Dayton Daily News scrubbing stories about spurious anti-Muslim "hate crime"

An important message from Patrick Poole updating this story:

The Dayton Daily News has been walking back their coverage of the so-called mosque incident this weekend. The initial article on Saturday was "Chemical irritant empties Islamic Society of Greater Dayton's mosque":

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/09/27/ddn092608evacweb.html

Then on Sunday the story was "Islamic Society baffled by incident at worship service":

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/09/28/ddn092808islamicweb.html

Then yesterday they walked all the way back, "Police: No evidence of hate crime at local mosque":

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/09/29/ddn092908mosquefoloweb.html

But if you follow any of those three links, they take you to the exact same article -- the last one. The previous two stories have been scrubbed from the website.

Flaming the fires of kafirphobia. I'm hoping to have a copy of the incident report tomorrow. Will forward details.

PS: This isn't the first Muslim hate crime hoax in the Dayton area.

Here is a Google Cache link for the first scrubbed story, and here is a Google Cache link for the second.

What is the Dayton Daily News trying to hide?

For posterity's sake, and in an attempt to keep whoever is doing this from getting away with whitewashing the record, here are the texts of both spurious stories:

Chemical irritant empties Islamic Society of Greater Dayton's mosque By Kyle Nagel Staff Writer Saturday, September 27, 2008

DAYTON — Baboucarr Njie was preparing for his prayer session Friday night, Sept. 26, when he heard children in the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton coughing. Soon, Njie himself was overcome with fits of coughing and, like the rest of those in the building, headed for the doors.

"I would stay outside for a minute, then go back in, there were a lot of kids," Njie said. "My throat is still itchy, I need to get some milk."

Njie was one of several affected when a suspected chemical irritant was sprayed into the mosque at 26 Josie St., bringing Dayton police, fire and hazardous material personnel to the building at 9:48 p.m.

Someone "sprayed an irritant into the mosque," Dayton fire District Chief Vince Wiley said, noting that fire investigators believe it was a hand-held spray can.

According to fire dispatch communications, a child reported seeing two men with a white can spraying something into a window. That child was brought to the supervising firefighter at the scene.

Wiley would not discuss that report, but said the investigation has been turned over to police. Police were not commenting.

The 300 or so inside were celebrating the last 10 days of Ramadan with dinner and a prayer session, but the prayer session was interrupted so those suffering from tearing, coughing and shortness of breath could receive treatment.

Wiley said an adult and juvenile were taken to area hospitals and others had their eyes or faces washed on the scene. He did not know how many people were treated at the scene.

Ismail Gula, ISGD secretary, said people were praying during the weekly service when some in the audience began to cough and experience breathing troubles, then left the building. Once outside, several of them called 911, Gula said.

Tarek Sabagh, a member of the ISGD board, wasn't present when the incident occurred.

He said his daughter called and told him to stay away because of the possibility of remaining fumes. Sabagh arrived shortly after and watched from the mosque's steps as members were allowed back inside about 11 p.m. to collect belongings.

"It's very disturbing," Sabagh said. "Something like this has never happened before."

Sabagh said members moved to a Beavercreek school to finish their prayer session as police continued to investigate.

"I don't know if people will have the feeling of trust to come back tomorrow or next week or next month," Sabagh said. "I don't know how people will feel."

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. During the month, Muslims fast (do not eat) from sunrise to sunset. In the evening and in the morning before the sun comes up, they eat small meals. During this month, they take extra time for family, inner reflection, and spiritual growth.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com.

And:

Islamic Society baffled by incident at worship service By Doug Page Staff Writer Sunday, September 28, 2008

DAYTON — The Muslim community gathered Sunday, Sept. 28, 48 hours after an unknown irritant disrupted worship at the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton.

"We were in the midst of the Fifth Prayer when people started coughing," said Ismail Gula, the society's secretary.

Gula said the building was evacuated and the service to break the daily fast of Ramadan continued at a nearby facility.

He said he had no idea what might have caused the incident. "It might be anything," he said.

Gula said he had received many calls of support from Christians and Jews over the weekend.

When Dayton fire and emergency personnel arrived at 26 Josie St. on Friday night, they noticed an odor. HAZMAT workers checked the structure for pepper spray and other irritants, but found nothing.

Police said they were continuing their investigation.

Also on Sunday, members of several Dayton religious groups were scheduled to view and discuss a DVD about Islamic radicalism mailed to some area homes and circulated with newspapers here and around the country.

"Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," was a paid advertising insert in the Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun, Hamilton JournalNews and Middletown Journal, all owned by Cox Ohio Publishing, on Monday, Sept. 22. It appeared in more than 70 other newspapers nationwide.

The Rev. Gary Percesepe, executive director of Greater Dayton Christian Connections, characterized the DVD as "fanning the flames of fear and prejudice against Muslims, with the potential to inspire hate crimes."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2290 or dpage@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Illinois mall jihadist gets 35 years in prison, man

He said: "I swear by Allah, man ... I'm down to live for the cause and die for the cause, man." I wonder if he is down to serve 35 years in the slammer, man. He also said, "I just want to smoke a judge." He'll have to settle for Marlboro Lights.

Talib Abu Salam Ibn Shareef Update, man: "Islam convert gets 35 years in plot to attack mall," from AP (thanks to Mentat):

CHICAGO (AP) — A 24-year-old convert to Islam has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for plotting to blow off hand grenades in a crowded shopping mall during the Christmas season....

He was arrested in 2006 on charges of scheming to use weapons of mass destruction at the Cherryvale Mall in the northern Illinois city of Rockford.

Federal Judge David Coar said Tuesday he didn't believe Shareef was evil.

Of course not, the poor lamb! After all, it isn't as if he were some greasy Islamophobe!

But he said people could have been severely hurt if federal agents hadn't broken up the plot.

No kidding, really?

Shareef described himself as a devout Muslim who once admired Osama bin Laden but has now realized violence is wrong.

Very reassuring, man!

Islamophobic terrorists attack Ohio mosque! No, wait...

I first encountered Aziz Poonawalla during my exchanges with the frothing psychopath Dean Esmay, as he is a contributor to his blog. Poonawalla and I have had several unpleasant exchanges, which are as tedious to reread as they were to go through, and in which I was not in every case terribly impressed with his honesty or integrity -- but you can judge that for yourself if you wish to do so.

And now he has written "Terrorists attack Ohio mosque" at Beliefnet, September 29. There are many links in his opening paragraph which I am not reproducing here, including one to the hypocritical statement of Khaleel Mohammed denouncing the film, which I discussed here. Poonawalla writes:

Earlier, I mentioned the Obsession DVD that was inserted in millions of newspapers around the country. That DVD paints a rigid and extreme vision of Islam, with intent to mislead rather than inform. Now, the predictable result of that hate-mongering propaganda is beginning to manifest; on Friday, a mosque in Dayton, OH was tear-gassed, with women and children inside:

Baboucarr Njie was preparing for his prayer session Friday night, Sept. 26, when he heard children in the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton coughing. Soon, Njie himself was overcome with fits of coughing and, like the rest of those in the building, headed for the doors.

"I would stay outside for a minute, then go back in, there were a lot of kids," Njie said. "My throat is still itchy, I need to get some milk."

Njie was one of several affected when a suspected chemical irritant was sprayed into the mosque at 26 Josie St., bringing Dayton police, fire and hazardous material personnel to the building at 9:48 p.m.

Someone "sprayed an irritant into the mosque," Dayton fire District Chief Vince Wiley said, noting that fire investigators believe it was a hand-held spray can.

According to fire dispatch communications, a child reported seeing two men with a white can spraying something into a window. That child was brought to the supervising firefighter at the scene.

There is more, and it all sounds terrible -- but of course even if it is just as Poonawalla says, what does it really have to do with the Obsession DVD? Precisely nothing. Obsession is opposed to attacks on innocent people, and it makes a clear (and not in every sense accurate) distinction between peaceful Muslims and jihadists -- so to claim that it led to an attack on innocents is just another instance of Muslims playing the victim card whenever too much unwelcome attention is shone upon jihadist or Islamic supremacist activity, in order to deflect that attention. For another example of this, see here.

Underscoring this impression is this report: "Police: No evidence of hate crime at local mosque," by Lucas Sullivan for the Dayton Daily News, September 29 (thanks to all who sent this in):

DAYTON — A 10-year-old girl sprayed in the face with a chemical Friday, Sept. 26, while at a local Islamic mosque was not the victim of a hate crime, police Chief Richard Biehl said.

The girl was watching children whose parents and relatives had gathered at the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton, 26 Josie St., to celebrate Ramadan when she noticed two men standing outside a basement window about 9:40 p.m., according to police.

One of the men then sprayed something through the open window and into the girl's face from a white can with a red top, according to a police report. The girl said she immediately felt burning on her face and felt "sick to her stomach," the report stated.

Other children and a woman in the room felt affects from the chemical and the mosque was evacuated.

"The men didn't say anything to her (before she was sprayed)," Biehl said. "There was nothing left at the scene or anything that makes us believe this is a biased crime."

HAZMAT crews called to the scene started testing for chemicals less than 20 minutes after a member of the mosque called 911, team coordinator Denny Bristow said.

"Whatever chemical was released it dissipated too quickly for us to determine what it was," Bristow said. "We can test for about 130 to 140 chemicals, including pepper spray, and all our tests came back negative."

Bristow said there were no chemicals found on the 10-year-old girl.

A few of the 300 people celebrating the last 10 days of Ramadan with dinner and a prayer session were treated for eye irritation at the scene.

Mosque board member Tarek Sabagh said many people within the mosque speculated that the incident was the result of a DVD about Islamic radicalism titled "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West" that was mailed to area homes by its producers and circulated as a paid advertisement with more than 70 newspapers, including the Dayton Daily News.

"We are not linking the two at all," Sabagh said.

Will Aziz Poonawalla issue a retraction and an apology to the producers of Obsession? Let's just say I won't be holding my breath.

“But don’t you think that the real problem is not Islam but Islamophobia?”

At Pajamas Media today the superb Bruce Bawer asks the question, "Who’s Sleeping More Deeply — Europe or America?":

[...] Make no mistake: if Europeans are, on average, more aware than Americans of the realities of Islam, it’s no thanks to their media but rather because they can see with their own eyes what’s going on around them. Yet many of them feel cowed — not only by Muslims but by politically correct politicians and media — into keeping their opinions to themselves, and feel powerless to prevent what now seems to many of them, in any event, inevitable. In other words, fatalism has taken hold.

In While Europe Slept I also contrasted European and American approaches to immigration. Ever since the Muslim influx began some decades ago, European countries have encouraged the newcomers to retain their cultural identity, to live apart from mainstream society, and to become clients of the welfare state. America, by contrast, has traditionally expected immigrants to learn English, to get a job, and to obey the law, and if they do so they’re every bit as American as anyone else. I didn’t argue in While Europe Slept that America was invulnerable to Islamization, but I did suggest that — thanks to this very dramatic difference both in the general public’s attitudes toward immigrants and in government immigration policy — America stood a far better chance than Europe did of seeing Muslim newcomers turn into loyal citizens rather than enemies within. I think I had a valid point there, though if I were writing the book today I’d probably be somewhat less sanguine about America’s ability to integrate absolutely everyone into its melting pot. I might also be less sanguine, I’m afraid, about the endurance of Americans’ love of freedom in an age of poisonous multicultural relativism.

I do feel, however, that there’s one very important difference between America and Europe when it comes to resisting cultural jihad, and that is this: that in America, a large proportion of the people who recognize the threat of Islam and who are determined to resist it are consciously fighting for freedom — for, that is, the principles articulated in the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. In many parts of Western Europe, this kind of certainty and unanimity about freedom — simple freedom — as a first principle can be discouragingly hard to come by. The blogger Frank Martin has written about a teenage tour guide at a World War II battlefield in the Netherlands who told him that the Allied soldiers who fell there had been “fighting for bridges, how silly that they would all fight for something like that.” Somebody like that boy, who didn’t grasp that those soldiers had died for the very freedom that he had taken for granted his whole life, is incapable of standing up for freedom against Islamofascism. Yes, there are Europeans who realize that the opposite of Islam is indeed human freedom. But in Europe, with its checkered history of fascism and socialism, there are also all too many people on the right who are mounting the barricades in the name not of freedom but of ethnic identity, cultural tradition, or religion, and all too many on the left whose cri de coeur is not individual liberty but the welfare state.

Meanwhile Europe’s cultural elites are dominated by people who seem likely to continue to smile upon Islamization right up till the moment they’re stoned to death. At a recent Norwegian conference on integration, the Swedish government representative was asked: “Is Swedish culture worth preserving?” “Well,” she replied dismissively, “what is Swedish culture?” To people like that, European culture is a void waiting to be filled with something, and that something might as well be Islam. Granted, things aren’t quite that bad in the U.S. — not even at the New York Times. Yet to an extraordinary extent, the political and cultural elites on both sides of the Atlantic are in sync in their denial of the reality we’re up against.

This was driven home to me a few months ago when I took part in a day-long conference in Washington, D.C., about the America/Europe relationship. Nearly all the participants and audience members, I gathered, were Americans or Europeans who worked in the diplomatic corps. The day was crammed with panel discussions, and from early morning until late in the afternoon we talked about nothing but America and Europe. Yet aside from me, only one other person even mentioned Islam. And he did so in the most indirect way, as if he were bringing up something indelicate. Everybody present seemed to share an unspoken understanding that this subject was off limits. Indeed, pretty much everybody seemed to agree that Europe is doing great — that it’s moving from strength to strength — and that America should be more like it in every way.

How I even got invited to such a conference I have no idea. In any case, everything I said was dismissed out of hand. One genial fellow who seemed desperate to correct my folly and bring me into the tent came up to me after my talk and said, almost pleadingly, “But don’t you think that the real problem is not Islam but Islamophobia?” And on the panel that followed my talk, a retired diplomat with decades of experience (and a masterly command of the art of condescension) mentioned in a tone of both wonder and whimsy that I wasn’t alone in my peculiar affliction; even Walter Laqueur — the distinguished octogenarian historian of Europe whom the retired diplomat, as his tone made clear, had once, but no longer, held in high esteem — had written a book making the same bizarre arguments I was making! But neither this retired diplomat nor anyone else was willing to entertain the possibility that if both Laqueur and I, and many others, had made certain arguments, there might actually be something in them; no, it was as if, in their eyes, we had all simply been bitten by some exotic bug or contracted some mysterious new infection or had giant alien pods placed under our beds while we were sleeping....

Read it all.

In midst of fire-fight with US warship, Somali "pirates" celebrate Eid al-Fitr

And use their plunder to fund the land jihad. "US official: 3 pirates may be dead in shootout," by Mohamed Olad Hassan for AP, September 30 (thanks to Jeremy):

Disagreements between Somali pirates holding a ship laden with tanks and heavy weapons escalated into a shootout and three pirates are believed dead, a U.S. defense official said Tuesday. The pirates denied the report.

The U.S. destroyer USS Howard and several other American ships have surrounded the Ukrainian cargo ship Faina, which was hijacked Thursday and is now anchored off the lawless coast of Somalia. The pirates have demanded a ransom of $20 million and the U.S. Navy cordon aims to prevent them from taking any of the weapons ashore.[...]

[T]he pirate spokesman insisted the report was not true, that his colleagues were just celebrating the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr despite being surrounded by American warships and helicopters.

"We didn't dispute over a single thing, let alone have a shootout," pirate spokesman Sugule Ali told The Associated Press by satellite telephone Tuesday.

"We are happy on the ship and we are celebrating Eid," Ali said. "Nothing has changed."

The Islamic feast marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Bombs kill five in India

In "areas wracked by Hindu-Muslim tensions."

"Five killed in India bomb blasts," from AFP, September 30 (thanks to JE):

Five people were killed and 25 others injured today in two suspected bomb attacks in the western Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, Indian media reported.

Three people were killed and at least 12 others hurt in a bomb explosion in the religiously tense town of Malegaon in Maharashtra state, a senior police official told the CNN-IBN news channel.

Reports said rioting broke out after the blast, causing several more injuries. The official Press Trust of India news agency said police resorted to firing in the air to control angry crowds in the communally sensitive town.

"It appeared to be a low-intensity blast," local police official Surya Gupta told the media.

In the neighbouring state of Gujarat, one person was killed and 13 others wounded in another crude bomb attack in a marketplace in Modasa town in Sabarkantha district, reports said.

Gujarat's home minister, Amit Shah, told the media one person was confirmed dead and seven others wounded.

"There was a motorcycle carrying an explosive. We are reviewing security arrangements," he said.

The NDTV news channel said an alert has been sounded across western India.

Both explosions took place in areas wracked by Hindu-Muslim tensions....

Several other Indian cities -- Jaipur, Bangalore and New Delhi -- have been hit by serial bombings since May, also claimed by the Indian Mujahideen....

New Delhi recently unveiled new security measures to tackle what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said were "vast gaps" in intelligence gathering.

Melanie Phillips: "The leaders of the democracies are...burying their heads in the sand"

Strache: A limp-handed Nazi salute?

The perceptive and courageous Melanie Phillips here discusses a phenomenon that Hugh and I have discussed at Jihad Watch several times over the years: that the mainstream parties in Europe are either mute or complicit in the face of the threat of the Islamization of the continent, and have thus left the anti-jihad resistance to be in some cases championed by Europe's most noxious elements: neo-Nazis, neo-fascists, and white supremacists.

Phillips also points out that the situation is further complicated by the fact that the mainstream media and the governing elites brand anyone who opposes Islamic supremacism and the Islamization of Europe as a neo-Nazi. This makes it extremely difficult for Americans to determine just who is a real neofascist and who isn't, and thus whom should be supported and whom should be opposed. Some commentators absurdly complicate matters further by branding those who doubt that a particular group is actually neofascist as neofascists themselves.

And in fact, her Spectator article is itself a case in point. The accompanying photo, which I have placed above, is of Hans-Christian Strache, the Austrian politician whose party Phillips here states is "neo-Nazi." It seems that this picture was chosen to accompany Phillips' article because in it Strache is making the Nazi salute. But is he? It looks more to me as if he is gesturing to make a point -- his hand is not held stiffly the way it is in the actual Nazi salute.

But maybe I just don't know enough about Nazi salutes. There is also apparently another picture in which Strache seems to be making a "three-fingered Nazi salute" -- an animal I have not previously encountered. But in any case, the claim that Strache is a neo-Nazi doesn't rest only on these disputed gestures. According to the article to which Phillips links, some of Strache's supporters are "jackbooted skinheads." This in itself doesn't prove that Strache himself is a neo-Nazi -- anyone can attract unwanted supporters (cf. Hamas' endorsement of Obama). But there is more:

1. Video exists of Strache in fatigues. The Guardian says: "He has been filmed in forests, carrying arms and wearing paramilitary fatigues in the company of banned German neo-Nazis." He says, however, that he was playing a game.

2. The Guardian also says: "He was photographed apparently giving a three-fingered neo-Nazi salute - though he says he was ordering three beers."

3. Again according to The Guardian, "when he sued the Vienna news weekly Profil for defamation, the court ruled that Strache could fairly be said to display 'an affinity to national-socialist thinking.'" But he maintains: "I was never a neo-Nazi, and never will be" -- and the court's ruling could be an example of Phillips' observation that anyone who opposes the Islamization of Europe is branded a neo-Nazi.

4. Perhaps most damning of all: according to the TimesOnline, "police film his public appearances because supporters of Mr Strache have, in the past, made the Hitler salute or displayed Nazi insignia, which is illegal in Austria - under a law that Mr Strache is seeking to ban."

He is trying to ban a law against displaying Nazi insignia, and some of his followers make the Hitler salute -- that seems open and shut. As for the followers making the Hitler salute, he could be a Nazi and attract Nazi followers -- or, alternatively, he could be attracting followers he doesn't want and doesn't approve of. As for Strache's attempts to get the ban on Nazi insignia overturned, Trend News says this: "He has called for the repeal of an Austrian law banning National Socialist activities. 'A democracy must be able to deal with moronic and crazy ideas,' Strache argued last week." So he is framing this as a freedom of speech issue -- and indeed, when I support the right of the Revolutionary Communist Party or the Council on American-Islamic Relations to spew their propaganda in the U.S., that doesn't make me a Revolutionary Communist or a CAIR op. It makes me a believer in free speech.

So we have the prospect of a man accused of being a neo-Nazi saying that National Socialism is "moronic and crazy" and denying that he ever was or ever will be a neo-Nazi. Of course, maybe he is lying -- he wouldn't be the first or the last politician to lie about his true sentiments -- and maybe his explanations of this evidence are flimsy rationalizations. I don't know where Strache really stands. But the old Nazis were never coy or deceptive about their taste for totalitarianism and hatred for Jews, and while actual neo-Nazis have every reason to be deceptive about their true affinities in today's Europe, when the elites brand everyone who opposes unrestricted Muslim immigration as a neo-Nazi, even in the face of the demographic jihad, the situation becomes extremely muddled.

Real neo-Nazis in Europe and everywhere else should be always and everywhere opposed by all decent people. The devilish difficulty is in figuring out who the real neo-Nazis actually are, and who are anti-jihadists who are being falsely accused.

"The distant sound of breaking glass," by Melanie Phillips in The Spectator, September 29:

We should all be shuddering at the news from Austria where neo-Nazi parties, including the Freedom Party led by Hans-Christian Strache (pictured) have emerged as the biggest parliamentary block. It’s awful not just because it’s Austria, that cradle of Nazism which shows yet again that its terrible past remains its present. It’s because the implications are much wider for the whole of Europe – and are unlikely to be recognised before the danger spirals into the unspeakable.

A small correction: Hitler was born in Austria, but Austria was not the cradle of Nazism. Nazism was born in Germany -- which is not to deny that many, if not most, Austrians ultimately became enthusiastic about it.

These parties campaigned on an anti EU integration and anti-Muslim platform. Their success is due to the enormous feeling among the people of Europe against, on the one hand, the destruction of their powers of self-government and their assimilation into the undemocratic Euro superstate, and on the other the threat to western culture from Islamist conquest. On both of these seismic issues, the leaders of the democracies are either burying their heads in the sand or are actively bringing them into being. With no democratic party addressing these concerns and instead demonising legitimate nationalist feeling as ‘racist’, xenophobic’ or ‘Islamophobic’, people are turning to parties which truly are racist, anti-foreigner, anti-Muslim, anti-Jew and sometimes, indeed, neo-Nazi, but which are exploiting this political vacuum just as all such parties have always exploited other vacuums in leadership.

This presents a nightmarish prospect in which, if the democratic parties of Europe continue to demonise legitimate aspirations to maintain national cultures against undemocratic and anti-democratic forces, more and more people will be drawn to these parties – see the sophisticated pitch by and increasing support for the BNP in Britain, and social disorder will rise.[...]

The awful thing is that, as the far-right advances and social disorder increases – as it will -- muddled liberals and malign leftists will blame these political and social calamities on ‘the far right’. As a result, the steady encroachment of Islamism will proceed apace -- and anyone who objects will also be demonised as ‘the far right’. The rise of the neo-Nazis will thus turn the defence of democracy toxic. There is therefore a danger that the only people who will be fighting the Islamic fascists and in defence of the nation against the supranational supremacists will be the fascists....

UPDATE: Jihad Watch reader Maryatexitzero has posted below a link to a Jerusalem Post article that says that Strache "has aligned his party with the Iranian regime and vehemently opposes sanctions designed to force a suspension of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program." As I noted in a follow-up comment below, this not only constitutes good grounds to consider him a neo-Nazi indeed, but is a solid reason in and of itself to oppose him. Thank you, Mary.

Professor says Obsession film "smells" and is "pure propaganda"

If this "conflict-resolution" professor deems the Obsession film "pure propaganda," at least one Middle East history professor thinks otherwise. Wonder who knows more? More on this story.

"Obsession smells: It's propaganda, professor argues, by Tom H. Hastings for Oregon Live, September 29:

Many who subscribed to The Sunday Oregonian received, unbidden, a copy of Wayne Kopping's "Obsession: Radical Islam's war against the West," a packaged DVD that purports to show us the threat of worldwide radical Islam. It is disturbing and contains enough fact and truthto spur a logical and correct rejection of the ghastly beliefs and conduct of radical Islamicists.

Obsession is also connected to both the Israeli intelligence service and Christian evangelicals via Middle East Media Research Institute, according to SourceWatch.org.

Naturally, then, it is an hour of pure propaganda...

If it's "pure propaganda," what makes the good professor say earlier that it "contains enough fact and truth"?

It is truly disgusting to watch Muslim 'clerics' practice their twisted version of hatred and objectification. Anyone who defends or tolerates that revisionist theology should rethink their moral code.Calling on believers to kill Jews or any other kuffar (non-Muslim) is loathsome.

Amazing: Muslims calling on the death of infidels is a "twisted version of Islam" and "revisionist theology." Actually, not so amazing since it is clear that this professor (as is increasingly the wont of most "professors" and "experts") is relying more on an emotionally-driven postmodern epistemology than he is by standard Islamic theology and doctrine, which he clearly knows next to nothing about, aside from reading, perhaps, Karen Armstrong's cutesy, feel-good-about-Islam books.

However, there are sections of the film that defy logic and history.For example, in interviews with several principle subjects,astonishment is expressed at the possibility that foreign policies of the U.S. or the UK might have contributed to the growth of jihad.

Actually, the record is quite clear on this point; the foreign policy of the U.S. and UK helped exacerbate and foment jihad at many turns, from the killer sanctions on Iraq in the 1990s to the unconditional military aid to the Israeli Defense Force (at greater levels than any other nation on Earth every year), to the support for corrupt Middle Eastern governments such as Egypt's Mubarak and the Saudi royals, tothe U.S. occupation of places regarded as holy by Muslims (U.S. troops first in Saudi Arabia and now controlling Iraq).

Ah, the famous response from the "experts," such as Michael Scheuer: US foreign policy is the root of all Islamic "radicalism." For more on this, including textual evidence that, at least for al-Qaeda types, Islam instructs hatred and animosity for the infidel, per se, see here.

There is plenty of blame to go around, but right now the most productive path forward is dialog based on lessons learned, on caution but on the determination to support nonviolence and democracy, not the armed control of any nation...

Al-Qaeda preparing to blow Atlantis back into the water

Infidel stronghold on Muslim land

"Symbol of decadence" -- not to mention Disney characters (who, accordingly are liable to receive death fatwas) -- must go. "Al-Qaeda planning to bomb Atlantis," by Dylan Bowman for Arabian Business, September 29:

The Atlantis hotel’s grand opening party is at the centre of a terrorism scare after British spies uncovered plans to target the lavish event in Dubai, to be attended by 2,000 VIPs.

There are fears Al-Qaeda is planning to bomb the event on Nov. 20 because it is seen by Islamic extremists as a symbol of decadence in a Muslim country, according to the UK's Sky News television.

Business leaders, politicians, actors, musicians and members of the Dubai royal family have all been invited to the grand opening, which is estimated to be costing $28 million and will be headlined by pop princess Kylie Minogue.

[...]

The launch of Atlantis has become one of the most talked about events on the Dubai calendar, with several global superstars linked with the grand opening, including Michael Jackson and Madonna.

The 1,539-room resort encompasses a 46-hectare site with 17 hectares of water-themed amusement parks, an open air marine habitat, beaches, boutiques and restaurants.

The hardest thing to explain

"The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see." -- Ayn Rand (thanks to Vee)

Nigeria: Rep urges Muslims to emulate Muhammad

Sunna Alert. Not to worry, however, as the particular Sunna being evoked seems to be that of Mecca, when Muhammad (ostensibly) sought only to live and let live.

"Rep Urges Muslims to Emulate Prophet Mohammed," by Usman Bello for AllAfrica, September 30:

A member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Philip Tanimu Aduda, has urged Muslims in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to carry on with the spirit of Ramadan by emulating the virtues of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

Interesting and suggestive of a bit of forethought by the Rep that he specified "virtues," as opposed to simply saving "emulate Prophet Mohammed."

Mr. Aduda who represents Abuja Municipal and Bwari Area Councils at the National Assembly, said this weekend while addressing FCT members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the constituency office in Wuse, Abuja.

He urged Muslims to be tolerant and peaceful and to desist from acts that could undermine the security of the nation by following the traditions and preachings of the Prophet of Islam which encourages co-existence with non Muslims...

Sunna of co-existence? Ah, the Meccan Sunna, when Muhammad was outnumbered and weak, and which has since been abrogated by the sword verses (9:5, 9:29), except when Muslims also find themselves outnumbered and weak.

Syrian bombing investigation: Wait, maybe it wasn't the Zionists...

Whoops. One shouldn't expect much in the way of apologies from the Syrian media or Foreign Ministry for the rush to judgment.

An update on this story. "Syria says radical Islam behind Damascus blast," by Ali Waked for YNet News, September 29:

An initial investigation into Saturday's fatal attack in Damascus revealed that a radical Islamic organization was responsible for the car bomb which killed 17 people.

The government newspaper Tishrin reported Monday that Syrian security officials believe the booby-trapped car was brought into Syrian territory a day before the attack through the country's border with a neighboring Arab state. The paper did not mention the name of the other country.

According to the report, one person was driving the vehicle, and efforts are now being made to complete his identification through DNA tests.

A number of radical Islam activists were arrested after the explosion. The Tishrin report indicates that Islamic elements outside Syria were behind the attack which shocked the country and followed a series of assassinations on Syrian soil.

Syrian papers on Sunday hinted at foreign involvement in the car bombing. So far, no organization has claimed responsibility for the attack and the Syrian government has refrained from clearly pointing the finger at anyone.

Saturday's 200 kilogram car bomb near a Syrian security complex on the southern outskirts of the capital was the biggest – and deadliest – attack to occur in the country since the 1980s when authorities fought an uprising by Muslim militants.

The government-owned daily al-Thawra claimed in an editorial Sunday that recent attacks in Syria were planned outside the country, but did not mention any names.

However, the comment came a week after Syria massed thousands of troops north of its borders with neighboring Lebanon. Syria says the deployment is meant to curb smuggling, but President Bashar Assad has warned recently that "extremist forces" were operating in northern Lebanon and destabilizing his country....

But when a nominally Shi'ite government does it on behalf of Iran, well, that's completely different.

Fort Dix Jihad Update

More on this story. "Jury selection starts in Fort Dix plot case; judge hopes to find 18 jurors from pool of 1,500," by Geoff Mulvihill for AP, September 29:

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) _ Jury selection began Monday in the federal trial of five men accused of planning an attack on Fort Dix.

Lawyers were expected to take three weeks or more to seat 12 jurors and six alternates. The trial itself will likely last several months.

Prospective jurors were given questionnaires to fill out detailing any knowledge of the case and their own biases.

The government says five men were moving forward with a plan to shoot soldiers on the New Jersey Army installation when they were arrested in May 2007. No attack was carried out and lawyers for the men say there was no plot.

The men — all foreign-born Muslims in their 20s who spent several years in southern New Jersey — are charged with conspiracy to murder soldiers and attempted murder. They'll face life in prison if they are convicted.

[...]

The suspects are due in court later this week for a hearing over whether prosecutors can introduce evidence that includes one of the men allegedly discussing attacking other sites such as the White House and Philadelphia International Airport.

Fort Dix is used mostly to train reservists for duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Spencer interview with Le blog drzz

What's a drzz?

Annika of the French-language blog drzz recently interviewed me, and the interview, in French, is now posted there. And here is an English translation of the interview:

ANNIKA: Fundamentalist Islam claims to find its roots in the Koran, therefore the holy book itself could be said to harbor directives irreconcilable with democratic values, the first amendment, equal rights for men and women, and the judicial system. Do you perceive this as correct?

SPENCER: Certainly the way the Koran has been understood throughout the history of Islam by the vast majority of orthodox commentators and theologians, and by the schools of Islamic jurisprudence and its various sects, harbor directives that are irreconcilable with democratic values, the first amendment, equal rights for men and women, and the judicial system. This enables contemporary jihadists to make the case successfully among peaceful Muslims and cultural Muslims that they represent pure and true Islam, and that if one wants to live Islam authentically, one must do as they do. Muslims who profess not to share their view have not yet formulated an effective Islamic comeback to that claim. It may not be utterly impossible for them to do this, but they have not done it yet, and it would involve an explicit rejection of Koranic literalism in many particulars.

ANNIKA: There has been some effort to prove "irreconcilable differences" between democratic values and the Koran. There were constitutional decrees written by the Turkish court as well as the European court. What else must be done to establish this as truth -- and how?

SPENCER: It will never be established as truth unless the current political and cultural environment changes radically. But if objective truth were the only or primary criterion, which it certainly is not now, one would be able by appeal to various Koranic verses and to the ways they have been understand in Islamic theology and law to establish that Islamic law, Sharia, is an all-encompassing system that has no room for democratic values in many particulars. It denies equality of rights before the law for women and non-Muslims. It denies the freedom of conscience and the freedom of speech.

This debate should ultimately be held in the public square, and Muslims in Western countries called upon to reject explicitly these elements of Islamic tradition, and to back up their rejection with deeds, instituting transparent and inspectable programs to teach against political Islam. But whether or not this debate is ever held, Europeans, and Americans also, will be faced sooner or later with the confrontation between democratic values and the Koran, because the bland denials of Islamic apologists will ultimately give way to the pressure of reality.

ANNIKA: "Jihad" is a term mentioned repeatedly in the Koran. Is the meaning of the word an "inner struggle" over temptation, as some Muslim apologists claim? Or what is the exact meaning of the word?

SPENCER: The word means “struggle,” and has as many connotations as the English word struggle does. The Islamic Republic of Iran has a Department of Agricultural Jihad, which has to do with the struggle to increase crop yields. But the primary meaning of “jihad” in the Qur’an, Hadith, and Islamic law is warfare against unbelievers in order to subjugate them under the hegemony of Islamic law. This effort can involve hot warfare, but need not. Muhammad explains in a hadith (Sahih Muslim 4294) that Muslims should invite non-Muslims to convert to Islam or to enter the Islamic social order as inferiors, paying the poll tax (jizya) and submitting to various forms of institutionalized discrimination. If they refuse both, the Muslims should go to war with them.

Jihadist theorists such as Hassan Al-Banna and Abdullah Azzam have criticized as inauthentic the tradition of Muhammad establishing that jihad is primarily an inner struggle against temptation. And indeed, it does not appear in any of the collections of hadith (traditions of Muhammad’s words and deeds) that Muslims deem most authentic.

ANNIKA: The Koran states explicitly (2:106, 16:101) that Mohammed’s earlier words (deemed peaceful) are overruled by his later writings (deemed hostile). Is this analysis accurate?

SPENCER: Certainly the chronologically earlier passages of the Koran, such as sura 109, teach tolerance of other religions, while chronologically later passages teach warfare against unbelievers – even Jews and Christians, as in 9:29. And it is a central Islamic doctrine, shared by all orthodox sects and schools, that the chronologically later parts of the Qur’an take precedence over the earlier ones if there is any disagreement between the two.

ANNIKA: Since 9-11, Islam has been referred to as "the religion of peace" in the West. Would you characterize Islam as the "religion of peace"? And could you explain how you came to this understanding.

SPENCER: No, Islam is not a religion of peace. It is the only religion in the world with a developed doctrine, theology and legal system mandating warfare against unbelievers. Of course, there are many millions of Muslims who have no interest in pursuing any of this, but those who do can and do claim the mantle of Islamic authenticity. I came to this understanding through study of Islamic texts and teachings.

ANNIKA: Western Islamic experts as well as some Muslims, advocate for reformation (modernization) of the Koran. After all, other monotheistic religions from the Middle East have grown and changed over time. Do you think that Islam can be modernized? And if so, how?

SPENCER: It will be very difficult, since the Koran claims for itself many times that it is the perfect and unalterable word of God. Islam could only conceivably be modernized by an explicit rejection of Koranic literalism.

ANNIKA: What is your opinion on the said secret archive of ancient Islamic texts, claimed to have surfaced after 60 years of suppression (Andrew Higgins' Wall Street Journal Report (The Lost Archives)). Are they real?

SPENCER: I haven’t seen them, but I see no reason why they wouldn’t be real. Islamic apologists frequently claim that there are no variant Koranic texts, and that this is a manifestation of the divine protection of the Koran, but this is factually false. There are already some known variants. There is no reason why more couldn’t be discovered.

ANNIKA: Is there any empirical evidence that Mohammed did in fact exist?

SPENCER: No. The earliest biography of him dates from 150 years after his death. The Koran contains almost no details about him. It is possible that he himself was cobbled together from traditions about other people, in order to give the new Arab religion a founding and unifying figure.

ANNIKA: There is relative "anarchy" in the clerical system (Ulemas) and it is difficult to identify a real hierarchy or organization. Is it Al Azar in Egypt, Mecca, Nadjaf, Qom? Where are the central places of Islamic influence? What power do they hold, and for whom?

SPENCER: There is no single hierarchy with one head, a la the Catholic Church. Rather, there are centers of scholarship – Al-Azhar for Sunnis, Najaf and Qom for Shi’ites – and centers of piety – holy cities such as Mecca. All are influential, but no single voice can command the loyalty of all the Muslim faithful. In Islamic theology there is a premium placed on ijma, or consensus: an agreement among the scholars gives great weight to a particular teaching. And unfortunately, there is consensus among the classical scholars on the necessity of jihad warfare against unbelievers.

ANNIKA: European integration problems are not racial in nature but rather symptomatic of a clash between civilizations. Do you agree with this statement?

SPENCER: Yes. They have nothing to do with race, and everything to do with the Islamic supremacist ideology that regards European culture and civilization as inferior and to be supplanted by Islamic Sharia.

ANNIKA: As a group, Muslims who immigrated to Europe often collide with each other (Turks/Arabs, Kurds/Turks, Arabs/Maghrébins, etc.). Why do you think this happens? After all, they share the same religion.

SPENCER: Sure, but a religion is one thing, and how it is received and lived out in the life of any given individual is quite another. There are many loyalties and priorities in everyone’s life. These conflicts stem from cultural and political conflicts back home, which are being imported into Europe.

ANNIKA: Was there ever in history, groups of Muslims who willingly integrated and adopted the cultural standards of a non-Muslim host nation?

SPENCER: No.

ANNIKA: What will the future hold for Europe? And do you have a message for our European leaders on a long term approach for the harmonious integration of Muslims?

SPENCER: Europe will be Islamic by the end of this century, as Bernard Lewis has predicted, unless European leaders reverse their present policies on many issues. European leaders will ultimately find that Muslims in the aggregate will reject harmonious integration on any terms except the full implementation of Islamic law in Europe.

ANNIKA: Thank you, Mr. Spencer, for having taken time to answer us. It is a privilege to interview you….

And thank you, Annika and everyone at drzz, for the opportunity.

Jihadist excoriates Zardari for "flirting" with Palin

So...You come here often?

No Fun In Islam* Alert: "Fatwa against Zardari for 'flirting' with Palin," from NDTV, September 29 (thanks to PRCS):

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari seems to be heading towards fresh trouble as the prayer leader of the Lal Masjid in the heart of Islamabad has issued a fatwa against him.

Maulana Abdul Ghafar, the prayer leader, seems to be irked by Zardari's "you're gorgeous" compliment to US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin during a meeting.

When Zardari was asked to keep shaking hands with Palin for the cameras, he said, "If he's (the aide) insisting, I might hug you."

He said the act was un-Islamic and unbecoming of a head of state of a Muslim country.

Maulana also said that Zardari shamed the entire Pakistani by publicly making indecent gestures towards Palin in Washington last Thursday....

*It was the Ayatollah Khomeini who enunciated the famous principle, "There is no fun in Islam."

The Hijab as aphrodisiac

Not "a symbol of oppression" but "a representation of culture and choice"

Naomi Wolf, self-styled infidel-defender-of-the-hijab seems to be influencing other infidel women about the wonders of Islamic wear. The problem, however, is when non-Muslims, as this writer, begin conflating the logic for wearing the hijab with everything else Islamic.

"Modesty in dress has real value for women," by Stephanie Floyd for Fredericksburg.com, September 28:

In the Sept. 7 article titled "Cover-up: Of Muslim women and Western fashion," Naomi Wolf states that we as a nation need to understand that the Islamic way of dressing is not intended to suppress sexuality, but to embody "a strongly developed sense of its appropriate channeling--toward marriage and the bonds that sustain family life."

I admit I used to be one of the people who looked away awkwardly when approaching a Muslim woman dressed in veils. Because to this veiled woman, who was I? A promiscuous hellion raising chaos in my arm-baring shirts, that's who.

After all, what could a conservative woman covered, quite literally, from head to toe have in common with me?

Indeed, what could she?

