappeared. He expressed concerned that she might have fallen into a local well.

Following an extensive police searches, which also included the district diving unit, the girl's body was found.

The man was promptly arrested following the investigation's opening, and remanded for an additional four days on Monday.

During his arraignment hearing, the police revealed that they had evidence suggesting that the family was opposed to the girl's romantic affair. The father is currently refusing to cooperate with the investigation.

The judge noted that "The family is maintaining a conspiracy of silence. This is the gravest offense in the rulebook. When it's an 'honor killing,' it makes it even worse."

The police said that all leads point to the father, who has a violent criminal record, with the possibility that he was assisted by other culprits.

The police representative at the hearing said that "The father knew what he did and that she was in the well. The event occurred in the last two days and there's more than a reasonable suspicion implicating the father with murder."

A preliminary autopsy by the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine found evidence of drowning, but the girl's time of death is unknown as yet.

The suspect's attorney denied the allegations and accused the police of "shooting in the dark."

With kidnappings in Cameroon and Yemen, kidnapping seems to be the jihad du jour all over the Islamic world. That's their jihad, what's yours? "Hamas Calls to Kidnap IDF Soldiers," by Elad Benari for Israel National News, February 26 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

The Hamas terror group, taking advantage of the rioting in Judea and Samaria, is calling on terrorists to kidnap IDF soldiers.

According to the Iranian Fars agency, senior Hamas leader Salah al-Bardawil urged terrorists participating in a rally in Gaza in protest of the death of a terrorist in Israeli custody to kidnap Israeli soldiers.

Hamas organized two huge rallies in Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza to protest the death of 30-year-old Arafat Jaradat in the Meggido prison, according to Fars.

Addressing the rally in Khan Younis, al-Bardawil urged the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. The abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit led to the release of over 1,000 terrorists in 2011 in a prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel.

Al-Bardawil urged Egypt to show responsibility toward the prisoner exchange, which was brokered in Cairo, according to Fars.

"A new Palestinian Intifada is about to break out in support of prisoners," al-Bardawil said, urging all PA Arabs to join activities to support detainees.

He appealed to the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority to boycott public and secret negotiations with Israel in protest over Jaradat's death.

An autopsy conducted Sunday on Jaradat’s body found that it is impossible to determine the exact cause of his death.

The PA’s minister of prisoners, Issa Qaraqaa, nevertheless took advantage of the non-conclusive report to blame Israel for torturing Jaradat to death, citing the preliminary findings of the joint autopsy which reported bruises on Jaradat's body, muscle damage and broken ribs. Those, however, can be caused by resuscitation attempts, according to the autopsy.

Thousands took part on Monday in Jaradat’s funeral. The funeral was held at his village, Sa'ir, near Hevron.

At nearby Beit Anun, hundreds of Arabs gathered and hurled rocks at security forces who were on high alert during the funeral. The security forces countered the rioting with riot dispersal gear.

The United Nations, meanwhile, called on Monday for an independent inquiry into Jaradat’s death, warning that mounting tensions risk an eruption of violence in the region.

UN Middle East peace envoy Robert Serry made the call in a statement after talks with PA prime minister Salam Fayyad.

“The United Nations expects the autopsy to be followed by an independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Jaradat's death, the results of which should be made public as soon as possible,” said Serry.

Jaradat’s death is the latest excuse used by PA Arabs to justify their rioting. Last week they intensified the riots as a sign of solidarity with four terrorists who are serving time in Israeli prisons and who have gone on a hunger strike as a pressure tactic to get Israel to release them.

The four are Samer Issawi, Tareq Qaadan, Jafar Ezzedine and Ayman Sharawna. All four were released as part of the Shalit deal in 2011 but were rearrested after they violated the terms of their release.

Israel’s defense establishment said Friday that the prisoners currently on hunger strike in Israel were jailed for good reason. The reminder came in the wake of statements of concern from the United Nations and European Union.

An IDF general revealed Saturday that the Arab enemy's attempts to abduct Jews have reached unprecedented levels.

Major General Avi Mizrachi, who served as the Head of Central Command in 2009-2012, told Channel 2 television's Meet the Press, "Since November we have foiled 18 attempts by Hamas and Fatah men to abduct Israeli citizens." This number translates to a rough average of two abduction attempts per week.

Egyptian Sheikh Abu Islam — of Bible-destroying, rape-approving fame — is again causing drama. In regards to his second claim-to-fame — inciting Muslims to rape women protesters, because they must all be Christian “crusaders” anyway — a lawyer has recently submitted complaints that help provide context for Abu Islam’s “worldview” concerning women: among other things, he is accused of raping a Syrian minor girl, as well as sexually assaulting his own daughter-in-law.

For all these reasons—specifically “insulting religion,” a crime in Egypt, and inciting rape of Christian women—he was recently arrested for questioning. A little before he was arrested, his final TV tirade was about the gall of some Muslims and the media for referring to killed Egyptian Christians as “martyrs," when infidels should ever receive that honorific, which should be reserved for suicide-bombers and terrorists.

Most recently, his family and friends began saying that Abu Isam died in prison, first by a snake bite, then because he was denied his diabetes medicine—prompting many Salafis to protest. Authorities deny that he died, saying he will soon be released (even as several Egyptian Christians languish in jails over rumors that they insulted Muslim Muhammad).

Such is the world of one of Sharia law's most vocal supporters in Egypt.

Over at Gatestone Institute (via RaymondIbrahim.com), I discuss the "business-envy" jihad:

A Christian pastor was recently slaughtered in the Muslim-majority African nation of Tanzania. While butchering Christian minorities is becoming increasingly common in that part of the Muslim world, the context for this latest slaughter is somewhat different than the usual forms of Christian persecution under Islam—such as allegations of “blaspheming” the name of Muslim prophet Muhammad. And yet, as in most forms of modern-day Muslim attacks on Christians, it too fits patterns and precedents.

On February 11, Pastor Mathayo Kachili of the Tanzania Assemblies of God Church was beheaded by Muslims. According to the report, a spokesperson from the local police department

said conflicts had been boiling for quite a while now in the area where a section of what are believed to be Muslim leaders had demanded immediate closure of butcheries owned by Christians. He said that a group of youths believed to be Muslims assaulted several Christians using sticks and machetes and attacked a butchery owner at Buseresere town. During the confrontations pastor Kachili was beheaded.

According to Religious Liberty Monitoring this latest slaying “has its source in a debate presently raging in Tanzania. Apparently it is a ‘long-standing tradition’ in Tanzania that Muslims have a monopoly on the meat industry. Recently however, Christians in Geita district, Mwanza region—on the southern shores of Lake Victoria—have entered the butchery trade, causing outrage amongst Muslims.”

Tensions got to the point that the Minister of State in the President’s Office responsible for social relations “categorically directed that the task of slaughtering animals for public consumption should be executed only by Muslims. He said that people of other faiths may slaughter animals if the meat is solely for family/private consumption—but certainly not for sale to, or consumption by, the general public.”

But if they still insist on working in the trade, then they must, according to Karl Lyimo of the Citizen, be “ready, willing, able and glad to follow the Islamic rituals to the letter”—which is tantamount to saying Christians need to convert to Islam if they want to remain in the business.

Does this conflict simply revolve around Muslim fears of mistakenly eating non-halal meat, or, as has been known to happen, are Muslims attacking and killing non-Muslims for being business competitors, while articulating their hostility in the garb of Islamic piety?

For instance, in March 2010 in Pakistan—a nation which shares neither race, language nor culture with Tanzania, which shares only Islam—Rasheed Masih, described as a “devoted Christian,” was butchered by Muslim men “with multiple axe blows for refusing to convert to Islam.”...

Sorry, folks, we aren't winning after all. Not that we really even want to. "AP Newsbreak: Drop in Taliban attacks incorrect," by Robert Burns for the Associated Press, February 26:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S.-led military command in Afghanistan incorrectly reported a decline last year in Taliban attacks and is preparing to publish corrected numbers that could undercut its narrative of a Taliban in steep decline.

After finding what they called clerical errors, military officials in Kabul said Tuesday that a 7 percent drop in "enemy initiated attacks" for the period from January through December 2012 reported last month will be corrected to show no change in the number of attacks during that span.

The 7 percent figure had been included in a report posted on the coalition's website until it was removed recently without explanation. After The Associated Press inquired about the missing report, coalition officials said they were correcting the data and would re-publish the report.

"During a quality control check, ISAF recently became aware that some data was incorrectly entered into the database that is used for tracking security-related incidents across Afghanistan," said Jamie Graybeal, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition known officially as the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF.

Graybeal said a subsequent audit determined that portions of the data from unilateral Afghan military operations were "not properly reflected" in the trends ISAF had reported in its monthly updates on security and violence.

"After including this unilateral ANSF (Afghan National Security Force) data into our database, we have determined that there was no change in the total number of EIAs (enemy initiated attacks) from 2011 to 2012," Graybeal said.

"This was a record-keeping error that we recognized and have now corrected," he added.

The coalition defines enemy initiated attacks as attacks by small arms, mortars, rockets and improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. But it does not include IEDs that are found and cleared before they explode.

Trends in Taliban attacks are one yardstick used by ISAF to measure war progress. Others include the state of security in populated areas, the number of coalition and Afghan casualties, the degree to which civilians can move about freely, and the performance of Afghan security forces.

Graybeal said that even though the number of 2012 Taliban attacks was unchanged from 2011, "our assessment of the fundamentals of campaign progress has not changed. The enemy is increasingly separated from the population and the ANSF are currently in the lead for the vast majority of partnered operations."

Wishful thinking.

Since Islamic law only allows for truces so that the jihadis can gain strength in order to fight again more effectively, this could signal that the Gaza jihadis believe they are again strong enough to confront the Israelis.

"Gaza rocket slams South for first time since truce," by Yaakov Lappin for Reuters, February 26 (thanks to Alexandre):

Palestinian terrorists broke a three month ceasefire on Tuesday and fired a rocket from Gaza into southern Israel. The rocket fell on a road south of Ashkelon causing some damage to a road, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Al- Aqsa Martyrs Brigades took resonsibilty [sic] for the attack, Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported. The terrorists fired a Grad rocket in response to the "liquidation" of the prisoner Jaradat, Ma'an reported.

The IDF Spokesperson said there were no injuries in the incident.

According to Chief Inspector Liat Nidan of the Lachish sub-district, police have not increased their level of readiness in the wake of the rocket strike, and have not received any sort of assessments from the security establishment about a possible flare-up in the days to come.

She added that no code red alarm went off in the city before the rocket struck, and the IDF is investigating why one did not go off.

"An explosion was heard in the Ashkelon region experts searched areas and found one rocket that struck, damaging a road but causing no injuries," Rosenfeld said.

Egyptian mediators helped achieve a truce in Gaza after eight days of punishing Israeli air strikes amid rocket attacks from the coastal territory in late November.

The attack came after the death on Saturday of a Palestinian detainee in Israeli custody which triggered protests in the West Bank.

In the latest violence there, Israeli troops shot and wounded five Palestinians during confrontations with protesters in the Bethlehem area on Monday and a 15-year-old boy was in critical condition.

The death in disputed circumstances of Arafat Jaradat, buried in a funeral in the Hebron area attended by thousands on Monday, and a hunger strike by four other Palestinian inmates, have stoked tensions ahead of a planned visit next month by US President Barack Obama.

Kidnapping infidels and releasing them for ransom or killing them -- whichever is more advantageous for the Muslims -- is fully sanctioned in Islamic law: "As for the captives, the amir [ruler] has the choice of taking the most beneficial action of four possibilities: the first to put them to death by cutting their necks; the second, to enslave them and apply the laws of slavery regarding their sale and manumission; the third, to ransom them in exchange for goods or prisoners; and fourth, to show favor to them and pardon them. Allah, may he be exalted, says, 'When you encounter those [infidels] who deny [the Truth=Islam] then strike [their] necks' (Qur'an sura 47, verse 4)" — Abu’l-Hasan al-Mawardi, al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah (The Laws of Islamic Governance), trans. by Dr. Asadullah Yate, (London), Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd., 1996, p. 192.

"Islamists threaten to kill French kidnapped in Cameroon," by John Irish and Bate Felix for Reuters, February 25 (thanks to Lookmann):

(Reuters) - Gunmen claiming to be from Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist group threatened on Monday to kill a kidnapped French family of seven if authorities in Nigeria and Cameroon do not release Muslim militants held there.

French ministers said they believed the three adults and four children seized in Cameroon's far north near the Nigerian border on Tuesday were being held by Boko Haram which has killed hundreds to try to carve out an Islamist state in Nigeria.

The first sign of the family since they were captured came in a video posted on YouTube in which they appeared surrounded by three gunmen wearing turbans and dressed in camouflage.

"We have been taken by Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad," one of the male hostages said in the video, referring to the name in Arabic of Nigeria's Boko Haram militants.

"They want the liberation of their brothers in Cameroon and their women imprisoned in Nigeria," the man added, speaking in French as he sat on the floor beside another man, a veiled woman and four children.

"A video of the French family kidnapped in northern Cameroon last Tuesday has just been posted by Boko Haram," said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. "These images are terribly shocking and show a cruelty without limits."

The hostage-taking highlighted the risk to French citizens in Africa after Paris sent thousands of troops into Mali last month to oust al Qaeda-linked Islamists operating in the country's vast desert north.

"The president of France has launched a war on Islam and we are fighting it everywhere," said one of the apparent kidnappers, speaking in Arabic and identifying himself as a member of Boko Haram. "Implement our demands. If you leave out even one, we will kill these people."

Boko Haram, a Nigerian militant group, has previously posted videos in Hausa, a language spoken in northern Nigeria. The black and white flag that hung behind the hostages in the released video is more associated with al Qaeda-linked groups.

A spokesman for Boko Haram had denied any connection with the kidnapping at the weekend.

However, security experts in Nigeria, Africa's largest oil exporter, say that Boko Haram is made up of multiple cells, without a defined command structure.

The militant group is known to have had some links to al Qaeda factions in North Africa and Mali, but experts say they appear limited for now....

Another attempt to gain financing for the jihad from the witless Westerners who keep falling for this. "Dominik Neubauer Video: Austrian Hostage In Yemen Appeals For Ransom Money With AK-47 Pointed At His Head," from Reuters, February 23 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

VIENNA, Feb 23 (Reuters) - An Austrian man taken hostage in Yemen in December has appeared in a video posted on YouTube, saying he would be killed if ransom money was not paid to a Yemeni tribe within a week.

Pictured with what appeared to be an AK47 automatic rifle pointed at his head, Dominik Neubauer said he was in good health and appealed to the Yemeni and Austrian governments and the European Union to give his hostage takers what they wanted.

"Mum, Dad, Lucas, Angela, I love you more than anything. Up until now I am in good health," the 26-year-old Arabic studies student said in the video posted on Feb. 21. (http://r.reuters.com/jux26t)

Neubauer was snatched along with a Finnish couple by tribesmen in the centre of the capital Sanaa on Dec. 21, according to the Yemeni government. Yemen has said the three were later sold to al Qaeda members and transferred to the small town of al-Manaseh south of the capital.

A spokesman for the Austrian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday the government was acting on the assumption the video was genuine, and was in intensive contact with the Yemeni authorities and also with the Finnish government.

"This is the first sign of life we have from Mr Neubauer," he said.

He said Austria would not allow itself to be blackmailed, and said there was no concrete group that had made itself known as the hostage-takers.

The spokesman added that the ministry had received the video on Saturday. He declined to say where the ministry had got it from.

"We want to see the return of a healthy hostage," he said, adding that the foreign, interior and defence ministries and the chancellery had been in crisis talks on Saturday that would likely continue on Sunday....

On this week’s episode of the world's challenging chat show, The Glazov Gang, PJTV’s Alfonzo Rachel joined Hollywood actor Dwight Schultz and PolitiChick warrior Ann-Marie Murrell to discuss how a regional director of the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called for Sharia punishments in the U.S. for those who "insult" Islam. The discussion occurs in Part II and focuses on Hamas-linked CAIR-St. Louis Director Faizan Syed’s solution for the problem of people publishing “anti-Islamic” views on the internet. The segment also deals with the nightmares posed by John Brennan, Chuck Hagel and John Kerry. (Part I topics: The Left’s Romance with Chris Dorner Romance as well as on Obama’s Obedient Media.)

(Until YouTube resolves its “Playlist” issues, if Part I appears as Part II for you, watch Part 1 here.)

While Islam is the only world religion with a developed doctrine, theology and legal system mandating warfare against and subjugation of unbelievers, Islamic supremacists in the "Palestinian" Authority are using a 19th-century forgery to project their own aspirations upon the Jews. "Protocols of the Elders of Zion alive and well in the PA," by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik for Palestinian Media Watch, February 25:

The Palestinian news agency Ma'an continues to include Antisemitic content on its website. Currently the op-ed section features an article presenting the old Antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a true document delineating the Jews' plan to subjugate the world.

Opinion piece by Walid Shomaly:

"The Protocols of the Elders of Zion are a kind of plan formulated by the Jews to infiltrate the world and take it over. While many Jewish leaders claim that they (the Protocols) are a forgery and one of the greatest political fabrications of the modern era, others confirm that they are true and that they are the most dangerous plot of global domination that history has ever known."

Having described the content of some of the protocols, the writer demonizes all Jews:

"Now, after this quick review of a few of these protocols, one wonders if the Jews belong to some other kind of human species, different from other nations. From where does all this evil and destructive energy derive? Do all the other nations deserve all this evil and hostility, just so that Jews may control them? Do all nations other than Jews really have clouded minds?"

And he wonders about the extent of Jewish world domination already today:

"Have most of the things that appear in the Protocols been implemented in the West and in the East? Did the idea of a Jewish world government begin to be carried out towards the end of the last century? And does the US rule the world today in the name of the new world order for the benefit of the Jews, in accordance with these Protocols? Are we on the brink of the establishment of an evident Jewish world government? Until we have answers to these questions and ponderings - as well as others - we say, 'May Allah help us, we the children of Palestine...'"

When describing how one of the protocols "calls to crush religious authority, especially the papacy," Shomaly condemns Christians Zionist in the US as "Zionists in the guise of Christians":

"We see how approximately eighty million Zionist Christians in the United States itself give Israel their absolute support, claiming [to belong to] Christianity while they in fact have no connection with it, for these people are Zionists in the guise of Christians. Thus they can achieve two goals: The first, to smash Christian values and perceptions from within; and the second, to support Zionism by legitimizing its occupation and settling of Palestine."

According to the writer, the Protocols include among other things the following:

"The first protocol calls for the spread of anarchy and wars... [and] contains plans to spread corruption in the world in order to establish firm Jewish rule... Jews are to entice men through liquor, debauchery, and women, and to use fraud, bribery, and betrayal to achieve their goals."

"The second protocol calls for a takeover of government, education, and the press. The fourth protocol calls for a takeover of trade and the destruction of religion."

"While the seventh protocol calls to instigate global wars, the ninth lays out plans to destroy moral values and dispatch agents."

"As far as education is concerned, the sixteenth protocol calls for corrupting it so as to reduce gentiles to creatures incapable of independent thought. Regarding religion, the seventeenth protocol calls to crush religious authority, especially the papacy."

"As regards impoverishing the nations and starving them so as to control them, the twentieth protocol calls for drowning countries in debts, and then forcing them to borrow from Jewish wealth at high interest rates, so that these countries will remain subservient and under their control."...

What a coincidence that this would be happening in Texas, of all places, where Governor Rick Perry partnered with the Aga Khan Foundation to develop a severely whitewashed, Islam-friendly curriculum. When Pamela Geller and I broke the story of that curriculum in 2011, the reaction was furious: one blogger demanded I stop linking him; another claimed that the curriculum material we had uncovered was not really the curriculum at all, and tried to pass off one teacher's private notes as the real curriculum; and former friends and associates denounced us with a cult-like fervor that I still find hard to believe that a clueless and compromised Norquistian nonentity like Rick Perry could have inspired.

Now, lo and behold, we find Texas public school students dressing in burqas. And they've already learned that "Allah is the Almighty God."

"State Investigation Launched After Students Dress in Burqas," by Todd Starnes for Fox News, February 25 (thanks to all who sent this in):

A Texas lawmaker is launching an investigation after a teacher reportedly invited female students to dress up in Islamic garb and then told her classroom they should call Muslim terrorists – freedom fighters.

State Sen. Dan Patrick, chairman of the senate education committee, told Fox News he is very disturbed by the photograph as well as reports that students were exposed to a story that blamed Egypt’s turmoil on democracy – rather than the Muslim Brotherhood.

“Parents are very sensitive to any issue that seems to be anti-American – that blames democracy for some sort of trouble in the world,” he said.

The lesson on Islam was taught in a world geography class at Lumberton High School. The teacher brought burqas and other Islamic clothing for the female students to wear. They were also assigned to write an essay based on a Washington Post story that blamed Egypt’s troubles on democracy – instead of the Muslim Brotherhood.

“I am outraged,” one of the parents, who asked not to be identified, told Fox News. “I felt my blood pressure go through my head.”

The parent said she was not aware of the lesson until she discovered a photograph of her 14-year-old daughter wearing a burqa on Facebook.

“As parents we should have been made aware this

“I felt like the line had been crossed,” she told Fox News. “Christian kids who want to pray have to do it outside of school hours – yet Islam is being taught to our kids during school hours.”

Sen. Patrick said he understands why the parents are upset.

“Could you imagine if someone asked a Muslim student to dress up as a priest,” the senator asked. “The parents of a Muslim student might be rather upset about that.”

The young girl’s father wondered why the teacher was giving children lessons about Islam in a geography class.

“She went from learning about Mexico to learning about Russia to learning about Islam,” he said. “Islam is not a country. Islam is not a continent.”

The parents said they confronted their daughter and told her to explain exactly what she had been taught.

“They were asked about their perception of Islam,” she said. “Most of the class said they thought about terrorism. And her response was, ‘we’re going to change the way we perceive Islam.’”

The teacher reportedly told the students that she did not necessarily agree with the lessons –but she was required to teach the material.

The Lumberton Independent School District released a statement to Fox News defending the class.

“The lesson that was offered focused on exposing students to world cultures, religions, customs and belief systems,” the statement read. “The lesson is not teaching a specific religion, and the students volunteered to wear the clothing.”

The school district said Judaism and Christianity were also part of the lesson. However, the parents said Christianity was not discussed in the classroom.

“The Christian perspective was not taught,” she said. “They went in-depth into Islam and I’m not comfortable with it.”

The district said the photograph does not reflect the entire aspect of the lesson.

“The lesson encompassed diversity education so students receive a firm understanding of our world and why people are motivated differently,” the statement read.

The parents said they immediately contacted the principal of the high school who defended the program and said it was required under CSCOPE – a controversial electronic curriculum system that provides online lesson plans for teachers.

“The principal told me it was world geography and they have to learn this stuff,” she said.

However, the school district said the lesson taught at the high school was not part of written CSCOPE lesson.

“This is the normal answer from every school using CSCOPE,” said Janice VanCleave, a vocal critic of the program and the founder of Texas CSCOPE Review. “They are definitely promoting the Islamic religion.”

VanCleave said the trouble is that teachers are not giving students the full story.

“They are not telling students how these young women are treated in this religion,” she told Fox News. “In the Islamic countries women are not treated well at all.”

Last month, evidence was presented at a state hearing showing that CSCOPE offered a number of lessons about Islam.

One particular lesson instructed teachers to provide classroom readings of selected texts from the Koran.

Students were also taught that Allah is God.

CSCOPE offered no comparable lessons on Christianity or Judaism, VanCleave told Fox News.

“I do think CSCOPE promotes the Islamic religion,” she said. “I don’t think it’s right to be proselytizing the Islamic religion in our schools.”

Patrick said every time they’ve asked CSCOPE leaders about the lessons on Islam, lawmakers were told “those were old lessons.”...

Madness -- ultimately of the suicidal variety.

"Kerry urges Syrian opposition to attend Rome talks," by Matthew Lee for the Associated Press, February 25:

LONDON (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry tried Monday to patch back together a conference with Syrian opposition leaders that was to be the centerpiece of his debut overseas trip, urging Syrian rebel leaders not to boycott the meeting and insisting that more help is on the way in their fight against President Bashar Assad.

Kerry not only made a public plea at a joint news conference Monday with British Foreign Secretary William Hague, he also called Moaz Khatib, leader of the Syrian Opposition Council, "to encourage him to come to Rome," a senior U.S. official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Kerry was in London for the first leg of his first trip as secretary of state — a hectic nine-country dash through Europe and the Middle East. The trip includes a Syrian opposition conference Thursday in Rome, which some members of the sharply divided Syrian opposition council have threatened to boycott.

Kerry also dispatched his top Syrian envoy to Cairo in hopes of convincing opposition leaders that their participation in the conference in Rome is critical to addressing questions from potential donors and securing additional aid from the United States and Europe.

The Rome meeting is the centerpiece of Kerry's nine-nation tour of Europe and the Middle East

"We are not coming to Rome simply to talk," Kerry told reporters in London. "We are coming to Rome to talk about next steps."

Kerry said he was sympathetic to the opposition's complaints that the international community had not done enough, and noted that as a senator he had called for the Obama administration to consider military aid to the Syrian opposition.

But he also noted that he now is part of the administration and "and the president of the United States has sent me here ... because he is concerned about the course of events."

"This moment is ripe for us to be considering what more we can do," he said, adding that if the opposition wants results, "join us."...

Consolidating their power. "6 killed in attack in northern Nigeria, Islamic extremists suspected," from the Associated Press, February 25:

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Nigeria’s military says that at least six people have been killed in an attack in northeastern Nigeria, a region under attack by Islamic extremists.

Lt. Eli Lazarus said Sunday the attack happened Saturday night in Ngalda, a town in Yobe state.

Lazarus said no one has been arrested for the attack. However, local residents say they suspect the radical Islamic sect known as Boko Haram carried out the attack. Boko Haram is blamed for attacks which killed 792 people in 2012, according to a count by The Associated Press.

Egypt’s Rose El-Youssef magazine boasted in a December article that six highly-placed Muslim Brotherhood infiltrators within the Obama Administration had transformed the United States “from a position hostile to Islamic groups and organizations in the world to the largest and most important supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.” The Hagel appointment is just more evidence of that.

"Op-Ed: Hagel’s $160 Billion 'West Bank' US Troops Deathtrap," by Mark Langfan for Israel National News, February 23 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

Hagel, at Obama's bidding, plans to send troops to Judea and Samaria (the "West Bank") where they would soon be victims of Hamas terror. It's in writing. An investigative report.

There is only one reason that Chuck Hagel was picked by President Obama to be US Defense Secretary, and why Obama will go nuclear to get him confirmed:

Hagel is the only person alive now dumb enough to deploy US “peacekeeping” troops to what is surely a "West Bank" deathtrap. Don’t believe me??! Well, in early 2009, two years after Hamas violently took over Gaza, Hagel along with a ragged has-been crew of “Israel Lasters” had some strong “recommendations” for the incoming President Obama.

I will let Hagel’s 2009 “recommendations” speak for themselves. But to lend a note of rationality, Florence Gaub, a NATO researcher, in 2010 published a NATO Research paper outlining some of the problems of such a deployment. (I.e. it would need about 60,000 US/Nato troops and about 160 billion Dollars over 10 years) I and I will excerpt her report as well.

Obama’s determination in confirming Hagel is based on Obama’s belief that Hagel will cripple Israel at any price: including the deaths of  thousands of US soldiers at the hands of Hamas suicide bombs in the Palestinian Authority.

START OF HAGEL’S 2009 REPORT:
 

“A Last Chance for a Two-State Israel-Palestine Agreement,” April 2009. “Submitted to the administration of President Barack Obama” by Zbigniew Brzezinski, Chuck Hagel, et al.

The U.S. parameters should reflect the following fundamental compromise:

[A] non-militarized Palestinian state, together with security mechanisms that address Israeli concerns while respecting Palestinian sovereignty, and a U.S.-led multinational force to ensure a peaceful transitional security period. This coalition peacekeeping structure, under UN mandate, would feature American leadership of a NATO force supplemented by Jordanians, Egyptians and Israelis. We can envision a five-year, renewable mandate with the objective of achieving full Palestinian domination of security affairs on the Palestine side of the line within 15 years. Page 6

III. Substantive Issues to be Resolved: Israel-Palestine

Security.

The borders between the two states must be physically secure and fully controlled for their entire length. A U.S.-led multinational force would likely be essential for a transitional period once a peace agreement is concluded. Palestine would likely be non-militarized. No doubt Jerusalem will require a special security and administrative regime of its own and special arrangements will be needed for the use and regulation of Palestinian airspace. Page 12

Israel-Syria

Security. Demilitarization of the Golan Heights and limited forces zones on both sides – all likely to be supervised by multinational forces featuring American leadership – will be mandatory. Page 13

Read it all.

UK Converts to Islam Seemingly on the Rise
by Enza Ferreri

Apparently Islam is on the rise in the UK not only because of the increasing number of Muslim immigrants and their progenies, but also due to the natives who convert to Islam either spontaneously or in order to marry Muslims.

A source says that the number of Britons converting to Islam has doubled between 2001 and 2011, and these are more women than men.

A January 2011 study by Kevin Brice of Swansea University, on behalf of the organization Faith Matters, calculated that the number of converts to Islam in the UK in 2001 was just over 60,000 and it may have risen to 100,000 in 2010.

Mathematics does not seem to be the strong point of these people, because 100,000 is not double of 60,000, but there is worse: an otherwise decent and interesting article appeared in The Spectator calls it a rise "by two-thirds".

Only 55% of the converts in 2001, however, were white British. In 2010, the percentage of white British among the 122 converts surveyed was about the same, at 56%. Women were 62% of respondents of all ethnic groups. The average age at conversion was 27 and a half.

The report estimates that 5,200 people converted to Islam in the UK in 2010.

In November 2011, The Independent came up with an even higher percentage of women converts, although on what basis is not clear: "It emerged that of the 5,200 Britons who converted to Islam last year, more than half are white and 75 per cent of them women".

A reliable estimate of the number of converts to Islam is difficult, admitted director of Faith Matters Fiyaz Mughal, who added: "This report is the best intellectual 'guestimate' using census numbers, local authority data and polling from mosques".

The problem is that, if you look at the website of Faith Matters, the association that commissioned the report, you immediately encounter well-known terms used by Islamic apologists like "Islamophobia" and "hatred". Advertised on its home page there is a disproportionate number of books negatively portraying the English Defence League, but I haven't seen one on Islamic extremism and violence.

Fiyaz Mughal and its creation Faith Matters also work for the TELL MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Violence) project, "to ensure that anti-Muslim incidents and attacks in the UK are mapped, measured and recorded, and support provided for victims." They seem to be much more concerned about the relatively few (if any) episodes of violence against Muslims than the extremely more numerous acts of violence by Muslims.

So, despite Faith Matters' self-description as "a not for profit organisation founded in 2005 which works to reduce extremism and interfaith and intra-faith tensions and we develop platforms for discourse and interaction between Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Jewish and Hindu communities across the globe. We have offices in the United Kingdom, Pakistan and the Middle East (Jerusalem)", I am a bit suspicious about the figures on converts to Islam in the survey paid for by it.

It is interesting to note, as well, that even according to these figures almost half of all new converts are not white British, so the problem of immigration, gone out of the door, comes back by the window.

About the reasons why anybody - in their right mind, I'm tempted to add - should decide to convert to Islam, many people surveyed pointed to certainties, boundaries and well-defined status.

The Spectator article mentioned above, written by a Catholic woman, says:

But above all, I like the moral certainties. I don’t mind the dogma one bit. I would rather dogma and impossible ideals than confusion and compromise. In that sense, I do identify with those who choose Islam over the way of no faith, or a seemingly uncertain faith, like the woolly old C of E.

So, the more the West distances itself from Christianity, the more likely it will end up in the arms (pun half intended) of Islam.

Enza Ferreri is an Italian-born, London-based author and journalist. She has been a London correspondent for several Italian magazines and newspapers, including Panorama, L'Espresso, La Repubblica.

What would Oscar night without a paranoid anti-Semitic conspiracy theory from the Islamic Republic?

"Iranian media criticize Oscar win for ‘Argo,’" by Jason Rezaian for the Washington Post, February 25 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

TEHRAN — For the second consecutive year many Iranians had good reason to stay up late into the night to watch the Academy Awards ceremony.

Ben Affleck’s “Argo,” which recounts the successful rescue mission of several American diplomats during the 1979 hostage crisis in Tehran, won best picture Sunday night, and Iranian media was quick to react on Monday.

The Post’s Ann Hornaday discusses Ben Affleck’s Oscar-nominated film “Argo.” She weighs in on the film’s chances for best picture and Affleck being passed over for a best director nomination.

The elation that followed Iran’s first Oscar victory for the film “A Separation,” which won best foreign film last year, however, has been pushed aside by what many here see as a politically motivated choice for this year’s best picture winner.

That perception was re-enforced by the surprise presenter of the award, Michelle Obama. Fars News, Iran’s main hardline outlet, wasted no time in questioning her role, writing, “In a rare occasion in Oscar history, the First Lady announced the winner for Best Picture for the anti-Iran Film ‘Argo,’ which is produced by the Zionist company Warner Bros.”

Others criticized the way Affleck referred to Islamic Republic in his acceptance speech when he said, “I want to thank our friends in Iran who live under terrible circumstances.” Mehr News ran this headline: “After distorting history, Ben Affleck continues to show a bleak picture of Iran: Iranians live in terrible circumstances.”

The Asriran news Web site wrote, “Argo is a movie against Iran and it seems that Javad Shamghadri was not able to use his lobby to prevent an anti-Iran movie from winning,” referring to remarks by the deputy for cinema in Iran’s Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance who last week claimed that, at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s request, his organization had lobbied hard for “A Separation” to win in 2012, and that the efforts had paid off.

The award comes less than two days before already tense nuclear talks between Iran and global powers resume in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Iran over the hostage incident, and tensions between the two countries continue to be high over concerns about Iran’s ongoing nuclear activities.

The Center for American Progress is the extraordinarily well-funded and anti-Semitic hard-Left organization that published a highly deceptive and misleading report on the Muslim Brotherhood concept "Islamophobia," defaming numerous people who are trying to defend freedom and Constitutional principles. And now the New York Times' Useful Idiot Thomas Friedman joins them to attribute the "Arab Spring" Islamic supremacist uprisings to "the long-term trends in precipitation, agriculture, food prices, and migration." Jihad doctrine and the ideology of Islamic supremacism? Pah! What could that have had to do with it? And what about the Crusades?

"ADVISORY: Tom Friedman and Anne-Marie Slaughter on Climate Change and the Arab Spring," from the Center for American Progress, February 22 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

Washington, D.C. — Please join the Center for American Progress, the Center for Climate & Security, and the Stimson Center on Thursday, February 28, for the release of a new volume on “Climate Change and the Arab Spring.” Panelists Tom Friedman, Anne-Marie Slaughter, and Michael Werz will parse out these complex interactions and discuss the implications for U.S. foreign and development policy.

The volume outlines the complex pressures exerted by the effects of climate change on the convulsions which swept through the Middle East in 2010 and 2011, exploring the long-term trends in precipitation, agriculture, food prices, and migration which contributed to the social instability and violence which has transformed the region, and offering solutions for progress.
WHO:

Introduction:
Neera Tanden, President of the Center for American Progress
Caitlin E. Werrell and Francesco Femia, Founding Directors, Center for Climate & Security

Panelists:
Tom Friedman, New York Times columnist, bestselling author of From Beirut to Jerusalem and The World Is Flat, and winner of three Pulitzer Prizes
Anne-Marie Slaughter, Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University, former Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. Department of State

Moderator:
Michael Werz, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

WHEN:
February 28, 2013
10:00am ET – 11:30am ET

RSVP:
RSVP for this event

Location
Center for American Progress
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC20005

Why not? What could possibly go wrong?

Seriously, asinine recommendations like this one stem from a deeply held willful blindness about the nature and magnitude of the jihad threat. But such blindness is pandemic in Washington these days.

"Top Democrat on Foreign Affairs panel calls for arming Syrian opposition," by Julian Pecquet for The Hill, February 24 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs panel on Sunday called on the White House to arm rebels in Syria, raising pressure on President Obama to ramp up U.S. involvement in the two-year-old civil war.

“I will be introducing legislation to allow the president to arm the rebels,” Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said on ABC's This Week. “I think it's time to do that. I think the Free Syria Army needs help. We know who they are and I think it's time we make that move.”

The comments follow revelations that top administration officials – including Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former CIA director David Petraeus and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey – have supported such a move since last year. Officials inside the White House, however, caution that weapons, in particular shoulder-fired missiles, could fall into the hands of Islamist extremists....

“We run the risk of seeing Assad hang on a long time,” Engel said. He added that the fall of the Syrian strongman would undermine America's arch-foe, Iran.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said getting more involved could give the United States much-needed credibility. He called for creating a no-fly zone in the northern part of the country and coordinating the weapons systems going to the rebels from the Gulf states.

“The United States doesn't have credibility with the opposition now,” he said. “So any diplomatic, negotiated settlement, the United States can't play an important role because they don't have the faith and confidence of the opposition.”

Arming the jihadists won't earn the U.S. "credibility" in their eyes. It will only earn their contempt.

Victimhood is big business: insofar as they can claim protected victim status for Muslims, Islamic supremacists can deflect unwanted scrutiny and any critical examination of how jihadists use Islamic texts and teachings to justify violence and supremacism.

That's most likely why CAIR and others have not hesitated to stoop even to fabricating "hate crimes." They want and need hate crimes against Muslims, because they can use them for political points and as weapons to intimidate people into remaining silent about the jihad threat.

"Austria: Muslims Set Fire to Own Fast-Food Business and Leave 'Racist' Graffiti to Mislead Investigators," by Cheradenine Zakalwe for Islam Versus Europe, February 24 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

A couple of weeks ago a pizzeria owned by Albanian Muslims in Wörgl, Austria, was badly burned. A nearby building owned by a Turkish association was also set on fire. 'Racist' graffiti in Turkish was left on the scene, complete with swastika symbols. This immediately provoked demonstrations from Turks and Greens protesting against "right-wingers" and "racists". One placard read :

Racism isn't an opinion! Racism is a crime

It has now emerged, though, the both fires were set by the Muslims themselves. They were in dire financial circumstances and wanted the insurance payment. The 'racist' graffiti was simply left to mislead the investigators. Fortunately, two of the Muslim perps were injured in their own attack when the fire they were setting produced an explosion.

After the arson attack on a pizzeria and the premises of an association in Wörgl, the investigators have made public new details. One of the perpetrators has confessed, another is in custody. The anti-foreigner words are said to have been a diversionary tactic.

According to police, financial problems were the motive for the attack. As reported, two brothers were injured in front of the premises during the attack - an 18-year-old and 31-year-old Albanian...

Will the Islamophobia never end?

"Nigeria Christians Mourn Their Dead After Massacre, Attacks," from BosNewsLife, February 24 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

ABUJA, NIGERIA (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in central Nigeria could mourn their dead Sunday, February 24, after the massacre of a Christian family while sectarian clashes killed one person and left churches, homes and mosques burnt, officials said.

In one the worst incidents since Thursday, February 21, suspected Muslim attackers used machetes and guns to murder 10 members of the same Christian family in Plateau state, with half the victims under the age of six, the military and government confirmed.

"A [Christian Berom] family of 10 were ... murdered" by Muslim Fulani herdsmen said Pam Ayuba, the governor's spokesman, in published remarks. "Five little children including a two-month-old child were slaughtered."

Members of the mostly Christian Berom ethnic group, who consider themselves the state's indigenous people, have previously accused the military of involvement in violence on behalf of the Fulani.

MILITARY DENIES WRONGDOING

However French news agency AFP quoted a military spokesman in Plateau, Lt. Kingsley Amos, as saying no soldiers were involved in the attack.

"Somehow, some hoodlums and criminals gained access to our old uniforms...but I can assure that none of our people were involved," he said....

Last Tuesday night I sat in with Sam Shamoun on his ABN show to discuss what the Islamic texts say about whether or not the Bible has been corrupted.

