« September 2005 | Main | November 2005 »
October 31, 2005
Iran: Solving Tehran Stock Exchange's Problems, one Hanging at a Time
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appears to be a rather hot-tempered individual. But beyond that, one must look at the particular targets of venom, and why they motivate him so. For example, why would he call for "two or three" speculators to be hanged, in order to solve the stock Exchange's problems? Because 'speculation', defined simply as charging interest, is a great crime in Islam. This silly ban on interest, which Mohammad copied from Christianity (Christianity has long abandoned the prohibition), is one of the reasons Islamic countries lag behind the West economically.
Here is the story: Iran's President says "2 or 3 hangings" could end market woes
Tehran, Oct. 30 - Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the latest cabinet meeting in the Iranian capital that "if we were permitted to hang two or three persons, the problems with the stock exchange would be solved for ever", according to a Tehran-based newspaper.Ahmadinejad was addressing a cabinet meeting held to discuss the rapidly deteriorating situation at the Tehran Stock Exchange, the daily Ruznet reported on Sunday.
Ministers and experts disagreed with all the different views and proposals raised at the meeting, which came to an end without any concrete results. Tempers flew high and participants shouted at each other during the discussion, according to the daily. Frustrated with the inability of his economic advisers and experts to come up with any solution, Ahmadinejad told them that the only way out of the current stock exchange and financial market problems was to "frighten" speculators by hanging two or three of them.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 6:34 PM | Comments (0)
Venezuela: Iran, Venezuela, Look to Cement relationship
Iran and Venezuela have been working together to undermine the United States for several years now. The following story is the kind of small thing that goes under the radar, but this should worry us, as it is part of a dangerous pattern.
Here is the story: Venezuela, Iran plan to open joint cement plant soon, Chavez says
Venezuela and Iran will soon open a joint cement plant in the South American country, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday, calling Iran a "sister republic."The two governments have had close relations in recent years and have signed agreements to cooperate in oil exploration and to manufacture tractors in Venezuela.
Chavez said he met Saturday night with the ambassador of Iran and that the two had agreed to set a date to inaugurate the cement factory. He did not specify when the plant would begin production.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 6:16 PM | Comments (0)
Iran: There is a Historic War Between Islam and the West
(Note: I'm not sure this is new information, and if it isn't we've covered this story, which created quite an international incident. But the international coverage--and ours--concentrated on Mahmoud the Tiny's call to wipe Israel off the map. There is also, however, the little detail of the war between Islam and the West. With that said...) I, for one, agree with the fanatical Iranian President. It is on the nature of Islam to conquer or to die, and the West, with its power, stands in the way. War, is thus, inevitable. I guess we should be grateful Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at the very least, tells us the truth: "The Islamic umma will not allow its historic enemy to live in its heartland"
"The establishment of the Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world," the president told a conference in Teheran entitled: 'The World Without Zionism'. "The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny. The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land," he thundered in a fiery speech on what he called an "historic war between the oppressor and the world of Islam". "As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map," declared Ahmadinejad, referring to Iran’s late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.[...]Ahmadinejad instead spoke of an “historic war” between Islam and the West.
"It dates backs hundreds of years. Sometimes Islam has advanced. Sometimes nobody was winning. Unfortunately over the past 300 years, the world of Islam has been in retreat."
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 5:47 PM | Comments (0)
UK Blunder Ruins Islamist's Terror Trial in Italy
The United Kingdom failed to extradite an Islamist to Italy, and has caused hopes for his trial to collapse, report the Times and AFP.
Farj Hassan Faraj, originally from Libya, was wanted by Italy to stand trial for plotting in Milan bomb attacks upon European targets. The prevarications and blunders on the part of the British Home office have meant that the trial which should have taken place in Italy has now passed a three year deadline, and can no longer be mounted.
24-year old Faraj has been said to be an "envoy" of Abu Musab Zarqawi, who has a $25 miilion US ransom for car-bombings on US and Uk troops, and kidnapping and decapitation of western civilian hostages, such as Liverpudlian Ken Bigley, and US engineer Eugene "Jack" Armstrong.
Britain, typically, blames Italy for not telling them that here was a deadline, but they have had Faraj in custody since May 2002, all at the UK taxpayer's expense. Last December a UK judge formally approved Faraj's extradition to Italy.
Italian carabineri's Special Operations squad had been tracking a group of suspects led by Faraj and had intercepted calls from al-Zarqawi. Six people from the group were arrested, but Faraj fled to Britain on a forged passport and claimed asylum.
Under EU rules he should be deported to Italy, where he first sought asylum. Or be deported to Libya, his country of origin. However, Faraj's lawyers oppose this, claiming he would be tortured if sent to Libya. So Faraj continues to stay in detention in the UK, and taxpayers are paying his cost of detention, and also the costs of his lawyers. A truly typical British situation.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:31 PM | Comments (0)
UK: Swindon Mosque Attack - Youth Charged
In sharp contrast to our previous article, a more predictable story of disgruntled youth. A story from today's Wiltshire Evening Advertiser describes how a 16 year old male from Swindon, southwest England, was today remanded in custody, accused of setting fire to a mosque in Swindon.
At Swindon Crown Court, Judge Tom Longbotham was told that the 16-year old's most serious charge was "arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered". At the start of Ramadan, a fire was started at the Jamia Mosque on Broad Street.
The youth is also accused of daubing a swastika and racist graffiti on the Sikh temple in Kembrey Street between September 20 and 30, and committing a similar act at the Jamia Mosque on September 21. He is further charged with racially aggravated damage to the mosque on October 4.
He is to remain in custody until Friday December 2, when he will reappear to enter his pleas against the four charges made against him.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:56 PM | Comments (0)
UK: Sexist Muslim Youths Suspected of Trashing Muslim Women's Center
Today's Bolton Evening News describes how the Hibbert Street Community Centre in Bolton, Lancashire has been vandalised. The centre is used mainly by Muslim women, and the University of Bolton, Bolton College and Sure Start all give courses there. Muslim women find it easier to access than the university and college campuses.
The centre's manager, Hanif Alli, arrived on Friday morning to find computers smashed and furniture damaged. Vandals had forced their entry through a side door.
Mr Alli believes it was carried out by Muslim youths."I am ashamed to say it, because I am Muslim myself, but it's a minority of local Muslim youths that have done this. Local Muslim women feel they have been targeted. It shows total disrespect for the women around here."
The president of the nearby Madina Mosque, Aszal Rasul said "This minority of youths are a disgrace to their parents, a disgrace to the Muslim community they come from and a disgrace to themselves.
"I have never seen anything like this in the holy month of Ramadan. I worry about the faith of these individuals."
Greater Manchester Police are investigating the incident.
What seems to be happening here is that young radicalised Muslim males feel that women have no right to be educated, and should stay at home to be baby-making machines and housewives. This really is a shame.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:43 PM | Comments (0)
UK: 7/7 Muslim Bomber Argued Over Cash Before Killing
A report from the Scotsman states that video taken of Shehzad Tanweer, one of the four suicide bombers of 7/7, shows him arguing in a petrol station. His dispute with the cashier involved him claiming he was being short-changed.
The video was revealed by a member of the Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism branch at a meeting in Preston, where the bizarre behaviour of 18-year old Hasib Hussain was also revealed.
Hussain was wandering around King's Cross and entered a McDonald's takeaway. He was bumping into people, the Scotsman claimed. We showed him standing in a chemist at King's cross, when, separated from the other three bombers whose explosions had already closed the underground station, he boarded a bus. Sitting on the top deck, where eyewitnesses claimed he was agitated and kept on looking at his black rucksack, he detonated his rucksack bomb at Tavistock Square, killing 13 people.
The Scotsman also reports that Martine Wright, a victim of the bombings who lost both her legs, is campaigning to have the compensation limit of £500,000 scrapped. She spoke on ITV television news about her campaign to raise the compensation limits, which mean that victims of 7/7 receive far less than the US victims of 9/11.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)
France: For Muslim Youth, No Quiet Days in Clichy
Clichy-Sous-Bois used to be a dull suburb, immortalised by Henry Miller's erotic novella, "Quiet Days in Clichy". When filmed by Danish director Jens Jorgen Thorsen in 1970, the streets were recognisably suburban and Parisian. In the 35 years since the film was made, the landscape has been transformed by the arrival of North African immigrants, mostly from Algeria. We jokingly mentioned the Buerger King Muslim a halal takeaway in Clichy-Sous-Bois whose name trades on the slang for Arab "beur", but the problems going on in this region are no longer a matter for humour.
Isabel de Castilla pointed out here that though riots have been going on since Thursday night, no-one in the international media has dared mentioned the "M" word, even though the majority of Clichy's disaffected youth are Algerian Muslim. Last night, the area of Clichy-Sous-Bois saw another round of riots, with waste-bins set alight, according to Le Figaro, and six people arrested. A tear gas grenade was thrown into a mosque, and shortly before 11 pm, six police were injured. Later, 5 more people were arrested. The total now in custody is 200.
What triggered four nights of unrest and disorder? On Thursday night, a group of young men were on the streets, saw a group of police, (who were conducting another operation and questioning youths who had broken into a building site), and scattered. Two youths, 17-year old Ziad and 15-year old Banou climbed an 8 foot wall, entered an electricity sub station, hid inside a turbine and died of electrocution. Rumours spread that the youths were pursued, but police denied this. Even a young man who was with them, Metin, claimed from his hospital bed that they felt they had to hide from the police.
The lawyer for the families, according to the Times has questioned why the youths felt they had to run. Jean-Pierre Mignard has stated that he had filed a lawsuit against the authorities, who had comitted an offence by "failing to help a person in danger".
The riots began as soon as the rumours of the youths' deaths spread through the community, and have been continuing on and off since. During a march in memory of the two dead youths, oon Saturday daytime, one youth grabbed a speaker's microphone and shouted "We want homes. We want jobs."
The problems of disaffected suburban youth have been creeping up on French society for some time. In Saint Denis on Thursday before the riots, a 56 year old father of three was taking a photograph when two youths, aged 19 and 23 assaulted him to steal his camera, according to Le Figaro. The man later died. Two young men are in custody. Less than a week before the Clichy riots, Nicolas Sarkozy, the Interior minister visited Argenteuil, where he declared he would rid council estates of their hooligans. A group of 200 youths gathered to insult him.
While young Muslim males in these suburbs feel disaffected and drawn to illicit activities for income, and drugs, the plight of suburban Muslim females is far worse. Muslim woman Samira Bellil wrote a book "Dans l'enfer des tournantes" describing how she had been gang-raped three times before she had the courage to speak out against an ever-present threat against young Muslim women from young Muslim men. She was patron of a charity called "Ni putes ni soumises" (Neither Prostiutes nor Submissives", which dealt with the way Muslim girls were subjected to threats of rape, even in school. She headed the charity until she died of stomach cancer, aged 31 in September 2004. This is from a Guardian obituary:
Samira did not report her rapes until two friends told her that K had raped them too. Reprisals are common - flats burned down, little sisters threatened - but Samira decided to prosecute. In the end, K was sentenced to eight years in prison.Another woman who tackles the issues of social disintegration in Parisian suburbs is Fadela Amara, who founded the "Ni putes nu soumises" charity, and wrote a book of the same name, which last year won the "political Book" award from the French National Assembly. Today, her charity has 6000 members in 60 local communities. Amara wants to clear the air regarding the culture of violence within the communities. An article in Print Sign and SIght describes the patterns often found in immigrant suburban families.As she wrote in her book, she was condemned to a lot more. Her parents threw her out in shame, and her quartier, or neighbourhood, rejected her. "People outside the estates don't know," she said. "And everyone on the estate knows, but they won't say anything." There were years of drug abuse, squats, foster homes, despair.
Fathers in immigrant families don't only lose their jobs when they're unemployed. They lose their authority in the family. This position is then occupied by their eldest sons who, although they may not be able to find legal employment, can provide for the family through their work in "parallel economies": car theft and drug dealing. With the authority they inherit, they are able to impose their conservative notions of religion and morality onto their social surroundings. Their spiritual nourishment comes from the Islamic fundamentalists, whose influence in the suburbs continues to rise.The events in Clichy-Sous-Bois may be seen as alienated youth finding an outlet for their frustration against the authorities, but this is to ignore the underlying problem created in the culture of the Muslim communities in Paris and other urban areas.
The refusal to let go of traditional customs brought over from Algeria has created a lawless vacuum, in which criminal activities thrive, and Islamic militancy entices. France has a population of 5-6 million Muslims, about 6% of its population. In a country which prides itself on being a secular state, the narrow Islamic lifestyle is not geared to exist harmoniously within its framework. Sarkozy is making a stand against Islamic fanaticism and its involvement with terrorism, and also against the culture of violence, and the youths of Clichy-Sous-Bois are sending their response to his message. Today, he meets with the parents of the two youths whose deaths triggered the riots. He may be able to appease them, but he cannot appease entire generations of youths who do not follow the codes expected in other parts of France.
As Michel Thooris, a spokesperson for Action Police, a police union, who has called for army involvement in the street violence, says: "There's a civil war under way in Clichy-Sous-Bois. My colleagues are not equipped or trained for street fighting."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)
Malaysia: Muslim "Refugees" Update
What is going on? It is not clear what Malaysia will do, as rumors fly around:
From the Bangkok Post: Thai Muslim refugees may return from Malaysia next week
Kuala Lumpur (dpa) - The 131 Thai Muslims who return fled their homes in southern Thailand might return after next weekend's Eid al-Fitr festival marking the end of Ramadan, news reports said Sunday.Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said the his government was still in the midst of arranging meetings with Thai authorities on the matter, the Star newspaper reported.
From Reuters: Malaysia says Thai Muslims opt not to return home
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 (Reuters) - None of 131 Thai Muslims taking refuge in Malaysia has chosen to return home in southern Thailand despite Bangkok's promise to ensure their security, Malaysia's deputy prime minister said on Monday.The group, in Malaysian custody since late August, is the largest to have fled to Malaysia from recent troubles in southern Thailand, where nearly 1,000 people have died in violence between Muslims and Thai security forces since January 2004.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:45 AM | Comments (0)
Saudi Arabia: Soccer Rules - The Islamic Way
The Guardian today released details of a Saudi government "fatwa" on soccer rules, published in the newspaper Al Watan.
I was going to continue, but this all too ludicrous to be fully believed. It is not April 1, so the Guardian can not be pulling one of its clever "April Fools" stunts. I believe that, with Eid ul-Fitr coming up, the Al Watan newspaper was having its little festive joke, and the Guardian has taken it seriously.
At least I hope this is a joke. If not, soccer players in Saudi Arabia will not be playing soccer but another game entirely, akin to Trobriand Island "cricket".
To make up your own mind, please read: A fatwa on football.
I have been urged by my colleagues to add more details to this article, even though it makes me feel decidedly odd, for some reason. So here are two more stipulations from the 11 articles of the soccer "fatwa":
I can't carry on describing this stuff. It is too much. I can't make out if it is meant to evoke howls of laughter or to be taken absolutely seriously. Saudi Arabia is hardly the land of jest and laughter, so it gives me an uneasy sensation interpreting it. You will have to read the rest yourself. I can't go on - sorry....
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:20 AM | Comments (0)
India: Islamic Terrorist Gets Death Sentence
Today, according to Reuters AlertNet, the leader of a group of Islamic militants from Lashkar-e-Toiba, was sentenced to death for an attack against the historic Red Fort at Delhi. During the gun assault, which happened on 22 December 2000, an army supply depot was attacked, and one soldier, an army barber and one guard were killed.
While the leader of the group, Ashfaq Rehman, received a death sentence, his six co-accused, who were also found guilty, were given jail sentences ranging from seven years to life at a Karkardooma court, in east Delhi.
rediff.com states that the court sentences were due to be handed out on Saturday, but were adjourned until this morning. Security around the court was heavy, with roads leading to the court blocked off.
The Red Fort (pictured), built in the 17th century, was the seat of Moghul rulers, until they were deposed by the British in 1857.
According to the Hindu, Ashfaq Rehman also went under the name Mohammed Arif. Ashfaq Arif/Rehman is a Pakistani, while the other convicted are from India. His wife, who was found guilty of harbouring the main accused, was given a seven year sentence.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:56 AM | Comments (0)
October 30, 2005
Russia: Forensics Confirm Chechen Islamist Killed By Nephew
The Moscow Times states that the Chechen Islamist and leader of the separatist movement, Aslan Maskhadov (pictured) was killed by his nephew, who was also his bodyguard. The Deputy Prosecutor General, Nikolei Shepel announced that Viskhan Khadzhimuratov had killed him. There had been a dispute over whether Maskhadov had been shot by Russian soldiers or by his own bodyguards.
Maskhadov was killed on March 8, 2005 by a bullet to the head, while cornered in a bunker in the village of Tolstoy-Yurt. Mosnews reported that the ballistic analysis of the bullet, read out in a court case against four of his accomplices, proved that the bullet had come from his nephew's pistol.
The nephew, who is on trial with three others, could not remember if he had shot Maskhadov, the self-styled "president of Ichkeria". He stated however, that: "Uncle always told me to shoot him if he was wounded and they attempted to take him prisoner. He said that if he was taken prisoner they would taunt him as they taunted Saddam Hussein."
Maskhadov was wearing an explosive belt at the time of his death. Earlier, Prosecutor Nikolei Shepel stated that Maskhadov had an agreement with his accomplices "that they would shoot him dead if he faced the threat of arrest. He had an explosives-laden belt on him, but he did not want to detonate it as he wanted his accomplices to live, so he asked them to shoot him dead."
A month before his death, Maskhadov was charged in absentia with the attack upon Beslan school in North Ossetia, which claimed 330 lives. The other man responsible for Beslan, who openly bragged of his role, is Shamil Basayev, who said that Vakhita Murdashev and Viskhan Hadzhimuratov were untrustworthy people. These were with Maskhadov at his death. Basayev claimed in a statement they should have died in the bunker for their leader.
"There was no chance for FSB officers to capture Aslan. I made a belt of explosives for him last year and it was permanently with him. Dying in the name of Allah he became a 'Shakhid'. The Russians only abase themselves by idle talk over his dead body."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:20 PM | Comments (0)
France: Islamists Smuggled Two Missiles Into Europe
An Islamic terror group has smuggled two surface-to-air missiles into Europe, in a plan to shoot down planes at a French airport, states the Telegraph. French anti-terror sources, originally quote in Le Figaro claim that the Russian SA-18 Grouse missiles were puchased from Chechens in the Caucasus, and were smuggled through Georgia and Turkey into the EU. The current whereabouts of the missiles is not known.
The French anti-terror investigators learned of the missile plot while interrogating a Jordanian al-Qaeda operative, who was close to al-Zarqawi. The man, Adnan Muhammad Sadik, aka Abu Atiya, is now in the custody of Jordanian authorities. He is thought to have been al-Qaeda's chief in the Caucasus, and trained foreign mujahideen who then returned to their countries of origin, to set up sleeper cells.
Abu Atiya claims that one group, known as the "Chechen network" returned to France with the SA-18 missiles, and chemical toxins, such as ricin, cyanide and botulin. Some of their group had planned to detonate a bomb at a Christmas market in Strasbourg in 2000, and others had links to a conspiracy to blow up Los Angeles airport in 1999.
Most of the group were apprehended in an operation mounted by the DST, the French anti-terror squad in late 2002. Some escaped.
The Pakistan Daily Times yesterday quoted the Le Figaro article, stating that after the missiles arrived, "the terrorists then prepared their plans, vacillating between symbolic targets (the Russian embassy, police stations) and bloody attacks (department stores, the Eiffel Tower...)."
SAM-18 missiles have a target range of up to 5 km (three miles) and can attain altitudes of 3,500 metres. In November 2002 in Mombassa, Kenya, two precursors of the SAM-18, SAM-7 missiles were aimed at an Israeli passenger plane as it left Mombassa, Kenya, but just missed their target.
In 2003 in Iraq, a German-owned freight aircraft was hit by a SAM-7 just after it took off from Baghdad airport. Though hit, the plane circled back to ground and a safe landing.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 1:52 PM | Comments (0)
Holland: Suspected Islamist Held For Ties to Hofstad Group
On Friday, a 28-year old man was arrested by Dutch police for suspected links with Dutch Islamist militants, the Hofstad Group, stated Reuters AlertNet.
Police spokesman Wim de Bruin stated that he was held not only for suspected links with the Hofstad group but also a supermarket robbery that was carried out with Samir Azzouz, the 19-year old who was arrested with six others on October 14. Samir Azzouz had previously been acquitted of attempting to blow up public buildings in April this year.
A "farewell video", obtained by AIVD, the Dutch intelligence services, made by Azzouz, led to the arrests of the seven people two weeks ago.
The Hofstad Group are linked to Bouyeri, the man who killed film-maker Theo Van Gogh. After the murder, 12 members were detained. They await trial for membership of a criminal organisation and planning to kill a prominent politician.
Keywords: Netherlands.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)
Indonesia: Muslim Sect's Leader At Large, 117 Followers Surrender
On October 26, we reported on a clash between police and machete-wielding Islamic cult-members, which happened near Palu, in eastern Sulawesi. The police were trying to arrest the sect's leader.
There have been more developments in this case. The sect is called the Mahdi sect, named after Mahdi, their 27-year old leader. The Jakarta Post reports that a key leader of the group has been arrested on Saturday outside Palu. This man, who is called Lagu, also known as Arifin, was charged with the killing of Palu poiceman, First Brigadier Arwan Arysad during Tuesday's clashes.
This has been the first arrest of a prominent member of the sect since the clashes on Tuesday between 16 men and dozens of Mahdi sect members in Gawalise, a hilly region outside Palu. Three police officers two sect members died. Now dozens of sect members have been arrested, and eight of these have been named as suspects in the killings.
While Lagu was arrested in Donggala regency on Saturday morning, the revolcer and bullets of Adj. Com. Imam, one of the killed officers, was seized.
Detectives are sill trying to find Mahdi, not only to question him about Tuesday's clash, but also for "spreading heretical Islamic beliefs".Xinhua Net reports that a total of 117 Mahdi followers, inclding 32 men, 40 women and 45 children had surrendered to local police.Mahdi's dogma reportedly centers on his rejection of certain aspects of both Islam and Christianity. He preaches that sect members will be declared pure after they free themselves from Islamic and Christian practices such as fasting, going to church or doing regular prayers
After Tuesday's raid, three police had been taken hostage, and on Wednesday a massive helicopter and 300 police search was mounted. The three hostages were recovered alive on Thursday near Salena, the hamlet where the sect was centred.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:05 PM | Comments (0)
Saudi Arabia: Policeman Gunned Down, 7 Pilgrims Trampled in Mecca
According to DNA India, overnight two gunmen shot and killed a policeman as he patrolled Mecca. We was killed in a western part of the city where 1.5 million pilgrims were gathered to celebrate ending of Ramadan. The policeman, who was one of two in an all-terrain vehicle, flagged down a car, and were shot at by two people from the vehicle. The policeman was shot in the head.
There was a serious incident at Mecca when a stampede caused the deaths of seven pilgrims and injured 17 more. The stampede occurred when a Red Crescent truck arrived to distribute charity handouts for the needy.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:49 AM | Comments (0)
Australia: Sydney Muslim Linked to al Zarqawi
Australian citizen Saleh Jamal, from Sydney, has been linked to Iraqi terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, states the Australian. Jamal, who is awaiting trial on terrorist charges, has been linked in court documents to al-Zarqawi, whose group he tried to join in April last year.
Prosecution papers also reveal allegations that he was sent abroad by an Australian Islamists, with the intention of staging jihad offensives against US and Israeli interests.
His attempt to join al-Zarqawi was foiled by Jordanian officials, who barred him entry to their country. Saleh Jamal is said to have been introduced to Zarqawi's network, "Al Qaeda of the Two Rivers" through a Bosnian associate whom he met in Lebanon, called Abdullah Taratshebak. This man, and another accused terrorist called Abdul Latif, attempted with Jamal to enter Iraq via Jordan.
The Lebanese prosecutors claim that the Sydney Islamist (whose identity has been concealed) was helped by another Australian, Ashref Shaha, who gave him money. After Jamal was accused of shooting up Lakemba police station in Sydney in 1998, he jumped bail, using the donated money to flee.
In May 2004, Jamal was arrested at Beirut airport as he tried to board a plane to Paris, and was charged for entering Lebanon on a false passport. He was given a five year jail sentence for this offence, but Lebanese prosecutors want him charged now on more serious terrorism charges. They want to try him for delivering material to Islamists who carried out a bomb assault in Damascus, Syria, two weeks prior to his arrest. The attack near an embassy compound cost two people their lives.
It is claimed that Jamal's Islamic radicalism occurred in a New South Wales jail as he was awaiting trial. It is assumed that his links with al-Zarqawi's group were forged through associations with an associate group based in a Palestinian refugee camp, called Asbat al-Ansar.
Saleh Jamal goes on trial in Lebanon next week.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:29 AM | Comments (0)
Thailand: Suspected Islamists Attack Buddhist Monastery
A report from the Bangkok Post conveys the news that a Buddhist monastery in the troubled southern province of Pattani has been attacked by insurgents.
The attack happened late of Saturday night, with the assailants firing shots, and setting a monk's living quarters ablaze at the Takienthong temple.
A number of cars were also set alight outside the temple. More than 20 spent bullet cases were retrieved at the scene. Security experts and forensic analysts investigating the scene believe the incident was meant to intimidate.
Three teenagers were arrested after the attack, but they have denied any involvement. Despite the shooting and fire, Buddhists in the area turned up at the Takienthong temple today to hold a religious ceremony.
Attacks upon Buddhists in the region have increased recently. On October 15, a Buddhist temple was attacked, where 76-year old monk Phra Kaew Kusalo and two teenage boys had their throats slit. The killers then set fire to the bodies in Wat Phromprasit temple, Panare district.
Two days before that incident, a 66-year old Buddhist farmer, Song Fangpetch was found headless in the Mayo district of Patanni.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)
Pakistan: 5 Suspected Islamists Arrested for Collecting Donations
In the southern Pakistan city of Karachi, police have arrested five suspected members of Jaish e Mohammed, an outlawed Islamist group. The individuals were collecting money, ostensibly for assisting in the victims of the recent earthquake disaster. The story appears in Pakistan's Daily Star, the China Post and Khaleej Times.
Police inspector Momoor Khan said the men had been collecting in the name of a charity, the Al Rahmat Trust, which has recently been set up by Jaish e Mohammed. "We arrested them because they are from Jaishe Mohammed, which is not allowed to carry out any activity", he said.
President Musharraf of Pakistan banned the Jaish e Mohammed group in January 2002, in an effort to crack down on extremist groups. Jaish e Mohammed aim to create independence for the Kashmir region from India.
The reports state that many Islamic charities and militant groups are now using new names and are collecting donations for earthquake victims, who total 3 million who are now homeless. This is the first instance of people with militant ties being arrested for collecting donations.
There have been several instances of militant Islamists providing aid for the homeless refugees from disaster-hit zones since the earthquake hit on October 8th, but when money is given to militant's charities, one has to wonder if it all arrives at its intended victims, or if some is diverted for less humanitarian ends.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)
Israel: Islamic Jihad Agrees to Suspend Rocket Attacks
Earlier today, Islamic Jihad agreed to stop firing rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip, as long as there were no further air raids on the region from Israel, Reuters AlertNet reports.
The deal was reached between the Palestinian Authority and the Islamist terror group, in a measure to halt the worst violence seen in the region since a truce was called nine months ago.
Khaled al-Batsch, one of the senior heirarchy at Islamic Jihad, has said that if "the enemy" stops its attacks, "our commitment to calm will be maintained".
Since Saturday, there has been no rocket fire nor air raids. However, Islamic Jihad did not promise to stop suicide attacks, like the one on Wednesday in Hadera, which killed five Israelis.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:45 AM | Comments (0)
UK: Prince to Preach to US on Strengths of Islam
Prince Charles, who only three days ago was whining about how people would only appreciate him when he is dead (as if!), has long had an admiration for Islam. He is now embarking, starting on Tuesday, on an eight-day tour of the United States, where he is, according to the Telegraph intending to persuade George W. Bush and the US populace of the merits of Islam.
It is said he thinks that the US is not tolerant enough of Islam. The heir to the British throne has long been known to criticise the US's attitudes to Islam. Only two months after 9/11 when 3000 lives were lost in an unprovoked Muslim attack on American civilians, Charles was heard to say "I find the language and rhetoric coming from America too confrontational".
As future monarch in Britain's antiquated constitution, Charles will have to assume the role of head of the Anglican church. In 1994, he said he would rather be "defender of faiths" than the official title of "defender of the faith". This was when Charles spoke first of the need to consider Islam as part of Britain's culture that he wished to support.
This attitude has brought him into conflict with members of the Anglican church. When Lord Carey was Archbishop of Canterbury, there were harsh words exchanged between the archbishop and the prince on the issue of his support of Islam.
Maybe this is partly because Islam approves of a man having two wives, for the future head of the Church of England carried on an adulterous relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles throughout his marriage to Princess Diana. He fails to see that in some Islamic countries, his wrinkled girlfriend, who was being unfaithful to her own husband, Colonel Parker-Bowles, would have been stoned to death for adultery. The adulterous destroyer of Princess Diana's marriage is now legally wed to Charles, and has been awarded the title of "Duchess of Cornwall", for her services to marriage-wrecking.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:23 AM | Comments (0)
UK: Prince Charles, Defender of the (Islamic) Faith
This story reminds me of a recent quote by Thomas Sowell: "Virtually no idea is too ridiculous to be accepted, even by very intelligent and highly educated people, if it provides a way for them to feel special and important. Some confuse that feeling with idealism."
