Islamic Jihad: No ceasefire in 2006

The end of 2005 also spells the end for any ceasefire agreement with Israel, at least in the eyes of Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad. From the Associated Press:

The Islamic Jihad and several armed groups with ties to the ruling Fatah movement said Saturday they won't necessarily observe a truce with Israel in 2006.

The limited cease-fire, negotiated in March, expires Saturday, and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian mediators are trying to win an extension. Hamas has largely stuck to the agreement, as part of what has been portrayed as Hamas' gradual transformation into a political party.

The smaller Islamic Jihad never laid down its arms and carried out a series of suicide bombings and other attacks against Israel in recent months. Islamic Jihad claimed it was committed to the truce in 2005, and that the attacks were retaliation for perceived Israeli truce violations.

In a statement Saturday, Islamic Jihad said: "We reaffirm that the official end of the truce agreed to in Cairo last March comes at midnight on Saturday." It was not clear whether the group would participate in talks on extending the cease-fire.

Interesting to note that Islamic Jihad -- an organization which is substantially supported by Iran -- rather than Hamas is leading the effort to sabotage any sort of ceasefire negotiations with Israel.

Bomb targets Indonesian Christians

Looks like the fears of increased jihadist violence against Indonesian Christians during the holiday season were warranted, according to the Associated Press:

A bomb ripped through a crowded meat market Saturday in an Indonesian province that has been plagued by sectarian violence, killing at least eight people and wounding 45, officials said. Many of the victims were believed to be Christians.

The attack occurred in the town of Palu on Sulawesi island as people were preparing for New Year's Eve celebrations, flocking to the morning market that sold and slaughtered pigs, said Brig. Gen. Oegroseno, police chief of Central Sulawesi province.

The bomb appeared to be a homemade device, he said, loaded with ball bearings and nails to maximize the number casualties.

"The explosion was so loud, I couldn't hear for a couple of seconds," said Tega, a resident who lives nearby and uses only one name, like many Indonesians. "I ran out of my house and saw bodies lying around."

A few reflections on Wahid's "Right Islam vs. Wrong Islam"

The former President of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid, has published a piece in the Wall Street Journal entitled "Right Islam vs. Wrong Islam: Muslims and non-Muslims must unite to defeat the Wahhabi ideology.

Many, many people sent to me in the course of the day yesterday, asking me to comment; but really, it contains nothing new. It is just more of the kind of analysis we have seen by the bushel since 9/11: Islam is a religion of tolerance and peace, and the big bad Wahhabis are hijacking it into something else. But as I show in my book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), and as Andrew Bostom shows in immense detail in The Legacy of Jihad, the Wahhabis are neither the originators nor the sole proprieters of the ideology of conquest and supremacism that is Islamic jihad. Certainly they are its most powerful and energetic exponents today, but if anyone thinks the problems that the Islamic world has with non-Muslims would vanish if the Wahhabis somehow disappeared is just whistling in the dark. Even a cursory glance at Iranian Shi'ism should establish that.

Wahid says:

It is time for people of good will from every faith and nation to recognize that a terrible danger threatens humanity. We cannot afford to continue "business as usual" in the face of this existential threat. Rather, we must set aside our international and partisan bickering, and join to confront the danger that lies before us.

Agreed.

An extreme and perverse ideology in the minds of fanatics is what directly threatens us (specifically, Wahhabi/Salafi ideology--a minority fundamentalist religious cult fueled by petrodollars). Yet underlying, enabling and exacerbating this threat of religious extremism is a global crisis of misunderstanding.

Pretty much the only thing that distinguishes the jihad theology of the Wahhabi/Salafi "minority fundamentalist religious cult" from the jihad theology of all the eight schools of Islamic law (madhahib) is that the Wahhabis are much more willing than the traditional schools to declare other Muslims to be unbelievers and wage jihad against them. The teachings about offering unbelievers conversion, subjugation or death are not significantly different.

All too many Muslims fail to grasp Islam, which teaches one to be lenient towards others and to understand their value systems, knowing that these are tolerated by Islam as a religion. The essence of Islam is encapsulated in the words of the Quran, "For you, your religion; for me, my religion." That is the essence of tolerance. Religious fanatics--either purposely or out of ignorance--pervert Islam into a dogma of intolerance, hatred and bloodshed. They justify their brutality with slogans such as "Islam is above everything else." They seek to intimidate and subdue anyone who does not share their extremist views, regardless of nationality or religion. While a few are quick to shed blood themselves, countless millions of others sympathize with their violent actions, or join in the complicity of silence.

"For you, your religion; for me, my religion" is from Sura 109 of the Qur'an. Muslim scholars consider it an early Meccan sura. Traditional Islamic theology has held for centuries that on points of disagreement the later Medinan suras take precedence over the early Meccan ones -- and in what most Muslim authorities consider to be the last sura of all, Surat At-Tawba (sura 9), we find the "Ayat as-Seif" (Verse of the Sword, verse 5) and the call to wage war against Jews and Christians until they submit as inferiors under Islamic rule (verse 29). The idea that sura 109 must be understood in light of this material was not invented by Wahhabis: it is taught by the great medieval Qur'an commentator Ibn Kathir; by As-Suyuti, another revered commentator, and by many others.

Does Wahid not know all this, or does he just hope we don't? The jihadists have a coherent, developed, and traditionally-based theology explaining why they take sura 9 over 109. Does Wahid have a coherent theology explaining why Muslims should take 109 over 9 and leave non-believers in peace? If he does, he should share it with the world, which needs it desperately. But he gives no hint of it in the Wall Street Journal.

This crisis of misunderstanding--of Islam by Muslims themselves--is compounded by the failure of governments, people of other faiths, and the majority of well-intentioned Muslims to resist, isolate and discredit this dangerous ideology. The crisis thus afflicts Muslims and non-Muslims alike, with tragic consequences. Failure to understand the true nature of Islam permits the continued radicalization of Muslims world-wide, while blinding the rest of humanity to a solution which hides in plain sight.

Great. Then let's see you do it. Let's see you fight among Muslims what you call the Wahhabi theology, and teach that Muslims and non-Muslims should live together as equals in peace.

The most effective way to overcome Islamist extremism is to explain what Islam truly is to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Without that explanation, people will tend to accept the unrefuted extremist view--further radicalizing Muslims, and turning the rest of the world against Islam itself.

Unrefuted is right.

Accomplishing this task will be neither quick nor easy. In recent decades, Wahhabi/Salafi ideology has made substantial inroads throughout the Muslim world. Islamic fundamentalism has become a well-financed, multifaceted global movement that operates like a juggernaut in much of the developing world, and even among immigrant Muslim communities in the West. To neutralize the virulent ideology that underlies fundamentalist terrorism and threatens the very foundations of modern civilization, we must identify its advocates, understand their goals and strategies, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, and effectively counter their every move. What we are talking about is nothing less than a global struggle for the soul of Islam.

Yes, we are. And bland platitudes is all we have gotten so far. Much, much more is needed.

The Sunni (as opposed to Shiite) fundamentalists' goals generally include: claiming to restore the perfection of the early Islam practiced by Muhammad and his companions, who are known in Arabic as al-Salaf al-Salih, "the Righteous Ancestors"; establishing a utopian society based on these Salafi principles, by imposing their interpretation of Islamic law on all members of society; annihilating local variants of Islam in the name of authenticity and purity; transforming Islam from a personal faith into an authoritarian political system; establishing a pan-Islamic caliphate governed according to the strict tenets of Salafi Islam, and often conceived as stretching from Morocco to Indonesia and the Philippines; and, ultimately, bringing the entire world under the sway of their extremist ideology.

This is the kind of thing that makes me suspicious. "Transforming Islam from a personal faith into an authoritarian political system"? But Islam has never been a personal faith as opposed to a political system. It has always had a political dimension, and has never accepted the sacred/secular distinction. This kind of thing makes me wonder if Wahid is just engaging in the same kind of deceptive analysis we have seen so much of already. And another thing: Morocco to Indonesia and the Philippines? What about Spain and Western Europe? And the U.S.A.? The jihadists have made clear their global intentions. Why not speak plainly about this?

Fundamentalist strategy is often simple as well as brilliant. Extremists are quick to drape themselves in the mantle of Islam and declare their opponents kafir, or infidels, and thus smooth the way for slaughtering nonfundamentalist Muslims. Their theology rests upon a simplistic, literal and highly selective reading of the Quran and Sunnah (prophetic traditions), through which they seek to entrap the world-wide Muslim community in the confines of their narrow ideological grasp. Expansionist by nature, most fundamentalist groups constantly probe for weakness and an opportunity to strike, at any time or place, to further their authoritarian goals.

Fine. Show us, please, instead of telling us, as we have already heard so many times, exactly how Wahhabi theology is based on a "simplistic, literal and highly selective reading of the Quran and Sunnah." If you could just explain this once, with honest, straightforward reference to Islamic history and theology, it would go so far to dispelling suspicion and making people of good will really open to working with you.

Those who seek to promote a peaceful and tolerant understanding of Islam must overcome the paralyzing effects of inertia, and harness a number of actual or potential strengths, which can play a key role in neutralizing fundamentalist ideology. These strengths not only are assets in the struggle with religious extremism, but in their mirror form they point to the weakness at the heart of fundamentalist ideology. They are:

1) Human dignity, which demands freedom of conscience and rejects the forced imposition of religious views;

And yet, Mr. Wahid, the denial of freedom of conscience goes back to Muhammad's Baddala deenahu, faqtuluhu -- If anyone changes his religion, kill him (cf. Bukhari vol. 9, bk. 84, no. 57) and the death penalty for apostates is still taught by non-Wahhabi Muslim theologians. Please explain how you intend to overcome the influence of this.

2) the ability to mobilize immense resources to bring to bear on this problem, once it is identified and a global commitment is made to solve it; 3) the ability to leverage resources by supporting individuals and organizations that truly embrace a peaceful and tolerant Islam; 4) nearly 1,400 years of Islamic traditions and spirituality, which are inimical to fundamentalist ideology;

That needs to be spelled out, if true -- and there is a good deal of evidence that it isn't true.

5) appeals to local and national--as well as Islamic--culture/traditions/pride; 6) the power of the feminine spirit, and the fact that half of humanity consists of women, who have an inherent stake in the outcome of this struggle;

Please explain also Mr. Wahid how you intend to overcome this. The Qur'an, after all:

1. Likens a woman to a field (tilth), to be used by a man as he wills: "Your women are a tilth for you (to cultivate) so go to your tilth as ye will" (2:223);
2. Declares that a woman's testimony is worth half that of a man: "Get two witnesses, out of your own men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, such as ye choose, for witnesses, so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her" (2:282);
3. Allows men to marry up to four wives, and have sex with slave girls also: "If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice" (4:3);
4. Rules that a son's inheritance should be twice the size of that of a daughter: "Allah (thus) directs you as regards your children's (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females" (4:11);
5. Tells husbands to beat their disobedient wives: "Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them" (4:34).

What was that again about the power of the feminine spirit?

I am not saying that Wahid is trying to deceive us. But if he isn't, he needs to address the obvious gaping holes in his analysis and recommendations. And the world at large needs to know about those gaping holes. The Wall Street Journal should have known better than to publish this shallow and misleading piece -- but everyone is so hungry these days for the soothing syrup of Islamic moderation and reason that they will swallow any kind of trumped-up counterfeit without a second thought.

Justice Dept. Probing Domestic Spying Leak

Quisling Search Alert. I hope they are squirming at the New Duranty Times, which has begun to cross the line from ignoring the global jihad (a la Walter "What Ukrainian Famine?" Duranty) to abetting it. From AP, with thanks to Richard:

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department has opened another investigation into leaks of classified information, this time to determine who divulged the existence of President Bush's secret domestic spying program.

The inquiry focuses on disclosures to The New York Times about warrantless surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, officials said.

The newspaper recently revealed the existence of the program in a front-page story that also acknowledged that the news had been withheld from publication for a year, partly at the request of the administration and partly because the newspaper wanted more time to confirm various aspects of the program.

White House spokesman Trent Duffy said Justice undertook the action on its own, and Bush was informed of it Friday.

"The leaking of classified information is a serious issue. The fact is that al-Qaida's playbook is not printed on Page One and when America's is, it has serious ramifications," Duffy told reporters in Crawford, Texas, where Bush was spending the holidays.

Catherine Mathis, a spokeswoman for the Times, declined to comment.

Indonesia: Christians threatened with terror attack again

More holiday cheer in Indonesia: "Christians threatened with terror attack: Jihad group warns of 'same bomb blasts as Bali' New Year's Eve," from World Net Daily, with thanks to Cindy:

Police are on a high state of alert in a predominantly Christian province of East Timor, Indonesia, after an Islamic group threatened an attack on local churches to coincide with New Year's Eve celebrations.

According to Asia News, a cellphone text message received Wednesday by radio Timor Voice read: "On New Year Eve, 31 churches in [East Tenggara Timor's] capital of Kupang shall receive the same bomb blasts as Bali did last October. [Signed:] From the Jemaah Islamiiyah Chief of the eastern region, Jihad for the Great Prophet Muhammad."

Provincial Police Chief Robert Bellarminus Sadarum said the threat must be considered "a serious and imminent danger" for the whole Christian community.

But the local chapter of the Indonesian Ulemas Council strongly denied claims the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiiyah is operating in the province.

What are you going to believe? Me or your lying eyes?

Nevertheless, according to Asia News, security officials have deployed about 2,250 soldiers and police officers, and Sadarum said "tighter security will be imposed around churches on New Year Eve."

Suicide bomber planned to blow himself up at children's party

Yet people the world over still think their cause is the cause of justice and freedom from oppression. "Islamic Jihad claims Thursday's West Bank suicide bombing," from Haaretz, with thanks to Olivia:

The Islamic Jihad militant group claimed responsibility Friday for a suicide bombing in the West Bank that killed one soldier and two other Palestinians.

Islamic Jihad activists in the West Bank village of Atil, near Tul Karm, announced on loudspeakers that their bomber, Sohieb Ibrahim Yassin, 19, carried out Thursday's attack.

Army sources said the suicide bomber who killed an Israel Defense Forces officer and two Palestinians at an army checkpoint near Tul Karm Thursday was apparently planning to blow himself up at one of the many children's events taking place in Tel Aviv during this week's Hanukkah holiday.

Had the bomber not been stopped at the checkpoint, the attack would have been far more deadly, said the sources.

Bostom: “Democrats” For Jihad and Jizya

"Democracy – mere popular rule – should not be our primary objective for the Muslim world, but rather Muslim societies and governments who share our values, so we can safely share this planet." Andrew Bostom explains why the high hopes that some place in the democratic process in the Palestinian Authority and elsewhere in the Middle East is not necessarily justified. From The American Thinker (news links in the original):

Democracy does not always bring liberty and justice. According to available polling data, Hamas is poised to win a plurality of the votes in the forthcoming January 2006 Parliamentary elections for Gaza and the Palestinian Arab-controlled areas within Judea and Samaria. The prospect of such electoral results, despite Hamas’ continuous, bloody record of jihad terrorism (which merely confirms its openly espoused genocidal charter), creates a conundrum for those policymakers extolling uncritically the virtues of “democratization” in the Middle East, generally, and the areas under Palestinian Arab suzerainty, specifically.

Frank apologists for Hamas are quick to stress how past “liberation” movements were incorporated into electoral processes, while cynically ignoring Hamas’ heinous ideology. But they will be forced to grapple with the organization’s latest open pronouncements stating its plans for non-Muslim “citizens” under any Hamas-lead governments jurisdiction, and espousing an endless, annihilationist jihad against Israel.

Interviewed by Wall Street Journal reporter Karby Legget (and published in the December 23-26 edition The Wall Street Journal), Hassam El-Masalmeh, who heads the Hamas contingent at the municipal council of Bethlehem, confirmed the organizations plan to re-institute the humiliating jizya, a blood ransom Qur’anic poll-tax (based on Qur’an sura [chapter] 9, verse 29), levied traditionally on non-Muslims vanquished by jihad, and forced to live under Islamic Law (the Shari’a). Under the Sharia’s regulations, either the non-Muslim infidels must convert to Islam, or they pay the jizya—classically, in a humiliating public ceremony which often involved blows to the head or neck—and their life and belongings are protected. The nature of such “protection” is clarified in this definition of jizya by the seminal Arabic lexicographer, E.W. Lane, based on a careful analysis of the etymology of the term:

The tax that is taken from the free non-Muslim subjects of a Muslim government whereby they ratify the compact that assures them protection, as though it were compensation for not being slain.

The “contract of the “jizya”, or “dhimma” encompassed other obligatory and recommended obligations for the conquered non-Muslim “dhimmi” peoples. Collectively, these “obligations” formed the discriminatory system of dhimmitude imposed upon non-Muslims – Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, Hindus, and Buddhists – subjugated by jihad. Some of the more salient features of dhimmitude include:

the prohibition of arms for the vanquished non-Muslims (dhimmis); the prohibition of church bells; restrictions concerning the building and restoration of churches, synagogues, and temples; inequality between Muslims and non-Muslims with regard to taxes and penal law; the refusal of dhimmi testimony by Muslim courts; a requirement that Jews, Christians, and other non-Muslims, including Zoroastrians and Hindus, wear special clothes; and the overall humiliation and abasement of non-Muslims.

It is important to note that these regulations and attitudes were institutionalized as permanent features of the sacred Islamic law, or Shari’a. Islam manifests itself as a political ideology, not merely a religion, when its teachings are followed on these and other prominent and enduring features.

During his Wall Street Journal interview, El-Masalmeh stated explicitly,

We in Hamas intend to implement this tax (i.e., the jizya) someday. We say it openly – we welcome everyone to Palestine but only if they agree to live under our rules.

Nor is this the first time such pronouncements have been made publicly by Palestinian political, or religious leaders. Sheik Muhammad Ibrahim Al-Madhi expressed these identical sentiments with regard to Jews during a Friday sermon broadcasted live on June 6, 2001 on Palestinian Authority Television, from the Sheik ‘Ijlin Mosque in Gaza:

We welcome, as we did in the past, any Jew who wants to live in this land as a Dhimmi, just as the Jews have lived in our countries, as Dhimmis, and have earned appreciation, and some of them have even reached the positions of counselor or minister here and there. We welcome the Jews to live as Dhimmis, but the rule in this land and in all the Muslim countries must be the rule of Allah.

The inescapable conclusion is that the attendant Shari’a-based regulations associated with the jizya will also be imposed—all of which amount to gross violations of the most basic human rights norms (i.e., freedom of conscience, speech, and worship, codified for example, in the US Bill of Rights) accepted by modern, civilized societies worldwide.

More acutely ominous is the prospect that Hamas, with its openly expressed goal of jihad genocide vis a vis Israeli Jews, will achieve at least an electoral plurality and de facto control of key sociopolitical institutions within Gaza and the West Bank. In a Hamas pre-election video from December 12, 2005, the jihadist terror organization reiterated that it will not give up its armed struggle until Israel is destroyed entirely. The Hamas message also celebrates the organization’s love of death as being superior to Israel’s love of life, while expressing support for those Israeli Arabs who wish to destroy Israel “from within.” Hamas eagerly anticipates a day when their flag will fly over not only Jerusalem, but over all Israeli cities, including Acre and Haifa. The following are verbatim quotations from this Hamas video:

We succeeded, with Allah’s grace, to raise an ideological generation that loves death like our enemies love life. We will not abandon the way of Jihad and Shahada [Martyrdom] as long as one inch of our holy land is in the hands of the Jews….Congratulations to our people of 1948 [Israeli Arabs] on the liberation of Gaza. You wish to destroy them [the Israelis] from their interior. We will never forget you, and never leave you. A day will come when our flag will fly above all the quarters of our land. Our flag will fly on the minarets of Jerusalem, and the walls of Acre, and the quarters of Haifa.

Responding to an uncharacteristic European Union threat to terminate its own de facto jizya, i.e., “aid” payments to the Palestinian Authority, should Hamas gain significant Parliamentary seats in the January elections, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal warned about the dangers of “playing with the values of democracy and freedom”. What a bitter irony that a murderous jihadist organization has co-opted the rhetoric of true liberal democracies in order to impose the totalitarian Shari’a “democratically”. As writer Diana West noted appositely,

“It is vox populi. And just because the people have spoken doesn’t mean we should applaud what they say.”

Democracy – mere popular rule – should not be our primary objective for the Muslim world, but rather Muslim societies and governments who share our values, so we can safely share this planet.

Islamist extremist sought foothold in Japan

Japanese jihad update from Reuters, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

TOKYO (Reuters) - A member of an Islamist extremist group banned in Pakistan entered Japan two years ago to try to establish a foothold in the country, a Japanese newspaper said on Friday.

Japanese police had warned this month that Islamist extremists may tempt Muslim communities in Japan to turn radical and attack Japan, whose government has been a staunch backer of the U.S.-led war on Iraq.

In a report that underscores such concerns, police learned from an informant that a member of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), a Sunni extremist group outlawed in Pakistan, had entered Japan to start an SSP branch, the Sankei newspaper said.

After checking immigration records, police found that a Pakistani man in his 30s had entered Japan in 2003 with a visa for religious activities and that he had told others while worshipping that he came to Japan to establish an SSP offshoot, the newspaper said.

Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan is one of seven militant groups that were outlawed by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States....

Tokyo police have arrested the 40-year-old Pakistani on suspicion of violating immigration laws, and are continuing surveillance activities to track down the SSP network in Japan, the newspaper said.

Japan, which has sent some 550 ground troops to Iraq on a reconstruction mission, has been on guard against possible attacks since being mentioned by members of Islamist militant group al Qaeda as a possible target.

Prior to Japan's deployment of troops to Samawa in southern Iraq, al Qaeda had reportedly threatened to "strike in the heart of Tokyo" if Japan sent troops to Iraq. Japan dispatched its main contingent of troops to Iraq in February 2004.

In May 2004, Japanese police arrested several foreigners in a probe into the activities of Lionel Dumont, a French national with links to al Qaeda who entered Japan on a false passport in 2002 and stayed for over a year.

There is no official data on the number of Muslims in Japan, but police sources have put the number around 90,000. They are mainly from Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Iran and Turkey, the sources said.

Fitzgerald: Jihad, Islam, and the Aryan Nations

Jihad Watch Board Vice President Hugh Fitzgerald discusses the alliance between the Aryan Nations and the global jihad:

A few selections from the Aryan Nations website:

“There never was a holocaust I wish there were but unfortunately it's nothing but another jewish fable, a holohoax as we call it, used to extort money out of countries, companies and anyone who will listen to the poor crying jews!”

“we are NOT adherents of the christian cult and we do not call ourselves christians!”

“When speaking of Aryan Islam, I'm referring to the spiritual and intellectual movement of those idealistic Aryan youth who embrace the TRUE Islam of the Qur'an and Sunnah. They include those who join or support the honorable warriors of Islam, the Mujahideen. We are an increasing number and can't be dismissed as "race-traitors" or any other labels attached to us by those who don't practice the TRUE National Socialism of honor and nobility.”

“‘...a link is created between Islam and National-Socialism on an open, honest basis. It will be directed in terms of blood and race from the North, and in the ideological-spiritual sphere from the East.’ - Obergruppenführer Gottlob Berger; 1942”

“There is much information on the respect and cooperation that Adolf Hitler and others of the Third Reich had for Islam. This would be a good read for all those that claim to be National Socialists…”

“The jew is a parasite, an enemy of our Western Civilization.”

“Islam is our ally, and the 1500 cults all claiming to be “Christian” are our opposition…”

This is the most natural alliance in the world. In its emphasis on the collective, the umma, and indifference to individual autonomy, including the right to freedom of conscience, Islam has a good deal in common with Fascism.

The best article on this subject is that of Ibn Warraq, who takes an essay by Umberto Eco, in which the latter attempts to construct a description of Fascism. Ibn Warraq then applies each of the fourteen defining characteristics of Fascism to Islam, to see how well or ill those characteristics apply -- from an emphasis on a remote and largely imaginary past glory, to the division of the world between Believer and Infidel, to the need for a Final Triumph of former over latter.

Furthermore, the kind of psychically marginal people who join neo-Nazi groups are looking for the solace of a Total Explanation of the Universe because, for them, life is simply too confused and unsettling. Islam offers the same -- and in this respect, "reverts" to Islam who come to it out of some Spiritual Quest for Meaning are, on the whole, far more troublesome than those who are, through no fault of their own, born into Islam.

There are those who converted to Islam (what one might have done five or ten years ago is no longer possible with quite the same innocence today), but who, having made that choice, possibly based on all sorts of dreamy notions of Rumi and whirling dervishes and mysticism, and the supposed "universalism" of Islam (actually a vehicle for Arab imperialism), took their time in slowly understanding what it was all about, and then, deciding that possibly it could be "reformed," came to realize that that too was an illusory prospect, in some cases offered up by Muslim apologists, or by Muslims-on-the-make eager for foundation handouts to engage in some "reform" project. There are so many "brave new reformist Muslims" running around one can hardly get through their guff to get to the Ali Sinas and Ibn Warraqs, who have cogently explained why this "reform" business is a forlorn hope. But it takes awhile. When one is dealing with the difficult task of admitting to oneself that a spiritual choice was, in fact, wrong, or based on a misunderstanding, it is painful and requires courage, to walk away. And of course for many it is also dangerous, given the treatment of apostates in Islam.

The psychically marginal have always wanted to submerge their beings in a Collective. Any Collective will do, as long as they can be spared the anguish of thinking for themselves. Anything that provides a Total Explanation of the Universe, and what's more, a Total Regulation of Life, is likely to be welcome. The psychically marginal -- John Walker Lindh, David Hicks, and Richard Reid all come to mind -- are of course joined by the economically marginal, who seek a vehicle for the expression of their alienation from The System, whatever that system may be.

Islam and Fascism (or in this case Neo-Nazism) both offer that Collective, that Total Explanation, that Total Regulation. And if, as is shown here, one can throw in a shared hysterical antisemitism, that is one more unsavory link.

What one needs is for the development of an intelligent alarm being sounded about Islam and the jihadist impulse -- which can only come, it seems, once these aspects of it as a mental construct are understood. One could do worse than re-publish and spread about Eric Hoffer's "The True Believer." It is a human type, and in an earlier age, in the Western world, it would not have been Islam but Fascism that would have attracted the kind of people who, today, constitute the reservoir of potential "reverters."

That this is deliberately not understood reflects the desire of so many not to see Islam for what it is, and to perform mental gymnastics of every sort to keep on avoiding the difficult and unpleasant truth.

Knesset Members Rally Arabs for Syria; US, Israel are ´Spiders'

Israeli "oppression" alert: Knesset members freely and openly agitate for Israel's mortal enemies, without any reprisal or retribution at all. An update to this story from Israel National News, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

Arab MKs continued to arouse anti-Israeli support in Nazareth. Legislator Barakeh said a strong Syria will help divide Jerusalem. The crowd sang the Syrian national anthem. Israeli Knesset Members Mohammed Barakeh and Azmi Bishara, along with Moslem clerics, denounced the United States and Israel at a pro-Syrian rally in the Galilee city on Thursday.

Barakeh told the crowd of 500 Arabs and Druze, "A strong and resistant Syria will bring closer the day in which Jerusalem will become Palestine's capital."

The rally was the second time in two weeks that Arab MKs gathered in Nazareth. Bishara rallied crowds against Israel and called for a return to the 1947 Armistice Lines.

"I will never recognize Zionism even if all Arabs do," Bishara declared. He had spoken the day after returning from an illegal visit to Lebanon, where visitors without Interior Ministry permits are considered as having entered an enemy country... We are the original residents of Palestine, not those who came from Poland and Russia."

Barakeh addressed the Arab and Druze crowd, comparing the United States and Israel to a large and small spider, and accused the two nations of trying to create a crisis between Syria and Lebanon. "We can clearly see the cobwebs" of the spiders, he told the audience as it cheered and waved Palestinian Authority (PA) flags and pictures of Syrian president Hafez Assad.

Moslem cleric Sheikh Ra'ad Salah stated, "We are facing an American-British-Israeli monster that threatens to swallow us all."

HAMAS Targets Spain

I have pointed out for quite some time that in traditional Islamic theology, any land belonging to the Dar Al-Islam belongs to it by right forever. Thus jihadists believe they have a natural right not only to Israel but to Spain. Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld has more evidence of this in FrontPage:

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos’ efforts earlier this year to remove HAMAS from the European Union’s terrorist list, have done little to change HAMAS’ agenda. It is not only Palestine that children in the West Bank and Gaza are asked to liberate; now they are asked to liberate Seville. The HAMAS children’s magazine, Al-Fateh, in a recent issue, (No. 66), tells the children about the city called Asbilia (Seville) and calls on them to free it, together with the whole country, from the infidels and to reinstate Muslim rule.

This is how the magazine has the city Asbilia (Seville) telling its story to Hamas’ children: “Salaam Aleykum my dear beloved. I would like to introduce myself: I am the city Asbilia, the bride of the country Andalus (Spain). In the past I was the Capital of the Kingdom of Asbilia… the Arab Muslims, led by the hero-commander Musa bin Nusair, conquered me in 713, after a siege, which lasted one month.

“In the year 97 of the Muslim calendar, the ruler of Andalus, Ayoub bin Habib al-Lahimi moved the Capital to my sister city, Cordoba… in the year 646 of the Muslim calendar, Ferdinand III besieged me and conquered me after a siege which lasted one year and five months, and that was due to the strength of my fortifications and my walls. This is when the Golden Age of the Muslims ended, and Asbilia (Seville) was lost by the Muslims.”

And the story goes on: “However, Muslim cultural expression and symbols still remain witness to the superior Muslim culture on my soil…I yearn that you, my beloved, will call me to return, together with the rest of the lost cities of the lost orchard [Andalus] to the hands of the Muslims so that joy and happiness will fill my land, and you will visit me because I am the bride of the country of Andalus.” (emphasis added)

This telling story comes at a time when Hamas, in English, states that its interest is “to liberate occupied Palestine.” However, this story to liberate Spain, in Arabic, in a form that children can easily relate to, describes the Fatwa issued by Yusuf Qaradawi on December 2, 2002.

The Egyptian-born Yusuf Qaradawi, an al Azhar University-educated member of the Muslim Brotherhood, who resides in Qatar, is one of the most influential Sunni clerics. The Fatwa, which the children’s story reiterates, follows the Muslim Brotherhood’s teachings -- which also serve as the basis of HAMAS’ Charter.

Qaradawi, calls on Muslims to conquer Europe, saying: “Islam will return to Europe as a conqueror and a victor after being expelled from it twice – once from the south, from Andalusia, and a second time, from the east, when it knocked several times on the doors of Athens.” Qaradawi ruled that Muslims should re-conquer “'former Islamic colonies' in Andalus (Spain), southern Italy, Sicily, the Balkans and the Mediterranean islands."

Indeed, the activities of Radical Islamist movements in Spain are nothing new. Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas was sentenced last September in Madrid, to 27 years in prison for aiding the 9/11 attacks from Spain, and 16 of his co-conspirators were convicted for belonging to al Qaeda. On December 20, 2005, 16 additional al-Qaeda operatives on Spain were arrested for allegedly sending volunteers to wage Jihad in Iraq. These arrests are only the most recent since the March 11, 2004 train bombing in Madrid.

In a series of speeches about the importance of confronting al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq, President George W. Bush acknowledged that their aim is to “establish a totalitarian Islamic empire that reaches from Spain to Indonesia.”

However, this ideology is clearly not limited to al Qaeda’s terrorists. HAMAS’ children magazine, Al Fateh’s call to return Seville “to the hands of the Muslims” is no different than that of al-Qaeda’s call to establish the Caliphate. Evidently, HAMAS’ interests also extend to the liberation and Islamization of all occupied former Muslim territories, according to the dogma of the Muslim Brotherhood from which HAMAS originated.

Apparently encouraged by successful Jihad against Israel, HAMAS is now raising the ante, going international. Just as they have indoctrinated a generation of Palestinian children to commit suicide attacks against Israelis, they are now expanding their targets to include the rest of the Caliphate -– beginning with Spain. It is only a matter of time, before today’s Palestinian children, and others exposed to HAMAS’ publications start offering themselves up for the next stage of Jihad in Spain.

Tehran warms to nuclear plan

The Russians continue to manifest their eagerness to help Iran, ignoring Iran's support for the Chechens and the fact that they could be sealing their own fate. From AFP, with thanks to JE:

TEHRAN: Iran is ready to study a Russian proposal for the Islamic republic to enrich uranium on Russian soil, a top national security official has said in Tehran's warmest reaction yet to the offer.

"The new Russian proposal can be studied so that its economic, technical and scientific aspects will be clear," Supreme National Security Council member Javad Vaidi told the ISNA news agency yesterday.

He said the Russian proposal was based on the establishment of a "joint Iran-Russia company on Russian soil" for the enrichment of uranium, a key component of the nuclear fuel cycle....

Iran's enrichment demands have proved controversial, because highly enriched uranium can be used in the explosive core of a nuclear bomb. Tehran rejects US accusations it has a nuclear weapons program....

Moscow's proposal attacks the key sticking point in talks between Iran and the EU over Iran's nuclear program.

Its proposal would allow Iran to enrich uranium outside the country in Russia, giving Iran access to the nuclear fuel cycle but providing a guarantee its nuclear program is peaceful.

Yeah, surrrrrre.

Egyptian Police Kill 10 Sudanese in Cairo

Sudanese jihad fallout in Egypt. From AP, with thanks to JE:

CAIRO, Egypt - Egyptian police turned water cannons on Sudanese war refugees and beat them with sticks Friday, brutally clearing out a squatters camp in a city park. At least 10 people were killed, the government said.

Hundreds of Sudanese have been living in the park since September to protest the U.N. refugee agency's refusal to consider them for refugee status. They want to be resettled in a third country, such as the United States or Britain, rather than go home after a peace deal ended the 21-year-long civil war in Sudan.

In Geneva, Switzerland, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, expressed his shock and sadness over the violence and deaths.

"Although we still do not have all of the details or a clear picture of what transpired, violence left several people dead and injured," Guterres said. "There is no justification for such violence and loss of life. This is a terrible tragedy and our condolences go to all the families of those who died and to the injured."

In a showdown played out during the first five hours of Friday, the protesters dismantled their plastic sheeting and cardboard, but most refused to leave on buses brought in to take them to camps elsewhere in Cairo.

Shortly before dawn, thousands of riot police encircled the camp, set up near the refugee agency to draw attention to the refugees' demands. Police fired water cannons at the protesters, then invaded the park when the Sudanese refused to leave.

Protesters could be seen fighting back with long sticks that appeared to be supports for makeshift tents.

Police beat the unarmed migrants with batons, continuing to hit them even as they were being dragged to the buses. One officer carried a girl of about 3 or 4 years old who was unconscious. An ambulance worker said the girl was dead.

A policeman clubbed a Sudanese man with a tree branch as two officers hauled the refugee away.

Authorities said 10 protesters were dead and 23 police wounded. Boutrous Deng, a protest leader, told The Associated Press that 15 Sudanese were killed, including two children.

Officials at the South Center, an independent Sudanese human rights group, said 1,280 refugees were taken by bus to three locations outside Cairo. In a statement faxed to AP in Cairo, the group described the police assault as "savage."

Iraq: Shi'ite family massacred

Of course, Islam forbids...Of course, we reject...Of course, we abhor...Yet the blood continues to flow while the bland talk bamboozles the unwary. "Govt talks resume; Shi'ite family massacred," from Reuters, with thanks to JE:

DUKAN, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite politician met its Kurdish president at a lakeside retreat on Thursday to sketch out plans for a grand coalition government capable of ending the country's violent sectarian unrest.

In an illustration of the size of the task they face, 11 members of a single Shi'ite family had their throats slit in an attack south of Baghdad. Police said insurgents had warned the family to move out of their largely Sunni neighborhood.

World premiere of film: "Islam: What the West Needs to Know"

This film has been a long time in the making and features not only Bat Ye'or and me, but Serge Trifkovic and others. I am very much looking forward to seeing it myself. "Pro-freedom film festival hits Hollywood: Event to screen movies celebrating 'the triumph of the human spirit'," from WND:

American Film Renaissance, the organization presenting patriotic and pro-America alternatives to typical movie fare, goes to the heart of the industry to host its first festival in Hollywood, Calif., next month.

AFR was begun to encourage the production and promotion of more traditional-values oriented movies in the U.S.

"Conservatives have been on defense in this culture war going on 40 years," founder and President Jim Hubbard told WorldNetDaily last year. "No war has ever been won playing defense. … My notion is that we should go to the offense. That's the only way you can win any struggle."

The organization says it's dedicated to promoting "films that reflect free speech, free enterprise, rugged individualism, freedom of religion and the triumph of the human spirit."...

Some of the films featured at the event include:

[...]

"Islam: What the West Needs to Know" will have its world premiere at the festival. The film features commentary from expert on Islam Robert Spencer and Bat Ye'or.

Palestinian Police Storm Gaza-Egypt Border

Good thing Condi Rice prevailed upon the Israelis to give up control of this border crossing, eh? From AP, with thanks to JE:

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinian policemen angry over the killing of a fellow officer stormed the Gaza-Egypt border crossing Friday, firing shots in the air and forcing European monitors to close the border and flee, Palestinian and European officials said.

About 100 policemen entered the Rafah compound and took up positions alongside border patrol officers at the customs section of the crossing, Palestinian security officials and witnesses said.

The European observers — responsible for monitoring the crossing and ensuring the terms of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement are upheld — fled the area, officials said.

There were no immediate reports of any casualties....

The border was closed because according to the Israeli-Palestinian agreement the crossing cannot operate if the European contingent is not present, said Julio De La Guardia, spokesman for the European monitors....

The takeover is the latest in a rash of armed kidnappings and takeovers of government buildings that underscores the lawlessness in Gaza and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' inability to bring order to the coastal area following Israel's withdrawal in September.

A British woman and her parents were kidnapped Wednesday by armed gunmen near the Rafah crossing. The family's fate remains unknown. Palestinian security were searching for the family, while British diplomats monitored the situation.

A New Year’s Jihad Retreat

More disquieting developments in Florida, reported by Joe Kaufman in FrontPage (good news links in the original):

Watching the ball drop, twirling a noisemaker, kissing your sweetheart, and making a resolution that rarely comes to pass -- everyone looks forward to the memory of a new year. But one group will be ringing in the New Year a little differently…through a children’s jihad retreat, with a guest speaker who exalts terrorists and another who is linked to al-Qaeda.

The majority of Islamic organizations within the United States have, at one time or another, been cited for their connections to terrorism, whether by support of terror groups or through actual terrorist activity carried out by its members. Two of those organizations, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and the Muslim American Society (MAS) have been working together putting on joint conferences. As stated in the New York Daily News (January 30, 2004), the organizations “have held conferences featuring speakers accused of terror ties and have published material supporting suicide bombings against Israel.”

Both ICNA and MAS stress the need for providing forums for Muslim youth. ICNA, in order to address this “need,” has created an apparatus called Young Muslims (YM). Likewise, MAS has established its own Youth Division. Through the two groups, children can learn the tenets of radical Islam by attending winter and summer camps.

Prior to 9/11, the camps would be referred to as “Jihad Camps,” but given the greater meaning of the term (holy war), why attract more attention than what’s necessary? Today, though, while the name has changed, the same radical message is taught. In YM Newsletter Issue 3 (2002/2003), Young Muslims extols the virtues of the works of Osama bin Laden’s mentor, Abdullah Azzam. According to YM Newsletter Issue 4 (2003), one of its goals is to assist in outreach “designed to call people to Islam, strengthen their belief in it, and organize them to work and to wage jihad in its cause.”

From December 31st of this year through January 2nd, the Tampa chapter of MAS will be launching a new camp, or as they put it, an ‘ILM & TARBIYAH RETREAT. Taking place in Lithia, Florida, at the Cedarkirk Camp & Conference Center, the theme of the event is “A Generation with a Mission.” That title is a little more subdued than the YM August 2002 “Planning for Our Akhira (afterlife),” but make no mistake, the speakers are just as extreme.

Featured at the “retreat” is the former President of MAS-Chicago, Chantal Carnes. Carnes is well known in the radical Islamist American community; she has given speeches at such venues as ICNA, MAS and Muslim Students Association (MSA) conventions. In addition to being a lecturer, she has also hosted a radio program for the Islamic Broadcasting Network (IBN). Each half-hour program was spent reviewing a different book.

On the occasion of July 22, 2003, Carnes and a guest had reviewed the title ‘Imam Shaheed Hassan Al-Banna - From Birth to Martyrdom.’ During the show, she lathered Al-Banna, the founder of the violent Muslim Brotherhood, with praise. She stated, “Every movement I can think of – every organization I can think of – in a way or another, is tracing back to what he started.” She said he had “inspired” her, and that “His life was captivating.” She said she liked “the fact that he was a shaheed (martyr),” and that she was going to model Al-Banna’s “personal development” with that of her own.

According to former federal prosecutor John Loftus, “Al Banna was a devout admirer of Adolph Hitler and wrote to him frequently. So persistent was he in his admiration of the new Nazi Party that in the 1930’s, Al-Banna and the Muslim Brotherhood became a secret arm of Nazi intelligence.”

Carnes also gushed about the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood started with only four persons. She exclaimed, “It’s not quantity, it’s quality!” According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Muslim Brotherhood is a “terrorist group”… “The Brotherhood shares with HAMAS a complete rejection of Western values and Communism and calls for the establishment of a pan-Islamic state founded on the basis of shari'a, or Islamic law… The two movements similarly share the view that Israel is the theological archenemy of Islam… As the precursor of the HAMAS movement, the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza promoted the long-term strategy of creating the foundations of a Muslim state that would eventually become powerful enough to destroy Israel.”

On another occasion, Carnes and her guest had reviewed a book (‘To Be A European Muslim’) written by the grandson of Hassan Al-Banna, Tariq Ramadan. She admiringly referred to Ramadan’s writing as being “deep.” She stated, “He’s actually not that old to be writing about such deep concepts.” In August of 2004, Ramadan made the news when the Department of Homeland Security barred him from entering the United States by revoking his visa and work permit. Cited was the Immigration and Naturalization Act, which denies entry to aliens who have used a “position of prominence within any country to endorse or espouse terrorist activity.”

Chantal Carnes thoughts on Al-Banna and his lineage are nothing new to MAS, for as Daniel Pipes states on his website (in a piece concerning a 2004 paintball event held by MAS-Tampa), “the Muslim American Society is the U.S. face of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

The other featured speaker for the MAS Retreat is Mazen Mokhtar. Mokhtar is the Youth Division Head of MAS-New Jersey and the Khateeb (sermon-giver) of Masjid Al-Huda and the Institute of Islamic Studies. Mokhtar is also associated with the terrorist group Al-Qaeda.