This is our friend and ally, for whom we have poured out blood and treasure. "Karzai orders US forces out of Afghan province," from AFP, February 24 (thanks to Charles):

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai demanded Sunday the withdrawal of US special forces from Wardak within two weeks, accusing them of fuelling “insecurity and instability” in the volatile province neighbouring the capital Kabul.

“In today’s national security council meeting… President Karzai ordered the ministry of defence to kick out the US special forces from Wardak province within two weeks,” said presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi.

“The US special forces and illegal armed groups created by them are causing insecurity, instability, and harass local people in this province,” he told a press conference....

They also demanded a ban on "atheist bloggers," by which they no doubt mean the counter-jihad bloggers that the state has already determined to shut down. And the "anti-Islamic" label amounts to putting a target on the head of everyone who opposes them, who now may be targeted by violent jihadis.

"Islamist-party led shutdown turns violent, four killed," by Haroon Habib for The Hindu, February 25 (thanks to Maxwell)

Four people were killed and dozens, including some law enforcers, injured when police, attacked by Islamist pickets, opened fire in Bangladesh on Sunday.

Khelafat Majlish, one of the eight Islamist parties, enforced the countrywide daylong shutdown on Sunday in Manikgonj, near Dhaka, calling the Shahbagh protesters “anti Islamic”. The deaths were all reported from Manikgonj, 40 miles from Dhaka.

Resistance

Meanwhile, defying the dawn-to-dusk shutdown, hundreds of demonstrators brought out a huge mass procession on Sunday from Shahbagh Projonmo Chottor, chanting revolutionary slogans and taking a vow to resist the shutdown called [by] the Islamist parties.

They demanded death penalty to all war criminals and ban on Jamaat-e-Islami. People regardless of religion, caste and creed; bloggers; organisers of the Shahbagh movement; and leaders and activists of different student organisations took part in the procession.

The youngsters, having completed their 19-day protests in Shahbagh earlier, called the people to resist those who had rampaged through the country on Friday — burning and tearing national flags, destroying Shaheed Minars and beating up police. Led by Khelafat Andolon, eight Islamic parties, most of them less known, called the shutdown demanding punishment to ‘atheist bloggers’ who organised the unprecedented Shahbagh protest, demanding death penalty to the war criminals . The main opposition BNP had extended support to the countrywide shutdown.

Will the Islamophobia never end? "Muslims Torch and Loot 200 Hindu Homes in West Bengal (Images)," by Sandhya Jain (Niti Central) in The Chakra, February 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Amidst a near-complete media blackout and distressing silence from statutory bodies like the National Human Rights Commission, a serious communal flare up has taken place in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, with more than 200 Hindu homes torched and looted in four villages — Naliakhali, Herobhanga, Gopalpur and Goladogra, in the Canning police station area, from the wee hours of February 19. Almost two dozen Hindu shops were fully damaged and looted in Joynagar police station area; many shopkeepers have fled and members of the besieged community have begun to send their womenfolk away.

Although triggered by a purely local incident, the looming Panchayat elections in the State seem to have given vested interests an opportunity for a show of strength. Competitive communalism is in the air, with the two major political formations fighting to capture the huge Muslim vote in the State.

By all accounts, the trouble began late in the night of February 18-19 when Maulvi Rohul Kuddus (resident of Ghutiyari Shariff, South 24 Parganas) and Abdul Wahab (resident of village Moujpur, Joynagar) were returning from Jaamtala Haat in Kultali after attending a religious congregation. Maulvi Kuddus was driving a motorcycle when the duo was attacked by unidentified culprits on the Naliakhali main road. Maulvi Rohul Kuddus was shot dead and his aide Abdul Wahab, injured.

The motive for the murder is unclear. Reports in a prominent newspaper however, claim that the Maulvi was carrying Rs 11.5 lakhs, which was taken away by the assailants. Other sources say that huge unaccounted funds are circulating in the region and are being used to buy unlicensed firearms and ammunition, under the patronage of political parties.

As rumours spread, large numbers of Muslims began to descend upon the area in trucks. The headmaster of a local school reportedly incited the mob, and soon Hindu homes began to be attacked from the early hours of February 19. The violence quickly escalated with the police and administration initially at a loss. According to local reports, police officers Anup Samaddar and Anup Ghoash of the Canning police station were seriously injured and two police vehicles torched in the turmoil. The unrest has spread to Sandeshkhali area of North 24 Parganas.

Hindu Samhati leader Tapan Ghosh, who is monitoring the situation with volunteers, told a local television channel that after the Maulvi’s body was found, Naliakhali village, which was closest to the site of the crime, was attacked and looted, the village temple damaged, and five women molested. As the police party was initially outnumbered, the mob torched homes with impunity, pouring petrol and setting them ablaze in a three hour rampage. Naliakhali villagers claimed they had no knowledge about the murder and the reasons for the attack on them until the police arrived.

Neighbouring villages were also attacked, Hindus beaten and their shops destroyed. The mob set up roadblocks at several places such as Natunhat, Priyor More (Joynagar ps), Bhangankhali, Hospital More (Basanti ps).

The Sun frames this exclusively as a racial issue, but "Asian" is the British media's euphemism for Muslim, and it appears from the knife threat that Aaron was targeted by budding young jihadis. And school authorities did nothing; to have acted against the Muslim students would have been "Islamophobic."

"Aaron, 9, ‘bullied to death for being white’: Family blames Asian yobs for suicide," by Andrew Parker and Felix Allen in the Sun, February 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):

THE devastated family of a nine-year-old boy who hanged himself say he took his life after racist taunts by Asian bullies.

Aaron Dugmore — thought to be one of Britain’s youngest suicides after bullying — was found in his bedroom after months of jibes at school, they claim.

His family say that Aaron was threatened with a plastic KNIFE by one Asian pupil — who warned him: “Next time it will be a real one.”

But despite complaints to the school, where 75 per cent of pupils come from ethnic backgrounds, they claim nothing was done to stop the bullying.

Heartbroken mum Kelly-Marie Dugmore is convinced the taunts led to her son killing himself two weeks ago. She sobbed: “We are not racist people. Aaron got on with all the children at his last school, and for him to have been bullied because of the colour of his skin makes me feel sick to my stomach.”

Aaron joined Erdington Hall primary in Birmingham last September after the family moved nearby. But Kelly-Marie, 30, and stepdad Paul Jones, 43, noticed a change in him from his first day.

Paul said: “He became argumentative with his brothers and sisters, which wasn’t like him at all. Eventually he told us that he was being bullied by a group of Asian children at school and had to hide from them in the playground at lunchtime. He said one kid even said to him, ‘My dad says all the white people should be dead’.”

Kelly-Marie claimed: “He was even threatened with a plastic knife by one boy. When Aaron stuck up for himself he said it’d be a real one next time.

“I went to see head Martin Collin a few times, but he only said, ‘You didn’t have to come to this school, you chose to come here’.”

A spokesman for Erdington Hall, labelled unsatisfactory by Ofsted, said Aaron had “settled in quickly”. West Midlands Police are investigating the causes of Aaron’s death.

I received this story via an email from World Vision in Progress, an organization that works for the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan. It is just one of so many stories like it that come out of Pakistan all the time. This young Christian man ran afoul of the Sharia provision forbidding Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men.

A Christian boy named Mard-e-Khuda, resident of Tehsil Haroonabad, District Bahawalpur, aged 19 years was barbarically assassinated on 9th January 2013. He was falsely accused of having an affair with a Muslim girl.

The local young Muslims had threatened him and they also used to proclaim openly that they will kill Mard-e-Khuda. On 9th January 2013, three Muslim men named Muhammad Shafique, Illyas (Eidoo) and Sufiyan broke into his house and brutally assassinated him at 5.30 a.m. Illyas and Sufiyan gripped his hands and legs tightly and Mohammad Shafique hit his head with an axe. Afterwards Illyas and Sufiyan also stabbed him with a dagger. In the meanwhile Mard-e-Khuda’s father woke up and as he started shouting and crying, the culprits ran from the spot.

On the same day an FIR bearing no.7/13 under section 302/34 was registered against them in Faqeerwali Police Station Bahawalpur. Unfortunately the Police is cooperating with the culprits and they have not yet arrested Mohammad Shafique, Illyas and Sufiyan. All three of them are living in the same vicinity and the police is not taking any action against them, even the S.H.O stated that such Christian who was having an affair with a Muslim girl was rightly killed by the Muslims.

In Pakistan, hundreds of Christian girls are raped and forcefully converted by the Muslims but if any Christian man does such thing, he is sentenced to death and even the Muslim girl is also apostated. Religious minority is facing this discriminatory law every day while living in Pakistan.

WVIP is filing a petition on Monday, 25th February 2013. One month has been passed but the police is still not arresting the culprits. Even Illyas has admitted openly that he had killed Mard-e-Khuda but the police is reluctant to arrest all three of them.

Here again we see the high cost of misunderstanding the Religion of Peace and Tolerance. Muslims, including imams as we see here, are falling prey to this tremendous misunderstanding of Islam every day, and getting the crazy idea that its teachings have something to do with warfare. And yet still American Muslim groups have no programs anywhere to prevent young Muslims from misunderstanding Islam in this way. Don't they care about their youth?

"US jury in San Diego convicts 4 Somali men of terrorist support," from the
Associated Press, February 22 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

SAN DIEGO – A federal jury in San Diego has convicted four Somali immigrants -- including an imam from a local mosque -- of conspiring to funnel money to a terrorist group in their home country.

After a three-week trial and three days of deliberations, the jury convicted the four men Friday of conspiring to raise and send money to Somalia's al-Shabaab...

The U.S. State Department designated al-Shabaab a terrorist group in 2008, and federal prosecutors have since cracked down on the group's U.S. support with the arrests of some two dozen people, mostly in Minnesota.

Those convicted include 40-year-old Mohamed Mohamud, an imam at a San Diego mosque, along with two taxi drivers and a man who operated a financial business that was used to move the money.

The fact that a psychological evaluation was done at all indicates yet again the official unwillingness to deal with the reality of jihad. They just cannot understand how sane and otherwise reasonable people would want to commit mass murder. The idea that they are exhorted to do so by religious texts is not something their politically correct mindset allows them to consider.

"Psychologist: Tampa terrorism suspect competent for trial," by Elaine Silvestrini for The Tampa Tribune, February 21:

TAMPA A court-appointed psychologist has concluded terrorism suspect Sami Osmakac is competent to stand trial, a judge said Thursday.

Sami Osmakac, a naturalized citizen from Kosovo, was arrested last year on charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and possession of an unregistered machine gun after an undercover sting by the FBI. Authorities said he planned to attack a busy Tampa night spot, then take hostages and demand the release of Muslim prisoners.

Prosecutors asked the court to order an evaluation of Osmakac because he "may be suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to communicate with his counsel or assist the defense," according to U.S. Magistrate Anthony Porcelli's order.

Porcelli convened a brief hearing Thursday and informed the parties that psychologist Debbie Goldsmith determined Osmakac is competent.

Defense lawyer Ralph Fernandez, who mentioned Osmakac's "auditory hallucinations," said he has concerns that his client may not be competent, and he requested a hearing.

Fernandez said he didn't plan to hire his own expert because he has been unable to find someone willing to perform an assessment in the terrorism case. The lawyer also noted "desperation and paranoia" observed by government agents who were monitoring Osmakac for more than a year before he was arrested.

"This report doesn't address some critical issues," Fernandez said of Goldsmith's conclusions.

Porcelli said he will allow Fernandez to question Goldsmith at a hearing, but he did not set the date, allowing lawyers to confer with each other.

Fernandez withdrew a motion he filed earlier asking for information about an informant. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Sweeney asked that the motion be stricken because Fernandez had not first spoken to the prosecution before filing.

Fernandez filed another motion asking for any surveillance recordings obtained of Osmakac under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a law that governs how the government secretly can monitor communications involving American citizens in cases of national security.

In that motion, which alludes to a possible entrapment defense, Fernandez says Osmakac was subject to extensive interviews and had materials and documents seized when he flew to Detroit from Istanbul, Turkey in March 2011. That flight had a stop in Amsterdam, and inspectors there notified U.S. Homeland Security inspectors of their concerns, Fernandez wrote.

"All people of the world should be called to Islam. If anyone of them refuses to do so, or refuses to pay the Jizya they should be fought till they are killed." -- The renowned Qur'an commentator Ibn Kathir

Islamic Tolerance Alert from the Islamic Republic of Iran: "Imprisoned American says Iranian captors 'waiting for me to deny Christ,'" by Lisa Daftari for FoxNews.com, February 22 (thanks to Daniel):

American pastor Saeed Abedini, jailed in a notoriously brutal Iranian prison for his Christian faith, is facing physical and psychological torture at the hands of captors demanding he renounce his beliefs, according to supporters.

The 32-year-old married father of two, who left his home in Boise, Idaho, to help start an orphanage in his latest country, detailed “horrific pressures” and “death threats,” is a letter to family members, according to his U.S.-based attorneys.

“My eyes get blurry, my body does not have the strength to walk, and my steps become very weak and shaky,” read the letter, sneaked out of Evin prison in Tehran. "They are only waiting for one thing…for me to deny Christ. But they will never get this from me.”

Abedini was sentenced to eight years in prison for threatening the national security of Iran through his leadership in Christian house churches. The American Center for Law and Justice has provided legal support for Abedini’s family in the U.S. and is working through various government means to help win the pastor’s release. ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow said the fact that the torture is happening after Abedini's trial, a sham he and his attorney were not even allowed to attend, is particularly chilling.

“This is post conviction," Sekulow said. "This isn’t about a trial. This is about life, and the message is you will be treated this way until you become a Muslim.”

Family and friends of Abedini have long suspected the worst regarding his treatment in the prison, but the latest letter confirmed their fears.

“This is only second time we’ve heard from him, but this makes sense in light of how Christians are being treated in Iran," Sekulow said. "He can’t communicate this message every day. It’s our job to get this important message out to everyone.”

Abedini has denied evangelizing in Iran since being arrested and admonished more than a decade ago. He has made over nine trips to Iran since 2009, but says he traveled to visit family and friends, and on his last trip over the summer of 2012, finalize details on a family established orphanage. Authorities pulled him off a bus last August and threw him into Evin prison....

If all the Republicans had this much spine and were not so Norquistian and compromised, the U.S. wouldn't be in this fix. "Republican Warns: Vote for Hagel and be Held Accountable," by Elad Benari for Israel National News, February 22 (thanks to Voice of the Copts):

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) has warned fellow Republicans they will be held accountable if they vote to end an ongoing Senate filibuster over the nomination of embattled secretary of defense nominee Chuck Hagel, the Washington Free Beacon reports.

“Make no mistake; a vote for cloture is a vote to confirm Sen. Hagel as Secretary of Defense,” Inhofe wrote in a strongly worded letter to his Republican colleagues on Thursday, according to the Free Beacon.

Several of the Republicans have indicated in recent days that they would vote to end debate on Hagel’s nomination, paving the way for his confirmation.

Hagel’s nomination stalled last week when Senate Democrats could not muster the 60-votes needed to end a Republican filibuster of the nomination.

If just a few Republicans defect on Tuesday when the Senate resumes consideration of the nomination, Hagel is assured approval.

In the letter Inhofe warns his Republican colleagues that a vote for Hagel would imperil the nation’s security.

“As the Senate once again considers the Hagel nomination, it is essential to remember a vote for cloture is a vote to confirm Sen. Hagel as Secretary of Defense,” Inhofe wrote.

“We should not let claims about presidential prerogatives and precedents dissuade us from carefully assessing the judgment and positions of this nominee. The president can do better,” he added.

“Remember,” Inhofe wrote, “our nation’s security is at stake as you cast your vote on Tuesday.”

Inhofe’s missive appears aimed at several key Republicans who have expressed support for Hagel.

Three Republicans have said they would vote for Hagel’s confirmation (Sens. Richard Shelby, Mike Johanns, and Thad Cochran); a handful of other Republicans have said they will vote to advance the nomination to a full vote even if they do not vote for Hagel, which in effect would assure his confirmation.

Republican Sens. Deb Fischer (Neb.), Lisa Murkowski (Ala.), and Susan Collins (Maine) have said they will vote for cloture.

Inhofe rebuts Democratic claims that the delay of Hagel’s nomination has been an unprecedented and warranted move.

“I know the Senate had traditionally deferred to the president on cabinet nominations. However, our nation is at war,” Inhofe wrote. “The Senate must insist on confirming only the most effective leaders, not only to keep our nation safe, but to ensure our service members receive the leadership they deserve.”

“Unfortunately, I firmly believe Sen. Hagel’s well-established record does not meet this essential requirement for confirmation,” the letter states.

Inhofe goes on to outline his top concerns regarding Hagel, which include his controversial comments about Israel, his desire to cut the nation’s nuclear arsenal, and his desire to increase outreach to Iran.

The Republican Jewish Coalition, along with countless others, has cited a long list of Hagel’s anti-Israel policies, asserting that his nomination would “be a slap in the face for every American who is concerned about the safety of Israel.”

Hagel, however, recently claimed that there is "not one shred of evidence that I'm anti-Israeli, not one (Senate) vote that matters that hurt Israel."

Earlier this week, a publication of Hagel’s statements from a 2010 meeting with university students showed yet another anti-Israel statement.

Hagel reportedly said that Israel is becoming an “apartheid state,” and dismissed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu as “a radical.”

Hagel’s statements were revealed by a student who was present at the event. Former student Kenneth Wagner shared an email he wrote during Hagel’s talk with the Washington Free Beacon.

Despite all the criticism, however, Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) predicted this week that Hagel will likely be confirmed.

“No, I don’t believe he’s qualified, but I don’t believe that we should hold up his nomination any further, because I think it’s (been) a reasonable amount to time to have questions answered,” McCain said, denying that Republicans' attacks on Hagel were personal in nature.

"99 percent of it has to do with the positions Senator Hagel has taken," he told NBC’s “Meet the Press”.

McCain is so very much part of the problem. 99 percent? I couldn't care less what he is like as a person. I just don't want to see a jihad enabler and foe of Israel as Secretary of Defense.

Coptic activist, lawyer and president of the Egyptian Human Rights Union Naguib Gebrail says that this choice of a date violates ''human rights as concerns religious freedom." Now why would a Sharia regime do that? Don't they know that Sharia is benign, tolerant, and fully compatible with Western principles of human rights? Imam Rauf, call your office!

"Egypt: rushed elections not conducive to stability, NSF," from ANSAmed, February 22 (thanks to Insubria):

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO- Egypt's main opposition group as criticized the ''rush'' to hold the upcoming elections, saying that this ''will not lead to stability''. National Salvation Front (NSF) spokesman Khaled Daoud told ANSAmed that the front would meet on Sunday to discuss the calling of elections to begin on April 27. He added that the group's lawyers were looking into filing a complaint of unconstitutionality against the new electoral law.

Coptic activist, lawyer and president of the Egyptian Human Rights Union Naguib Gebrail has meanwhile spoken out against the choice of date itself. He said that the Muslim Brotherhood had found ''a new method'' to stop Egypt's Copts from voting, by calling for elections to be held on their Easter. April 28 is Palm Sunday for Egyptian Copts and their Easter will be on May 5, when the second round of voting is slated to be held in a number of voting districts including Cairo.

The decree for election day therefore violates ''human rights as concerns religious freedom'', Gebrail said. Egyptian coptic tycoon Naguib Sawiris also critized the decision. (ANSAmed).

The perpetrator is going to be "subjected to psychiatric evaluation." That'll fix everything.

Welcome to Eurabia: "Strasbourg: Muslim Smashes Up Church, Leaves Koran and Muslim Prayer Carpet Inside and Writes "Allahu Akbar" on Smashed Statues," by Cheradenine Zakalwe for Islam Versus Europe, February 22 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

A 24-year-old Moroccan has been arrested in Strasbourg, suspected of having damaged statues in a church and of having placed a prayer carpet and a Koran stolen from a mosque.

Taken into custody on Thursday, the suspect has acknowledged the facts. He is going to be subjected to psychiatric examination. According to the priest of the church concerned, located in the centre of Strasbourg, he "probably" has psychological problems.

The man is suspected of having toppled around 15 statues. "He wrote 'Allah ou akbar' [God is the greatest] in Arabic with chalk, especially underneath thet status, and placed a Koran on a pulpit," specified the priest.

The man was exposed by officials of the Grand Mosque of Strasbourg, who noticed that several times he had stolen objects from the mosque, including the imam's prayer carpet, indicated one of the officials of the mosque.

This is no surprise, considering that Shaker Elsayed is imam of the Dar al Hijrah mosque, where Anwar al-Awlaki was once based. But this is an open call to violence by Muslims against non-Muslims in America. When it is heeded, those who were indifferent to his words will share the responsibility.

Video thanks to Pamela Geller.

I warned of this back in January 2011 -- and on Fox Juan Williams told me I was "fearmongering."

"The silent Islamization of Egyptian society," from AsiaNews, February 23 (thanks to Tom):

Cairo (AsiaNews) - From the continuing attacks against Christians, to the proposed ban on alcohol and belly dancing, Egypt is increasingly being transformed into an Islamic state. The signs of this change are not only within the Constitution, based on sharia, but the imposition of customs until now the preserve of a minority of society. In recent days, a decision of an Administrative Court of Cairo has made headlines. The court is allowing police officers to wear beards the "Islamic way" after a thirty years ban. In February, dozens of police officers were suspended for violating the law. They protested for days in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior arousing the sympathy of several Salafi imams and police officers who lobbied on the Court to remove the ban. Dating back to the regime of Hosni Mubarak, the law was introduced to prevent the entry in the police force of elements of radical Islamism who would not be impartial in administering the law. Anyone who sported an Islamic beard was suspended.

According to the moderate newspaper Al Ahram, the Court's verdict marks an important page in the Egyptian society and confirms the silent Islamization of institutions and has sparked new protests by Christians and the secular opposition, which for months has been denouncing this trend.

However this ruling is not the only sign of this trend taking hold. Radical Islamists begin to emerge even in the army after decades of keeping a low profile. In recent days, the Baladna Bel Masry talk showed a video of a military tank painted with the words: "Not God but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." The video was shown across the country and today Ahmed Mohammed Ali, spokesman of the Higher Council of the Armed Forces announced legal action against those responsible. "One vehicle - however, he stressed - does not mean that the phenomenon concerns the entire army."

Attempts to Islamize Egyptian society also affect education. In recent days Mogheth Kamal, an expert on education, denounced a Muslim Brotherhood plan to impose lessons of Islam and the Koran in schools, even private ones. The Islamist movement reportedly has the support of many institutions, including foreign ones.

And Barack Obama.

A warm-hearted humanitarian gesture. But what are the Australian authorities going to do to make sure that they aren't importing jihadis and Islamic supremacists among these persecuted Hazaras? Probably nothing. And once Muslim countries are completely homogeneous, with all the Shias and Christians and Jews and Bahais and all other religious minorities safely in non-Muslim countries, who will protect them from the Muslims there who may wish to carry on the jihad in their new countries? And what will the sanctuary nations of the West do as they offer asylum to jihad's victims and the jihadis, having driven out all the kuffar, focus their attention on those non-Muslim nations?

"2,500 Hazara families offered asylum," by Inamullah Khattak for Dawn, February 20:

ISLAMABAD: The Australian government has offered asylum to over 2,500 Hazara families of Balochistan and urged the United Nations refugee agency in Pakistan to facilitate migration of the community facing sectarian violence, Australian embassy sources said.

Jim O’Callaghan, assistant secretary of the humanitarian branch of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Australia, had held a meeting with UNHCR officials last week and discussed the asylum offer with them, First Secretary Australian High Commission Sherief Andrawos told Dawn on Wednesday.

The UNHCR was informed that Australia was willing to accommodate 2,500 families or 7,000 individuals of the Hazara community, keeping in view attacks on them.

“Yes we have started work on facilitating members of Shia minority and other people prone to sectarian violence for giving them refuge in Australia. The Australian government wants our assistance in this regard,” Maya Ameratunga, deputy representative of United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Pakistan, confirmed to Dawn.

On Saturday, over 100 members of the Shia Hazara community were killed in a bomb attack in Quetta. The dead included 33 registered Afghan refugees, triggering condemnation from the UNHCR that asked authorities to protect the lives of refugees in this hour of sadness....

But wait! "There is no compulsion in religion" (Qur'an 2:256), right?

Well, consider this from the mainstream and still-consulted medieval Qur'an commentator Ibn Kathir (thanks to David Wood):

Allah says: "There is no compulsion in religion," meaning: do not force anyone to embrace Islam because it is clear, and its proofs and evidences are manifest. Whoever Allah guides and opens his heart to Islam has indeed embraced it with clear evidence. Whoever Allah misguides, blinds his heart and has set a seal on his hearing and a covering on his eyes cannot embrace Islam by force.

The reason for the revelation of this verse was that the women of Ansar used to make a vow to convert their sons to Judaism if the latter lived. And when the tribe of Bani an-Nadhir was expelled from Madinah, some children of Ansar were among them, so their parents could not abandon them; hence Allah revealed: "There is no compulsion in religion…," narrated by Ibn Jarir, on the authority of Ibn Abbas, Abu Dawud and an-Nasa’i, on the authority of Bandar, Abu Hatim, and Ibn Hiban from the Hadith of Shu’bah, Mujahid and others. However Muhammad Ibn Ishaq narrated that Ibn Abbas said: it was revealed with regard to a man from the tribe of Bani Salim Ibn Awf called al-Husayni whose two sons converted to Christianity but he was himself a Muslim. He told the Prophet: "Shall I force them to embrace Islam, they insist on Christianity", hence Allah revealed this verse. But this verse is abrogated by the verse of "fighting": "You shall be called to fight against a people given to great warfare, then you shall fight them, or they shall surrender" (Al-Fath: 16). Allah also says: "O Prophet! Strive hard against the disbelieves and the hypocrites, and be harsh against them" (At-Tauba:73), and He says: "O you who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are close to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who are the Al-Muttaqin (the pious)," (At-Tauba:123).

Therefore, all people of the world should be called to Islam. If anyone of them refuses to do so, or refuses to pay the Jizya they should be fought till they are killed. This is the meaning of compulsion. In the Sahih, the Prophet said: "Allah wonders at those people who will enter Paradise in chains", meaning prisoners brought in chains to the Islamic state, then they embrace Islam sincerely and become righteous, and are entered among the people of Paradise. (Tafsir of Ibn Kathir, Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 253 to 286, Surah Al-Imran, ayat 1 to 92, abridged by Sheikh Muhammad Nasib Ar-Rafa‘i [Al-Firdous Ltd., London, 1999: First Edition], Part 3, pp. 37-38.)

And Coptic leaders have already said that they will resist paying the jizya "to the point of martyrdom." So that leaves only conversion or death.

"Islam or death? Egypt's Christians targeted by new terror group," by Lisa Daftari for FoxNews.com, February 21 (thanks to Walter):

A group of Christian priests from a local Coptic church in Egypt were told to convert to Islam or face death, according to an Arabic news site.

The incident, which comes in the midst of continued persecution and pressure on Egypt’s Christian community, took place this week in the town of Safaga, near the Red Sea, the El Balad site reported.

According to El Balad, the threats are from a new group in Egypt, Jihad al-Kufr, whose name translates to Jihad against non-believers or non-Muslims. The group targets non-Muslims, and reportedly pressures them to convert to Islam.

“It’s not the first time. This is happening every day,” said Adel Guindy, president of Coptic Solidarity and a member of Egypt’s Coptic community who travels between Paris and Cairo. “This one incident caught the attention of the news agencies, but there are worse things happening to the Christians every day in Egypt,” he said.

Christians have felt increasingly at risk since the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, which resulted in the rise of President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood movement.

“It has definitely worsened under the revolution. Once the worst part of the society surfaced -- the Islamists -- the Copts are paying a heavy price. The West doesn’t really feel our pain. It’s a war of attrition,” Guindy said.

Copts are the largest Christian community in the Middle East, and the most prominent religious minority in the region. Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s 85 million people.

Egypt’s new constitution has come under scrutiny by many for including elements of Sharia, or Islamic law, while simultaneously legitimizing the marginalization of the country’s religious minorities by denying them legal protection. It also granted increased powers to Morsi, who self-declared sweeping powers in a Nov. 22 power grab that prompted heavy international criticism....

Over at Atlas Shrugs I cut through yet another example of Islamic supremacist lies and distortions:

According to Islamic supremacist hate groups such as the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), no one would have any problem with Islam if it weren’t for bigoted non-Muslims who irresponsibly “link Islam to terrorism” – and this link, they claim, gives rise to acts of violence against Muslims. Hamas-linked CAIR and its allied groups have for years now been pumping out disinformation designed to “clear up misconceptions” about Islam and set the record straight. On its website Hamas-linked CAIR says that it was established in order to “promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims in America,” and declares that “we believe misrepresentations of Islam are most often the result of ignorance on the part of non-Muslims and reluctance on the part of Muslims to articulate their case.”

However, the cure offered by American Muslim groups may be worse than the disease. All too often these groups construct a “positive image of Islam” out of smoke and mirrors. Instead of dealing forthrightly and constructively with the concerns and questions that non-Muslims have about Islam’s relation to jihad terrorism, Islamic supremacist groups in the U.S. are more interested in throwing sand in our eyes.

A quintessential example of this is a publication of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), a Muslim Brotherhood group: “Q & A on Islam and Arab Americans,” which originally ran in USA Today and circulates widely. It’s a handy compendium of many of the chief claims that Islamic supremacists make in order to lull non-Muslims into complacency and confuse them regarding the nature of the jihad threat.

1. Islam means peace. The flyer notes that “the Arabic word for ‘Islam’ means ‘submission,’ and it derives from a word meaning ‘peace.’” Indeed, in Arabic, Islam and salaam (“peace”) share the same linguistic root, but this in itself is virtually meaningless. All sorts of words share the same roots, and can still have quite divergent meanings — such as the English word love and the related Sanskrit word lubh (lust). Noting the derivation of the word Islam in this brief information flyer can only be an attempt to lend credibility to oft-repeated claim that Islam is a religion of peace. But that idea glosses over Islam’s doctrines of war and subjugation, with the IIIT does not address and pretends do not exist.

2. “Jihad does not mean ‘holy war,’” says the IIIT. “Literally, jihad in Arabic means to strive, struggle and exert effort. It is a central and broad Islamic concept that includes struggle against evil inclinations within oneself, struggle to improve the quality of life in society, struggle in the battlefield for self defense or fighting against tyranny or oppression.”

This was a precursor to Hamas-linked CAIR’s deceptive and misleading “#MyJihad” campaign, which attempts to convince non-Muslims that jihad is about making friends and getting exercise. To its credit, the IIIT goes farther than Hamas-linked CAIR by mentioning the battlefield, and in this it is more accurate than CAIR’s preposterously innocuous farrago. Islamic theology distinguishes between the “greater jihad,” which involves “struggle against evil inclinations within oneself,” and the “lesser jihad,” which is hinted at here as “struggle in the battlefield for self defense or fighting against tyranny or oppression.” Still, left unmentioned is the fact that throughout history, Muslims have not stopped at self-defense or fighting against tyranny. One manual of Islamic law — certified as conforming “to the practice and faith of the orthodox Sunni Community” by Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, the most prestigious and influential Islamic institution among Sunni Muslims worldwide — calls jihad “a communal obligation” to “war against non-Muslims.” It is an obligation to make war upon “Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians” until they “become Muslim or else pay the non-Muslim poll tax,” and to fight “all other peoples until they become Muslim.”

3. Islam condemns terrorism. The “Q & A” asserts that “Islam does not support terrorism under any circumstances. Terrorism goes against every principle in Islam. If a Muslim engages in terrorism, he is not following Islam. He may be wrongly using the name of Islam for political or financial gain.”

This is a problem of definition. Islamic spokesmen routinely refer to the actions of Israel and the U.S. as “terrorism,” but to those of Hamas and Hizballah as justified acts of “resistance” against “oppression.” For example, the late Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, was a foe of terrorism of such renown that President George W. Bush quoted him at the United Nations in late 2001 as saying that “terrorism is a disease, and that Islam prohibits killing innocent civilians.” But Tantawi also called suicide bombing “the highest form of Jihad operations,” and added that “every martyrdom operation against any Israeli, including children, women, and teenagers, is a legitimate act according to [Islamic] religious law, and an Islamic commandment.” His understanding of what constituted “terrorism” was quite different from that of most Americans.

There is more.

It's Friday night, and I am back in sunburnt California for the David Horowitz Freedom Center's West Coast Retreat, and life is beautiful, and so it is a good time for something completely different. Here is the second in my new series on Islam and Jazz, or Islam or Jazz, for PJ Lifestyle: 5 Exhilarating Jazz Improvisations To Unshackle Your Spirit. Part 1, in case you missed it, is here.

“Islam,” said Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna, “does have a policy embracing the happiness of this world….We believe that Islam is an all-embracing concept which regulates every aspect of life, adjudicating on every one of its concerns and prescribing for it a solid and rigorous order.”

Al-Banna was enunciating a commonplace. One of the chief elements of Islamic apologists’ polemic against the West is that Islam, unlike Christianity and other rivals, is a complete way of life, one that governs every aspect of the believer’s life, down to the smallest detail. But one detail remains unproven: that having every aspect of one’s life “regulated” is really a recipe for “the happiness of this world.” This is the key question at issue between the proponents of Sharia and the defenders of free societies: whether the human being can and should be entrusted with the right and power to make decisions of his own, or whether it is preferable for him to submit to a total system of control – one so all-encompassing that it tells him how to wear his hair, how to brush his teeth, what clothes to wear, and even how to evacuate his bowels.

Contrasting to this is the philosophy of life that assumes that the human spirit best flowers when it is not subject to such all-invasive control, but is allowed to find its own rhythm and choose its own direction. And that’s why jazz is a foremost expression of the American spirit. Every aspect of the music is not controlled; rather, the players compose it right on the bandstand. The blazing and tragic reedman Eric Dolphy once said, “When you hear music, after it’s over, it’s gone, in the air. You can never capture it again.” That is true of all music to a certain extent, even the most carefully scored and coordinated, for every performance is subject to human vicissitudes, particularly when different musicians interpret the same written notation – just compare recordings by two different orchestras of the same orchestral piece to see this. But it is true above all of improvised music, in which each performance comes from the soul (or lack thereof) of every performer, and every aspect of the music is most gloriously and emphatically not regulated.

All composition begins in improvisation, but the composer who is writing a score takes the time to reflect, sharpen, polish and shape his musical thoughts; the improviser, on the other hand, is walking the tightrope without a net, trying to create something compelling in the moment. If he fails, the music will be dull and uninteresting; if he succeeds, it will be spectacular – as spectacular as the flowering of America and the West when individual rights were respected, and when so many fewer aspects of life were controlled.

Every great improvisation is, therefore, a monument to freedom – one to savor, and to celebrate. It would take a book, or more precisely a library, to catalogue them all and to give each its due, but within the confines of the space we have, here are a few choice monuments to the free and unfettered human spirit:

1. Louis Armstrong, “Dinah,” 1933

Louis Armstrong’s importance cannot be overstated; he practically originated this music himself. Ensemble jazz with short improvised patches arose in the early part of the twentieth century, with Armstrong’s great precursor Jelly Roll Morton laying claim to being its sole “inventor.” But it was Armstrong who had the imagination, the audacity, and the chops, to extend his improvisations and make them the centerpiece of his music, making them into much more than the brief elaborations on the melody they had been before his arrival on the scene. This example comes from slightly later than the period of Armstrong’s first flush of inspiration and innovation, but all of his wit, exuberance and musical inventiveness are on abundant display.

2. Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, “Hot House,” 1952

Parker (alto sax) and Gillespie (trumpet) took improvisation on the chord structure of a melody to its outer limits. “Hot House” is based on the chords of Cole Porter’s “What Is This Thing Called Love?,” used as a pretext for high-speed, breakneck melodic inventiveness (which this YouTube clip only fleetingly and inadequately captures). No one could match Parker for harmonically sophisticated improvisations elaborated at high speed – for that matter, no one could match Parker’s speed in any other aspect of life, either.

3. Miles Davis and John Coltrane, “So What,” 1959

Miles Davis and John Coltrane together best illustrate how jazz is an expression of the individual soul. “So What,” one of the first pieces featuring musicians improvising on a single scale or mode, rather than a series of chords and all the different scales that emanate from those chords, has Davis (on trumpet) and Coltrane (on tenor sax) taking exactly the same material and going in radically different directions with it: Davis spare, taciturn, and reserved, and Coltrane searching, effusive and loquacious. (Watch closely at 3:42 to see – for just a split second — the ever-cool Miles Davis’ mouth drop open in awe at Coltrane’s astonishing invention. And with good reason: it is astonishing.)

There is more -- and there will be more still, next week.

And in the US, Hamas-linked CAIR tells Muslims not to help law enforcement

The community knew the plotters were sending people to jihad terror training camps in Pakistan, but did nothing. Could it be because far more people in the community than anyone would like to admit hold to the same ideology as that of the plotters? "Birmingham's Muslim community did not inform police of terrorism plot," from the Birmingham Post, February 22 (thanks to JH):

No-one in the Birmingham bomb plotters' own community tipped the police off with their concerns, despite finding out they were sending young men to terror training camps in Pakistan.

Three Birmingham men were found guilty of planning a massive terrorist bomb attack, while a further six had previously admitted their involvement in the plans.

But at no point during the 18-month investigation by the West Midlands counter-terrorism unit did anyone in Birmingham's Muslim community inform on the behaviour of Irfan Naseer, Irfan Khalid and Ashik Ali, raising questions over the health of relations between officers and community leaders.

This was despite the fact the families of four other young men recruited from Sparkhill all intervened to bring them back home the moment they found out the real reasons for them travelling to Pakistan.

Detective Inspector Adam Gough, senior investigating officer, said the extended families of the four men had "become aware" of why they went to Pakistan but, in any case, "did not tell us".

Ishaaq Hussain, Shahid Khan, Khobaib Hussain and Naweed Ali were told to tell loved ones they were studying at madrassas if asked.

Police and security services were aware the four were travelling but decided against stopping them to preserve the surveillance operation and because evidence-gathering was in the early stages.

According to detectives, none of the men received any terror training as they left the camps after a day.

Mr Gough said: "We know pressure was applied to them to come back.

"Shahid Khan virtually ran home. Three of the four came back almost immediately, while the fourth stayed with his family in Pakistan.

"We know that they did reach a training camp.

"But it is a success story in that the families did bring those people back and it shows the vast majority of the community abhor terrorism in the same way we do."

Community engagement - under what the police call the Prevent programme - is supposed to form a cornerstone of the UK counter-terrorism policing strategy.

Prevent aims to respond "to the ideological challenge of terrorism" by "developing partnerships" with communities, thereby preventing people being "drawn into terrorism".

Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, who is responsible for counter-terrorism at West Midlands Police, said: "The families were trying to do their best to get them back and stop them getting into trouble, rather than get in touch with us.

"I agree it would have been really good if more could have been shared with us, and we could have dealt with it in a different way.

"In terms of community engagement, would I like them to come forward more? Yes, I would.

"Do I think they (the Muslim community) were being disruptive - no, I do not."

Mr Beale also said he believed the two local charitable organisations on whose behalf the three men had masqueraded to raise money "were duped, rather than being complicit".

He added: "We want to help make sure they (the charities) are not quite so easily duped in the future."

Some of that money scammed from charities was actually gambled away by another member of the group, Rahin Ahmed, who was given the task of playing the financial markets to try to increase the group's cash reserves.

He previously admitted engaging in conduct in preparation of acts of terror, encouraging acts of terror, collecting money for terrorism and assisting other to travel for training in terrorism....

Brennan tries to paint a happy face on this, but its implication is clear. "Arab Spring" Egypt won't let U.S. officials talk to Abu Ahmed, and "Arab Spring" Tunisia released al-Harzi. Neither one is a friend of the U.S., despite the warm support Obama gave to the "Arab Spring" uprisings. Both are Islamic supremacist regimes whose hostility to the U.S. will become ever clearer as time goes by.