I think Prince Charles, after the story I'm about to quote, would qualify as a perfect exponent of this maxim. Except for the part where he is highly intelligent and educated: Prince Charles to plead Islam's cause to Bush
The Prince of Wales will try to persuade George W Bush and Americans of the merits of Islam this week because he thinks the United States has been too intolerant of the religion since September 11.The Prince, who leaves on Tuesday for an eight-day tour of the US, has voiced private concerns over America's "confrontational" approach to Muslim countries and its failure to appreciate Islam's strengths.
The Prince raised his concerns when he met senior Muslims in London in November 2001. The gathering took place just two months after the attacks on New York and Washington. "I find the language and rhetoric coming from America too confrontational," the Prince said, according to one leader at the meeting.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:12 AM | Comments (1)
India: Kashmir Islamist Group Claims Bomb Blasts
The news yesterday of the three Delhi explosions was initially treated with caution by India and the media. The incidents with their near-simultaneous detonations seemed like an Islamist attack, causing maximum chaos and panic, but there are other groups in India who seek to use terrorism to gain publicity.
Now, those who caused the attack have come forward - Islami Inqilabi Mahaz, or "Islamic Revolutionary Group" have claimed ownership of the attacks. The group is an obscure group, who are from Kashmir. Like the better-known group Lashkar-e-Taiba ("Force of the Pure") their aim is to have Kashmir separated from India.
Reuters quoted Ajai Sahni of New Delhi's Institute for Conflict Management, who claimed that groups like Islami Inqibilabi Mahaz were usually front groups for larger, well established organisations. "One way or another, Lashkar is behind it" he said.
Rohan Gunaratna, a SIngapore terrorist expert stated that though the blasts were almost certainly executed by groups from the sub-continent, their methods were inspired by al Qaeda.
The death toll has risen to 57 known dead, with 140 people injured, many seriously burned. An account of the eyewitnesses to the blast can be found, here, from the Times.
The BBC today quotes Karnail Singh, joinnt commissioner of police in Delhi, who said Islami Inqilabi Mahaz had been formed back in 1996. "It has not been very active but it has links with Lashkar-e-Toiba", he stated.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:54 AM | Comments (0)
Book Review: The Sword and the Shield
I want you to read a near-encyclopedic book on the history of the KGB. I know, I know, right now you are thinking; "but Diaz, what does the KGB could possibly have to do with Islam, isn't Islam what your site is about." True, but not all things are learned directly. I want you to learn two things above the rest; how our enemies work to deceive us, and how we deceive ourselves.
In The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB distinguished historian Christopher Andrews and former KGB chief archivist Vasili Mitrokhin attempt to uncover the work of the Soviet State's chief intelligence arm. They base their work on the Mitrokhin Archive, notes collected by Mr. Mitrokhin during a 12-year period, a wealth of material previously unheard of by authors trying t o make sense of intelligence work. There is plenty to learn from this book, but I want to concentrate, however, on the two points above:
First, how our enemies attempt to deceive us: The KGB used several methods to penetrate and influence Western societies. Agents were recruited using several methods; "ideological" agents, greedy people, individuals trapped sexually (either by "lust", or by love.) "False flags" operations, etc. At other times, black propaganda ops were used, sometimes with spectacular effects. (Did you know, for example, that the "CIA created AIDS" myth was cooked by the KGB?) And then there were the influence operations, where they would use deception and "trusted friends" to mold Western public opinion to favor the Soviet Union and the Socialist bloc.
And then, there are the instances where the KGB did not need to deceive us at all. Those were usually instances where we failed to think like a Soviet leader would, and completely miss the "logic" of their actions. Oddly enough, near the end of the book, Mr. Andrews himself falls to this--rather understandable--failure when he criticizes the "overreaction" of the Soviet regime to the dissidents. Mr. Andrews fails to see, in its later stages, Socialist totalitarian regimes were rather brittle: few people believed the ideology, so they had to keep the image of invincibility alive. Dissidents, however few and disorganized, threatened that image, and thus had to be destroyed before their messaged spread.
As the West clashes with Islam, fourteen years after the Soviet Union's demise, we would be wise to keep this lesson in mind: Islam is a system with its own "logic", and the actions of Muslims need to be put in the proper context. It is my hope the Sword and the Shield, beyond its intrinsic value, will remind us of this truth.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:05 AM | Comments (0)
October 29, 2005
Two days of rioting in Paris suburb
Out of these three different articles in Associated Press, BBC and Reuters, the only hint that these riots involve Muslims is the photograph in the BBC article. Way to bravely keep the public informed of the truth, journalists.
Posted by Isabel de Castilla at 10:24 PM | Comments (0)
Indonesia: Muslim Attacks Upon Christians Escalating Again
We brought you the report of the grisly attack upon teenage schoolgirls, where three were decapitated while walking to school in Poso, Central Sulawesi. The attack has not been confirmed as a Muslim attack, but the region has been the scene of Muslim/Christian conflicts which have killed 1000 people, mostly between 2000 and 2001, though there was a bomb in Poso in May, killing 22, and another bomb two days ago.
The Sulawesi conflict was part of a wider war between Muslims and Christians in the nearby Moluccan archipelago, which claimed the lives of 9,000 people between 1999 and 2002. The resumption of Muslim attacks upon Christians in the Sulawesi area appears to be underway.
But attacks upon Christian communities are not confined to Central Sulawesi. We brought you a short resume of current minority persecutions in Indonesia, Indonesia: Vigilantes of Islam. We mentioned the massacre at Ambon in the Moluccas, islands to the north of Sulawesi, where Muslims under the leadership of Muslim cleric Jaffar Umar Thalib of the Islamist organisation Laskar Jihad led an assult on a Christian village called Soya, outside Ambon City.
The attack on Sunday 28 April 2002, in which 21 people died, women and children included, from decapitations machete strikes and burnings, was the culmination of a longer process of attacks, which had begun in earnest in 2000. Most of the attacks on Christians in the Moluccan conflicts were by followers of Laksar Jihad. This group has officially disbanded, and its leader, Yemeni-Indonesian Jaffar Umar Thalib was acquitted in 2003 of sowing hate in the Moluccas.
The large island of Java has seen a recent official persecution against Christians by the Muslim majority, with the authorities making no apparent efforts to either control or condemn the attacks. A report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide, from 24 October this week, describes the recent troubles. In the Bekasi area of west Java, three churches were closed down by the Mayor of Bekasi, who also ordered the Christians from these churches to either conduct their worship in either their churches or their homes.
The churches affected were Lutheran, Presbyterian and Pentecostal. On Sunday, October 16th, a group of 300 Muslims conducted their own religious ceremonies at the churches, and the Christian congregations moved onto the street to conduct their worship. They were followed by the Muslims who verbally and physically abused the Christians. Reverend Anna, pastor of the Presbyterian church and chairman of the church synod, was pushed into a drain. Police watched the events, but did nothing. There are reports that some police actually became involved in the intimidation. Since 2004, about thirty churches have been closed in West Java.
A report yesterday (Friday 28th October) from Compass Direct describes how in the West Java town of Cikarang Baru, a church that was being built has been halted on orders of the Bekasi district secretary, Dr H.R. Heri Koesaeri. Demonstrations had begun on 19 September when 500 Islamic protesters arrived at the construction site, and a lesser group of 200 returned on 29 September, and again on October 3.
The church, according to pastor Benny Assa, was being built with the permission of the chief of the Bekasi district, Dr H.M. Saleh Manaf, who has since confirmed the legal authorisation of the church's construction. The protesters, who belong to various groups, including the Hizbullah Front and the Salafy Islamic movement, have effectively blocked a legally-validated scheme. Dr Manaf has said: "If there is a group of people who opposed my recommendation, then they are opposing the government's policy, and they will be facing the law."
The problem facing many Christians regarding church construction is rooted in a Joint Ministerial Decree of 1969 called the SKB, dating from the time of Haji Mohamed Suharto (pictured), the second ruler (or dictator) of Indonesia, who was in power from 1967 to 1998. This law required a permit from local authorities to build a place of worhip. Suharto is still reviled for his suppression of even Muslim groups, which may explain the current government's inefficiency in tackling Islamic extremism, lest it alienate voters. The churches in Indonesia are often denied these permits, and Muslim militants are claiming their campaigns against church communities have legal validity.
The insistence by extremists that churches must prove their possession of permits means that in three West Java districts, Bekasi, Bandung and Sukabumi, three more churches are earmarked for closure. Malang city, East Java, 24 churches are under threat of closure, and two have been shut during the past three weeks. In Jakarta, 18 churches fear closure after police showed an interest in their services. Other militant groups involved in campaigning against Christians are Hizb ut-Tahrir and Front Pembela Islam (Islamic Defenders Front), but Christian Solidarity Worldwide suggests the main thrust of the current campaign is being led by the National Council of Ulemas (MUI).
We reported earlier how this group, the most "senior" of Muslim bodies in Indonesia, announced in July a fatwa, which had 11 decrees, including activities involving interfaith, pluralist and "liberal" thought. These declarations have been viewed by many Muslims as a decree to validate attacks against non-Muslims, and "heretical" Muslim groups such as the Ahmadiyyah, who in September had several houses attacked in Sukadana, West Java.
The Front Pembela Islam, or Islamic Defender's Front make no secret of their hostility to Christians. Established in August 1998, they are now active in 22 provinces. Their leader, Habib Muhammad Riziek Syihab was educated in Saudi Arabia. Many of FPI's leaders are said to be Arabic. They have a paramilitary wing called Laskar Pembela Islam, who operate raids upon bars, cafes, pool halls, massage parlours and gaming halls. A report of attacks made by the group during the last Ramadan can be found here. In 2001, they led an anti-American campaign in the country, in protest at US involvement with Afghanistan.
There is widespread belief that FPI has government tolerance, a view backed up by their being allowed to establish a large relief camp in Banda Aceh following the tsunami of 24 December 2004. A report from Fox News from January 21 2005 decscribed how the FPI were intimidating Christian aid workers, accusing them of trying to convert Muslims:
Hasri Husan, a leader of the Islamic Defenders Front, a militant Muslim group that is operating a refugee camp in Banda Aceh, made his feelings clear.FPI had 5000 people in Aceh after the tsunami, along with Hizb ut-Tahrir and Laskar Mujahideen (Mujahideen Army), according to the Jamestown Foundation."We will chase down any Christian group that does anything beyond offering aid," he said before making a slashing motion across his throat.
The ruling by the MUI (National Council of Ulemas) seems to have now started a process where various Islamic extremists, who do not fall under the category of "international terrorists" are nonetheless reviving past conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslim groups.
Yusuf Kalla the vice president of Indonesia has stated that madrassas will be watched for signs of extremist teachings. This is a measure to be encouraged, but it appears his government is either too weak or too fearful to actively engage the militant groups who exist in all parts of Indonesia. These groups are now acting as if they have a green light to fulfill their aims, which ultimately involve instituting sharia, and victimising other groups which do not share their narrow and orthodox Islamic perspectives.
On Thursday, the US government announced that travellers should beware of visiting Indonesia, unless absolutely necessary. Those who do visit should "be aware of their surroundings at all times, and vary their routes and times in carrying out daily activities."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:13 PM | Comments (0)
Qatar: Al Jazeera Calls Suicide Bombings "Paradise Operations"
In an article from WorldNetDaily, the Arabic language service of Al Jazeera, the news agency, has ceased to refer to suicide bombers as suicide bombers or suicide attackers.
Apparently, they have now started to use the term "paradise operations"
Previously their reports would feature the Arabic words: "ammaliat in-ta-har-i-a", meaning "suicide operations". In an article spotted by an Arabic-lanhuage translator, referring to the Russian foreign minister's criticism of the Palestinian Authority's ineffective control of jihadists, Islamic Jihad was mentioned, including the attack in Hadera. The phrase employed in the Arabic article was "am-ma-li-a al cha-deer-ra" or "paradise operations."
Recently Al Jazeera have been increasing their audiences for television and online text media, and their English language TV unit has recently bought UK journalist David Frost onto their team. If he knew that they would be referring to such atrocities as "paradise operations", I wonder if he would still have accepted their inducements.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:13 PM | Comments (0)
Iraq: Senior Muslim Cleric Will Back No Party in Elections
Ayatollah Ali Husaini Sistani, one of Iraq's leading Shia clerics, has announced that he will not support any one party in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Iraq, according to the BBC. The elections will be held in December, after being ratified in a referendum earlier this month.
Sheikh Abdul Mahdi al-Karbali announced the grand Ayatollah's decision in a sermon on Friday. The current ruling party, the Shia-led coalition, the United Iraqi Alliance, gained their seats in the interim government largely as a result of his support.
At a mosque in Karbala, Sheikh Karbali said: "The marja enjoins Iraqis to participate massively in the forthcoming elections, but he does not support any political group in particular."
Sistani (pictured), who is in his mid-70s is called "marja" as it means "one to be followed, or emulated". His spokesperson in his sermon castigated those who did not vote in the constitutional referendum on 15 October. Shia turnout had not been as high as expected.
Sistani was born at some point around 1930, and is the most important Shia religious leader in the country. He abides in the Shia holy city of Najaf, and there controls a faction within the Kawza Seminary. He has previously stated his belief that politics and religion should not mix. He was grateful to the US for toppling Saddam, and believes in direct elections, as these should automatically favour the majority Shia population.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 3:28 PM | Comments (0)
Syria: Denials of Islamic Jihad Operations
Xinhua News reports that Syria has denied allegations that the Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad has been operating from Damascus, and claims that the organisations offices in Syria have been closed for some time. The Syrian foreign Ministry released a statement, sayiing that the offices of Islamiic Jihad, and those of other Palestinian militant groups, were shut down two years ago.
The statement came one day after the United States, European Union, Russia and United Nations, known collectively as the "Middle East Quartet" urged the nation to close the offices of IJ.
Xinhua claims that "well-placed sources" have said that Ramadan Shallah, secetarry-general of the Islamic Jihad movement, who had been based in syria, left the country several months ago. Syria houses more than 400,000 Palestinian refugees, and has supported their engagement in political activities towards a goal of returning.
ReutersAlertNet quoted the Syrian statement,which also refers to recent Islamic Jihad activity in Israel, where a suicide bomber killed 5 people in Hadera in the West Bank:
"Syria is not involved in this latest operation or any other and we are surprised by this rushed statement that does not have any evidence to back it. The measures the quartet had asked Syria to take have in fact already been undertaken ... They are not at all in conflict with their freedom of political expression and their aspirations as Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland."US President George W Bush has not ruled out the possibility of military action against Syria, which this month was implicated in a UN report as being involved with the car-bomb killing of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik al-Hariri.
Yesterday, thousands of Palestinian refugees demonstrated in Damascus in support of Syria, with supporters of Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, Fatah Uprising and others taking part.
And in Ramallah earlier today, according to Brandon Sun, a group of around 60 Islamic Jihad activists gathered outside the offices of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority leader. They were protesting the arrest of four of their group earlier in the week. Abbas was not present in his compound.
The IJ activists were from Bir Zeit University in Ramallah. Police opened fire to disperse them, so they went on to the centre of Ramallah, where dozens of other young Islamic Jihad members took part in a protest.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:45 PM | Comments (2)
India: Three Bomb Explosions in New Delhi - 51 Dead
Earlier today, around 5.30 pm local time, three bomb explosions caused death and carnage at three locations in India. Latest reports from Chanel 4 News (UK) state 51 people are known to have died, but the death toll will almost certainly rise. At least 80 people are injured, with at least 10 critically.
BBC states that the first two bombs went off in a crowded markets in Central and south Delhi, and the third bomb exploded in Govindpuri. The blasts have been admitted as "terrorist attacks" but at present no group has claimed or been blamed for responsibility.
The first explosion occurred in Pahargani, in a market full of shoppers who were out in numbers prior to two major religious festivals next week, Hindu DIwali, the Festival of Lights (New Year) and Muslim Eid ul-Fitr (Breaking of Ramadan fasting). The Pahargani market is close to the main railway station and is a popular spot for travelling back-packers.
The second blast occurred minutes later in Sarojini Naga market. Again a large number of casualties were recorded, due to the pre-holiday shoppers. The third blast at Govindpur may have been caused by a bus bomb, and at least three people appear to have died.
Prime Minister Singh, who was in the north east of the country, is returning to Delhi.
This report will be updated as clearer news arrives.
There are varying groups who will resort to political violence. In May a Sikh group thought inactive set off bombs in Delhi, there is a horrific ethnic bloodbath in Assam in the east, between the Dimasa and Karbi peoples, which has claimed more than a thousand lives recently, and there are Kashmiri Muslim separatists. As soon as information is available, it will be given.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:06 PM | Comments (0)
India: Mass Murder at New Delhi's Markets
This has "Islam" written all over it: 3 New Delhi Explosions Kill at Least 49
NEW DELHI (AP) - Coordinated explosions in India's capital ripped through at least two markets jammed with evening shoppers ahead of an upcoming Hindu festival and a bus, killing at least 49 people.Officials blamed terrorists for the blasts, which came as India and nuclear rival Pakistan began unprecedented talks on opening their disputed and heavily defended Kashmir frontier to bring food, shelter and medical aid to victims of the Himalayan region's massive earthquake.
The first explosion hit New Delhi's main Paharganj market, leaving behind bloodstained streets and mangled stalls of wood and twisted metal. Within minutes came an explosion at the popular Sarojini Nagar market - the deadliest, with 39 killed - and the bus blast in the Govindpuri neighborhood. Police said at least 60 people were wounded in the first blast and dozens in the other two.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 1:39 PM | Comments (0)
US: Harper College Bows to Muslim Pressure and Pulls Down "Offending" Pictures
If you want to see what abject surrender looks like, look no further than the following story: Harper pulls photo exhibit upon Muslim protest
An art exhibit that included photographs of nude Muslim women wearing only a head covering was taken down Thursday afternoon just hours after opening for public viewing at Harper College in Palatine.Muslim students at the college protested to officials about the pieces on display in Building C.
Several students say the pieces - some showing young Muslim men with machine guns - were downright offensive.
My (rhetorical) question is this: had this been a display offending Christianity (or Hinduism, or Santeria)? Only Muslims get their little slaves to bow before them.
Pictures can be seen here. (Be warned: there is some nudity, but not as much as I hoped for.)
Hat tip: Little Green Footballs
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:15 AM | Comments (0)
Denmark: Two More Suspected Islamists Detained
We brought you news yesterday of four young men arrested in Copenhagen suburbs in the morning, aged from 16 to 20. These individuals have been described as "introverted religious individuals". Only one of the youths had Danish citizenship. They were believed to have been planning to have themselves used as suicide bombers, according to the Copenhagen Post.
There have now been two more arrests connected with the case, states the Las Vegas Sun. The police announced that the individuals, who were detained yesterday, are suspected of assisting the four earlier detainees to plan an "imminent" terror attack.
The men were due to face a preliminary court hearing this morning.
Danish police are coordinating investigations with Bosnian police, who arrested three individuals last week, a Swede, a Turk and a Bosnian. Evidence from the Bosnian investigation hints that there was a plan to blow up the Sarajevo embassy of an un-named European country.
The last terrorist attack in Denmark happened 20 years ago, when a bomb went off outside the offices of North West Orient Airlines in Copenhagen. One person was killed and 16 injured, and three Palestinians living in Sweden were given life sentences for the crime in 1989.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tennessee: Iraqi Sentenced for Targeting Jewish Sites
Notice how the would-be terrorist was not affiliated with any terrorist organization. Notice also how the newspaper article, although it mentions he wanted to join the Jihad, it fails to inform its readers about the religion or the motivation of the potential mass murderer. (Heck, perhaps the Buddhists started a Jihad and we didn't notice. Or perhaps he didn't mean Jihad in a bad way, he might just have meant "intense spiritual struggle.") At any rate, had this been a white supremacist planning to kill Jews, you could be sure the man's motivation would be spelled out for all to see.
Here is the story: Iraqi who targeted Jewish sites sentenced
An Iraqi-born defendant was sentenced yesterday to four years and nine months in prison for purchasing machine guns and grenades to target two Jewish facilities in the Nashville area, the U.S. attorney's office said.Ahmed Hassan Al-Uqaily, 34, had made a threat about "going jihad. He told a friend he wanted the weapons because " I cannot take it. I cannot wait," according to federal court papers.
But his friends at the Krispy Kreme, where Al-Uqaily made doughnuts for four years, said they saw no signs of his terrorist intentions.
"That doesn't seem like him," said Jean Tucker, who was one of his supervisors. "I never heard him say anything out of line as far as wanting to get revenge on somebody or wanting to hurt somebody."
Instead, he was a friendly colleague who baked homemade birthday and wedding cakes for his co-workers, who gave away doughnuts to the children in his neighborhood and who would report to work whenever he was needed, Tucker said.
Al-Uqaily had expressed animosity toward Jews and identified two Jewish facilities that he knew about, according to his plea agreement. Prosecutors de-clined to say which facilities he may have wanted to target.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Indonesia: Did Muslims Behead Three Christian Girls?
Today, the decapitated bodies of three Christian schoolgirls, all aged in their teens, were discovered on a road leading to a school in Poso, Central Sulawesi. The Jakarta Post states that the girls are believed to have been walking to school when they were killed.
The heads of two victims were found nearby, outside a police post, and the other girl's head was found near a Church. A police spokesman would not be drawn on the issue of whether the killers were Muslim, stating: "We are still waiting for results from investigation in the field. We are still trying to determine whether this case is religiously-motivated or not."
Central Sulawesi has an equal number of Christians and Muslims, and in 2001 to 2002 there was a sectarian battle between the two communities in the region, leading to the deaths of 1000 Christians and Muslims. The conflict had been mediated into a truce by the government, but there have since been bomb attacks against Christians, including one bomb attack in Poso market. This attack in May killed 22 people.
The BBC claimed the bomb was in nearby Tentena, a Christian town, and as well as killing 22, it injured over 30.
The fighting four years ago drew Islamic militants from all over Indonesia and many have never gone home.The Jakarta Post states that the local Christian population have accused the government in Jakarta of not doing enough to find the perpetrators (of bomb attacks) and bring them to justice.Analysts say the militants have targeted central Sulawesi and believe that it could be turned into the foundation stone of an Islamic state.
The analysts have warned that the violence could resurface at any time.
The attacks against the three girls have been witnessed by a fourth girl, who was part of the group but managed to escape. New Zealand TV's One News reports that she saw six attackers armed with machetes, who were wearing black attire, black face-veils, according to national police spokesman Aryonto Budiharjo. NZTV also quote President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who condemned the killings as "sadist and inhuman crimes". He is said to have convened an emergency security meeting to address the issue.
There was another bomb attack two days ago in Central Sulawesi, according to Maj. Sambas Kurniawan of the town of Parigi. The bomb exploded on a minibus which was travelling to the mainly Christian town of Tentana from the mostly Muslim Central Sulawsei capital, Palu. 11 people were on board. The low-intensity bomb, placed under a seat, injured one person, according to MercuryNews.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bangladesh: Government Offers Bounty For Top Islamists' Capture
The coalition government of Bangladesh announced a reward for information leading to the arrest of the two Islamists held responsible for organising the nationwide bombing campaign on August 17. The two men are Shaikh Abdur Rahman (pictured with red beard) and Bangla Bhai (pictured with green hat).
The rewards, state the Bangladesh Independent had been mentioned by the government back on September 11, but figures have only been announced. The figure in Bangladesh currency is Tk 50 lakh each, according to a statement issued by Luyfuzzaman Babar, State Minister for Home Affairs.
Yesterday, the Bangladesh Independent announced that Bangla Bhai had been charge-sheeted in four murder cases. His real name is Siddiqul Islam. The four murders, and one attempted murder, had been committed in the region of Bagmara thana.
Also yesterday, Bangladesh special operations force, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested a Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh activist. Shaikh Abdur Rahman is the head of Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). The activist was arrested at a bus stand in the city of Shyamoli. 40-year old Abdul Kaium is also involved with the printing and distributing of literature of an extremist religious nature.
The reward now being offered for Bangla Bhai and Shaikh Rahman, nine weeks after the attacks of August 17, in which 63 of Bangladesh's 64 districts were hit with simultaneous bombings, killing 2 and injuring more than a hundered people, is too late.
The coalition government of Prime Minister Khaleda (of the Bangladesh National Party) has been accused by the main opposition party, the Awami League, of aiding and abetting Islamists. At the time of the August 17 bombings, instead of acknowledging that radical Islamists had committed the atrocities, the junior partner of the coalition, Jamat-e-Islami, had even accused Awami League members of committing the bombings.
Bangladesh is now in an economic and social crisis, with bomb threats and attacks made against the police, and the judiciary. For the fourth year running, the country has been voted the most corrupt on the planet. Four years tallies with the time that the coalition has been in power. In today's Bangladesh Independent, the Awami League repeated their claim that the government has aided and abetted Islamic extremists.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 4:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Israel: More Attacks Upon Islamists
Last night, a car ferrying members of the Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade was hit by an Israeli pinpointed missile, according to 9.sbs.com. The attack came as tens of thousands of Palestinians attended the funeral of eight peole killed in an earlier raid.
Three days ago, a suicide bomb ripped though the market at Hadera, killing 5 and causing 30 casualties. The bombing had been carried out by a suicide attacker, a youth named Hassan abu-Zayed, according to YnetNews. Islamic Jihad released a videotaped "farewell message" of the bomber's last words. Abu-Zayed's tape, broadcast on Al Jazeera TV, stated tthe bombing was a esponse to the killing of West Bank leader of Islamic Jihad, Loie Sa'adi.
On Thursday Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced his plans to launch an offensive against Islamic Jihad. As a result of this five men were detained in Hadera and handed over to IDF for questioning. One of the men was found to be carrying a pistol. The main target of these detainings was Sheikh Abd al-Hilam Az a-Din, the leader of Islamic Jihad in Hadera. He was among the five detained, but it is argued that he is only a "spiritual leader" of the group.
Early on Friday 28, twelve more members of Islamic Jihad were arrested in the West Bank towns of Tulkarem and Jenin, according to Khaleej Times. On Thursday night, Israeli F 16 warplanes had fired missiles at empty unpopulated areas in the northern and eastern Gaza strip, destroying roads linking with Israeli borders.
At about the same time on Thursday, as the planes bombed roads, making it less easy for terrorists to launch rocket attacks from these positions, a targeted airstrike from a helicopter killed seven Palestinians in a car in the Jabalaya refugee camp. In this attack, Shadi Mohanna the Islamic Jihad field commander for northern Gaza, and his assistant Mohammed Ghazaineh were killed, states a report from kcbs.com. Apparently another person was also killed in the attack in Jabalaya, not mentioned in Khaleej Times' account.
After these attacks, Islamic Jihad claimed it would continue its path of retaliation, and Ariel Sharon said the attacks were necessary because Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority (PA) had made no effort to reign in the terrorists.
The Israeli attacks last night upon senior Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade members show that Sharon is now broadening his offensive.
Keywords: Hassan Abu Zeid, Hassan Abu-Zayed, Loie Sa'adi, Loie Saadi, Louai Saadi
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 3:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UN: Security Council Condemns Iran Unanimously
A report from ABC News states that all 15 members of the United Nations Security Council have made a statement condemning Ahmadinejad's comments about "wiping Israel off the map", and supporting the statement by Kofi Annan that no member of the UN should threaten another member with violence.
At first the statement which had been proposed by the British envoy had a few conflicts over wording, and Russian, Algerian and Chinese ambassodors to the security Council were initially reluctant to sign, but with a few minor alterations, the statement was approved by all 15 members of the Council.
Israel's envoy to the UN welcomed the statement from the Security Council, and exxpressed his wish that their message would be listened to in Tehran.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Iran: Leader Reaffirms Contempt for Israel, Senior Muslim Agrees
The recent comments by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of Iran, which called for Israel to be wiped off the map" seemed yesterday to be softening, as we reported the views of the Moscow Embassy. By the end of Friday, there was no doubt that Ahmadinejad had made no climbdown, despite the ameliorating words from the Iranian ambassador's office in Moscow.
Yesterday was Al Quds (Jerusalem) Day, and as the Guardian reported, the crowds who thronged the streets of Tehran, and the thousands gathered at Tehran University (people ferried in on buses laid on by the party), there was almost unanimous approval for the president's remarks. Al Quds day had been devised by the Mullahs after the 1979 revolution to celebrate their collective contempt for Israel and Zionism. The president himself, according to Reuters temporarily walked among the crowd, basking in their adulation and approval. Chants were carried of "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" by the celebrants of Al-Quds.
According to Iran Focus, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (pictured), the hardline cleric who currently chairs the State Expediency Council, told his worshippers that the 1979 revolution had permanently sealed the fate of Israel. He also defended Iran's nuclear intentions.
A later report from Iran Focus stated that Ahmadinejad has sacked his country's ambassadors in Britain, France and Germany, and has recalled 18 other envoys to Tehran. A government official is quoted as saying
"Ahmadinejad has been angered by what he sees as the envoys’ meek reaction to the global condemnation of his Wednesday speech against Israel and the West", the official, who requested anonymity, said. "He made the speech with the full blessing of the Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] and has his green light to stifle any dissenting voice within the government"Reuters stated that while on his brief visit to the crowds celebrating the "evils" of Israel, Ahmadinejad said that Western criticisms had no weight. He announced to IRNA (The Islamic Rebuplic News Agency): " My words are the Iranian nation's words".
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Philippines: Moro Islamic Liberation Front Refutes Criticisms
On October 24, brought you news of the peace deal reached between the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The next day we brought you the news of criticisms from the mayor of Zamboanga City on Mindanao, Celso Lobregat, who claimed that there was more than a deal to allow autonomy and cooperation between Manila and the MILF. He asserted that there was a secret agreement to establish an Islamic state on the island of Mindanao.
