Recently in Islamic bigotry and intolerance Category

What illness has overtaken these people?

"Turkish-Canadian Groups Celebrate Armenian Genocide," from the Armenian Youth Federation of Canada, April 24 (thanks to Garabed):

OTTAWA – The annual Armenian Genocide Memorial Day protest in front of the Turkish embassy was met with 50 Turkish-Canadian counter-protesters denying the well-established actuality of the Armenian Genocide. The group quickly turned to singing and jubilant chanting at the face of the Armenians.

Further to this shameful act, the group was clearly attempting to incite a confrontation with their Armenian counterparts to undermine the annual gathering. Repeated name calling and general insults towards the Armenians could be heard from across the barrier.The Armenian group chose to ignore this immature and reprehensible behavior and kept their focus on the Turkish embassy demanding an end to the Turkish government’s denial campaign around the world and acknowledge the dark chapter from its past.

The Armenian Genocide is the first modern genocide of the 20th century, during which an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Empire leadership in an attempt to rid it’s Christian minority. Countless international organizations, scholars (such as the International Association of Genocide Scholars) and 22 countries have formally recognized these massacres during World War One as Genocide. The Canadian parliament passed a motion in 2004 acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and condemned these crimes against humanity.

Police officers present were questioned about the Turkish group’s permit to gather and answered that the Turkish group had applied for a barbeque party permit in the park.

Afterwards, the Turkish group was invited into the Turkish embassy by Ambassador Tuncay Babali. In an attempt to undermine Canada’s domestic policies, the ambassador recently held an interview with the Canadian Press indicating that Turkey will limit economic developments with Canada unless the government reverses its position on the Armenian Genocide.

“Of course we want religious tolerance to go properly but the Ahmadiyah have committed a violation by spreading a deviant belief. The problem will disappear if the belief disappears.” Translation: if you shut up and submit to us, we will stop hitting you.

"Problems Will Disappear if Ahmadiyah Disappear, Says West Java Governor," from the Jakarta Globe, May 7 (thanks to Andrew Bostom):

Just days after hard-line Islamic group members tore down the homes of an Ahmadiyah community in his province, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan said violence against the beleaguered minority group would stop if the religion disappeared.

“Of course we want religious tolerance to go properly but the Ahmadiyah have committed a violation by spreading a deviant belief. The problem will disappear if the belief disappears,” Ahmad told Indonesian news portal Kompas.com on Tuesday.

Early on Saturday morning, a mob of 400 hard-liners attacked an Ahmadiyah community in Sukamaju village, Singaparna district, leaving dozens of houses in shambles. Some 60 police officers guarding the village were outnumbered and rendered powerless against the assailants.

The Ahmadiyah community has faced years of discrimination in Indonesia, where the sect’s branch of Islam has been named “deviant” by a prominent Islamic organization.

Last month, 30 Ahmadiyah members were sealed in the Al-Misbah mosque when the Bekasi government shuttered the building.

Religious intolerance is on the rise in Indonesia, where minorities find themselves targeted by members of an increasingly vocal hard-line fringe. In few places is intolerance more routine than West Java. In recent months, Christians and Ahmadiyah have found their houses of worship targeted by the government amid pressure from hard-line groups....

Here is a good summary piece about the only group of people anywhere in the world who are celebrating the Boston bombings: "Muslims celebrate with sweets, praise to Allah over Boston bombing," by Janeen Capizola at BizPac Review, April 16:

Muslim extremists throughout the Arab world celebrated the bombings at Monday’s Boston Marathon.

Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and others reportedly danced and cheered in the streets of Gaza, even passing out sweets upon learning of the death and destruction in Boston, the Israeli News Agency said.

The head of a major Jordanian Muslim extremist group said he was “happy to see the horror in America,” The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

The al-Qaida linked, Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab celebrated in its own way, by gloating on Twitter at 2:00 am Tuesday morning, PJ Media reported:

After the announcement of the bloodshed in Boston, Shumukh al-Islam forum posted a well-known rallying cry from former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

“Urgent // Casualties and Injuries in an Explosion that Shook the US State of Boston, and a State of Panic and Chaos Spreads Across America in General,” said the first scrolling message.

That was followed by this bin Ladin quote: “I swear by Allah the Great, who raised the sky without pillars, that America and those who live in America will not dream of security until we live it as a reality in Palestine and until all the disbelieving armies are expelled from the land of Muhammad, Allah’s peace and prayer be upon him.”

Below are some comments made on the popular jihadist forum, known to be a “primary source for official messages from al-Qaeda,” Site Intel Group reported.

[Ibn Talha al-Muhajir]

Allah is Great, praise be to Allah. America is ruined. Allah is Great, Allah is Great, Allah is Great.

[al-'Amal al-Salih]

Allah is Great!!! O Allah, put fear in their hearts and make them die from fear and horror.

[Muhammad Abu Bakr]

Allah is Great, Allah is Great, Allah is Great  Two explosions were heard in Boston in America!! Six people were injured!!

[THEISM]

Yes, they are really explosions, days ago. Almost a week ago, I read news that one of the brothers will carry out bombings in America, and some of the brothers criticized him for giving information like that on the jihadi forums. Allah knows best.

