Recently in Libya Category

More glories of the Arab Spring "As many as 10 killed in car bomb explosion outside hospital in Benghazi, Libya," from FoxNews.com, May 13 (thanks to Kenneth):

TRIPOLI, Libya – A car bomb exploded Monday near a hospital in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, killing at least 10 people, AP reported, in one of the biggest attacks since the end of the civil war that ousted former dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The Tripoli-based Interior Minister Ashour Shwayel said in an interview with Libya's al-Ahrar TV network that there were only two or three deaths from the deadly blast. Meanwhile, Benghazi police chief Tarek al-Kharaz said at least 13 people were killed and 41 wounded.

The discrepancies could not immediately be reconciled due to the chaotic aftermath and lack of coordination between agencies.

A remote control was used to detonate the explosives-laden car and weapons including Kalashnikov rifles were found inside the vehicle, according to Libyan security official Abdel-Salam al-Barghathi.

Al-Barghathi, the head of the operation room for one of the city's main security agencies stated that the car was parked next to a bakery near the main hospital when the device detonated on Monday morning.

"I saw people running and some of them were collecting parts of bodies," an unidentified witness told Reuters....

This "Arab Spring" thing is working out almost as well as "interfaith dialogue." Here, the UK takes official, albeit tacit, recognition of the ongoing jihad in Libya: "UK withdraws some embassy staff from Libya," from the BBC, May 10 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

Britain has withdrawn some staff from its embassy in Libya in response to the "ongoing political uncertainty" in the country, the Foreign Office says.

It said: "The British Embassy is temporarily withdrawing a small number of staff, mainly those who work in support of government ministries which have been affected by recent developments."

However, it added that the mission in the Libyan capital of Tripoli remained "open as usual", including for consular and visa services.

Heavily armed militias have been besieging government buildings in Tripoli over the past month, blocking access to ministries to push their political demands.

Last month a car bomb exploded outside the French embassy in Tripoli, wounding two French guards and several residents.

It was the first major attack on a foreign embassy in the Libyan capital.

They mischaracterized what was a jihad attack because they do not want the American people to know that there is a jihad against the U.S. "Whistle-blower: Botched talking points hurt FBI probe of Benghazi attack," from FoxNews.com, May 8 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

A key Benghazi whistle-blower, responding to Democratic claims that the prolonged scrutiny over the administration's botched talking points is unwarranted, testified Wednesday that the early mischaracterization of the attack may have actually hurt the FBI's investigation.

"I definitely believe that it negatively affected our ability to get the FBI team quickly to Benghazi," said Greg Hicks, the deputy chief of mission in Libya who became the top U.S. diplomat in the country after Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed. He claimed the Libyan president was angered by the mischaracterization, in turn slowing the U.S. probe.

The claim was one of several new accounts given at Wednesday's high-profile hearing where three whistle-blowers testified.

Democrats, while giving deference to the officials and their version of events, used the hearing to try and deflect criticism away from the administration. In particular, they rejected the notion that early talking points on the attack were deliberately changed, to downplay terrorism, for political reasons.

"People who have actually seen the documents, who have actually conducted a real investigation completely reject the allegation that they were made for political purposes," Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., said.

But the substance of the claims Wednesday could serve to re-open questions about that deadly night -- and specifically about the initial claim by U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice that the attack was triggered by a protest over an anti-Islam film.

Hicks was asked to respond to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statement at a prior hearing asking "what difference" do the questions over the talking points make.

Hicks argued that Rice's comments so insulted the Libyan president -- since they contradicted his Sept. 16 claims that the attack was premeditated -- that it slowed the FBI's investigation.

"President Magariaf was insulted in front of his own people, in front of the world. His credibility was reduced," Hicks said, adding that the president was apparently "still steamed" two weeks later.

This bad blood, he claimed, contributed to the FBI team being stuck in Tripoli for about 17 days. He added that the U.S. could not even get the Libyans to secure the crime scene during that time.

As for Rice's comments that Sunday, when she repeatedly cited the video as the trigger for the attack, Hicks said his "jaw dropped" when he heard that.

"I was stunned," Hicks said. "My jaw dropped, and I was embarrassed."

He said Rice never talked to him before those appearances.

Hicks said the only information coming out of his team was that there was an "attack" on the consulate. "The YouTube video was a non-event in Libya," he said.

He also claimed that, when he asked a superior about the interviews, he was told "he should not proceed" with his questions. He was later given a "blistering critique" of his management style and effectively demoted to "desk officer," he claimed.