Today, the Sunstar and the Manila Times have published the reactions from MILF to Lobrego's accusations.
The SunStar quotes Khaled Musa, deputy chairman of the MILF information committee, who said Filipino Muslims have the right to decide their political future.
"The right of the Bangsamoro people to determine their own political future is not subject for veto by any group in Mindanao. This is a God-given right, and is spelled out in the Tripoli Agreement of 2001 signed by the Filipino government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.Khaled Musa claimed in response to Lobregat's assertions that a secret deal had planned the establishment of an Islamic state: "The MILF has never brought up, or will ever bring up, the issue of (putting up an) Islamic state, or Islam, in the peace talks, because this is internal to the Moros. What we are (discussing) up in the talks is the political settlement of the conflict,""The right to self-determination is also well entrenched in the Charter of the United Nations," Musa said.
Other representatives are quoted in their defense of the peace agreement. Ghazaili Jaafar, MILF's vice-chair of political affairs said the organisation was unfazed by criticisms of the talks, which have the backing of the US and the Muslim members of the Oranisation of islamic Conference. He affirmed that was nothing sinister in the peace talks, which are due to resume after Eid Ul-Fitr next week. Other MILF politicians, such as Eid Kabalu, Aleem Aziz Minbutas and the head of MILF, Murad Ebrahim, insisted the organisation was sincere and wished to end hostilities in Mindanao.
"Our life-long dream to establish and develop our homeland as a permanent legacy to the next generation of Bangsamoro people, and the generation after that, which they can call their own, will soon - insha' Allah (God willing) - become a reality", Ebrahim stated.
MILF insisted the talks were about ancestral domain, not forming a new state. The Manila Times explained:
Ancestral domain refers to the MILF demand for territory that will constitute a Muslim homeland. It is the single most important issue in the peace negotiations before the MILF can reach a political settlement.President Arroyo said early this year that 80 percent of the peace talks had been completed and that permanent peace in Mindanao is within reach.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: 7/7 - Remains of Remaining Muslim Murderers Can Be Released
We brought you the news that Shehzad Tanweer was buried by his family two days ago. Tanweer's body, or what was left of it, was the first to be allowed back to the families. Now, according to the Times the remains of the other members of the bombing cell which unleashed their explosives on unsuspecting London Transport passengers, killing 52, have been officially released by the coroner at Camden.
Mohammad Siddique Khan,30, Hasib Hussain,18, and Germaine Lindsay, the Jamaican living in Aylesbury, have provided all the forensic information that is possible, and now are to be given back to their relatives for burial, upon the families' requests. Traditional Muslim burials should take place within 24 hours, to coincide with Islamic custom. Such is the hatred felt for the killers that Whitehall has said the bodies will probably be buried abroad, due to fears of vandalism if interred on UK soil.
Joshua Rosenburg in the Telegraph has stated that the family of Mohammed Siddique Khan, the 30 year old teaching assistant, have asked for his body (which is contained in 52 bags at Westminster Coroner's Court) to have a second post-mortem carried out. They wish for his remains to be retained in storage until a pathologist can examine them. Their solicitor was unavailable for comment, and it is unclear what a second post-mortem is likely to yield.
The Telegraph claims that Dr Andrew Reid, the Inner London Coroner has already released the other bodies, and Dr Paul Knapman, the Westminster Coroner, have completed their reports. Shehzad Tanweer has already been buried, but his grave is presently being guarded by police, lest it become a shrine for Islamic militants.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 1:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 28, 2005
The Netherlands: Ayaan Hirsi Ali Defends the Truth
One of the biggest frustrations for individuals trying to wake up the West to the mortal danger of Islam occurs like this: you talk to a friend (or family member, or acquaintance) about Islam. You explain the dangers we face, both in the short term (terrorism) and long term (the Islamization of our societies). Your friend agrees with you. But then comes the disappointment; you are then informed it is best to keep quiet, lest we 'make things worse'.
The thing is, we need to recognize the danger if we are to avoid it. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is absolutely right on this; terrorism, and the even worse evil of Dhimmitude need to be recognized as the fruits of Islam that they are, or else they won't be erradicated. Truth ought not be sacrificed.
Here is the story:
THE HAGUE, 29/10/05 - Measures to prevent terrorism will not succeed if these do not go hand in hand with the awareness that Islam is the core of the problem, according to conservative (VVD) MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She lashed out at Justice Minister Donner in an interview with public broadcaster NOS on Friday.Hirsi Ali says Donner does not want to link religion to the murder of her friend Theo van Gogh for strategic reasons. "I consider this (position) fundamentally wrong", said the MP. Politicians must not be afraid to acknowledge that the core of the problem of terrorism "is puritan Islam", in her view. "If politicians run away from that, citizens will always keep the feeling: 'do they actually understand' (the problem)?"
Columnist and film director Van Gogh was killed three months after his and Hirsi Ali's short film Submission was shown on TV. Hirsi Ali, who wrote the screenplay, says there were ample indications before 2 November that could have helped prevent the murder. People were discussing violence against Van Gogh on the internet. "But the attitude was: that will not happen to us."
The Somali-born MP is currently making a sequel to Submission, which will again deal with oppression by Islam of individuals. The film is due for release in the course of 2006. The names of the director and others involved in the production will not be disclosed to protect them. After Submission II, more sequels are to be expected.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Commentary: Why do you Love Mohammad "More than your Parents"?
A Muslim left a comment in our Egypt: Muslim Attacks Cause Christians To Beg For Help entry that is quite instructive. I'll present it to you in full:
I m sending u this as an answer to ur article: Egypt:muslims attack cause christians to beg for help. Sir, u are a journalist, u r supposed to respect the morals of ur Job, why did u say half the truth and hide the other half???? Sir, the relations between muslims and christians in Egypt is 1000 times better than the relations between whites and blacks in USA. Muslims in Egypt love christians and christians love muslims. I am from Egypt, exactly from Alexandria. What happened is, the church of Mary gerges made a movie making fun of Mohammed,of the man who we love more than our parents. They attacked Islam in this movie, they insult muslims. Then a cd was made for this movie and was distributed in Alexandria. This CD aroused anger emotions. 3000 out of 15 milloin muslims living in Alexandria protested againest what happened. They asked the Pope to appologize and the man was great enough to refuse!!! Then the attacks happened. Those christians who made this CD represent some extremes among christians and most christians are againest them. Those 4 who were killed were muslims not christians and they were killed by the police Do u remember what happened in New orleans when the police could not keep the city safe, it's just the same
In these instances, the easy road lies in demolishing such a weak comment point by point. Instead, I'll concentrate on his "justification" for the violence:
What happened is, the church of Mary gerges made a movie making fun of Mohammed,of the man who we love more than our parents.[...]
My question to this man, and to all other Muslims is this: why do you love Mohammad so? This is a man who practiced genocide and engaged in pedophilia, and we all have to bow down before the "great" Mohammad, or else you erupt in violence? I don't think so. Mohammad was evil; about as evil as a man has ever been, and saying so should be everybody's right. People who love this monster at all, let alone "more than their parents" deserve no special consideration for their tender feelings.
And people who engage in violence to silence Mohammad's critics should be stopped, no matter the price. Because after the Copts, we are next.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Indonesia: Former Islamist Helps in Bali Inquiry
The Australian reports that a former local leader of Jemaah Islamiyah has been helping Indonesian police in their hunt for information on the masterminds of the three bombings which happened on Bali on Saturday October 1 this year. He has been assisting police in this case since October 3.
Malaysian Nasir Abas has been sequestered into the investigation, as police are working on the assumption that the three suicide bombers were not from Indonesia, but may have been Malaysian or Filipino nationals.
The Australian claims that Abas, who is helping investigators to discover the motivations for the attack, has said that anti-Western feelings have been incited by Osama bin Laden. Abas stated that bin Laden's views hold great sway with many jihadists. He told the Australian that for the Islamists, Osama bin Laden is a "giant mujahideen".
Nasir Abas formerly headed the Jemaah Islamiyah section Mantiq Three, a region including northern Indonesia, parts of Malaysia and the Philippines. He ran Jemaah Islamiyah's Hudaibiyah military training camp in the south Philippines a decade ago. He states that trainee jihadists arrived at the camp fro instruction from different nations.
One Australian came for training in 1999 at Hudaibiyah, who had short brown hair, could not speak Indonesian, and called himself "Ali". Abas stated that he did not believe that "Ali" partook in later attacks.
Nasir Abas is the brother-in-law of Mukhlas, who masterminded the 2002 bombings on Bali, which killed 202 people. Mukhlas was sentenced to death on October 1, 2003, exactly a year before the recent Bali bombings. Abas himself was arrested in Indonesia for immigration offenses, and had been jailed for 10 months. He was released last year.
Since his release at the start of 2004, Nasir Abas has turned evidence against Jemaah Islamiyah's spiritual leader, Abu Bakar Bashir, and has assisted police in their enquiries.
The police are still nowhere nearer to their goal of finding the organisers of the Bali bomb attacks, which took place on Jimbaran beach, where tourists ate at seafood restaurants along the sand, and two other restaurants, Raja's Bar and another at Kuta, killing a total of 23 people and injuring many more. The bombers were previously thought to have had explosives which were detonated by remote control, such as cellular phones, but now it is assumed they used cords, pulled by thumbs, which triggered the explosions.
Despite offering a 100 million rupiah reward for information this week, police leads in Indonesia seem to have reached an impasse. The photographs of the the three suicide attackers' severed heads, which I have seen and which show recognisable faces, have been distributed throughout Indonesia by the police, even into remote rural regions. So far, no-one has been able to identify the heads. Copies of the police fliers have been sent to police counterparts in Malaysia and the Philippines.
Azahari bin Husin (nicknamed "the Bombmaker") and Noordin Mohammed Top, two Malaysians, are believed to be involved with the October blasts, as well as the bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in 2004, and also the 2002 Bali bombings. The Malaysian foreign minister, Syed Hamid Albar, has expressed concern at the mention of Malaysians being involved in the attacks. He protested that it was "as if the Malaysian Government that was sponsoring them."
Keywords: Nasir Abbas, Nasir Abas
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Switzerland: Muslims Arrested for Computer Propaganda
At the University of Geneva, it was discovered that the computer system had been used to disseminate propaganda about Islamist groups over the Internet, states BakuToday. The university was notified by a graduate that the University's computers were being utilised to spread messages of hate and to validate terrorist atrocities.
As a result of enquiries, an Algerian and a Moroccan were arrested. They had used the University's computers because a student had left a code "lying around". The Moroccan, who is 27, has no papers permitting him to stay in Switzerland, and the 41-year old Algerian had previously applied for asylum, but had had gone underground when his petition was refused.
They say they had visited Islamist websites from curiosity, but denied sending hate messages.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Australia: Muslim-Sensitive Police Guidelines Weaken Justice
We brought you details of the attempts at Muslim appeasement in the state of Victoria, when Labour state premier Steve Bracks introduced his contentious Race and Religious Tolerance Act in 2001, and the farcical and costly litigations that ensued. The state of Victoria has now made another ridiculous ruling to appease religious sensibilities, which could not only be crass, but more seriously, could threaten lives.
Australia's Herald Sun announces the introduction of a handbook, offering guidelines on how police should handle cases involving people of different faiths. The 82-page handbook was drawn up by the head of the Australasian Police Multicultural Advisory Bureau, Gerald Daniels. 50,000 of thse have been distributed in the state of Victoria. The guides advise removal of shoes off before entering Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim houses and places of worship, and to remove hats before entering churches.
More seriously, in issues of domestic violence, instead of treating violence against Muslim wives as a crime to be dealt with with arrests and prosecutions, the handbook advises consultations with local leaders of mosques, who would then work with the families to work against "fragmenting the family unit".
Joumanah El Matrah of the Islamic Women's Welfare Council has called the guidelines appalling and dangerous.
The implication is one needs to be more tolerant of violence against Muslim women but they should be entitled to the same protection," Ms El Matrah said. "Police should not be advising other officers to follow those sorts of protocols.It can only lead to harm." Ms El Matrah said Muslim leaders should be brought into domestic violence investigations only if requested by the abused woman.Ms El Matrah is so right. Abuse is abuse, and there should be a zero-tolerance of domestic cases, and one rule for all. Muslims came to the country knowing it had a set of laws and standards, but in this state are being treated as if they are above the laws other Australians have to abide by.
The guideline handbooks, printed in full colour, are estimated to have cost $300,000 to produce, a cost to be borne by the taxpayer. Some police officers have voiced their objections to the contents of the book.
A similar set of guidelines was issued to police in the UK in Bedfordshire, in the immediate aftermath of suicide bombings in London, which involved individuals based in Luton, Bedfordshire. The guidelines then were ridiculed as they seemed to put terrorist investigations as secondary to the feelings of people whose homes were being searched for evidence of bomb-making.
Again, police were told to take of their shoes when entering a Muslim house, and to not interrupt people when in prayer. WorldNetDaily provides the ludicrous and dangerous guidelines, should you wish to see them. Police dogs are not meant to be used, lest they "offend", women should not be looked at, particularly if in a state of semi-undress, Korans should not be touched (so hide your guns inside a cut-out Koran, terrorists!), and Muslim prisoners should be alowed to take additional clothing with them when taken to a police station, a right not afforded to other prisoners.
This sort of poltically correct nonsense makes a mockery of the rule of law, which has taken years to evolve in both Britain and Australia. Domestic violence is assault, and should be treated as such. Terrorism is a threat to all, and similarly should be treated as such. For police to bend existing laws to appease members of a religion fails all communites, and insults those who worked hard to establish the fair rule of law.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 3:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Spain: Islamic Feminism Conference Urges "Gender Jihad"
Last week, we heralded the Islamic Feminism conference, which opened its three day seminars yesterday. Reports from the first day indicate that things ran smoothly. The BBC announced that 300 delegates arrived for the first day, and the organiser, Abdennur Prado Pavon (a man) stated that the mission for equality in Islam involved refuting chauvinistic interpretations of Muslim teachings. According to ADNKronos, Prado stated the conference would be discussing "the struggle against the chauvinist, homophobic and sexist interpretation of the sacred texts in the Islamic context". Hmm...
The women speakers, mostly from Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Britain and Italy argued that they wanted to collaborate more with non-Muslim feminists, but insist that the latter abandon some of their traditional stereotypes about Islam.
AllHeadlineNews reports that the organisers are calling for a "gender jihad". I am assuming in this context "jihad" means "struggle" and not "holy war".
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 3:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: Fake Islamic Holy Water Comes to London
We brought you earlier the story of the so-called "Zam Zam" water, which was being sold in Barnsley, Yorkshire.
A report today from the Woodland & Vale News states that this water is now on sale in London, in the borough of Westminster. Westminster Council issued a warning after receiving complaints that the water was being sold locally.
Real Zam Zam water can only come from a unique spring in Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi Arabian government has decreed that it cannot be sold anywhere. Pilgrims on Haj and Umrah regularly drink the water as it is said to possess spiritual and health-giving properties. It is mentioned in the Hadith, and was drunk by the Prophet Mohammed. Pilgrims are allowed to take some Zam Zam water back to their home countries upon their return, but not enough to be sold.
The fake Zam Zam water, when analyzed by Yorkshire trading standards authorities, was found to contain high levels of nitrates in levels beyond recommended safe levels, and in one case, high levels of arsenic. Arsenic may give some clues to its origins, but also arsenic in small amounts is sweet to the taste, (hence its traditional use as a poison) and may have been added deliberately to give the water "flavor".
The Barnsley "Zam Zam" water came in quarter-liter and half-liter plastic bottles, so anyone in London offered the water should report the matter to the police.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Egypt: Muslim Attacks Cause Christians To Beg For Help
A report from WorldNetDaily states that seven Coptic churches have been defaced by Muslim protesters. Last week, rioting at St George's Church in Alexandra left four dead, and more than 90 injured. A Coptic nun was stabbed in the church on the Wednesday prior to last Friday's main attack. She survived, but also had a finger severed in the assault.
The hostility has not abated since last Friday's main assault, which was carried out by a mob of at least 3,000 Muslims, fired up from attending Friday prayers. Now, the Coptic Christian community is so fearful it has requested the United States and the United Nations to intervene.
The article provided a hyperlink to a video of the less-reported attack upon the Assemblies of God Church for Evangelical Copts church in Moharam Bek. The attack happened on the same day as the major riot in Alexandria at St George's church. The video, released by the International Christian Union and American Coptic Association, can be uploaded from this site.
Dr Monir Dawoud, president of the ICU/ACA states that
"We are receiving numerous reports that extremist Muslim groups are planning to surround the Alexandria churches again on Friday, Oct.28, and at the end of Ramadan on the following Tuesday, promising the death of Christians and the continued destruction of churches throughout Egypt."Dr Dawoud states that the security forces have allowed the situation to progress this far. "If the momentum of the riots is allowed to continue, the crowds will be impossible to contain," he said.
The Coptic Pope, Shenouda III on Wednesday broke down in tears while delivering a sermon entitled "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest", depicted on the website. An Egyptian newspaper called Al Fager (Dawn) carried the message that one Islamic fanatic has said that it is permitted by religion to kill the Pope. The (Arabic) newspaper can be seen here
Coptic Christians make up 9% of Egypt's population, with most other Egyptians being Muslim.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:15 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Philippines: Three Islamist Bombers Get Death Sentences
A report from the Inquirer states that two Filipinos and an Indonesian have been sentenced to death earlier today for their parts in bombing a bus on February 14, 2005, the "Valentine's Day Bombing".
Rohmat Abdurrahim, an Indonesian, and Filipinos Gamal Baharan and Angelo Trinidad by were given the death penalty by a regional court in Makati, at the end of a five month trial. The men were convicted of attacking a bus in Manila's financial district which killed four and injured 60 others. On the same day, explosions took place in Davao and General Santos on Mindanao. As well as being given death sentences, the convicted men were ordered to pay 1 million pesos in damages.
Islamist terror group Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility for the bombings. Baharan is claimed to be a member of this group, while Trinidad (aka Abu Khalil) is a member of the Rajah Solaiman, converts from Christianity who are linked to Abu Sayyaf. Both admitted during the trial to committing the bombing.
Rohmat Abdurrahim is a confessed member of Jemaat Islamiyah, who was captured in Mindanao a month after the attack. Though he pleaded not guilty to the attack, Rohmat admitted providing traning and logistical support to the other suspects, who numbered three. A fourth man, Gappal Bannah of Abu Sayyaf had charges against him dropped, after he agreed to be give state's evidence.
Two other men have also been charged for the bus-bombing, Abu Sulaiman anad Khadaffy Janjali, but they have not yet been apprehended. They are believed to be leaders of Abu Sayyaf.
No date has been set for the executions, and their lawyers have said they will appeal the ruling.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Japan: US Nuclear Carrier to be Based There
File this under "things that make you go hmmm." It would be a big step for the Japanese to let a nuclear-powered carrier on their homeland. Coupled with the near-certain nuclear plants deal, are we watching the start of an anti-China, anti-Jihad alliance? Here is the story: Japan welcomes deal on U.S. nuke carrier
TOKYO -- Basing a U.S. nuclear-powered warship in Japanese waters for the first time will boost stability in East Asia, Japan's government said Friday, hailing an agreement even as it drew protests from the community that will host the aircraft carrier.The U.S. Navy on Thursday announced the deal, under which Japan - which the United States attacked with two nuclear bombs in World War II - dropped its longtime opposition to hosting a nuclear-powered warship in its territory.
"Japan believes that the continued presence of the U.S. Navy will contribute to safety and stability in Japan, the Far East and the world," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Friday.
He said the agreement would not threaten the safety of Japanese residents, who have long been wary of a U.S. nuclear presence because of fears of radiation leaks.
"The U.S. side has told us that it will continue taking strict safety measures," he said, adding that the carrier - which has not been named - will stop its nuclear reactor while anchored in Japan and conduct no repairs of the reactor there.
The U.S. decided to deploy a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered carrier in Japan because it has far greater capabilities than traditional warships, U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer said Friday at a news conference.
Schieffer said that Washington took into account the reluctance of the Japanese to host a nuclear-powered ship, but such ships are faster and more nimble than fossil-fuel powered ships.
"We want to assure all concerned that this carrier can and will be operated safely in Japanese waters," he told reporters at the U.S. Embassy, adding that nuclear-powered ships had made 1,200 visits to Japan over the past 40 years without harming the environment.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UN: Battling for Control of the Internet
We have been monitoring the UN's and EU's attempted power grab over the internet. Over at Tech Central Station, Carroll Andrew Morse explains that much more is at stake than simply changing "control" from the U.S. to a supernational body: Will the Internet become the UNTERNET?
The work of the WSIS is frequently cast in terms of the United Nations trying to take control of the internet from the United States. But the goals specified by the WSIS Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) describe American control as only one aspect of the problem. The August report of the WGIG simultaneously decries "unilateral control by the United States government" and the fact that the highest levels of the internet "perform their functions today without a formal relationship with any authority". In other words, the real problem in the collective mind of the United Nations is not that the United States controls the internet, but that no one does. The shots at the United States are as much marketing as substance; it is easier to sell any program at the UN by adding generous doses of anti-Americanism.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 6:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Iran: Islamist Toad Softens His Croak
A report from Reuters states that, through his Moscow Embassy, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has attempted to lessen the impact of his statements seeking to "wipe Israel off the map". The Iranian embassy in Moscow released a statement that said he did not intend to be so "sharp" in his speech, (even though he made two such speeches).
"Mr Ahmadinejad did not have any intention to speak up in such sharp terms and enter into a conflict. It's absolutely clear that, in his remarks, Mr Ahmadinejad, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, underlined the key position of Iran, based on the necessity to hold free elections on the occupied territories.Ahmadinejad's outbursts have riled many leaders, including its erstwhile friends in Moscow, who have supported Iran's right to create atomic energy for peaceful intentions.
Other leaders have joined in the condemnation. The Times states that Tony Blair has even hinted at military action as a response to Ahmadinejad's anti-semitic tirades, calling his speech "disgraceful". "If they carry on like this the question people will be asking us is - when are you going to do something about Iran? Can you imagine a State like that with an attitude like that having nuclear weapons?" he said, after a one-day European summit.
Israel's Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, has demanded that Iran should be expelled from the United Nations. Kofi Annan of the UN has expressed his "dismay". Russia has said the speech was unacceptable. In the US, the Bush administration has demanded that Iran behave as a "responsible member of the international community."
The EU, which has tried to be diplomatic in recent conflicts over the nuclear sites at Natanz and Arak, and the August 18 resumpton of its uranium conversion programme in Isfahan, has come out with forthright words. "Calls for violence and for the destruction of any state are manifestly inconsistent with any claim to be a mature and responsible member of the international community", its leaders announced in a statement.
So President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has learned his first lesson in international statesmanship. After being in office for less than three months, you cannot afford to alienate the international community, allies included. What may go down well on a street corner in Tehran does not cut it in the international arena. Maybe he will soon learn the next important lesson of statesmanship. If you want to make a good impression, it also pays not to dress like the man behind the counter in a sleazy high street kebab-shop.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Denmark: Four Muslims Arrested on Terror Charges
Four young Muslim men, aged 16 to 20, have been arrested in Copenhagen on suspicion of planning a European suicide attack, states the BBC
The young men, whose identity has not been revealed, will be held in custody until 16 November while investigations continue. The arrests are linked to an inquiry in the Balkans, in which arrests were made and a large explosives cache was discovered.
The four Muslims were detained on Thursday morning, reports Haaretz. Police spokesman Joen Bro (pictured) gave few details of the Balkans arrests, but Bosnian police last week announced that it had arrested three people in Sarajevo. Police said they had found explosives, firearms and military equipment in an arrest from October 19-20.
The Bosnians had arrested a Turkish man, a Swedish national and a Bosnian. Sarajevo's Dnevni Avaz newspaper stated that one of the suspects was an 18-year old who was preparing a suicide bomb attack against the Sarajevo embassy of a European Union country.
The Danish suspects were ordered to be detained at a hearing in Glostrup, a Copenhagen suburb. Police said that in raids on the suspects' homes in Copenhagen and its suburbs, they took computers, discs, radical Muslim literature, cellular phones and $32,4000-worth of Danish kroner in cash. 25 people were detained, but only the four current suspects were arrested.
In September, a Moroccan-born Danish Muslim was charged with inciting Muslims to a holy war, becoming the first person to be charged under Denmarks's 2002 anti-terrorism law. These laws make it illegal to incite terrorist acts or to give advice to terrorists, and have penalties of up to six years imprisonment.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 27, 2005
Afghanistan: Mosque-Based Campaigns Against Drugs
A report from PakTribune states that Afghanistan has received funding for a project which will see Islamic leaders in the forefront of a campaign against drugs in the country, specifically the opium poppy harvests.
The plan, sponsored by the international group the Colombo Plan, will be using $31,200 to have centers for drug prevention at 25 mosques around the country. The counter-narcotics minister, Habibullah Qaderi said that the 25 imams, who will use their mosques to preach on the dangers of drugs and how they are un-Islamic, had already received their training.
"Mullahs will preach in mosques that poppy cultivation, use, trade and process is forbidden according to Islam and the constitution and is bad for health," he said.87% of the world's heroin derives from poppies cultivated in the country. There is a danger that Afghanistan could become a "narco-state" with international cartels ready to take control. There have been plans to eradicate the growth of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum (illustrated) but thousands of destitute farmers rely upon production of this crop. The farmers will need to find alternative sources of income. Few crops grow as easily as opium.
We brought you earlier a piece on the problems faced by opium farmers, who in one or two instances have had to sell daughters to opium bandits, to cover payments unfulfilled when crops did not manifest, due to UK interference. Some groups, such as the French Senlis Council, have suggested legalising the crop, but these ideas have been rejected by the US, the United Nations, and now the government of Hamid Karzai.
On March 17 this year, Condoleeza Rice, the US Secretary of State, spoke with Hamid Karzai about terrorism and drugs. It was here that the US State Department warned of an impending transition of Afghan to a "narco-state" if something was not done to counter the opium production in the country. It is certain that at least some of the drug trade is linked to terrorism. On October 4, the UK government and the Pakistani government agreed to jointly fight the war on terror and the war on drugs.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:52 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
US: LA Jihad and Islam in Jail
An article today from the (free) subscription site of the Sacramento Bee describes how the recent developments of the LA Jihad have made inmates at California State prison, Sacramento, in Folsom targets of suspicion. The suspicions began in the wake of 9/11, but the recent involvement of one of their number, Kevin James, in the "LA Jihad" has made the mistrust more acute.
While on a stretch of 10 years for robbery, James founded his own radical group, the Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, according to authorities. From within the confines of Sacramento, he schemed and plotted to have synagogues, National Guard SItes as targets for armed assaults.
A grand jury indictment describes the group as a clandestine organization in which inmates took an oath of loyalty to James and were groomed to carry out violent attacks against perceived infidels upon their release from prison. Citing the pending case, authorities declined to discuss details about the group's membership or how they believe James spread his extremist ideology.Though Kevin James has been transferred to a prison in southern California, awaiting his trial next month, the legacy of his stay has tainted the lives of the Muslim convicts who remain at Folsom, states journalist Crystal Carreon. No supervision is taken of religious services held by Muslim inmates, who have their own room in which to pray and study their faith.
FBI director earlier this year called the prison system a "fertile ground" for extremism. The FBI sent a memo to correctional facilities across the US, asking them to make "threat assessments" of the prison polulations and to disrupt any signs of radicalization. Three days later, Kevin James and members of his "sect", Levar H. Washington (25), Gregory V. Patterson (21) and Hammad R. Samana (21) were indicted.
An article published in August in Alt.Muslim argued that there needed to be more Islam in prisons, not less. A study by the US Department of Justice from April 2004 revealed that 6% of the 150,000 federal inmates are Muslim. This compares to a figure of more than half of inmates in France. It is unknown how many of the US Muslims became converted inside the prison system, but it appears a large part of the demographic did become Islamic converts inside.
In Britain Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, became a convert to Islam while in jail, and other groups, such as the "Muslim Boys", an exceedingly violent gang, use prison as a recruitment zone. Their brand of Islam is entirely violent and criminal, and would be rejected by most Muslims. An account of their prison activities, and their "conversions through force", first published in the Evening Standard, can be found here.
An associate of Richard Reid, Sajid Badat of Gloucester was arrested on 27 November 2003, accused of plotting to become another "shoe bomber". He pleaded guilty to plotting a bomb attack, and the "innocent-seeming" young man was sent to jail for the first time. Badat, who was detained at HM Prison Whitemore, in Cambridgeshire, was allowed to lead Friday prayers with a group of 7 followers. In August this year, Badat and two of his Islamic buddies were put into solitary after a home-made bomb was detonated in the prison. Jonathan, an MP jailed for perjury, found that during his relatively short stay in prison, he was approached on four occasions by Muslims seeking to convert him.
The issue of Islam in jails is contentious. If it brings spiritual solace and wisdom, it is to be encouraged. If however, it foments radicalism and hatred which ultimately leads to acts of terrorism, then it should be discouraged. The US Justice Department report can be uploaded as a pdf file, which is 61 pages long, here.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
US: Islamist Jose Padilla Requests Supreme Court Hearing
A report from today's Washington Post by Gina Holland describes how Jose Padilla (pictured) has asked the Supreme Court to limit the time that he and other suspected terrorists may be detained by the government without charges being made against him.
Padilla is accused of plotting to detonate a radioactive device, a so-called "dirty bomb". Padilla has been in a military jail for 3 years now. Last year, his request to appeal against his detention was refused by a vote of 5 to 4 against, in a ruling that stated Padilla had made his request in the wrong court.
A federal judge in South Carolina ordered the government to either release Padilla or charge him, but a Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, ruled that the president had the power to use military detention against US citizens who were "closely associated with al-Qaeda, an entity with which the United States is at war."