"US denied direct access to Benghazi suspect held in Egypt," by Catherine Herridge for FoxNews.com, February 21 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

The U.S. has been denied direct access to the only publicly known suspect in custody in connection with the Benghazi terror attack, Fox News has learned, with U.S. interrogators still unable to sit in the same room as the Egypt-held prisoner to ask questions.

Abu Ahmed, also known as Mohammed Jamal, is suspected of establishing Islamist training camps in Eastern Libya where militants who took part in the Sept. 11 Benghazi terrorist attack were able to train.

Ahmed is not suspected of directly taking part in the attack which left four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, dead. But this is at least the second time U.S. interrogators have been denied access to a suspect held by a foreign government.

In January, Tunisian authorities released Ali Ani al-Harzi, who is suspected of taking part in the attack, citing a lack of evidence.

FBI agents finally got access to al-Harzi after the personal intervention of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham....

Separately, sources familiar with the case told Fox News that Egyptian authorities have been providing to U.S. authorities information from their own investigation of Ahmed.

The implication is that the lack of direct access does not mean a total lack of information. In recent confirmation hearings, the president's nominee for CIA director was pressed about the Tunisian case and the problems the FBI faced.

When Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., asked about access to al-Harzi, White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said: "We work with our partners across the board and when they are able to detain individuals, according to their laws, we work to see if we can have the ability to ask them questions, sometimes indirectly and sometimes directly."

Who are you gonna believe? Your lying eyes, or an internationally respected academic? Speaking of our universities being filled with mediocrities who owe their position and stature to the political popularity of their ideas, not to their scholarship, honesty, or competence, here's another. This poorly written article from the Indian press says that Duke University emeritus professor Bruce Lawrence said that "Islamic [sic] has no connection with terrorism and the propaganda of the forces which are trying to link Islam with terrorism is baseless."

Lawrence here advances the Islamic supremacist claim that the only ones who "link Islam with terrorism" are non-Muslim "Islamophobes." Actually it Muslim terrorists, and only Muslim terrorists, who are responsible for this "link":

“Jihad was a way of life for the Pious Predecessors (Salaf-us-Salih), and the Prophet (SAWS) was a master of the Mujahideen and a model for fortunate inexperienced people. The total number of military excursions which he (SAWS) accompanied was 27. He himself fought in nine of these; namely Badr; Uhud, Al-Muraysi, The Trench, Qurayzah, Khaybar, The Conquest of Makkah, Hunayn and Taif . . . This means that the Messenger of Allah (SAWS) used to go out on military expeditions or send out an army at least every two months.” -- Abdullah Azzam, co-founder of al-Qaeda, Join the Caravan, p. 30

"If we follow the rules of interpretation developed from the classical “science of Koranic interpretation, it is not possible to condemn terrorism in religious terms. It remains completely true to the classical rules in its evolution of sanctity for its own justification. This is where the secret of its theological strength lies." -- Egyptian scholar Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd

"Many thanks to God, for his kind gesture, and choosing us to perform the act of Jihad for his cause and to defend Islam and Muslims. Therefore, killing you and fighting you, destroying you and terrorizing you, responding back to your attacks, are all considered to be great legitimate duty in our religion." -- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his fellow 9/11 defendants

"Allah on 480 occasions in the Holy Koran extols Muslims to wage jihad. We only fulfil God's orders. Only jihad can bring peace to the world." -- Taliban terrorist Baitullah Mehsud

"Jihad, holy fighting in Allah's course, with full force of numbers and weaponry, is given the utmost importance in Islam....By jihad, Islam is established....By abandoning jihad, may Allah protect us from that, Islam is destroyed, and Muslims go into inferior position, their honor is lost, their lands are stolen, their rule and authority vanish. Jihad is an obligation and duty in Islam on every Muslim." -- Times Square car bomb terrorist Faisal Shahzad

"So step by step I became a religiously devout Muslim, Mujahid -- meaning one who participates in jihad." -- Little Rock, Arkansas terrorist murder Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad

"And now, after mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives, and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for Jihad." -- Texas terrorist bomber Khalid Aldawsari

"Islam has no connection with terrorism: Prof. Bruce Lawrence," from the Siasat Daily, February 22 (thanks to Kenneth):

Noted researcher of comparative study of various religions, Prof. Bruce Lawrence, Professor Emeritus, Islamic Studies, Duke University, U.S.A. said that Islamic has no connection with terrorism and the propaganda of the forces which are trying to link Islam with terrorism is baseless. Prof. Lawrence who is on his visit to various cities of India, told this while talking to selected media persons at the US consulate-general here on Thursday. Prof. Lawrence has also done comparative study of various languages and exhaustively read religious books. He has read the Holy Quran with interpretation (tafseer) with reference to various interpreters (mufassirin). He has expressed his views over linking Islam with terrorism in the present scenario, rights of women and Islamic perspective of Jihad.

Disapproving of the western world’s belief that there is growing Islamic terrorism in the world, noted scholar of Islamic studies Prof. Bruce Bennett Lawrence has said ‘Islamic terrorism’ or ‘Islamic fundamentalism’ is non-existent. Those who want to link them have their own objective. They are presenting negative image of Islam for achieving their goals. He lamented that some parties and groups have started using religion for their political gains due to which the opponents got chance to distort the image of Islam. Politics has overpowered religion although religion should have overpowered politics. He told that neither Islam nor any other religion allows fundamentalism and terrorism. “Fundamentalism does not fit both Islam and Hinduism,” he remarked.

Commenting upon the misconceptions regarding women’s rights in Islam Prof. Lawrence claimed Islamic teachings are not against women rather Islam elevated the position of woman. Prof. Lawrence also tried to allay the misconceptions about the concept of Jihad in Islam. Prof. Lawrence who is called as “a Christian who believes in the Qur’an” asserted that being a Christian he is in a position to logically claim that the Holy Quran is superior to Bible.

Prof. Lawrence has been studying Islam for more than 50 years, said the term ‘Islamic fundamentalism’ came into existence after religion mixed with politics in the last 75 years. Islam got radicalized over the years as it became a ‘political project’.

In a career spanning nearly four decades, Dr. Lawrence has pioneered cutting-edge interdisciplinary scholarly work on Islam and Muslim societies with disciplinary synergies in the humanities, social sciences, law and theology. Dr. Lawrence has contributed to no fewer than 15 books including ‘Shattering the Myth: Islam Beyond Violence’. Many are considered major contributions to the field of Islam and public policy. Dr. Lawrence’s translation of the statements of Osama bin Laden, led government leaders to seek him out as a policy advisor.

Telling the truth about jihad where Hamas-linked CAIR's cynical and deceptive #MyJihad campaign is running -- despite the best efforts of the foes of the freedom of speech to prevent them from running.

Kudos to my AFDI colleague Pamela Geller, who originated these ads, for another free speech victory. I am proud to say that I had some input in their formulation, and am very pleased to see the truth getting out.

D.C. Watson, a longtime friend of Jihad Watch, has a new book out. I can't put the case for it better than I did in the book's Foreword:

D.C. Watson is a man of courage. D.C. Watson is a man of integrity. If we had a nation full of D.C. Watsons, we wouldn't be in the fix we’re in today.

I don’t mean by saying these things that D.C. Watson is some kind of extraordinary human being, possessed of some superior powers, any more than I am, and any more than you are. D.C. Watson is an ordinary man, an American, a man who has tasted freedom, a man who knows who he is and what he wants, and knows what is worth defending.

He is, in short, a man.

And they are in short supply these days. Nowadays we live in a culture of jelly, a culture that believes in nothing, and values nothing except its own lack of standards and values.

A culture like that is ripe for the plucking, ready to be conquered by enemies who hate it not for what it is but for what it was, for what it used to stand for, for what it brought to the world when it had some sense of its own identity and the value of its own contributions to the world.

D.C. Watson is not at home in a culture of jelly. His values, his love for freedom, his backbone, are all at variance with this morass of relativism and nothingness. He stands for something. That’s why he doesn’t fit in.

D.C. Watson is an ordinary man who loves freedom, loves Western civilization, loves his home, loves his family. He is not willing to see the things that he loves snatched away, and the values that he loves eroded into nothingness, and the people that he loves enslaved to tyranny.

And so he acts. And in this he is not ordinary. For most people do not act. Most people do not care. Most people either do not value what D.C. Watson values, and so don’t care if it is all snatched away, or do not know how close they are to losing everything, and to finding out that when they think they’ve lost everything, they have even more to lose than they ever imagined.

D.C. Watson is not going to go down without a fight. Unlike the great mass of his fellow countrymen, he knows what is at stake, and he is determined to make a stand, and to make the enemies of everything that he loves fight harder than they think they will have to.

In this book, he profiles other ordinary people who have done and are doing what has to be done, what everyone should be doing now if they value their freedoms. As such he has provided us all with a blueprint and an inspiration for further action. For much, much more will be needed, and much, much more will be called upon from all of us.

It is good to know that D.C. Watson exists. I hope and pray that there are many more like him.

Become one. Read his book. Learn his lessons.

The book is available in e-book format on Amazon at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BHYCWHM

For I-Pad users, they can read the Kindle version without any Kindle devices.  This is detailed here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000490441

And for anyone who wants the paperback copy, it is available at Lulu.com. 

http://www.lulu.com/shop/dc-watson/through-these-blues/paperback/product-20698053.html

The paperback will also be available at Amazon soon.

Danish freedom fighter Lars Hedegaard recounts the jihadist attempt on his life in the oft-dhimmi but sometimes surprising Wall Street Journal: "The Assassin at the Door," by Lars Hedegaard in the Wall Street Journal, February 20 (thanks to Roger):

...However, everybody who has commented on the incident has assumed that the motive is political. Some people don't like what I have been saying or writing in recent years, and they want to silence me. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what may have spurred the gunman or those who may have sent him.

For years I have been a campaigner for free speech—since 2004 as president of Denmark's Free Press Society. I have been an outspoken critic of Islamic supremacism and of attempts to impose Islamic Shariah law in Denmark and the West. Together with my Swedish colleague Ingrid Carlqvist, I have recently launched a Swedish-language weekly newspaper called Dispatch International—to the great dissatisfaction of the Swedish mainstream media, which are probably the most politically correct in the Western world and are in absolute agreement on every issue of any consequence.

Dispatch International is critical of mass immigration to Sweden and Denmark from third-world countries and takes a dim view of Islam. As a consequence, we have been reviled as "racist." We are not. We simply insist on our right to defend freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and individual and sexual equality. We also insist on our right to criticize religious fanatics of every stripe who try to impose theocratic laws and customs on free societies.

When I was a young Marxist during the 1960s and '70s, these opinions used to be described as characteristic of the political left. Nowadays the defenders of such positions are routinely labeled as right-wing or as belonging to the "extreme right." Meanwhile, what used to be the left is cozying up to holy men who want adulterous women to be stoned, homosexuals to be hanged, apostates from Islam to be killed, and 1,200-year-old laws emanating from somewhere in the Arabian desert to replace our free constitutions.

In my home country of Denmark, the reaction to the failed murder has mainly been one of horror. Nearly all leading politicians and media have condemned it. To be sure, some newspapers have availed themselves of this opportunity to emphasize what a despicable racist I am, but at least they express their satisfaction that I'm not dead.

Not so in Sweden, where I work most of the time. The Swedish media have either hinted that I have invented the incident in order to set myself up as a martyr—which would have required a major conspiracy involving the Danish police and Security Service—or they seem disappointed that my delivery man was not a better marksman.

What's next?

Unfortunately, the attempt on my life is one in a wave of political assassinations or attempted assassinations that has swept Europe since Ayatollah Khomeini issued his so-called fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989. Some have been killed—among them the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn and Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh. Others, like writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali, have been forced to flee Europe or go into hiding.

I am determined not to be silenced, come what may. I refuse to live in a world ruled by the gun.

Bravo. Read it all.

“I know the people who are the victims of the drone attacks. They are very, very poor. They need education. If you give them money for education they become your friend. If you kill them they will become your enemy.”

This is so ridiculous. The U.S. has showered billions on Pakistan for education, and built the schools. Sajjad is saying that if the U.S. stops fighting back against the jihad and pays the jizya with willing submission (cf. Qur'an 9:29), then all will be well.

"Birmingham terror cell: a forlorn fight against extremism in the Balti Triangle," by Jonathan Brown and Paul Peachey in the Independent, February 21 (thanks to David):

Birmingham’s bustling inner city suburbs of Sparkbrook and Sparkhill found itself on the front line of Britain’s war on terror even before the hijacked airliners smashed into the Twin Towers 12 years ago.

Police raided the “bomb factory” home of former waiter Moinul Abedin in January 2001 smashing what has since been described as the UK’s first home grown al-Qa’ida plot.

Since then the security forces have made repeated visits to the city’s celebrated Balti Triangle and its Pakistani, Kashmiri and Bangladeshi neighbourhoods to mounting alarm from community leaders. Each raid, with its hurtling convoys of police vehicles, screaming sirens and taped-off streets, brings a new sense of shock and dismay.

According to research by the Henry Jackson Society, more convicted British Islamic terrorists have come from Birmingham than anywhere else outside London. Others including five Britons convicted of plotting bomb attacks in Yemen in 1999 and the so-called Tipton Taliban also have links to the city.

In 2010 when the local community reacted angrily to the revelation that police had installed vehicle recognition surveillance cameras to track suspected terrorist activity in the Muslim areas off the busy Stratford Road corridor, the police justified their actions by pointing out that there had been 11 terrorist-related convictions in Sparkbrook and nearby Washwood Heath in the previous three years.

These included Parviz Khan from Alum Rock who was jailed for 14 years for plotting to kidnap and behead a British soldier.

The later conviction for publishing extremist texts of Ahmed Faraz, who operated the local Maktabah bookshop and whose customers included the July 7 bomb plot leader Mohammed Sidique Khan, further stoked official interest in the area – even after many of his charges were quashed by the Court of Appeal.

Terrorism experts now point that despite more than 15 convictions since 2001 nearly all have now returned to their communities after serving half of their relatively short sentences. But local people believe the ideas that underpin violent extremism do not come from within but outside.

Muhammad Suleman, 60, a former welder and community elder, believes young men, isolated from their families, frustrated by a lack of prospects and angered at Western military intervention in the Muslim world come under the influence of militant propaganda which contradicts the teachings of Islam. “A lot of young people don’t go to mosque. They learn on the internet. It is information you can’t hide and they make their own mind up,” he says

“Young people have no experience of life. They are emotional and get upset and may take the law into their own hands,” he adds. “Those who are criminals should be punished but don’t criminalise the whole community. You give the lead to all the racists and people who are anti-muslim,” he warns

At the UK Islamic Mission mosque on Stratford Road – one of 16 places of worship within the surrounding streets- more than 400 people cram into Friday prayers each week including the family of Ahmed Faraz. The Imam, Muhammad Sajjad, originally from North West Pakistan, said the mosques do their best to combat extremism. “Terrorists have no religion - a terrorist is a terrorist,” he says.

However, he is also aware his message competes against the background of international events.

“I know the people who are the victims of the drone attacks. They are very, very poor. They need education. If you give them money for education they become your friend. If you kill them they will become your enemy,” he says.

Are British universities actually growing some spine? "City University London locks Muslim prayer room on Fridays," by Secunder Kermani for BBC News, February 22 (thanks to all who sent this in):

City University in London has been accused of discrimination by a group of Muslim students after it started locking a room used for Friday prayers.

A group of students have formed Muslim Voices on Campus, calling on the university to reverse its decision.

The group said it was being "unjustly targeted".

City said it acted because students had refused to submit the proposed content of sermons to the university before prayers to check its "appropriateness".

Wasif Sheikh, who leads the group, said: "We feel we are being unjustly targeted. All of our sermons are open, we welcome all students and all staff.

"But when you start submitting your sermons to be monitored and scrutinised then there's a chance for it to be dictated what's allowed and what's not allowed. We, as students, don't accept that."...

In one sermon, which was recorded, the speaker said: "The Islamic state teaches to cut the hand of the thief. Yes it does. And it also teaches us to stone the adulterer.

"When they tell us that, the Islamic state tells us and teaches us to kill the apostate, yes it does."

BBC London has seen no evidence those views are still being spread now, but some argue the episode shows the need for greater scrutiny....

That sermon was from three years ago, but why wouldn't such views still be spread now? Does BBC London really expect these Muslims to go against the Qur'an, which teaches that the thief's hand should be amputated (5:38) and that apostates should be put to death (4:89)? Do they expect them to go against the words of Muhammad, who said that anyone who leaves Islam should be killed (Bukhari 9.84.57) and that adulterers should be stoned to death (Bukhari 4.56.829)?

The challenge faced by many universities is how to deal with any potential extremism threat, without being seen to restrict freedom of speech.

Laughable sentence, in light of the general unwillingness of universities to allow anyone to be heard who deviates from their Leftist line.

Yet he had informed them of his conviction, and so has apparently only been suspended because word has now gotten out about it. He was a violent jihadist, but to have refused him a position would no doubt have been "Islamophobic," and only those nasty right-wingers are concerned about such things, anyway.

What is surprising is that this sort of thing doesn't come to light more often. Universities today are full of puffed-up hacks and mediocrities like Reza Aslan (Drew University), Haroon Moghul (Columbia University), Carl Ernst and Omid Safi (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and Caner K. Dagli (Holy Cross College) who owe their positions not to the excellence of their scholarship, which consists of Islamic whitewash, deception and dawah, but to the acceptability of their political opinions to the Leftist multiculturalist dhimmis who control most universities. It wouldn't be in the least surprising if a few universities in the U.S. and Europe were also employing violent jihadis and their bosses (such as Professor Sami al-Arian of the University of South Florida).

"London Metropolitan University suspends researcher with car bomb conviction," from the BBC, February 22 (thanks to Twostellas):

A university researcher has been suspended after it emerged he has a conviction over a car bombing at the Israeli Embassy in London.

Jawad Botmeh of London Metropolitan University and another man were found guilty in 1996 of conspiracy to cause explosions in the UK.

The Unison union said Botmeh - who got a 20-year jail term - declared his conviction when he applied for the job.

He has worked at the Working Lives Research Institute for five years.

The union said Botmeh was suspended on 7 February, shortly after he was elected as a staff governor.

Botmeh, who was released from prison in 2008, was found guilty of involvement in two car bombs set off in July 1994, one of which went off outside the embassy in Kensington Palace Gardens. Nobody was killed.

'Broken no rules'

He and another man were convicted on the basis they were part of a UK-based terrorist cell which planned to sabotage the Middle East peace process.

Botmeh lost an appeal against his conviction in 2001, although he gained support from Gareth Peirce, solicitor for the wrongly jailed Birmingham Six, who claimed he had been the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

Unison said two other employees had also been suspended along with Botmeh, including the head of London Met's Working Lives Research Institute, Steve Jefferys, who had employed Botmeh, and a research administrator, Max Watson.

Professor Jefferys had put Botmeh forward to be interviewed five years ago as a part-time casual administrative worker on a temporary contract, despite his criminal record, the union said.

A spokesman for the university Unison branch said: "Steve, Jawad and Max have broken no university rules. They have all been entirely open and honest.

"Professor Jefferys had the authority to make casual appointments.

"Jawad had twice informed the university in writing of his earlier prison sentence and conviction and this evidence is on their files."...

So apparently they didn't care. Political correctness trumped everything else.

But the Saudis are extremists and hardliners, right? Well, then, so was Muhammad, who said in a hadith: "I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim." (Sahih Muslim 19.4366)

And only one Republican Congressman is taking issue with this? The United States should be a defender of religious freedom -- this should be an issue for the Congress as a whole, as well as the President. But of course, this is the age of Obama.

Islamic Tolerance Alert from the Kingdom of the Two Holy Places: "Saudi religious police arrest Ethiopian workers for practicing Christianity," by Benjamin Weinthal for FoxNews.com, February 21 (thanks to Lookmann):

Saudi Arabia’s notorious religious police, known as the mutawa, swooped in on a private gathering of at least 53 Ethiopian Christians this month, shutting down their private prayer, and arresting the peaceful group of foreign workers for merely practicing their faith, FoxNews.com has learned.

The mixed group of men and women was seized in a private residence in the city of Dammam, the capital of the wealthy oil province in Eastern Arabia, and Saudi authorities charged three Christian leaders with seeking to convert Muslims to Christianity. The latest crackdown on Christianity in the ultra-fundamental Islamic country comes on the heels of a brutal 2011/2012 incarceration and torture of 36 Ethiopian Christians, and drew a sharp rebuke from a U.S. lawmaker.

"Nations that wish to be a part of the responsible nations of the world must see the protection of religious freedom and the principles of reason as an essential part of the duty of the state," Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., who sits on the Caucus on Religious Minorities in the Middle East, told FoxNews.com.

During Advent in 2011, Saudi authorities stormed a prayer meeting at the private home of one of the Ethiopian workers in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. The Saudi mutawa imprisoned 29 women and six men for more than seven months in barbaric prison conditions, where the men faced severe beatings and the women were subjected to sexually intrusive torture methods. After Christian organizations and human rights groups, as well as the United States government, complained, the Saudis deported the 35 Christian Ethiopian workers in August 2012.

Last March, Abdulaziz ibn Abdullah Al al-Sheikh, the grand mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, declared it is “necessary to destroy all the churches in the Arabian Peninsula.”

Still, Saudi officials claim to tolerate other faiths even as the mutawa, or Commission to Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice, mount their crackdowns, said Dwight Bashir, deputy director for policy at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

"During an official USCIRF visit to the Kingdom earlier this month, Saudi officials reiterated the government's long-standing policy that members of the Commission to Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice, also known as the religious police, should not interfere in private worship," Bashir said. "However, the past year has seen an uptick of reports that private religious gatherings have been raided resulting in arrests, harassment and deportations of foreign expatriate workers.

“The U.S. government and international community should demand that any expatriate worker detained and held without charge for private religious activity in the Kingdom should be released immediately,” Bashir added....

This is probably revenge for the execution of would-be jihad mass murderer Afzal Guru. "Terror returns, again on cycle: 13 killed in Hyderabad twin blasts," from the Times of India, February 22 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

HYDERABAD: It proved to a lull before a terrifying storm. Seventeen months after the last deadly bomb blast at the Delhi High court, two powerful bombs fastened to parked bicycles ripped through Hyderabad's bustling Dilsukhnagar area on Thursday, killing at least 13 persons and injuring 84 others. While no individual or group has claimed responsibility so far, intelligence officers insist that the deadly operation bears the stamp of Lashkar proxy, Indian Mujahideen.

Thursday's bombs triggered back-to-back explosions near popular movie theatres, blowing bodies into the air, flattening shops and houses and triggering panic among scores of injured people who were seen scurrying for cover in all directions with blood oozing out of their heads and legs.

The first bomb went off with a deafending blast near the Dilsukhnagar bus stop at 7.05pm, close to Venkatadri theatre and a minute later, another high intensity blast, near a snack shop close by, flung bodies into the air and left a crater on the tarmac, police and witnesses said. TV channels reported that an unexploded bomb was recovered from the area but there was no confirmation from the cops....

Immediately after the blasts at Dilsukhnagar on Thursday, terrified people ran from the blood-splattered area as glass shards and debris flew. They poured out into the narrow streets causing a stampede as people, including women carrying small children in the arms, ran for safety. Locals rushed to the aid of the injured, writhing and wailing with pain on the streets and sidewalks.

"For a second, I got blinded as there was smoke and darkness all around. Later, I heard women and children wailing around me," said Sudhakar Shetty, who survived the terror blasts with severe burns. "I was cooking in the kitchen of Mirchi Point (an eatery), and wanted to run out along with others but soon realized that I could not move as both my arms and legs were burnt," he said....

Authorities were on high alert since Afzal Guru's hanging on February 9. Apart from Jammu & Kashmir, there were protests against the hanging in Hyderabad. The execution also triggered revenge threats from Pakistan-based militants and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) vowed renewed attacks on Indian cities. Members of the groups at a private gathering organised by the United Jihad Council in Pakistan, while paying tribute to Guru, had also vowed to step up their 'jihad' in Jammu & Kashmir.

It was the third time that Dilsukhnagar has been targeted by terrorists. In 2002, a bomb went off in a scooter parked near Sai Baba temple in the area, killing two people, while another bomb was defused near a foot overbridge in 2007, extremely close to the spot where Thursday's bombs were placed....

Hyderabad is not new to terror attacks as three previous blasts killed scores of people. The first in May 18 2007, killed 14 people, including five in police firing at Mecca Masjid and in the second attack, which were twin blasts in Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat on August 25 2007, 42 people had died.

Counter-jihad blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider was brutally murdered. In response, are Bangladeshi authorities cracking down on jihadists and Islamic supremacists? Of course not. They're shutting down counter-jihad blogs, of course -- in line with the Islamic supremacist authoritarian impulse to crush all dissent.

"Bangladesh cracks down on anti-Islam blogs," from AFP, February 21 (thanks to Maxwell):

DHAKA: Bangladesh has launched a crackdown on Internet sites for “hurting religious feelings” in the majority Muslim nation amid protests by Islamic groups against bloggers seen as anti-Islamic, officials said Thursday.

Giasuddin Ahmed, vice chairman of the country’s telecommunications regulator, told AFP at least two websites had been blocked. Authorities had also removed 10 blog posts for “spreading hatred, provoking social disorder and hurting religious feelings of the people”.

“We’ve taken the actions in line with the country’s ICT (Information Communication Technology) Act,” he told AFP.

Authorities have also asked blog operators to “moderate” their posts to try to filter out anti-religious writings, another official said.

Tensions have risen in Bangladesh over the alleged anti-Islamic blog posts by Ahmed Rajib Haider, who was hacked to death near his home in the capital Dhaka last week.

In recent weeks Haider and fellow bloggers had launched huge protests demanding a ban on the largest Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami, and the execution of its leaders for alleged war crimes in the 1971 war for independence.

Police have yet to comment on a motive for Haider’s killing. But his brother said Haider was targeted by Jamaat’s student wing for his online activities.

Fellow bloggers said a pro-Jamaat website had issued a veiled threat against Haider. Jamaat has condemned the murder and denied any role....

The three Misunderstanders of Islam

But remember: the real problem is "Islamophobia." "Birmingham men guilty of mass bomb plot," from the BBC, February 21 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Three would-be suicide bombers who plotted to carry out an attack to rival the 7 July and 9/11 atrocities have been found guilty of terrorism charges.

Irfan Naseer, 31, Irfan Khalid, 27, and Ashik Ali, 27, from Birmingham, were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of being "central figures" in the plan.

Jurors were told they planned to set off up to eight bombs in rucksacks, using timers to detonate the charges.

Police described the men as "committed, passionate extremists".

The trio were arrested in 2011 amid fears an attack was imminent.

Detectives believe it is the most significant terror plot to be uncovered since the 2006 conspiracy to blow up transatlantic airliners using bombs disguised as soft drinks.

Khalid even boasted that the attack was "another 9/11" and "revenge for everything".

'Charity workers'

The three men were found guilty of 12 counts of preparing for acts of terrorism between December 2010 and their arrest in September the following year.

During the months of evidence at Woolwich Crown Court, the three men came across as utter incompetents. They even laughed among themselves about the grim satirical film, Four Lions, in which useless bombers are seeking martyrdom by blowing themselves up.

But although they did not have a clear target, their own words clearly convinced the jury that the three men were extremely dangerous: they knew what they were doing.

What was never clear in the trial was what had really made them want to be bombers. They exhibited all the same characteristics as many who have gone before them - including a vague hatred of "Western" society and a general social inadequacy with their place in Britain.

One of them even conceded to police that if his two fellow plotters managed to find women who would have them, their anger with the world may have eventually gone away.

Yeah, sure, that's it. Time for a new government program: Girls for Jihadists! Babes for bombers! Houris for haters!

The jury heard that Naseer and Khalid had received training from al-Qaeda contacts in Pakistan - and had recorded martyrdom videos there before returning to the UK.

Having recruited others, the group posed as legitimate charity workers on the streets of Birmingham and collected thousands of pounds from unsuspecting members of the public.

Naseer played a key role in sending four other Birmingham men to Pakistan to receive training. All of these have already pleaded guilty to preparing for acts of terrorism: Ishaaq Hussain, 21, Shahid Khan, 21, Naweed Ali, 25, and Khobaib Hussain, 22.

Two other Birmingham men who were part of Naseer and Khalid's plans, Rahin Ahmed, 27, and Mujahid Hussain, 21, have also pleaded guilty to terrorism charges.

The judge told the men they would all face life in prison when they were sentenced in April or May.

Mr Justice Henriques told Naseer he had been convicted on "overwhelming evidence" and that he faced "a very long minimum term".

He said: "You were seeking to recruit a team of somewhere between six and eight suicide bombers to carry out a spectacular bombing campaign, one which would create an anniversary along the lines of 7/7 or 9/11. It's clear that you were planning a terrorist outrage in Birmingham."...

Irfan Naseer told the trial that the hours of secret recordings of him talking about terrorism and bomb-making were all nonsense.

He said he had pretended to be a terrorist because he wanted to end rumours in his local community that he was a Pakistani spy. Ashik Ali denied wanting to be a terrorist. Irfan Khalid did not give evidence in his defence.

Yes, Irfan pretended to be a terrorist, and Hafiz Khan pretended to support the Taliban. Do these guys expect anyone to believe them?

Last night on ABN. Grab some popcorn and watch the fun.

Here it is all in one story: Leftist Jew-hatred, Leftist abetting of the genocidal Islamic jihad agenda toward Israel, and Leftist/Islamic supremacist refusal to discuss or debate with those they hate and fear.

"George Galloway sensationally stormed out of a debate in Christ Church tonight after discovering his opponent was an Israeli," by Tom Gibbs for the Oxford Tab, February 20 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

George Galloway sensationally stormed out of a debate in Christ Church tonight after discovering his opponent was an Israeli.

He was meant to be debating the motion ‘Israel should withdraw immediately from the West Bank’ with Brasenose finalist Eylon Aslan-Levy.

But when his opponent used ‘we’ in reference to Israel, the Respect MP demanded to know whether the undergrad was a citizen of the country.

After the PPEist replied in the affirmative, Galloway, claiming to have been misled by organisers, grabbed his coat and left.

Mr Aslan-Levy told the Tab

“I am appalled that someone would storm out of a debate with me for no other reason than my heritage.

“To refuse to talk to someone just because of their nationality is pure racism, and totally unacceptable for a member of parliament”

Galloway has previously refused to debate with anyone connected to the country.

After this abrupt departure, Aslan-Levy recalled his previous confrontation with Galloway. Six years ago as a pupil at north London’s University College School, he claimed to have confronted him over his supposed ‘no-platform’ stance towards debating Israelis.

But the then MP for Bethnal Green denied taking such a position, allegedly branding the student an “L-I-A-R liar”.

Tonight’s events would seem to prove otherwise.

A second year Christ Church student in the audience told the Tab:

“It was a shocking moment. Galloway’s meant to be a Respect MP, but tonight he respected no-one. He turned up late, and left after his opening speech. Maybe he had run out of things to say”.

"[I]f they [the Jews] all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide." -- Hasan Nasrallah, leader of Hizballah

"Cyprus bomb-plot suspect admits Hezbollah ties," by Benjamin Weinthal for the Jerusalem Post, February 20 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

BERLIN – Hossam Taleb Yaacoub, one of the suspects in a thwarted terrorist attack against Israelis in Cyprus in July, admitted on Wednesday in court that he is a member of Hezbollah.

Yaacoub, a 24-year old Lebanese-Swedish citizen, faces eight charges in the criminal court in the city of Limassol. The Cypriot authorities charged him with membership in a criminal organization whose aim is “carrying out missions in any part of the world, including the Cyprus Republic, against Israeli citizens,” among seven other crimes – reduced from an original 17 terrorism-related charges.

The Jerusalem Post has learned that Yaacoub said under oath on Wednesday that while he came to Cyprus without Hezbollah connections, he met with an operative named Ayman from the Lebanese terrorist group. Yaacoub said he knew how to use weapons but that the purpose of his visit to Cyprus was business.

It is unclear if Yaacoub’s meeting with the Hezbollah operative took place in Cyprus, Lebanon or Sweden.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Yaacoub told the court, “I never saw the face of Ayman because he was always wearing a mask,” and that Ayman picked Yaacoub up in a van. Yaacoub conducted surveillance of places where Israelis would visit, including a “parking lot behind a Limassol hospital and a hotel called the Golden Arches,” the Times reported.

Magnus Ranstorp, a Hezbollah expert at Sweden’s National Defense College, told the Post on Tuesday that Hezbollah uses “talent scouting” to recruit operatives for its activities abroad. Though Hezbollah had no “overt presence” in Sweden, he said, its members from Sweden keep “popping up regularly.”...

The people on the Mavi Marmara flotilla were genocidal Jew-hating jihadis, as you can see in the video above: they were chanting a jihad war cry recalling Muhammad's massacre of the Jews of Arabia: "Khybar, Khybar, O Jews, the army of Muhammad will return." In rapidly re-Islamizing Turkey, the fact that Israel fought back against these jihadis is grounds for a show trial claiming victim status, as Islamic supremacists always do, and solidifying the country's new anti-Israel stance.

"Turkey resumes Gaza flotilla trial for ex-IDF heads," by Yonah Jeremy Bob for the Jerusalem Post, February 21 (thanks to Joshua):

The trial in absentia of a group of former Israeli military commanders, including former chief of staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi, restarted on Thursday at an Istanbul court.

The officers are being charged with the deaths of nine Turks aboard the Mavi Marmara, one of the ships in the 2010 flotilla attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

The trial of four of the most senior retired commanders, started with three consecutive days of hearings in November, but then recessed until Thursday.

It has been dismissed by Israel as a politically motivated “show trial” and threatens to further strain already fraught relations.

Ties between Jerusalem and what was once its only Muslim ally crumbled after the incident, in which some of the soldiers who tried to forcibly commandeer the ship were injured in clashes with those on board that left nine of the passengers dead.

According to Twitter accounts of the case, the first witness on Thursday was crew member of the Mavi Marmara vessel who testified that the IDF perpetrated an inhumane attack which caused him permanent health problems.

The crew member testified that he was forced to enter Israel under gun point, was interrogated for hours and was treated as a terrorist.

In November, reports indicated that the witnesses included statements from the families of the nine dead passengers and people from other ships in the flotilla as well as surviving activists from the Mavi Marmara.

Ahmed Dogan – the father of 19-year-old Furkan Dogan, the youngest of the dead passengers – said he saw evidence showing that his son had been “shot in the face,” according to the reports.

Mary Ann Wright, a 65-year-old former US Army colonel who was aboard the nearby Challenger 1 ship, testified about the scale of the military force involved in stopping the flotilla as well as the soldiers’ conduct vis-a-vis the firing of paint balls and tossing of stun grenades. According to the reports, Wright said she believed that such a force could only have been meant to attack.

The reports could not be confirmed and no Israeli officials are present at the trial to make objections or cross-examine the witnesses.

It was also difficult to decipher what aspects of the testimony were part of the overall narratives of alleged mistreatment and what were actual allegations of crimes, as claims of “torture” were combined with passengers’ complaints of having their hands tied behind their back or being otherwise physically restrained in what they say was a rough manner.

The 144-page indictment is seeking multiple life sentences totaling over 18,000 years for each of the defendants – Ashkenazi, former navy head Adm. (res.) Eliezer Marom, former Military Intelligence head Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin and former head of air force intelligence, Avishay Levi. It lists “inciting murder through cruelty or torture” and “inciting injury with firearms” among the charges.

Israel has dismissed the case as “political theater,” saying the accused had not even been notified of the charges.

Turkey expelled Israel’s ambassador and froze military cooperation after the UN-sponsored Palmer Commission report into the 2010 incident released in September of last year largely exonerated Israel by calling the Gaza blockade legal under international law.

Israel imposed the blockade as part of efforts to undermine Hamas’s ability to build up its military arsenal and to isolate Hamas diplomatically....

When in Muslim countries, one must conform to Muslim customs and practices. When in non-Muslim countries, one must conform to Muslim customs and practices. And so it is that all the students at this school, non-Muslims as well as Muslims, are served halal meat. That seems to be just fine with everyone -- who cares if some Christian parents object? But this "dinner lady" mistakenly served non-halal meat to the Muslim students, and she is summarily fired, without a second chance. Not content with this small triumph of Islamic supremacism, Muslim parents are demanding that other school officials be fired as well.

And no one in Britain appears to be willing to say that in Britain, people should be expected to conform to British customs and practices, and that is the end of the matter.

"Dinner lady sacked for serving Muslim children with non-halal meat at multi-faith school," by Sara Malm for the Daily Mail, February 20 (thanks to Michael):

A dinner lady has been sacked for accidentally serving non-halal meat to Muslim students at a multi-faith school.

The incident outraged parents at the 'halal-only' Moseley School in Birmingham, and they have forced the headmaster to apologise for 'insulting' their faith.

The member of staff has been dismissed after the 'unintentional error' on December 12 last year recently came to light.

All 1,400 students at Moseley school are served halal meat, regardless of their religion.

It has not been specified what type of meat was served, but the person responsible for serving the food was dismissed following a disciplinary hearing last Monday.

Parents were informed of the mistake this month, and reacted with outrage, forcing headteacher Carl Jansen to apologise for the ‘unintentional error'.

However, Muslim parents are demanding others be held accountable for the mistake, which they say call 'an insult to our faith’.

‘The school have failed the children,' one parent said yesterday. ‘How did this meal get into the school system to be fed to the children?

‘It's just shocking that dietary requirements haven't been met.'

‘It is a disgrace that this could be allowed to happen and we demand more action is take [sic],' a father of a sixth form student said yesterday.

‘It could not just be the error or one lady, there must be people at the top responsible too who also need to be sacked. It is an insult to our faith.’

Not all parents have taken the news with the same shock, saying the dinner lady should not have been sacked over a mistake.

‘It's a little bit harsh to sack somebody because of one little mistake,' father-of-three Barry Jackman said.

‘Yes, we have to respect religions and standards which are expected - but it was a one-off and surely the lady doesn't deserve to lose her job.’

The details of the non-halal school dinner only came to light last month, when provider Birmingham council department Direct Services confirmed the mistake.

Sheila Walker, head of Direct Services, said: ‘This was found to be due to an error and was unintentional, nevertheless, we have failed to ensure the integrity of Halal only food at Moseley School.’

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson added: ‘We of course apologise for any concerns this has caused.'

What about concerns over the spread of Islamic supremacism in Britain?

Now they tell us. I told you back in January 2011. "Tunisians head abroad to perform jihad," by Bouazza ben Bouazza and Paul Schemm for the Associated Press, February 14:

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — The cradle of the Arab Spring is increasingly looking like the birthplace of jihadists.

Long before Tunisia ousted its dictator and inspired the North African pro-democracy movement, the small, relatively prosperous country had the more dubious distinction of exporting Islamic militants. Now, as the country wrestles with the creation of a new government after the killing of a liberal opposition leader, experts say the flow of fighters is getting worse.

The repressive measures of the old secular dictatorship fueled the anger that produced jihadi movements, but its ruthless security apparatus also kept them largely in check. The much more relaxed approach of the country's new leaders is allowing extremist groups and their networks to flourish like never before, experts say.

Though no one knows for sure just how many Tunisian fighters have traveled abroad, evidence suggests it remains one of the top exporters of jihadists per capita. Tunisians have turned up on the battlefields of Iraq, Syria, Libya and now Mali. The 32-man militant strike team that seized a gas plant in Algeria and took dozens of foreign workers hostage was more than one-third Tunisian.

Because of its small, well-educated population, there were hopes Tunisia would transition relatively easily to democracy after the ouster of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. But it is now a battleground pitting secularists and Islamists against one another and in the confusion of creating a new state networks radicalized by the previous regime are flourishing.

The country has fallen victim to a faltering economy, high unemployment and the failure of its new leaders to keep track of extremists freed from prison during the revolution. The long-oppressed moderate Islamist party, Ennahda, won elections in 2011 and immediately sought to overturn the harsh security measures and intolerance for religion of its predecessor — opening them to accusations they are coddling violent Islamists....