[al-Faqir Ila Allah]

Allah is Great, Allah is Great…Panic and deployment of anti-terror forces… in Boston… after two explosions?! #America!!

[THEISM]

We ask Allah that this is the start before the storm. May Allah give you the glad tiding of Paradise for this joyous news.

[Khuwater 'Asifa]

By Allah, even if no one is killed in these explosions, the fear that entered the hearts of the millions of Americans who watched the marathon live on television is enough.

[Deraa3]

Allah knows best, it is a perfectly planned series of explosions targeting certain cities in America! It might be the start of big coming operations, Allah permitting..I ask Allah that Qaedat al-Jihad is the one responsible…

[al-Zubeir al-Maqhur]

Every drop of American blood that falls is part of the retaliation for the tortured Muslims all over the world…We ask the Almighty to make these explosions one of them.

Over at RaymondIbrahim.com I translate and discuss the revulsion a popular Egyptian cleric feels towards Christians -- so that, if one were to barely touch his cup, he would not drink from it:

Dr. Abdullah Badr—an Egyptian Muslim scholar, Al Azhar graduate, and professor of Islamic exegesis, who spent ten years in prison under Mubarak, but, along with any number of Islamic terrorists and agitators, was released under Morsi—recently gave an excellent summation of the second half of the highly divisive Muslim doctrine of wala’ wa bara’ (or, “Love and Hate”)—namely, that the true Muslim should love and help fellow Muslims, while hating and being disgusted by non-Muslims.

During a conference last week (see video below, with English subtitles) he explained how he is so “disgusted” by Christians, to the point that, if a Christian were to touch his cup, he would not drink from it:

[It’s] not a matter of piety, but disgust. I get grossed out. Get that? Disgust, I get grossed out man, I cannot stand their smell or … I don’t like them, it’s my choice. And they gross me out; their smell, their look, everything. I feel disgusted, disgusted. I get disgusted not only by that, but by many things.

He kept stressing that, while Sharia law does not ban Muslims from eating food prepared by Christians, he personally is sickened by them. Badr explained how he once entered a store in Egypt to buy food, but when he saw the crosses and Christian icons on the wall, and understood that the owner was Christian, he immediately gave the food away on the street...

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

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

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

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

[…]

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

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Worcester, Massachusetts, Robert McManus, is so avid for "dialogue" with Muslims that he barred me from speaking at an upcoming conference there, lest by telling unpleasant truths I hurt that "dialogue." Here, some self-described "Soldier off [sic] Allah" demonstrate their own understanding of "Catholic-Muslim dialogue": the Muslims talk, the Christians shut up and listen.

This hyper-PC CTV News story never mentions that the hackers identified themselves as "Muslims, Soldiers of Allah" (actually "Muslims, Soldier off Allah"), but they included a photo (above) that gave away their dhimmi obfuscation.

"Ottawa Catholic School Board hacked by anti-cupid," from CTV News, February 13 (thanks to Blazing Cat Fur):

A hacker took over the Ottawa Catholic School Board's website to rant about Valentine's day.

People visiting the Ottawa Catholic School Board's website, this morning, got an unromantic eyeful.

The website was hacked by someone using the name xCrotz.

The page shows a crossed-out Valentine’s gift and a rant against the romantic day.

The school board took down the website shortly after saying it was down for maintenance....

Arabic-speaking Christians were using the word "Allah" to refer to the God of the Bible since before the invention of Islam. This does not in reality signify their Islamization or dhimmitude; it is just the word they have used. But now Islamic supremacists in Malaysia have made it into an issue, and Johor Islamic Religious Council Adviser Datuk Nooh Gadut is threatening violence against those who do not fall into line.

"Abuse of 'Allah' makes one apostate: official," from Bernama, January 12 (thanks to Blazing Cat Fur):

JOHOR BARU (Jan 12): Johor Islamic Religious Council Adviser Datuk Nooh Gadut today said those who allow the abuse of the word 'Allah' can be considered as apostates and should repent immediately.

He said the word 'Allah' was the exclusive right of Islam and Muslims.

"When the doctrine of tauhid was clearly stated in the Quran and Hadis, besides the ijmak ulamak, then there is no compromise.

"If one dares to violate the doctrine on purpose and while being in a rational state of mind, he can be considered as apostate and infidel," he told reporters after opening the seminar on endowment and inheritance planning in Islam, here today.

Present were President of Malaysian Islamic Chamber of Commerce Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim and as-Salihin Trustee Berhad chief executive officer Abdul Aziz Peru Mohamed.

Nooh said the Quran had clearly explained that 'Allah' was the exclusive word for Muslims as stated in Surah Al-Thaha verse 14 which means: "Verily, I am Allah. There is no god except Me. So worship Me and establish prayers for My remembrance."

"So, it is clear that whoever say that all religions are the same can be considered as an apostate.

"That is why when we talk about faith and the doctrines of the Quran, it cannot be based on political interpretation of either the opposition or the government," Nooh said.