Hicks' testimony marked some of the most detailed of any delivered Wednesday. He and others also suggested the State Department's internal review into the attack was lacking. Hicks said when he was interviewed by the group, a stenographer was not present.

In hours of testimony, the witnesses recounted in great detail what happened in eastern Libya on Sept. 11 and how U.S. personnel came under a series of attacks that left four Americans dead. Though Democratic officials have argued the attack has been thoroughly investigated and that the hearing Wednesday was political in nature, the claims challenged several long-standing assertions by the Obama administration.

The witnesses criticized the lax security at the Benghazi site in the run-up to the attack, and suggested the military did not do all it good to respond to the scene that night despite claims to the contrary.

Hicks also revealed that it appeared some were trying to lure even more U.S. personnel into a separate "ambush" while the attack was still being carried out. He described how, as diplomatic officials were trying to find out what happened to Stevens, they were receiving phone calls from supposed tipsters saying they knew where the ambassador was and urging Americans to come get him.

"We suspected that we were being baited into a trap," Hicks said, adding that he did not want to send anybody into what he suspected was an "ambush."

Getting choked up, Hicks described how the Libyan prime minister later called him to tell him Stevens was in fact dead. "I think it's the saddest phone call I've ever had in my life," he said.

At the very beginning of the attack, before Stevens went missing and was later found dead, Hicks said his team believed it was terrorism. He said a regional security officer rushed into his villa yelling, "Greg, Greg, the consulate's under attack."

He then spoke by phone with Stevens who told him the same: "Greg, we're under attack."

After enduring a night of attacks on the U.S. consulate, Hicks said the team departed at dawn for the nearby annex -- shortly after they arrived, "the mortars came."

Another whistle-blower questioned Wednesday why more military assets were not deployed sooner during the Benghazi terror attack. Mark Thompson, a former Marine and official with the State Department's Counterterrorism Bureau, said he was rebuffed by the White House when he asked for a specialized team -- known as a FEST team -- to be deployed. This is a unit made of special operations personnel, diplomatic security, intelligence and other officers....

For daring to fight back against jihadists in Mali. "Car bomb targets French Embassy in Libya," by Esam Mohamed for the Associated Press, April 23:

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) -- A car bomb targeted the French Embassy in the Libyan capital early Tuesday, wounding two French guards and a Libyan teenager in an attack that President Francois Hollande denounced as an assault not only on France but all countries engaged in the fight against terrorism.

Two years after the country's civil war, Libya is struggling to maintain security, build a unified army and reining in militias, which include rebels who fought to oust the country's longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

It was the first such assault on an embassy in the Libyan capital. On Sept. 11, four Americans - including the U.S. Ambassador in Libya Chris Stevens - were killed when militants attacked the U.S. diplomatic mission on the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.

Terrorists with al-Qaida's North Africa branch, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, are believed to have played a key role in the Benghazi attack. But no group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the French Embassy in Tripoli.

Last week, AQIM, threatened to seek revenge against all countries taking part in the French-led war in Mali, warning that no one who "participated in this ferocious attack" will be safe. It called on "all Muslims to target France and its interests and subjects inside and outside France until it withdraws the last soldier from the land of the Muslims and lifts its support of rulers of the region." That threat came as part of a question and answer session on AQIM's new Twitter account....

Where did those arms come from?

"U.S.-approved arms for Libyan rebels went to jihadis" -- Jihad Watch, December 5, 2012

"UN Warns Libyan Weapons Spreading to Gaza, Syria," by Chana Ya'ar for Israel National News, April 10 (thanks to Voice of the Copts):

A United Nations panel says weaponry from Libya is spreading across North Africa to Gaza and Syria “at an alarming rate.”

The five-expert committee said in a 94-page report sent Tuesday to the U.N. Security Council that illegal transfers of arms from Libya to armed groups and terrorists have been proven.

The arms trafficking violations involved more than 12 countries and included light and heavy ordnance, such as portable air defense systems, mines, explosive materials, ammunition and small arms.

The panel made 28 visits to 15 nations in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Ten of those visits were within Libya alone, The Washington Post reported.

“Libya has over the past two years become a significant and attractive source of weaponry in the region,” since the fall of 41-year Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011," the report said. “The lack of an effective security system remains one of the primary obstacles to securing military materiel and controlling the borders.”