In August of 2004, shortly before he was to speak at a Young Muslims camp in Pennsylvania (‘A Few Good Men’), the U.S. government accused Mokhtar of assisting Al-Qaeda through the use of a web site he had created. The web site was www.minna.com, and it was a “mirror site” (replica) of www.azzam.com (Azzam Publications), a site named for Abdullah Azzam that was soliciting funds and recruiting Taliban, Chechen and Al-Qaeda mujaheddin (holy warriors) for terrorist operations overseas. Mokhtar’s site was to be used as a back-up for Azzam Publications, when Azzam was shut down after the 9/11 attacks, so that fundraising and recruitment could continue.

On Azzam Publications, in an “APPEAL FOR PROFESSIONAL WEB DESIGNERS,” it is stated, “…we hope inshallah, that Allah would reward you for any time or effort spent in assisting our aspiration of providing an independent media source from the Islamic perspective.” It seems that Mokhtar answered the appeal.

His reward? A search was conducted on the New Jersey home of Mokhtar, and copies of Azzam Publications sites were found on his computer’s hard drive and files. These sites were being run by a British citizen named Babar Ahmad, a man thought to have been part of an operation headed by captured Al-Qaeda mastermind, Khalid Sheik Mohammed.

On Mokhtar’s Minna site, in the page titled ‘Jihad in Chechnya,’ a video CD depicting terrorist operations was being sold through the website. On the bottom of the page, it states, “Any enquiries regarding the content of this CD should be directed to the Islamic Army of the Caucasus, to Field Commander Shamil Basayev, Field Commander Khattab or their spokesman Movladi Udogov.” In September of 2004, Shamil Basayev claimed responsibility for the Beslan school massacre in Russia, which left over 300 dead, mostly children.

Acquaintances of Mokhtar’s expressed “surprise” at the notion that he would be affiliated with something such as this -- that his speeches were “mild,” not extreme. However, when one looks at his past, prior to his involvement with Al-Qaeda, one gets an entirely different picture.

On an Internet newsgroup forum, from the years 1992 to 1996, Mazen Mokhtar had made some very disturbing (and somewhat comical) remarks about the terrorist group Hamas and the concept of suicide bombing. Some of his statements are as follows:

“One of the reasons of my support for Hamas is that they have very high moral standards… If their standards were lax, they would have lost my support, and moral standards can't get any more lax than killing those who are innocent.” “Bombing houses is best left to the IDF (IOF?) they are the experts in the field. Hamas prefers to invest its limited resources in doing good.” “I have read the [Hamas] covenant. I support the covenant…” “Hamas’s path is the only path in the history of the Palestinian struggle against Israel that has produced results, and the results are impressive, I must say. I think it is clear that Hamas has the wider vision and the better plan.” “…the operations of HAMAS are heroic.” “In any action of mass self defense, there is the possibility that some innocent people will die… I have enough trust in Hamas to feel that no one is killed before being identified as a collaborator.” “Yes, [suicide bombing is allowed], assuming that the targets are legitimate (and the suicide bombing is a sacrifice, not a suicide.)” “[Blowing yourself up is not considered suicide], because it’s an effective method of attacking the enemy and continuing jihad… These are not people [sic] committing suicide because they are fed up with life, these are people who are sacrificing their lives for Allah.”

The Muslim American Society of Tampa cannot plead ignorance, with respect to the views of the two featured speakers it is sponsoring at its retreat. This is the case not just because MAS has associated with these two in the past, but because quite simply, the viewpoint of the organization is identical!

On the MAS-Tampa website, one can peruse through an e-library filled with many significant Islamic texts, all written or translated in English. Included in these works is a text entitled Sahih Bukhari, whose section, ‘Fighting in the Cause of Allah (Jihaad),’ begins with the following: “I asked Allah's Apostle, ‘O Allah's Apostle! What is the best deed?’ He replied, (1) ‘To offer the prayers at their early stated fixed times.’ I asked, ‘What is next in goodness?’ He replied, (2) ‘To be good and dutiful to your parents.’ I further asked, what is next in goodness?’ He replied, (3) ‘To participate in Jihad in Allah's Cause.’”

Also of relevance on MAS-Tampa’s e-library are a number of discourses, letters and prayers authored by Hassan Al-Banna, himself. In one of the letters dated 1947, entitled ‘Toward the Light,’ there is contained a foreboding message. In it, Al-Banna lists a set of political, judicial and administrative goals. They are: “(1) An end to party rivalry, and directing the political forces of the nation into a unified front; (2) Amending the law, such that it conforms to all branches of Islamic legislation; and (3) Reinforcing the armed forces, and increasing the number of youth groups; igniting in them the spirit of Islamic jihad.”

With all of this in mind, one has to wonder how long it will take the participants in a jihad camp or retreat to accomplish the “deeds” and “goals” set forth in Sahih Bukharih and Al-Banna’s letter. Will they take the time to learn and grow as mature adults, or will they skip right to the third of each (Jihad) and move immediately towards the here-after (Akhira)?

Home Depot jihad?

Ali R. Warrayat sounds crazier than a bedbug -- and "deeply religious." What does this all add up to? Probably just a lone nut doing nutty things. With enough fuel from his religious texts to stoke the fires of his hatred. "Crash into store was a personal statement," from the East Valley Tribune, with thanks to Brenda Walker:

TO OUR READERS: The following story is based on witness accounts and a police report released Wednesday.

He placed both hands on the steering wheel, stared straight ahead and barrelled toward the front entrance of Home Depot.

Ali R. Warrayat hadn’t slept in days, planning this moment down to the last detail. Now, his face was void of any expression. A store employee jumped out of the car’s path. To drown out the man’s yells, Warrayat reached over to his car radio and blasted Arabic music before crashing through the front doors.

The scene was only the beginning of a violent rampage through the Chandler store on Dec. 18. For the 24-year-old Arizona State University student, the motives behind the attack were personal.

He told Chandler police he was angry at Home Depot, where he worked as a paint stocker, about not getting a proper raise. He was mad at the United States for proposing a 700-mile fence along the Mexican border.

He wanted to make America "more free."

So the Jordanian-turned-U.S. citizen devised a plan to make a grand statement by crashing into the store at Alma School Road and Chandler Boulevard and setting it on fire.

At first, he wanted to wear a Palestinian flag, but later decided to place it in the trunk of his car, along with a copy of the Quran and a necklace....

After crashing through the doors at 6 a.m. that Sunday, he expertly navigated the aisles and headed straight for the paint department, slamming his car into the flammable goods.

He jumped to the roof of the car, looked around for a second and then hopped to the ground.

He used a lighter to ignite the blaze, and loud explosions followed as store employees ran for safety.

Many employees recognized Warrayat, who worked in the store six months ago but transferred to a Queen Creek location after having difficulties with a supervisor....

As Warrayat headed for the exit, he swept merchandise from the shelves and then sat on the curb outside waiting for police to come and arrest him.

But his cooperation ended there as he kicked and struggled with officers when asked to get in the patrol car.

When an officer asked if he understood his Miranda rights, Warrayat shot back in a foreign language. The officer asked if he understood English, and Warrayat replied in English, "Do you speak Arabic?"

He was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and arson, causing about $1 million in damage. He is being held without bond at Maricopa County’s Lower Buckeye Jail in Phoenix....

Co-worker and friend Joaquin Bustamante said Warrayat was "gentleman-like and respectable with everyone."

"When I saw him on TV, he did not look like the Ali that I know," Bustamante said. "He was a hard worker and worked circles around everybody, and he was a very private person."

Bustamante said Warrayat was deeply religious and had a Quran hanging from his rearview mirror.

In police statements, Warrayat referred to his religion often. He said a swastika was once painted on the mosque where he prays, so he had the mark tattooed in red and black on the bottom of his foot. In his religion, stepping on things is considered disrespectful.

He also described trying to put the dog in his trunk to show it the Quran. He said dogs are "filthy" and that was why the dog didn’t want to be in the trunk with the holy book....

Initial images on his computer depicted men lighting Molotov cocktails and a cartoon of two bloodied and dead children with a Middle Eastern flag in the background....

Al-Qaeda in Iraq claims credit for attacks in northern Israel

War escalation alert: "Al-Qaida in Iraq took credit for Katyusha attack," from the Jerusalem Post, with thanks to Yacob:

Al-Qaida in Iraq, headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, on Thursday took responsibility on their website for the Katyusha attacks in northern Israel on Tuesday....

On Tuesday it was reported that six Katyushas landed in northern Israeli cities, including three in Shlomi and three in Kiryat Shmona, where two apartments took direct hits.

This was the first time that Al-Qaida took responsibility for attacks on Israel taking place from Lebanon.

Defense Lawyers in Terror Cases Plan Challenges Over Spy Efforts

I believe we can win this war without discarding our own Constitution. I also think that narrow understandings of probable cause in jihad cases could be the death of us. From the New York Times, with thanks to JE:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 - Defense lawyers in some of the country's biggest terrorism cases say they plan to bring legal challenges to determine whether the National Security Agency used illegal wiretaps against several dozen Muslim men tied to Al Qaeda.

The lawyers said in interviews that they wanted to learn whether the men were monitored by the agency and, if so, whether the government withheld critical information or misled judges and defense lawyers about how and why the men were singled out....

Trent Duffy, a spokesman for the White House, declined to comment in Crawford, Tex., when asked about a report in The New York Times that the security agency had tapped into some of the country's main telephone arteries to conduct broader data-mining operations in the search for terrorists.

But Mr. Duffy said: "This is a limited program. This is not about monitoring phone calls designed to arrange Little League practice or what to bring to a potluck dinner. These are designed to monitor calls from very bad people to very bad people who have a history of blowing up commuter trains, weddings and churches."

He added: "The president believes that he has the authority - and he does - under the Constitution to do this limited program. The Congress has been briefed. It is fully in line with the Constitution and also protecting American civil liberties."...

Government officials, in defending the value of the security agency's surveillance program, have said in interviews that it played a critical part in at least two cases that led to the convictions of Qaeda associates, Iyman Faris of Ohio, who admitted taking part in a failed plot to bring down the Brooklyn Bridge, and Mohammed Junaid Babar of Queens, who was implicated in a failed plot to bomb British targets....

The first challenge is likely to come in Florida, where lawyers for two men charged with Jose Padilla, who is jailed as an enemy combatant, plan to file a motion as early as next week to determine if the N.S.A. program was used to gain incriminating information on their clients and their suspected ties to Al Qaeda. Kenneth Swartz, one of the lawyers in the case, said, "I think they absolutely have an obligation to tell us" whether the agency was wiretapping the defendants. In a Virginia case, Edward B. MacMahon Jr., a lawyer for Ali al-Timimi, a Muslim scholar in Alexandria who is serving a life sentence for inciting his young followers to wage war against the United States overseas, said the government's explanation of how it came to suspect Mr. Timimi of terrorism ties never added up in his view.

F.B.I. agents were at Mr. Timimi's door days after the Sept. 11 attacks to question him about possible links to terrorism, Mr. MacMahon said, yet the government did not obtain a warrant through the foreign intelligence court to eavesdrop on his conversations until many months later.

Mr. MacMahon said he was so skeptical about the timing of the investigation that he questioned the Justice Department about whether some sort of unknown wiretap operation had been conducted on the scholar or his young followers, who were tied to what prosecutors described as a "Virginia jihad" cell.

"They told me there was no other surveillance," Mr. MacMahon said. "But the fact is that the case against a lot of these guys just came out of nowhere because they were really nobodies, and it makes you wonder whether they were being tapped."...

Defense lawyers in several other high-profile terrorism prosecutions, including the so-called Portland Seven and Lackawanna Six cases, said they were also planning to file legal challenges or were reviewing their options.

Bangladeshi government aiding jihad groups

Bangladesh jihad update: the jihadists have friends in high places. No surprise in that, really, since the jihad ideology is (as so few wish to admit) so deeply rooted within Islam. "A disquieting revelation: Time has come for government to clean house," from The Daily Star, with thanks to JE:

The facts could not be any clearer. Elements within the government have for a long time been sponsoring and sheltering the outlawed JMB and JMJB militants. This original revelation was reported in the media long ago and has since been corroborated time and again through confessional statements made during the interrogations of suspected militants.

The evidence suggesting such links is now so great and disquieting that it can no longer be plausibly denied, and the revelations of recently arrested JMB leader Lutfar Rahman are merely the latest in what now amounts to a mountain of substantiation.

What is becoming clear is that, when it comes to the militants, the government has been pursuing a policy that can at best be described as extremely short-sighted, and at worst, utterly reckless and indefensible.

The evidence is incontrovertible that in response to banditry of so-called leftist groups in the north-west of Bangladesh, certain elements within the government took a decision to sponsor the rise of the militant religious groups to take up arms against those outlaws. This is how the religious militancy arose and how it was able to spread far and wide with relatively little check from the authorities.

Gunmen kidnap three Britons on Gaza Strip tour

Peace In Our Time Update from the TimesOnline, with thanks to JE:

THREE Britons were kidnapped by Palestinian gunmen yesterday, the latest in a spate of seizures that has highlighted the growing lawlessness of the Gaza Strip.

A British aid worker, Kate Burton, 25, had been taking her visiting parents on a tour of the southern border town of Rafah when their car was stopped by masked gunmen. They were bundled into a white Mercedes and driven away at speed.

Last night police sources said that the kidnappers were negotiating with Palestinian officials for the release of the three Britons. It was not clear if any ransom demand had been made.

Numerous foreign citizens working in Gaza have been snatched by Palestinian groups over the past year, though invariably they have been freed unharmed within a few hours....

“Unlike in Iraq the kidnappings are not so much aimed at the foreigners themselves as at embarrassing the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, and trying to show he has no control over the Gaza Strip,” John Strawson, a Middle East expert at Birzeit University in the West Bank, said.

Spencer on Alan Colmes radio show tonight at 11PM EST

I am scheduled to appear on the Alan Colmes radio show tonight at 11:00 PM EST; Alan needs a foil to show how wrong it is to check mosques for radiation. Of course, I will be doing my best for Truth, Justice, and the American Way.

German Authorities Close Islamic "Multi-Kultur" Center

How easy it is for jihadists to operate under the cloak of multiculturalism. "German Authorities Close Islamic Center," from AP, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

BERLIN - Authorities on Wednesday shut down an Islamic center once attended by a man who accuses the CIA of kidnapping him and sending him to a secret Afghan prison to be abused and interrogated.

The man's lawyer has linked the alleged kidnapping to the investigation of extremist activity at the center.

The state government of Bavaria said Wednesday it was shutting down the Multi-Kultur-Haus association in the southern town of Neu-Ulm after it seized material urging Muslims to carry out suicide attacks in Iraq.

Khaled al-Masri, a Kuwait-born German citizen who is suing the CIA for allegedly spiriting him to Afghanistan for interrogation, has said he visited the center several times before he was snatched....

Al-Masri has denied any connection to terrorism.

Bavarian Interior Minister Guenther Beckstein told The Associated Press on Wednesday that investigators had noticed al-Masri visiting the Multi-Kultur-Haus but called him "rather a marginal figure."

Beckstein's ministry said the association was promoting extremist ideas and armed "holy war."

Israelis retaliate against jihadists in Lebanon

A follow-up to this story: "Israelis Attack Militant Base in Lebanon," from AP, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Israeli jets blasted a Palestinian militant group's base a few miles outside the Lebanese capital Beirut on Wednesday, hours after rockets fired from Lebanon hit a northern Israeli border town.

In their deepest strike into Lebanon in 18 months, the Israeli planes attacked a base of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, a small, Syrian-backed group that has been fighting the Jewish state for decades. Two guerrillas were lightly wounded, the group said.

Later Wednesday, Israeli warplanes flew low over southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa Valley in apparent reconnaissance flights that drew anti-aircraft fire from the Lebanese army, Lebanese security officials said.

Witnesses said warplanes roared over the PFLP-GC guerrilla base at Naameh, a hilltop base overlooking the Mediterranean five miles south of Beirut. They heard two booms.

The Israeli army said the attack was in response to rockets fired at the northern Israel town of Kiryat Shmona on Tuesday night. It said it views such attacks with "extreme severity" and holds Lebanon responsible.

Fitzgerald: The fifth column

Jihad Watch Board Vice President Hugh Fitzgerald makes some observations about the American Muslim community in the wake of the radiation scandal:

It is forbidden for a Believer to ally with an Infidel against other Believers. The American government should ponder that carefully -- especially the armed services, the diplomatic corps, and the intelligence services. There are people who may be Muslim-for-identification-purposes-only Muslims. There may be those who are bad Muslims, and who can be bribed to work against fellow Muslims. But those, one must assume, will be the exceptions. One must assume that when someone identifies himself as a Believer, he subscribes to the central idea of Islam (after monotheism): the idea that there is one division, and one only, that counts in the world: the division between Believer and Infidel.

This division has clear political implications, as the influential and high-profile Imam Muzammil H. Siddiqi of the Islamic Society of North America reminded us in 2002: “We must not forget that Allah's rules have to be established in all lands..."

And how can one do that when outright military conquest is not possible?

The answer, in the new conditions in which Mr. Siddiqi now finds himself, is clear: "..as Muslims, we should participate in the system to safeguard our interests and try to bring about gradual change..."

We "should participate" in order "to safeguard our [Muslim] interests" and "try to bring about gradual change..." which can only mean islamization -- a situation where, even if some Infidels remain, they are subjugated to the rule of Islam.

For a Believer, a True Believer such as Mr. Siddiqi, it cannot be otherwise. A past master, necessarily, at taqiyya and kitman, at obfuscation and speaking with forked tongue so that Muslims will understand clearly what he means and Infidels clearly misunderstand what he means -- this is a Muslim Everyman. For that he has earned what the courts like to call strict scrutiny. Every Muslim spokesman deserves such, especially in this New Season of Muslim Support for "Dialogue" and "Avoiding a Clash of Civilizations" and "Pluralism" -- meaning: let us take advantage of whatever freedoms are innocently proffered us until such time as Islam is fully entrenched and cannot be dislodged, and islamization is well underway through demography and a relentless campaign of Da'wa, aided and abetted by an equally relentless campaign of sweet nothings or when those won't do, intimidation and threat of litigation. It is the same everywhere, with the results we all see -- in Holland today, and in France and England tomorrow.

Is it beyond the wit of Americans to learn from the unhappy experience of others?

Is there any non-Muslim in Europe today who could disagree with the following statement: "The existence of a large population of Muslims in European countries has led, for the indigenous Infidels as well as for other non-Muslim arrivals, such as Hindus and Buddhists, to a situation that is far more unpleasant, unsettled, expensive, and physically dangerous than it would otherwise be." That statement is true. How one figures out what can be done, or cannot be done, and how one acts or fails to act, is another matter. But the observation itself cannot, by the realistic, be denied.

What can Muslims do to change this perception, should they choose to do so? Many things. When we learn of a single Muslim would-be terrorist, or actual terrorist, or instigator or promoter of ideas that naturally would lead someone to engage in acts of terrorism being turned in by a member of CAIR, or MPAC, or ISNA, and we learn it was done not to win a green card, and not for the payment of a large sum of money (as is the case with the very few Arab and Muslim informants who have been used), then maybe we'll talk.

Or if we hear of acts of derring-do, you know, some all-Muslim brigade that forms voluntarily and takes on the toughest jobs smashing the "insurgents" in Iraq or the Taliban in Afghanistan, whose exploits would be akin to those of the 442nd Regiment, composed entirely of Japanese-Americans, that was the first or second most dedicated unit in the Second World War, well then may be we'll talk.

But what we see instead is an attempt at every level to gut the quite mild security measures already taken, from preposterously forcing the government not to monitor radiation levels in mosques to protesting any attempt to give extra attention to people who are either Muslims or believed to be Muslims in airports and other searches. And this pressure comes from groups that constantly attack the government, whose officials have in the past been arrested and convicted of supporting terrorism. And when we see a Muslim Marine desert not once but twice (he is now safely in Lebanon) after giving us that stirring "Semper Fi" speech, and the Muslim soldier who killed two of his officers and wounded others, all because he sided with his fellow Muslims against these people, sleeping in their tents, whom he believed would "harm Muslims," or the sailor who apparently had contact with a Muslim ashore and offered to reveal details about the ship he was on, or the Muslim F.B.I. agent who refused to wear a wire because he would not record a "fellow Muslim" or.... well, if there were ever a record that indicated, as clearly as possible, that we are dealing with a Fifth Column, the record is there.

And why should anyone be surprised? Read the Qur'an, with commentary. Read the Hadith. Read the Sira, and find out what Muhammad said about Believers and how they should treat Unbelievers. Muslims are inculcated with the teachings of Islam; the world is divided, uncompromisingly between Believer and Infidel. And now those Muslims live, with Infidels, in Infidel lands. And Muslims threaten those Infidels, their laws, their customs, their understandings, their physical well-being. Why should anyone with a good knowledge of Islam, unfooled by the army of apologists intent on obscuring what Islam teaches, not believe that all Muslim groups should be treated as being made up of individual Believers whose sole loyalty is to the umma al-islamiyya, the Community of Believers, and to the Cause of Islam, to the Jihad to spread Islam? Why should Infidels think for one minute that Believers do not believe that? Perhaps CAIR or one of the other groups can explain how, despite Qur'an, Hadith, and Sira, a Muslim in America can owe his loyalty not to fellow Muslims and Islam, but to fellow Infidel Americans, and to the Infidel nation-state that is under the Constitution, and not, as in Iraq, with "Islam" as the final authority which cannot be contradicted.

Explain it to us, please.

We're all ears.

Spencer: Radioactive Mosques?

In FrontPage this morning I discuss the mosque-checking brouhaha. Many news links in the original:

New revelations that federal officials are checking mosques for radiation levels has the Council on American Islamic Relations in an uproar. CAIR’s Ibrahim Hooper fumed: “This creates the appearance that Muslims are targeted simply for being Muslims. I don’t think this is the message the government wants to send at this time.” A CAIR statement claimed that the monitoring “could lead to the perception that we are no longer a nation ruled by law, but instead one in which fear trumps constitutional rights. All Americans should be concerned about the apparent trend toward a two-tiered system of justice, with full rights for most citizens, and another diminished set of rights for Muslims.”

Indeed, the mainstream media has made much of potential Constitutional issues, trumpeting the fact that the radiation monitoring has been done without search warrants -- even though no actual searches have been carried out. Also, Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse maintained that “FBI agents do not intrude across any constitutionally protected areas without the proper legal authority,” and that it does not monitor groups in general but only acts on specific information. Is there any such information in this case? Roehrkasse spoke of official concern with “a growing body of sensitive reporting that continues to show al-Qaida has a clear intention to obtain and ultimately use chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear” weapons.

This has been public knowledge for years. Not long after 9/11, Americans discovered plans for constructing nuclear weapons in a former Al-Qaeda safe house in Kabul. A 2003 CIA report stated that jihad terrorists “have a wide variety of potential agents and delivery means to choose from for chemical, biological and radiological or nuclear (CBRN) attacks.” Other reports have claimed that Osama bin Laden himself met with Pakistani nuclear scientists; that Al-Qaeda has already obtained nuclear material on the Russian black market, and that jihadists already having brought those nukes into the United States. Others asserted that Al-Qaeda was planning to smuggle nuclear material into the U.S. from Mexico. But even if none of that is true, there is no doubt that jihadists are working in that direction. Ramzi bin al-Shibh, one of the masterminds of 9/11, has declared that “in killing Americans…Muslims should not exceed four million non-combatants, or render more than ten million of them homeless.”

But of course, no Muslims who believe that four million Americans should be murdered are actually on American soil, right? Unfortunately, we have no way to know this for sure. Political correctness and unproven assumptions have kept the media and even law enforcement officials from asking the hard questions they should ask of Muslim leaders in the U.S. Absurdities consequently abound. One police official lamented: “We’ll come back from a Kumbayah meeting with a local mosque and realize that these guys who just agreed to help us are in our terror files!” The most notorious example of this phenomenon may be former Cleveland Muslim leader Fawaz Damra, who signed the Fiqh Council of North America’s condemnation of terrorism and now faces deportation for failing to disclose his ties to terrorist groups. Damra, widely respected as a moderate voice up until his arrest, was never expelled from his communities in Brooklyn or Cleveland (or evidently even reprimanded) despite having said at a 1989 Islamic conference that “the first principle is that terrorism, and terrorism alone, is the path to liberation.”

The core problem is that peaceful American Muslims have not moved to expose, expel, or separate themselves from those who hold such sentiments. There is no wall of separation in the American Muslim community between Muslims who accept American pluralism and just want to live ordinary lives and those who hold to the same ideology of jihad and the destruction or subjugation of infidels to which Osama bin Laden has dedicated his life. There is no easy or reliable way to distinguish a Muslim who may be working to launch a chemical or nuclear strike in the U.S. from one who abhors the very idea. Do the Muslims who hope to perpetrate such violence operate or at least congregate in mosques? Yes, they do. Sahim Alwan, a onetime leader of the Yemeni community in Lackawanna, New York and president of the mosque there, has the distinction of being the first American to attend an Al Qaeda training camp. Maher Hawash’s transition from secular Intel exec to jihadist was accompanied by an increase in his Islamic fervor and frequent mosque attendance.

This doesn’t mean that every Muslim in the United States is secretly plotting a nuclear strike. But with all the evidence that Al-Qaeda is making every effort to launch such an attack, would it really be wise to risk everything on the assumption that none are? Hooper’s outrage over unequal treatment supposedly being accorded to Muslims founders on the fact that it is only Muslim groups that have declared their desire to launch a nuclear strike against the United States. We would be foolish -- suicidally so -- not to take all necessary steps to protect ourselves accordingly. If Hooper were genuinely concerned about the unfair targeting of Muslims, he could direct the efforts of his organization to making concerted efforts to work with law enforcement officials to identify and apprehend jihadists in the United States, and to turn Muslims in America away from the jihad ideology. The fact that he does nothing toward either of these ends, and instead raises false Constitutional specters against genuine efforts to protect this country from a catastrophic attack, speaks volumes. There is no Constitutional right to harbor radioactive material. This monitoring should continue.

Australia: Muslims to shame extremist teachers

This is, of course, just what we need -- if it is done sincerely and thoroughly. If and only if. But the jury is still very much out as to whether it will go to the core of the problem: the jihad teachings in the Qur'an, Hadith, Sira, and fiqh. More on this story from The Australian, with thanks to JE:

SELF-APPOINTED Muslim religious figures would be named and shamed and young followers warned away from them as part of a push to weed out extremist Islamic teachings in Australia.

Moderate leader Yasser Soliman yesterday backed the need to regulate and censor Muslim clerics, saying there was growing concern that Muslims "having read a few books in their back yard" were too often claiming "they're somehow sheiks, or imams, or clerics".

Under a plan being devised by moderate Muslim leaders -- and revealed in The Australian yesterday -- a new national board of imams would register clerics and set guidelines for religious figures, including setting qualification levels.

Under the plan, which has angered clerics such as Melbourne's hardline Sheik Mohammad Omran, sermons could also be monitored by the board.

The head of John Howard's Muslim Advisory Council, Ameer Ali, told The Australian that followers of the radical imams would be "told these whom they are following are not telling the right interpretation of Islam, and that's not what Islam is all about".

Dr Ali warned that clerics who failed to comply with the guidelines, which will be thrashed out at a national meeting of Muslim leaders next month, would be publicly identified.

"If the majority of the imams and the leaders are moderates and have to turn to set guidelines, then those who want to stay in the periphery will be identified," said Dr Ali, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.

Iraq: Sunnis left out of police and army

Iranian Shi'ite expansionism update from The Australian, with thanks to JE:

BAGHDAD: Voting results from Iraq's election show that Sunnis, who ran Saddam Hussein's security apparatus, have been all but expunged from the nation's police and military.

The New York Times has reported that in contrast to the remarkable surge in Sunni participation in the political process, partial voting results made public yesterday show the group is severely under-represented in the new security forces.

Al-Qaeda in Gaza

Background that is pertinent to this story. Jamie Glazov of FrontPage interviews David Keyes, author of “Al-Qaeda Infiltration of Gaza: A Post-Disengagement Assessment”:

Frontpage Interview’s guest today is David Keyes, who assisted a former Israeli ambassador to the U.N. and specialized on terrorism at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He recently returned from the Middle East where he co-authored academic papers with the former U.N. ambassador and the former head of Israeli military intelligence research and assessment. His latest paper, entitled “Al-Qaeda Infiltration of Gaza: A Post-Disengagement Assessment” was published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

FP: David Keyes, welcome to Frontpage Interview.

Keyes: Thank you for inviting me.

FP: There have been some disturbing reports that after Israel’s disengagement from Gaza, al-Qaeda has crossed into that territory from Egypt. Can you tell us what you know about this disturbing possibility?

Keyes: The Israeli Ministry of Defense recently reported that in the wake of disengagement from Gaza, al-Qaeda members infiltrated the evacuated areas from Egypt. This is not the first time al-Qaeda has been spotted in Gaza. There is, in fact, increasing evidence of al-Qaeda influence and infiltration in Gaza and parts of the West Bank. Back in 2003, Israeli forces arrested Hamas terrorists after they returned from al-Qaeda training facilities in Afghanistan. That same year, two al-Qaeda operatives were recruited into Hamas in order to execute the Mike’s Place suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. More recently, according to the Palestinian Authority, a new al-Qaeda group called “Jundallah” (Allah’s Brigades) has formed in Gaza. In May 2005, this group executed its first attack against Israelis. Al-Qaeda’s presence in Gaza has also been confirmed by one of Hamas’ leading spokesmen, Mahmoud az-Zahar. Lastly, leaflets in Khan Yunis have been distributed by al-Qaeda’s “Palestine Branch.”

These are just a few of the recent developments regarding al-Qaeda in Gaza. As you can imagine, this does not portend well for the future of global counter-terrorism efforts. It is important to emphasize that this is not a danger to Israel alone. Rather, America and the entire free world are also threatened by the growing al-Qaeda presence in Gaza. Due to their global ambitions and uncompromising ideology, there is no safe place to hide from groups such as al-Qaeda. Nor is there a reasonable policy that will satisfy these fascists. Appeasement will only invite more terror and carnage. It is—quite literally—a fight to the death. New York, London, Madrid, Casablanca, Amman, Bali… this is only the beginning.

FP: What are Islamists up to in trying to infiltrate Gaza? What are their objectives?

Keyes: Naturally, they are attempting to destroy Israel. But that is certainly not all they seek. Radical Islamists, like al-Qaeda, hope to topple all Western governments, overthrow moderate Arab regimes, and impose the most severe restraints on all who disagree with their perverted world-view. They wish to replicate the Islamic conquests of the seventh century and restore the Caliphate. Wahhabism, specifically, typifies the most intolerant strain of Islam and actively seeks to subjugate Shiites, homosexuals, Jews, women, Christians, and anyone who even remotely resembles a non-Wahhabi. They make no distinction between civilians and the military. Those who struck America on September 11th were not all that different from the Wahhabis who put 5000 Shiites to the sword in Karbala in 1802. An infidel is an infidel. We must not kid ourselves about the true nature of this threat. Nor can we delude ourselves into thinking that the problem will dissolve of its own accord, if only left alone.

FP: Tell us the consequences if al-Qaeda achieves a foothold in Gaza.

Keyes: The existence of al-Qaeda anywhere, poses a grave threat to nations everywhere. Before September 11th, the presence of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, sheltered by the Taliban, raised little concern throughout the world. This was true on the security, as well as the human rights, level. Think: How many anti-Taliban rallies were held world-wide to protest the brutal oppression of women in Afghanistan before 2001? No, it took Operation Enduring Freedom to find something to protest. Those who sat silent as an entire population was enslaved by the Taliban somehow found time to protest the war it took to destroy that dastardly regime. Incidentally, the same was true of Saddam’s Iraq. The liberation of Iraq from the clutches of one of the worst tyrants of the 20th century, elicited more opposition than the Butcher of Baghdad’s own fascistic 30-year rule. Strange times we live in.

On September 11th, however, the world witnessed that the delusions of a relatively small number of fanatics could have the deadliest of consequences. Though the message had been sent countless times prior, from the seizing of American hostages in 1979 through the 1993 World Trade Center bombing up to the 1998 attacks on our embassies in Africa, few choose to take the threat seriously. The world—America included—was asleep at the wheel. Terrorism had been treated as a criminal problem and people like Mullah Omar, Abdul Rahman Yasin, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had little more to fear than the wrath of an American prosecutor armed with an arrest warrant. Unfortunately, these types of people don’t fear that type of response. What they have rightly come to fear is the U.S. 101st Airborne. Though bin Laden declared war on America in the mid-1990s, it was not until years later, after 3000 men, women and children had been slaughtered in a single morning that America decided to respond in kind. In short, we were not on war-footing against the forces of radical Islam and totalitarianism in the Middle East until it was far too late.

It would serve us well to remember that the deadly machinations of 9/11 were hatched largely in remote regions of Afghanistan, a far distance from America or Western civilization. It is in this context that the threat of al-Qaeda in Gaza should be viewed. Al-Qaeda has always sought security vacuums from which to operate, from Afghanistan in the 1980s to Somalia in the 1990s to the Waziristan provinces near the Pakistani border today. After the 2001 U.S.-led military intervention in Afghanistan, al-Qaeda dispersed, in large part toward the Kurdish regions of Iraq. Many al-Qaeda members fled to Iran as well. Since Operation Enduring Freedom, two-thirds of al-Qaeda’s senior leadership have been killed or captured.

It is likely that al-Qaeda now believes it can capitalize on the disarray in Gaza. At a time when it needs all the help it can get, assistance from groups like Hamas, would be welcomed with open arms. Even a small number of al-Qaeda operatives in chaos-ridden Gaza posses a serious threat—especially if it continues unchecked and is allowed to metastasize. A former Chief of Staff of the I.D.F. recently remarked to me that the precise number of al-Qaeda members in Gaza is largely unimportant. Rather, their infectious ideology coupled with the dogged persistence of a few dedicated terrorists can wreak havoc upon the world.

FP: When the Israelis disengaged, they left supervision of the area in the hands of Egyptian and Palestinian security personnel. Isn’t this a joke? Egyptian security might be more credible than Palestinian “security” -- if that is what we can even call it – but this is really a tragic situation, no?

Keyes: Absolutely. Leaving oversight of sensitive entry-exit points in Gaza to the Egyptians and Palestinians was one of the worst upshots of Israel’s disengagement. In effect, it allowed for massive amounts of arms and terrorists to enter Gaza and approach Israel’s doorstep, with little or no interference. In the past few years, literally hundreds of smuggling tunnels have been discovered and destroyed by the I.D.F. Without the tireless efforts of the Israeli security forces, what awaits Gaza is all likelihood a mini “Hamas-stan,” “Hezbollah-stan” or “al-Qaeda-stan,” armed to the teeth, with the belief that enough violence can force Israel into retreat. Kassam rockets continue to reign down on Israel from Gaza with disturbing regularity. Though these rockets do not have the lethality of suicide-bombers, entire cities are held hostage by the frightful prospect of rockets randomly falling from the sky. Surely this is an untenable situation from Israel’s point of view.

As a result of disengagement, Israel has lost control over territory, which has proven to be a most vital asset in stopping terror attacks. As Israel withdrew from more and more territory during Olso, and allowed the Palestinians to build up a terrorist infrastructure, violence and suicide bombings flourished. Doron Almog, the General who was in charge of Gaza from 2000-2003, estimates that 70% of hostile action in Gaza was prevented inside the territory through offensive Israeli action. Additionally, Israel has lost much of its intelligence gathering capability which, for the past many years, has helped stop countless suicide bombings. It is possible that the true effects of disengagement will not be seen for some time to come. The second intifada, for example, began several months after Barak’s unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon. Many believe that the former was encouraged by the latter. Sheikh Nasrallah called on his Palestinian brethren to rise up and follow Hezbollah’s example of forcing Israel into retreat through armed struggle. Just a few days ago, Israel’s Defense Minister pointed to a number of attempted suicide-bombings and predicted a major outbreak in Palestinian violence. Disengagement was an enormous security risk for Israel. Though there is little reason for optimism here, let us hope that the Palestinians will do more than they have done historically in cracking down on terrorism.

FP: What can the U.S., Israel and other allied nations do to counter act this terrible threat?

Keyes: First and foremost, Egypt must be pressured to a far greater degree to siphon off smuggling routes and underground tunnels. It is no secret that al-Qaeda has built up forces in the Sinai and are likely moving toward Gaza to escape the heavy-handed tactics of Egyptian security forces. Egypt has done a terrible job cracking down on these tunnels, and has likely been complicit to a degree as well. Former I.D.F. Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Yaalon stated not long ago that smoke was seen rising from Egyptian army posts after smuggling tunnels were blown up. Egypt receives about $2 billion of aid from the U.S. yearly. Despite the fact that it is a dictatorship, holds only sham elections, intimidates candidates, assaults voters in the streets, restricts basic freedoms of speech and press, the money still flows. The absolute bare minimum Egypt should be expected to do is effectively patrol its border, much as Jordan has done to counter its al-Qaeda threat. One can only conclude that the U.S. is not putting nearly enough pressure on Mubarak—not only in the way of Gaza smuggling—but regarding democratic reform as well.

The Palestinian Authority is, unfortunately, also a part of the problem. Though some believe Abbas is completely different from Arafat, his recent actions suggest otherwise. First, he has continually stated that he will not disarm or confront radical groups like Hamas. This is undeniably a recipe for continued bloodshed in the region. America should cease funding this madness in the PA—especially if Hamas (which has killed many Americans as well) is allowed to run in Palestinian elections. Abbas also recently enacted a law to send money from the PA to families of suicide bombers. That is exactly what Arafat and Saddam Hussein once did. Actions such as these directly encourage suicide bombing, period. Though many have pinned their hopes for Middle East peace on Abbas, the question remains as to how he can provide direct financial support to encourage suicide bombing and simultaneously be considered a moderate leader who is an ally in the war on terror?

The PA continues to refuse to take any serious measures against terrorist groups emanating from the territory they control. Israel stands alone in shouldering this heavy burden. The I.D.F. should further pursue its policy of targeted assassination against terror leaders. Periodically, Israel stops this policy for an extended period of time, but this only allows terrorists to reconstitute their infrastructure and rejuvenate their ability to fight. It is my belief that the I.D.F should continue in the vein of when it eliminated Hamas leaders Rantisi and Yassin in rapid succession, without apology. When radical Palestinian groups attempt to negotiate a cease-fire, often their first demand is an end to Israeli targeted assassinations. This is a wonderful indicator that the policy is working. Terrorist groups spend the majority of their time avoiding assassination, instead of planning future attacks, and that is the way it should be. Furthermore, immediately after a suicide-bombing, it is not unusual to hear that in response, Israel has destroyed a Hamas or Islamic Jihad weapons making factory. My question is, if Israel knew where the weapons factory was, why didn’t they take it out before the suicide-bombing? Would this not have been a more effective tactic? Where, after all, do terrorists get their weapons if not from weapons factories?!

FP: David Keyes, thank you for joining us today.

Keyes: It's been a pleasure. Thank you again for inviting me.

Gaza gunmen clash with police

"Gunmen from the ruling Palestinian movement Fatah traded fire with police and shut election offices." The impulse to civil war in Gaza comes from those who wish to establish a Sharia state there; Abbas and Fatah represent the last confused (because already diluted beyond recognition) manifestation of the secular Arab nationalist impulse, with Arafat already having transformed himself from a leftist revolutionary into a virtual jihadist in his last years. Civil war update from Gaza, via Reuters, with thanks to JE:

GAZA (Reuters) - Gunmen from the ruling Palestinian movement Fatah traded fire with police and shut election offices in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in a new challenge to President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of next month's election.

The gunmen demanded changes to the latest proposed list of election candidates, which was due to be submitted by Abbas on Wednesday as a way to patch up a damaging split between Fatah veterans and younger rivals.

The internal Palestinian squabbles, clashes with Israel, and the prospect of Israel's own elections early next year have stalled any hopes of peacemaking in the near future.

The growing violence has driven some officials to urge Abbas to postpone the election, in which Hamas Islamic militants stand to benefit from the confusion within long-dominant Fatah.

Dadullah: My talks with them will only be for their destruction...

One appendage shy of human form has not dulled a Taliban commander's cognisance of jihad. From the AP:

In an interview late on Sunday, the commander, Mullah Dadullah, ruled out any reconciliation with the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai and claimed the country's new parliament -- its first in more than 30 years, inaugurated last week -- was "obedient to America."

"More than 200 Taliban have registered themselves for suicide attacks with us which shows that a Muslim can even sacrifice his life for the well-being of his faith. Our suicide attackers will continue jihad (holy war) until Americans and all of their Muslim and non-Muslim allies are pulled out of the country," he said.

Dadullah, who lost a leg fighting for the Taliban during its rise to power in the mid-1990s, is one of the hard-line militia's top commanders, responsible for operations in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan -- and as such, a man wanted by the US-led coalition hunting Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters.

[The Mullah] ruled out reconciliation and talks with Karzai's government, saying it "owed its existence" to non-Muslims, and to do so would amount to "joining Christianity and working for Christians."

"My talks with them will only be for their destruction and nothing else," he said.

Iran says Muslim nations should unite

In support of this article posted at Jihad Watch back in August, Iran's Majlis (Parliament) has stated their goal of a unified Islamic world.

“We strongly support unity among Islamic nations”, the Majlis Speaker said, adding that such unity was critical in preserving the interests of the nations.

Of course the "interests" of the Iranian nation come first because the comment was made in conjunction with a courtship of Indonesia regarding Iran's nuclear program.

Tehran is banking on Jakarta’s support in a possible upcoming showdown over its controversial nuclear activities which the West believes is for developing the A-bomb. Indonesia is one of 35 governing board members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that have the power to refer Tehran’s nuclear dossier to the United Nations Security Council.

However, it is obvious the Iranian Majlis view their republic to be the leader of this future pan Islamic nation.

Rockets hit Northern Israel

Recent attention has focused primarily on the threat posed by the small rockets wielded by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Those weapons, however, pale in comparison to what Hezbollah has deployed in Southern Lebanon. The Jerusalem Post is reporting that the Shi'ite terrorist group fired at least one such rocket into Israel on Tuesday night:

Four people were lightly wounded after a Kiryat Shmona home was hit by a Katyusha rocket fired by the Hizbullah late Tuesday evening.

Two impacts were reported in different locations in the city - one on Rehov Yehuda Halevi and one in the Vradim neighborhood in east Kiryat Shmona. Initial reports said that one of the impact sites was close to a high-tension wire, Israel Radio reported.