He also rapped certain quarters for meddling with the social contract which had been the foundation for peace and harmony in the country.

"If the issue is not resolved soon, it can lead to chaos. To whom it may concern, do not cross the line because I'm sure one day the Muslims will lose their patience and will do anything to defend their faith," he added.

The Qur'an says in three places that Allah transformed the Sabbath-breaking Jews into apes and pigs (2:63-65; 5:59-60; 7:166).

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

"Pundits and politicians are already ringing the alarm bells. The common refrain you hear in the US: The Middle East is being overrun with religious radicals bent on oppressing women and destroying Israel. That is nonsense, of course." -- Reza Aslan

Camp David Accords on the ropes. "Morsi in 2010: No to Negotiations with the Blood-Sucking, Warmongering 'Descendants of Apes and Pigs'; Calls to Boycott U.S. Products," from MEMRI, January 3 (thanks to Pedro):

Following are excerpts from archival interviews with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, which were posted on the Internet in 2010:

September 23, 2010

Mohamed Morsi: These futile [Israeli-Palestinian] negotiations are a waste of time and opportunities. The Zionists buy time and gain more opportunities, as the Palestinians, the Arabs, and the Muslims lose time and opportunities, and they get nothing out of it. We can see how this dream has dissipated. This dream has always been an illusion. Yet some Palestinians, who erroneously believe that their enemies might give them something... This [Palestinian] Authority was created by the Zionist and American enemies for the sole purpose of opposing the will of the Palestinian people and its interests.

[...]

No reasonable person can expect any progress on this track. Either [you accept] the Zionists and everything they want, or else it is war. This is what these occupiers of the land of Palestine know – these blood-suckers, who attack the Palestinians, these warmongers, the descendants of apes and pigs.

[...]

We should employ all forms of resistance against them. There should be military resistance within the land of Palestine against those criminal Zionists, who attack Palestine and the Palestinians. There should also be political resistance and economic resistance through a boycott, as well as by supporting the resistance fighters. This should be the practice of the Muslims and the Arabs outside Palestine. They should support the resistance fighters and besiege the Zionist wherever they are. None of the Arab or Muslim peoples and regimes should have dealings with them. Pressure should be exerted upon them. They must not be given any opportunity, and must not stand on any Arab or Islamic land. They must be driven out of our countries.

[...]

Therefore, these negotiations must stop once and for all. Everybody must turn to the support of the resistance, which is the option chosen by the Palestinians and by us all – the Arabs and the Muslims, Palestinians and others. We must all realize that resistance is the only way to liberate the land of Palestine.

[...]

Al-Quds TV (Lebanon) March 20, 2010, via the Internet

The Zionists have no right to the land of Palestine. There is no place for them on the land of Palestine. What they took before 1947-8 constitutes plundering, and what they are doing now is a continuation of this plundering. By no means do we recognize their Green Line. The land of Palestine belongs to the Palestinians, not to the Zionists.

[...]

We must confront this Zionist entity. All ties of all kinds must be severed with this plundering criminal entity, which is supported by America and its weapons, as well as by its own nuclear weapons, the existence of which is well known. It will bring about their own destruction. The peoples must boycott this entity and avoid normalization of relations with it. All products from countries supporting this entity – from the U.S. and others – must be boycotted.

[...]

We want a country for the Palestinians on the entire land of Palestine, on the basis of [Palestinian] citizenship. All the talk about a two-state solution and about peace is nothing but an illusion, which the Arabs have been chasing for a long time now. They will not get from the Zionists anything but this illusion.

[...]

They have been fanning the flames of civil strife wherever they were throughout history. They are hostile by nature.

[...]

The Zionists understood nothing but the language of force.

"They decided to attend the program because they don’t have sufficient understanding of Islam." So here we have the spectacle of an Islamic hardliner, someone whom Western Muslim spokesmen would say is a misunderstander of Islam and an "extremist," charging "moderate" Muslims with misunderstanding Islam. So both sides now claim that the other side just doesn't get Islam, which is apparently such a glorious complexity that only an extraordinarily tiny minority of its adherents can grasp its true nature.

"MUI nixes Christmas for SBY," by Rabby Pramudatama for The Jakarta Post, December 24 (thanks to Lookmann):

Conservative Muslim leaders are not stopping with edicts forbidding Muslims from wishing Christians a Merry Christmas. Now they want the President not to attend any observation of the holiday in an official or personal capacity.

A representative of the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) renewed on Sunday an edict (fatwa) forbidding Muslims from extending holiday greetings to Christians and said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had to skip a national Christmas celebration scheduled for Dec. 27.

“If you talk about the MUI edict, it forbids attendance at the [Christmas] rituals. A Muslim should not attend the ritual, because it is a part of worship activities that should only be attended by Christians,” Ma’ruf Amin, the council’s deputy chairman, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Ma’ruf said that Yudhoyono, as a Muslim, should not attend the national Christmas celebration, which he said would contain a Christian religious element.

Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono, who is also a Muslim, are among the top officials who are scheduled to attend the national Christmas celebration. Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali joined the President and Vice President during a similar national observance in 2011.