The Bush administration claims that the need for national security is so high, the rights of terror suspects are secondary to the constitutional rights afforded normal US citizens. The Supreme Court has disagreed, and late this year, Padilla's case will be heard, though not with Bush's chosen judge Harriet E. Miers on its panel.
As well as being of interest on a constitutional issue, the Padilla case highlights the growing emergence of radical Islam in US jails. According to a report published by the Department of Justice, entitled "A Review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Selection of Muslim Religious Services Providers, from April 2004, Jose Padilla, "arested for attempting to detonate a dirty bomb in the United States, converted to Islam after serving time in a Broward County, Florida, jail where authorities suspect his islamic radicalization began". The full report can be downloaded here as a pdf upload, but it is 61 pages long.
So what is known about Padilla? Born in Brooklyn on October 18 1970, he was called by the nickname "pucho" or "pudgy" because of his fat cheeks when the family moved to Chicago when he was 8. There he became involved with gang culture. His parents moved to Florida in 1991 and he joined them, and became involved in gun crime.
He attended two mosques which have since been linked to extremist activity. Padilla formally converted to Islam in 1994, in the al-Islam mosque in Sunrise, south Florida. He married Cherie Maria Stultz, his girlfriend since 1992, but in 1998 he left his wife and moved to Egypt and changed his name to Abdullah al Muhajir, In 1999 or 2000 he went to Pakistan, and also visited Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. In Pakistan he married the widow of a jihadist. In Afghanistan in 2001 he met Al Qaeda operative Abu Zubadayah, who sent him to Lahore, Pakistan for "training". There the pair developed the "plot" to create a dirty bomb, or "radiological dispersion device", using radioactive materials which would be stolen from within the US. The intended target of this plot was Washington, the capital.
Zubadayah was caught in March 2002, and spoke to FBI investigators of his associate from America, with whom plots of a dirty bomb had been developed.
Arrested at O'Hare International Airport on May 8, 2002, he was held as a material witness on a warrant issued in New York State, relating to the 9/11 attacks. He was ordered by President Bush to be detained as an "enemy combatant" on June 9, 2002. Currently, he resides at Hanahan in South Carolina. Sources: Wikipedia.org, Time, Crime Library.org.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Pakistan: Tanweer - Muslim Fanatic and 7/7 Killer Buried In Holy Ground
According to the BBC Shehzad Tanweer, or the lumps that remained of him, was buried today in Pakistan. His parents flew the lumps in yesterday and they were buried near his ancestral town of Samundari.
Tanweer, aged 22 at the time of his suicide assault, was born in Bradford, and had lived in Beeston, Leeds. Forensic evidence proved he had committed the Aldgate blast on the London Underground, which killed seven people and permanently maimed many more.
The funeral was arranged by his uncle, Tahir Pervais, and 100 to 150 people attended the funeral, which was held in the compound surrounding the shrine of a local Islamic saint.
Despite the rubbish spouted about the 7/7 bombers being integrated into UK society, claimed by A. Sivanandan, the self appointed "race relations expert", the fact that Tanweer had been to Pakistan and had become radicalised there showed that, by the time of the 7/7 bombings, he was never really a part of British society, despite helping out in his father's fish and chip shop. His parents obviously think he belongs in Pakistan, near an Islamic "saint". Perhaps they felt his grave would be vandalised if it were in Britain.
Tanweer had been enthusiastic about sports. He had trophies in his room of his achievements. He excelled in cricket, triple jump, long-distance running and football. He became a radical Muslim in his early 20s, and went to Pakistan in the months before he committed murder. He attended a madrassa where he studied the Koran and Arabic but returned because he found it too demanding. Instead of getting a job, he spent most of his time back in the UK attending a mosque/madrassa in Stratford Street 3 to 5 times a day, while his family attended another Mosque in nearby Hardy Street.
In the light of revelations of Tanweer attending a madrassa in his country, Pervez Musharraf stated after the 7/7 bombings that all foreigners attending the madrassas in Pakistan would have to leave the country. He also stated that he would crack down on anti-Western hate speeches in recordings and in mosques. The article we gave yesterday, from the sermon by Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki at the Jamia Quba mosque near Islamabad, shows how ineffective or mendacious his comments have been.
I do not want this to appear as an obituary or an epitaph for Tanweer. He murdered and he maimed because he chose to do so. He was not forced to kill. An interesting article about Tanweer was written about his "motivations" by Federico Jimenez Losantos in the Spain Herald. I will quote part of it.
What material and moral misery brought him to kill people in such brutal fashion? The answer is quite simple: none. He did it because there are wicked Muslims capable of convincing young people that dying while slaughtering innocents is the way to Paradise. And he did it because there are wicked young people who find in this religion the excuse they are looking for to indulge in crime or reasons for not committing suicide alone, but instead by taking others with them, thus making them feel more important. Then, there is the responsibility, or better put, the irresponsibility, of those who instead of hunting terrorism, justify it referring to that sea of golden, comfortable injustice; that sea where fanatics prosper in the shadow of idiots.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Americans: know your friendly neighborhood Islamists
The Politics of CP has compiled a helpful list of links to blog coverage on Jamaat ul-fuqra.
Pay particular attention to the disclaimer because, while it's important to familiarize yourself with potentially dangerous organizations, we must show wisdom, discretion and care, not just for our own safety, but for the safety of our fellow Muslims Americans, most of whom are good citizens, just like us.
As the Bible says: Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves - Matthew 10:16.
Posted by Isabel de Castilla at 5:54 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
France: Sarkozy's Anti-Terror Proposals
The minister of the interior, Nicolas Sarkozy (pictured) announced on Wednesday his plans for for an anti-terrorism law, yesterday's Le Monde reported. The following are the key points, hopefully translated accurately.
The plan of the anti-terrorism law, presented to a committee of ministers has eight chapters and sixteen articles.
The most "sensitive" measures are made the object of a "rendezvous clause" - in 2008 the parliament will evaluate these and decide whether or not to keep them. Two amendments could be proposed aimed at being passed in four or six days, in these particular cases, the close watch on terrorism and to guarantee the anonymity of investigators.
Video Surveillance
Control of Travel
Telephone and Internet
Databases
Possibility for the police to gain access, in an administrative framework, to certain databases: number plates, driving licenses, identity cards, passeports, visa requests, residency permits, refusals of entry. Rendezvous clause.
Suppression of Terrorism
Forfeiture of Nationality
Passage from 10 to 15 years of delay during which a forfeiture of nationality is possible for someone convicted after their naturalisation.
Freezing of Assets
Rapid procedure to freeze assets on the decision of the minister of the economy for six months. Lengthening possible by the president of a Paris county court.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 4:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
South Africa: Muslim Woman Dismissed For Wearing Hijab
In the estern Cape, a Muslim women has been dismissed from her spost as a social worker at Worcester Prison, for wearing a headscarf with her uniform, according to SABC News.
The woman, Fairouz Adams, had worn the hijab with her standard uniform, and had been dismissed by the department of correctional services for violating the department's corporate identity, states Eddie Johnson, the department's spokesperson. He added that under the department's disciplinary procedures, she has a right to appeal the decision.
Fairouz Adams has been given a penalty of a written warning, and sanctions against her will remain in place for six months.
Keywords: Hijab, Hidjab, Burka, Burqa
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 3:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Latvia: Islamists From EU Will Be Barred From Entry
The Baltic state of Latvia has announced that any persons who are deemed a threat to security, through associations with recent terror attacks, will be opposed when they attempt to enter Latvia.
The news comes from Russian site Regnum, in an article entitled "Latvia to forbid the country to Islamic fundamentalists evicted from other EU countries". The announcement was made by Latvian former Prime Minister, and current Head of the Parliamentary Defense Committee, Indulis Emsis. Recent media reports had indicated that Islamic fundamentalists were showing an interest in Latvia.
Speaking at a closed Committee, Emsis noted that nations such as Britain were strengthening their anti-terror laws, and stated that Latvia too must think along similar lines. The security forces were analyzing the situation, but were planning to amend legisation on the issue. Currently there is no specific legislation to cover the denying of entry to the country of such people.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Switzerland: Fribourg Insists On Hijab Ban
In the Swiss city of Fribourg, two women workers have been dismissed for refusal to remove their hijabs or Muslim headscarves . Yesterday, the local council confirmed that it opposed the wearing of religious clothing in schools. The two former school employees are complaining that they were unfairly dismissed, states Swiss Info.
They were temporarily employed in August to tend to children during after-school hours, but were dismissed in September for refusing to remove their hijabs.
Mohamed Ali Batbout, head of the local Muslim association insists he will challenge the decision and has demanded a meeting with the school authorities, which has been arranged. The director of the school, Marie-Therese Maradan, has said she will attend the meeting but will not change her decision.
Fribourg city's prohibition on wearing religious apparel, which began in 1999, is based on a precedent set in the canton of Geneva, where the Federal Court upheld a similar ban. No religious symbols, including crosses, are allowed in schools in Fribourg canton.
The headscarf issue is affecting other areas of Swiss life. The country's biggest retailer, Migros, has asked Muslim women at its check-outs not to wear the hijab. Those who refuse will be moved to another department, where they have no contact with customers.
Credit Suisse and UBS state that hijabs are not part of their dress code, but Rival Coop will allow them.
A Muslim woman who is standing as a candidate in Basel City elections on Sunday hopes to keep on wearing her headscarf if elected. Kadriye Koca says the scarf is a mark of her faith, though ironically she is standing as a candidate for the staunchly Catholic Christian Democrat party. Swiss Info have said that with 130 other candidates on the list, she is hardly guaranteed a place in parliament.
Keywords: hijab, hidjab, burka, burqa
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: Islamist Lied About 7/7 Links
We brought you the report from the News of the World, wherein Imran Patel of Dewsbury, West Yorkshire had claimed to its reporter that he had been involved with the 4-man cell which carried out explosions on London Transport on 7/7, which killed 52 people.
Patel was arrested by police on Saturday night, but it now transpires that he had fabricated his story. Today, Reuters reports that 27-year old Patel has been charged, not under the Terrorism Act, but for wasting police time, namely causing "wasteful employment of the police by knowingly making to Mazher Mahmood (a journalist) a false report".
Patel will appear before magistrates later today. The News of the World was not available for comment.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Pakistan: Contraceptives Are Un-Islamic
A report from India's Kerala News announces that Pakistan's clerics have turned down the government's request to use loudspeakers to deliver sermons advocating birth control.
The proposal had been suggested by Pakistan's Population Welfare Department, and would have given honorary awards to the clerics in exchange for supporting the use of birth control in sermons.
A meeting was held on Tuesday, presided over by Maulana Abdul Majid Nadeem, secretary general of the Aamli Majlis Tahaffuz Khatm-e-Nabuwat, with representatives of other groups also present. The conference decided that the proposal was un-Islamic and said thatm should it be enacted, it would breed sexual corruption, vulgarity and other evils in Pakistani society. They further suggested that the Pakistan government should abolish it Population Welfare Department, because "it had no place in an Islamic society".
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: Muslims And Christians Clash over Religious Hate Bill
Today, in the Telegraph, Joshua Rosenberg argues that Britain's proposed Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, which was defeated in the House of Lords on Tuesday, would have created dire problems if retained with its original wording. The government did not object to the Lords' amendment, which would have provided safeguards which would mean a person would have to be shown to be stirring up religious hatred, and the words would have to be threatening rather than abusive or insulting. And freedom of expression would have been guaranteed.
As originally drafted, the Government's Bill would have made it an offence in England and Wales for a person to use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour if this was likely to stir up religious hatred.Mr Rozenburg points to the example of Australia, where in Victoria almost four years ago, it became unlawful to "engage in conduct that incites hatred against, serious contempt for, or revulsion or severe ridicule of" a person, class of persons, on the grounds of their religious belief or activity. The "Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001" makes it possible for anyone committing an offence of "religious vilification", knowing he or she is likely to incite hatred and threaten harm, liable for up to six months in prison. So far, no-one has been jailed under Victoria's Act. But in December, 2004, the Catch The Fire Ministries were embroiled in a legal dispute that highlighted the inadequacies of the state law.Note that there was no need to prove that a defendant intended to stir up hatred: it was sufficient if this was merely likely. And note that there was no need to prove that the defendant used threatening words: all you needed to do to risk seven years' imprisonment was to use abusive or insulting words that were likely to stir up religious hatred.
Two Christian evangelists, Daniel Scot and Danny Niallah, became celebrities when three Muslims listened in on one of the sermons by the ministry, and took the pair to court, egged on by the Equal Opportunity Commission of Victoria, in a case brought on their behalf by the Islamic Council of Victoria. The ensuing court case involved detailed analysis of the Koran and Islamic history.
Sri Lanka-born Mr Niallah, or "Pastor Danny" ran the Ministry, and his co-worker Mr Scot had been a Pakistani math lecturer who had been charged with blasphemy (against Islam) in his native country. He had fled to Australia. In 2002, the pair were accused of breaking Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 and their trial began in October 2003. It finally closed in June of this year, when the judge decided the issue was proved, deciding that they had not had a balanced discussion of the 7th century Koran. "It was a process of taking literal translations from the Koran and making no allowance for their applicability to modern-day society", he stated, and ordered the pair to publish apologies in newspapers and their website. Pastor Scot and Pastor Danny refused.
During the court case, the national Department of Foreign affairs requested updates from the judge, so that the Australian Embassy in Washington could keep concerned US Christians informed of the situation, states Amir Butler, in an essay entitled Warning from Australia: don't legislate against hate".
The case had transformed a couple of evangelicals into suburban Joan of Arcs being burnt on the pyre of political correctness. The effects of the suit were felt across the community. Small teams of Christians, armed with notepads and tape recorders, began attending Islamic lectures, recording possible transgressions that might be used as evidence in the case. Islamic bookstores were mined for nuggets of intolerance. True to its promise, the law had brought Christians and Muslims together like never before.Mr Butler states that the legal costs of this exercise amounted to more than a million Australian dollars.
Rosenburg states that in August the two "Catch the Fire" evangelists were given leave to appeal against the court decision, and suspended the apologies.
One of the strangest battles in Australia involves the case of transexual Olivia Watts, a former policeman, naturopath and witch, or "Wiccan". When "she" decided to run for local government in Casey, the local Christian community went loco, urging a day of prayer for the city. Local councillor Rob Wilson issued a press release detailing how a "witch" in the council would concern local residents. So Ms Watts went to the Equal Opportunity Commission, and soon there was a battle in the courts. The result? The costs of the case, which was won, were astronomical, and Casey residents had to pay extra rates to pay for the trial. Victoria's attorney general was obliged to announce: "We govern for all Victorians - and that includes witches, magicians and sorcerers," he declared.
Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 was introduced by the Labour Party Governor Steve Bracks. His popularity was not high when he introduced the Bill. Now, there are fears he will not be re-elected. Tony Blair should take note.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Florida: CAIR Action Leads to Elimination of all Religious Holidays
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a muslim supremacist group, is not happy that it did not get it Muslim Holiday. But they should be happy; they managed to intimidate the Hillsborough County School Board into taking a decision they did not want to take. (And, by the way, don't miss the World Council of Churches, the socialist "Christian" organization, serving as CAIR's lapdog.) Here is the story: Schools Scrap Religious Holidays
TAMPA - -- After weeks of delay and debate, the Hillsborough County School Board approved a 2006-07 calendar minus holidays for Yom Kippur, Good Friday or the Muslim holiday Eid Al-Fitr.The 6-1 vote represents a major shift from scheduling days off on religious holidays, a practice School Board Attorney Tom Gonzalez on Tuesday said was wrong.[...]
When the board leaned instead toward giving students three secular holidays in exchange for eliminating Christian and Jewish holidays as days off, Beadier said he feared a backlash. In a news conference Tuesday, Bedier called the change "just an excuse to hide bias against the Muslims."
Bishop Chuck Leigh, president of the Florida Council of Churches, backed him, saying, "I think it's really petty on the part of the school board. ... Instead of giving them one holiday, they decided they're not going to give anybody anything."
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
US: On Mustering the Will to Win
I was about to express a couple of small disagreements with the essay I'm about to link to. I decided instead to just praise it for the great essay that it is and send you there. Bruce Thornton is the author: The Folly of Apology
The idea that all those millions cheering for the terrorists in Iraq, cheering for bin Laden, cheering for the Taliban are all just misinformed is a monumental delusion, and the most dangerous mistake we are making the war against jihad. The millions of Muslims who support jihadist murder do so not because they’re ignorant of our beneficent intentions and enlightened tolerance, but because of spiritual beliefs that validate jihad, beliefs ratified by 14 centuries of Islamic jurisprudence and theology.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
US: Plans to Counter Internet Jihad
A proposed law was presented in the US yesterday (Wednesday 26) which would make it more difficult for terrorist operations to be carried out online. Al-Qaeda has been using the internet for some time, and other jihadists have followed suit. The proposed law, claims Yahoo News would increase the time that public access cybercafes would keep records of Internet connection data. The group al-Muhajiroun has employed internet cafes in Pakistan to organise and convey information.
The director of SITE, the Institute of the Search for International Terrorist Entities, Rita Katz, warns against the methods employed by terrorists on the internet. One technique involves the "dead letter box" - someone creates an email account, gives its password to various members of a cell, and leaves messages in a draft state. Other members access these drafts, which are never sent. This method was employed by Khaled Sheikh Mohammed in preparation of the September 11 attacks upon America.
The Washington-based SITE institute director has said of the internet: "Everything is there, it replaces the training camps." SITE monitors Islamist sites continually.
Another group which does the same is the Terrorism Research Centre, which acts for the US government. Rebecca Givner-Forbes, an intelligence analyst for TSC says that the most common method employed by cyber-terrorists is to have password-protected online message boards to which only members have access.
One of the main drawbacks to the hunt for cyber-terrorists is that many of these use Arabic, which makes it hard for non-Arabic speakers to see what is being related. Also the ability for internet sites, once brought down, to re-emerge a few days later on another domain.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: Muslims Warned of Mecca Health Risks
A report from icBirmingham makes clear the health risks potentially faced by pilgrims going on Haj. The next pilgrimage is due on January, but the Association of British Hujjai UK, which is based in Moseley, has warned that travellers should make health preparations now.
Each year, dozens of pilgrims are hospitalised by infectious diseases, including meningitis, after returning from Haj. A spokesperson from the Association stated:
"We are working hard to raise awareness amongst pilgrims and to address the issue of meningitis seriously to protect loss of innocent human lives.Millions of people travel to mecca annually, but it is a breeding ground for meningococcal disease, hepatitis, influenza and typhoid because of the extreme crowding, either at the ceremonies themselves or in public transport to and from the holy sites. The Association of British Hujai UK is a registered charity, and is the only Haj-oriented organisation in Britain."A substantial number of pilgrims from Birmingham travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage every year.
"Sound planning, pre-travel health education, full awareness of all the aspects of pilgrimage are the fundamental prerequisites to ensure a safe pilgrimage."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Israel: Counter-Offensive Against Islamic Jihad
Last night, two Islamic Jihad terrorists were arrested by IDF soldiers in Kabatia, south of Jenin, and two more in Tulkarem. Hamas operatives were taken in Hevron and also Yatah, south of Hevron. Further arrests were made in Anza, south of Jenin, according to Arutz Sheva. In all eleven suspected terrorists were detained in the Judea and Samaria regions.
According to CanadaEast, the Israeli army is going to launch a wide-ranging offensive against Islamic Jihad, following yesterday's suicide attack in Hadera market. Earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon stated "Unfortunately the Palestinian Authority has not taken any serious action to battle terrorism. We will not accept under any circumstances a continuation of terrorism. Therefore our activities will be broad and nonstop until they halt terrorism."
PM Sharon and his defence minister Shaul Mofaz had overnight decided that Islamic Jihad were to be the focus of their current operations against terror and insurgence, according to foreign ministry spokesman, Mark Regev. The offensive will not have a time limit, and will continue until the group is eliminated or the Palestinian Authority (PA) takes steps to act against them, he claimed.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 26, 2005
Indonesia: Jemaah Islamiyah Imam Will Have Jail Term Reduced - Again
The spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, Abu Bakar Bashir (pictured) is expected to have his jail term reduced for a second time, according to ABCnet.au. A spokesman for the Indonesian government has said that banning of reductions in sentences for terror-related crimes will not be ready before Bashir's expected remission, which falls on a religious holiday next week.
The Yemen-born cleric was given a two and a half year sentence in March, for conspiracy, which involved his being told of the 2002 Bali bombings before they took place. He was cleared of more serious charges of planning the attacks.
The Australian government has been lobbying the Indonesian government to revise laws which allow remissions for extremists.
In August, Bashir's sentence was cut by more than four months in an Independence Day gesture, granted routinely for tens of thousands of Indonesian prisoners. The Indonesian government's attorney general's department claims that no law change can be made in the week left before the automatic remission takes place.
ABC said that a spokesman for the Australian foreign affairs minister, Alexander Downey has said the outcome is disappointing, but it had been expected.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Iraq: Two Al-Qaeda Islamists Killed by US
News from Reuters. Two al-Qaeda members have been killed in Iraq according to the US military. One of these was leader of a cell, who is accused of performing at least three video-recorded decapitations. He was killed in a house raid in Mosul on Saturday. The other was killed on Wednesday, and has been named as Abu Du'a. He is thought to have been killled in an air strike at Qam, western Iraq.
He was in a house when it was demolished. His body has not been recovered yet. Abu Du'a helped Syrians and Saudis to enter the country to kill and intimidate Iraqi citizens.
The cell leader slain on Saturday at Mosul is Abu Tayir or Abu Zaid, a senior operational al-Qaeda cell leader. He operated locally around Mosul. He has personal involvement with the decapitations of three Mosul citizens, in killings which were videotaped to then be used to intimidate other citizens of Mosul.
In other sadder news, the US death toll is now at the 2000 mark.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thailand: More Islamists Arrested, More Islamists Kill Again in South
We reported that a 76-year old Buddhist monk and two teenagers were killed in a temple on October 15, in Pattani province, in the south of Thailand. The killers had set the temple on fire. The Bangkok Post reports that four more suspects have been detained, bringing the total number so far to 18. The arrests were made in the Panare district of the province. The names of the suspects have not been revealed, but they are suspected of involvement with the slitting the throats of monk Phra Kaew Kusalo and the two boys, at Wat Phromprasit in Panare district.
In other news from the region, in Narathiwat province, a police officer was badly injured by a bomb placed under his pick-up truck in Rueso district Wednesday morning, around 7 am. The bomb, triggered by a mobile phone caused shrapnel injuries to Police Senior Sergeant-Major Haydeeing's legs and body.
Again in Narathiwat, insurgents ambushed a military team in Rangea district, wounding one soldier from their gunfire, around 3.45 am.
In Yaring district in Pattani province, a village defence volunteer was shot dead and a police officer was injured. The two had been tallking outside a house when armed men opened fire, wounding Police Colonel Suriyan in the ear. Useng Masae, the defence volunteer received serious gunshot wounds and died in hospital.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Florida: Hispanic Women Converting to Islam... Again
There have been several puff stories about how Hispanic women are converting to Islam. I want to make, for now, just two points: this might be the case because they fall in love with a Muslim man, and, in order to have a successful marriage, they convert to Islam (Muslim women, of course, are not allowed to marry an infidel). And second, this should be a sign, once again, that Islam seeks not to peacefully co-exist, but to replace us. Here is the story: More Hispanic women converting to Islam
MIAMI -- Ask Melissa Matos why she converted to Islam, and you'll likely get an answer that spans 13 centuries.She may refer to seventh-century Arabia, where Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed received the Quran from the angel Gabriel. Or she might describe Islam's golden age in medieval Spain. Or she'll recall Sept. 11, 2001, when fear and curiosity drove her to read about Islam on the Internet.
Matos, who comes from a family of Seventh-day Adventists from the Dominican Republic, has answered the question countless times since converting to Islam in April. She now covers her hair, prays five times a day and is observing Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer and reflection.
"Sometimes it does get a little difficult," said Matos, a 20-year-old political-science student at Florida International University who lives with her parents in Miramar. "I feel alienated from my family and my old friends, but Islam is so beautiful, it's worth it. And with Ramadan, I'm just doing it by myself, just me and God."
Though they make up a small fraction of the nation's 6 million Muslims, Hispanic women converting to Islam are exerting influence beyond their numbers, teaching Spanish-Arabic classes, forming Hispanic-Muslim organizations and distributing Spanish translations of the Quran.
Matos is organizing an FIU lecture series this semester on the religion's little-known history in Latin America, including two lectures in Spanish, she said.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Uzbekistan: Andijan "Islamists" On Trial Face Long Imprisonment
We briefly sketched some of the events from May 13 this year, when a massacre took place in Andijan's main square, where hundreds of people died. In that report we also mentioned the claims of former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, who claimed that scenes shown to him of Uzbek suicide bombings by the "Islamic Jihad Union" were clearly faked by government authorities.
The "uprising" as the Uzbek authorities would like the world to believe, was apparently an attempt to overthrow the government of President Karimov (pictured), and to create an Islamic nation. The trial of the 15 suspects blamed for causing this uprising has now been going on for about a month. The individuals now in a white cage were not the ones who fired on the men, women and children protesting in Andijan that crisp Friday morning.
But the prosecutors maintain that they are guilty, and all the defendants have already pleaded guilty to charges made against them. Deputy Prosecutor Anvar Nabiyev has asked for sentences of 20 years imprisonment for 5 of the accused, and for the other 10, sentences of 15 to 19 years, according to the BBC."Under the guise of social protection, the Islamic extremists staged anti-people actions that resulted in the death of peaceful civilians, government workers and law enforcement agents," he said.
Human rights activists have dismissed the trials as a farce. The death toll of victims in the shooting were way over 500, but the government and prosecution at this trial say that only 187 "mostly terrorist" organisers were killed.
The reason the accused may have pleaded guilty is perhaps drug-related. A former Uzbek interior ministry official claimed beatings or psychotropic drugs were often employed to force confessions.
A report from today's MosNews details how the Uzbek opposition leader, Sanjar Umarov, had been accused of a theft, and was arrested on Saturday. His party, Sunshine Uzbekistan, have claimed the charges were fabricated.
Umarov's lawyer, Valery Krasilovsky, said his client was naked in his cell, covering his face and mumbling. His eldest son Gulam Umarov has said "He is obviously being drugged, because my father never acted this way".
In a statement made after his arrest, Sanjar Umarov relayed a message from jail, stating that he had been pressurised by the authorities, who had threatened to inject him with drugs.
If this is the treatment meted out to a leader of an opposing political party, then the claims that the accused in the "Islamist Terror" trial could easily have been coerced into making confessions of guilt seem more credible than ever.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Algeria: Islamists Kill Two in Shooting Rampage
The amnesty offered to former terrorists in Algeria's referendum on 29 September seems to have had no effect. Today's Algerian newspapers carry reports of more Ramadan killings, states Reuters AlertNet. In Medea, some 115 miles southwest of Algiers, armed Islamists entered a coffee house and opened fire on the customers. A policeman was killed and a soldier wounded. The incident occurred late on Tuesday 25 October.
The same militants then left the coffee bar and went to a nearby market, where they shot a civilian dead and injured two more. Security forces went on a hunt for the assailants, and killed two.
The referendum was rejected by the Islamist group GSPC (Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat), which is linked to the man currently being investigated in France, terrorist Safe Bourada. They released a notice on their website within hours of the referendum for conciliation being approved. "The Jihad will go on ... we have promised God to continue the Jihad and the combat," said their spokesman Abou Mossab Abdelouadoud, whose real name is Abdelmalek Droukdel.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Iran: "Islamic Army" Threatens Death For 210 Journalists
In a report from Adnkronos International, a group calling itself the "Islamic Army" has stated it wants to eliminate 210 Iranian journalists. This list has recently been circulated in Tehran. All of the journalists named are those who have not been recognised by the new government of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The prequel to the inventory of names states that the Islamic Army will liberate the Islamic Revolution of Ayatllah Khomeini which has been "taken hostage by the hacks who are in the service of the enemies of Islam". All those named thereafter are "worthy of death as much as enemies of Allah and his word".
This is not the first time that death-lists have been drawn up and circulated. Mashaollah Shamselvaezin, who founded the Association for Press Freedom in Iran yet is prevented from working as a journalist by Iran's judiciary, has said
"The regime uses many means to prevent us journalists from expressing ourselves freely, and these death threats are just one of them. While we still have judges such as Saiid Mortazavi who kills arrested journalists, like what happened to the photo journalist Zahra Kazemi, or locks them in a cell and throws away the key, as in the case of Akbar Ganji, this so-called Islamic Army does not really scare us."In Tehran, according to Adnkronos, the judiciary has continued its assaults on journalists. Six days before the list was first published, six journalists were summoned before Saiid Mortazavi and accused of disrespecting Islamic law.
On many occasions the journalists and writers have been condemed under charges of consuming alcohol or having relationships outside of marriage.And Ahmadinejad still thinks his regime is better than Israel?
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sudan: Darfur Aid Workers Freed by Refugees
We brought you yesterday the news that in Kalma, the largest refugee camp in Darfur, 34 aid workers had been kidnapped by refugees following the arrest of a leader on Sunday. All the refugees' hostages had been freed, with only five Sudanese aid-workers remaining in their custody.
Today, Opheera McDoom on Reuters AlertNet has reported that on Tuesday evening the five remaining aid-worker hostages were released. The sheikh, whose arrest prompted the ransom bid, remains still in police custody.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 3:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Pakistan: Mad Mullah Blames Israelophilia For Earthquake
In a report from Rediff,com, the prayer-leader of the Jamia Mosque Quba in Islamabad is quoted. The mosque is run by the organisation Jamat-ud Dawa, and its second-in-command is Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki, who travels here from Lahore every Friday to give sermons and lead prayers. His followers are numerous. His sermons are said to invoke tears. The report features a sermon delivered last Friday (21 October).