Last November, Cairo blocked two arms shipments to Gaza from Libya, with security forces arresting smugglers as they intercepted a large weapons shipment headed for Sinai from Libya. The move followed the ceasefire agreement that ended Operation Pillar of Defense against Gaza terrorist rocket fire on southern Israel.

The areas into which Libyan arms have flowed included West Africa, the Levant “and potentially even the Horn of Africa,” the report noted. “Illicit flows from the country are fueling existing conflicts in Africa and the Levant and enriching the arsenals of a range of non-state actors, including terrorist groups.”...

This is the regime Obama put in power.

I received this email this morning from a man in Libya:

I Hope my name will not be disclosed for i am still in libya and this kind of activity posses a serious threat to me and my family. I would like to mention about Mr. Ezzat Hakim Atallah, that he was a honorable man. And he was taken in front of me. We had good family relations with Mr. Ezzat and despite all what the rumors says but am sure he died cause of the torture and ill treatment in jail. Thank you

"Death Threats Spur Libyan Human Rights Official to Flee Country," from Charisma News, March 21 (thanks to Simon):

The head of the Libyan Parliament’s Human Rights Committee has resigned and fled to London, saying he’s received death threats. Hassan Al Amin, prominent for his long opposition to the Gaddafi regime, recently spoke out against armed gangs and militias in his Misrata area. His self-imposed exile comes as hostilities against Libya’s Christian minority, many by armed groups in the east, have increased in recent months. On March 14, in Benghazi, eastern Libya, as-yet publicly unidentified arsonists set fire to the main Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church. Pictures--notably by Libya’s Herald (‘The New Independent Libya Daily’)--show the windows of the church blackened by smoke. No casualties were reported, but reports say the fire produced more damage inside the two-storey building. Witnesses of this second targeting of the church in recent weeks said they suspected the arsonists were militia members. On Feb. 28, armed men had attacked Rev. Paula Isaac, a priest of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and his assistant. The Libyan foreign ministry has condemned the attack on church and the aggression towards the cleric and his assistant by ‘the irresponsible armed men’, AFP news agency reported.

There is growing pressure on the Christian community in a country where more than 97 percent of the 6.5 million inhabitants are Muslims. However, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers come from neighboring countries such as Egypt, many of them Christians from its large Coptic community. Other Christians in Libya are tiny numbers of American, European and other expatriate workers.

The lack of freedom of religion in Libya was notorious under the rule of the late President Muammar Gaddafi. During his 42 years’ regime, the situation for Christians was described by human rights groups as extremely harsh. His greatly feared secret police imposed severe restrictions on Christian organizations and their activities. Distribution of Christian literature was banned and evangelism was criminalized.

The fall of Gaddafi’s regime, following the 2011 popular uprising, did not bring any significant change. The tiny minority of Christians continue to experience various forms of pressure, mainly from armed groups. In its 2013 report, Human Rights Watch pointed out the failure of Libya's now-governing General National Congress, elected in July 2012, to disband armed groups responsible for numerous abuses across the country.

‘‘Non-Libyans from sub-Saharan Africa, mainly migrant workers, are particularly vulnerable to abuse, facing harassment, arrests, ill-treatment in detention, forced labor and no regulated access to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’’.

Attacks against religious minorities since Gaddafi lost his grip on power started in October 2011, and have intensified.

In the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Benghazi, over 200 graves were damaged in February 2012, reportedly by Salafists.

The Alexandrian Orthodox Church in Tripoli was then attacked on Sept. 16, and the Greek cemetery was vandalized.

In 2013, the Libyan government has re-affirmed its allegiance to Islam. As a security official told Reuters, "Proselytizing is forbidden in Libya. We are a 100 percent Muslim country and this kind of action affects our national security."

A worker for Christian ministry Open Doors, which monitors Christian persecution, expressed deep concerns about the deteriorating situation for Christians in Libya.

“Since Muammar Gaddafi’s regime fell two years ago, there have been several reports of violence against Christians, but since February dozens of Christians have been confronted with hostilities, detainment and deportation. Several of them were severely mistreated and one has unfortunately died while in detention,” said the Open Doors worker, whose identity is being withheld to help prevent militia reprisal.

Egyptian Ezzat Hakim Atallah died on March 10 during detention in Tripoli. He had been arrested in February with a number of Christians on suspicion of distributing Christian books or proselytizing. In addition to four Egyptians, there were three non-Arab foreigners — a South African, a Korean and a Swedish American — who had been working and living in Libya for years.