Allani blamed the "absence of a clear religious policy on the part of the new authorities" for the spread of jihadi networks, noting that more than a hundred mosques of the 2,500 across the country are under the control of radical preachers who advocate jihad in other countries.

The government has repeatedly promised to bring these radical mosques, which are believed to be a key part of Tunisia's recruiting network, under control.

Much of the recruiting is done openly.

Tunisia' most famous militant, Seifallah Ben Hassine or Abu Yadh, was released following the revolution— after which he formed a group known as Ansar al-Shariah that is believed to be behind an assault last year on the U.S. embassy in Tunis.

Ben Hassine regularly preached for joining jihads in Syria and elsewhere and is now on the run from Tunisian police in the embassy attack. In an interview on his organization's Facebook page, the leader said many Tunisians were fighting in Syria and Mali.

"Tunisians can be found everywhere in the land of jihad," he said, claiming that his organization actually urges them to stay in the country. "The ways of going are easy and we don't stop our people from leaving."...

The records of around 600 foreign jihadis found in Iraq in 2007 showed that while the majority were Libyans and Saudis, per capita, Tunisians came in third.

In May 2012, the Syrian government presented a list of 26 foreign fighters it had captured — 19 were from Tunisia. The Justice and Equity association, which tries to help families find out what happened to their sons, estimates some 400 Tunisians are fighting in Syria alone....

So far, the jihad has mostly been exported, but there are fears that could change. The assassination of opposition leader Chokri Belaid this month sparked days of rioting and speculation that his fierce criticism of extremist Islamists may have inspired a homegrown jihadi.

The Algerian press also published a purported confession from one of three captured militants from the Ain Amenas gas complex attack. The alleged Tunisian said that new attacks were being planned against Tunisia itself.

A report published Wednesday by the International Crisis Group about the rise of Salafi groups in Tunisia said for now, the jihadis were keeping the violence outside the country.

"Most jihadis seem willing to focus on proselytizing in Tunisia and, at least for now, are not prepared to engage in more serious violence on its soil," it noted. "Yet this could get worse. Instability in the Maghreb, porous borders with Libya and Algeria, as well as the eventual return of jihadis from abroad, could spell trouble."

This imam sounds like so many other Islamic supremacists do when they're cornered: accuse the non-Muslim who is questioning them of being insane (as Hussein Ibish did to me when I asked him how he could be sure that the Palestinian state he advocates would not be used as a base to launch new jihad attacks on Israel), lie outright in flagrant contradiction to their earlier statements (as innumerable jihadis have done when asked about their recorded pro-jihad statements), and refuse to answer direct questions, instead launching into rambling off-the-point tirades (as Mubin Shaikh did in debate with me last night, as have numerous other Islamic supremacists I've debated).

Anyway, now Hafiz Khan has now admitted that he is a dedicated and habitual liar. How can we tell that he isn't lying now?

"Miami imam testifies that he lied when he professed support for the Taliban," by Jay Weaver for the Miami Herald, February 20 (thanks to Darcy):

In testimony that was at turns deadly serious and comical, a Miami imam accused of aiding terrorists testified Wednesday that he lied about his ostensible support for the Pakistani Taliban because he wanted to obtain $1 million from a purported Taliban sympathizer — who was actually an FBI informant.

Hafiz Khan, 77, the one-time leader of a Miami mosque, said he repeatedly deceived the informant, known as Mahmood Siddiqui, because Siddiqui had promised him the money to help poor victims of war between the Taliban and Pakistan army in the Swat Valley near the Afghanistan border.

Khan, accused of sending money to the U.S.-designated terrorist organization, was unaware that his conversations — in which he wished Americans would die in pursuit of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden — were recorded by the FBI.

“What I said was all lies,” Khan testified in Pashto through an interpreter. “It was just because of the money.”

Khan, on trial in federal court since early January, spent a second day on the witness stand in his own defense on charges of supplying at least $50,000 from 2008-2010 to the Taliban, sworn enemies of the U.S. and Pakistan governments. Khan, charged with four counts of providing material support to a terrorist organization, has maintained that the money he sent from Miami to Pakistan was for his family members, the poor and a religious school, or madrassa, in the Swat Valley — not to arm the Taliban.

“They are totally our enemies,” Khan testified about the Taliban, despite his ardent statements of support in the FBI-recorded phone conversations.

Khan, a naturalized U.S. citizen who came to this country in 1994, sparred during cross-examination with Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley, who grew frustrated as the frail yet feisty imam dodged his questions about his true beliefs about terrorism.

At one point, Khan said: “I kindly suggest to you that you go to a hospital. You have a mental problem.” He added that the cross-examination was a waste of time.

“I’ll let the jury make that determination, Mr. Khan,” the prosecutor said.

The 12 jurors tried to stifle their laughter, at which point U.S. District Judge Robert Scola excused them to take a break.

Scola then advised the defendant to bring his testimony down a notch. “You are never going to convince Mr. Shipley to change his mind about you,” the judge told him. “The only chance you have is to convince the jury to believe you.”

Shipley peppered the defendant with questions about his recorded conversations with the FBI informant, in which he praised the attempted 2010 bombing in New York’s Times Square.

“There are many times I am agreeing with him, but that does not mean that I mean it,” Khan testified.

Shipley, however, pointed out that Khan made similar comments in other telephone conversations with friends and relatives that also were intercepted by the FBI. The prosecutor repeatedly tried to compel the defendant to admit that he believes it is justifiable to kill Pakistani police and government officials because they have supposedly committed killings and atrocities themselves.

“What you are suggesting is exactly what the Taliban and al-Qaida have suggested for years. And we heard it in this courtroom,” Shipley said.

Khan admitted he made those statements in the recorded conversations, including saying to the FBI informant: “May God give the government to the Taliban.” Khan said he was expressing moral outrage over the Pakistan Army’s killing of women and children in the Swat Valley during its war with the Taliban.

At the same time, he seemed to suggest he endorsed an eye-for-an-eye philosophy.

“I did say this, yes. Now I will explain,” he told Shipley. “They killed people by cannon. They were innocent people killed in their homes. ... The entire public said they committed atrocities.”

Khan frequently attacked Shipley’s questions, calling them repetitive and refusing to answer them. The witness also gave rambling speeches that evaded the prosecutor’s questions, especially toward the end of the day when he spoke nonstop for almost 15 minutes....

What could go wrong? So they're genocidal antisemites. Don't be "Islamophobic." "Diplomats: Iran Starts Upgrade of Nuclear Site," by George Jahn for the Associated Press, February 20 (thanks to Twostellas):

In a disheartening signal to world powers at upcoming Iran talks, Tehran has started installing high-tech machines at its main uranium enrichment site that are capable of accelerating production of reactor fuel and — with further upgrading — the core of nuclear warheads, diplomats said Wednesday.

Iran already announced last week that it had begun mounting the new enriching centrifuges, but one diplomat said at the time that the announcement was premature with only a "small number" on site and not yet installed.

Diplomats told The Associated Press on Wednesday, however, that installation was now well on its way, with inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency seeing close to 100 or more machines mounted when they toured the site a few days ago. Depending on experts' estimates, the new-generation centrifuges can enrich uranium three to five times faster than Iran's present working model.

The Islamic Republic insists it is not working on a nuclear weapons program, but rather is enriching uranium only to make reactor fuel and for scientific and medical purposes — as allowed by international law.

But many nations are suspicious because Iran went underground after failing to get international help for its uranium enrichment program in the 1980s, working secretly until its activities were revealed a decade ago. More recent proposals for international shipments of reactor fuel in exchange for Iranian enrichment concessions have foundered, with each side blaming the other.

Shrugging off demands to mothball enrichment — and growing international sanctions — Iran has instead vastly expanded the program to where experts say it already has enough enriched uranium for several weapons if the material is further enriched.

The start of the centrifuge upgrade at Natanz, Iran's main enrichment site southeast of Tehran, flies in the face of world-power efforts to induce Iran to scale back on enrichment. As such, it is likely to hurt chances of progress at Feb. 26 talks in Kazakhstan between the two sides — adding to a string of negotiating failures....

How do you put an internet provider to death? Still more evidence of the desperate insecurity and authoritarian mindset of Islamic supremacism. "Iranian ayatollahs issue fatwa against 3G internet provider," by Adi Robertson for The Verge, February 20 (thanks to Twostellas):

Four Iranian ayatollahs have condemned mobile internet provider RightTel for undermining the country's religious foundation and encouraging immorality. Al Monitor reports that RighTel, which holds exclusive rights to 3G coverage in Iran, has been the subject of a fatwa by each ayatollah. "The decadence and corruption associated with [Rightel’s] use outweighs its benefits," writes Ayatollah Nasser Makarem-Shirazi, previously known for issuing a fatwa against domesticated dogs that led Iran to ban pet advertisements. A site whose name translates to "RighTel Mirage" has also posted notices from Grand Ayatollahs Ja'far Sobhani, Hosein Noori Hamadani, and Seyyed Muhammad Ali Alavi Gorgani.

The site, which also includes comments from other hardliners who oppose RighTel, says it's not anti-technology, just decrying the company's application of it. Political cartoons hosted there suggest that access to mobile internet will encourage pornography viewing, and Ghorgani has said it will "jeopardize the public chastity." A particular concern is video calling, which could allow men and women to speak to each other without oversight. Iran, however, has also gone to great lengths to stop online speech that could threaten its legitimacy or offend citizens. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei previously ran afoul of filtering measures while trying to condemn anti-filtering tools, and the country is said to be launching its own domestic internet this year.

Targeting USAID, the Peace Corps, and Israeli and Nigerian targets. "Nigeria secret police say terror group broken up," by Bashir Adigun for the Associated Press, February 20 (thanks to Block Ness):

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's secret police said Wednesday they broke up a terrorist group backed by "Iranian handlers" who wanted to assassinate a former military ruler and gather intelligence about locations frequented by Americans and Israelis.

The State Security Service, responsible for domestic spying in Africa's most populous nation, offered no details about who actually controlled and bankrolled the group. However, it said it had arrested three suspected terrorists, including the group's leader, before they could launch attacks.

The leader's "lieutenants successfully conducted surveillance and gathering relevant data ... (for) possible attacks," secret police spokeswoman Marilyn Ogar said, reading from a statement. "He personally took photographs of the Israeli culture center in Ikoyi, Lagos, which he sent to his handlers."

The service identified the leader as Abdullahi Mustaphah Berende, a 50-year-old leader of a local Shiite sect in Ilorin. Ogar said Berende was arrested along with two other suspected members, while another remains at large.

Berende first traveled to Iran in 2006 and studied at an Islamic university, said Ogar. He later returned in 2011 and learned how to use Kalashnikov assault rifles and pistols, as well as making and detonating homemade explosives, she said.

Ogar identified high-level targets of the group as former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida and Ibrahim Dasuki, a former Sultan of Sokoto, a major Islamic leader in the nation. The group also conducted surveillance on USAID, the U.S. Peace Corps and other targets, she said.

Berende also received some $30,000 in cash to fund the group's planned operations....

"The Orthodox prelate said that if the museum is converted to any religious use, it should become a Christian church, since it was built for that purpose." Indeed. The Turks could show their good will by making it into a church again, as it was for a thousand years before the Ottoman jihadists turned it into a mosque when they conquered Constantinople. Instead, part of Turkey's rapid re-Islamization is the possibility that it will become a mosque again.

An update on this story. "Orthodox patriarch opposes plan to make Hagia Sophia a mosque," from CWN, February 20 (thanks to Twostellas):

Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople has staked out his opposition to convert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

Once the patriarchal basilica of Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque when Muslims conquered the city. In 1935, Turkey’s government made the building a museum, as part of the secularizing campaign under the leadership of Kemal Ataturk. But today Turkey’s government, while professing the same secular principles, has supported a campaign to build new mosques and convert some historic buildings into mosques. A proposal to make the Hagia Sophia a mosque is now under consideration in the Turkish parliament. ''We want Santa Sofia to remain a museum,” said Patriarch Bartholomew. The Orthodox prelate said that if the museum is converted to any religious use, it should become a Christian church, since it was built for that purpose.

Will Hamas-linked CAIR sue the Muslims who are committing acts of murder and mayhem on a regular basis in the name of jihad? I thought not.

Pamela Geller has the latest:

CAIR Chicago tried to stop our counter campaign to their bizarre jihad propaganda. They tried to silence the freedom of speech. Sharia enforcement. A "cease and desist" letter from Hamas-CAIR's Ahmed Rehab (Mr. Jihad) claimed ownership of "my jihad." Ahmed Rehab's comical legal contention: Download Cease and Desist 011513(1)

Litigation jihad -- that's Ahmed's jihad, what's yours?

They love using American law to crush American freedoms. In this case of parody (as in most things), Hamas-CAIR Chicago is overreaching and out of control, but there is always some hungry lawyer eager to line his pockets with myjihad dollars (and AFDI's).

Hamas-CAIR has been encouraging people to use the hashtag #myjihad -- did they really think they could say who, what, where and when? Typical Islamic supremacism.

Here is our legal team's response and counter legal action. Substantiation here: Download Retrieve

Dear Mr. Persoon:

I am in receipt of your letter (attached) to my client claiming trademark rights in the alleged mark "MYJIHAD" and variations thereof.  I write to you today in reference to your client's two trademark application files, nos. 85807023 and 85807003.

Specifically, I wish to point out to you that these applications contain materially false representations. First, as you know, neither mark was used in commerce as of September 26, 2012, as represented in the applications. The use of #myjihad in September 2012 relates to the use of the phrase in a public twitter campaign to popularize and to promote the use of #myjihad by the public. See, e.g., http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120927/news/709279634/. Such use is the opposite of a proprietary claim in a trademark.

And, as the Daily Herald story linked above indicates, there is a more fundamental misrepresentation in the trademark applications. The phrase MYJIHAD is merely the combination into a compound word of two generic terms "my" and "jihad."  As such, the term MYJIHAD is not properly subject to trademark protection.  See, e.g., In re Gould Paper Corp., 834 F.2d 1017, 5 USPQ2d 1110, 1111-1112 (Fed. Cir. 1987) (holding that SCREENWIPE was generic as applied to premoistened antistatic cloths for cleaning computer and television screens).  Indeed, the use of the phrase "my jihad" to describe a jihad personal to the speaker (whether the referenced "jihad" is of the violent variety or of the non-violent struggle variety) is a common expression and has been used historically long before your client's use.  See, e.g., the Lexis-Nexis search of the term attached (beginning from item no. 76 et seq.).

Moreover, even if the term is not determined to be generic, it is at best a descriptive mark that cannot be trademarked without secondary meaning. 

Finally, you are no doubt aware that my client acquired the website URL myjihad.us before your client even incorporated.

As such, please be aware that if your client does not withdraw these applications, we will file the appropriate letters of protest and follow up with the necessary administrative and legal steps to resist this blatantly inappropriate claim to trademark rights in the proposed marks.

 

David Yerushalmi*

American Freedom Law Center℠

A blow against the implementation of Sharia restrictions on the freedom of speech in Dearborn. "AFLC Asks Federal Court to Enjoin Wayne County Sheriff from Restricting Christians’ Right to Freedom of Speech at 2013 Arab Festival in Dearborn, Michigan," from the American Freedom Law Center, February 20:

Yesterday, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, requesting that the court issue an order preventing the Wayne County Sheriff and his deputies from restricting a group of Christian evangelists from displaying banners and signs with Christian messages on the public sidewalks during the 2013 Arab Festival to be held in Dearborn, Michigan.

The motion is part of a federal civil rights lawsuit that AFLC filed against Wayne County, the Wayne County Sheriff, and two Wayne County Deputy Chiefs on behalf of Bible Believers, a Christian organization; Ruben Israel, the leader of Bible Believers; and two other members of the organization.  Bible Believers and its members engage in street preaching and other First Amendment activities, including displaying signs and banners with Christian messages, throughout the United States.

In 2012, the Christians attended the Arab Festival in Dearborn, Michigan.  While they were walking along the public sidewalks expressing their message, they were viciously attacked by a group of Muslims, who were throwing bottles, rocks, and other debris at the Christians.  The Muslims were also shouting and blowing horns to harass the Christians.  Some of the Muslims spat at the Christians.  Several Christians, including Ruben Israel, were bruised and bloodied by the assault.  The Muslims also shouted profanities at the Christians and mocked the Christians’ faith. The attack was caught on video, which has since gone viral on YouTube.

Rather than arrest the Muslims for engaging in criminal behavior, Wayne County deputies ordered the Christians to halt their free speech activity and forced them to leave the Arab Festival under threat of arrest for disorderly conduct.

As AFLC argued in its motion, Wayne County deputies cannot criminally punish the Christians’ speech as a matter of law.  Moreover, the deputies have a duty not to effectuate what is known in First Amendment jurisprudence as a “heckler’s veto” by censoring the Christians’ speech based on a hostile crowd’s adverse reaction to the content of the Christian’s message.  Furthermore, the deputies have an affirmative duty to insure the Christians’ safety and security in the free exercise of their constitutional rights.

The Christians are seeking a preliminary injunction because they want to return to Dearborn during the annual Arab Festival in June 2013 to engage in their free speech activity.  However, they fear that if they do return without a court order protecting them, they will again be attacked by Muslims and forced to halt their speech activity under the threat of arrest for disorderly conduct.

Robert Muise, Co-Founder and Senior Counsel of AFLC, commented: “An injunction is certainly warranted and needed in this case based on the actions of the Wayne County deputies in 2012, which clearly demonstrate that they are intent on suppressing the Christians’ message by joining the violent Muslim mob rather than fulfilling their duty to protect the Christians’ safety and security in the exercise of their constitutional rights.  In short, the Wayne County deputies have chosen to side with Muslim violence rather than protect the constitutional freedoms of Christians.”

Kidnapping infidels and releasing them for ransom or killing them -- whichever is more advantageous for the Muslims -- is fully sanctioned in Islamic law: "As for the captives, the amir [ruler] has the choice of taking the most beneficial action of four possibilities: the first to put them to death by cutting their necks; the second, to enslave them and apply the laws of slavery regarding their sale and manumission; the third, to ransom them in exchange for goods or prisoners; and fourth, to show favor to them and pardon them. Allah, may he be exalted, says, 'When you encounter those [infidels] who deny [the Truth=Islam] then strike [their] necks' (Qur'an sura 47, verse 4)" — Abu’l-Hasan al-Mawardi, al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah (The Laws of Islamic Governance), trans. by Dr. Asadullah Yate, (London), Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd., 1996, p. 192.

"Focus on Islamist militants as French family seized in Cameroon," by Tim Lister for CNN, February 20 (thanks to Maxwell):

(CNN) -- The abduction of a French family, including four children, in a remote part of Cameroon has fueled fears that Western civilians living and working in parts of Africa are becoming targets of Islamist militant groups -- especially in the wake of France's military intervention in Mali.

The family spent Monday at Waza National Park -- a thickly-forested area popular with tourists close to the borders with Nigeria and Chad. Tuesday morning, they began the drive south when they were ambushed and abducted by several armed men on motorbikes, officials said.

The children's father is an employee of the French company GDF Suez and is based in Yaounde, in the south of Cameroon.

GDF Suez, which is developing a natural gas liquefaction project in Cameroon, expressed its concern and said it was working closely with the French Foreign Ministry.

Waza is in a remote part of the country where the borders are porous and criminal and terrorist groups are able to operate freely, according to regional analysts.

French officials immediately pointed the finger at the Nigerian group Boko Haram, which has waged a three-year terror campaign against Christians in northern Nigeria as well as attacking police stations and more moderate Muslims in authority.

It has also been able to take advantage of porous borders with Chad and Cameroon.

French President Francois Hollande said during a visit to Athens on Tuesday: "I am aware of the presence of Boko Haram in that part of Cameroon, and that's worrying enough."

Hollande said he does not believe that the kidnapping took place because of his country's intervention in Mali. "There is a great danger of terrorism in a big part of west Africa, including as far as Cameroon," said Hollande, calling on French nationals to exercise caution in West Africa.....

Tonight on ABN I'll be debating Mubin Shaikh, who identifies himself as a "Professor, Public Safety & Police Studies" at Toronto's Seneca College. The debate thesis is "The Qur'an teaches warfare against and subjugation of unbelievers." Mubin Shaikh will be arguing that it doesn't, and I will be arguing that it does.

The debate will be streamed live, beginning at 6:30PM Eastern tonight, at www.abnsat.com. I will also see if I can put the livestream here as well. In any case, toward the end of the debate you will have a chance to call in at 248-416-1300 to ask a question, so be sure to call and join in the fun.

Mubin Shaikh is already strutting around on Twitter thumping his chest and claiming victory, and the debate isn't for another eight hours as of this writing. Usually Islamic supremacists, even (or especially) those badly beaten in debate with me, such as Nadir Ahmed and Moustafa Zayed, wait until after the debate is over to issue preposterous claims of victory, but Mubin Shaikh is getting a head start. So be sure to tune in, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the show.

The label bore the inscription: “Allah’s strength is enough for everybody.” And these three Muslims were apparently determined to prove that. "Kazakhstan Reveals ‘Allah Vodka’ Terror Plot," by Joanna Lillis for Eurasianet.org, February 20 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Vodka named after Allah was always sure to create a storm of controversy in mainly Muslim Kazakhstan – as it did last year, when bottles bearing Allah’s name went on sale in the eastern city of Semey.

Those bottles were produced in Aktobe on the other side of Kazakhstan, where it seems the country’s security services have recently uncovered a plot to blow up the offending factory.

On February 19 three young men – including a minor – were jailed by a court in the western city of Aktobe for plotting to plant explosives at a factory producing vodka with a label mentioning Allah, KTK TV reports.

Media reports did not name the plant at the center of the plot, but back in April last year a factory owned by Kazakhstan’s GEOM company (which makes liquor under the popular Wimpex brand) got into hot water for making vodka with a label showing an Arabic inscription reading “Allah’s strength is enough for everybody.”

The court found the three young men guilty of plotting to blow up the factory and sentenced 17-year-old Salamat Akhet to three years in prison and Nursultan Tenizbayev and Arslan Zhakabayev, both 18, to five years.

Akhet’s mother claimed her son was the victim of a stitch-up by the security services, which have been cracking down heavily on suspected extremists – particularly in western Kazakhstan – since a spate of terrorist attacks began in 2011.

The offending vodka has long since been withdrawn from sale with profuse apologies, the unfortunate incident blamed on a dopey designer. But like bad hangover, the aftereffects just seem to keep lingering.

Actually no such reaction has ensued. But if the skit had mocked Muhammad, you can be quite sure that exactly those things would have happened.

The enlightened multiculturalists among us, however, betray their ethnocentrism and supremacism by excusing and even accepting such reactions from Muslims as a matter of course when they perceive that Muhammad has been insulted, even when the substance of the "insult" consists merely in telling truths about him that they would prefer not be known.

The worst part of this double standard is the rush of some Western "journalists" to accommodate this Muslim rage and hate by joining them in calling for restrictions on the freedom of speech; here are three recent examples.

Yet this unsavory gang of Hamas-linked thugs is still treated as a "civil rights" organization by the mainstream media and all too many government and law enforcement officials.

The true nature of Hamas-linked CAIR is obvious. The Justice Department named CAIR an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas terror funding case. CAIR operatives have repeatedly refused to denounce Hamas and Hizballah as terrorist groups. Several former CAIR officials have been convicted of various crimes related to jihad terror. CAIR’s cofounder and longtime Board chairman (Omar Ahmad), as well as its chief spokesman (Ibrahim Hooper), have made Islamic supremacist statements, and its California chapter distributed posters telling Muslims not to talk to the FBI.

Hamas-linked CAIR masquerades as an organization loyal to American Constitutional principles. So will they reprimand and fire Faizan Syed for his call for the violation of the freedom of speech of those he hates? Don't hold your breath.

"Director of CAIR Missouri wants to prosecute Americans who insult Islam…using sharia law," from Creeping Sharia, February 19 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

via zTruth: Faizan Syed, director of CAIR Missouri, wants to punish those who insult Islam with sharia law!

Last August, the director of CAIR St. Louis, Faizan Syed, wrote about his ideas for monitoring social media titled Social Media Task Force. Sayed wants to create a Muslim youth association who would aggresively [sic] monitor the media. What really stood out was this statement under the section “I have few suggestions to make in this regard” (5th bullet):

“Report anti Islamic and anti Muslim content on the internet to appropriate authorities to take action to remove it and go after those who post it online and prosecute and take actions according to the Shariah ruling.”

Take action according to the Sharia ruling? Humm… in some countries this could mean death.

Simply astonishing.

The Daily Star calls these Islamic supremacist thugs "bigots," which they certainly are. The usage was refreshing: usually it is those who are resisting this thuggery and real bigotry that are named "bigots" in the Western mainstream media. Even worse, Leftist foes of free speech and fans of the boot on the face such as Eric Posner, Sarah Chayes and Nathan Lean get ample space in the mainstream media to call for restrictions on the freedom of speech of the Western counterparts of these threatened Bangladeshi bloggers.

"Bigots demand death for top bloggers," from the Daily Star, February 20 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

A few hundred people staged a rally in Hathazari upazila headquarters in Chittagong Tuesday afternoon demanding death penalty for top bloggers of the ongoing Shahbagh movement.

The bigots further threatened of tougher movement if the bloggers were not punished as they demanded.

“They are active online for several years defaming Islam and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) through their writings,” Maulana Jahangir Alam, upazila unit general secretary of Bangladesh Khelafat Andolon, told The Daily Star.

Hefazate-e-Islam, meanwhile, announced it would hold a mass rally at Hathazari Parbati High School on February 25 to press home the same demand.

During Tuesday's demonstration, the speakers specifically demanded deaths for Omi Rahman Pial, Ibrahim Khalil, Arif Jebtik and Asif Mohiuddin who are at the forefront of the Shahbagh movement that continued for the 15th straight day on Tuesday in demand of capital punishment to the war criminals.

Jointly organised by Khelafat Andolon and Islami Oikkya Jote, the crowd of around 500 people, mostly from a local Darul Ulum Moinul Islam Madrasa, gathered at Dakbanglo intersection around 3:00pm.

Speakers at the rally termed the bloggers as ‘atheists’ and demanded their capital punishment, our Chittagong correspondent reported quoting Nurul Hakim, a sub-inspector at Hathazari Police Station.

Asked whether the organisation had taken permission for the rally, Liakat Ali, officer-in-charge of the police station, told The Daily Star that prior permission is not required for all types of programmes.

“We are aware about the rally,” he said.

According to a post on a Shahbagh movement Facebook page, the Hathazari agitators distributed leaflets carrying the photos of some frontline bloggers of the Shahbagh movement terming them as atheists.

"Banners hung there say the Shahbagh movement has been organised to insult Islam," the post reads.

In 2008 Ellison accepted $13,350 from the Muslim American Society (MAS) to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. The Muslim American Society is a Muslim Brotherhood organization: “In recent years, the U.S. Brotherhood operated under the name Muslim American Society, according to documents and interviews. One of the nation’s major Islamic groups, it was incorporated in Illinois in 1993 after a contentious debate among Brotherhood members.” That's from the Chicago Tribune in 2004, in an article that is now carried on the Muslim Brotherhood’s English-language website, Ikhwanweb. The Muslim American Society, according to Steven Emerson, director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, “is the de facto arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S. The agenda of the MAS is to … impose Islamic law in the U.S., to undermine U.S. counterterrorism policy.”

And now he is in Somalia, apparently to help facilitate transfers of money from Somali Muslims in Minnesota to their friends and relatives back in Somalia -- transfers that have often been used to finance jihad.

"Minnesota congressman arrives in Mogadishu," by Abdi Guled for the Associated Press, February 19 (thanks to Maxwell):

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A U.S. congressman visited Somalia's capital on Tuesday, the first visit in years by a member of Congress to what until recently was considered one of the world's most dangerous cities.

Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota, said his visit to Mogadishu fulfills a request from his constituents with ties to Somalia. Minnesota has one of the largest populations of Somali-Americans in the U.S.

Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, noted that the U.S. government recently recognized the Somali government for the first time since the country fell into anarchy in 1991. President Barack Obama's administration formally recognized the Somali government on Jan. 17.

"I told my constituency I would come here and work for the United States and Somalia relationship, and I am doing that in today's visit," Ellison told a news conference in Mogadishu.

Ellison was greeted by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The president said that Ellison's visit was a big day for Somalia.

Mogadishu has experienced about 18 months of relative peace, after the August 2011 ouster of the Islamic extremists of al-Shabab from the capital by African Union forces.

Ellison said his meetings with Somali officials would focus on financial remittances most often sent by Somalis in the U.S. back to family members in Somalia. Such remittances have become harder to make over fears that people sending money could be accused of aiding a terrorist organization such as al-Shabab.

So will Ellison be trying to make them easier? Will he do so with any regard for the financing of jihad terror?

Now wait a minute. Don't these Muslim clerics know that the Taliban are hijacking the peaceful religion of Islam and twisting its teachings to justify violence?

Tiny Minority of Extremists Update: "Pakistani clerics to boycott peace conference," by Kathy Gannon for the Associated Press, February 18 (thanks to Maxwell):

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani clerics upset with anti-Taliban comments coming out of Afghanistan said Monday they will boycott a conference of religious leaders being held to denounce violence and press for a peaceful end to the 11-year-old Afghan war.

The head of the Pakistani clerics, Mufti Abu Huraira Mohiuddin sent a letter to his Afghan counterpart on Sunday announcing the move. In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Mohiuddin accused some Afghan clerics of using "unsavory language" against the Taliban and said the conference was shaping up to be a one-sided attack on the Taliban rather than a conference to press for peace.

The letter appeared to put an end to an initiative that began last November when Kabul and Islamabad announced the plan to hold a peace conference.

The ambitious initiative called for 500 clerics from Afghanistan and Pakistan to gather in Kabul in March to present a united front opposing violence, denouncing suicide bombings and urging all sides in the protracted conflict to pursue peace. At the time, the plan was touted as a sign of improving relations between Kabul and Islamabad. But the latest dispute highlights the difficulty of getting the squabbling neighbors to sit together.

Still, Pakistan is seen as key to any peace agreement with Taliban insurgents ahead of the 2014 withdrawal of NATO and U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and it's believed that Islamabad is the best hope of getting the Taliban to enter into serious negotiations.

The Taliban were given office space in Persian Gulf state of Qatar last year when the U.S. and Taliban opened secret talks. But those discussions stalled after the U.S. refused to release five Taliban from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Yet the Taliban have participated in at least two international conferences and U.S. and European officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the fragility of the talks, say the Taliban are in touch with representatives of 30 to 40 countries. The proliferation of interlocutors has angered Afghan President Hamid Karzai who wants all peace negotiations channeled through his government even though the Taliban are steadfastly refusing to talk to his government.

Some members of the Afghan High Peace Council had hoped that 500 clerics from Afghanistan and Pakistan would have had the clout to propel the Taliban into direct talks with the government.

But the dispute among the clerics began last week in Islamabad when Pakistan's delegation suggested the Taliban should be represented at the Kabul conference. It initially appeared a compromise had been reached and a complete breakdown avoided in the final communique, which said "the conference will not be in support of or against anyone and/or any group, but it will be in the light of Islamic principles."

But by Sunday the Pakistani clerics had decided statements made by some of the Afghan delegates upon their return to Kabul were tantamount to taking sides against the Taliban....

This is about as meaningful as his Nobel Prize. Pamela Geller nails it, calling it the "Please-Don't-Hurt-Us Award" and noting: "It's an interesting strategy. I am sure Israel's top psychiatrists thought this one up. Feed the narcissist. Perhaps he'll do less harm. What are they calling it? The Hagel? The Brennan? Or the Mursi? Or the Romney Walk-back?"

"Israel to award Obama prestigious medal in visit," from the Associated Press, February 18 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

JERUSALEM – Israel will award President Barack Obama the country's Presidential Medal of Distinction during his upcoming visit.

Israeli President Shimon Peres' office said Monday that Obama will be recognized for his "unique and significant contribution to strengthening the State of Israel and the security of its citizens."

Huh?

Obama is scheduled to visit Israel in March -- his first as president.

Obama has often had a tense relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Jewish state's West Bank settlement policies and the lack of peace process with the Palestinians.

But Peres and the committee behind the award noted Obama's overall friendship and backing of the Iron Dome missile defense system.

Israel's Presidential Medal of Distinction is comparable to the France's "Legion of Honor" or the "Order of Canada."

The charge of apostasy is itself a death threat. Muhammad said: "Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him" (Bukhari 9.84.57). The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law according to all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence.

The issue at hand in this case is not the point; the same thing would have happened regarding any issue that involved Muslims perceived to be departing from the traditional teachings of Islam. Here again we see why there are so few genuine Muslim reformers: those who challenge the mainstream teachings are threatened and intimidated into silence -- much the way that non-Muslim foes of jihad and Islamic supremacism are threatened on the one hand and smeared and defamed on the other. Islamic supremacists and their Leftist allies are desperately insecure and can brook no dissent, much less carry on a rational discussion or debate.

"Pro-Gay Marriage Muslim MPs Get Threats," from NZNewsUK, February 18 (thanks to Twostellas):

Muslim MPs who voted for same-sex marriage have since received death threats and fatwas from Islamist extremists and clerics in the UK and Pakistan.

Five Muslim MPs voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, two abstained and one voted against.

Mufti Muhammed Aslam Naqshbandi Bandhalevi, imam at the Jamia Islamia Rizvia mosque in Bradford, has issued a fatwa, or ruling, declaring one of the five pro-gay marriage Muslim MPs, Sadiq Khan, an “apostate” and that he should “repent before Allah”, reports the Daily Mail. Mr Khan has received death threats since the parliamentary vote and is now under police protection.
http://bit.ly/Yonf46

Mufti Muhammad Aslam Naqshbandi of Jamia Islamia Rizvia mosque in Southfield said that Muslims MPs who supported the right of gay couples to marry had put themselves outside of Islam, according to a report by the Pakistan-based newspaper, The News International.
http://bit.ly/XR5hsV

The same paper reports that at least three Pakistani clerics have declared that the MPs were no longer Muslims and they must repent.

Several UK-based Islamist sects have denounced the MPs, including Hizb ut-Tahrir; as have posts on extremist websites such as Islamic Awakening and Izharudeen.com....

Still more Islamic supremacist intimidation and thuggery. Deep-rooted insecurity and inability to stand dissent, combined with a penchant for violence. "Egyptian says he was abducted for anti-Islamist work," from Reuters, February 15 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

(Reuters) - An Egyptian opposition activist said on Friday he had been abducted by men who threatened him over his anti-Islamist activities, tied his hands and scalded his back with hot water before dumping him in a remote area.

Ibrahim Hanafi had been working with the Freedom Front for Peaceful Change, collecting evidence of what he saw as "violations" by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement that backs President Mohamed Mursi.

"They blindfolded me and tied my hands behind my back ... They told me to stay away from the Muslim Brotherhood and politics and said that was a warning," Hanafi told Reuters. He said he had been abandoned with ripped clothes in a remote area outside Cairo.

A Muslim Brotherhood spokesman said the group had nothing to do with the attack, or any involvement in other "indecent cases". A security source confirmed that Hanafi had been found beaten and tied up.

Opposition activists say a number of campaigners have been attacked in recent months after criticizing the Islamist-led government that came in after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, who had repressed Islamist groups.

Hanafi said he had been abducted on Thursday night. A fellow activist earlier said he had been taken four days ago, but Hanafi said he had been at home for part of that time with his phone switched off....

Maybe his Muslim Brotherhood handlers have taught him about that "war is deceit" thing.

"Hagel 'Doesn't Recall' Remark on Israel Controlling State Dept.," by Rachel Hirshfeld for Israel National News, February 18 (thanks to Voice of the Copts):

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that he has accepted a new disclaimer from President Obama’s defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) disavowing one of his many offensive statements about the state of Israel.

Graham told “Fox News Sunday” that he received a new letter from the beleaguered nominee in which Hagel claimed he “did not recall” the odious statement-- allegedly made during a speech at Rutgers University in 2007-- in which he argued that the State Department is controlled by the Israeli Foreign Minister’s office.

“Well, if in fact that’s true, that would end the matter,” Graham said, adding, “I just take him at his word unless something new comes along.”

“I'm glad he answered my question about a very disturbing comment he allegedly made,” he told Fox News.

Graham joined fellow Republicans in filibustering Hagel's nomination on Thursday, marking the first time a defense secretary has been filibustered in the Senate.

Graham is continuing to seek more information from the Obama administration this week on the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. embassy in Bengazi, Libya, which resulted in the death of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

The senator warned last week that he would hold off approval of both Hagel and John Brennan, Obama's nominee for CIA director, until he receives more answers.

During the interview, however, Graham indicated that he would support ending debate on Hagel when the Senate returns from recess next week, despite considering him “one of the most radical and unqualified choices” to be defense secretary.

Hagel’s numerous other anti-Jewish and anti-Israel comments include the former senator claiming that “the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people" in Congress into “doing dumb things”; that the Jewish state is keeping the “Palestinians caged up like animals” and that Israel has kept the Palestinian people “chained down for many, many years.”

He has further come under fire for his feeble position on military action against Iran, his willingness to open direct talks with Hamas, his opposition to declaring Hizbullah a terrorist organization, as well as a long list of other highly provocative issues and associations.

They're basing their case on the claim that Mohamud was entrapped. But he pressed the button to detonate the bomb. What would it take for you to be entrapped into setting off a bomb that you thought would murder thousands of people?

"'Christmas tree bomb plot' attorneys ask judge for Mohamud's acquittal, new trial," by Jennifer Meacham for KOIN.com, February 18 (thanks to Kenneth):

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Attorneys for the 21-year-old Corvallis resident convicted of "attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction" in Portland court Jan. 31 are making good on a previous promise aired on KOIN.

Chief Deputy Federal Public Defender Stephen Sady is leading a "Motion for Judgment of Acquittal" for Defendant Mohamed Osman Mohamud. In the absence of an acquittal, Mohamud's attorneys also have filed a motion for a new trial.

"The intervention of undercover agents," Mohamud's attorneys stated in their filing this past week, "...to redirect Mr. Mohamud out of the rehabilitative and corrective program his parents had designed for him -- and toward committing acts in the United States -- require acquittal."

The filing states that "The evidence established that Mr. Mohamud was incapable -- lacked the wherewithal -- to commit the offense on his own ... Witness after witness testified to the absence of research or other planning or preparation until after the first face-to-face meeting."

Mohamud's 14-day trial ended this past month with a guilty verdict from a federal jury in the District of Oregon. The verdict came more than two years after FBI agents say the naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia pressed a button that could have set off a bomb at the Black Friday Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Portland's Pioneer Square.

Without an acquittal or new trial, Mohamud is scheduled for sentencing May 14. According to Department of Justice, "At sentencing, Mohamud faces a maximum statutory sentence of life in prison."

The Oregon man was arrested Nov. 26, 2010, in what the Department of Justice is calling "an explosives-laden van" parked near the lighting ceremony. The explosive device was sourced through agents with the FBI....

Many of the bombs were planted outside shops, supermarkets and karaoke bars -- clearly an attempt to maximize the carnage. Yet the world remains silent, and the Vast Majority of Peaceful Muslims does nothing to rein in their violent coreligionists.

"Muslim insurgents launch 50 attacks in Thailand's deep south," by David Eimer in the Telegraph, February 18:

Muslim insurgents fighting for a separate state in Thailand's deep south launched 50 bomb and arson attacks over the weekend, killing three members of the security forces as violence in the troubled region intensifies.

The three local defence volunteers died after a bomb hidden in a pile of clothes exploded outside a restaurant in Pattani Town on Sunday lunchtime.

Another nine people were injured in the blast.

A coordinated campaign of terror started at 6pm local time on Saturday, when seven bombs were planted outside shops, supermarkets and a karaoke bar in Pattani Town, the capital of Pattani Province, one of the three southernmost provinces of Thailand with a Muslim majority population.