Makki was in no doubts about what caused the earthquake - Allah was angry at Pakistan because of its secularism, Musharraff, and the nation's recent overtures to Israel:
'Oh unwise people open Koran. It tells you how so many nations before you were annihilated by Allah through natural disasters when they crossed the limits and refuted His blessings. Don't you learn a lesson from the Jews? They are the worst receiver of Allah's wrath because they flayed His commandments blatantly'......Makki also mentioned that the UN, the US, and the EU were not friends of humanity, but were the "worst enemies of Muslims. You should seek help from Allah only."The earthquake is a reprimand to the rulers on their un-Islamic policies e.g. recognition of Israel; maligning jihad and ditching the jihadis; ridiculing jihab; perverting society with obscenity by urging women to work with men in all spheres of life; secularizing the curriculum, etc. Oh foolish rulers, did you ever give it a thought that Islamabad had many towers but only one collapsed? Because Allah did not want all of you to die! He has given you another chance. Avail it and become his obedient beings.'
And he had a friendly word of advice on how his followers should make Allah happy. "Donate money and sons for jihad and your glorious days will return. The entire world will be under your control. Bush and Blair will become your slaves and lick your boots."
When preachers like this are allowed to incite warfare and hatred so openly, is it not time for leaders to take notice of what is being said in mosques? I am not a Muslim, but Makki seems to have a poltical agenda of hatred, anti-semitism and lust for war that has little to do with religion. Or does it?
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Iran: More Anti-Israeli Hate From Ranting Islamist President
More ranting and hatred from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which shows that in his 9 weeks of power he is not a good statesman, and perhaps should belong in a rubber room. His lack of statesmanship can be seen from his dress sense. Like the previous venom from his propaganda machine, I will quote in full. Such inciteful trash does not need the dignity of having its copyright respected. From Islamic Republic News Agency.
Ahmadinejad: Zionist regime bent on countering world of Islam
Tehran, Oct 26, IRNA
Iran-Ahmadinejad
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Wednesday that establishment of the Zionist regime was a move by the world hegemonic system and arrogant powers against the world of Islam.
Speaking at a gathering of the representatives of the
Palestinian combatant groups residing in Tehran, members of the society to defend the Palestinian nation and members of the Pupils Islamic Association, he added that a historical fight is underway between world arrogant powers and the Muslim world.
Turning to the fluctuating trend of campaign against the global arrogance by Muslims over the past three centuries, the chief executive noted, "The world arrogant powers founded the Zionist regime at the heart of the Muslim world as a base for their own expansionist intentions."
He said that today the Palestinian nation, as the representative of Islamic Umma, is standing up to the world hegemonic system.
"Ever since the Palestinian nation focused attention on promotion of an Islamic atmosphere and attitude, day-to-day success and progress have been witnessed among Palestinians," he said.
Ahmadinejad pointed to the meeting dubbed "A World Without Zionism" and criticized those sowing the seed of disappointment in materializing such a goal and attempting to undermine the world of Islam.
He added that a world without the US and Israel would be possible.
In another part of his speech, he urged the need for unity, solidarity and consensus on the Palestinian cause by the Islamic states.
"Today, supporting the Palestinian nation and objective is a definite and indispensable principle for continued campaign to achieve victory.
"The palestinian issue has not ended. It would end when a government belonging to the Palestinian people takes over, the homeless return home and a free election is held to form a government representing all people," he added.
Ahmadinejad noted that those from faraway countries who are in Palestine with the hope of plundering this land have no right to make decision about the country.
The president called on the public and the Palestinian combatant groups to be vigilant and added that if they manage to overcome the new conspiracies of the world arrogant powers, the way would be paved for destruction of the Zionist regime and establishment of a national Palestinian government.
"Given that the issue of Palestine is a key matter facing the world of Islam, a certain group cannot declare their views to the effect behind closed doors," he added.
The chief executive referred to the genocide of Palestinian women, men and children by the Zionist regime and demolition of the houses of the oppressed nation and said, "The Zionist regime claims to advocate the human rights, while it has stockpiled a great amount of nuclear weapons."
He pointed to his recent meeting with the ambassador of one of the countries which held talks with Iran about the country's nuclear issue and said, "During the meeting I told the foreign diplomat that they support the Zionist regime, but when it comes to Iran they preach the human rights."
This hateful crap isn't even any fun to read. Maybe he needs a new scriptwriter. I believe "Comical Ali" is looking for work. I mean, if you are trying to bring on World War Three, you could at least do it with some style.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 1:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
US: Black Muslim Leader Assassinated in Oakland
A report from the Oakland Tribune today states that 24-year old Antar Bey was shot as he was about to fill up his car at a gas station last night, at about 7.30 pm. He was dead upon arrival at hospital.
During the past few weeks, Antar Bey had been shot at several times. Bey was the son and an heir of Black Muslim leader Yusef Bey (pictured when he ran for mayor in 1994) who died of cancer in 2003.
Two others from the Bey family have been attacked. 51 year-old Waajid Aljawaad Bey, CEO of Your Black Muslim Bakery was murdered in 2004, his decomposed body discovered in a shallow grave in the Oakland Hills. John Bey, Yusef Bey's adoped son, was wounded in June when he was ambushed by a gunman. John Bey was a manager with one of several companies run by local Black Muslims.
Members of the Black Muslim group, which owns housing a school and retail businesses, have said they believe there has been a power struggle brewing since Yusef Bey's death.
For a background on Yusuf Bey, including his rape of a ten year old girl when he was twenty, a detailed account of the Black Muslim empire and its origins in criminal groups can be found here, from the East Bay Express.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 1:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Israel: Islamic Jihad Claims Responsibility for Market Bomb - 5 Dead
A bomb ripped through Hadera market earlier today, killing five and wounding at least 30 people, with one of the injured in a critical condition. The Turkish Press announced that Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the atrocity, as an act of revenge for the IDF killing of Loie Saada, an Islamic Jihad coordinator, in Tulkarem.
"This is an initial response to the killing of Louai Saadi," a member of the movement told AFP in a phone call on condition of anonymity.All the main Palestinian militant groups are meant to be observing a truce until the end of the year but Jihad had earlier said that the "cooldown can go to hell" after Louai Saadi, overall commander of its Al-Quds Brigades military wing in the West Bank, was shot dead on Sunday night.
A report from Steve Gutkin of AP claims that today was also the 10th anniversary of the killing of former Islamic Jihad chief Fathi Shekaki outside a hotel in Malta. The blast in Hadera market created a scene of devastation and carnage."Body parts reached all the way until my apartment building. The damage is really great," witness Eidan Akiva told Channel Ten TV, saying he lived 100 meters (yards) from the blast.The police and the mayor of Hadera, Chaim Avitan, have insisted the attack was caused by a suicide bomber, disputing claims on Israel Radio that a bomb had been left in situ."All the stalls alongside just fell apart. The windows are all broken. It looks like a war was here," he said. "This is a very crowded place, very central place. We never expected that this would happen. We thought our world was good but apparently we were wrong."
There have been four bombings since the ceasefire, and Islamic Jihad has been blamed for all of these. In a reaction to a threat against Israel by Hamas leader, and also a threat by the President of Iran (below), the spokesman for the israeli Foreign Ministry, Mark Regev said: "And it appears the problem with these extremists is that they followed through on their violent declarations with violent actions."
On Tuesday, on its website, Islamic Jihad threatened a violent retaliation for Saada's killing, and announced it would no longer respect the ceasefire.
Keywords: Loie Saada, Louai Saada, Loie Sa'ada
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Canada: Muslim "Terrorist" Soon to be Deported
Mohamed Harkat is soon to be deported to Algeria, after the government of Canada was given reassurances by the Algerian government that Hakat would not be tortured upon his return. A draft memo was received by Harkat's legal team that recommends deportation. The memo, by Louis Dumas, manager of security review at the Canadian Border Services Agency, is addressed to a minister's delegate from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, reports Canada.com.
Mr Paul Copeland, one of Harkat's legal team, has said that despite what may have been promised, Algeria is still a country with a dubious human rights record, and because the Canadian government had branded Harkat a terrorist, he would probably be tortured anyway.
We mentioned yesterday that in April, Judge Eleanor Dawson upheld the government claim that Harkat was a terrorist. She ruled that he had lied in court when he testified to having no connections with al-Qaeda. She had access to information not made available to the public, Harkat,
nor his legal team. Harkat was originally jailed in December 2002 when two federal ministers signed a national security certificate against him.
Harkat is one of four people in detention under such circumstances. The other three are Egyptian.
Mohammed Harkat, as we mentioned yesterday, has claimed to be having night terrors, and fears of being tortured and having his skin scraped off. His psychiatrist, Dr Colin Cameron has said that the fears of deportation are fuelling his trauma. The bail hearing has been adjourned until next week.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Iran: Islamist Regime Calls for Israel's Destruction
President Ahmadinejad of Iran has only been in power since August, about as long as Western Resistance, and has pushed the country away from the reforms of Ayatollah Khatami, his predecessor, and back to the hard-line ways of Khomeini. According to Associated Press, by way of the Seattle Pi:
Iran's hard-line president called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and said a new wave of Palestinian attacks will destroy the Jewish state, state-run media reported Wednesday.Just so that there is no misunderstanding here, I will repeat the press release from the Islamic Republic News Agency, again ignoring their copyright, as Iran is no longer a law-abiding state:
Ahmadinejad: Supporters of Israel will face wrath of Islamic ummah
Oct 26, IRNA
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned countries or leaders who have taken measures to acknowledge the Zionist regime under pressure or due to lack of sound understanding that they will be confronted with the wrath of the Islamic ummah and will forever be disgraced.
Speaking at a conference dubbed "World without Zionism" here Wednesday which was attended by thousands of students, he said any country which acknowledges the Zionist regime will actually be acknowledging the surrender and defeat of the Islamic world.
He further expressed his firm belief that the new wave of confrontations generated in Palestine and the growing turmoil in the Islamic world would in no time wipe Israel away.
Ahmadinejad referred to the Zionist regime's recent withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as a "trick," saying Gaza is part of Palestinian territory and the withdrawal was meant to make Islamic states acknowledge the Zionist regime of Israel.
Pointing to the evil attempts of the US and Israel to saw [sic] discord among warring forces in Palestine and other parts of the Islamic world, the president said such attempts were aimed at forcing some Islamic countries to acknowledge the existence of Israel.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
US: Council on American-Islamic Relations Exploits Memory of Rosa Parks For Its Own Ends
Yesterday, at the State Department's seventh annual "Iftar" meal, where Ramadan is broken at the close of the day, Nihad Awad, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, shared a meal with Condoleeza Rice, the US Secretary of State, according to The Official Newswire. Also attending were representatives of other Muslim groups, diplomats from Muslim countries, and State Department officials.
Condoleeza Rice, herself a native of Alabama, spoke of the life of Rosa Parks who also hailed from Alabama. She showed gratitude to the Muslims countries which had offered financial support to victims of Hurricane Katrina. Ms Rice spoke of the need to promote universal human rights.
But after the speech, Awad informed Secretary Rice of his own plans to exploit the name of Rosa Parks. He said that CAIR would be introducing a "Rosa Parks Scholarship" for students studying in "fields that promote civil rights, social justice, and peaceful resolution of conflicts."
These types of events represent a growing recognition of the positive role Islamic teachings and American Muslims can play in helping to promote peace and justice in this country and around the world."CAIR has 31 offices and chapters in the US and Canada.
Condoleeza Rice has every reason to applaud the achievements of Rosa Parks. But for CAIR to appropriate her name when she has only just died, in a cheap Islamic promotional ploy, is as disgusting and low as CAIR can get. A Rosa Parks memorial to help show how Islamic teaching can produce a resolution of conflicts?
Nihad Awad, who has been vociferous in his condemnation of US policy in Afghanistan recently, has no shame. Rosa Parks, who now cannot prevent her name being exploited, was not a supporter of "Islamic teachings". She was a Christian.
A press release from CAIR concerning this scholarship is from yesterday's Official Newswire: CAIR said in a statement: "Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat sparked the civil rights movement and continues to inspire all those who struggle for social justice and equality. It is only fitting that a scholarship aimed at advancing the cause of human dignity be offered in her name."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Germany: Four Islamists Imprisoned
From Le Monde - breaking news. The following is my poor translation from the French:
Al-Tawhid Case: Prison For Four Men Linked to Zarqawi
Four Islamists linked to the chief of the Al-Qaeda in Iraq cell, the Jordanian Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, have been condemned today to terms of five to eight years imprisonment for having planned attacks on Jewish interests in Germany.
Three Palestinians or Jordanians of Palestinian origin, Abu Dhees, Ismail Shalabi and Ashraf Al Dagma, were found guilty of preparing these attacks which would have taken place in Dusseldorf and Berlin in 2001, were given the heaviest penalties: six to eight years in prison.
The fourth, Algerian Djamel Moustafa, who was judged to have helped the three others to plan these attacks, was condemned to five years' in prison.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: Religious Hatred Bill Defeated in Lords
The House of Lords yesterday voted by a majority of 149 to scrap the controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, opting instead to add an amendment which would curtail its vague and nebulous wording. They also agreed the amendment should retain safeguards for free speech.
The only people who supported this Bill were Tony Blair and his lackeys, and the Muslim Council for Britain (MCB) and related groups, who wanted a blanket ban on any speech which criticised their faith, as is practised in the state of Victoria, Australia.
The vote - at 260 to 111, would have been a more resounding defeat, according to the Times if the government had not offered to attempt to find a compromise within the next fortnight.
Baroness Scotland, of Asthal, QC, admitted that "there are issues which we found difficult" and pleaded with peers to give her time to try to bring forward amendments at its report stage.Lord Hunt of Wirral, a Tory peer, who led the debate, insisted on pushing ahead with a vote, after he accused the government of not fulfilling an agreement to allow opposition parties to be consulted over the Bill.Opposition to the Bill, which has been led by an eclectic alliance including evangelical Christian groups and the comedian Rowan Atkinson, is likely to intensify after her admission of doubts within the Government over the Bill.
The Telegraph quoted Lord Hunt in his criticism of the Bill, which would have been an amendment to the Public Order Act of 1986, who saw the Bill as an impediment to freedom of expression.
It is the bedrock of any tolerant, liberal and free society that we must all learn to live according to certain first principles," he said.The Guardian stated:"One of the most fundamental of those is that, from time to time, we must tolerate other people expressing sentiments or engaging in activities that we ourselves find unappealing or even distasteful.
The government argues that the law extends to Muslim and other groups protection that is already enjoyed by Christians, Jews and Sikhs. Ministers have indicated that they may use the Parliament Act to force the law through if peers continue to object.The idea of rubber-stamping a Bill without the approval of the second House is controversial. It happened for the first time in more than forty years, in 2004. This was when the government used the Parliament Act to make their Bill, which outlawed fox-hunting with dogs, a legal statute. However, the fox-hunting issue had been approved by the House of Commons and sent to the House of Lords, who had rejected it, on numerous occasions.
To force through such a controversial Bill at this moment, when it has had only one defeat in the Lords and does not have popular support from the public, apart from the politicised Muslims at MCB, could be seen as political suicide.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:45 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Indonesia: Islamic Sect Kills Three Police Officers
A conflict between police and machete-swinging Islamists on the eastern part of Sulawesi has left three police officers dead, and one Islamist. The Islamists belong to a little-known local cult, regarded by the indonesian Religious Affairs Minister, Maftuh Basyuni, "a very, very deviant group".
According to Reuters the sect apparently wear yellow scarves and white headbands, eschew fasting during Ramadan, and do not pray five times a day. The sect, which fuses traditional customs with Islamic customs, still sees itself as Muslim.
The incident in which police clashed with sect members took place on Tuesday, in the hill regions outside the provincial capital of Palu. The fighting erupted when police attempted to arrest the sect's leader.
The sect used machetes and poisonous blow-darts in their attack, and the police responded with gunfire. 20 members of the sect were arrested and taken into custody for questioning, but the leader of the sect is still free. Today, 300 police are guarding the sect's small village.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bangladesh: More Islamist Threats To Blow Up Police Stations
Yesterday, we brought you the story of a bomb threat by Jamaatul Mujahideen Banlasesh (JMB) upon Faisal Alam, Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet, which involved a letter promising to blow up two police stations within "the next fifteen days". Now more threats have been made.
Reuters reports that Nayeem Ahmed, an officer in charge of a police station in northern Rajshahi district, yesterday also received a bomb threat. Signed by a JMB leader, Molana Hafizuddin, the threat was more general, claiming that, unless Islamic law replaced secular law, the group would "blow up all of Bangladesh's police stations".
Ahmed said the threat was being assessed, and that the police were attempting to track down Hafizuddin, who claimed in the letter to be living in another northern district, Chapainawabganj.
The Bangladesh Independent claims the author of the threat is called Maulana Hafizur Rahman, who claims to come from the Shibganj in Chapainawabganj district.
In a separate incident, the Bangladesh Independent states that a judge was threatened in Laxmipur by Manobadhiakar Rakkha O Uddhar Committee, a subsidiary JMB group, sent by its leader from Khulna.
In Khulna, a bomb exploded in Pabla village near Dualatpur police station, but no-one was hurt. The bomb, wrapped in a bag, was dropped from the roof of a two-storey building, and shattered windows.
In Faridpur, the mastermind of the local stage of the nationwide bombings which took place on August 17 was arrested. The man has been named as Mizanur Rahman Muhul.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Philippines: Nine Islamist Converts Arrested
A report from ABS News states that in a combined police and military operation, nine members of a group of converts linked to Jemaah Islamiyah have been arrested this morning.
Hilarion del Rosario Santos III (also known as Ahmed Islam Santos), leader of the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM) was taken with eight of his followers in San Jose town, Zamboanga City.
The Rajah Solaiman Movement is comprised of Christians who have converted to Islam, and is thought to have organised a bomb attack upon a bus in Makati City on February 14 last year. Three people were killed in the attack.
The RSM is said to be linked to both Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah. The RSM was earlier said by military sources to be planning terrorist attacks upon Luzon.
Armed Forces spokesman Col. Tristan Kison earlier said the Abu Sayyaf is providing refuge to JI bombers Dulmatin and Umar Patek in Cotabato province. The two are wanted for the deadly October 2002 bombings in Bali that killed more than 200 people.Reuters claims that Hilarion del Rosario Santos III (aka Ahmad Islam Santos, pictured) founded the RSM in the late 1990s after he converted to Islam and attended an Islamist rebel training camp in Mindanao's Lanao province.
"We've got a very big guy," Lieutenant-General Edilberto Adan told reporters and added that weapons, explosives and maps of the capital, Manila, were seized from the hideout.The rebels were apparently asleep at the time of the raid this morning."He's still undergoing tactical interrogation. We believed the group was up to something big during the long holiday," he said, referring to next week's holidays to mark the Roman Catholic All Saints Day and the end of Ramadan for Muslims.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 25, 2005
Rosa Parks - Rest In Peace
Rosa Parks, the lady who wouldn't stand for racial bigotry, has sadly died aged 92. Her simple action on December 1st 1955 on a Montgomery bus in Alabama made her the woman who launched the civil rights movement. Her photograph, taken when she was arrested, shows composure and lack of fear. I will not eulogise about her, other than to say she was an icon, and listed in Time's 100 greatest figures of the 20th century. She received a Congressional Medal of Honor in 1996. She sadly spent the last few years of her life suffering from Alzheimer's. She died with members of her family and close friends by her side.
A biography from Time, written by Rita Dove, can be found here, and a good obituary can be found here. A brave lady, and a great one. She cannot be replaced, but neither can her position in history.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Malaysia: Government Supports Plan For Non-Muslims To Wear Headscarves.
In Southeast Asia, the hijab is called a tudung. The picture shows a rather fetching tudung which is either very spiritual, or radioactive, as it positively glows. News from Malaysia indicates that the government supports a ruling by the International Islamic University (IUI), which states that all students, including those who are not Muslim, should wear the tudung. The Malaysian Star reports that this ruling has been given a parliamentary seal of approval.
"As the rule was approved by the university senate, it is not religious in nature but a matter of uniforms that must be followed. It does not breach basic human rights," stated Dr Maximus Ongkili, who is in charge of national unity.
Opposition MPs were not happy with his response, which had come in answer to a question by Lim Kit Siang, of Ipoh Timur. Lim said that the issue had previously been raised in the Malaysian parliament on April 3, 2003, when the education minister at that time, Mahadzir Mohd Khir had said that students were encouraged, but not compelled to wear the tudung at the IUI.
"So why the change now? Is this not disrespectful of a plural society?" Lim asked, adding that the university should adhere by what Mahadzir had said.The issue of tudung-wearing in education does not just cause problems in Malaysia. In Singapore, the tudung has created problems, as was reported originally in the Thai newspaper the Nation. In Singapore, 15% of the population is Malay, who are almost exclusively Muslim. Though the wearing of the tudung in classes was forbidden, four young Muslim Malays challenged the constitution by refusing to come to school without their tudung and two, who insisted on staying away from school unless given permission to wear their headscarves, were consequently suspended. The dispute arose in February 2002.Dr Ongkili said he would follow up on the matter with the ministry, adding that it would not come to a stage where all non-Muslims would be forced to wear the tudung.
The tudung issue was then resolved, according to the BBC when the Mufti of Singapore, Syed Isa Semait, indicated that the girls should go to school, without the scarves. He announced, wisely "The no-tudung rule lasts only for a few hours when the pupils are in school. Education is more important."
Keywords: Hijab, hidjab, burka, burqa
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: Another "Muslim-Sensitive" Ban on Pigs
What is it about pigs in Britain right now? We have council offices banning images of pigs, which had caused such controversy that the ban may be lifted. We have had banks banning images of piggy banks in their outlets and advertising, because they "might" offend Muslim customers. What is next? Schools!
The BBC earlier reported that in West Yorkshire, a head teacher has proclaimed a veto on the telling of stories that feature pigs. So, no more tales of the "Three Little Pigs", no "Winnie the Pooh" stories, because they feature Piglet, no Beatrix Potter's Pigling Bland", no nursery rhymes along the lines of "This Little Piggy Went to Market".
This move has been made by Barbara Harris, headmistress at the Park Road Junior Infant and Nursery School in Batley. The ban affects all teaching of under sevens. She has made the move because 60% of her pupils are Pakistani or Indian in origin, and 99% of these are "Muslim". She has ordered all books with images and stories containing pigs to be removed from the classrooms of the younger children.
Mrs Harris said "Recently I have been aware of an occasion where young Muslim children in class were read stories about pigs.We try to be sensitive to the fact that for Muslims talk of pigs is offensive."
There is one small compensation. The books which she has declared a fatwa upon are still retained in the school library, and she says "there is nothing to stop our younger children having stories such as "The Three Little Pigs" in small groups."
But the sensitive infants must not see images of pigs, it seems.
Perhaps she could also allow the under-sevens to hear certain stories from Islam, where unbelievers are transformed into pigs and apes. (Koran: 5:55 - 5:61, Bukhari's Hadith, Vol IV, No 524) Without offensive pictures of course.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Australia: Proposed Anti-Terror Laws May be "Unconstitutional"
Earlier, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation transmitted on its "7.30 Report" a feature on the proposed laws against terror activities, which include detaining people who have not committed a specific "crime" may be against the nation's constitution. The following is part of a transcript from that programme:
Proposed counter-terrorism legislation may be unconstitutionalTo read the rest of the transcript, please click HERE.Reporter: Michael Brissenden
KERRY O'BRIEN: Welcome to the program. The Government's plans for a swift and easy passage of its terror legislation may have hit a significant legal hurdle. In fact, the Queensland Solicitor-General says the laws may even be unconstitutional. More than a few constitutional lawyers agree that specifically asking judges and magistrates to help police detain suspects who may have committed no offence would challenge the whole notion of the separation of powers and would be open to a High Court challenge. The Prime Minister has today agreed to a request from the Queensland Premier for a meeting between Commonwealth and state legal officers to try to find a way through the dilemma. Political editor Michael Brissenden reports.
WITNESS: I can see in front of me a red double-decker bus...
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: The aftershocks of the London bombings have been felt far and wide. From London to Canberra, this was a terrorist act that blew apart many of our long-held legal and law enforcement certainties. In both countries governments have reacted with a raft of legislative changes and, in both countries, political aspirations have hit significant hurdles. In Britain, it's been the Human Rights Act. Here in Australia, it seems it might be the Constitution itself.
PROFESSOR GREG CRAVEN, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, CURTIN UNIVERSITY: There are differences between the UK and Australia in a number of varying directions. One is that the UK is subject to certain European-derived rights covenants that we are not, but in the other direction the UK is not subject to a constitutional doctrine of separation of powers and indeed judicial power as we are.
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Our government is obviously keen to fast track its legislative response to terrorism. The new ant-terrorism bill is due to be introduced to Parliament next week and unlike the ASIO bill of 2002, that was the subject of three parliamentary inquiries and was dissected and scrutinised for 12 months. These changes will be subjected to a few days arbitrary inquiry by a Senate Committee before they are voted into law. The concern about the impact on human rights and freedom of expression have been widely canvassed in the past few weeks, but even putting those to one side, there are now serious legal concerns emerging as well.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sudan: Troubles in Darfur Continue
Despite fairly optimistic news from the south of Sudan, with a new federal transitional government being inaugurated, the problems in Darfur seem to be on the rise. Bandits and Janjaweed militia have been terrorising the region, causing refugees and aid-workers to llive in fear. Over the last two and a half years, such conflicts have caused 2 million Darfurese to become refugees. Earlier today, the refugees themselves decided to act like terrorists, taking 34 aid workers hostage, according to Reuters Alertnet.
In Kalma, the largest refugee camp, the aid-workers were taken hostage as a protest, in the hope that police would release one of their leaders, who had been arrested. Later, according to Alertnet, all but 5 of the workers were released. The aid workers came from the Sudanese Red Crescent, the government water and sanitation agency and the American CHF aid agency. Those still held are from the government agency. The government has accused rebels of launching attacks from this refugee camp. The rebel leader, the cause of the refugees keeping their victims hostage, was arrested on Sunday.
Yesterday, according to Sudan Tribune, rebel leaders who were involved with peace talks with the government said it would postpone talks until Friday 28th October, before a fresh round of peace negotiations due to take place in November.
The congress of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) had been due to start today, but the postponement was made because "some of our guests coming from Europe and the United States could not make it on the 25th", the conference organiser, Ibrahim Ahmed Ibrahim claimed. 800 delegates were expected to join the meeting, which was to be held at a secret location in rebel-held areas.
On Monday, the Sudanese government urged the international community to put pressure on the rebels to come into line with some form of stability, according to Sudan Tribune.
And in Britain - there has been a decision to send Darfurese refugees who had arrived in Britain seeking asylum from the conflict back to the war-torn region, the Scotsman announces. The same Britain that allowed Omar Bakri Mohammed and Abu Qatada to gain legal asylum, but now insist on sending refugees from Zimbabwe back to almost certain assault in Mugabe's land of plunder and repression.
The Court of Appeal announced that "there was no significant risk of persecution in the Khartoum area, and it would not be too harsh to send the three Darfur aslylum seekers there. Three refugees, known only as Hamid, Gaafar and Mohamed were refused permission to appeal to the house of Lords, but their lawyers have said they will petition the Law Lords.
The United Nations has condemned the Sudanese government and its militias for creating the crisis in Darfur, which it has called genocide. Khartoum denies the allegations, but the International Criminal Court is investigating alleged war crimes committed in the revolt.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: Muslim Bomber Was Under Surveillance Before 7/7
A report from the BBC claims that Mohammed Siddique Khan, pictured in his "farewell video", was under surveillance a year ago. The image has been painted of Khan, who led the four-man cell which carried out the attacks upon London Transport on 7 July, as a mild and considerate teaching assistant, whose "radicalism" surprised those who knew him.
A BBC Newsnight investigation has announced that Khan, from Dewsbury, Yorkshire, was associating with al-Qaeda activists for as long as five years prior to the attack on London. The metropolitan police have declined to comment on the Newsnight team's findings.
The claims are made that he was in contact to a known terrorist suspect, who cannot be named for legal reasons. Additionally, it is reported that he was secretly filmed talking to the suspect. The programme-makers have said that there is no independent corroboration for the films that Khan was filmed.
If the claims are true, then it would suggest that Khan was known to be a radical at one stage, but somehow interest in his activities moved on to other things.
A terror suspect in detention for his involvement with the Bali 2002 bombings has claimed that Khan travelled to Malaysia and the Philippines in 2001, where he met extremist leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah. Dr Rohan Gunaratna, who spoke to the Bali suspect, is featured in the documentary, which will be shown tonight on BBC at 22.30 BST.
Dr Gunaratna claims that "radical clerics have radicalised young British and European Muslims and have done al-Qaeda's work for them."
Paul Lever, the former head of the Joint Intelligence Committee has said there had been a "failure to understand the significance of allowing these clerics to recruit openly."
The presenter of the programme, Richard Watson, has said of Mohammed Siddique Khan: "A careful study of his background and contacts reveal a number of clues to his extremism which the British intelligence apparently missed."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 4:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Philippines: Claims of Government Deal to "Create Islamic State"
The Manila Times reports that the mayor of Zamboanga City, Celso Lobregat, is claiming that the Filipino government has made a secret deal with MILF, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The MILF will be signing an official accord with the government of Gloria Arroyo after Ramadan, as we reported yesterday. Mayor Lobregat has said that a secret undertaking has been made which will allow for the formation of an Islamic state on the island of Mindanao. This would entail partitioning off the island.