After reading Wolf's article, I understand that it's this kind of attitude that has led people astray, and I thoroughly agree with Wolf when she says we must get over our "Islamophobia."

What a profound jump! From talking about Muslim women's attire to insisting that we stop "fearing" an ideology that unambiguously condemns, wages war on, subjugates, and treats as inferior all those who do not subscribe to it. Agreeing to the hijab is one thing; agreeing to the jihad something entirely different.

We have to start accepting women's veils or chadors, not as a symbol of oppression, but as a representation of culture and choice.

To say wearing more revealing clothing represents freedom is ridiculous, especially when a woman might choose to dress more conservatively to feel comfortable.

Again, whatever plausibility these observations may have, they have nothing to do with those other issues -- jihad, dhimmitude, sharia -- that do lead to "Islamophobia."

Muslim women declare that their chadors liberate them from "intrusive Western stares."

With young women in our nation shamelessly flaunting themselves these days, it leaves little to the imagination--which, as Wolf says, actually reduces libido in men.

So while covering up may symbolize culture or religion for Muslims, maybe a modicum of modesty for us Western gals wouldn't be such a bad idea, either.

Why stop there? Maybe wife-beating (Koran 4:34) and polygamy (Koran 4:3) wouldn't be such bad ideas either for you "Western gals"? (Just providing the logical extension of these observations, not my own opinion, mind you.)

Muslim Obsession interviewee throws Obsession under the bus, calls it "Satanic"

The audacity of BS

Khaleel Mohammed, a professor at San Diego State University and a popular "moderate Muslim," goes around the country reassuring Jewish audiences by telling them that in the Qur'an Allah gives the land of Israel to the Jews. And it does say that. One key verse is 5:21, which promises Israel to the Jews conditionally: “O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah hath assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin.”

This sounds great, of course: it suggests that Muslims who fight against Israel are ignoring their own holy book, and that once this verse and others like it are pointed out to them, they will accept the existence of Israel. And it also suggests that the vast majority of Muslims, because of this verse, have no problem with Israel at all.

Unfortunately, the Qur'an also says that the Jews, through their disobedience to Allah, have earned Allah’s curse (2:89, 9:30). Those who are accursed forfeit whatever Allah has given them. Meanwhile, the true followers of Moses's genuine, uncorrupted teachings are the Muslims, and so they are the ones who inherit the promises about Israel.

But that part of the Qur'anic message doesn't make it into Khaleel Mohammed's presentations.

Also, a few years ago Khaleel Mohammed said this about me: "He misquotes verses of the Qur'an, takes things out of context, and shamelessly lies." Since I do not misquote verses of the Qur'an, take things out of context, or shamelessly lie, I contacted him and asked for either documentation of his charges or a retraction. (I also responded to his false charges here.) He refused to retract, even though he did not (and could not) produce even one example of my misquoting verses of the Qur'an, taking things out of context, or shamelessly lying. And he compounded matters by responding: "As for shameless lies, I stand by my assertion, especially after received material in which you claim Muhammad married his daughter in law etc."

In reality, I did not fabricate this "claim," and I am sure that Khaleel Mohammed is well aware of this. The notorious incident of Muhammad's marriage to his former daughter-in-law Zaynab, far from being a "shameless lie," is a well-known and much-discussed element of Islamic tradition. You can read about it in this section of my Jihad Watch Blogging the Qur'an series.

Anyway, Khaleel Mohammed burnished his credentials as a "moderate" by appearing in Obsession, and for several years now since the film originally appeared he seemed perfectly happy to have done so. Even when it was shown on Fox, as far as I can tell Khaleel Mohammed uttered not a word of demurral or protest (if he did actually issue a statement at that time and I have overlooked it, please send it to me and I will correct this). But now that 28 million copies of the film have been distributed all over the country and it has a higher profile than ever before, Khaleel Mohammed has discovered that it is a "vile piece of propaganda," and has apologized for appearing in it. The apology appears on the Obsession with Hate website about which Marisol recently wrote here.

In an exclusive statement for obsessionwithhate.com, Dr. Khaleel Mohammed, the only Obsession interviewee who is an Islamic Studies Professor, delivers a new lethal blow to the film's credibility, exposing what many already knew:

“Sadly, it would seem that I have allowed myself to be used. I gave an interview to the makers of “obsession” wherein I explained the meaning of Jihad, and its misuse by extremists. I understood that the film would be used objectively, focusing on fanatics who seek to spread violence. I am aware that there is a disclaimer at the beginning of the film that says it is not about Islam in general, but only about extremist interpretations.

"But the material from some of the speakers gives the lie to the disclaimer: many of them are not experts, or have used the mantle of academic qualifications to purvey hate. That their alarmist drivel should be mixed with my whittled down interview proves that the intent of the film is not to educate, but to mislead. The free distribution of the film to voters in particular districts shows the political chicanery that is the motive, and the secrecy about the financing of the distribution only underlines the evil intent in circulating this vile piece of propaganda.

"Evidence seems to indicate the involvement of Aish ha-Torah in this dishonest enterprise. I find that particularly distressing, because any Jewish organization ought to realize what the film seeks to do: they demonize an entire community to the point where a government takes action to further beleaguer its citizens and resident aliens simply because of their religious identity. This bigotry over religion and identity is precisely what caused the Shoah — and it is sad that those who ought to have learned what hate can engender should seek to imitate Nazi propagandism.

"Yet — for all the nefarious intent of the distributors of the film — I must also accept culpability for allowing myself to be so used. I still oppose many of the traditional interpretations of Islam—but that has nothing to do with the film Obsession. I cannot stand by silently and allow my participation in such satanic demonization of innocents. I apologize to my fellow Muslims for appearing in such a film. I apologize to my Jewish teachers and friends-- who have warned me time and again about falling into such a situation—for not heeding their counsel. And I expect now that those who support the film will make me their target. But again: I am no diplomat, and I love a good fight. I am obsessed with the truth. Let’s get it on. “

The audacity of Khaleel Mohammed's BS never ceases to amaze me. For one thing, he says here, "I explained the meaning of Jihad, and its misuse by extremists," when he must know, if he knows anything about Islamic theology, that all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence agree that jihad mainly means warfare (by various means, violent and nonviolent) against unbelievers in order to subjugate them under the rule of Islamic law. And when he says that the film demonizes an entire community, he is ignoring large sections of the beginning and end of the film, where the film plainly states that most Muslims have nothing to do with the jihadist program, and other elements within it -- including Khaled Abu Toameh's assertion that his religion has been "hijacked," which is presented without contradiction.

And then comes his most audacious bit of BS: "And I expect now that those who support the film will make me their target. But again: I am no diplomat, and I love a good fight. I am obsessed with the truth. Let’s get it on.“ Obsessed with truth? This is a man who misrepresents the Qur'an to Jewish audiences; who has smeared me and my work with false charges that he refuses to retract; and who is either unacquainted with or deliberately deceptive about one of the most famous incidents in Muhammad's career. Obsessed with truth? Obsessed with obscuring it, maybe. Obsessed with destroying it, fine. But obsessed with presenting it? Not Khaleel Mohammed.

So, Dr. Mohammed: I gladly accept the challenge you issued to those who support the film, and am ready to debate you about Obsession, the meaning of jihad, the Jews in the Qur'an, and the life of Muhammad and his marriage to his former daughter-in-law. Or if you'd like to frame the debate in some other way, I am open to your suggestions. I'm happy to see that you have changed your tune from your contemptuous and inaccurate description of our earlier exchanges that still stands here, in which you refuse to discuss substantive issues with me. I look forward to hearing from you at director@jihadwatch.org, and will cheerfully publish your response. I love a good fight too. "Let's get it on" indeed.

Sheikh Qaradawi: Shia are Heretics

Muslim reformer

The so-called "reformist" sheikh continues demonstrating that his views are as traditional as only Sunnism can be: "Egyptian sheik's outburst against Shiites roils Mideast," by Jeffrey Fleishman for the LA Times, September 27:

Sunni cleric Yusuf Qaradawi calls Shiites heretics trying to invade Sunni nations, tapping into anti-Iran anxieties. Shiites express dismay at the remarks amid Iraq war and efforts to forge unity.

CAIRO — A popular Sunni Muslim cleric with a television show and a website that churns out religious edicts and dieting tips agitated centuries-old animosities in the Islamic world recently by referring to Shiite Muslims as heretics seeking to invade Sunni societies.[...]

"Shiites are Muslims but they are heretics and their danger comes from their attempts to invade Sunni society," said Qaradawi, who was quoted in the Egyptian independent daily Al Masry al Youm. "They are able to do that because their billions of dollars trained cadres of Shiites proselytizing in Sunni countries. . . . We should protect Sunni society from the Shiite invasion."

Those opinions were first published Sept. 6. Since then, Qaradawi, a man with a polished voice and a gray beard who hosts a show on Islamic law on TV channel Al Jazeera, has been chastised by Shiite scholars and writers in what has turned into a war of polemics and personal attacks played out on websites and in newspapers from Doha to Cairo.

Qaradawi's statements are dangerous and may "push the Muslim people in the direction of more division," Ayatollah Mohammed Taskhiri, vice president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, was quoted as saying in the Iranian press. The Tabnak News Agency, which is close to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Council, condemned the comments as a "calculated conspiracy against Iranian Shiites."

Another leading Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah of Lebanon, said Qaradawi was instigating fitna, or civil strife.

The protests have not fazed Qaradawi; he has appeared more defiant.

After all, when you're right, you're right -- right?

"I do not care and I am not shaken by this stir. I made this statement to answer to the dictates of my conscience and religion and responsibility," he said in a second interview with Al Masry al Youm published Thursday. "I am trying to preempt the threat before it gets worse. If we let Shiites penetrate Sunni societies, the outcome won't be praiseworthy. The presence of Shiites in Iraq and Lebanon is the best evidence of instability."

Qaradawi is a prominent moderate cleric, but he has grown skeptical of Shiite intentions. Two years, ago he suggested that Shiites were using the mystical Sufi order of Islam as a cover to penetrate Sunni society. His most recent volleys undercut efforts by Islamic leaders to ease religious tensions, and raise questions about his motivations. Much of the funding for Qaradawi's Qatar-based media enterprises comes from Sunni nations uneasy over Iran's widening influence in the Persian Gulf.

Abul-Fazel Amoee, an Iranian political scientist, said Qaradawi had become an instrument of anti-Shiite propaganda orchestrated by Sunni royals. He said this parallels the "deep rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the stage of this competition or ideological battle today is the field of Iraq."

Sectarian differences should "not be handled by exchanging outlandish and fanatical statements. I'm talking about both sides -- Qaradawi and the Shiites," said Abdel Moati Bayoumi, a religious scholar and member of Egypt's Islamic Research Academy. He said divisions between Sunnis and Shiites, which began as a fight over succession after the death of the prophet Muhammad in the 7th century, would weaken Muslim states and serve foreign interests.

Qaradawi's attacks on Shiites received both support and derision in cyberspace, where Islam's internal battles and other dilemmas, such as relations with the West, are increasingly debated. The website for Arabic Radio of Iran was buzzing with posts.

"O, Qaradawi, may God guide you to the right path. Your statements, which don't follow any logic, sow the seeds of sectarianism," wrote Ahmed Noaimi, a Shiite from Bahrain. "Sunnis and we are brothers in Bahrain. I don't know why this war against Shiites; we are Muslims at the end. Why are you making such a statement instead of calling for the unity of both sects? Use your brain, respected sir."

Another respondent, Abu Idris, wrote: "May God protect the respected sheik. He was patient toward what the Shiites have been doing until he felt he had to yell in their faces and draw the attention of their rational people to the danger of what they are doing in the Muslim world."

Ramadan bombings in Iraq kill 32

Ramadan: The month of jihad. "Ramadan bombings kill 32 people," from Agence France-Presse, September 29 (thanks to Twostellas):

FOUR bombs killed at least 32 people and wounded scores in busy districts of Baghdad overnight as Iraqis shopped and broke their fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, police said.

A car bomb exploded in a car park in central Baghdad's busy Karrada shopping district, followed quickly by a roadside bomb nearby. The double strike killed at least 19 people and wounded 72, police said.

A short time earlier a bomb exploded in a parked car in Baghdad's Shurta neighbourhood in the early evening, killing at least 12 people and wounding 35, police said.

At about the same time another bomb attached to a car in the nearby Hay al-Amil neighbourhood killed one person....

Obama goes to war against freedom of speech

"See those Islamophobes, Barack? It's time to call out the Thought Police!"

By now a gazillion sites have posted this from the State of Missouri's site, "Gov. Blunt Statement on Obama Campaign’s Abusive Use of Missouri Law Enforcement." What interests me most about it is the eerie parallel between the Obama camp's activity here and the Organization of the Islamic Conference's efforts to stifle all criticism of Islam and destroy the freedom of speech -- also by means of legal intimidation, at the UN and elsewhere.

No, I am not saying that Obama is a closet Muslim Manchurian candidate. I am saying that if he values free speech so lightly, as this episode suggests, it is not at all beyond the realm of possibility that once he becomes President he will acquiesce to the OIC attempts to criminalize criticism of Islam, and pressure the Supreme Court (to which he will probably appoint several key members) to declare a "hate speech" exemption to First Amendment protections. Then it will effectively become illegal to discuss the motives and goals of the jihadists, and to strategize about ways to resist them -- because the OIC and American Islamic groups assail all attempts to do that as "hate speech." "Hate speech" is in the eye of the beholder, and "hate speech" laws are tools by which the powerful can silence criticism from the powerless. In this case, the Islamic groups have already made themselves abundantly clear that any examination of the jihadists' use of Islamic texts and teachings to justify their actions is what they consider "hate speech." Thus if what is labeled "hate speech" about Islam becomes a criminal offense, so will resistance to Islamic supremacism.

But if this were to become an actual live possibility, Americans would rise up and fight for their freedoms, right? I hope so. Yet all too many Americans don't seem to understand or care about the importance of free speech nowadays, and of course no one supports "hate speech" in the first place -- so once the OIC frames the analysis of the jihad threat in terms of "hate," as American Muslim groups do endlessly, the ability to discuss, analyze, understand, and defend ourselves against the jihadist threat will be severely damaged if not utterly destroyed.

Will it happen? I hope not. I pray not. But can it happen? After reading this story out of Missouri, I am beginning to wonder if just maybe it can -- although just days ago I was discussing all this with an attorney, who assured me that precedents protecting free speech in American law are very thick on the ground, and will be hard to overturn. In fact, he maintained that they would be impossible to overturn.

Still -- is this speculation, and that is certainly all that it is, really that far beyond the realm of reasonable possibility? Already those who discuss the jihad threat in its full dimensions honestly and openly are ostracized, marginalized and vilified. If Candidate Obama is willing to have people arrested when they say things about him that he doesn't like, will President Obama have the vision or courage or understanding to stand up against the OIC when it demands restrictions on freedom of speech at precisely the same time that he wants to build bridges to the Islamic world and demonstrate his power to restore hope and bring change to old stalemated conflicts? So maybe a few greasy Islamophobes get silenced, fined, arrested, imprisoned, whatever. What's the big deal? Peace, and the expansionist and supremacist agenda of the Religion of Peace, will then march on unimpeded.

JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Matt Blunt today issued the following statement on news reports that have exposed plans by U.S. Senator Barack Obama to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics.

“St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill have attached the stench of police state tactics to the Obama-Biden campaign.

“What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.

“This abuse of the law for intimidation insults the most sacred principles and ideals of Jefferson. I can think of nothing more offensive to Jefferson’s thinking than using the power of the state to deprive Americans of their civil rights. The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election.

“Barack Obama needs to grow up. Leftist blogs and others in the press constantly say false things about me and my family. Usually, we ignore false and scurrilous accusations because the purveyors have no credibility. When necessary, we refute them. Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts - not a free society.”

Slapstick Jihad triumphs again at the UN Human Rights Council

Comments by David G. Littman (representative to the UN of the Association of World Education and the World Union of Progressive Judaism):

Once again, Egyptian Counsellor Amr Roshdy Hassan cowed into conformism all the Members of the Human Rights Council by using slapstick jihad ad hominem attacks on NGOs in order to combat truth. This performance was the latest in a series of attempts to silence speakers, as we described in earlier reports:

UN Human Rights Council: Any mention of the word “sharia” is now taboo

UNHRC: Something is, indeed, rotten in the State of … the Council

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03dOu-DNLec

It is worth recording these histrionics by Egypt’s delegate -- speaking for his country, and sometimes for the Arab League, the African Union or the OIC, as it would be quite impossible to imagine any such a performance being allowed at the United Nations.

We are reproducing our statement in full, and an exact transcript of what was said on 23 September by the Egyptian delegate, whose intimidation prompted the president to rule our statement ‘out of order’ later, thus setting a dangerous precedent at the HRC.

In the context, our written statement to the final, 62nd session of the Commission is pertinent: General Comments on the Human Rights Commission and a future Council
-- “A riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”: E/CN.4/2006/NGO/1, here.

In it, we referred to ad hominem attacks, under the heading: Freedom of speech: end personal attacks on Special Rapporteurs and NGO representatives, quoting Argentine Ambassador Leandro Despouys, chairman of the 57th session of the CHR who, in his statement to the plenum on 12 April 2001, referred to the ‘Main Rules and Practices’ (articles 11 and 16 of the paper: E/CN.4/2001/CRP.1), covering ad hominem attacks on Special Rapporteurs, and also NGO representatives. His appeal was understood and noted by all on that occasion. We also quoted, in that text, a remarkably pertinent recommendation by the Libyan chairperson of the 57th session, Ambassador Najat A-Hajjaji, when she addressed Special Rapporteurs, Representatives and Independent Experts, and others, at the 10th session (23-27 June 2003). This was after the close of the Commission when she had warned all at the 1st meeting that she would not tolerate personal attacks on speakers; this followed an appeal we had made to her publicly (at a prior meeting with NGOs) to condemn all ad hominem attacks on NGOs. She did.

Speak freely as you have done in the past. Continue to do so in the interest of truth, of justice, irrespective of the pressure that is brought to bear upon you by Governments. Even if what you say is contrary to the interests of the Government, there are thousands, millions of victims, who look upon the Commission, the special procedures, as the conscience of humanity… Stand firm, let nothing stand in the way of truth.

The UN webcast links to our 23 September statement and the interruptions (7½ mins)

1) David G. Littman reading AWE’s statement during 2½ minutes before the President stopped him on a ‘point of order’ by the delegate of Egypt (Member State of the CHR):

http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/conferences/unhrc/ninth/hrc080923am-eng.rm?start=00:25:05&end=00:27:32

2) Egyptian Counsellor Amr Roshdy Hassan’s 2 minute slapstick jihad performance -- followed by the Nigerian President’s appeal to follow the “golden rule” (2½ minutes), which we mistakenly understood to be a diplomatic defence of “freedom of speech”.

http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/conferences/unhrc/ninth/hrc080923am-eng.rm?start=00:27:41&end=00:32:10

3) DGL given the floor again, but then ruled “out of order” by the President (30 sec.).

http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/conferences/unhrc/ninth/hrc080923am-eng.rm?start=00:32:10&end=00:32:44

4) See also the full report by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). http://www.iheu.org/node/3290.

* * * * *

Act 2 will follow, with a similar performance concerning two more Egyptian points of order – first to halt the statement of Roy Brown for the IHEU on a charge of hatred,
immediately followed by another rant against the statement by Rabbi François Garaï (World Union for Progressive Judaism), read by DGL just after him, as next speaker.

* * * * *

The two other texts, delivered by DGL for AWE, to which Mr. Hassan referred -- on Gaza/Hamas and “violence against women” -- are reproduced in full below, at the end.

United Nations Human Rights Council. 9th Session (8 to 24 September 2008).

Item 9: Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia (defamation of religions) Tuesday (about 12:15 a.m.) 23 September 2008

Statement by the Association for World Education. Speaker: David G. Littman
[The words in square brackets – not pronounced during the 3 minute statement]

This text contains the original statement indicating what was actually pronounced by the speaker; what was originally in smaller type and in square brackets as further documentation; the ‘point of order’ by Egypt; and the two interventions by the Nigerian President of the Council.

Everything in italics is a verbatim transcript of what was said by the representative of Egypt and by the president. [Comments by the speaker follow in square brackets.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you Mr. President.

On the subject of Racism, many may remember the words of contrition by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the genocide in Rwanda, delivered here on 7 April 2004 to the 59th Commission:

[“We must never forget our collective failure to protect at least 800,000 defenceless men, women and children who perished in Rwanda 10 years ago…we must all acknowledge our responsibility for not having done more to prevent or stop genocide.”]

Rwanda was a flagrant case of genocide, but also of racism and ethnic cleansing.

As an example, a similar horror is now taking place in a region of Africa known to all [Darfur not ‘pronounced’ -- to avoid a ‘point of order’] and this may well become a Council litmus test: Two months ago, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) filed a request for an indictment against the president of that State: for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. To those charges we would add the term ‘racism’.

Sir, we regret that the number of omissions on different forms of racism covered in the last Report of the Special Rapporteur [A/HRC/9/12] cries out. “Islamophobia” -- covering three pages -- is again the main theme. “Christianophobia” only merits one page and grave cases of xenophobia in the Arab-Muslim world are simply linked to “evangelical groups”, despite rampant discrimination and a mass Christian exodus from Middle Eastern countries, especially from Iraq [that is well-documented by UN bodies and many competent NGOs who are deeply concerned by this tragic religious cleansing of historic dimensions]. [See: “Egypt”, U.S. Department of State: Inernational Religious Freedom Report (19/9/2008): www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108481.htm]

In his final report, Mr. Doudou Diène only touches on Antisemitism / “Judeophobia” in Europe and South America, referring vaguely to…. “Africa”. Yet, despite a mass of documentation he makes no mention whatsoever of this endemic indigenous phenomenon in the Arab-Muslim world that is being nourished by a general ‘culture of hate’, steadily growing in Europe and beyond. It is confirmed by all reliable sources – very recently by the PEW group [Research Centre].

[A recognised expert on racism, Director of Research at the CNRS in Paris, Pierre-André Taguieff, has described this in great detail in three books in French: La Nouvelle Judéophobia (Paris, 2002) ; Prêcheurs de haine: Traversée de la judéophobie planétaire (Paris, 2004); L'Imaginaire du complot mondial. Aspects d'un mythe moderne (Paris, 2007)]

As an example, sir, we have here a 12,000 word article -- an English translation from Arabic -- of a major work by Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi. It speaks volumes on The Children of Israel in the Qur’an and the Sunna. Clearly, many of the States [the 57 OIC countries] that, since 1999, have co-sponsored the resolution “Combating defamation of …(*)

[Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, The Children of Israel in the Qur’an and the Sunna / Banu Isra’il fi al-Qur’an wa al-Sunna (Cairo: Zahraa’ lil-l’laam al-‘Arabi, 1986-87), pp. 107-26, 129-46), in Andrew G. Bostom (ed.) The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History, New York: Prometheus Books, 2008, pp. 33; pp. 391-401].

* First interruption by the President

The President (Ambassador Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi: A point of order from Egypt:

Egypt (Counsellor Amr Roshdy Hassan, speaking in English):

Mr. President, it is never my intention to dignify this statement with a comment. I just thought to share with the Council what the speaker has repeatedly said to our delegation that he is grateful for us…for drawing attention to his statements. That’s why his statements are being delivered – to get attention. And we all know what attention means … and what for the attention….

[This is an ad hominem attack with an allusion to some kind of benefit. In fact, DGL had jokingly ‘thanked’ Egypt’s ambassador for the ‘media attention’ provided on 16 June by his Counsellor.]

Mr. President, here in the Council, we’re here to promote religious freedom. We can discuss religious freedom, but we cannot discuss religion. We cannot discuss the basic tenets of religion. I argue that except for the distinguished representative of the Holy See, nobody in this Council is qualified to discuss theology. So if we go in analysing the statements made by Sheikh Al-Azhar [i.e. Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi] -- I don’t think the speaker or even me can make this analysis, and I don’t think this is a part of the item we are discussing today. And we have here said repeatedly, and the next statement
[the Egyptian delegate pointed toward the list of NGOs on the screen, indicating the World Union for Progressive Judaism for which DGL was listed to speak -- reading a statement by Rabbi François Garaï] … we have the same statement read before. We have heard the same speaker three days ago calling this Council a Commission…
[He is alleging that DGL said ‘Commission’, instead of ‘Council’] so we are just recycling our old statements or redelivering the statements we delivered repeatedly.

[On 18 September (16th plenary, p.m.), the speaker had read a text under item 7 (on Gaza and Hamas) for AWE’s main representative, René Wadlow; and on 19 September (17th a.m.), he delivered a statement under item 8 for AWE on “violence against women” (on FGM, “honour killings”, death by stoning, disfiguration of women by acid, marriage of female children). Neither statement had anything to do with the “racism” / “defamation of religions” subjects under item 9.]

Really, we should find something more interesting to do in life, like find a hobby or grow a moustache or something. [Mr. Amr Roshdy Hassan is easily recognizable by his girth and a thick black moustache].This will be beneficial, but we cannot tolerate this abuse of the time allocated to NGOs. We welcome NGO participation in the work of this Council, but we do not welcome anybody trying to waste our time. I am sorry, Mr. President, but I will have to insist that the statement just read is ‘out of order’.

The President (speaking in English):

I thank the distinguished representative of Egypt for his statement, and I would agree with you that we are not Imam, Bishop, Archbishop, except you wear the title. And I always, as a person, and I’ve made this very clear from day one, that I think we must learn to be humble and modest and professional in the way that we conduct our business. We cannot speak on a high moral pedestal and look and think that we are more human than the other person, and think that you hold a monopoly of knowledge and of truth over matters that are entirely not within your own purview. So please, I would once again like to make it clear that we should try to treat each other with some respect, and we can afford to be decent, we can afford to be respectful of the beliefs and values of every single person in this hall. This is a human rights Council. It’s a Council dedicated to the protection and defence of the right of every single individual in this hall. And as the distinguished [Archbishop] Desmond Tutu said the other day…we are not just… we are God-carriers -- please, we carry God in our person , we carry dignity in our person; whether you are black, whether you are white, whether you are a man, whether you are a woman, whether you are abled or disabled, is totally irrelevant .

[The President is referring to the15th plenary meeting on 18 September (a.m.) when Archbishop Desmond Tutu had referred to man and woman being made in the image of God – a reference to the passage in Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” This was during his oral statement, without notes, that can be seen on the UN webcast, whereas the extranet source only has his formal text on Gaza.]

So, please, may I implore you once again, there is need for decency, there is need for decorum, there is need for respect and there’s need to treat me as you would like to treat yourself. I think this is the bottom line. This is not a new philosophy, this is not a new dogma; every culture on earth has this. It’s not the preserve of any one group or person or individual. And I hope, please, that we will regard this as a very humble contribution and a view and a position which I take very seriously and very passionately. I thank you. I give the floor back to the distinguished David Littman.

Speaker: Thank you, Mr. President, for your words of wisdom.
Clearly, many of the States [the 57 OIC countries] that, since 1999, have co-sponsored the resolution ‘Combating defamation of religions’ [-- adopted on 18 Dec. 2007 by the UN General Assembly --] overlook repeated cases where Islamic clerics defame other religions. A recent case is very typical and there was no apology after an Al-

Second interruption just before the speaker reached the word,“Al-Jazeera”

President: I’m afraid that I shall have to rule that “out of order”.

Speaker: [astonishment shown on his face] Sir? [DGL gathers his papers and expresses surprise, declaring aloud: “this will go down in the history of the Council” -- not filmed.]

President: And I give the floor next to the representative of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies.

[The reference to the Al-Jazeera interview contained not only a blatant defamation of both Judaism and Christianity, but also the following ‘opinion’ on what the president had just said, in referring to Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s reference to all of humanity being created in the ‘image of God’ (Genesis 1:27) – not accepted by Islamic thought].
Al-Jazeera interview:

Zaghloul Al-Naggar: "The things the Old Testament says about the creation of Man are completely wrong."
Interviewer: "For example?"
Al-Naggar: "It says there that Allah said: 'Let us create Man in our image.' This has corrupted people's concept of God. No creature can be in the image of its Creator."]
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1849.htm

http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD205508

[This final passages below could not be said and were excised from the extranet text.]

* * * * *

Al-Jazeera TV interview with a prominent Egyptian geologist and cleric, Dr. Zaghloul Ragheb. His crude defamation of Judaism and Christianity on 9 Aug. was blatant. On 28 August, an indignant presenter on Al-Hayat TV (Cyprus) criticized such double standards strongly: His words are in our text.

[“If a Christian said similar things [about Islam], the next day he would be led to the slaughterhouse.” MEMRI Video and Special Dispatch Series - No. 2055, 18 September 2008]

http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1849.htm

http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD205508

And there is no mention of the greatest of all defamations of religion -- when chapter and verse of holy texts are cited by Jihadists to justify their calls to kill in the name of Allah and of Islam. Is it not high time for the OIC to insert into its next co-sponsored resolution: ‘Combating Defamation of Religions’ a single phrase: -- “to condemn all calls to kill in the name of God or religion -- any religion”? Not to do so, would send a serious negative image throughout the world.

[See joint written statement: Appeal to Condemn all calls to kill in the name of God (A/HRC/6/NGO/5)]

* * * * *

Item 7: Human Rights Situation in Palestine & other occupied territories (Gaza)
Thursday (a.m.) 18 September 2008

Statement by the Association for World Education. Speaker David G. Littman

http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/conferences/unhrc/ninth/hrc080918pm-eng.rm?start=00:59:11&end=01:02:42

Thank you, Mr President, I am reading this statement for René Wadlow, our main representative.

The UN General Assembly has proclaimed [by Resolution A/61/L22] the Year 2009 as the International Year of Reconciliation “recognizing that reconciliation processes are particularly necessary and urgent in countries and regions of the world which have suffered or are suffering situations of conflict that have affected and divided societies in their various internal, national and international facets” . It stressed that “dialogue among opponents from positions of respect and tolerance is an essential element of peace and reconciliation.”

Gaza, under the administration of Hamas, is a classic example of a divided society – the division between Gaza and the West Bank, Gaza and Israel, Gaza and Egypt, and Gaza and the wider world.

For there to be a respectful ‘dialogue among opponents’, certain barriers must be removed as a sign of willingness to enter into negotiations. Some barriers are physical, some psychological, others ideological – together they prevent even the start of what, in the best of cases, will be long and difficult negotiations on the future of Gaza. The future of Gaza is unclear. It may be united to the West Bank as is now envisaged.
It could become an independent state with only economic ties to the West Bank, Israel and Egypt. This idea might become a real solution. Gaza’s future status is a key issue of future negotiations.

An important symbol of a willingness to enter into a reconciliation process and serious negotiations would be the renunciation of the Hamas Charter of August 1988 which refuses all negotiations and peace agreements and calls for the destruction of the State of Israel -- and a further genocidal call for the destruction of all Jews. The Hamas Charter justifies its positions through the use of conspiracy theories which undermines the spirit of fraternity and justice necessary for reconciliation.

There are at least 4 elements in the Hamas Charter which make a meaningful discussion impossible:

1) An unwillingness to enter into a Middle East peace process. “There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavours.” -- Article 13 [and the preface, with the notorious quotation from Hassan al-Banna]

2) An unwillingness to accept the continued existence of the State of Israel in contravention of Article 2 (4) of the 1945 United Nations Charter.

3) Article 28 of the Hamas Charter widens the circle of hate to include all Jews. “Israel, Judaism and Jews challenge Islam and the Muslim people. ‘Let the cowards never sleep.’”

4) The Hamas Charter justifies its positions through the use of conspiracy theories, most notably the century-old forgery, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. (Articles 22 and 32)

Full details are available in our various written statements. [A/HRC/S-1/NGO/4]

The months remaining before 2009 will still be a short time to set in motion reconciliation between those estranged by conflicts. Therefore, let us start now at this Council.

* * * * *

Item 8: Follow-up and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action: Integrating the human rights of women throughout the UN system / “human rights violation experienced by women.”

Friday (a.m.) 19 September 2008

Statement by the Association for World Education. Speaker David G. Littman

http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/conferences/unhrc/ninth/hrc080919am-eng.rm?start=01:16:15&end=01:19:35

Thank you, Mr. President, we wish to “address human rights violations experienced by women”(*), raising five issues that require concerted action at the international, national and local levels:

1. Female Genital Mutilation;
2. So-called “honour killings”;
3. Death by stoning;
4. Disfiguration of women by acid;
5. Marriage of female children.

FGM is a barbaric, ongoing crime which is creeping into Europe. Even in Switzerland the number of such mutilated young girls from immigrant families is now over 7,000. As we have indicated in previous sessions, the latest UNICEF figures indicate that about 3 million young girls are thus mutilated each year in 32 countries, 29 of which are Member States of the OIC. We wish to highlight the useful work of WADI, an NGO working in Iraqi Kurdistan. Our detailed written statement: For background, see our “Traditional or Customary Practices” /Female Genital Mutilation. [E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/NGO/27; and also Sara Corbett, “A Cutting Tradition”, New York Times, Sunday Magazine, 20 January 2008]

Our 2nd example is “honour killings”, which are on the increase worldwide and should be condemned and criminalized and not accepted as a social, tribal or religious anomaly. This “custom” is also increasing in Europe, even among second generation immigrants. All States should strive to eliminate it from their societies.

[As an example, 10 years ago there were a reported 300 cases of honour killings in one province of Pakistan alone (see Mufti Ziauddin “Status of Court Cases for Murdered Women; and BBC film, Home programme, 8 April 2000.) On 28 April 2000, President Musharraf declared that “The Government of Pakistan vigorously condemns the practice of so-called ‘Honour Killings’ and that such actions do not find any place in our religion or law.” Yet this murderous practice seems to be on the increase in Pakistan (and elsewhere – even in Europe in certain communities). It must be criminalized and the law strictly applied.]

Thirdly, the stoning of women for alleged sexual misconduct still occurs regularly in certain States that need not be named again. How can this be “justified”?

Fourthly, another practice where tribal concepts of “honour” is concerned is the equally barbaric crime -- practiced in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, parts of India, and elsewhere -- of throwing acid in the face of young women. This “custom” is also “justified” when some men believe that their “pride” or “honour” has been wounded by the rejection of a marriage arrangement, a courtship, or a dowry considered insufficient. The information available here comes from Dr. Guiseppe Losasso, an Italian plastic surgeon, who has dedicated himself to operating on such cases (47 women so far) and founded a courageous Association, “Smile Again” [Ridare Un Volto: Dignita Speranza]. Last Sunday he spoke movingly in Florence on this woeful subject.

The last example is the medieval-like marriage of girl children as young as 9 years old – sometimes even at 8, as was described in a recent NYT report. Three months ago the Iranian Noble Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi, speaking in Geneva, strongly denounced the fact that in Iran a girl is considered an adult and liable to punishment, even execution at 9 and a boy at 15. She rejects cultural relativism [Le Temps, 10/6/08]

We warmly welcome the recent decision of the President of the Human Rights Commission of Saudi Arabia, H.E. Turki K. Al-Sudairy, who recently described child marriage as a violation of human rights. He stated: “We call on all government agencies to take necessary steps to end the practice of child marriage by adopting a clear and unambiguous position on child and forced marriages.”

[“Human Rights”, Bulletin, Human Rights Commission, Saudi Arabia. Aug. 2008, Vol. 1, Issue 2, p. 8]

Mr. President we call on this Council to address these grave issues in a comprehensive resolution.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* At the 8th session of the HRC (16 June 2008), in a joint statement for AWE and IHEU, we were interrupted 16 times. Instead of three minutes, 1½ hours were taken up – half for a recess – before our oral statement on violence against women could be completed with the President’s approval.

U.K.: Islamic cleric warns of more attacks over Jewel of Medina after publisher was firebombed

An update on this story. "Radical Islamic clerics warn of further attacks after publisher is firebombed," by John Bingham for the Telegraph, September 28:

Hardline clerics said that further attacks would be "inevitable" if publication of the novel, The Jewel of Medina, goes ahead as planned next month.

Police moved in to arrest three men moments after a fire broke out at the London home and office of Martin Rynja in the early hours of Saturday.

The attack came days after Mr Rynja's company, Gibson Square, bought the rights to the book by the American writer Sherry Jones, which has already been likened to Sir Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses.

The novel, which focuses on the relationship between Mohammed and his child bride Aisha, was recently dropped from publication in the United States by the publishers Random House amid fears that it would anger Muslims.

Mr Rynja, who is described by friends as "taking on projects where others fear to tread" has published several books by controversial authors including Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian spy who was poisoned in London after becoming an outspoken critic of the country's prime minister and former president Vladimir Putin.

Buying the British and Commonwealth rights to the Sherry Jones novel last week, Mr Rynja described it as a "moving love story".

But the radical cleric Anjem Choudhary said the book was an insult to the Prophet Mohammed's honour, something he said would warrant a "death penalty" under Sharia law.

The attack on Mr Rynja's home in Lonsdale Square, Islington, north London, came in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Armed police accompanied by firemen broke down the door of the house after flames and smoke were seen.

It is believed officers had been expecting the attack and quickly moved in to arrest two men at the scene while a third was stopped at a nearby London Underground station.

The three men, aged 40, 30 and 22, were being questioned on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism last night.

The EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella whose 16-year-old brother Ben was stabbed to death earlier this year, lives in the square and was among those evacuated by police as part of the operation.

Other neighbours spoke of their terror at being awoken to see armed police in the square but praised the operation as professional.

But the radical cleric Anjem Choudhary, who lives in Ilford, east London, said he was "not surprised at all" by the attack and warned of possible further reprisals over the book.

"It is clearly stipulated in Muslim law that any kind of attack on his honour carries the death penalty," he said.

"People should be aware of the consequences they might face when producing material like this. They should know the depth of feeling it might provoke."

He denied any involvement in the attack but said he "understood" the feelings of the perpetrators.

"If the publication goes ahead then I think, inevitably, there will be more attacks like this - this is the thin of the wedge," he said.

Speaking from Lebanon, the radical cleric Omar Bakri, added: "If anybody attacks that man I cannot myself condemn it."

Sir Salman, who was made the subject of a fatwa by the Iranian leader Ayatolla Khomeini ordering his death in 1989 for publishing a "blasphemous" book, has spoken out in defence of The Jewel of Medina and suggested Random House had allowed itself to be intimidated.

Police were granted a warrant to continue holding the three men until Saturday at a brief hearing at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Sunday.

Somali pirates die strange deaths after boarding Iranian ship

Rand Simberg says that the symptoms correspond to those caused by radiation poisoning. "Pirates die strangely after taking Iranian ship," by Andrew Donaldson for the Times of Johannesburg, South Africa, September 28 (thanks to LGF):

A tense standoff has developed in waters off Somalia over an Iranian merchant ship laden with a mysterious cargo that was hijacked by pirates.

Somali pirates suffered skin burns, lost hair and fell gravely ill “within days” of boarding the MV Iran Deyanat. Some of them died.

Andrew Mwangura, the director of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme, told the Sunday Times: “We don’t know exactly how many, but the information that I am getting is that some of them had died. There is something very wrong about that ship.”

The vessel’s declared cargo consists of “minerals” and “industrial products”. But officials involved in negotiations over the ship are convinced that it was sailing for Eritrea to deliver small arms and chemical weapons to Somalia’s Islamist rebels....

Winning the lottery

It's Sunday afternoon. Relax. Enjoy this short. It has been floating around for awhile, but it still retains its punch. (Be forewarned: there are a couple of vulgarities in it.) And note the YouTube comments on it about the "hoax" of the war on terror -- as if there aren't people like these men in the world today.

Malaysia proposes convention on Islamophobia in U.S

The country that only recently had a fit because a concert performer was deemed "too sexy," that seized Christian books and arrested Americans who promoted Christianity, and that refuses to allow people the freedom to renounce Islam -- yes, this same nation wishes to educate Americans about "Islamophobia" and "religious tolerance."

More on this story. Wild-Hypocrisy-Alert: "Malaysia Proposes Convention On Islamophobia In U.S." from Bernama.com, September 26:

NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has proposed that a large-scale international convention sponsored by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) be held as early as next year to tackle the anti-Islam movement which is rearing its ugly head in several developed nations.

[...]

[Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim] hoped that the convention would be attended by influential people like leaders, department heads, intellectuals and non-governmental organisations which support religious tolerance.

"Malaysia hopes that another window can be opened for a more universal understanding of Islam to help in civilisation building," he said.

He said the United States was chosen as the venue for the convention because of the polemic on Islam in that country besides the wide media coverage that it would generate...

Syrian Foreign Minister on car bomb: the Zionists did it

As I predicted here.