‘‘Ezzat was running a cell-phone repair shop in Benghazi and had been living in Libya for about ten years,” the Open Doors worker said. ‘‘People knew he was an Egyptian Copt, so also that he is a Christian, but that never led to serious trouble for him or his family’’.

While the non-Arabs are treated comparatively well while being detained, the Egyptians are badly mistreated, local sources report. They say they lack warm clothing and food and have no other option than sleeping on the cold concrete cell floor.

The detained Egyptians were transferred from Benghazi to Tripoli on Feb. 25. Atallah was one of those transferred; reportedly they all were detained in one cell.

During his imprisonment Atallah suffered from severe chest pains. He was moved to a hospital March 6 for treatment, but later was returned and locked up again with the other Egyptian Copts. Atallah died in the cell as his cellmates stood by helplessly.

He leaves a wife, daughter and son, ages 11 and 15. After receiving his body back in Cairo, his family claimed his health was affected by torture.

According to Egyptian news sources, more than 40 Egyptian Copts have been stopped by a militia group in the past weeks. The Copts all had their heads shaven before being deported from Libya. In December, two Copts were reportedly killed in a bomb blast at a church in the Libyan Mediterranean town of Dafniya. Another two priests of an Orthodox and a Catholic Church were attacked.

In early March a gunman took a shot at a priest in the Catholic cathedral in Tripoli. The shot missed and the gunman got away, local sources say.

On March 13 the European Union Delegation expressed concerns about ‘‘the continued detention and the treatment of persons held on alleged charges of proselytism in Libya. The freedom of religion or belief is a universal human right which needs to be protected everywhere and for everyone’’.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya on March 7 said it was deeply concerned by several recent incidents, including attacks on media organisations, threats against journalists, and violence against a Coptic church and other houses of worship.

‘‘These acts violate fundamental human rights, particularly the freedom of faith and freedom of expression’’. The UNSMIL recommended the Libyan authorities to ensure respect of human rights and accountability for violators....

“They’re not here for business, they’re here to impose their religion.” Islamic law forbids non-Muslims to proselytize among Muslims, on pain of death. The allegations here, however, appear to be trumped up. Even if the charges are true, however, this yet again shows up the hollowness of the "tolerance" about which we are endlessly reminded in the West. Yet the same Islamic supremacist spokesmen who tout that tolerance are not speaking up in defense of these Christians.

"Libyan militia accused of torturing Christian Copts," from France 24, March 18:

Egyptian Copts are up in arms following the suspicious death last Monday of a Coptic Christian in a Libyan prison. The man was part of a group of Egyptian Coptic shopkeepers who have been living in Libya for the last few years and who were arrested by a Benghazi militia several days prior for allegedly “proselytizing”.

On February 26, in Benghazi, a militia of Islamic extremists arrested several dozen Coptic Egyptian nationals believed to be proselytizing. A video uploaded to YouTube shows several men with shaved heads sitting on the floor in a cramped room. In it, a militiaman says that these men are Copt shopkeepers from the Djriadah market in Benghazi who were trying to convince Muslims to convert to Christianity. Several pamphlets and posters featuring Coptic Christian religious figures, including Shenouda III of Alexandria, the recently deceased head of the Orthodox Coptic church, can be seen strewn across a table.

0’44’’: The man holding the camera asks: “When did you catch them?” “This afternoon, we lured them here”. (…) 0’54”: “People started complaining about them. The Muslim Egyptian shopkeepers told us they were cornering the market. They rent for extremely high sums spaces that are worth barely 1,000 to 3,000 Guineh [between 600 and 1,800 euros]. Their only goal is to capture the entire market.”

0’1’8”: Another militiaman explains: “They’re not here for business, they’re here to impose their religion”. A man to his left asks: “About how many are there?” “Around 100”, another man answers. “Did they admit that they were on a proselytizing campaign, or did they tell you this was merely a personal matter?” In response: “These men are not pure - they even denied that these materials were theirs”. He adds: “We caught one of them inside his shop. When we asked him what these materials were doing in his establishment, he replied that they did not belong to him. If he were honest, he would have admitted he was Christian. He has a cross tattooed on his hand.”

At 2’15”: The militiaman states: “We were told that one of them regularly went out of his way to criticize the Prophet, claiming that he had married nine children, etc…” (…) “We heard some of them say, ‘Extremists don’t belong here, and Christians are welcome’. They are waging a war against Islam”. (…)

Tensions increased following the death of one of the detainees on Monday after he was transferred to Tripoli. According to his lawyer, his jailers tortured him to death. Dozens of protesters came out on Tuesday in front of the Libyan embassy in Cairo, where they burned a Libyan flag. In response, on Thursday evening, angry individuals burned down Benghazi’s Coptic church. The church had already been attacked in late February, and a priest and his colleague assaulted.

The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday that 55 of the detained Copts were to be freed soon. Four others, who had been sent to Tripoli, have already been freed and were sent back to Egypt over the weekend. He also announced that he would send a parliamentary delegation and Coptic representatives to Tripoli to investigate the torture accusations....

More details concerning the recent spate of attacks on Christian Copts in Libya—including two church attacks and the mass arrest and torture of Christians, resulting in the death of one—are emerging. Apparently during the assault on the Coptic church in Benghazi from two weeks ago, the terrorists severely beat and shaved the beard and mustache of Father Paul, the priest of the church, as a sign of humiliation. They also beat the deacon and nine attendees.

Earlier, their fellow Libyan terrorists shaved all the heads of the approximately 100 Copts arrested for having Christian “paraphernalia," that is, Bibles, crosses, and icons. Shaving the hair, especially the beard, of one’s opponent, is an ancient custom meant to emasculate one’s opponent, or, in these cowardly attacks, one's unarmed victims. A decade ago, one Arab commentator discussing the Iraq war, said, "By shaving his [Saddam’s] beard, a symbol of virility in Iraq and in the Arab world, the Americans committed an act that symbolizes humiliation in our region, where getting shaved by one's enemy means robbing him of his will.”

So Libya's jihadis, the fellows empowered by President Obama, are apparently out to rob the will of any Christian who falls in their clutches.

Meanwhile, because Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood-led government has done little regarding the systematic abuse of Egyptian citizens in Libya, including the murder of one under torture—they are, after all, only Christians—Copts demonstrated in front of the Libyan embassy in Cairo, prompting yet another attack on the Benghazi church, which was set on fire two days ago.

Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

They're supposed to just keep quiet and take it, like good dhimmis. "URGENT: Coptic Church burned by unknown assailants in Benghazi, Libya," from Reuters, March 14 (thanks to Coptic World):

You can donate to this church and help it recover from this tragedy by going to www.CopticWorld.org/donate, scroll down to the Causes section and select 'Burned Church, Benghazi'.

Unknown assailants set fire to an Egyptian Coptic church in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Thursday, witnesses said, the second attack on the building in weeks.

Residents said the attack appeared to be in reaction to a protest at the Libyan embassy in Cairo earlier this week where Egyptian protesters burnt a Libyan flag outside the embassy and, according to police at the scene, held aloft a cross.

The demonstrators there said they were protesting the death of an Egyptian Copt in an explosion in front of a church in Libya a month ago.

The church in downtown Benghazi was heavily damaged and charred inside, witnesses said, with bookshelves ransacked. As crowds gathered at the scene, the fire was eventually put out....

This was the second attack on the Egyptian Coptic church in Benghazi in weeks. Gunmen had previously attacked it, assaulting two priests.

About 250 gathered again in front of the embassy in Cairo on Thursday, clashing with Egyptian riot police, a security source said.

"This could be reaction against what happened at the embassy. They burnt the Egyptian flag in front the embassy," another Benghazi resident, Abdusalem Salem, said.

Libya's small Christian community has expressed fears over Islamist extremism as the government struggles to impose its authority over armed groups which have refused to lay down their weapons since the 2011 war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi....

Over at FrontPage Mag, via RaymondIbrahim.com, I discuss the latest indicator of the new Libya: a tortured-to-death Christian:

Remember all the hoopla the Obama administration engaged in after helping Libya’s “freedom fighters” oust (and sodomize and murder) the nation’s former president, Muammar Gaddafi? Remember the rationale used by Obama to justify using the U.S. military to help Libya’s “opposition”? In his March 28, 2011, speech, he spoke of “our responsibilities to our fellow human beings,” adding that not assisting them “would have been a betrayal of who we are.”

Ansar al-Sharia, (or “Sharia’s Supporters”): empowered by Obama
Although it was common knowledge that al-Qaeda and other fiercely anti-American forces were involved in the Libyan jihad, this did not shake Obama’s “responsibilities” to his “fellow human beings.” Predictably, the thanks the U.S. received was an al-Qaeda attack on the American embassy in Benghazi and the murders of four American officials, including Ambassador Chris Stevens (an attack the Obama administration tried to frame as a product of an amateur YouTube video that had “offended” Muslims).

Beyond the attack on Libya’s American embassy, there has been no end of examples of the true nature of the “New Libya” Obama helped create. On Sunday, December 30, an explosion rocked a Coptic Christian church near the western city of Misrata, where a group of U.S. backed rebels hold a major checkpoint, killing two. Two months later, on February 28, another Coptic Christian church located in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked by armed Muslim militants, resulting in serious injuries for the priest and an assistant.

On February 10, four foreign Christians were arrested in Benghazi, including one with American citizenship, on the claim that they were “missionaries.” Three days later, two more Christians from Egypt were arrested. Three days after that, a seventh Christian, also from Egypt, was arrested. Then, on February 27, Benghazi forces raided another Coptic church rounding up some 100 Coptic Christians, accusing them of being missionaries—simply because they were found in possession of Bibles and other Christian “paraphernalia.” Many of these Christians have been tortured, some with acid.

Indeed, it was just revealed that one of these Christians was literally tortured to death by the terrorists Obama helped empower. A March 12 Coptic Solidarity press release has the details:

Coptic Solidarity condemns in the strongest terms the unlawful acts by the group Ansarul Sharia [“Supporters of Sharia”] in Libya to arrest, torture and detain dozens of Copts; and the detention by Libya’s Preventive Security department in Tripoli of the Coptic man Ezzat Hakim Atallah for ten days till he died on March 9 under torture, and the detention of his Coptic colleagues … and others who are still being subjected to torture inside the Preventive Security building...

The Muslim spokesmen in the U.S. who insist that Islam respects women's rights are on their way to Libya right now to explain to Mufti al-Sadiq al-Ghiryani how he is getting Islam all wrong, wrong, wrong. "Libyan Islamic cleric rejects women's rights document," from the Associated Press, March 12 (thanks to David):

Libya's supreme religious cleric is calling on Muslim nations to reject a United Nations document on women's rights, saying that it counters Islamic law.

Mufti al-Sadiq al-Ghiryani issued a fatwa, or religious edict, against the document set to be signed by nations at the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women this month.

While Islamic jurisprudence prefers witnesses for a divorce, the mufti says the U.N. document insists on judicial interference.

The edict issued Monday criticizes the document's references to inheritance and its equating of men and women. Al-Ghiryani says this puts full burden on women to share equally in terms of domestic spending.

The mufti also condemns the document's wording on sexual freedoms and the rights of children born out of wedlock.

Proselytizing by non-Muslims is strictly forbidden under Sharia. That, however, creates a human rights issue that is just too hot for the global "human rights organizations" to touch.

"Egyptian Christian dies in Libyan detention," by Aya Batrawy for the Associated Press, March 10 (thanks to all who sent this in):

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian Foreign Ministry official says a man suspected of trying to spread Christianity in Libya has died in prison there.

The diplomat says Ezzat Atallah, who suffered from diabetes and heart ailments, likely died of natural causes. He spoke anonymously Sunday in line with regulations.

Atallah was among five Evangelical Christian Egyptians detained in Libya for allegedly proselytizing in the predominantly Muslim nation.

Last week, Egypt's Foreign Ministry intervened to win release from Libya of 55 Egyptians who were also suspected of proselytizing. Thirty-five of them were deported for illegally entering the country, while 20 were cleared to stay in Libya.

Also, four foreigners under investigation for alleged espionage and proselytizing remain in a Libyan prison. They are a Swedish-American, a South Korean, a South African and an Egyptian.

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

Not really. Everywhere we see Sharia implemented, it has essentially the same character. That is no accident. Islamic scholars historically put a very high premium on consensus, and in a hadith Muhammad is said to have promised that "my community will not agree on an error."

"Libya women face and fear the rise of Islamists since Gadhafi's fall," by Maggie Michael for the Associated Press, March 7 (thanks to Kenneth):

BENGHAZI, Libya – On her way back from her job as a lecturer at a university near Tripoli, Libyan poet Aicha Almagrabi was stopped by a group of bearded militiamen. They kicked her car, beat up her driver and threatened to do the same to her. Her offense: being alone in a car with men without a male relative as a guardian.

"You have violated the law of God," the militiamen told her, Almagrabi said.

"I said, I teach male students, so should I bring a male guardian with me to classroom?" she told The Associated Press.

Not that the university is immune to increasingly bold conservatives' views on the role of women. Almagrabi said one student recently told her she shouldn't be giving lectures because a woman's voice is "awra" – too intimate and shameful to be exposed in public.

The incident in February, which ended with the militiamen allowing Almagrabi to drive home, underlined the bitter irony for women in post-revolution Libya. Women played a major role in the eight-month civil war against dictator Moammar Gadhafi, massing for protests against his regime, selling jewelry to fund rebels and smuggling weapons across enemy lines to rebels.

But since Gadhafi's fall more than 18 months ago, women have been rewarded by seeing their rights hemmed in and restricted.

Women fear worse may yet to come. The country is soon to begin work drafting a new constitution, and activists fear it will enshrine the relegation of women to second-class status, given the influence of hard-line Islamists.

"What we aim for right now is not to lose what we had," said Hanan al-Noussori, a lawyer in Libya's second biggest city, Benghazi. "I don't know which path we are heading in. But this is a matter of life or death for us."...

Over at FrontPage Mag, via RaymondIbrahim.com, I discuss the latest assault on Christianity in Libya, an armed attack on a church:

Last Thursday, a Coptic Christian church located in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked by armed Muslim militants. Initial reports indicate that at least one priest, Fr. Paul Isaac, was injured, as well as his assistant. It is the second church in Libya to be attacked in two months. Earlier, on Sunday, December 30, an explosion rocked a Coptic Christian church near the western city of Misrata, where a group of U.S. backed rebels hold a major checkpoint. The explosion killed two people and wounded two others, all Egyptians.

Such attacks rarely if ever occurred under Col. Gaddafi.

There are currently few details. Based on countless examples from past experience—including centuries of demonstrable continuity—there were likely loud cries of “Allahu Akbar!” with an exuberant sense of Islamic supremacism in the air. As for motivation, it was likely sheer anti-Christian sentiment. For where else are Christians being Christians than in church—where they are being as apolitical as they are being spiritual, simply trying to worship their God in peace, only to be attacked yet again.

At any rate, here is one more piece of solid evidence to validate my observation from last week—that the recent spate of arrests of Christians in Libya on the accusation that they are “missionaries” is a pretext for simple, good old-fashioned Christian hate. After all, this armed attack on a Christian church in Benghazi occurred right around the same time 100 Christian Copts were arrested and tortured, their heads shaven and their tattooed crosses burned off with acid.... Continue reading.

Will the Islamophobia never end? "Gunmen attack church in Libya's Benghazi: state media," from Reuters, March 3 (thanks to all who sent this in):

(Reuters) - Gunmen attacked an Egyptian Coptic church in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, assaulting two priests, the official LANA news agency quoted the foreign ministry as saying on Sunday.

The foreign ministry said it "strongly condemned Thursday's attack on the Egyptian church ... and the aggression towards Father Paul Isaac and his assistant by the irresponsible armed men," LANA quoted a foreign ministry statement as saying.

It did not elaborate on the attacks but said an inquiry committee involving the interior, defense and justice ministries had been formed and had "taken the necessary measures to secure the church and its occupants".

It expressed "deep concern" over the attack, saying it was "contrary to the rules" of Islam and international human rights laws.

Libya's small Christian community has expressed fears over Islamist extremism ...

Indeed. It is a pity that the Vast Majority of Peaceful Muslims don't seem to be able or willing to rein in these "Islamist extremists."

This is the regime Obama sent U.S. forces and weaponry to install. "100 Copts Arrested In Libya," by Ashraf Ramelah for Voice of the Copts, March 2:

Voice of the Copts strongly condemns the round-up, detention and presumed torture of Egyptian Copts in Benghazi, Libya being held for allegedly proselytizing Christianity which is illegal in that country. Evidence of such offense is yet unsubstantiated as facts cited by the arresting body keep changing. Furthermore, the charges are highly suspect given they follow recent attacks on a Coptic church.

Now after more than a week captive, the Egyptian prisoners from Upper Egypt, who live and work temporarily in Libya, are strongly believed to be denied their human rights in violation of international law.

Silence from Egyptian authorities regarding this incident is only expected since its Islamist government is known to degrade minorities inside Egypt. Complacency by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry allowing possible abuses of imprisoned Egyptians in Libya and their arrest to continue unquestioned is reminiscent of tacit government approval by Egyptian officials toward the frequent Muslim attacks on Copts and their churches throughout Egypt.

Voice of the Copts requests western leaders and human rights organizations around the world to intervene to ascertain fair hearings for the Egyptians as soon as possible.