On the same street in 1974, terrorists stormed an apartment building and 18 people were killed, eight of whom were children, when PFLP terrorists detonated their explosives during a failed rescue attempt by Israeli security forces.

Kiryat Shmona residents have been advised to enter shelters.

Explosions were also reported in Moshav Shlomi in the western Galilee and in Nahariya. Security forces were checking whether the explosions in Shlomi were mortar shells or Katyushas.

For additional info on Hezbollah's rocket arsenal, refer to my article on the subject, featured in the Winter 2006 edition of the Middle East Quarterly.

Ban the Brotherhood

Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen comment on the resurgent Muslim Brotherhood in FrontPage:

The recent electoral victory of the outlawed Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (MB), which won 88 seats up from 15 in the 454 member Parliament, should not be celebrated as an indication of liberalization, democracy and freedom. Neither should the 62 seat win predicted for Hamas - the MB’s progeny - in the Palestinian territories. Both the MB and Hamas are exploiting the U.S. call for democratization in the Middle East, using free elections to gain legitimate political power. However, neither organization has changed its charter; both seek to create a global Islamic state, where life would be dictated by the Shari’a.

On October 28, 2005, President George W. Bush denounced IslamoFascist movements which call for a “violent and political vision: the establishment, by terrorism, subversion and insurgency, of a totalitarian empire that denies all political and religious freedom.”

The violent version of this vision is the heart of the MB’s ideology and was promoted publicly until 9/11. But true to its strategy, the MB, the parent of all Sunni terrorist groups, is using its “flexibility” to deflect attention.

Egypt served as the laboratory for the MB’s strategy. In the decades since it was established in 1928, it worked under the doctrine of “concealment” (kitman) towards the “Islamization” of the country’s institutions and populace. During that time, it periodically engaged in direct action. In the 1930’s and 1940’s, the MB collaborated with the Nazis. Later they engaged in many forms of civil disturbance, from rioting to the takeover of a police station, to an attempted coup d’etat, as with the October 1981 assassination of the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. More recently, MB splinter groups, such as Gama'a al-Islamiya and the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, using suicide bombings, have focused attacks on Western tourists, killing hundreds of innocent visitors and Egyptian bystanders over the last decade alone.

Pragmatic, like the Communists, the MB uses many other names and democratic slogans to mislead the public. In the recent elections in Egypt, the MB claimed that it is now striving to Islamize society through peaceful means. However, on its website, the movement statement remains the same: it seeks to install a worldwide Caliphate, through stages that will accomplish the Islamization of the targeted nations by whichever means. When those stages are completed, the MB intends to overthrow its host societies and implement Islamic law (shariah).

The MB is the fountainhead from which Sunni terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Gamaat Islamiyyah, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, and the Abu Sayyaf group have sprung. Their ties to the MB are clearly evident from their identical strategic agenda.

Like these Islamist terror organizations, the MB publicly states its Modus Operandi: “Preparing the society is achieved through plans for: spreading the Islamic culture, the possible media means, mosques, and Da’awa [inviting others to Islam, an obligatory duty for Muslims], work in public organizations such as syndicates, parliaments, student unions.” Thus, members of the Muslim Brotherhood, like those in al-Qaeda and HAMAS, provide theoretical and material support to new recruits in universities, mosques, madrassas and Islamic “Cultural Centers.”

The MB states that the “movement is flexible enough to allow working under the "Ikhwan" name, under other names, or working according to every country's circumstances.” Allowing MB groups such leeway illustrates the fundamentally covert nature of the organization, as was demonstrated in the latest development in Egypt. The MB’s long-term strategy to undermine and overthrow governments that do not adhere to Islamic law is now underway in that country.

After a failed assassination attempt on Gamal Abdel Nasser’s life, in 1954, hundreds of MB members fled from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. There, where the House of Saud practices Wahhabism, political Islam also known as contemporary Salafism, they quickly re-established themselves in the universities. By 1961, they even convinced King Sa'ud to fund the establishment of the Islamic University in Medina. Eventually, MB members were the mentors of future Al-Qaeda leaders such as Sheikh Abdullah Azzam and Osama bin Laden.

The MB has also established branches in “over 70 countries all over the world,” including: Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Britain, Switzerland, Lebanon, Pakistan, Morocco, France, India, Jordan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and the United States. Wherever the MB operates, it engages in subversion and proselytization.

In the U.S., the MB claims to operate through “Political Activism.” The MB planted its roots in the U.S. in 1963 with the establishment of the Muslim Student Association (MSA). Since then it has been patiently operating and waiting for opportunities to make advances, according to the teaching of its leading theorist, Sayyid Qutb. Knowing when to retreat or when to advance in the non-Muslim world, or “domain of war” (dar al-harb), depends upon the MB’s strategic assessment of a host society’s “weakness” (istid’af).

In its educational theory published by The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) based in Herndon, VA, the MB refers to its strategic vision as the “Islamization of society and knowledge.” Under this plan, a minority Muslim group infiltrates, through legitimate legal processes, a society’s majority secular institutions, starting with its universities. Over time, “Islamized” Muslim and non-Muslim university graduates enter the nation’s workforce, including its civil service sectors. From there, those “Islamized” graduates are poised to subvert a host society’s law enforcement branches, intelligence community, military branches, and foreign services.

Indeed, organizations that support the MB dogma as practiced by HAMAS include: The American Muslim Council (AMC), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The Muslim American Society (MAS) also adheres to the MB’s dogma. The official MAS publication, the American Muslim, posts the biography and “appreciation” of Hasan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The American Muslim noted in its first issue: “Created in Egypt in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood became the first mass-based, overtly political movement to oppose the ascendancy of secular and Western ideas in the Middle East. The brotherhood saw in these ideas the root of the decay of Islamic societies in the modern world, and advocated a return to Islam as a solution to the ills that had befallen Muslim societies.”

Although exposure to the U.S. should generate more openness towards democracy and individual and religious freedom, the latest arrival of an additional 5,000 Saudi students to U.S. universities could perfectly serve the MB’s infiltration strategy. Saudi students, well versed in “fanatical and murderous, indeed explicitly genocidal” Wahhabism, which R. James Woolsey, former CIA Director identified as “IslamoNazi” ideology, may turn out to be new emissaries carrying the fanatical Wahhabi creed that is bound to advance the MB agenda in the U.S.

In the interest of preserving freedom in the U.S. while advancing it globally, it is time to recognize the Muslim Brotherhood and its splinter organizations for what they are and designate them as terrorist organizations.

Jihadists threaten to upgrade missiles

Now wait a minute. I thought they were so desperately poor they had to resort to suicide bombing for lack of any other weapons. This propaganda line is getting really hard to follow. "Terrorists threaten to upgrade missiles," from the Jerusalem Post, with thanks to Johnny and Lisa:

Three armed Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip on Monday threatened to continue their attacks on Israel and said they have long-range missiles capable of reaching more Israeli towns and cities.

One of the groups belongs to Fatah, the ruling party headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The two others are the Popular Resistance Committees, an alliance of various armed groups, and al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad.

Wretched simpleton update

This little love note just in from a mysteriously anti-Semitic "Hindu," who appears to have forgotten the Muslim genocide in India that claimed as many as 70 million lives, and the fact that what Jews have done to India is, well, nothing at all:

This webpage of yours is a masterpiece of crap. All your readers,including Jews,Iam sure ,pity you for your thinly disguised artwork of deceit.Let me remind you that both Jews and Muslims have a common ancestor.They share many common features,both physical and moral.But they have been bickering over nonsensical issues for so long.To me ,as a Hindu,I believe they should both be shipped ,together in one bag,to another planet,and the further from our solar system,the better!. Maybe then this Earth could enjoy some peace at last!

Do you not agree,you wretched simpleton?

Uh, no. But thank you for your suggestion!

A wave of Islamist terror sweeps over Bangladeshi press at year’s end

I am unwilling to give in to threats and attempts at intimidation. I hope you are too. If only a tiny minority is not cowed, we have already lost. Jihad in Bangladesh update from Reporters Without Borders, with thanks to Summiter:

Reporters Without Borders and the Bangladesh Centre for the Development of Journalism and Communication (BCDJC) voiced deep concern today about a mounting wave of Islamist terrorism in Bangladesh and its impact on the press. At least 50 journalists and 10 publications have been threatened by terrorist groups in the past four months over supposedly “anti-Islamic” articles yet the government seems unable to restore confidence in the face of this new danger for the media.

“After ignoring the terrorist threat for so long, the authorities now have a responsibility to come up with a response,” the two organisations said. “At stake is the safety of hundreds of threatened journalists who want to freely inform the public about the terrorism affecting their country. If the government fails to restore confidence among the journalists, investigative reports on jihadism will not be undertaken and self censorship will become the rule. We call on the authorities to establish a global plan for the protection of journalists and publications threatened by jihadist groups.

At least 55 journalists have received death threats since September from Jamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), an Islamist group that has also promised to blow up eight newspapers and three press clubs. The latest victim, Amar Desh advisory editor Ataus Samad, received a letter from JMB on 22 December that said his newspaper would be “the next target.”

Kuwait sentences al Qaeda-linked militants to death

Here's hoping they strike at the root of the problem -- at the root causes of what made them "Al-Qaeda-linked militants" to start with. No, I am not holding my breath. From Reuters, with thanks to Cindy:

KUWAIT (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti court on Tuesday sentenced to death six suspected militants linked to al Qaeda for bloody attacks in the country.

The six were among 37 Islamists on trial as members of the "Peninsula Lions" group believed to be linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

They include 25 Kuwaitis, seven stateless Arabs, two Jordanians, a Saudi, an Australian and a Somali....

Seven were acquitted including Islamist cleric Sheikh Hamed al-Ali, lawyer Osama al-Munawer who represents Islamists as well as the wife of Amer al-Enezi -- one of al Qaeda's top leaders in Kuwait who died in custody in February.

"I thank God. I've believed in my innocence all along," Munawer told Reuters by phone. "The death sentence was very tough as it was never proven that they took up arms to fight against anyone. I hope they will get a fair trial on appeal."...

The suspects were charged with belonging to an "extremist" group, calling for attacks on state facilities, and trying to kill Kuwaiti security forces as well as members of "friendly forces" in the country....

Prosecutors had demanded the death penalty for about 20 suspects for four shootouts in January in which nine Islamists and four security personnel were killed.

Police have said some of the suspects had confessed to planning suicide attacks against U.S. military and Western targets in Kuwait, but several militants have denied the charges saying confessions were extracted under duress.

Kuwait has cracked down on Islamists opposing the U.S. military presence there. Diplomats say radical Islam is taking hold among Kuwaiti youth.

Osthoff was treated well because she’s Muslim

More evidence of the sharp distinction between believers and unbelievers in Islam -- a distinction that colors virtually every aspect of Muslim/infidel interaction and coexistence. From IslamOnline, with thanks to all who sent this in:

A German woman recently released in Iraq after being held hostage for more than three weeks said on Monday that her captors promised not to hurt her because she is a Muslim.

Susanne Osthoff, a 43-year-old aid worker and archaeologist, told an Arabic TV channel that her kidnappers also said they didn’t want money in exchange for her release.

“They said 'Ms. Susan, we know you and you are Iraq's friend'," said Osthoff, a convert to Islam.

"'We're informing you now this was a political reason why we kidnapped you, and we'll inform you later about what will happen, so don't be afraid, we don't harm women or children, and you are Muslim'," Osthoff quoted one of the kidnappers as saying.

Violence Creates Island of Terror in Indonesia

AP (thanks to Twostellas) notices the Poso jihad that we have covered here for months:

POSO, Indonesia — Masked, black-clad and brandishing machetes, the attackers sprang from behind a screen of tall grass and pounced on the four Christian girls as they walked to school. Within seconds, three of the teenagers were beheaded — fresh victims of violence that has turned this Indonesian island into yet another front in the terrorist wars.

"All I could do was pray to Jesus for his help," said 16-year-old Noviana Malewa, who fled with a gaping head wound. "I was streaming with blood." A thick scar runs from the back of her neck to just under her right eye.

Muslim militants are blamed for the October killings, the most gruesome yet in a campaign of terror against Christians on the island of Sulawesi.

Muslim-Christian violence from 2000 to 2002 killed some 1,000 people in Sulawesi and attracted Muslim militants from across Indonesia, including from Jemaah Islamiyah, a homegrown network linked to Al Qaeda, and even from the distant Middle East.

That is, Muslim violence against Christians, not "Muslim-Christian violence."

Despite a peace deal, bombings, shootings and other attacks on Christians have continued, especially around the small town of Poso in the heart of the octopus-shaped, Massachusetts-sized island.

Behind the attacks are Muslim islanders avenging their dead in that conflict, and terrorists bent on fomenting a new war, former fighters and security officials say.

"They want to see Poso become alive with the spirit of jihad again," said Fahirin Ibnu Achmad, an Afghan-trained militant who took part in the 2000-2002 war.

Pakistan: Jihadis allege desecration of Koran in jail

It was thrown on the floor. Allegedly. But never fear, Khalid Khawaja, a former official of Pakistan’s secret service and a friend of Osama bin Laden, is on the case of this immense human rights violation. From AKI, with thanks to Hutchrun:

Karachi, 27 Dec. (AKI) - (by Syed Saleem Shahzad) - After the reported desecration of the Koran in the Guantanamo Bay prison, which provoked riots in Afghanistan that killed at least fifteen people, a group of Islamic terror suspects in custody in Pakistan have gone on a hunger strike alleging that the Muslim sacred book has also been desecrated in their Pakistani jail. The 16 signatories of the letter, from Cell number 3 of Adyala Jail in Pakistan’s military capital Rawalpindi, have appealed to the media and to human right activists. Under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, desecration of the Koran can merit the death penalty.

"They belong to all classes of Jihadis, ranging from anti-Shiite sectarians to anti-western followers of Osama bin Laden. They are all awaiting trial and some of them have been waiting for the last five years,” said a source in Adyala Jail....

In their signed message the prisoners maintained that when Tipu Sultan visited their cell, the inmates were performing their prayers individually as they were in shackles and cannot perform prayers collectively.

In their account the assistant superintendent cursed them and forced them to stop their prayers and conducted a search during which a copy of the Koran was recovered. They say he threw it on the ground and yelled: "This is the book which teaches you terrorism. This is the book which has brought you here."

"We have also received the message and we shall not tolerate these sort of events," said retired squadron leader Khalid Khawaja. A former official of Pakistan’s secret service, ISI, Khalid Khawaja was forced to retire after which he joined the Afghan resistance against the Soviet occupation and allegedly became a close friend of Osama bin Laden. Recently he formed a human rights organization, Defence of Human Rights, primarily to fight for the human rights of Jihadis and their families.

Israeli Military Fires Into Gaza Strip

Gee, isn't it great that the Israelis have given up Gaza? The peace that has ensued has just been wondrous. From AP, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The Israeli military fired a barrage of artillery and missiles at the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, hitting two offices of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and a bridge the army said was used by militants to reach areas where they fire rockets.

Hours later, about two dozen armed Al Aqsa members briefly took over the governor's office and two other government buildings in northern Gaza — the latest outbreak of lawlessness that has undermined the rule of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel's pre-dawn aerial strikes were part of the army's attempt to halt rocket fire on Israeli towns bordering Gaza. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has approved a buffer zone in northern Gaza, although the army said it has not yet implemented the plan — which including firing on anyone who enters the area — and was unlikely to on Tuesday.

In French suburbs, rage 'is only asleep'

And why do they not feel French in France? Of course the whole world knows the French reputation for unkindness to foreigners. But why is any discussion of the EU/Arab League agreements in which the EU foreswore assimilation at the Arab League's insistence off limits for the IHT? Why no discussion of the statement by Dyab Abou Jahjah of the Arab European League calling assimilation "cultural rape"? Now it is all the fault of the French that these young Muslims feel marginalized? Well, I'm not buying. There is too much evidence on the other side.

And now, this article suggests, an end to French discrimination, a little money, a few jobs, and everything will be all right. Well, this is certainly a theory that is going to be tested. But I doubt that it will be met with reciprocal efforts on the part of Muslim leaders to encourage assimilation.

From the International Herald Tribune, with thanks to Caratacus:

BONDY, France "Burn!" A knot of young men join their voices in a battle cry as they edge closer to the silhouette of a parked Mercedes, some of them aiming what look like handguns, others reaching for lighters.

In the harsh light of an underground parking lot in this grim suburb northwest of Paris, the guns and lighters are imaginary - but the sense of aggression is real. As one of the young men films with a digital camera, the others move to the angry beat of music blasting out of an open car door, echoing into the dark December night.

They sing about the riots that erupted two months ago, about being Muslim and about not feeling French in France. For them the unrest is not over, it is waiting to break loose again.

"The quiet is deceptive," said Bala "Balastik" Coulibaly, 24, of nearby Clichy-sous-Bois, his eyes scanning the deserted parking lot from deep inside his sweatshirt as he took a break between two songs. It was in Clichy that the accidental death of two teenagers on Oct. 27 set off three weeks of rioting in immigrant neighborhoods across France.

Since then, the whiff of gasoline and tear gas has disappeared. But the calm is fragile, impatient and tinged with the cynicism of youths who fear being let down again by a political class that allowed mass unemployment and social exclusion to accumulate over three decades in the poor suburbs ringing France's big cities.

"The rage in the suburbs is only asleep," said Balastik, a French youth of Mauritanian origin who has been jobless since dropping out of school seven years ago and is dreaming of a career as a rapper with his band, Styladone. "It wouldn't take much to wake it up again."...

At the same time, the government announced a raft of measures aimed at fighting joblessness and discrimination, and declared 2006 the year of "equal opportunity." Businesses will be offered tax breaks for setting up shop in difficult suburbs, local schools will receive more attention, a new apprenticeship program for teenagers is being drawn up, and state funds for nongovernmental organizations that were canceled three years ago will be restored.

President Jacques Chirac, clearly shaken by the riots, has urged French media and businesses to reflect the country's diverse population. The minister for equal opportunity, Azouz Begag, is pondering ways of measuring diversity in order to provide companies with a benchmark.

But in suburbs like Bondy and Clichy-sous-Bois, the buzz and debate sparked by the riots are dismissed by many as little more than political posturing.

"Right now they're afraid of us, so they're making a lot of promises," said a friend of Balastik's, Ker, 23, whose parents are from Cambodia and who sings in the same band. "What we need is concrete action that is felt, here, on the ground."...

Outside the Clichy-sous-Bois city hall, Mehdi, 24, who also works for an NGO for disadvantaged youth, confirmed that he had not seen any of the new funds promised by the government.

"The faster some of the promises are transformed into action the better," said Mehdi, a Frenchman of Algerian-Moroccan origin who grew up in Clichy. "We are taking the temperature with people every day. They are waiting for changes that they feel in everyday life - and they are also waiting for justice for the two dead teenagers."

The trigger for the November violence was the accidental electrocution of two teenagers of African origin who hid in a power substation. A third teenager, who survived the incident, says the three friends were being pursued by police, a claim officers deny. The outcome of an investigation is keenly awaited in the suburbs. If the police are exonerated, it could trigger new unrest, said Mehdi, who, like others interviewed for this article, did not give his last name.

Back in the parking lot in Bondy, Balastik mimes lighting a lighter, his eyes glimmering in the harsh neon light. One of his friends is wearing a red T-shirt with a big caption that reads "Rakaille" - a rap spelling of "racaille," or "thugs," which is what Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy called the rioters at one point, fueling their anger.

"We're thugs and we're proud," Balastik quipped, adding that music was "one way of dealing with the frustration of never getting a reply to your job application."

Others channel their anger differently. Cars have continued to burn every night since the riots ended, including more than 100 across France on Christmas Eve.

Mayor: Terrorists Tried to Attack London

Of course, Red Ken's friendship with Sheikh Qaradawi suggests that the peaceful subjugation and Islamization of the West, which Qaradawi has predicted, is perfectly fine with him. He just wishes these good people wouldn't use bombs. From AP, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

LONDON - Terrorists tried to attack London eight times between the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States and last July 7, when suicide bombers killed dozens on the city's transport system, London's mayor said Monday.

Ken Livingstone said there had been two attempted attacks since July 7, including a failed attack on the transport network on July 21....

He dismissed suggestions by some government ministers and police chiefs that the city is the target of a "great organized international conspiracy."

"Largely what you're talking about is fairly disorganized and small groups of disaffected people," Livingstone said in an interview on British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

"This not a great organized international conspiracy with orders flowing down the chain."

No indeed, not a conspiracy as such. Just an immense group of people with identical goals. But that nicety has escaped the Lord Mayor.

CORRECTION: Befuddled Yank that I am, I thought the Mayor of London was the Lord Mayor, but the commenters have corrected me below. I am just gobsmacked to learn that there are two mayors of London, and dead chuffed that there are kind people here willing to set me straight. Thanks to all!

Israel prepared for 'collapse' in PA

Peace In Our Time Update from TurkishPress.com, with thanks to Mackie:

JERUSALEM - Israel is prepared for a possible "collapse" in the Palestinian Authority that could render Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas incapable of imposing law and order, a senior official said Sunday. "We are prepared for a possible collapse in the Palestinian Authority that could risk seeing Mahmud Abbas unable to impose law and order on the ground as well as within his own Fatah party," the source told AFP.

"At this point, Mahmud Abbas is so weak in relation to Hamas that he is unable to implement the smallest decision," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The powerful Islamist movement Hamas is gearing up to contest its first Palestinian parliamentary election on January 25, posing a serious challenge to Fatah's decade-long grip on power.

The official accused the Palestinian leader of being content to point the finger at Israel.

"We cannot always blame others for our own weakness," he said.

Oh, but we can sure try.

Fitzgerald: A Baker's Half-Dozen of Lessons for Boxing Day

Jihad Watch Board Vice President Hugh Fitzgerald offers some considerations on the Boston mosque:

When a Mosque Project is proposed on land owned by the government (federal, state, local) or that requires any government permission (as zoning and building permits):

1) Investigate everyone connected with the mosque, not merely the front men.

2) Find out who is signing the papers. Note: if a city employee of the local redevelopment authority (in this case the BRA) seems to take an unusual interest in expediting the whole thing, take note.

3) If the papers for the sale of land are sent to Saudi Arabia for signing, be a little suspicious. Who is paying? Could it the Saudis? Could it be part of the nearly $100 billion they have used to promote not merely Islam, but their own special brand that even orthodox Muslims (and Bernard Lewis, and James Woolsey) like to pretend is the real source of the problem? Mosques and madrasas help in the conduct of Da'wa, the main instrument of the Jihad -- the Office of War Propaganda.

4) When a sweetheart deal is made, so that public land is sold at below-market prices, ask who has been involved in the deal at every level. Any reason to think anyone at the BRA (the Boston Redevelopment Authority) took a special interest?

The Alamoudi connection, the Qaradawi connection – what will it take for Mayor Menino to retract his generous offer? City land worth millions of dollars was sold to this plausible Muslim group for under $200,000. One wonders if he will ultimately reconsider, or be forced to reconsider. I am sure that the contract can be undone, because the plan was for a purely religious institution, and any court is likely to find that this was clearly to be a "dual-use" mosque -- prayers, of course, but also a meeting place (for whom? for what purpose?), sermons from the minbar (but sermons on what subjects, and using what texts -- the khutba is nothing like sermons in churches, more politics than religion, and so on). No "dual-use" mosque should be built, or if built, should be allowed to continue to hide under First Amendment guarantees about freedom of religion -- not where a "religion" is itself "dual-use."

5) Note the location of the intended mosque. Is it placed near a population that has, by Muslims, been identified as suitable for Da'wa because the economic or other conditions of the local population make them particularly vulnerable to a belief-system that, whatever else it is, is now felt and seen as a vehicle for expressing one's alienation from, and protest at, the circumambient society? The Boston Mosque is being built right across from Roxbury Community College. This cannot, by the way, give enormous satisfaction to black ministers in the neighborhood, who of course are remaining silent -- what else can they do?

6) Ask what other wonderful things the local would-be mosque-builders are going to do in lieu of full market payment. In the case of those behind the Boston Mosque, there was an offer, gratefully accepted apparently, to supply thousands of books on Islam (I think I can easily list those books that would not be included -- that is, every book by every truthful Western scholar of Islam) and a series of "lectures on Islam" to be given "for free" to the students at Roxbury Community College.

The Trojans. The horse. Who forgot to read his Homer, or for that matter, who forgot the morals of all those tales that American children once read, and who taught them not only to be good (and it sometimes worked) but to be careful, to be skeptical (and that sometimes worked).

One hopes that terrific pressure will be put by Boston taxpayers on Menino. The next time any American mayor plans on land giveaways (think of the full horror of the 8 acres in Rome naively donated for the Saudi and U.A.E.-built Rome Mosque, scarcely a mile from the Vatican -- a center of Muslim triumphalism and intra-Muslim political intrigue, held up by such clerics as Qaradawi as clear symbols of the eventual Muslim takoever of Rome. Innocence abroad and at home -- how much more of this must Infidels endure from their own leaders, who simply refuse to study, or be instructed in, the central political tenets of Islam, and refuse to consider anything other than the most sanitized and sappy versions of Islam, presented by plausible and oily apologists. Maddening.

P.T. Barnum was right. But did one of those suckers have to grow up and enter politics, and become the mayor of Boston?

Shiites: Iraq Elections Were Fair

In an article published on April 1, 2003, I wrote that "there is no reason to think that any secular democracy established in an Islamic country will escape pressure from Muslims who want to restore Shariah. None has so far." That pressure, of course, could just as easily come from within democratic structures as from outside them.

From AP, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Hundreds of Shiites spilled into Baghdad streets on Sunday to support their governing coalition, which took a large lead in the Dec. 15 elections and has been the target of opposition vote-rigging accusations.

Sunni Arab groups staged smaller demonstrations in the western Anbar Province city of Fallujah and in eastern Baqouba to support demands for a rerun of the parliamentary elections, which they claim were tainted by fraud.

At least 16 people were killed in violence around Iraq on Sunday....

In the sprawling Shiite slum of Sadr City, about 1,000 demonstrators held a rally to support preliminary results showing the governing United Iraqi Alliance, a religious Shiite coalition, leading in the elections....

The Alliance has called on Iraqis to accept the results and has been moving ahead with efforts to form a "national unity" government....

The Alliance, headed by the cleric Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, said preliminary results showing it with a clear lead in the elections were not the result of fraud or intimidation. It charged that many violations took place in Sunni Arab areas, and claimed that many of its opponents conspired with insurgents to alter results.

"There will be no going back and no new elections," Jawad al-Maliki, a senior Alliance official, said at a news conference. "The results must be accepted and the will of the people must be respected."...

Boston: Mosque on hold

Charles Jacobs of the David Project writes in to the Boston Globe with some disturbing information about the Islamic Society of Boston's associations.

THE STORY on the lawsuit filed against us by the Islamic Society of Boston (''Praised by beacon, mosque project stalls amid rancor," Page A1, Dec. 18) did mention that the society's founder, Abdurahman Alamoudi, raised money for Al Qaeda and is in jail (in connection with a plot to assassinate a Saudi prince). But the story omitted even more worrisome facts.

The society's leaders have praised suicide bombers and called for attacks on Americans. A website in Qatar associated with society trustee Yousef al-Qaradawi, an internationally known leader of extremists, calls for gays to be executed by either stoning or burning. Al-Qaradawi has been barred from the United States. The society website praises as ''very good" a book that refers to the women's liberation movement as a ''Jewish plot" to corrupt society and argues that wife-beating is at times necessary. The library of the society's current Cambridge mosque contains literature containing vitriol directed against Christians, Jews, and Americans. While mosque spokesmen speak of ''dialogue" and tolerance, Qaradawi says ''there is no dialogue between us [and the Jews] except by the sword and the rifle.' "

As citizens, we were concerned. We wanted the society to answer simple questions, questions that it took pains to avoid answering. As a result, we have been sued by the society and forced to spend tens of thousands of dollars to defend ourselves. This is not a case about Boston bigots with discriminatory suspicions. It is a case of citizens rightfully worried that their city might be importing -- and subsidizing -- hatred and misogyny with links to terror.

CHARLES JACOBS
President
The David Project
Boston

Indonesian religious police emboldened by tsunami

Residents of Indonesia's Aceh Province, already burdened with the devastating effects of last year's catastrophic tsunami, are now being forced to deal with an emboldened Taliban-style vice squad, according to the San Francisco Chronicle:

The morality enforcers, a squad of men clad in green trousers and white shirts and women in white head scarves, stride on to this provincial capital's tsunami-scarred beach to weed out sin.

After descending from a pickup truck, the enforcers -- patterned after the religious police of Saudi Arabia -- check identity cards of a couple who had been munching corn on the cob while staring at the sea. The man and woman, obviously sweethearts, are given a stern warning and told to go their separate ways.

Next, they rebuke a young woman for wearing "un-Islamic" blue jeans, even though she is wearing a head scarf as required by Aceh province's 2-year-old Shariah law, based on Islamic principles as set out in the Quran.

"I hate this place; there are so many rules," the young woman, who identified herself only as Wiva, said in fluent English. "I mean, who do these guys think they are?"

The Wilayatul Hisbah, which loosely translates as "the control team," scour the ruins for other would-be sinners, and appear disappointed when they don't find any. After their arrival, most young couples had fled the beach on motor scooters.

Aceh's religious police were created a year before the earthquake and tsunami struck a year ago, killing an estimated 170,000 Acehnese and devastating one of Indonesia's richest provinces.

They had kept a low profile, largely ignored by a populace that most observers say has never been too keen on the hard-line Islamic legal system imposed by Jakarta in 2002. Critics say it was a cynical ploy to win over Muslim clerics during the government's nearly three-decade war with separatist guerrillas of the Free Aceh Movement, or GAM. A peace agreement was signed in August.

Since the tsunami hit Aceh, Islamic fundamentalists, emboldened by a common belief that the disaster was heaven-sent to punish nonpracticing Muslims, have redoubled their efforts to punish so-called sinners. Some have even blamed the giant waves on women for ignoring Islam.

Dutch struggle with terrorism case

The American war on terror is not the only Western effort against jihad being hamstrung by overzealous rights advocates and their elitist sycophants in the judiciary and legislature. In the Netherlands, the recent case of suspected terrorist Samir Azzouz, as summarized by The New York Times, seems oddly similar to the trial of Sami Al-Arian :

Samir Azzouz is only 19, but for almost three years Dutch authorities have struggled without success to punish him for what they see as plotting terrorism.

Police records show that he was first placed under surveillance in early 2003, when he was in high school, after he was stopped at the Ukrainian border while trying to join Islamic militants in Chechnya.

He was arrested months later in Amsterdam but released in days for lack of evidence. Arrested again in June 2004 on terrorist-related charges, he was convicted only of weapons possession. The police had found an array of materials that could be used to make bombs at his home in Amsterdam, including detonators and a yellow plastic lemon juice bottle, with bits of fertilizer inside, attached to a Christmas tree bulb.

They had also discovered crude hand-drawn sketches of some of the Netherlands' most important symbols of power, including the Parliament, the Amsterdam airport, the Ministry of Defense and the Dutch nuclear reactor, as well as CD's, videos and Internet sites showing how to make explosive devices.

In October, prosecutors arrested him for a third time, with new evidence, and will put him and six others on trial.

The prosecution says it is confident that its case is strong this time. But since no terrorist act was committed, it faces a tough challenge: proving that Mr. Azzouz's seeming intentions constituted crimes.

The folks at the New York Times would have us believe that these intentions remain mysterious and that the prosecution of Mr. Azzouz is some sort of covert attempt to criminalize political thought. However, if one reads a bit further...

The case of Mr. Azzouz has been particularly frustrating for prosecutors. In the case against him in 2004, prosecutors had records of chat-room conversations on the Internet in which Mr. Azzouz vowed to kill non-Muslims in the Netherlands and proclaimed his support for the violent overthrow of the Dutch government and its replacement with a government of Islamic law.

Besides the sketches of what appeared to be targets, the police raid of his home turned up homemade detonators, a pellet gun, a silencer, night-vision goggles, a bulletproof vest, ammunition clips, fertilizer, chemicals and handwritten lists of where to buy fertilizer.

The police also found a signed, handwritten letter from Mr. Azzouz to his expected child, expressing the hope that if the child was a boy, he would pursue jihad and go to a training camp when he turned 15.

Prosecutors and much of the public were stunned in April when a panel of judges acquitted Mr. Azzouz of plotting attacks. Adding to the frustration was Mr. Azzouz's smiling, triumphant appearance before his friends and reporters on the day of his release, before he suddenly turned angry and punched a photographer.

Prosecutors appealed, but an appeals court upheld the acquittal in November. It ruled that although Mr. Azzouz had "terrorist intentions," his preparations were "in such an early stage and so clumsy and primitive that there was no concrete threat."

Hopefully the robed clowns who set this ticking time bomb free last time will take advantage of their second chance.

Iran hails “first Islamist Arab state” in Iraq

Voted in by free elections. Indicating, as I have said here many times and elsewhere over the years, that the simple act of voting is not nearly enough to establish a viable free society. From IranFocus, with thanks to JE:

Tehran, Iran, Dec. 23 – The editorial of Iran’s leading hard-line daily hailed the outcome of Iraq’s parliamentary elections as “the creation of the first Islamist state in the Arab world”, and warned against “American plots” to prevent the formation of the new Iraqi government by Iranian-backed Shiite groups.

“Of the 275 seats in Iraq’s new parliament, 140 will belong to pious Islamists, 60 will be occupied by Kurds with excellent ties with Iran, and 40 will belong to Sunni Arabs, most of whom want a sovereign, Islamist state”, the daily Kayhan’s Saturday editorial noted. “The new government – including the President, the Prime Minister, the cabinet, the armed forces and the judiciary – will emerge from this new assembly”.

Kayhan said the election outcome will “increase pressures, both inside and outside the U.S., on [President George W.] Bush to withdraw American troops from Iraq”. “Bush will have to give in and withdraw the bulk of his forces from Iraq in the next few months”, the daily, which reflects the views of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote.

Al-Arian juror: "I Can Sleep At Night"

A few words from one of the jurors who voted the Rumpled Academic guilty on some counts, but who was, of course, outvoted. "'I Can Sleep At Night,' Juror Says," from the Tampa Tribune, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

TAMPA - Juror 211 is one of the reasons that the fate of Sami Al-Arian remains unsettled after a trial lasting half a year.

As one of two holdouts favoring conviction for the former University of South Florida professor, she said she's glad federal prosecutors may get a second chance to bring terror-support charges against Al-Arian.

"After six months, I didn't like it left hanging like this," she said in an interview last week. "I wanted it left with a definite result."

Deliberations lasted 13 days and were tense at times, said juror 211, known as "Char" to her friends. She wasn't ready to talk about the case in the days that followed. But she did keep track of news reports and Internet postings about the case - and felt frustrated all over again.

She responded to TBO.com, the Internet affiliate of The Tampa Tribune, after several readers posted criticisms of the case and its outcome.

"I was one of the jurors that voted Sami Al-Arian and Hatem Fariz guilty on several counts," she said in a Dec. 14 post. "I can sleep at night knowing I saw all of the evidence and my votes were based upon that evidence.

"Other jurors did not agree but that is their right."

She said she respects the 10 jurors who wanted to acquit on all charges. She said she simply saw the evidence differently.

Char did vote to acquit Al-Arian on eight counts, including conspiracy to murder and maim people abroad. And she agreed to acquit co-defendants Ghassan Ballut and Sameeh Hammoudeh of all charges.

But she would not budge from her belief that Al-Arian and co-defendant Hatim Fariz were guilty of conspiracies to commit racketeering and to provide material support to terrorists.

The result was a hung jury on those charges. The Justice Department hasn't indicated whether it will seek a new trial. Defense attorneys want U.S. District Judge James Moody to acquit Al-Arian and Fariz on the remaining charges based on evidence at the first trial.

The Department of Homeland Security also could initiate deportation proceedings against Al-Arian if the criminal case dies....

They all went over the evidence during deliberations, she said. In her discussions, she emphasized the bylaws of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the terrorist group Al-Arian was accused of helping to finance and run. They call for "a state of terror, instability and panic in the souls of Zionists and especially the group of settlers, and force them to leave their houses."

The bylaws were found on a computer during a 1995 raid at a think-tank Al-Arian founded. Researchers who studied the Islamic Jihad had not been aware of such a document until it was discovered in Tampa. Other jurors seemed to think the document was found on the Internet, available for anyone to read, Char said.

In addition to armed attacks, the bylaws envisioned a series of committees for things such as a governing board, financial management, charity and education. Those were roles Char concluded Al-Arian helped serve.

Jurors who favored acquittal have said the flow of money documented during the trial went to the Islamic Jihad's charitable arm rather than to anything violent.

"I saw the [Islamic Jihad] as a complete unit," Char said, "not as a charitable side or a military side."

Sparring Behind Closed Doors

She said her voice was often drowned out by the shouts of another juror when she tried to explain her position. After a while, the argument devolved into people simply repeating points they had already made.

Only one other juror agreed with her by the time deliberations ended Dec. 6. The other juror told Moody she felt "whipped into submission" by those favoring acquittal.

"It was very difficult at times in the deliberation area," she said. "It was hard. We would state the way we felt and vote the way we felt and continually we were asked, 'Where do you come up with this?' We would go over our points and other people couldn't see that. It was frustrating. I'm glad there is a chance they can still do something."

Like other jurors, she agreed Al-Arian was an Islamic Jihad member and a part of its governing board called the Shura Council. But other jurors thought that wasn't enough to show he was more than just a member of the group, a requirement for conviction.

In the end, she respected the views of those who disagreed with her.

"Initially, I was upset because people didn't see what I saw. Then again, we all come from different directions."

Christmas greetings from a reader

The hate mail bag doesn't rest even for Christmas:

To: director@jihadwatch.org

Subject: you spreader of evil and corruption on gods earth

I am a liberal muslim who celebrates christmas with my children also my doctor is a jewish friend but after viewing your website and reading some of the comments I will start practising my religion which after all is the fastests growing religion on earth and is the final message revealed by the one true god. I will no longer celebrate christmas as you know that is does not stem from christianity and I will change my Doctor as you know that Jews believe that they are superior to gentiles, constituting racism.

Of course, there is a good deal that doesn't ring true about this message from a non-practicing, liberal Muslim, starting with the fact that he is familiar enough with his religion to know the phrase "corruption on gods earth," which comes from Qur'an 5:33: "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."

Another is that a site dedicated to universal human rights and the equality of dignity of all people would lead him to break his putative friendship with his alleged Jewish doctor and to stop his supposed syncretistic and tolerant celebration of Christmas. Even if this really were the kind of site its enemies claim that it is, a man so broad-minded as he suggests he is should be able simply to dismiss it and go about his business.

But I assure you, I do not take the claims this man has made about himself seriously. I post this merely to point out that the crude propaganda never ends, and that it is usually more sophisticated than this, and many are taken in by it. And also, above all, I post it to emphasize that our struggle is against those who think that penalties such as those stipulated by Qur'an 5:33 for "corruption in the land" constitute justice. Let us continue to defend true canons of justice, the dignity of all people, and equality of rights for all (even women and non-Muslims), for as long as the global jihad threatens such principles.

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah

...to all those who observe either.

May we grow stronger in the coming year to defend the civilization built by those who through history have celebrated these holy days.

Why Wikipedia won't work

Update from Anne Crockett: Yalto points out he did not originate the Islamic Christian Forum postings. My mistake. He more recently added, "Frankly, I am disgusted by Spencer and the hypocrisy that he practices. I find the level of pure hatred and bigotry expressed on the JihadWatch site, by both "commenters" and staff, to be disgusting and un-American." Kind of proves my point about Wikipedia's lack of objectivity.
Yalto when exposed, took his marbles and went home (although what is to keep him from coming back under another name I have no idea). In his whining “Farewell Address”, he said, “On the issue of bias, at least I can admit mine but still feel compelled to make changes try to make the article more fair to Spencer.” Clearly he is not as clever at hiding his opinions as he thought. His edits looked biased, he was called on it, and he finally admitted it.
Before leaving he complained that several changes which I thought were his were not. The point of this article is about Wikipedia, not the august person of Yalto who is only a screen name. If you really care about Yalto his oeuvre can be found here: You can see that editing Islam in the United States and Robert Spencer take up most of his time. How about that?
By clicking on the link marked “diff”, you can see which changes Yalto made. For example, in his first signed edit, he took it upon himself to change the correct spelling of denunciation, take out Spencer’s words, add in Hugh Fitzgerald’s while attributing them to Spencer, to change the neutral phrase “Spencer's Jihad Watch features unmoderated forums, with a disclaimer by Spencer” to the insinuating “Spencer claims…” and to bring the defunct Christian Islamic Forum back to life.
However, I am happy to remove Yalto's screen name where he was only taking up an argument begun by someone else. The point is not who said what, but that it was said at all.

Jihad Watch News Editor Anne Crockett, who many of you may remember for her superb work on the site while I was out of the country in November, has informed me that she has been engaged in a series of pitched battles at that bastion of objectivity and pillar of truth, Wikipedia -- over my own biography. I appreciate her kindness and persistence in tilting at this particular windmill, and thought her caveat emptor about her experiences and Wikipedia in general was worth sharing with you:

Bravo for life’s little ironies: Wired News reports recently that Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has edited his own biography -- in spite of Wikipeida’s policy that “You should not write about yourself, since objectivity on the subject is hard — but you can assist by providing references, by challenging unsourced statements, and by assisting other editors.”

Why do I mention this at Jihad Watch? Because some time ago I noticed some odd things about Mr. Spencer’s Wikipedia entry. Not only the strange entry about imaginary sephardic ancestry, but also odd diatribes about his Inside Islam coauthor Daniel Ali that had also -- in a coincidence that strains all credulity -- popped up on other web sites at the same time. The other web sites with accountable editors noticed them and deleted them as irrelevant, but not Wikipedia. Once I noticed them I tried to correct the record, only to have my changes reverted and various accusations thrown about suggesting that I was in fact Robert Spencer (last time I checked I was both beardless and female so I rather think that I am not) by people seemingly unfamiliar with the concepts of a routers or computer networks. Yet even as a volunteer at Jihad Watch, I was warned by “editor” and Wikipedia scribbler “Yalto,” who was bickering with “editor” “Chalko,” that I was probably too close to the subject to post. After checking the above policy I more or less confined myself to comments on the talk page. When I asked “Yalto” what exactly his interest was in the subject, he of course, declined to answer.

A choice snippet from the discussion page:

“His religious affiliation is Roman Catholic. But his handlers don't want anyone talking about it or his board membership in a Catholic Group (the Christian-Islamic Forum) that works to convert Muslims to Christianity.”

Handlers? Come on. But the more important issue (aside from another opportunity to make merry at the expense of the terminally paranoid) is this: Wikipedia’s own rules enforce the kind of shoddy research that would get any journalist fired. According to Wikipedia, the one thing you absolutely must not do is contact a source. Not even Spencer’s own website is considered as reliable as third party sources that write about him. What nonsense!

Mr. Spencer is no longer on the board of the Christian-Islamic Forum, which is a group more or less defunct while Mr. Ali pursues some new avenues that opened up for him. As anyone can see, the FAQ on the Jihad Watch site explicitly disavows any religious agenda. But when I posted a note about this, as well as the information that the group was defunct, both were removed. You would think that Mr. Spencer’s bio would be a pretty authoritative source, but no. Some Wikipedia editor thinks that the affiliation with the group is all-important to reveal Mr. Spencer’s true motivations, even if Spencer has denied this. This person repeatedly emphasizes that the Christian-Islamic Forum is “a Christian group that targets Muslims for conversion to christianity (sic).” “Targets” is a pretty provocative word for a neutral commenter. He further demonstrated his neutrality by posting long quotes from Daniel Ali, “out of concern that the information will disappear” (I guess he fears Mr. Spencer’s mysterious “handlers” could go down to Virginia and threaten Marcus Grodi of the Coming Home Network, to whom Mr. Ali spoke the quotes in question). Yet he seems not to have noticed that the quotes from Ali are not about the Christian-Islamic Forum at all, and are in fact about Ali’s reaction to the Sept. 11 attacks, which occurred a month after the founding of the forum and so could not possibly have played a role in his motives in founding the group. But hey, why let the facts get in the way of a good story? The fact that there is no evidence of any activity by the group at all -- no references to activity, no website, no nothin’-- does not, to the conspiratorial mind, suggest that it is inactive, but rather that it has successfully cloaked its insidious designs in secrecy.

And while the actual question of fact whether or not Mr. Spencer is still on the board of the Forum is sort of silly, it demonstrates the worst flaws of Wikipedia and its stated bias for cyberspace references to research and fact checking. To quote their policy, “Original research refers to material added to articles by Wikipedia editors that has not been published already by a reputable source.” Thus an error once published will take on a life of its own. (P.S.: Wikipedia asks that you think carefully before editing that policy I just linked to, but anyone can. Thus tomorrow morning the policy might well read, “Only original research is acceptable at Wikipedia,” or “Editors who have not smoked sufficient quantities of marijuana in the past 24 hours are discouraged from posting,” and so on).

All this would be a silly joke except that, astonishingly enough, newpapers and schools have been using Wkipedia as a reference. Accuracy in Media reports:

Martin E. Marty, professor emeritus of religious history at the University of Chicago, and an ordained Lutheran minister for more than 50 years, had just written his 55th book, "When Faiths Collide."

The Post article said that "talk of religion's role in the disaster irks Marty. Following the devastation in Lisbon in 1755, priests roamed the streets, hanging those they believed had incurred God's wrath. That event 'shook the modern world,' he notes, changing people's idea of a benevolent, all-caring God."

That sure sounds like Marty was making the claim that priests were roaming the streets and hanging people who they believed had incurred God's wrath. But in fact he never said that, though he was interviewed for the article. The author of the article, Jose Antonio Vargas, has admitted that Marty never said that, and that his source was Wikipedia.

When John Seigenthaler took exception to being falsely implicated in JFK’s assassination on Wikipedia, a number of people wisecracked, “Didn’t he see the Edit button?” Aside from the fact that editing an article about yourself is frowned upon, what would have been the point? A persistent prankster would revert changes time and time again, and if he access to a source of dynamic IP addresses he couldn’t even be banned. A more potent question is, “How can anyone use this as a source? Don’t they see the edit button?”

When visiting a Wikipedia site, the reader can look up previous versions if he likes. But the main article is just the product of the latest “editor.” Any Stalinist who wants to come along and airbrush out comments he doesn’t like can do so. Unlike a blog’s comments where the best cure for bad speech is more speech, Wikipedia editors can simply wipe away viewpoints with which they disagree. The most persistent wins.

Google is a far better way to get information, all though you do have to go to all that horrible trouble of thinking and evaluating sources for yourself when you use Google. On the plus side, because Google lists page according to how many people have found them to be possible answers to the questions they are asking, you will get exactly what Wikipedia claims to offer: an internet consensus. In addition, you will probably find some alternative points of view you can evaluate, if you feel up to the rigors of making decisions for yourself in a marketplace of ideas.

There were other problems with the Wikipedia article. It quoted CAIR and ADC charges against Mr. Spencer, but when I added his responses to those charges Yalto informed me that no one, but no one, had responses to criticism of them on their Wikipedia pages. So I guess you can write that someone claims that Mr. X or Mr. Y likes to knock over banks to raise extra cash, but no one is allowed to write, “He denies the charge.” Also the Spencer “biography” quoted Hugh Fitzgerald and Daniel Ali extensively, and guess who hardly at all? (Let me give you a hint: his initials are R.S. and he is the putative subject of the article). Nor did it quote Hugh or Mr. Ali writing about Robert Spencer, but rather about Islam, Christianity, immigration, and whatever else got the editor’s knickers in a twist. I pointed out that this was bad writing and that if Hugh or Mr. Ali deserve such full length treatment, they should each get their own article instead of having the bulk of the Robert Spencer article be guilt-by-association quotations about and from them. I am still waiting for a response.

I myself am no longer involved in the discussion between Wikipedia editors Chalko and Yalto. When I told Mr. Spencer about the whole controversy, his reaction was, “‘Chalko’? ‘Yalto’? What is this, an episode of Star Trek?” But he agrees that there is no use correcting what is essentially a book of sand. Whatever form a Wikipedia article takes today might bear no resemblance to what it will be tomorrow.

Our Jihadist friends have been using the internet to spread their propaganda for some time, and Wikipedia gives them an ideal platform. Even if their changes don’t last forever, any Typhoid Mary who is dopey enough to use Wikipedia as a source can spread the disinformation. Only yesterday a page came up in the referrer page on Jihad Watch from a Wikipedia entry tagged “marked for deletion” about the Islamist-Nazi Alliance in World War II. Yes indeedy, let’s flush that down the ol’ memory hole. Two Jihad Watch readers also wrote in complaining that they had been barred from editing Wikipedia for being “anti-Palestinian,” or “anti-Muslim” -- so it seems that contrary to their slogan, Wikipedia is not the encyclopedia “anyone” can edit, just those who do not commit thought crime.

Without some sort of quality control implemented, and soon, Wikipedia will go the way of 1990’s dot-bombs like Pets.com, Value America, and e-toys. I would urge anyone to be extremely skeptical of Wikipedia as a source, and to be very vocal in demanding accountability from them. Until we get that accountability, caveat emptor, and remember, Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, is worth exactly what you paid for it -- or even less.

Israel to enforce Gaza buffer zone

One of the more unfortunate consequences of the Israeli pullout from Gaza has been their continuing inability to quiet the rocket salvos that now pour into Israel from newly "liberated" Palestinian territory. Once considered a nuisance, the rocket fire has been increasing in intensity, and is causing Israel to consider new security measures, since the vaunted Palestinian Authority appears unwilling to do anything about it. From the New York Times:

Frustrated by continuing rocket fire from Gaza, the territory Israel evacuated over the summer, Israel is trying to enforce a buffer zone in northern Gaza through air and artillery strikes, a deputy defense minister, Zeev Boim, said Friday.

The intention is to prevent Palestinian militants from using former northern Gaza settlements like Dugit and Nissanit, now piles of rubble, to fire rockets into Israel. In the last few days, rockets have hit the outskirts of Ashkelon, raising concerns about a big power plant there, and in Sederot, a regular target of rocket fire. On Thursday, a rocket landed in an Israeli Army base on the border, slightly wounding five soldiers, and Israeli shelling in response killed a Palestinian in Jabaliya.

Israel, in the midst of an election campaign, is threatening a temporary reinvasion of northern Gaza with ground troops, though the preference is to discourage the rocket firing through shelling and airstrikes - mostly on open fields where rockets are sometimes fired.

But Mr. Boim on Friday suggested that Israel might fire artillery toward populated areas as well. "We need to tell the residents of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and the suburbs of Jabaliya: 'In 12 hours, artillery will land in the area; evacuate these areas,' " he told Israeli Army radio. "I think one operation of this sort can solve the problem."

Palestinian security forces who are patrolling northern Gaza and say they are trying to stop the rocket fire also say they will not evacuate the area, which they now consider sovereign and liberated Palestinian land.

So Israelis are imagining other ways to create popular pressure on the militants to stop firing, with suggestions that Israel cut off all electrical power to Gaza, a move of dubious legality. Human Rights Watch, for instance, says that such a cutoff would constitute collective punishment of a civilian population under international law.

Of course, and obeying the strictures of war as set down by Human Rights Watch should be the primary assignment for Israeli government officials.

New terror charges laid against Ottawa man

Gotta watch out for those Canadian terrorists, eh? What's that? A Muslim? No, that's not important. What's that? The common denominator of some of the primary groups committing terrorist acts today? What are you, some kind of Islamophobe? And on Christmas Eve, yet! From the Globe and Mail, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

A Canadian played a major role in a failed 2004 terrorist plot by showing accomplices how to develop detonators, build a bomb and move money so that they could attack Britain, according to Crown prosecutors.

New charges filed in Ottawa on Dec. 16 reveal the specifics of the government's case against Mohammad Momin Khawaja, who was arrested in 2004 as Canadian and British police staged co-ordinated antiterrorism raids against nearly a dozen suspects.

The charges filed in court last week say that Mr. Khawaja was involved in several aspects of an alleged al-Qaeda-style conspiracy, a scheme that was ultimately thwarted....

The case is crucial, because it will help determine whether Canada can openly prosecute terrorism cases within its borders....

That this is even a question shows what deep trouble we are in.

Mr. Khawaja, a 26-year-old Canadian of Pakistani heritage, has denied being a terrorist ever since March, 2004, when RCMP officers arrested him at work fixing computers for Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs. At the same time, British police rounded up nine suspects and 600 kilograms of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which can be used to make explosives, stored in a London suburb.

At first, Mr. Khawaja was charged with knowingly participating in a terrorist group and knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity. The additional charges filed last week allege that he also:

"Did work on the development of a device to activate a detonator;"

Had "in his possession or under his care or control an explosive substance;"

Instructed a friend "to open a bank account and conduct financial transactions on his behalf for the benefit of a terrorist group;"

Participated "in dialogue, meetings, or exchanges of information relating to the development of an explosive device."

Bomb Squads Sweep Indonesian Churches

Can you feel it? The Christmas cheer just keeps spreading in Indonesia. From AP, with thanks to JE:

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Bomb squads searched for explosives Saturday at churches in the capital Jakarta and its satellite cities hours before Christmas Eve celebrations amid fears that terrorists might carry out attacks to mar the holiday.

Police Lt. Sulianto, who uses only one name, told The Associated Press that 80 bomb squads were being deployed at dozens of churches in Jakarta, Bekasi, Tangerang and Depok....

The Southeast Asian terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah have been blamed for at least five suicide bombings targeting Western interests since 2002 — including Oct. 1 restaurant attacks on Bali island — that together killed more than 240 people.

It is also accused in Christmas Eve church bombings five years ago that left 19 dead.

Sulianto said his men also will sweep two main Catholic Cathedral Church and Protestant Immanuel Church, both located in downtown Jakarta. Some 15,000 churchgoers are expected to worship at the churches on Christmas Eve....

Tens of thousands of police are on duty nationwide, and churches in many Indonesian towns have been checked, intelligence officials said. In Poso, where three Christian schoolgirls were beheaded last October, police tightly guarded dozens of churches.

Teresa Heinz Kerry: Bush Too Easy on Iran

Whatever the domestic political motives are behind this, she is right. From NewsMax, with thanks to Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi:

Teresa Heinz Kerry says she is "outraged" that President Bush didn't react more forcefully to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent recommendation that Israel be "wiped off the map," saying that the way to deal with Iranian threats is by issuing "the strongest possible condemnations."

Re-adopting her husband's last name for a column in Thursday's Jewish Forward, Heinz Kerry complained:

"The Bush administration - which so often answers challenges with confrontational language - took this occasion to whisper. With the exception of America's ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, who denounced the remarks as "pernicious and unacceptable," the Bush administration explained those comments as if they had been uttered by a crazy relative - and then returned to its talking points on Iran's nuclear weapons program."

True voice of Islam crucial in battle against terrorism

That is the original headline of this piece from ChannelNewsAsia (thanks to Daryl), and it is of course quite true. The "true voice of Islam," whatever that may be, could be decisive in the success or failure of the global jihad. But this article once again assumes that the jihadists are twisting the true peaceful teachings of Islam -- an assertion that, for all the lip service that is paid to it, has never been adequately established.

And in the absence of that, when these clerics speak out about the "hijacking" of Islam, I can't help but wonder if they are just engaging again in the deceit of non-Muslims that is so widespread. After all, in the whole world over there is not a single program run by Muslims to convince their fellow Muslims that violence is not the true path of Islam. Much-ballyhooed programs of that kind have been shown to be fraudulent.

With the recent spate of bombings by extremists in Jordan and in Indonesia, Muslim leaders and clerics are trying to play a bigger role in the fight against terrorism and in guiding people to follow the path of peace and tolerance.

This sentiment surfaced in Thursday's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies public seminar, "Listening to the True Voice of Muslims in Indonesia."

The seminar featured speakers from Indonesia's largest Islamic groups, Muhammadiyah and Nadhlatul Ulama.

What part will Indonesia's Muslim leaders play in voicing the true values of Islam?

Justin Teo reports.

JT: Indonesia will play a vital role in representing the Muslim faith worldwide because the republic has the largest number of Muslims in the world and its society demonstrates a unique blend of Muslim and Western values.

The teachings and words of Indonesia's Muslim leaders will have a great influence over followers of the faith.

This point was emphasized by the Chairman of the seminar, Singapore's Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts, Mr. Yatiman Yusof.

YF: Indonesia is the largest country in ASEAN, with the biggest population, as well as having the largest Muslim population in the world. What happens in Indonesia is of great interest to close neighbors in ASEAN and to Muslims all over the world. When scholars and leaders such as those on our distinguished panel speak about this important topic, their thoughts and words will resonate beyond this venue. Muslims in other countries will access their papers via the Internet. We should not forget that the media, non-Muslims, and the followers of Al-Qaeda will also closely monitor their thoughts. They want to assess who is winning the battle for Muslim hearts and minds.

JT: Mr. Yusof also noted that the fight against terrorism starts from the words and deeds of Muslims in the region against the violence inflicted by the terrorists.

YF: If we the Muslims do not speak up in public against the hijacking of our beloved Islam by terrorists, then they will assume that our silence means support for their crimes. Secondly, if we, as Muslims, do not assume leadership, in the long battle against terrorism, by words and by deeds, then others will take over this effort and we may not like how they conduct their war against terrorism.

Three Algerians arrested in Italy

New arrests of Al-Qaeda related militants reported in Europe, according to the Associated Press:

Police in southern Italy arrested three Algerians Friday on international terrorism charges and accused them of planning attacks in Iraq and Italy, police and the Interior Ministry said.

The three were arrested in a nationwide sweep against an extremist group in Algeria, for whom they allegedly provided logistical support, the Carabinieri paramilitary police said.

Officials suspect that they are members of the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, or GSPC, an Algerian group that allegedly provides fake documents to al-Qaida and seeks recruits.

But recently the cell had acquired a new role, said Gen. Giampaolo Ganzer, head of the Carabinieri special forces group that made the arrests.

"They were set to move to Iraq for terrorist actions, also suicide ones, and at the same time they studied more wide-ranging actions on Italian territory" Ganzer told news agency ANSA in quotes confirmed by his office.

In recent years, the GSPC has turned its sights on jihad, or holy war, beyond Algerian borders.

Mosques monitored for radiation: report

All right, let's go through this one more time. Are there any Muslims who are hoping to launch a chemical or nuclear attack against the United States? Yes. Is there a strict wall of separation in the American Muslim community between them and peaceful Muslims? No, there isn't. Is there any easy way to tell, or any reliable way to tell at all, which Muslim may be working to launch such a strike and which abhors the very idea? No, there isn't. Do the Muslims who hope to perpetrate such violence operate in mosques? Yes, they do.

And finally: will the result of this report be less of such surveillance, making it easier for these violent thugs to operate under cover of darkness? Could be.

From Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials have secretly monitored radiation levels at Muslim sites, including mosques and private homes, since September 11, 2001 as part of a top secret program searching for nuclear bombs, U.S. News and World Report said on Friday.

The news magazine said in its online edition that the far-reaching program covered more than a hundred sites in the Washington, D.C., area and at least five other cities.

"In numerous cases, the monitoring required investigators to go on to the property under surveillance, although no search warrants or court orders were ever obtained, according to those with knowledge of the program," the magazine said.

The report comes a week after revelations that the Bush administration had authorized eavesdropping on people in the United States. U.S. President George W. Bush has defended that covert program and vowed to continue the practice, saying it was vital to protect the country.

Senior U.S. officials, including FBI Director Robert Mueller, have repeatedly said Islamic militants appeared intent on acquiring weapons of mass destruction for an attack against the United States.

Mueller said in February he was "very concerned with the growing body of sensitive reporting that continues to show al Qaeda's clear intention to obtain and ultimately use some form of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-energy explosives material in its attacks against America."

An FBI spokesman declined to confirm or deny the U.S. News and World Report article and said, "We can't talk about a classified program."

"The FBI's overriding priority is to prevent, disrupt and defeat terrorist operations in the U.S. All investigations and operations conducted by the FBI are intelligence driven and predicated on specific information about potential criminal acts or terrorist threats, and are conducted in strict conformance with federal law," he added.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations advocacy group said the report, coupled with news of the domestic eavesdropping, "could lead to the perception that we are no longer a nation ruled by law, but instead one in which fear trumps constitutional rights."

See the disjunction between those two statements? These issues should be studied and settled by the Supreme Court, sooner rather than later, if possible in a way that clears up the legal and Constitutional issues rather than adding to them. I know that in that I may be asking too much.

"All Americans should be concerned about the apparent trend toward a two-tiered system of justice, with full rights for most citizens, and another diminished set of rights for Muslims," it said in a statement.

Federal officials cited by U.S. News and World Report maintained the program was legal and said warrants were not needed for the kind of radiation sampling it conducted. Officials also rejected any notion that the program specifically targeted Muslims, the magazine said....

What a shame. Until Methodists start committing acts of terrorism and violence the world over, justifying these acts by reference to their theology, I will not understand why government and law enforcement officials cannot simply say that it is Muslims who want to kill us for Islamic reasons, and so we will be deploying our resources accordingly.

At its peak, the effort involved three vehicles in the Washington area monitoring 120 sites a day, nearly all of them Muslim targets such as prominent mosques and office buildings selected by the FBI, it said.

The program has also operated in at least five other cities -- namely Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, New York, and Seattle -- when threat levels there have risen, it said.

Thwarted plot to kill Bush reported

Before Libi was canned, he had giant plans. From UPI, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Before he was captured last spring, Osama bin Laden's top operational commander planned to assassinate U.S. President George Bush, it was reported Friday....

The capture last May of al-Qaida's No. 3 leader, Abu Faraj Al-Libi, apparently thwarted plots to assassinate the two partners in the global war on terror, according to a senior Pakistani official. His information was reported corroborated by two senior U.S. counterterrorism officials.

"Al-Libi had one mission: Kill Bush and Musharraf," the Pakistani official told the Daily News. "He wanted to kill Bush in the White House, preferably."

"It was clearly something they wanted to do. It's the holy grail of jihad," a senior U.S. counterterrorism official confirmed.

Encore: Cox and Forkum Jihad Watch Awards Cartoon

Just in case you missed it last night.

Story here.

West: Freedom and jihad

The superb Diana West explains why the elections just aren't enough:

Not to curdle the Christmas pudding or anything, but it's hard to see how Uncle Sam comes out a winner in any of the elections that have just taken place, however historically, in the Arab world.

This isn't to contradict President Bush, who said, referring to Iraq's parliamentary elections, we're seeing "something new: constitutional democracy at the heart of the Middle East." Sure, campaign posters and ballot boxes are new. But the emerging nature of this constitutional democracy — from Iraq to Egypt to the Palestinian Authority — calls into question whether, as the president also said in referring to Iraq, "America has an ally of growing strength in the fight against terror."

For that statement to be true, Arab voters would need to be electing brave anti-jihadists, right? They would be dunking their fingers in purple ink for reform-minded advocates of equality and freedom of conscience, not to mention peace with Israel. But with nearly two-thirds of the ballots counted in Iraq, the initial headlines tell a different story.

"Parties Linked to Tehran Gain in Iraq," reported the New York Sun.

"Secular candidates not doing well," reported the Los Angeles Times.

Apparently, that's putting it mildly. So far, election returns indicate that the Shi'ite Muslim religious coalition, the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), has overcome internal tensions and weak projections to win a dominating bloc of parliamentary seats. That means that the democratic enterprise in Iraq appears to have empowered proponents of sharia law with alarmingly close ties to the terror masters of Iran.

Little wonder, then, that something approaching jubilation is the reaction in Tehran. "We share this victory with the Iraqi nation because we paid a price for its preparation, said Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former president of Iran, making reference to the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). Usually described as Iran's "pragmatic conservative" in the Western media (not necessarily saying much), Mr. Rafsanjani continued: "It is a victory because the results were the opposite of what the Americans were seeking."

Read it all.

Fitzgerald: Monitoring mosques, and its cost

Jihad Watch Board Vice President Hugh Fitzgerald discusses some aspects of the question of monitoring mosques in the West:

The governments of the West will all have to monitor the mosques. That means they will have to hire agents who 1) know Arabic and other relevant languages, Urdu, Turkish, Farsi, and who are 2) are either non-Muslim, but can pass as Muslims (Copts, who are forced to receive some training in Islam, might be helpful; so too would Maronites, Arabic-speaking Jews, Chaldeans, Pakistani Christians, and Berbers who have turned). One would be foolish to rely on Muslim agents to monitor the khutbas and other goings-on in mosques.

Monitoring the mosques all over the non-Muslim world, of course, is a tall order. And a very expensive one, added to all the other huge expenses incurred in the campaign to make Infidel lands safe from the very people who are, paradoxically, still allowed in when should have been clear to all who had bothered to study the doctrines of Islam and the history of Islamic rule over non-Muslims, what was to have been expected.

These costs include those for the local police to monitor individuals, and for the lawyers and judges who must give their time to approving, or explaining, taps and search warrants and suchlike, and for the extra costs of guarding power plants and LNG terminals, and ports, and airports, and marshals on planes, and ...on and on. Economists need to figure out just what the cost of this internal security against Muslim terrorist threats actually is. It would be instructive for taxpayers to know this: the real cost, in terms of all this monitoring and societal anxiety, and the constant need to worry about the latest demands -- for a prayer room in schools, or a lawsuit demanding that a Muslim woman be shown with her face completely covered for her driver's license, or all the other demands, big and small, ludicrous and plausible, that are made by Muslims who do not believe in pluralism. (That is, they do not believe in it except insofar as in the West they must use it to their own advantage, and only until they attain sufficient numbers.)

It would be instructive for taxpayers to know the full cost of protecting ourselves against (and accommodating with the other hand) those who do not believe that power should flow from the expressed will of the people, but from the codified will of Allah in the shari'a. It would be enlightening to know how much they cost, those who do not believe in the equality of the sexes, nor in individualism, nor in free and skeptical inquiry. Indeed, it is hard to see how, and in what way, Muslims who are true believers share many of the beliefs that are essential to, and defining of, our civilization. Why then do we so blithely allow ourselves to welcome those who do not wish us, our ideals, our society, our own beings, well? What sort of nonsense is this?

But, coming back to our moutons, those little European lambs whose throats are slit in the streets at Eid al-Fitr, just how are those mosques going to be monitored? Will there be tapes? Will fulltime agents have to visit every mosque, for every sermon? Will they wear wires, in the spirit of the The Sopranos or Tommasso Buscetta? How much will it all cost, all this visiting, and taping, and monitoring, and reporting, and checking, and re-checking? How much expense are the countries of Western Europe, and how much trouble, are they prepared to go to? Once upon a time, one could argue that workers were needed, and Moroccans, Algerians, and so on were eager to come. And so they were, but they had other ideas. They did not jettison their ideological baggage when they arrived in the ports of southern Europe -- no, that baggage became ever more precious and important and defining in their lives. The European elites refused to see, or refused to listen to those who warned that Islamic tenets had to be taken seriously. Now they are in the fix that they do not quite know how to address straight on.

But there is a way. First, limit all future immigration to people who will not require all this monitoring and other expense. Invite in people from Eastern Europe and Russia. Those from Eastern Europe are, after all, officially now part of the EU; they deserve to be allowed to migrate, and to take those jobs. They will not be the great security risks that Muslim immigrants will be, and thus their actual cost will not include the hidden cost, as yet unknown, of monitoring them. Or allow in Filipinos, Chinese, Hindus and Sikhs from India, people from Latin America -- none of whom would require the khutba-monitoring, the taps and the tapes and so on, that would be necessary, from now on, for Muslim immigrants.

And do what can be done to sever the ideological links with the most virulent promoters of hostility. The Europeans should support any American effort to put permanently out of commission the satellite stations (and the satellite itself) of broadcast networks that support jihad. They should monitor not only the mosques, but of course all radio and television stations aimed at Muslims within their countries, and not shirk their duty to shut them down if there is the slightest evidence of hostility being encouraged against non-Muslims of any kind.

That is a beginning. But it requires a real understanding of Islam, and how, as a system of thought-control, and total regulation both of the individual, and of the Believer's relations with all Infidels, there is nothing quite like it in the dangers it poses.

It would be interesting to know how the Turks, at least under Ataturk and Inonu, monitored the mosques, which ones they closed down outright, and how, before the age of tape-recorders, they ensured that the content was, if not anodyne, at least not full of rants against the Infidel.

Given that the Qur'an and the hadith are so full of such rants, it is fascinating to consider out of what material any khutba can be constructed, if the manichaeism essential to Islam -- Muslims being Good, and Infidels being Bad -- is deliberately proscribed. If the right of Islam to conquer can't be mentioned, if the need to "struggle in the path of Allah" (the Jihad) is given only a psychological interpretation, if the natural law by which "Islam must dominate and is not to be dominated" cannot be invoked, why then it is hard to see what is left? And as for inspiring tales of Muhammad from the hadith and the sira, given that he was a political leader and warrior, and fought 78 battles, and was involved in killing hostages, and ordering the assassination of all sorts of people, including a Jew who was over 90 (or was it 100?) years old, and that his favorite wife Aisha was nine when he consummated his marriage to her – well, it is hard to see out of what acceptable material Muhammad's life can be told. Possibly it will all come down to chanting over and over again the 99 epithets attached to Allah. If many find it boring, and begin to look for that oldtime religion in other places, that would be, from the Infidel point of view, highly desirable.

CAIR files FOIA on Bush wiretaps

How many obstructions will CAIR attempt to put in the way of the resistance to the global jihad? From WND, with thanks to all who sent this in:

A controversial Islamic lobby group filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all government records related to President Bush's post-9/11 executive orders authorizing wiretaps of communications between Americans and al-Qaida suspects overseas without a court order.

"It is the duty of all those who value the Constitution to state that no one, not even a president, is above the law," said Arsalan Iftikhar, national legal director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The group's executive director, Nihad Awad, charged Bush's "wiretapping policy is not only an apparent violation of existing law, it also gives carte blanche for spying, without legal oversight, on any American."

"Such wide-ranging and unrestricted powers are an invitation to abuse of constitutional rights and freedoms, and should be of concern to everyone in a society based on respect for the law," he asserted.

Awad said he fears such surveillance powers could be expanded and used to spy on people who hold dissenting political views.

Yeah. Such as people who say, "I am in support of the Hamas movement."

Egypt opposition leader says Holocaust a ’myth,’ lashes out at West

Everybody's jumping on the Holocaust denial bandwagon in the Islamic world. From AP, with thanks to all who sent this in:

CAIRO, Egypt - The leader of Egypt’s main Islamic opposition group said the Holocaust was a “myth,” and he slammed Western governments for criticizing disclaimers of the Jewish genocide.

The comments by Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohammed Mahdi Akef - made on the heels of his group’s strong showing in Egyptian parliamentary elections - echoed remarks made recently by Iran’s hard-line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which sparked international outrage.

“Western democracies have slammed all those who don’t see eye to eye with the Zionists regarding the myth of the Holocaust,” Akef wrote in a weekly article meant as a directive to the group’s followers on its official Web site....

It was not clear why Akef made the remarks, but his article was full of criticism of Western democracy, which he said “was drawn up by the sons of Zion.”...

Following the elections, Akef promised that Brotherhood parliamentarians would represent all Egyptians - Muslims, Coptic Christians, men and women - in an attempt to calm widespread fear of the group among Christians, women and secularists.

But in his Thursday article, Akef said the group will press to implement “the correct teachings of Islam.”

“You Brothers, you are the guardians of Shariah. Your main concern should be the heritage of Shariah, which you uphold,” he wrote.

Muslim planned revenge attack on hero soldier

From the Telegraph, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

A Muslim man who planned to "hunt down" and kill a soldier who had won the Military Cross in Iraq was yesterday found guilty of terrorism offences.

Abu Bakr Mansha from Thamesmead, south London, was found with a balaclava and a blank-firing pistol which was being converted for live rounds when his flat was raided by police.

Alongside inflammatory videos of rebels attacking troops in Iraq was a newspaper article describing the exploits of Cpl Mark Byles, who was later decorated with the Military Cross.

Police also found a piece of paper with Cpl Byles's former address on it and indentations on note paper requesting information on a rich Jewish man and the Hindu owner of a cash and carry business.

David Cocks, QC, prosecuting, told the jury at Southwark Crown Court, south London: "In their case, it is nothing to do with harm they may have done to the Muslim community. It was because of their religious beliefs."...

A number of DVDs were recovered from Mansha's flat which included Arabic chanting that called for Muslims to take part in jihad and martyrdom following the allied attack on the Iraqi city of Fallujah.

Some featured the al-Qa'eda leader Osama bin Laden, while one depicted the beheading of the British hostage Ken Bigley....

Mansha, 21, said most of the items found in his apartment were connected with research he was helping a journalist friend with.

Add that to the ever lengthening list of flimsy explanations. This too:

He told jurors he was neither a strict Muslim nor had any strong political views and said he had bought the pistol for £25 from a market stall as a souvenir.

CCD Regrets Errors in its December 19 Press Release

An important update and correction to this story:

Toronto, Canada - Thursday, December 22, 2005 - On December 19, 2005, The Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD) issued a press release that contained inaccuracies. We would like to correct those inaccuracies and to apologize for any misunderstanding that resulted.

On December 20, the Liberal Party of Canada issued a press release suggesting, among other allegations, that CCD had launched an "ethnic smear campaign" by commenting on the purported words of Mr. Alghabra on December 1, 2005.

CCD has no vested interest in any allegations that are not true and defensible, and would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight.

The December 19 press release from CCD was based on reports from several independent individuals who were present at the Liberal nomination of Omar Alghabra. While those reports were consistent, the resultant release was wrong on two key points and the inferences it drew from them. Firstly, the date of the nomination meeting was December 1, not December 2 as reported. Secondly, witnesses reported that the statements attributed to Omar Alghabra were actually spoken by Khalid Usman, the individual introduced by Mr. Alghabra as his major supporter following Mr. Alghabra's nomination victory. Witnesses reported that Mr. Alghabra's celebratory actions on the podium appeared supportive of Mr. Usman's declarations, and that Mr. Alghabra did not distance himself from the comments nor offer any correction.

On December 22, Carolyn Parrish, the former MP for Mississauga-Erindale, was quoted in the Mississauga News as saying that "He [Khalid Usman] made comments about Muslims eventually being [represented] in every riding in Mississauga ... He made it sound like [Muslims] were taking over. It was extremely inappropriate." Elias Hazineh, president of the Mississauga-Erindale Federal Liberal Riding Association, was also quoted as hearing the Markham councillor say, "this is a victory for Muslims."

Failing to distance oneself from inappropriate statements from a supporter that mix religion and politics is not the same as uttering those statements, and CCD regrets the mistake it made. CCD is forwarding this correction to all those on its original distribution list.

CCD would like to take this opportunity to respond to several damaging assertions in the Liberal Party of Canada press release of December 20 (below) distributed to media and others over the name of "Stephen Heckbert, Ontario Liberal campaign headquarters".

The Liberal press release claims that the errors made by CCD were part of an "ethnic smear campaign". This assertion is clearly false and extremely damaging, as a criticism of mixing of religion and politics stands on its own, regardless of the ethnicity of the individuals involved. Furthermore, those who alerted CCD to such statements were all of Middle Eastern origin and could hardly be accused of perpetrating an "ethnic smear". It was only the Liberal press release that generalized from the alleged actions of individuals to an entire ethnic group.

The Liberal press release is entirely justified in criticizing the admitted mistakes of CCD. However, the release emphasizes "strong Conservative ties" and even singled out individuals for their Conservative involvement from among CCD's 28-person board of directors. CCD's board consists of people from across the political spectrum. CCD's founder has been an active lifelong Liberal and campaign worker in most elections. The Liberal press release could just have reasonably concluded that CCD is a group with "strong Taiwanese ties" or "strong Hindu ties". To attempt to make any such connection is an unwarranted and damaging generalization.

The Liberal press release chose to disclose the name, private mobile telephone number and email address of Georganne Burke, describing her as "the Conservative Party's regional organizer in Toronto". Ms Burke had never herself publicly disclosed her mobile number, although Stephen Heckbert claimed that a third party had done so. Such an irrelevant disclosure clearly violated the privacy of Ms Burke as well as possibly endangering her safety. To falsely associate a woman with an "ethnic smear campaign" directed against the Muslim community and to send such a potentially libellous statement to the media is extremely threatening to the individual involved.

Prior to the Liberal release being distributed, Ms Burke received a telephone call asking if she was the regional organizer for the Conservative party of Canada. The caller then hung up without ever identifying himself. When Ms Burke called the number captured by the Caller ID, it turned out that the anonymous call has come from the Ontario Headquarters of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Within hours of the Liberal disclosure of Ms Burke's private mobile number, she received a threatening phone call from an individual who had been made aware of her private number through the Liberal press release.

The Liberal press release chose to identify members of CCD who happened to be associated with the Conservative Party of Canada, and who had no involvement in the press release containing the admitted errors. The author of the press release is not even mentioned, while those with Conservative connections are named. Had such a generalization been made on the basis of ethnicity, as opposed to party affiliation, the Liberal press release would itself have been an "ethnic smear campaign".

It is essential to emphasize that, despite the untrue inferences in the Liberal press release, no one involved with the Conservative Party of Canada had any role in the December 19 press release, and none was aware of its existence until it was distributed by CCD.

CCD acknowledges and regrets the errors in its December 19 press release and again offers its sincere apologies to Mr. Omar Alghabra. We would ask that the Liberal Party do the same with respect to potentially libellous statements in its December 20 press release.

We also would like to extend our best wishes to Mr. Alghabra and to all candidates in the present election, and to acknowledge the sacrifice that they are making in their chosen career, especially during the holiday season.

Jihad Watch Award Winners

It was a gala evening at the Freedom Palace here in Secure Undisclosed Locationville when we awarded the 2005 Dhimmi and Anti-Dhimmi Awards, and the great Cox and Forkum were there.

Man Charged in Failed London Bombings

Another Methodist arrested in Britain in connection with the failed July 21 bombings. From AP, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

LONDON - British police investigating the failed July 21 London bombings on Thursday charged a student with conspiracy to cause explosions, authorities said.

London's Metropolitan Police identified the man as 23-year-old Adel Yahya. He was arrested Tuesday at Gatwick Airport as he got off a flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

He was charged with conspiring with four other men — all of whom are awaiting trial over the plot to attack three subway trains and a double-decker bus — "to cause by an explosive substance, explosions of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property."...

A total of 16 people have now been charged in connection with the attempted attacks, which did not kill anyone as the bombs failed to detonate. But they shook Britain's capital two weeks after near identical suicide bombings killed 52 commuters on July 7.

Five men are accused of plotting to murder passengers on London's transit system on July 21 and face trial in September.

Muktar Said Ibrahim, 27, Ramzi Mohamed, 23, Yassin Omar, 24, Hussein Osman, 27, are accused of trying to bomb three subway trains and a bus.

The fifth suspect, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, 32, was arrested after a backpack of explosives was found in a raid. All face a charge of conspiracy to murder.

Ethiopian-born Osman has said through his lawyer that the bombing attempt was meant to scare people, not kill them.

Yahya is accused of conspiring with Osman, Ibrahim, Asiedu and Omar.

A further 10 people have been charged in connection with the attempted attacks — for failing to disclose information about the suspects and helping them evade arrest.

'They promised us paradise through martyrdom'

In full accord with Qur'an 9:111. From GulfNews, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

"They promised us paradise through martyrdom," said a Saudi youth who has abandoned extremism. A number of other reformed young men echoed his view.

Their revelations were broadcast live on Saudi television as part of a serial entitled Experiments in the name of Jihad. Twelve youths who gave up deviant thoughts appeared on Tuesday on the fourth episode of the programme titled 'Regions of clash'.

The episode focused on five major aspects related with extremism. These included temptations for waging holy war (jihad), impact of the decision to join extremist camps, influence of media that illustrate the immensity of death and destruction caused to Muslims across the world, especially in Palestine and Iraq, wrong notions about jihad, and possibility of bringing these youths back from their deviant paths and accommodating those returning from the "regions of clashes".

The youths narrated the circumstances that led them to extremist camps. "The plight of the Muslim ummah as well as the death and destruction caused to our brethren forced us to join with deviant groups. We were easily lured with the promise of paradise through joining in the efforts to alleviate the suffering of our brethren," one of them said.

If all that is the case, what has "reformed" them?

Christmas greetings from Indonesia

"Indonesia Under High Risk of Terror Attack," from AP, with thanks to JE:

The embassy said a police raid on a Jemaah Islamiyah hideout last month turned up information indicating the al-Qaida-linked group was in the advanced stages of planning attacks on foreigners.

"In recent years terrorist attacks have occurred in Indonesia during the Christmas and New Year's holiday season," the embassy said in an e-mail to U.S. citizens. "The possibility of terrorist attacks appears even higher this year."

On Christmas Eve 2000 bombs exploded at churches across Indonesia, killing 19 people. Suspicion fell on Jemaah Islamiyah, now blamed for several other attacks since then, including the 2002 and 2005 bombings on the resort island of Bali. More than 250 people have died.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, Militant Islam is on the rise, but most people here practice a moderate form of the faith.

Oh, I feel so much better now. But why is "Militant Islam" on the rise? And when are those "most people" going to rein in their Tiny Minority of Extremists?

Arrests reveal Zarqawi network in Europe

How will official Europe and the State Department react to news that Zarqawi has a network in Europe? Judging from the understanding of and response to jihadist infiltration and intimidation in some quarters, I would guess that they will say that they're glad he's taking an interest in something besides violence, and that broadcasting is such a rewarding field. From the Telegraph, with thanks to Daryl:

A wave of arrests across Europe has thrown new light on a European terrorist network being developed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most prominent insurgent in Iraq.

A growing number of terrorism investigations in Britain, Germany, Bosnia, Denmark and most recently Spain and France are linked to the man who has masterminded countless suicide bombings in Iraq, personally beheaded hostages and bombed three hotels in his native Jordan.

Some of the suspected networks appear to be involved only in supporting his operations in Iraq. But counter-terrorism officials are worried that Zarqawi could be planning to use his base in Iraq to start attacking Europe.

Security officials are particularly worried by indications that he wants to recruit white extremists who will be more difficult to detect than Arabs or Asians.

"Zarqawi thinks he is bigger than Iraq," a British source said. "He is spreading his tentacles in Europe. There is a sense that attacks are inevitable.

"Even before the invasion of Iraq, Zarqawi had a network in Europe that provided funds and recruits. The same pipeline will sooner or later pump the other way, from Iraq to Europe."

Reach out, reach out and torch someone...

Jihadists despise the West, but don't hesitate to use its technology to defeat it. A follow up to this story: "Hezbollah highly skilled at infiltrating technology, experts say," from the Globe and Mail, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

Security experts say it's no surprise that a group linked to Hezbollah cloned the cellphones of Ted Rogers and other high-level Rogers executives.

The Iranian-backed radical Shia group based in Lebanon -- regarded by many as even more sophisticated than al-Qaeda -- has sharpened its counterintelligence expertise over the years by keeping a step ahead of Mossad, Israel's secret service. Hezbollah, whose name means Party of God, has become ever more adept at intercepting electronic surveillance, penetrating cellphone networks and recruiting computer science technicians.

"Hezbollah has a long history of underworld wrestling, matching wits with Israeli intelligence agents," said Wesley Wark, an intelligence expert at the University of Toronto. "Hezbollah has become technologically more sophisticated to avoid detection. It's an ironic spinoff of having Western agencies monitor their communications."

Well, they don't have to worry about that anymore.

Fitzgerald: Russia, awake!

Jihad Watch Board Vice President Hugh Fitzgerald discusses Russia's stance toward the global jihad:

In the mental subset of many Russians the murder, by a maddened Muslim mob, of the greatest Russian playwright Griboyedov (author of "Woe from Wit, or The Misfortune of Being Clever") in 1829, cannot be effaced or erased. With his knowledge of Oriental languages, Griboyedov had been posted to Persia and Georgia, and was in the legation in Tehran, serving as minister-plenipotentiary.

Some Christians, including women -- Armenians and Georgians -- had sought to escape from pursuing Muslims by finding what they thought might be refuge in the Russian embassy. The fanatical mob -- plus ca change -- naturally ignored the rules about the sanctity of embassies (like all supposedly international rules of war and peace, as the American soldiers have discovered and the Israelis discovered before them, these rules do not apply to Muslims, who have their own guidebooks -- Qur'an and hadith and sira -- which tell them all they know, and all they need to know).

The place was stormed by the chanting fanatics ("Allahu Akbar" was not invented in Iraq yesterday), Griboyedov killed, and for three days his body was "so ill-treated by the mob" as the entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica (11th, and therefore still well-written, edition) states, that "it was at last recognized only by an old scar on the hand, due to a wound received in a duel."

Now this killing of someone whose work is taught to every Russian schoolchild has had its impact on Russian consciousnesses. So, of course, have the memories of the wild fanatical tribes in the Caucasus. The very phrase "vostochnij narod" -- an "Eastern people," readily evokes this wildness and fanaticism. But in Soviet times, while Islam was seen as a "religion" and therefore to be treated with as much ferocity as other "religions" -- no quarter was given -- in post-Soviet times Islam continues to be seen as a "religion" and has been allowed to flourish, and mosques to be built again, without a clear understanding that the only thing that permitted what development of science there has been in Central Asia was accomplished not despite, but because, Islam had been tamed. It will be instructive to compare the results between, for example, Kazakhstan (with its very large non-Muslim population, and its supposed Muslims often nominally so) and Uzbekistan, where the forces of Islam, naturally supported by Saudi and other Arabs, are helping to bring the country into disarray and to undo possibly the best thing the Soviet power ever managed to achieve -- the de-islamization of the elites, defined not economically but intellectually, of Central Asia.

Meanwhile, the demographic problem in Russia proper remains, grows, and ought to -- but still does not -- preoccupy all those who care about the continued existence of a place called Russia. And who, in Russian history, was more sparkling, amusing, frivolous, altogether wonderful and completely un-Islamic in every way, than Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin? So it will be a contest in Russia: the spirit of Pushkin, or the spirit of the sheikhs, mullahs, imams, of the Bin Ladens and Al-Qaradawis, and ultimately, of what is in Qur'an and hadith and sira.

Which will intelligent Russians prefer? And will they act to protect their own heritage, which gives meaning and life to their language -- or will they allow here, as in parts of Western Europe, demographic trends to continue unchecked, and that demography to be destiny?

The Russian government, the Russian press, and many people in Russia persist in wallowing in resentment of the United States. They appear to believe that we are delighted that Russia is no longer as powerful as it once was, and are delighted at its disarray. Nonsense. The United States is hardly paying attention to Russia, and there is no gloating. Yet Putin, perhaps still jousting at Cold War windmills, plays up to the Iranians and the Chechen jihadists rather than make common cause with the United States against the jihadists – an option, of course, that the U.S. is not offering.

Yet now that Arabs, including Saudis, are in Chechnya, now that planes are blown up, and in a Moscow theatre 800 people taken hostage, and the Muslims allowed to leave while the Infidels are kept under guard, now that the vocabulary of the Chechens has become classically Islamic, one wonders how long Putin’s disconnection from reality can last.

Russian policy should be based on a realistic assessment of threats. Americans are not planning to flood across the border into Siberia, or to take over the Caucasus. Islam contains a clear geopolitical program: the dar al-Islam must swallow up the dar al-Harb. It can be achieved slowly. It need not be achieved by military conquest; in fact, at this point, it is demographic conquest, without terrorism or other forms of qital, combat, that are already proving so effective in Western Europe.

Instead of resentment about "losing" the Cold War -- the Russians did not "lose" it, they simply came to realize, helped along by American resolve, that Communism itself was a failure -- there needs to be a sober assessment of present-day realities. There is no reason to keep America at a distance.

Surely Putin should be able to see by now what Islam is all about. Surely he can see, just in Moscow itself, that there is a demographic problem. Soviet Islamists were often very acute. They were not held in check by any undue respect for something called a "religion." They were more willing to see a political ideology, to which some features of worship were attached. They should be helping to fashion a policy that will prevent a second Zolotaya Orda, Golden Horde. One hopes they come to their senses sooner than Western Europeans give any sign of doing. Perhaps they should remind themselves of, to begin with, the Bulgarian atrocities committed by the Turks between 1875-76. Start with a little pan-Slavism, with Serbs and Bulgarians, and work forward from that.

Russians want a task equal to their putative power, and what they see as their rightful place in the world. Helping the Old World come to its senses about Islam is such a worthy task. They might just consider it.

Canadian jihadist admits to buying weapons for Al-Qaeda

"Terror suspect admits to acquiring weapons," from AP, with thanks to Nicolei:

Toronto: A Canadian terror suspect confessed to buying guns and rocket launchers for Al Qaida to use against US forces in Afghanistan, according to a court filing on Monday.

In an affidavit submitted to the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto, where Abdullah Khadr appeared at a preliminary hearing, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal Richard Jenkins wrote that Khadr admitted ties to senior Al Qaida members.

The suspect confessed to buying guns and rocket launchers for them in Afghanistan. Khadr also admitted to a role in an unspecified plot to assassinate Pakistan's prime minister.

According to the affidavit, it is alleged that his father and some of his brothers had fought for Al Qaida and even stayed with the terror network's leader, Osama Bin Laden....

[Khadr] is alleged to have bought AK-47 and mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and containers of mine components for Al Qaida....

The affidavit said he received military training at a camp in Afghanistan for four months in the mid-1990s and that he continued buying arms beyond 2003 after his father died. Pakistani intelligence officers picked him up in a car in Islamabad on October 12, 2004, and he was returned to Canada earlier this month.

On Sunday, defence lawyer Dennis Edney accused the US of participating in the unspecified "abuse" of Abdullah Khadr in a Pakistani prison.

Sure. We have seen that gambit many, many times before.

Palestinian Gunmen Kidnap Foreign Teachers

Welcome to the new, peaceful Palestinian Gaza, where the Israelis have left and so now there is no reason for anyone to be anything but loving. From AP, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian gunmen abducted two foreign teachers from an American school as they were driving north of Gaza City on Wednesday, witnesses said.

The foreigners were identified only as a Belgian and a Dutch. Their car was stopped by unidentified armed men who forced them into their vehicle and drove them to an unknown destination....

The kidnappings took place a day after a group of gunmen threatened to abduct foreigners if their demands to be folded into the Palestinian security services were not met. These armed men denied involvment in Wednesday's kidnapping.

Militant groups have kidnapped foreigners in increasingly chaotic Gaza recently, usually as bargaining chips to get relatives released from Palestinian prisons, secure jobs from the Palestinian Authority or settle personal scores. The kidnappings have all been brief, and the hostages have all been released unhamred [sic].

That's good. It would have been terrible for them to have been "hamred."

Terror suspect 'pledged jihad'

"Kent wanted to participate in jihad but was frustrated by the watchfulness of Australian authorities." Good thing they weren't cowed by the prospect of claims of victimization by Muslim groups. From AAP, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

AUSTRALIAN terror suspect Shane Kent had to pledge his allegiance to a jihad, or holy war, before being allowed to meet Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in 2001, a Melbourne court heard today.

The 28-year-old father of three, one of 10 Victorian men arrested in a series of raids last month, has been charged with being a member of a terrorist organisation.

Kent, from the Melbourne suburb of Meadow Heights, along with co-accused Amer Haddara, 26, of Yarraville, is seeking bail in Melbourne Magistrates' Court.

Kent wanted to participate in jihad but was frustrated by the watchfulness of Australian authorities, police said today.

Crown Prosecutor Nick Robinson told the court Kent spoke of this to Melbourne Muslim preacher Abdul Nacer Benbrika, 46, who is charged with directing a terrorist organisation and supplying funds to a terrorist organisation.

Mr Robinson read a transcript of a conversation between the pair, in which Kent allegedly said, "Sheikh, it's too hard here ... we can't move, we can't do nothing".

Detective Senior Constable Ben Condon gave evidence that Kent made the pledge when he visited a training camp in Afghanistan before the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"He made a pledge to jihad in front of Osama bin Laden," Det Sen Cost Condon said.

"They were required to do that if they wanted to meet him (bin Laden)."

Spencer: Thou Shalt Not Draw

In FrontPage today, my take on the great Qur'an cartoon controversy. News links in the original.

Last September, Danish author Kåre Bluitgen was set to publish a book on the Muslim prophet Muhammad, but there was just one catch: he couldn’t find an illustrator. Artistic representations of the human form are forbidden in Islam, and pictures of Muhammad are especially taboo — so three artists turned down Bluitgen’s offer to illustrate the book for fear that they would pay with their lives for doing so. Frants Iver Gundelach, president of the Danish Writers Union, decried this as a threat to free speech — and the largest newspaper in Denmark, Jyllands-Posten, responded. They approached forty artists asking for depictions of Muhammad and received in response twelve cartoons of the Prophet — several playing on the violence committed by Muslims in the name of Islam around the world today.

Danish Imam Raed Hlayhel was the first to react. “This type of democracy is worthless for Muslims,” he fumed. “Muslims will never accept this kind of humiliation. The article has insulted every Muslim in the world. We demand an apology!” Jyllands-Posten refused. Editor-in-chief Carsten Juste refused: “We live in a democracy. That’s why we can use all the journalistic methods we want to. Satire is accepted in this country, and you can make caricatures. Religion shouldn’t set any barriers on that sort of expression. This doesn’t mean that we wish to insult any Muslims.” Cultural editor Flemming Rose concurred: “Religious feelings,” he observed, “cannot demand special treatment in a secular society. In a democracy one must from time to time accept criticism or becoming a laughingstock.”

Certainly Christians have had to learn this lesson: in the United Kingdom, the secretary of an organization called Christians Against Ridicule complained in 2003 that “over the last seven days alone we have witnessed the ridicule of the Nativity in a new advert for Mr Kipling cakes, the ridicule of the Lord’s Prayer on Harry Hill’s TV Burp, the ridicule of a proud Christian family on ITV’s Holiday Nightmare and the opening of a blasphemous play at London’s Old Vic Theatre — Stephen Berkoff’s Messiah….Rarely a day goes by today without underhand and insidious mockery of the Christian faith.” Christians Against Ridicule, however, issued no death threats at that point or any other; some Muslims in Denmark after the cartoons were published were not quite so sanguine. Jyllands-Posten had to hire security guards to protect its staff as threats came in by phone and email.

Muslim anger was not limited to threat-issuing thugs. In late October ambassadors to Denmark from eleven Muslim countries asked Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen for a meeting about what they called the “smear campaign” against Muslims in the Danish press. Rasmussen declined: “This is a matter of principle. I won’t meet with them because it is so crystal clear what principles Danish democracy is built upon that there is no reason to do so.” He added: “I will never accept that respect for a religious stance leads to the curtailment of criticism, humour and satire in the press.” The matter, he said, was beyond his authority: “As prime minister I have no tool whatsoever to take actions against the media and I don’t want that kind of tool.”

As far as one of the ambassadors, Egypt’s, was concerned, that was the wrong answer. Egyptian officials withdrew from a dialogue they had been conducting with their Danish counterparts about human rights and discrimination. Egyptian Embassy Councillor Mohab Nasr Mostafa Mahdy added: “The Egyptian ambassador in Denmark has said that the case no longer rests with the embassy. It is now being treated at an international level. As far as I have been informed by my government, the cartoon case has already been placed on the agenda for the Islamic Conference Organization’s extraordinary summit in the beginning of December.”

Meanwhile, in Denmark in early November thousands of Muslims marched in demonstrations against the cartoons. Two of the cartoonists, fearing for their lives, went into hiding. The Pakistani Jamaaat-e-Islami party offered five thousand kroner to anyone who killed one of the cartoonists. The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), with a membership of 56 Muslim nations, protested to the Danish government. Last week business establishments closed to protest the cartoons — in Kashmir. The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Ghulam Nabi Azad, was reportedly “anguished” by the cartoons, and asked India’s Prime Minister to complain to the Danish government. And last Saturday the most respected authority in the Sunni Muslim world, Mohammad Sayed Tantawi, Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, declared that the cartoons had “trespassed all limits of objective criticism into insults and contempt of the religious beliefs of more than one billion Muslims around the world, including thousands in Denmark. Al-Azhar intends to protest these anti-Prophet cartoons with the UN’s concerned committees and human rights groups around the world.”

The UN was happy to take the case. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, wrote to the OIC: “I understand your attitude to the images that appeared in the newspaper. I find alarming any behaviors that disregard the beliefs of others. This kind of thing is unacceptable.” She announced that investigations for racism and “Islamophobia” would commence forthwith.

While solicitous of Muslim belief, Arbour did not seem concerned about the beliefs of the Danes. Yet Jyllands-Posten had well articulated its position as founded upon core principles of the Western world: “We must quietly point out here that the drawings illustrated an article on the self-censorship which rules large parts of the Western world. Our right to say, write, photograph and draw what we want to within the framework of the law exists and must endure — unconditionally!” Juste added: “If we apologize, we go against the freedom of speech that generations before us have struggled to win.”

That freedom is imperiled internationally more today than it has been in recent memory. As it grows into an international cause célèbre, the cartoon controversy indicates the gulf between the Islamic world and the post-Christian West in matters of freedom of speech and expression. And it may yet turn out that as the West continues to pay homage to its idols of tolerance, multiculturalism, and pluralism, it will give up those hard-won freedoms voluntarily.

Jihad is 'Muslim obligation'

Well, I've been saying this for years, and CAIR and others have claimed that I don't know what I'm talking about. I expect Ibrahim Hooper will be firing off a stern letter to Osman Karahan about how he is misunderstanding Islam. From The Scotsman, with thanks to all who sent this in:

A lawyer defending al Qaida-linked suspects standing trial for the 2003 suicide bombings in Istanbul told a court that jihad, or holy war, was an obligation for Muslims and his clients should not be prosecuted.

"If you punish them for this, tomorrow, will you punish them for fasting or for praying?" Osman Karahan -- a lawyer representing 14 of the 72 suspects -- asked during a nearly four-hour speech in which he read religious texts from an encyclopedia of Islam.

The November 2003 blasts targeted two synagogues, the British Consulate and the local headquarters of the London-based HSBC bank, killing 58 people.

The Arabic word jihad can mean holy war among extremists in addition to its definition as the Islamic concept of the struggle to do good.

Karahan spoke for three hours at the court in Istanbul.

"If non-Muslims go into Muslim lands, it is every Muslim's obligation to fight them," Karahan said.

Sunnis Say Iraq Vote Was Fraudulent

I am shocked! -- shocked! -- that there would be allegations of vote fraud from Sunnis in Iraq. This underscores the little-noted fact that there is little trust and virtually no common group identity among the various groups identified as "Iraqis." From AP, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sunni Arabs alleged Tuesday that last week's parliamentary elections were fraudulent, especially in Baghdad province, and they said if the irregularities are not corrected, new balloting must be held in Iraq's largest electoral district. An electoral commission official said more than 1,000 complaints from the Dec. 15 vote were being investigated, but only 20 were "very serious," and were not expected to change the overall outcome. Final results will be announced in early January, he said, which would delay formation of a new government.

The United Iraqi Alliance — a Shiite party — won about 59 percent of the vote, according to returns from 89 percent of ballot boxes counted in Baghdad province. The Sunni Arab Iraqi Accordance Front received about 19 percent, and the Iraqi National List headed by Ayad Allawi, a secular-minded Shiite, got about 14 percent.

The general director of Iraq's electoral commission, Adel al-Lami, told The Associated Press that officials didn't announce the results of the remaining 11 percent because of complaints of irregularities. He refused to elaborate.

The Iraqi Accordance Front, a coalition of three major Sunni groups, rejected those results, warning of "grave repercussions on security and political stability" if the mistakes were not corrected.

Victorious Canadian Muslim pol: "This is a victory for Islam! Islam won! Islam Won! ... Islamic power is extending into Canadian politics"

Future of Canada Alert: "Liberal strategy a dangerous mix of religion and politics," from the Canadian Coalition for Democracies, with thanks to all who sent this in:

Toronto, Canada Monday, December 19, 2005 - On December 2, the Liberal candidate for Mississauga-Erindale, Omar Alghabra, made his victory speech after winning the nomination. In that speech, he reportedly exhorted his audience, "This is a victory for Islam! Islam won! Islam Won! ... Islamic power is extending into Canadian politics".

Alghabra's victory speech was delivered to an audience of several hundred in the Coptic Christian Centre of the Church of the Virgin Mary and St. Athanasius in Mississauga.

David Ragheb, a member of the congregation, reported that following Alghabra's victory speech, Markham Councillor Khalid Osman took to the stage and declared, "We have the east, we have the west, and now we have Mississauga!" to cheers and applause from the audience. Ragheb also reported that Rogers Cable was present throughout and may have filmed the event. "A member of parliament is supposed to represent my concerns about taxes and roads in Mississauga, not promote an Islamic agenda," said Ragheb.

Victor Fouad, a Coptic Christian, was disturbed to hear of such Islamist rhetoric from a Liberal who could easily become a Canadian parliamentarian. Mr. Fouad assumed that Paul Martin would likewise disapprove of such incitement by a Liberal candidate, and so wrote to the Prime Minister detailing what had happened. That message was ignored. The event took place over 2 weeks ago, and Paul Martin's silence since that time can only be interpreted as approval of Mr. Alghabra's rhetoric.

Or supine dhimmitude and fear, of course, or craven political opportunism, or both.

Australia: Alleged terrorist group member 'met bin Laden'

Jihad in Australia update from ABCNews, with thanks to JE:

A Victorian court has heard an alleged member of a Melbourne terrorist group met Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

A bail application will continue tomorrow for 29-year-old Shane Kent and 26-year-old Amer Haddara.

Both men have been charged with belonging to a terrorist group.

The Melbourne Magistrates Court was told a witness made a police statement that Kent trained with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

The court was told Osama bin Laden was at the training camp and that Kent met with him.

A police officer told the court he believed Kent pledged allegiance to bin Laden while there.

The officer said Kent used his Al Qaeda training to help the Melbourne group become more organised and focussed in their objectives.

The officer agreed that during a police interview, Kent rejected any suggestion that he was willing to be a martyr for Islam.

Haddara

The court also heard that during a police interview Haddara said Australia and the United States were oppressing Muslims by attacking Afghanistan and Iraq.

He told police that Australia's foreign policies, the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), police raids and the media's representation of Muslims were examples of oppression within Australia that theoretically justified jihad.

The court heard that when asked if he would ever be a fighter for Islam Haddara answered: "I wish".

Haddara went on to say that the Koran did not allow for the targeting of innocent people or deliberate destruction of buildings.

Oh, well then, carry on!

O little town of Bethlehem, 'gainst thee we wage jihad

"Gunmen storm Bethlehem mayor office," from AFP, with thanks to JE:

PALESTINIAN gunmen from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades stormed the offices of the mayor of Bethlehem today, according to security sources and witnesses in the West Bank town.

About 15 members of the faction, an armed offshoot of the ruling Fatah movement, burst into the building on Manger Square, next to the church where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born.

The gunmen then ordered all staff to leave and closed all the doors.

Witnesses added that a number of armed men had also taken up positions on the roof of the building.

Members of the Brigades who had been deployed by the entrance to the building said their colleagues had acted in protest at the Palestinian Authority's failure to provide financial assistance to 300 activists.

"Activists." That is, you know who.

Jihad Watch keeps growing

By the way, I have been meaning to tell you that the Jihad Watch website received well over 13 million hits in November: 13,582,558 to be exact. Also, the counter was down for two whole days and parts of two others; otherwise I think we would have gotten to 14 or even 15 million, since during the month we averaged over 500,000 hits a day.

Word is getting out. Thank you for all your support and encouragement.

Threat of terrorist kidnaps in Indonesia

A tactical shift in Indonesia. From AAP, with thanks to JE:

Islamic terrorists in Indonesia are plotting to kidnap high-ranking officials, including foreigners, in a possible shift away from suicide bombings, the country's intelligence chief said on Tuesday.

"They have a change in plan, such as to kidnap certain figures, especially influential ones. It could be foreigners or our officials," Syamsir Siregar, the head of the State Intelligence Agency, said after meeting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta.

Bombs cache prompts red alert in Bangladesh

And here, so as to illustrate Hugh's piece, is more on the jihad in Bangladesh. From DPA, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

DHAKA — Security forces in Bangladesh were on red alert after anti-terror police reported the discovery of a huge cache of explosives in Mymensingh, officials said yesterday....

“Militants belonging to the Jamiatul Mujahideen have been using the den for planning suicide bombing missions in different locations in the northern region,” he said.

Fitzgerald: Bangladesh, Bangladesh

Jihad Watch Board Vice President Hugh Fitzgerald provides some background on the expanding jihad in Bangladesh:

In 1971 East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) rose in revolt against West Pakistan (now Pakistan). Under General Yahya the Bengalees were ruthlessly suppressed. At their side, working hand in bloody glove with the General’s men, were the so-called "razakars." These were local fanatical Muslims intent on keeping "Pakistan" together in the interests, not of the people of Bangladesh, but for the "idea of Islam" and an "Islamic Pakistan." All through the war for Bangladesh's independence from West Pakistan the Muslim razakars committed mass murder of those Bangladeshis fighting the forces of General Khan. This collaborationist element in East Pakistan murdered not only local Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians, but also Muslims who wanted independence. More on this can be found at such websites as www.faithfreedom.org and websites of Hindus and ex-Muslims that concentrate on Bangladesh.

The more fervent someone was a Muslim, the more likely it was that one would become a mass-murderer of one's neighbors. So many were convinced that as an Islamic State Pakistan had to be supported, no matter what that meant. It had to be supported for the Glory of Islam, the All for Islam, Islam, Islam. Millions managed to save themselves only because India offered them refuge.

These "razakars" were never punished. Some of them are in the Bangladeshi government today. The members and supporters of the opposing Awami League, per contra, are constantly under siege. Some of them have been murdered -- and those murdered include some of most distinguished Bengalis, including, this past January 27, Shah A. M. S. Kibria, killed by grenade thrown at him. The country is spiraling into complete Muslim fanaticism. One can see, at certain websites, pictures of a Hindu who, having made the mistake of walking near a mosque in Bangladesh recently as Friday Prayers were ending, was beaten by a Muslim mob -- a mob enthused, no doubt, by whatever stirring khutba it had just heard. It is not only those taking part so gleefully in the man's murder that strikes one -- but all the others standing about, enjoying the spectacle or casually ignoring it as if this sort of thing happens every day.

In 1947 38% of the population of what was then East Pakistan was non-Muslim. It is now down to 8%. Massacres of Hindus, of the few Buddhists who remained in post-Islamic India (in the Chittagong Hills area), and of Christians and other non-Muslims have been incessant. In recent times the pace of such persecution and murder seems to have picked up.

There are those Bangladeshis who nonetheless attempt to lessen the effect of Islamic fanaticism, which has recently come to infect more and more Muslims in east Asia, including not only Bangladesh, but also Malaysia and Indonesia, and Muslim minorities in southern Thailand and the southern Philippines. Things are getting worse -- that is, the ideology that Islam encourages, the Jihad-conquest, and the war against all Infidels, is not dying down but increasing. And so is the war against those who, through no fault of their own, were born into Islam and, not knowing much about it, continue to call themselves "Muslims" -- and yet, are, and will always be, the victims of other Muslims whose behavior is not an aberration but is, rather, based on the texts of Islam, of Qur'an, Hadith, and Sira.

Finally, there is the case of Mr. Salah Uddin Shoaib Chaudhury, the editor of Blitz, who was arrested in November 2003 and held without trial until May 2005 for the crime of trying to establish better relations between Israel and Muslim countries. Chaudhury's case should have been the subject of intervention by the American government. That it was not is a scandal. As for the murder of Kibria and of many others, that too should be protested – for Islam, which is essentially a vehicle for Arab cultural imperialism, continues to further the destruction of non-Muslim minorities in Bangladesh, and of Bangladesh itself, in a razakar-orgy of violence.

And today? Today in Bangladesh Hindus are beaten to death, Christians murdered, and the few remaining Buddhists in the Chittagong Hills fear for their lives. And the Awami League holdovers, the people with civic courage, like Kibria, whose Islam is tempered by their innate humanity and good sense, are murdered by those whose Islam is not.

And that is Bangladesh.

It will be interesting to see if Irene Khan, herself of Muslim Bangladeshi descent and the Secretary-General of that now heavily politicized organization, Amnesty International, (which is normally so exercised about the “war crimes” of the United States and, bien sur, Israel), will forthrightly take the lead in denouncing, again and again, the massacres of Christians and especially of Hindus in Bangladesh. She was recently there, and what seemed to exercise her the most was the declaration that Ahmadiyyas were not legitimate Muslims.

One would like Irene Khan to discuss what it was about the redefinition of the status of Ahmadiyyas was so worrying. Why would it matter, if they are called "Muslims" or not, if Islam itself is the religion of peace and tolerance we hear that it is? Why would being declared "not-Muslim" affect the wellbeing, in Bangladesh, of Ahmaddiyyas? Irene Khan knows the answer. But she persists in refusing to join Ali Sina, Ibn Warraq, and others. Instead she pretends that the problem is not Islam, not the words of Qur'an and hadith -- no, no, that will never do -- but the "cultural" or "civilizational" attitudes that, for some reason, are remarkably coincident in time and space with Islam.

Meanwhile, let's keep a bead on Bangladesh. Make no mistake: it is an unpleasant place, made unpleasant by the aggressions of Islam. No Tales of a Bengal Lancer, and no verses by the once-celebrated Rabindranath Tagore (not a Muslim, so disliked very much in Bangladesh), are part of present-day Bangladesh, or to make it more pleasingly exotic, Bangla Desh. The massacres of millions of insufficiently loyal, or insufficiently Muslim, Bangladeshis by the army of West Pakistan seems to have left little impression. One might, under the circumstances, have thought that that little display of murderous aggression, with the stated aim of restoring the right rule of Allah to a wavering Bengali population, might have had long-term effects of fervor. Nope, does not seem to have happened -- always excepting the handful of skeptical freedom-lovers who, through the Internet, are learning the disastrous effects Islam has had on the intellect, and on human potential, everywhere it has imposed its will.

The Saudi Roots of an Accused Assassin

Joel Mowbray explores some of the neglected implications of the Ahmed Omar Abu Ali case in FrontPage:

When a young American, barely into adulthood, coolly explained in a videotaped confession why he decided to join al Qaeda, one thing he said in particular could indicate that the threat we face is both broader and deeper than realized.

The video, which was recorded by Saudi officials and shown to jurors in the U.S. after being approved by a judge, shows now 24-year-old Abu Ali explaining his motivation for joining al Qaeda—and eventually plotting to assassinate George W. Bush. (It was first shown publicly by NBC News, shortly after Ali was convicted late last month.)

Because Abu Ali pursued religious studies in Saudi Arabia—after graduating as valedictorian from the Saudi Academy in Northern Virginia—his case has generally not been considered one of homegrown terrorism. Yet while it is impossible to pinpoint one exact moment where the al Qaeda operative was radicalized, the seeds of his poisonous beliefs were likely sown in the United States, not overseas.

And the indoctrination that ensnared Abu Ali could be taking place in mosques and Islamic schools in large cities and small towns.

Making Ali’s experience more ominous is what inspired him to wage holy war against his home country. It doesn’t appear to have been—as least as his primary reason—a taste for blood or a lust for violence. As Ali explained, he was approached in 2002 by an al Qaeda recruiter in Saudi Arabia and asked to join the Jihad, and “I immediately accepted because of my hatred of the U.S.”

More baffling than how he could hate the country of his birth so much that he was willing to give his own life to help destroy it is his reason. What drove Ali into the arms of al Qaeda was rhetoric that can be found across the United States, not to mention Europe and the Arab world.

It is the kind of thing uttered by Arab leaders, retired U.S. State Department officials, and most pervasively, by college professors. His pathological hatred stemmed from “what I felt was [the U.S.’s] support of Israel against the Palestinian people.”

Forget for a moment that European and Arab “support” for Palestinians has mostly consisted of condoning or even funding Islamic terrorist organizations while propping up the hopelessly corrupt Palestinian Authority. Even forget for a moment that much of what he knows about Israeli-Palestinian issues is undoubtedly pure propaganda. What had this young man convinced of Jihad almost before his contact with the al Qaeda recruiter was rhetoric that is not only protected by the First Amendment, but also not outwardly solicitous of violence.

As radical as Wahhabism, the Saudi-sponsored strain of Islam, is known to be, the Saudi Academy in Northern Virginia almost certainly does not explicitly encourage violence of its students or endorse holy war. But if listening to the Saudi royal family is any indication, Ali learned the very sentiments he cited as his justification in the Islamic school.

Most Americans remember former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani returning a $10 million check in October 2001 after the donor, Prince Waleed—now in the news for $20 million gifts to each Harvard and Georgetown—blamed the U.S. for bringing 9/11 on itself because of its foreign policy, specifically with respect to Israel. And Prince Waleed is the “moderate” of the Saudi family.

The contempt and hostility fostered in young Abu Ali does not seem isolated to Muslims studying at the Saudi Academy. The bipartisan Freedom House earlier this year released a 67-page report that detailed venomous and incendiary materials found in a dozen prominent mosques across the U.S. Though there was at least one explicit call for violence, the report’s more troubling finding was that the materials routinely fomented animosity toward—and encouraged dissociation from—Jews, Christians, and secular government. In short, almost everything not Muslim.

Worth mentioning is that all the materials were sanctioned or sponsored by the Saudis.

Found in the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C., just miles from the Saudi Academy, was the following: “To be dissociated from the infidels is to hate them for their religion, to leave them, never to rely on them for support, not to admire them, to be on one's guard against them, never to imitate them and always to oppose them in every way according to Islamic law.”

Abu Ali is not the first American to sign up for Jihad against his home country. There have already been two full-blown, homegrown terror cells busted up in the U.S.: one in Lodi, CA, and the other in Northern Virginia. Both cells contained operatives born and raised in the U.S. These are just the terrorists about which we already know.

Who else is out there? More important, if Saudi vitriol is allowed to fester or even spread, how many more Abu Alis will there be?

Bangladesh: Next terror frontier?

Overview of the widening jihad in Bangladesh from Rediff, with thanks to "Ayo Gorkhali":

Increasing infiltration across the border. Terrorists sneaking into India. Regular skirmishes with men in uniform on the other side.

This is not Pakistan we are talking about. In recent times, another neighbour has swiftly emerged as a major security concern for India.

Rediff India Abroad Deputy Managing Editor Ramananda Sengupta visited Bangladesh recently looking for answers to the big question: Why is such trouble brewing on India's Eastern Front?

The first in a series of reports from Bangladesh:

'Government has accorded top priority to erection of a fence along the Indo-Bangladesh border to check infiltration, smuggling and all anti-India activities from across the border.'
-- President A P J Abdul Kalam, addressing a joint session of Parliament, February 25.

'We have specific information with us about the large-scale presence of the ISI and some terrorist organisations inside Bangladesh, which are sheltering and training Indian terrorists of various hues.'
-- Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee at a press conference after inaugurating the Indian Army's strategic broadband satellite service network at Fort William, Kolkata, August 7.

There is much more.

Attention WalMart shoppers...

My friend Thomas Woods, author of the superb Politically Incorrect Guide to American History, has notified me that my book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) is listed at the tail-end of Wal-Mart's Top 100 Books of 2005.

The book received hardly any published reviews (there were three or four) or other attention (outside of talk radio), but it spent fifteen weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. I am surprised and grateful that despite the pusillanimity and political correctness of the liberal and conservative mainstream media, people recognized it as a book that would give them the truth. In this is a small sign of hope that a sizeable number of people are not willing to believe the soothing half-truths and distortions currently being peddled by the elites.

Australia "race" rioter's mother: he "likes Islam too much"

What is she, some kind of Islamophobe? "Mum's cocktail of fear," from the Herald Sun, with thanks to Snowman:

THE mother of a Melbourne youth allegedly found on a Sydney bus with two bottles of petrol said she was worried he "likes Islam too much".

Amir Ali Osmanagic's distraught mother said yesterday she feared he would get mixed up with trouble-makers when he moved to Sydney three weeks ago.

"He's a very good person, but he like too much Islam," Envera Osmanagic said.

"He likes Islam, maybe he protects Islam, something like that.

"He's young, he does not know what is happening."

Amir Ali Osmanagic, 18, and Parham Esmailpour, 19, of Sydney, gave police different excuses for carrying the petrol, a court heard yesterday.

Mr Osmanagic allegedly said he was helping a mate who had run out of fuel, while Mr Esmailpour said it was for sniffing. They were arrested on Sunday in a major crackdown by police who feared a new outbreak of race violence on Sydney beaches.

Phares: Spying on American Terrorists

Walid Phares in FrontPage defends some controversial surveillance tactics:

"Use their systems, passports, citizenship, laws, traditions, books and media, create internal divisions among them, and inflict defeat on the kuffars [infidels], for in the current balance of power, all we need to do is to use their weaknesses as our strength." – Abul ala’, comment posted in the Al-Ansar chat room, September 2005.

Opening the first salvo in the newly launched "battle of the terrorist surveillance," the Associated Press wrote: "President Bush said Saturday he personally has authorized a secret eavesdropping program in the U.S. more than 30 times since the Sept. 11 attacks and he lashed out at those involved in publicly revealing the program." When I read this far in the report, I thought the article was about finding who in America is helping al-Qaeda. The AP added: "He said it is used only to intercept the international communications of people inside the United States who have been determined to have 'a clear link' to al-Qaeda or related terrorist organizations." This would overlook homegrown jihadists, or those who infiltrated the country years ago and aren’t making international phone calls. Moreover, well-trained terrorists would not reveal their plans on international calls; hence, the administration will likely be criticized for not spending enough resources investigating internal networks of terror, those who will probably produce the next terrorist strikes. Obviously, the government – in a full fledged state of war with al-Qaeda and its allies – should be spending all possible resources to monitor, listen to, analyze, and act against potential threats. Despite that, the intelligence establishment has asked the president to only authorize 30 monitoring of possible cases since September 11. Most analysts believe al-Qaeda has 200 cadres operating within the U.S. Former Senator Bob Graham of the Senate Intelligence Committee cited this figure in 2002. Bush's ground troops have only tracked 30 of them, 15 percent.

That's why I was surprised as I continued reading the AP report that it did not criticize the administration for not doing enough surveillance of terror-related activities but for doing too much, or as it was framed in the media later: Spying on U.S. citizens! The argument was coined in pure theoretical – albeit erroneous- sculpture: The president was ordering spying on Americans, inside the country. Hence, he had – according to some – broken the law. Reading and listening to the surreal new debate, I thought of how al-Qaeda must be laughing. In one of his caves in middle earth, Osama bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri must be in disbelief, yelling, "By Allah, had we known we were barely monitored; we could have pulled out the big one!"

But America’s political debate is happening on a different planet: it’s about L.A. Law, finding scandals, and who can get a story out; regardless of reflecting on what we'll need to do to win the War on Terror. The new "story" was given a title before it is investigated: it is spying on Americans rather than being about gathering information on terrorists. So if the terrorists happen to be U.S. citizens (a citizenship no longer so difficult to obtain) their status of terrorist is overridden by their legal status. But the critics stated that it is not about the War on Terror, but about civil liberties. A president must use the FISA Act's process: ask a special court for authorization to wiretap a suspected terrorist.

Well, let’s examine the legal aspect before we look at the damage being made to Homeland Security and all American liberties by the promoters of this story.

The legal debate

The administration says the "program is reviewed every 45 days, using fresh threat assessments, legal reviews by the Justice Department, White House counsel and others, and information from previous activities under the program." The president added that "it is designed in part to fix problems raised by the Sept. 11 commission, which found that two of the suicide hijackers were communicating from San Diego with al-Qaeda operatives overseas." But Senator and likely 2008 presidential candidate Russ Feingold, D-WI, saw it otherwise: "This is not the system of government we have and that we fought for," he told the Associated Press in a telephone interview." Yes, our system of government asks the chief executive to go through a court before gathering information on U.S. citizens suspected of illegal activities or crimes. But the issue isn’t about crimes or illegalities. And the issue isn’t about Americans who may have a connection with violent activities.

Indeed, testifying to the House Select Committee on Intelligence on October 30, 2003 on "Collecting Intelligence under the law," former DOJ attorney John Yoo wrote:

During wartime, the military engages in searches and surveillance without a warrant. We do not, for example, require the armed forces to seek a warrant when it conducts visual or electronic surveillance of enemy forces or of a battlefield, or when it searches buildings, houses, and vehicles for the enemy. Nor must military operations within the United States operate under a different rule.

The question is clear: Are we or are we not at war with the terrorists? Osama bin Laden declared that war in 1998. The bipartisan 9/11 Commission wondered why the administration held off until October 2001. The jihadists are present within the U.S., including those who carry U.S. passports. So are other terror jihadists in Spain, Britain, Holland, or France. By pure rationale, the U.S. government has the duty to use all means (approved by war conventions) to resist the penetration and infiltration of the United States. Doing otherwise is unlawful, unconstitutional, and more importantly to the detriment of the security, and therefore the liberty of the American people. But regardless of any general legal argument, attorney John Yoo provides us with a technical legal provision. He writes:

Therefore, if al-Qaeda forces organize and carry out missions to attack civilian or military targets within the United States, government surveillance of terrorists would not be law enforcement so much as military operations. In such circumstances, when the government is not pursuing an ordinary criminal law enforcement objective, the Fourth Amendment requires no search warrant.

So, legally speaking, the administration, while defending itself from a terrorist jihad, had to grant our would-be killers civil liberties. One must admit how difficult this task is: To fight a global and domestic war against terrorists who reject all laws of infidels, while using a legal system that wasn’t designed for these enemies. The American people have been left in the dark, because they do not understand how the enemy exploits America’s system. Now, instead of a discussing how to close those loopholes, the debate is famed around "the government spying on Americans."

While jihadist cells are constantly spying to find chinks in America's infrastructure, President Bush's critics are concerned about how America is watching the terrorists. So far, I haven’t heard a critic asking who are we watching? Or anyone requesting an update as to how many terrorists are within the U.S. So, in sum, they want the government to "catch" the terrorists but not to "watch" them. I must admit that if the 9/11 Commission was right on target regarding some fellow Americans; it is about "lack of imagination." For till further notice, I am not able to figure out how the U.S. can catch the jihadist terrorists if it doesn’t monitor them. And how can the defense and security institutions monitor an enemy in a state of war, if it provides them with the knowledge and the technology it is using.

The liberties of Americans are too cherished to be infringed. It is the terrorists' freedom that needs to be shrunk. We need to match our laws with the nature of the conflict, not allow the terrorists to use them against us. Laws are made to protect the people, not to be used against them by the enemy.

Al-Qaeda and the jihadists

Were the terrorists communicating among each other in the 1990s, and was the U.S. government able to detect them and disrupt their operations before 9/11? Obviously the terrorists of Mohammed Atta and their colleagues were free to communicate, even meet on U.S. soil for years. There was no War on Terror in the Clinton administration, no advice that a jihad was happening in the research of most of academia, and no court was instructed to indict Islamo-fascism before September 11, 2001. Presidents didn’t even need to develop techniques to monitor jihadists, since no doctrine on jihad was taught in military colleges. The country was on a different planet.

But Osama bin Laden changed the rules of engagement four years ago. The geopolitical reality changed, and laws had to serve the survival of Americans not to obstruct their global freedoms. Many questions are still being asked by the experts on terrorism: Are we fully prepared for them? Is our legal system, even when best interpreted ready to meet them? Apparently not: We are in a twilight zone. The Bush administration, inheriting a pre-9/11 American system, is struggling to balance between civil liberties and terror. But its critics haven’t moved past September 10th: They want to use a system designed against the mafia to play with the most lethal forces of the globe.

The public must be told the whole story and be left to judge for itself. Americans must be rapidly informed and educated as to the nature of this war, its length, the enemy they are facing, and the real threats that are clouding the future. I believe that the critics, in their rush to play politics, may have given the opportunity to America to open its eyes wide at Islamofascism. Indeed, I'd be more than interested in learning about "who the government has wire tapped and whose surveillance was not reviewed through the FISA process." Only then can we see the big picture.

Meanwhile, al-Qaeda is learning more about our system – not about the fact that the U.S. government has been monitoring them, but how little it has done and how easy it is to attack these measures within the U.S. system. The terrorists in charge of penetrating U.S. national security are better off this week than last. They would have learned how many times the president has authorized exceptional surveillance; we would have understood why the pressure was higher on terror between 2001 and 2005; and above all we would have realized that politicians in America (and their academic advisors) are detached from the reality of the post-9/11 world.

Al-Qaeda knew it was under surveillance in America, but it didn’t know much about that system. Soon, it will know and will use this knowledge to its advantage. While some among us are rotating their pre-9/11 planet back in time, future jihad is railing against another of its enemies' fatal weaknesses.

Saudis give 400 jihadists "counseling," release them

No more "deviant thoughts" among these guys. The Saudis have taken care of all of it. And we all know we can trust the House of Saud. "Kingdom Sets Free 400 Detainees," from Arab News, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

JEDDAH, 19 December 2005 — Saudi Arabia has released nearly 400 detainees, held for security reasons, after providing them with intense counseling and making sure they are free of deviant thoughts, the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday quoting a security official.

Dr. Muhammad Al-Nujaimi, head of the department of civic studies at King Fahd Security Academy in Riyadh, said the 400 were set free during the past months.

In a previous statement, Interior Minister Prince Naif had spoken about plans to release some detainees after they repented and decided to return to the right path.

Terrorist: Hezbollah has 'headquarters' in Gaza

A Stop the Presses Alert from WND, with thanks to JE:

JERUSALEM – The Iran and Syria-backed Hezbollah militia maintains a cell in the Gaza Strip that directs and finances terror operations against Israelis, including several attacks carried out by a group connected to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a captured Palestinian terrorist told Israeli interrogators.

The latest information comes as the Lebanese government continues refusing to disarm Hezbollah in spite of a United Nations resolution calling for the disbandment of all armed groups in Lebanon.

Majdi Kamal 'Abd al-Jabbar 'Amer, an Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist recently captured by Israeli forces, revealed during interrogation he took orders to commit attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon through what he called a Hezbollah "headquarters" in the Gaza Strip, Israeli security officials told WND.

The Brigades is the declared military wing of Abbas' Fatah party, and is responsible for scores of suicide bombings, shooting attacks and Qassam rocket firings.

According to interrogators, Amer said several months before his arrest he contacted Abu Rabi, a Hezbollah operative in Lebanon, asking him for money for himself and seven other Brigades terrorists to commit shooting attacks against Israelis.

After receiving $1,500 and carrying out attacks, Amer revealed, he asked Rabi for more Hezbollah money and was told to be in touch with a middleman in the Gaza Strip named Abu Lu'ai, who then regularly provided Amer and his group with thousands of dollars in cash for attacks.

"Amer told us several times that Hezbollah was an excellent source of funding for attacks against Israelis," a security official said. "He described what was like a Hezbollah funding and directing headquarters in Gaza that would provide money for attacks to be carried out in Gaza, the West Bank, and against Israelis elsewhere."

'Don’t be fooled by the democratic marriage'

I haven't said much of anything about the Iraqi elections here. That is because, as far as I am concerned, the fact that they are voting doesn't establish anything. The Soviet Union had elections. Communist China had elections. I am not saying that the new Iraq is like either one, but with the Sharia provisions in the Constitution, it remains to be seen how much freedom for non-Muslims and women the democratic state will really provide. Also, for years I have been pointing out that any democratic state established in an Islamic context will, like Turkey, subsist under constant pressure from those who believe that no state has any legitimacy unless it implements Sharia in its fullness.

Here is some more evidence of that pressure. From AFP, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

PARIS — The Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda on Saturday urged the country’s Sunni Arabs not to be fooled by the apparent success of this week’s landmark elections.

“We say to our (Sunni) brothers: do not be fooled by what you have heard of the propaganda from the crusaders and their footmen.

“The coming days will show you the fate of this “democratic marriage’ and the marriage of prostitution that it celebrated,” the group said in a statement on a frequently used Islamist website.

“Their armed forces (of the Iraqi government) will be useless. Know that the decision of the crusaders to pull out of Iraq has already been taken,” reads the statement, whose authenticity could not be verified.

Spencer: Sharon's Stroke

In FrontPage I discuss a few of the implications of the celebrations with which some Palestinians greeted news of the stroke suffered by Ariel Sharon. News links in the original.

In Gaza some Palestinians greeted news of Ariel Sharon’s stroke with the “V” for victory sign, gunfire into the air, and pastries.

Schadenfreude is a recurring motif of Palestinian life. Some cheered the 9/11 attacks, passing out candy on that occasion as well. Many Palestinians have celebrated suicide bombings, including even mothers rejoicing in the deaths of their own children. All too many Palestinians seem happy only when an Israeli Jew is dying, even if one of their own children had to die also to make it happen.

Much of this, of course, stems from a culture that celebrates death. As Mufti Sheikh Ikrimeh Sabri, a Palestinian Authority cleric, stated: “We tell them, in as much as you love life, the Muslim loves death and martyrdom. There is a great difference between he who loves the hereafter and he who loves this world. The Muslim loves death and martyrdom.” That is the rationale behind the glorification of suicide bombers as heroes.

Even that glorification and celebration of death, moreover, is rooted in a culture of hatred: suicide bombers are heroes not because they kill themselves but because they kill infidels as well. 9/11 and Sharon’s illness are worth celebrating because they represent more of the same: the defeat and destruction of the enemy.

The culture of death and hatred is not limited to the Palestinians: in Egypt, Sheikh Atiyyah Saqr of Al-Azhar explained in 2004 that “cowardice and love for this worldly life are undisputable traits [of the Jews].” In Lebanon, Hizballah’s Hassan Nasrallah concurred: “We have discovered how to hit the Jews where they are the most vulnerable. The Jews love life, so that is what we shall take away from them. We are going to win, because they love life and we love death.” Afghan jihadist Maulana Inyadullah declared: “The Americans lead lavish lives and they are afraid of death. We are not afraid of death. The Americans love Pepsi Cola, we love death.”

In most places on the planet and at most times throughout history one who loves death has been considered at very least unbalanced. And rather than rejoicing in the misfortunes even of their enemies, Americans rebuilt Germany and Japan after World War II. Israelis did not hand our candies when Yasir Arafat died; nor do they cheer the deaths of innocent Palestinians. Personal graciousness between public opponents has for ages been a hallmark of civilization; indeed, even aides to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wished Sharon good health.

The gesture of Abbas’ office notwithstanding, the Palestinian culture of death and hatred casts a shadow over the future of the entire region. The prospects for a negotiated settlement and lasting peace are slim to none when so many on one side so openly and unapologetically hates the other and rejoices in its distress. Yet the international community has generally turned a blind eye. Although deeply concerned about the trumped-up, politically manipulative concept of “Islamophobia,” the United Nations has paid scant attention to the phenomenon of suicide terror — indeed, criticism of suicide bombers has been silenced at the UN in Geneva by Islamic delegates.

This kind of inconsistency demonstrates that world opinion demands a higher moral accountability from the West than it does from the Islamic world. Were Americans or Israelis to hand out pastries and fire guns in the air at the illness or death of a Muslim leader, international opprobrium would be swift and sure — particularly from the Leftist spokesmen who view all conflicts between the Islamic world and the West as having been caused by Western outrages.

There is an unacknowledged layer of ethnocentrism in this. The international media and governing bodies seem to assume that Palestinians and other Muslims are simply not capable of hewing to the moral and civilizational standards to which Westerners are held.

Less is expected of them. American military personnel who commit crimes at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere are excoriated by world opinion and prosecuted; immensely greater crimes by Muslim terror groups are simply a reaction to Western provocations — witness the post-9/11 remark by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud when he gave ten million dollars to New York City. He asked the U.S. to “reexamine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause….Our Palestinian brethren continue to be slaughtered at the hands of Israelis while the world turns the other cheek.”

Rudolph Giuliani, in returning the Prince’s check, deplored the notion that anything could justify the 9/11 attacks. But the prince’s views are unfortunately widespread in the West (and no one at Georgetown or Harvard seemed to mind when he just gave $20 million to each). No one seems particularly concerned about the fact that by tolerating joy at Sharon’s illness among Palestinians and the culture of death in general, international authorities are postponing, perhaps forever, any chance for so many Palestinians and Muslims to shed their blinders and adopt the moral and ethical standards held by the rest of the world. By continuing to expect less from them, the West ensures that it will receive less from them. As a result, the global conflict, fueled as it is by the hatred that is spread so energetically among Muslims today, will doubtless not only continue to grow, but to escalate.

First threat of the new book

I am considering writing a biography of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. Although the book has not been written yet, and I still haven't decided whether or not even to do so, I received this email after asking people here what they thought of the idea of such a book:

Robert;

Because of the good work done on the two cites [sic] Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch, I am taking the time to explain something to you.

You are now actively interfering with something much larger than you understand.

Plagiarizing for money and inflated synthetic ego is a wrong turn in relation to the laws of Cause and Effect (Karma).

There are forces and repercussions at work that are beyond your present day comprehension.

BE WISE.

It is somewhat amusing (if you're amused by that sort of thing) to be accused of plagiarism for a book I haven't written yet. This person seems to think that there is room for only one biography of Muhammad (although of course many already exist), having made reference in earlier messages to a shoddy but nonetheless popular piece of work by another author that he evidently thinks I am interested in copying.

So I'll take the opportunity to state it here, if it isn't obvious already: I have always written my own books, and have no intention of stopping now. Nor am I am going to be cowed by threats or allow myself to be intimidated away from covering a subject that I believe needs to be covered in a way it has not been already. This is a fundamental test of a free society: will we continue to be able to discuss matters openly even if doing so offends others? If we let ourselves to be silenced by threats, our society is no longer free in any case.

I tend to think it would be worthwhile to write this book just in order to strike a small blow in defense of that fundamental aspect of freedom.

Bali bomber: "Aren't you aware that the model for us all, the Prophet Mohammed and the four rightful caliphs, undertook to murder infidels as one of their primary activities?"

Mukhlas reveals himself as another of the legions of misunderstanders of the (alleged) religion of peace. Those who profess to understand its peacefulness full well, meanwhile, have not yet mounted any effective comeback to Mukhlas' religious appeal. "Murder 'infidels', Mukhlas urges," from The Australian, with thanks to Thom:

BALI bombings commander Mukhlas has written a fanatical call-to-arms from his death-row prison cell, exhorting Muslims to kill Westerners.

Published on a website on the orders of notorious terror chief Noordin Mohammed Top, the polemic demonstrates the undiminished fervour of Mukhlas, who has been sentenced to death for commanding the Bali bomb blasts in 2002 that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

"You who still have a shred of faith in your hearts, have you forgotten that to kill infidels and the enemies of Islam is a deed that has a reward above no other," says the 60-page polemic written in Indonesian by "Sheikh Mukhlas", posted on the anshar.net website, which has since been shut down by Indonesian police.

"Aren't you aware that the model for us all, the Prophet Mohammed and the four rightful caliphs, undertook to murder infidels as one of their primary activities, and that the Prophet waged jihad operations 77 times in the first 10 years as head of the Muslim community in Medina?"

Iran tells West to be tolerant of Holocaust views

Yes, the West always has to be tolerant of such outrages. This obligation, however, does not seem to be incumbent upon the Islamic world.

From Reuters, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust is a matter for academic discussion and the West should be more tolerant of his views, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said on Sunday.

Ahmadinejad last week called the Holocaust a myth and suggested Israel be moved to Germany or Alaska, remarks that sparked international uproar and threaten diplomatic talks with Europe over Iran's nuclear programme.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi defended the president's remarks, which also drew a rebuke from the U.N. Security Council.

"What the president said is an academic issue. The West's reaction shows their continued support for Zionists," Asefi told a weekly news conference.

"Westerners are used to leading a monologue but they should learn to listen to different views," he added.

Canada: Hizballah clones cellphones of corporation execs

"Terror group cloned cellphones of Rogers execs," from CTV.ca News, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

A group linked to terrorist organization Hezbollah has cloned the cellphones of Rogers Communications executives, including that of CEO Ted Rogers, The Globe and Mail reported Saturday.

Cloning involves duplicating a cellphone's number and encrypted security code.

The story came to light after law professor Susan Drummond returned from a month-long trip abroad, only to find her Rogers cellphone bill was more than $12,000, The Globe reported.

The Rogers Wireless bill listed more than 300 calls made in the month of August, some to foreign countries, including Pakistan, Libya, Syria, India and Russia.

When Drummond called about the bill, she was told she would have to pay it -- and that prompted her and her partner, Harry Gefen, to begin researching the cellphone giant.

In September, Gefen attended the Toronto Fraud Forum -- an annual conference for security experts -- where he spoke to Cindy Hopper, a manager in Rogers security department.

She told him that terror groups had repeatedly cloned cellphones of Rogers executives to make thousands of calls overseas, The Globe reported.

Hopper also terror groups had identified Rogers executives as perfect targets because the company would be reluctant to shut off their phones due to inconvenience to busy executives.

Muslim Knesset member: Israelis should leave, take their democracy with them

The fact that this man is in the Knesset at all says something about Israeli "oppression." "Arab MK: Israel ‘robbery of century,’" from YnetNews, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

Israel is the 20th century's greatest robbery, carried out in broad daylight, Arab Knesset member Azmi Bishara (National Democratic Assembly) told a Lebanese audience last week during a speech at an Arab book fair in Beirut. "I will never recognize Zionism even if all Arabs do," he said. "I will never concede Palestine. The battle is still long." Bishara, who recently launched his campaign for an additional term in the Knesset, left for Lebanon five days ago without consent from the Interior Ministry, Israel's leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday. His harsh anti-Israel message at the fair was quoted by Lebanese newspaper As -Safir. "The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is not a demographic dispute, but a national one," he said. "It's not the problem of 1.2 million Palestinians living in Israel. They are like all Arabs, only with Israeli citizenship forced upon them." "We are the original residents of Palestine, not those who came from Poland and Russia," the MK added. ‘Leave and take your democracy with you’ Directing his speech at Israelis, Bishara said, "Return Palestine to us and take your democracy with you. We Arabs are not interested in it." The audience received the Knesset member with great applause...

Bishara has meanwhile returned to Israel and told Yedioth Ahronoth Saturday night that his speech was "about Zionism and citizenship."

"I didn’t say anything new that I hadn't said in other places. I've spoken like this in the Knesset," he said.

Iran's president orders conditional suspension of IAEA protocol

1938 update from DPA, with thanks to Jihad Watch News Editor Eric Schwappach:

Teheran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered the conditional suspension of the additional protocol of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Fars news agency reported Saturday.

In a written order to his vice-president Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh, who is also head of the country's Atomic Energy Organization, Ahmadinejad called for the implementing of the recently approved law to suspend all voluntary cooperation with the IAEA if the Iranian nuclear case is referred to the United Nations Security Council.

The Iranian parliament last month approved a bill urging the government to conditionally suspend the IAEA additional protocol.

According to the bill, the government will be urged to limit or even stop IAEA inspection of Iranian nuclear sites if Teheran is referred to the Security Council.

Ahmadinejad said last Wednesday that there should be no doubts whatsoever that the government will not retreat one inch from realising the legitimate right of the Iranian nation to have nuclear technology.

Bush Raps Senators on Blocking Patriot Act

I am not in favor of security measures that can be legitimately established as violating Constitional protections. I also think that in light of the international situation, Constitutional issues should be made absolute top priority and resolved quickly, clearly and decisively.

From AP, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Saturday that senators who are blocking renewal of the terrorism-fighting Patriot Act are acting irresponsibly and standing in the way of protecting the country from attack.

"In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment," the president said in a live broadcast from the White House of his weekly radio address.

Senate Democrats, with the aid of a handful of Republicans, succeeded Friday in stalling the bill already approved by the House. The vote to advance the measure, 52-47, fell eight votes shy of the 60 votes required to end debate.

"That decision is irresponsible and it endangers the lives of our citizens. The senators who are filibustering must stop their delaying tactics and the Senate must reauthorize the Patriot Act," Bush said.

Opponents of renewing the law, most of whom are Democrats, argue that it threatens constitutional liberties at home.

Iran: Top Ministers Implicated in Serious Abuses

One of them is the man who claims Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial is "misunderstood." No doubt he is misunderstood too. From Human Rights Watch, with thanks to Hans:

(New York, December 15, 2005) – Iran’s new Minister of Interior is implicated in grave human rights violations over the past two decades, possibly including crimes against humanity in connection with the massacre of thousands of political prisoners, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today.

Human Rights Watch also said that the new Minister of Information should be investigated for his possible involvement in a dissident’s killing.

The briefing paper, Ministers of Murder: Iran’s New Security Cabinet, details credible allegations that Minister of Interior Mustafa Pour-Mohammadi and Minister of Information Gholamhussein Mohseni Ezhei were involved in extremely serious and systematic human rights violations over the past two decades.

“It’s completely unacceptable that men with such records would be serving in Iran’s government,” said Joe Stork deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “They should be removed from their posts and investigated for these terrible crimes.”

Iran’s cabinet is now dominated by former security and intelligence officials, Human Rights Watch said, raising fears that President Ahmadinejad’s government will readily resort to violence to suppress dissidents and punish critics.

During Pour-Mohammadi’s tenure as top deputy of the Ministry of Information from 1987 to 1999, agents of the ministry systematically engaged in extrajudicial killings of opposition figures, political activists, and intellectuals.

In 1988, the Iranian government executed thousands of political prisoners held inside Iranian jails. The deliberate and systematic manner in which these extrajudicial executions took place may constitute a crime against humanity under international law, Human Rights Watch said. Mustafa Pour-Mohammadi was a member of the three-person committee that ordered prisoners held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison to their summary executions.

Egypt's Muslim Brothers brand Israel a 'cancer'

Mohammed Mehdi Akef would like to set aside the Egypt/Israel peace agreement. And with the Muslim Brotherhood growing in strength, he may end up having the power and popular support to do so. From Middle East Online, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

CAIRO - Israel is a "cancer" in the Middle East and its peace deal with Egypt should be submitted to a referendum, the leader of Egypt's Muslim Brothers said in an interview published Thursday.

"I declared that we will not recognize Israel which is an alien entity in the region. And we expect the demise of this cancer soon...," Mohammed Mehdi Akef told the state-owned English language Ahram Weekly.

Egypt signed a peace agreement with Israel in 1979, becoming the first Arab country to establish diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.

Islamists opposed to the deal assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981 for signing the Camp David accord and opposition to the normalisation of relations with Israel remains strong in Egypt.

Akef stopped short of demanding the peace agreement be scrapped but suggested it should be submitted to a popular referendum.

"That is for the people to decide... If I had the power I would put it to the people," he said.

Al-Zawahri tries to rally the mujahedin

In "...as al-Zawahiri Tries to Boost Jihadi Morale" at Global Terrorism Analysis, Stephen Ulph lays out evidence that Zawahri is trying to combat low spirits among his troops. The archterrorist also has a few harsh words for Muslims who are not aiding the jihad.

An extended audio statement from Ayman al-Zawahiri, believed to have been made in mid-September, was posted on December 9 on the al-Safinat jihadi forum (http://202.71.102.108/~alsafnat/vb). Under the rubric "Four years on since the attacks on New York and Washington," and dated Sha'ban 1426 (September 2005), the 48-minute tape was produced by al-Sahab Media Productions, an organization that has come to be known as al-Qaeda's video production company. The statement is worth examining in detail since, amid the rhetoric of denunciation and challenge, it reveals much about the present state of morale within the al-Qaeda organization.

The presentation, entitled Mu'awwiqat al-Jihad (Obstacles to Jihad), is provided with English subtitles and is hence intended for the widest possible circulation. It starts off in a buoyant tone: "I wish to speak to you about the victory that, with Allah's permission, is imminent; for a simple reason, that the key to victory is in our hands." Subsequently, however, the tone shifts, indicating some exasperation at the lack of the "final push" required to ensure the success of the jihad, outlining that "the primary cause of defeat is in ourselves." As if to counter a mood of despondency, al-Zawahiri underlines how the jihad has already achieved successes. In Iraq, he maintains, the resistance "stabs America every day and makes it scream and search feverishly for a way out of its predicament there." And in Israel, "were it not for the mujahideen's confrontation of Israel and its agents (our rulers) Israel would have now expanded to many times its current size." The mujahideen have also, he asserts, effectively defended Islam from the "puppet rulers," under whom "the corruption would have worsened and they would have sought to eradicate Islam."...

For all the bullish talk of triumph, the message of al-Zawahiri's address appears equally crafted as a last-minute appeal for support to help prevent the defeat of the mujahideen. "The key to victory is in our hands," he states, "and in turn, the primary cause of defeat is in ourselves." This part of the message is particularly noteworthy, in that the reproach and call for jihad contradict the image of success he maintains the jihad has already achieved. Al-Zawahiri gives his diagnosis for the problems besetting the jihad: "The first battle we must win is our battle with ourselves, our battle with out weakness and helplessness and clinging to the earth; our preference for small gains." He then goes on to encourage the mujahideen by belittling the enemy as having little else but technology on their side, and "driven only by fear and desire; in the field they don't make a stand in any honest encounter." At root of the problem of the lack of victory is Muslims' "fear and ignorance of fighting" and their "submission to [the regimes'] terrorism and intimidation." Al-Zawahiri then develops this theme on the disastrous passivity of the Muslims; taking the example of the assassination of Anwar al-Sadat by Khalid al-Islambouli, he notes how everyone subsequently abandoned them to their fate and contented themselves with "passive praise." Another example is Saudi Arabia, where Muslims who called for reform were "left to fight alone" and (in a probable reference to the penitent Saudi jihadi shaykhs) "some callers to reform relapsed and turned around to stab their brothers, the Mujahideen, in their backs."

Al-Zawahiri appears genuinely exasperated at the lack of enthusiasm in the Muslim community for the rigors of jihad and the ability of the broader community to content itself with the war of words. He scoffs, from his position out there on the front line in the hills, at the armchair commentators. "If each one of us wants to turn into a debater, analyst, and specialist who dresses in elegant clothes, attends seminars and appears on screen, then returns to his house safe from the tyranny of the Crusaders and their agents, then there is no hope for deliverance."...

A notice of refusal

TES, a Jihad Watch reader from Florida, sends me this message:

Yesterday I went to Office Max in South Florida to make up business cards....here is an example of the card I planned on making up:

WHAT THE MEDIA IS NOT TELLING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE PLEASE READ AND SUBSCRIBE

JIHADWATCH.ORG

PEOPLESTRUTHFORUM.COM

WND.COM

MEMRITV.ORG

AMERICANCONGRESSFOR TRUTH.COM

And then I added these words:

The American people have the right to know the truth.

This picture was included on the card also:

I paid $130.00 and was told that the cards would be ready in about one week. Today I received a call from Office Max saying that their printer refused to print the cards...I called back and asked for the supervisor, who said she called the local printers and they have "the right to refuse a customer." After that I was disconnected.

So you see, it's difficult to get the word out. I will try to find other ways to get these cards printed.

Mums the word on Ahmadinejad

Just to expound upon the point made by Mr. Spencer in his last entry, the silence of the Arab world concerning the recent vitriol of President Ahmadinejad has been deafening. From the AP:

Arab governments appeared reluctant Thursday to condemn Iran's president for calling the Holocaust a "myth" used by Europeans to create a Jewish state in the heart of the Islamic world.

While official Arab reaction in such cases is usually slower than international reaction, any issue involving a defense of Israel is a thorny one for Arab governments, who risk appearing to side with Israel against a Muslim nation.

The comments by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, broadcast live Wednesday on state-run Iranian television, drew quick condemnation from Israel, the European Union and the United States.

However, in the United Arab Emirates, the top three Arabic-language newspapers buried the remarks deep in their Thursday editions, with no commentary. Newspapers in the country are government-controlled.

In neighboring Saudi Arabia, government-controlled newspapers picked up the statements from international news agencies and ran them on inside pages. They did not comment on them.

Arabic language newspapers circulated widely in the Arab world, such as the London-based Al-Hayat and Asharq Al-Awsat, carried the news on their front pages, but also without editorials.

A few years ago, under the leadership of former president Mohammad Khatami, Iran made strides to repair and strengthen ties with its Arab neighbors. But Ahmadinejad's ultraconservative positions and rhetoric dating to the 1979 Islamic revolution has again made Arab states view Iran with caution.

Still, Arab governments are loath to appear to support Israel against Iran, especially at a time when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the war in Iraq remain unresolved.

Yes, we couldn't have that...

Iranian official: Thug-In-Chief's Holocaust remarks "misunderstood"

Here we go again. It all so hard to understand. Non-Muslims cannot read the Qur'an and understand it. It just doesn't mean what it seems to mean at face value (particularly, but not limited to, Surat At-Tawba). The Hadith is the same way. I have read and studied volumes and volumes of it, but I don't get it. It doesn't really mean what it appears to mean. Nor do the teachings of the schools of Islamic law actually mean what they seem to. If I were a Muslim I would understand it all. If I had only read Book X or Tract Y, which I clearly haven't seen, then this mountain of evidence that Islam teaches warfare against and subjugation of infidels would melt away like ice cream in the summer sun. But it is just too complex for outsiders. It is a mountain too steep to climb. Give it up. Let us explain it all for you. It is a word of peace, you see. A message of love and brotherhood. Nothing to be concerned about. Nothing at all. Go back to sleep.

Oh, and Ahmadinejad's Holocaust remarks? Nothing there, you see. Nothing. You misunderstand, as usual. Jihad? Genocide? Anti-Semitism? Mais non! Love, brotherhood, and peace. Courageous stands decrying the outrages committed against the Palestinians. Don't you see?

"Iran Official Recasts Holocaust Comments," from AP, with thanks to JE:

ATHENS, Greece - The Iranian president's widely condemned remarks about Israel and the Holocaust were "misunderstood" by Western governments, Iran's interior minister said Friday.

Although "all Iranians" agree with them.

Speaking on the sidelines of an Athens conference on immigration, Mostafa Pur Mohammadi told The Associated Press: "Actually the case has been misunderstood. (President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) did not mean to raise this matter.

"He wanted to say that if certain people have created troubles for the Jewish community they should bear the expenses, and it is not others who should pay for that."...

Arab governments appeared reluctant to condemn Ahmadinejad. In Saudi Arabia, government-controlled newspapers picked up the remarks from international news agencies but did not comment on them.

Blair's retreat

Recall, immediately following the London bombings of July, all the tough talk from the Blair government? The promises to crack down on extremist mosques which incubated the hatred that directly led to the deaths of dozens of Britons? Well, forget all that, from the AP:

The British government Thursday dropped a key part of the anti-terrorism legislation proposed after the deadly July 7 suicide bombings on London's transit system, abandoning its effort to let police shut down extremist mosques.

The plan, introduced a month after four suspected suicide bombers killed 52 bus and Underground passengers, had been criticized by police and religious organizations.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke said in a written statement to the House of Commons that he was dropping the proposal "although we will keep the matter under review."

The proposal would have given police powers to temporarily close places of worship being used by extremists. The trustee or owner would then be served with an order to halt radical activity.

The Home Office spokesman said 66 people and organizations had responded to a consultation on the proposal, and most were opposed.

The Association of Chief Police Officers also opposed the idea, saying it risked alienating ordinary Muslims and driving extremism underground.

The Rev. Graham Sparkes of the Baptist Union of Great Britain said Baptists had suffered persecution and imprisonment in the past in their efforts to "secure control over what was preached, where it could be preached, and who could preach."

Osama bin Laden calls for more of his kind of fun

"Al-Qaeda leader on tape," from the Herald Sun, with thanks to JE:

OSAMA bin Laden has called for more suicide bombings in his first video appearance in more than a year.

The video, yet to be proved authentic, was dropped off on Tuesday at a news agency in the Afghan city of Kandahar....

Pajhwok says the 30-minute video shows bin Laden with Taliban commander Mullah Dadollah.

The pair warn that al-Qaeda has secured "new defence weapons", which analysts believe may be anti-aircraft missiles to fire at commercial airlines.

Bin Laden allegedly says: "We have unwavering faith in God. Now that we have acquired new weapons, we will defeat the enemy the way we defeated the Russians.

"Only Muslims have the courage to carry out suicide attacks."

And the religious justification for doing so (cf. Qur'an 9:111).

Australia: Two men facing terrorism charges threatened to kill prime minister

I wonder if they used to enjoy sunny afternoons at Cronulla beach. "Two men facing terrorism charges threatened to kill prime minister, court told," from AP, with thanks to all who sent this in:

Two men accused of being members of a terrorist organization in Australia threatened to kill Prime Minister John Howard, court officials said Friday as the men were denied bail.

Abdulla Merhi, 20, and Hany Taha, 31, were among 10 men charged in the city last month with being members of a terrorist organization. They had applied for bail in Melbourne Magistrates Court.

During the hearing, Crown prosecutor Nick Robinson told the court police intercepted a conversation when Merhi said: "For example if John Howard kills innocent Muslim families do we ... have to kill him and his family?" court was told....

In November, police arrested 18 suspected members of extremist Islamic cells in Sydney and Melbourne and said they were plotting a catastrophic attack in Australia, possibly targeting a nuclear reactor on the outskirts of Sydney.

Iranian mullah: "All Iranians say" that Holocaust is a myth

Tiny Minority of Extremists Alert: "Top Iran Cleric Backs President's Holocaust Remark," from Reuters, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A senior Iranian cleric on Friday backed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent comment that the Holocaust was a myth, the official IRNA news agency reported.

``The recent comments made by the president ... are completely logical and are what all Iranians say,'' Ayatollah Ali Meshkini told worshippers at Friday prayers in the city of Qom.

Ahmadinejad on Wednesday said the Holocaust was a myth and suggested Israel be moved to North America or Europe, comments that drew swift international condemnation.

``After the Second World War, the Zionists have spread lies that Hitler, Austria and Germany killed more than six million Jews in the furnaces in order to create a favorable situation for themselves in the world,'' said Meshkini.

Meshkini is chairman of Iran's Assembly of Experts, a clerical body that elects and supervises the performance of Iran's Supreme Leader, currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Official: Al-Zarqawi caught, released

A Keystone Kops Alert from Iraq via CNN, with thanks to John:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi security forces caught the most wanted man in the country last year, but released him because they didn't know who he was, the Iraqi deputy minister of interior said Thursday.

Hussain Kamal confirmed that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- the al Qaeda in Iraq leader who has a $25 million bounty on his head -- was in custody at some point last year, but he wouldn't provide further details.

A U.S. official couldn't confirm the report, but said he wouldn't dismiss it.

"It is plausible," he said.

Iran president: Islam is the solution

...to "arrogant and corrupt governments," that is. That means, of course, that he is advocating the replacement of the non-Islamic governments of the world by Islamic regimes. From UPI, with thanks to Mackie:

TEHRAN -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said humanity suffers from arrogant and corrupt governments, stressing Islam was the solution to the world's suffering. Speaking Thursday at the city of Nikashahr in southeast Iran, Ahmadinejad said, "We see injustice everywhere in the world, as decisions to displace peoples and kill civilians are taken easily while arms factories compete to produce more lethal weapons," the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported....

Did you spot the inconsistency? He rails against killing civilians while wanting to wipe out Israel? No problem: he almost certainly doesn't regard Israelis as civilians. Any Israelis.

"Humanity is suffering from arrogant and corrupt governments and the only means for salvaging humanity is the implementation of Islam which meets all the needs of humans in terms of justice, prosperity, pride and peace for all humanity," he added.

Hizballah Symposium: "Just Like Hitler Fought The Jews…We Too Should Fight The Jews and Burn Them"

Yet people still call the anti-jihad resistance Hitlerian. "Lebanon's Largest Government University Hosts Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV Symposium Calling to Wipe Israel Off The Map: 'Just Like Hitler Fought The Jews…We Too Should Fight The Jews and Burn Them,'" from MEMRITV:

The following are excerpts from a symposium of students at Universite Libanaise, hosted by Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV and broadcast on November 29, 2005. The symposium marked the anniversary of November 29, 1947, the day the U.N. General Assembly passed the Partition Plan, which is marked annually in the Arab world with ceremonies of solidarity with the Palestinians. Al-Manar's TV symposium was devoted to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and participants included Shafiq Al-Hut, a former PLO representative in Lebanon, and Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian students.

It should be noted that Universite Libanaise [1] is Lebanon's only government-run university, and the country's largest. [2]

TO VIEW THIS CLIP, VISIT: http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=962 .

Mediator: "The Arab regimes have all accepted the establishing of a Palestinian state on the territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In other words, the 1967 borders only. They believe that the reality and the balance of power do not allow more than that at this stage. Do you support this 'realism,' or do you adhere to what has come to be known as the historical, original Palestine? Let us... Let us... Go ahead."

Student 1: "My name is Hisham Sham'as, and I study political science. I just want to say everyone is talking about..."

Mediator: "Please address the question."

Hisham Sham'as: "The state shouldn't be only within the 1976 borders... Or rather, 1967... Israel must be wiped out."

Mediator: "You mean, reviving the motto of erasing Israel from the map."

Hisham Sham'as: "Israel should be completely wiped out, so the Palestinians will have a country to return to."

Mediator: "If someone tells you this motto is unrealistic, how would you respond?"

Hisham Sham'as: "There is no such thing as unrealistic. Just as Israel... Just like Hitler fought the Jews - We are a great Islamic nation of Jihad, and we too should fight the Jews and burn them."

Hamas vows revenge if Iran attacked

Of course, Hamas will keep on attacking anyway even if Iran is not attacked. They are just fishing for another pretext. From AFP, with thanks to JE:

THE radical Palestinian group Hamas will step up attacks against Israel if the Jewish state takes military action against Iran, its political chief has said in Tehran.

Khaled Meshaal also praised Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his "courage" in having dismissed the Holocaust as a myth and calling for Israel to be moved out of the Middle East to Europe or North America.

"Just as Islamic Iran defends the rights of the Palestinians, we defend the rights of Islamic Iran. We are part of a united front against the enemies of Islam," Mr Meshaal told reporters.

"Each member of this front defends itself with its own means in its region. We carry the battle in Palestine. If Israel launches an attack against Iran, we will expand the battlefield," he told a news conference.

Saudi curriculum blamed for breeding hatred

Saudi hate curricula update. From GulfNews, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

Riyadh: The Saudi curriculum is mainly responsible for breeding hatred towards non-Muslims, said many participants at the ongoing Fifth National Dialogue Forum.

They find fault with advocating a single school of thought that creates wrong notions among the younger generation.

The three-day forum Us and Others: A National Vision for Interacting with International Cultures which began in the Saudi city of Abha, will conclude today.

More than 70 participants including Saudi male and female intellectuals, academics and writers representing various schools of thought debated a wide variety of issues, ranging from the treatment of Saudis to non-Saudis and non-Muslims to the Sunni-Shiite relationship.

The discussions mainly focused on the religious point of view, focusing on Islam's position toward other cultures, and importance of accepting diversity of cultures.

During the opening session, Saleh Al Hussain, president of the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue, said: "In case of dealing with non-Muslims, Islam requires both justice and sympathy. And when it comes to Muslims' relations with fellow Muslims, the relation must be based on loyalty to Islam and governed by a bond of brotherhood."

Participating in the discussion, Dr Sahl Bin Abdul Aziz, an expert from King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, said it is strange that "we are not taking advantage of the West in dealing with others.

"Why don't we respect others just like the Westerners. It is unfortunate that some of us are hesitating to greet non-Muslims."

For the first time since the First National Dialogue was held in Riyadh in 2003, the event was broadcast live on Saudi state television.

Many Arab expatriates were surprised to see participants expressing views frankly.

Dr Dalal Aziz criticised the arrogance in the treatment of some Saudis toward expatriates or non-Saudis or even to Saudis from outside.

"We have to recognise the reality and get rid of our superiority complex and humiliating of other nationals," she said.

Dr Hind Bint Turky Al Sudairy said: "It is imperative for us to return to the Quran by giving respect to other schools of thought."

Good luck with that.

Australia: Judge back silence on cleric deport

Interesting legal development in Australia. Of course it makes sense for national security reasons: there may be others involved, ongoing investigations, etc. But there will be civil rights protests without any doubt. From AAP, with thanks to Dale:

A LEADING Muslim cleric may never find out why he is being deported after a judge today ruled ASIO does not have to disclose why it considers him a threat to Australia's security.

Iranian-born Sheikh Mansour Leghaei, 43, took action in the Federal Court to avoid deportation after the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation assessed he was "directly or indirectly a risk to Australia's security".

Mr Leghaei, who has lived in Australia since 1994, says the Federal Government failed to accord him "procedural fairness" when deciding to deport him because he was not told the grounds on which ASIO made its assessment.

The Sydney father of four asserted he had a right to know the nature of the material which led to the adverse assessment so he could challenge it.

But ASIO claims that telling Mr Leghaei could endanger national security.

Federal Court Justice Rodney Madgwick last month dismissed Mr Leghaei's application to have the assessment declared void.

In his written reasons, which he handed down today, Justice Madgwick said he accepted that national security concerns took precedence over Mr Leghaei's right to know why he faces deportation.

"In my view ... the applicant was accorded procedural fairness to the extent that the interests of national security permitted," he wrote.

" ... it appears that it was not possible to put even a summary of the case against the applicant to him without compromising the interests of national security."...

Tancredo: 51 Terrorist Suspects Crossed Border Illegally

A press release (thanks to Richard) from the office of the American Anti-Dhimmi of the Year, Congressman Tom Tancredo:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) today revealed figures which show that since October, 2004, 51 persons who have crossed into the U.S. illegally were arrested on suspicion of terrorism. The figures, part of a Department of Homeland Security response to a inquiry by the Congressman, document the national security risk our porous borders pose on the eve of Congress’ first attempt to rewrite immigration law in nearly a decade.

Federal law enforcement coordinates its terrorism efforts through “Joint Terrorism Task Forces” (JTTFs), which include officials from the Justice and Homeland Security Departments. Since October, 2004, JTTFs have kept track of arrested terrorist suspects who are in the U.S. illegally. The JTTF document shows 51 persons were arrested who had “entered without inspection” into the U.S. from countries such as Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and Pakistan.

“If this isn’t a wake-up call to our lax border security, I don’t know what is,” said Tancredo. “What scares me is not this list from federal law enforcement—after all, we’ve already caught those terrorists. What scares me is the potentially hundreds of terrorists who make their way through our porous borders each year and go undetected.”

The JTTF document shows that the suspected illegal alien terrorists were arrested on a wide variety of charges from smuggling weapons into the U.S. to illegally wiring large sums of money into the country. Regardless of the particular charge, each illegal alien was flagged by a JTTF because of his or her suspected ties to terrorism.

“This week, the House is scheduled to complete a bill to strengthen our border security and enforce immigration laws throughout the country. Judging by these terrorism figures, Congress is not acting a moment too soon,” said Tancredo. “Knowing what we know now, what could Congress say if a terrorist attack occurred that secure borders would have prevented? We’ve relied on our good fortune for too long—we must protect Americans by stopping terrorists before they get here.”

Iranians try their hand at the democracy game, ship forged ballots to Iraq

Iran has discovered that hey, democracy can be fun! Especially when played a la Richard Daley or Lyndon Johnson. "Police Seize Forged Ballots Headed to Iraq From Iran," from the New York Times, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 13 - Less than two days before nationwide elections, the Iraqi border police seized a tanker on Tuesday that had just crossed from Iran filled with thousands of forged ballots, an official at the Interior Ministry said....

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the Iranian truck driver told the police under interrogation that at least three other trucks filled with ballots had crossed from Iran at different spots along the border....

UPDATE: Iraq border chief denies forged ballots seized

Is the Pentagon waking up?

An encouraging article from Paul Sperry in FrontPage: "The Pentagon Breaks the Islam Taboo":

Washington's policy-makers have been careful in the war on terror to distinguish between Islam and the terrorists. The distinction has rankled conservatives who see scarce difference.

A little-noticed speech by President Bush in October gave them some hope. In a major rhetorical shift, he described the enemy as "Islamic radicals" and not just "terrorists," although he still denies that radicalism has anything to do with their religion.

Now for the first time, a key Pentagon intelligence agency involved in homeland security is delving into Islam's holy texts to answer whether Islam is being radicalized by the terrorists or is already radical. Military brass want a better understanding of what's motivating the insurgents in Iraq and the terrorists around the globe, including those inside America who may be preparing to strike domestic military bases. The enemy appears indefatigable, even more active now than before 9/11.

Are the terrorists really driven by self-serving politics and personal demons? Or are they driven by religion? And if it's religion, are they following a manual of war contained in their scripture?

Answers are hard to come by.

Maybe they are in the Pentagon, but all they have to do is pick up one of my books or tune in to this site...

Four years into the war on terror, U.S. intelligence officials tell me there are no baseline studies of the Muslim prophet Muhammad or his ideological or military doctrine found at either the CIA or Defense Intelligence Agency, or even the war colleges.

Appalling. I am considering, as my next project, writing a biography of Muhammad myself. (What do you think of that idea?) Perhaps I will do so and send a few copies over to the Pentagon brass.

But that is slowly starting to change as the Pentagon develops a new strategy to deal with the threat from Islamic terrorists through its little-known intelligence agency called the Counterintelligence Field Activity or CIFA, which staffs hundreds of investigators and analysts to help coordinate Pentagon security efforts at home and abroad. CIFA also supports Northern Command in Colorado, which was established after 9/11 to help military forces react to terrorist threats in the continental United States.

Dealing with the threat on a tactical and operational level through counterstrikes and capture has proven only marginally successful. Now military leaders want to combat it from a strategic standpoint, using informational warfare, among other things. A critical part of that strategy involves studying Islam, including the Quran and the hadiths, or traditions of Muhammad.

"Today we are confronted with a stateless threat that does not have at the strategic level targetable entities: no capitals, no economic base, no military formations or installations," states a new Pentagon briefing paper I've obtained. "Yet political Islam wages an ideological battle against the non-Islamic world at the tactical, operational and strategic level. The West's response is focused at the tactical and operation level, leaving the strategic level -- Islam -- unaddressed."

Unaddressed there. Addressed amply here.

So far the conclusions of intelligence analysts assigned to the project, who include both private contractors and career military officials, contradict the commonly held notion that Islam is a peaceful religion hijacked or distorted by terrorists. They've found that the terrorists for the most part are following a war-fighting doctrine articulated through Muhammad in the Quran, elaborated on in the hadiths, codified in Islamic or sharia law, and reinforced by recent interpretations or fatwahs.

Stop the presses!

"Islam is an ideological engine of war (Jihad)," concludes the sensitive Pentagon briefing paper. And "no one is looking for its off switch."

Why? One major reason, the briefing states, is government-wide "indecision [over] whether Islam is radical or being radicalized."

So, which is it? "Strategic themes suggest Islam is radical by nature," according to the briefing, which goes on to cite the 26 chapters of the Quran dealing with violent jihad and the examples of the Muslim prophet, who it says sponsored "terror and slaughter" against unbelievers.

Amazing that they are just starting to notice this.

"Muhammad's behaviors today would be defined as radical," the defense document says, and Muslims today are commanded by their "militant" holy book to follow his example. It adds: Western leaders can no longer afford to overlook the "cult characteristics of Islam."

It also ties Muslim charity to war. Zakat, the alms-giving pillar of Islam, is described in the briefing as "an asymmetrical war-fighting funding mechanism." Which in English translates to: combat support under the guise of tithing. Of the eight obligatory categories of disbursement of Muslim charitable donations, it notes that two are for funding jihad, or holy war. Indeed, authorities have traced millions of dollars received by major jihadi terror groups like Hamas and al-Qaida back to Saudi and other foreign Isamic charities and also U.S. Muslim charities, such as the Holy Land Foundation.

According to the Quran, jihad is not something a Muslim can opt out of. It demands able-bodied believers join the fight. Those unable -- women and the elderly -- are not exempt; they must give "asylum and aid" (Surah 8:74) to those who do fight the unbelievers in the cause of Allah.

In analyzing the threat on the domestic front, the Pentagon briefing draws perhaps its most disturbing conclusions. It argues the U.S. has not suffered from scattered insurgent attacks -- as opposed to the concentrated and catastrophic attack by al-Qaida on 9-11 -- in large part because it has a relatively small Muslim population. But that could change as the Muslim minority grows and gains more influence.

The internal document explains that Islam divides offensive jihad into a "three-phase attack strategy" for gaining control of lands for Allah. The first phase is the "Meccan," or weakened, period, whereby a small Muslim minority asserts itself through largely peaceful and political measures involving Islamic NGOs -- such as the Islamic Society of North America, which investigators say has its roots in the militant Muslim Brotherhood, and Muslim pressure groups, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations, whose leaders are on record expressing their desire to Islamize America.

In the second "preparation" phase, a "reasonably influential" Muslim minority starts to turn more militant. The briefing uses Britain and the Netherlands as examples.

And in the final jihad period, or "Medina Stage," a large minority uses its strength of numbers and power to rise up against the majority, as Muslim youth recently demonstrated in terrorizing France, the Pentagon paper notes.

It also notes that unlike Judaism and Christianity, Islam advocates expansion by force. The final command of jihad, as revealed to Muhammad in the Quran, is to conquer the world in the name of Islam. The defense briefing adds that Islam is also unique in classifying unbelievers as "standing enemies against whom it is legitimate to wage war."

Right now political leaders don't understand the true nature of the threat,\ it says, because the intelligence community has yet to educate them. They still think Muslim terrorists, even suicide bombers, are mindless "criminals" motivated by "hatred of our freedoms," rather than religious zealots motivated by their faith. And as a result, we have no real strategic plan for winning a war against jihadists.

Even many intelligence analysts and investigators working in the field with the Joint Terrorism Task Forces have a shallow understanding of Islam.

"I don't like to criticize our intelligence services, because we did win the Cold War," says a Northern Command intelligence official. "However, all of these organizations have made only limited progress adjusting to the current threat or the sharing of information."

Why? "All suffer heavily from political correctness," he explains.

PC still infects the Pentagon, four years after jihadists hit the nation's military headquarters.

"A lot of folks here have a very pedestrian understanding of Islam and the Islamic threat," a Pentagon intelligence analyst working on the project told me. "We're getting Islam 101, and we need Islam 404."

Call me, fellows. I'd be glad to help.

The hardest part of formulating a strategic response to the threat is defining Islam as a political and military enemy. Once that psychological barrier has been crossed, defense sources tell me, the development of countermeasures -- such as educating the public about the militant nature of Islam and exploiting "critical vulnerabilities" or rifts within the Muslim faith and community -- can begin.

"Most Americans don't realize we are in a war of survival -- a war that is going to continue for decades," the Northcom official warns.

It remains to be seen, however, whether our PC-addled political leaders would ever adopt such controversial measures.

I will not be waiting by the phone.

Fitzgerald: The jihad against Ethiopia

Jihad Watch Board Vice President Hugh Fitzgerald discusses the importance of defending Ethiopia and other African countries against jihad:

Ethiopia is a country which, in the past thirty years, has repeatedly known major famine. We have all seen the pictures. Yet the headwaters of the Nile begin in Ethiopia, and intelligent irrigation projects could save many lives in Ethiopia.

Yet Egypt has been threatening, and screaming, that Ethiopia's plans are outrageous. And if the threats and screams do not work, then the Egyptians try smiles, and wiles, and offers to cooperate, if only -- oh, if only the Egyptians are given a veto over what Ethiopia does, and how much water it diverts.

Never mind that it the Ethiopians who for years have suffered, and that Egypt looks benignly on the massacres of the blacks in the southern Sudan, because it wishes to extend Arab Muslim power down to where it will immediately threaten what has always been seen, in Islam and in the West, as the celebrated Christian kingdom of Ethiopia. Securing the Sudan is one element; threatening Ethiopia from Eritrea and Somalia and from the Arabs of Egypt and the Sudan from the north, and also from within the country with a very aggressive program of da'wa (conversion) which can always become subversion, is another.

Ethiopia, in Islam, was once accorded special status because 82 families of followers of Muhammad supposedly found temporary refuge there from the pagan Meccans. Gratitude to the Christian Negus of Ethiopia entitled the country to a kind of special status, as dar al-sulh, a kind of halfway house between dar al-Islam and dar al-harb. But that gratitude, and that special consideration, however minor it may have been, is not demonstrated in the slightest by Egypt's proprietary and exclusivist claims on the Nile waters.

If Ethiopia wishes to divert waters to feed people who have lacked, until now, the wherewithal and the technical assistance to use those waters for irrigation, that should be encouraged by the entire Infidel world. Egypt's threats, Egypt's wiles, should be seen in the proper context. The Arabs everywhere in North Africa essentially treat the black Africans with contempt. Indeed, in Darfur, the Arabs tried to wipe out black Africans -- as there is ample testimony from survivors -- even if they were Muslim.

It is not surprising that Egypt should attempt to arrogate to itself the water of the Nile, and deny, even in its nascent stage, the attempt of the oldest free black African country to recover its equilibrium. After all, Ethiopia is a country so celebrated for its long history of Christianity that, when Western Christendom imagined a Christian realm beyond Islam that represented an ally that might be counted on for succor and protection, they placed the Kingdom of Prester John first in India -- and then in Ethiopia.

Those in Western Europe who claim to have the interests of the Third World at heart really have to be put to the test. They sided with the Muslims in Biafra. They have not moved a finger to aid the Christian blacks in the southern Sudan, and have done nothing to denounce the Arab Muslim genocide against them that has lasted more than 20 years. They seem not to know much, and care nothing about, the continued enslavement of blacks by Muslim Arabs in Mali and in Mauritania. They do not take the side of the government of Tanzania, trying to deal with Arab revanchism in Pemba and Zanzibar.
And what will they say about Ethiopia and its need for water? One suspects that the phony left, including the Anglican clergy who have never gone to the aid of the African Anglicans under attack by Islam, will say nothing – nothing whatsoever.

Really, it is important for the American government to do something dramatic -- for nothing will come from Europe, not even from, or especially not from -- the co-religionists of the black African Christians under assault in Africa.

I have repeatedly suggested that a small force could seize the southern Sudan and secure it until the local black population, Christian and animist, Dinka and Nuer and others, can vote on their own independence. Why should they not? And why should the sinister regime in Khartoum, which keeps denying it has anything to do with the Janjaweed in Darfur, be heeded in the slightest?

Why is the American government, too, hellbent on ignoring what is happening to black Christians throughout Africa, and doing nothing to help or protect them against Muslim depredation and aggression and threats?

Ethiopia is one test. Nigeria is another test. And the Sudan is yet another. Let us see.

Ahmadinejad denies Holocaust, again

Once you get the habit, it's hard to kick! The Thug-In-Chief rides his hobbyhorse again. From AP, with thanks to Ruth King:

For the third time in a week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday the Holocaust is a "myth" that Europeans have used to create a Jewish state in the heart of the Islamic world.

Speaking to thousands of people in the southeastern city of Zahedan, Ahmadinejad said: "Today, they have created a myth in the name of Holocaust and consider it to be above God, religion and the prophets."

Ahmadinejad said it was the Europeans who committed crimes against the Jews and they, the United States or Canada, should give part of their land to the Jews to establish a state.

"If [the Europeans] committed this big crime, then why should the oppressed Palestinian nation pay the price?" Ahmadinejad asked rhetorically Wednesday. "You have to pay the compensation yourself.

"This is our proposal: give a part of your own land in Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to them (Jews) so that the Jews can establish their country," he said.

Ex-Professor Won Court Case but Not His Freedom

Not all is rosy for the Rumpled Academic. From the Washington Post, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

TAMPA, Dec. 13 -- The family and friends of former college professor Sami al-Arian greeted his acquittal on terrorism charges last week with exclamations of "Allahu akbar" -- Arabic for "God is great" -- and "God bless America."

It was, they said, a political and moral victory.

But in the week since those moments of euphoria, it has become increasingly clear to his supporters that his legal triumph was not necessarily a personal one.

Al-Arian, who was arrested more than two years ago, is still jailed as federal prosecutors decide whether to retry him on the counts on which the jury deadlocked. Even if prosecutors drop the outstanding charges, immigration authorities have indicated that he will probably remain incarcerated while he is facing deportation proceedings.

Outside the federal courthouse in Tampa on Tuesday, a civil rights group conducted a small protest and waved signs that said "Let Sami Out" and "The Jury Has Spoken."

"The anxiety is still there," al-Arian's wife, Nahla, said earlier near their home close to the University of South Florida, where al-Arian was a well-liked professor of computer science. The couple has five children. "I feel anxious. I feel tired. I want my husband back with us."...

A videotape showed al-Arian saying "Death to Israel" and a letter found at his house had him praising a suicide bombing in Israel. A close associate at the university, Ramadan Shallah, left for the Middle East in 1995 and within months became the leader of Islamic Jihad....

His supporters defend his words as a matter of free speech. His wife put them in a political context.

"What people do not understand is that victims say bad words about their victimizers," Nahla al-Arian said, when asked about some of her husband's remarks. "We are the victims. . . . We don't hate people. We don't hate the Jews. We hate the occupation."

Yeah, surrrre.

Swedish jihadist charged in Oregon terror camp plot

What's this? The AP headline for this story is "Swede charged in Manhattan with Oregon terror camp plot." Ah, there, you see? It's just like the mainstream media tells us: terrorism can arise among anyone, just like whooping cough or toe fungus. It just happens. No doubt this Swedish terrorist was plotting his attacks over heaping plates of Köttbullar and Jordgubbstårta, right? And probably he was a dedicated Bible-reader, eh?

Well, actually this Swede's name is not Greta Garbo, Björn Borg, or Ingmar Bergman (or even Ingrid Bergman); it's Oussama Kassir. And it looks as if he was motivated by the same jihad ideology that motivates violent Muslims around the world. What a surprise. But what AP thinks most important to tell us that he is a Swede.

NEW YORK -- A Lebanese-born Swede has been charged in a plot to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

A criminal complaint charging Oussama Kassir with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists was unsealed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia said in a release.

The case relates to an indictment in Manhattan already charging Mustafa Kamel Mustafa and Haroon Aswat in the plot. Mustafa and Aswat are being detained in England while awaiting extradition to the United States....

The complaint alleges that Kassir and others conspired to establish a training camp for holy war, or jihad, in Bly, Ore. According to the complaint, Kassir and others wanted to set up the camp to teach military-style jihad methods so a community of Muslims could move to Afghanistan to fight or to be trained more there.

The complaint refers to a letter faxed from one conspirator to another saying that the Bly property was in a "pro-militia and firearms state" that "looks just like Afghanistan" and that the group was "stockpiling weapons and ammunition."...

The government also said that a witness saw Kassir in possession of a compact disc with information about improvising poisons.

Former Iran leader: Zionists’ days numbered

Yet more saber-rattling from Iran. From YnetNews, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

The Zionist entity's days are numbered, former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said in a meeting with senior Hamas member Khaled Mashal, according to an Islamic Republic News Agency report.

The agency said that in a report released by the Iranian Expediency Council, headed by Rafsanjani, the former leader pointed to the political standstill facing the ‘Zionist’ regime and its withdrawal from some of the territories as reasons for its backward movement.

"The high spirit, resistance and hopefulness of the Palestinian people for restoration of their violated rights are among the factors leading to the current situation encountered by the Zionists," he said.

Swedish terror suspect arrested in Prague

Swedish jihad update. He "loved bin Laden." From AFP, with thanks to Kakui:

A 39-year-old Swede accused of terrorism by the United States has been arrested in Prague, Swedish tabloid Expressen reported on Tuesday.

The man, who was not identified, is wanted by the US CIA spy agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which accuse him of being terror mastermind Osama Bin Laden's "man in Sweden", Expressen wrote.

The US has tried to obtain his extradition for several years, accusing him of setting up Al Qaeda training camps in the US state of Oregon in 1999, but Sweden has refused to hand him over, the paper said....

The paper said that the Swede was also accused of having links to the group that carried out the July 7th bombings in London.

Expressen met the 39-year-old earlier this year when he denied having anything to do with the London bombings.

But he stressed that he "loved Bin Laden".

"You don't have to be a terrorist to love Bin Laden," he told the paper.

But it helps!

According to Expressen, the man was accused in Sweden of plotting terrorist attacks several years ago but was freed for lack of evidence. He was later sentenced to a year behind bars on a weapons offence.

CAIR-FL spokesman says "nothing immoral" about Islamic Jihad

Yet CAIR will continue to get a free pass from the mainstream media as a neutral civil rights organization. A press release from Americans Against Hate:

(Coral Springs, FL) Last Thursday, on a local Tampa Bay, Florida television program, Ahmed Bedier, the Communications Director of CAIR-Florida, stated that, prior to 1995, there was "nothing immoral" about the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist organization.

The show, WTVT's 'Your Turn with Kathy Fountain,' featured a discussion about the recent acquittal of PIJ leader Sami Al-Arian. Bedier, who has been acting as Al-Arian's long-time unofficial spokesman, was asked a series of questions by the host of the show.

One of the questions dealt with the morality behind Al-Arian's connection to Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Fountain asked, "If he was associating with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, doesn't that seem immoral, in your opinion?" Bedier responded, "To a certain degree. Now, before 1995 there was nothing immoral about it."

Bedier's answer is startling, given the fact that, prior to 1995, Palestinian Islamic Jihad took credit for five terrorist attacks, which resulted in the murders of eight innocent people. This includes a suicide bombing in the town of Netzarim Junction, in November of 1994.

On December 7th, the day prior to the TV show, Bedier didn't hide his praise for the acquittal of Al-Arian. He said that the verdicts were "a huge relief, and people are just jubilant."

About Bedier's statements, Joe Kaufman, Chairman of Americans Against Hate, said, "It is disgraceful for Ahmed Bedier to make light of a cold-blooded terrorist organization, as he has about the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It is offensive to the memories of all those that died at the hands of this monstrous group! It is equally offensive for Bedier to describe the acquittal of terrorist leader Sami Al-Arian in terms of 'jubilation.' Our organization calls on the news media to not seek quotes from this man, but to instead denounce his irresponsible statements."

Islamic Extremists: Iraqi Vote 'Satanic'

Just as I predicted before the Iraqi invasion began. This is not to say that a democratic state cannot be established in Iraq, or that it might not perdure. But it will, like Turkey, always be under pressure from the adherents of political Islam, and will have to buy its continued existence via a mixture of force and concessions. From AP:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Soldiers, patients and prisoners began voting Monday in national elections, three days ahead of the general population, while insurgents denounced the balloting as a "satanic project" but did not threaten to attack polling stations.

The early voting went ahead despite the sound of detonations rumbling across the capital and at least 15 deaths in ongoing violence....

In a rare joint statement, Al-Qaida in Iraq and four other Islamic extremist groups denounced the election as a "satanic project" and said that "to engage in the so-called political process" violates "the legitimate policy approved by God."

The groups vowed to "continue our jihad (holy war) ... to establish an Islamic state ruled by the book (the Quran) and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad."

However, the statement contained no clear threat to disrupt voting as in the run-up to the Jan. 30 election and the Oct. 15 referendum on the constitution.

The authenticity of the statement could not be verified, but it appeared on a Web site that often publishes extremist material.

The envelopes, please...

It's the gala event of the year! The glitterati are all arriving in their limousines here at the Freedom Palace in beautiful downtown Secure Undisclosed Locationville...oh look, there's Brigitte Bardot -- and isn't that the guy who played Gimli the dwarf? And there's Myrna Loy, and Conrad Veidt...and look! Leslie Howard! Oh, this is so exciting!

The flashbulbs are popping, the stars are walking up the red carpet (Lizabeth Scott! Joey Bishop! Francis X. Bushman! Doris Dowling! And, oh, that fat man from A Touch of Evil!). Everyone is anxious to see the winners accept their Dhimmis (it's a little gold statuette of a cringing, simpering, bowing and scraping non-Muslim). The Anti-Dhimmi, of course, is a proud figure standing straight up, looking ahead, not ready to bow down to anyone.

And there's that little group of protestors across the street, carrying their signs and marching -- "BUSH SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN NOMINATED." "DOWN WITH YOU, ROBERT SPENCER, AND THE CAMEL YOU RODE IN ON." "TEXANS AIN'T DHIMMIS."

And now the triumphant moment has come. The crowd is hushed. Hugh and I, decked out in our shiny new powder blue tuxes ($49.99 at WalMart, but they look spiffy), stand at the podium. Hugh hands me the envelope...

The American Dhimmi of the Year 2005...RAMSEY CLARK!!

Dhimmi Internationale 2005...GEORGE GALLOWAY!!

And now comes the best part: the heroes of our age, the people who are standing in the breach, the catchers in the rye...the envelopes, Hugh?

Anti-Dhimmi Internationale 2005...ORIANA FALLACI!!

And finally...

The American Anti-Dhimmi of the Year 2005...TOM TANCREDO!!

Congratulations to all the winners...you are all such lovely people...I blow you all kisses! Thank you for coming! Enjoy the dance!

Polls closing in 13 minutes!

To prevent rioting, ballot box stuffing, and endless politicking, I have just signed an executive order closing the polls at 4:00PM EST. I will announce the lucky winners then.

Vote here for American Dhimmi of the Year 2005.

Vote here for Dhimmi Internationale 2005.

Vote here for Anti-Dhimmi Internationale 2005.

Vote here for American Anti-Dhimmi of the Year 2005.

Pipes: No American Muslim Terrorists?

Daniel Pipes responds in FrontPage to a silly New Republic piece minimizing jihadist activity in the US. Many good links in the original:

“It’s startling,” proclaims Spencer Ackerman in a New Republic cover story dated today, “how few American Muslim extremists there actually are.” The article, “Religious Protection: Why American Muslims haven’t turned to terrorism,” contrasts American Muslims with their European counterparts, whom he finds have turned to terrorism.

American Muslims are not terrorists? What is Ackerman thinking?

In an article and blog just this past week, I reported on fifteen American Muslim converts who have either engaged in terrorism or been convicted of trying to do so. In a follow-up piece, I listed another fifteen American converts to Islam suspected, arrested, or indicted of terrorism. That’s thirty converts. I have not counted the immigrant Muslims and their offspring implicated in terrorism, but here is some information that hints to their numbers:

With the exception of the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, notes al-Qaeda authority Rohan Gunaratna, all major terrorist attacks of the past decade in the West have been carried out by immigrants. A closer look finds that these were not just any immigrants but invariably from a specific background: Of the 212 suspected and convicted terrorist perpetrators during 1993-2003, 86 percent were Muslim immigrants and the remainder mainly converts to Islam. “In Western countries jihad has grown mainly via Muslim immigration,” concludes Robert S. Leiken, a specialist on immigration and national security issues, in an important new monograph, Bearers of Global Jihad: Immigration and National Security after 9/11.

Or, to quote a conclusion Khalid Durán and I reached in 2002: “In its long history of immigration, the United States has never encountered so violence-prone and radicalized a community as the Muslims who have arrived since 1965.”

Applying that 86 percent figure just to the United States implies some 175 immigrant Muslims associated with terrorism. Let’s round it off to 200 cases in all of American Muslims who have “turned to terrorism,” which strikes me as a reasonable figure.

Ackerman waves these hundreds away as irrelevant: “It’s true that extremist messages exist in American Muslim communities, and there have been a few instances of American Muslims becoming terrorists. Those extremely rare cases, however, are far better explained by individual pathology than by rising Islamic militancy due to group disaffection.” Yes, 200 persons out of a population of some 3 million American Muslims is “extremely rare,” but the same low ratio applies in Europe, where terrorists are also “extremely rare.”

In short, Ackerman’s premise is flawed from the start; and so, unsurprisingly, is the analysis that follows, namely his claim that better social and economic opportunities open to American Muslims as well as “America’s ability to accommodate Islam itself” account for the supposedly benign situation in the United States. Rather, the differences between U.S. and European Muslims have less to do with their respective social virtues than with their Muslim populations. America’s Muslims tend to be engineers and doctors; Europe’s tend to be factory hands and street sweepers.

Ackerman thinks American Muslims have launched few terrorist attacks; in fact, they have engaged in or attempted many since 1980. They are so little known because prosecutors avoid applying the terrorist label and the media ignores them, but they are there. Some twelve attacks involving fatalities occurred on American soil pre-9/11, in addition to many others that did involve deaths or were thwarted. Since 9/11, there have been a number of attacks involving American Muslim terrorists, including:

· July 2002 - Hesham Mohamed Ali Hadayet’s double murder at the El Al counter in Los Angeles airport.

· October 2002 – The Beltway Snipers’ multiple murders in the Washington, D.C., area.

· March 2003 – Hasan Akbar’s fragging of his two officers (at an overseas U.S. military base).

· August 2003 - Mohammed Ali Alayed’s murder of Ariel Sellouk in Houston.

· January 2005 - The Armanious family massacre.

· May-July 2005 – The Jam’iyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh robbery spree to fund future terrorist activities.

Finally, worrisome signs exist of a growing radicalization among American-born children of immigrants. Space constraints keep from listing the many instances here, but two recent cases come to mind: Ahmed Omar Abu Ali (convicted in November of belonging to al-Qaeda and plotting to kill George W. Bush; he could be sentenced to life in prison) and Ali Tamimi (jailed for life in July for recruiting volunteers to go to terrorist training camps abroad). Parents worry about this trend; Achmed Habib, who identifies himself as an American Muslim father, wrote to an Islamist forum asking for help dissuading his son from seeking martyrdom as his two brothers did before him.

A tad less self-congratulation and a lot more research and worrying is in order, Mr. Ackerman.

Last day to vote for Dhimmi and Anti-Dhimmi of the Year!

I will probably wrap up the voting this afternoon or thereabouts.

Vote here for American Dhimmi of the Year 2005.

Vote here for Dhimmi Internationale 2005.

Vote here for Anti-Dhimmi Internationale 2005.

Vote here for American Anti-Dhimmi of the Year 2005.

Sami al-Arian: Genocidal, Anti-American Islamist Hero

Joel Mowbray details the reaction in the American Muslim community to the acquittal of the Rumpled Academic, and recounts the salient points of why he should still be regarded with suspicion. From FrontPage:

When former college professor—and alleged terrorist—Sami al-Arian was unexpectedly acquitted Tuesday on eight counts and received a hung jury on the other nine, many Muslims could barely contain their glee. “People are just jubilant,” Ahmed Bedier, the Tampa chapter director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told the New York Times. The not guilty verdicts were a “wonderful and a tremendous victory,” according to a statement released by Muslim-American Society (MAS) President Mahdi Bray.

While in many cases it might be reasonable to forgive a defendant acquitted by a jury of his peers, it is not with al-Arian. Regardless of whether or not the jury believed his actions constituted a specific legal violation by acting “in furtherance of” terrorist attacks, there is no mistaking what is in al-Arian’s heart.

As a result of the trial, al-Arian has been forced to admit that he did, in fact, have an intimate working relationship with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Why? Because he was caught on tape coordinating with them, again and again and again.

Al-Arian also admitted that he wrote a letter—which he allegedly attempted to send, but could not do so successfully—to a Kuwaiti legislator urging him to support the families of suicide bombers in order to provide “support of the jihad effort in Palestine so that [suicide] operations such as these can continue.” He wrote the letter just weeks after President Clinton had signed an executive order banning financial and material support of PIJ. Again, this is only known because the government introduced it as evidence during trial.

Support for al-Arian, though, has long pre-dated the six-month trial. Then again, so has the evidence against him.

Dating back to September 1995, the Tampa Tribune wrote dozens of articles investigating al-Arian’s affiliations with terrorist organizations and leading terrorists themselves. While the university severed its relationships with the think tanks founded by al-Arian, it did not attempt to fire him. That only happened after 9/11—in a much different political environment.

Throughout the 90’s, the body of evidence against al-Arian grew. An organization he founded, the Islamic Conference of Palestine (ICP) hosted an annual conference that played host to what the Tampa Tribune dubbed a “militant all-star team”: Islamic Jihad founder Abdel Aziz-Odeh, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman (spiritual leader of the 1993 World Trade Center bombers), leading Hamas official Mohammed Sakr, and high-ranking Sudanese terrorist Hassan Turabi. The paper also reported that ICP publications had “articles [that] solicited contributions for the Islamic Jihad and Hamas.”

At the 1990 ICP conference, Al-Arian addressed the crowd of 200 people in St. Louis called for “true armed jihad against the enemy in Israel.” At an ICP conference the next year in Chicago, the supposedly mild-mannered professor riled the crowd with a fiery rallying cry: “Advance, advance until Jerusalem! Victory is to Islam!”

But al-Arian didn’t want to stop at Jerusalem. At a Cleveland ICP conference in 1991, he exhorted the audience to accept nothing less than a “Palestine" that spans from “from the river to the sea”—meaning from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, or all of the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel. And his bloodthirst was not confined to Jews in the Middle East. His sights were also set on his adopted home country. In that same speech, he said, “Let us damn America. Let us damn Israel. Let us damn their allies until death.”

None of this has been denied. It can’t be. Al-Arian was on candid camera at each of these conferences, courtesy of counterterrorism expert and former journalist Steven Emerson, who first exposed Islamic militancy in the U.S. in his PBS documentary “Jihad in America.” Al-Arian was one of the “stars,” yet he continued to enjoy substantial support in the Muslim community.

Al-Arian didn’t have to do too much to mollify his boosters. When confronted on CBS’ 48 Hours about his saying “Death to Israel” on camera, he lamely responded, “‘Death to Israel’ means death to the system. It’s like saying ‘death to apartheid.’”

Without sitting in the jury box or in the deliberation room, there is no way to determine exactly why the 12 men and women decided that al-Arian’s actions did not constitute a violation of the law. But it wasn’t because most of the allegations weren’t true; they were. Al-Arian’s lawyers did not deny that he was an exuberant cheerleader of murdering innocent Jews, nor did they deny that his inner circle included many known terrorists.

So while this jury felt there wasn’t enough to convict al-Arian of providing material support for terrorism, there is more than enough evidence for leading Muslims to know better than to embrace him. While some organizations have stayed silent or have not been as exuberant in their support—Muslim Public Affairs Council Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati said simply in a statement, “We congratulate Mr. Al-Arian and his family for enduring this painful ordeal”—others have been less restrained.

American Muslim Alliance Chairman Dr. Agha Saeed hailed the verdicts as “'a Great Day for Justice in America,” and claimed that the entire trial was nothing more than a “witch hunt against [a] legitimate Muslim leader.” Saeed’s giddiness is particularly significant, as he is also the chairman of the American Muslim Taskforce for Civil Rights and Elections, which is comprised of 11 national organizations, including CAIR, MPAC, MAS, and the Islamic Society of North America.

More important is the long-term reaction of the politically active Muslim community and leaders of the prominent organizations. The obvious response would be to shun al-Arian, but the early reaction to the verdicts is not encouraging. Almost none of the leaders of Muslim organizations stated the self-evident truth that no matter what the jury found, al-Arian represents the very vitriol and thirst for violence that must be condemned.

Should al-Arian become a hit on the Muslim speaking circuit—and he may well—then what should be made of those who attend and the public figures who either support or at least condone his appearances? The answer, much like the true nature of al-Arian’s character, is obvious.

Italy tape: 'Joy' over beheading

"The politics of the sword" brings joy to the heart of Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed. Note that the only moral compass he has is the idea that what is good for the cause of jihad is good, and what isn't isn't -- not any absolute moral standard. This phenomenon I discuss in my book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades). From AP, with thanks to David:

MILAN, Italy (AP) -- Italian police were listening as the man identified as an Egyptian radical shouted with joy while watching a video of the beheading of American Nicholas Berg by his al Qaeda captors.

"Come nearer, watch closely, this is the politics you have to follow, the politics of the sword," he advised another man as Berg's screams rang out.

"Go to hell, enemy of God, kill him, kill him, cut it well, cut off his head," he said.

Authorities say the statements recorded from phone taps and microphones show that Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, a 34-year-old Egyptian facing trial in Milan next month on terrorism charges, preached a radical form of Islam and the need to carry out holy war against Western elements....

In the May 28, 2004, conversation about the Berg tape, Ahmed's co-defendant, 22-year-old Egyptian Yahia Ragheh -- described by authorities as a would-be suicide bomber -- questions Ahmed's assertions.

"It's not a sin?" he asks.

"Who said this?" Ahmed replied. "It's never a sin ... because the cause is never a sin ... Are you scared? Are you shocked?"

"No no, I think it is a sin, I only think it's a sin," Ragheh said.

"When you enter a movement it's never a sin because there's a cause, the Islamic cause, all in hell ... everyone finishes in hell, everyone. For those who wound Islam the end is this."

Tehran Times: "Holocaust commemoration strengthens Jewish-Zionist power"

The Tehran Times heaps scorn on the UN's Holocaust Remembrance Day, in accord with the attitude of Iran's Thug-in-Chief, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

The United Nations General Assembly has voted to designate January 27 as international Holocaust Remembrance Day. The UN resolution to commemorate Jews who lost their lives in Europe during the Second World War was introduced by Israel and approved on Tuesday by most UN member states. What’s behind this resolution and the Holocaust remembrance effort? Whose interests does it serve?

It is, of course, fitting and proper to remember all victims of war and genocide. But Holocaust remembrance is not, as its supporters claim, a noble effort motivated by sincere concern for humanity. It is, rather, a one-sided campaign designed to further Zionist interests....

The Holocaust remembrance campaign deserves scorn, not support, because it is an insincere and one-sided effort that serves Israeli interests and bolsters Jewish-Zionist power.

After all, the Holocaust is nothing compared to what the Thug-in-Chief would like to do...

Australia to resume training with Indonesia's elite Kopassus commandos

All is forgiven for the instrument of terror used in the classic jihad against East Timor in the 1990s. From the AP:

SYDNEY - Australian forces will resume training exercises with Indonesia's Kopassus elite commando force next year, Defense Minister Robert Hill said Sunday.

The maneuvers will be the first since Canberra suspended joint training with the commando force known as Kopassus following widespread allegations the troops were involved in human rights abuses in East Timor ahead of the former Indonesian province's 1999 independence vote.

"In this era of heightened terrorist threats, it is in Australia's interests to engage with regional special forces, such as Kopassus, to safeguard the lives of Australians and Australian interests abroad," Hill said in a statement.

The decision is the latest step in the international rehabilitation of Indonesia's armed forces. The United States last month lifted a ban on arms sales to Jakarta that was imposed after the East Timor conflict.

Hill said members of Australia's Special Air Service Regiment and Indonesia's specialist counterterrorism unit, Kopassus Unit 81 would be involved in the two-week exercise that will include training in counterterrorism, dealing with hijackings and hostage recovery.

In an interview with The Sunday Age newspaper, Hill said Australia was confident no soldiers involved in human rights abuses in East Timor would be part of the exercise.

"They know to nominate somebody who has human rights blemishes on their record would be embarrassing to us and we are confident that such a person wouldn't be in the group," he told the newspaper.

"We do believe that Indonesia has made a serious effort to improve the human rights record of its forces," he added. "The current government is very committed to that and if we look at how they've responded to the cease-fire in Aceh, its been really quite impressive."

Al-Zawahri: Failure to join the jihad is a "malignant illness"

The good doctor reminds the believers of their duty to fight in the cause of Allah. From the AP:

CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden's deputy, in a new tape that surfaced Sunday, urged all Muslims to take up arms and said their refusal to join the fight against "the Cross and Zionism" was a "malignant illness" that would only lead to the defeat of militant Islam.

Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahri said the global Islamic community had "no hope for victory" until all Muslims signed on to the Al Qaeda-led jihad.

"As long as this malignant illness continues to survive within us, there is no hope for victory and there can only be more defeats, tragedies, disasters and betrayals," al-Zawahri said.

His fiery comments appeared in a 48 minute tape entitled Impediments to Jihad. The video portion of the tape was a still photo of a white-turbaned al-Zawahri with English subtitles running under it. The audio on the tape appeared to be his voice speaking Arabic.

The tape was believed to have been made at about the same time as a Sept. 19 video attributed to al-Zawahri, according to Ben Venzke, chief executive of Intelcenter, a U.S. government contractor that obtained the tape.

It was impossible to immediately verify the authenticity of the tape. IntelCenter declined to say how it obtained the recording, citing confidentiality agreements with the U.S. government.

But Venzke said it was produced by al-Sahab Media Production House, a purported Al Qaeda media organization, and expanded on al-Zawahri's Sept. 19 message, which gave increased prominence to the Taliban.

"This latest one even goes beyond that with al-Zawahri pledging allegiance to the Taliban," he said. "The whole thing is an address to Muslims, saying armed jihad and struggle is the only way and that they have to suffer to do it."

Which is in accordance with Sura 2:216:

"Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not."

Please read it all.

Voting is still open

...until tomorrow.

For American and International Dhimmi and Anti-Dhimmi of the Year.

Vote here for American Dhimmi of the Year 2005.

Vote here for Dhimmi Internationale 2005.

Vote here for Anti-Dhimmi Internationale 2005.

Vote here for American Anti-Dhimmi of the Year 2005.

Extremists among us?

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross exposes the Muslim American Society in the Dallas Morning News. And at this link, for your reference, is Hugh's piece on the slick Mahdi Bray.

Here is D. G.-R. on the MAS:

Each Islamic terror attack inevitably prompts calls for Muslim groups to speak out against the killers. And many do, to the relief of non-Muslims of good will eager to be reassured that mainstream Muslims reject violence in the name of their religion. However, a recent case shows that you can't always take the word of these organizations at face value.

This past summer, the Muslim American Society (MAS) announced that, prompted by the second wave of bombings to rock London in two weeks, it would launch a campaign to combat terrorism. The group issued a news release explaining that it planned to build youth centers to keep young Muslims "away from the voices of extremism" and to work with imams and Islamic centers to promote a moderate interpretation of the faith.

In October, MAS petitioned the Richardson City Council for a special permit to build one of these youth centers, which it likened to a YMCA, in an area zoned for industrial use. After the council said it would need to learn more about the organization first, MAS withdrew the petition.

Islamic YMCAs to steer young Muslims away from extremism sound great, right? This past July, Mahdi Bray, the executive director of MAS' Freedom Foundation, appeared on Fox News and stated that MAS wanted to "inoculate our young people by making sure they're actively and constructively engaged in positive activities that reflect the main views of their faith tradition, as opposed to someone who would want to influence them into extremist points." Given the radical indoctrination that occurs even in the United States, this kind of work is necessary – and one would naturally like to believe that MAS can play a constructive role.

Unfortunately, a look beneath MAS' current rhetoric into the organization's connections, teachings and prior public statements reveals that extremists founded MAS and that, despite efforts to clean up its public image, the core of its teachings remains unchanged.

Read it all.

Iran to U.S.: give us the rope we will use to hang you

Unbelievable chutzpah alert: "Iran Invites U.S. to Bid on Power Plant," from AP, with thanks to JE:

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran on Sunday offered the United States a share in building a new nuclear power plant in an apparent effort to curb U.S. opposition to its atomic program.

"America can take part in international bidding for the construction of Iran's nuclear power plant if they observe the basic standards and quality," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said at a news conference.

Asefi was apparently talking about a 360-megawatt light water nuclear power plant in southwestern Iran, which the head of the country's top atomic organization announced plans to build on Saturday.

Taliban issue decree urging death for Karzai

An "Islamic decree" issued calling for death for Karzai. From Reuters:

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban guerrillas have issued an Islamic decree calling for President Hamid Karzai to be killed for serving American and British "infidels".

The decree, or fatwa, came in a 12-page, Pashto-language booklet distributed in the Afghan south. It reiterated a call for jihad, or religious war, against infidels and their slaves.

"It should be remembered that there is no difference between infidels and their agents and jihad against them has become incumbent," the fatwa said.

The document, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters at the weekend, was written by three Taliban Muslim scholars and approved buy a council of about 100, a Taliban spokesman said.

"Jihad against all the slaves of Americans and the British including Hamid Karzai has become incumbent and they deserve to be killed," it said.

An unwelcome guest

Before the America-hating Left makes a hero and martyr out of the Rumpled Academic, it would be nice if they took note of the bolded material in the first paragraph. But I don't really think that would bother them. An editorial from the Sarasota Herald Tribune:

During a five-month trial that ended this week, the U.S. government demonstrated that former University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian is a hate-filled man who thinks suicide bombings are swell. But prosecutors failed to prove that he committed any crimes.

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Tampa announced that a jury had acquitted Al-Arian on eight counts related to terrorist activities and deadlocked on nine other charges.

Some jurors said that prosecutors failed to show that Al-Arian's rhetoric -- protected by the First Amendment -- crossed the line into direct participation in terrorism.

The verdict, as one leader in Florida's Muslim community noted, "sends an important message that in post-9/11 America, Muslims can get a fair trial."

The trial also sent an unavoidable message about Al-Arian, who remains in jail while prosecutors review whether to retry him on the counts that produced no verdict. There's speculation he'll be deported, just as his brother-in-law and former USF colleague Mazen al-Najjar was a few years ago.

Bluntly put, America would lose little if Al-Arian -- a vocal supporter of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group -- leaves the country. Whatever his good qualities may be, they're obliterated by the ugliness revealed about him during the trial.

Al-Arian's attorney contended that he merely sent funds to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad for charitable work, but it's clear from the trial that Al-Arian was long aware of and sympathetic to the group's decidedly uncharitable activities.

Among the chilling documents presented in the trial was a 1994 fax to PIJ offices following a suicide bombing. Al-Arian wrote that "pride and glory overwhelm us."

Read it all.

Vote for the Dhimmi and Anti-Dhimmi of the Year

Voting is still open in both the American and international categories.

Vote here for American Dhimmi of the Year 2005.

Vote here for Dhimmi Internationale 2005.

Vote here for Anti-Dhimmi Internationale 2005.

Vote here for American Anti-Dhimmi of the Year 2005.

U.S. May Yet Deport Acquitted Ex-Professor

Here's hoping. If he stays here, he will resume his role as a media darling of the anti-American Left. From the Ely Times, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

TAMPA, Fla. - Federal authorities hit with a stunning defeat in a terrorism case against a former Florida college professor are considering deporting him instead of retrying him.

Al-Arian, a Palestinian born in Kuwait, was accused of being a key figure in a Palestinian terrorist group that has carried out suicide bombings against Israel.

Officials said there is no timetable for a decision.

If the government decides to abandon the remaining charges, it is doubtful Al-Arian will be permitted to return to his previous life in Tampa. He had been a computer engineering professor at the University of South Florida but was fired after his indictment.

Balkan Islamists Sponsored the Act of Terrorism in Israel

Jihadists from Bosnia strike in Israel. From Bosnia? But isn't the Israeli/Palestinian conflict a local one about territory? There are immigrants from the Middle East among these people, but also Slavs. Why would someone from Bosnia care about this conflict? What's that? Because of the Islamic imperative to recover land that once belonged to the Dar al-Islam, and not allow non-Muslims to rule there? What are you, some kind of Islamophobe? From AxisGlobe, with thanks to Fraser:

On December, 5 a Palestinian suicide bomber exploded in the Israeli city of Netanya. As a result of that of terrorism 5 Israelis died, 95 were wounded. This act of terrorism has a strategic value. It was called to provoke escalation of the Middle-Eastern conflict to affect the outcome of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Palestine and Israel.

According to the data from the investigators, radical Islamic organization Al-Asifa from the Balkans is involved in this terrorist act. It unites Slavic adherents of the Islamic fundamentalism and natives of the Arab countries, who settled in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and in Croatia after the 1992-95 war. According to the Israeli secret services, during this war the major part of the present members of Al-Asifa served in the "Al - Mojahid" and "Kataeb Talaat Yasin" divisions. They were a part of the Bosnian Muslim army (by the way, Israel secretly supported the Bosnian Serbs at that time).

There are many Palestinians from the countries of the Persian Gulf, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine among veterans of these divisions. The natives of Samaria – the area on the Western coast of the river Jordan keep aloof among them. Almost twenty "Samarians" of Al-Asifa came from the villages located in the vicinity of the Palestinian city of Jenin (Silat Al Khartia, Rai, Yamun, Jilabun). Majority of them left the native land at the end of the Sixties - beginning of the Eighties, following their well-known fellow countryman, the ideologist and the first prominent leader of the "Afghani Arabs" Abdalla Azzam (he even was Osama Bin-Ladin's instructor for some time.) Together with him the major part of the "Samarians" participated in operations against the communist regime and the Soviet armies in Afghanistan. There they have established close connections with the activists of the radical Islamic organizations of Egypt (in particular Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya and Al-Jihad). These "Samarians" together with Egyptians appeared in Bosnia in 1992-94. The Palestinian mojaheds were especially patronized by one of leaders of the "Balkan Arabs " - the Egyptian native, citizen of Denmark Abu Talal Al Kazemi. In 1994-96 he lived in Zagreb and actively participated in organizing the passage of the Arab mojaheds to Bosnia.

After the war many Palestinians have returned to Afghanistan, or went to the countries of the Western Europe and the Middle East. However, some mojaheds, in particular the natives of Samaria, remained on the Balkans. They married Bosnian or Croatian women and received local citizenship. Soon the new citizens of the republics of former Yugoslavia renewed their connections with their relatives in Palestine and Jordan.

Read it all.

IDF foils Jerusalem terror attack

He wanted to strike because of his "hatred of Jews." From Israel National News, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

A 20-year-old Palestinian arrived Saturday morning at the 300 roadblock south of Jerusalem. Border Guard police officers searched him and discovered that he was carrying two ready-to-use improvised explosive devices, a plastic gun and a knitted hat. The devices included explosives and nails. Sappers, who were dispatched to the area, detonated the charges in a controlled manner. The Palestinian, a resident of the village of Abadia near Bethlehem, was detained and taken into investigation. In his investigation, the young man said that he had planned on carrying out a terror attack in Jerusalem, claiming that he wanted to do so because of his "hatred of Jews."

Iraqis hand over 'the Butcher,' high-ranking Al Qaeda member

Good news from Iraq from Fox News via KHON2, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi citizens turned over a high-ranking Al Qaeda member known as "the Butcher" to U.S. forces in Ramadi Friday a military statement said.

Amir Khalaf Fanus was No. 3 on the 28th Infantry Division's High Value Individual list for Ramadi, wanted for murder and kidnapping in connection with his affiliation with Al Qaeda in Iraq.

"He is the highest ranking Al Qaeda in Iraq member to be turned into Iraqi and U.S. officials by local citizens," Capt. Jeffrey S. Pool said in a statement released from Camp Blue Diamond in Ramadi. "His capture is another indication that the local citizens tire of the insurgents' presence within their community."

Good. Hope it keeps up.

Vote: American Anti-Dhimmi of the Year 2005

Vote for the American who has displayed the most courage, heroism, refusal to blink, and steadfastness in telling the truth despite jihadist intimidation peaceful and violent.

Anti-Dhimmi Internationale 2005

And now the checkered flag has gone down for the Anti-Dhimmi Internationale 2005. Vote for the one who has displayed the most courage, heroism, refusal to blink, and steadfastness in telling the truth despite jihadist intimidation peaceful and violent.

Vote for Dhimmi Internationale 2005!

Vote for the one who behaved in the most pusillanimous, abject, and/or suicidally stupid way in the face of Islamic jihadist bullying and intimidation, peaceful or violent.

Vote early and often!

Vote for American Dhimmi of the Year 2005!

Vote for the one who behaved in the most pusillanimous, abject, and/or suicidally stupid way in the face of Islamic jihadist bullying and intimidation, peaceful or violent. To avoid confusion, long tedious ballots, and hanging chads (remember those?), we have placed only the top six choices on the ballot:

I sure hope this works. More voting coming shortly.

Sami's Guardian Angel

Now it is beginning to make sense why the Rumpled Academic was acquitted. Paul Sperry explains in FrontPage:

"I didn't see the evidence," explained one male juror who this week voted to acquit former Florida professor Sami al-Arian on charges he conspired to help Palestinian terrorists kill Israelis and Americans.

Don't blame federal prosecutors for that. They did the best they could with the reams of circumstantial evidence they had, which was powerful enough by itself to sway even al-Arian's defense team to admit he had at least "some affiliation" with Palestinian Islamic Jihad and may have cheered news of the terror group's attacks.

But prosecutors could have had an open-and-shut case if it weren't for a reluctant FBI agent who in hindsight turned out to be al-Arian's guardian angel.

Gamal Abdel-Hafiz, a devout Muslim from Egypt who speaks fluent Arabic, refused to secretly tape-record his fellow Muslim brother al-Arian in defiance of repeated requests from FBI colleagues working the al-Arian case. And that ultimately hurt the government's chances of putting al-Arian away.

Rewind to 1998

That year, Abdel-Hafiz met a Muslim activist through a friend at the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center outside Washington, a hard-line Wahhabi mosque the agent regularly attended at the time, and the same mosque that would later give aid and comfort to some of the 9/11 hijackers. The two men exchanged business cards. Not long afterward, Abdel-Hafiz got a call from al-Arian in Florida.

The Tampa professor and Muslim activist said he got the agent's business card from the mutual acquaintance and wanted to know if he would do him a favor and, among other things, poke around the FBI to see if it had ever opened an investigation into alleged death threats against terrorism researcher Steve Emerson. Al-Arian wanted to try to catch the pro-Israel Emerson possibly exaggerating claims he made in congressional testimony about such threats. Remarkably, Abdel-Hafiz agreed to look into the issue for al-Arian, bureau sources tell me.

Hearing of the encounter, the FBI's Tampa field office asked Abdel-Hafiz to follow up by asking al-Arian several questions related to a counterterrorism case they were building against him -- and secretly record his answers. Abdel-Hafiz agreed to speak to al-Arian by phone but said he would not record the conversation without al-Arian's knowledge. The lead Tampa agent on the case, Barry Carmody, was scandalized by his refusal, calling it "outrageous."

Then Abdel-Hafiz met, unexpectedly, with al-Arian at an American Muslim Council conference in Washington and wrote a summary of their conversation, which he had not coordinated with Tampa. The report he filed was not well received by Carmody and his team of investigators in Tampa -- or by FBI agents John Vincent and Robert Wright, whose Chicago investigation dovetailed with the al-Arian case.

"After Gamal had a conversation with Sami al-Arian, he made a lot of self-serving statements for al-Arian and denigrated the FBI agent (Carmody) who was investigating the case," says Vincent, who also had a run-in with Abdel-Hafiz over his refusal to wear a wire to record another Muslim under terror investigation -- Soliman Biheiri, who is tied to al-Arian (investigators found the his phone number in Biheiri's computer address book). Abdel-Hafiz tried to explain to Vincent that a "Muslim does not record another Muslim."

"So we knew there was a problem," Vincent adds. "We had suspicions about whether Gamal would write down conversations accurately."

What's more, "There were also complaints that he was meeting with subjects of investigations in Washington without advising the Washington field office," he says. Abdel-Hafiz, 46, is a good friend and former college roommate of Biheiri's Washington-based ex-bookkeeper, Abbas Ebrahim, as I first revealed in my book, "Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives
Have Penetrated Washington."

Agent Carmody says Abdel-Hafiz hurt the al-Arian probe by refusing to record the professor in the bureau's effort to get him to admit financing Palestianian terrorist acts. Al-Arian even bragged to Abdel-Hafiz that the Tampa office did not have a strong case against him -- thanks in large part to Abdel-Hafiz.

'Sami is a very smart man'

In an exclusive interview for my book, I asked Abdel-Hafiz why he did not record al-Arian at their private meeting. And he told me, simply, "I had no recording equipment with me." Hmm.

But then he went on to say the Tampa office of the FBI handled the case clumsily. "These people think Sami al-Arian is an idiot," he says. "But Sami al-Arian is a very smart man."

Or at least smart enough to get a little help from a friend on the inside.

Abdel-Hafiz, a devout Sunni Muslim whose Egyptian father is known as a Quran memorizer, showed a pattern of pro-Islamist behavior, say agents who worked with him. Yet FBI headquarters overlooked it and even promoted him.

Carmody, Vincent, and Wright all complained to headquarters about Abdel-Hafiz twice refusing on religious grounds to tape-record Muslim terrorist suspects. Despite that, he was handpicked in early 2001 by former FBI Director Louis Freeh to become the FBI's deputy legal attache at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- a key post in the battle against al-Qaida, which had hit American military barracks inside Saudi and a warship in neighboring Yemen.

After 9/11, when 15 of the 19 hijackers turned out to be Saudi nationals, Abdel-Hafiz was in a prime position to run down leads in the Saudi capital. Only, that didn't happen, at least not as often as headquarters had hoped. Agents back in Washington complained about his performance there, saying they were not getting answers to the hundreds of leads they were sending him in Riyadh. Abdel-Hafiz says he was one of only two people manning the office there and was further hobbled by an antiquated computer system.

But he and his boss Wilfred Rattigan, a black convert to Islam, had nonetheless found time to fly off to Mecca for the hajj, where they surrendered their FBI cell phones to Saudi nationals and were out of contact with officials back in the U.S. who were trying to ring them up about investigations into al-Qaida and 9/11. Both Rattigan and Abdel-Hafiz, who have since been reassigned within the bureau, wore traditional Muslim headgear and robes while on the job in Saudi Arabia, further outraging fellow agents.

When a senior supervisor was sent to the Riyadh office nearly a year after 9/11, she found secret documents strewn all over the office, some even wedged between cabinets. She also found a huge backlog of boxes each filled with three feet of paper containing secret, time-sensitive leads. Much of the materials, including information on Saudi airline pilots, had not been translated or reviewed.

It's anyone's guess how many terror cases were compromised in the Saudi office. But agents who worked with, or tried to work with, Abdel-Hafiz on domestic terror cases have no doubt he hurt their efforts to put away al-Arian. And if prosecutors don't retry al-Arian on any of the counts the jury deadlocked over, investigators fear they might lose momentum in a related terror-financing case in the Washington suburbs involving the so-called Safa group -- a case that is potentially bigger than the al-Arian case.

Safa case now in jeopardy?

A key conduit in the alleged Safa terror-financing network, a think tank called the International Institute of Islamic Thought, or IIIT, is headquartered in a three-story brick office building at 500 Grove Street in Herndon, Va. (this site and others raided after 9/11 can be viewed by clicking on the "Wahhabi Corridor" link posted on the companion website to my book at http://www.sperryfiles.com). Investigators traced funds from IIIT to al-Arian, who had been accused of heading the U.S. wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Taha al-Alwani, an Islamic scholar at IIIT, was an alleged unindicted co-conspirator in the al-Arian indictment. Investigators have accused al-Alwani -- who also heads one of the nation's most prestigious Islamic institutions, the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences (which has trained Muslim chaplains for the U.S. military and U.S. prison system) -- of taking steps to conceal alleged payments to Palestinian terrorists. In a letter seized by investigators, al-Alwani advised his pal al-Arian to construct a "facade" to disguise a $50,000 donation to one of al-Arian's alleged PIJ terror fronts in the U.S.

Despite the government investigation, IIIT is still in business, still listed in the lobby directory on the second floor of the Herndon building.

What's more, IIIT president al-Alwani once signed a copy of a fatwah declaring that violent "jihad is the only way to liberate Palestine," according to a federal affidavit for a search warrant used to raid the think tank in 2002. In a search of al-Arian's home computer, investigators back in Tampa found copies of a document called "The Manifesto of the Islamic Jihad in Palestine," which shuns any peaceful resolution to the conflict with Israel. It also calls the U.S. "the great Satan America."

Another Safa group leader, Jamal Barzinji, is also directly connected to al-Arian -- and closely tied to Palestinian terror causes, according to the same affidavit.

"Barzinji is not only closely associated with PIJ [Palestinian Islamic Jihad] but also with Hamas," alleges senior federal agent David Kane in the affidavit, which was also used to obtain warrants to search the homes of Barzinji and his partner al-Alwani.

In addition, Barzinji is a long-time associate of al-Qaida fundraiser Abdurahman Alamoudi, now serving time in federal prison. Al-Arian is also close to Alamoudi.

Some of the information gleaned from the Herndon raids aided the conviction of Alamoudi. And investigators say their investigation of Barzinji, al-Alwani and their Saudi-backed Safa group entities is still alive.

But they had hoped for a conviction of al-Arian, because it would have moved the Safa case forward. "We were hoping for a snowball effect," says a law enforcement official who originally helped the feds build the case.

Right now he says only a small share of the hard drives and other materials confiscated from the homes and offices raided more than three years ago have been fully translated. "They don't have the damn resources," explains the official, who works with the FBI and the National Counter Terrorism Center in McLean, Va. "They don't have the (Arabic) language skills or computer forensic personnel to go through it all. And yet it's a gold mine of information."

Secret plot to 'infiltrate' Washington

One of the more disturbing developments from both investigations so far is the allegation that al-Arian and al-Alwani and other Islamic activists in the Washington area may have hatched a secret plan, according to other confiscated documents, to "infiltrate the sensitive intelligence agencies"
in Washington, and spy for the enemy.

Both Alamoudi and al-Arian were no strangers to the White House. During the trial, al-Arian's lawyers used his meetings with senior government officials, including Karl Rove in the White House, to defend him against charges he was involved in terrorist activities. They argued that official Washington would not have embraced a terrorist (even though they had embraced convicted terrorist Alamoudi).

But that may have been part of the plan. Al-Arian had ingratiated himself with Rove's best friend Grover Norquist, a powerful GOP operative in Washington sympathetic to Muslim causes. Norquist, whose name was invoked by al-Arian's lawyers in the trial, started an Islamic lobbying group several years ago and recently married a Palestinian Muslim activist. The Islamic group, which was founded with seed money from Alamoudi, has placed a number of questionable Muslim activists -- including the son of a Wahhabi preacher who helped Osama bin Laden's second in command raise money -- inside the Bush administration, including the White House, the Transportation Department and the Homeland Security Department, as well as other sensitive
agencies.

Al-Arian, who has met privately with Norquist in his Washington offices, has said that Norquist "delivered" on his promise to get President Bush, via Rove, to agree to end the government's use of undisclosed evidence to deport suspected Middle Eastern terrorists. A paid lobbyist for Norquist's Islamic Institute -- David Hossein Safavian -- in fact lobbied the government hard on that issue, as I first reported in my book. (Safavian also shows up on Senate lobbying records as a paid agent for terrorist Alamoudi.) And before 9/11, al-Arian was scheduled to meet with Bush in person to discuss the issue. It seems plausible to some investigators now that al-Arian may have also got Norquist to deliver on the placement -- or infiltration -- operation. Even Safavian ended up inside the White House with a high-level job, before getting caught up in the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal and losing his coveted position.

And loyal Muslim brother Abdel-Hafiz all the while was inside the FBI also doing al-Arian favors -- and he is still working there as an agent with access to classified information. And believe it or not, the bureau is busy hiring more Muslim agents like him.

That's right: before Abdel-Hafiz graduated from the FBI academy in 1995, there were no other Muslim agents in the bureau. Now there are seven, and FBI Director Robert Mueller is busy recruiting more.

"We are recruiting Muslims as special agents," he said. "We have been very active in pushing more for Muslim Americans to consider a career with the FBI."

How comforting.

Paul Sperry, formerly Washington bureau chief of Investor's Business Daily, is a Hoover Institution media fellow and author of "Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives Have Penetrated Washington" (Nelson Current, 2005). Email: sperry@sperryfiles.com.

(Note: The backdrop to this story is the Muslim Brotherhood, a worldwide jihadist movement that gave rise to Hamas, PIJ and al-Qaida. The more famous members of this Muslim mafia include Osama bin Laden's mentor Abdullah Azzam, bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. But it has a large American presence, too, and its known American members include Alamoudi. Before going to the slammer, he attended 9/11-tied Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Va., which is run by several members of the Muslim Brotherhood who also run the Muslim American Society, or MAS, which is headquartered in neighboring Alexandria, Va. -- in the same office park where bin Laden's nephew ran a charitable front. Investigators believe MAS operates as the U.S. front for the Brotherhood. Dar al-Hijrah's original deed of trust was signed by Alamoudi pal Barzinji. Their associate Biheiri is also a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Biheiri's ex-bookkeeper is pals with FBI agent Abdel-Hafiz, who is from Egypt, birthplace of the Muslim Brotherhood. Abdel-Hafiz also attended Dar al-Hijrah. I will stop there.)

As many as 60 cars still burn nightly in France

French Muslim (yes, Rupert) Riots Update from AFP, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

PARIS, Dec 8 (AFP) - Between 40 and 60 cars are still being burned nightly in France more than three weeks after a wave of suburban violence subsided, a senior interior ministry official said Thursday.

Stephane Fratacci, the ministry's director of public liberties, was arguing against a writ brought before France highest administrative court -- the State Council -- for the country's month-long state of emergency to be suspended.

The jurists who brought the suit said that the measure was no longer needed as normality had been restored in the poor neighbourhoods where the rioting broke out on October 27.

But Fratacci said that last Saturday night 79 vehicles were burned, 46 on Sunday and 50 on Monday. And he urged "the greatest caution" ahead of the end-of-year holidays which regularly see outbursts of violence in suburbs of France's major cities.

'Mother of martyrs' runs for Hamas

Another Peace In Our Time Update from Reuters, with thanks to Gabrielle Goldwater:

A mother who has lost three sons fighting Israel is to run for Hamas in Palestinian parliamentary elections.

Mariam Farhat, an icon of the intifada, will join male Hamas leaders to contest a legislative election due in January in which Hamas, the Islamist group sworn to Israel's destruction, is taking part for the first time. It is expected to present a serious challenge to Fatah, the party of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president.

Farhat, 56, has strong militant credentials, including an appearance carrying a gun in a video in which she advised one of her sons, Mohammed, on tactics before he attacked a Jewish settlement.

Mohammed, 17, killed five Israelis before he was shot dead in the assault in the occupied Gaza Strip in 2002.

Farhat's eldest son, Nidal, was killed in 2003 as he was preparing for another attack. A third son, Rawad, died earlier this year in an Israeli air strike on his car, which was carrying rockets. Three other sons are still alive.

Farhat, popularly known as Umm Nidal and regarded by Palestinians as a "mother of martyrs", said: "I am pleased that Hamas trusted me and I declare I will be at the service of my movement."

Hamas's choice of Farhat, seen by Palestinian analysts as a sure vote-winner, appeared to demonstrate just how serious the group is about its challenge to Fatah's traditional dominance....

Farhat said the decision of Hamas to participate in mainstream Palestinian politics did not contradict its military goals.

"The jihadist project completes the political one and the political project cannot be completed without jihad," she told Reuters, using the Arabic term for "holy struggle" against the Jewish state.

PA Will Not Disarm Terrorists

What's that? You thought that after the Gaza withdrawal we would have Peace In Our Time?

From Israel National News, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

Palestinian Authority official Nasser Al-Kidwa told an Arabic-language London newspaper, "There is no such thing as 'disarming', nor will there be."

Repeating the position expressed in many variations by PA officials in recent months, Al-Kidwa, responsible for the foreign relations of the PA, told Al-Hayat this week that the only step that would be taken is an "organization of arms" by agreement among all PA terrorist groups. The PA position on the matter would not change, Al-Kidwa declared, until "the Palestinian situation changes entirely."

In that regard, Al-Kidwa blamed Israel [you don't say! -- RS] for the security situation in the PA, saying, "The Palestinians are still under Israeli occupation." The PA militias and police, he claimed, are in disarray and short of basic military supplies and training facilities due to Israeli policies.

Iran won't halt drive for nuclear fuel: Ahmadinejad

Just in case anyone is still laboring under any illusion that the Thug-In-Chief has any peaceful intentions whatsoever. Of course, he is still maintaining the facade. And no doubt hordes of useful idiots will believe him. From Reuters, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday said Iran would not halt its drive to produce its own nuclear fuel because it did not trust the West to guarantee a supply to feed its planned atomic power reactors.

Speaking in Mecca, where he was attending an Islamic summit, Ahmadinejad said Iran's right to develop a full civilian nuclear program was non-negotiable.

"We are not allowed to negotiate on the principle of having peaceful nuclear technology," Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted him as telling a news conference.

European Union leaders warned Iran on Wednesday not to pursue work on machines able to make uranium fuel enriched to the grade used in nuclear bombs, saying such moves defied efforts to ease an international crisis over Tehran's atomic program.

Spain: Seven arrested for financing Islamic terrorism

Seven financiers of the tiny minority of extremists in three Spanish cities, with links to 10 others who were operating in four other European countries. From Expatica, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

MALAGA — Police on the Costa del Sol have arrested seven people suspected of financing the activities of Islamic terrorist groups.

The raids took place early on Friday in Malaga, Torremolinos and Marbella.

Last month, Spanish police arrested 10 suspects wanted for allegedly providing logistical support, including financing, to radical Islamic groups.

Spain's interior ministry linked the suspects from the November arrests to an Algerian-based radical Islamic organization, the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, which has been widely-linked to Al-Qaeda.

Spanish police have found links in the operation to Algerians living in Germany, the Netherlands, Britain and Denmark and officers have contacted relevant authorities in those countries to provide information about the investigation.

Cash has been raised to fund terrorist attacks through drug trafficking, forged credit cards and property and vehicle theft.

Ahmadinejad: Holocaust didn't happen, but since it did, move Israel to Europe

More from the increasingly loony Thug-In-Chief -- fuller report on this story. "Iran's Leader Voices Doubt On Holocaust," from Reuters, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

TEHRAN, Dec. 8 -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran on Thursday expressed doubt that the Holocaust took place and suggested the Jewish state of Israel be moved to Europe.

Ahmadinejad was quoted by Iran's official IRNA news agency as saying in a news conference in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca: "Some European countries insist on saying that Hitler killed millions of innocent Jews in furnaces, and they insist on it to the extent that if anyone proves something contrary to that, they condemn that person and throw them in jail.

"Although we don't accept this claim, if we suppose it is true, our question for the Europeans is: Is the killing of innocent Jewish people by Hitler the reason for their support to the occupiers of Jerusalem?

"If the Europeans are honest they should give some of their provinces in Europe -- like in Germany, Austria or other countries -- to the Zionists, and the Zionists can establish their state in Europe," he said. "You offer part of Europe, and we will support it."

Treasury Dept probes Alamoudi/Al-Qaeda/Islamic Society of Boston ties

An update on the ISB controversy in Boston, and of the use of lawsuits by Islamic advocacy groups to intimidate and silence their opponents. "Treasury Department Tars Alamoudi, Founder of the Islamic Society of Boston," from the New York Sun, with thanks to Olivia:

WASHINGTON - Concern is mounting over the connections between a Boston Islamic group and a high-profile Muslim activist, Abdurahman Alamoudi, after a recent statement by the federal government that Mr. Alamoudi had a "close relationship" with Al Qaeda and that he raised money for Al Qaeda in America.

Alamoudi - who is serving a 23-year sentence in federal prison after having pleaded guilty in 2004 to participating in a Libyan plot to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah - is also a founder of the Islamic Society of Boston. The society is now embroiled in a bitter legal dispute over the society's efforts to build a mosque with the aid of public subsidies.

That lawsuit, according to journalists and terrorism investigators, is part of a larger trend of litigation by Muslim groups that, they say, is having a "chilling effect" on the ability to report domestic ties to terrorism.

In July, Alamoudi was cited in a Treasury Department press release designating the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia, a U.K.-based Saudi oppositionist organization, led by Saad al-Faqih, as providing material support for Al Qaeda. MIRA "received approximately $1 million in funding through Abdulrahman Alamoudi," the statement said....

Before his arrest, Alamoudi enjoyed extensive connections to Washington lawmakers as the founder and president of the American Muslim Council. During the Clinton administration, according to press accounts, Alamoudi often visited the White House to meet with and advise President Clinton, now-Senator Clinton, and Vice President Gore. In 2001, Alamoudi appeared with President Bush at a prayer vigil for victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks just days after the destruction of the World Trade Center and the attack on the Pentagon.

Alamoudi was also one of the founders of the Islamic Society of Boston, which is engaged in a dispute over its plans to build a $22 million mosque and cultural center on 1.9 acres of land next to Roxbury Community College. Valued at $400,000 by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the lot was sold to the ISB for $175,000 in a deal supported by Boston's Democratic mayor, Thomas Menino. The city said the sale price had been lowered in exchange for an ISB promise to provide 5,000 books about Islam to Roxbury Community College; to provide the college with a lecture series about Islam; and to raise money for the college.

The land exchange prompted a lawsuit by a Roxbury resident, James Policastro, challenging its constitutionality as a subsidy for the Muslim religion. Last month, a motion by the ISB to have the Policastro suit dismissed was denied.

The land deal also prompted a series of investigative reports by the Boston Herald and Fox TV Channel 25, probing the alleged connections between several ISB leaders, including Alamoudi, and radical Islam. In turn, the ISB has filed a defamation lawsuit claiming that the reports were part of a conspiracy to prevent the mosque's being built....

A senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Andrew McCarthy, asserted these sorts of defamation and libel lawsuits were part of a "concerted effort" by Muslim groups to intimidate investigators. "If you say anything borderline critical of them they sort of bare their fangs and threaten to sue," Mr. McCarthy, a former federal attorney who prosecuted the case against the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, said.

A spokeswoman for the Council on American Islamic Relations, Rabiah Ahmed, acknowledged that lawsuits had increasingly become an "instrument" used by the Muslim community. "The Muslim community realizes that it has to respond to these allegations and to these attacks, otherwise, the people who are promoting these defamatory remarks will win in the court of public opinion," Ms. Ahmed said.

I have cut out a good bit. Read it all.

Iran's Ahmadinejad says Israel should be moved to Europe

The question is, is the Thug-in-Chief going to try to move it out of its present location himself. From AFP, with thanks to all who sent this in:

Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that if Germany and Austria feel responsible for massacring Jews during World War II, a state of Israel should be established on their soil. Ahmadinejad, who sparked an international outcry in October when he said Israel "must be wiped off the map", also repeated his view Thursday that the Jewish state was a "tumour".

"Now that you believe the Jews were oppressed, why should the Palestinian Muslims have to pay the price?" the hardline president asked in an interview with Iran's Arabic-language satellite channel, Al-Alam.

"Why did you come to give a piece of Islamic land and the territory of the Palestinian people to them?

"You oppressed them, so give a part of Europe to the Zionist regime so they can establish any government they want. We would support it," he said, according to a transcript of his original Farsi-language comments given to AFP.

"So, Germany and Austria, come and give one, two or any number of your provinces to the Zionist regime so they can create a country there which all of Europe will support and the problem will be solved at its root," he said.

"Why do they insist on imposing themselves on other powers and creating a tumour so there is always tension and conflict?"

Of course, there wouldn't be a conflict were Ahmadinejad's side willing to make peace -- but it isn't.

Iraq: Jihadists claim to have murdered American hostage

"Iraq Insurgents Claim to Kill U.S. Hostage," from AP:

CAIRO, Egypt - A statement signed by an Iraqi insurgent group said Thursday in an Internet posting that it killed a kidnapped U.S. security consultant. The claim's authenticity could not be immediately verified.

It was the first time in more than a year that an insurgent group announced the slaying of an American hostage. Thursday's statement, posted on an Islamic militant Web forum, did not identify the hostage and provided no evidence he had been killed, but said pictures of the slaying would be released later....

Another insurgent group, the Swords of Righteousness, has set a Saturday deadline, threatening to kill four Christian humanitarian workers abducted two weeks ago, including an American, two Canadians and a Briton. A French aid worker and a German citizen are also currently being held by kidnappers.

"Swords of Righteousness." That's rich.

New York: shoe bomber apprehended -- and let go

Hot on the heels of their great Al-Arian victory, another triumph for dimwitted, dhimmi law enforcement. They were probably too worried about "profiling" to keep him in custody or charge him with anything. They don't even seem to have paid any attention to where he was going with those explosive shoes, or why. Keystone Kops Alert: "EXCLUSIVE: Shoe Bomber Alert Preceded Airport Shooting Egyptian Man Had Been Stopped at New York Airport; Shoes Tested Positive for Explosive," from ABCNews, with thanks to Mrs. Obelix:

Dec. 7, 2005 — - Federal law enforcement sources tell ABC News they had been on the alert for a possible shoe bomber when a federal air marshal opened fire at the Miami International Airport today.

In today's incident, an agitated passenger claiming to have a bomb in his backpack was shot and killed by a federal air marshal, officials said. No bomb was found.

Officials say a 50-year-old Egyptian man was stopped six days ago at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport. Sources say he had a suspicious pair of shoes that tested positive five times for the explosive substance TATP on the interior of his shoes between the heel and sole.

Federal officials say the man's shoes are remarkably similar to those used by shoe bomber Richard Reid, who attempted to blow up an American Airlines jet over the Atlantic four years ago.

The Egyptian man's destination was Des Moines, Iowa, sources say, and he claimed he was a student at Iowa State University in Ames.

Strangely, after holding him overnight, airport security in New York released him. The FBI was notified after he was released. Now the FBI has put out a nationwide alert.

Hey, that makes me feel safer.

Fitzgerald: The Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt

Jihad Watch Board Vice President Hugh Fitzgerald discusses the Muslim Brotherhood's resurgence in Egypt, and its wider implications:

The Muslim Brotherhood seeks its Total Answer in Islam. The problems it addresses may be those that all countries experience -- a ruthless, corrupt, completely worthless regime. In a non-Muslim country, the answer would be Clean Government, and Civil Service Examinations, and an Anti-Corruption Squad and Throw the Rascals Out. In a Muslim country, where the prism of Islam is ready, the Answer of Islam is ready, the discontent with the government (Mubarak, the Al-Saud, this or that despot or petty ruler) will always and everywhere be expressed in Islamic terms, with Islam as the Solution. That would be fine for Infidels if Islam, more Islam, did not mean also something else, and what it means is this: more hatred of the Infidels, unmitigated by worldliness and corruption. And it would be fine if the Infidel world is ready to take upon itself indefinitely the entire burden of ensuring that everywhere Good Government and an Honest and Efficient Civil Service will reign throughout the Muslim lands, and of supplying aid to any Muslims who might feel that they are poor and should not be. And many of them are poor, but the reasons are in the despotism that Islam encourages, and the habit of mental submission that Islam encourages, and the habit of inshallah-fatalism that Islam encourages.

And more Islam always means more hatred of Infidels, so that any protest is channeled through Islam -- and in a Muslim country it will always end up being channeled through Islam for all but a small enlightened or quasi-enlightened group (no more than 2-3% of the population). Yet since Islam itself is the main reason for their troubles, for their unresponsive political system, and for the rumors, nonsense, and lies that come so easily to Muslim societies that have never encouraged and cannot encourage skepticism as a way of mental life but rather foster credulity at every step, things will never get better until Islam itself is weakened, constrained, divided, demoralized, seen not as The Answer but, as Ataturk and Bourguiba did, as The Problem.

The Muslim Brotherhood may have won nearly 20% of the seats in Parliament. But in Egypt, the Muslim vote essentially went 100% for Islam. Mubarak is Muslim, leader of a corrupt, meretricious, vicious regime, but a regime of Muslims, sharing Muslim attitudes that shape their worldview, and that are scarcely hidden, save for the few hours a week that are spent meeting with Western dignitaries, or for the odd state visit (that waiting Blair House, or that suite at The Mayflower or at the Hotel Raphael! How eagerly these tin-pot potentates, propped up with Western money, look for an excuse to travel abroad). Those attitudes are well-reflected, are on display, in the viciousness of the official press, which is imbued with anti-Israel, anti-American, anti-Copt, anti-Jewish, anti-Infidel sentiments and the usual Muslim hysteria and hysterical view of the universe.

At the very least, all American aid to Egypt-- which by now amounts to $60 billion -- should end. The Egyptians spent $7.5 billion on military purchases in 2004, right after China and India on the list of major buyers, yet for some reason it is believed by some perfectly reasonable to continue supplying this irredeemably corrupt, with an oily exterior, regime, threatened by no one, yet itself a potential threat both to Israel and to Ethiopia (the looming headwaters-of-the-Nile dispute), with $2 billion a year in American aid. Egypt is a world center of anti-Americanism (possibly the most anti-American country, along with Saudi Arabia, in the world) and of antisemitism, that has failed to fulfill a single one of its obligations under the Camp David Accords. The paradox holds: the less aid, whether financial, military, or diplomatic, received by a corrupt regime from the U.S., the more likely that the people in that country will have a more favorable opinion of the United States. In the Middle East, the most pro-American population is that of Iran, where for 25 years there has been no American aid, and instead the Iranian government has done everything it can to whip up those it rules against the United States. But since American hostility to the Iranian regime is clear, the fury with the rulers cannot be deflected, as it is in Egypt, to the distant Infidels in the United States.

What of reformers in Egypt? A good deal is made of certain "reformers" and advocates for "civil society" in the Arab countries. But if one examines them closely, those "reformers" often turn out to disappoint. For they are supporters, in the end, of the Muslim agenda, perhaps muted, perhaps less aggressive or less fervent, but still supporters. One example is Egypt’s Saad Eddin Ibrahim. He owes his freedom -- that is, he owes the Mubarak government's pressure to have his sentence overturned, and for him to be absolved -- to the fact that, at Bernard Lewis' urging, Egypt was threatened with a cut of $30 million dollars out of its (preposterous and maddening) $2 billion in annual American aid. It worked, of course -- if we ever bother to put pressure on Egypt, it will always work (we so seldom bother -- we'll do it to spring a "civil society" quasi-reformer, with a good press, but not to force them to crack down on the antisemitism and anti-Americanism of which the Egyptian press and television are now world centers).

And what about sad-eyed dhimmified scared Boutros Boutros Ghali? Despite being, or having been, the U.N.'s Secretary-General, he always was, and always will be, a court Copt, kept around because he is useful (and his French is so much better than that of the Muslims in Egypt's Foreign Ministry) in disproving that Egypt really does persecute the Copts. Boutros Boutros Ghali must always keep in mind the assassination of his great-grandfather and namesake -- and that was long ago, when Egypt was under the Cromer good-government-and-efficient-civil-service administration, and with many Europeans and Levantines in both Alexandria and Cairo, was a far more civilized and tolerant and altogether more interesting place than it is today. But since then the Egyptian government has engaged first in clearing out the Greeks, the Jews, the Italians, the Armenians of Alexandria (no Durrellian exotica left about the place where Cavafy and Ungaretti were both born). They have shut down the lycees and the old French and English-language gazettes, and eliminated that whole world of fez-wearing hubble-bubble aficionados, with their carriages and their front-running syces, people who might have been at home at some Cairene equivalent of the Blue Parrot along with Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. The Egyptians were left only with the Copts to dilute Islam, Arab Islam. And these Copts are the very people whose lives are steadily being made more intolerable. Sadat put Pope Shenouda under house arrest. Under the thuggish Mubarak, there have been many cases of torture, and murder -- by Muslim neighbors, by Egyptian police, by the army. Not a word from the U.N., not a word from the World Council of Churches, the Vatican (who cares about those pesky monophysites!), not a word from anyone.

But why be surprised? The failure to read Mubarak the riot act on this, as on his media's treatment of Israel, and on Egypt's failure to live up to a single one of its solemn commitments under the Camp David Accords, is simply par for the appeasement course -- you know, the course we are all staying by failing to analyze, to recognize, to articulate, the permanent menace of Islam.

Who cares if the Copts are the original Egyptians and the Muslim Arabs the invaders? The Jews could say that, and the Christian Maronites, and even the non-Arab Kurds, and the Berbers of the Kabyle as well. But no -- we are endlessly told that this is the "Arab world." No one else exists, really. No one else can. No one else, anywhere in that Arab world.

Jihadists arrested in Tajikistan

I can't remember the last time we had a Tajik jihad update. Is there any place on earth where the tiny minority of extremists cannot be found? "Extremists detained in Tajikistan," from Pravda, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

Members of the banned Uzbek Islamic Movement were arrested on Monday in the city of Khudzhand in northern Tajikistan.

"An Uzbek citizen, 37, and a Russian citizen from the Mordova
region, 41, who are accused of being members of the Uzbek Islamic Movement, were detained on December 5 in Khudzhand," a source from the Tajik Interior Ministry told.

"Six other people from northern Tajikistan were also detained," the
source said.

The men were detained while distributing leaflets calling for a
coup d'etat. The town of Khudzhand is an administrative center in the Tajik Sughd region. It borders on Uzbekistan and is the second largest city in the country.

The Uzbek Islamic Movement is an extremist organization, which says it wants to establish an Islamic caliphate in the Central Asian countries.

Several dozen people suspected of links with the Uzbek Islamic
Movement and Hizb-ut-Tahrir have been arrested in Tajikistan since the beginning of 2005, Interfax reports

Egypt's Islamic opposition wins 19% of seats

OK, so it really is a tiny minority of extremists -- just 19%. From AP, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

Preliminary results in Egypt's elections Thursday gave the leading opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, a record 19 percent of parliament, with the ruling party and its allies holding an overwhelming majority after a four-week election with unprecedented political violence.

The results leaked by an official in the Interior Ministry, which oversaw the election, came a day after no fewer than eight people were killed as police battled to stop voters reaching polling stations in Muslim Brotherhood strongholds....

Al-Qaeda Explains Amman Bombings

Here is a helpful post from MEMRI (thanks to Jeffrey Imm) collecting together all the Al-Qaeda communiques about the recent suicide bombing in Amman. Why did they target hotels in Amman?

"From these hotels, the Crusaders also operate the bases that they have established on Jordanian soil in order to train cohorts of apostates for the army of the infidel government in Baghdad. Consequently, they have turned into meeting places for officers of the so-called 'NATO Alliance' which supervises these bases in order to turn the Muslim land of Jordan into a safe rear base for the armies of the Crusaders and deserters of the faith, [a base from which they] set forth to Iraq in order to kill Muslims, shed their blood, and violate the honor of their women, while the Jordanian scoundrel and others shed crocodile tears over them. Thanks to the wall of security around these hotels, they have become safe breeding grounds for the filth of Jewish and Western tourists, who spread their licentiousness and lechery at the expense of the blood and suffering of the Muslims in this land.

There is much more. Read it all.

Minneapolis terrorism suspect had sham marriage, authorities say

The phenomenon of sham marriages by jihadists, and real marriages accomplished by seductions of unwitting non-Muslim Western women, has been insufficiently investigated, although horror stories abound. From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

A Minneapolis man accused of lying to authorities in a terrorism investigation is facing three new charges that he paid a U.S. citizen to marry him, then used a green card from that fraudulent marriage to try to get jobs in the Twin Cities area.

Mohamad Kamal Elzahabi was indicted on charges of possessing fraudulent immigration documents, according to papers scanned into the computer system Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.

The new indictment comes on top of charges in June 2004 that Elzahabi, then 41, lied to federal agents about sending walkie-talkies to Pakistan and helping to get a Massachusetts driver's license for a man later convicted of plotting to bomb American and Israeli tourists in Jordan.

Elzahabi allegedly told FBI agents that he taught sniping in Afghanistan and associated with Al-Qaida leaders....

Elzahabi, a Lebanese national, allegedly told authorities he entered the United States in the 1980s and paid a Houston woman to marry him, then divorced her after getting his green card.

Bangladesh suicide bombing kills 8

Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Iraq. At least 50 dead. And that's just this morning. At least 38 by suicide bombing. Good thing Islam is a religion of peace and forbids suicide, or I suppose the death count would be much higher. From CNN, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

(CNN) -- A suicide bomber has killed eight people and wounded 50 others in the central Bangladeshi town of Netrokona, officials said....

Last week, three blasts in two towns killed 14 people. An explosion killed at least one person and injured 10 others at a police checkpoint in Gazipur, near a group of attorneys protesting an earlier suicide bombing. (Full story)

That blast, at the Gazipur court library, and another in the port city of Chittagong killed at least 13 people and wounded scores of others. Police said last week they had detained a total of 97 people in connection with the explosions.

Authorities believe all the incidents, including Thursday's, are linked to the banned Islamic militant group Jamaatul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB) -- a group, police say, has a suicide squad of 2,000 members.

JMB is dedicated to establishing Islamic rule in Bangladesh, promising to attack court officials and buildings, administrative targets, cultural organizations, non-governmental organizations and what it calls liberal democratic political organizations.

Bomb kills at least 12 in troubled Pakistan region

More ruthless and indiscriminate targeting of civilians by jihadists. From Reuters, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

WANA, Pakistan - At least 12 people were killed and dozens wounded when a bomb exploded on Thursday in a market in Pakistan’s troubled tribal region near the Afghan border, officials said.

The blast hit a hotel and shops in a market in Jandola town in the South Waziristan region.

30 dead in Baghdad bus attack

The jihad in Iraq continues to escalate in advance of the elections, clearly targeting and intending to terrorize innocent civilians. From CNN, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A suicide bomber on a bus in Baghdad killed at least 30 people and wounded 25 others Thursday, police said.

The bus was packed with passengers traveling home for the weekend, authorities said....

In August the bus station was the scene of a horrific triple car bombing which killed at least 43 people and wounded 89, The Associated Press said.

Officials have warned attacks could increase as Iraq's December 15 parliamentary elections draw closer.

Taheri: Ahmadinejad faces character assassination

Amir Taheri says that the Thug-In-Chief is getting some heat for his religious visions at the UN. From GulfNews, with thanks to XRDC:

Did the "Hidden Imam" send a flash signal to Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while he was addressing the United Nations last September? Is the new president assisted by an army of djins and angels?

These and similar questions are now all the rage in Tehran. Designed as part of a campaign of character assassination against Ahmadinejad, they do not come from secularists or atheists who do not believe in the "Hidden Imam" or dijns and angels.

The architects of this campaign are mullahs in the Rafsanjani-Khatami faction that Ahmadinejad defeated in last summer's election.

Aimed at portraying the new president as a mentally imbalanced individual suffering from visions and hallucinations, the campaign replaces an earlier one in which Ahmadinejad was presented as a "terrorist and hostage-taker".

The main theme of the campaign is that Iran is now led by a man who believes in "fables like the Hidden Imam" and eschatological and millenarian "superstitions".

"We need a rational approach to politics," says Hashemi Rafsanjani, the businessman-mullah defeated by Ahmadinejad. The implication is that Ahmadinejad, who has asked his ministers to sign pledges to the "Hidden Imam", is acting irrationally.

"We must be guided by logic," adds former president Mohammad Khatami, another mullah and a protégé of Rafsanjani. Again, the implication is that Ahmadinejad is off his rockers.

Taheri goes on to say that the anti-Ahmadinejad mullahs are being hypocritical, and he's right. Read it all.

Spencer: Jihadism and the Qur’an

My piece about the Oriana Fallaci/Qur'an/Mein Kampf controversy is up today at Front Page:

Last week in New York, Oriana Fallaci stated that the Qur’an was the Mein Kampf of the Jihadi movement. She pointed out that Islam’s holy book demands the annihilation or subjugation of the other, and that it wants to substitute totalitarianism for democracy.

Her statement, as you may imagine, has caused considerable controversy. A few of the statements I have seen:

"Calling the Koran Mein Kampf is muddle headed and hysterical.....deserves a rebuttal."

"There are moderate Moslems.....I lived among them in Turkey while my Bulgarian relatives went to concentration camps..."

"Tarring the whole religion is counterproductive.....Arab Moslems are terrorists in training but many non Arab Moslems are not jihadists....."

"If there are no moderate muslims, as Fallaci says, then we are doomed.....Is it not better to call them Islamofascists or Jihadists?"

"The Koran is 'Mein Kampf'.....oh come on...."

"In order to be a moderate Moslem does one have to renounce the Koran? I think that as usual, Oriana goes too far."

There is a muddle in these comments that needs sorting out. Fallaci said that there was no moderate Islam; she did not say that there were no moderate Muslims. This is a crucial distinction.

As Ibn Warraq has said, "There may be moderate Muslims, but Islam itself is not moderate." In other words, there are manifestly peaceful people who have no intention of working by violent or subversive means to impose Sharia on the West, and who identify themselves as Muslims. This simple fact does not mitigate the other fact, that some high-profile moderates, such as Cleveland Imam Fawaz Damra, who signed the recent Fiqh Council of North America's fatwa against terrorism, turned out to be deceivers.

No one can claim that all peaceful Muslims are deceivers without being able to look into the soul of each one -- although I know that some ignorant and intemperate writers on Islam have made just such a claim. And to say that the Qur'an is the Mein Kampf of the jihad movement is not to deny the reality that many, if not most, people who identify themselves as Muslims are primarily interested in living ordinary lives, making a living, providing for their families, etc.

How could it be that the Qur'an could be the Mein Kampf -- that is, the inspiration and guidebook, the motivating force -- of the jihad movement, and yet there could be peaceful Muslims? In the first place, because jihadists themselves routinely invoke it as the justification for their acts of violence, and as a means to recruit other Muslims into their movement. Hundreds of photos are available online of jihad terrorists brandishing the Qur'an, often along with rifles or other weapons. And any cursory glance at the statements of jihadists shows them to be filled with Qur'an quotes and appeals to other Muslims that they represent "pure Islam."

Nor are these jihadists misrepresenting, twisting, or hijacking what the Qur'an says. Indeed, they are fiercely literalistic, taking the book's many martial verses at face value. There are over a hundred verses in the Qur’an that exhort believers to wage jihad against unbelievers. “O Prophet! Strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites, and be firm against them. Their abode is Hell, an evil refuge indeed” (Sura 9:73). “Strive hard” in Arabic is jahidi, a verbal form of the noun jihad. This striving was to be on the battlefield: “When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield, strike off their heads and, when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly” (Qur’an 47:4). This is emphasized repeatedly: “O ye who believe! Fight the unbelievers who gird you about, and let them find firmness in you: and know that Allah is with those who fear Him” (Qur’an 9:123).

This warfare was to be directed against both those who rejected Islam and those who professed to be Muslims but did not hold to the fullness of the faith: “Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home: an evil fate” (Qur’an 9:73). This warfare was only part of the larger spiritual conflict between Allah and Satan: “Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who reject faith fight in the cause of evil: so fight ye against the friends of Satan” (Qur’an 4:76). “Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them captive, and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is forgiving, merciful” (Qur’an 9:5). The “poor-due” in this verse is zakat, which is a central obligation for Muslims. Thus the verse is saying that if the “idolaters” become Muslims, leave them alone.

Jews and Christians were to be fought along with “idolaters”: “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).

Jihad is the highest duty of Muslims: “Do ye make the giving of drink to pilgrims, or the maintenance of the Sacred Mosque, equal to the pious service of those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and strive with might and main in the cause of Allah [jihad fi sabil Allah]? They are not comparable in the sight of Allah: and Allah guides not those who do wrong. Those who believe, and suffer exile and strive with might and main, in Allah’s cause [jihad fi sabil Allah], with their