Several Muslim organizations have echoed the MUI’s call. The United Indonesian Muslims (Persis), for example, said that it was inappropriate for the President to attend the national Christmas celebration.

“Even though they are the country’s leaders, they are forbidden to attend such Christmas celebrations,” Persis chairman Maman Abdurrahman said, as quoted by the website of conservative Muslim organization Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia’s (HTI).

Maman said that Yudhoyono and Boediono should instead order officials from the Religious Ministry’s Protestant and Catholic directorate to come to attend the event on their behalf.

Separately, the infamous hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI) said that Yudhoyono and Boediono would “undermine” Islam if they decided to attend the celebration.

Muchsin Ahmad Alatas, the head of the FPI’s campaign division, advised the President and Vice President not to attend the celebration. “They decided to attend the program because they don’t have sufficient understanding of Islam,” Muchsin said. “They should have consulted with people who understand Islam better before making their decision.”

Muchsin said that Yudhoyono should ignore Christians in favor of the nation’s Muslims. “People will understand his decision, because he will have respected the feelings of the [nation’s] majority-Muslim population.”

“If the President shows up, it means that state affairs take precedence over his faith,” he said....

"Out of context"? Sheesh. All these years and they still fall back on that tired dodge? Isn't there anyone in the Islamic Supremacist Talking Points Factory who can come up with anything new and more convincing?

"No merriness here: mosque puts fatwa on Christmas," by Natalie O'Brien for the Sydney Morning Herald, December 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):

THE Lakemba Mosque has issued a fatwa against Christmas, warning followers it is a ''sin'' to even wish people a Merry Christmas.

The religious ruling, which followed a similar lecture during Friday prayers at Australia's biggest mosque, was posted on its Facebook site on Saturday morning.

The head imam at Lakemba, Sheikh Yahya Safi, had told the congregation during prayers that they should not take part in anything to do with Christmas.

Samir Dandan, the president of the Lebanese Muslim Association, which oversees the mosque, could not be reached for comment on Saturday.

The fatwa, which has sparked widespread community debate and condemnation, warns that the "disbelievers are trying to draw Muslims away from the straight path".

It also says that Christmas Day and associated celebrations are among the "falsehoods that a Muslim should avoid ... and therefore, a Muslim is neither allowed to celebrate the Christmas Day nor is he allowed to congratulate them"....

The fatwa quotes the teacher Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim as saying that congratulating disbelievers for their rituals is forbidden, and if a "Muslim who says this does not become a disbeliever himself, he at least commits a sin as this is the same as congratulating him for his belief in the trinity, which is a greater sin and much more disliked by Almighty Allaah than congratulating him for drinking alcohol or killing a soul or committing fornication or adultery”....

And then: "Christmas wish appears in sky over mosque," from ABC News, December 23:

The Lebanese Muslim Association says it arranged for a Christmas wish to be written in the sky above the country's biggest mosque, in response to reports it had banned Muslims from wishing people a happy Christmas.

Over the weekend, a message appeared on the Facebook page for Lakemba Mosque, saying that Muslims were forbidden from taking part in Christmas traditions or wishing people a merry Christmas.

The entry implied it was a fatwa, or Islamic ruling, and was based on a lecture given at the mosque during Friday prayers.

The Lebanese Muslim Association, which runs the mosque, says the comments were taken out of context and the group harbours no anti-Christmas sentiment.

Samier Dandan from the the Lebanese Muslim Association says a junior staff member of the association copied and pasted text from another website that the mosque had not endorsed.

"From our perspective this is an innocent mistake done by a youth member who's employed by this organisation," he said.

"We are basically not going to apologise for what I perceive to be an innocent mistake, which is not necessarily reflective of the true mindset and belief of this organisation."

This afternoon, the organisation arranged to have the words "Merry Xmas" written in the sky above Lakemba Mosque....

But the earlier report said that "the head imam at Lakemba, Sheikh Yahya Safi, had told the congregation during prayers that they should not take part in anything to do with Christmas." Is Sheikh Yahya Safi a "youth member" and "junior staff member" also?

Feel the love. "Muslim woman attacked for travelling with Hindu man," by R. Vasudevan for the Asian Tribune, November 10 (thanks to Block Ness):

In a fresh vigilante group attack, a Muslim woman was assaulted at Karmar in Bajpe, near Mangalore, allegedly by a fringe mob.

Deeba Algani, , 23, was attacked because she was travelling in a car with a person from another community. Her mother, Zubeida, is an independent member of the Padubidri gram panchayat. Deeba, who was admitted to Government Wenlock Hospital, said she was beaten up by a mob of 20 persons on Wednesday night.

"The mob waylaid our car, pushed us out and assaulted us. They asked me why I was travelling with a Hindu. I heard the miscreants talking over phone in the Beary language and referring to KFD (Karnataka Forum for Dignity). I can identify those who assaulted us," she added.

Her mother, Zubeida alleged that the group snatched her cellphone and robbed her of Rs 3.07 lakh. "I had taken a house on lease at Bajpe from realtor Dharma a week ago. I had given my daughter Rs 3 lakh to pay Dharma. Deeba had another Rs 7,000 in her purse," she said.

"We were in Mangalore city to purchase home appliances for our new house. Since there were a lot of appliances in my car, I asked Deeba to return with Dharma in his car. Both cars started together, but our car moved ahead. Miscreants waylaid their car and attacked them," Zubeida said....

"Saudi Cleric Muhammad Al-Munajid: Hurricane Sandy Is Allah's Punishment for Afghanistan and Iraq," from MEMRI, November 1.

Now wait a minute. I thought Hurricane Sandy was punishment for the Muhammad video.

Wagdi Ghoneim needs to update his narrative: not even Barack Obama is railing against the Muhammad video anymore. "Muslim clerics say Sandy is 'God's way of punishing America for anti-Muhammed film,'" from the Associated Press, November 1:

Some anti-American Muslim clerics have cast the deadly Superstorm Sandy as divine punishment for 'Innocence of Muslims,' a film mocking the Prophet Muhammad or for other perceived ills of American society.

The remarks by some on the fringe brought a backlash from other Muslims who said it was wrong to relish the suff1ering of others.

In Egypt, one radical cleric described the hurricane as revenge from God for the crude, anti-Islam film made in the U.S. that sparked waves of protests in the Muslim world in September.

'Some people wonder about the hurricane in America and its causes,' Egyptian hardline cleric Wagdi Ghoneim tweeted twice this week in the aftermath of the storm.

'In my opinion, it is revenge from God for the beloved prophet,' he added, alluding to the film.

Some praised the post, but others condemned it.

'God, shake the earth under their feet,' read one comment, prompting the response: 'We have brothers and friends in America - I don't wish them any harm.'

Another Twitter response to Ghoneim compared Sandy to a divine wind sent to destroy a sinful nation and strike at the seat of the United Nations in New York.

'We ask God to destroy the U.N. building for its injustice, corruption, tyranny ... with Sandy.'...

Now where would these Muslims get the crazy idea to rejoice in the misfortune of unbelievers?

"Muhammad is the Messenger of God, and those who are with him are hard against the unbelievers, merciful one to another." -- Qur'an 48:29

Naaah, couldn't be from the Book of Peace!

"Arab tweeps should stop gloating over Sandy disaster: Saudi Grand Mufti," from Al Arabiya, October 31 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holliest sites, has condemned the gloating by radical “tweeps” in the Arab world over the Sandy storm disaster, which left more than 100 people dead in the U.S. East Coast, as “illegitimate”

Sheikh Abdel Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh told al-Hayat newspaper that gloating over "these people who were hit by storm Sandy is inappropriate,” adding that such behavior is “illegitimate” and “must be abandoned.”

Saudi Arabia’s prominent Islamic preacher Salman al-Oudah also urged Twitter users to refrain from gloating over Sandy victims, recalling the Prophet Mohammed’s message of peace to mankind.

Commenting on the super-storm disaster, one person who identifies himself as a professor of religion tweeted: “We ask God to destroy them all, and not keep one of them,” because the United States “supports war and abuse towards Muslims.”

In Egypt, controversial Islamic preacher Wagdy Ghoneim described storm Sandy as one of “God’s soldiers” sent to punish the United States for its actions against Muslims.

Other Twitter users compared Sandy to the sand storm, which according Islam was sent by God to the “People of Aad” to punish them for refusing to believe in him....

In the same vein, Engy Hamdi, political activist and member of Egypt’s April 6 Movement, wrote on her Twitter account, “Did Islam teach us to gloat amid the misfortunes of people?"

"O believers, fight the unbelievers who are near to you; and let them find in you a harshness; and know that God is with the godfearing." -- Qur'an 9:123

Be harsh, but do not gloat, apparently.

These American publishers rightly excoriate the hatred of Jews and Christians and Islamic supremacism in Saudi textbooks, but they shouldn't be surprised by it: it is simply Qur'anic Islam, although I am sure these men have been so filled with Religion of Peace nonsense by politically correct propagandists that they have no idea of that.

"Saudi Textbooks Incite Hate, Say Leaders in American Publishing," by Robert L. Bernstein, Harold Evans, Larry Kirshbaum, Adam Bellow, Larry Hughes, Andre Schiffrin, and Jonathan Karp in The Daily Beast, October 17:

Despite promises to reform their textbooks, the Saudi education system continues to indoctrinate children with hatred and incitement. Seven current and former heads of major publishing houses address the critical importance of words.

As current and former heads of major American publishing houses, we know the value of words. They inform actions and shape the world views of all, especially children. We are writing to express our profound disappointment that the Saudi government continues to print textbooks inciting hatred and violence against religious minorities.

A ninth-grade textbook published by the Ministry of Education states, “The Jews and the Christians are enemies of the believers, and they cannot approve of Muslims.” An eighth-grade textbook says, “The Apes are the people of the Sabbath, the Jews; and the Swine are the infidels of the communion of Jesus, the Christians.” These are just two examples of a long list of hate-filled passages....

