“…given the predictable collapse sometime in the future, of that famous ‘peace accord’ recently ‘achieved’ for the southern Sudan (one which will last just as long as the government in Khartoum thinks the West is paying close attention and not a minute longer)…” — Hugh Fitzgerald, November 30, 2006 From Reuters, with thanks to Twostellas: […]
Archives for November 2006
Ancient faith faces an uncertain future
John Kass’s thought experiment at the beginning of this Chicago Tribune column (thanks to Russell) may before too long become reality. Imagine the Vatican surrounded in a fiercely secular yet very Muslim Italy. The Christian community there has dwindled to only a few thousand after decades of ethnic cleansing. Much of the church’s property has […]
Thailand to close all 944 public schools in Muslim south due to arson, shootings
No more pencils, no more books, because we can’t guarantee your safety. An update on this story. “Thailand to close all 944 schools in Muslim south,” from AFP: BANGKOK : Thailand will close all 944 public schools indefinitely in the country’s restive Muslim-majority south after a string of arsons and shootings that left two teachers […]
Iraqi Shi’ites angry at Saudi remark on aid to Sunnis
A glimpse at how the sectarian conflict in Iraq will widen upon the departure of US troops, siphoning off money, arms, and personnel that jihadists could otherwise employ against nonbelievers. “Iraqi Shias angry at Saudi remark on Sunnis,” from AFP: BAGHDAD – Iraq’s Shiite leaders on Thursday said they were angered by a Saudi Arabian […]
Pope hardens tone in Turkey
Don’t fit the Pope for a zunnar* just yet. By Sinan Fisek for Agence France-Presse, with thanks to Mackie: POPE Benedict XVI put the brakes on his charm offensive in EU-hopeful, Muslim majority Turkey, stressing Europe’s “Christian roots” and taking a strong stand on religious freedoms and minority rights. Flanked by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I […]
Fitzgerald: Fortiter in re, suaviter in modo
The grotesque attempt to ambush the Pope on his immediate arrival, to lecture him like a schoolboy on the wonderfulness of Islam, to demand that the “theology” of this or that faith be forever beyond any discussion, was all done by Dr. Ali Bardakoglu, head of the state-run religious affairs department. One can assume that […]
Fitzgerald: Jihad in West Africa
Two centuries before the current American foreign policy, or before there was Zionism, or “Iraq” and “Palestine” to blame, long before “poverty” was pulled up as a root-cause, and the why-do-they-hate-us brigade not only did not exist, but would have been impossible to call into being, Muslims in West Africa were on the Jihad warpath. […]
Fjordman: Is Islam Compatible with Democracy? part 1
“Hello from Fjordman. I will run a multipart essay over the coming few weeks where I will explore whether Islam is compatible with democracy. This is published in cooperation with the Gates of Vienna blog. The various parts will be published at Jihad Watch first, and then the full essay will be republished at the […]
Fitzgerald: The world is against them
Hanif Malik, an Islamic leader in Britain, said some time ago: “Yes, everyone agrees the Muslim leaders must be more pro-active in fighting radical thought. But it’s just empty words when Muslims feel the world is against them.” The world is against them? One may be able to swallow this if one does not dwell […]
Fitzgerald: There is no chance Turkey will be admitted to the E.U.
There is no chance Turkey will be admitted to the E.U. Some of the many reasons for this are located in the fact that Turkey let the murderer of Don Andrea Santoro, the priest murdered on February 7, 2006, get off lightly. And the Turkish authorities did nothing to publicize, throughout Turkey, exactly what it […]