"Syrian FM: Israel has most to gain from terror attack," by Roee Nahmias for Ynet News, September 28 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Saturday in response to the fatal attack in Damascus that "Israel is one of those who have the most to gain from this criminal act," Kuwaiti news agency Kuna reported.

Seventeen people were killed and dozens were injured in the Syrian capital Saturday morning when a booby-trapped car exploded on the road leading to the country's international airport.

"Unfortunately, in the years following the American war on terror, terror has spread even further. Such incidents can take place anywhere and do not indicate that there was a security breach.

"I can promise you that Syria's security forces will continue to stand guard for the citizens and the state," said Muallem, who is currently in New York for the United Nations General Assembly....

UK: Al-Qaeda actively recruiting prisoners for the "jihad against Britain"

Perfect candidates, too, since their "training" can be deemed nearly complete. More on radical Islam's appeal to "mischievous" men here.

"Al-Qaeda bid to recruit inmates," by David Leppard for Times Online, September 28:

AL-QAEDA terrorists have targeted 800 Muslim criminals they want to recruit for their “holy war” against Britain, say prison probation officers.

The officers believe that attempts have been made to convert one in 10 of the estimated 8,000 Muslims in the eight high-security prisons in England and Wales to the Al-Qaeda cause in the past two years.

The Ministry of Justice has begun a programme to persuade convicted terrorists to give up their cause. It is also trying to protect vulnerable Muslim inmates from violent extremists.

The ministry said this weekend that it had established a unit to tackle “the risks of extremism and radicalism in prison”.

The radicalisation is being led by some of the estimated 150 terrorist prisoners in England and Wales. The number of Muslim inmates has grown over the past decade to more than 10% of the jail population.

Most are young men, typically petty criminals serving two or three-year sentences for crimes such as burglary, theft, drug dealing or fraud.

Many are impressionable and feel aggrieved by what they see as mistreatment by the authorities. They are considered to be ripe for recruitment by Al-Qaeda.

One of the most notorious Al-Qaeda terrorists, Richard Reid, the “shoe bomber” who was convicted of trying to blow up a transatlantic jet in 2001 with explosives in his trainers, had served time as a petty crook before being radicalised.

[...]

An internal review of Whitemoor prison in Cambridgeshire, where almost a third of the 500 inmates are Muslim, warned that staff were struggling to deal with Muslim gangs. It said the staff feared that a serious incident was imminent.

In a report last April Anne Owers, the chief inspector of prisons, warned that prison officers at high security jails felt that they were “insufficiently trained and supported”.

The prison service has attempted to curb the growth of radical Islam by restricting communal prayers and the reading of the Koran during work breaks.

America as the last man standing

"In a generation or two, the US will ask itself: who lost Europe?"

Here is the speech of Geert Wilders, chairman Party for Freedom, the Netherlands, at the Four Seasons, New York, introducing an Alliance of Patriots and announcing the Facing Jihad Conference in Jerusalem (which I hope to be attending).

The speech was sponsored by the Hudson Institute on September 25.

Dear friends,

Thank you very much for inviting me. Great to be at the Four Seasons. I come from a country that has one season only: a rainy season that starts January 1st and ends December 31st. When we have three sunny days in a row, the government declares a national emergency. So Four Seasons, that’s new to me.

It’s great to be in New York. When I see the skyscrapers and office buildings, I think of what Ayn Rand said: “The sky over New York and the will of man made visible.” Of course. Without the Dutch you would have been nowhere, still figuring out how to buy this island from the Indians. But we are glad we did it for you. And, frankly, you did a far better job than we possibly could have done.

I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world. There is a tremendous danger looming, and it is very difficult to be optimistic. We might be in the final stages of the Islamization of Europe. This not only is a clear and present danger to the future of Europe itself, it is a threat to America and the sheer survival of the West. The danger I see looming is the scenario of America as the last man standing. The United States as the last bastion of Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe. In a generation or two, the US will ask itself: who lost Europe? Patriots from around Europe risk their lives every day to prevent precisely this scenario form becoming a reality.

My short lecture consists of 4 parts.

First I will describe the situation on the ground in Europe. Then, I will say a few things about Islam. Thirdly, if you are still here, I will talk a little bit about the movie you just saw. To close I will tell you about a meeting in Jerusalem.

The Europe you know is changing. You have probably seen the landmarks. The Eiffel Tower and Trafalgar Square and Rome’s ancient buildings and maybe the canals of Amsterdam. They are still there. And they still look very much the same as they did a hundred years ago.

But in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks away from your tourist destination, there is another world, a world very few visitors see – and one that does not appear in your tourist guidebook. It is the world of the parallel society created by Muslim mass-migration. All throughout Europe a new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighbourhoods where very few indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It’s the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their husbands, or slaveholders if you prefer, walk three steps ahead. With mosques on many street corner. The shops have signs you and I cannot read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These are Muslim neighbourhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe. These are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe, street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, city by city.

There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe. With larger congregations than there are in churches. And in every European city there are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is: we rule.

Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take Amsterdam, Marseille and Malmo in Sweden. In many cities the majority of the under-18 population is Muslim. Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim neighbourhoods. Mohammed is the most popular name among boys in many cities. In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer be mentioned, because that would also mean mentioning the pig, and that would be an insult to Muslims. Many state schools in Belgium and Denmark only serve halal food to all pupils. In once-tolerant Amsterdam gays are beaten up almost exclusively by Muslims. Non-Muslim women routinely hear “whore, whore”. Satellite dishes are not pointed to local TV stations, but to stations in the country of origin. In France school teachers are advised to avoid authors deemed offensive to Muslims, including Voltaire and Diderot; the same is increasingly true of Darwin. The history of the Holocaust can in many cases no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity. In England sharia courts are now officially part of the British legal system. Many neighbourhoods in France are no-go areas for women without head scarves. Last week a man almost died after being beaten up by Muslims in Brussels, because he was drinking during the Ramadan. Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and Netanya, Israel. I could go on forever with stories like this. Stories about Islamization.

A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe. San Diego University recently calculated that a staggering 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now. Bernhard Lewis has predicted a Muslim majority by the end of this century.

Now these are just numbers. And the numbers would not be threatening if the Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to assimilate. But there are few signs of that. The Pew Research Center reported that half of French Muslims see their loyalty to Islam as greater than their loyalty to France. One-third of French Muslims do not object to suicide attacks. The British Centre for Social Cohesion reported that one-third of British Muslim students are in favour of a worldwide caliphate. A Dutch study reported that half of Dutch Muslims admit they “understand” the 9/11 attacks.

Muslims demand what they call ‘respect’. And this is how we give them respect. Our elites are willing to give in. To give up. In my own country we have gone from calls by one cabinet member to turn Muslim holidays into official state holidays, to statements by another cabinet member, that Islam is part of Dutch culture, to an affirmation by the Christian-Democratic attorney general that he is willing to accept sharia in the Netherlands if there is a Muslim majority. We have cabinet members with passports from Morocco and Turkey.

Muslim demands are supported by unlawful behaviour, ranging from petty crimes and random violence, for example against ambulance workers and bus drivers, to small-scale riots. Paris has seen its uprising in the low-income suburbs, the banlieus. Some prefer to see these as isolated incidents, but I call it a Muslim intifada. I call the perpetrators “settlers”. Because that is what they are. They do not come to integrate into our societies, they come to integrate our society into their Dar-al-Islam. Therefore, they are settlers.

Much of this street violence I mentioned is directed exclusively against non-Muslims, forcing many native people to leave their neighbourhoods, their cities, their countries.

Politicians shy away from taking a stand against this creeping sharia. They believe in the equality of all cultures. Moreover, on a mundane level, Muslims are now a swing vote not to be ignored.

Our many problems with Islam cannot be explained by poverty, repression or the European colonial past, as the Left claims. Nor does it have anything to do with Palestinians or American troops in Iraq. The problem is Islam itself.

Allow me to give you a brief Islam 101. The first thing you need to know about Islam is the importance of the book of the Quran. The Quran is Allah’s personal word, revealed by an angel to Mohammed, the prophet. This is where the trouble starts. Every word in the Quran is Allah’s word and therefore not open to discussion or interpretation. It is valid for every Muslim and for all times. Therefore, there is no such a thing as moderate Islam. Sure, there are a lot of moderate Muslims. But a moderate Islam is non-existent.

The Quran calls for hatred, violence, submission, murder, and terrorism. The Quran calls for Muslims to kill non-Muslims, to terrorize non-Muslims and to fulfil their duty to wage war: violent jihad. Jihad is a duty for every Muslim, Islam is to rule the world – by the sword. The Quran is clearly anti-Semitic, describing Jews as monkeys and pigs.

The second thing you need to know is the importance of Mohammed the prophet. His behaviour is an example to all Muslims and cannot be criticized. Now, if Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa wrapped in one, there would be no problem. But Mohammed was a warlord, a mass murderer, a pedophile, and had several marriages – at the same time. Islamic tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies murdered and even had prisoners of war executed. Mohammed himself slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza. He advised on matters of slavery, but never advised to liberate slaves. Islam has no other morality than the advancement of Islam. If it is good for Islam, it is good. If it is bad for Islam, it is bad. There is no gray area or other side.

Quran as Allah’s own word and Mohammed as the perfect man are the two most important facets of Islam. Let no one fool you about Islam being a religion. Sure, it has a god, and a here-after, and 72 virgins. But in its essence Islam is a political ideology. It is a system that lays down detailed rules for society and the life of every person. Islam wants to dictate every aspect of life. Islam means ‘submission’. Islam is not compatible with freedom and democracy, because what it strives for is sharia. If you want to compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism or national-socialism, these are all totalitarian ideologies.

This is what you need to know about Islam, in order to understand what is going on in Europe. For millions of Muslims the Quran and the live of Mohammed are not 14 centuries old, but are an everyday reality, an ideal, that guide every aspect of their lives. Now you know why Winston Churchill called Islam “the most retrograde force in the world”, and why he compared Mein Kampf to the Quran.

Which brings me to my movie, Fitna.

I am a lawmaker, and not a movie maker. But I felt I had the moral duty to educate about Islam. The duty to make clear that the Quran stands at the heart of what some people call terrorism but is in reality jihad. I wanted to show that the problems of Islam are at the core of Islam, and do not belong to its fringes.

Now, from the day the plan for my movie was made public, it caused quite a stir, in the Netherlands and throughout Europe. First, there was a political storm, with government leaders, across the continent in sheer panic. The Netherlands was put under a heightened terror alert, because of possible attacks or a revolt by our Muslim population. The Dutch branch of the Islamic organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir declared that the Netherlands was due for an attack. Internationally, there was a series of incidents. The Taliban threatened to organize additional attacks against Dutch troops in Afghanistan, and a website linked to Al Qaeda published the message that I ought to be killed, while various muftis in the Middle East stated that I would be responsible for all the bloodshed after the screening of the movie. In Afghanistan and Pakistan the Dutch flag was burned on several occasions. Dolls representing me were also burned. The Indonesian President announced that I will never be admitted into Indonesia again, while the UN Secretary General and the European Union issued cowardly statements in the same vein as those made by the Dutch Government. I could go on and on. It was an absolute disgrace, a sell-out.

A plethora of legal troubles also followed, and have not ended yet. Currently the state of Jordan is litigating against me. Only last week there were renewed security agency reports about a heightened terror alert for the Netherlands because of Fitna.

Now, I would like to say a few things about Israel. Because, very soon, we will get together in its capitol. The best way for a politician in Europe to loose votes is to say something positive about Israel. The public has wholeheartedly accepted the Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the aggressor. I, however, will continue to speak up for Israel. I see defending Israel as a matter of principle. I have lived in this country and visited it dozens of times. I support Israel. First, because it is the Jewish homeland after two thousand years of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second because it is a democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of defense.

Samuel Huntington writes it so aptly: “Islam has bloody borders”. Israel is located precisely on that border. This tiny country is situated on the fault line of jihad, frustrating Islam’s territorial advance. Israel is facing the front lines of jihad, like Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines, Southern Thailand, Darfur in Sudan, Lebanon, and Aceh in Indonesia. Israel is simply in the way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.

The war against Israel is not a war against Israel. It is a war against the West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel, Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.

Many in Europe argue in favor of abandoning Israel in order to address the grievances of our Muslim minorities. But if Israel were, God forbid, to go down, it would not bring any solace to the West. It would not mean our Muslim minorities would all of a sudden change their behavior, and accept our values. On the contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous encouragement to the forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the demise of Israel as proof that the West is weak, and doomed. The end of Israel would not mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only the beginning. It would mean the start of the final battle for world domination. If they can get Israel, they can get everything. Therefore, it is not that the West has a stake in Israel. It is Israel.

It is very difficult to be an optimist in the face of the growing Islamization of Europe. All the tides are against us. On all fronts we are losing. Demographically the momentum is with Islam. Muslim immigration is even a source of pride within ruling liberal parties. Academia, the arts, the media, trade unions, the churches, the business world, the entire political establishment have all converted to the suicidal theory of multiculturalism. So-called journalists volunteer to label any and all critics of Islamization as a ‘right-wing extremists’ or ‘racists’. The entire establishment has sided with our enemy. Leftists, liberals and Christian-Democrats are now all in bed with Islam.

This is the most painful thing to see: the betrayal by our elites. At this moment in Europe’s history, our elites are supposed to lead us. To stand up for centuries of civilization. To defend our heritage. To honour our eternal Judeo-Christian values that made Europe what it is today. But there are very few signs of hope to be seen at the governmental level. Sarkozy, Merkel, Brown, Berlusconi; in private, they probably know how grave the situation is. But when the little red light goes on, they stare into the camera and tell us that Islam is a religion of peace, and we should all try to get along nicely and sing Kumbaya. They willingly participate in, what President Reagan so aptly called: “the betrayal of our past, the squandering of our freedom.”

If there is hope in Europe, it comes from the people, not from the elites. Change can only come from a grass-roots level. It has to come from the citizens themselves. Yet these patriots will have to take on the entire political, legal and media establishment.

Over the past years there have been some small, but encouraging, signs of a rebirth of the original European spirit. Maybe the elites turn their backs on freedom, the public does not. In my country, the Netherlands, 60 percent of the population now sees the mass immigration of Muslims as the number one policy mistake since World War II. And another 60 percent sees Islam as the biggest threat to our national identity. I don’t think the public opinion in Holland is very different from other European countries.

Patriotic parties that oppose jihad are growing, against all odds. My own party debuted two years ago, with five percent of the vote. Now it stands at ten percent in the polls. The same is true of all smililary-minded parties in Europe. They are fighting the liberal establishment, and are gaining footholds on the political arena, one voter at the time.

Now, for the first time, these patriotic parties will come together and exchange experiences. It may be the start of something big. Something that might change the map of Europe for decades to come. It might also be Europe’s last chance.

This December a conference will take place in Jerusalem. Thanks to Professor Aryeh Eldad, a member of Knesset, we will be able to watch Fitna in the Knesset building and discuss the jihad. We are organizing this event in Israel to emphasize the fact that we are all in the same boat together, and that Israel is part of our common heritage. Those attending will be a select audience. No racist organizations will be allowed. And we will only admit parties that are solidly democratic.

This conference will be the start of an Alliance of European patriots. This Alliance will serve as the backbone for all organizations and political parties that oppose jihad and Islamization. For this Alliance I seek your support.

This endeavor may be crucial to America and to the West. America may hold fast to the dream that, thanks tot its location, it is safe from jihad and shaira. But seven years ago to the day, there was still smoke rising from ground zero, following the attacks that forever shattered that dream. Yet there is a danger even greater danger than terrorist attacks, the scenario of America as the last man standing. The lights may go out in Europe faster than you can imagine. An Islamic Europe means a Europe without freedom and democracy, an economic wasteland, an intellectual nightmare, and a loss of military might for America - as its allies will turn into enemies, enemies with atomic bombs. With an Islamic Europe, it would be up to America alone to preserve the heritage of Rome, Athens and Jerusalem.

Dear friends, liberty is the most precious of gifts. My generation never had to fight for this freedom, it was offered to us on a silver platter, by people who fought for it with their lives. All throughout Europe American cemeteries remind us of the young boys who never made it home, and whose memory we cherish. My generation does not own this freedom; we are merely its custodians. We can only hand over this hard won liberty to Europe’s children in the same state in which it was offered to us. We cannot strike a deal with mullahs and imams. Future generations would never forgive us. We cannot squander our liberties. We simply do not have the right to do so.

This is not the first time our civilization is under threat. We have seen dangers before. We have been betrayed by our elites before. They have sided with our enemies before. And yet, then, freedom prevailed.

These are not times in which to take lessons from appeasement, capitulation, giving away, giving up or giving in. These are not times in which to draw lessons from Mr. Chamberlain. These are times calling us to draw lessons from Mr. Churchill and the words he spoke in 1942:

“Never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy”.

Blogging the Qur’an: Suras 49, “The Chambers,” 50, “Qaf,” 51, “The Winnowing Winds,” and 52, “The Mount”

"They will recline on Thrones arranged in ranks; and We shall join them to Companions, with beautiful big and lustrous eyes."

The late Medinan sura 49 begins by telling the believers how to behave in the presence of Muhammad (vv. 1-5). One may wonder why a perfect and eternal book that contains religious and ethical instruction that is valid for all time would contain a section that applied only to people who lived in the first generation of Islam, but the answer to this is implied by the instruction to Muslims not to put themselves forward in Muhammad’s presence (v. 1). This means, says Ibn Kathir, that they should “not rush in making decisions before him, rather, follow his lead in all matters.” After Muhammad’s death Muslims can do that by heeding their prophet’s directives as recorded in the authentic ahadith – a fact that traditional Muslims use to rebuke contemporary Muslims who declare that they follow the Qur’an alone.

Then verses 6-18 follow with more general instructions to the believers. They should not believe the report of a wicked person (v. 6). Muhammad is among them, and if he obeyed the believers’ every wish – instead of Allah’s commands – there would be trouble (v. 7). Believers should not fight against one another, but they should join together to fight against a rebellious group until it returns to Allah’s truth (v. 9): this is a principal justification for infighting among Islamic sects. The true believers, however, are a single brotherhood (vv. 10, 13) – one that transcends all other ties, including the national and even familial. Maududi explains that “the national and racial distinctions that cause universal corruption in the world have been condemned.”

Then follows the chastising of a group of Bedouins whose faith is imperfect; they are exhorted to obey Allah and Muhammad (v. 14).

Muhammad used to recite the Meccan sura 50 every Friday during his Friday sermon, and on Eids -- the festivals at the end of Ramadan and the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca. It begins with an oath -- “By the glorious Qur’an” (v. 1) -- but it is unclear who is swearing or what the oath is about. Ali suggests in a parenthetical note that it is an oath that Muhammad is a prophet: “By the Glorious Qur’an (Thou art Allah’s Messenger).” The Tafsir al-Jalalayn, in contrast, has it as an oath about the unbelievers: “By the glorious Qur’an, by the noble Qur’an, the disbelievers of Mecca have certainly not believed in Muhammad (s).”

But who is doing the swearing? Allah is according to Islamic doctrine the only speaker in the Qur’an, but it is curious that he the all-powerful deity would need to swear on things lesser than himself to establish his veracity. Yet such oaths proliferate in the latter part of the Qur’an (as it is arranged, not chronologically).

Verses 2-14 repeat again the wonders of the natural world as evidence of Allah’s power, and criticize the unbelievers for doubting the resurrection of the dead. Allah lists some earlier groups he destroyed – people who also rejected the resurrection and his messengers (vv. 12-14). Then follows a warning of the Day of Judgment and hellfire (verses 15-30). Each person is accompanied by two angels, one who records his good deeds and the other his bad deeds (v. 17). Those who reject Allah and worship other gods will be sent to hell (vv. 24, 26). The righteous, in contrast, will enter the gardens of Paradise (verses 31-35). Thus Muhammad should be patient (v. 39), for the Day of Judgment is coming (v. 42); the Qur’an is a warning (v. 45).

The Meccan sura 51 is a poetic meditation on the judgment, hell, and Paradise. Allah swears by the winds (v. 1) that what Muhammad has been promised is true (v. 5). The unbelievers are deluded (v. 9) and those who spread falsehood are accursed (v. 10) -- that is, those who scoff and ask when the Day of Judgment will come (v. 12). They will taste hell (v. 14), while the righteous will enjoy Paradise (v. 15), because they rose early to pray (v. 18) and gave alms to the needy (v. 19).

Verses 24-37 tell the story of Abraham’s “honored guests” – an account reminiscent of the visitation of the Lord and the “three men” to Abraham in Genesis 18. As in Genesis, the visitors tell Abraham that his wife will give birth to a son (v. 28), and she laughs derisively, as she is old and barren (v. 29). Then, also as in Genesis, the men go on to Sodom and Gomorrah, which are not named here, but are identified as a “guilty people” (v. 32) who will be destroyed (v. 33) after the righteous are evacuated (v. 35). Then follow more precedents of the destruction of unbelievers: Pharaoh (vv. 38-40); the people of ‘Ad (vv. 41-42); the people of Thamud (vv. 43-45); and Noah’s people (v. 46).

Verses 47-49 rehearse some of the signs of Allah in the natural world, and then in verses 50-53, Muhammad addressed the unbelievers. There is no indication, as there is in so many other places in the Qur’an, that Allah is telling Muhammad to say these things, and yet Muhammad speaks in the first person – making this another problematic passage for the Islamic belief that Allah is the sole speaker in the Qur’an. Then in verses 54-60 Allah reassures Muhammad, telling him to turn away from the unbelievers, and that it isn’t his fault that they don’t believe (v. 54). They will be punished on that dreadful Day (v. 60).

Sura 52 is also Meccan and deals with many of the same themes. Verses 1-28 deal with hell and Paradise. The unbelievers will be sent to the hell they denied (v. 14) and asked if the fire that is burning them is fake (v. 15). The blessed will enjoy the women of Paradise, who have “beautiful big and lustrous eyes” (v. 20), and will be joined by their families (v. 21). Ibn Kathir and the Tafsir al-Jalalayn agree that this has to do with the levels of Paradise: the believing children of pious people will be admitted to the levels their parents attained, even if they weren’t as pious. The righteous will also be served in Paradise by beautiful boys (v. 24). The Tafsir al-Jalalayn elaborates: “And there will circulate from all around them, for service, youths, delicate [in demeanour], of their own, as if, in terms of their beauty and immaculateness, they were hidden pearls, preserved inside shells, because when it [a pearl] is inside it, it is better than one that is not.”

Verses 29-48 excoriate the unbelievers, who accuse Muhammad of being demon-possessed (v. 29) and a poet (v. 30), and of fabricating the Qur’an (v. 33). But they can’t produce anything like it (v. 34). Did they create the heavens and the earth (v. 36)? Even if they saw a piece of the sky falling on them, they would say it was mere clouds (v. 44). So Muhammad should leave them alone (v. 45) and be patient (v. 48), for the unbelievers will get theirs on the Day of Judgment (v. 46).

Next week: Sura 53, "The Star": The real “Satanic verses” incident.

(Here you can find links to all the earlier "Blogging the Qur'an" segments. Here is a good Arabic Qur’an, with English translations available; here are two popular Muslim translations, those of Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall, along with a third by M. H. Shakir. Here is another popular translation, that of Muhammad Asad. And here is an omnibus of ten Qur’an translations.)

Wilders: "You have almost lost Europe. I think it's one minute to 12:00."

Yesterday I interviewed Geert Wilders, the courageous Dutch politician who produced Fitna, and I hope soon to put the interview up here. Meanwhile, he appeared on the Glenn Beck show, explained to him -- as I have said so many times -- that there is no moderate Islam, and "scared the living pant crap" out of Beck. From the September 25 Beck show (thanks to Mike):

BECK: Well, I know averting a complete economic meltdown is what everybody is thinking about tonight. But I want to talk to you a little bit about the "Perfect Storm."

And we`ve go to continue watching and talking about other pieces of that storm because they`re not going away because we`re not looking at them. In fact, they may even grow stronger or pounce because of our economic uncertainty.

One of those pieces in fact is probably the most important piece; it`s Islamic extremism. A couple of years ago, you might remember, we ran a one-hour special here on the program called "Exposed: The Extremist Agenda." It was one of the first times in America any of this stuff had ever been seen.

It showed video of terrorists targeting American troops. A video of young school kids calling Jews apes and pigs. A video of the propaganda used in the Middle East to incite hatred against America. It was one of the most talked about, most controversial and also one of the most highly- watched specials we`ve ever done.

Yet it hasn`t stopped those who, for whatever reason, just don`t want people to understand the type of people and the mind set that we are really dealing with that want to destroy us. Earlier this year, a Dutch politician, his name is Geert Wilders, he witnessed that firsthand when he released a documentary called "Fitna." His goal was to show the world the unthinkable depravity that the West is really facing.

But once again he was met with threats of violence. In fact, he`s on the studio now. And we have security all around the cameras. He was eventually able to get this video released on the Internet. But soon even that was taken down as the company that hosted the video received serious threats against their employees.

You want us to finally see what the controversy was all about? Here`s a quick clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]: The day will come when we will rule America. The day will come when we will rule Britain and the entire world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allah commanded us to spread this religion worldwide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will take over the USA! You will take over the UK! You will take over Europe! You will defeat them all! You will get victory! You will take over Egypt! We trust in Allah!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Geert Wilders is the leader of the Party for Freedom, a member of the Dutch Parliament and producer of "Fitna." Nice to meet you Sir.

GEERT WILDERS, CREATOR, "FITNA": Nice to meet, a pleasure to be on your show, Glenn.

BECK: You are a guy who`s marked for death. You come from the same country that Ayaan Hirsi Ali came from. You were in the same party as a matter of fact. You come from the country that Theo Van Gogh was stabbed to death in the street for saying these kinds of things. What is it that you need people to hear?

WILDERS: What I need people to hear is that the Islamization of our western culture, of Europe, maybe also of the United States, and is a real threat to everything that we stand for. It is a real threat to our freedom of speech and to our democracy because I believe that Islam is not just a religion. It`s a very dangerous and very harsh and violent ideology that at the end of the day, if the numbers become stronger, and they are already very strong unfortunately in Europe, it will kill everything that we stand for.

BECK: You don`t separate extremist Islam -- because I know a lot of Muslims that are peace loving -- I mean I have one of our correspondents on this program is a Muslim and he is -- he is dead set against what`s happening over there --

WILDERS: Also I make of course distinction between the Muslims and the ideology.

BECK: Ok.

WILDERS: I believe there is no moderate -- or there is no modern Islam. And there is only one Islam and that is a fascist ideology. However, of course, there are Muslims who are moderate and who want to assimilate in our society.

Unfortunately if you look at Europe today, the numbers are growing. We have a mass immigration from Muslim countries. And people are not there -- I call them colonists. They are not in our societies to assimilate or to integrate, but to take over, to submit us to the worst kind of thinking.

BECK: Your country has always been so proud that you can just get along with everybody. I mean, you guys -- I mean, nobody`s ever really had -- yet, you`re now having that welcoming attitude that, hey, let`s just all get along, really turned upside down on you.

WILDERS: Exactly, well, like you said, Glenn, we had this political murder in the streets of Amsterdam. We have Moroccan youths really acting like Barbars, and killing people, and assaulting people, and doing the most terrible things.

And the people in the Netherlands and the people throughout Europe are fed up with the fact that they are losing their country. They are losing their country to an ideology that is so far from our western values, from our dominant, and so far Christian-Judeo -- and values.

And people are fed up with it. And I`m here today in the United States. I had an excellent, very nice gathering just one hour ago at the Hudson Institute. And had spoken about that I hoped that the America will not be the last man standing. Because if they lose Europe, if they lose Europe to the Islam -- and it`s very close to it.

BECK: Well, we`re very great -- well you couldn`t even -- on the street where Theo Van Gogh was killed, correct me if I`m wrong, they put up just a -- kind of a billboard, painted wall that said "Thou Shalt Not Kill."

WILDERS: Yes.

BECK: That had to be taken down and covered up because it was hateful. True?

WILDERS: It`s true. And more terrible things happened --

BECK: So haven`t we already lost Europe?

WILDERS: You have almost lost Europe. I think its one minute to 12:00. And I think that we need a lot of support from the United States that it won`t come so far. That is why as 30 European politicians, we gathered in December in the Israeli Knesset as a lawmaker summit to show the world and to show Europe and even the Americans that we are not only a few mavericks, that there`s an enormous group of the European population that are fed up with the Islamization of the continent.

I want to be proud of our identity again, we want our neighborhoods, our streets, our countries, back to how it was in the past because the Islamization once again is nothing for the better. The Islam is a very violent culture, and backwardness culture and something that we should fight against and not assimilate in our society that we did so far.

And our political elite, the political elite in Europe, is acting like Chamberlain -- is appeasing to the people who really don`t to be at peace. Who don`t want to assimilate, who wants to kill everything.

BECK: I will tell you that I saw that American students were meeting with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and they said hey, he`s a man of peace.

WILDERS: He should be in jail in New York, not speaking to the United Nations. Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran is a butcher. He`s nothing from a leader. He is something that is threatening the world both by force, by ideology and he should not be here.

BECK: Thank you, sir. I appreciate it and we`ll be back in just a minute.

WILDERS: Thank you Glenn.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Wow, this has been a fun show, huh? The last guy scared the living pant crap out of me.

Well, it`s been a great week so far.

Christian Right guns down policewoman in Afghanistan

No, actually, it was the Taliban.

This story is yet another illustration of why no responsible American public figure would ever compare any individual or group to the Taliban. There is no Taliban of American politics, and saying that Sarah Palin or Pat Robertson or anyone else is "just like the Taliban" manifests a monumental willful ignorance and moral myopia. "Taliban kill top Afghan policewoman," from AFP, September 28 (thanks to JE):

Taliban gunmen have shot dead the most high-profile female police officer in Afghanistan as she left her home to go to work, officials and the militia have said.

The attackers were waiting outside the home of Malalai Kakar, head of the city of Kandahar's department of crimes against women, and opened fire on her car, Kandahar government spokesman Zalmay Ayoobi said.

Her son was said to be wounded in the attack.

"Today between 7 am and 8 am (local time) when she was [in her car] outside her house and going to her job, some gunmen attacked," Mr Ayoobi said.

"Malalai Kakar died in front of her house. Her son was wounded."

A doctor in the city's main hospital said Ms Kakar, in her late 30s, had been shot in the head.

A spokesman for the extremist Taliban movement, which targets government officials as part of an growing insurgency, said that the assassins were from his group.

"We killed Malalai Kakar," spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said.

"She was our target, and we successfully eliminated our target."

Ms Kakar, a mother of six, was regularly profiled in international media and was known for her courage in one of Afghanistan's most conservative provinces....

Proof that "Islam, a religion of mercy, does not permit terrorism"?

Here, once again, is an example of the flaws of Islamic apologetics, and why it's so easy to dismantle them: "What Does Islam Say about Terrorism," from Pakistan Daily, September 26:

A look at the various principles of Islam which show that Islam is truly a mercy to the world, and the indiscriminate violence and terrorism is not condoned by the religion.

Let's see if the following proofs support this rather categorical statement.

Islam, a religion of mercy, does not permit terrorism. In the Quran, God has said:

“God does not forbid you from showing kindness and dealing justly with those who have not fought you about religion and have not driven you out of your homes. God loves just dealers.” (Quran 60:8)

Now, let's invert 60:8 to 8:60 and see what the Quran says there:"Muster against them what fighting men and steeds of war you can, in order to strike terror in the enemy of Allah and your enemy." So, making the argument from the Quran is obviously out.

The Prophet Muhammad, may God praise him, used to prohibit soldiers from killing women and children...

As for all that, when asked if it was permissible to indiscriminately attack infidel strongholds in the cover of night, including setting fire to their fortifications and using catapults against them, even if women and children were sheltered there, Muhammad is said to have responded, "They [women and children] are from among them [infidels, i.e., the enemy]" and thus allowed the attacks, where women and children were killed; from the canonical hadiths of Sahih ("authenticated") Muslim B19N4321.

In light of these and other Islamic texts, the act of inciting terror in the hearts of defenseless civilians, the wholesale destruction of buildings and properties, the bombing and maiming of innocent men, women, and children are all forbidden and detestable acts according to Islam and the Muslims.

As we've seen, they are not; for every point this article raises and tries justifying from the sources, there are any number of counterpoints also from the same sources. Indeed, al-Qaeda justifies much of its actions -- terrorism, the killing of women and children when they are in the way -- straight from those counterpoints provided above. At any rate, the dividing line isn't what any one Quranic verse says, but rather how it has been articulated by the ulema and codified into sharia. And to discover this, the doctrine of abrogation is pivotal. While such one-dimensional works of apologetics such as this may suffice for the casual reader, those more acquainted with the religion -- Muslims and non-Muslims alike -- will always see right through them.

Four arrests in North London linked to possible "petrol bomb" attack on Jewel of Medina publisher

Eurabia Alert. "North London terror arrests linked to publication of Muslim book," by Andrew Alderson for the Telegraph, September 27:

The arrests are thought to be linked to a fire at a property in Islington, north London, which is used as the home and office of publisher Martin Rynja.

His company, Gibson Square, recently agreed to publish a controversial novel about the prophet Muhammad and his child bride, entitled The Jewel of Medina. The blaze, which led to people being evacuated from the house, may have been started by a petrol bomb pushed through the letter box.

Initially, three men, aged 22, 30 and 40, were detained at around 2.25 am this morning in the Islington area of north London after a fire at a property in Lonsdale Square.

Two were stopped by armed officers in Lonsdale Square, and the third was seized following an armed vehicle stop near Angel underground station.

Police are searching four addresses around north-east London - two in Walthamstow, one in Ilford and one in Forest Gate.

The men, who were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, are being questioned at a central London police station.

Later a fourth person, a woman, was arrested at a property in Ilford for allegedly obstructing the police, a spokesman for Scotland Yard said.

The police confirmed that there has been small fire inside the property in Lonsdale Square, which had to be put out. "At this early stage it is being linked with the arrests," the spokesman added.

Yard officials have refused to identify those arrested or give any information on the nature of the terrorist plot they are alleged to have been planning.

Residents in Lonsdale Square said armed police, assisted by fire-fighters, broke down the door of number 47 at around 2.30 this morning.

Francesca Liebowitz, 16, who lives five doors away with her parents, said: "The police couldn't get the door open so the fire brigade battered it down.

"There was smoke coming from around the door, but I don't know whether that was because of the door being broken down. They evacuated people from the house. It's a bit scary to have this happen on your doorstep, nothing like this has ever happened round here before."

A neighbour and friend of Mr Rynja said the company normally published books on current affairs, and said the publisher had never expressed concerns that his work might endanger his safety. A green hoarding covered the doorway to the four-storey town house this afternoon.

Bombing in New Delhi kills 1, wounds 18

"The bomb went off outside an electronics shop in the congested Mehrauli market in leafy south Delhi, when afternoon shoppers were out in full force buying for the upcoming Hindu festival season."

"One dead, 18 wounded in bombing in New Delhi," from Agence France-Presse, September 27:

One child was killed and 18 people were wounded Saturday in a bomb attack in a crowded shopping area in the Indian capital, police said.

The bombing came exactly two weeks after several markets in New Delhi were hit by deadly serial blasts claimed by an Islamist militant group called the Indian Mujahideen.

A young boy was killed instantly when he tried to return a bag containing the bomb to suspects who fled the market before the explosion, police said.

"Two young men in black denims, black T-shirts and wearing helmets drove a motorcycle to the market and the pillion rider dropped a polythene bag containing the bomb," deputy police commissioner H.S. Dhaliwal told reporters.

"A 10-year-old boy tried to help and return the bag to the riders but they sped away at high speed and the bag exploded, killing the child instantly," he said. "Eighteen others were injured, three of them critically."

The official said checkposts had been thrown up across the city to hunt for the attackers. There were no immediate reports of anyone claiming responsibility for the attack.

The bomb went off outside an electronics shop in the congested Mehrauli market in leafy south Delhi, when afternoon shoppers were out in full force buying for the upcoming Hindu festival season, and sent passers-by fleeing.

The area was quickly sealed off by police.

"It was lunchtime, and we heard a loud bang. There was smoke everywhere. People were on the ground," a local shopkeeper told AFP.

"I picked up three people, and there were ten other people with injuries on the ground," added Basant Kumar, another witness. "My brother was hit in the ear."

India is currently gearing up for the Muslim Eid al-Fitr celebrations marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan and the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, next month.

The attack came two weeks after bomb blasts in other New Delhi shopping areas that killed 24 people and injured at least 100.

Several other Indian cities -- Jaipur, Bangalore and Ahmedabad -- have also been hit by serial bombings since May, all of them claimed by the Indian Mujahideen.

Since the New Delhi attacks two weeks ago, Indian police have launched a major hunt for the suspected ringleaders of the shadowy group.

Over the past week, 11 suspected militants have been arrested and two more were killed in a dramatic shoot-out in a mainly-Muslim area of south Delhi.

The government also unveiled security measures to tackle what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said were "vast gaps" in intelligence gathering.

Car bomb kills 17 in Damascus

Sunni Muslim jihadists striking against the Alawite regime? Sunnis striking against Shi'ites? Or someone else? Whoever did this, in the Islamic media it will be blamed on the Zionists and Crusaders. "Killer car bomb hits Damascus," by Albert Aji for the Times Online, September 27:

A car bomb killed 17 people and injured 14 others on a crowded residential street in Damascus today, according to Syrian television.

It said a car packed with 440 pounds (200 kilograms) of explosives blew up on Mahlak Street, in a southern district of the Syrian capital close to the city’s international airport. . The charred remains of the car was shown by television in the street near a primary school as firefighters stood near a wide crater believed be caused by the blast....

Bassam Abdul-Majid, the Syrian Interior Minister, called the bombing a terrorist act and said all the victims were civilians. But he would not say who might have been responsible. “We cannot accuse any party. There are ongoing investigations that will lead us to those who carried it out.”

Such bombings are rare in Syria, a tightly controlled country where President Bashar Assad's regime has used heavy-handed tactics to crack down on dissent.

But over the last year, the country has witnessed two high-profile assassinations. Several explosions have also been blamed on Sunni Muslim militants opposed to Syria’s secular government.

Today's bombing was by far the largest to hit the capital in recent times. It shattered building and car windows and twisted the roof off one car, according to footage aired on Syrian television.

The explosion occurred at the intersection that leads to Saydah Zeinab, a holy shrine for Shia Muslims frequently visited by Iranian and Iraqi pilgrims about five miles (8km) away. A building used by the intelligence services is also located in the area, but cars are not normally allowed to park nearby....

"I was wearing my kippah and readily identifiable as a Jew; however, they screamed at me 'Nazi Raus.'"

The incomparable Diana West explains who were really acting like fascists at the Cologne rally: "Cologne's Speech-Killing Politico's Reek of 'Fascism'":

Readers of my blog (dianawest.net) know that over this past week, as a maelstrom of buffeting economic crises has sucked the air out of the news atmosphere, I have been all-but-transfixed by events unfolding in the German city of Cologne. With the unabashed fascination of the rubbernecker, I have watched in horror, combing online foreign press reports and a few favorite blogs (Brussels Journal, Gates of Vienna, Atlas Shrugs), as local authorities yielded their charge of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly -- indeed, yielded civic space and civic peace -- to a lawless band of violent leftists, who, in their weekend stint of mob rule, successfully prevented a political rally against the Islamization of Europe from taking place.

What's more, these same authorities, including the mayor of this fourth-largest German city (about 1 million people), yielded to the mob happily and with much self-congratulation. Indeed, Cologne Mayor Fritz Schramma called the episode "a victory for the city of Cologne and a victory by the democratic forces of the city."

Schramma may well count squelching peaceful political discourse with a violent mob as a victory for his city, but there is nothing "democratic" about it, or about the "forces" responsible. This twisting, weasel-use of language, however, is only one example of the campaign of disinformation waged against reality in Cologne this past weekend.

In brief, elected officials from several different countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy), politicians who campaign and win elections on the politically incorrect issue of resistance to the spread of Islamic law (Sharia), were invited to speak in Cologne.

Why Cologne? After a long and contentious battle, the city council last month narrowly approved the construction of a giant mosque complex funded by a group called the Turkish-Islamic Union to serve some portion of the city's 120,000 Muslims. While the American take on any house of worship going up is generally one of approval based on a straightforward belief in freedom of religion, in Europe, given the heavy influx of Islamic populations, there is a political and legal dimension to such mosque construction that we just don't recognize here. For example, Germany's Muslim population is largely Turkish; and it is Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is infamous for having said in 1998, "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers." Such a declaration of, well, religious war from someone who is now a head of state adds the threat of conquest to any serious mosque debate.