The Jews and Christians cannot approve of Muslims: "Never will the Jews be satisfied with thee, neither the Christians, not till thou followest their religion. Say: 'God's guidance is the true guidance.' If thou followest their caprices, after the knowledge that has come to thee, thou shalt have against God neither protector nor helper." -- Qur'an 2:120

Jews and Christians are apes and pigs: "Say: 'People of the Book, do you blame us for any other cause than that we believe in God, and what has been sent down to us, and what was sent down before, and that most of you are ungodly?' Say: 'Shall I tell you of a recompense with God, worse than that? Whomsoever God has cursed, and with whom He is wroth, and made some of them apes and swine, and worshippers of idols -- they are worse situated, and have gone further astray from the right way." -- Qur'an 5:59-60

Nina Shea at National Review (thanks to Lachlan) has more from the textbooks. She, too, however, is such an inveterate purveyor of politically correct nonsense that she speaks about "local Islamic traditions" being "transformed and radicalized under the growing influence of Saudi Salafist Islam" in "many Muslim countries," which is absolutely true, but she makes no mention of the fact, and shows no hint of knowing, that this material from Saudi textbooks is standard Qur'anic Islam. Here is Shea's list of shocking examples of hate from the textbooks, interspersed with just a small portion of the mountain of material justifying such beliefs that can be found in Islamic texts and teachings:

1. “The Jews and the Christians are enemies of the believers, and they cannot approve of Muslims.”

As above: "Never will the Jews be satisfied with thee, neither the Christians, not till thou followest their religion. Say: 'God's guidance is the true guidance.' If thou followest their caprices, after the knowledge that has come to thee, thou shalt have against God neither protector nor helper." (Qur'an 2:120)

2. “The struggle of this [Muslim] nation with the Jews and Christians has endured, and it will continue as long as God wills.”

It will, in fact, continue until the end times:

"The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him.” (Sahih Muslim, 41:6985; see also 41:6981-84 and Sahih Bukhari, 4:52:176,177 and 4:56:791)

"The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: There is no prophet between me and him, that is, Jesus (peace_be_upon_him). He will descent (to the earth). When you see him, recognise him: a man of medium height, reddish fair, wearing two light yellow garments, looking as if drops were falling down from his head though it will not be wet. He will fight the people for the cause of Islam. He will break the cross, kill swine, and abolish jizyah. Allah will perish all religions except Islam. He will destroy the Antichrist and will live on the earth for forty years and then he will die. The Muslims will pray over him." (Sunan Abu Sawud 37.4310)

3. “Do not kill what God has forbidden killing such as the Muslim or the infidel between whom and the Muslims there is a covenant or under protection, unless for just cause such as unbelief after belief, just punishment or adultery.”

"Someone raised among Muslims who denies the obligatoriness of the prayer, zakat, fasting Ramadan, the pilgrimage, or the unlawfulness of wine or adultery, or denies something else upon which there is a scholarly consensus...and which is necessarily known as being of the religion...thereby becomes an unbeliever (kafir) and is executed for his unbelief." (Umdat al-Salik, F1.3)

4. “The apostate has two punishments; worldly and in the hereafter. Punishment in this life: Death if he does not repent.”

Muhammad said: "Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him" (Bukhari 9.84.57).

5. “Major polytheism is a reason to fight those that practice it.”

"Then, when the sacred months are drawn away, slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them, and confine them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent, and perform the prayer, and pay the alms, then let them go their way; God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate." (Qur'an 9:5)

Muhammad said: "I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah, and he who professed it was guaranteed the protection of his property and life on my behalf except for the right affairs rest with Allah." (Sahih Muslim 30)

6. “Fighting the Infidels and the Polytheists has certain conditions and controls, including: That they be invited to Islam and they refuse to enter it and refuse to pay Jizya [a special tax] That Muslims have the power and the capacity to combat, That this be with the permission of the guardian and under his banner, That there be no guarantee between them and the Muslims not to combat.”

Muhammad said: "Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war...When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them....If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them." (Sahih Muslim 4294)

7. “The punishment of homosexuality is death. . . . Ibn Qudamah said: “The companions (of the Prophet) agreed unanimously on killing. Some of the Companions argued that he (a homosexual) is to be burned with fire. It has been said that he should be stoned, or thrown from a high place. Other things have also been said.”

"The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If you find anyone doing as Lot's people did, kill the one who does it, and the one to whom it is done." (Sunan Abu Dawud 38.4447)

8. “In Islamic law, (jihad) has two uses: 1. specific usage: which means: Exerting effort in fighting unbelievers and tyrants.”

"The caliph makes war upon Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians...until they become Muslim or else pay the non-Muslim poll tax." ('Umdat al-Salik o9.8)

9. “In the general usage, Jihad is divided into the following categories: . . . Wrestling with the unbelievers by calling them (to the faith) and fighting them.”

"O believers, fight the unbelievers who are near to you; and let them find in you a harshness; and know that God is with the godfearing." (Qur'an 9:123)

10. “As was cited in Ibn Abbas, and was said: The Apes are the people of the Sabbath, the Jews; and the Swine are the infidels of the communion of Jesus, the Christians.”