Bomb disposal experts defused five of the bombs. But further devices were detonated later that night and on Sunday, while a wave of arson attacks gutted shops in Pattani Town and targeted mobile phone towers, security cameras and local defence bases elsewhere in Pattani Province.

"Intelligence estimates suggest there were 50 coordinated attacks. We managed to prevent attacks in eight spots," Police Major General Ekkaphob Prasitwattanachai told local media.

Shops in Pattani City were closed on Monday and streets deserted, as residents stayed indoors fearing more violence. The bombing and arson campaign is being regarded as revenge for the killing of 16 militants who attacked a marine base in Narathiwat Province last Wednesday. It was the deadliest day the insurgents have suffered in almost a decade.

Almost 5,400 people have died, and more than 9,500 have been injured, since the insurgency started in earnest in 2004....

Islamic supremacists can brook no dissent, no disagreement, no questioning. This is of a piece with the OIC's ongoing efforts to intimidate the West into criminalizing criticism of Islam, and with the relentless character assassination and defamation of foes of jihad and Islamic supremacism. The jihad must proceed unopposed and unimpeded -- and once successful, Sharia prohibitions of "blasphemy" will protect the Islamic state from unwanted scrutiny.

The mainstream media in the West is completely on board with this program, whether out of ignorance of its ultimate goals, or complicity with them, or an overarching fear to avoid "racist" criticism of those who are perceived to be non-white, non-Christian, and non-Western -- or out of a combination of all three. It is ironic that this piece is in The Guardian, which has published some of the most irresponsible and vicious smears of counter-jihadists.

"Egyptian editor says he was forced out by Muslim Brotherhood," by Patrick Kingsley in the Guardian, February 18:

The editor of Egypt's largest English-language news website – the state-owned Ahram Online – has been forced out from his job, allegedly by allies of the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's ruling party.

Hani Shukrallah, one of Egypt's most respected journalists and a fierce critic of the Brotherhood, left his post last month. He had refused to explain why – in an attempt, it was understood, to use what leverage he still had to influence the appointment of his successor.

But three weeks on, Shukrallah has broken his silence, claiming he was forced from office by Ahram's new chairman, Mamdouh el-Wali, said to be both a Brotherhood sympathiser, and a recent government appointee.

"The deed is done: the [Muslim Brotherhood] has now fulfilled its resolve to drive me out of Ahram," Shukrallah said in a Facebook post, which also alleged that his forced retirement came after a series of drastic pay-cuts aimed at humiliating him.

Ahram Online is the web-based English-language wing of al-Ahram, Egypt's sprawling, state-run publishing house, which runs around a dozen other papers and periodicals. Shukrallah had previously been removed from another senior editorial role at al-Ahram during the dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak.

Neither Wali nor several Brotherhood spokesmen responded to requests for comment on Monday afternoon. Shukrallah's departure comes amid increasing concerns that the Brotherhood – Egypt's most popular single party at the last parliamentary elections, and known in Egypt as the Ikhwa – is seeking to tighten its control of state institutions.

Mohamed Morsi was narrowly elected president last June, promising to govern "in the name of all Egyptians". Yet his opponents say that his behaviour since has rarely been multilateral. They highlight the way he forced through an Islamist-slanted constitution; posted Brotherhood members to provincial governorships, and appointed a prosecutor-general whom the opposition considered to be a Brotherhood-sympathiser.

"The general concern is about the Ikhwanisation of the state," said Khaled Fahmy, a prominent opposition commentator, and head of history at the American University in Cairo. "What is alarming is [the way] they are putting in place so many of their followers into all kinds of positions of state authority, so much so that if they lose the next elections, they will still control much of the Egyptian infrastructure," Fahmy told the Guardian last week....

One main reason for this is to "keep the Coptic community in check." For Islamic supremacists in Egypt, as elsewhere, are so desperately insecure that they must viciously and violently oppress a group that forms ten percent of the population. "Fayoum church and ‘garbage’ reporting," by Rana Allam for Daily News Egypt, February 18:

Sectarian violence in Egypt has always been a big problem, one that is not addressed by our rulers except when they deny it exists. During Mubarak’s era, Egypt witnessed many incidents of attacks on churches mostly orchestrated by the interior ministry and the regime itself.

The reason behind this was to 1) keep the Coptic community in check fearing for their lives and holding on to the illusion of protection and 2) continue using Islamists as a threat in front of the West.

After the revolution, the same strategy applies. Churches are attacked to keep Copts fearing for their lives from Islamist hard-liners as opposed to the seemingly tolerant Muslim Brotherhood. This is not to say that all attacks are orchestrated by the regime; some of course do believe what their self-proclaimed sheikhs tell them about people from other religions.

With hate-speech filling TV channels and mosques, it is expected that some fools would take it upon themselves to implement the “word of God”, which in this case is the word of the preacher.

A few days ago, a Fayoum church was attacked, burned with Molotov cocktails, walls damaged and interior on flames. Or at least according to newspapers. It was a horrible morning for all of us when we read the news. Anger, frustration and violence filled our hearts. We wanted to run the story and inform the world of these atrocities. Maybe our rulers will listen and stop this ongoing disaster.

Most newspapers accredited details of the incident to “unnamed sources”, and since we never run a story without confirmation from the concerned parties, especially in cases of violence, we called the church. Father Mikhail of the Fayoum Archbishopric told us that no attack happened, and that media outlets “exaggerated” the incident. He said that it was a fight between neighbours which soon ended. And we ran our story.

“DNE reports garbage” is an example of the type of attack we faced for this. The story was shared on social networks with such comments, saying that DNE is the only newspaper undermining the attack on the church, and that “all” other newspapers reported otherwise. The fact is newspapers cite each other as sources, and this is what we do not do.

However, we started questioning whether the Fayoum church priest was lying. But then again, Egyptian priests don’t lie. They may hide information, be evasive, or speak vaguely on a subject. They may show forgiveness to calm the Coptic community or to avoid more violence, but they do not lie outright. This is a fact every reporter knows.

The next morning, our reporter Basil went to Fayoum to see for himself and came back with the same story. No damaged walls, no burned down church, no violence. Priests and residents alike told him how media outlets exaggerated the incident, and that it was indeed a small fight with no sectarian undertones.

This is far from saying that Copts are not under attack by hard-line Islamists. They are, day in and day out. Regularly, beards appear on TV and in mosques insulting them and foretelling how they will burn in hell, and how it is the Muslim’s duty to fight them. Their women are slandered and their men are insulted. To some preachers, Copts are what is wrong with our country.

But the Fayoum Church was not attacked.

The question remains: Why do the Egyptian people need lies when facts are there to strengthen their demands? Rumours like Morsi’s son hired for EGP 40,000 salary, church damaged, 6th of October Bridge blocked by fires, Karnak Temple burned down, and more fly through social networks in seconds and the truth remains buried.

Reporting “garbage” is a strong suit of most Egyptian media outlets, when they don’t even need to. The truth is much worse, if only they dig a bit deeper. The truth of what Copts go through in this country is worse than a fight in Fayoum. The truth about the Morsi’s and the Muslim Brotherhood’s finances is so much worse than his son’s salary. The truth about this country is so much worse than the rumours. Why do people insist on denying the ugly truth and exaggerating a rumour?

Don’t you get it? When rumours mix with facts, the truth is tarnished and cannot be used anymore. The first defence will be that media outlets spread rumours, and then all other facts become questionable, and the strong case we have with regards to violence against Copts becomes weak. Whose benefit does such a rumour serve? And why do people help provide such benefit?

I remain baffled.

Will the Islamophobia never end? "Copts Protest Church Attack in Egypt -- Church Attacked Again," by Mary Abdelmassih for AINA, February 18 (thanks to Assad Elepty):

Hundreds of Copts rallied on Sunday evening against the torching of St. Georges church in Sarsena on Friday (AINA 2-16-2013), as well as the escalation of destruction of churches by Muslims. Several Coptic rights groups organized a march from Shubra, a densely populated area in Cairo, to the High Court building in downtown Cairo, to "demand justice" as the organizers said.

Demonstrators demanded the Sarsena church be rebuilt and the perpetrators be prosecuted, in addition to the assailants of previous attacks on the churches during the last two years since the ousting of Mubarak. They also demanded an end to the customary "reconciliation" meetings forced on Copts by the authorities, in which Copts lose all their rights.

"We are going down to the streets for the church torched in Fayoum," said Yvonne Mosad, PR of Maspero Coptic Youth Union, "and against the customary reconciliation meetings held every time something takes place against the Copts. We want the application of the law."

The Coptic demonstrators included a large number of children accompanying their parents. A large number of liberal Muslims joined the demonstration.

The marchers chanted "Maspero, Maspero," calling for the completion of their march to the State radio and TV building in Maspero, the site of the massacre that killed 24 Copts and injured over 300 (AINA 10-10-2011).

According to officials, the attack on St. George's Church was triggered by a Muslim family living next to the church, who complained about the sound coming from the church during mass on Fridays and Sundays. The Muslim family has been living next to the church for 15 years and had not complained previously. During the attack on Friday, Muslims voiced the real issue, which was the church is "an unlawful neighbor to the Muslims who live adjacent to it and must therefore be moved."

The Tamiya security chief said in an interview on Al-Hayat independent Egyptian channel that the torching was not of a church but a small room annexed to the Coptic community center and the church wanted to build it without a license. He also said that what was torched was a single wooden chair. But the church said it is not a community center but a proper church.

Authorities placed a security guard at the gate of the church. The guard prevented the media from filming the church and prevented journalist and local parishioners from entering the church.

A customary "reconciliation" meeting was held on Saturday evening, which many found to be unfair and humiliating, like all such previous meetings forced by authorities. The meeting was attended by seven Copts without the presence of the clergy, four of whom were chosen by the Muslims, the Muslim neighbor family that complained, four Muslim arbitrators and the heads of the security and Chief of Detectives in Tamiya.

The church was attacked once again by Muslims While the meeting was in progress. Molotov Cocktails and stones were hurled at the church while Muslims shouted "We do not want the church." Some Muslims climbed up the church to completely destroy the remains of the wooden dome.

One of the Coptic delegation to the "reconciliation" meeting, Mr. Gameel Abraham, left in protest of the unfairness of the terms of "reconciliation" set for the Copts. He noted that the losses suffered by the church were destruction in parts of the dome and the windows, as well as seats which were torched, icons, images and saints' relics.

At the meeting the neighboring Muslim family wanted to classify the church as a community center but the Copts rejected this. Police records classify the building as a church.

Among the conditions in the agreement imposed on the church, which the Coptic delegation was forced to sign, is that it is not allowed to restore the church to its original height before the attack, but it should remain the new height after the attack, not exceeding 3 meters. The church was compelled to agree to build a 17 meter long, 30 centimeter thick wall from inside the church area, filled with soundproof material, and to build another wall, 5 centimeters thick, between the church and the Muslim neighbor, also filled with sound proof material, to absorb the sound of hymns emanating from the church. In Addition, it was decided that the roof of the church be covered with soundproof material as well as the tiling of the roof of the Muslim neighbor, at the expense of the church, to further diminish the "noise" coming out of church during its semi-weekly mass. The church was forced to agree not to use the spare area outside to increase the size of the church and not to use it as a kindergarten, but to use it as a store room.

There was no mention of who will be responsible for paying for the losses of the church and whether the dome and the Holy Cross on top of the dome that were destroyed by the Muslim mob will be replaced.

No one responsible for the church assault has been arrested.

What a surprise.

He no doubt thought that this money was his due, as per this verse of the Qur'an: "Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued." -- Qur'an 9:29

As British jihadist Anjem Choudary just said: "The normal situation is to take money from the kuffar. You work, give us the money, Allahu akbar."

"Suicide bomber lived off Swedish student aid," from The Local, February 18 (thanks to Lookmann):

Stockholm suicide bomber Taimour Abdulwahab received more money from the Swedish state than from his terrorist financiers, including a 54,000-kronor ($8,550) payout made after he bled to death in his failed terror bid.

All told, Abdulwahab received nearly 750,000 kronor ($119,000) from the Swedish National Board for Student Aid (Centrala studiestödsnämnden, CSN), the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper reports.

The figure is more than ten times the estimated $8,000 sum cited in a Scottish court's conviction last year of Nesserdine Menni, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for funding Abdulwahab's December 2010 attack in Stockholm.

The revelations come from Swedish author Mats Ekman, the author of a book on Iraqi intelligence activities in Sweden during Saddam Hussein's rule of Iraq.

Ekman examined all of Abdulwahab's student aid applications and payments, and discovered the Stockholm suicide bomber frequently sent certificates to CSN verifying his coursework.

"I would like to thank CSN and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year," Abdulwahab wrote at the end of one of his letters to the agency.

According to Ekman's research, Abdulwahab first applied for student aid in the late 1990s and used the money he received from the Swedish agency to fund his studies in Luton, England, the place where the Iraqi-born Swede is believed to have became inspired by militant Islamism.

It remains unclear what happened to the 54,000 kronor sent by CSN to Abdulwahab two days after he died in the December 2012 suicide bomb attack in a busy shopping district in central Stockholm.

After Abdulwahab's death, CSN subsequently wrote off 670,000 kronor of his student loan debt.

Prosecutor Agnetha Hilding Qvarnström continues to investigate the suicide bomb attack but refused to speculate on how much money Abdulwahab may have spent or whether Swedish student aid money may have been used to buy materials used in the bomb attack.

Hilding Qvarnström is expected to present her investigation some time in the spring.

The revelations may also lead to changes in how CSN deals with outstanding debts when someone dies with outstanding dues.

"This has been a real eye-opener for us," CSN spokesman Klas Elfving told DN, adding that the payment was authorized on December 9th, prior to Abdulwahab's death.

Not enough of one.

"Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued." -- Qur'an 9:29

Muslim spokesmen in the West routinely claim that this verse has no applicability in the modern world. They're lying.

"Bosnian extremist wants to tax non-Muslims," from B92.net, February 18 (thanks to Julia Gorin):

SARAJEVO -- A Bosnian Wahhabi leader was heard calling for a ten-percent tax to be introduced for Serbs and Croats in that country - modeled after Ottoman practices.

A video was posted on YouTube showing Bužim-based Husein Bosnić, aka Bilal, advocating the type of tax imposed in medieval times on Serbs by the Turks who had invaded and occupied their land.

Bosnić, described as "one of the most popular preachers within the Wahhabi movement", in his sermon, or "hutba", told his followers that they "should not touch the honor or spill the blood of Serbs and Croats" - but only if those Christian nations were "under the framework of Islam".

This Wahabi leader who was last year arrested on charges of terrorism and later released from custody, was further heard stating in the video:

"Their obligations toward the privileges that they have in our society are only to be loyal and to, once a year, if they can, set aside the amount that the khalifa determines, just as the Ottomans determined for Serbs - ten percent."

He also said that "rich people" should give ten percent of their property once a year in order to be "left alone - nobody would touch them and nobody would mobilize them".

At the end of the 44-minute "hutba", Bosnić sent his message that "Islam will enter each home".

Banja Luka-based daily Nezavisne Novine is quoting Duška Majkić, chairwoman of the Joint Commission on Defense and Security of the Parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina, who said that "as far as security experts are concerned, this is all completely clear":

"The Wahhabis do not respect this system, this state. What he said represents a violation of the Constitution and laws of this country. The police should have already investigated what is happening in those typical communities where they (Wahhabis) live, and if nothing was happening there, then the public could have its peace of mind. However, too many pieces of information are saying that caution is in order."

Security experts commented on the video to say that the Wahhabis aim to "adjust the society to a possible lack of freedom that it will have to live in".

"To be a Muslim of the Bilal Bosnić's kind means to live according a calendar that is 700 years behind. What he said was a menacing message, which brings down the country's constitutional order, but it also advocates in favor of a religious state and discrimination against non-Muslims," terrorism expert Dževad Galijašević was quoted as saying.

Bosnić is no stranger to controversial and threatening "hutbas". The media in Bosnia are quoting one of his earlier statements: "Know it, it has only started to bleed and it will not stop, Allah knows, until the victory of Islam arrives. That means that we must all mobilize and stand in defense of Islam."

Here comes a late love letter from the estimable Dr. Glazov: Dallas star Morgan Brittany joins PolitiChick warrior Ann-Marie Murrell and Hollywood actor Dwight Schultz to discuss "The Unholy Alliance vs. Valentine’s Day." The discussion occurred in Part II and focused on why Islamic supremacists and the radical Left hate the Day of Love. The Gang referred to Jamie Glazov’s recent article, "Hating Valentine’s." The segment also included a focus on John Brennan’s alleged Muslim conversion moment. In Part I, the Gang discussed the Left’s demonization of Rubio’s drinking of water, Dr. Ben Carson’s National Prayer Breakfast speech, the lies in the State of the Union, and much, much more.

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

So the child marriage isn't the problem. The divorce by text message, however -- that's going too far!

"Man who divorced his child bride by TEXT MESSAGE could be sacked in Indonesia - as Twitter backlash also claims judge who joked women 'enjoy rape,'" by Alex Gore in the Daily Mail, February 18 (thanks to David):

A government official who sparked outrage by marrying a child bride could be sacked after divorcing her by text message four days into their marriage.

Aceng Fikri, 40, chief of Garut district in West Java province, Indonesia, was already married with two children when he wed the young girl.

In another case that highlights attitudes towards women's rights in the Southeast Asian country, a judge joked during a supreme court job interview that women might enjoying being raped.

But both officials are now at risk of losing their jobs, which has been seen as a small step forward by campaigners.

The supreme court has recommended the president dismiss Fikri for violating the marriage law, and police are investigating the case because it involves a minor.

The country's judicial commission has also called for Judge Muhammad Daming Sunusiat to be sacked for his comments about rape.

Unregistered polygamous marriages, such as Fikri's, are common in the archipelago. Although divorce by text message is rare, it is allowed under Islamic sharia law.

His ex-wife Fani Oktarahas, who was the legal age of 16 when she married him, denied his claims that she was not a virgin.

A photo of the wedding last summer was posted on the internet and caused a public outcry in the local media and on Twitter, blogs and Facebook.

Thousands of people took to the streets in December to protest, with student and women's rights activists demanding he resign.

Protesters trampled and spat on photos of his face before setting them ablaze outside the council building in Garut.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono responded by issuing a rare public condemnation of the 40-year-old official and his illegal marriage.

There has also been anger last month over the comments made by Judge Muhammad Daming Sunusiat at a parliamentary selection panel for a supreme court position.

He said it could be a mistake to impose the death penalty for rape because both the attacker and the victim 'might have enjoyed' it.

The remark reportedly drew laughter from panel members. Sunusi later apologised and said he had been joking.

Ha ha!

Not only was Sunusi rejected for the job, but the country's Judicial Commission recommended that he be dismissed from his position on the South Sumatra high court.

But the supreme court would have to agree, and it has said such punishment would be too severe because he made the remark in an interview, not during a trial.

Husein Muhammad,of the commission on violence against women, said: 'Enough is enough!

'Our officials should no longer mess around and issue ridiculous statements even as a dumb joke.'

Women in the social-media-obsessed country have been rallying, online and on the streets, against sexists comments and attacks on women for some time.

The movement in a country of 240 million people, most of whom practice a moderate form of Islam, appears to be having some impact on the largely secular government.

Husein Muhammad added: 'We are living in a different era now. Now we have supporting laws and social media to bring severe consequences and social sanctions.'

But rights groups argue the country remains far behind on many issues involving gender equality and violence. Rape cases often are not properly investigated, and victims are sometimes blamed.

In 2011, after a woman was gang raped on a minibus, then-Jakarta governor Fauzi Bowo drew protests after warning women not to wear miniskirts on public transportation because it could arouse male passengers. Bowo lost his re-election bid last year.

A sex-trafficking case involving a 14-year-old girl prompted education minister Mohammad Nuh to say last year that not all girls who report such crimes are victims.

He said: 'They do it for fun, and then the girl alleges that it's rape.'

His response to the criticism he received was that it's difficult to prove whether sexual assault allegations are 'real rapes.'...

In the West Java official's case, it was the text-message divorce that prompted outrage more than his unregistered second marriage, though such weddings raise issues about women's rights.

They are regularly performed for Indonesians ranging from poor rice farmers to celebrities, politicians and Muslim clerics.

Polygamy remains common in many Muslim countries, based on Islamic teachings that allow men to take up to four wives.

In Indonesia, men are allowed to marry a second wife only after the first gives her blessing. Since most women refuse to agree to share their husbands, unregistered ceremonies, or 'nikah siri,' are often secretly carried out by an Islamic cleric outside the law.

Some of the marriages are simply a cover for prostitution. A cleric is paid to conduct 'contract marriages' as short as one night in some parts of Indonesia, usually for Middle Eastern tourists.

Practices differ slightly elsewhere, with men in places such as Malaysia sometimes marrying outside the country to avoid informing existing spouses and seeking permission from an Islamic court....

Temporary marriage, or mut'a, is the practice of entering into a marriage with a time limit: the couple is married only for a night, or a week, or whatever time period their agreement specifies. So in other words, it is prostitution under the guise of morality. Temporary wives are found in large numbers in seminary towns where young clerics-in-training are away from home and lonely.

This is a Shi'ite concept that mainstream Sunnis ostensibly reject; the Shi'ites point out that Muhammad allowed it, while the Sunnis maintain that he later abolished the practice. Shi'ites also justify it by reference to Qur'an 4:24, which says: "And those of whom ye seek content (by marrying them), give unto them their portions as a duty. And there is no sin for you in what ye do by mutual agreement after the duty (hath been done)." They see in that reference to "what ye do by mutual agreement" the allowance of a time limit.

But remember: to investigate the bloody ideology behind all this carnage would be "Islamophobic." "Pakistan close to boiling point after slaughter of Shia minority," by Omar Waraich for The Independent, February 18 (thanks to Twostellas):

The governor of Pakistan's Balochistan province has launched a blistering attack on the military for failing to protect the local Hazara Shia community as the death toll from a bomb attack by Sunni militants continued to rise today.

“[The intelligence services] are either too scared to go after the terror-mongers or too clueless to even know who they are dealing with,” said Zulfiqar Ali Magsi.

“The terrorist attack on the Hazara Shia community in Quetta is a failure of the intelligence and security forces.” Mr Magsi, who took direct control of Balochistan last month after the provincial civilian government was fired following another Sunni strike, added that he had given the military a “free hand” to deal with the militants but they had failed to do their job and “pre-empt such attacks”.

The death toll from Saturday's attack, which struck near the main bazaar in Quetta city, has risen to 84 people. More than 20 shops in the area have been destroyed and rescuers were yesterday searching for survivors amid the rubble of a two-storey building that had collapsed.

Most of those killed belong to Quetta's long-suffering Hazara community, adherents of Shia Islam who migrated to the area from Afghanistan over a century ago. Saturday's assault is the second deadly attack the Hazara community has faced in a matter of weeks after nearly 100 people perished in twin suicide bombings at a billiards hall in January.

After that attack federal rule was imposed in Balochistan after days of countrywide protests. Control of security in the province was handed over to the army-controlled paramilitary Frontier Corps, who were ordered to take action against anti-Shia militant groups operating in the area.

Mr Magsi's condemnation of the intelligence and security forces, however, is being seen by some as a shifting of blame. Saturday's bombing has heightened denunciations of Pakistan's collective power elites, including politicians and the judicial system.

“The government is responsible for terrorist attacks and killings in the Hazara community because its security forces have not conducted operations against extremist groups,” Aziz Hazara, vice-president of the local Hazara Democratic Party, told Reuters.

In 2012, an estimated 100 members of the Hazara community were killed in various attacks. They are easily identifiable because of their distinct central Asian features. The killings are one element in a broader campaign of violence against Shias across Pakistan, with some 400 slain last year in total.

Pakistan is home to the second largest Shia population in the world. Shia Muslims represent about a fifth of the country's 180 million population.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a notorious anti-Shia group that has cells based in Balochistan, has taken responsibility for the two bombings. The group, considered close to al-Qaida, continues to operate with impunity despite the huge death toll of recent attacks.

As mourners continued to search through the devastation wrought by the bombing yesterday, members of the Hazara community vowed to return to the streets if real action wasn't taken soon against their attackers. “We are giving the government 48 hours to arrest the culprits involved in the killing of our people,” said Mr Aziz of the Hazara Democratic Party, “and after that we will launch strong protests”. Following the suicide attacks in January, victims' families refused to bury the dead until they were promised greater protection from the government in Islamabad. Muslim doctrine dictates that bodies must be buried by sunset the day after death, and the symbolism of the Hazaras' protest sparked outpourings of support across the country.

Turkey's military has long been the guardians of Kemalist secularism. Now the Islamic supremacist Erdogan regime is completing its re-Islamization of Turkey, and arresting those guardians. "Feb. 28 probe widens as more ex-generals summoned to testify," from Today's Zaman, February 15 (thanks to Joshua):

Several more retired Turkish generals, including former Air Forces Commander Gen. Ergin Celasin, were taken to the Ankara Courthouse to give testimony as part of an investigation into the Feb. 28, 1997 postmodern coup, following the arrest of eight generals over the past few days in the same investigation.

The summoning of the generals, on top of dozens of other officers arrested, has widened the extensive judicial investigations into the once all-powerful military. Those called to testify on Friday were identified as Vice Adm. Aydan Erol, former Air Forces Commander Gen. Ergin Celasin, Rear Adm. Mustafa Özbey, Brig. Gen. İzzettin Gürdal, Rear Adm. İsmail Ruhsar Sümer and Lt. Gen. Ahmet Atalay Efeler. All the officers are now retired.

Celasin was released by prosecutors after he delivered his testimony. The retired general's lawyer said his client was asked 40 questions during the interrogation. “Mr. Celasin told the prosecutors that Feb. 28 was not a coup and that he was the Turkish Air Forces commander at the time and had no role in the stepping down of the then-government,” lawyer Erol Yılmaz Aras told media.

Celasin was promoted to the rank of general and appointed secretary-general of the National Security Council in 1997. In 1999 he was appointed as the commander of the Turkish Air Forces, and he retired in August 2001.

Two of the seven retired generals were in Ankara when the prosecutor ordered their testimony and they were immediately accompanied by police to the Ankara Courthouse. The remaining five were in İstanbul and İzmir. They were initially taken to state hospitals in their cities for a medical check-up and later brought to Ankara. They were then taken to the courthouse for their testimony to be heard by prosecutors involved in the Feb. 28 probe.

On Feb. 28, 1997, the Turkish military forced the coalition government led by the now-defunct conservative Welfare Party (RP) out of power, citing alleged rising religious fundamentalism in the country. The Feb. 28 coup brought a series of severe restrictions on religious life, including an unofficial but widely practiced ban on the use of headscarves by women at university campuses and in positions of public service....

More fallout from the Islamic supremacists' murder of counter-jihad blogger Rajib Haider. And if Bangladesh moves against a Sharia supremacist party, does that make Bangladeshis into "Islamophobes"?

"Bangladesh moves to ban main Islamic party," from AFP, February 17 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s parliament Sunday amended a law to allow the prosecution of the country’s largest Islamic party Jamaat-i-Islami for war crimes in a move that could pave the way to it being banned.

News of the move was greeted by loud cheers from tens of thousands of protesters in central Dhaka who have been demanding a ban on Jamaat, whose leaders are on trial for war crimes allegedly committed in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

Law minister Shafique Ahmed told AFP that under the new law, “any organisation including Jamaat can be prosecuted” by a special court for war crimes and if found guilty “it can be banned” from politics.

Previously only individuals could be prosecuted for war crimes.

“It’s one step towards banning Jamaat,” deputy law minister Qamrul Islam told AFP.

The move comes after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday indicated that she would back a ban on Jamaat, whose members are suspected in the murder of an anti-Islamist blogger, as it had “no right to be in politics in Bangladesh”.....

...against Sunni jihadists who want to replace his Iranian-backed regime with a Sunni Sharia state. "Jihad Vs. Jihad: New Evidence Suggests Hezbollah Fighters Are in Syria Fighting for Assad," by Sharona Schwartz for The Blaze, February 18:

New evidence over the weekend emerged of the growing involvement of Hezbollah in the Syrian civil war. The Free Syrian Army (FSA), the main opposition group battling President Bashar Assad’s forces, claims some 1,000 Hezbollah fighters entered Syria over the weekend and engaged in bloody battles.

The FSA spokesman said, “It’s a coordinated ground invasion…Hezbollah has started a war against us.”

According to Lebanon’s Daily Star, three Hezbollah militants were killed in battles over the weekend, as were 12 rebel fighters. The paper is characterizing the fighting as “the worst near the border with Lebanon since the uprising erupted.” It warned Hezbollah’s increasing involvement in Syria could portend a spillover of the civil conflict into next-door Lebanon. It also provides further evidence of the sectarian divide of the combatants, the Shi’ite Hezbollah pitted against Sunni rebels, many of whom are themselves radical jihadis from neighboring countries.

The Syrian National Council (SNC) is accusing Hezbollah of “military intervention” and of employing “heavy weapons openly and under the auspices of the Syrian regime army.”

It called the development a “serious threat to Syrian-Lebanese relations and regional peace and security.”

Hezbollah is allied with President Assad who represents the minority Alawite sect of Shi’ite Islam. Both Hezbollah and Assad are supported by Iran....

There is no doubt as to which side Hagel is on -- and by extension, Obama. He should not be confirmed, but given the utter fecklessness of the Republican leadership, he most likely will be. "Supporter of Iranian dictatorship brought Chuck Hagel to Rutgers University for 2007 speech," by Charles C. Johnson for the Daily Caller, February 18:

A pro-Hezbollah, pro-Hamas candidate for the Iranian presidency, a man linked to Iranian-controlled front groups, brought former Republican Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel to speak at Rutgers University in 2007, according to another professor on campus.

Hooshang Amirahmadi, who led Rutgers’ Center for Middle Eastern Studies when Hagel came to campus, is the founder and president of the American-Iranian Council. He arranged for Hagel’s speech on March 2, 2007, the faculty source told The Daily Caller.

Iran’s Guardian Council cleared Amirahmadi to run for the presidency in 2013. Approval of the regime is required before candidates’ names can appear on the ballot. To be approved, candidates must be Shia, male, and committed to the Islamic revolution.

He attempted to mount a campaign in 2005, but the Guardian Council disqualified him.

According to a contemporaneous online report written by a Hagel supporter, the former senator said during his 2007 presentation at Rutgers that the U.S. State Department “has become adjunct to the Israeli Foreign Minister’s office.”

The Washington Free Beacon first reported on that account, which was followed by a letter to Hagel from Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, asking for an explanation of his remarks.

A press release in 2007 noted that the “Rutgers Center for Middle Eastern Studies” — Amirahmadi’s campus group – ”is hosting the senator’s visit to the university.”

Amirahmadi’s CV discloses that he has received financial support from the Alavi Foundation, a wealthy organization that the U.S. government has called ”a front for the government of Iran.”

And IRS records provided to TheDC by FoundationSearch.com show that between 2003 and 2008, Rutgers University received $688,000 from the same foundation.

The New York Post reported in 2009 that the Alavi Foundation contributed $100,000 towards Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Columbia University.

“We found evidence that the government of Iran really controlled everything about the foundation,” Adam Kaufmann, investigations chief at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, told the Post in 2009....

If they succeed, the jihad will be able to advance unopposed, for it will be illegal to speak out against it. And the OIC gets eager help in this from thuggish Leftist authoritarians such as Eric Posner, Sarah Chayes and Nathan Lean.

"OIC gears up to get denigration of religions criminalized," by Hassan Cheruppa for the Saudi Gazette, February 18 (thanks to all who sent this in):

JEDDAH — Getting the go-ahead from the Cairo Islamic Summit, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has been actively trying to get the denigration of religions recognized as a criminal offense, according to a top official..

“Next session of the Istanbul Process on Islamophobia will be held in the first half of this year, and the session will squarely focus on the issue of criminalizing denigration of religions,” said Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, director of cultural affairs at the OIC general secretariat and spokesman for the OIC secretary general.

In an interview with Saudi Gazette, Sheikh underscored the need for transposition of the international law to domestic one to effectively combat Islamophobia, which is a contemporary manifestation of racism mainly targeting Islam and Muslims. He said the OIC seeks establishment of an international observatory, based in Geneva, with a global mandate not only to monitor denigration of Islam but all other religions.

“The OIC is of the firm view that any religion or its symbols should not be denigrated. The Cairo Islamic Summit endorsed this position and tasked the OIC secretariat to develop a unified strategy to impress upon the international community to take effective measures against such acts of incitement of intolerance and hatred that may lead to violence and loss of lives,” he said while noting that Islamophobia figured high on the agenda of the summit.

Sheikh, a Pakistani national and an expert on Islamophobia, explained the steps taken by the OIC in confronting Islamophobia by ensuring active involvement of the international community.

“OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu launched a process, known as the Istanbul Process, in July 2011, together with the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, as well as with leaders of OIC and non-OIC member states, to build consensus on confronting Islamophobia. Similar meetings were held later in Washington and London as part of the Istanbul Process, and now the US, UK, the African Union, the Arab League and the OIC are moving in a circle, subscribing the process and taking it forward to discuss the issue specifically. The OIC is going to hold the next event focusing squarely on the issue of criminalizing denigration and deciding on whatever actions need to be taken on the basis of Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),” he said.

According to Sheikh, international law, represented by Article 20 of ICCPR, clearly states that denigration of symbols or persons sacred to any religion is a criminal offense. This law ratifies OIC’s position and the only remaining problem is the absence of enforcement in the true spirit by member states.

“This international law is sufficient to cover OIC’s concern but the problem is either a gap of interpretation because of political reasons or a gap of implementation. Though this law is binding on all countries that signed and ratified the article, it is not effectively transposed to the domestic laws of the respective countries. The OIC is exerting efforts to get it enforced globally through the framework of the OIC-sponsored UN Human Rights Council resolution number 16/18, which is an outcome of the Istanbul Process.”

Sheikh also discussed the activities of the OIC observatory, which is under the supervision of the secretary general. “The observatory is monitoring Islamophobia on a daily basis and translating it into monthly and annual reports. The OIC is publishing annual reports and so far it has published five reports, the last of which was submitted at the Djibouti session of foreign ministers held in November. The Cairo summit appreciated the role of the OIC observatory in confronting Islamophobia and asked the secretary general to put more mechanisms in place to strengthen the observatory,” he said.

Yet the insane rules of engagement that enable such attacks are largely still in place. "NATO kills insurgent behind U.S. soldier’s death," from the Associated Press, February 18 (thanks to Lookmann):

An Afghan soldier-turned-insurgent who was feted by the Taliban for killing an American soldier during an insider attack in eastern Afghanistan last year has been killed in a raid, the U.S.-led international coalition said on Monday.

NATO identified the insurgent as Mahmood and said that he and an accomplice, identified only as Rashid, died in last Wednesday’s operation in eastern Kunar province’s Ghaziabad district. No other details were provided.

Mahmood is thought responsible for the May 11 killing of U.S. Army 1st Lt. Alejo Thompson, who died during an insider attack on a base in Kunar. The attack also wounded two American soldiers. Mahmood, in his early 20's and who went only by one name later fled. Thompson, 30, a father of two, was from Yuma, Arizona. He was based at Ford Carson, Colorado.

“Afghan and coalition forces confirmed today the death of the two Taliban insider attack facilitators, Mahmood and Rashid, during a security operation in Ghaziabad district, Kunar province, Wednesday,” the coalition said in a statement.”Mahmood was responsible for the death of one American service member during the May 11, 2012, insider attack in Kunar province.”

It added that “Rashid was Mahmood’s associate and a former Afghan National Army soldier who facilitated and assisted with insider attack planning and execution.”

After he fled, a man named Mahmood was highlighted in a Taliban video that showed him being welcomed as a hero while entering an insurgent camp. In the video, he was shown in his Afghan army uniform, his U.S.-made M-16 assault rifle, and with garlands of flowers around his neck.

The Taliban claimed he had defected to their side.

Killings by uniformed Afghans of foreign soldiers and civilians rose dramatically last year. According to NATO, so-called insider attacks killed 61 coalition personnel in 45 incidents last year, compared to 35 killed in 21 attacks a year earlier. This tally does not include the Dec. 24 killing of an American civilian adviser by a female member of the Afghan police because an investigation of the reportedly mentally unstable woman is continuing.

In some cases, militants have donned Afghan army or police uniforms to attack foreign troops. And a number of attacks have also been carried out by members of Afghan security forces against their own comrades.

Insider attacks have dropped sharply after NATO forces took steps to mitigate them, including having armed “guardian angels” looking over troops as they sleep.

There has been only one insider attack so far this year, the Jan. 7 killing of a British soldier in southern Helmand province by a man in an Afghan army uniform....

Kidnapping infidels and releasing them for ransom or killing them -- whichever is more advantageous for the Muslims -- is fully sanctioned in Islamic law: "As for the captives, the amir [ruler] has the choice of taking the most beneficial action of four possibilities: the first to put them to death by cutting their necks; the second, to enslave them and apply the laws of slavery regarding their sale and manumission; the third, to ransom them in exchange for goods or prisoners; and fourth, to show favor to them and pardon them. Allah, may he be exalted, says, 'When you encounter those [infidels] who deny [the Truth=Islam] then strike [their] necks' (Qur'an sura 47, verse 4)" — Abu’l-Hasan al-Mawardi, al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah (The Laws of Islamic Governance), trans. by Dr. Asadullah Yate, (London), Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd., 1996, p. 192.

"Islamist group claims kidnap of foreigners in Nigeria," by Chukwuemeka Madu for Reuters, February 18 (thanks to all who sent this in):

(Reuters) - An Islamist group linked to al Qaeda claimed responsibility on Monday for kidnapping seven foreigners in an attack in a remote Nigerian town at the weekend, when raiders used explosives to blast their way into a housing compound in a hail of gunfire.

Gunmen killed a security guard and abducted a Briton, an Italian, a Greek and four Lebanese workers after storming the compound of Lebanese construction firm Setraco in Jama'are in Bauchi state late on Saturday.

It was the worst case of foreigners being kidnapped in the mostly Muslim north of Africa's most populous country since an insurgency by Islamist militants intensified two years ago.

"By Allah's grace (we) have the custody of seven persons, which include Lebanese and their European counterparts working with Setraco," read a statement from Ansaru, a group that has kidnapped other foreigners in Nigeria in the past.

The kidnapping was "based on the transgression and atrocities done to the religion of Allah by the European countries in many places such as Afghanistan and Mali," the statement said...

#MyJihad is to blow myself up in a crowd of Infidels and get killed in the process, so that I can claim the Qur'an's promise of Paradise for those who "kill and are killed" for Allah (9:111).. What's yours?

"Islamic Universities Association Sec.-Gen. Ja'far Abd Al-Salam Extols Martyrdom as 'the Most Lofty Form of Jihad,'" from MEMRI, January 21 (thanks to Inexion):

Following are excerpts from an interview with Ja’far Abd Al-Salam, secretary-general of the Islamic Universities Association, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on January 21, 2013.

Ja’far Abd Al-Salam: The spirit of resistance is nurtured by the ideology of Islam. “Allah purchased from the believers their lives and their property, in return for Paradise.” For a Muslim, life is worthless unless it is given away and spent for the sake of Allah. This culture is nurtured by Islam and by patriotism.

[…]

Only great pain makes a great man. The great pain of martyrdom leads to the great reward of Paradise. Brother, this culture does not exist in the West, because Westerners value human life very much.

Interviewer: They focus on the material at the expense of the spiritual.

Ja’far Abd Al-Salam: Maybe you have noticed that the thing that frightens the Jews, or Zionists, most of all is being killed. We do not have this kind of fear.

[…]

It is certain that Islam views [suicide operations] as sacrifice and as the most lofty form of Jihad.

The problem is that Ramzi Yousef is almost certainly still a true believer. If he mingled with the prison population, he would probably be engaging in dawah and jihad terror recruitment.

"Terrorist serving life for role in 1993 WTC bombing reportedly sues to end solitary," from FoxNews.com, February 18 (thanks to all who sent this in):

A convicted terrorist serving life with no parole plus 240 years for masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing has reportedly filed a lawsuit arguing he should be let out of solitary confinement.

The Los Angeles Times reports Ramzi Yousef is hoping he can persuade a judge to end his nearly 24-hour solitary confinement at a Colorado prison known as the "Fortress in the Rockies."

"I request an immediate end to my solitary confinement and ask to be in a unit in an open prison environment where inmates are allowed outside their cells for no less than 14 hours a day," he reportedly wrote in confidential government records obtained by The Los Angeles Times. "I have been in solitary confinement in the U.S. since Feb. 8, 1995, with no end in sight.... I further ask not to be in handcuffs or leg irons when moved outside my cell."

Yousef reportedly claims his due process under the law is being violated because he has no chance to get out of solitary confinement despite 15 years of good behavior in prison. The lawsuit reportedly claims his time in solitary confinement has led to "severe psychological trauma."

Yousef was convicted of masterminding the February 1993 bombing, which killed six and injured more than 1,000. He was also convicted of trying to kill Pope John Paul II and President Clinton, and plotting to bomb planes.

His terror acts were funded by Al Qaeda and his uncle Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who is allegedly the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks, The Los Angeles Times reports.

Qur'an 2:65 -- Jews are apes:

“And well you know there were those among you [Jews] that transgressed the Sabbath, and We said to them, ‘Be you apes, miserably slinking!’

Qur'an 3:110-112 -- Muslims are the best of people, Jews have earned Allah’s anger by killing their prophets:

“You are the best nation ever brought forth to men, bidding to honour, and forbidding dishonour, and believing in God. Had the People of the Book believed, it were better for them; some of them are believers, but the most of them are ungodly. They will not harm you, except a little hurt; and if they fight with you, they will turn on you their backs; then they will not be helped. Abasement shall be pitched on them, wherever they are come upon, except they be in a bond of God, and a bond of the people; they will be laden with the burden of God’s anger, and poverty shall be pitched on them; that, because they disbelieved in God’s signs, and slew the Prophets without right; that, for that they acted rebelliously and were transgressors.”

Qur'an 3:181 -- Jews are bound for hell for having killed their prophets:

“God has heard the saying of those who said, ‘Surely God is poor, and we are rich.’ We shall write down what they have said, and their slaying the Prophets without right, and We shall say, ‘Taste the chastisement of the burning.’”

Qur'an 5:59-60 -- Jews cursed, made into apes and swine:

“Say: ‘People of the Book, do you blame us for any other cause than that we believe in God, and what has been sent down to us, and what was sent down before, and that most of you are ungodly?’ Say: ‘Shall I tell you of a recompense with God, worse than that? Whomsoever God has cursed, and with whom He is wroth, and made some of them apes and swine, and worshippers of idols -- they are worse situated, and have gone further astray from the right way.’”

Qur'an 7:166 -- Jews are apes:

“And when they [Jews] turned in disdain from that forbidding We said to them, ‘Be you apes, miserably slinking!’”

"U.S.-Based Iraqi Cleric Qays Bin Khalil Al-Kalbi: God Chose the Jews to Be Apes and Pigs, Slayers of Prophets," from MEMRI, February 1:

Following are excerpts from an interview with Qays Bin Khalil Al-Kalbi, an Iraqi-French cleric living in the U.S., which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on February 1, 2013.

Qays Bin Khalil Al-Kalbi: They try to give the impression that the Israelis are the Chosen People, God’s favorites. But being chosen does not indicate preference. After all, Allah chose Pharaoh to massacre you, so who was better – you or him? Allah chose the Babylonians to kill you, so who was better – you or them? Allah chose Hitler to kill you, so who was better – you or him?

Being chosen does not mean being better. Allah chose you to be the most wretched of all peoples. Allah transformed you into apes and pigs. You were chosen as the best to become apes and pigs. In addition, you are the slayers of prophets. No other nation on the face of the Earth has killed its own prophets like you. Third, you spread your corruption throughout the land all the time.

Since Obama has repeatedly condemned this video, don't expect him to stand up for the freedom of speech or say a word about this new advance of Sharia in glorious "Arab Spring" Egypt.

"Cairo court affirms death for 7 Copts over anti-Islam film," from AFP, February 17 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

A Cairo tribunal on Tuesday upheld death sentences passed on seven Egyptian Coptic Christians in absentia for their involvement in a movie that ridiculed the Prophet Mohammed, a judicial source said.

The accused, including the director of the movie that triggered outrage across the Muslim world when it surfaced last September, are currently living in the United States.

Terry Jones, an American pastor based in Florida who is said to have promoted the film and who had also been sentenced to death in absentia, had his sentence reduced to five years in jail by the tribunal.

Egyptian courts usually hand out the maximum punishment -- execution in this case for a blasphemy verdict -- and send the decision to the state's top Islamic scholar to get his approval.

Tuesday's confirmation of the sentences occurred after his opinions were taken....

"I would just like to make this distinction to show that the Muslim nation is being collectively punished for this sin, but it is not the people in Gaza, who are lucky to get water and food, of course. But it is because of all the actions of the Muslim nation that we can have this kind of extreme disasters. That’s what you are saying."

So because Muslims are watching porn in Egypt and Pakistan, Hamas gets waxed in Gaza. The Muslim nation is being "collectively punished for this sin."

Now wait a minute. Islamic supremacists in the U.S. routinely complain that counter-jihadists hold all Muslims collectively responsible for 9/11 and other jihad attacks. This is completely false, of course, but it's a very common charge, used as evidence of our supposed heinous "Islamophobia." So if Allah is holding all Muslims collectively responsible for some Muslims watching porn, does that make the deity that Muslims worship an Islamophobe?

"Egyptian Anti-Porn Activist Muhammad Raed: When Muslims in Islamic Countries Watch a Lot of Porn, Disasters Occur in Gaza," from MEMRI, February 1:

Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian anti-porn activist Muhammad Raed, which aired on Iqra TV on February 1, 2013.

Muhammad Raed: You talked about freedom. Is this the freedom you would like to lead us to? [In the West], most of the sons and daughters don’t know who their fathers and mothers are.

We want these [Islamic] countries to live a normal life. I know that you are my father and that you are my mother.

Interviewer: I understand we have a report that you did on the screen. Can you explain to us what these statistics mean?

Muhammad Raed: Yes. It’s about the Muslim countries. [The study covered] seven or five years, [and found that] the eight weeks in which people watched the most porn sites were six weeks after we finished Ramadhan, and during the summer holidays.

There were punishments from Allah in our countries during these days. The guy who did this [study] found whole reasons – like what happened to Gaza, in Palestine, on this day, and what happened…

Interviewer: You found a correlation between people watching a lot of pornography, and disasters happening…

Muhammad Raed: Yes. I wondered… It was a video in Arabic: “Gaza and Sin.” I wondered: Oh my God, it’s really like what Allah told us in the Koran – “Corruption has appeared on land and in sea, because of what the hands of men have wrought,” because of what you are doing. He said: “because of what the hands of men have wrought” – to give them a taste of sin, so they will go back to Allah.

Interviewer: I would just like to clarify that presumably, most of this pornography was watched in the other Arab countries, not in Gaza itself. I would just like to make this distinction to show that the Muslim nation is being collectively punished for this sin, but it is not the people in Gaza, who are lucky to get water and food, of course. But it is because of all the actions of the Muslim nation that we can have this kind of extreme disasters. That’s what you are saying.

Muhammad Raed: Yes, it’s a punishment for us. It’s not a punishment for you to see the kids killed and the women raped? It’s a very bad punishment. And it’s not only in Gaza – a lot of accidents happened in Egypt on the same days.

“Jihad was a way of life for the Pious Predecessors (Salaf-us-Salih), and the Prophet (SAWS) was a master of the Mujahideen and a model for fortunate inexperienced people. The total number of military excursions which he (SAWS) accompanied was 27. He himself fought in nine of these; namely Badr; Uhud, Al-Muraysi, The Trench, Qurayzah, Khaybar, The Conquest of Makkah, Hunayn and Taif . . . This means that the Messenger of Allah (SAWS) used to go out on military expeditions or send out an army at least every two months.” -- Abdullah Azzam, co-founder of al-Qaeda, Join the Caravan, p. 30

"If we follow the rules of interpretation developed from the classical “science of Koranic interpretation, it is not possible to condemn terrorism in religious terms. It remains completely true to the classical rules in its evolution of sanctity for its own justification. This is where the secret of its theological strength lies." -- Egyptian scholar Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd

"Many thanks to God, for his kind gesture, and choosing us to perform the act of Jihad for his cause and to defend Islam and Muslims. Therefore, killing you and fighting you, destroying you and terrorizing you, responding back to your attacks, are all considered to be great legitimate duty in our religion." -- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his fellow 9/11 defendants

"Allah on 480 occasions in the Holy Koran extols Muslims to wage jihad. We only fulfil God's orders. Only jihad can bring peace to the world." -- Taliban terrorist Baitullah Mehsud

"Jihad, holy fighting in Allah's course, with full force of numbers and weaponry, is given the utmost importance in Islam....By jihad, Islam is established....By abandoning jihad, may Allah protect us from that, Islam is destroyed, and Muslims go into inferior position, their honor is lost, their lands are stolen, their rule and authority vanish. Jihad is an obligation and duty in Islam on every Muslim." -- Times Square car bomb terrorist Faisal Shahzad

"So step by step I became a religiously devout Muslim, Mujahid -- meaning one who participates in jihad." -- Little Rock, Arkansas terrorist murder Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad

"And now, after mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives, and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for Jihad." -- Texas terrorist bomber Khalid Aldawsari

"Jihad not linked terrorism, Turkish FM Davutoğlu says," from Hürriyet Daily News, February 18 (thanks to all who sent this in):

There is no connection between jihad and terrorism, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said yesterday, adding that suggestions to the contrary come from American neo-cons and Israelis.

“Jihad is the name of fighting for our honor if required but firstly it means fighting against our own self’s limits, according to us,” Davutoğlu said yesterday in Istanbul at the headquarters of the Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD), where he attended the conference “Turkey in the light of international developments, 2013.”

“For us, jihad is a sacred notion; let us not taint this notion by using it like neo-cons and pro-Israelis in America,” Davutoğlu said while condemning an opposition party deputy who asked the Turkish government on its policy regarding the jihadist movement in Syria at a Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission meeting on Feb. 15.

Davutoğlu also criticized the particular deputy for asking question in English instead of Turkish since the session was held in the Turkish Assembly, albeit with EU officials.

“A mentality has appeared now that is tainting these notions [of jihad]; they have introduced [this usage] into our culture, and they even use it in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, which was founded with help that came from a jihad fatwa [during Turkey’s Liberation War],” Davutoğlu said.

Davutoğlu also told an anecdote about a Turkish diplomat named Cihad Erginay – who is Turkey’s envoy to the Czech Republic – in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

“His name is also jihad; the ones who greeted him in the airport were walking behind and yelled at him ‘Cihat,’ then everybody hits the deck,” Davutoğlu said, adding that this was part of the outcome of the misunderstanding of the word jihad.

Question over al-Nusra Front

Meanwhile, Aykan Erdemir, a main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy told the Daily News on the phone yesterday that he was the one to ask Davutoğlu if Turkey considered the al-Nusra Front in Syria, which identifies itself a jihadist movement, as a terrorist organization like the U.S. and NATO do.

“It was a yes or no question; in not answering it, he called me an Orientalist, which is total defamation. Does he also blame al-Nusra for Orientalism? Do you count this organization as a terrorist organization or not, that was the question. The Turkish public must be informed about Turkey’s position,” Erdemir said.

In "Al Jazeera tries to whitewash bloody record" at WND, February 18, Pamela Geller explains why all Americans should oppose this jihad terror propaganda network:

It came to light Tuesday that terror network Al Jazeera has hired a high-powered K Street lobbying firm, DLA Piper, to whitewash its tarnished terror-enabling record among Washington lawmakers.

Al Jazeera clearly believes that politicians are utterly corrupt and can be bought off – hence its hiring of this lobbying firm. And DLA Piper is craven and short-sighted to take the job. Could the Nazis have hired a lobbying firm during World War II and persuaded Congress to allow them to have a television station in the United States?!

Those lobbyists have their work cut out for them. Al Jazeera is the leading terrorist propaganda organization in the world. Jihad murder mastermind Anwar al-Awlaki has praised Al Jazeera, and several years ago one of its most prominent reporters was arrested on terror charges. Al Jazeera also has for years been the recipient of numerous al-Qaida videos featuring Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and American traitor Adam Gadahn. Yet they never seem to be able to trace where these videos are coming from. They have repeatedly been set up at the point of attack right before a bomb went off, so that they could take the picture of the slaughtered, dismembered bodies.

Al Jazeera has provided material support for jihad terrorism. A number in their employ are members of al-Qaida. Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Afghanistan, who interviewed Osama bin Laden, was sent to prison for being an agent of al-Qaida. Al Jazeera’s first managing director was exposed as an agent of the Saddam Hussein regime, and the channel promoted the bloody jihad against American forces in Iraq.

In light of all this, a patriotic broadcaster and activist, Jerry Kenney, has filed complaints with the Department of Justice, citing evidence that Al Jazeera is not complying with the Foreign Agent Registration Act and labeling its broadcasts as foreign propaganda, paid for by the pro-jihadist Arab government of Qatar. The Department of Justice refuses to enforce the law against Al Jazeera.

Yet in the face of all this, the enemedia is silent. Last week I spoke at a press conference on Al Jazeera at the National Press Club. It set the stage for a brutal battle. The room was full to capacity with activists and new media. The enemedia would never cover this. They are aligned with the jihad force. They like Al Jazeera. We held a big press conference that was ignored by the media and worse, by Congress – and in response, Al Jazeera decided to grease the corrupt wheels in Congress and grease those dirty palms, knowing that the priority of all too many lawmakers would be a payoff and not fidelity to the oath they have sworn to protect and defend the American Constitution and people.

We are at war. And there are many theaters in any given war, but the war in the information battle-space is key to conquest and colonization. Hitler and Goebbels understood this. The Nazi government had an entire ministry of propaganda – a war division. The Muslim Brotherhood understands this, too. It has its own ministry of propaganda: Al Jazeera. Muhammad said, “War is deceit.” The U.S. once understood the power of ideas. We had a war department that had Hollywood greats like Frank Capra and John Ford making films for freedom. Where are our cheerleaders now?...

Read it all.

Indian authorities are taking this jihad threat very seriously: 10,000 extra security personnel have been called out to meet it. "Fallout of Afzal Guru's hanging: LeT calls for avenging Parliament attack plotter's death," from India Today, February 18 (thanks to Lookmann):

Terror groups have circulated a provocative, recorded message in the Kashmir Valley asking people to avenge the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, intelligence sources said.

"The message says Guru's martyrdom should not be wasted, and they need to avenge the deaths of not just Guru but all others who have sacrificed their lives," an intelligence official said.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) traced this recorded message to terror groups Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, which have been planning to strike back after the hanging of Guru in Delhi's Tihar Jail on February 9.

"While Kashmir has been very tense, there is a threat to some other cities as well," the official said, adding that violence could occur in the Valley once the weather gets warmer. Curfew which has been in place since Guru's hanging was finally lifted on Saturday.

Apprehending mass protests, the state government wanted the paramilitary forces to be unarmed to ensure there is no firing by them. But the proposal was shot down by senior officers on grounds that safety of their personnel cannot be compromised.

"There is intelligence input that terror groups will attempt to make these protests violent. In such a volatile situation, being unarmed is not acceptable to us," a BSF official said.

In view of the threat perception, close to 10,000 extra security personnel have been deployed in the state, and they are unlikely to be withdrawn anytime soon.

"We have not been given any directions and are prepared to have extra forces indefinitely," the official said.

Of course: it was "Islamophobia" that made it seem as if Homaidan al-Turki was keeping his housekeeper as his sex slave. Of course, the Qur'an and some contemporary Muslim authorities justify sex slavery, so only greasy Islamophobes could object, right?

"Mr. al-Turki has never accepted responsibility for his crimes nor undergone any rehabilitation as a sex offender. I am hopeful that the Department of Corrections will put the interests of justice and the protection of women above the interests of the Saudi government." Don't count on it.

"Saudi man convicted of sex assault in '06 may be allowed to leave U.S.," from the Associated Press, February 17 (thanks to Bill):

A Saudi linguist convicted of sexually assaulting a housekeeper and keeping her a virtual slave for four years in Colorado has cleared initial administrative hurdles to be transferred to Saudi Arabia under a U.S. treaty, angering prosecutors who put him in prison.

Homaidan al-Turki's application to serve the remainder of his sentence in Saudi Arabia cleared reviews by prison officials and is awaiting final approval by Colorado Department of Corrections Director Tom Clements, department spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti said Friday. The foreign-national offender-transfer application would then undergo a federal review, and if approved, al-Turki would be sent to Saudi Arabia.

Al-Turki was convicted in 2006 of unlawful sexual contact by use of force, theft and extortion — all felonies — as well as misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment. He was sentenced to 28 years to life in prison. The U.S. Attorney's Office dropped similar federal charges.

A judge in 2011 reduced al-Turki's minimum sentence by 20 years, based on a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that now makes al-Turki eligible for parole. Sex offenders in Colorado, however, typically must participate in rehabilitation programs while incarcerated before being considered for release.

18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler, who took office last month, opposes the transfer, saying there are no assurances that al-Turki will serve the remainder of his sentence once he's out of the United States.

"It is completely unacceptable that a sex offender of any nationality be released before completing his sentence," Brauchler said in a statement. "Mr. al-Turki has never accepted responsibility for his crimes nor undergone any rehabilitation as a sex offender. I am hopeful that the Department of Corrections will put the interests of justice and the protection of women above the interests of the Saudi government."

Prosecutors said the Indonesian housekeeper, who was in her early 20s, has since returned to her home country.

Federal prosecutors had no immediate comment.

Al-Turki says he's innocent and a victim of anti-Muslim sentiment. He testified at trial that FBI agents persuaded his housekeeper to accuse him of imprisoning and sexually assaulting her in his basement after they failed to build a case that he was a terrorist.

His 2006 conviction angered Saudi officials and prompted the U.S. State Department to send Colorado Attorney General John Suthers to Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah, Crown Prince Sultan and al-Turki's family.

Al-Turki brought his wife, five children and the housekeeper to Colorado in 1995 and was a student at the University of Colorado.

According to court documents, al-Turki first came under investigation when authorities examined whether his operation of a business violated terms of his student visa. Al-Turki owned Al-Basheer Publications & Translations, which distributed Islamic works in English and holds the copyright to recordings by U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in a 2011 drone strike in Yemen.

In "Lars Hedegaard and the Enemies of Truthfulness" in the American Thinker, February 17, Andrew Bostom skewers the mainstream media's suicidal silence regarding Islam's threat to the freedom of speech. Meanwhile, I've been trying to get Hedegaard on my ABN show, but as he is under heavy guard now he has not been always accessible. I will keep trying.

Last week I noted how Michael Coren of Canada's Sun TV was far bolder than any of his US television network colleagues in dealing with Islam's threat to Western free speech, epitomized by Coren's interview of Danish journalist and historian Lars Hedegaard, who survived an assassination attempt by a likely Muslim assailant, still at large. No such interview with public airing on television was conducted by any major US television network-ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, CNN-not even the self-proclaimed "alternative" to "stultifying political correctness," and "champion" of free speech, The Blaze TV.

Emphasizing, yet again, the ongoing, complete dereliction of duty of not only the mainstream legacy media, but so-called conservative outlets such as Fox News and The Blaze, Michael Coren opened his follow-up interview of Lars Hedegaard, yesterday (2/15/13), with this observation:

You [Hedegaard] should be on every single TV show. This should have been [on] the front page of every newspaper in the civilized world.

To add insult to bitter irony, as described in this news item Friday (2/15/13) from Dispatch International, which Lars Hedegaard continues to edit while in protective seclusion, and reiterated during Coren's latest interview, Hedegaard has been compelled to sue several Swedish media (including Aftonbladet, Svenska Dagbladet, Sveriges Television, Sydsvenskan and Helsingborgs Dagblad) for libel. The libel charge was filed with Allmänhetens Pressombudsman, (the Press Ombudsman) as well as the Chancellor of Justice.

Here is the wording that several Swedish newspapers elected to publish from the Swedish national news agency TT:

Lars Hedegaard, once convicted for racism, has been subject to an assassination attempt. An unknown man reportedly shot at Hedegaard outside his Copenhagen home. The author Hedegaard is one of the few Danes who is a certified racist [emphasis added], as he some years ago was fined by a High Court for having stated in a blog interview that Muslim fathers rape their children. He was later acquitted by the Supreme Court.

Of course Lars Hedegaard never received a "racist certification," nor has any court verdict ever stated anything to that effect. Journalist and expert on freedom of press Nils Funcke rejected this repeated characterization as pure mendacity:

Writing in this way as if the conviction were final is nothing but an outright lie. The only existing conviction is an acquittal.

Read it all.

"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

Not really:

"Allah's Apostle said, 'If a husband calls his wife to his bed (i.e. to have sexual relation) and she refuses and causes him to sleep in anger, the angels will curse her till morning."If a husband calls his wife to his bed [i.e. to have sexual relation] and she refuses and causes him to sleep in anger, the angels will curse her till morning.'" (Sahih Bukhari 4.54.460)

Muhammad also said: "By him in Whose Hand lies my life, a woman can not carry out the right of her Lord, till she carries out the right of her husband. And if he asks her to surrender herself [to him for sexual intercourse] she should not refuse him even if she is on a camel's saddle." (Ibn Majah 1854)

"Lebanese women take on Muslim judges who call rape a 'marital right,'" by Arwa Damon and Tim Hume for CNN, February 18 (thanks to Suneil):

Beirut, Lebanon (CNN) -- Lebanese women are taking to the streets to demand that the government takes domestic violence seriously, by introducing laws to protect women from abusive partners.

“Men are the managers of the affairs of women for that God has preferred in bounty one of them over another, and for that they have expended of their property. Righteous women are therefore obedient, guarding the secret for God’s guarding. And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them." (Qur'an 4:34)

Nadine Mouwad, a founder of feminist collective Nasawiya, says the prevalence of unveiled, glamorous women in Beirut can create the impression that Lebanon is more liberated from patriarchal cultural attitudes than neighboring countries.

But that's merely an illusion, she says.

"The problem is that we are sold a lot of fake freedoms that raise Lebanese women under the impression that they have freedom to go anywhere, freedom to dress the way they want to," she said.

For the past year and a half, Mouwad and fellow feminist activists have been demanding that politicians ignore the objections of Muslim religious authorities and pass a stalled law protecting women from domestic violence.

A draft version of the Law to Protect Women from Family Violence was approved by Lebanon's Cabinet in 2010, but has since become bogged down in parliament, mainly due to the objections of Sunni and Shia authorities.

The initial version of the bill was drafted to criminalize physical and sexual abuse, so-called "honor crimes" and marital rape, create specially-trained domestic violence response units within the police, and provide the legal framework for restraining orders to be issued against abusers.

But Lebanon's religious courts -- the judicial authorities presiding over each of the country's faith communities, with jurisdiction over matters of "personal status," including marriage problems -- have criticized the proposed law as an attempt to erode their authority.

Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon's top Sunni authority, and the Higher Shi'a Islamic Council both said that they opposed the draft on the basis that Sharia law protected the status of women, and should remain the basis for governing legal issues related to Muslim families.

Not that it protects them from honor killing, getting beaten, and marital rape. But who cares about those things?

Domestic violence cases in Lebanon are typically heard in the religious courts, which often respond with rulings focused on preserving the family unit, rather [than] protecting women from violence.

It's a response that abused women are usually met with from police as well, says Lebanese lawyer Amer Badreddine.

"They are told to solve the problem amicably, to keep it a family issue and not cause embarrassment to themselves by bringing it to the police," said Badreddine, who specializes in domestic violence cases.

He said the law also failed to recognize marital rape as a crime -- a position that some Muslim judges argue should be upheld.

Criminalizing marital rape "could lead to the imprisonment of the man," Sheik Ahmad Al-Kurdi, a judge in the Sunni religious court, told CNN, "where in reality he is exercising the least of his marital rights."

With little protection from authorities, Lebanese women in abusive marriages must also often contend with the disapproval of their families if they seek to escape their predicament.

One Lebanese mother-of-three told CNN of being beaten by her husband from the time she was pregnant with their first child. Shortly after the child was born, he broke her nose and she resolved to divorce him. But her parents were mortified about what people would think, and said she would have to give up her son if she left.

She returned to the marital home where the abuse continued, including her husband forcing himself on her. "He used to make me pregnant, thinking that as long as I was having kids he would make me stay," she said.

She feared he would kill her. But eventually, with the help of a Kafa ("Enough") -- an NGO tackling violence and exploitation of women and children -- she was able to divorce her husband and retain custody of her children.

Such an outcome is rare for abused women in Lebanon -- a situation that was now unlikely to be remedied by the passing of the domestic violence bill, says Mouwad. Her organization heard of about 15 cases a year of Lebanese women murdered by their domestic partners, she said.

Mouwad said the draft bill had been watered down with so many amendments due to objections by religious conservatives, that it was virtually useless. She said she would ultimately prefer not to see it pass.

"If it passes the way it is, it's going to be disastrous and counterproductive," she said.

Iranian government agents frequently harass Iranian opponents of the regime in the U.S.: I have heard many firsthand accounts. I suspect that if the story of Iranian intelligence activities in the U.S. were ever fully told, many would be surprised by the scope and extensiveness of those activities. "British housewife accused by the US of spying for Iran 'to save her brother-in-law's life,'" by Robert Verkaik for the Daily Mail, February 16 (thanks to Lookmann):

A British housewife and her husband have been accused of spying for Iran in a leaked US government report.

Anne Singleton, 53, is alleged to have been blackmailed into training with the Iranian secret service during a visit to Tehran in 2002.

The Pentagon-commissioned report claims that Mrs Singleton and her Iranian husband, Massoud Khodabandeh, 56, agreed to work for the regime in return for saving the life of his jailed brother.

Iranian agents are also said to have threatened to confiscate his mother’s extensive property in the Iranian capital. Mrs Singleton strenuously denies the allegations.

The report, written by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress and privately circulated in Washington, says the couple agreed to spy on opponents of the Iranian regime, including the People’s Mujahideen of Iran (MEK), of which Mrs Singleton and her husband were once members.

The report alleges that: ‘In 2002 Singleton met in Tehran with Ministry of Intelligence and National Security of the Islamic Republic of Iran [MOIS] agents who were interested in her background. She agreed to co-operate with them to save her brother-in-law’s life.’

It adds: ‘During her stay in Tehran, she received training from MOIS. After her return to England, she launched the iran-interlink.org website in the winter of 2002.

‘Afterwards, she made many trips to Iran and Singapore – the country where the agency contacts its foreign agents.’

Iran sponsors terrorism all over the world and last year was behind a bus bombing in Bulgaria. As tension between the West and Iran increases over Tehran’s nuclear programme, British security agencies are keeping a watch on MOIS activities.

Last year Iran was forced to downgrade its diplomatic presence in the UK after the British Embassy in Tehran was attacked. Since then it has struggled to secure intelligence on dissident groups.

Security sources said last night that the Iranian regime relies on agents in the West to spy on dissidents and conduct propaganda operations to discredit opponents.

Reza Aslan, Tehran is on the line for you!

Last night the couple, who run a Middle East communications company from their Victorian semi-detached home in Leeds, threatened to take legal action over the claims.

Mrs Singleton, a mother of one, said: ‘The report was withdrawn. It wasn’t published anyway. It was leaked deliberately by a journalist in America.’

She added: ‘The MEK just made all that up. Yes, I have been to Iran, but they have concocted a picture which is entirely false.’

David Osborne, chief of the Federal Research Division which compiled the report, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The report was revised on the Division’s own initiative and resubmitted to the Pentagon. I do not know when it will be reposted to the US government site.’

By her own admission, Mrs Singleton once belonged to the MEK and was trained at its camp in Iraq to fire weapons. She later fell out with the group, describing it as a cult....

Islamic law forbids Christians in the Islamic state to build new churches or repair old ones, so that their community is in a perpetual state of decline. But shhh -- don't talk about that! To do so would imperil prospects for "dialogue"!

"Update: Islamic Religious Groups Demonstrate Against Catholic Church," by Lenny Tristia Tambun and Camelia Pasandaran for the Jakarta Globe, February 15 (thanks to Twostellas):

A protest by members of a religious forum that has called on the government to shut down a Catholic church in Tambora, West Jakarta, was staged peacefully on Friday afternoon.

Hundreds of members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and the Duri Selatan Mosque Forum rallied against the Bunda Hati Kudus Foundation’s plan to convert the social facilities of the Damai school complex into a place of worship.

The protesters came to the school on Friday afternoon and staged a peaceful protest and oration for 30 minutes before continuing their journey to City Hall.

Nandar, the protest coordinator for the Duri Selatan Mosque Forum, urged the leaders of the church to stop the establishment of any church within the school complex, and spoke out against the use of any building within the complex for any church-related activities.

“They should have followed the rules, they can’t provoke the local residents by giving away free stuff every month just to get approval to build a church. The construction of this church must be stopped,” he said.

Some representatives from FPI and the Duri Selatan Mosque Forum were allowed to enter the school complex on Friday to hold a dialogue with the church’s leader, Pastor Matheus Widyolestari. Police officers were in attendance for the discussion.

One of the protesters handed out a stack of copies of ID cards, claiming they were from people who rejected the church’s construction.

The local government has been trying to mediate the conflict involving religious figures from both sides since November 2007. But so far, they have failed to reach an agreement.

Pastor Antonius Benny Susetyo, executive secretary of the Commission of the Indonesian Bishops Conference, told the Jakarta Globe that the protesters misunderstood the problem.

He said that the protesters thought the church used the social facilities of the Damai school complex as a service venue.

“It is a church, in the same complex with the school,” Antonius explained. “It is not a hall as they thought.”

Antonius said that the church had no building permit, but when it was built in 1968, there was no regulation on building permits....

War is deceit, said Muhammad, and here Abdelmalek Droukdel shows how jihadists put that into practice in our own day: "Better for you to be silent and pretend to be a `domestic’ movement that has its own causes and concerns. There is no reason for you to show that we have an expansionary, jihadi, al-Qaida or any other sort of project."

Does he advise Hamas-linked CAIR as well?

"In Timbuktu, al-Qaeda Left Behind a Manifesto," by Rukmini Callimachi for the Associated Press, February 15 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

(TIMBUKTU, Mali) — In their hurry to flee last month, al-Qaida fighters left behind a crucial document: Tucked under a pile of papers and trash is a confidential letter, spelling out the terror network’s strategy for conquering northern Mali and reflecting internal discord over how to rule the region.

The document is an unprecedented window into the terrorist operation, indicating that al-Qaida predicted the military intervention that would dislodge it in January and recognized its own vulnerability.

The letter also shows a sharp division within al-Qaida’s Africa chapter over how quickly and how strictly to apply Islamic law, with its senior commander expressing dismay over the whipping of women and the destruction of Timbuktu’s ancient monuments. It moreover leaves no doubt that despite a temporary withdrawal into the desert, al-Qaida plans to operate in the region over the long haul, and is willing to make short-term concessions on ideology to gain the allies it acknowledges it needs.

The more than nine-page document, found by The Associated Press in a building occupied by the Islamic extremists for almost a year, is signed by Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, the nom de guerre of Abdelmalek Droukdel, the senior commander appointed by Osama bin Laden to run al-Qaida’s branch in Africa. The clear-headed, point-by-point assessment resembles a memo from a CEO to his top managers and lays out for his jihadists in Mali what they have done wrong in months past, and what they need to do to correct their behavior in the future.

Droukdel, the emir of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, perhaps surprisingly argues that his fighters moved too fast and too brutally in applying the Islamic law known as Shariah to northern Mali. Comparing the relationship of al-Qaida to Mali as that of an adult to an infant, he urges them to be more gentle, like a parent:

“The current baby is in its first days, crawling on its knees, and has not yet stood on its two legs,” he writes. “If we really want it to stand on its own two feet in this world full of enemies waiting to pounce, we must ease its burden, take it by the hand, help it and support it until its stands.”

He scolds his fighters for being too forceful and warns that if they don’t ease off, their entire project could be thrown into jeopardy: “Every mistake in this important stage of the life of the baby will be a heavy burden on his shoulders. The larger the mistake, the heavier the burden on his back, and we could end up suffocating him suddenly and causing his death.”

The letter is divided into six chapters, three of which the AP recovered, along with loose pages, on the floor of the Ministry of Finance’s Regional Audit Department. Residents say the building, one of several the Islamic extremists took over in this ancient city of sundried, mud-brick homes, was particularly well-guarded with two checkpoints, and a zigzag of barriers at the entrance.

Droukdel’s letter is one of only a few internal documents between commanders of al-Qaida’s African wing that have been found, and possibly the first to be made public, according to University of Toulouse Islamic scholar Mathieu Guidere. It is numbered 33/234, a system reserved for al-Qaida’s internal communications, said Guidere, who helps oversee a database of documents generated by extremists, including Droukdel.

“This is a document between the Islamists that has never been put before the public eye,” said Guidere, who authenticated the letter after being sent a two-page sample. “It confirms something very important, which is the divisions about the strategic conception of the organization. There was a debate on how to establish an Islamic state in North Mali and how to apply Shariah.”

While the pages recovered are not dated, a reference to a conflict in June establishes that the message was sent at most eight months ago.

The tone and timing of the letter suggest that al-Qaida is learning from its mistakes in places like Somalia and Algeria, where attempts to unilaterally impose its version of Islam backfired. They also reflect the influence of the Arab Spring, which showed the power of people to break regimes, and turned on its head al-Qaida’s long-held view that only violence could bring about wholesale change, Guidere said.

The letter suggests a change in the thinking, if not the rhetoric, of Droukdel, who is asking his men to behave with a restraint that he himself is not known for. Droukdel is believed to have overseen numerous suicide bombings, including one in 2007 where al-Qaida fighters bombed the United Nations building and a new government building in Algiers, killing 41 people. The same year, the U.S. designated him a global terrorist and banned Americans from doing business with him.

In a video disseminated on jihadist forums a few months ago, Droukdel dared the French to intervene in Mali and said his men will turn the region into a “graveyard” for foreign fighters, according to a transcript provided by Washington-based SITE Intelligence.

The fanaticism he exhibits in his public statements is in stark contrast to the advice he gives his men on the ground. In his private letter, he acknowledges that al-Qaida is vulnerable to a foreign intervention, and that international and regional pressure “exceeds our military and financial and structural capability for the time being.”

“It is very probable, perhaps certain, that a military intervention will occur … which in the end will either force us to retreat to our rear bases or will provoke the people against us,” writes Droukdel. “Taking into account this important factor, we must not go too far or take risks in our decisions or imagine that this project is a stable Islamic state.”

According to his own online biography, Droukdel was born 44 years ago into a religious family in the Algerian locality of Zayan. He says he enrolled into the technology department of a local university before turning to jihad, and his first job was making explosives for Algerian mujahedeen. In 2006, the group to which he belonged, known as the GSPC, became an arm of al-Qaida, after negotiations with Ayman al-Zawahri, bin Laden’s lieutenant.

As Droukdel rose through the ranks, he came into direct contact with bin Laden, Guidere said.

In the document found in Timbuktu, he cites a letter he received from bin Laden about the al-Hudaybiyah deal, a treaty signed circa 628 by the Prophet Muhammad and the Quraish tribe of Mecca, an agreement with non-Muslims that paved the way for Muslims to return to Mecca.

“The smart Muslim leader would do these kinds of concessions in order to achieve the word of God eventually and to support the religion,” he says.

Perhaps the biggest concession Droukdel urges is for his fighters to slow down in implementing Shariah.

When the Islamic extremists took over northern Mali 10 months ago, they restored order in a time of chaos, much as the Taliban did in Afghanistan, and even created a hotline number for people to report crimes. But whatever goodwill they had built up evaporated when they started to destroy the city’s historic monuments, whip women for not covering up and amputate the limbs of suspected thieves.

“One of the wrong policies that we think you carried out is the extreme speed with which you applied Shariah, not taking into consideration the gradual evolution that should be applied in an environment that is ignorant of religion,” Droukdel writes. “Our previous experience proved that applying Shariah this way, without taking the environment into consideration, will lead to people rejecting the religion, and engender hatred toward the mujahedeen, and will consequently lead to the failure of our experiment.”

Droukdel goes on to cite two specific applications of Shariah that he found problematic. He criticizes the destruction of Timbuktu’s World Heritage-listed shrines, because, as he says, “on the internal front we are not strong.” He also tells the fighters he disapproves of their religious punishment for adulterers — stoning to death — and their lashing of people, “and the fact that you prevented women from going out, and prevented children from playing, and searched the houses of the population.”

“Your officials need to control themselves,” he writes.

Droukdel’s words reflect the division within one of al-Qaida’s most ruthless affiliates, and may explain why Timbuktu, under the thumb of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, experienced a slightly less brutal version of Shariah than Gao, one of the three other major cities controlled by the extremists. There was only one amputation in Timbuktu over their 10-month rule, compared to a dozen or more in Gao, a city governed by an al-Qaida offshoot, MUJAO, which does not report to Droukdel.

Droukdel’s warning of rejection from locals also turned out to be prescient, as Shariah ran its course in Timbuktu. The breaking point, residents say, was the day last June when the jihadists descended on the cemetery with pickaxes and shovels and smashed the tombs of their saints, decrying what they called the sin of idolatry.

Many in Timbuktu say that was the point of no return. “When they smashed our mausoleums, it hurt us deeply,” said Alpha Sanechirfi, the director of the Malian Office of Tourism in Timbuktu. “For us, it was game over.”

Droukdel’s letter also urges his followers to make concessions to win over other groups in the area, and in one case criticizes their failure to do so. For several months, the Islamic extremists controlling northern Mali coexisted with the secular National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad, or NMLA, the name given to Mali by Tuareg rebels who want their own state. The black flag of the extremists fluttered alongside the multi-colored one of the secular rebels, each occupying different areas of the towns....

Droukdel also discusses the nuts and bolts of how territory and control might be shared by al-Qaida and the local radical Islamic group known as Ansar Dine, or Defenders of the Faith. For much of last year, Ansar Dine claimed to be the rulers of both Timbuktu and Kidal, although by the end, there was mounting evidence that al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb was calling the shots.

The reason for this is now clear in his letter: Droukdel asks his men to lower their profile, and allow local groups to take center stage.

“We should also take into consideration not to monopolize the political and military stage. We should not be at the forefront,” he says. “Better for you to be silent and pretend to be a `domestic’ movement that has its own causes and concerns. There is no reason for you to show that we have an expansionary, jihadi, al-Qaida or any other sort of project.”

The emir acknowledges that his fighters live on the fringes of society, and urges them to make alliances, including fixing their broken relationship with the NMLA. He vows that if they do what he says, they will have succeeded, even if an eventual military intervention forces them out of Mali.

“The aim of building these bridges is to make it so that our mujahedeen are no longer isolated in society,” he writes. “If we can achieve this positive thing in even a limited amount, then even if the project fails later, it will be just enough that we will have planted the first, good seed in this fertile soil and put pesticides and fertilizer on it, so that the tree will grow more quickly. We look forward to seeing this tree as it will be eventually: Stable and magnificent.”

This goes back years: AP reported in 2004 that the rejection of the polio vaccine by a polio-ravaged Nigerian state was due to anti-American sentiment and conspiracy theories. That is true, but it is also true that these fears are being stoked by the local Islamic authorities: "But fears mounted last year after Datti Ahmed, a Kano physician who heads a prominent Muslim group, the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria, said polio vaccines were 'corrupted and tainted by evildoers from America and their Western allies.'"

"Nigerian reporters, cleric held after polio clinic killings," by Salisu Rabiu for the Associated Press, February 13:

KANO, Nigeria — Police in northern Nigeria arrested and charged two radio journalists and a local cleric alleged to have sparked the killings of at least nine women gunned down while trying to administer polio vaccines, officials said Tuesday. Police asserted that their on-air comments about a vaccination campaign in the area inflamed the region and caused the attacks.

The allegations against the journalists working for Wazobia FM show the continuing struggle over free speech in Nigeria, a nation that came out of military rule only in 1999 and where simply taking photographs on the street can get a person arrested. Though Nigeria has a rambunctious free press, threats and attacks against journalists remain common, and unsolved killings of reporters still haunt the country.

On Friday in Kano, the largest city in Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim north, gunmen in three-wheel taxis attacked women preparing to give the oral-drop vaccines to children, killing at least nine, police said. Witnesses later said they saw at least 12 dead from the attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, though suspicion immediately fell on the sect known as Boko Haram, which is waging a campaign of guerrilla shootings and bombings across northern Nigeria.

A few days before the killings, Wazobia FM aired a program in which presenters talked about how one of the station’s journalists had been attacked by local officials and had his equipment confiscated after coming upon a man who refused to allow his children to be vaccinated. The journalists and the cleric on the program apparently discussed the fears people have about the vaccine, which then spread through the city.

Kano state police commissioner Ibrahim Idris ordered the journalists and the cleric arrested immediately after Friday’s attack.

Initially, Idris said the journalists would face charges of ‘‘culpable homicide’’ over the polio workers’ deaths. Those charges can carry the death penalty. However, at an arraignment hearing Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors brought lesser charges that included conspiracy, inciting a disturbance, and obstruction of a public servant. Magistrate Ibrahim Bello ordered a follow-up hearing Thursday....

In 2003, a Kano physician heading the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria said the vaccines were ‘‘corrupted and tainted by evildoers from America and their Western allies.’’ That led to hundreds of new infections in children across the north, where beggars on locally made wooden skateboards drag their withered legs back and forth in traffic, begging for alms. The 2003 disease outbreak in Nigeria eventually spread throughout the world, even causing infections in Indonesia.

Today, Nigeria is one of only three countries where polio remains endemic, the others being Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Hmmm. What do those three have in common?

“There’s still a tendency to see these things in Sunni-Shia terms. But the Middle East is going to have to overcome that.” -- Condoleezza Rice, January 2007

They still haven't! And yet any investigation of the bloody ideology behind these murders is strictly forbidden.

Sunni-Shi'ite Jihad Update: "Officials: Series of bombs in Baghdad kill at least 28 and wound dozens," from the Associated Press, February 17 (thanks to Kenneth):

BAGHDAD – A series of car bombs exploded within minutes of each other in and around Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 28 people and wounding dozens in overwhelmingly Shiite areas.

The attacks come amid rising sectarian discord in Iraq. The explosions, mostly in outdoor markets, struck at the start of the local work week and appeared aimed at causing mass casualties among residents going about their morning shopping.

Violence in Iraq has fallen since the height of sectarian fighting in 2006 and 2007, but insurgents still launch lethal attacks frequently against security forces and civilians in an attempt to undermine the Shiite-led government.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but similar ones have been orchestrated by Sunni extremists, such as al-Qaida's local arm. The group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, favors large-scale, coordinated attacks. It frequently targets Shiite Muslims....

As sectarian strife mounts, protesters drawn overwhelmingly from Iraq's Sunni community have been staging weekly demonstrations and sit-ins since late December to rally against the government, which is led by Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The protesters have rejected calls for violence and distance themselves from extremists groups such as al-Qaida.

There are also concerns that Sunni insurgents could step up attacks ahead of provincial elections scheduled for April 20. The ballot would be the first country-wide vote since the U.S. troop withdrawal more than a year ago.

Sunday's attacks bring to more than 100 the number of people killed in violent attacks in Iraq since the start of the month. A total of 178 were killed in January attacks, according to an Associated Press count.

But all is well: the impudent senex apologized, and the righteous anger of the Islamic supremacists was thereby assuaged. "Aceh villager almost lynched for suit over use of loudspeaker by mosque," from Bernama, February 17 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

JAKARTA: A septuagenarian was almost lynched by villagers when he refused to withdraw his summons against the authorities on the use of a loudspeaker by a mosque at his village in Aceh.

Sayed Hasan, 75, was also threatened with expulsion from the village for his reluctance to apologise for his action.

The incident occurred at the Desa Gampong Jawa community hall in the small district of Kuta Raja, Banda Acheh on Friday, when a meeting between Sayed Hasan and local leaders, including Kota Banda Aceh deputy mayor Illiza Sa’aduddin Djamal, was in progress, reported Antara news agency.

The police, army and local authority enforcement personnel were on hand to diffuse the situation.

“Nevertheless, during the meeting, Sayed Hasan had stated he would withdraw the summons at the Banda Aceh District Court. His admission is backed by a signed written statement. He has also apologised to the villagers,” said Illisa.

He said, the people of Gampong Jawa were angry with Sayed Hasan who sued the local authority on the use of loudspeaker by the Al-Muchsinin Mosque to air ceramahs, or the reading of the Quran for 30 minutes before the muezzin’s call for the Magrib and Subuh prayers.

“This is the first case in Aceh and, strangely, Sayed Hasan’s house is situated far from the Al-Muchsinin Mosque.”...

More "dialogue" from Muslims in Egypt reaching out to their brothers and sisters in Abrahamic faith: "Muslim Villagers in Egypt Attack Church," from Morning Star News, February 17:

CAIRO, Egypt (Morning Star News) – Muslim villagers in Egypt’s Fayoum Province attacked a church this weekend – pelting four Christians with rocks, setting parts of the church building on fire and tearing down a cross atop the structure, witnesses said.

The second assault on property of the province’s Coptic Christians in a little over a month, the attack on the Church of Mar Girgis began Friday (Feb. 15) at 3 p.m., after the church’s worship services in the town of Tamiyyah, 64 miles (103 kilometers) southwest of Cairo.

“It was an ordinary day, starting with the liturgy and Sunday school,” said a 30-year-old Coptic Orthodox Christian who attends the church. “As usual, most people leave after services, but a few people stayed at the church. While we were sitting, we saw all these people coming like they do on the television at Tahrir Square, coming to attack the church.”

About 20 to 30 villagers, most from an extended Muslim family in the village, gathered outside the church and began pelting it with rocks and smashing windows. Eventually the mob threw Molotov cocktail-type explosives at the building, trying to set it ablaze but only starting small fires. They then pushed their way into the building through a hole they had knocked in a wall.

Once inside, the Muslims were able to destroy icons, crosses and enough of the support structure of the church’s dome that part of the dome collapsed. The attack lasted for several hours, ebbed away at night and then started again at noon the next day. The assailants tried to set fire to the church building again during Saturday’s assault (Feb. 16), but a water storage unit on the roof of the structure, weakened in the attack, burst open and doused the flames, according to witnesses.

Four people, including a priest, suffered minor injuries from stones the mob hurled.

The attack was the culmination of a strange incident in which a Muslim who lived in a house that shared a wall with the church made a hole in the wall so he could spy on the Christians, according to clergy members with close ties to the church.

Members of the congregation discovered the hole about three months ago. The Muslim, his family and a handful of villagers began a campaign of intimidation against the church, claiming it was against Islamic law for a church building to exist next to a Muslim residence.

The church offered to buy the man’s house, but in a “reconciliation meeting” common in Egypt ostensibly to resolve such disputes, the Muslim refused any other solution than the congregation abandoning the building or a part of it. The priest was forced to sign a document stating he would not expand the church building. No action was taken against the man who opened the hole in the church’s wall.

In the reconciliation meeting, government officials told church officials not to do anything about the hole, which by the time of the attack had been opened up to a square meter, church leaders said. The first attack happened in plain sight of the police, who did nothing to stop the assault. But on the second day police detained some of the villagers.

A priest close to the situation said an influential Salafi Muslim who seeks the destruction of the church building is either pressuring the Muslim neighbor or luring him into fighting the congregation. This information, however, could not be independently confirmed.

Local residents say the Muslim moved into the house that abuts the church about 10 years ago. The Church of Mar Girgis was built sometime in the ’80s. Originally a mud-brick structure, it was rebuilt with modern bricks except for the wall that was breached.

The church was undergoing another set of renovations when the Muslim started spying on the congregation. The building was the center of worship life for about 180 Coptic Orthodox families that live in Sersna village, which is part of Tamiyyah, which in turn is part of greater Fayoum city.

The church member, whose identity is withheld for security reasons, said the attack was expected. Since the Jan. 25-Feb. 11, 2011 revolution in Egypt, tensions have increased in the area with certain Muslims in the community. Ten youths have been manning shifts at the church building every night to dissuade attacks. Friday’s attack happened before the teenagers were at their post.

It was the second attack in a little over a month against Coptic Christians in Fayoum Province. On Jan. 15 hundreds of Muslims attacked a community center in Fanous village that was under construction with permits by a Coptic charity. Local Muslims accused the society of building a church, and after local mosque leaders emitted calls through megaphones to defend Islam, a crowd gathered, surrounded the building and pulled it to the ground. No one was arrested in connection with the attack.

After the Tamiyyah assault, the government set up barricades to prevent reporters from getting to the scene. A priest closely affiliated with the church said government officials have started harassing Copts in the community to get them to remain silent about the incident. Requesting that his identity not be released out of fear of reprisal, the priest said that reconciliation meetings are likely to fail because the demands Muslims are making are “impossible.”

"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

Not really: "[As for] the thief, the male and the female, amputate their hands in recompense for what they committed as a deterrent [punishment] from Allah. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise." -- Qur'an 5:38

"Mali prisoner: 'Militants cut off my hand with a knife,'" by Thomas Fessy for BBC News, February 15:

Algalas ag Moutkel points his left arm at the writing on the wall of the cell in which he was incarcerated during the rule of militant Islamists in Gao in northern Mali.

Each day that passed, he would score it with a piece of charcoal. One month, he counted.

When the members of the Mujao Islamist group took him out of prison, he was unconscious at the back of a car being driven to hospital.

His right arm was bleeding as the militants had just cut his hand off with a knife.

"They strapped me against this pillar," recalls Mr Moutkel, a 22-year-old father of three, as we toured the prison where he was held.

He lies against it and bends his knees to show me how he was sat down on a chair.

He then mimics somebody attaching ropes around his legs, his waist and his arms.

"They were many," he says.

"Some of them wore a mask, and one filmed the whole scene with a mobile phone.

"Within a few seconds, one of them emerged from the group with a knife and cut my hand off, just straight like that," Mr Moutkel explains as he moves his stump above his left wrist to imitate the knife.

"I was in hospital when I woke up."

At least 12 people went through the same horror, either in public or at the back of the prison, according to Gao's mayor Sadou Harouna Diallo.

Five of them had one hand and one leg amputated. Legs were also cut using a knife, reportedly under the knee.

Haunted town

Mr Moutkel was accused of having stolen a mattress.

No evidence was ever brought against him, but the people are too shocked by the brutality and the barbaric act to even discuss the allegation.

A sinister atmosphere still haunts Gao.

Almost every day, the French neutralise mines, grenades or material used for makeshift bombs that were found in houses inhabited by jihadi fighters.

None of the many big black billboards declaring Sharia have been removed. They are planted everywhere.

"Al-hijab for the blessing of Allah and the purity of women," one reads both in French and in Arabic.

It refers to the dress code that was imposed on females.

They had to cover their head, their face and body entirely.

Independence Square was renamed "Sharia Square".

Children now play football in the long dusty pitch where public punishments were carried out.

An employee of the town hall laments that these sign posts are still standing firm everywhere.

"We are waiting for the governor to give us the means to take them down," the man says, he refused to give his name.

The Islamists' prison where Mr Moutkel was detained has been emptied but the white Mujao flag drawn onto a black iron sheet is still nailed into the concrete wall above the main entrance.

About 25 prisoners were thrown into Mr Moutkel's cell, which according to my calculation was about 10 sq m (107 sq ft).

They were not given any food or water.

At times, their Islamist captors would allow member of their family to bring them something to eat.

"The worst was when five persons were amputated at the same time," Dr Abdulaziz Maiga recalls.

"They were very agitated and so scared, we were completely overwhelmed."

The scars left by the harsh Islamist rule are not just visible on Mr Moutkel's stump.

Dr Maiga explains that a rubber tube taken from a bicycle's tyre was usually strapped around the wound by the militants to stop the bleeding while they drove their victims to the hospital.

"We had morphine to calm them down as we had to cut off a few more centimetres in case they were able to get a prosthesis one day," he says.

"The problem is that we did what we could already. Now, these amputees need antibiotics against potential infections, they need regular pain killers.

"But the authorities aren't supporting them at all. Many of them even need psychological help."

Mr Moutkel agreed to take me back to the prison so "people can see for themselves what happened to us here".

"People have to know," he said, complaining that his own government had "abandoned us" during these 10 months of occupation.

Mr Moutkel used to be a worker on construction sites. His amputation means that he cannot work anymore.

"I don't know what I am going to do," he says.

In town, one Sharia sign has been re-painted on both sides with the French flag on one and that of Niger on the other - celebrating the presence of the foreign troops sent to recapture the town.

But the black jihadi paint underneath is still visible.

The French and Nigerien soldiers have beefed up security with the Malian armed forces, but the invisible threat remains.

Some of the most violent militants who swept across northern Mali last year ruled Gao until three weeks ago.

They are now determined to spread terror among the population.

Gao saw the first suicide bomb attacks in Mali's history at the end of last week while on Sunday Islamist militants engaged French-led forces in fierce fighting right in the middle of the town....

This is what they voted for. Now they've got it. Here again, we see Sharia looks essentially the same wherever it is implemented, contradicting the smooth lies of Islamic supremacists like Reza Aslan, who make a comfortable living telling the credulous kuffar that Sharia is so elastic as to have no content at all.

"Egypt moves to ban alcohol, belly dancing," from the Daily Star, February 18 (thanks to Assad Elepty):

CAIRO: Two years after the Egyptian revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, liberals are increasingly concerned that the ruling Islamists are out to curb personal freedoms and build a society in their own image. Nabil Abbas, the vice president of the New Urban Communities Authorities, told Reuters Sunday that the government would no longer issue licenses for the sale of alcohol in new residential settlements on the outskirts of Cairo, Alexandria and other big cities.

“NUCA has stopped renewing licenses to sell alcohol but the current ones will continue until they expire,” Abbas said.

“Representatives of the residents in new suburbs complained that the sale of alcohol leads to problems including attacking women and randomly ringing doorbells of people’s homes.”

Islamist President Mohammad Mursi’s government increased taxes on alcoholic beverages in December but then backed down after the move was criticized.

Earlier this month, an Egyptian court ordered the suspension of YouTube for a month for broadcasting a film insulting the Prophet Mohammad.

And a court in Egypt Sunday ordered a TV channel that airs belly dancing clips off the air for showing “sexually explicit” content and operating without a broadcast license. The judge Saturday said that ElTet airs ads that are “offensive” and can “arouse” viewers. The station carries advertisements for sexual enhancement products and matchmaking services.

A satirical poster circulated online Sunday in response to the alcohol curb. It listed some of Egypt’s main problems including road accidents, police brutality and poverty then showed a cartoon of Mursi dressed as Superman and that says “Must save Egypt from porn, alcohol and YouTube.”

Separately Sunday, thousands of demonstratorsblocked [sic] access to the harbor and rallied outside state buildings in Port Said Sunday, to demand justice over the deaths of dozens of people killed in anti-government riots last month.

About 60 people have been killed since late January in protests that erupted after the second anniversary of the uprising that overthrew Mubarak.

Port Said was one of three provinces where Mursi declared a 30-day state of emergency.

Opposition groups have criticized Mursi’s perceived drift toward authoritarianism, which they say fueled this year’s unrest....

Muhammad said: "Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him" (Bukhari 9.84.57). The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law according to all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence. Yet Muslim spokesmen such as Harris Zafar, Mustafa Akyol, Salam al-Marayati, M. Cherif Bassiouni, and Ali Eteraz (among many others) have assured us that Islam doesn't punish apostasy. I expect that Zafar, Akyol, al-Marayati, Bassiouni, and Eteraz will immediately jet over to Iran to explain to the authorities holding these converts that they are getting Islam all wrong, wrong, wrong.

"Christian Prisoners in Shiraz Still Held After More Than a Year," from Mohabat News, February 17 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

It is now more than a year since these four Christian converts were arrested in Shiraz. They are still being held in Adel-Abad prison in a ward known as "Ebrat" (edification) awaiting the court's decision.

According to Mohabat News, the four Christian converts' latest trial was held on December 28, 2012 in Branch 3 of the Revolutionary court in Shiraz. Mr. Rashidi-poor presided over the court session, while the prisoners' attorney was also present. The judge concluded the three hour long trial and announced that he will issue his verdict after Norouz Celebrations (March 21-25).

The Christian prisoners are Mojtaba Seyyed-Alaedin Hossein, Mohammad-Reza Partoei (also known as Koroush), Vahid Hakkani, and Homayoun Shokouhi. Since their arrest, they have been taken to the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz several times in a pitiful condition with their hands and feet chained, where their charges were officially announced as participating in house-church services, evangelizing and promoting Christianity, having contact with foreign Christian ministries, distributing propaganda against the regime and disturbing national security.

These four Christian converts were arrested as they gathered for worship in a house church on February 8, 2012. Security authorities who had identified the place beforehand, attacked and arrested these men together with some other attendees. They were mistreated and immediately transferred to prison.

As some reports indicate, during the hearing one of the court officials advised the families of these prisoners to change their attorney, because the judge had a serious issue with him.

On the other hand, it appears that following a similar pattern, judges and courts of Islamic Republic disregard the legal timeframe to issue decisions and do not care to deal with cases like this in a timely manner. It seems that they do so to put extra pressure on Christian prisoners and their families.

Keeping them in prison for more than a year in uncertainty, not granting them temporary leave permits and refusing to accept temporary release bails are considered obvious mental and physical torture of these Christian detainees.

Also, in some instances, judicial authorities pressure lawyers to reject their Christian clients. The uncertainty that Iranian authorities have shown toward these cases and the lengthy process for handling them encourages attorneys to refuse to defend Christians or to withdraw in the middle of the case.

Even before this, Iranian judicial authorities had stated that they would not accept bail for these Christians' release.

Prison authorities in Adel-Abad prison ordered that seven or eight Christian converts held in that prison be transferred to a newly built ward known as the "edification ward", where the least facilities are available....

A sign of how serious the Obama-backed Libyan government is about fighting these jihad groups. "Libya militia linked to U.S. attack returns to Benghazi," by Hadeel Al Shalchi for Reuters, February 17 (thanks to Lookmann):

(Reuters) - An Islamist militia linked to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and kicked out of the city by locals is back openly manning checkpoints and building up support promising much-needed security.

Heavily bearded youths from Ansar al-Sharia control the western entrance into Libya's second biggest metropolis, patrol a hospital and check cars and trucks passing through another checkpoint in the south.

Witnesses say the group's members were at the scene of the September 11 attack that killed the U.S. ambassador, Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans - though Ansar al-Sharia denied any involvement.

Days after the assault, outraged residents drove the group out of its bases in the city in a "Rescue Benghazi" protest.

The group's highly visible return, five months on, underlines the complex security situation on the ground two years after the start of the revolt that ousted Muammar Gaddafi.

Many in the West see Islamist militants as the biggest threat to the security of the oil-producing country and the region - and accuse them of carrying out a string of attacks on police and foreigners in the city in recent months.

Their fears echo international concerns about the rise of Islamism in other countries shaken by the Arab Spring uprisings, including Libya's neighbors Egypt and Tunisia.

But the groups are also held up as heroes of the Libyan uprising by some locals who say they are doing a better job of the protecting them than the government in distant Tripoli.

As celebrations began marking the revolt's anniversary, at least one person waved Ansar al-Sharia's white flag at a rally.

"These men are also people who fought on the front lines, care about their city and provide services. We can't shun them," said Benghazi University professor Iman Bugaighis. "We had to ask them to come back and protect our hospital and streets."

Libya's deputy prime minister, Awad Ibrahim, on Sunday acknowledged the security role played by militias, without specifically mentioning Ansar al-Sharia.

"These militias are part of our liberation. We cannot exclude them at least at this time until we build our army and police," he told Reuters in Benghazi, the cradle of the revolt.

QUIET RETURN

The men at Benghazi's western checkpoint say they have been working there for about a month to maintain security in the run up to the anniversary celebrations.

They also patrol Benghazi's Galaa Hospital where officials said a patient was killed in a fight two weeks ago.

Benghazi council spokesman Osama al-Sharif said hospital staff and residents had had no choice but to ask locals - including Ansar al-Sharia members - to protect the facility.

"It's just the reality of the city. The police have complained of a lack of authority and resources and the interior ministry says it can't do it so we have to rely on these brigades," he said.

The militiamen say they are protecting what they fought for during the war and helping the city's residents.

"We have been seizing illegal medical supplies and contraband and handing it over to the government," said Faisal al-Jamie, in charge of one of the brigade's checkpoint shifts.

"The government told us to get out of the way and it wanted to take over security in the city so we removed ourselves. But then we saw the government wasn't doing anything and the city needed securing so we had to come back and protect our city."

Hundreds of cars pass the checkpoint every day where Ansar al-Sharia pick-up trucks mounted with anti-aircraft weapons acquired in the war are parked on either side of the dusty road.

One of the cars honks at the men in greeting and a passenger waves the black and white flag of al Qaeda.

After Ansar al-Sharia was kicked out of its bases in September, some of its members were absorbed into other armed brigades dotted around the country.

Others quietly returned, keeping a low profile, running a clinic and teaching the Koran. They removed their logo from their vehicles, but have gained enough confidence to acknowledge their allegiance publicly.

The group, whose leaders have turned down repeated interview requests from Reuters, is part of a wider Salafi Muslim movement that follows a puritanical form of Islam....

Again: Islamic supremacists the world over are desperately insecure and fearful of any kind of challenge. Thus they move to crush free speech regarding Islam, demonize and smear their opponents rather than engage them in discussion or debate, and endeavor to stifle all dissent.

But surely all the moderate Muslim spokesmen in the U.S. who insist that Islam is tolerant and open to the free exchange of ideas are on their way to Benghazi now to demand the release of these Christians -- aren't they?

"Foreigners arrested for trying to spread Christianity in Libya," from Reuters, February 17 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

BENGHAZI, Libya (REUTERS) - Four foreigners have been arrested in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on suspicion of being Christian missionaries and printing books about Christianity, a security official said on Saturday.

"They were arrested on Tuesday at a publishing house where they were printing thousands of books that called for conversion to Christianity," security official Hussein Bin Hmeid said.

"Proselytising is forbidden in Libya. We are a 100 per cent Muslim country and this kind of action affects our national security." Mr Hmeid said the government-affiliated security apparatus called the Preventative Security, for which he is a spokesman, had arrested an Egyptian, a South African, a Korean and a Swede who was travelling on a US passport.

"We are still holding interrogations and will hand them over to the Libyan intelligence authorities in a couple of days," Mr Hmeid said, without giving further details.

"The normal situation" is for Muslims "to take money from the kuffar," says Choudary. Where did he get that crazy idea? Has he been reading the writings of greasy Islamophobes? Or maybe he has been reading this: "Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued." -- Qur'an 9:29

"'Claim jobseeker's allowance and plan holy war': Hate preacher pocketing £25,000 a year in benefits calls on fanatics to live off the state," from the Daily Mail, February 17 (thanks to Darcy):

A controversial Muslim cleric who lives off benefits is urging his followers to also sponge off UK taxpayers by claiming their 'Jihadseeker's allowance'.

Anjem Choudary, who in the past has planned to disrupt the minute's silence on Remembrance Sunday, also openly mocked hard-working Britons, calling them 'slaves'.

The Sun newspaper secretly filmed him saying Islam will overrun Europe, David Cameron and Barack Obama should be killed and calling the Queen 'ugly'.

The father-of-four takes home more than £25,000 a year in benefits and lives in a £320,000 house in Leytonstone, East London.

He told a crowd of around 30 fanatics: 'People will say, 'Ah, but you are not working'. But the normal situation is for you to take money from the kuffar (non-Muslim).

'So we take Jihadseeker's Allowance. You need to get support.'

In another video a grinning Choudary is recorded telling his disciples that it is justifiable to take money from non-believers.

He said: 'The normal situation is to take money from the kuffar. You work, give us the money, Allahu Akhbar (God is great).

'Hopefully there's no one from the DSS listening to this.'

It's OK, Andy. You can just say you were quoted "out of context."

He also called Mr Cameron, Mr Obama and the leaders of Pakistan and Egypt the 'shaitan', or devil, and said he wanted them to be killed.

Choudary spoke glowingly of the 9/11 attacks and urged his followers to have 'hate' in their hearts for core British concepts like democracy, freedom and freedom of religion.

'These people are like a tsunami going across Europe. And over here we're just relaxing, taking over Bradford brother. The reality is changing.'...

Choudary, 45, ran a group called al-Muhajiroun which held anti-Western demonstrations and is the former leader of Islam4UK. Both were outlawed in 2010 under the Terrorism Act.

He told the Sun that his reference to 'Jihadseeker's allowance' was a joke and claims he has never urged his followers to kill anyone.

He said: 'Cameron is doing satanic actions but I am not asking for anyone to be killed. We want everyone to worship Islam. I invite Cameron and the Queen to worship Islam.That would be an ideal situation.'...

Islamic supremacists the world over are desperately insecure and fearful of any kind of challenge. Thus they move to crush free speech regarding Islam, demonize and smear their opponents rather than engage them in discussion or debate, and endeavor to stifle all dissent. Islamic Tolerance Alert from the Islamic Republic of Iran. "Report: Iran confiscates Buddha statues to stop promotion of Buddhism," from the Associated Press, February 17 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian newspaper is reporting that government authorities are confiscating Buddha statues from shops in Tehran to stop the promotion of Buddhism in the country.

Sunday’s report by the independent Arman daily quotes Saeed Jaberi Ansari, an official for the protection of Iran’s cultural heritage, as saying that authorities will not permit a specific belief to be promoted through such statues.

Ansari called the Buddha statues symbols of “cultural invasion.”

He did not elaborate on how many have been confiscated so far, but said more would be seized from shops.

Iran has long fought against items, such as Barbie dolls and Simpsons cartoon characters, to defuse Western influence, but this appears to be the first time that Iranian authorities are showing an opposition to symbols from the East.

Bravo. "Military officer files formal complaint against Islamist censors," by Jim Kouri for the Examiner, February 17:

A top United States counterterrorism expert, who taught a course that familiarized military officers with the U.S. war against radical Islamists was fired from a military college and had his course removed from the curriculum, is retaliating against university officials, according to a U.S. police counterterrorism expert on Thursday.

The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Mich., reportedly filed a formal complaint with the President of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (Commission) challenging the accreditation of the National Defense University (NDU) on behalf of Lt. Col. Matthew A. Dooley (U.S. Army) .

The police source, Sean Hanrahan, told the Law Enforcement Examiner that the officer/instructor was informed the course materials would be revamped to exclude references to Islam and use terms such as extremists or militants. In addition, the course instructor, Lt. Col. Dooley, was removed from the faculty permanently for telling students that practitioners of Islam are responsible for terrorism.

"One can only wonder how much protection students who practice Catholicism and Christianity would receive from this Administration and its media sycophants -- such as TV host Bill Maher -- when they verbally attack Christians," said former police commander and military officer Mike Snopes.

According to a source, the National Defense University's Joint Forces Staff College course included a slide-show that told students -- mostly battle-hardened officers -- that the U.S. is fighting a life and death battle with Islamists and that "we need to recognize that the U.S. and its allies are at war with Islam."

JFSC educates military officers and other national security leaders in joint, multinational, and interagency operational-level planning and warfare, counterterrorism and other subjects.

According to the Law Enforcement Examiner source, it's believed a complaining soldier, whose identity is being protected, may be a pawn of some of the Muslim groups such as the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) or Muslim Advocates, who are currently suing the New York City Police Department for its training and police tactics.

"This politically correct nonsense would be laughed at if we had a reality check now and then. On the one hand, the majority of terrorist attacks worldwide are perpetrated by radical Muslims who actually apply the teachings of the Koran. Anyone who studies the history of Islam, especially within the last two hundred years will discover what America faces is not new," said Hanrahan.

"The CAIR group is considered by some to be a front-group for radical Islamists -- several of whom are currently in prison or deported -- and frequently supports certain Democratic politicians who do their bidding. Rep. John Conyers of Michigan is a perfect example," Hanrahan alleges.

Counterterrorism experts condemned by CAIR include Walid Phares, Robert Spencer, Bill Getz, Pam Geller and others who "refuse to sugarcoat the Islamic terrorism threat," said Mike Snopes.

Hey, it could be worse: at least these jihadis aren't harming prospects for "dialogue." "BREAKING NEWS: Priest Shot Dead In Zanzibar; Pastor Beheaded On Mainland," from BosNewsLife, February 17 (thanks to Bob):

ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA (BosNewsLife)-- A Catholic priest was shot dead Sunday, February 17, on his way to church in Tanzania's semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar, just days after a pastor was beheaded by suspected Muslim extremists on the mainland, officials and Christians said.

"Father Evarist Mushi was blocked by two young men at the entrance of the church" in Zanzibar City, the capital, where "one of the attackers shot him in the head," said the island's police spokesman Mohammed Mhina in published remarks.

It was the second such attack on the Muslim-majority island of 1.2 million people in recent months. On Christmas Day, gunmen shot and seriously wounded a Catholic priest as he returned home from church.

Police did not know whether both attacks were related, but local Christians said there has been a rise in Islamic attacks against individual believers and churches.

Sunday's shooting came while on the mainland, in Tanzania's Geita Region, Christians were mourning the violent death of a pastor of an Assemblies of God Church.

PASTOR BEHEADED

Pastor Mathayo Kachili was reportedly beheaded Monday, February 11,by what witnesses called a mob of Muslim extremists and "radicals".

Police commander Denis Stephano told reporters that the killing in Buseresere town was sparked by tensions over whether Christians were allowed to open and operate butcheries in the area.

The killing sparked deadly riots between religious Christians and Muslims, with at least one attacker reportedly dying of his injuries, before police was able to intervene.

Pastor Kachili leaves behind a wife and several children who depended on his salary to make a living, Christians said.

In a reaction, rights group International Christian Concern (ICC) suggested that that this was part of a wider Islamic campaign against Christians in East Africa.

MORE VIOLENCE

"Just last week, two Christian pastors in Garissa, Kenya were attacked by Islamic extremists suspected to be connected with [militant group] al-Shabab," explained William Stark, ICC regional manager for Africa.

"The increase of attacks on Christians can be linked to the spread of radical Islam across East Africa. Groups like al-Shabab and its sympathizers have shown that they are not afraid to attack and kill Christians in countries that are traditionally thought of as Christian," he told BosNewsLife in a statement.

Stark isn't optimistic about the future. "Until the issue of radical Islam is confronted in East Africa, we will continue to see attacks on Christians and other minority groups. If ignored, the spread of radical Islam has the potential to turn East Africa into another Nigeria or Mali where Christians are persecuted and killed by the hundreds."

In Zanzibar, however, police said they were investigating the latest killing of a priest. "For now, we cannot say what the motives are for the attack, but we have launched search operations for the attackers," added spokesman Mhina....

Last Wednesday on my ABN show, I interviewed the Danish psychologist and occasional Jihad Watch writer Nicolai Sennels about his discoveries and observations from his service as a prison psychologist.

In "The Boston Globe vs. Free Speech" in the American Thinker, February 15, Ilya Feoktistov and Charles Jacobs discuss the flagrant bias of Boston Globe reporter Lisa Wangsness, who, I'm told, engineered my being canceled from speaking at a Catholic conference in Worcester, Massachusetts next month. I had planned to be there anyway with an exhibitor's table at the conference, and would like to be, but because of other commitments this has proved impossible. However, I will keep telling the truth about jihad and Islamic supremacism wherever and whenever I can, and will expose hard-Left, pro-jihad pseudo-journalists like Lisa Wangsness at every opportunity:

A troubled young man plans to go on a shooting rampage at a local mall. A devoted fan of other mass murderers, he gets pleasure watching videos of cruel and graphic violence: actual beheadings, disembowelments, maimings. He hates his neighbors and wishes for their deaths. He's been taught to hate by religious extremists who dominate his community while intimidating their opponents into silence. The FBI catches him before he can go through with his plan to machine gun shoppers at the mall, though the Bureau ignores the people who indoctrinated him. The extremists, meanwhile, are demanding that the would-be murderer be released. They teach their children that he is a hero, and that those who stopped him from slaughtering innocent people are the true villains. A local newspaper journalist knows all this but for motives unknown, she refuses to report this story.

This is not a fictional account. On November 10, 2010, we met with Boston Globe's religion reporter Lisa Wangsness and briefed her for over two hours on a troubling story. A year before, the FBI had arrested Tarek Mehanna, an Islamic extremist from Sudbury, Massachusetts whom it accused of providing material support to Al Qaeda and plotting a shooting spree at the Emerald Square Mall in North Attleboro, MA. In intercepted conversations, Mehanna celebrated the 9/11 hijackers as heroes. According to the indictment, "Mehanna and his coconspirators, who shared videos and took real pleasure in the deaths of American servicemen, seemed to delight in the most horrific atrocities." Watching Iraqi terrorists tearing open a dead U.S. Marine's rib cage and setting it on fire with gasoline, Mehanna gloated: "heh yeah... nice juicy BBQ... Texas BBQ is the way to go." Trial documents show that Mehanna and his co-conspirators referred to themselves as the American wing of Al Qaeda in Iraq. Mehanna was convicted on all charges last year and sentenced to 17 years in prison.

We also shared with the Globe's reporter evidence of an intense campaign by local Islamic extremists to pressure the Justice Department to release Mehanna back into the community that he had planned to attack. The extremists insisted that the twisted mind revealed in FBI-recorded conversations was actually a gentle soul who loved children and playing with his cat. Claiming that Mehanna's arrest was nothing but a witch hunt by the FBI, which they accused of hating Muslims, they incited their followers against the U.S. government by painting the ghoulish would-be killer as the victim.

We showed Ms. Wangsness that well-known religious leaders with connections to Massachusetts political and civic leadership were involved in this campaign. Among them was Imam Abdullah Faaruuq, then the Muslim Chaplain at Northeastern University and a frequent preacher at the largest mosque in the Northeast, the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center. (Faaruuq was dismissed from his position at Northeastern after we exposed his actions in support of Mehanna and other convicted terrorists.) Her own newspaper reported that another respected local Muslim leader supporting Tarek Mehanna was a medical doctor named Abdul Cader Asmal, co-chairman of communications for the Islamic Council of New England. In 2011, Dr. Asmal was stripped of his medical license by disciplinary action from the Massachusetts Board of Medicine.

At our meeting with Ms. Wangsness, we traced for her a timeline of Mehanna's trajectory from a Sudbury, MA teenage son of Egyptian immigrants to a budding Al Qaeda terrorist. Mehanna had been radicalized at the Islamic Center of Worcester and the Islamic Center of New England in Sharon, Massachusetts. We showed her documents revealing that these mosques were led by imams who happened to be the brothers of one of the most wanted terrorists in the world, Hafiz Saeed. Saeed, who had visited the Boston area when Mehanna was 12, is the Pakistani mastermind of one of the world's deadliest mass mall shootings: the 2008 Mumbai Massacre. According to the Times of India, his Massachusetts-based brothers raised money and recruited members for his terrorist group in the Bay State.

Ms. Wangsness learned how the Islamic Center of Worcester, in particular, actively engages in youth indoctrination. During Mehanna's trial, the mosque's elementary schoolchildren were tasked with drawing "Free Tarek Mehanna" posters and then carted off to the Federal Court building in Boston to chant anti-American slogans.

We shared with Ms. Wangsness interviews with moderate Muslims who reached out to us asking for help in fighting the extremists who had hijacked their community and are brainwashing their children. We showed her a vicious and threatening letter that local extremist leader Nabeel Khudairi sent to a moderate Muslim who dared challenge the extremists in his mosque.

She looked at all our evidence, thanked us politely, and reported nothing. Now perhaps we can understand why.

On January 30, 2013, Wangsness spent part of the day with Abdul Cader Asmal -- the disgraced medical doctor and supporter of Tarek Mehanna; with officials from the Islamic Center of Worcester -- which was the incubator for Mehanna's hatred and still may be for dozens of young children; and with Nabeel Khudairi -- the intimidator of moderate Muslims. Their goal, according to leaked emails, was to pressure the Catholic Diocese of Worcester to cancel a talk by Robert Spencer, a well-known critic of Islamic doctrine, especially its treatment of non-believers, whom they falsely accused of hating Muslims.

They succeeded. The Worcester Diocese cancelled Spencer's talk without the courtesy of informing him directly. He had to learn about it from Wangsness, who reached out to him for comment in a series of emails whose line of questioning followed the "have you stopped beating your wife?" formula. The article she published in the next day's Boston Globe ("Catholic event cancels talk by Islam critic") was a foregone conclusion: Spencer was portrayed as a villain, while Wangsness's extremist associates were made to look like sympathetic victims. Though the article quoted Abdul Cader Asmal positively as a doctor, it made no mention of his permanent removal from practice through disciplinary action.

Robert Spencer is a controversial author and speaker, yet in some ways, his views on Islam tend to be more scholarly than many of the atheist critics of Christianity, who, without much fuss, populate American universities and cultural institutions. Spencer forcefully makes the point that, as with all religions, adherents range widely -- from the absolute literalists to the largely secular "cultural" Muslims. Spencer says he is not against Muslims, but against the political aspect of Islam, which demands that its followers act -- violently if necessary -- to subjugate infidels and establish a theocracy.

Disagreeing with Spencer is simply not a valid reason to prevent people from hearing his arguments and his warnings. A pluralistic and open society must always favor the free exchange of all ideas to the intolerant suppression of dissent. It is sadly ironic, though no longer surprising, that a member of the press would join Islamist extremists in trying to suppress free speech, and -- in Wangsness' case -- go as far asto effectively censor information related to extremist activities.

Why would Ms.Wangsness behave this way? Surely she doesn't share the radical Islamic ideological hatred toward America espoused by the people she's protecting. Much more likely, she believes in the political dogma adopted by the 'social justice'-seeking media and civic elites. It is based on the false narrative that American Muslims constitute a "vulnerable minority," which deserves protection from criticism -- even if such protection involves the suppression of facts and the repression of critics. Sadly, too many journalists and political leaders collaborate with this crusade against the truth, and too many newspapers make it a matter of editorial policy. Journalists like Lisa Wangsness of the Boston Globe have largely become instruments of a truly illiberal orthodoxy. Its fetishes and myths -- that Western culture is racist, that Islam is the religion of peace, that Muslims are always victims, and that anyone who says otherwise must be denounced and silenced -- can never be questioned. It is through this dogmatism that the radical Islamists have won from the media and political elites a special set of protections.

Commenting on the infamous YouTube video criticizing Islam's prophet Mohammed, which resulted in Muslim mobs rioting and killing around the world, President Obama expressed a strange view on the concept of dissent in a free society. He said: "The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam." With this statement, Obama attacked the right to criticize Islam, and he was in effect targeting not only YouTube provocateurs, but also people like Robert Spencer....

Read it all.

This is certainly true. I warned in March 2003 that the idea of bringing democracy to the Middle East was unrealistic (at best), and over the years here at Jihad Watch Hugh Fitzgerald wrote many times about the folly of the Iraq and Afghanistan projects, and how that folly was based on a faulty understanding of Islam, emanating from the Bush Administration's acceptance of the Armstrong/Esposito/CAIR propaganda line about Islam being a religion of peace, etc.

Now Jim Murphy acknowledges that the failure of both adventures stemmed from an inadequate understanding of Islam, and in response he recommends...more of the same.

"Iraq war plan based on 'primitive' grasp of Islam, admits Labour frontbencher," by Nick Hopkins in the Guardian, February 13:

Labour has conceded for the first time that a "primitive understanding" of the Islamic world caused some of the problems faced by the west in Iraq and Afghanistan, and warned David Cameron his response to the terrorist crisis in north Africa shows he has not learned the painful lessons from those conflicts.