"This is a complete sellout and we will not allow Mindanao to be dismembered, and we must act swiftly before it is too late," Lobregat, a former lawmaker, said in a news conference broadcast on radio stations here.The Manila Times reports that some local radio stations had been agitating the public, urging them to protest against this "secret deal". One phone caller suggested taking up arms to fight the MILF and keep Mindanao intact.He said he spoke with lawmakers and politicians in the southern Philippines and they agreed to look into the agreement signed in September in Malaysia by government and rebel peace negotiators."
The concept of ancestral domain has been raised in the dispute. This is a reference to the ILF's demands for territory which would constitute a Muslim homeland. It is the most important issue to be settled before MILF can reach a political settlement, the report claims.
Both sides have agreed on several crucial issues, including the coverage of a proposed ancestral domain in the five Muslim autonomous provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao, and other areas in Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces, where there are large communities of Muslims and indigenous tribes.Three million muslims live on Mindanao. Murad Ebrahim, chief of MILF has said his group is sincere in talks which have taken place so far, and is willing to end hostilities in Mindanao.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 3:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sudan: As Schools are Forcibly Closed for Ramadan, A New Government Begins
Yesterday, it was announced by Sudan Tribune that the government has forced private schools to close for Ramadan, the first time that this has happened. The Bashir government denied the claim, but Reuters found that several had in fact been closed by order.
The ministry of education claimed that this was a holiday period in the government school year, but in Khartoum, private schools do not follow the same timetables, and say they have lost valuable teaching time.
"We objected to it. We cannot afford to lose the lessons" said Barry Birch, headmaster of Unity, a private Christian school. He claimed that the ministry had, when asked why, replied, "Ramadan". A concession was made to allow pupils to take exams, but the decision has angered parents. Though Christian, the school is two-thirds Muslim in its intake of children.
The situation in the south of Sudan, however, appears more hopeful. An autonomous government has been formed in the south, based at Juba, according to Reuters AlertNet, in accordance with the peace agreement signed in January this year. The SPLM (Sudan People's Liberation Movement) signed the deal, allowing the formation of a federal system, with wealth sharing, transition to democracy and a referendum on secession from the Islamist north after six years.
Officially the new federal government commenced its operations on Saturday evening. Rebecca Garang, the widow of John Garang, who died in a helicopter crash only 20 days after becoming Sudan's vice-president, is the new minister for roads and transport. SPLM spokesperson, Walid Hamid, says that the SPLM have 70% of ministries, the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) have 15% and other southern forces have 15%.
Yesterday, according to Sudan Tribune, Lt General Salva Kiir Mayardit, vice president of Sudan, and President of the Government of Sudan directed ministers to make provision of services to citizens, and implementation of the peace agreement to be the new government's top priority.
The Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan, Riek Machar, reiterated his confidence in the ministers to stick to the peace agreement, as they were sworn in to take office.
On Monday, at the official inauguration service of the new government, President Kiir vowed to fight nepotism and corruption in the war-ravaged south, according to Sudan Tribune.
Today, new details have emerged on the death of John Garang, whose helicopter crashed into the Kidepo Valley two months ago. The Russian company, Kazan, who made the helicopter, have claimed there were no manufacturing faults, but it has been suggested that the problem may have developed from poor navigation maintenance and skills on the part of Ugandan engineers. The craft was owned and maintained in Uganda, and though trained in Russia, engineers may not have had the necessary skills to maintain the craft, which at the time of the crash had only had 20 hours' flight since its last maintenance and overhaul. The investigation is continuing, according to Sudan Tribune.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Russia: Three Islamists Killed in Dagestan
According to Mosnews, three suspected Islamic terrorists have been killed in Makhachkala, capital in Dagestan, in the Caucasus. Law enforcement officers, acting on a tip-off, blocked a five story building late last night, Abdul Musayev, a spokesman for the regional branch of Russis'a Interior Ministry announced.
Backed up with armoured vehicles, security forces stormed the building in a 10 hour operation which ended early this morning. During the siege, the people inside fired back, wounding one officer. They found the bodies of three suspected militants inside the building.
One of those has been identified as Gadzhimagomed Ismailov, who is believed by authorities to have been one of the leaders of gunmen who have conducted attacks against law enforcement officers in Dagestan. Another of the dead was identified as Murad Lakhiyalov, an aide to Ismailov.
More than 40 law enforcement officers have been killed in Dagestan this year, in attacks which indicate that Chechen disputes are spilling over into other Muslim Caucasus regions.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 1:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Iraq: Voters Ratify Constitution
A report from Reuters says that the Iraqi people have ratified the US-backed constitution, following on from the referendum on Saturday, October 15. The Electoral Commission announced that 79% of voters backed the constitution, and 21% opposed it. The divisions were based upon sectarian and ethnic lines.
In a few Shia and Kurdish areas, the votes were as high as 95% and even 99%, while in Anbar, a Sunni region, 97% rejected the constitution. One Sunni leader made claims that the voting was rigged, but UN and Iraqi officials insisted the election was fair.
The positive support for the constitution will cheer Washington, and will now be followed by a parliamentary election on December 15, to choose the government.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: Most Muslims Keep Extremist Literature, Court is Told
Irfan Bhatti was a friend of Omar Sharif at Bemrose School, between 1988 and 1992. Omar Sharif later went to Israel with a companion, 21-year old Asif Hanif of London. Sharif and Hanif were going to be suicide bombers. Asif Hanif set off his bomb, and killed three Israelis, wounding 65. Omar Sharif, originally of Northumberland Avenue, Derby, went into a Tel Aviv bar, explosives attached. His bomb did not detonate, and 12 days later, 27-year old Sharfif's body was discovered washed up from the sea on the Tel Aviv coastline.
Irfan Bhatti was giving evidence at the Old Bailey, London, in the trial of Zahid Sharif (39) and Parveen Sharif (37), brother and sister of Omar Sharif. They are accused of failing to disclose information relating to a terrorism act. Parveen is further charged with inciting terrorism. Both deny the charges.
According to This is Derbyshire, the jury was told that leaflets and other literature of an extremist nature were discovered in searches of Omar Sharif's home, and also in the homes of his brother and of his sister.
Irfan Bhatti told the court that such literature was constantly being handed out at mosques, and because many contained sections from the Koran, it was deemed anti-Islamic to discard them. Bhatti told of his close relationship with the failed suicide bomber. "I would have expected him to tell me of something so important. It came as a surprise to me that he did what he did," he said.
Bhatti has seen Omar Sharif set up a stall run by Islamist group (and supporters of terrorism) Al-Muhajiroun in Derby, but stated that as the group was trying to introduce non-Muslims to Islam, Sharif would have approved.
Bhatti stated that he also knew the defendants well. When his own mother had died, Parveen Sharif had been supportive. He said he had heard Zahid Sharif discussing fighting on behalf of Muslims, but told the jury that Zahid had always said it was forbidden. The trial continues.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
India: Muslim Tennis Star Rises Above the Protests
18 year old tennis star, Mirza Sania has risen from being at 206th place in the WTA rankings to 34th, according to N. Ananthanarayanan in a feature for Reuters. She faced a fatwa earlier in the year from a Sunni group, but her growing popularity among the young has seen some revision in the condemnations of a few old-fashioned and spiteful mullahs.
Last month she was given extra security after she was denounced for wearing short skirts and sleeveless shirts on court. There were threats to prevent her playing in a WTA event in Kolkata.
This ruling was denounced by other groups, and in the east of the country, a Madrassas board said it planned to insert a chapter on Sania in its school books.
Sania is young and confident, and has been seen to wear a T shirt emblazoned with the slogan "I'm old enough to know better, but still too young to care'. She has been defended by Indian broadcaster Rajdeep Sardesi, who wrote in a column
The obvious response of right-thinking, reasonable Indians would be that Sania should be seen for what she is: a talented 18-year-old representing the country on the world stage and revelling in the attention. Why see Sania in any narrow, bigoted sense, even if only as a symbol of minority achievement?"According to the Statesman, she had even reached no 32 in WTA placings, but at her last game in the Thailand open, she hurt her back and lost one place. That match was the last WTA outing of the season. But there is hope that she will regain the lost ground. Tennis News announces that she will be having a new coach. She has previously been coached by Australian Bob Brett, who worked with Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic. She is now due to be coached by Swiss Tony Roche, who has trained Roger Federer.
Sania Mirza can be seen as lucky. She has outridden the fatwa, and is an icon for Indians of all faiths. She is popular with a large part of the country's 130 million Muslims. In Pakistan, Mariam Rahim is not so fortunate. She has no choice but to wear the shalwar kameez when competing.
Pakistan recently organised its first national soccer championship, under "strictly regulated conditions".
Fatima Lakhani, who was Pakistan's chef-de-mission at the recent Islamic Games in Tehran, said sports organisations wanted clothing manufactures to design sportswear that would allow women to move freely without offending religious sensibilities."We'll try to find ways and means of clothing to build the standard," she said from Karachi. "At least they will be able to participate."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
France: Foreign Minister Claims Muslims Have Religious Freedom
A report today from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, which I am reproducing in its entirety, foregoing copyright niceties.
Muslims in France enjoy religious freedom: Blazy
Tehran, Oct 25 - France Foreign Minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy said Monday that Muslims in his country enjoy total religious and cultural freedoms.
Attending an evening fast-breaking ceremony organaized by the ambassadors of the Islamic countries, Douste-Blazy called for further efforts to make the nations closer to each other in a world which is overwhelmed by wrong analogies, misunderstandings a nd prejudices and as well as faces the growing threat of terrorism.
Blazy rejected again the clash of civilizations theory, saying:" France with 4.5 milion Muslims can not accept such theories which are based on distance among the nations."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bangladesh: Islamists Threaten Bomb Attacks on Police Stations
Today's Bangladesh Independent carries the news that the outlawed Islamist group, Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has threatened the Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet, stating that two police stations will be blown up within the next fifteen days.
The Deputy Commissioner, Faisal Alam, said he had received the threat to bomb Kanai Ghat and Zakigani police stations in a letter, signed in the name of a top JMB commander. Police sources affirm that extra measures of vigilance are being taken in the district.
In Munshiganj district, members of the Rapid Action Battalion raided a location in Baliakandi area yesterday. They detained a terrorist named Sabuj Hossain Kabir, and took three rifles, four rounds of bullets and two ramdaos (a type of machete), found in his possession.
In the west of the country, in Khulna, a local leader of the ruling coalition partner, the Bangladesh national Party (BNP), Mizanur Rahman Bablu was killed in a bomb attack last night. Rahman, who was a part leader at city-ward level, was killed in Dualatpur area. A case has been filed by his brother, but no-one is named in the case, and so far no-one has been arrested. The Deputy Commissioner of Khulna Metropolitan Police says that no motive is known for the murder.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 24, 2005
Hindu Kush means: Hindu Slaughter
That's the answer to last week's trivia question.
The Hindu Kush is a part of the Himalayan Range but the beautiful region belies a very dark past where a countless number of Hindus had been wiped out of the area in 1000 A.D. paving the way to conquer Afghanistan and surrounding areas. The mountain region has since been known as Hindu Kush or Hindu Slaughter, so great were the killings. The death, oppression and violence suffered by the Hindus from the 8th Century to the present as a result of Islam's expansionist aims has been largely unrecognized and unnoticed by the West.
In April 2001, Francois Gautier wrote a piece on the subject lamenting the West's finally awakening to a problem with Muslim fundamentalism:
The West seems to have suddenly woken up to Muslim fundamentalism in South Asia when the Taleban demolished the Bamiyan statues, in spite of frantic appeals from all over the world. But there is a bit of hypocrisy in the outrage triggered by this destruction.
Mr. Gautier engages in wishful thinking that the West woke up after the destruction of the Buddhist monuments. If the West awoke, it quickly returned to sleep only to have Muslim fundamentalism briefly jar the West awake again less than six months later with the 9/11 attacks. Still, only a small but growing crowd of people have fully woken up to the threat Islam poses to the rest of the world.
Politically correct doctrine self-righteously accuses Westerners of being ethnocentric, and it's true. But the problem is not in that Westerners may see the world through their own cultural experience or may see their culture as superior; all societies do that. That is natural and, contrary to politically correct doctrine, some degree of ethnocentricity is healthy. The real problem with ethnocentrism is that Westerners have taken little interest in the details of history outside its own borders. This problem is much exascerbated by politically correct doctrine which precludes the possibility that non-Westerners could produce or hold to an evil or dangerous ideology. Without the ability to recognize non-Western produced ideology as playing a roll in wars and violence, Westerners are left with an incomprehensible mixture of sectarian/tribal rivalries with which to make sense of seemingly intractable problems.
The irony is that Westerners would take much more interest in the details of history and culture outside their borders if they were to remove their politically correct blinders because Eastern history would make so much more sense once the possibility of an evil expansionist religion is figured into the equation.
Posted by Isabel de Castilla at 11:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Israel: Islamic Jihad Building Hit by Israeli Missile
Islamic Jihad has been making loud and aggressive noises today, according to ADN Kronos, stating that it is going to ignore the unofficial ceasefire it has said it has observed for eight months.
On a website on Monday (24 October), Islamic Jihad posted an announcement:
Following the killing of Islamic Jihad's military wing al-Quds Brigades' leader Luai al-Saadi, and as long as the Israelis continue their military incursions in the West Bank, we are free of the obligation to respect the ceasefire and will respond to the Zionist aggressionWithin the last hour, Reuters have announced that an Israeli air raid has hit a building in South Gaza used by the Islamic Jihad. So far, there are no details of casualties.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Russia: Former Guantanamo Islamist Held in Nalchik
A report today from Mosnews states that Rasul Kudayev, a former detainee at Guantanao Bay, is being held for questioning in Nalchik.
Kudayev was one of 7 Russian citizens arrested by the US in Afghanistan, and held in Guantanamo Bay detention unit. In March last year he and the other six were handed over to the Russians. They were charged with illegal crossing of a state border, mercenary activities and participation in a criminal gang. In June, charges were dropped, and all were released.
Kudayev was arrested by local police in Nalchik, after they had questioned other suspects who had been arrested after the events of October 13, when Islamists laid siege to key public building in the capital city of Kabardino-Balkaria in the Caucasus. More than 100 people died in the attack
Kudayev has lived in Nalchik for the past 18 months. In August, it was reported that Kudayev had been kidnapped in the city. "People wearing balaclava masks and dressed in camouflage seized Kudayev in the presence of his mother and sister and took him to an unknown destination", the head of the Russian Islamic Committee, Geidar Jemal stated. He was released several days later.
Meanwhile, as a response to events in Nalchik, Beslan and the Nord-Ost, Mosnews reports that more Russians are now in favour of the death penalty for acts of terrorism. A recent poll has found that 65% of its respondents approved of the restoration of the death penalty, and only 17% wanted it abolished forever.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Philippines: Peace Deal With Moro Islamic Liberation Front
The island of Mindanao is home to the Moro people, who are predominantly Muslim. It is here that the forces of Abu Sayyaf are based. Also here is the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), an organisation formed in 1977 which has about 2,900 "soldiers". In 1987, they led a short lived offensive against the government. They do not argue for war, and are not considered "terrorists" in the way that Abu Sayyaf is a terrorist organisation, and in fact, have repeatedly denounced terrorism. The Moro people consider themselves to be victims of government neglect and persecution. On September 21, the 33rd anniversary of former President Marcos' declaration of martial law, Muslim Moro staged demonstrations, protesting their treatment under the present government, led by Gloria Arroyo.
Muhammad Ameen, a member of MILF, has stated that a peace deal between MILF and the government would bring stability to the island, and help in the fight for real terrorists. Peace talks appear set to commence after Ramadan, which ends in a week and a half. According to the SunStar, Gloria Arroyo initiated peace talks with the MILF in 2002, and last year both sides signed an agreement paving the way for the MILF to assist the government fight terrorism and criminal groups active in the region.
Abu Sayyaf, whose stated aims when founded in the early 1990s were to found a new Islamist state in the southeast Asian region, have recently become linked with Jemaah Islamiyah who also desire the foundation of an Islamic super-state. Moro people are becoming tired of being suspected of terrorist sympathies by the Philippines, and also US forces in the region who are seeking the deadly Abu Sayyaf and now JI groups.
US State Department coordinator for counter-terrorism, Henry Crumpton visited Manila last week, on a tour of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines, intended to seek ways of reducing terror threats within the southeast Asian region. Speaking of the proposed MILF/government peace agreement, he said: "We also believe that when this accord is signed, it will put enormous pressure on Jemaah Islamiya and the Abu Sayyaf Group. So in the long term, we think this is the most effective way forward, and important in bringing the political elements in the Philippines together."
The Financial Times commented on the case, noting that in the early 1980s hundreds of MILF guerillas were sent to Afghanistan to fight Soviet troops, where they came into contact with leading figures in Al Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah.
Early this year, Joseph Mussomeli, charge d'affaires of the US embassy in Manila, said the Milf leaders "have not taken enough steps to not only sever their relations with JI, but to sever their relations from their colleagues who have those connections with JI".Mr Crumpton's statement is in line with the Philippine government's view that links between the Milf and JI and Abu Sayyaf are fairly low-level and not supported by the rebel group's leadership.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Britain: Banks Withdraw Piggy Banks To Avoid Muslim Offence
In an instance of political correctness run amok, two of Britain's largest high street banks have decided to outlaw piggy banks and their images from their advertising and high street outlets, according to Australian press reports. The Age quotes Salim Mulla, secretary of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, who says: "This is a sensitive issue and I think the banks are simply being courteous to their customers."
The Dean of Blackburn has stated that "The next thing we will be banning Christmas trees and cribs and the logical result of that process is a bland uniformity".
Even a Labour Muslim MP has criticised the ban. "We live in a multicultural society and the traditions and symbols of one community should not be obliterated just to accommodate another" stated Khalid Mahmoud, MP for Birmingham. "I doubt many Muslims would be offended by piggy banks."
The Australian Daily Telegraph carries the same report. The two UK banks involved are the National Westminster, or Natwest, and the Halifax.
What is so offensive about this is that is a move done without reports of any claims from Muslims that they are upset, as was the case in the Dudley Council ban, which appears to be earmarked for removal soon.
The banking industry in Britain was founded with money from the Rothschilds. Jews have lived in Britain in communities with their own synagogues since the time of Oliver Cromwell, a lot longer than Muslims. Why pander to assumed Muslim "sensibilities" now? What about Jewish customers, who have used UK banks for a longer period? Why did no-one think of their feelings? Jews avoid pork, and their religion has banned pork-eating for a thousand years longer than the Muslim faith. Maybe because Jews in Britain are well-adjusted folk who live and let live. Or maybe the fools at the UK banks are not scared of offending Jews, but are fearful of Muslims?
Rabbis in Israel in 2003 even approved a plan to have "guard pigs", trained to protect settlements in the West Bank, according to the BBC. This involved real-life pigs, which poo. So why is an image of a piggy-bank deemed so offensive to Muslims?
For some reason, this story has not appeared in the UK press, apart from the Star, and that is more of a comic (pictured). When the story does appear in the mainstream, I hope people will protest, and threaten to transfer their custom to banks which are not so lily-livered and apologetic about British culture.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Baghdad: Three Suicide Bombs Kill at Least Twenty
Three vehicle bombs have been detonated outside the Palestine Hotel in Firdouz Square, Baghdad, a hotel frequented by journalists. One of these bombs, involving a cement mixer truck, was caught on film shown a few minutes ago on UK TV, and it was massive. It was heard two miles away, according to ITN News.
A car bomb went off near the police station, 100 yards east of the hotel, and a third went off around the same time. According to the Guardian, shortly before the explosions, a truck came under fire nearby. The Pentagon has said that the attack came from vehicle bombs, and rockets launched near the outer walls of the Palestine hotel and the nearby Sheraton.
Elsewhere in the city, two civilian cars were attacked by gunfire, killing three municipal workers and a passer-by.
A US Marine from the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force was hit by small arms fire in Ramadi and killed on Sunday, raising the death toll of US military to 1997.
In the Baghdad neighbourhood of Shaab, a suicide bomber killed two Iraqis and wounded three. In western Baghdad, insurgents attacked an Iraqi military checkpoint, killing one soldier in the gunfire, and a girl standing in front of her home.
A policeman was killed and two wounded in another incident, a drive-by shooting.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 1:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Canada: Islamist Suspect Suffers Visions
Earlier, we brought you news that four suspected Islamists were being transferred to a federal penitentiary. Now, it appears, the effect of being imprisoned, for a large part of that time in solitary confinement, is having its toll upon Mohamed Harkat, one of the four detainees.
Harkat, according to the Ottawa Citizen has had his psychiatric assessment filed with the Federal Court of Canada, as part of his bail assessment, which starts today. He is taking the stand today.
Psychiatrist Dr Colin Cameron states that Mr Harkat, who is awaiting deportation to his home country of Algeria, is having nightmares, in which he imagines his fingernails are being pulled out or his skin scraped off. He suggests Harkat should be given anti-depressant drugs.
A ruling in March this year by Judge Eleanor Dawson effectively declared Harkat to be an al-Qaeda terrorist, in accordance with an earlier Canadian government designation. The judge had access to files not available to the public.
Harkat's lawyer , Matthew Weber, has said that his client, who has ben detained since December 2002, should be released on bail. His client has lost 20 pounds during his custody. Apparently Harkat longs to be with his family, who reside in Canada.
In Britain, four suspected terrorists awaiting deportation were granted bail under similar circumstances. Three had tried to commit suicide, and one had said "spirits" had ordered him to take his own life.
Keywords: Al Qaeda, al Qaida, al-Qaeda, al-Qaida
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 1:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
On the War on Information front:
Strategy Page has updated information regarding the United Nation's ongoing battle to take control of the Internet away from the United States or specifically, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).
Strategy Page believes that because the Internet was designed to avoid censorship and to be outside of control of a central source, it will survive the current attempts for United Nation's control. I'm not too sure about that based my reading up about the structure of ICANN and its history from ICANN Watch. If ICANN has closed itself off to accountability to the public, what's to prevent the members of ICANN's Board of Directors from selling itself out to the United Nations should they become infected with the Transnationalist Progressivism ideology?
Posted by Isabel de Castilla at 12:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: Asian Muslims And Blacks Threaten More Violence in Birmingham
The problems of Saturday's riots in Birmingham looked last night set to repeat themselves, as gangs of angry Asian Muslims and black gangs squared up to each other, taunting and making threats. Strong policing managed to keep the groups away from each other, and though the tension and hostility remained high, there was no repeat of the events of the previous night.
However, last night an 18-year old man was shot dead, close to the scene of Saturday's disturbances, according to the Times. A West Midlands spokeswoman said: "It would appear that at some point while police were searching the area, an 18-year-old suffered a gunshot wound and was taken to hospital where he has since died. Two men have been arrested in connection with this."
We brought you news of Saturday's Birmingham rioting, but the information about what happened and why it happened is only becoming clearer now. There was no man burned in his taxi, as reported. But a man was stabbed. The injured police officer was shot in the leg with a "ball-bearing" gun. But the 14-year old girl whose alleged rape began all this has still not come forward. There are now doubts as to whether she even exists, or just belongs in the annals of urban myth.
Elsewhere in the Times the events of Saturday are analysed. The "reporting" of the alleged rape began apparently on an internet site. The place where the incident allegedly happened is a hair and beauty salon. A website called BlackNetUK proclaimed that the rape happened there, at the "back of their hair & Beauty shop because they thought she was trying to steal a wig". One commenter to the site wrote in response "I hope Asian women are getting their throats cut as we speak." By Friday night, the incident was being reported on black radio stations.
The 33-year old owner of Beauty Queen Cosmetics, the shop at the centre of the dispute, claims he had been branded a rapist by rival cosmetic companies. "It was originally claimed as far back as six months ago that I had fondled a young black female customer, which was totally untrue. By last week I had become a monster who had instigated a 19-man gang rape of a 14-year-old girl." The man, who does not wish to be named, said that he suspects that the hate campaign was initiated by rivals "who can't stand the fact that an Asian man is selling African products."
The Times and also the Telegraph report that the hostility between young Muslim Asians and blacks is primarily about drug-gangs. The Times wrote
Asian gangs such as Sheree-Punjab, the Muslim Birmingham Panthers, the Redheads and the Lynx used to work with black gangs such as the Burger Bar Boys and Johnson Crew.The Telegraph writes of the gangs working together to protect areas against racism.The gangs were originally set up in the Seventies to protect themselves from racially orchestrated violence, but have evolved into opposing crime syndicates. In the Eighties, Asian and black gangs in Lozells were recognised as importers of guns and drugs by West Midlands Police, and in 1985 Handsworth was at the centre of riots in which more than 200 shops were looted or burnt down. Racial tensions between Asian shopkeepers and black youths was identified as a factor in the riots.
But where once the line between territories was clearly marked, the declassification of marijuana traditionally dealt by Jamaican Yardie groups and the increasing distribution of heroin by Asian gangs to other cultural groups led to an inevitable clash of interests. Former cohabitees became rival crime syndicates.The Guardian expands:According to National Crime Intelligence Service figures, Pakistani and Indian drug gangs now account for more than 20 per cent of heroin trafficking from Pakistan to Europe and Britain. "Saturday's events vary greatly from the events I witnessed 20 years ago," said Mr Bishton yesterday.
"In 1985 it was about alienation. The Asian community had been well established in Birmingham for decades, and many Asians owned successful businesses. The black communities felt they had no hope of attaining that lifestyle, and unemployment was high.
Another Pakistani trader, who did not wish to be identified for fear of reprisals, said: "Four days ago black boys stood outside my shop. They had rocks and they were telling me to close the shutters. They were using abusive language. All the black community leaders did was to arrange another protest. They went to the church and afterwards youths were throwing stones, breaking windows and attacking the local mosque. Then some Asian kids came to protect the mosque, but were driven away by the police."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:53 AM | Comments (23) | TrackBack
Israel: Islamic Jihad Leader Killed by IDF
We mentioned last night a breaking news report that a man had been shot dead in Tulkarem. Today, Arutz Sheva confirmed that the man, Loie Sa'adi, was a leader of the Islamic Jihad organisation. Sa'adi had been involved with the suicide bombing at the Stage nightclub in Tel Aviv, the suicide bombing at a shopping mall in Natanya, an attempted attack on the Jewish community of Shavei Shomron in Samaria, and placing a car bomb next to the Jewish community of Mevo Dotan in northern Samaria. He was also involved in three plans to send suicide bombers into Jerusalem.
Al Jazeera added that Majid al-Ashqar, an al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade member, was also killed with al-Sa'adi in Tulkarem. Six Palestinians were also detained during the operation. The Israeli army placed a curfew on Tulkarem, including the Nur al-Shams Palestinian refugee camp, after the operation. Elsewhere in the West Bank, 26 Palestinians were detained overnight,
Other news from Israel - two Hamas operatives have been detained on terrorism charges in Israel, according to Arutz Sheva. The two men are from Nazareth and Kafr Manda, and have confessed to acts carried out for Hamas in the 1990s. The pair had gone to Turkey for terrorist training before returning to Israel, where they have citizenship. They were arrested last month in Galilee.
Nazmi Hussain and Abd a-Salaam Zidan were both dentists. According to Supt Shmuel Boker, the commissioner of the Central Command of the Galilee, Hussain had become radicalised while abroad, listening at a mosque in Romania to speeches inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. He underwent training exercises in Turkey, and was asked to find other Israeli Arabs to recruit. He then conscripted Zidan, who was in Romania studying. It appears the two men were employed in information-gathering for Hamas.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:05 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Afghanistan: Journalist Gets Two Years in Jail for Criticizing Islam
We reported yesterday the case of a journalist from a monthly magazine called "Women's Rights" who was arrested in Afghanistan for "blasphemy": Afghan Journalist Gets Two Years in Jail
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A women's magazine editor has been sentenced to two years in jail after being convicted of blasphemy for publishing anti-Islamic articles, including one challenging a belief that Muslims who convert to other religions should be stoned to death, a judge said Sunday.The case underlines the fragility of press freedoms in the nascent democracy and highlights a struggle between religious moderates and extremists over what form Islam will take in Afghanistan as foundations are laid for its future.
Ali Mohaqiq Nasab was arrested on Oct. 1 after his magazine Haqooq-i-Zan - Women's Rights - argued that giving up Islam was not a crime that should be punished by death, as sanctioned by some interpretations of Islamic Shariah law.
On Saturday, Kabul's Primary Court convicted Mohaqiq of blasphemy, said presiding judge Ansarullah Malawizada.
Islam still controls Afghanistan, Taliban or no Taliban.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 4:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 23, 2005
Israel: Palestinian Killed in Tulkarem, Islamists Arrested
A breaking report from Le Monde. A Palestinian has been killed by Israeli gunfire during a confrontation on Sunday night at Tulkarem, in the north of the West Bank, according to Palestinian hospital and security sources
The man whose identity has not been given died in an exchange of gunfire with soldiers who encircled the house he was found in, according to them. An Israeli militaru spokesman confirmed the information, specifying that one soldier had been wounded, though not seriously, by the Palestinian.
This brings to 4852 the number of people killed since the commencement of the Intifada, at the end of September 2000, of whom the great majority have been Palestinian and more than 1000 Israelis.
Arutz Sheva announced that on the night of Saturday/Sunday, IDF troops from counter-terror operations in Judaea and Samaric arrested 23 Islamists. Eleven Hamas terrorists were taken in the Hevron area. Eight arrests were made in the Bilin area in Ramallah district, and four were apprehended near bethlehem, including members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Ethiopia: Illegal Arms Cache Found
Ethiopian police stated today that they have found a large cache of weapons in the northern state of Amhara, according to China People's Daily. The haul was discovered in the town of Denbia following a tip-off, and included 26 Kalashnikovs and various other rifles, and 200 ammunitions. 26 people were arrested and placed in custody, in connection with the discovery.