As above: "Say: 'People of the Book, do you blame us for any other cause than that we believe in God, and what has been sent down to us, and what was sent down before, and that most of you are ungodly?' Say: 'Shall I tell you of a recompense with God, worse than that? Whomsoever God has cursed, and with whom He is wroth, and made some of them apes and swine, and worshippers of idols -- they are worse situated, and have gone further astray from the right way." (Qur'an 5:59-60)

And he ridicules Christianity. If he were a Christian cleric similarly ridiculing Islam, there would be an international uproar, calls for his murder, and discussion at high levels of restrictions on the freedom of speech. "Egyptian Cleric ‘Alaa Said Ridicules Christianity and Vows to Instate Islamic Law in Egypt," from MEMRI, October 15 (thanks to 538):

Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian cleric Alaa Said, which aired on Al-Rahma TV on October 15, 2012.

Alaa Said: Missionary activity is going on non-stop, while we are preoccupied with secularism and liberalism, with Islamists and secularists, religion, backwardness, and reactionaries...

[...]

By God, even if you jump up and down in the media, day in and day out, I swear that Islam will be instated, whether you or the people behind you like it or not, and whether the mightiest superpower or leader likes it or not, because Islam is the religion of our God. Everything else is temporary and transient. [Secular journalists] Ibrahim issa, Amr Adeeb, lamis Al-Hadidi, Wael Abrashi, and that entire clique will ultimately face our Lord. And there are many others like them.

Oh journalists, take heed. This is our religion. I swear by Allah that this has nothing to do with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafis, Dr. Morsi, or anyone else. Islam will be instated, the Shari'a will be implemented, whether you or whoever is behind you likes it or not. Whether the Christians like it or not, they will learn the meaning of Islam.

I find it strange that they spend all that money... Let me ask the reasonable among the Christians: Why do you approach poor people and little children with a cross in one hand and bread in the other? Kids just want a chocolate bar or biscuits... The boy wants money... [They give him] 200 Egyptian pounds every day... [They give money] to girls who have sex, and then the girls say: "We have become Christians." The [missionaries] say: "The whole world is open to us. Where would you like to go? You want to go to Germany, America, or anywhere in Europe? We will take you. Do you want to be pampered? We will pamper you."

This is your religion, and yet you dare talk about Islam?! You dare say that Islam coerces and harms people?!

[...]

Let me ask you something. It's not a riddle. The bread in the Last Supper was not actual bread. It was flesh, and the wine was blood. Do you understand any of this?

Interviewer: No.

Alaa Said: You explain this me. The bread in the Last Supper is not real bread. The bread is flesh, the wine is blood, and three is one. Three is one, get it?

Interviewer: No, I don't.

Alaa Said: They say that Jesus is the only son of Allah. He was born, but not conceived. I'd like their leader – what's his name? – to explain this to us. What does "born but not conceived" mean? Do tell us. No Christian is allowed to ask what this means.

The same Islamic theology that led to the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan has now spread to modern, moderate Morocco -- as well as to Mali, as well as Tunisia, where AFP scratches its head and wonders what happened to the glorious "Arab Spring." "Salafists destroy ancient Morocco carvings: NGO," from AFP, October 17 (thanks to David):

RABAT — Stone carvings in Morocco's High Atlas mountains dating back more than 8,000 years and depicting the sun as a pagan divinity have been destroyed by Salafists, a local rights group said on Wednesday.

"These stone carvings of the sun are more than 8,000 years old. They were destroyed several days ago," Aboubakr Anghir, a member of the Amazigh (Berber) League for Human Rights, told AFP.

"One of the carvings, called 'the plaque of the sun,' predates the arrival of the Phoenicians in Morocco," Anghir said.

"It lies in a well-known archaeological site in the Yakour plain south of Marrakesh, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Mount Toubkal."

"There are several Salafist groups active in the region and it's not the first time these pre-Islamic sites have been attacked. We have sent a message to the ministry of culture, but have not yet received a reply," he added.

Salafists, Muslims who adhere to a hardline Sunni interpretation of Islam similar to that practised in Saudi Arabia, which strictly prohibits "idolatry," have enjoyed a surge in strength in Arab Spring countries, benefiting from wider freedom.

Late on Monday, one of Tunisia's main Sufi mausoleums was burned down in an overnight arson attack, seemingly the latest in a spate of attacks on unorthodox Sufi shrines by the country's increasingly assertive Salafists.

In northern Mali, which is close to Morocco, radical Islamists have destroyed ancient World Heritage shrines they consider idolatrous since seizing control of the region earlier this year.

While the Taliban were in power they waged relentless jihad warfare against the Shi’ite Hazaras. It is no better for them in Pakistan. Yet for some reason the peaceful coreligionists of the Sunni persecutors never raise their voice to call for some "Islamic tolerance" for the Hazaras. Now, why is that?

"Persecuted Hazaras flee Pakistan; some die trying," by Kathy Gannon for the Associated Press, October 18 (thanks to Block Ness):

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) - As he knelt in prayer to mark one of Islam's holiest days, Ali Raza Qurban saw a childhood friend and dozens of others die in a suicide attack on their Shiite mosque. Sunni militants were again targeting minority ethnic Hazaras in this city of narrow streets and wide-open hatreds.

Qurban decided it was time to leave. He found an agent who would hook him up with a smuggler in Indonesia and, for $8,000, get him to Australia.

But he never made it to Australia. He disappeared on Dec. 17, 2011, aboard an overcrowded, rickety wooden boat that capsized within hours of leaving the Indonesian shore.

Four months had passed since the suicide bombing at the mosque in Quetta, where the violence has spawned a vibrant human smuggling business. The smugglers operate out of small, unidentified shops. Selling promises of a safe and better life in Australia, they largely capitalize on the fear and desperation of the Hazara, a largely Shiite community that is facing attacks not only here but in neighboring Afghanistan.

In Quetta, Shiite leaders say many of the attacks against Hazaras are carried out by the Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Janghvi, which they contend is backed by elements within Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI. Pakistan's Chief Justice Iftikar Chaudhry and a panel of three judges last month ordered authorities to investigate allegations that vehicles illegally imported by the ISI were used in suicide bombings targeting Shiites.

Most of the Afghans who cross into Pakistan with the intention of going on to Australia and elsewhere are thought to be Hazara....

They had to seize them because Mona Eltahawy wasn't around to spray them and their books with pink spray paint. "Custom seize two men carrying books about Christianity," by Ahmed Nazeer for Minivan News, September 30 (thanks to Lachlan):

Customs officials at the Male’ Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) on Thursday seized 11 books about Christianity, typed in Dhivehi, from a Bangladeshi expatriate who came to the Maldives via Sri Lanka.

Speaking with the press last Thursday inside the Customs Building, Chief Customs Officer Ahmed Samah identified the Bangladeshi expat as Jathish Bisvas, 44.

Samah said the 44 year-old man had arrived to the Maldives on a tourist visa and that it was the first time he visited Maldives.

According to Samah, customs officials were suspicious that the expat who had tried to bring the banned items into Maldives had links with a person in Male’. Samah said the Bangladeshi man had made a booking with a hotel in Male’ but did could not identify which hotel it was.

Samah said later the same day a Maldivian national was caught with similar books, after arriving to the Maldives from Sri Lanka.

The books he brought were not typed in Dhivehi, according to Samah.

Furthermore, Samah said it was highly possible that a Maldivian was behind the illegal smuggling operation given the quality of the Dhivehi language used to type the book. He also said it was a “very serious case if a Maldivian is behind this.”...

The pair have been handed over to police and customs and police are conducting a joint investigation into the case.

According to the Maldives Religious Unity Regulations, it is illegal in the Maldives to propagate any faith other than Islam or to engage in any effort to convert anyone to any religion other than Islam. It is also illegal to display in public any symbols or slogans belonging to any religion other than Islam, or creating interest in such articles.

It is also illegal in the Maldives to carry or display in public books on religions (other than Islam) and books and writings that promote and propagate other religions, and the translation into Dhivehi language such books and writings on other religions.

Violation of the Religious Unity Act is subject to two to five years in prison and fines up to MVR 20,000 (US$1300).

Why should we be surprised when the same kind of material shows up in textbooks used in Islamic schools in the U.S.?

"Call to remove hate material from textbooks," from the Daily Times, August 31 (thanks to Lachlan):

LAHORE: The participants of a conference have urged the government and judiciary to take notice of the bias and misconceptions in syllabus and curricula, as it is the chief reason behind radicalisation of the country’s youth and deterioration of quality education.

A conference on ‘Biases in the Textbooks and Education Policy’ was organised under the aegis of the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) at a local hotel on Thursday. Educationist and analyst Dr AH Nayyar chaired the conference whereas keynote speakers were Dr Mehdi Hassan, Irfan Mufti, Wajahat Masood and NCJP Director Peter Jacob.

The speakers underlined the need for serious reforms in the education sector in general and curriculum policy in particular. Bias and preferences based on religion and belief in the syllabus were also seen as divisive. Speakers also raised voice on this issue of vital importance, however, successive governments turned a deaf ear to the voice of sanity. They said that the education policy in 2009 also ignored the issue while the provincial textbook boards, especially in Punjab and Sindh, even enhanced the hate material in syllabus in 2012. The NCJP director, while addressing the conference, discussed a study ‘Taleem ya Nafrat ki Aabiyari’ (Educating or nurturing hate) done by NCJP that identified hate material and bias in the textbooks in Punjab and Sindh and education policy against the religious minorities in Pakistan.

He added that the study examined 22 textbooks for the academic year 2012-13, under use in Punjab and Sindh for grades 1-10. There are 55 chapters containing hate material against Hindus, India and Christians, insulting remarks against the minority religions and distorted historical facts. According to the report, the textbooks heavily rely on the rhetoric that Hindus opposed while Muslims favoured creation of Pakistan, that during partition only Muslims faced violent attacks, loss of life and property, whereas Muslims did not take part in this bloodshed, Peter added. Peter added that the whole treatment and arrangement of textbooks was visibly discriminatory against non-Muslim citizens of Pakistan, violating articles 18, 20, 22 and 25 of the constitution.