In a speech on Thursday, Jim Murphy, the shadow defence secretary, will suggest the Blair government did not appreciate what it was getting itself into after the September 11 attacks, as British forces joined the international effort to overthrow the Taliban and hunt down Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

Murphy will stop short of saying Labour was wrong to have supported the invasions, but will say Cameron is in danger of ignoring lessons from the past in his analysis of the jihadist threat in Mali and Algeria.

In particular, he will criticise the prime minister for a speech in which he said the UK faces a "generational struggle" against Islamist-inspired terrorism in the region.

"Some of the political language applied in response to recent events has suggested a natural continuation of the 9/11 world and in turn the strategy then deployed," Murphy will say.

"The prime minister's declaration of a 'generational struggle' oversimplifies the nature of the threat and compounds rather than learns the lessons from the past."

Murphy will say it would be wrong for Downing Street to suggest there are parallels between the al-Qaida network in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the "patchwork of loose alliances" that constitute al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

"Al-Qaida was presented as a coherent entity. While truer in the past, it is now a looser franchise. A search for simplicity led to solutions which paid insufficient regard to the complexity of local circumstance. Today the patchwork of loose alliances which comprise the extremist threat in north and west Africa is essential to understand."

Ignorance caused many of the difficulties in Iraq and Afghanistan, Murphy will say, and now is the time to "assess lessons from recent history".

"An almost primitive understanding of the Afghan population, culture and geography prior to Nato's intervention severely undermined international attempts to work with proxies, and our political strategy was in its conception insufficiently representative."

Murphy will admit that it "took too long for us to see the training of the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police as a strategic priority."

...which shows that he still doesn't get it.

In Iraq, he will say, "there was a serious deficit in Western comprehension of the Sunni-Shia or intra-Shia dynamics. We know that de-Baathification left a lethal vacuum."

He will go on to say: "Mali shows neither we nor our allies have fully applied these lessons. While necessary to act, Mali is a failure in prevention and foresight. Mali has been on the critical list for a long time yet action has been rushed, with shifting objectives. Trainers should be sent to deter a crisis rather than in response to it. An internationally driven political solution is in its infancy at best."

In his speech to the Henry Jackson Society, Murphy will commit a future Labour government to retaining an interventionist defence policy, but insist this can be done without resorting to "heavy-footprint operations we do not want to repeat".

He will say: "While Iraq and Afghanistan have been painful and rightly controversial, we cannot hide from the fact that events and threats overseas may necessitate the use of military force. A belief that we have responsibility beyond our borders is not, as some would have it, ideological, but an essential response to the world in which we live. Our nation should be haunted by the isolationist reticence of Douglas Hurd over Bosnia and the tragedy we witnessed in Rwanda."

To prevent future crises, he will say, the UK needs to engage with fragile nations, invest early and offer training to build up local defences against militant groups.

...which recommendations show again that he still doesn't get it.

More power to them. An update on this story. "Blogger's death rekindles anti-Islamist protests in Bangladesh," from Reuters, February 16:

More than 100,000 Bangladeshi protesters, angered by the killing of one of their leaders, poured back onto the streets of the capital on Saturday to demand the death penalty for those found guilty of war crimes in the 1971 independence conflict.

The demonstrators, who denounced a life sentence handed down this month on an Islamist leader involved in the war, reversed a decision to scale back demonstrations, now in their 12th day.

Rajib Haider, an architect, was a key figure in organising the demonstrations and wrote a blog devoted to them under the pen name Thaba baba. He was attacked outside his home on Friday night after returning from a 100,000-strong rally in Shahbag Square.

On Saturday, an even larger crowd thronged the square to attend funeral prayers for Haider, many vowing to avenge his death or breaking down in tears as his coffin passed.

Haider's family told reporters they believed he was stabbed to death for standing up to the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party and drawing people to the protests. Police said they had detained five suspects.

"Haider's death has rekindled our spirits," said Nasiruddin Yusuf, a film-maker. "It will not go in vain."

Large protests gripped other cities. Security forces patrolled streets in much greater numbers than in previous days.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Haider's home and told his grieving parents justice would be done.

"Rajib Haider's killers have no right to do politics," she said in comments broadcast live on television. She said Jamaat and its affiliates "do not believe in democracy. They believe in terrorism. That is what they are proving again."

The protests were triggered by the life sentence imposed on Abdul Quader Mollah, assistant secretary-general of Jamaat, Bangladesh's largest Islamist party. Most Bangladeshis had expected a death sentence on charges of murder, rape and torture.

Protesters vow to remain
Protest leaders vowed to remain on the street until Mollah, 64, is sentenced to death, along with others convicted of committing crimes during the war....

During Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi’s recent visit to Germany, in an open meeting with that nation’s Egyptian community, a Coptic Christian attendee implored him to take measures to help protect the Christian girls of Egypt, who, as the man put it, “are subject to kidnappings on a daily basis.”

According to the Arabic website Gate Ahram, instead of addressing the situation, Morsi opted to nitpick: “The President expressed dismay at the statement, since it is impossible for such a thing to happen in Egypt on a daily basis…. President Morsi asked for information about specific cases, if there were any, in order to take necessary actions and investigate himself, as well as asking the [Coptic] man to give him his phone number to follow up with him.”

Morsi then pontificated in egalitarian terms, including about how Christians in Egypt cannot be called a minority, since the “term minority is used for ethnic groups or foreigners living in other countries,” and how Christians and Muslims are partners in citizenship and indigenous to Egypt not naturalized citizens.

As for the frequency of how often Christian girls are being abducted in Egypt—the only point of the man’s assertion Morsi responded to, by denying it—at least one report that was recently highlighted in a U.S. congressional hearing found that some 550 cases of abduction, entrapment, rape, and forced conversion of Christian women have been documented in the last five years in Egypt. There rate has only increased with the coming of the “Arab Spring” which has seen the empowerment of the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis.

Of course, such statistics suggest that Christian girls are disappearing at a rate of one every three days, not one every day—much to Morsi’s relief.

Here is PJ Lifestyle Editor David Swindle’s note on my new series there: “Politics is downstream from culture” has been one of PJ Media’s mantras in response to the election. It’s with this direction in mind that I’ve invited my friend, the courageous writer-scholar-activist Robert Spencer, to contribute regularly to PJ Lifestyle. Since May of last year Robert has written a weekly article for PJM bringing his deep understanding of Islam and Jihadist terrorism to analyze current events. Robert is an exemplary polemicist but the time has come to reach out and bring his ideas to new readers. And so we introduce today a new Friday feature: Jazz and Islam. Each week Robert will explore the culture, history, values, and philosophy of both, some weeks focusing on Islam, others more on Jazz, and often, as with today’s article, a juxtaposition of both. Reader feedback and suggestions are very much encouraged as we continue to develop this new feature."

And here's the first, "Why Did Lenin and Muhammad Hate Music?":

Ultimately, the war between the forces of jihad and the free world is a conflict between individualism and collectivism. Nothing shows that more vividly than each side’s attitude toward music.

“I cannot listen much to music,” Lenin once said. “It excites my nerves. I feel like talking nonsense and caressing people who, living in such a filthy hell, can create such beauty. Because today one must not caress anyone; they will bite off your hand. One must break heads, pitilessly break heads, even if, ideally, we are opposed to all violence.”

Another totalitarian man of peace, Muhammad, is quoted as saying: “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.”

Musical instruments, flutes, strings, and crucifixes! This command came with a warning: Muhammad is also supposed to have said that “on the Day of Resurrection, Allah will pour molten lead into the ears of whoever sits listening to a songstress,” for “song makes hypocrisy grow in the heart as water does herbage.” He warned that the Muslim community would one day experience times of tribulation, featuring “the swallowing up of some people by the earth, metamorphosis of some into animals, and being rained upon with stones.”

When his followers asked him when this would be, he answered: “When songstresses and musical instruments appear and wine is held to be lawful.” There would come a dark day, he said, when even some Muslims would “hold fornication, silk, wine, and musical instruments to be lawful.” (‘Umdat al-Salik r40.0)

It isn’t hard to see why the creators of martial polities and new, aggressively expansionistic political and societal systems such as Lenin and Muhammad would disdain music. For music is an expression of the human spirit – the very thing that these totalitarians were trying to master. And no music so fully expresses the anti-totalitarian impulse, and the dignity and value of every human person, than does jazz.

For jazz is not jazz if it doesn’t contain a considerable element of improvisation, and improvisation is an expression of the individual soul par excellence. A musician who is improvising has nothing to fall back on except his own inner reservoir, and that is why jazz at its best is so immediate, so personal, and so affecting. Miles Davis and John Coltrane improvising on the same piece couldn’t sound more different from one another, not just because one plays trumpet and the other tenor sax, but because they are so very different from one another as human beings, and in their improvisations, one can hear into their very hearts and souls. One may learn their solos note-for-note (as I did back in the pre-9/11 days when I played a bit of saxophone myself), but this is just a musical exercise; the music itself can be copied but never replicated, for their individual expression is inherent and essential to it.

Totalitarian collectivists hate that individual expression. They are only interested in the individual not for the expression of his own soul, but as a cog to fit into his great machine that is marching toward the worker’s paradise, or the Sharia state, or whatever the outcome of their reign of terror is called today. As such, jazz music, a unique product of the nation that has enabled a flowering of the individual spirit unparalleled in human history, is a rebuke to collectivism, and a defiant and joyful reassertion of the one thing that totalitarians fear most: the individual.

Now wait a minute, you will say: what about all those Muslim jazz musicians? There have certainly been a lot of them. The formidable drummer and bandleader Art Blakey was known to his friends as “Bu,” short for Abdullah ibn Buhaina, his Muslim name. Ahmad Jamal, Sahib Shihab, Idrees Suleiman, Yusef Lateef, Rashied Ali – the list goes on and on. The tenor and soprano saxophonist Pharoah Sanders actually entitled his marvelous album Summun Bukmun Umyun after passages of the Qur’an that say that the unbelievers are “deaf, dumb and blind” (summun, bukmun, umyun, 2:18 and 2:171). The liner notes say that the album’s purpose is pure dawah (Islamic proselytizing): “This album is predicated on spiritual truths and to the future enlightenment of El-Kafirun or The Rejectors of Faith (non-believers).”...

There is more.

Over at FrontPage Mag (via RaymondIbrahim.com) I discuss the latest bit of Saudi sponsored surrealism -- that is, its new Vienna-based "interfaith dialogue" initiative:

Few things offer surreal experiences as when Islam and the West interact—when 7th century primordialism encounters 21st century relativism. Consider the issue of “interfaith dialogue.” In principle, it is a decent thing: Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others trying to reach a common ground and professing mutual respect. But what does one make of the gross contradictions that emerge when a human-rights violating nation calls for “dialogue,” even as it enforces religious intolerance on its own turf?

Enter Saudi Arabia. Birthplace of Islam, the Arabian kingdom is also the one Muslim nation that regularly sponsors interfaith initiatives in the West—even as its official policy back home is to demonize and persecute the very faiths it claims to want to have an interfaith dialogue with.

Back in 2008, for example, in what was deemed an unprecedented move, Saudi King Abdullah “made an impassioned plea for dialogue among Muslims, Christians, and Jews,” going so far as to refer to the latter two as “our brothers.” His stated goal was to develop “respect among religions.”

The Saudi monarch’s most recent initiative reached fruition on November 26 2012, when the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue was launched in the Austrian capital, Vienna. According to its own website, the center “was founded to enable, empower and encourage dialogue among followers of different religions and cultures around the world.” Lending international legitimacy to this Saudi gesture of goodwill, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was among those who attended the opening.

While all this ostensibly sounds well and good, consider the many incongruities, the many absurdities—initially demonstrated by the simple fact that Saudi Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Sudais, who was quoted praising the Austrian-based center as proof that “Islam is a religion of dialogue and understanding and not a religion of enmity, fanaticism, and violence,” is also on record calling Jews “monkeys and pigs” and Christians “cross worshippers.”

Nor is he just a run-of-the-mill sheikh: he is the government-appointed imam of Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mosque in Mecca—Islam’s holiest site, where Christians, Jews, and others are routinely condemned and cursed during the prayers of the faithful.

But this is not surprising. Even the State Department’s most recent internal religious freedom report on Saudi Arabia notes that “Freedom of religion is neither recognized nor protected under the law and is severely restricted in practice. The public practice of any religion other than Islam is prohibited, and there is no separation between state and religion.”

And this is the key point: Saudi Arabia’s brand of religious intolerance is not a product of the “Arab street,” terrorists, or mob violence. It is institutionalized; it is enforced by the state itself. In other words, religious intolerance is being implemented by the very people who claim to want to have dialogue with Christians and Jews under the umbrella of “tolerance” and “mutual respect.”

In this context, what, exactly, do they wish to talk about?

Do they wish to talk about how the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia—yet another top ranked Saudi religious official—declared that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region,” basing his verdict on the commands of Muslim prophet Muhammad?

Do they wish to talk about how, despite promising to reform their school textbooks, the Saudi education system continues to indoctrinate Muslim children with hatred and incitement, teaching that “Christians are the enemies of the Believers” and that “the Apes are the people of the Sabbath, the Jews; and the Swine are the infidels of the communion of Jesus, the Christians”? Little wonder the imam of Mecca’s Grand Mosque uses such monikers—even as he gushes about the Saudi-sponsored Vienna-based initiative for “dialogue.”...

The Islamic supremacists tried to silence Lars Hedegaard with a bogus "race hate" trial. That didn't work, so they tried to kill him. And they succeeded in murdering -- most brutally -- Ahmed Rajib.

They hacked Jihad Watch. Comments still aren't working, but we are still trying to get them going. We will not be silenced. If they succeed in destroying this site, I will keep speaking out in other fora. I will not be silenced. But I am aware of where this is all tending.

"Anti-Islamist blogger killed in Bangladesh: police," from Agence France-Presse, February 16 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

Dhaka: A blogger who had been critical of Bangladesh's Islamist groups was killed in the capital late on Friday, police said, a day after he attended a big rally against leaders of the country's largest Islamic party.

Protests championed by the country's bloggers have seen thousands of people take to the streets demanding the execution of leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami party who are under trial for war crimes.

Clashes between police and Islamist protesters demanding the trials be halted have also rocked the capital.

Police found the body of Ahmed Rajib, 35 -- better known by his online identity Thaba Baba -- near his home in Dhaka's Pallabi suburb, with his head hacked apart with a machete.

"We recovered the machete. It is clear the attacker wanted to murder him. They did not touch his laptop or other valuable objects," police official Sheikh Motiur Rahman told AFP.

Police have not commented on a possible motive for the killing, but Rahman, citing Rajib's relatives, said the blogger played a large role in organizing the anti-Islamist protests.

Rajib's brother, who declined to be named, told AFP his sibling had been "threatened frequently" by Islamists angry at his role in the protests and his writings against the religion.

"In recent months he stopped writing against Islam and concentrated on the war crime issues," he added....

The killing late on Friday was the second fatal attack in Dhaka against a blogger critical of Islamist groups in less than a month, after the stabbing death of a self-styled online "militant atheist" by three unidentified men near his office in the upscale Uttara district.

My weekly appearance on Michael Coren's Sun TV show.

Over at FrontPage Mag (via RaymondIbrahim.com), I discuss yet another indicator of the true nature of the Obama-supported “Arab Spring.”

Since the “Arab Spring” came to Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood assumed power, sexual harassment, abuse, and rape of women has skyrocketed. This graph, which shows an enormous jump in sexual harassment beginning around January 2011, when the Tahrir revolts began, certainly demonstrates as much. Its findings are further supported by any number of reports appearing in both Arabic and Western media, and from both Egyptian and foreign women.

Hundreds of Egyptian women recently took to the streets of Tahrir Square to protest the nonstop harassment they must endure whenever they emerge from their homes and onto the streets. They held slogans like “Silence is unacceptable, my anger will be heard,” and “A safe square for all; Down with sexual harassment.” “Marchers also shouted chants against President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood group from which he hails,” wrote Al Ahram Online

The response? More sexual harassment and rapes.

One woman recently appeared on Egyptian TV recounting her horrific experiences. On the program, she appeared shaded, to conceal her identity—less because she felt personal shame or guilt at what happened and more to protect her and her family from further abuses. She recounted how she had seen a Facebook notice that Egyptian women were going to protest the unsafe conditions for women on the Egyptian street and decided to join them on their scheduled march in Tahrir Square on January 25, the anniversary of the revolution. “I did not realize I would become the victim,” she lamented. When it started to get dark, her group heard that “strange looking men” were appearing and that it was best to leave the area.

During some chaos she was lost from her group. One man told her “this way,” pretending to help her to safety—“I was so naïve to believe him!”—only to lead her to a large group of men, she estimated around 50, who proceeded to encircle and rape her. “This was the first time someone touched me” quietly recounted the former virgin: “Each one of them attacked a part of my body.” Several pinned her down while others pulled off her pants and stripped her naked, gang-raping her for approximately 20 minutes. She explained how she truly thought she was going to die, and kept screaming “I’m dying!” In response, one of her rapists whispered in her ears: “Don’t worry. Take it,” even as the rest called her derogatory names she would not recite on the air....

I apologize for how long it is taking to get the site fully up and running again. This morning I am able to post, albeit with difficulty, but comments and some other features are still disabled. I ask for your patience: the problems have proved deeper and more intractable than anyone expected, but we are working on them....

An indication of how desperate the jihadis and their enablers are to shut down Jihad Watch comes from this note I received from one of the tech experts who are currently working on repairing the site:

You have to understand that this is a unique attack, inasmuch as this vulnerability has never been exploited before, not only that it was done within a month, also YOU were targeted. Movable Type is used by government agencies and some quite high profile sites around the world. MT will want to fix this for their own reasons. A director at MT wants a conference call to glean what he can, and they may want access to logs, my report etc. This issue may escalate quite a bit, including involvement of government security agencies. We have certain obligations to assist in any investigation.

I really don't have all that much to report, but I wanted to let you know I'm working on it. The situation is very much the same: the comments feature is still not working, it is still very difficult to post articles at all, and other features of the site are non-functional.

Several tech experts are working on the problem. Some malicious code has been found, which makes it likely that the site was hacked, although this hacking was not a conventional one: no eradication of the main page and its replacement by a taunting message, as is the usual practice. In fact, the malicious code is apparently (if I understand the explanation correctly, which is chancy at best, since I'm no techie) slow-acting, unfolding over time. We are looking into how it got there, and who planted it.

In any case, all I can say now is that we're working on it and will have the site fully operational as soon as possible. This kind of action just shows yet again how desperately insecure and thuggish the enemies of freedom are -- they can't refute us, so they try to shut us down. And how many Leftist and Islamic supremacist sites do you ever hear about getting hacked?

Finally, thank you all very much for your many, many emails of concern and support.

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Worcester, Massachusetts, Robert McManus, is so avid for "dialogue" with Muslims that he barred me from speaking at an upcoming conference there, lest by telling unpleasant truths I hurt that "dialogue." Here, some self-described "Soldier off [sic] Allah" demonstrate their own understanding of "Catholic-Muslim dialogue": the Muslims talk, the Christians shut up and listen.

This hyper-PC CTV News story never mentions that the hackers identified themselves as "Muslims, Soldiers of Allah" (actually "Muslims, Soldier off Allah"), but they included a photo (above) that gave away their dhimmi obfuscation.

"Ottawa Catholic School Board hacked by anti-cupid," from CTV News, February 13 (thanks to Blazing Cat Fur):

A hacker took over the Ottawa Catholic School Board's website to rant about Valentine's day.

People visiting the Ottawa Catholic School Board's website, this morning, got an unromantic eyeful.

The website was hacked by someone using the name xCrotz.

The page shows a crossed-out Valentine’s gift and a rant against the romantic day.

The school board took down the website shortly after saying it was down for maintenance....

It is a divine call, he says. No doubt Imam Rauf and Ahmed Rehab are on their way to Syria to explain to this charming lad how he is misunderstanding the Religion of Peace.

"Syrian Child Wields Dagger, Sings Al-Qaeda Song and Vows to Slaughter Shiites," from MEMRI, February 9 (thanks to David):

Following are excerpts from a video-clip featuring a Syrian child singing a song of praise for Osama Bin Laden. The clip was posted on the Internet on February 9, 2013.

Syrian child: Allah is what we strive for, and He is our goal.

Our Sheik Jolani has raised the banner.

Our Sheik Jolani has raised the banner.

Our Emir Mullah [Omar] did not renounce his religion.

All the soldiers have pledged their souls to Allah.

All the soldiers have pledged their souls to Allah.

Our leader is Bin Laden, the Americans’ worst nightmare,

with the power of faith, and our weapon, the PK machine-gun,

with the power of faith, and our weapon, the PK machine-gun.

We have destroyed America with a civilian airplane.

The World Trade Center was turned into rubble.

The World Trade Center was turned into rubble.

Just wait, you Alawite police,

we have brought slaughter upon you, and there will be no compromise.

We have brought slaughter upon you, and there will be no compromise.

They call me a terrorist – this is an honor for me.

Our terrorism is blessed, a divine call.

Our terrorism is blessed, a divine call.

Just wait, you Alawite police,

we have brought slaughter upon you, and there will be no compromise.

We have brought slaughter upon you – it is a divine call.

Say: “Allah Akbar.”

Crowd: Allah Akbar.

Syrian child: We will defend this village, we will not sell it out.

We will slaughter the Shiites in the towns of Kfariya and Fu’ah.

We will slaughter the Shiites in the towns of Kfariya and Fu’ah.

We will defend this village, we will not sell out Taftanaz.

We will slaughter the Shiites in the towns of Kfariya and Fu’ah.

We will slaughter the Shiites in the towns of Kfariya and Fu’ah.

Say: “Allah Akbar.”

Crowd: Allah Akbar.

Where could Shamshu Miah have gotten such a crazy idea as to think that Islam allowed him to beat his wife?

“Men are the managers of the affairs of women for that God has preferred in bounty one of them over another, and for that they have expended of their property. Righteous women are therefore obedient, guarding the secret for God’s guarding. And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them." -- Qur'an 4:34

"Muslim man who claimed religion allowed him to hit wife," by Owen Hughes for the Daily Post, February 13:

A Muslim man who claimed his religion entitled him to hit his wife has been given a community order.

Shamshu Miah, 58, of Alexandra Road, Llandudno, struck his wife three times after she did not get him a cigarette.

He later told police his religion allowed him to hit his wife if she did not do as she was told.

Yesterday Llandudno magistrates court heard his wife continued to support Miah, who suffered from bipolar episodes.

The court heard she wanted him to move back to the family home.

Miah was ordered to undertake community mental health treatment. He has to pay £85 costs.

Pakistan's government following the lead of pro-Sharia Islamic supremacists. No Fun In Islam Update: "Pemra cautions media over Valentine’s Day," from AFP, February 13 (thanks to Lookmann):

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s media regulator on Wednesday asked television and radio stations to avoid offending religious sentiments and corrupting the nation’s youth in their Valentine’s Day broadcasts.

While stopping short of an outright ban, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulator Authority (Pemra) circulated a letter saying it was acting on complaints that celebrating the day was not in line with “our religious and cultural ethos”.

“Such events have been perceived as a source of depraving, corrupting and injuring the morality of Pakistani youth as well as violating Code of Conduct developed by Pemra,” the watchdog’s letter said.

“All satellite TV channels/FM stations are, therefore requested to honour viewer’s sentiments/opinion while conceptualising any programme or celebrating any event connected to The Valentine’s Day,” it added.

Valentine’s Day is increasingly popular among younger Pakistanis, many of whom have taken up the custom of giving cards, chocolates and gifts to their sweethearts to celebrate the occasion.

But Pakistan remains a deeply traditional Muslim society where many disapprove of Valentine’s Day as a Western import.

A Pemra official told AFP that the regulator had not banned Valentine’s Day programme broadcast, but instead issued a request to channels in the wake of public complaints.

Supporters of Pakistan’s main religious party staged a noisy protest against Valentine’s Day on Tuesday in the northwestern city of Peshawar, denouncing it as un-Islamic and calling for a “day of modesty” instead.

The student wing of Jamaat-i-Islami rallied outside the Peshawar press club chanting slogans against Valentine’s Day, saying it had “spread immodesty in the world”.

As I said at the time, Sharia was what it was about all along. Mainstream media reports about a flowering of Western-style democracy were sheer fantasy.

"Tunisia's young 'General' sees future in sharia," from Deutsches Welle, February 13:

Feted by the western media for penning the unofficial anthem of the Arab Spring, rap star El General believes the changes must go further. He is one of a number of young Tunisian "revolutionaries" calling for sharia law.

Hamada Ben Amor wears a dress jacket and jeans. The rather shy 23-year old lives with his parents in a whitewashed house in the suburbs of Sfax, on Tunisia's eastern coast. They are middle class; his mother works in a bookshop, his father in a hospital clinic. He is engaged to his childhood sweetheart and saving up to get married. He is a practicing Muslim.

As El General, Hamada Ben Amor made his name as a unifying figure, using music to bring together those who called for change. His most famous rap, "Rais Le Bled," was fiercely critical of then President Ben Ali. It inspired Tunisia's youth to take to the streets and resulted in Time Magazine dubbing him as one of the most influential voices in 2011.

Inspired by US rappers, like the late Tupac, Ben Amor began rapping as a teenager. He saw rap as direct and honest, the "music of the people."

"When I first started to sing I wanted to go back to the roots of rap that emerged in the 1970s in the United States," he said. "This rap openly criticized government, corruption and racism. That was the kind of rap that I wanted to do. I did not want to do light rap. I wanted it have weight, to have a message and to convey my anger against the government."

Religious renaissance

Two years after the revolution, he's still angry.

A supporter of the ruling Ennahda party shouts slogans in support of the party during a demonstration in Tunis, February 9, 2013 (Photo: Louafi Larbi) Many young people see Islam as the way forward for Tunisia

"I am against the current government because it betrayed its promises, it betrayed people's expectations," he says. "Ennahda, the party in power, is more political than religious and this is what is disappointing."

Under President Ben Ali, Islam - both as a religion and as part of political life - was repressed. Now the country is experiencing a religious renaissance that is deeply divisive.

Ennahda, which won Tunisia's first post-revolution elections, is an Islamist party, but it is a moderate one.

Unity was then

Like Ben Amor, many of the young Tunisians who took to the streets in the revolution, embrace both religious tradition and western culture. Now, frustrated by high youth unemployment - one in five are jobless - and the slow pace of reform, a growing number of the young are turning to politicized forms of Islam, despite Tunisia's strong tradition of secularism.

Ben Amor is convinced that Islam holds the answer to his country's problems.

"Sharia is a whole world," he says. "In sharia there is law and science. There are scientists from all over the world who have found answers in the Koran. It is a comfort and a luxury. Under sharia all Tunisians will be brothers and sisters. Sharia is the one solution."

He puts paid to those thoughts with his latest rap, "I Wish." The lyrics call for Tunisia to become an Islamic state, part of an Arabic world without borders....

Unlike the rap that propelled Ben Hamor to fame, the vision he expresses in "I Wish" threatens to divide Tunisia and those who took part in the revolution.

"What do you want to do tonight, Marty?" "I don't know. What do you want to do?" "I'm bored. Let's go murder a large number of Infidels."

This is patently absurd. How bored would you have to be to commit mass murder? I have been bored now and again, particularly in endless meetings full of blather that never accomplish anything, but never once have I thought that an antidote to my boredom would be to spray the attendees (or anyone else) with gunfire.

But some people will go to any lengths, no matter how absurd, to exonerate Islam's bloody jihad doctrines of any responsibility for the violence committed because of them.

"'Boredom, not jihad, drew Headley to terrorism,'" from DNA India, February 13:

David Headley, one of the most infamous terrorists in the world and the man behind the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, was not a good jihadi. In fact, he probably turned to the cause not out of a sense of duty but due to boredom. Author and journalistHussain [sic] S Zaidi, who was in the city promoting his book, Headley and I, said that more than anything else, Headley’s own relationship with his father dictated his decisions.

The book that gives the perspective of both Bhatt and Headley, the son of Bollywood’s prominent director, Mahesh Bhatt, who—not knowing Headley’s true identity—shared a close friendship with him.

“This book is more about the complicated relationships that both Rahul Bhatt and David Headley shared with their respective fathers and how that, in turn, affected Bhatt’s own relationship with Headley. It is about how an absentee father can be detrimental to his son,” said Zaidi.

In fact, it was that what drew Headley to terrorism. “Headley is an unlikely jihad because he is just a contradiction. If you are a jihadi then you have to believe in the cause and really believe that you are united with God, but this was a man who liked his wine and was a womaniser. This was like a picnic to him. He was just bored with life,” he added.

An utterly inadequate explanation. According to a hadith, a man once asked Muhammad: "Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad (in reward)." Muhammad replied, "I do not find such a deed." (Bukhari 4.52.44). Since jihad has the greatest reward, it outweighs all the sins one may have committed -- which, as we saw with the 9/11 hijackers visiting strip clubs, can tend to give jihadis a sense that they have a license to sin. And anyway, again: how bored would you have to be to plot jihad mass murder?

To understand the psyche of Headley and his friendship with Rahul Bhatt, Zaidi said he did extensive research, going through court documents, speaking to CIA agents involved in the case and got FBI documents as well.

Zaidi said that he was unimpressed with how India has dealt with terrorism so far. “India does not do nearly enough to curb terrorism. There is almost a feeling like the country is inviting terrorists to attack because they are not aggressive enough. In Israel and America, the situation is completely different. If you touch them with a feather, they come at you with bombs. When someone slaps us on the cheek, we actually really do turn the other cheek!” he said....

Several journalists and writers, especially from the newspaper Politiken, believe that Lars Hedegaard is to blame for the assassination attempt on himself and that his statements on Islam are not less violent than the physical violence that he experiences from his opponents. Journalist Peter Mogensen from Politiken writes bluntly that Hedegaard's criticism of Islam is the "driving force" behind the shooting: "Hedegaard's fanatical views are the driving force behind the attack on him". As if Hedegaard's opinions on Islam can remote control the actions of others. They can not, of course. The only driving force is the shooter's own ideology, which as we know does not tolerate criticism and orders its adherents to kill its critics. Or should Hedegaard be put in jail for being shot at?

Mikael Rothstein, employee at the Danish State Radio, DR, categorises harsh words about Islam such as Hedegaard's with illegal physical violence: "If we want to understand what is happening in society, we must understand that [Hedegaard's] brutal words can have as strong an effect as brutal physical violence." Author Birgitte Heltberg writes in Politiken that "How much do their (Islam critics) wretched notion of freedom cost the Danes when it comes to police work? Lars Hedegaard is not a tragic victim, he is a pathetic fool!" Would Heltberg also have stopped the fight against nazism if it turned out too expensive? People who are shot for criticising Islam are not victims?

These kinds of coward-journalists are no better than the coward-men who believe that women in sexy clothes themselves are asking for it if they are raped. In fear of getting on the death list themselves by standing up for freedom of speech, they criticise the victims instead of the ideology that drives the criminal.

Since an Arab-looking young man tried to shoot Lars Hedegaard in the head on February 5th, several Muslims and Leftist journalists have seen themselves called to condemn the attack. None of them said that criticism of Islam should be legal, though.

Note how al-Qaeda couches its appeal strictly in Islamic terms, and makes use of the established Islamic legal concept that jihad warfare becomes obligatory on every Muslim when a Muslim land is considered to have been attacked. Instead of confronting the theological content of al-Qaeda's appeal and explaining why it is wrong on islamic grounds, so that more Muslims from the West don't end up joining this supposedly false jihad, "moderate" groups in the U.S. such as Hamas-linked CAIR are spending huge amounts of money on an ad campaign designed to convince people that jihad is just getting in your exercise and making friends. Well, Muhammad said it: "war is deceit"!

"Qaeda urges jihad against France in Mali: SITE," from AFP, February 12 (thanks to Lookmann):

AFP - Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has called for jihad, or holy war, to thwart France's military intervention in Mali against Islamist rebels, SITE Intelligence agency reported on Tuesday.

"Supporting the Muslims in Mali is a duty for every capable Muslim with life and money, everyone according to their ability," the Sharia Committee of the extremist group said in a statement reported by US-based SITE, which monitors extremist Internet forums.

AQAP, which has been labelled the most dangerous branch of the global jihadist network, said France's "Crusader campaign against Islam" has no justification and a "declaration of aggression against Islam and its people."

It said jihad is "more obligatory on the people who are closer" to the fight, in an apparent reference to North African nations and those living in countries helping France.

"Helping the disbelievers against Muslims in any form is apostasy from the religion," it added....

"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

It is a totalitarian impulse to curb all outlets for human pleasure and joy, so that the human soul is captive and focused solely on what the masters want it to be focused upon.

"Jamat-e-Islami rallies against Valentine's Day," from AFP, February 12 (thanks to Lookmann):

PESHAWAR: Supporters of Pakistan's main religious party staged a noisy protest against Valentine's Day on Tuesday, denouncing it as un-Islamic and calling for a "day of modesty" instead.

The student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami rallied outside the press club in the northwestern city of Peshawar, chanting slogans against Valentine's Day, saying it had "spread immodesty in the world".

Valentine's Day is increasingly popular among younger Pakistanis, many of whom have taken up the custom of giving cards, chocolates and gifts to their sweethearts to celebrate the occasion.

But Pakistan remains a deeply traditional Muslim society where many disapprove of Valentine's Day as a Western import.

The demonstrators, who carried a banner urging February 14 to be a "day of modesty", said the tradition encouraged unmarried men and women to live together in sin.

"We will not allow holding of any Valentine's Day function," Shahzad Ahmed, the local head of the student organisation, said.

"The law enforcing agencies must prevent such gatherings, otherwise we will stop in our own way."

Peshawar is a conservative city on the edge of Pakistan's restive tribal belt, where most women go out in public wearing veils and few girls go out alone.

Many of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked bombings which have killed thousands of people in Pakistan in the past several years have focused around Peshawar and the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Will the Islamophobia never end?

"After Muslim rebels seize two priests in Aleppo, there are fears for their life," from Asia News, February 12 (thanks to C. Cantoni):

Aleppo (AsiaNews) - A group of rebels close to Muslim extremists on Sunday abducted an Armenian Catholic priest, Fr Michael, as well as a yet unknown Orthodox clergyman. Both were working in Aleppo. Sources, anonymous for security reasons, told AsiaNews that the city's Christian community is very concerned about the attack. "Extremist violence is getting worse day by day. Muslim militias are killing anyone suspected of ties with the regime, including women and children. People in the neighbourhoods are comparing these days to the Ottoman conquest five centuries ago."

For several weeks, residents had complained about the presence of al-Nusra Front forces, Islamic extremists who want to turn Syria into an Islamic state, feared even by the rebel Free Syrian Army.

On 6 February, Front troops stormed the Christian neighbourhood of Jdeideh where extremists had already destroyed the city's main Evangelical church in November.

Al-Nusra forces include many foreigners, including Muslims from Indonesia and the Philippines, as evinced by a statement posted online by the leader of Abu Sayyaf, an extremist Muslim group with ties to al-Qaeda operating in the Philippines. In it, Muslims are urged to go to Syria and sacrifice their lives for Islam.

"These fighters live for killing and violence. They act without pity and make distinctions among people," sources said. "When they kill, they turn to God as if they were making a sacrifice."...

Obama will apparently do anything to avoid describing the Fort Hood jihad massacre as what it really was.

"Fort Hood Hero Says President Obama 'Betrayed' Her, Other Victims," by Ned Berkowitz and Brian Ross for ABC News, February 12 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

Three years after the White House arranged a hero's welcome at the State of the Union address for the Fort Hood police sergeant and her partner who stopped the deadly shooting there, Kimberly Munley says President Obama broke the promise he made to her that the victims would be well taken care of.

"Betrayed is a good word," former Sgt. Munley told ABC News in a tearful interview to be broadcast tonight on "World News with Diane Sawyer" and "Nightline."

"Not to the least little bit have the victims been taken care of," she said. "In fact they've been neglected."

There was no immediate comment from the White House about Munley's allegations.

Thirteen people were killed, including a pregnant soldier, and 32 others shot in the November 2009 rampage by the accused shooter, Major Nidal Hasan, who now awaits a military trial on charges of premeditated murder and attempted murder....

Munley, since laid off from her job with the base's civilian police force, was shot three times as she and her partner, Sgt. Mark Todd, confronted Hasan, who witnesses said had shouted "Allahu Akbar" as he opened fire on soldiers being processed for deployment to Afghanistan.

As Munley lay wounded, Todd fired the five bullets credited with bringing Hasan down.

Despite extensive evidence that Hasan was in communication with al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki prior to the attack, the military has denied the victims a Purple Heart and is treating the incident as "workplace violence" instead of "combat related" or terrorism.

Al-Awlaki has since been killed in a U.S. drone attack in Yemen, in what was termed a major victory in the U.S. efforts against al Qaeda.

Munley and dozens of other victims have now filed a lawsuit against the military alleging the "workplace violence" designation means the Fort Hood victims are receiving lower priority access to medical care as veterans, and a loss of financial benefits available to those who injuries are classified as "combat related."

Some of the victims "had to find civilian doctors to get proper medical treatment" and the military has not assigned liaison officers to help them coordinate their recovery, said the group's lawyer, Reed Rubinstein.

"There's a substantial number of very serious, crippling cases of post-traumatic stress disorder exacerbated, frankly, by what the Army and the Defense Department did in this case," said Rubinstein. "We have a couple of cases in which the soldiers' command accused the soldiers of malingering, and would say things to them that Fort Hood really wasn't so bad, it wasn't combat."

Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said the Department of Defense is "committed to the highest care of those in our military family."

"Survivors of the incident at Fort Hood are eligible for the same medical benefits as all servicemembers," said Little. "The Department of Defense is also committed to the integrity of the ongoing court martial proceedings of Major Nidal Hasan and for that reason will not at this time further characterize the incident."

Secretary of the Army John McHugh told ABC News he was unaware of any specific complaints from the Fort Hood victims, even though he is a named defendant in the lawsuit filed last November which specifically details the plight of many of them.

"If a soldier feels ignored, then we need to know about it on a case by case basis," McHugh told ABC News. "It is not our intent to have two levels of care for people who are wounded by whatever means in uniform."

Some of the victims in the lawsuit believe the Army Secretary and others are purposely ignoring their cases out of political correctness.

Nooo! Couldn't be!

"These guys play stupid every time they're asked a question about it, they pretend like they have no clue," said Shawn Manning, who was shot six times that day at Fort Hood. Two of the bullets remain in his leg and spine, he said.

"It was no different than an insurgent in Iraq or Afghanistan trying to kill us," said Manning, who was twice deployed to Iraq and had to retire from the military because of his injuries.

An Army review board initially classified Manning's injuries as "combat related," but that finding was later overruled by higher-ups in the Army.

Manning says the "workplace violence" designation has cost him almost $70,000 in benefits that would have been available if his injuries were classified as "combat related."

"Basically, they're treating us like I was downtown and I got hit by a car," he told ABC News.

For Alonzo Lunsford, who was shot seven times at Fort Hood and blinded in one eye, the military's treatment is deeply hurtful.

"It's a slap in the face, not only for me but for all of the 32 that wore the uniform that day," he told ABC News.

Lunsford's medical records show his injuries were determined to be "in the line of duty" but neither he nor any of the other soldiers shot or killed at Fort Hood is eligible for the Purple Heart under the Department of Defense's current policy for decorations and awards.

Army Secretary McHugh says awarding Purple Hearts could adversely affect the trial of Major Hasan.

"To award a Purple Heart, it has to be done by a foreign terrorist element," said McHugh. "So to declare that soldier a foreign terrorist, we are told, I'm not an attorney and I don't run the Justice Department, but we're told would have a profound effect on the ability to conduct the trial."

Members of Congress, including the chairman of the House Homeland Security committee, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, say they will introduce legislation to force the military and the Obama administration to give the wounded and dead the recognition and honors they deserve.

"It was clearly an act of terrorism that occurred that day, there's no question in my mind," McCaul told ABC News. "I think the victims should be treated as such."

Former Sgt. Munley says she now believes the White House used her for political advantage in arranging for her to sit next to Michelle Obama during the President's State of the Union address in 2010....

Yep.