Police found leaflets inciting violence, a police spokesperson said, adding that they were the work of "opposition parties".
Since the country's elections on Ma 15, there has been a number of outbreaks of violence in Ethiopia. Final election results indicate that the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Party (EPRDF) has 327 of the 547-seat lower House of People's Representatives, a clear enough majority to form a federal government.
The other two parties received: 109 seats for the Voalition for Unity and Democracy(CUD), and 52 for the United Ethiopian Democratic Force (UEDF). The two oposition parties have accused the ruling party (which has been in power now for 14 years) of electoral fraud, and have boycotted the first session of parliament.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bosnia: Two Islamist "Suicide Bombers" Detained
According to the BBC from within the last 40 minutes, two men have been arrested, accused of planning a suicide attack. The two individuals, detained under anti-terrorism legislation, are being held in Sarajevo.
One is said to have recorded a video reciting Islamic prayers, which may been intended as a valedictory message, to be found after his death. One holds a Swedish passport, and the other a Turkish passport, but both are thought to have come from the former nation of Yugoslavia.
Sources close to the investigation sate that the pair were carrying explosives when arrested. Weapons and other military equipment were found at premises linked to the two individuals. A third man, from Bosnia, was also arrested, but is being held at a separate location.
There have been several suggestions that Islamists may have been using Bosnia as a base, but this is the first time there has been any tangible evidence. The Islamists' target is unknown. The chief international envoy to Bosnia, Lord Ashdown, said the matter was serious, but also indicated that Bosnia was a capable partner in the war against terror.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Afghanistan: Two Year's Jail for Blasphemy
Earlier today, we brought you the story of the editor of an Afghan monthly magazine who was facing jail on charges of blasphemy against Islam. Since writing that piece there has been bad news, not just for the editor, but for all those in Afghanistan who value free speech and democracy.
Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, who published a monthly women's magazine called Womens' Rights (Haqooq-i-Zan), has been sentenced today. According to a report from the Scotsman, Mr Mohaqiq Nasab has been sentenced to two years' jail.
His crime had been to publish two articles. One questioned if it was right to stone women to death for adultery, and the other stated that giving up Islam (apostasy) should not be treated as a crime punishable by death, as it is in some interpretations of sharia.
The Scotsman stated that:
The case underlines the fragility of press freedom in the nascent democracy and highlights a struggle between religious moderates and extremists over what form Islam will take in Afghanistan as foundations are laid for its future.I am glad that this case has been published, and hope that Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, who has campaigners from within Afghanistan and in the world outside supporting him, will have some justice, and be released.
This is a sign that Afghanistan under Hamid Karzai is not moving towards equality and justice. Already several warlords appear to be gaining seats in the new parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, following the initial results of ballot-counting from the election of September 18.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: Scotland Given Warnings on Islamist Attack
The Scotsman reports that Jim Brooks, a vice-president of London-cased security consultants Control Risks Group has warned that Edinburgh and Glasgow possess internationally famous targets which would attract terrorists. He said that terrorists will move their focus away from London to places seen as easier to target.
Professor Paul Wilkinson who heads the centre for the study of terrorism and political violence at St Andrews University, backed the warning:
"For al-Qaeda, any area where they can attack people they regard as infidels is an appropriate target. Also they are ruthless in targeting civilians and going where no-one would expect."A leaked document, revealed in today's Sunday Times has claimed that Blair's "War on Terror" is failing. The document, which originated from the government's delivery unit, the confidential report states that key policies to prevent al-Qaeda attacks and prevent terrorism taking hold in Britain are "immature" and "disjointed". Others are described as unrelated to the "real world" and no hope of developing. One suggestion is the creation of a new Minister responsible for enforcing counter-terror policies and strategy.
The 11 page review states that the anti-terror policy is bogged down in confusion with "little effective coordination", and having no clear leadership.
In other news, on Friday Scotland Yard apprehended 3 men yesterday, in connection with investigations into terror activities. The men, in their early 20s. were detained under the Terrorism Act 2000. One man was arrested in Chatham, Kent, and another in Shepherd's Bush, west London. Scotland Yard stated that thee were ongoing searches at these addresses, as well as at Paddington. No hazardous materials have been found. The third man walked into a police station voluntarily on Saturday and was then arrested. The arrests are not related to the terror attacks of 7/7.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Book Review: Islam and Dhimmitude
I am very good at math, so the experience I'm about to relate is alien to me, but some of my present and former schoolmates tell me of the horror of taking a math test for which they thought themselves prepared, only to realize they were more lost than Kim Jong Il at a Peace Conference. Something similar has happenned to me, but it wasn't on a test; it was by reading a perfectly innocent book.
The book is Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide, by distinguished scholar Bat Ye'or. Reading the history of Dhimmitude, from its start as an Islamic doctrine throught its present, disturbing manifestations is not for the faint of heart. You will find treason, cruelty, short-sightedness and cowardice in every page, and in a rather voluminous book, that's a lot to say. (Ms Ye'or's writing style--she might well be the world's mildest writer--only adds to the horror, as the inhumane deeds of Islam are allowed to speak for themselves.)
Beyond that, let me tell you, you will learn, whether you like it or not. For example, did you know that:
* Islam's early conquests were accomplished largely by treason?
* The Muslim immigration into Europe was engineered by Europeans?
* Europe--and America--have abandoned every non-Muslim group that has fought against Muslims?
It is enought to make a strong man doubt, let alone a not-so-strong one.
Still, I urge you to read this book. We simply must know the truth. And then, for goodness's sake, do something about it.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 2:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: Islamist Arrested After Claiming Links With 7/7 Cell
The News of the World today has an article on a UK-born Muslim who claimed he was asked to be the fifth man in the cell which attacked London Transport on 7/7, killing 52 people.
Imran Patel, in his early 30s, had told a News of the World reporter that he had undergone terrorist training in Pakistan, and had been invited to join the four suicide-attackers, Shehzad Tanweer, Jermaine Lindsay, Hasib Hussain and their leader Mohammad Siddique Khan. Patel, who claims he watched jihadist videos with the killers a few weeks before they carried out the atrocity, says he declined the offer to join the group on their mission, when they suggested that one of their targets should be a school.
Patel, who works as an auditor, did not inform police about their intentions as he claims he did not want to see Muslim "brothers" jailed. Patel boasted that he would never attack a UK target, even though he would partake in such a mission abroad.
He told the reporter that he went to Pakistan in September 2003 at the behest of a Dewsbury Mullah, and there underwent military training, sleeping in tents in the mountains. He says he was contacted by other Muslims who knew he was prepared to be a Jihadi. Patel claims he knows at least six other Muslims from Dewsbury, Yorkshire, who also went on similar training.
He met 30-year old Khan through one of the bomber's relatives, three months prior to the 7/7 attacks. Patel claims he knows at least six other Muslims from Dewsbury, Yorkshire, who also went on similar training.
He said he had agreed to speak to the news of the World so that people "understand that Jihad is valid." "It is permissable but only in appropriate places and Britain is not one of them," he said.
Patel was arrested yesterday evening as he drove to his local prayer room (he is barred from Dewsbury Markaz mosque for his extremist views) by 20 anti-terrorist officers from West Yorkshire So13 Squad, who sealed the road and dragged him from his car. The dossier on his confessions was given to the unit by the newspaper. A police spokesman has said that a thorough investigation will be launched into Imran Patel and his activities.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: Minister Accused Of "Misleading" In Ban On Uzbek Islamic Group
According to today's Sunday Times, the Home Office minister, Hazel Blears (pictured), has come under intense criticism for allegedly misleading parliament by presenting "false" intelligence about the threat from an Islamic group which was included in Charles Clarke's list of proscribed terrorist groups.
She said to MPs earlier this month that the Uzbek group, the Islamic Jihad Union was a threat to British interests overseas. The group has a stated aim of bringing about democracy to the dictatorship of Uzbekistan. On May 13 this year, about 700 people were massacred by the Uzbek security forces in Andijan, the state capital, after mass protests by local Muslims
To make her case against the IJU, Blears told MPs that information on the group had been received directly from British intelligence sources which showed it to have been responsible for a series of bombings in Uzbekistan in March 2004.He claims that he made several warnings to her at the time of potential bombings to be carried out by the group, but later came to the conclusion that the reports given to him were concocted by the Uzbek government.Her account was accepted at the time by MPs but has now been challenged by Craig Murray, who was British ambassador in Uzbekistan until 2004.
"I sent a telegram to London - copied to the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) in MI5, to the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence - about the inconsistencies of the accounts. JTAC agreed with my assessment that the official version of events was not credible. I am amazed to find it being repeated in the House of Commons by Hazel Blears." Murray said.Craig Murray, ambassador to Uzbekistan between 2002 and 2004, has written an account of his criticisms of Ms Blears' policy in the Guardian from October 19. He described how he had been taken, while Uzbek ambassador to a scene of a "suicide attack":
The physical evidence on the ground did not coincide with the official explanation. For example, each suicide bomber was alleged to be using explosives equivalent to 2kg of TNT. But nowhere, not even at the site of an alleged car bomb, was there a crater, or even a crack in a paving stone. In one small triangular courtyard area a bomb had allegedly killed six policemen. But windows on all sides, at between 10 and 30 metres from the alleged blast, were not damaged; nor was a tree in the middle of the yard. The body of one of the alleged suicide bombers was unmarked, save for a small burn about the size of a walnut on her stomach.
The events of the Andijan massacre are given in an account by the BBC. 23 local businessmen had been imprisoned, accused of Islamic extremism. Protests were taking place peacefully (pictured) on Thursday May 12. In the evening, the situation became volatile when some demonstrators were arrested. In the early hours of riday 13, the jail where the 23 men were imprisoned was attacked , and the detainees were freed. A small number of people had been killed. The following day, several thousand people arrived in Andijan's main square, and the massacre began.
The government of Uzbekistan, led by President Karimov, is still attempting to fabricate versions of what happened in the May massacre. A prominent human rights activist was arrested earlier this month, preventing her from departing to an international conference in Dublin, according to Human Rights Watch . Mukhtabar Tojibaeva was detained on October 7. She is head of the "Fiery Hearts" club, a human rights group based in the Fergana Valley, and a vocal critic of the events of May 13.
The Uzbek authorities have charged Tojibaeva with extortion in what appears to be a politically motivated effort to stop her human rights work and prevent her from attending the conference. The charges stem from a dispute Tojibaeva had with an employee of a fish farm she owns. According to Tojibaeva, the employee had previously confirmed in writing that he owed her 1 million sum (approximately US$1,000). He had already repaid her 350,000 sum. Before her trip, Tojibaeva asked the employee to repay the amount still owed. On October 7, he came to Tojibaeva's house and repaid her 250,000 sum. The police then burst in, accusing Tojibaeva of extortion.The group which is said to be a terrorist organisation, The Islamic Jihad Union, is listed by the UN and the US as a terrorist organisation. The United States State Department listed it as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist Group, and the UN followed this with their own designation. The group has not claimed responsibility for any terrorist attacks since 2004, according to MITP Terrorist Knowledge Base.
The IJG was previously unknown until April 2004 when the group claimed responsibility for a series of suicide bombings around Tashkent and Bukhara, which killed 47 people. The attacks targeted local government offices, as well as a crowded market. Although IJG released a statement claiming responsibility for the bombings, officials doubted the existence of the unknown group, and blamed other extremist organizations.On July 30, 2004 bomb attacks were made simultaneously upon the Israeli Embassy, the US Embassy and the Uzbek Prosecutor General. Two were killed, and several wounded.
The United States advises travellers to the region to exercise caution.
In 2003, the U.S. Embassy received information indicating that terrorist groups had planned attacks against hotels in Uzbekistan frequented by Westerners, as well as against other institutions affiliated with or representing foreign interests.According to the Sunday Times today, a spokeswoman for the Home Office has said Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary had been provided with detailed intelligence information about Islamic Jihad Union.Terrorist groups do not distinguish between official and civilian targets. As security is increased at official U.S. facilities, terrorists and their sympathizers seek softer targets. These may include facilities where Americans and other foreigners congregate or visit, such as residential areas, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, hotels, outdoor recreation events, and resorts.
"IJU is a proscribed organisation by the United Nations and there was a clear case for the government to follow suit," she said. Blears had presented accurate information to parliament and was drawing on the "full intelligence picture".
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bangladesh: Islamists Regrouping in Hills of Tangail
It appears that the varied strands of Islamic terrorist organisations are starting to regroup in the hilly regions of Tangail district, according to varying reports. According to China People's Daily many of the Islamist militants arrested for their involvement with the national bombings of August 17, most of whom belong to Jamaatul Mujahideen, have confessed to being trained at a military school in the isolated areas of Tangail, and also at a number of madrassas there.
Police admit that there is no direct information on the location of militants hiding in these areas, but this week, a JMB threat was made against Tangail Jail. The threat, made on Wednesday, stated that the jail would be attacked in "seven days time" if police did not desist from making arrests of JMB militants.
Tangail lies in the centre of Bangladesh, 62 miles northwest of the capital, Dhaka, so it is a logical lace to house a center of national operations for a militant, paramilitary group. The India Daily reports in a somewhat sensationalised fashion on the supposed Islamist HQ in Tangail. They even question whether Osama bin Laden may be hiding and recruiting from this region. "But sources and signal intelligence reaching India point towards a major al-Qaeda figure in Tangail district leading the Jihadists", the article concludes.
From Xinhua: A lot of strangers are seen wandering in the remote areas in the district, some 98 kilometers northwest of Dhaka, and "the strangers seem embarrassed when locals want to know their identities." The Daily Star reported Saturday that:
Our Tangail correspondent Mirza Shakil reports: Local sources said a lot of strangers are seen wandering the remote char areas, including Hugra, Katuli and Nagarpur, along the Dhaleswari river, and the isolated hilly areas of Ghatail and forests of Madhupur and Sakhipur......Two persons, including a member of the intelligent unit of JMB, were arrested on June 13 in the Nagarpur char area soon after they blasted two bombs for experiment.
However, Tangail Superintendent of Police (SP) Mirza Abdullahil Baki said he has no information that militants are hiding in the char areas.
Meanwhile, according to the Daily Star, there has been a discovery of a large arms cache in the district of Bandarban. 2500 bullets, two .303 rifles, 40 AK47 magazines and firearms-manufacturing materials were discovered buried in the remote hilly region of Naikkhongchhari on Friday morning.
Acting on a tip-off, the Bangladesh Rifles went on a hunt for an arms stash at the hills of Horinjhi in Dochari Upazila, but by the time they arived, the weaponry had been removed. The BDR then started digging in the Horinjhiri Hill and recovered the cache.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Indonesia: Vigilantes of Islam
A report from Strategy Page documents the ongoing oppression of minority groups within Indonesia. There are 17,000 Islamic schools across Indonesia. Even though Indonesia's Vice-President Jusuf Kalla recently only referred to two islamist schools or pesantren which were inciting terror through their radical teachings, the Strategy Page states that many more are encouraging emnity towards non-Muslims. Several mosques host preachers who urge Muslims to resist conversion from Christian groups. The two schools which have had students graduating to cause terror attacks are the Al-Mukmin and Al-Islam schools. The former was run by Abu Bakar Bashir, the Yemeni-born spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, who is currently in prison for his part in the 2002 Bali bombings.
The Christian population is concentrated on a few islands in the archipelago, and these are being threatened by Islamic vigilantes. About 9% of Indonesians are Christian, 2% Hindu and 2% other religions.
We referred earlier to the massacre of Christians on Ambon, Maluku, from 2002, where Muslim cleric Jaffar Umar Thalib urged 5000 Muslims to attack the Christian community, where up to 21 people were killed, with children among the dead and injured. A gruesome film is available documenting the decapitations, and burnings of members of the Christian community. At the start of September, three Christian women were jailed for inviting Muslim children to Church activities.
Even Muslims have been targetted by Indonesia's hard-line clerics. In July the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) issued a decree stating that all liberal interpretations of Islam, secularism and pluralism were un-Islamic and therefore "haram" or forbidden. The Ahmaddiyah (Ahmadi) have been threatened with violence.On September 20 this year, 1000 people attacked buildings in Sukdana, West Java, damaging 70 houses and six mosques.
Strategy Page has stated that armed men from organisations like "Islamic Defenders' Front" have been continuing to attack Christians this month, threatening to burn houses and kill people if, in one case, Catholics do not stop holding prayer services in their homes. The armed gangs say they follow the Koran, and police are often hesitant to pursue and arrest them, for fear of provoking more violence.
According to the BBC, the Islamic Defenders' Front do not wish to impose Sharia law nor create an Islamist state, but prefer to deal with issues within communities. Their leader, Habib Rizieq Shihab (aka Muhammad Rizieq) was facing jail for inciting followers to make raids on various social establishments. In the end, although he could have received a 7 year jail term, he only served 7 months. The group number several thousand, mainly young, Muslims. According to MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base Habib Rizieq Shihab (pictured) served his seven month jail term at Salemba Penitentiary in Central Jakarta, being released on November 19, 2003. The group, which was formed in the late 1990s apparently is financed by business extortion.
Even though Aceh, since the Tsunami of 24 December 2004, has been reported as more peaceful, with 6000 rebels declaring a truce with the Indonesian government in August, there have been outbreaks of violence lately. Rebels are continuing to hand in weapons, with 840 so far returned, but there have still been fire-fights with one rebel dead and several wounded. There are still 3000 active rebels in the region.
On the border of East Timor and West Timor, a new paramilitary pro-Indonesian group has recently emerged, calling itself Okto. It is made up of Indonesians who formerly lived in West Timor, but moved to East Timor after independence. They have not yet made any attacks, but West Timorese police fear they may soon start raids across the border.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Afghanistan: Editor Arrested For Blasphemy Against Islam
In yesterday's Pakistani Pak Tribune, the case is reported of the editor of an Afghanistani women's magazine, who has been arrested on charges of publishing articles deemed blasphemous and un-Islamic. Ali Mohaqiq Nasab ran the monthly magazine entitled "Women's Rights".
His arrest earlier this month has been condemned by organisations concerned with press freedoms within Afghanistan and international media representatives, such as Reporters Without Borders and the US Committee to Protect Journalists.
One of the stories from Women's Rights questioned the punishment under Sharia of stoning, for women found guilty of adultery. Another article stated that giving up Islam (apostasy) is not a crime. He was arrested on 1 October after a religious adviser to President Hamid Karzai complained to the Supreme Court. Mohaqiq Nasab has twice since then appeared in court. The judges have said that his actions were intentional, and that he should be severely punished.
The country's Media Commission convened on 18 October and found that Nasab's articles did not insult Islam, according to Rahimullah Samander, the head of Afghanistan's Independent Association of Journalists.
In 2003, two other journalists have been arrested for alleged blasphemy. Two editors from "Aftab", an Afghan weekly, were detained for publishing articles criticising the political manipulation of Islam by conservative leaders. They were later released, but a campaign of threats forced them to leave the country.
Samander noted that a recent study said that harassment of journalists in the country is on the rise, with many threats and intimidations initiated by warlords and government officials. He said that Article 31 of Afghanistan's media law, which stipulates that journalists are not allowed to write about Islamic issues, or religion, should be changes."
A group of Afghan writers based in Canada have written to President Hamid Karzai, referring to Nasab's arrest as "the imprisonment of al writers in Afghanistan".
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Afghanistan: Nine Policemen Killed in Taliban Ambush
Nine police were killed in a Taliban ambush in the southern province of Helmland, according to Yahoo. The incident, in which a journalist was also killed, took place when a police convoy, on the hunt for a militant hideout, were attacked by gunmen. Four Taliban also died in the exchanges, according to a press release issued on Saturday by the provincial administration's deputy chief, Ghulam Moheedin.
More than 1400 people have been killed so far this year in acts of political violence. Meanwhile, thousands of people marched in Khost yesterday, in a protest against the Newsweek report, in which two Taliban were shown being cremated, in defiance of Islamic custom.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Iran: "Islamic Countries Consorting With Israel Are Criminal"
Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur, the secretary-general of the International Conference to Support the Palestinian Intifada announced in Iran yesterday that it is a crime for some Muslim countries to be making efforts to establish relationships with the "Zionist regme", i.e. Israel, according to the Tehran Times.Speaking at a press conference at the offices of the Iranian Students' News Agency, he said:
"After Israel's withdrawal from Gaza under pressure from the Palestinian resistance, the United States and the Zionist regime demanded that Muslims normalize relations with Israel as a gift in return for their failure."Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar and Bahrain have started the process of normalisation of relatiionships with the "Zionist Regime", he said. He said that Israel was "an enemy of Muslims, and those who cooperate with Israel or legitimize or officially recognise it are also looked upon as enemies." Speaking on the car-bomb assassination of Lebanese former prime minister Rafik Hariri, which is now shown in a UN report to have been managed by Syria, he said that America and Israel have benefitted most by Hariri's death, covertly implying some influence in the event. He said the case had now become completely politicised. "The Hariri case is the new US and Israeli scenario," he said.
Iran's publication of this conference is in line with the hard-line Islamism being promoted in Iran under its new leader, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The latest purge of westernism from his country has been a recent ban of US cinema, according to Al Jazeera. On Thursday 20 october, Iran's state television announced that the Supreme Revolutionary Council had issued the ban on foreign films which promote "arrogant powers, the propaganda name for the US. The ban also affects films that deny the existence of God and those that are viewed as promoting immorality, violence, drug usage, alcohol consumption, secularism, liberalism, anarchy and feminism. Under the previous rule of the reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, films such as Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" and Scorsese's "The Aviator" were allowed.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Philippines: Indonesian Islamist Group Thriving
The coordinator for counter-terrorism at the US State Department, Henry Crumpton has warned that in the southern Philippines, the Indonesian Islamist group, Jemaah Islamiyah is thriving and causing a threat to the whole region, according to Yahoo News.
"The threat is very serious if you look at recent events, the intention of enemy forces, their collaborating with affiliates all around the region ... their technical skills especially in bomb-making, their tradecraft skills."The Philippines military had confirmed that JI was still conducting training in Mindanao, where various armed Islamic groups, particularly Abu Sayyaf, are operating.
Crumpton warned that countries in the region should be on the lookout for possible uses of biological or chemcial weaponry by terrorists.
Filipino military deputy chief Lieutenant-General Samuel Bagasin stated yesterday that Ji were operating in the mountainous areas of Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao on Mindanao, and slao the island chains of Basilan and Jolo nearby, according to Asian News. He said that Jemaah Islamiyah, responsible for the Bali bombings of 2002 and almost cetainly the Bali bombings of October 1st this year, do not, however, have links with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has signed a cesefire with the central government.
Abu Sayyaf, the homegrown Filippino group, who have committed bomb outrages against US military bases and civilians in Zamboanga, and most notoriously bombed an inter-island ferry which sank in 2004, killing 116 people, have similar aims to Jemaah Islamiyah. They wish to consolidate many Muslim parts of southeast Asia into one large Islamic state. As Crumpton noted of Jemaah Islamiyah's current positioning in Mindanao:
"There is an enormous challenge there, just in the geography. Its not just Mindanao but extends to the Sulawesi Sea ... over to Sabah, Malaysia."Crumpton urged the Filipino government to speed up its long-delayed counter-terror legislation.
For background information on Jemaah Islamiyah, see our Special Report.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Australia: Muslim Fanatics To Be Rounded Up Under New Proposals
According to the China Post, Australia will soon be rounding up eighty Islamists in the country, who have trained abroad with al-Qaeda and other outlawed terrorist groups. Critics have voiced their opposition to these proposed measures which have previously not been disclosed openly. The offence of training or consorting with terrorist groups was not made illegal until July 2002.
The new proposals will mean that those deemed to be terror suspects will be given control orders which would involve being electronically tagged, to report to authorities regularly, and undertake not to contact certain people or groups.
Leaders of the Australian states were glad to have a tougher set of rulings in Prime Minister John Howard's anti-terror proposals in the wake of the recent Bali bombings, but that support is now waning.
Arch Bevis of the Labour Party, the opposition spokesman on homeland security, said that proposals requiring terror suspects to be detained for 14 days without charge would need scrutiny: "We've got to make sure that laws provide for a secure Australia but we don't need to trample on civil liberties to do that" he said.
Muslims are aggrieved, and the spokesman for the Australian Muslim Civil Rights Commission has said that the plans were open to abuse. Waleed Kadous said the proposals would allow people to be detained who would not otherwise be prosecuted.
The Fiji Times has an article where the Fiji Muslim League has raised its concerns with the Australian Government in informal meetings in Suva. It has been claimed that less than 10% of people in Australia who have had, or still have involvements with al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah and other groups would ever face a court of law.
The Sunday Mail quoted the then-head of intelligence agency ASIO, Dennis Richardson, who said in March:
"In many cases, the capacity to obtain evidence sufficient to meet proper legal standards is beyond reach."But the community has an understandable expectation that the Government will lawfully protect it from the potential threat posed by those substantially involved with al-Qa'ida and other terrorist groups, and from those who have undertaken terrorist training.
"Equally, it is important that any action taken against such people - monitoring and otherwise - is within a proper legal framework."
Australia has now included Jemaah Islamiyah, al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Abu Sayyaf and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in a list of 17 banned Islamic terror groups. ASIO warned in September that there could be as many as 800 Islamic extremists, willing to carry out 7/7 style attacks upon Australia. ASIO stated that there were about 75 people that were being monitored who had trained in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 22, 2005
UK: Race Riot In Birmingham - 1 Dead
Birmingham, in the UK Midlands, is considered a multi-racial society where generally inter-community relations are good. However, today, a race riot has erupted, with one person dead.
The origin of the incident was a community meeting, where residents had gathered to discuss the rape of a 14-year old Jamaican girl by a gang of Asian men.
According to the Sunday Times, a rally attended by 300 people from the black and Asian communities erupted into violence. Bricks and bottles were hurled at riot police, which caused one police officer to be hurt, and one man died, apparently inside a burning taxi.
The alleged rape of the Jamaican girl had been carried out by a group of 19 Asian men, but had not been reported to the police because she was not legally entitled to be here. A local West Indian radio station broadcast the details of the incident, and during the week, Asian shopkeepers have been subjected to abuse.
This story will be updated as news arrives.
According to the Sunday Telegraph there have been two deaths. One was of a man, believed to be Asian, who was stabbed at a take-away food outlet in the Lozells area of the city, and the other is the man whose taxi was set alight.
The BBC reports the claim of a Press Association journalist who visited the scene that more than 100 hooded youths carrying baseball bats were on the rampage, hitting cars, including her own. People have had car windows smahed as they drove along.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:03 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Lebanon: UN Withheld Information on Hariri's Assassination Probe
The United Nations goes out of its way to protect the chinless Syrian Dictator. Why am I not surprised? UN office doctored report on murder of Hariri
THE United Nations withheld some of the most damaging allegations against Syria in its report on the murder of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister, it emerged yesterday.The names of the brother of Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria, and other members of his inner circle, were dropped from the report that was sent to the Security Council.
The confidential changes were revealed by an extraordinary computer gaffe because an electronic version distributed by UN officials on Thursday night allowed recipients to track editing changes.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 1:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sweden: Malmo Mosque Set Ablaze for Third Time
For the second time in five weeks the mosque in Malmo, Sweden (pictured) has been attacked by arsonists. We reported the last incident, which took place on September 18, when only minimal damage occurred in the arson attack, which was caused by a bottle of accelerant, thrown through one of the windows. The mosque was severely damaged in 2003 in an arson attack which damaged the mosque and destroyed adjoining buildings at the Islamic centre.
Now, a report from Sweden's The Local states that yesterday, shortly before midnight, several fires were started in the main building, which were quickly extinguished by emergency services. Passers-by had alerted them after seeing smoke. One man was admitted to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. He had been sleeping in the building during Ramadan.
A window had been smashed at the rear of the mosque, for the arsonist to gain access. Lars-Olof Anderberg of Skane police stated that the attack bore all the same hallmarks as the last fire, and suggests the attacks may be perpetrated by the same individual. Malmo is some 382 miles south of Stockholm, and has a high population of Muslim residents.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Trinidad and Tobago: Islamic TV Starts Soon
Muslims in Trinidad and Tobago have always longed to get onto the television - during the attempted Islamist coup of 1990, during which 20 people were killed, Muslims hijacked the headquarters of TTT, the national broadcasting station.
After recent Islamic bombings in Trinidad, there is now a chance for Trinidadian Muslims who are not playing with explosives to watch a new Islamic TV station. The Islamic Broadcast Network (IBN) is a local concern, and is now all ready to start broadcasting next week, according to Trinidad Express. It will be broadcasting on the Cable Company of Trinidad and Tobago (CCTT), but still needs to have its "number" finalised.
The station will not need a licence, as it is considered a "content provider" for CCTT. Inshan Ishmael said the station is ready for airing, and is waiting for a few tests to be carried out by CCTT. He said "We must say, we are very pleased with the treatment we have gotten from CCTT. They have shown they work towards the betterment of the people of Trinidad and Tobago, so when they say go we will go."
Muslims comprise 9% of the total population of Trinidad and Tobago.
Hopefully IBN's programming will be better than the Islamic cable fare offered up in Britain, which includes regular shows by nikab-veiled hostage-turned-convert Yvonne Ridley. She may have been a journalist, but she is not a "TV natural". Come to think of it - she's not natural at all....
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tajikistan: Ban on Hijab
From Jurist Law. One of the more surprising moves in the current saga of the
According to Al Jazeera, Abdudjabor Rakhmonov was concerned that many students spent time in mosqyes at the expense of their education. "Many spend evenings in mosques and do not do their homework," Rakhmonov said, adding that during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan many did not attend classes after Friday prayers."