Outside attorneys must be allowed to consult Egyptians inside Libyan prisons to give them opportunity for a proper defense.

Libya must open its prisons for inspection and observation of its treatment of detainees consistent with Geneva Convention requirements.

Over at FrontPage Mag, via RaymondIbrahim.com, I discuss how the Obama-supported jihadis of Libya are torturing and terrorizing even more Christians under the pretext of “proselytism."

Last week’s news of four Christian missionaries in Libya placed under arrest, possibly facing the death penalty for “proselytizing,” is apparently the tip of the iceberg. Yesterday, Arabic media reported that over 100 Christian Copts from Egypt, who have been living and working in Libya, were recently arrested in Ben Ghazi—also on the accusation, or pretext, of being “Christian missionaries.”

One video, apparently made by the Libyan militia interrogators—most of whom look like Islamic Salafis, with long beards and clipped mustaches—appeared on the Internet yesterday. It shows a room full of detained Copts. They sit hunched over on the floor—with all their hair shaven off, looking like dejected, or doomed, concentration camp prisoners. According to one source, many of these Copts have been tortured. Some have had the famous Coptic cross often tattooed on the wrists of Copts burned off with acid.

Next, the camera-man zooms in on the material which got them in this predicament: atop a table, several Bibles, prayer books, and pictures of Jesus, Mary and other saints appear spread out. The Libyan interrogators complain about how these Christians could dare bring such material into Libya, and that they, their abductors, are sure that the Copts were going to use such Christian materials to proselytize Libya, to sporadic ejaculations of “Allah Akbar!” from across the room.

What is going on in Libya? Do these reports—first of four foreign Christian missionaries, including one American, now of more than 100 Christians from neighboring Egypt—indicate that Christian missionaries recently decided to flood Libya in droves? Or are these ongoing reports an indication that post-Gaddafi Libya is simply becoming increasingly intolerant of any Christian presence?...

If they did, there could be riots in free, democratic, pro-Western, "Arab Spring" Libya. "'This is over': Libya closes file on Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 despite U.S. and British pleas to re-open inquiry," by Hugo Gye for the Daily Mail, March 1 (thanks to Adam):

Hopes that Libya's new democratic regime would agree to re-open the investigation into the Lockerbie bombing have been dashed after officials declared that the case was 'over'.

Scottish police have travelled to the North African country to look into possible leads which could result in further convictions for the terrorist attack that killed 270 people in 1988.

But Libyan authorities now say they do not want to 'dig into the past' amidst fears they could be forced to pay out further compensation to the families of the victims.

The country's dictator Muammar Gaddafi had long been suspected of ordering the attack on Pan Am flight 103 from London to New York, but Libya did not admit responsibility for the killings until 2003.

That year, Gaddafi apologised for the bombing and agreed to pay out $2.2billion (£1.4billion) in compensation in return for the lifting of UN sanctions.

Abdelbaset Al Megrahi was convicted of involvement with the attack in 2001, though he was released from prison on compassionate grounds and died last year.

British and American officials have never believed that Megrahi, who always proclaimed his innocence, acted alone and have long been keen to get their hands on the Libran intelligence chiefs whom they hold responsible for the bombing.

The fall of Gaddafi's regime in 2011 raised the prospect that the bombers could finally be brought to justice - officers from Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary have visited Tripoli to try and investigate the case afresh.

But senior officials from Libya's new democratic government are reluctant to re-open old wounds by looking into the historic atrocity once more, according to the Daily Telegraph.

'The matter was settled with the Gaddafi regime,' justice minister Salah Al Marghani said. 'I am trying to work on the current situation rather than dig into the past.'

His deputy Hameda Al Magery added: 'Britain and America are asking us to reopen this file. But this is something of the past. This is over. We want to move forward to build a new future and not to look back at Gaddafi's black history.'

It is believed that one reason the government is unwilling to re-open the Lockerbie investigation is that it is worried the families of the victims, who were mostly from the UK and U.S., might demand further compensation.

An anonymous official told the Telegraph: 'We know they want more money from Libya and that is why we are being very careful.'

If Libyan authorities did agree to investigate the case again they could face a backlash from within the country - Gaddafi's decision to pay out in 2003 sparked massive street protests.

British police are particularly anxious to talk to Abdullah Senussi, a former head of Libyan intelligence who is currently being held in prison in Tripoli, but they are considered unlikely to be granted access to him.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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