And that's not all. Earlier this year in Cologne, Erdogan declared before 20,000 cheering Turkish expatriates that "assimilation is a crime against humanity." On that same trip to Germany, the Turkish leader also proposed the German formation of Turkish-language schools. What's going on here? If Turkish assimilation is out, is Turkish colonization in? Isn't it the duty of politicians to debate these and other transformational questions within the political process? As a crossroads of Islam and Europe, as a frontline in the colonization of Europe, Cologne becomes the logical meeting-place for such a debate.

But it wasn't to be, not in "democratic" Cologne. As some 1,500 Europeans prepared to assemble to listen to the political opponents of Islamization make speeches last weekend, many more thousands of counter-demonstrators converged on the city specifically to deny rally supporters their right to assemble, and the politicians' right to speak. And yes, by whatever means necessary.

The thugs among the counter-demonstrators mounted a rock-and-bottle attack that shattered windows on a river boat plying the Rhine where the politicians attempted to hold a pre-rally meeting. They blocked urban trains in order to keep rally participants away. They ringed the city center with barricades (tolerated by German police), hurled paint bombs, lit fires and launched violent attacks on some of the participants who managed to draw near the rally location. One would-be rally participant, a Jewish man, sent in an account of his ordeal to Gates of Vienna, writing: "I was wearing my kippah and readily identifiable as a Jew; however, they (the leftist counter-demonstrators) screamed at me 'Nazi Raus.'" He reported they also shoved him, spit on him, and called him a fascist pig. "I was pummeled in the head several times and then shoved to the ground where I was beaten and kicked with steel toe boots in plain sight of police who did nothing." He later discovered he had a broken rib.

And yet, the consensus narrative, dutifully repeated in the mainstream European media, is that it is the silenced and hounded politicians and their supporters who are the "fascists"; while it is the silencers and hounders who are the "anti-fascists."

Such lies and distortions are probably what help convince our own media to ignore such events altogether as just so much marginal "extremism" going on somewhere in Europe. Anyway, how does it affect us? Nothing like that is happening here, right?

Yes and no. As in Europe, huge mosque complexes are opening across the States -- one very recently in Boston and another in Atlanta. Do they portend the extension and entrenchment of Islamic law in the United States? One difference between the United States and Europe is that we don't have street thugs enforcing a code of silence on the subject. That's because of the other difference: We don't have any political parties willing, or even able to discuss it.

Disgruntled Islamist group threatens Hamas: "Revenge is a right that must be fulfilled"

Trouble in paradise? "Pro-al Qaeda group vows to avenge deaths by Hamas," from Reuters, September 26:

GAZA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - A pro-al Qaeda Palestinian group vowed on Friday to avenge the deaths of nine of its members in clashes with Hamas police earlier this month, unless the Islamist group declares an Islamic state in the Gaza Strip.

Jaysh al-Islam, or the Army of Islam, said nine members were killed in clashes with Hamas policemen on Sept. 16 when the Islamist rulers of the Gaza Strip raided the compound of the militant Doghmosh clan.

"Revenge is a right that must be fulfilled," the Army of Islam said in a statement.

The group said it would forgive the Hamas security men who took part in the raid if Hamas implemented Islamic law in the Gaza Strip and declared an Islamic state there, giving Gaza's rulers a three-day ultimatum to meet its demands.

As if Hamas does not want to implement sharia. Unlike the brash upstart Jaysh al-Islam, Hamas is simply biding its time till the right moment.

It urged Hamas to stop targeting its followers.

Hamas is an Islamist group that distances itself from al Qaeda.

While many Gazans have become more outwardly religious under its rule, Hamas has not formally imposed Islamic law on the coastal territory, which it seized a year ago after routing Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri brushed aside the threats and said the raid was in response to the killing of a policeman by members of the Doghmosh clan.

"They want to impose extreme ideas on our people and we do not accept that," Abu Zuhri said.

For now.

"The Army of Islam is allowed to act against the Israeli occupation but it must stay away from internal affairs which is the job of the (Hamas) security services." (Writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Joseph Nasr and Andrew Dobbie)

Read: "Come on, guys, direct the jihad against the real enemy, infidel Israel."

Russia sending heavily-armed patrol ship to Somali coast to combat piracy

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!

And, lest anyone think Somali "pirates" have naught to do with jihad, this story says otherwise. "Russian Navy ship sent to combat pirates," by Scott Bevan for ABC News, September 26 (thanks to Sylvia):

The Russian Navy's central command has sent the patrol ship, Neustrashimy, to the coast of Somalia after pirates seized a Ukranian vessel in the region.

For the record, piracy as a jihadist activity has a pedigree at least as old as the Barbary conflicts with Europe and the new United States, and the Islamic slave raiding pirates vividly described in Giles Milton's book White Gold.

Navy spokesman Captain Igor Dygalo, says the Neustrashimy, which belongs to the Baltic Fleet, has been sent as part of Russia's aim to combat piracy.[...]

The patrol ship Neustrashimy left the Baltic Fleet's main base in Baltiisk on September 24 to ensure a naval presence in oceanic and maritime areas, Captain Dygalo said.

The number of attacks by Somali pirates on civilian vessels belonging to different countries has increased recently.

Pirates hijacked Ukraine's vessel Faina under Belize's flag en route to Kenya in neutral waters not far from Kenya's coast on Thursday (local time).

Some reports indicate that the Ukrainian ship was carrying military hardware, including nearly 30 T-72 tanks and spare parts for armoured hardware.

The patrol ship Neustrashimy is equipped with anti-submarine and air defence missile systems, a 100 millimetre artillery gun, torpedo systems and rocket-assisted bomb launchers.

"Pirates" be warned.

It also has a Kamov Ka-27 ship-based helicopter on board.

Muslims around the world demonstrate "expressing resentment of Israel's control of Occupied Jerusalem"

Feel the love

While thousands of Muslims in Iran and elsewhere are busy condemning Israel today, at least one imprisoned ayatollah is beseeching the aid of Rabbis. "Muslims around the world mark Al Quds Day," from Gulf News, September 26:

Tehran: Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied on Friday to join millions of Muslims around the world to mark Al Quds Day, according to media reports.

Press TV reported that a massive rally was held in Tehran in support of Palestinian people's rights. Many demonstrators carried banners expressing resentment of Israel's control of Occupied Jerusalem.

Demonstrations were also being held in Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, India, Indonesia and Bangladesh.

In Iraq, thousands of people staged massive demonstrations in key cities, including Baghdad and Basra.

Besides, it gives Iraqis a break from fighting each other.

In Indonesia, Muslim women rallied outside the US embassy in Jakarta to mark Al Quds Day.

Al Quds Day is held on the fourth Friday of Ramadan and is being observed to show support for Palestinians in Occupied Jerusalem.

Canadian jihadist plotting to behead prime minister found guilty; defense lawyer insists plot was simply "jihadi musings and fantasies"

Update to this story. "Canadian guilty in plot to behead prime minister," by Rob Gillies for AP, September 25:

A Canadian man accused of participating in military exercises and firearms training as part of a group authorities say plotted to storm Parliament and behead the prime minister was found guilty Thursday.

The man's attorney says the plot was a "jihadi fantasy" and that his client knew nothing about it.

Does this fit in the famous I-was-only-kidding jihadi line of defense?

A judge ruled Thursday that evidence of a terrorist group was "overwhelming." The man is the first person to be found guilty of a terrorist offense in Canada since the country enacted anti-terrorism laws in 2001.

The arrests of the 18 group members, known as the "Toronto 18," made headlines around the world and heightened fears in Canada, where people believe they are relatively immune from terrorist strikes.

Prosecutors said there were plans to truck-bomb nuclear power plants and a building housing Canada's spy service.

Seven of those arrested have since had their charges either withdrawn, or stayed. The trials of 10 adults, including the alleged ringleaders, have yet to begin. The young man was the first to go on trial.[...]

The defense had cast the plot as "musings and fantasies" with no possibility of being carried out.

Read it all.

From Rushdie to The Jewel of Medina: Islamic victory in the jihad against free speech

It was twenty years ago today. Kenan Malik explains "How the West was lost for free speech" in The Australian, September 26 (thanks to JE):

TWENTY years ago today, Salman Rushdie published The Satanic Verses. Four years in the making and supported by a then almost unheard of advance of $850,000 from his publisher, Penguin, Rushdie had hoped the work would cement his reputation as the most important British novelist of his generation. The book certainly set the world alight, though not quite in the way it was meant to.

[...]

Thanks to the fatwa, the Rushdie affair became the most important free speech controversy of modern times. It also became a watershed in our attitudes to freedom of expression. Rushdie's critics lost the battle; The Satanic Verses continues to be published. But they won the war. The argument at the heart of the anti-Rushdie case - that it is morally unacceptable to cause offence to other cultures - is now widely accepted.

In 1989, even a fatwa could not stop the continued publication of The Satanic Verses. Rushdie was forced into hiding for almost a decade. Translators and publishers were killed, bookshops were bombed and Penguin staff had to wear bomb-proof vests. Yet Penguin never wavered in its commitment to Rushdie's novel.

Today, all it takes for a publisher to run for cover is a letter from an outraged academic. US publisher Random House recently torpedoed the publication of a novel that it had bought for $US100,000 ($119,000) for fear of setting off another Rushdie affair. Written by journalist Sherry Jones, The Jewel of Medina is a racy historical novel about Aisha, Mohammed's youngest wife. Random House had sent galley proofs to writers and scholars, hoping for endorsements. One of those on the list, Denise Spellberg, an associate professor of Islamic history at University of Texas, condemned the book as offensive. Random House immediately pulled the book.

In the 20 years between the publication of The Satanic Verses and the withdrawal of The Jewel of Medina, the fatwa, in effect, has become internalised. Not only do publishers drop books deemed offensive but theatres savage plays, opera houses cut productions, art galleries censor shows, all in the name of cultural sensitivity.

"You would think twice if you were honest," said Ramin Gray, associate director at London's Royal Court Theatre when asked if he would put on a play critical of Islam.

"You'd have to take the play on its individual merits, but given the time we're in, it's very hard because you'd worry that if you cause offence then the whole enterprise would become buried in a sea of controversy. It does make you tread carefully."...

Dark times. Read it all.

Germany: Armed police storm passenger jet to arrest two jihadists who left suicide notes

Apparently they were ready to "kill and be killed" for Allah, as per Qur'an 9:111. "Armed police storm passenger jet to arrest two Somali terror suspects who had left suicide notes," from the Daily Mail, September 26 (thanks to R.B.):

German police have arrested two male terror suspects who left suicide notes on a plane that was just about to take off in Cologne.

The pair are suspected of wanting to take part in militant Islamic attacks. They were arrested this morning on a KLM airplane at Cologne airport that was heading for Amsterdam.

One of the men was a Somali and the other was a German born in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, a spokesman said. They were hauled out of the plane just before take off about 0455 GMT.

A KLM spokeswoman said on NOS news in the Netherlands that police boarded the plane when it was at its "point of departure" and grabbed the two suspects.

Everyone was then forced to leave the plane, and there was a "baggage parade" to see whose bags belonged to whom, she said.

Germany's top-selling Bild newspaper, citing police sources, said the two had been under observation for months and a suicide note was found in their apartment saying that they wanted to die for the "jihad" or "holy war."...

Anti-Obsession site rails against Spencer, Horowitz, who aren't in the film

Details are for "haters."

Longtime Jihad Watch reader PRCS kindly sent in a link to ObsessionWithHate.com, a site run by a "coalition" known as Hate Hurts America, whose members include CAIR, MPAC, and assorted private citizens who may or may not have known what they were signing up for -- after all, nobody likes hate, right?

As the name suggests, they're none too fond of Obsession, its makers, or those who appear in it. Nor are they fond, apparently, of David Horowitz and Robert Spencer, who are included on the far right (we're heard that one before, too) of the photo collage on OWH''s main page ... except they don't appear in the film. Oops.

OWH also complains that the Clarion Fund is not being forthcoming enough about its funding or the shady characters with deep pockets who are supposedly pulling the puppet strings behind the scenes. Though HHA does list its "coalition members," it also does not make available information about its founders or donors, and both sites are registered through Domains by Proxy. Therein lies a bit of a double standard.

The site includes the standard boilerplate about the "real Islam" -- that jihad is simply a generalized term for "struggle," that Islam respects and elevates women, and so forth, plus these two items, which may shed light on the agenda of the site (or may be sloppy copying and pasting -- or both). First:

"Islam is not a new religion. It is the same truth that God revealed to all His prophets throughout history. Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy and forgiveness."

And:

... Muslims believe in a chain of prophets beginning with Adam and including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus. God's eternal message was reaffirmed by each prophet and finalized by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on them all). A Muslim’s basic testimony of faith reads: "There is no deity but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God." By this declaration, a person announces faith in God and belief in the entire prophetic chain of God's messengers. God's eternal message was reaffirmed by each prophet and finalized by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on them all). A Muslim’s basic testimony of faith reads: "There is no deity but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God." By this declaration, a person announces faith in God and belief in the entire prophetic chain of God's messengers.

OWH also declares:

We believe the Media has an obligation to investigate this hate campaign and reveal its source of funding to the American people. We believe the presidential candidates have a responsibility to speak out against anti-American tactics that threaten to manipulate our election process...

You're going to reveal your funding sources, too, right?

India: 1,000 Muslims shouted, "set the train on fire and kill the Hindus"

What has long been suspected has, six years later, been confirmed: the Godhra train fire (2/2002) which burned some 60 Hindu pilgrims alive was, in fact, initiated by Muslim extremists. Hindus long assumed this, and went on a rampage against Muslims in the Gujarat district soon after the Godhra train incident. Ironically, Osama bin Laden used to point to this episode as evidence of non-Muslim hatred for Muslims (The Al Qaeda Reader, 27). Now the facts are clear. Once again, it was Muslims who cast the first stone.

"Mob of Muslims attacked train, says Nanavati Commission," by Manas Dasgupta for The Hindu, September 25:

GANDHINAGAR: The Nanavati-Mehta judicial inquiry commission on the Godhra train carnage has based its conclusion of it being a “pre-planned conspiracy” on the recorded evidence of over 100 witnesses, who claimed to having heard a crowd of about a 1,000 Muslims shouting “set the train on fire and kill the Hindus.” The report said “instigating slogans” were also made through loudspeakers from a nearby mosque to attack the Hindus.

The evidence recorded by the commission also claimed that a mob of Muslims attacked the train and stoned the coaches so heavily that the passengers could not come out. This was to ensure maximum casualties when the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express was “set afire.”

The commission in its 168-page report said the “conspiracy” was hatched by some local Muslims at the Aman guest house in Godhra the previous night. The conspirators immediately made arrangements for collecting about 140 litres of petrol from a nearby pump on the night of February 26, 2002, and the next day when the train arrived in Godhra, Hasan Lala after forcibly opening the vestibule between coaches S-6 and S-7 entered S-6 and threw burning rags setting it on fire.

[...]

The commission said the passengers of the train were attacked the second time some three hours after the stone throwing and burning incident when the train was being shunted to detach the two affected coaches. Two mobs of Muslims of about 700 people started pelting stones on the passengers waiting at the yard for the train to reassemble and resume their onward journey to Ahmedabad. The police had to open fire killing two persons and injuring one to disperse the violent mobs. This refutes the theory that it was an accidental fire, it claimed.

Israel to establish forum on global jihad threat

While the Europeans and the United States are busy denying that there even is a global jihad threat, Israel -- at least in this particular -- is much more realistic. "Global Jihad forum to be established," from the Jerusalem Post, September 25 (thanks to James):

The government has decided to establish a special forum that will deal with threats posed by international Jihad organizations to Israelis, in the country and abroad, Army Radio reported Thursday.

The Defense Ministry's Anti-Terror Bureau chief is expected to head the forum, which will have members from the Mossad, Shin Bet, IDF and other relevant security apparatuses.

The forum will convene at least once every two months, according to the number of threats, with the goal of assisting the collaboration of all the security forces in face of the growing warnings.

The security cabinet ministers approved the forum's establishment in the hopes that institutionalization of the cooperation and coordination between security and intelligence apparatuses would improve Israel's management of the global Jihad threat....

Pakistani troops fire at NATO

Even though the latter did not cross into Pakistan's airspace. Yet another Friend-and-Ally Update.

"NATO says Pakistani troops fired at their chopper," from AP, September 25 (thanks to jcb):

KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO says Pakistani troops fired at their helicopters patrolling eastern Afghanistan, but no damage is reported.

In a statement, NATO says its helicopters did not cross into Pakistan's airspace when they came under fire near Tanai district of Khost province.

The shooting follows a number of alleged incursions at the Pakistan-Afghan border in recent days. A drone believed to be operated by the CIA crashed inside Pakistan on Wednesday.

According to the original story, Pakistani "troops and tribesmen" shot it down.

Islamabad Marriott jihadists threaten to target all US Army facilitators in Pakistan

Will their friends in high places keep Pakistani authorities from moving effectively against them?

"Marriott attackers Fidayeen-e-Islam threaten to attack all US facilitators in Pak," from ANI, September 25:

Lahore, Sept 25 (ANI): The Fidayeen-e-Islam (FI), a terrorist outfit which claimed responsibility for the Marriott Hotel suicide blast in Islamabad last Saturday killing 60 people, has reportedly threatened to target every person facilitating the US Army in Pakistan....

Pakistani militants threaten more bombs, death, and destruction

Today's complaint is Pakistani support for US forces. Once every last Pakistani learns to despise and cease "supporting" the US (not even offering any lip-service), they can rest assured that the demands of the "militants" will morph into a new "grievance" -- until they get what they really want: a caliphate governing according to sharia.

"Pakistan militants threaten more bombs," by Chris Brummtt for AP, September 24:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A militant group that claimed to be behind the deadly Marriott Hotel bombing in Pakistan's capital threatened more attacks Wednesday, warning again that Pakistanis should stop cooperating with the United States.

In a cell phone message to reporters, the little known group calling itself "Fedayeen al-Islam" — "Islam commandos" — referred to the owner of the Marriott by name.

"All those who will facilitate Americans and NATO crusaders like (owner Sadruddin) Haswani, they will keep on receiving the blows," said the message, which was in English.

It was impossible to verify the identity of the group or say whether it was in a position to make good on the threat. Pakistani officials were not immediately available for comment.

The group demanded that Pakistan break with Washington in an earlier message that claimed responsibility for Saturday's truck bombing at the Marriott in Islamabad, a blast that killed 53 people and wounded more than 270.

Little or nothing is known about the group. Pakistani officials suspect al-Qaida or Taliban militants carried out the bombing.

[...]

In the latest violence, a suicide bomber killed an 11-year-old girl and wounded 11 troops and some children in the frontier city of Quetta, officials said.

Security forces supported by helicopter gunships killed 20 militants in a second day of fighting near the town of Khar in another border area, Bajur, officials said. Just north of Khar, a roadside bomb killed two pro-government tribesmen and wounded several others.

Militant warlords have established virtual mini-states in the tribal belt, levying taxes and enforcing strict Taliban-style social codes and justice.

On Wednesday, a so-called "Peace Committee" executed four alleged murderers in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, a witness said. Din Muhammed said members of the committee used mosque loudspeakers to summon a crowd before the four were shot.

Malaysia proposes convention on jihadists' use of Islam to justify violence -- no, wait...

Actually, they want a conference on "Islamophobia." But of course, if Muslims really want to end "Islamophobia" instantaneously, here's how they can do it:

1. Focus their indignation on Muslims committing violent acts in the name of Islam, not on non-Muslims reporting on those acts.
2. Renounce definitively not just "terrorism," but any intention to replace the U.S. Constitution (or the constitutions of any non-Muslim state) with Sharia even by peaceful means.
3. Teach Muslims the imperative of coexisting peacefully as equals with non-Muslims on an indefinite basis.
4. Begin comprehensive international programs in mosques all over the world to teach against the ideas of violent jihad and Islamic supremacism.
5. Actively work with Western law enforcement officials to identify and apprehend jihadists within Western Muslim communities.

If Muslims do those five things, voila! "Islamophobia" will vanish.

"Malaysia proposes convention on Islamophobia," from Bernama, September 25 (thanks to Nicolei):

NEW YORK: Malaysia has proposed that an international convention sponsored by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) be held as early as next year to tackle the anti-Islamic movement which is rearing its ugly head in several developed nations.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said Thursday that the OIC had asked Malaysia to play a major role towards rectifying the misconception of Islam within Western society.

He said this was conveyed to him by OIC Secretary-General Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu during their meeting on the sidelines of the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly here.

He told Malaysian journalists that the OIC was confident that Malaysia would be able to take the initiative to counter the misconception towards the Islamic nations because of Malaysia’s commitment and effectiveness in past endeavours.

He hoped that the convention would be attended by influential people like leaders, department heads, intellectuals and non-governmental organisations which support religious tolerance.

“Malaysia hopes that another window can be opened for a more universal understanding of Islam to help in civilisation building,” he said.

He said the United States was chosen as the venue for the convention because of the polemic on Islam in that country as well as the wide media coverage it would get....

Rally today to protest U.S. religious leaders honoring Iran's Thug-In-Chief

Unworthy of honor

I am speaking here in Los Angeles tonight and will be unable to attend this, but if you are in the New York area I hope you can. From the 925 Rally Coalition:

September 25 Rally to protest U.S. religious leaders honoring AHMADINEJAD at NYC Hyatt Hotel

Join us to raise your voice of conscience against religious appeasers of tyrant Ahmadinejad!

On Thursday, Sept 25, at 6pm in New York City at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, The American Friends Service Committee, Mennonite Central Committee, Quaker UN Office, Religions for Peace, and the World Council of Churches-UN Liaison Office will be honoring Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at an Iftar (dinner to break the day’s Ramadan fast). Other organizations, political leaders and media have also been invited. Read the Text of the Invitation.

These religious leaders are about to betray their brethren across all religions, parties, and countries by honoring the tyrannical regime of Ahmadinejad and the Iranian mullahs of this terrorist state.

At the same time, Women United, the Jewish Action Alliance, Stand With Us, Center for Security Policy, the Catholic League, the The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Alliance of Iranian Women and over 30 organizations of all faiths and political affiliations will hold an interfaith rally to counter this betrayal of principles, to protest Ahmadinejad’s presence at the United Nations, and to oppose Iran’s nuclear weapons program and outrageous threats against the USA and America’s ally, Israel. See the full list of participating organizations HERE , updated daily. UPDATE - RAIN OR SHINE, THE RALLY WILL GO ON! WEATHER REPORTS DAILY ON THIS PAGE…

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been invited to speak along with many other civic and religious leaders and politicians, both Democrats and Republicans.

Please join us at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, East 42nd St, near Lexington Ave and Grand Central Station in Manhattan, at 5:30pm. PLAN EXTRA TRAVEL TIME because the large number of attendees will affect traffic near the event.

Send a message to the Mullahs in Iran!

UK: Taxi driver wanted "violent jihad"

Where to, infidel dog?

Not quite Travis Bickle. Habib Ahmed reminds me of a cab driver I myself once encountered.

"Alleged terrorists wanted 'violent jihad,'" by Nicola Dowling for the Manchester Evening News, September 25 (thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist):

A MANCHESTER taxi driver was a secret member of al-Qaida who had a terrorists' "contacts book" with phone numbers written in invisible ink, a court was told.

Habib Ahmed, 28, of Cheetham Hill, attended a terrorist training camp in Pakistan and was funded in his activities by his wife Mehreen Haji, it was claimed.

A jury at Manchester Crown Court was told Habib Ahmed was called on to help conduct terrorist business in the UK and abroad by Rangzieb Ahmed, a 33-year-old Rochdale-born man who was an "important member" of al-Qaida.

It was claimed that the terrorists' contacts book belonged to Rangzieb Ahmed and that he gave it to Habib Ahmed.

The book was found when police secretly searched Habib's luggage as he flew back to Britain from Dubai.

The two men, who are not related, deny they were members of al-Qaida and have gone on trial along with Habib Ahmed's wife in a case which is expected to last up to three months.

Andrew Edis QC, prosecuting, said the investigation had involved the use of listening devices in a hotel room in Dubai and inside two cars in Manchester.

The jury was shown a series of documents including a flyer found at Habib Ahmed and Mehreen Haji's North Manchester home showing a picture of a sub machine gun under the heading "Jihad in Manchester?" - advertising an event with speakers at Longsight library.

Mr Edis said Habib Ahmed and Mehreen Haji had been interested in the idea of violent Jihad and had been married by Muslim cleric Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad who was the leader of the now defunct organisation al-Mujaharoun....

Somalia: Jihadists deliver on promise of more bloodshed during Ramadan

Somalia Jihad Update. "Death toll rises after attacks in Somalia," by Rob Crilly for the Irish Times, September 25:

SOMALIA: Islamist insurgents have launched a series of deadly attacks on African peacekeepers in the Somali capital as they made good on their promise of increased bloodshed during the holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses said at least 11 civilians were killed after gunmen attacked an African Union (AU) base on Tuesday. Peacekeepers responded with tank and artillery fire.

In all, some 42 people are believed to have died during a fresh round of violence in Mogadishu this week as peacekeepers find themselves targeted by Islamist groups which are growing in confidence.

The Mujahideens of Raskamboni said it was responsible for the attack. "It was a retaliatory attack against the African forces and it was the heaviest ever waged against them," the group's spokesman said.

Analysts believe it is an attempt to deter any further international interference in Somalia, where 3,000 African troops have struggled to make any difference so far.

It has made for a bloody month, even by Somalia's warped standards. Fartun Moalim Yusuf, whose sister was among the fatalities, said: "It was a horrible moment. We escaped from our house to hide in a concrete building nearby but unfortunately that did not save her. She was torn to pieces with five other civilians."

Insurgents have registered a string of recent successes against a feeble interim government and their Ethiopian backers. In recent weeks, they have changed tactics, replacing their usual hit-and-run strikes with sustained pressure.

Philippines: Government tries to ease tensions by allowing Islamic law in southern area, achieves the opposite

Thailand should take note, as a peace proposal aimed at ending the jihad in that country's southern provinces also includes the implementation of Sharia law. Not only is there no guarantee that it will help end the violence in the short term, it presents a continuing spiral of problems in the long run, from the treatment of non-Muslims to the inevitable conflict of parallel legal systems in one country. "All-out war looms between Muslim and Christian factions," by Cyril Payen, Solomon Kane and Louis Massie for France 24, September 24:

In the southern Philippines, fighting between religious militias has left at least 100 dead in the past month. An attempt by the government to ease tensions by allowing the dominant Muslims to enforce Sharia law has only resulted in more violence.

In Marawi City, the "Islamic Pearl" of the Philippines, Sharia law is the only rule. This was a concession by the government to Muslims aimed at easing the tensions between their community and Christians in the southern Philippines.

The move has had the opposite effect. For the past five weeks, the conflict between the army and Muslim rebels has escalated. Religious violence in the southern Philippines has left 100 people dead and 400,000 displaced in the past month.

The government has deployed 70% of its armed forces in the zone.

Not only "moderate," but apparently "radical" Islam is not all that bad

Based on this "open-minded" op-ed, apparently "liberal" thinkers are no longer content with separating Islam from "radical" Islam: now, we are told, radical Islam itself is "not monolithic," and that there are perhaps some nuanced forms of "radical Islam" that are infidel-friendly. More on this story. "Extremist Movie Influences Election," by Tim Fernholz, for the American Prospect, September 24:

Obsession, a controversial movie about terrorism funded by a right-wing organization, is now being distributed in swing-states to perhaps millions of voters. Muslim groups are calling for an investigation to determine if this is being done to influence the election. Short answer: It probably is.[...]

The film, such that I've seen, combines slow-mo footage of terrorist attacks and chanting terrorists with terrible analysis.

For instance, it conflates every vaguely related radical Islamist terrorist attack into one unitary war -- suggesting, for instance, the Beslan massacre in Russia was somehow connected to 9/11. And I thought we'd gotten past the idiotic monolithic theory of terrorism.[...]

Here's what we need to know: Radical Islam is not monolithic. It is not a clear and existential threat to the future of the United States of America...

Court rules that monitoring of Muslims was constitutional

A small victory.

"US court: Monitoring Muslims was constitutional," by Larry Neumeister for AP, September 24 (thanks to Doc Washburn):

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court says it was constitutional for the United States to require visitors from two dozen Arab and Muslim countries and North Korea to register with immigration authorities.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued its ruling Wednesday in cases brought by several men who claimed their constitutional rights were violated.

The program was put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It required males from 24 Arab and predominantly Muslim countries and North Korea to register.

The requirement has since been phased out, but the database of information still exists....

Revealed: Suspected mastermind of Islamabad Marriott jihad attack

Fox-like cunning

A member of Al-Qaeda's inner circle. "Pakistan: Suspected Marriott bombing 'mastermind' emerges," by Syed Saleem Shahzad for AKI, September 24 (thanks to C.C.):

Karachi, 24 Sept. (AKI) -- The alleged mastermind of last Saturday's deadly truck bombing of the Marriott hotel in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, has emerged.

The suspect, Qari Zafar (photo), has become part of Al-Qaeda's hardline Takfiri inner circle. He enjoys the protection of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud and is believed to be hiding out in the lawless South Waziristan tribal area of North West Frontier Province.

Zafar is not only the suspected mastermind of the Marriot bomb blast, but has created a network which will shortly target strategic installations belonging to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, military headquarters in Karachi and police stations across the country, according to security officials.

"Zafar is behind the planning, arrangement of transportation and procurement of explosives for the attack against the Marriott Hotel on 20 September,” a top security source told Adnkronos International on Thursday on condition of anonymity.

"Some of his men have been arrested in Punjab which further confirms his involvement in the whole scheme,” the official added.

The connection to Zafar was established from phone numbers found on the mobiles of some of those arrested in Punjab.

According to security agencies, the chances of arresting Zafar are slim as he rarely moves from his alleged hideout in South Waziristan to visit the various cities of North West Frontier Province.

To most Pakistanis he is an obscure figure, and is considered by security agencies to be a ghostlike figure whose trail went cold after he managed to escape from custody last year.

But he is known to international intelligence services which credit him with fox-like cunning and great bravery when organising and carrying out attacks against identified targets....

Mickey Mouse can dismiss his bodyguards; Egyptian cleric says he's not an agent of Satan

Breathing easier

Good news! Mickey Mouse can come out from hiding. An update on this story. "Egypt cleric says Mickey Mouse is not agent of Satan," from AFP, September 24:

CAIRO (AFP) — An Egyptian Muslim scholar has called for an end to risible religious edicts after a Saudi cleric said Mickey Mouse was an agent of Satan who should die, local media reported on Wednesday.

Sheikh Mohamed al-Munajid, a cleric who often appears on Saudi television and who is also a former Saudi diplomat in the United States, said last week that mice were "agents of Satan" and should be killed.

"Sharia (Islamic law) calls for the extermination of all mice. That includes the rodents as well as 'the famous cartoon mouse'," he said.

He blamed Mickey Mouse for causing people to become soft on mice.

However, Suad Saleh, a woman preacher who hosts a popular television programme on fatwas, or religious edicts, told the English-language daily Egyptian Gazette that Munajid's ruling "tarnishes Islam's image."

"An edict should be based on knowledge, logic and reason," she said. "Yes, mice should be killed when seen according to Islam's teachings. But it is illogical to deal with a cartoon character as a live mouse and kill it."...

No kidding, really?

Muslim in UK was senior Al-Qaeda leader

Not quite loyal to the Queen

Did these two attend a mosque? Were their activities known to other Muslims in the UK? Does anyone know? Does anyone care? Has anyone considered the implications of the fact that no Muslim group turned them in?

"British Muslim was senior al-Qaeda leader, court told," by Duncan Gardham in the Telegraph, September 24:

A British Muslim was a senior al-Qaeda leader who kept a terrorist contact book containing telephone numbers and emails written in invisible ink, a court has heard.

Rangzieb Ahmed, 33, from Manchester is accused of directing terrorism between April 2004 and Aug 2006.

He allegedly travelled from Pakistan to Dubai where he met an associate in a hotel room to hand over three terrorist contact books containing telephone numbers and emails written in invisible ink.

The other man, Habib Ahmed, 28, flew back to Britain separately but his luggage was secretly opened as he passed through Schipol airport in Amsterdam and the alleged code books discovered.

The security services followed the men around Manchester where they watched them holding meetings and bugged Habib's taxi and another vehicle, the court heard.

Andrew Edis QC, prosecuting, told Manchester Crown Court: "The prosecution say that Rangzieb Ahmed was a member of al-Qaeda and an important member of al-Qaeda who was in a position to direct some of its activities."

He said Rangzieb had travelled to Dubai intending to travel on to South Africa but was diverted to Britain when something went wrong.

"He was travelling on important al-Qaeda business," Mr Edis said and Habib had flown out to help him.

The men's conversation in Dubai was secretly recorded and Rangzieb gave Habib a Filofax and two exercise books to carry back to Britain, the court heard.

"They contained information in invisible ink," Mr Edis said. "The prosecution say these books contained information of considerable importance to a terrorist which allows the terrorist to communicate secretly by email and telephone - a contact book for a terrorist."

From Dubai the men flew separately to Britain arriving around Christmas 2005, the court heard.

"During that time he held meetings with al-Qaeda contacts, assisted by Habib Ahmed.

"He was an important al-Qaeda man at that time and in this country and it was important for members of the organisation, including Habib Ahmed to help him," Mr Edis said. [...]

While in Pakistan, Habib's wife, Mehreen Haji, 28, sent a total of £4,000 in two payments, allegedly to support his activities.

The court heard that Rangzieb, who was jailed in India for seven years after illegally crossing the border, admits to being a member of the group Harakat ul-Mujahideen, described as a Kashmiri terrorist group, but denies being a member of al-Qaeda.

He was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, but spent most of his childhood in Pakistan after a family split and only returned to Britain after his release from jail in May 2001, leaving again three years later without telling his family where he was going....

Pakistani pol: US must hold talks with Taliban

"The solution, the bottom line, is that political stability will only come to Afghanistan when all political power groups, irrespective of the length of their beard, are given their just due share in the political dispensation in Afghanistan."

"US told it must hold talks with Taliban's Mullah Omar," by Isambard Wilkinson in the Telegraph, September 24 (thanks to Jeffrey Imm):

Owais Ghani, who governs the North West Frontier Province and its adjoining tribal areas, is the most prominent figure to date to publicly advocate holding talks with militant commanders leading the insurgency against coalition forces in Afghanistan.

His thinking reflects that of the conservative hardcore of Pakistan's military hardliners who are accused by Western intelligence operatives of supporting the Afghan Taliban as a "hedging policy" to maintain influence in Afghanistan.

"They have to talk to Mullah Omar, certainly – not maybe, and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the Haqqani group," Mr Ghani told The Daily Telegraph in an interview in Peshawar.

"The solution, the bottom line, is that political stability will only come to Afghanistan when all political power groups, irrespective of the length of their beard, are given their just due share in the political dispensation in Afghanistan."...

Misunderstander of Islam asks judge if he is misunderstander of Christianity

Well known as an extremist and fanatic

"We are well-known as extremists and fanatics, and there are also Christians and Jews that are very extremist." They don't fly planes into buildings or cut off heads, but never mind -- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has clearly learned how to play the moral equivalence games that will tug on Leftist heartstrings. Apparently he thinks he can get a more favorable judge than Kohlmann, and so is trying to get him disqualified.

"September 11 suspect grills U.S. judge on religion," by Randall Mikkelsen for Reuters, September 24 (thanks to Jeffrey Imm):

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - Accused September 11 architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed asked a U.S. military judge whether he belonged to an "extremist" religious group, at an unusual Guantanamo war-crimes court hearing on Tuesday

Mohammed, acting as his own attorney, asked Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann about his views on religion and torture at a pre-trial hearing of five accused September 11 co-conspirators.

"We are well-known as extremists and fanatics, and there are also Christians and Jews that are very extremist," Mohammed told the judge.

"If you, for example, were part of Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson's groups, then you would not at all be impartial toward us," he said, referring to U.S. evangelical Christian leaders who have denounced Islam as violent.

Kohlmann replied that he did not belong to a congregation. "When I have attended church, I was a member of various Lutheran churches and Episcopal churches, and I have not attended any of them for a long time because I have moved so often," the judge said.

Kohlmann dismissed as "inaccurate," an assertion by co-defendant Ramzi Binalshibh that he had a "Jewish name."

Kohlmann was also asked about how he followed news coverage on the day of the attacks and replied that his memory was imprecise. He also said he had no opinion on the facts of the September 11 incident, which triggered U.S. President George W. Bush's "war on terror."

Binalshibh, Mohammed and three other defendants -- Mustafa Ahmed al Hawsawi, Walid bin Attash and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali -- are charged with conspiring with al Qaeda to kill civilians in the attacks.

The men face 2,973 counts of murder, one for each person killed when hijacked airliners crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. Prosecutors want to execute them if they are convicted.

UNIQUE TO MILITARY COURTS

Extensive exploratory questioning of a judge's qualifications and bias by the defense is unique to military courts, including the commissions set up by Congress to try suspected terrorists at the Guantanamo U.S. Naval base.

Defense attorneys said they had not yet decided whether to ask Kohlmann to disqualify himself based on his answers....

Muslims beat homeless man for eating during Ramadan

Celebrate diversity!

"Celebrate Diversity: Proper Behavior on Ramadan," by Brian C. Ledbetter at Snapped Shot, September 23:

A homeless man in Brussels was beaten to a pulp this past Friday. His assailants were arrested and will presumably be charged with assault and battery soon, but what's genuinely shocking is the reasoning behind the attack.

You see, the two assailants were Muslim men, who when walking by in the street, became enraged that this homeless man had the sheer audacity to drink during Ramadan.

In a (presumably) non-Muslim country!

According to eyewitness accounts, "The father started screaming at him that he had 'no right to drink during Ramadan,'" which doesn't sound all that "peaceful" or "tolerant" to me....

Keeping Toledo hate-free

In "Keeping Toledo Hate-free" at Revuse, Kamala Kamala skewers inconsistency in Ohio over Obsession and hate:

In the September 21, 2008 issue of the Toledo Blade newspaper in Ohio, Dr. Zaheer Hasan and his co-author, Dr. Abdul-Majeed Azad, wrote a defiant column.

Their column was a reaction to the film "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," a DVD included in many newspapers distributed throughout America the previous weekend.

In describing the film, Hasan and Azad use the words "vicious" and "bigoted," writing about a "demonizing message," a "message of hatred, divisiveness, and fear-mongering."

Are they referring to the ruthless prescriptions for non-Muslims presented by the Jihadists themselves in the film, such as the clip of Abu Hamza Al-Masri saying, "What makes Allah happy? Allah is happy when the kafirs [non-Muslims] get killed"?

When Hasan and Azad write about "hate-mongers," are they referring to the huge crowds chanting "Death to America" in the film?

No.

Hasan and Azad are blaming the film makers and distributors, for presenting a "twisted and grotesque representation" of Islam. The "narratives" in the film are "out-of-context." It's "over-dramatized."

Hasan and Azad assure us that "Islam strongly recommends peaceful and cordial relationships, especially with the 'people of the books,' namely Jews and Christians, as well as with the rest of humanity that aspires to coexist peacefully." They tell us, "The core teaching of Islam preaches respect of humanity and preservation of life."

They end their column by writing, "We thank the fair-minded and kind citizens of greater Toledo for their continued affection, sympathy, understanding, and acceptance. We join them in keeping our city and its suburbs hate-free."

Well, Dr. Hasan now has a unique opportunity to help keep Toledo "hate-free."

Dr. Hasan is a founder of the United Muslim Association of Toledo (UMAT) and, based on his own words, is still a member.

On October 29th, Imam Mahdi Bray is scheduled to be the guest speaker at UMAT's Annual Unity dinner, as described on UMAT's home page.

At a rally at Lafayette Park, in Washington D.C., almost exactly eight years before his scheduled engagement at UMAT, Mahdi Bray was standing next to Abdurahman Alamoudi, leader of the American Muslim Council. Alamoudi speaks to the crowd: “I have been labeled by the media in New York to be a supporter of Hamas. Anybody supports Hamas here?" The crowd cheers, and Mr. Bray raises both his hands and smiles. Alamoudi asks again, "Anybody's a supporter of Hamas here?" The crowd cheers again, and Bray raises his right hand. Alamoudi repeats himself one more time, and Bray raises his hand again. The video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBIcfigtbEU

[...]

Perhaps the UMAT leadership that invited Mahdi Bray to speak at their upcoming dinner did not know these troubling details about his background. Neither, perhaps, did Dr. Hasan.

But now he does.

Will Dr. Hasan condemn Mahdi Bray for his support of the terrorist organization Hamas and Bray's affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood?

Will Dr. Hasan push UMAT—the group he founded—to disinvite Mr. Bray and keep Toledo "hate-free"?

My guess would be...No, he won't.

An October Surprise from the jihadists?

Of course, Al-Qaeda has done this before -- most notably with the March 11, 2004 bombings in Madrid that led to the election of the hopeless Zapatero. But we have also seen -- many times over the years -- an "uptick" in activity that led to nothing. "Spies Warn That Al Qaeda Aims for October Surprise: Intercepted Messages Asking Local Cells To Be Prepared for Imminent Instructions," by Eli Lake for the New York Sun, September 22 (thanks to James):

WASHINGTON — In the aftermath of two major terrorist attacks on Western targets, America's counterterrorism community is warning that Al Qaeda may launch more overseas operations to influence the presidential elections in November.

Call it Osama bin Laden's "October surprise." In late August, during the weekend between the Democratic and Republican conventions, America's military and intelligence agencies intercepted a series of messages from Al Qaeda's leadership to intermediate members of the organization asking local cells to be prepared for imminent instructions.

An official familiar with the new intelligence said the message was picked up in multiple settings, from couriers to encrypted electronic communications to other means. "These are generic orders," the source said — a distinction from the more specific intelligence about the location, time, and method of an attack. "It was, 'Be on notice. We may call upon you soon.' It was sent out on many channels."

Also, Yemen's national English-language newspaper is reporting that a spokesman for Yemen's Islamic Jihad, the Qaeda affiliate that claimed credit for last week's American embassy bombing in Sa'naa, is now publicly threatening to attack foreigners and high government officials if American and British diplomats do not leave the country.

Mr. bin Laden has sought to influence democratic elections in the past. On March 11, 2004, Al Qaeda carried out a series of bombings on Madrid commuter trains. Three days later, the opposition and anti-Iraq war Socialist Workers Party was voted into power.

In the week before the 2004 American presidential election, Mr. bin Laden recorded a video message to the American people promising repercussions if President Bush were re-elected. In later messages, Al Qaeda's leader claimed credit for helping elect Mr. Bush in 2004. Last year in Pakistan, Qaeda assassins claimed the life of Benazir Bhutto, a former prime minister who returned to her native country in a bid for re-election....

CAIR files FEC complaint: Obsession distribution a Zionist plot

Despite the fact that the film Obsession contains no political content and was made well before the 2008 election cycle began, CAIR, those paragons of Islamic moderation and honesty, would now have you believe that the national distribution of the DVD was an Israeli plot to elect John McCain.

This is a very revealing action for CAIR to take. It reveals in particular two key aspects of CAIR's mindset:
1. It shows that CAIR is fully aware that the jihad against Israel is an integral part of the global jihad, and is not just a struggle to recover Palestinian "stolen land." Thus a film that reveals the nature and goals of that global jihad -- Obsession -- benefits Israel.
2. It also shows that CAIR believes that John McCain will fight against the global jihad in a way that Barack Obama will not -- and that it believes therefore the distribution of an anti-jihad film, which in a sane world would be welcomed by both the Left and the Right since the global jihad wishes to destroy and remake the West utterly, must be some partisan plot.

It further shows CAIR yet again on the wrong side of the jihad, as they are again and again. The Flying Imams threaten the ability of airline passengers to report suspicious behavior without getting harassed legally, and CAIR is right there. Sami Al-Arian for years bamboozles the Left into thinking he is a gallant freedom fighter for the Palestinians without the shadow of a hint of support for terrorism, and CAIR backs him all the way. The Patriot Act? CAIR was against it -- and not just the legitimately questionable parts, either. Has CAIR ever sponsored a single anti-terror initiative that would actually make it easier for law enforcement to identify and apprehend jihad terrorists? Nope.

Yet this shady group still enjoys mainstream media support, and is routinely depicted as a neutral "civil rights" organization.

"CAIR Asks FEC to Probe Anti-Muslim DVDs Sent to Swing States," from MarketWire, September 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):

WASHINGTON, DC - A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today announced that it has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) over the distribution of an anti-Muslim film to 28 million homes in presidential election swing states.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is urging the FEC to investigate whether the Clarion Fund, a non-profit organization that distributed DVDs containing "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," is really a front for an Israel-based group seeking to help Sen. John McCain win the U.S. presidential election. (No information about a board of directors, staff or even a physical address is offered on the fund's website.)

In its complaint to the FEC, CAIR wrote in part:

"The Clarion Fund recently financed the distribution of some 28 million DVDs containing the film 'Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West' in what many political analysts describe as 'swing' states in the upcoming presidential elections. Those same analysts say the distribution of the 'Obsession' DVD was designed to benefit a particular presidential candidate, namely Sen. John McCain...

"According to the website for the Secretary of State for New York, Clarion Fund Inc. is incorporated in New York as a Delaware-based foreign not-for-profit corporation. According to the Delaware Department of Corporations, Robert (Rabbi Raphael) Shore, Rabbi Henry Harris and Rebecca Kabat incorporated Clarion Fund. All three of whom are reported to serve as employees of Aish HaTorah International, an organization apparently based in Israel. Also according to the Delaware Department of Corporations, the incorporators of the Clarion Fund used Aish HaTorah's New York City address (150 West 46th Street, New York) to incorporate Clarion Fund in Delaware... [SEE: http://www.aish.com/aishint/wwprogram.asp]

"It appears that the funding for the production, marketing and distribution of 'Obsession' may have originated from Israel-based Aish HaTorah International." [...]

"American voters deserve to know whether they are the targets of a multi-million-dollar campaign funded and directed by a foreign group seeking to whip up anti-Muslim hysteria as a way to influence the outcome of our presidential election," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad....

American voters also deserve to know whether they are the targets of a campaign, multimillion-dollar or no, funded and directed by Islamic supremacists to mislead and deceive them about Islamic jihad terrorism as a way to influence the outcome of our presidential election, and to influence much more besides.

U.S. Defence Secretary: Pakistan facing "existential threat"

When politicians wax philosophical. At least this is a step in the right direction. If politicians can shift their rhetoric from political paradigms to philosophical ones, perhaps the day will eventually come when they can take the next step and articulate themselves through a theological paradigm, when they will be able to say "Pakistan faces theological threat from militants." For now, this will have to do:

"Pakistan faces 'existential threat' from militants," by David Morgan for Reuters, September 23:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Islamist safe havens in western Pakistan are threatening the existence of Pakistan's civilian government through increased attacks, including last weekend's Marriott hotel bombing, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday.

"The nature of the threat that they face, beginning with the assassination of the current president's wife and now most recently the attack on the Marriott hotel, makes very clear to the Pakistani government that they face an existential threat in the western part of their country," Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The remote mountainous region believed to be a safe harbour for al Qaeda and other groups also poses the greatest threat of terrorism against the United States, Gates said in hearing testimony that underscored the dangers posed by the tribal lands along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan...

Thug-In-Chief: "American empire" near collapse

Nothing that a few heart-to-heart talks won't fix. "Iran's leader says 'American empire' near collapse," by Slobodan Lekic for Associated Press, September 23:

UNITED NATIONS - Iran's president addressed the U.N. General Assembly Tuesday declaring that "the American empire" is nearing collapse and should end its military involvement in other countries.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said terrorism is spreading quickly in Afghanistan and that "the occupiers" are still in Iraq nearly six years after Saddam Hussein was ousted from power in Iraq.

"American empire in the world is reaching the end of its road, and its next rulers must limit their interference to their own borders," Ahmadinejad said....

Pakistani troops and tribesmen shoot down U.S. drone

Back-to-back, Pakistan attacks. Another Friend and Ally Update. The irony is that such drones can help prevent another Marriott-like attack: if al-Qaeda supporting "tribesmen" shot at it (which is at least logical), what is the Pakistani government's logic?

"Pakistanis say suspected US drone shot down," from AP, September 23 (thanks to Jeffrey Imm):

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani troops and tribesman shot down a suspected U.S. military drone close to the Afghan border Tuesday, three intelligence officials said.

If verified, it apparently would be the first pilotless aircraft brought down over Pakistan and the incident likely would add to tensions between Washington and Islamabad over a spate of recent American cross-border incursions in the lawless tribal regions.

The officials said the unmanned aircraft was shot down late Tuesday in the village of Jalal Khel in South Waziristan after circling over the area for several hours. Its wreckage was strewn on the ground, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Who is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

My friend Amil Imani, the Iranian freedom fighter, wrote this in September 2007, but with the Thug-In-Chief back in town it is worth revisiting:

To understand Ahmadinejad’s mind set and behavior requires a close scrutiny of the elaborate and intricate theology of Hujjatiyyah Shiism, perhaps the most fundamentalist of the numerous Shiite sects.

In the 1950s, a group of Islamic clergy led by Sheikh Mahmoud Halabi (a close associate of Ayatollah Khomeini) formed a society called the Anjoman-e Khayryyehye Hujjatiyyah-ye Mahdaviat (Charitable Society of the Mahdi), based in Mashhad, Iran. The Hujjatiyyah membership was mostly composed by the bazaar-i businessmen and fanatical mullahs. Among many things, they were against the communists, Marxists, and atheists. Their overarching "raison d'être," however, was to prepare the world for the upcoming of the 12th Imam -- the Mahdi.

However, the most important immediate agenda item on their list was to harass and persecute the Baha'is, a religious group representing a small percentage of Iran's population. In fact, the Hujjatiyyah-y's alternative name became "The anti-Baha'i Society" (Anjuman-e Zidd-e Baha'iyat). They collectively worked for a single purpose: the eradication of Baha'is.

The terrible plight of the Baha'is in Iran is particularly heart-wrenching, since they are the largest non-Muslim population in the country and have been, from day one, severely brutalized by Muslims. Baha'i teachings of tolerance and openness to science are anathema to the Islamofascists on many levels, but the history of the faith includes direct challenges to the theological legitimacy of the mullahs. These slaveholders find the Baha'i faith a threat to their own version of Islam and the absolute theocratic power it puts their hands.

The egomaniac President Ahmadinejad is a member of Hujjatiyyah. He sees himself as the personal vassal of the Mahdi-Messiah or Hidden Imam, with whom he has fantasized tête-à-têtes frequently.

Ahmadinejad, a man driven by his religion, has a spiritual advisor in Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi (the defacto leader of the Hujjatiyyah). The President's advisor is known for his extremist views on Islam and promotes suicide bombings and attacks on civilians in the West. There is only view of Islam for him. He once said, "...if anyone tells you their own interpretation of Islam, punch them in the mouth!"

President Ahmadinejad has in a short time acquired great many descriptors at home and overseas: zealot, fascist, fanatic, anti-Semitic, lunatic and more. One prominent Western columnist called him "unhinged." But we cannot just dismiss the man as an aberration, someone who is in urgent need of psychological help, a person out of touch with reality, who represents nothing of substance.

Once again the West is misreading and misjudging people and events in the Middle East, due to the fact that it views things through its own prism.

Looking at the man through Western spectacles, he indeed appears to be all of the above and more. Yet Ahmadinejad is far from unhinged. As a matter of fact he is firmly hinged to a set of beliefs that dictate his views of the world, and inform him how he should deal with it from his position of power.

An unhinged man has the potential of becoming once again hinged. But, there is very little that can be done to a person who is inseparably hinged, and Ahmadinejad views are firmly rooted in the most orthodox philosophy of Shiism.

For our purposes, however, it is sufficient to document the fact that Ahmadinejad is not mentally disturbed; there is no display of contradictory thoughts and behavior. There is a full internal consistency in Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad's words, deeds and beliefs show a fully hinged person.

Below are a few examples of his sayings, beliefs and actions. Whether one agrees or disagrees with them, they all fit perfectly into a consistent pattern.

▪ He literally believes in the imminent emergence of the Mahdi - the Shiites' promised one who is expected to appear to set aright a decadent and wretched world.

▪ He views himself as the vassal of Mahdi, working for him and being accountable to him.

▪ His main task is to prepare the world so to hasten the Mahdi's coming. If this preparation requires much destruction and bloodshed, so be it.

▪ As a former mayor of Tehran, he developed elaborate detailed plans preparing the city for the arrival of the Mahdi.

▪ He allocated generous sums for extensive road improvement to a mosque at Jamkaaraan near the city of Qum where it is believed the promised Mahdi is hiding in a well since the age of four, over 1100 years ago.

▪ He reportedly visits the well frequently and drops his written supplications into the well for the hidden Mahdi to act upon them.

▪ He has said in private that it was he who asked the Mahdi to inflict the massive stroke on Ariel Sharon.

▪ He sees the Jews as the sworn enemies of Islam. The hostility dates back to the time of Muhammad's own treatment of the Jews in Medina. At first, expediently, Muhammad called the Jews "people of the book," and accorded them a measure of tolerance until he gained enough power to unleash his devastating wrath on them.

▪ He says that the Holocaust is a myth. He is, in this respect, in good company with a number of other revisionist fanatics.

▪ He wants Israel to be wiped out of the map or transferred to Europe.

▪ In his speech at the UN general assembly, he implored the Mahdi to come and save the world. He claimed that during his speech of some twenty odd minutes, a powerful light enveloped him and all participants were held transfixed, unable to move their eyes.

▪ He believes that the earth is Allah's and all people must either become believers of his brand of Islam or must perish as infidels najis (unclean) who by their very presence defile Allah's earth.

▪ He believes that this earthly life is passing and worthless in comparison to the afterlife awaiting a devoted and faithful believer. Hence, he holds to the old belief that if a faithful kills an infidel, he goes to Allah's paradise; and, if the faithful gets killed in the process of serving the faith, again he goes to Allah's paradise. Hence, it is a win-win proposition for the faithful.

Ahmadinejad is a true devoted Muslim. Being unpredictable, self-contradictory and inconsistent are major symptoms of the mentally unhinged. By these standards of insanity, Ahmadinejad emerges as completely sane. He is fully predictable, consistent and has shown no self-contradiction. He does not even pretend that he misspoke or apologize for his outrageous statements. He is not a typical politician who practices the devious art of doublespeak, deception and change of position to suit his immediate convenience.

He knows who he is, what he believes, and what his own mission in life is: serving as the instrument for the revered Mahdi. Allah will make him emerge from the well as soon as the world's conditions hit absolute hopeless bottom. Ahmadinejad sees himself as a driver who can play a critical role in doing just that, driving the world to the very bottom. And he plans on having an arsenal of nuclear weapons as soon as possible.

There is nothing really "unhinged" about Ahamadinejad's thinking, statements and actions. They are internally consistent. He is simply a fanatic who is wedded to an extremely dangerous exclusionary system of belief. Humanity must learn that dismissing him as a lunatic will result in great suffering, as it did with Hitler.

Tragically, Ahmadinejad is the embodiment of several million people who are hinged exactly like him and who are willing to give their lives, and take with them as many lives as required in the service of their belief. In this age of Weapons of Mass Destruction a man with huge sums of petrodollars can serve as the catalyst of total annihilation.

Prudence would err on the side of being an alarmist than a complacent dismissive.

Ahmadinejad and his ilk are not interested in any negotiation, any compromise or any live-and-let-live final solution. They are determined to be the soldiers of Mahdi come-what-may. They have no problem with the total destruction of the world. They are headed for a life of eternal bliss in Allah's paradise. They hardly care, even rejoice, if the rest of humanity is subjected to a tragic death in the nuclear, biological and chemical wasteland of planet earth.

Humanity cannot afford and must not ignore the emergence of the final threat to its very existence on this planet.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch takes "ethical" stand, refuses to distribute Obsession

Tim Townsend takes the high road -- of willful ignorance and dhimmitude. "Post-Dispatch refuses to distribute DVD offensive to American Muslims," by Tim Townsend for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22 (thanks to H.M.):

Despite the perilous state of American newspapers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch advertising department took an ethical stand and refused to distribute the DVD of a film that for two years has troubled American Muslims. [...]

In October 2006 (another election year) I wrote a story about how besieged the St. Louis Muslim community was feeling- the worst, many told me, since just after Sept. 11, 2001. A St. Louis screening of the “Obesession” [sic] movie featured in that story:

At the end of August, a thousand people — about half of them Jewish and half Christian, according to organizers — attended a screening of the movie “Obsession: What the War on Terror is Really About” at the Frontenac Hilton Hotel. The group’s sponsors promoted the movie with a provocative billboard featuring a dark-skinned man whose head was wrapped in a kuffiyeh and the words, “Confessions of a Terrorist.”

A "dark-skinned man" -- the not-so-thinly veiled message here, of course, is that resistance to jihad terrorism and Islamic supremacism is "racist."

The terrorist in question was Walid Shoebat, who said he was a former member of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Shoebat appeared in the hourlong movie and then spoke to the audience.

Muslims who were there said they were horrified by what they believed was the movie’s inference that Islam, terrorism and Nazism were one and the same, despite a disclaimer that ran at the beginning and end of the movie that said “most Muslims are peaceful and do not support terror.”

The movie makes no such "inference"; indeed, it goes out of its way to rule out any such conclusion. And in any case, its very existence shows up the glaring absence, seven years after 9/11, of any Muslim anti-terror effort. Every -- and I do mean every -- effort at raising awareness of and resistance to the jihad ideology and Islamic supremacism is met with claims from Muslim groups that all Muslims are being lumped together and labeled as terrorists, no matter how strenuously this is denied in the piece they're criticizing. We are supposed to believe that the Muslim groups that are complaining abhor jihad terrorism, but they resent that the presentation in question goes too far and tars all Muslims. I myself get this all the time, although I have never said at any time -- simply because it wouldn't be true -- that all Muslims are pursuing the Islamic supremacist agenda.

But if that were really true, it would be reasonable to expect that some of these anti-terror Muslims would produce something -- even one video or book -- that did right what Obsession and I and all the rest do wrong. In other words, it would explain clearly the difference between the Islamic beliefs of the terrorists and those of the peaceful Muslims, making a clear and sharp distinction between the two, and condemning -- not with weasel words and half-measures, but fully, honestly, forthrightly and wholeheartedly -- jihad violence and Islamic supremacism. Such a presentation, if it existed, would reassure many people and would be used as a model by anti-jihadists thereafter.

But it does not exist, and probably will not ever be made, and that in itself is extremely telling of the inadequacy and falsity of many of the assumptions people have today about the global jihad. People including Tim Townsend of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Far more upsetting, they said, was the reaction of the audience.

Writing in “The American Muslim” two weeks after the screening, [Sheila] Musaji said those Muslims who attended were “still experiencing physical and emotional distress primarily due to the positive reaction of the audience — including applause and standing ovations — and to some of the hateful comments we overheard from individuals sitting around us.”

As I have spoken at several screenings of Obsession and taken questions from the crowds, I am skeptical about Musaji's description of the audience reaction here. And I have had good reason to doubt Musaji's veracity in the past.

But if her claims are accurate, well, you know, we all have to live with a certain level of physical and emotional distress. I still suffer physical and emotional distress when I think of September 11, 2001, or March 11, 2004, or July 7, 2005, and the people who died on those days, and of the people who die in jihad terror attacks around the world up to this day, such as those who died in the attack at the Islamabad Marriott yesterday. And I wonder why Sheila Musaji has never written an article about the physical and emotional distress that peaceful Muslims suffer when their coreligionists commit violence in the name of their religion, and why she has never called upon those Muslims to stop committing acts of violence and supremacism in Islam's name. I further wonder why these distressed Muslims were not distressed by the exhortations to jihad violence voiced by Muslim preachers in the film as much as they were by the audience reaction to the film.

Fatemeh Keshavarz, head of Washington University’s department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages, who was at the screening, said: “This was hate speech, pure and simple. … being in that room, I felt threatened.”

It would have been kind of her to specify what exactly in the film was "hate speech." The only obvious hate speech was the exhortations to jihad violence and hatred of the Jews coming from jihadist preachers. But they were on film, and were filmed not by the producers of Obsession but by TV cameras in their own countries, where their hateful messages were broadcast approvingly.

Iran's Thug-In-Chief: World wants us to have nukes

They like him, they really like him

"Ahmadinejad says most of the world supports Iran's nuke program," from AP, September 23 (thanks to Dionysios Potamis):

...According to a report on the Web site of Iran's National Public Radio, Ahmadinejad claimed the "people of the world - the majority actually - support our stand."

Ahmadinejad also said the West's policy toward Iran was at the root of the confrontation. He claimed the United States and its allies "believe they own the world" and "want to interfere in anything that goes on in the world."

Uh huh -- and it is actually Sharia that ought to own and rule the world, so the power of the United States is in itself an insult.

Petition: Stop Islamic law in Britain

Sign here.

Pakistan: al-Qaeda behind Marriott attack

Update to this story. "Pakistan blames al Qaeda for bombing," from ABC, September 22:

Pakistani and US intelligence officials say a suicide attack that killed 53 people at the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan's capital bears the hallmarks of an operation by al Qaeda or an affiliate.

Claire Mackay reports at least 200 people are wounded.

The head of Pakistan's Interior Ministry Rehman Malik says it appears the suicide bomber intended to drive the truck laden with 600 kilograms of explosives into the foyer of the Marriott hotel.

Mr Malik says had that happened the building would have collapsed. Security footage shows the truck ramming security gates.

Failing to break through the suicide bomber blows himself up.

Moments later the footage cuts out at the time of the major blast.

It left a seven metre deep crater and the 300-room hotel was gutted by fire.

Rescuers couldn't reach many guests trapped on the upper floors and some jumped to their death...

Sounds familiar.

Pakistan: Jihad group using mosques to call for jihad against U.S.

Evidently no one stands up in these mosques and says, "Wait a minute, fellows. You guys are twisting and hijacking my peaceful religion. As everyone knows, jihad is an interior spiritual struggle."

And meanwhile, of course, anyone who protests against the building of a given mosque in the West is ipso facto a "racist" and a "bigot." No one could have a healthy and well-founded suspicion about what can happen and has happened inside mosques. Oh, no.

"Jamat-ud-Dawa using mosques for jihad: Report," from the Times of India, September 23 (thanks to Twostellas):

ISLAMABAD: Activists of an organisation led by Lashker-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed are using mosques to issue calls for jihad against the US in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, a media report said on Tuesday.

Members of Jamat-ud-Dawa, set up by Saeed after the Lashker-e-Taiba was banned by the Pakistan government, have been operating in the city's posh residential districts like Hayatabad and University Town, where they address people in mosques about the importance of jihad, the Daily Times said.

Quoting eyewitnesses, the newspaper said the activists have issued calls for a holy war against the US to worshippers at different mosques.

"A young, bearded and long-haired activist of the Jamat-ud-Dawa stood up after the Fajr (morning) prayers and began calling for jihad against infidels," said a University of Peshawar professor who had come across the activists at Madina mosque.

Mumtaz Khan, a resident of Hayatabad, who came across an extremist at Bilal mosque, said the fundamentalists cite dangers to Pakistan to incite people for war.

"The extremists first speak about geopolitics (and) dangers to Pakistan from both eastern and western borders and then urge the importance of jihad," he said.

A caretaker of one of the mosques confirmed that the Jamat-ud-Dawa, which describes itself as a charitable organisation, was using mosques to invite people for jihad.

"Under what law can I stop them from doing so? There is no law, both governmental or Islamic," said the caretaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"These callers come at different prayer times and are peaceful and appear to be pro-Pakistan," the caretaker added....

Jerusalem: 15 hurt as East Jerusalem Muslim drives car into crowd of soldiers

The bulldozer rampage in July has introduced a new variety of suicide attack for the jihadist seeking to "slay and be slain" for the Qur'an's promise of paradise (9:111). "15 wounded in terror attack at busy Jerusalem intersection," by Etgar Lefkovits and Shelly Paz for the Jerusalem Post, September 22:

An Arab resident of east Jerusalem rammed his vehicle into a group of soldiers at a central Jerusalem thoroughfare late Monday night, wounding fifteen people, before being shot dead by an off-duty IDF officer, police and rescue officials said.

It was the third such attack in the city in as many months.

The attack took place at the city's Kikar Tzahal near Jaffa Gate. Two of the casualties were in moderate condition, the rest were lightly hurt.

The assailant, who was driving a BMW, crashed into a group of off-duty soldiers on the sidewalk, where his car came to a grinding halt.

Jerusalem police chief Aharon Franco said that the attacker was shot dead "within seconds" by an off-duty IDF officer who was touring the city with his unit.

He added that there was no intelligence information ahead of the attack, but noted that Jerusalem was under heavy security alert due to Ramadan.

The city's police chief said that the lone attacker was an Arab resident of east Jerusalem.

The pedestrians wounded in the attack were rushed to Jerusalem's Hadassah-University Hospital at Ein Kerem, Hadassah-University Hospital on Mount Scopus and the city's Sha'are Tzedek Hospital.

The attack comes after two back-to-back bulldozer attacks in Jerusalem in July which left three Israelis dead and dozens wounded.

15-year-old female would-be suicide bomber tells her story

The following is a partial transcript of the video interview, which can be viewed in full, with English subtitles, at the MEMRI link. More on al-Qaeda's use of children as suicide bombers here.

"15-Year-Old Iraqi Would-Be Suicide Bomber Tells Her Story on Iraq TV," from MEMRI, September 22 (thanks to Jeffrey Imm):

Interviewer: "Ranya, how old are you?"

Ranya: "I'm 15 years old."

Interviewer: "How long have you been married?"

Ranya: "Nine months."

[...]

Interviewer: "How are you doing financially?"

Ranya: "Very well."

Interviewer: "Are your parents alive or dead?"

Ranya: "My mother is still alive."

Interviewer: "And your father?"

Ranya: "He was kidnapped."

Interviewer: "Who kidnapped him?"

Ranya: "We were told it was the militias in Abu Saida."

Interviewer: "After your father was kidnapped, who provided for the family? You said you have an older brother?"

Ranya: "Yes."

Interviewer: "What is your brother's role in the family?"

Ranya: "He used to provide for us, but then the police took him."

Interviewer: "Do you go to school?"

Ranya: "I dropped out in the fifth grade."

[...]

Interviewer: "Who strapped it on you?"

Ranya: "Umm Fatima."

Interviewer: "Who is this Umm Fatima?"

Ranya: "[My husband] Muhammad said: 'This is my cousin.'"

'After You Drank The Peach Juice And Ate The Bread, You Felt Dizzy?' 'Yes'

Interviewer: "His relatives? It was his cousins who strapped the belt around your waist?"

Ranya: "Yes."

Interviewer: "Did you know where you were going, and what you were going to do?"

Ranya: "No, I left the house with them."

Interviewer: "They were with you?"

Ranya: "Yes, one of them was."

Interviewer: "Where did they tell you to go?"

Ranya: "They didn't tell me. I was with her, then she stayed in the market to do the shopping, and I left."

Interviewer: "This strange thing that they strapped on your waist - you didn't know what it was?"

Ranya: "No, I didn't know."

Interviewer: "You didn't ask them why they were putting the belt on you?"

Ranya: "No, I didn't ask, but before she put it on me, she gave me a can of peach juice and some bread."

[...]

Interviewer: "After you drank the peach juice and ate the bread, you felt dizzy?"

Ranya: "Yes."

Interviewer: "When you were dizzy, could you still see clearly? Could you see people clearly?"

Ranya: "No, I saw double."

Interviewer: "Did your husband know you were putting on the belt?"

Ranya: "He was in the same house, but I don't know whether he knew."

Al-Qaeda calls for jihad against "apostate regimes" in North Africa

Say yes to jihad, no to apostasy

Mauritania tops the list, as it "has become a nest of foreign intelligence topped by Israel's Mossad." More on this story.

"Qaeda calls for jihad in North Africa," from AFP, September 22:

DUBAI (AFP) — Al-Qaeda's North Africa chief has called on Muslims there to join the jihad (holy war) and slammed governments in the region where the group has repeatedly claimed attacks, a US monitoring service said on Monday.

"Unite around the jihad that is the only alternative power to the apostate regimes that dominate over our lands," Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), said in an audio speech posted on Sunday on Islamist militant websites, the SITE Intelligence Group said.

Abdul Wadud blasted the regimes in Mauritania, Algeria and other North African countries, charging that Mauritania has become "a nest of foreign intelligence" topped by Israel's Mossad.

"Mauritania... has become a nest of foreign intelligence, at its forefront the Mossad, and has become a station of crusader colonial ambition," he said, according to a SITE transcript.

"History will continue to mention that this is the first Arab country, outside of the Tawq (Arab nations surrounding Israel), that recognised the state of Israel and exchanged ambassadors with it," he said.

SITE said the remarks came in a 29-minute video titled "A message to our ummah (nation) in the Islamic Maghreb."

Abdul Wadud also claimed that former colonial power France continues to impose its authority in Algeria, using the Algiers government as a proxy.

Algeria is threatened not only by France, but also by the United States which seeks to install military bases there, he charged.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has repeatedly claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in Algeria, including a spate of bombings in July and August.

The group has also been blamed for an ambush on a Mauritanian patrol last week after which the decapitated bodies of 12 Mauritanians -- 11 soldiers and one civilian -- were found.

Meanwhile, "analysts" feel that "the threat of terrorism is being exaggerated."

Pakistan fires on U.S. choppers

Friend and Ally Update. "Report: Pakistan fires on U.S. choppers," from NBC News, September 22 (thanks to Infidel Pride):

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani troops fired on two U.S. helicopters that intruded into Pakistani territory on Sunday night, forcing them to turn back to Afghanistan, a senior Pakistani security official said on Monday.

The helicopters violated the border in the area of Lowara Mandi, 80 km west of Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region, at around 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

There was no official confirmation.

"We don't have any information on border violation by the American helicopters," Major Murad Khan, a military spokesman, said.

Relations between the two allies became frayed earlier this month after U.S. commandos raided a border village in South Waziristan and killed 20 people, including women and children, on Sept. 3. Pakistanis were outraged by the incursion and the six-month-old civilian government issued a diplomatic protest.

It was the first overt incursion by U.S. ground troops into Pakistani territory, though the U.S. military has conducted numerous missile strikes against al-Qaida and Taliban targets in Pakistan's tribal lands.

Pakistani troops fired on two U.S. helicopters that crossed the border at the same village, Angor Adda, a week ago, again forcing them to turn back, according to residents and security officers, though both Pakistani and U.S. officials issued denials.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is due to meet President Bush on Tuesday in the United States.

In an interview with TODAY's Ann Curry, Zardari repeated Pakistan's objection to U.S. forays inside its territory. "I think if [the United States] let us tell you we're already there, we'll catch them," he said.

He said incursions were in violation of the U.N. charter. Asked whether Pakistan's military would use violence against U.S. forces, Zardari replied, "Whatever it takes."

Spencer in Pajamas TV coverage of New York demonstration against the Thug-In-Chief

Along with my friend the courageous Iranian dissident Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi, who is on the scene in New York while I fly the unfriendly skies all day. "Pajamas TV Covers New York Iran Demonstration," from Pajamas Media:

Coverage (beginning at 3PM Pacific) is free and includes a special report from Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch and Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi on scene. As a preview, watch the first installment of our cartoon series "Mahmoud's Nuclear Adventures" at the link.

Middle East professor says controversial Obsession movie "straightforward"

Always refreshing to see a member of that bastion of Islamic apologetics -- academia -- actually being objective. More on this story. "Swift dispute, radical Muslims DVD flare scrutiny of Islam," by Chris Casey for the Tribune, September 21:

James Lindsay, an associate professor of Middle Eastern history at CSU, takes an opposite view on "Obsession." He believes it's a straightforward look at radical Islam.

He said the producers are explicit that film is about the radical ideology within Islam, which is advanced by the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaida and other groups. The film's introduction states that most Muslims are peaceful and don't support terror.

The militant Islamic branch -- which the film says makes up about 10 percent to 15 percent of a worldwide Muslim population of 1.2 billion, the world's second-largest religion behind Christianity -- has a conquest ideology, Lindsay said.

"It's one of subjugating the world to their ideology. There is not room for another ideology, according to the radical Muslim ideology, and it's frightening," he said. "But it's part and parcel of the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood and the al-Qaida types that they want to impose their will on everyone."[...]

Lindsay, the CSU professor, said the Muslims who flew the airplanes into the Twin Towers felt they were doing God's work.

Muslims who say "jihad" means the struggle for personal betterment aren't giving the full picture of what's written in the classical text, he said. Rather, the text says the Islamic practitioner is preparing himself to be a better warrior.

"The idea of the jihad as laid out by extremists is one of the doctrines within the Quran itself," Lindsay said. "It's a fundamental tenet of Islamic religion and it has been in Islamic history -- engaging in warfare against the enemies of Islam."

Conflicts between the West and Islam are inevitable, Lindsay said, because the demands of Islamic law are in conflict with the West's approach to law and religion. The Quran speaks of creating a society that's obedient to God's law, not obedient to men's model, he said.

Lindsay believes the way to deal with Muslim immigrants -- as in the case of the JBS Swift workers -- is to explain how employment rules and policies operate in the United States. "I have no desire to make any accommodations to Islamic law, and that's my opinion."

Al-Qaeda leader in North Africa threatens France, Spain

He said, "Were imploding. You may want to stand back a bit."

No, not exactly. "Terrorism: Al-Qaeda leader threatens France and Spain," from AdnKronos International, September 22:

Algiers, 22 Sept. (AKI) - A leader of the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb has threatened France and Spain in an audio message broadcast on jihadist Internet forums on Monday.

"To those that are involved in the war against Islam and have betrayed the Islamic nation, we say to them: Repent before God punishes you with his hands and with ours," said Abdel Malik Droukedel, who uses the name Abu Musab Abdel Wudud.

"This is because judgement day is close and punishment is imminent. And whoever among the treacherous apostates thinks that France is in a position to ensure its safety, we tell them they are wrong, because France will not be in a position to do it, and will be worried for its safety."

In the audio message, entitled "Message to our nation in the Islamic Maghreb", Droukedel reminds his listeners about Spain and Morocco's territorial dispute over the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.

"Dear nation, it is not conceivable for any Muslim that loves Islam to speak of the Maghreb without remembering Ceuta and Melilla, occupied by Spain without remembering the injustice suffered by our nation," said Droukedel.

"The complicity between Spain and international organisations such as the Arab League, the Islamic Conference and the United Nations is clear."

Melilla and Ceuta are autonomous cities administered by Spain and considered by neighbouring Morocco to be an integral part of its territory and of immense political and economic significance.

Morocco claims both locations to be "despoiled" territories, calling them by their Arabic equivalents of Sebta and Melillia. The cities have been under Spanish control for over 400 years.

In the message, Droukedel also speaks against new NATO military bases in North Africa and accuses Moroccan King Mohammed VI of having betrayed the prophet Mohammed by having a Danish embassy in his territory.

Regarding Tunisia, Droukedel accuses the government of being anti-Islamic and of passing laws against the implementation of Islamic Sharia law.

Speaking about Mauritania, he reminds his listeners about Nouakchott's diplomatic relations with Israel, while he claims that Algeria is suffering from political 'interference' by France.

"I assure you all that we do not kill innocent people and we will prevent the spilling of Muslim blood," he said.

The Al-Qaeda leader says he will continue his fight to drive "France and the US from our country" and asks Algerian citizens to stay away from foreign organisations or government buildings because they are targets for attacks.

Droukedel's message was aimed at Muslims in North Africa, and was also translated into French.

The Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb evolved from the Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat, initially formed to create an Islamic state in Algeria, but now believed to have more widespread goals.

Mauritania: al-Qaeda dumps decapitated bodies in street and shows no signs of abating its jihad

Yet "some analysts say the threat of terrorism is being exaggerated." More on this story.

"Mauritania declares mourning over decapitated soldiers," from ABC News, September 22 (thanks to Jeffrey Imm):

The military government in Mauritania has declared three days of mourning following the discovery of the decapitated bodies of 12 soldiers.

Their bodies were dumped in the desert outside a northern town where the soldiers were captured on Monday.

A group calling itself Al Qaeda's North Africa wing has said it had abducted the soldiers during an ambush on an army patrol.

There is a difference of opinion as to how serious the threat of terrorism is in Mauritania.

There have been attacks in recent months for which Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility, including the murder of three French tourists late last year which resulted in the cancellation of the famous Paris Dacca rally.

But some analysts say the threat of terrorism is being exaggerated.

The military led government has called for international support in the fight against terrorism, describing it as a very grave threat to the stability of the region.

Philippines: Marines rescue kidnapped children from al-Qaeda group

A reminder that "al-Qaeda groups" will go to any lengths, no matter how despicable, to seize power: "RP Marines rescue 2 children seized by Muslim militants," from GMA News, September 21:

MANILA, Philippines - A Philippine military official says marines safely rescued after a brief gunbattle two children who were kidnapped last week by Muslim militants linked to the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group in the southern.

Marines captured two alleged kidnappers during Sunday's pre-dawn rescue of the two boys in a remote village in mountainous Patikul township on southern Jolo island. Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo says the alleged kidnap leader, Hajal Hatae, a former Abu Sayyaf member, managed to escape and is being hunted by marines.

The Abu Sayyaf, believed to have more than 300 gunmen, has been battered by U.S.-backed Philippine military offensives in Jolo and nearby islands and has resorted to kidnappings for ransom and extortion to survive. - AP

Thai government, Muslim leaders "agree to end southern conflict"

There is a striking similarity in this story to the peace talks between jihadists and the government of the Philippines, which recently fell apart and returned directly to calls for jihad. One cannot help but wonder, when aware of Islamic history and teachings regarding truces (hudna), whether this will truly lead to a lasting peace, or just buy time.

"Thailand: Govt and Muslims agree to end southern conflict," from AdnKronos International, September 22:

Bogr, West Java, 22 Sept. (AKI/Jakarta Post) - Indonesia-mediated peace talks between the Thai government and representatives of the Muslim community in southern Thailand concluded on Sunday with a commitment to ending years of conflict that have claimed 2,700 lives.

The two sides pledged to resume negotiations in November at the same location in Bogor, West Java, to find ways to meet the Muslim group's demands for justice, economic development and use of the Malay language in Thailand's three southernmost provinces - Pattani, Narathiwat, and Yala - while maintaining Thailand's territorial integrity.

Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said the second round of negotiations would take place on Nov.1 and 2, and the third round in mid-November.

"Both sides have agreed that the settlement should be conducted peacefully through dialogue forums, and should be in line with the Constitution of Thailand," Dino said at the State Palace.

The Thai government sent five negotiators, headed by Gen. Khwanchart Klahan, the supreme commander of the Southern Border Provinces Peace Building Command (SBPPC), which oversees the country's southern provinces.

The country's southern Muslims were represented by leaders of the Pattani Malay Consultative Congress (PMCC), an umbrella organization of insurgent groups in southern Thailand.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla acted as the mediator during the closed meetings. University of Indonesia political expert Fachry Ali and Paramadina University political expert Anies Baswedan were also in attendance at the talks.

Other notables included the Vice President's political advisers, Johermansyah Johan and Farid Hussein, and Indonesian Ambassador to Thailand M. Hatta.

"We made substantial progress during the negotiations, with both sides expressing commitment to ending the conflicts," Fachry told The Jakarta Post after the talks, held at the Bogor Presidential Palace.

Anies described the talks as a solid basis for the next negotiations, with representatives from both sides appreciating and willing to listen to each other.

"This is just the first encounter, so they have to adjust and feel comfortable. However, many of the lingering issues have been tabled," he said.

Demands by Thai Muslims include the introduction of Islamic law and making ethnic Pattani Malay (Yawi) a working language in the region, as well as the improvement of the local economy and education system. [...]

Anies stressed that the PMCC adequately represented Thai Muslims because it included representatives from most insurgent groups....

Pakistan: Attack on Islamabad Marriott targeted leaders at planned dinner

What remains to be seen is how -- and if -- this attack changes Pakistan's disastrous policies that have given the Taliban and al-Qaeda safe haven inside the country.

"Dinner plans save Pakistan's rulers from hotel bomb attack," from CNN, September 22:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan's president, prime minister and other Cabinet members were supposed to have been at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad when a massive truck bomb detonated outside, killing 57 and injuring 266, Pakistan's head of the Interior Ministry Rehman Malik said Monday.

Malik said their planned dinner was changed at the last minute, although did not say how far in advance it had been planned.

The Speaker of the House, Fahmida Mirza, had planned the event for ministers, the president, their guests and various foreign dignitaries.

But at the last minute, President Asif Ali Zardari asked that the event be transferred to the Prime Minister's compound, Malik told reporters during a handover service for Czech Ambassador Ivo Zdarek, who died in the blast.

On Sunday Malik called the massive blast "the biggest attack, volume-wise" in Pakistan in seven years, based on the quantity -- 600kg -- and type of explosives used.

Two American military personnel who worked for the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad were among those killed, the U.S. military said. A Lithuanian Pakistan was also among the fatalities, police superintendent Sheikh Zubair told CNN Sunday. The injured included 11 foreigners, Malik said.

No arrests have been made in connection with the attack. But Malik said suspicion is falling on militants in Pakistan's tribal regions.

"I am not in a position to tell you who has done it, but (in) all the previous investigations, all the roads have gone to South Waziristan," he said Sunday.

South Waziristan is one of seven agencies of Pakistan's tribal areas where Taliban and al Qaeda militants are active.

But Amir Mohammad, an aide to leader of the Pakistani Taliban Baitullah Mehsud, said he shared the country's grief and was not involved, The Associated Press reported.

Saturday's massive blast left a nearly 60-foot-wide (18 meters) crater, which was 24 feet (7m) deep, Malik said. It also caused a natural gas leak that set the top floor of the five-story, 258-room hotel on fire, police said. The blaze quickly engulfed the entire structure.

Spencer: Return of the Izod Ayatollah

Ahmadinejad isn't really an ayatollah, of course. And the UN isn't really a peacekeeping body. My column in Human Events today:

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- the Izod Ayatollah -- is coming back to New York to address the UN General Assembly today. If the United Nations today bore even the remotest resemblance to the international peacekeeping body it was founded to be, the line to denounce him would snake around the block, and Ahmadinejad would be arrested as soon as he set foot in New York. In fact, the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem has called for just that: it is preparing a petition for the UN Secretary-General, calling for the Iranian Thug-in-Chief’s arrest and indictment on charges of inciting genocide against Israel.

But the visiting Iranian president can’t be arrested: he’s “legitimized” by Iran’s UN membership, and the UN Treaty prevents his detention.

And, of course, in the run-up to Ahmadinejad’s visit, the hard Left is planning to honor him. The perpetually-outraged women of Code Pink are planning a protest -- against George W. Bush, of course. The UN General Assembly’s new president, leftist priest and old Sandinista Miguel d’Escoto, will clink glasses with Ahmadinejad at a dinner in his honor hosted by five American liberal Christian organizations, the Mennonite Central Committee, the Quaker United Nations Office, the World Council of Churches, Religions for Peace and the American Friends Service Committee.

Hillary Clinton and a coalition of Jewish groups demonstrated the tenacity of partisan politics even in the face of the prospect of nuclear genocide from Iran: first Clinton declined to attend a rally protesting Ahmadinejad’s UN appearance when she found out Sarah Palin would be there, and then the Jewish groups hosting the rally disinvited Palin.

Our national unity in the face of the threat from Iran must have the mullahs quaking.

In light of his many belligerent statements, frequently demonstrating genocidal intent, it is appalling that the UN would once again allow Ahmadinejad a platform, and shameful that d’Escoto and the rest would welcome him rather than denouncing him. Ahmadinejad has boasted that “the annihilation of the Zionist regime will come.” During Israel’s incursion against Hizballah in Lebanon in 2006, he declared, “The Islamic umma [community] will not allow its historic enemy [Israel] to live in its heartland.” Israel’s end is near, he said: “There is no doubt that the new wave [of attacks] in Palestine will soon wipe off this disgraceful blot [Israel] from the face of the Islamic world.” He has declared that “the Zionist regime is counterfeit and illegitimate and cannot survive.”

His genocidal statements have gone beyond Israel. At the “World Without Zionism” conference held in Tehran in October 2005, as the crowd chanted “death to Israel, death to America, death to England,” the Iranian President again recalled Khomeini’s words: “Once, his eminency Imam [Ruhollah] Khomeini stated that the illegal regime of the Pahlavis must go, and it happened. Then he said the Soviet empire would disappear, and it happened. He also said that this evil man Saddam [Hussein] must be punished, and we see that he is under trial in his country. His eminency also said that the occupation regime of Qods [Jerusalem, or Israel] must be wiped off from the map of the world, and with the help of the Almighty, we shall soon experience a world without America and Zionism, notwithstanding those who doubt.”

Ahmadinejad has threatened Iran’s foes with nuclear action: “Today, the Iranian people is the owner of nuclear technology. Those who want to talk with our people should know what people they are talking to. If some believe they can keep talking to the Iranian people in the language of threats and aggressiveness, they should know that they are making a bitter mistake. If they have not realized this by now, they soon will, but then it will be too late. Then they will realize that they are facing a vigilant, proud people.”

Last July, he crowed that “the big powers are going down. They have come to the end of their power, and the world is on the verge of entering a new, promising era.”

The “new, promising era” that Ahmadinejad envisions features a dominant Iran and a beaten, subservient America, as he himself explained in August 2006: “If you want to have good relations with the Iranian people in the future, you should acknowledge the right and the might of the Iranian people, and you should bow and surrender to the might of the Iranian people. If you do not accept this, the Iranian people will force you to bow and surrender.”

It doesn’t look as if force will be needed. The UN General Assembly is lining up now to do just that.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front renews call for jihad against Philippines gov't

Philippines Jihad Update. "MILF: Religious leaders calling for jihad vs govt," from GMA News, September 20:

MANILA, Philippines — Religious leaders in Lanao are calling for a jihad (holy war) in fighting "oppressors" against Islam, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) claimed Saturday.

In a statement on its website (www.luwaran.com), the MILF said the calls were made in sermons of religious leaders during Friday congregational prayers.

"Sermons of the religious leaders of Lanao provinces in Friday's congregational prayers called on the Bangsamoro to unite and wage jihad fi sabilillah in fighting the oppressors, religious persecutors and enemies of Islam," it said.

That is, jihad for the sake of Allah, which refers to armed conflict.

The government has not immediately responded to the alleged jihad calls.

It added that after the prayers, religious folks voiced concerns that the government might again launch massive military offensives during the Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan.

The MILF recalled that the government started its all-out war campaign in 2003 against the MILF and the Bangsamoro people on Feb. 11 at Buliok Islamic Center.

Buliok was where the late MILF Chairman Salamat Hashim was delivering a khutbah (sermon) for the Eid Al-Adha (the feast of pilgrimage to the holy city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia).

On the other hand, the MILF noted that while President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo joins some Muslim groups in their iftar (meal to break the fast at sundown), other Muslim communities in Mindanao are sore at her for government's "unprincipled attacks" on their homes.

The MILF said the Muslim populace of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte assailed the attacks launched Friday by the military as "totally insensitive and unprincipled."

The Geneva Convention never really said much about being gauche.

"Heavy bombardments were unleashed by the AFP when we Muslims were partaking suhur (allowable early morning meals before fasting starts) and the iftar," the MILF quoted text messages from the Muslims in Lanao.

The government has responded since this report, and they sound much more nonchalant about it than they should be. "Political gambit, Palace says of MILF 'jihad'," also from GMA News, September 20:

MANILA, Philippines - Calling it a political gambit, Malacañang on Saturday dismissed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)'s claim that religious leaders in Mindanao were calling for a jihad against the government.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said there was no basis for the call because the pursuit against rogue MILF commanders was not about religion. [...]

Also, Ermita said a jihad could only be waged [if] there was an actual justification. However, he said the MILF had no religious basis to call for a holy war.

In Ermita's opinion. The only problem is, the jihadists aren't going to look to a government they're fighting to make that call.

Jordan: father repeatedly stabs daughter, crushes her head with rock

Unknown to the English speaking world, another grisly apostate/honor killing recently took place in the Muslim world, namely, Jordan. On August 28, 2008, days before her 21st birthday, Rana Riad Muhammad Siwahra, wife and mother of two girls (aged 3 and 5) was murdered by her father. After stabbing her with a knife five-six times in the stomach and chest, he smashed her skull in with a large rock. Afterwards, he washed his hands and went to the market where he was later arrested.

The Jordanian press said the motive was “unclear,” that they were having personal “disagreements,” and that he killed her in a “fit of rage.” Islam, ridda (apostasy) laws, and honor were never mentioned as possible motives.

Her husband, Sultan Muhammad Siwahra, however—himself on the run and in hiding—was recently interviewed on the Arabic satellite program, Su’al Jar’i (“Daring Question”), where he insisted that his wife was murdered specifically because of Islam and the culture it breeds.

For the record, Su’al Jar’i airs on Qanat al-Haya (“Channel of Life” or “Life TV”), which also airs Father Zakaria Botros’ shows, and is similarly dedicated to exposing the problematic aspects of Islam, as well as focus on relevant events of the day—such as this murder. Hosted by apostate Muslim converts to Christianity—who also live in hiding—known only by their first names, Rashid and Ahmed, the show’s no-holds barred style has made it, along with Father Zakaria’s shows, one of the most watched programs on Arabic satellite.

(Though the video is entirely in Arabic and there are no English subtitles, images of the slain, her husband, and daughters can be seen on it. Also, thanks to Rabad Castle and Robert for bringing this to my attention.)

According to Sultan, he grew up in an average Muslim household; yet, when he was a teenager, he was lured to the call of jihad, eventually going to Iraq in order to fight the American infidels and gain entrance into a voluptuous paradise (he asserted that, as a teenager, one of his greatest motivations to go on the jihad was the promise of 72 “unearthly” women in paradise).

To make a long story short, he eventually embraced Christianity (in part due to watching Father Zakaria’s show) and abandoned the jihad. When her family found out that he had apostatized, they renounced him, razed his house, reclaimed their daughter, and, according to sharia, which does not permit Muslim women to marry infidels, concluded that Rana’s marriage to Sultan was null and void. In the meantime, he went in hiding in Syria.

During Sultan’s Syrian sojourn, Rana’s uncle Jihad (yes, a real, and increasingly popular, Muslim name) called him urging him to return to his “right mind,” come back to the fold of Islam (even if just externally), and that everything would then be alright: he’d get his wife and daughters back, and no one would be out to kill him. Jihad also revealed (the audio-taped conversation was aired) that there was a bounty on his head and that his picture and name were posted on various Islamist websites: as Jihad said, damak halal—“Your life is forfeit.”

Sultan revealed that, when he was hiding in Syria, both his family and Rana’s called him assuring him to just come back and that something would be worked out. He eventually returned only to receive a very cold reception, including from his own family (one of his aunts asked a mufti if it was permissible for her to merely greet him, was told no, and accordingly would not receive him). He also found out that some of Rana’s relatives were providing information about him to the local sheikhs in order to have him killed. Once again, he fled to an undisclosed local place.

In the meantime, Rana and her daughters were under “house arrest” at her father’s home, who absolutely forbade her seeing her husband, insisting that doing so is tantamount to adultery, as his apostasy had by default annulled their marriage.

Rana eventually fled to where Sultan was residing, telling him that she just wants to be with him, and that’s its best for them to flee Jordan, from both their families, and go live anywhere else. When Sultan asked her about his conversion, she told him that she too was prepared to go to a church and convert to Christianity—but that they had better act quick before her father caught up with them.

That same day, while Sultan was away, her father, having ascertained where they were, arrived at their place, greeting his daughter with a knife-stab to the heart and, for the grand finale, pounding her head open with a rock
.
Su’al Jar’i aired another taped conversation between Sultan and his murdered wife’s family which further revealed that, far from blaming the father, they held Sultan to blame. Jihad told him, “In short, this is entirely your fault,” while Rana’s mother was heard in the background screaming abuses such as “You son of bitch!” and “You lowlife, Christian dog!”

To date, Sultan is in hiding and his apostate life is still forfeit. His daughters are now being raised by his father, who says they are all that remain to him of his son. And, although both his family and Rana’s continuously tried talking him into returning to Islam, they have now been ostracized by the Muslim communities they live in, for the great shame of having a relative convert to Christianity.

Host Ahmed went on to reveal some interesting facts about ridda law, and what penalties await the apostate. According to him—and, as an apostate himself, he should know—while all four schools of Sunni jurisprudence demand that apostates be put to death, the Hanafi school is against killing female apostates. Instead, females should be trapped and essentially tortured until they see the “error of their ways.”

The vast majority of those Muslims calling into the show were primarily interested in demonstrating that the slaying was un-Islamic. For, they argued, while killing Sultan is in fact Islamic, killing his wife was not, since there is no clear evidence that she had truly converted to Christianity. As one caller kept insisting, “Even Sultan himself admits she had not yet gone to church to convert and thus she should not have been killed!” In other words, their contention revolved around the fact that Rana may not have apostatized after all, and so may have been innocent—not that killing an apostate is wrong in the first place.

Ironically, according to Sultan, her death has only reinforced his faith, as in one heartfelt scene he implored his fellow apostate hosts: “What sort of religion makes a father murder his own daughter?!” Nor does he hold Rana’s father to blame, insisting instead that “He was always a good man, but it’s his religion that instructs him so.”

Perhaps most troubling of all is the fact that, if this brutal tale never even made it to the Western press, how many similar stories of apostasy/honor killings, not to mention general oppression, in the Islamic world never even make it to the local media and in the indigenous language?

Two Methodists arrested in Germany on terror charges -- no, wait...

Actually, they appear to be Muslims, oddly enough. But not to worry, Kölners: some of those who oppose jihad activity are neo-Nazis, and therefore the jihadists pose no threat. Another story on this: "Two arrested on Germany terror charges," from UPI, September 20:

BERLIN, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- A German citizen and a Turkish national have been arrested in Germany on terrorism charges, authorities said.

The German citizen is a 27-year-old man of Afghan descent who allegedly received terrorist training at a militant camp along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, while the Turkish man, also 27, had attempted to reach the same camp but was detained by Pakistani authorities, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

German prosecutors said the two men shared a bank account with three other men arrested last year in connection with an alleged plot by the Islamic Jihad Union to bomb U.S. targets in Germany. Authorities this month charged those suspects with hatching a plan to use homemade explosives to bomb U.S. military bases and a dance club in Giessen.

Both of the men arrested Thursday were charged with membership in a terrorist group, the Post said.

Cologne mayor on Anti-Islamization Conference: "We're here to show racism the red card"

Cologne, Nazi-free city, says yes to Islamization

The anti-Islamization conference in Cologne that I wrote about here has been effectively thwarted by German authorities. They banned the conference and sent out the police, and then came a huge counter-demonstration, at which the photo above was taken.

The authorities and counter-protesters were focused on fighting "racism" and "Nazism," as the photo above shows. And as I explained here, there were legitimate questions about some of the participants -- although this story says that the most problematic figure, Jean-Marie LePen, who has been accused of antisemitism and Holocaust denial, never had plans to be there.

In any case, the "Nazism," if it was present among the anti-Islamization ralliers, was not of a very obvious kind: no brown shirts, no swastikas, no sieg heils, no goose-stepping hordes. Even if there were problems with some of the speakers, the issue is real -- and the speakers have a right to be heard if there is to be a free society in Cologne. Many Muslims, including the internationally renowned Sheikh Qaradawi, have stated openly their intention to Islamize Europe.

Moreover, Spiegel reported this in July about the group behind the Cologne mosque:

Even DITIB, the comparatively moderate organization behind the mosque project in Cologne, arouses mistrust. DITIB is the long arm of a religious institution in secular Turkey. "What will most likely happen," ask the residents of Cologne who take part in the protests, "if the feared Islamization of Turkey happens? Will DITIB bring it over here?"

Cologne's Archbishop Joachim Meisner is already warning people about of areas in Germany "where sharia law is increasingly spreading." In the case of DITIB, this warning might be premature or simply inaccurate. At the same time, however, the association is remotely controlled from Ankara and has a reputation for being more concerned with helping to maintain the identity of Turkish immigrants than with helping them integrate in their new homes.

Yet in Cologne the counter-protesters seemed to be equating opposition to Islamization with Nazism -- as the sign above shows. With signs such as "Temples, synagogues, churches and mosques -- everything's okay" and statements praising the city for standing up "to protect its Muslims," the city authorities and counter-protesters don't seem to have any awareness of the Islamization program, or how mosques have been used to foster jihadism and Islamic supremacism, or any understanding of the need to counter it. They just think of it as "racism," as if it is "racist" and "Nazi" to oppose the institutionalized discrimination against women and non-Muslims, stonings, amputations, the denial of freedom of speech and freedom of conscience, and all the other features of Islamic law.

Well, it isn't. If any of the anti-Islamization protesters in Cologne really were neo-Nazis, and at this point I have no way of finding out for sure, that would be unfortunate, but it doesn't make the problem of Islamization go away. In a sane and healthy Europe interested in protecting and preserving European civilization, the huge numbers of counter-protesters would actually have been protesting against Islamization, and the mainstream parties of Europe would have been represented at the rally. Anti-jihadists in Europe should work to avoid all taint of neofascism and race supremacism -- and this is particularly in Europe, where fascism and race supremacism led to the mass murder of millions within recent memory. But to label all and any opposition to Islamization as "Nazism" and "racism," as the Cologne authorities and counter-protesters seem to be doing, is simply a ticket to national and civilizational suicide. If anyone here is behaving like a fascist, it is not the anti-Islamization demonstrators, but the city authorities who are violently clamping down on debate and dissent.

Both terms -- Islam and Nazism -- are slippery. “Nazism” is because it is a term of abuse that is hurled at any conservative, and this makes it harder to recognize real Nazis when they come along. “Islam” is also confusing to many, because people assume one is speaking about Muslim individuals when one is speaking about the ideology, and the ideology is not known or held with equal awareness and fervor by everyone who calls himself a Muslim. The term also confuses people because it makes them assume that Islam can be understood and dealt with in exactly the same way and on the same terms as Christianity or Judaism or anything else that is classified as a "religion." But Islam is not simply a religion in those terms, as I have pointed out many, many times. It is a political and social system as well, and that political system ought to be subject to scrutiny, criticism, and rejection like any other. To say that to do so is inherently "racist" or "xenophobic" is to confuse the issue (and often those who do this do it willfully). There is nothing wrong with wanting to limit immigration -- particularly of those with an avowed goal of replacing one's society and culture with their own, rather than assimilating.

La Yijad en Eurabia (thanks to Paul) has an illuminating set of pictures establishing the strong pro-jihad, anti-Israel, hard-Left (hammer-and-sickle, Che Guevara, etc.) character of the groups protesting against the anti-Islamization group. Note also the Iranian dissidents, who were no doubt on the side of the anti-Islamization protesters.

"Germans Thwart Anti-Islam Rally," from IslamOnline, September 21:

COLOGNE, Germany — Tens of thousands of Germans took to the streets of the western city of Cologne on Saturday, September 20, to protest an anti-Islam conference of European far-rightists.

"We're here to show racism the red card," Cologne Mayor Fritz Schramma told the cheering crowd, reported Reuters.

He slammed the local far-right group Pro-Koeln, which is organizing an "Anti- Islamisation Congress," as "arsonists and racists" hiding under the cloak of a citizens' movement.

Carrying banners saying: "We are Cologne -- Get rid of the Nazis!," protesters gathered outside the city's cathedral to demonstrate against the congress.

Some of the protesters carried placards reading "Nazis out of Cologne" and "Temples, synagogues, churches and mosques -- everything's okay".

Most of the protests, called by trade unions, churches and anti-racist movements, saw thousands of students, families and local businessmen and women carry signs with slogans including "No to Racism" and "Cologne is rebelling!"

They disrupted the Pro-Koeln congress, ensuring less than 50 delegates were able to return to the meeting on Saturday morning.

The two-day congress, opened on Friday, brought together 150 far-right politicians and publicists from across Europe to protest Muslim presence in Europe.

Victory

Around 150 bars in Cologne stopped selling Pro-Koeln members the local Kolsch beer.

Many taxi and bus drivers were refusing to transport delegates to the congress.

One hotel even cancelled bookings made by "undesirables."

"Racists and extremists aren't welcome," stressed Mayor Schramma.

A far-right rally to protest the construction of a mosque in Cologne was also cancelled by police Saturday after clashes with opponents.

"The rally has been cancelled," said a police spokesman.

Police said 40,000 people protested against the rally, which had been expected to attract 1,500 people but only dozens showed up.

Many protestors cheered the rally ban.

"It's a victory for the city of Cologne and a victory by the democratic forces in this city," Mayor Schramma told the DPA news agency.

On Friday, several hundred opponents of the congress formed a human chain around a mosque in solidarity with the Muslim minority.

Though Islam is Europe's second religion, European Muslims are facing campaigns from far-right groups to have stately mosques on claims that they are signs of the "Islamization" of Europe.

Armin Laschet, minister for minorities in North Rhine-Westphalia state, told the Tagesspiegel newspaper it was the first time an entire German city "stood up to protect its Muslims."...

"The international community must deal with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as it dealt with Adolf Hitler"

Achtung, baby!

So says Israel's former chief of staff: "Former chief of staff Ya'alon: Ahmadinejad should be dealt with like Hitler," from the Jerusalem Post, September 21:

The international community must deal with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as it dealt with Adolf Hitler, former chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Moshe Ya'alon said Sunday.

"We in the West are in the same situation, indecisiveness in the face of a threat that is no less severe than the threat Hitler posed in 1938-39," Ya'alon told Army Radio.

"We can still stop Iran with diplomatic and economic means, but if that doesn't work, a military confrontation will be unavoidable," he said, adding, pessimistically, that "the writing is on the wall" for a military solution.

Arab News: McCain and Obama are Tweedledum and Tweedledee

Facing a hideous choice

In "Tweedledum and Tweedledee" in Arab News, September 20, Anwar Kemal says that there is no real choice between Obama and McCain. Why not? Because neither supports the jihad against Israel.

IT is a popular belief among Americans that the Arabs prefer Barack Obama because his first name is derived from the Arabic “Baraka” and his middle name is Hussein. That may have been the case before Illinois senator came out so vocally in favor of Israel.

Obama’s statements and actions during the past six months have made one thing amply clear: It is not going to make the slightest difference to Arab welfare or the cause of the Palestinians struggling for their rights and freedom if Obama is elected president.

According to Robert Fisk of The Independent, Israel is going to have it easy, and the Arabs just as hard, no matter who is elected. No sooner is Obama (or McCain) elected than “he will be forced to take sides — Israel’s, of course — and then it will be time for the next election.” Both the presidential candidates will be talking about Israel’s security, not Palestinian security, and “we’ll be back on the same old itinerary.”...

There is a curious disconnection from reality in this piece. With Bush and Rice agitating for a "stable, contiguous Palestinian state," and Olmert offering the "Palestinians" 98.1% of the West Bank, Israel could be cut in two very soon, and given a Hamas-controlled jihadist state, internationally coddled and financed, as its new neighbor. But Kemal is right in one way: this could happen no matter which candidate wins the election.

Blogging the Qur’an: Suras 47, “Muhammad,” and 48, “Victory”

"Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers in fight, smite at their necks"

The Medinan sura 47 is alternatively known as Al-Qital, “The Fighting” – and indeed, it is much preoccupied with war against unbelievers. It affirms of those who oppose Islam that Allah will “render their deeds vain” (vv. 1, 8-9, 28, 32). Bulandshahri explains: “Even though the disbelievers may carry out many good deeds and render great services to mankind, these deeds will not be recognized on the Day of Judgment on account of their disbelief.” By contrast, Allah will improve the condition of the believers (vv. 2, 7, 35).

Teachings such as these lead to the common Islamic idea that Islamic purity will lead to worldly prosperity, and unbelief conversely to ruin in this life. For Allah protects the believers, while the unbelievers have no protector (v. 11). In a hadith in An-Nasai’s collection – one of the six collections Muslims consider most reliable – Muhammad prays, “O Allah, I seek refuge with you from unbelief and poverty.” Someone asked him, “Are they equal?” Muhammad answered, “Yes.” This connection is often clearly refuted by reality, but is tenaciously held nonetheless.

Then come instructions to behead the unbelievers when the believers meet them in battle (v. 4). The literal understanding of this verse is paramount among Islamic commentators. Ibn Kathir says that it means that when Muslims “fight against” unbelievers, they should “cut them down totally with your swords.” The Tafsir al-Jalalayn spells it out further: “in other words, slay them — reference is made to the ‘striking of the necks’ because the predominant cause of being slayed is to be struck in the neck.” Zamakhshari takes “strike at the necks” to mean that Muslims should strike non-Muslims specifically on the neck rather than elsewhere, so as to make sure they are dead and not just wounded.

The twentieth-century Qur’an translator Abdullah Yusuf Ali likewise takes the injunction literally, justifying it by saying, “You cannot wage war with kid gloves.” However, Muhammad Khatib, a modern Sunni commentator, says that this command applies only to Muhammad’s day, although Shi‘ites “think it is a universal precept.” Modern-day Sunni jihad groups such as Zarqawi’s Al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in Iraq a few years ago pointed to this and other Qur’anic verses as justifications for their beheadings.

The same verse goes on to call for the taking of prisoners and allowing for “either generosity or ransom” of prisoners of war. This has been enshrined in Islamic law: ‘Umdat al-Salik, a manual of Islamic jurisprudence certified by Al-Azhar University in Cairo (the most respected authority in Sunni Islam) as conforming “to the practice and faith of the orthodox Sunni community,” lays out four options for prisoners, in line with this verse: “When an adult male is taken captive, the caliph considers the interests ... (of Islam and the Muslims) and decides between the prisoner’s death, slavery, release without paying anything, or ransoming himself in exchange for money or for a Muslim captive held by the enemy” (o9.14).

Then comes an oft-repeated refrain: Don’t the unbelievers travel around the earth and see how Allah has destroyed earlier unbelieving peoples (vv. 10, 13)? Allah will admit the believers to the gardens of Paradise, while the unbelievers will eat as the cattle eat and drink boiling water that will cut their bowels to pieces (vv. 12, 14-15). Some listen to Muhammad but are insincere (v. 16), and some even ask that a chapter of the Qur’an be sent down for them – but when one is sent down that commands fighting, they draw back (v. 20). Ibn Kathir explains that “Allah mentions that the believers were hoping that Jihad would be legislated. But when Allah ordained it, many of the people turned back” – and he explains why they did so in a way that makes it clear that the jihad in question involves hot war: they drew back, says Ibn Kathir, because of “their fear, terror, and cowardice concerning meeting the enemies.”

Then come more excoriations of unbelievers, with familiar charges reissued: Allah has cursed the unbelievers and made them deaf and blind (v. 23); their hearts are locked so that they cannot understand the Qur’an (v. 24); and they apostatize from Islam because Satan beguiles them (v. 25). This life is mere “play and amusement,” but those who obey Allah will not have to give up their worldly goods (v. 36), but they should not hesitate to spend money in Allah’s cause (v. 38).

Sura 48 is also from Medina. The “victory” from Allah in v. 1 is for some the Muslim conquest of Mecca late in Muhammad’s life; for others it is the Treaty of Hudaybiyya, which Muhammad concluded on disadvantageous terms with the pagan Quraysh tribe of Mecca before he conquered that city. Umar, one of Muhammad’s closest followers, asked him about this three times, got no answer, and then went away in fear that a passage of the Qur’an would be revealed about him! But instead there came this sura, telling Muhammad that Allah would forgive his past and future sins (v. 2) and would admit the believers to Paradise (v. 5), while the hypocrites and polytheists will go to hell (v. 6).

Those who pledge loyalty to Muhammad pledge loyalty to Allah (v. 10). Those who refused to go with Muhammad to meet the Quraysh, fearing that they would be massacred, make excuses, but Allah knows that they hoped Muhammad and the Muslims would not return (vv. 11-12). Allah tells Muhammad to tell them that they will be called upon to fight against a powerful people, unless they submit to Islam; if they fight then, they will be rewarded (v. 16). Islamic scholars differ as to which powerful people is meant – some suggested the Persians and Byzantines. The blind, lame, and ill need not fight in jihad warfare, but those who do will go to Paradise (v. 17). Allah is pleased with the believers who pledged fealty to Muhammad under the tree (v. 18) – Ibn Kathir says there were 1,400 Muslims who did so, under a tree near Hudaybiyya. Allah sent them as-sakinah (v. 18), which is the presence of God in the Old Testament but is understood simply as “tranquility” by Muslim commentators. He also promises the believers much booty (v. 19), which they soon collected in the raid on the Jewish settlement at the oasis of Khaybar.

The unbelievers, if they fight the Muslims, will flee (v. 22). Allah protected the believers from the unbelievers at Hudaybiyya, giving them “tranquility” (vv. 24-26) -- and the truce he concluded with the Meccans at Hudaybiyya will allow Muhammad and the Muslims to visit the Ka’aba (v. 27). Those who follow Muhammad are merciful to believers but harsh to unbelievers (v. 29) – a stark contrast to Jesus’ injunction in the Sermon on the Mount to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

Next week: Sura 49, “The Chambers”: “The (true) believers are those only who believe in Allah and His messenger and afterward doubt not, but strive with their wealth and their lives for the cause of Allah.”

(Here you can find links to all the earlier "Blogging the Qur'an" segments. Here is a good Arabic Qur’an, with English translations available; here are two popular Muslim translations, those of Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall, along with a third by M. H. Shakir. Here is another popular translation, that of Muhammad Asad. And here is an omnibus of ten Qur’an translations.)

Ten arrested in Bangladesh for "encouraging people, in the name of Islam, to overthrow the government and establish khilafat"

Police said they belong to Hizb ut-Tahrir -- a group that, as of April of this year, was still legal in Britain and Australia.

"Bangladesh arrests 10 suspected Islamic extremists," from Agence France-Presse, September 19:

DHAKA (AFP) - Ten men with links to an Islamic radical group have been arrested in western Bangladesh on suspicion of promoting militancy in the country, a policeman said Friday.

Police officer Abbdus Sattar told AFP the men were arrested late Thursday after they were found to be distributing Islamic extremist literature in the western city of Rajshahi.

"We arrested them on suspicion of encouraging militancy in the country and we are investigating their activities," he said.

"They were provoking unrest in the name of religion. They were encouraging people, in the name of Islam, to overthrow the government and establish khilafat here."

He said the men belonged to the Bangladeshi chapter of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a global group that wants to combine all Muslim countries in a unitary Islamic state or "khilafat."

Muslim-majority Bangladesh has been hit by a series of attacks by Islamic terror groups in recent years -- including 400 blasts on just one day in August 2005 by the banned Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

Massive bombing at Islamabad Marriott kills dozens

"[The] Saturday blast, which reverberated throughout Islamabad, was caused by more than a ton of explosives. ... The blast left a crater some 30 feet deep in front of the main building."

"Explosion at Pakistan Marriott hotel kills 40," by Asif Shahzad for the Associated Press, September 20:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Police say at least 40 people have died in a massive explosion that destroyed the luxury Marriott Hotel in Pakistan's capital.

Senior police official Asghar Raza Gardaizi said he fears there are dozens more dead inside.

He said that the Saturday blast, which reverberated throughout Islamabad, was caused by more than a ton of explosives.

The blast left a crater some 30 feet deep in front of the main building.

Flames poured from the windows of the hotel and rescuers ferried a stream of bloodied bodies from the gutted building. [...]

The Marriott is a favorite place for foreigners to stay and socialize in Islamabad, despite repeated militant attacks. A security guard at the scene, Mohammad Nasir, and several witnesses said a large truck had driven toward the gate before exploding.

The blast left a vast crater, some 30 feet deep in front of the main building, where flames poured from the windows and rescuers ferried a stream of bloodied bodies from the gutted building.

Mohammad Sultan, a hotel employee, said he was in the lobby when something exploded, he fell down and everything temporarily went dark.

"I don't understand what it was, but it was like the world is finished," he said.

An Associated Press reporter counted at least nine bodies scattered at the scene. Scores of people, including foreigners, were running out — some of them stained with blood. At a hospital where many of the casualties were taken, official Raja Ejaz said at least two people had died and 25 were wounded.

Ambulances rushed to the area, where a fire burned, smoke hovered and the carcasses of vehicles were thrown about. Windows in buildings hundreds of yards away were shattered.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. [...]

In January 2007, a security guard blocked a suicide bomber who triggered a blast just outside the Marriott, killing the guard and wounding seven other people.

U.K.: Banned jihadist group launches new recruitment campaign

"Islam4uk.com is a reincarnation of al-Muhajiroun in all but name."

"Islamist sect banned as security threat 'is recruiting teenagers'," by Robert Mendick for the Evening Standard, September 19:

A militant Islamic sect banned by the Government as a threat to national security has launched a campaign to radicalise teenagers in east London, the Evening Standard can reveal.

Al-Muhajiroun, headed by exiled cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed, tonight begins a recruitment drive targeting young Muslims - despite being outlawed under terror laws introduced in the wake of the 7/7 suicide bomb attacks on London.

Several members of the sect have been jailed in recent years for terror-related offences but there are fears the group is thriving again under a new name.

The group has launched a website, Islam4uk.com.

It is advertising its first youth conference, entitled Muslim Youth: The Spark of the Fire, at a community centre in Walthamstow - close to the homes of six men who face a retrial over a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners. Islam4uk.com is a reincarnation of al-Muhajiroun in all but name. It is headed by Bakri Mohammed, now living in Lebanon, and his deputy Anjem Choudary, its official spokesman.

The two have kept a relatively low profile since the 7 July attacks on London in 2005 but have become emboldened in recent weeks.

The youth conference tonight is being addressed by two notorious extremists, Abu Uzair and Abu Waleed.

Uzair, 40, who was a follower of jailed preacher Abu Hamza at Finsbury Park mosque, sprang to prominence when he praised the 9/11 hijackers as " magnificent" and claimed that if he knew terrorists were planning a suicide attack, he would not alert police.

In an interview with the BBC, Uzair declared: "We don't live in peace with you any more. The banner has been risen for jihad inside the UK, which means it's allowed for bombers to attack."

Waleed, another disciple of Hamza's, was caught on video earlier this year making a joke about Muslims taking backpacks on to the London Underground.

Having laid low for the past three years - since Bakri was forced to live in exile in Lebanon - there is concern al-Muhajiroun is growing in strength.

At a meeting last Thursday - as first reported by the Standard - almost 100 Muslims attended to hear a live video link-up with Bakri.

Andrew Dismore, the Labour MP for Hendon, who first called for al-Muhajiroun to be banned 10 years ago, said today: "This new group needs to be banned. Islam4uk is clearly just another side of the same coin.

"This shows the real difficulty with these splinter groups. The fact they are now getting 100 people to their meetings is very alarming."

Al-Qaeda's propaganda jihad compromised due to technical glitch, "marring al-Qaeda's usual celebration of its attacks on U.S. cities in 2001"

This is what happens when your company hires a great many jihadists at the expense of technical support: "Web problems hit release of al Qaeda 9/11 video," by Firouz Sedarat for Reuters, September 20:

DUBAI (Reuters) - An al Qaeda video to mark the anniversary of the September 11 attacks has appeared on the Internet more than a week late, after Islamist websites it uses went down and a technical glitch further delayed its distribution.

The delay of the much-touted 87-minute video, and the disappearance of the main Islamist sites -- possibly after being targeted by hackers -- have marred al Qaeda's usual celebration of its attacks on U.S. cities in 2001.

Excerpts from the video -- a compilation of documentary footage and messages by al Qaeda leaders including its deputy head Ayman al-Zawahri -- were aired on September 8 by Al Jazeera television, which did not say how it obtained them.

But the full version hit websites only on Friday, eight days after the anniversary. Al Qaeda has marked the date in the past with timely releases, including a tape on September 7 last year in which leader Osama bin Laden appeared on video for the first time in nearly three years, addressing the American people.

Al Qaeda attaches great importance to spreading web-based propaganda and know-how through its specialist media arm as-Sahab, whose productions are often highly professional.

It was unclear why the websites normally favored by the group had gone down. By Saturday, the two most popular were still out of action.

[...]

When less popular Islamist websites finally managed to post links to the much-hyped video -- which includes a "last will" recording by one of the September 11 hijackers -- downloaders noted that the password given to them was wrong.

This further delayed the release and unnerved al Qaeda sympathizers, one of whom wrote: "May God bless you my brothers, but the password is wrong."...

Nebraska Swift plant fires at least 86 over Ramadan demands

Another update on this story. "Muslim leader says 150 workers fired at Neb. plant," by Jean Oritz for the Associated Press, September 19:

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Grand Island meatpacking plant fired at least 86 workers Friday after they walked off the job amid a dispute over prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, company officials said.

But a Muslim leader and one of the fired workers said 150 Muslims lost their jobs.

JBS Swift & Co. spokeswoman Tamara Smid confirmed 86 firings late Friday, saying the employees were terminated earlier that day for repeatedly leaving work without authorization. She would not give any other details, including whether anyone else had been fired.

Mohamed Rage, who leads the Omaha Somali-American Community Organization, said 80 workers were thrown out after an altercation late Thursday. He says when they tried to return for their shift Friday, they were fired, along with 70 others.

Police said were called to the plant late Thursday amid reports of a riot or serious fight. But when officers arrived, the situation had calmed, said police Chief Steve Lamken.

Muslim workers — mostly of Somali background — have been asking for accommodations with break times to allow prayer at sunset. The issue led to walkouts this week — not only from Muslims but from non-Muslims who protested such accommodations as preferential treatment.

One of the Somali workers, Mohamed Farah, said some workers tried to take a break to pray Thursday around sunset. The break had been arranged with managers, Farah told The Associated Press, with Rage translating the conversation.

Farah said tension had been building in recent days with Latino workers, who started protesting when they saw the Muslim workers leaving for break. Farah said the Latino workers started shouting and beating on their tables.

Two women, one 19 and another in her 40s, and a 20-year-old man fainted during the commotion because they had gone so long without food, Farah said. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.

Dan Hoppes, president of Local 22 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, described what happened Thursday night differently than Rage and Farah did. He said that according to management and employees, 60 to 80 people quit late Thursday after raising the prayer issue and creating a commotion.

Hoppes said supervisors had told the workers to go back to work or leave and they left. Workers who walked off the job Monday and Tuesday in protest had to have known their leaving again would result in their termination, he said.

The plant employs about 2,500 people, not counting management. About a fifth of them are Muslim.

Tensions have also flared elsewhere, including Swift's plant in Greeley, Colo. More than 100 workers there were fired last week because the company said they walked away from work before their shifts ended.

Hoppes couldn't confirm the total number of workers affected Friday, but said he knew human resources representatives were posted at employee entrances to address workers.

"We don't have any clear cut information as to numbers or why they were terminated," he said. [...]

Swift said in a statement that the company is working to resolve the issues that have arisen.

"JBS values its diverse workforce and has a long track record of making significant accommodations to employees," the statement said. "We work closely with all employees and union representation to accommodate religious practices in a reasonable, safe and fair manner."

Two "men" arrested for "terrorist" activity in Germany

Eurabia Alert. "Two Men Arrested for Alleged Terrorism Plot in Germany," by Craig Whitlock for the Washington Post, September 19:

BERLIN, Sept. 19 -- German police arrested two men near Frankfurt on terrorism charges Friday, alleging they were involved in a cell that had plotted to blow up U.S. targets in Germany a year ago.

Federal prosecutors said the two suspects -- a German citizen and a Turkish national -- had traveled separately to Pakistan last year in an attempt to receive training at camps operated by the Islamic Jihad Union, a terrorist group allied with al-Qaeda.

Authorities said the men had shared bank account information and a debit card with three men arrested in September 2007 on suspicion of planning mass bombing attacks on U.S. targets in Germany.

Prosecutors identified the German citizen as Omid S., a 27-year-old of Afghan descent, and said he had received training at a militant camp along the Afghan-Pakistan border during the spring and summer of 2007.

The Turkish man, identified as 27-year-old Hueseyin O., also traveled to the region last year, prosecutors said. Before he could reach the camp, however, he was detained by Pakistani security forces and forced to return to Germany, according to a statement released by the German federal prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe....

Tancredo introduces anti-Sharia "Jihad Prevention Act"

In the wake of Britain's capitulation to Sharia, this is just the kind of law we need. I am very glad to see Congressman Tancredo doing this, and hope that it will at very least ignite a national debate about this issue.

"Tancredo Proposes Anti-Sharia Measure in Wake of U.K. Certification of Islamic Courts," from Borderfire Report, September 19 (thanks to all who sent this in):

WASHINGTON, DC – Amid disturbing revelations that the verdicts of Islamic Sharia courts are now legally binding in civil cases in the United Kingdom, U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo (R-Littleton) moved quickly today to introduce legislation designed to protect the United States from a similar fate.

According to recent news reports, a new network of Sharia courts in a half-dozen major cities in the U.K. have been empowered under British law to adjudicate a wide variety of legal cases ranging from divorces and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence.

“This is a case where truth is truly stranger than fiction,” said Tancredo. “Today the British people are learning a hard lesson about the consequences of massive, unrestricted immigration.”

Sharia law, favored by Muslim extremists around the world, often calls for brutal punishment – such as the stoning of women who are accused of adultery or have children out of wedlock, cutting off the hands of petty thieves and lashings for the casual consumption of alcohol. Under Sharia law, a woman is often required to provide numerous witnesses to prove rape allegations against an assailant – a near impossible task.

“When you have an immigration policy that allows for the importation of millions of radical Muslims, you are also importing their radical ideology – an ideology that is fundamentally hostile to the foundations of western democracy – such as gender equality, pluralism, and individual liberty,” said Tancredo. “The best way to safeguard America against the importation of the destructive effects of this poisonous ideology is to prevent its purveyors from coming here in the first place.”

Tancredo’s bill, dubbed the “Jihad Prevention Act,” would bar the entry of foreign nationals who advocate Sharia law. In addition, the legislation would make the advocacy of Sharia law by radical Muslims already in the United States a deportable offense.

Tancredo pointed to the results of a recent poll conducted by the Centre for Social Cohesion as evidence that the U.S. should act to prevent the situation in Great Britain from replicating itself here in the United States. The poll found that some 40 percent of Muslim students in the United Kingdom support the introduction of Sharia law there, and 33 percent support the imposition of an Islamic Sharia-based government worldwide.

“We need to send a clear message that the only law we recognize here in America is the U.S. Constitution and the laws passed by our democratically elected representatives,” concluded Tancredo. “If you aren’t comfortable with that concept, you aren’t welcome in the United States.”

UK judge to "Britain's youngest terrorist": " I have no doubt that you, amongst others of similar immaturity and vulnerability, fell under the spell of fanatical extremists"

More on this story. "Britain's youngest teenage terrorist: 'a wake-up call for parents,'" by Caroline Gammell for Telegraph, September 19:

Speaking after the sentencing of Britain's youngest terrorist, Shahid Malik, the minister for International Development, said parents had to be vigilant against the threat of radicalisation.

He also called on mosques to do more to combat fundamentalism.

The MP spoke out after the sentencing of Hammad Munshi who was just 15 when he was recruited by a terror cell believed to have been plotting against the Royal Family.

The teenager, from Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, had downloaded information about bomb-making material from the internet and hidden notes about martyrdom under his bed.

The judge at the Old Bailey said the schoolboy's head had been filled with "pernicious and warped ideas" which led to his involvement in a plan to kill kuffars or non-believers.

Munshi's local MP Mr Malik said: "It is a real wake-up call for parents because there is a real need to be vigilant, especially when their kids are on the internet.

"It is a real wake-up call to how older jihadists can prey on vulnerable young people.

"Mosques have done a lot but they need to do more in terms of telling young people what is acceptable and what is not in Islam."

Indeed, it seems that "mosques have done a lot" precisely because they do tell "young people what is acceptable and what is not in Islam." Acceptable: jihad to make Islam supreme and the subjugation of all non-Muslims; Unacceptable: friendship or loyalty to non-Muslims. And so forth.

Munshi, who is the grandson of a senior Islamic sharia judge, was groomed by terrorist Aabid Hussain Khan, 23, who was jailed last month alongside postman Sultan Muhammed, 23, both from Bradford.

[...]

Sentencing him to two years in a young offenders' institution, Judge Timothy Pontius said Khan and others had taken advantage of Munshi's youth.

"It is regrettable and tragic that you find yourself in court on such a serious charge," he said. "You have brought very great shame upon yourself, your family and your religion.

"In the light of the evidence, I have no doubt that you, amongst others of similar immaturity and vulnerability, fell under the spell of fanatical extremists.

"They took advantage of your youthful naivety in order to indoctrinate you with pernicious and warped ideas masquerading as altruistic religious zeal.

"Were it not for Aabid Khan's malign influence I doubt whether this offence would ever have been committed. Yet there is no doubt that you knew what you were doing."...

UK: Muslim youth "involved in a global conspiracy to wipe out non-Muslims" sentenced to two years in prison

More on this story. "UK's 'youngest terrorist' jailed," from Reuters, September 19 (thanks to Darcy):

A schoolboy, said by prosecutors to be the youngest Briton to be convicted of a terrorism offence, was jailed for two years on Friday for his part in what prosecutors called a worldwide plot to target non-Muslims.

Hammaad Munshi, 18, was found guilty last month of being part of a cell that spread extremist propaganda and provided practical guides on how to make poisons and suicide vests.

Detectives said Munshi, an IT expert who was just 16 when he was arrested at his home in Dewsbury, northern England, as he returned from school, was dedicated to al Qaeda's cause.

He used the Internet to circulate material including technical documents on how to make napalm and homemade explosives, and discussed how to smuggle a sword through airport security.

Al Qaeda propaganda promoting "murder and destruction" was stored on his computer and notes on martyrdom were hidden under his bed, London's Old Bailey court heard.

The teenager, who was convicted of making a record of information likely to be useful in terrorism, was sentenced on Friday to two years in a young offenders' institution.

Prosecutors said Munshi was part of a cell that provided information on terrorist techniques, training, weapons and explosives. The men were involved in a global conspiracy to "wipe out" non-Muslims, the court heard.

They said his co-accused Aabid Hussain Khan had recruited Munshi when he was just 15.

Khan was jailed for 12 years last month while the cell's other member Sultan Muhammad was given a 10-year term.

Judge Timothy Pontius said Munshi, the grandson of Islamic scholar Sheikh Yakub Munshi, president of the Islamic Research Institute of Great Britain at the Markazi Mosque in Dewsbury, had brought shame to his family and religion.

However he had been given a lighter sentence because he had fallen "under the spell of fanatical extremists" who took advantage of his naivety.

But the judge added: "There is no doubt that you knew what you were doing."

(Reporting by Michael Holden)

Indian police in shootout with jihadists in raid on New Delhi safehouse

"A sizable amount of arms and ammunition was discovered in the house."

"Indian police battle Islamic militants in capital," by Matthew Rosenberg for the Associated Press, September 19:

NEW DELHI - Indian police battled suspected Islamic militants holed up in a house in the country's capital Friday, killing two and arresting one before the others escaped, police said.

The gunbattle in a southern part of sprawling New Delhi put the city back on edge days after five coordinated bombings in the capital's markets killed 21 people — attacks credited to homegrown Islamic militants.

A senior New Delhi police officer, Karnal Singh, told reporters at the scene of Friday's firefight in the Jamia Nagar neighborhood that there were five gunmen. Two were killed, one was arrested and two escaped, he said.

Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said two policemen were wounded in the fighting.

"A sizable amount of arms and ammunition was discovered in the house," said Bhagat. "The area has been cordoned off, and we are continuing our investigation."

Soon after the gunbattle broke out around noon Friday, scores of police officers, many in riot gear, could be seen fanning out through Jamia Nagar, a leafy lower middle-class neighborhood. The scene was chaotic with authorities trying to get civilians out of harm's way while subduing the militants.

A group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the New Delhi attacks. It also said it was behind bombings that killed 61 people in the western city of Jaipur in May and July blasts in the western state of Gujarat that killed at least 45.

Police apparently zeroed in Friday on one New Delhi house after interrogating a man detained after the Gujarat bombings, The Press Trust of India news agency reported.

The man, identified as Abu Basher, said the home in quiet Jamia Nagar was used as a safe house by Islamic militants plotting attacks around India.

The Indian Mujahideen was little known before this year's bombings, and police believe it may be a front for the Students' Islamic Movement of India, or SIMI, which was banned in 2001.

India has routinely blamed Pakistan or Bangladesh-based militant groups for dozens of attacks in the last three years.

But as the death toll has mounted this year, evidence has pointed to the involvement of Indian Muslims, raising difficult questions for the government about growing anger among India's large Muslim minority.

More on that "anger" here.

Arabs denounce cleric's fatwa on "immoral" TV

While this is certainly refreshing, it still begs the question: who knows what Islam demands more accurately: the average Muslim, who may denounce such fatwas, or "top" clerics, who have been studying Islam all their lives? Muslims can denounce this or that, the question still remains: is it Islamic or not?

"Arabs denounce cleric's fatwa on 'immoral,' TV" by Donna Abu-Nasr for AP, September 19 (thanks to JCB):

Arabs across the ideological spectrum, from secular-minded liberals to Muslim hard-liners, are denouncing a top Saudi cleric's edict that it was permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV stations that show "immoral" content.

Many expressed worry the recent comments by Sheik Saleh al-Lihedan — chief of the kingdom's highest tribunal, the Supreme Judiciary Council — would fuel terrorism, encouraging attacks on station employees and owners.

[...]

"Our religion prevents Muslims from watching films that provide seduction, obscenity and vulgarity," said Sheik Hazim Awad, an Iraqi cleric, who, like al-Lihedan, is Sunni Muslim.

But "the real Muslim can just cancel (subscriptions to) these channels," he said.

Many conservatives frown on the Arab world's numerous satellite networks for airing music videos — often with scantily clad women singers — or Western movies and TV shows like "Sex and the City," from which nude scenes are sometimes but not always cut.

Obscenity isn't the only thing that disturbs some. On Tuesday, another Saudi cleric, Sheik Mohammed Munajjid, said the cartoon character Mickey Mouse should be killed. Munajjid said in an interview with a religious Web site that under Islamic law, rats and mice are considered "repulsive" and as "soldiers of Satan."

Note, another cleric: obviously, then, al-Lihedan is not alone in these views.

"For children they've become something great and beloved. Like this Mickey Mouse, who is seen as a great figure, even though under Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed," said Munajjid, who is a well-known cleric but does not hold a government position.

The controversy over al-Lihedan's fatwa began a week ago, when the cleric was answering questions from callers to the daily "Light in the Path" religious program on Saudi state radio. One caller asked about Islam's view of the owners of satellite TV channels that show "bad programs" during the holy month of Ramadan, which began more than two weeks ago.

"I want to advise the owners of these channels, who broadcast calls for such indecency and impudence ... and I warn them of the consequences," al-Lihedan said in the program. "Those calling for corrupt beliefs, certainly it's permissible to kill them."

The remarks were especially surprising because many of the most popular Arab satellite networks are owned by Saudi princes and well-connected Saudi and Gulf businessmen.

[...]

He said his "advice" was aimed at owners who broadcast witchcraft, indecent programs, shows mocking Islamic scholars or religious police and comedies inappropriate for Ramadan.

The edict chilled managers of satellite networks. Several channels based in Dubai declined comment. One network representative said the staff was taking the fatwa very seriously, but he did not want his name or channel revealed. "Why select yourself as a target by commenting on it?" he said.

Saudi Arabia's judiciary is a bastion of hard-line clerics implementing Islamic law under the strict Wahhabi interpretation. Judges are appointed by the king on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council and have complete discretion to set sentences, except in cases where Islamic law outlines a punishment, such as capital crimes.

By now, the world should know that "Wahhabi interpretation" simply means literally following the practice (sunna) of Muhammad and the first few generations of Muslims close to him and the righteous caliphs -- which is why the Saudis never call it "Wahhabi" but rather Islam.

King Abdullah has said reforming the legal system is one of his priorities, but so far few changes have been announced — a sign of wariness in confronting the powerful clerics.

Yes, a few days after the Saudi king was reaching out to non-Muslims for dialogue, it was revealed that Saudi textbooks for children still teach that the true Muslim must hate all non-Muslims.

One Saudi cleric challenged al-Lihedan, telling the Saudi Al-Jazirah newspaper that the new edict would "lend support to terrorism."

[...]

Around the Arab world, many said el-Lihedan was out of line.

"He shouldn't give such a judgment because he's not God," said Noora Baker, a 27-year-old folkloric dancer from the Palestinian city of Ramallah. "I am against religion interfering with the matters of society."

That may be, but the fact remains: "commanding the good and forbidding the wrong" -- that is, very much "interfering with the matters of society" -- is a central tenet of Islam.

Taliban "opens new front" in northwestern Pakistan

"Pakistan's Own War" Update. "Taliban opens new front in Pakistan," by Isambard Wilkinson for the Telegraph, September 18:

Militants have used fear and intimidation to clear a swathe of territory in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) to establish training camps and for taking sanctuary, and have set up their headquarters in Maidan, in the rugged, green hills of the Upper Dir valley.

One thing's for sure: the hills aren't alive with the sound of music.

"We know the local militants but we don't know the foreigners and outsiders who have arrived here. They are the mostly hardline, well-trained fighters," said Hussain Shah, a local leader from the NWFP's ruling Awami National Party (ANP).

The Taliban encroachment has seeped from Pakistan's seven tribal areas into adjacent areas nominally under full government control. In Maidan The Daily Telegraph witnessed armed Taliban fighters in fields surrounding the town.

Last week 20 more locals were killed and 30 wounded when militants hurled grenades and fired indiscriminately into a Dir mosque.

At a funeral service held two weeks ago in Maidan fear had silenced the mourners. Prayers were said for Mehmud Jan, the right-hand man of Sufi Mohammed, a former leader of a rival militant group, Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e- Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM).

A friend said that Jan had been "courageous to talk against the Taliban". Militants riddled Jan with bullets in front of his house as he set out to pray in a nearby mosque.

"Nobody knows who to trust. Fear is everywhere. We do not look anybody in the eye," said Jan's friend.

The arrival of militants better known for fighting in Afghanistan comes at a watershed moment for Pakistan's counter-insurgency operations.

Washington and London are frustrated that Pakistan has failed to formulate a comprehensive counter insurgency strategy or a plan for governing its lawless, border tribal areas.

America is forging a new, more aggressive military strategy to tackle terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan. Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said last week that "time is running out" in the battle against the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan. [...]

America views Pakistan's policy of engaging militants in limited battles and then striking peace agreements with them as inadequate. Pakistan views its role as one of "containment" and has been loath to sever its links with its old Afghan Taliban and jihadi proxies....

Swift plant on Muslim prayer accommodations: never mind

An update on this story. "Plant Rejects Muslim Employees' Requests to Meet Prayer Needs," from the Associated Press, September 18:

GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska — Managers at a Nebraska meatpacking plant have told Muslim employees, most of them Somali, that shift changes made to meet their prayer demands weren't working and would be ended.

Union president Dan Hoppes said Thursday that the workers reacted well to the news, but he didn't know whether they would walk out later in protest as they did Monday.

He and managers at the JBS Swift & Co. plant are still talking about meeting employee needs and maintaining plant production.

Workers were sitting down with managers for discussions before the second shift started Thursday afternoon.

Counterprotests by non-Muslim workers began Wednesday. They said the shift changes penalized them while favoring the Muslim workers.

Yemen faces new Jihad generation

What, you mean even if al-Qaeda goes away, or "implodes," other Muslims will continue the jihad? Does this then mean that, in the words of Ayman Zawahiri, "Jihad in the path of Allah is greater than any individual or organization. It is a struggle between Truth and Falsehood, until Allah Almighty inherits the earth and those who live in it. Mullah Muhammad Omar and Sheikh Osama bin Laden—may Allah protect them from all evil—are merely two soldiers of Islam in the journey of jihad, while the struggle between Truth and Falsehood transcends time"? More on this story.

"Yemen faces new Jihad generation," by Ginny Hill for BBC, September 17:

The deadly car bombing outside the US embassy in Yemen represents an escalation in attacks against Western targets and shows al Qaeda-inspired jihadis are growing in ability and determination.

Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed at least 16 people, but it is possible that other groups will come forward in the next few days.

There is a complex network of over-lapping splinter cells and claims of rival leadership within Yemen...

Relative of Lackawanna Six jihadist killed in Yemen jihad attack on U.S. embassy

And the daughter of money launderers. "Lackawanna High student is killed in attack on U.S. Embassy in Yemen," by Dan Herbeck for the Buffalo News, September 18 (thanks to Jeffrey):

A Lackawanna High School student who traveled to Yemen to be married last month was one of the victims of a terrorist bombing Wednesday at the U. S. Embassy in Yemen, the woman’s school principal said.

Attackers armed with automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and at least one suicide car bomb assaulted the compound in the Yemeni capital of Sana.

Officials listed the 16 people killed as six assailants, six guards and four civilians.

Susan Elbaneh, 18, was killed, along with her Yemeni husband, as they stood outside the embassy, family members said Wednesday. They were apparently there to do paperwork for the husband’s move to the U. S. when the attackers struck, said Elbaneh’s brother, Ahmed.

Lackawanna High School Principal Peter A. Hazzan said Susan had traveled to Yemen to be married over the summer.

“It looks like they were two young people in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Hazzan said.

He described the Elbaneh family as “very well known” in Lackawanna’s large Yemen-American community and active in the Guidance Mosque in Lackawanna.

A number of students related to Susan Elbaneh or her close friends left school early after learning of her death Wednesday morning, Hazzan said.

“Quite a few” parents also took their sons and daughters home early from Lackawanna Middle School after hearing the news, said Michael Jakubowski, the school’s principal.

Elbaneh had only two courses to complete to qualify to graduate from the high school, Hazzan said.

“Susan was a good student, an above-average student. She had spoken at one time about becoming a nurse,” the principal said. “This is such a tragedy.”

He added that Elbaneh had told school officials at the end of the past school year that she definitely planned to return to Lackawanna to complete her education after her wedding in Yemen.

Hazzan, who is of Palestinian descent and speaks fluent Arabic, said a number of girls who attend Lackawanna High School have gone to Yemen in recent years to be married and then have returned to complete school.

The Associated Press said Elbaneh had been in Yemen for a month for the arranged wedding Aug. 25.

School officials said Elbaneh was the daughter of Ali T. Elbaneh and the niece of Mohamed T. Albanna, two Yemeni-American community leaders who took plea deals in a case involving an unlicensed money-transmitting company that illegally sent at least $5.5 million to Yemen. Authorities never have alleged that the money was used for terrorist purposes.

In November 2006, U. S. District Judge William M. Skretny sentenced Ali T. Elbaneh to six months of home confinement for playing what federal prosecutors called a very minor role in the illegal business. Albanna received a five-year prison term.

Authorities said the dead woman also was related to Jaber Elbaneh, Mohamed Albanna’s nephew, a fugitive accused of traveling to a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan with the “Lackawanna Six.”

The United States was angered when Jaber Elbaneh, 42, convicted in Yemen for planning attacks on oil installations, was allowed to go free while appealing his 10-year prison sentence.

He has since been taken back in custody, Yemeni officials say, but Yemen has refused U. S. requests that he be handed over for trial on charges of providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization. He is listed by the FBI as one of the world’s most wanted terrorists....

Waging jihad against broccoli?

Sadie Polttila: Islamic scholar?

The following op-ed by one Sadie Polttila serves as the perfect example of the many shortcomings of Islamic apologetics: "Real Islam a religion of peace and free will, not violence," by Sadie Polttila for Leader Telegram, September 17:

The United States is a great nation whose foundation rests on the privilege of religious freedom. Islam is a part of that foundation and a religion of peace. What crazy people do in the name or religion, any religion, makes them crazy or uneducated - not religious. For example, all Christians aren't akin to the Ku Klux Klan, because KKK members are definitely misinformed about Christianity...

Error the first: conflating religious principles with the actions of people. All of the world's religions teach any number of principles; they also differ in any number of ways. What people do in the name of any given religion may or may not be in accordance with its teachings. However the KKK may have tried to associate its movement with Christianity, the average Christian theologian can quite easily discount their claims through the Bible. Now, what Muslim "extremists" do, can that be easily discounted through Islam's principle sources, the Koran and Hadith? Can the average Muslim scholar disprove jihad and all those other problematic aspects of Islam (that are covered here on a daily basis) through the Koran and Hadith? No. In fact, it's usually the opposite: the scholars are the ones most advocating Islamic violence and intolerance. Try asking ahl al-hadith and sunna residing in Mecca, Medina, or Al-Azhar what they think "jihad" really means. Also, consider the concept of "mainstream." Mainstream Christianity has obviously very little to do with KKK principles. As for "mainstream" Islam, again, whatever Muslims say, one can -- and should -- always turn to their laws (sharia) to truly discover what is and is not Islamic: jihad against infidels until the world is subjugated to Allah is Islamic; female-to-male subordination is Islamic; discrimination against non-Muslims (dhimmis) is Islamic. All these aspects are codified in Islam and extremely well documented. Thus let's try to do away once and for all with the "people who do nasty things are twisting their religion" argument. Of course many of them do. That's not the question. The question is simply: does the religion teach such things or not?

Fatwas are supposed to be a scholarly opinion on a matter of Islamic law. They aren't wrong but there is something wrong with people who aren't scholarly making them...

Fair enough. But if that is the case, why is Ms. Polttila pronouncing her opinions on matters pertaining to Islamic law -- that is, essentially issuing a fatwa? After all, that is the whole purpose of her op-ed, i.e., opinion-editorial: to opine on matters involving Islam? Is she, then, a scholar of Islamic law?

The Quran says, "Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth has been made clear from error. Whoever rejects false worship and believes in Allah (God) has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks. And Allah hears and knows all things." (Surah al-Baqarah: 256) ...I emphasize that there is no compulsion in religion and no justification for senseless violence.

And so, now we discover that she is obviously not an Islamic scholar; either that, or she is engaging in taqiyya by intentionally dissimulating. To throw one verse out (2:256) and insist that there -- the issue is settled, is beyond amateurish; indeed, it's something worthy of Karen Armstrong. Here is the difference between a true scholar of Islam and an apologist: the scholar acknowledges the "No compulsion" verse; but he also acknowledges the many "sword verses" (e.g., 9:5, 9:29) which say the exact opposite. Now anyone sincerely trying to follow Islam -- that is, a Muslim, one who literally submits to the authority of his religion -- will try to reconcile these contradicting verses. And that is what Islam's scholars have done, by formulating the pivotal doctrine of al-nasikh we al-mansukh -- abrogation: if two or more commands in the Koran contradict, the one coming later abrogates the earlier one. And as it just so happens, all the peaceful and tolerant verses, such as the one cited by the author, come early, whereas the violent ones come much later and thus -- according to all schools of Sunni jurisprudence -- violence and intolerance to non-Muslims, categorized by the institutions of jihad and dhimmitude, is thought to be Allah's final word on Islam's relation to non-Muslims.

Only God decides who will be rewarded in Heaven for jihad which, when translated, means to "strive" or "struggle." Someone can have a personal jihad with broccoli...

Such "cutesy" nonsense truly becomes tiresome after a while. Again, this author, who insists that we should leave all definitions to the Islamic scholars, is here to tell us that Muslims can wage jihad against vegetables. All Islamic legal manuals define the doctrine of jihad as simply warfare against the non-Muslim in order to place the latter in subjection to Islam. Period.

In Islam women are to be revered, upheld as equal citizens and respected. It is recorded that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, "Assuredly, women are the twin halves of men" and, "Heaven lies at the feet of mothers."

Yes, it is also recorded that Muhammad said that it's okay for a man to lie to his wife and that hell will be mostly made up of women. Moreover, the Koran itself, along with legitimizing polygamy, also legitimizes the enslavement of women as concubines. Again, Ms.Polttila focuses on one hadith while ignoring, not only what the Koran and dozens of other hadiths say about women, but how Islamic law categorizes the latter, that is, definitely not as "equal citizens."

Anyone not agreeing to the above may not be Islamic - they may just be "crazy."

Such "scholarly" conclusions.

Nebraska Swift plant: Accommodation of Muslims cuts non-Muslims' work hours -- non-Muslims protest

Non-Muslims protest

Yesterday the Nebraska Swift plant agreed to accommodate Muslim demands to change break times so that they could pray during Ramadan. But just as at the Greeley, Colorado Swift plant, non-Muslims are inconvenienced, and are protesting.

And so here again Swift faces a hideous choice -- a choice that American businesses will increasingly be called upon to make. Either they will accommodate Muslims at the expense of non-Muslims, thus creating Muslims as a special class with special rights above non-Muslims, or they will refuse to accommodate Muslims, and thus be charged with "racism" and "bigotry," and hauled into court for a battle they will almost certainly lose.

However, the more courts rule that special privileges for Muslims, at the expense of non-Muslims, constitute "reasonable accommodation" of Muslim demands, the more non-Muslims will continue to protest, and the more it will be clear that those who sneer and say "What's the big deal? This doesn't mean we're about to become an Islamic state" are drastically short-sighted, and haven't grasped the implications of these accommodation initiatives.

These initiatives are an attempt to create Muslims as an especially privileged class in the United States. They are part of the stealth jihad to bring Sharia, step by step, into this country, and to make it clear that when Islamic law and American practices conflict, it is American practices that must give way. The non-Muslim workers who are protesting at Swift's Nebraska plant are living proof that Muslim accommodation means non-Muslim inconvenience (and, ultimately, worse than inconvenience). The fact that Muslim groups show no interest in this, or the slightest willingness to compromise, illustrates the unilateral, intransigent, and supremacist nature of their efforts. The non-Muslims in Nebraska's Swift plant have already been on the receiving end of these efforts, even if they themselves don't fully realize just what is going on and what they are up against.

"Compromise with Muslims on prayer cuts hours for all at Swift plant," by Tracy Overstreet for the Grand Island Independent, September 17 (thanks to Refugee Resettlement Watch):

A compromise reached to accommodate prayer for about 500 Somalian meatpacking plant workers in Grand Island led to a counter protest of even more workers at the JBS Swift & Co. plant Wednesday.

Workers including Caucasians, Hispanics, Vietnamese, and African-Americans walked out after clocking in on the B shift shortly after 3 p.m.

Racists!

The objection -- a change in the break schedule that leaves B shift workers shorted of hours Monday through Friday and forces them to work Saturday to earn at least 40 hours of pay.

"The Somalians say they can only work three hours after sunset, so we're supposed to work 7.3 hours a day Monday through Friday," said Naomi Jakubowski. "We're supposed to come in and make up the time on Saturday or be shorted at just 36 hours."

"I don't want to sacrifice my Saturdays with my kids -- and I can't raise 'em on 36 hours of pay," she said. "I've got rent, food and diapers to buy."

Muslim bus ads good, Obsession distribution bad

Over the past few days I've put up a series of posts about negative reactions in the mainstream media to the nationwide distribution of the Obsession DVD. (Here they are: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5.)

There are other stories in this vein that I didn't post, but I didn't see even one that said, "Obsession is being distributed nationwide, and this is a positive thing, because it will help awaken Americans to the magnitude of the jihad threat." I didn't see a single favorable story about the Obsession DVD distribution anywhere in the mainstream media. All the ones I saw were about how it was incendiary, Islamophobic, insulting to Muslims, etc. If you know of a positive story on this, please send it to me. But it seems that mainstream journalists are moving in lockstep -- no deviation allowed.

And the other side of that lockstep is the positive reception to Islamic proselytizing efforts in public places. The Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer couldn't be more pleased with the advertisements that the Islamic Circle of North America has placed in buses in Seattle.

Neither paper makes any mention, of course, of the fact that ICNA was named as a “friend” of the Muslim Brotherhood in the infamous May 1991 Brotherhood memorandum that spoke of Muslim organizations in the U.S. as being engaged in "a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and Allah’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”

Probably neither reporter even knows about this, and neither would probably care -- because it doesn't fit the dominant paradigm of Muslims as victims. Victims of anti-terror efforts, of discrimination, of racism, etc. Never mind that CAIR has largely trumped up reports of Muslim victimization. Never mind the 10,000+ jihad attacks around the world since 9/11. Never mind the advancing stealth jihad. The mainstream media will march on, in lockstep -- probably because the American Muslim advocacy groups have so successfully cast this as an issue of "racism" and "bigotry." Victory, however, will lead to defeat for these Islamic groups: the truth will become increasingly more difficult to avoid as they grow ever more assertive and demanding.

Al-Qaeda claims Mauritania attack: "This jihadist operation targeted the allies of the Americans, the crusaders on Islamic Mauritanian territory occupied by infidels"

An update on this story. "Mauritania: al-Qaida claims it carried out attack," by Ahmed Mohamed for the Associated Press, September 17:

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (AP) -- Al-Qaida's North Africa branch purportedly claimed responsibility Wednesday for ambushing an army patrol in Mauritania and kidnapping 12 soldiers whom officials initially reported had been killed.

Authorities first said the soldiers had been shot dead in Monday's attack, but the bodies were not found when army reinforcements swept the area. Government officials said some traces of blood were found, but they could only classify the soldiers as missing.

"This jihadist operation targeted the allies of the Americans, the crusaders on Islamic Mauritanian territory occupied by infidels,'' said the Internet statement attributed to al-Qaida.

Al-Qaeda has branded the regime that took power in a last month's coup an "infidel regime," and the product of a Western conspiracy.

The statement was published on several Web sites known to be close to extremist Islamic movements and at least one that has published previous statements attributed to the terrorist group.

Posted on an Arabic Web site Wednesday and dated a day earlier, the statement warned the attack "will not be the last.''

It said the attackers seized three vehicles, arms and ammunition, and "valiant holy warriors took 12 soldiers prisoner, among them a captain who led the patrol.''

Jihadists force closure of Mogadishu airport

Bringing "peace" to the capital's airport. Somalia Jihad Update. "Islamist militant threat paralyses Mogadishu airport," by Abdi Sheikh for Reuters, September 17:

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Mogadishu's main airport was largely shut down on Wednesday after militant Somali Islamists threatened to attack any planes using it.

Staff at the airport said carriers using the sea-front facility in south Mogadishu had decided not to take any risk following the threat by al Shabaab to target aircraft landing or taking off after midnight on Tuesday.

Al Shabaab, which is on Washington's list of terrorist groups, is spearheading an insurgency against the Somali government and its Ethiopian military backers.

"Turning deaf ears to what al Shabaab said means planes will be burned and staff assassinated at their houses," an official at the airport said. "We have agreed not to land planes."

A weekend statement by al Shabaab said the airport was a legitimate target because it was used by the Somali government, the Ethiopian military, and African Union (AU) peacekeepers, whom it perceives as propping up the government.

About 4-5 flights daily were going through Mogadishu airport before Wednesday.

The AU, which has 2,200 peacekeepers in Somalia, mainly based at the airport, condemned the threat, saying it would harm locals because it would block medical supplies. [...]

Al Shabaab's threat against the airport reflects the growing confidence of one of the main protagonists in the Somali war. The group last month led an Islamist takeover of southern Kismayu port, giving it a strategic base near the Kenyan border.

Nebraska Swift Plant adjusts schedule to accommodate Ramadan fast

No one knows when this accommodation will stop. Muslims have never explained how much Sharia accommodation they will want in the U.S., and in what ways they will be willing to adapt to American society. No one has ever asked them to do so. No one knows where this accommodation will lead. There is always more Sharia to accommodate, and now the precedent is amply set for more accommodation, but no one cares. It isn't as if we're going to become an Islamic state, right? Someone will draw the line somewhere, somehow, before it's too late. We're all one big happy multicultural family. Aren't we? "Union: Muslim Workers Reach Deal for Prayer Break," from FoxNews, September 17 (thanks to News4U):

OMAHA, Nebraska — A meatpacking plant has agreed to accommodate Muslim workers' request for prayer time during Ramadan, union officials said Wednesday.

Earlier this week 300 Muslim JBS Swift & Co. workers, most of Somali background, walked off the job in protest of the prayer dispute. No one was fired after the protest.

Dan Hoppes, president of the local United Food and Commercial Workers Union, said management at the plant has agreed to temporarily change the timing of the second-shift lunch break to accommodate workers wanting time to pray during the Muslim observance of Ramadan.

Workers previously took the 30-minute break in shifts. The change will force the entire line to break at once. The arrangement will be in effect the next nine working days, which will cover the remainder of Ramadan, Hoppes said....

Bush: Yemen attack reminder that we're at war with "extremists"

Extreme what?

"Bush Addresses Meeting With Gen. Petraeus," from the CQ Transcripts Wire, September 17:

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: [...] Recently, we saw how important it is, with the attack on our embassy in Yemen. There were some security forces that lost their lives there and we send our condolences to their families. This attack is a reminder that we are at war with extremists who will murder innocent people to achieve their ideological objectives. One objectives of these extremists is they kill; is to try to cause the United States to lose our nerve and to withdraw from regions of the world. And our message is, is that we want to help governments survive the extremists. We want people to live normal lives. We want mothers to be able to raise their sons and daughters in a peaceful environment so they can realize the hopes and dreams of a better world....

Iran arming Taliban

Sunnis And Shi'ites Will Never Work Together Update: "Afghanistan: Taliban 'receiving arms from Iran,'" from AKI, September 17 (thanks to C.C.):

Zahedan, 17 Sept. (AKI) – Iran's Revolutionary Guards have been arming Taliban groups in western Afghanistan for the past year, an independent journalist has told Adnkronos International (AKI).

“The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have regularly been supplying arms to Taliban groups operating in the province of Herat," the journalist, A.B., told AKI from Zahedan, the capital of Beluchistan province in southeastern Iran.

“The Revolutionary Guards actually sell the weapons to the Taliban, who apparently pay for them in drugs, not cash," A.B. added.

“Besides sub-machine guns that can also fire grenades, the Afghan rebels are also interested in anti-tank mines manufactured in Iran," he said.

Iranian officials deny these claims, which have previously been made by the Afghan government and by ISAF, the NATO-led security and development mission in Afghanistan.

But a Taliban commander confirmed in a recent interview with BBC that Afghan rebel forces have received Iranian arms .

"We are especially interested in Iranian Egdeha mines, which can destroy military tanks," the commander told BBC....

UK: Sharia law superseding British law

Sharia courts are now operating in Britain, and what's the big deal? They're just private, voluntary arbitration tribunals, like similar arbitration panels for Jews and Catholics.

In "Britain Adopts Sharia" in Chronicles, September 16, Serge Trifkovic explains what's wrong with that analogy:

Muslim activists point out that allegedly simiral Jewish family courts (Bet Din) and Catholic marriage tribunals have existed in Britain for many years, but there is a major difference: such courts explicitly claim jurisdiction only over their believers, whereas according to orthodox Islamic teaching shari’a is the only legitimate law in the world, with universal jurisdiction over Muslims and non-Muslims alike. To a devout Muslim the incorporation of shari’a into British law is by no means the end of the affair. It is merely a major milestone on the road that cannot stop short of subjecting all Britons, regardless of faith, to the strictures of Allah’s commandment and Muhammad’s example.

And he also reports that Islamic law is already taking precedence over British law:

...Shari’a courts with these powers have been set up in London, Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester with the network’s headquarters in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, with two more courts planned for Glasgow and Edinburgh. A visibly pleased Sheikh Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi, whose Muslim Arbitration Tribunal runs the courts, explains that he had taken advantage of a clause in the British Arbitration Act of 1996, which classifies sharia courts as “arbitration tribunals” whose rulings are binding in law once both parties in a dispute agree to accept its authority. It goes without saying that battered Muslim wives and disinherited Muslim daughters will “freely choose” the authority of shari’a courts rather than face various unpleasant and potentially fatal consequences of not conforming to the “community’s” rules and preferences.

What this means in practice was evident from a recent inheritance dispute in the Midlands, when the Nuneaton shari’a court divided the estate of a Muslim father between three daughters and two sons. The “judges” gave the sons twice as much as the daughters—perfectly in accordance with sharia, of course, but contrary to any regular British court, which would have given the daughters equal shares. In six cases of domestic violence quoted by Siddiqi, the “judges” ordered the husbands to take “anger management” classes and “mentoring from community elders” (such as imams and shari’a judges). In each case, the battered women subsequently withdrew the complaints and the police stopped their investigations. It should be noted that under normal British law those six cases could have been prosecuted as criminal, rather than “family” cases....

India bombings: Muslims angry (at the police, not the jihad terrorists)

“Terrorists do not belong to any religion. They should be hanged. Why don’t the police realise this and stop persecuting Muslims alone?” Because, of course, the terrorists in question are Muslims who explain and justify their actions by reference to Islamic teachings. But that is the one thing above all that, on pain of charges of "bigotry," we are supposed not to notice, and to do nothing about.

"Muslim anger rises, police sketch suspects; India needs tough anti-terror laws: panel," from Arab Times, September 16 (thanks to Twostellas):

NEW DELHI, Sept 16, (RTRS): India needs a tough law to fight attacks like the deadly weekend bombings in New Delhi, a government panel said on Tuesday, as police released sketches of key suspects. There were immediate signs of dissent within the government, though, after the Home Minister Shivraj Patil told NDTV news channel the country already had strong enough laws in place. In its report, the panel asked the government to consider tougher laws to deal with growing militancy in India. “We need a comprehensive anti-terror law, but there should be adequate safeguards,” said Veerappa Moily, a senior member of the ruling Congress party, who headed the panel. India’s main opposition, the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which accuses the centrist Congress party-led coalition of following a policy of appeasement, wants the reinstatement of a tough anti-terrorism law it promoted when in power.

Congress scrapped the law saying it had been misused to harass Muslims. But Muslims say they are still being persecuted under the present regime and were planning to protest, because they were being unfairly targeted in a police manhunt. Minority Muslims told Reuters in several Muslim-dominated areas of New Delhi that police were conducting a “witch hunt” and accused authorities of reinforcing stereotypes about Muslims. “Terrorists do not belong to any religion,” said Feroze Alam, a young trader in New Delhi’s Daryaganj district. “They should be hanged. Why don’t the police realise this and stop persecuting Muslims alone?” Some 20 Muslim organisations plan to meet in New Delhi next month to work a strategy to counter those stereotypes. “It is time to unite and protest against these attempts to harass Muslim youths and brand them as terrorists,” Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the chief cleric of Jama Masjid, India’s largest mosque, told Reuters.

Controversial Boston mosque run by Muslim Brotherhood opens, will broadcast call to prayer over loudspeaker

Sure, the controversy has faded -- except for the fact that the Muslim American Society is running this mosque. According to a 2004 Chicago Tribune exposé, the Muslim American Society is the name under which the Muslim Brotherhood operates in the United States. Nor does it mention that according to a 1991 Brotherhood memorandum about its strategy in the U.S., it is embarked upon a “grand Jihad” aimed at “eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and Allah’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”

"Making peace, and prayers: Mosque opens its doors as controversy fades," by Michael Paulson for the Boston Globe, September 15 (thanks to Solomon):

Sixteen years after 2 acres near Roxbury Crossing were designated for use as a mosque, the area's growing Muslim community has quietly begun using the building for regular worship.

Every night since the start of Ramadan this month, hundreds of Muslims have been gathering for evening prayers at the mosque, now called the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center. Officials of the Muslim American Society, which is overseeing the project, say they plan to gradually add activities throughout the fall and winter and hope to hold a formal opening of the building early next year....

"This is such a happy occasion for the Muslim community - this has been a project in the making for decades," said Hossam Al Jabri, president of the Muslim American Society's Boston chapter, which has taken over management of the mosque from the Islamic Society of Boston, which runs a mosque in Cambridge. "It's strange, but I'm thankful that we had to go through the difficulty, because it forced us to come out of an isolation that we were comfortable in, and helped us to see that we have a world out there that is interested to know who we are. And it helped us to make so many friends."...

The mosque has been controversial for years. A conservative Israel-advocacy organization called the David Project asserted that some of the mosque's founding leaders had links to terrorism. In 2005, the Islamic Society filed a lawsuit against the David Project and two media outlets, saying that those allegations were defamatory, but dropped the suit last year after another suit, challenging the mosque's construction, was also dropped....

"Usually we find there's some level of resistance, but the situation in your area was unique in its level of vitriol and viciousness," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. "It was atypical in the level of controversy that was generated by those who were opposed to the mosque, and I don't mean legitimate controversy, I mean fake controversy. There's an effort by some minority of people in any community who seek to marginalize Muslims and demonize Islam, and that's what we saw in this case."

The leading critic of the mosque, Charles Jacobs, said he continues to have concerns about the mosque's leadership, but that "our concerns were never with the rank and file of the Muslim community."

Jacobs was president of the David Project until leaving the post in July.

"Our concern was with the leadership, and the ties that that leadership had, it seemed, to terrorism and the teaching of hatred," Jacobs said. He said he has ongoing concerns about the Islamic Society of Boston and the Muslim American Society, both of which, he says, have expressed extremist views. He said "it's been estimated that 80 percent of mosques are radicalized" but that "it's very difficult for American citizens to speak about these things, because they don't want to be labeled as bigots or Islamophobes, so that has allowed these connections to go much unspoken and unreported."...

CAIR, of course, is an unindicted co-conspirator in a jihad terror funding case. It is a spinoff of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), which is listed in that same 1991 Muslim Brotherhood memorandum on strategy in the U.S. as part of its "grand jihad." Several CAIR officials have been arrested and convicted on terror-related charges, and one of its founders has made Islamic supremacist statements, hoping that one day the Qur'an would be the only law of the land in America. But the Globe, of course, mentions none of this.

And the Boston Mosque will also be broadcasting the call to prayer into Hyde Park via loudspeaker. From "A view from the minaret, by Michael Paulson in his Articles of Faith blog at the Globe, September 14 (thanks again to Solomon):

I made it high enough to report that there's a nice view to be had of the crescent-topped mosque dome silhouetted against the distant skyline, but not high enough to tell you what it would be like if you were the muezzin who had to go up there five times a day to chant the call to prayer. Of course, the muezzin can't tell you either -- he's no fool -- they're going to broadcast the prayer summons (which will only happen during the day out of respect for the neighbors) by loudspeaker.

Of course he's no fool. That they're going to broadcast the call to prayer at all, despite previous assurances that they wouldn't, according to Solomon, is a supremacist statement. For in the modern world, with cell phones and phone alarms and clocks everywhere and all sorts of related amenities, there is no need whatsoever for an amplified call to prayer. It is simply an assertion of Islamic dominance over the area.

Afghanistan releases al-Qaeda suspect's son to Pakistan

Where he will be as free as a bird, living with his family. As for 10 and 13 year old Christian girls abducted, raped, and forced into conversion, the Pakistani government is having a real hard time deciding on whether to return them to their family.

"Afghanistan frees al-Qaeda suspect's young son," from AP, September 15:

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An al-Qaeda suspect's 12-year-old son, who was taken into custody with his mother and held for two months, was handed over to Pakistan on Monday to be returned to relatives there.

The boy's mother, Aafia Siddiqui, was detained outside the governor's house in Afghanistan's Ghazni province in July on suspicion of links to al-Qaeda and taken to the U.S. military base there. The Pakistani-American citizen was then flown to New York to face charges of assault on U.S. personnel in Ghazni.

The U.S. indictment alleges that during Siddiqui's interrogation in Ghazni, she picked up a soldier's rifle, announced her "desire to kill Americans" and fired at U.S. soldiers and FBI agents. She was wounded by return fire.

Her son Ali Hassan, also a dual American-Pakistani national, was with his mother at the time of her arrest and has been in Afghan custody ever since.

A spokesman for Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry, Sultan Ahmed Baheen, said the boy has spent the last 10 days in a "guest house" of Afghanistan's intelligence service. Before that, the ministry said he was in the custody of the prosecutor who deals with minors.

Ali Hassan was expected to arrive in Pakistan later Monday and be handed over to his mother's relatives.

Siddiqui, 36, came to the United States in 1990 and studied at the University of Houston and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she got a bachelor's degree in biology in 1995. She later studied neuroscience as a graduate student at Brandeis University.

She vanished in Pakistan in 2003...

Netherlands: Muslim policeman was spying for Morocco

As we have noted many times, Islamic loyalty supersedes nationalism, and it is impossible to tell where any given believer's loyalties actually lie. "Top Policeman Spied for Moroccan Secret Service," from NIS News, September 17 (thanks to Fjordman):

THE HAGUE, 17/09/08 - A policeman in the Rotterdam police corps has been unmasked as a spy for the Moroccan intelligence service. He led a project that was training immigrant youngsters as airport workers.

TV current affairs programme NOVA discovered that the man of Moroccan origin had already been sacked last spring. Although the police confirmed that the man was dismissed for "serious dereliction of duty," the Public Prosecutor's Office (OM) decided not to prosecute him. The case has been hushed up by criminal investigation authorities and politicians, according to NOVA.

The officer, Re Lemhaouli, had a leading post. He was the initiator of Project Maxima, named after Princess Maxima. The project trained 57 Moroccan problem youngsters as ground personnel for Rotterdam Airport.

Princess Maxima, the wife of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, was ambassador of the project and Lemhaouli was allowed to sit next to her during the presentation of the project on 1 February. Vice-Premier Andre Rouvoet praised Lemhaouli in a speech. "The participants in this project who are receiving their diploma today were a few weeks ago still considered as 'deprived youngsters.' Education not completed, no work experience and in some cases, also a criminal record," said Rouvoet....

U.S. praises Yemen's fight against al-Qaeda, car bomb kills 16 at U.S. embassy in Yemen

Great job on Al-Qaeda, fellows. Now about Islamic Jihad in Yemen, and the Islamic jihad ideology in general...

Can we expect the Yemenis to work against that ideology? Can we expect the law of gravity to be suddenly suspended?

"Car bomb at U.S. embassy in Yemen kills 16," by Mohammed Ghobari for Reuters, September 17 (thanks to Jeffrey Imm):

SANAA (Reuters) - A car bomb set off a series of explosions outside the heavily fortified U.S. embassy in Yemen on Wednesday and a Yemeni security source said at least 16 people, including six attackers, were killed....

"This morning a car exploded at the main gate of the embassy in Sanaa. There was an initial explosion and several secondary explosions," a U.S. embassy spokesman told Reuters by telephone....

A group calling itself Islamic Jihad in Yemen claimed responsibility for the bombing and threatened attacks on other embassies including those of Britain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

It had threatened in a previous statement on Tuesday to launch a series of attacks unless the Yemeni government met its demands for the release of several members from jail.

"We, the organization of Islamic Jihad in Yemen declare our responsibility for the suicide attack on the American embassy in Sanaa," the statement read.

"We will carry out the rest of the series of attacks on the other embassies that were declared previously, until our demands are met by the Yemeni government."...

The security source said that six attackers and four bystanders were killed, while the rest were Yemeni security forces.

Yemen, the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, has grappled with a spate of al Qaeda attacks this year, including one on the U.S. embassy, another near the Italian mission and others on Western tourists.

An al Qaeda-affiliated group claimed responsibility in March for a mortar attack that missed the U.S. embassy but wounded 13 girls at a nearby school....

Muslim organization to present resolution in UN outlawing caricatures of Muhammad

Come and get me

The international Islamic assault on free speech continues. If this passes, not just caricatures will become illegal. It will become illegal to speak about the elements of Islam that jihadists use to incite violence and supremacism among Muslims. And so we will be mute before the advancing jihad. Of course, it can't happen here, right? After all, we have the First Amendment. But what will happen when the UN starts telling President Obama that opposition to this measure and others like it constitutes Islamophobia, and will severely impede his attempt to build bridges with the Islamic world?

"OIC to move UNGA against caricatures," from the Daily Times, September 17 (thanks to all who sent this in):

ISLAMABAD: A resolution against the publication of blasphemous caricatures of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) in various countries will be presented in the upcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), an Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) representative said on Tuesday.

“The resolution will demand legislation against the publication of blasphemous caricatures of revered personalities and derogatory remarks against religions. It will also demand [sacrilegious] actions be declared a crime,” OIC Secretary General’s Special Representative on Kashmir Ezzat Kamel Mufti told a news conference.

Mufti said a particular group in America and the European Union had been launching attacks against Islam. “However, we should not get emotional and resort to any kind of violence, including suicide bombings,” he said.

That's mighty generous of you, Mufti.

Spencer: Will Obama’s "Empathy" Prevent Another 9/11?

In Human Events today I discuss some foreign policy pronunciamentos from The Great One:

As the seventh anniversary of the jihadist murder of nearly 3,000 American civilians passed last week, it is useful to recall an article that the Hyde Park Herald published on September 19, 2001 -- written by a young Illinois state senator named Barack Obama. Even all these years later, it is revealing of the mindset of the man who would be leader of the free world.

Obama starts out well enough, saying: “We need to step up security at our airports. We must reexamine the effectiveness of our intelligence networks. And we must be resolute in identifying the perpetrators of these heinous acts and dismantling their organizations of destruction.” He then, however, almost immediately veers into psychobabble.

Saying that we must understand “the sources of such madness,” Obama declares that “the essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others.” This lack of empathy isn’t, he says, “unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity.” Rather, it grows “out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair.”

In other words, poverty causes Islamic jihad. Obama reiterated this point last July during a CNN interview, when he related the rise of jihadist sentiment in Indonesia to poverty: “And now in Indonesia, you see some of those extremist elements. And what’s interesting is, you can see some correlation between the economic crash during the Asian financial crisis, where about a third of Indonesia’s GDP was wiped out, and the acceleration of these Islamic extremist forces.”

And in a May interview with David Brooks of the New York Times, Obama (while again calling upon American officials to examine “the root causes of problems and dangers”) declared that the jihad terrorist groups Hizballah and Hamas are “going down a blind alley with violence that weakens their legitimate claims.”

Would President Obama, then, address what he thinks of as the “legitimate claims” of these groups by showering the money of American taxpayers upon them, so as to raise (as he put it in his post-9/11 article) “the hopes and prospects of embittered children across the globe -- children not just in the Middle East, but also in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and within our own shores”?

It seems likely that he would -- and it is yet another indication that the Candidate of Change is actually the Candidate of Reviving Tired Failed Policies. The U.S. has showered billions in foreign aid on Pakistan over the last seven years -- while high-level Pakistani officials played a double game, making all the right anti-terror noises while aiding the jihadists on the sly.

If poverty causes terrorism, why is Pakistan aiding the Taliban, and edging ever closer to implementing the strictest possible version of Islamic law, so many billions of dollars later?

In fact, the poverty-terror connection has been debunked many times. Fortune magazine, for example, reported in March 2007 that “of the 50 poorest countries in the world…only Afghanistan (and perhaps Bangladesh and Yemen) has much experience in terrorism, global or domestic.” The 9/11 hijackers were “middle-class sons of Saudi Arabia and many were well-educated. And Osama bin Laden himself is from one of the richest families in the Middle East.”

Fortune noted that a 2003 study of Palestinian terrorism found “higher-status respondents (merchant, farmer or professional)” were significantly more likely than “those lower down the ladder (laborer, craftsman or employee)” to agree that there were “circumstances under which you would justify the use of terrorism to achieve political goals.” And Harvard professor Albert Abadie studied 1,776 terrorist incidents, only to find no connection between poverty and terrorism: “When you look at the data” to find such a connection, he said, “it’s not there.”

If Barack Obama is elected president, will he continue to operate according to these failed paradigms, or will he face hard realities and adjust his policies accordingly? The lack of even the smallest shift in his views on poverty and terrorism between 2001 and 2008 do not bode well for the answer to this question.

Virile 84 year old man arrested for not divorcing 82 of his 86 wives

First he insisted his sexual prowess was granted him by Allah, then, after the ulema told him to divorce 82 of his 86 wives, or else be put to death, he agreed. Apparently he did not live up to his word.

"Preacher with 86 wives, 107 children charged under Nigeria's Sharia laws," from the Canadian Press, September 16:

ABUJA, Nigeria — A Muslim preacher in northern Nigeria who claims 86 wives and 107 children has been charged with breaking Islamic laws governing marriage.

Authorities detained 84-year-old Mohammed Bello Masaba on Monday under an order issued by Niger state's Islamic court. It was unclear when the man would appear before the court, or what the potential punishment might be.

Islamic law forbids men from taking more than four wives. But Masaba claims God has blessed all his unions.

He says an ordinary man with even 10 wives would "collapse and die." But because of the power bestowed on him by Allah, he is, in his words, "able to control 86 of them."

Around half of Nigeria's 140 million people are Muslim, and Niger is one of 12 Muslim-majority states that adopted Islam's Sharia criminal code after Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999.

Severe corporal punishments imposed by the Sharia courts are rarely carried out and no executions have taken place.

Nigeria's secular, federal government, which controls the national security forces, has said it won't allow the most serious Sharia punishments.

Analysts say Sharia was implemented for political reasons as well as religious conviction - as a show of strength by the Muslim northerners and as an acknowledgment that secular courts had failed to stem years of crime.

Nigeria has 24 other states that do not follow Sharia law.

Turkish Prime Minister: "Islamophobia" a "crime against humanity"

And he wants it outlawed, pronto, which will mean that those who dare to expose the Islamic roots of the global jihad and Islamic supremacism will pay hefty fines and spend long stretches in the slammer. Of course, it can't happen here. Can it?

"Enmity with Islam ‘crime against humanity,’" by Thomas Seibert for The National (UAE), September 17 (thanks to Jack):

ISTANBUL // In a sign of his simmering anger about what he sees as baseless accusations against Islam in the West, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, has called on the international community to declare the enmity against Islam a “crime against humanity”.

Addressing Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, his Spanish counterpart, and about 2,500 other guests in Istanbul at a celebratory iftar meal on Monday, Mr Erdogan said: “No culture, no civilisation should belittle the other, despise the other or see the other as an enemy.” [...]

In the Alliance of Civilisations, Mr Erdogan has emerged as a leading representative of the Islamic countries, said Semih Idiz, a foreign policy columnist with the daily Milliyet. As a politician with roots in political Islam and leader of a party that has many pious Muslims among its voters, Mr Erdogan is very sensitive to what he sees as western prejudices towards Muslims, Mr Idiz said.

“Islamic countries are watching closely what he does,” Mr Idiz said about Mr Erdogan’s role in the Alliance of Civilisations. “He is a sort of spokesman, representing the Islamic world in the platform.”

But at the same time Mr Erdogan had to take into account that he himself had to take “brave steps”, Mr Idiz said. After the murders of the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink and of three Christians in the central Anatolian town of Malatya last year, the Erdogan government was criticised for not being outspoken enough in its condemnation of the killings.

In his speech at the iftar on Monday, Mr Erdogan stressed the need for a dialogue without prejudices.

“The principle mission of the Alliance of Civilisations is an effort to understand each other correctly,” he said. The fear of Islam that has spread in the West, a development he called a “paranoia”, makes it harder to reach that aim, he said.

“The fear called Islamophobia is a pathological state of mind, as the name says,” Mr Erdogan said in his speech, according to reports in Turkish newspapers and television stations. “We expect members of other civilisations to declare Islamophobia a crime against humanity, especially while we say that anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity.”

Mr Erdogan has criticised the West for harbouring “Islamophobia” before, saying that Muslims felt “under siege”. But this time, the prime minister went further, accusing the West of trying to define values of a global civilisation all by itself.

“We think that civilisation is global, and that civilisation cannot be interpreted like an ideology that belongs to the West,” he said. After a first international forum held in Madrid in January this year, the Alliance of Civilisations will hold its second forum in Istanbul in April. Mr Idiz said the platform had become a vehicle to defuse tensions between the West and the Islamic world.

“We saw that after the cartoon crisis,” he said, referring to the anger in the Islamic world after the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed by a Danish newspaper in 2005. At a meeting in Doha in Feb 2006, members of the alliance discussed ways to calm the waters after the crisis....

Nude man walking dog tasered by police, insists "Allah told me to"

Now, we've all heard the "Allah told me to do it" line before -- whether to bring world-peace (while beating others to death) or driving recklessly -- but this is certainly new. Either way, this is not Islamic, as Allah would hardly ever tell anyone to walk dogs in the nude. But, just for the record...

"Naked man walking dog Tasered by Tallahassee police," by Nic Corbett, for Tallahassee.com, September 13 (thanks to Staks):

A 40-year-old man walking his dog in the nude Friday night in northwest Tallahassee was Tasered by police when he became belligerent and refused to follow an officer’s commands.

An officer on patrol spotted the man about 8:15 p.m. in the 2200 block of Hartsfield Road, said Officer David McCranie of the Tallahassee Police Department.

When asked what he was doing, the man told the officer, “Allah told me to watch a Bruce Willis movie and walk the dog,” McCranie said.

“He was obviously having some sort of emotional distress,” he said. “It was unfortunate we had to use the Taser. … It was the only way we could subdue him without having to hurt him.”

The man was then sent for mental-health evaluation and treatment.

Kuwait living in fear of nuclear Iran

So would Kuwait support an Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities? Just askin'.

"Middle East: Kuwait living in fear of nuclear Iran, says expert," from AKI, September 16 (thanks to C.C.):

Kuwait City, 16 Sept. (AKI) - Kuwait is afraid that Iran has secret plans to produce nuclear arms at the Bushehr nuclear reactor in the country's southwest and elsewhere in the country, according to the head of a leading think-tank.

Sami Al-Faraj, president of the Kuwait Centre for Strategic Studies, told Adnkronos International (AKI) on Tuesday that the country "was living in fear" about Tehran's nuclear plans.

He said Kuwaitis also had serious concerns about the potential impact of a radiation leak or an earthquake in the area surrounding the Bushehr nuclear plant, which is only 200 kilometres from Kuwait.

"We would be the first city to be hit as a result of the impact if anything goes wrong at Bushehr," Al-Faraj told AKI.

"People say that there is no need for us to to suffer from Bushehr. The greater problem is that something will go wrong. We are under threat. The situation is dangerous"

"We have 17 monitoring stations and all these stations have extra equipment for monitoring radiation.Unless this problem is dealt with scientifically, we will remain in danger."...

Bosnia: Jihad commander gets three years for crimes against prisoners

"Some of the prisoners were beheaded and their heads were shown to other prisoners," in accord with Qur'an 47:4. But apparently Delic knew nothing about all that. "Bosnia: UN tribunal sentences former Muslim commander to three years," from AKI, September 15 (thanks to C.C.):

The Hague, 15 Sept. (AKI) – Former Bosnian Muslim Army commander Rasim Delic was sentenced on Monday by the UN's Hague-based Yugoslav war crimes tribunal to three years in jail for crimes against Serb prisoners.

Delic was held responsible for crimes committed by mujahadeen fighters from Islamic countries that fought under his command to help local Muslims in Bosnia’s bloody 1992-1995 civil war.

But two judges, Flavia Latanzzi and Frederick Harhoff, found him guilty only for brutal treatment of Serb prisoners, while the presiding judge, Bakone Moloto, argued that Delic’s responsibility for the alleged crimes had not been proven.

Delic was the head of the general staff of the Bosnian Army from 1993 to 1995 and was charged with chain of responsibility command.

During that period the “El Mujaheed” unit committed several crimes, killing over 70 Serb and Croatian prisoners of war.

Some of the prisoners were beheaded and their heads were shown to other prisoners.

But the court ruled Delic couldn’t have known about the murders and therefore could not have prevented them....

The verdict was likely to steer another storm of protests from Bosnian Serbs and Croats, who claim the Hague tribunal is a political court. The tribunal freed earlier this year two other Muslim commanders, Naser Oric and Sefer Halilovic for lack of evidence.

The president of the Bosnian Serb association of war prisoners, Nedeljko Mitrovic, said the verdict was proof that the tribunal is a biased court which doesn’t work from the evidence before it, but favours Muslims....

Jihad violence offends Muslims -- no, wait, scratch that -- Obsession DVD offends Muslims

Reaction to Obsession DVD distribution shows many Americans clueless about jihad, Part 5: "'Radical Islam' video angers South Florida Muslims," by Jaweed Kaleem for the Miami Herald, September 16 (thanks to J.H.):

A controversial DVD distributed to millions of Americans during the past week through direct mail and newspapers, including The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, has angered many Muslims in South Florida.

Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West is being packaged as an advertising insert in 70 newspapers, including The Sun Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post....

The DVD includes montages of terrorist training camps and suicide bombers paired with narration by commentators such as Daniel Pipes, founder of the conservative Middle East Forum think tank. Many of the film's pundits are known for controversial views on Islam. In one part of the DVD, clips of Muslim children being recruited as suicide bombers are interspersed with images of Nazis.

Horror of horrors! Recruitment of Muslim children to be suicide bombers is compared to Nazism? When we all know that the recruitment of Muslim children to be suicide bombers is all sweetness and a blow for justice against wicked Zionism!

''My cellphone has been ringing off the hook . . . We feel that it's going to incite more hate and bigotry against our community,'' said Altaf Ali, Florida chapter director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The DVD does not do enough to differentiate between terrorists and mainstream Muslims, he said....

Neither, of course, does CAIR. CAIR is an unindicted co-conspirator in a jihad terror funding case. It is a spinoff of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), which is listed in the 1991 Muslim Brotherhood memorandum on strategy in the U.S. as part of its "grand jihad" aimed at "eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within." Several of its officials have been arrested and convicted on terror-related charges, and one of its founders has made Islamic supremacist statements, hoping that one day the Qur'an would be the only law of the land in America. But the Herald, of course, mentions none of this.

Syed Rahman, a Muslim pharmaceutical consultant from Weston, said he was shocked to see the film bundled with his Sunday Miami Herald. ''I could not believe my eyes,'' he said. Nidal Hussain, a Kendall computer consultant, was also taken aback. ''I watched it with my wife . . . it is vulgar material,'' he said. ``I'm sure good, wholesome Americans are going to see it and be able to decipher the truth.''

I'm sure they will.

At least one newspaper, The News & Record of Greensboro, N.C., decided not to distribute the DVD. The publisher ''said it was divisive and plays on people's fears and served no educational purpose,'' editor John Robinson wrote in his blog....

Robinson did not explain what exactly we should do with those jihadist preachers preaching death and destruction in the video.

Columnist: Obsession distribution all part of the vast right-wing conspiracy

Reaction to Obsession DVD distribution shows many Americans clueless about jihad, Part 4: "Obsession: A jihad-happy DVD delivered to a newspaper near you," by Roger Moore in the Orlando Sentinel, September 14:

The movie Obsession: Radical Islam's War With the West, whose trailer is below, was delivered with your Orlando Sentinel newspaper this AM. And, it is my understanding, the DVD was delivered to households receiving other newspapers around the country today as well. True? [...]

I've seen the Obsession before, but I checked it out again this AM before heading out for a day on the water. It's an alarmist manifesto about what the producers and their unnamed Brit narrator go to pains to label as the threat from "radical Islam." The points seem solid, the massive amounts of video from TV programming all over the Middle East, from Lebanon to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, is damning. For years (much of the TV news footage from the Middle East, the Imam "death to America" sermons, is over 5 years old, not that things have changed much since) Arab governments all over the Middle East have stood by while their airwaves, their mosques and websites bubbled with anti-Americanism and antisemitism.
Experts, from Middle Eastern journalists such as Khalid Abu Toameh (described as a Palestinian journalist...they don't say he's with The Jersualem Post, which says volumes) to A British historian and Churchill biographer Sir Martin Gilbert to Itamar Marcus of Palestinian Media Watch (that's a good idea for a think tank--monitoring TV and radio for this sort of naked evidence of "how they feel about us") to conservative academic Daniel Pipes to journo Caroline Glick and Steve Emerson of something called The Investigative Project rail against the Islam-fascism that now confronts the West, and the ways it parallels (in their minds) the 1930s and the world's slow-to-act take on Nazi Germany.

"Steve Emerson of something called The Investigative Project": as Roger Moore might say, that phrase speaks volumes.

The experts vary widely in credibility and seem selected because of their willingness to say what the movie wants them to say. It's a mildly scary film, but one utterly lacking in context. It lacks the history that got us to this point, ignores the creation of the, to the Arab world, "Colony" of Israel in their midst, the Saudi role in fomenting and financing this, the tipping point attack on Mecca by extremists and the Afghan War's blow back. But that would break with the GOP/Conservative talking points on Islam and the Middle East. The Saudis and Big Oil are our friends, the creation of Israel had nothing to do with this, nor did the trumped up invasion of Iraq, the meddling in what they see as "their" affairs.

Moore is so abysmally clueless that he thinks that the jihad threat has something to do with the Saudis being our friends, and is utterly oblivious to the jihad warfare that went on for centuries before the creation of the State of Israel.

It's a complicated mess, but if you invoke Neville Chamberlain's "appeasement" of Hitler (not sure what anybody could have done, other than force a confrontation years before Germany or the Depression ridden, war-weary West were really "ready" for WWII )...

Yeah, that Chamberlain was quite the statesmen. So a few Czechs had to suffer under the Nazi boot -- so what? It is a distant country, of which we know little.

...It's a more complex subject than this, with a region rife with closed societies whose anti-democratic governments cower in terror from the fanatics who would overthrow them and derail all that swell US aid that's had them living high on the kosher hog for half a century. Kopping's certainly made good fodder for Fox, Limbaugh, religious TV chat shows in America (now THERE's a think tank I'd like to see---Right Wing TV preacher Watch) and the like. It's a pity things aren't as simple now as they seemed back in 1941. Or 1241.

Yes, it's all so complex -- so long as one completely ignores the jihad ideology and Islamic supremacism, and their deep roots in Islamic texts and teachings. But why spoil a good sneer?

Jihadists threaten to poison Denmark's water supply

Proportionate response

In retaliation for the Motoons, of course. "Islamic extremists threaten Denmark with poison," from the Copenhagen Post, September 15 (thanks to all who sent this in):

An Islamic extremist group has discussed on its website how to poison Denmark's water supplies in retaliation for Jyllands-Posten newspaper's publication of the Mohammed drawings.

Detailed plans of how the deed can be carried out appeared on extremist group al-ekhlaa's homepage in August, according to American terror watch organisation Jamestown Foundation. In addition, discussions of committing terror actions - especially against Denmark and the UK - have been ongoing in the website's forum.

Intelligence agency PET was informed of the situation and said they are keeping an eye on it. Jamestown Foundation indicated the website is a primary gathering place for al-Qaeda followers....

Dinesh D'Souza touts Saudi-funded Islamic apologist's skewed data as if it were accurate

Dinesh D'Souza and I both spoke at FreedomFest in Las Vegas in July, although unfortunately we didn't debate each other. At one point we had a brief and friendly chat, during which I noticed that he was carrying a well-thumbed copy of Who Speaks for Islam by John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed. And now he has written another column about the book, showing that clearly he takes it very, very seriously -- demonstrating once again that when he speaks about Islam, Dinesh D'Souza has no true grasp of the subject, and is completely out of his depth.

"Who Speaks For Islam," by Dinesh D'Souza, September 15:

Who Speaks for Islam, written by John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, is one of the most important books on the War on Terror. In the seven years since 9/11, we have been subjected to all kinds of ignorant pontification--much of it from the left, but some also from the right--on "why they hate us." This book, written by a leading scholar of Islam and the head of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, brings a wealth of real data to bear on this important subject.

Esposito a "leading scholar of Islam": Esposito has taken $20 million from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and renamed his Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. Prince Alwaleed tried to give $10 million to New York City after 9/11, but Rudolph Giuliani returned the check after Alwaleed suggested that 9/11 was a consequence of U.S. foreign policy.

That alone, of course, doesn't indicate what John Esposito is all about. But there is more about whom he has praised and whom he has damned that reveals a great deal about where he really stands. Esposito has called Bernard Lewis, whom D'Souza has repeatedly cited and praised, "one of the Darth Vaders of the world."

Esposito has praised Muslim Brotherhood Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who advocates suicide bombings, as a champion of a "reformist interpretation of Islam and its relationship to democracy, pluralism and human rights."

Esposito has spoken at a Council on American-Islamic Relations fundraiser in order to "show solidarity not only with the Holy Land Fund [that is, the Holy Land Foundation], but also with CAIR." The Holy Land Foundation is accused of funneling money to the jihad terror group Hamas, and CAIR is an unindicted co-conspirator in the case. CAIR is a spinoff of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), which is listed in the 1991 Muslim Brotherhood memorandum on strategy in the U.S. as part of its "grand jihad" aimed at "eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within."

Esposito has said of a man who pleaded guilty to aiding the jihad terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad that "Sami Al-Arian's a very good friend of mine."

Esposito has co-edited a book with Azzam Tamimi. Palestinian political scientist Muhammad Muslih calls Tamimi "a Hamas member." Tamimi has said: "I admire the Taliban; they are courageous." He has said: "I support Hamas."

D'Souza goes on:

The book is full of fascinating data on Islamic radicalism, on Muslim support for democracy, on the role of women, and on the values of Western popular culture. At first glance the results seem confusing: An overwhelming majority of Muslims rejects 9/11 style terrorism but a significant number of Muslims support the Palestine suicide bombers. Huge majorities of Muslims support democracy but reject the Western understanding of rights and liberty. In fact, a substantial majority of Muslims--including Muslim women--support some form of sharia or Islamic holy law. Most Muslim women want equal rights but even champions of those rights emphatically reject Western-style feminism.

D'Souza takes Esposito's findings at face value, but there is ample reason to treat them with reserve. In The Weekly Standard, Robert Satloff exposes yet more that is wrong with the Saudi-funded Islamic apologist John Esposito's soothing "No Extremists Here" survey of the Islamic world:

Mogahed publicly admitted they knew certain people weren't moderates but they still termed them so. She and Esposito cooked the books and dumbed down the text. Apparently, by the authors' own test, there are not 91 million radicals in Muslim societies but almost twice that number. They must have shrieked in horror to find their original estimate on the high side of assessments made by scholars, such as Daniel Pipes, whom Esposito routinely denounces as Islamophobes. To paraphrase Mogahed, maybe it wasn't the most technically accurate way of doing this, but their neat solution seems to have been to redefine 78 million people off the rolls of radicals.

The cover-up is even worse. The full data from the 9/11 question show that, in addition to the 13.5 percent, there is another 23.1 percent of respondents--300 million Muslims--who told pollsters the attacks were in some way justified. Esposito and Mogahed don't utter a word about the vast sea of intolerance in which the radicals operate.

And then there is the more fundamental fraud of using the 9/11 question as the measure of "who is a radical." Amazing as it sounds, according to Esposito and Mogahed, the proper term for a Muslim who hates America, wants to impose Sharia law, supports suicide bombing, and opposes equal rights for women but does not "completely" justify 9/11 is .  .  . "moderate."

Martin Kramer adds: "So Esposito and Mogahed believe that a Muslim who thinks that 9/11 was three-quarters justified or half-justified (perhaps that's bringing down just one of the Twin Towers?) is still a 'moderate.' This allows them to leap to the conclusion that terrorism in the name of Islam is just... well, an aberration, like violent crime in America."

And Hillel Fradkin, reviewing the book, notes a curious feature for what is supposed to be a study of survey data:

So who does speak for Islam? Apparently, Esposito and Mogahed do. For the book does not actually present the poll. It provides a very small and partial account of the responses to some questions, but fails to include even one table or chart of data. It does not even provide a clear list of the questions that were asked. The appendix, where one might expect to find questionnaires, charts, and tables, provides only a short narrative discussion of Gallup’s sampling techniques and general mode of operation.

To a certain degree, the authors admit the bias of their presentation: “The study revealed far more than what we could possibly cover in one book, so we chose the most significant, and at times, surprising conclusions to share with you. Here are just some of those counterintuitive discoveries.” But this admission is ridiculously inadequate. After all, this is a book, not an article. In the end, the authors betray their own standard that “data should lead the discourse,” because there is no data. A reader without deep pockets cannot easily remedy this deficiency: the Gallup Organization charges $28,500 to access the data.

If not data, then what fills the pages of this book? In effect, we are given an opinion piece by Esposito and Mogahed—one not unlike the op-eds they decry, only much longer. Like op-eds, it is buttressed by anecdotal evidence, much of which is not even drawn from the survey. Indeed, given the partiality of the material they do draw from the survey, it too must be counted as anecdotal, notwithstanding the percentage signs which are scattered here and there. Moreover, the conclusions that Esposito and Mogahed draw, as well as their policy prescriptions, are indistinguishable from Esposito’s opinions, as expressed and disseminated in his books and articles long before Gallup polled its first Muslim. As in almost every Esposito product, the book even includes a chapter devoted to a description of the religion of Islam.

But to accept this book as an extended op-ed is not quite adequate. After all, Esposito claimed to apply a higher standard—that of “a man [who] should look for what is, and not what he thinks should be.” Seen in this light, the book is a confidence game or fraud, of which Esposito should be ashamed. So too should the Gallup Organization, its publisher.

But D'Souza, no doubt oblivious to all this, charges on:

What's going on here? Esposito and Mogahed argue that traditional Muslims, who make up the bulk of Muslims in every Muslim country, strongly identify with the Western principles of rule of law, self-government, and religious toleration.

How do they define these terms? D'Souza doesn't say. He probably doesn't know that "rule of law" and "religious toleration," in particular, can have vastly different meanings to Muslims from the meanings that most Americans take for granted.

D'Souza then goes on to try to portray the vast majority of Muslims as traditional conservatives:

[...] Esposito and Mogahed shrewdly note that the values of traditional Muslims worldwide are very similar to the values of traditional Jews and Christians in the West. For instance, only around 15 percent of Muslims in Europe consider homosexuality "morally acceptable." That's way below the figures for the general public in Britain, France and Germany. But when conservative and religious Europeans and Americans are polled, it turns out that the percentage of people who are fine with homosexuality is about the same as that of the traditional Muslims.

Can we get percentages on Muslim approval of polygamy? Wife-beating? Honor killing? Jihad violence? Islamic supremacism? I didn't think so.

Yes, I could say that I predicted all this in my book The Enemy at Home. But the great contribution of Esposito and Mogahed is to put a mountain of data behind these conclusions. Over six years their group has conducted tens of thousands of face-to-face surveys of Muslims in more than 35 countries making what they rightly call "the largest, most comprehensive study of contemporary Muslims ever done."

This book is a huge embarrassment to some conservatives who, based on no data and very little familiarity with the Muslim world, have been portraying Muslims as violent theocrats who reject modern science, modern democracy and modern capitalism and spend most of their day performing honor killings and genital mutilations. This portrait of the Muslim world is about as accurate as that of a Muslim who believes that typical Americans live their daily lives according to the values of "Natural Born Killers" and "Brokeback Mountain."

I don't know of anyone, conservative or not, who portrays Muslims as "violent theocrats who reject modern science, modern democracy and modern capitalism and spend most of their day performing honor killings and genital mutilations," so I haven't the vaguest idea of who Dinesh D'Souza is talking about, but given the way Esposito and Mogahed cooked their data, the "huge embarrassment" is all D'Souza's.

At FreedomFest when we talked briefly, I invited D'Souza to debate again, in a longer format than the rushed CPAC affair. He agreed, although he hastened to say that, well, we would have to find the proper venue, etc. I hereby repeat the invitation.

Pakistani army spokesman: Troops have orders to "open fire" to stop U.S. cross-border ops

More on this story. "Pakistan orders troops to stop US raids," from the Associated Press, September 16:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's army spokesman says its forces have orders to open fire on U.S. troops if they launch another raid across the Afghan border.

Pakistani officials issued sharp protests to Washington after helicopters ferried U.S. commandos into Pakistan's South Waziristan region on Sept. 3 for a highly unusual ground attack into a militant stronghold.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told The Associated Press that, after the raid, the military told its field commanders to prevent any similar raids.

Abbas said that if it was clear that troops had crossed the ill-defined border into Pakistani territory, either on the ground or in the air, that troops should "open fire."

"No incursion is to be tolerated," he said

Swift Plant: Fired Muslim workers planning lawsuits

These workers were unhappy with the extent of accommodation of Muslim practices that they were offered by the Swift plant managers. They would, as per the absolutism of Sharia, accept no compromise. So they walked off the job, and were fired. And now it's time for the courtroom jihad, where they will almost certainly prevail -- paving the way for further concessions to Sharia on the part of American businesses.

Swift Plant Stealth Jihad Update: "Fired workers unite," by David Young in the Greeley Tribune, September 14 (thanks to John):

An attorney for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union told fired JBS Swift & Co. workers he plans to make the company prove in every instance that the employees violated their union contract.

Attorney John Bowen, along with other state representatives -- including Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley -- spoke Saturday during a meeting at the Union Colony Civic Center and assured the Muslim workers, fired for not going to work because of a conflict about Ramadan accommodations, that they have rights.

"The company will argue that you engaged in a strike that violated the contract," Bowen said. "We will require them to prove for each of you that that happened."

Bowen told more than 100, mostly Somalis, that the company violated several provisions in its contract. JBS officials contend the Muslim workers violated the contracts.

In preparation for legal action, Bowen said the fired workers need to document how and when they were fired.

Bowen said he filed 90 employee grievances Friday, and he expects to file more Monday. He has also filed a grievance on behalf of the union.

"The situation you find yourself in is as workers is not unique, but it is a difficult one," Bowens said. "Your situation is complex."

It still unclear how many employees were fired, as union spokesman Manny Gonzales said he received different numbers from the list provided by JBS. A JBS official said on Wednesday about 100 workers were fired.

Riesberg promised the crowd he would do his part to ensure they are treated fairly.

"We need to spend a lot of time negotiating with Swift so you can have your jobs back," said Riesberg, who fielded questions from frustrated former employees.

Riesberg assured the Somalis that they are welcome in Greeley....

"All in all, the propaganda campaign is a shameful episode for the Fourth Estate"

So says columnist William E. Jackson, Jr., in Editor & Publisher. What's he on about? The endless description of CAIR as a "civil rights group" in mainstream media news stories, without a hint of the terror convictions of several of its officials, or its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas? The endless refusal of the mainstream media to discuss the jihad ideology and Islamic supremacism in any terms other than as a threat imagined by racist "Islamophobes"?

No, of course not. What Jackson is upset about is, of course, the nationwide distribution of the Obsession DVD.

Reaction to Obsession DVD distribution shows many Americans clueless about jihad, Part 3: "Delivering Propaganda, As If It is Toothpaste," by William E. Jackson, Jr. for Editor & Publisher, September 13:

DAVIDSON, N.C. -- (September 13, 2008) -- Bundled into my Charlotte Observer on this Saturday morning, and this week into approximately 100 newspapers located overwhelmingly in battleground states across the country, there is a kind of 527-fund contribution to the presidential campaign of John McCain.

Under the cloak of an advertising supplement, a one-hour edition of a DVD entitled “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West” had been attractively packaged and inserted into some 200,000 copies of the McClatchy-owned newspaper. The same happened at the other major McClatchy paper in North Carolina, the Raleigh News & Observer.

Dozens of local newspapers -- from Altoona to Las Vegas and selected regional editions of the New York Times) -- have been paid to distribute a film designed to spread fear about our national security.

Anyone can see an electoral vote pattern to the targeted areas, with almost all of the battleground or “swing” states represented. (The daily newspapers in only one such state appear to have refused the ad, Minnesota.) These papers have allowed themselves to be caught up in a “neo-con” propaganda scam in the context of the presidential campaign, and during 9/11 week.

Those 10,000 jihad terror attacks since 9/11 -- disregard them all! They're just neo-con propaganda!

But of course, William E. Jackson, Jr., doesn't even know that there have been over 10,000 jihad terror attacks worldwide since 9/11. He probably has no idea of the jihad in Indonesia, or the Philippines, or Thailand, or Nigeria. Nothing has blown up in his backyard, so what's the big deal?

As of Saturday, September 13, the rationalizations of the publishers and ad personnel at the two N.C. newspapers were either beggarly excuses for new sources of revenue, or politically naïve in the extreme.

In the Raleigh News & Observer, Jim McClure, vice president of display advertising for the N&O, was quoted as saying that the "ultimate decision" to distribute the DVDs had been made by the publisher. McClure compared the propaganda to harmless household samples: “Obviously, we have distributed other product samples, whether it's cereal or toothpaste.” He dismissed allegations that it is inflammatory: "In the beginning of the DVD it clearly states it's not about Islam. It's about radical Islam.”

N&O publisher Orage Quarles III said in a statement: "As a newspaper we tend to shy away from censorship. In cases of controversial topics, if we err, we tend to do so on the side of freedom of speech," a theme that must have been in talking points guidance from company headquarters.

Charlotte Observer publisher Ann Caulkins said paid ads represent the client's opinions, not the newspaper's. Moreover, she claimed that the DVD met Observer guidelines: “We're all for freedom of expression, freedom of speech. This is in no way reflecting our opinions, but it is something we allow.” What wouldn't be allowed? She identified material that's racist or contains profanity or offers graphic images of body parts. One has to wonder if she has watched the film her paper has foisted upon readers.

There is graphic material in Obsession, showing what jihadists have done. Apparently it is best that we don't know that.

All in all, the propaganda campaign is a shameful episode for the Fourth Estate.

What is shameful is that William E. Jackson, Jr., would have such casual and knee-jerk disregard for a real threat, and for the freedom of speech.

Pakistani officials: We fired on U.S. helicopters

Although both sides deny it. More on this story: "Pakistan says troop fire turns U.S. helicopters back," by Zeeshan Haider for Reuters, September 15:

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani security officials said on Monday that troops had fired on U.S. military helicopters and forced them to turn back to Afghanistan, but both the Pakistani and American militaries denied the incident.

According to the security officials, the incident took place near Angor Adda, a village in the tribal region of South Waziristan where officials have said U.S. commandos in helicopters raided a suspected al Qaeda and Taliban camp earlier this month.

"The U.S. choppers came into Pakistan by just 100 to 150 meters at Angor Adda. Even then our troops did not spare them, opened fire on them and they turned away," said one security official.

While Angor Adda villagers and officials supported that account, the U.S. and Pakistani military denied the report.

Pakistan's military spokesman Major Murad Khan confirmed there had been a shooting but said the American helicopters had not crossed into Pakistani airspace and Pakistani troops were not res