What is surprising is that the population of Tajikistan is 90% Muslim, though its constitution is secular. Tajikistan's southern border runs against Afghanistan, and it is bounded by Uzbekistan in the west, and China in the east, with Kyrgyzstan in the north.
"Many spend evenings in mosques and do not do their homework," Rakhmonov said, adding that during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan many did not attend classes after Friday prayers.
Keywords: hijab, hidjab, burka, burqa
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Egypt: Commentary on Anti-Copt Riots
I talked yesterday about how the anti-Christian riots in Egypt foreshadowed the future of Europe, unless the Western World radically changes course. But there was something else that bothered me, and I want to mention it here. (I'll emphasize the relevant passage): Three killed in Egypt church riot
Three people have died during a riot outside a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt, after a protest against a play accused of offending Islam.[...]Coptic Christian leaders have said the play depicts the dangers of extremism, not of Islam.
"Copts would never tolerate anyone insulting Islam," Coptic Bishop Armia is quoted by Egypt's official Mena news agency as saying.
"Copts would never tolerate anyone insulting Islam". That, dear readers, is the essence of Dhimmitude; to turn its victims, through fear, into defenders of Islam. Thus, Egyptian Copts cannot tolerate anyone else insulting Islam, or else they'll suffer the consequences. Worse; American and European leaders "cannot tolerate" anyone insulting Islam, because they fear terrorist attacks.
This Dhimmitude cannot stand: accepting Muslim blackmail ultimately distorts the political discourse, and it might become the death of us all. When you are in a war for your own survival, you better reject your enemy's premises.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Iraq: Lawyer in Saddam Trial Kidnapped and Killed
On Thursday night (Oct 20), a lawyer representing one of Saddam's co-defendants was kidnapped by gunmen. Sadoun Saif al-Janabi, according to the Times was the legal counsel for Awad Hamed al-Bandar, who formerly headed Iraq's Revolutionary Court. Mr al-Janabi was leaving his office in the Shaab district in eastern Baghdad when he was seized. Two cars arrived at 8pm and he was taken away.
Yesterday, according to Yahoo News, Mr al-Janabi's body was discovered dead, dumped in the northern Baghdad region of Ur. He had been killed with a single bullet to the head.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said that the killing "has all the fingerprints of kidnappings and killings by terrorist groups".
Khalil Dulaimi, the Sunni lawyer representing Saddam has said that he has been the target of numerous death threats, and survived one assassination attempt shortly after he accepted Saddam's brief.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Egypt: Islamic Protests Against Christian Play - Three Now Dead
The violence which happened outside the Coptic Christian St George's Church in Alexandria has now claimed 3 lives. We described the situation yesterday, but perhaps it is time to examine the history of the controversial play, "I Once Was Blind But Now I See", which has aroused such anger.
According to Islam Online, reviewing a DVD of a performance, the play is about a Christian who "reverted to Islam and is exhorted by a sheikh to kill priests and destroy churches. Abused and maltreated by the sheikh and his group, the young man eventually abandons Islam. The play further mocks at the bases of the Muslim faith."
The BBC reports that the sale of the DVDs have created an escalation of the rage, On Wednesday, protests against the sale of the DVD version led to a nun being stabbed. The nun, according to Al Jazeera, was a novitiate who was seriously wounded in the assault, which took place inside St George's church. A man was later arrested. The leaders of Egypt's Coptic Christian Church have argued that the play is not against Islam, but against extremism. The Kuwaiti News Agency reported on October 15 that the secretary of the Coptic Pope saying that the play had been suspended two days previously, as it showed a character playing the role of a terrorist.
Yesterday's escalation of the violent protests followed on from last Friday, when 200 police were drafted to the church to manage a demonstration of 3000 Muslims outside St George's church. The play was already on sale in DVD format, distributed by Christians, according to Al Jazeera from October 15. Al Jazeera stated that accusations of forced Islamic conversion from Christianity are "routine" in Egypt. The report mentioned a case from December last year when Copts protested in Cairo for four days when the wife of a priest left home, becoming a convert to islam. She returned home later and resumed practicing as a Christian.
Today's Al Jazeera report states that in the current violence, where church windows were smashed and rioters set fire to a police car and damaged other vehicles, hurled stones at police, wounding 20 of their number, the first death was of Mohammad Zakariya, who died in hospital from his injuries sustained in the clashes. Two others were killed after midnight, when police opened fire at the rioters. 70 rioters were hurt in total.
5000 rioters had arrived for the protest, coming shortly after Friday prayers from nearby mosques. The DVD is not of a new performance. It is a recording of a performance made at the church in 2003.
According to the BBC:
Relations between Muslims and the Coptic minority - which makes up 5%-10% of Egypt's population - are generally calm, although tensions sometimes flare.The fact that the protests by Muslims both appeared after Friday evening prayers, last Friday (14th) and yesterday (21st), seems to indicate that the campaign of intimidation is, if not being actively organised from the mosques, not being discouraged by Alexandria's clerics.Copts remained the majority in Egypt for centuries after the 7th Century conquest of the country by Muslim armies.
Nowadays, they complain of discrimination in the workplace, restrictions on church construction and periodic fears that Christians are being forced to convert by Islamic extremists.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Germany: 53 Million Muslims in Europe, and Rising
The Central Institute's Islam Archives, from Soest in Germany, claims that more than 53 million Muslims live in Europe, with 14 million of these in the EU, according to WorldNetDaily. The number has increased by 800,000 over the last two years alone.
The director of the institute, Salim Abdullah, says that in the EU France has the highest number, 5.5 million, with Germany second, with 3.2 million, the UK following with 1.5 million and Italy having 1 million.
Including the whole continent, Russia has 25 million Muslims. The Muslim population of Germany is mostly comprised of Turkish migrants, but almost a million of these possess German passports. And in Germany, conversion to Islam is at a high. between 2004 and 2005, more than 1,100 people changed their religion to Islam, with 60% of these being women. Most converted because of marriage to a Muslim.
There is a trickle of conversion from Islam to Chrisianity in Germany, with 60 baptisms a year of Muslims. Most Christian converts come from Iran. Globally, the Institute believes more than 100,000 Iranian SHiites have converted to Christianity, with most of these living in the US.
A report in yesterday's Guardian showed britain's population has grown at a higher rate than expected, now comprising more than 60 million inhabitants. The amount of immigration has increased dramatically. The number of people arriving for a stay of at least a year increased by 69,000 to 582,000 in 2004. And trends indicate the overall population will continue to rise far higher than former projected figures.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 21, 2005
Egypt: Anti-Copt Riots Offer Glimpse of the Future of Europe
Here at Western Resistance, we tend to look at individual stories in each entry. The anti-Christian riots, and the suffering they inflict on Egypt's Copts certainly merit our close attention. But there is another story that merits our attention as well: allow me to look at two stories, side by side:
First, in Denmark: Muslim anger at Danish cartoons
The ambassadors of 10 Muslim countries have complained to the Danish prime minister about a major newspaper's cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.A letter from the ambassadors said the cartoons published in Jyllands-Posten last month showed the Prophet as a stereotypical fundamentalist.
Pictorial depictions of the Prophet Muhammad are forbidden in Islam.
A Danish government spokesman said Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen was preparing a response.
Second, in Egypt: Man killed in Egypt church riot
A man has died during a riot outside a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt, which started as a protest against a play accused of offending Islam.Police used sticks and tear gas to hold back a crowd of some 5,000 protesters who marched on St George's church.
Dozens of people were injured in the crush. The man who died was trampled and had inhaled tear gas, police said.
On Wednesday, a Muslim man stabbed a nun in protest at the sale of a DVD of the play, staged at the church in 2003.
In Denmark, Muslims protest, demand, and threaten seeking to defend the 'honor' of Mohammad the dishonorable. In Egypt, however, they dispense with all the niceties, and go right to rioting.
This offers us a glimpse of the future of Europe, when Muslims will become the strongest group in the land: freedom will die in its birthplace, to be replaced by the ever-present ideology of Islamic Supremacy.
Unless, of course, we stop this madness before it's too late.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 9:12 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Canada: Unable to do Anything About its Citizens Fighting America
Kate McMillan at Small Dead Animals points to a story that very well shows the moral paralysis that has overtaken some of our friends: Canadians taking part in Iraqi insurgency: CSIS head
The head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) says Canadians have joined the insurgency in Iraq.James Judd, the director of CSIS, revealed Thursday evening that some of the foreign fighters in Iraq battling coalition troops are Canadians. He said there aren't many, but more are expected to join.[...]
When asked if CSIS, or the government, could do anything to prevent people from joining the insurgency Judd said he didn't think there was anything legally that could be done.
"In some instances we found out about it after the fact, and to the extent that we did have some certainty about it we would want to advise our friends and allies," said the CSIS director.
It is not that Canada is unable to do anything about Canadian citizens joining the murderous Iraqi Jihad. It is that they are unwilling to do so. Their society is so paralized with self-doubt and moral equivalence, they prefer not to do anything at all.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 9:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Afghanistan: Four, Including Aid Worker, Killed by Islamists
Today, it was announced that an aid worker and two senior provincial officials were killed in Afghanistan, in attacks which have been blamed on Taliban insurgents, states Reuters.
On Thursday, an employee of the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance relief agency was killed in an ambush in Faryab province, in the northwest. His three colleagues were wounded. The governor of Faryab, Mohammad Aamir Latif, blamed Taliban guerillas.
In the southern province of Nimroz, an explosion ripped apart a car, kiling the police chief of Zaranj, the provincial capital, Nafas Khan. A colleague of Mr Khan was also killed in the blast, which was apparently caused by a roadside bomb, detonated by remote control.
In the eastern province of Kunar, an intelligence official was killed by a roadside bomb.
A spokesman for the Taliban, Mohammad Yousuf, confirmed the Zaranj blast had been carried out by the Taliban, but had no information on the aid worker's killing.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Somalia: Division, Strife and Islamists Threaten the Future
An article from South Africa's Mail & Guardian paints a bleak picture of Somalia. The transitional government, the first attempt at a government the country has seen in 14 years of lawlessness, has split into two factions. Islamic militia roam the streets of Mogadishu unchallenged, armed with rifles and demanding money, and closing down venues deemed "un-Islamic". Already one cell of Al Qaeda is operating in the region, undermining any hopes of a future governance of the country.
The secular president and prime minister are located in the small town of Jowhar, while the warlords of Mogadishu, some of whom are also Cabinet ministers, have stopped cooperating until they get some concessions from the president.Forming a third force are Muslim fundamentalists who have set up an Islamic court system with militias to enforce the judge's rulings. They want an Islamic government, or else, a key leader has told The Associated Press.
The "key leader" in this case is Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys (pictured), who gave a phone interview to AP on October 12. We referred to that interview earlier, in reference to an article in Sudan Tribune. The United Nations had claimed a week before this interview that the Sheikh was arming hundreds of men, to prevent a Western-backed transitional government from taking power after years of clan fighting. The Mail & Guardian claims that in this climate, in which all three sides, the two government factions and the Islamist militias have been amassing large reserves of weapons.
The prime minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi has tried to make the government a working concern, but still the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia have reported to the Security Council that there was a "severely elevated threat of widespread violence in central southern Somalia." Gedi tries to put on a brave front, arguing that of 42 members of the Cabinet, only 5 were in Mogadishu, refusing to cooperate with the government. "It is not as bad as people are saying," he has said.
The warlords were initially included in his government, but now they appear to be behind efforts to deprive a population, which has been reduced to relying upon hand-outs of food, of donated provisions. We reported on the hijacking of the two of the UN World Food Program's ships, which were laden with food and essentials earmarked for the poor and the hungry. The suspicion is that Somali warlords are behind these and other hijackings. So who is Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys? What role does he play in this drama of many parts?
In his interview last Wednesday, Aweys denied that he had ever been a terrorist, and that those who had made such allegations were his enemies, and they were lying. He has been placed by the United States and the United Nations on international blacklists. He is one of the former leaders of al-Ittihad al-Islami, one of the terror organisations recently placed on the UK's list of outlawed groups. Al-Ittihad al-Islami has been blamed for bombings in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia in 1996 and 1997, kidnapping of relief workers in 1998, and it is widely believed to have been behind the bombing of the Israeli-owned hotel in Kikambala, which was bombed in November 2002, killing 7 Kenyans and 3 Israelis.
Aweys claims in an earlier article by the BBC, from 25 March that there have been no terror groups in the country, and that it would be the duty of every Somali to fight a peace-keeping force. He is accused by America of having links to al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda certainly do seem to have established a foothold in Somalia. They recently attempted an insurgence in Somaliland, a breakaway republic in the north of Somalia, which has had its own government since 1991, even though Somaliland is not internationally recognised.
The claim that Aweys makes, that there never have been terrorists in Somalia, are contradicted by facts. In July, the International Crisis Group stated that these were led by an Afghan-trained militia leader and had made a foothold in the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu. In their report they wrote: "The threat of jihadi terrorism in and from Somalia is real," .... describing the group as "a new, ruthless and independent network with links to Al-Qaeda". The current president, Abdullahi Yusuf, was formerly in charge of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, north-eastern Somalia, and there fought members of al-Itihad al-Islamiya, and managed to expel them from his territory. One of the ships recently hijacked, apparently by warlords, had food destined for Puntland. A BBC report by Joseph Winter from 24 November 2004, featured an interview with the sheikh.
"No-one here is fighting against the US," he says, insisting that he is merely a Muslim scholar, who believes that only Sharia law and Islam offer the solution to Somalia's problems.Perhaps the last word here should go to Chris Tomlinson, author of the Mail and Guardian article.Sitting cross-legged on the floor, talking softly and calmly and often smiling through his red, henna-stained beard, he does not give the impression of someone who masterminds terror attacks when he is not talking to journalists or preaching at the mosque over the road from his house.
He moves around quite openly in Mogadishu, albeit in a convoy of armed guards, including a technical - a truck with an anti-aircraft gun mounted on the back. But in lawless Mogadishu, such extensive security is not exceptional for those who can afford it.
Mr Aweys readily agreed to be interviewed at his large, well-maintained house set down a labyrinth of dirt tracks in a middle class Mogadishu suburb.
However, he agrees with those who say that worldwide, Islam is under attack by the US and its allies and supports "the Mujahideen who are fighting back".
Since none of the three factions are believed to have sufficient firepower to defeat the other, it is unclear how long the current status quo can last, but the threat of war hangs over relief workers who will try to provide aid to the hungry in the months to come.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 4:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: "Discriminatory" Holy Book To Be Banned By University
Edinburgh University has decided that a religious text is "discriminatory" and will have it banned from its student halls of residence. The action came after a campaign was led by the students' association, and, according to a university spokesmen, it is in keeping with its pursuit of "evenly supporting all faiths".
The discriminatory book is not the Koran, which advocates killing of unbelievers, but the Bible, in the version planted in student rooms by the Gideons.
The students' association comprises students from 120 countries, and Ruth Cameron, president of Edinburgh University Students' Association said: "The student association strongly believes in the importance of ensuring that students of all faiths feel at home in their university accommodation".
She said the move was not about attacking Christianity, but about respecting diversity. Two years ago, the Times reported, the saying of prayers at graduation ceremonies for similar reasons.
The current veto on Gideon bibles needs first to be voted on by the student association and then is expected to be automatically approved by Edinburgh university.
Stirling University tried to remove 6,000 Bibles from its student halls earlier this year, but was halted by protests from Christians.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
US: Fifth "Islamist Suspect" Detained in Tunnel Inquiry
A fifth man has been held in the investigation following on from Tuesday's terror alert, which saw the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel fully closed and the Fort McHenry Tunnel partially closed. News 24 states that Maged Hussain, who owns a Boston market which was raided on Tuesday, has been taken into custody on handgun charges.
The other four men, who were detained on immigration charges on Tuesday, pursuant to investigations into the threat, will be deported.
One of these, 30-year old Mohammed Ahmed Mohamady Ismail, was mentioned in a tip-off about a bomb threat to the tunnels, which came from an individual who is in custody in the Netherlands. The threat had been to have vehicles laden with explosives enter one of the tunnels, and to then be detonated.
Ismail is Egyptian, as is Suied Mohamad-Ahamad, 25, and Mohamed Mohamed-Abdelhamed, 38. Ahmad Al Momani, aged 58, is from Jordan. Mark Bastan, a special agent in charge at immigration and customs enforcement, said that all four had not turned up for deportation proceedings.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thailand: Conflict and Fear - Muslim Killed in the South by Islamists
Today, the New Zealand Scoop reports that the Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, rebuked the secretary general of the Saudi Arabian-based Organisation of Islamic Conference for its criticisms of his military crackdown in the southern Muslim provinces. Thaksin, a Buddhist, said
"I would like him to read the Koran which stated clearly that all Muslims, regardless where they live, must respect the law of that land.....This means the Koran wants Muslims to live peacefully with people of other religions."His comments were aimed at Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, who had written a communique which condemned the deaths of Muslims, but did not mention the Buddhists who have been killed in the region by Islamists. The statement, issued from Jeddah, mentioned amongst other things: "Some villages have been under siege, and some families had to migrate,". a reference to the 131 Thai Muslim refugees who crossed the border into Malaysia, an event which has created diplomatic unease between Thailand and its neighbour.
In one of the southern Muslim provinces, Pattani, the Khaleej Times states that human rights abuses are taking place, with unfounded persecutions of Musims being carried out in the name of Prime Minister Thaksin's emergency powers, which were introduced in July, and have recently been extended for a further three months with parliamentary approval.
In Yala province, a Muslim volunteer security guard was shot dead by suspected Islamist insurgents. 46-year old Madaming Samae was riding his motorcycle to the school where he worked as a night guard, when gunfire from a passing pick-up truck killed him. His pistol and assault rifle were taken. Channel News Asia quoted police who said the shooting appeared to be linked to the unrest that has continued in the region since January 2004. The police did not rule out the possibility that he was killed in a personal conflict with his assailants.
It has been announced that Thaksin Shinawatra will be meeting former prime minister of Malayia, Mahathir Mohamad, on November 21, in a conference that will aim to reduce the tensions over border issues, the Bangkok Post reported.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Indonesia: Islamic Schools Will Not Be Restricted
Yesterday, we reported that Jusuf Kalla, the vice president of Indonesia had suggested that the naton's 17,000 islamic schools would be put under monitoring, as previous graduates of such schools had become terrorists.
The Jakarta Post today reports that Ichwan Syam, secretary-general of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) refuted media reports that the Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) would be limited in their activities.
"The Vice President has said that there are no plans at all by the government to limit the activities of pesantren as reported by the media." he said, after a meeting with Kalla. He reported Kalla's claim that only one or two had been extreme in their syllabus. Ichwan mentioned that Kalla had spoken of "brainwashing" of students, with claims that suicide is allowed in Islam for jihad.
"Such teachings have sown the seeds of terrorism. The MUI will support the government in educating the public that such an evil act (suicide) is against Islam," said Ichwan.
Kalla had also expressed concern that books written by Imam Samudra, a terrorist convicted of the 2002 Bali bombings, were being distributed in mosques and bookstores. The MUI in a press statement said it was to challenge Inspector Ganeral Ansjaad Mbia, head of the anti-terror desk at the office of the coordinating minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, about his media comment that 50% of Muslim preachers delevered sermons spreading hatred and hostility against other religious groups, at their Friday prayer sessions.
The deputy of MUI, Amidhan, said: "The statement has worried us, and undermines the honor of the preachers in front of their followers. This will eventually create hatred among Muslims."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bangladesh: Islamist Threat Against Jails
The banned Islamist group Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has written a letter in Arabic and Bangla to the Superintendent of Tangail District Jail, Shamsul Alam Bhuiyan. The letter contained a threat to blow up the Tangail District Jail in seven days' time, if police did not desist from making arrests of or detaining JMB activists.
According to the Daily Star, the threat is being taken seriously, and all jails are now being asked to retain a high state of vigilance. Prison guards have been asked to strengthen security measures and to check all prisoners when they return from the courts.
A JMB activist has hurled a bomb at a judge, and is now being moved to Osmani Medical College and Hospital from Sylhet Jail as his condition has deteriorated.
The latest bomb involving the judiciary happened on Wednesday evening. The Bangladesh Independent reports that Biplob Goswami, the Divisional speedy tribunal judge at Sylhet was returning home from his day at court when Akhter Hossain threw a bomb. The judge was not seriously hurt, but a group of people chased and beat up Hossain, which accounts for his current medical condition. According to one report, Akhter Hossain confessed while in hospital to being a follower of Sheikh Abdur Rahman, the head of JMB. It is claimed that Rahman gave Akhter Hossain a sum of money as an inducement to hurl his bomb at the judge.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:29 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
India: America, India, on the Verge of Landmark Nuke Deal
The United States does not have the kind of treaty it is preparing to sign with India with any country. This may be the next step on a potentially deep and long-lasting alliance between the United States and India (the first step towards that alliance might have been taken by India here.) This is, overall, very good news: India and US iron out nuke deal
A top US official is holding talks in India to push forward a landmark nuclear deal between the two countries.US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns is meeting Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran in Delhi.
In July, India and the United States agreed to co-operate in civilian nuclear energy programmes.
It was a boost for India, which has not signed the non-proliferation treaty. In return, Delhi agreed to separate civilian and military facilities.
It also said it would place the former under International Atomic Energy Agency norms.
"This co-operation that we are extending to India is unique to India," Mr Burns said ahead of his visit.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Lebanon: UN Report Points Finger at Syria in Hariri Assassination
Chinless dicatator Bashar al-Assad seems to have been caught in murder. Even the UN thinks there was "Syrian involvement" in the death-by-car-bomb of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri: UN Hariri probe implicates Syria
A UN inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri says many leads point to the direct involvement of Syrian officials.UN investigators said they had also found evidence of Lebanese collusion in Mr Hariri's death last February.
The report, prepared at the request of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, says the car bombing was carried out by a group with extensive organisation.
Both Syria and Lebanon have denied the allegations of official involvement.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: Lord Carey Says Muslims Should Tolerate Mockery
The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, states in an article from today's Telegraph that Muslims and members of other faiths should get used to being mocked. He stated that he believed passionately that it was good for members of a religion to be criticised on certain occasions.
Carey, speaking as part of an all-party group of peers opposed to the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, said people should be sensitive to others' feelings, but not "create a society in which certain stories are not told." After the publication of Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses novel, he was approached by Muslims asking him to help them campaign for it to be banned.
"They were very offended by Satanic Verses but I said you are living in a country and civilisation where we are quite used to this," he said.There is a likelihood that the Bill, introduced at the behest of the Muslim Council for Britain, may be defeated in the House of Lords when it is discussed next week. An amendment has been added, creating a "freedom of expression" defence. An offence would be committed only if it could be shown that a person was "intentionally" fomenting religious hatred."They say: 'Why as a Christian don't you condemn the Life of Brian?' I said: 'I love the film and I think it is good for religion to be knocked, to be criticised, to be challenged because we have done a lot of damage in the past'.
The bill was a disastrous move at its inception, and leaves a gray area for people who do not hate Muslims, but are desperately trying to stop the "Islamification" of Western life. Comedians will be hamstrung, should the Bill be passed. Rowan Atkinson, aka Mr Bean, told journalists: "It is the little person I fear for. I worry about the bloke in the pub, the bloke writing the thesis about Judaism. It is those people who are more likely to be got at," he said.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Iraq: Journalist's Kidnappers Were Shia Muslims
The Khaleej Times has reported today that the Irish journalist who was kidnapped by gunmen while on assignment for the UK Guardian, was kidnapped by Shia Muslims. Roy Carroll has been confined in a darkened room, handcuffed, for 36 hours before being released on Thursday evening.
Carroll's release came after a phone call to his captors. He thanked members of the Iraqi, Irish and British governments. He stated that after the telephone call:
"He put me in the boot of his car and drove me alone and dropped me in the middle of Baghdad," he said.The issue should now be investigated. Maverick Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr had specifically arranged a meeting for Carroll to interview a Shia victim of Saddam Hussein. Gunmen knew that he was visiting the victim, and kidnapped him from that location. The claim that he was being used as a bargaining chip to free Shia prisoners must now surely point the finger of suspicion at al-Sadr, for his potential collusion in this affair.Speaking about his kidnappers, Carroll said: "They were Shia. At one point I was told I would be used as a bargaining chip in exchange for al-Sadr people taken in Basra."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Australia: Melbourne Muslim Women Are Targets of Hatred
The Herald Sun reported earlier today that in Victoria, and particularly in Melbourne, Muslim women in headscarves are being targeted for abuse. In the past fortnight, two women have been assaulted. In one case, a woman with three children was waiting at a tram stop when a milkshake was hurled at her.
In another, a man swerved his car towards a woman who was crossing the road with her baby and shouted "F*ck off terrorist!".
Graffiti has appeared in the northern suburbs of Melbourne stating "Kill Muslims" and "Muslims Out". Other instances involve women being spat at and verbally abused.
The Islamic Council of Victoria is alarmed, and head of the Equal Opportunity Commission Dr Helen Szoke has said that she was appalled by the attacks.
"We recognise that people are fearful about terrorism," she said. "But fear cannot be used as an excuse to attack fellow Australians who want nothing more than to go to work, send their kids to school, go to the shops and go about their daily lives without being abused and attacked."The resentment against Muslims climbed after the incidents of 9/11, and have now peaked again since the recent blasts on Bali.
The article makes no mention of the strict rulings in Victoria regarding religious discrimination, introduced to appease Muslims, which prevent anyone criticising Islam openly, which may be contributing to this climate of frustration and resentment.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:52 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 20, 2005
US: Council on American-Islamic Relations On New Crusade
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has a new issue with which to berate America in its phoney mission to "create better relations" between themselves and the non-Muslims who live in the US. Their latest issue to lather themselves up about is the case of US soldiers who burned the bodies of two Taliban terrorists.
The bodies of the two Taliban were starting to decompose, after they had been killed in the hills outside the southern village of Gonbaz, near Kandahar. Australian photojournalist Stephen Dupont filmed the bodies being cremated, while he was on a working assignment, embedded with the US military. In a report from eitb24, Dupont's film was broadcast on SBS television network.
Dupont said the soldiers said "we've been told to burn the bodies because the bodies have been here for 24 hours and they are starting to stink, so for hygiene purposes this is what we've got to do." He said the soldiers were burning the bodies facing West.The issue has already created questions, about how Islamic burials should have the body washed, prayed over, wrapped in a white sheet and then buried facing Mecca.
According to CNS News, CAIR's Executive Director, Nihad Awad, has jumped on the bandwagon and demanded that the Pentagon insist it has a "top to bottom" enquiry. I have to ask: "Why?" These people had no respect for the dead when they were in power. Here is a photograph, taken on August 13, 2000. It is of prisoners of war who were murdered by the Taliban. Their bodies had been dumped unceremoniously, at Heart City. No-one was allowed to bury them, on orders of the Taliban. No white sheets. No facing Mecca. Just decomposing in the heat of the sun, for flies and maggots to feed upon. You can see that two of the people are holding their noses to protect from the stench.
The photogaph is one of many, which can be found on the RAWA website. Some of the images are vile, but they only document things the Taliban did while they were in power.
So what is Nihad Awad trying to say? That US soldiers should temporarily suspend the war they are engaged in, which is providing true democracy for the Afghan people? And in this peaceful imagined hiatus find white sheets and a Mullah to perform prayers? Did the Taliban honour any of their war victims in this way? Awad has said that images of bodies being burned only recruit terrorists and "hurt America's image".
I am afraid that if anyone is hurting America's image, it is the likes of Awad and his croneys at CAIR, who care more about murderous insurgents than they do about real Americans. It is time the American public took notice of what their true agenda is. Awad has virtually spelled it out. All CAIR cares for is the Talibanisation of the United States.
And in a foootnote, Barbara J. Stock has quoted from a speech made by the spokesman of CAIR, Omar Ahmad, in a forthright article entitled "The Quiet Threat of Islam".
"Those {Muslims} who stay in America should be open to society without melting, keeping mosques open so anyone can come and learn about Islam. If you choose to live here, you have a responsibility to deliver the message of Islam...Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faiths, but to become dominant. The Koran, the Muslim book of scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth."A speech from the spokesman of CAIR, that is pure Taliban in its outlook. There can never be a compromise. Wake up America. Before it is too late.
Keywords Taliban, Taleban
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UK: Guardian Journalist Freed
In a breaking news item from Le Monde, the journalist Roy Carroll, who was abducted yesterday by gunmen in Baghdad, has been freed. He was released Thursday evening.
Carroll, 33, was lucky. Le Monde states that "before his case, eight foreign journalists have been kidnapped since the start of this year: one Italian, two Indonesians, Three Romanians, an American and Florence Aubenas. Seven had been freed and the eighth, an independent American journalist, Steven Vincent, had been killed at Basra (in the south) on the same day as his capture."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Turkey: 40% of People Polled Support Honour Killings
Turkish law, which used to treat "honour crimes" with leniency, has been readjusted to fall in line with European standards, in preparation for its attempt to become a full member of the EU.
The BBC describes an opinion poll, carried out by a Turkish university, conducted amongst residents of Diyarbakir, in the south-eastern part of the country. 430 people were polled, mostly men. When asked what the appropriate punishment should be, for a woman who had committed adultery, 37% of respondents answered that she should be killed. 25% thought that she deserved to be divorced, and 21% replied that her nose or ears should be amputated.
Since last summer, the penal code has been reformed, so it is no longer permissable for a man to claim "provocation" as a defence in so-called "honour crimes".
Recently, an Istambul court handed out a life sentence for a brother who killed his sister for having a child while sill unmarried. The young woman was still in her hospital bed when the brother arrived and shot her. He was sentenced on Friday 14th October.
Keywords: Honor Killings, honor crimes, honour-killing.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack