Western Resistance

The test has been criticised inside Baden-Wurttemberg's parliament, by Brigitte Losch, a Green party MP, who said the test inferred that Muslims were "violent per se" and were unable to abide by German law. "This list of questions is only to be used for applicants from Islamic countries. It is an unbelievable form of discrimination," she said. "If Germans were asked some of the questions, they would find it difficult to answer them."

The test has also been panned by the European Assembly of Turkish Academics who called it "strongly discriminatory and racist" against Germany's Muslim population. There are currently 3 million Muslims in the country. The majority of these are Turkish.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:45 AM | Comments (0)

December 30, 2005

Filth And Smut! Austrian Porn Posters Of UK Queen Shock!

A series of posters have appeared in Austria which feature one (pictured above), designed by Carlos Aires, a 31-year-old Spanish artist. They were commissioned to commemorate the nation taking over the role of the European Union presidency, succeeding Britain.

Done on a grant of 1 million Euros ($844,000 US) provided by the Austrian government, the posters were commissioned from artists in different countries. The whole story can be found in the Times.

But the image by Carlos Aires of the UK Queen in a threesome with President Chirac of France, and a mammaried George Bush with legs akimbo, is not causing as much fuss as an image by a Balkan artist, Tanja Ostojic. It is a pastiche of the painting Origin of the World by Gustav Courbet (1819-1877). Ms Ostojic's picture shows the thighs of a woman wearing EU star-spangled knickers. Be warned though, for the Courbet original, should you click, is sans sous-vetements, so to speak. The knicker poster is below. Excuse the exposing of flesh, which is not our usual policy, but it is almost the New Year. Season's Greetings!

The latest news is that these posters have now been withdrawn. What a waste of $844,000.....

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:18 PM | Comments (1)

Indonesia: Christians Killed In Bomb Attack - Are Islamists To Blame?

The Jakarta Post and BBC report that a bomb has exploded outside a house which was selling pork meat to Christians on Saturday morning. The region was also busy with passers by, shopping.

A witness, speaking to Associated Press, said: "The explosion was so loud, I couldn't hear for a couple of seconds. I ran out of my house and saw bodies lying around."

Six people have been killed and 43 others injured in the blast which happened in Mahesa, in the southern part of the town of Palu, the regional capital of Central Sulawesi. A kiosk stood beside the house. Many victims had been lining up at this kiosk to buy pork, which is considered unclean and haram by Muslims.

There have been conflicts between Christians and Muslims in the region, which reached a peak between 2000 and 20001, in which 1,000 died. The sectarian conflict appears to be currently invoked by extremists, who are committing atrocities against Christians in Central Sulawesi.

Three Christian schoolgirls were decapitated in Poso on October 29, followed by two girls shot in the head and critically wounded on November 8, and on Friday November 18 three teenagers were shot at, with one girl killed. On the same day, a group of three young Christian women was attacked by machete wielding men in masks at Wirabuana near Palu. One woman was severely injured, another bled to death from a neck wound. On Saturday 19, a Christian married couple were shot at Palu, and wounded.

Police, government and media are reluctant to state that such attacks are carried out by Muslims. The nearest that they have come to saying this has been a suggestion that individuals or gangsters were trying to stir up sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims.

The bomb which has just taken place seems almost certainly to be either the actions of Islamists, or at least those who would stir up Christian/Muslim sectarian unrest. The police in this case conform to pattern; Brigadier General Oegroseno, Central Sulawesi's Police Chief, speaking at the scene of the blast, said: "This is a deliberate act to disrupt the New Year celebrations." He would not speculate on the identity of the perpetrators, while further investigations were underway.

The explosion happened even though security had been upgraded with massive deployment of police and others over the Christmas and New Year period. Banser, the youth branch of the Nahdlatul Ulama, a Muslim association, also promised to guard Christian churches over the Christmas period.

In the run-up to Christmas, the Jakarta Post reported that bomb sweeps were made in churches, and security guards dressed as Santa Claus had searched cars. at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Jakarta.

The Jakarta police chief, Maj. Gen. Firman Gani, said on Christmas Eve that Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists "could carry out" an attack on Christmas to retaliate for the death on November 9 of bomb-making expert Azahari bin Husin, who was gunned down in a police raid. Indonesia's intelligence chief Syamsir Siregar on Wednesday warned that Azahari's death could trigger revenge attacks and kidnappings for ransom.

In separate news, Azahari's colleague in Jemaah Islamiyah, financier and recruiter Noordin Mohamed Top, has been said to have been the instigator of a jewel heist which took place in Yogyakarta province earlier in the month, states Jakarta Post.

Bullet casings found at the gold shop robbery scene matched those from the shootout with Azahari bin Husin in Batu, Malang, on northern Java, claimed Makbul Padmanegara, the nations top detective. "Based on police investigations, there are indications that the gold store robbery in Yogyakarta was carried out by Noordin M. Top's group," he said.

The Jakarta Post state that documents found in Azahari's hideout on Java suggested that Jemaah Islamiyah was planning attacks over the holiday period.

UPDATE to story: AFP via Turkish Press state that many of the victims had severe leg injuries from flying shrapnel from the blast. Paulus Purwoko, the national police spokesman, said that three people had died at the scene and four in hospital. He said he did not think the bombers were from Noordin Top's group, "because they normally target foreigners."

The victim toll is 48. A second bomb was found nearby, which was defused. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesian president, has ordered an immediate inquiry, to ascertain if the bombing is connected to previous attacks in the region.

On May 28 this year, twin bomb blasts tore through a busy market in the Christian-dominated town of Tentena in the province, killing 19 people and injuring at least 40.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:53 PM | Comments (0)

Israel: Gaza Kidnap Britons Freed

The British aid worker, 23-year old Kate Burton, who was kidnapped with her visiting parents in the Gaza Strip, have been freed, states Reuters.

Kate Burton, who works for Al Mazen, a Palestinian human rights group which documents problems caused by Israel, had been snatched with parents Helen and Hugh by armed men, near the Rafah border crossing in the south Gaza Strip, on December 28.

A British Muslim group, the Muslim Association of Britain, had planned to send an envoy to negotiate with the kidnappers.

Ms Burton's job documenting human rights abuses claimed to be caused by Israelis brought a widespread reaction from Palestinians, who condemned her being held hostage.

The group who kidnapped the family are a previously unheard-of group, the Brigades of the Mujahideen-Jerusalem. It claimed it had seized the Britons to demand that Britain pressurise Israel for its treatment of Palestinians, and it had released the Burtons as a goodwill gesture.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:25 PM | Comments (0)

Bangladesh: Islamist Claims Terrorism Is Funded From Middle East

We reported earlier of the arrest of Ataur Rahman Sunny (left and below right), a leading member of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), on December 14. Rahman is the younger brother of Abdur Rahman, the leader of JMB, the main group responsible for a series of bombings that erupted across Bangladesh on August 17. Since that day, JMB has made more bomb attacks, on courthouses, and other targets in the judiciary.

After a brief hiatus during Ramadan (Oct 4 to Nov 4), JMB killed two judges in Jhalakathi district on November 14, then mounted a double suicide attack on courthouses in Chittagong and Gazipur on November 29, killing 10 people, followed by another suicide bombing at Gazipur courthouse on December 1, which killed two and injured twenty.

Today, the New Nation, the Daily Star and the Bangladesh Independent all report that Ataur Rahman Sunny has been given a 119 day remand on 17 cases connected with the August 17 nationwide bombing campaign. The instances for which he is charged under the Explosives Act took place in nine "thanas" of Dhaka, the capital.

Abdul Awal, the son-in-law of Abdur Rahman, who had been arrested at Thakurgaon on November 18, was also remanded in custody for five more days. This was his seventh remand. Awal was JMB's regional chief for Rajshahi district.

Mufti Mohammad Abdul Hannan, the leader of Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami, who was arrested on Saturday, 1 October, was also remanded for five days, on charges of laying bombs on August 17 near the National Press Club under Ramna police station. This is Hannan's thirteenth remand.

The aims of JMB and Harkatul Jihad are the same, as are the aims of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB). All want to establish an Islamist state, governed by Sharia law, to replace the current democratic system. The goal of a sharia-based system is also shared by two political parties who have been accused of tacit involvement with extremists, Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Oikya Jote. Both are in the coalition government.

Hannan and Awal were both brought before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrates Court at 3.30 pm local time today, with claims from investigating officers that they had direct involvement with the August 17 blasts, and therefore needed further interrogation.

Fariduzzaman Swapan, a financier for JMB, who was arrested shortly before Ataur Rahman Sunny, his close associate, was not wanted for further questioning and was sent to Dhaka Central Jail.

Five magistrates granted the remand for Sunny. It is the longest ever remand granted in Bangladesh's 24 year history. He was taken away by officers of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) for further interrogation.

The Bangladesh Independent notes that following Sunny's arrest, his confessional statements led to the discovery of a large cache of explosives at South Manda in Dhaka on December 15.

He had claimed that the sources for JMB's finances came mainly from the Middle East:

In his confessional statement, Sunny disclosed that the huge amount of money required for carrying out militancy in Bangladesh usually comes from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei, Sudan and some other Middle Eastern countries and some Islamic NGOs, and moneyed men of these countries donated the money for establishing the 'Rule of Allah'. His brother used to receive the money for the purpose, Sunny said.

Disclosing the names of some local Islamic NGOs, he has also added that these non-government organisations also supply money for the carrying out militant acts. But the names of these NGOs could not be ascertained. Sources, however, said the intelligence agencies have geared up their monitoring and watch on these NGOs.

RIHS has been on a US exclusion list since Jan 9, 2002, but in the corrupt environment of Bangladeshi governnment the group received a massive donation from the ruling coalition for the purposes of setting up madrassas and mosques, and training imams.

One of the suicide bombers from the Chittagong courthouse attack survived long enough to claim that there were 25 mosques in Shakhipur upazila, Tangail district, which were used by members of JMB to plan their activities, including bomb attacks. These mosques were built with money from RIHS. The group actively involves itself with the destabilising of countries in fragile political shape. Bangladesh is currently becoming extremely destabilised.

The New Nation notes today that a 38-year old madrassa leader, Hafez Shamsul Haque Munir was arrested on Thursday at noon in Faridhpur district. He is head of Bagdanga Hafezia Madrasah in Boalmari upazila. He was said to resemble Abdur Rahman, the head of JMB (pictured above, left). This prompted a rumour that Rahman had been captured.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:02 PM | Comments (0)

Japan: Muslim Extremist Tried To Establish Islamist Group

Reuters have a story that a member of a Sunni group banned in Pakistan had entered Japan two years ago, in an attempt to establish a branch in the nation.

The newspaper Sankei states that a member of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) had entered Japan with a visa for "religious activities" in 2003 and, while at worship, told others he intended to found a SSP unit.

The man had entered and left Japan in 2003, but the paper did not give details of his subsequent location. The individual, in this thirties, had been seen at Tokyo mosques. He made contact at train stations with a 27-year old Pakistani trader from Yokohama, and a 40 year old Pakistani, a former bookbinder, who has subsequently been arrested on immigration violations.

Police are still trying to detect other members of the network, the newspaper claimed. There are an estimated 90,000 Muslims in Japan.

Reuters states that with troops stationed in Iraq, Japanese police warned earlier in the month that Islamists may tempt Muslims to become militant and attack Japan.

In 2004, several foreign nationals were arrested after a Frenchman of Algerian descent, Lionel Dumont (pictured right) arrived on a false passport in 2002. He stayed for more than a year in Japan. He is said to be involved with al-Qaeda. Dumont, described in the French press as "the invisible Public Enemy No. 1" was eventually arrested in Germany in December 2003 and extradited to France in May 2004. Time stated that Dumont slipped undetected in and out of Japan four times on a fake French passport, while also being on an international wanted list. He had also used his fake passport to visit Malaysia six times in the period between July 2002 and September 2003. While in Japan, Dumont had resided at the home of a Bangladeshi named Himu, who was a member of Islamist group JMB, and had links with 13 foreign nationals, including Bangladeshis and Pakistanis in Niigata, Gunma, Saitama, Kanagawa and Tokyo.

Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) was originally formed in the Punjab region of Pakistan, as the Anjuman Sipah-e-Sahaba in September 1985. According to one paper, the SSP has a branch in Britain,in the Mufti Mustafa Mosque, 11-13, St George Road, Forest Hill, London.

SSP is one of the groups listed in October by the UK Government as proscribed. It is violently anti-Shia in its outlook, and conforms to the hardline Sunni doctrine of the Deobandi.

SSP calls for Shias to be declared "non-Muslims" and has attempted to assassinate Shia leaders. Shias comprise about 20% of the Muslim poplation, with Sunnis being in the majority.

Following the attacks of 9/11, the newly-installed president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, became an official partner in the "War on Terror" and outlawed SSP with six other extremist groups on January 12, 2002.

SSP's response was to reinvent itself - renaming itself Millat-i-Islami in August 2002. It has a "sister group" - Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, which was founded in 1995 and has been involved in attempts to assassinate Colonel Gaddafi of Libya. This group is apparently behind current threats against Christians at Sangla Hill in Pakistan, and was responsible for the kidnapping and beheading of US journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.

Keywords: Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Lashkar-i Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:51 PM | Comments (0)

US: Department of Justice Launches Investigation in NSA Leak Scandal

Fox News reports the Department of Justice has launched an investigation to find the leaker or leakers who informed the New York Times about the "Domestic Spying" program run by the National Security Agency. The program, authorized by President Bush and reviewed by Congressional so-called leaders, allowed the NSA to intercept electronic communications initiated outside the United States by individual with known terrorist ties. Critics of the program claim it violates the U.S. Constitution's prohibition against "unreasonable searches". (My opinion on this: what's so friggin unreasonable about that. At any rate, if somebody wants to initiate a debate on this matter please do so in the comments.)

To conclude, I wish the Department of Justice the best of luck in finding the compulsive talkers who could not keep their mouth shut on a matter of crucial national security. The leaking culture should not stand; our citizens should not be slaughtered because some hyperventilating moralizers in Washington D.C. cannot understand what the U.S. constitution actually says.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)

December 29, 2005

Indonesia: Trial of Suspected Jemaah Islamiyah Islamist

Italian news agency AKI reports that the trial began today of a man who is suspected of receiving funds from a Saudi national for the purposes of terror operations. He is also accused of supplying pistols to a leading terrorist, who is currently on the run, who had involvement with the bombing (pictured) of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. This took place on Thursday, September 9, 2004. The blast killed 11 people and was the handiwork of Jemaah Islamiyah.

A district court in South Jakarta was told that Abdullah Sonata, aged 27, gave a box of four handguns and ammunition to Noordin Mohammed Top a main financier and recruiter for Jemaah Islamiyah, the group responsible also for both sets of bombings in Bali from 2002 and October 1 this year.

Prosecutor Nana Mulyana also claims that Sonata received 11 million rupiah ($15,000 US) and 100,000 Saudi riyals ($36,500) last year, from a Saudi named Syeikh Abu Muhammad.

The money was to be used to finance militant operations and also to send to JI Islamists hiding in the southern Philippine islands. These include Dulmatin and Umar Patek, who respectively have bounties of $10 million and $1 million on their heads from the US State Department's Rewards for Justice scheme.

Sonata was accused of helping the Malaysian-born Jemaah Islamiyah bomb-maker Azahari bin Husin to find a rented house to hide in. Azahari was killed on November 9 at Batu village near Malang on the island of Java.

Sonata's arrest was initially in connection with inquiries into the Australian Embassy vehicle-bomb suicide attack. He could face the death penalty if convicted. He is only the latest to be placed on trial for complicity in the Embassy attack. Already 12 others have been convicted, and some have been sentenced to death. The most recent of these was Iwan Darmawan, who was sentenced to death on September 14. Darmawan said after his conviction: ""I am grateful to Allah for this punishment because it means I will die a martyr. Why should I be afraid?"

On November 23 three people were arrested on northern Java and held as suspects involved in the Embassy attack.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:10 PM | Comments (0)

Palestine: Hamas's Children Indoctrination

The Hamas searches for the next generation of mindless bombs: HAMAS APPEALS TO KIDS ONLINE

The upcoming Palestinian parliamentary elections, scheduled for January 25, will see the Hamas terror movement running for the first time. The election campaign is already in full swing. But in addition to wooing potential voters, Hamas is also working on building its popularity among the next generation – the children.

Hamas has become famous for its 'Da'awa' (proselytizing) activities, which include such areas as social welfare, medical care, education, kindergartens, and soup kitchens. Another method, also used by other terror organizations such as Al-Qa'ida, is the Internet. Hamas has several websites, including monthly (Filastin Al-Muslima), weekly (A-Risala), and daily (Palestine Info) updated sites. In September 2002 the movement began publishing an online children's magazine, Al-Fateh (The Conqueror). This website invariably portrays various methods of fighting the "Zionist enemy," using cute cartoons alongside graphic photos of bleeding corpses.

In its current issue, The Conqueror explains more ways - some old, some new - to fight the enemy. It also expresses the wish that Islam will once again rule over the region of Andalusia, better known today as Spain.[...]

Yes, you read that right. They want al-Andalus back. In Islamic Law, once a land has been ruled by Islam, it belongs to Islam forever. There is more in the link above, read it all.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:20 PM | Comments (0)

Australia: Muslim Leaders Claim "Race" Riots Won't Happen Again

Sure, and hogs dance ballet. At any rate, if this was a "race" riot, and not a religious confrontation, how come the Australian government in consulting Muslim leaders? Race riots will not recur: Islamic leaders

MUSLIM leaders believe Sydney has experienced the last of the race riots that erupted almost three weeks ago in Cronulla.

NSW Islamic Council spokesman Ali Roude told The Australian that consultation between community leaders, police and government meant there would not be a repeat of the ugly scenes at Cronulla beach on Sunday, December 11.

"We have been successful, at least for the time being," he said. "We are confident we have been successful that the riot that occurred on that day was the first and the last.

"We are comfortable that everyone is committed and we have proven to the international community in relation to the riots that we have been successful in repressing it, and repressing it for good."

While Muslim leaders have declared the violence over, the NSW Government is not as confident and considers New Year's Eve and Australia Day to be potential flashpoints.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:10 PM | Comments (1)

Singapore: Islamic Teachers To Be Registered

News from Japan Today, the Hindustan Times and DNA India states that in Singapore, compulsory for Islamic teachers to undergo registration, in an attempt to prevent some with extreme attitudes being disseminated.

Islamic teachers have been registered on a voluntary basis since 2002, after Ibrahim Maidin, a local religious teacher, was arrested, and authorities claimed that he belonged to Jemaah Islamiyah, the group responsible for the Bali bombings of 2002 and October 1 this year. Apparently Maidin tried to recruit terrorists for JI from his students.

It is hoped that by March, 800 religious teachers will have been registered. In a statement issued by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, it is said that religious teachers will have to pass a panel of Muslim leaders before they are given validation.

"This scheme serves to provide recognition to qualified, trained and experienced asatizah for their knowledge in Islamic matters and education," the statement read. The Islamic Religious Council (MUIS) is a government statutory body.

Those who do not have the proper qualifications will be allowed to call themselves asatizahs and conduct lessons from their homes.

The population of SIngapore is predominantly Chinese, who comprise 76% of the population of 3.4 million residents, while Muslims, who are ethnically Malay, comprise 13.7%.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:40 PM | Comments (0)

Pakistan: Muslims Threaten Christians With Death In Sangla Hill

We reported on December 23 of a tentative peace agreement which had been made between Muslim and Christian representatives in Sangla Hill. This area had been the scene of riots which happened on November 12 when a mob of 1,500 Muslims descended on the Christian community and destroyed three churches, including a Catholic and a Protestant house of worship, a school, a youth hostel, a nunnery and two homes belonging to Protestant priests.

The riots had followed unsubstantiated reports that a Christian, Yousaf Masseh, had burned pages from the Koran. He is now in custody, accused of blasphemy under Section 295 B of Pakistan's penal code, and could receive the death sentence. It is widely claimed that the accusations were created by two individuals who had lost at gambling, and found a way to avoid payment.

Unfortunately, the peace deal which we described before Christmas appears to be breaking down, and telephone death threats have been sent to three Christian community leaders, states Asia News.it.

The threats, which have been traced to a public phone box in Faisalabad, claim to come from a member of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an extremist Islamist group. The calls were received by Saqib Sohail Batti, a general councillor at Sangla Hill, by Fr Samson Dilawar, a Catholic priest, and the Rev Tajmal Perves.

"If you don't accept our deal in two days, then get ready to die," are the words said by the caller. The phone messages were made n December 27. But the terms of this "deal" appear to be vague.

"Making a deal with them might mean peace, but the culprits would then still be free. If we give in, they won't be punished for what they did. We are really scared and are held up in our homes," Saqib Sohail Batti said. He said the police had done nothing to prevent November 12's attacks. He claimed police had been warned before the event took place.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was formed in 1996 by a breakaway section of the Sipah-e-Sahaba, a Sunni extremist group, which was designated by the US government in January 2003 as a "Foreign Terrorist Organisation under US law". It is a Deoband movement, and aims to create an Islamic Sharia-based state in Pakistan, which will be established by violent means.

It was this group which kidnapped and decapitated US journalist Daniel Pearl in January 2002.

Keywords: Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Lashkar-i Jhangvi

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:15 PM | Comments (0)

Australia: NSW Islamic Council Leader Claims Beach Riots Will Not Recur

The Australian reports that the spokesperson for the New South Wales Islamic Council, Ali Roude (pictured) has confirmed that a meeting of key community leaders and municipal representatives should now mean no more repeats of the notorious riots and factional unrest, which took place after incidents on Cronulla Beach, Sydney.

"We are confident we have been successful that the riot that occurred on that day was the first and the last, he said. "We are comfortable that everyone is committed and we have proven to the international community in relation to the riots that we have been successful in repressing it, and repressing it for good."

Mr Roude is also the chairman of the NSW Islamic Council's executive committee. The NSWIC was founded in 1976. Ali Roude arrived in Australia with his family of eleven (!) in 1971. He is the father of five children. In 1988, he received the Order of Australia, (Queen's Medal) for outstanding services to the Muslim communities. He is also the principal of Rissalah College, a school for primary pupils aged from kindergarten to six.

Simon Kearney, author of the article in the Australian, states that the NSW government do not share Roude's enthusiasm. They have fears that New Year's Day and Australia Day are going to be dates when the violence, between mostly white Australians and Lebanese Muslim gangs, may flare up again.

Currently in Belmore, in the southwest of Sydney, there is a racist graffiti campaign going on, which has been dismissed by local police as probably the work of juveniles.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:30 PM | Comments (0)

UK: Muslim MP Condemns Fuss Over School Name Change

The UK Sun has reported that a school in Bordesley, Birmingham, is the centre of an outcry over its proposed change of name from its existing "Christian" one.

The bosses of the council have decided that the 150 year old school, St Andrews Junior and Infants, needs a new name. The council claims the name change should reflect the current use of the school as it now also being used by a nursery and children's centre.

The area in which the school is situated comprises a population which is 62 % from ethnic backgrounds, and there are fears that the name change is being connected to this. The school stands next to St Andrews, the Birmingham City FC soccer ground.

The Sun quotes MP for Sutton Coldfield (a nearby Birmingham constituency) Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) who said he felt an "element of political correctness about this."

Birmingham MP Khalid Mahmood (pictured) said: "This doesn't help the Muslim community at all."

The context of Mr Mahmood's statement is confusing. It appears that he is saying that the change of name is the source of probable no-goodness for Muslims, but J. Grant Swank Jnr in American Daily is in no doubt. In an impassioned piece, he states that Mr Mahmood almost certainly is referring to the fuss which is being kicked up about the name change from a Christian-sounding monicker, rather than the re-titling itself.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:01 PM | Comments (0)

Pakistan: No Sisters For Boys Whose Father Slaughtered for "Muslim Honor"

The two boys pictured above, Ghulam Hussain, aged 11 and his brother Ghulam Mohiuddin, aged 13, are having to live with the knowledge that their father killed their four sisters. The photograph was released by Pakistan's Human Rights Commission.

The boys were photographed on Tuesday, December 27 at their home in Gago Mandi, near Multan in Pakisan, where their father Nazir Ahmad slit the throats of their four sisters as they slept. Ahmad, a 40-year old labourer, had killed his 25 year old daughter Muqadas Bibi, because she had married someone not of his choice, several weeks earlier, a policeman said on Saturday 24, according to AP via Yahoo News.

Police officer Shahzad Ghul said that Ahmad (pictured below) had surrendered at Burewala, 70 miles east of Multan, and confessed to killing his four daughters. He had killed the younger three daughters, who were aged from 4 to 12, because he did not want them to follow in their (step-)sister's footprints. He had contacted Muqadas Bibi to say he was ready to forgive her, but killed her and her three step-sisters instead.

In the West, it is considered dishonourable to lie or to make false promises, yet Ahmad acted the way he did out of his perverse and evil notion of what "honour" means to a Muslim.

Dog Pundit draws attention to a later Associated Press post on Yahoo News which has statements from Rehmat Bibi, the wife of Ahmad. She had cradled her three month old son while her husband killed, last Friday night, the 23 December:

Bibi recounted how she was woken by a shriek as Ahmed put his hand to the mouth of his stepdaughter Muqadas and cut her throat with a machete. Bibi looked helplessly on from the corner of the room as he then killed the three girls - Bano, 8, Sumaira, 7, and Humaira, 4 - pausing between the slayings to brandish the bloodstained knife at his wife, warning her not to intervene or raise alarm.

"I was shivering with fear. I did not know how to save my daughters," Bibi, sobbing, told AP by phone from the village. "I begged my husband to spare my daughters but he said, 'If you make a noise, I will kill you.' The whole night the bodies of my daughters lay in front of me," she said

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:33 PM | Comments (0)

Tunisia: Minister Declares Muslim Headscarf Incompatible With National Traditions

In news from Associated Press, via Boston.com, the Tucson Citizen and Nasdaq News, the Tunisian religious affairs minister has criticised the custom of women wearing the hijab, or Muslim headscarf, claiming it does not form part of Tunisia's North African heritage.

In a newspaper interview, Aboubaker Akhzouri said his government rejects Muslim tunics like those worn in Persian Gulf states, and also the habit of growing excessively long beards, a trait associated with Islamic fundamentalists.

The hijab was officially banned from public offices and schools in Tunisia in 1981. This has led to some independent groups complaining that civil rights have been abused. The headscarf ruling is not strictly enforced, apparently.

He denied that more women were wearing the hijab, saying "the phenomenon is in decline...progressively fading away."

Tunisia has a population of 10 million people, the majority of whom are Muslim. It is considered an ally of the West and its government supports gender equality, with 54% of the country's university students being female.

Keywords: Burka, burqa, hijab, hidjab

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 1:08 PM | Comments (0)

Bahrain: Feminist Condemns Islamic Courts

Today, MEMRI TV, the Middle East Media Research Institute TV Monitor Project, has a transcript and a video clip of women's rights campaigner in the kingdom, Ghada Jamshir, who has been accused on some internet forums of being a heretic.

She is one feisty woman, and for some orthodox males, such forcefulness is itself a crime against "submission", so cherished in Islam. Her style is firm, aggressive, no-nonsense. She is a woman with balls, and the interviewer struggles at times to be heard. This amazing woman who refuses to wear a veil, condemns lack of family planning, Sharia courts, and accuses the categorisations of "Islamic" marriage as oppressive to women, appears in an interview broadcast first on al-Arabiya TV on December 21. This is just a clip from the transcript, while talking of Mut'ah marriages (for pleasure of the man) condoned by the Sharia courts, which she describes as indulging child abuse:

Ghada Jamshir: "This is a violation of children's rights! This constitutes sexual assault of the girl. What does 'pleasure from sexual contact with her thighs' mean? It means deriving sexual pleasure from an infant. How old is an infant? One year, a year and a half, a few months?

"Is it conceivable for a grown man to have sex with an infant girl? And you people tell me that the Islamic Shari'a authorizes this? Forget about the mut'ah. Let's talk about misyar. What do misyar marriages mean? You said that I'm a Sunni and that's why I'm attacking the Shiites. No!"

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:28 PM | Comments (0)

Norway: Murdered Man Was Suspected Islamist

Norway's Aftenposten today states that a man who was stabbed to death in November had links to a radical Islamic mosque in Oslo and, at the time of his murder, he was under investigation by the country's Police Security Service (PST)).

The man had been living under an assumed identity for several years in Norway, and was a quay worker at the port in Oslo. According to newspaper VG, the man's death had occurred after a trivial dispute with a workmate got out of hand.

At Oslo's violent crimes division, Police captain Finn Abrahamsen noted that the problem of homicide victims living under false identities is becoming increasingly common, and causes problems. Bodies cannot be released for burial without identification papers. "When a person dies relatives come with ID documents that show that the person is someone other than they have claimed to be," he said.

The man who was killed in the dockside dispute is claimed by VG newspaper to have attempted to recruit others into terrorist activities. The name of the mosque in Oslo is not given.

On November 17 three Algerians, suspected members of the Islamist group Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) were arrested in Naples and Brescia. Two of these, Yamine Bouhrama and Khaled Serai had lived in Norway.

The Naples chief court investigator, Michele del Prete, confirmed that the pair had been on their way to Norway. "We believe that the three Algerians see Norway as a calm and safe place to stay," he said.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:53 AM | Comments (0)

India: Did Islamist Shoot Delhi Scientists?

Today's Calcutta Telegraph reports that a professor has been killed and four other academic scientists wounded, in an attack by a masked gunman outside an auditorium of the Indian Institute of Science.

The killer fled in a white Ambassador car which waited nearby. The man who died, M.C. Puri, was mathematics professor emeritus at India's Institute of Technology in Delhi.

The gunman had opened fire with an AK 47 as soon as the delegates to a conference at the auditorium began to leave the building. He also shot at a car, smashing the windscreen.

Police so far are unwilling to speculate on who committed the attacks, but the Telegraph states: "On Monday, Delhi and Bengal police had arrested three suspected militants, with Bangladesh links, who were said to be planning strikes on information technology hubs in Bangalore and Hyderabad."

At least one of the three men arrested was a member of Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami, a Bangladeshi Islamic terror group, headed by the now-jailed Mufti Hannan.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:06 AM | Comments (0)

Israel: Islamic Jihad Claims Two Suicide Bombings In West Bank

XinhuaNet reports that at about 9.30 am local time, a Palestinian woman blew herself up at an Israeli army checkpoint near Faron village, which lies near two Jewish settlements, Shavi Shormon and Inav, south of Tulkarem in the West Bank.

Following her explosion, a Palestinian male then blew himself up as an Israeli army jeep approached. One of the soldiers on board was killed, and three other were injured.

Seven Palestinians were subsequently injured when Israeli troops opened fire at people queuing at the checkpoint. Among the injured was a woman and child.

In artillery attacks against northern Gaza last night and this morning, one Palestinian militant and a teenager had been killed.

Islamic Jihad has carried out two suicide bombings recently, killing five at Netanya on December 5 and killing six in a blast at the market in Hadera on October 26.

On November 8 two offices of a "charity" in Jenin called Daawa run by Islamic Jihad were closed down by Israeli authorities.

Islamist Iran's IRIB Broadcasting states: Gaza Strip, Dec 28 - The Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement on Tuesday rejected a call from PA head Mahmoud Abbas to halt rocket attacks on Zionist-settled towns.

Islamic Jihad's Spokesman Khaled Batch said "I think the continuation of resistance is what's better for the Palestinian people.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:34 AM | Comments (0)

Pakistan: Islamic Seminaries Approach Registration Deadline

There is some confusion here, as we reported on December 23 that the deadline for registering of Islamic seminaries, or madrassas, had been suggested by Pakistan's federal and religious affairs minister, Ijaz-ul Haq, to become redundant.

Initially, President Pervez Musharraf had suggested that there should be a deadline set on December 31 for the registering of all madrassas by December 31. Mr Haq had told the leaders of the five main branches of madrassas that the deadline would be scrapped in a proposal which he intended to submit before the Pakistan parliament.

Today, Reuters AlertNet states that the 12,000 madrassas in Pakistan still have to be registered by December 31, and also by this date they should have removed all foreign students. It appears Mr Haq's proposals have either been rejected or not accepted by parliament.

1 million boys, mostly from poor families, study at the seminaries, receiving free food and shelter as they study. Most madrassas teach the hardline, anti-women doctrine of the Deobandi, a Sunni school of thought, named after its main center in Deoband, northern India.

Musharraf announced the deadline for registration and removal of foreign students back in summer, in the wake of the revelation that suicide bombers from London's 7/7 attacks on London Transport had studied in Pakistani madrassas. In July, 1,400 foreign students were asked to leave, and in August, registration forms were distributted to seminaries, requesting information on numbers of students, teachers, and details on financing and spending.

We reported on one influential madrassa, the Haqqania madrassa, (pictured above), which lies in Northwest Frontier Province, near the border with Afghanistan. Many of the main luminaries of Afghanistan's Taliban, including Mullah Omar, had graduated from this seminary.

In another Reuters report, as well as in Khaleej Times, Ireland's RTE, AKI and Asia News.it, there appears to be a strong resistance in some quarters to comply with the December 31 deadline.

The Interior Minister, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, told Reuters that 65 per cent of foreign students had already left, and the deadline would not be extended. "The provinces will submit reports on the issue on December 31 and any further action will be based on those," he said.

Mohammad Hanif Jallandari, a cleric of the Ittehad-e-Tanzeemaul or Ittehad Tanzemul Madaris Deniya, one of the five alliances of madrassa schools, said that 700 foreign students had already left, and no new ones have been recruited. However he was adamant that the deadline would not be respected, and said the government had made the decision based upon a worng assumption, i.e. that the foreign students were involved in illicit activities.

Asia News.it states that the madrassas will be holding a meeting in Islamabad on January 1 to discuss the issue. Jallandri has threatened a nationwide mobilisation if the government will not withdraw the decree.

AKI had stated on 23 December that the agreement between federal and religious affairs minister, Ijaz-ul Haq and representatives of the five madrassa branches had included Jallandari.

The Pakistan government faced opposition from some Muslim leaders on Friday 23 December after the federal minister for education, Javed Qazi, announced proposed changes to the syllabus of standard schools, regarding teaching of Muslim prayers.

There were protests across Pakistan outside mosques, with calls to expel Qazi for his "secularist" ideas. Qazi had called for the Muslim prayer sessions in the curriculum to remain, but in deference to differing sects of Islam, he suggested the specific wording of prayers should not be part of the syllabus.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:05 AM | Comments (0)

Russia: Suicide Bombing Near Dagestan Mosque

Earlier today, a man in Dagestan wearing an explosive belt detonated it, killing himself and injuring one other person, states South Africa's IOL and Mosnews. Abdul Musayev, a spokesperson for the local Interior Ministry branch, claimed the explosion probably happened accidentally.

RIA-Novosti quotes witnesses who said the man appeared to be walking towards a house in Makhachkala, where a mourning ceremony was taking place, to commemorate the death of a top police official's son, who was shot dead on Tuesday evening.

The event on Tuesday had happened when gunmen fired on a car used by Deputy Interior Minister Magomed Gazimagomedov (who was not present). His son, a security officer, and a bodyguard were in the car, and were shot dead.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:23 AM | Comments (0)

December 28, 2005

Bangladesh: Islamist Party Tries to Allay Suspicions That It Supports Terrorism

Earlier today, a large rally was held in Paltan Maidan in Dhaka, the Bangladesh capital, by the party Jamaat-e-Islami. Jamaat is one of the four parties in the coalition government, and as we reported earlier and yesterday, it has been accused of links with the Islamic terrorists who have been subjecting the nation to fear of bomb attacks. The rally was ostensibly a protest against "bomb terrorism, violence and anarchy".

The Bangladesh Independent and the Daily Star both report on the rally and the speeches made.

The Star writes:

The Jamaat leaders also pointed fingers at a neighbouring country for its involvement in recent bomb blasts and other terrorist activities in the country.

The recent series of suicide bombings in the name of Islam is part of a conspiracy of the AL (the Awami League, the leading opposition party) to break the ruling coalition and tarnish the image of the Islamic parties including Jamaat, they alleged.

Denying any links with the banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), the Jamaat leaders said JMB is a creation of the AL as General Secretary of Awami Jubo League Mirza Azam is a close relation of the JMB chief.

When Nizami appeared on the podium (right) he described the members of JMB thus: "Most of them are half-educated or illiterate, and even an insane person will not believe that Islamic rule could be established by them."

On the issue of JMB's bombing campaign, Nizami said: "They are using the name of Islam to destroy the religion and Islamic movement and are misleading the people." He said that Islam never supported terrorism or bombing, and said that it took time to establish Islamic rule in a country.

The claims of Jamaat against the Awami League are as nothing, compared to those uttered by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, leader of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), who was speaking at a meeting held at Sonapatil Mohila College. The Bangladesh Independent says that while referring to "a party", but obviously meaning the Awami League:

As people did not respond to their movement, the BNP chairperson said, the party in the name of movement indulged in destructive action - unleashed terrorism and killed people burning alive by setting fire on passenger buses and trains.

"This is a terrorist party," the Prime Minister told her audience and urged people to remain alert about that party.

The threat becomes ominous when one learns that on Tuesday, a new anti-terror law has been finalised in its draft form, and will be sent to cabinet on 2 January. There is a new clause specifically for sedition in the bill, in which penalties for terrorist activities include the death sentence.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:25 PM | Comments (0)

Israel: Three Britons Kidnapped In Gaza Strip

News from Reuters, by the Independent, the Times, the Guardian and the Telegraph.

A 25-year old Briton, Kate Burton, has been kidnapped with her parents while on a tour of Rafah on the Gaza Strip.

Ms Burton works as an aid worker, employed by Al-Mezan, a Palestinian human rights organisation in Gaza, for the past three to four months. She is their co-ordinator for international affairs. It is thought her parents were visiting her for Christmas.

The three were driving in a car when their vehicle was stopped around 4pm local time, and they were forced into a white Mercedes and driven away in a northern direction. The incident had happened 200 yards from the Rafah border crossing.

On 21 December two teachers were kidnapped in Gaza City. Hendrik Taatgen, a Dutchman and headteacher at an American school, was taken with his Australian deputy, Brian Ambrosio. Their captors, who claimed to be affiliates of the PLO extremist group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), released them after eight hours, unharmed.

That kidnapping caused the UK Foreign Office to issue a warning against Britons travelling to the Gaza Strip. A British diplomat has said he remains "optimistic" that the Burton family will soon be released.

The Independent claims that the British Consulate has been in contact with Palestinian police and security organisations and believes the kidnappers belong to a group called the "Black Panthers".

The reasons given for this group's motive is that they want salaried jobs from the Palestinian Authority and to protest against suspected militants to cross the border into Israel at Rafah.

Al-Mezan, the human rights organisation where Ms Burton worked, has previously criticised Israel for its military operations in Gaza, but has been forthright in its criticism of Palestinian lawlessness, including kidnappings. Kate Burton was on holiday leave at the time of the kidnapping.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:33 PM | Comments (0)

Vatican City: Italian Bishops Warn Women Against Marrying Muslims

A wise warning, but it will take far more than this to stop the Islamic demographic Jihad: Cardinals issue marriage warning

A number of Catholic cardinals have warned Italian women against mixed marriages with the rising number of Muslims in the country.

Church officials say that as Italy's Muslim population touches the one million mark, some 20,000 mixed marriages took place this year alone.

That is an increase of around 10% on last year.

The Catholic Church's official position is to encourage dialogue between Rome and other religions, including Islam.

The late Pope John Paul II was the first pope in history to pray in a mosque, when he visited Damascus. His successor, Benedict XVI, has insisted that he is also keen to promote religious and cultural dialogue with the Islamic world.

But two documents published in Rome have called for extreme caution by Catholic women contemplating marriage to a Muslim.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:49 PM | Comments (0)

Germany: Islamic Association Is Banned

Reuters and XinhuaNet and Deutsche Welle report that the German state of Bavaria has banned the Islamic group the Multi-Kultur-Haus (MKH), after investigations into its office in Neu-Ulm.

Bavaria's interior minister, Guenther Beckstein (pictured below right) released a statement, which said that the offices were raided today (Wednesday) and seized a number of items, including instructions for manufacturing explosives, and material uring Muslims to fight coalition forces in Iraq.

Previously, the statement affirmed, security officials had seized literature which showed the group's radical nature, such as a book from their library which urged Sunni muslims to "execute the Christians and the infidels".

Other examples of the group's extremism included an audiocassette exhorting: "Oh worthy ones, oh friends of love, send us bombs to kill the Jews with. No to the Jews, no to the Jews!" and also a CD glorifying the "jihad" rebellion in Chechnya.

The group's account in Stuttgart has been frozen. MKH had been raided initially in January on suspicion of forming a terrorist organisation, when 14 individuals had been arrested. The group were again raided in February for suspected business offences. Individuals were deported in February and June. As the group is based in Neu-Ulm, Bavaria, the state ban has effectively declared it closed down, for the present at least.

The International Herald Tribune states: "Khaled al-Masri, a Kuwait-born German citizen who is suing the CIA for allegedly spiriting him to Afghanistan, has said he visited the (MKH) center several times before he was snatched."

Reuters reports that in another state in Germany, Lower Saxony, the state interior minister has suggested electronically tagging the local Islamist extremists.

Speaking to Die Welt newspaper, Uwe Schuenemann said: "This would allow us to monitor the roughly 3,000 Islamists who are prone to violence, hate preachers and fighters trained in terrorist camps."

"It's practical for all Islamists who are prone to violence and who we can't expel to their home countries because they could be tortured," he suggested. "If they leave these areas, there would be a warning signal."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:00 PM | Comments (0)

Saudi Arabia: Islamist Killer Captured, Dies In Custody

From Ireland Online, the Chicago Tribune and AP via Forbes and CNN: - reports that a leading Islamist militant went on a killing spree which led to his being shot, catured, and then dying in Saudi police custody, as reported by Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry.

Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Mohammed al-Suwailmi yesterday shot at a police patrol while driving outside Buraydah city, 210 miles northwest of Riyadh. He killed two police officers.

He drove on southwest towards Al-Midnab, 12 miles away. He came to a security checkpoint near the town of Miznub, where he shot and killed three more police officers.

He was then shot and wounded in a police car chase, and he was captured. Three Kalzhnikovs, five pistols, ammunition, fake registration plates, and about $123,500 in Saudi rials. Al-Suwailmi died in custody.

23-year old Al-Suwailmi was number 7 on a list of 15 Islamist and al-Qaeda militants resident in the kingdom who are "wanted" by the Saudi authorities. He is the eighth on the list to be killed or captured. There are 21 others on the list who are believed to be currently abroad.

There were mistaken reports in September that al-Suwailmi had been killed with four others in a police shoot-out in Damman city in the east, but he released an internet audio denying the statements.

There has been an ongoing war against militancy, with numerous attacks against Saudi and western interests since May 2003.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:39 PM | Comments (0)

Australia: Letter from Jailed Islamist To Self-Styled "Mufti"

We reported yesterday of the trial in Kuwait City of 37 Islamists from the group Peninsula Lions. One of those was an Australian, Talal Adrey. Bruce Billson, Australia's Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs said that Adrey had arrived as a refugee to Australia 5 years ago, and he has lived in West Sydney.

30-year old Adrey was arrested in February, and yesterday he was sentenced to four years' imprisonment on charges of possession of weapons and ammunition, and also trading in such weaponry to finance the facilitation of murder. He will be deported following his release.

The Australian Advertiser states that Talal Adrey (spelled here Tallaal Adrey) was a used car salesman who lived in Auburn, West Sydney.

In May, while incarcerated and awaiting trial in Kuwait, Adrey had sent a letter to the self-appointed "Mufti" of Australia, the controversial Egyptian-born Lebanese Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilaly (pictured), whose spokesperson (and publicist) is Keysar Trad.

In this letter Adrey complained that (Kuwaiti) government agents "came to my home and took me away from my children and from my wife without mercy. They took me and imprisoned me, then they beat me and tortured me and detained me in segregation. I am in prison to this day and I do not know why I am imprisoned."

Adrey's plea for help was probably made to the sheikh because he had assisted in the negotiations in Baghdad to have Iraq hostage and Aussie citizen Douglas Wood released. Mr Wood was freed. The BBC notes on the "Mufti":

his opponents see him as a menace. They have accused him of praising suicide bombers and claiming the attacks in the United States on 11 September were "God's work against oppressors".

I'm telling you that there are no English Korans left in Australia or America or Europe. Everyone is converting to Islam: soldiers, pilots, engineers... those who are spending money to stop the ways of God will spend their money but will be defeated eventually. Trust me my dear friends.

Sometimes good lies in evil. Perhaps there will be an Islamic awakening that starts in the heart of America and restores the Islamic regime and the dignity of human beings. Islam is trying to find its way to people's hearts but it's being hidden by our attitudes, our mistakes, our behaviour and our divisions.

Islam is doing well in America, in Europe and in Australia. People are converting to the religion of God, and we feel proud when the banners of Islam are high and when our nation is united by Islam and we see that the nation follows God. In western countries, Islam is gaining ground every day.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:48 PM | Comments (2)

Russia: Politicians Told Beslan Massacre Could Have Been Prevented

The blame game will not get Russia anywhere. Muslim murderers, and only muslim murderers, were responsible for Beslan. Russia cannot afford the comforting belief its enemies are weak and powerless: Beslan massacre 'could have been prevented'

The Beslan school massacre which left hundreds dead, including 186 children, could have been averted if government warnings had been heeded, Russian politicians were told today.

Alexander Torshin, head of a Russian parliamentary commission investigating last year's Beslan school tragedy, in which 331 people died, said that if orders had been followed, the deaths could have been prevented.

The crisis erupted on September 1, 2004 when Chechen rebels seized a primary school in the southern Russian city of Beslan, taking more than 1,000 people including hundreds of students and their parents arriving for the first day of school hostage.

A tense stand-off ended three days later after an explosion in the school triggered a fierce firefight between security forces and dozens of hostage-takers, causing huge numbers of casualties. Thirty-one hostage takers also died in the violence.

Responsibility for the attack on the school was claimed by Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev, but families of the victims have said that authorities at all levels of government and law enforcement bear a large share of blame for the tragedy due to incompetence.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:20 PM | Comments (0)

Afghanistan: Islamist Decapitation Video Hints At Handiwork Of Al-Zarqawi

Today's AKI states that a video of an Afghan man being decapitated bears the hallmarks of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group, Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Taken on September 12, the video has only recently appeared on internet sites. The video has a title - "Death Sentence" and it has a label "Labbaik", the logo of a video company which is used by militant groups in Afghanistan, which recently filmed the four individuals who escaped from a US military jail in Afghanistan.

The hostage (pictured), talking in Pashtu, says in the video: "My name is Sayd Allah Khan and I am from the Khost province. I work as a spy for the Americans along with four other people. My job is to blow up Islamic schools in Waziristan. The group receives 45,000 dollars and my share is 7,000 dollars."

Waziristan is in Pakistan on the porous border with Afghanistan, and as we reported earlier, it is a home for both Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. It is currently home to a large contingent of the Pakistani military.

The video follows all the conventions set in previous snuff films produced by al-Zarqawi. The victim is forced to confess, then after images of the US President and troops, and the narrated words "al-Zarqawi", the victim is shown being held down by seven individuals while his throat is slit and his head sawn off, while his murderers shout "Allahu Aqbar," urging in Pashtu tongue for jihad. Finally, Sayd Allah Khan's head is shown placed upon his prone back.

AKI notes that the al-Qaeda leadership had formerly resisted decapitations, but now the practice has reached Afghanistan, perhaps a sign of the elevation of al-Zarqawi within the al-Qaeda leadership.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)

Malaysia: Muslim Death Ruling Causes Widow's Anguish

A report covered today by UPI in Washington Times, API in Japan's MSN - Mainichi and the BBC states that a paralysed ethnic Indian and Hindu mountaineer who died recently has been ruled by a court in Malaysia to have died a Muslim, against his wife's protestations.

M. Moorthy, who died on December 20 was buried today with full Islamic rites after the High Court ruled that he had converted to Islam in October 2004. He been involved in a Malaysian expedition to climb Everest in 1997, but had been paralysed in army training a year later. It was only after he went into a coma after falling out of his wheelchair in December that his former army colleagues told the authorities that he had been a "secret" Muslim for a year.

Moorthy's widow, Kaliammal (pictured) has claimed that after his so-called "conversion" her husband still ate pork, drank alcohol and took part in Hindu festivals. In the civil court it was argued that her husband had been interviewed on local television, talking about his preparations for the Hundu New Year festival of Diwali. Kaliammal had applied to the High Court for custody of her husband's body following a ruling last week by a Sharia court that 36-year old Moorthy was a Muslim and should be buried accordingly.

After the High Court's ruling against Kaliammal, Moorthy's body was taken by the Islamic Affairs Department, and washed, wrapped and buried with Muslim rites. His widow was not present at the funeral.

Haris Mohamad Ibrahim, from Malaysia's Bar Council, said: "So much for good interracial relations. The judge has told the widow and her family to go back and leave the body to strangers".

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party promised to raise the issue in parliament, with a call for a mandatory ruling to force authorities to tell family members if religious conversions are legally recognised. "This case reflects poorly on the concept of Islam Hadhari (progressive Islam) advocated by the prime minister. If such matters are left unattended they can cause unhappiness and disharmony," he said.

At no stage in the proceedings of either the Sharia court or the High Court did the Islamic Affairs Department produce any documentary evidence to prove their case that Moorthy had converted.

Kaliammal was too distraught to speak after the case today, but her lawyer announced: "She says...anybody can take the body, but her husband's soul is still with us."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:49 AM | Comments (0)

December 27, 2005

Israel: Rockets Hit Northern Town

Kiryat Shmona, a town in the north of Israel, close to the Lebanese border, was hit today by rockets coming from southern Lebanon. No-one was injured, and the usual suspects, Hizbollah and Fatah, have both denied responsibility, claims Ynet News.

Reuters states that three rockets were fired. The Evening Echo states that Channel Two TV showed what appeared to be the remains of Katyusha rocket, with images of holes in the ground and in the side of a house. Reuters notes that in the past, Palestinian groups have fired Katyushas at Israel.

Arutz Sheva states that a total of six rockets were fired at Kiryat Shmona, with one making a direct hit upon a home.

IDF troops are currently on a state of high alert.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:11 PM | Comments (0)

Bangladesh: Links Between Government and Islamists

Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) is an Islamist organisation which has sometimes been viewed as the armed wing of the Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). The two groups operate in union with each other. These and Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami were responsible for the 459 bombs which went off almost simultaneously throughout Bangladesh on August 17.

The group JMJB was founded by Bangla Bhai (pictured right), who is a former madrassa teacher called Siddiqul Islam. He had studied at Tarafsartaj Senior Fazil Madrasa. The group was unheard of until April 2004, when it began slaying members of the illegal Purbo Banglar Communist Party, killing five individuals in one month, and torturing several others.

A press conference followed, in which Bangla Bhai sat with Abdur Rahman, leader of JMB in a local union chairman's office in Rajshahi district. Bangla Bhai announced that his group had been active for six years before coming out of its closet. "We did not want to declare our presence now. We did not want to take police help at the beginning. We wanted to establish the rights of the repressed people," he explained.

"As a college student, I joined Islami Chhatra Shibir (an Islamist student organisation allied with Jamaat-e-Islami). When I finished my study in 1995, I quit Shibir because Jamaat accepted female leadership although it said it considered female leadership sacrilege," he said.

JMJB forms itself ideologically on the Taliban, though the leader denies that they are connected to the Afghan group. Taskforce Against Torture, a Bangladeshi human rights group, states that Bangla Bhai's JMJB has carried out 500 cases of killing and torture of individuals, often with police turning a blind eye to their atrocities.

The leader of the Bagmara outfit, JMJB unit president Lutfar Rahman, formerly a professor at Atrai Mollah Azad Memorial College in Rajshahi district in the northwest of the country, was arrested on Monday 26 December, states the Daily Star for Wednesday 28th. He had gone into hiding after the August 17 terror blasts.

Lutfar Rahman (pictured left), an adviser and activist for JMJB, has claimed that some ministers in the government and people in the "state machinery", such as district administrators and also the police, have patronised the head of JMB, Abdur Rahman. Lutfar claims that the police supported the actions of Bangla Bhai in its purges of outlaws in Rajshahi.

The Star recently noted that in April 2004:

Though independent media portrayed the JMJB as the armed wing of the JMB, a section in the government through some state machinery actively supported Bangla Bhai who started to slaughter citizens across the northern and northeastern parts of the country. Noor Mohammad, divisional inspector general of police, told the Daily Star on 4 May 2004, that Bangla Bhai and his men were helping the police maintain law and order. "We have asked different police stations to support them whenever they (JMJB men) go to catch outlaws. You know that the Shorboharas (left-wing extremists) have been quite active for many years and it is not possible for the undermanned and ill-equipped police force to hunt them down..." he said.

"I did not find it wrong to be with the Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh [JMJB] as I saw several government officials patronising them. I heard Bangla Bhai talking over the phone with some ministers and a police super," Lutfar Rahman states.

He also recalls the former superintendent of police Masud Mia being present nearby when Bangla Bhai had meetings. Since summer, Masud Mia has been under investigation by the judiciary and recently the government.

Rahman's investigators say that his main confessions have involved knowing Bangla Bhai at a close level and assisting JMJB on its raids against "Sarbahara" or outlaws.

Rahman claims that he has not seen Bangla Bhai since May 23, 2004. It was that time that Lutfar led a procession of JMJB in Rajshahi, at which Bangla Bhai was present, threatening journalists and individuals. He also claims that he is not happy with the current bombing campaigns which have been mounted by JMB.

Lutfar Rahman had also been a member of Jamaat-e-Islami, a party in the coalition government. We recently discussed the numerous claims being made that members of the government have been supporters of terrorist groups such as JMB and JMJB.

On December 15 we mentioned how arrested Chittagong leader of JMB, Aman Ullah, claimed that as well as having involvement with al-Qaeda, JMB also enjoyed the support of thousands of former cadres of Islami Chattra Shibir or ICS. ICS is the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, which Bangla Bhai had belonged to until 1995. Aman Ullah said that these ICS "graduates" would assist extremists to establish an Islamic state under Sharia law.

On 4 December this year, one member of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Moulana Washiqur Rahman, was found to be on a list of JMB operatives gathered by police. He had been mixing with militants in villages in Satkhira Sadar upazila, in Tangail district. After the August 17 serial blasts, the Jamaat man went on the run.

The current head of the Jamaat-e-Islami is 62-year old Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami (pictured), who bizarrely accused both the opposition Awami League of sponsoring the August 17 blasts assisted by the Indian government who were using Islamic fundamentalists to patronise subversive activities in Bangladesh.

Formerly Minister of Agriculture in the coalition government, Nizami is now Minister for Industries. In 1971, when Bangladesh was fighting to break free from Pakistan, he was head of Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), and also directed the activities of a paramilitary force called al-Badr. It is alleged that this group killed intellectuals. His personal involvement with killings of Hindus caused him to go underground until 1976, when General Zia brought out the razakar rehabilitation program, and Nizami emerged from the shadows to become second in command of Jamaat-e-Islami.

He has consistently argued for an Islamic educational system in the country, rather than a secular one. Some of his comments on the issue of extremism are strange. Yesterday, the Star wrote that in a television interview, Nizami had accused the newspaper of encouraging more Bangla Bhais, after it did an eight-column-width piece on the head of JMJB in its print edition. "If one can easily hit the headlines by committing wrongful acts, then hundreds of Bangla Bhai will be created in the country," he claimed.

Upon being asked about Bangla Bhai, whom he had earlier dismissed as a fabrication of the newspapers, Nizami said: "I don't have any comments on whether he exists or not. If a man really does exist, he won't disappear for my saying that he does not exist."

The issue of members of the government being involved with militants and extremists is a notion which is not going to disappear. We reported on the involvement of members of another coalition government party, the Islami Oikya Jote, or IOJ, with groups persecuting members of the Ahmadiyyah Muslim sect. Almost as soon as Bangla Bhai emerged into the light of publicity, they were suspected of being patronised by members of the ruling BNP party of Khaled Zia.

The confessions currently being made by Lutfar Rahman are no longer surprising. They only serve to add weight to the arguments being bandied around. What before seemed like wild speculation now seems to be confirmed from numerous individual confessions. On 12th December, Nizami said: "Those who are desperate to prove Jamaat attachment with militants by citing some one's past identity and student life, their lame excuse will be rejected by the people. I like to pronounce firmly that their crooked scheme will fail."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:35 PM | Comments (0)

Opinion: Why Does the Left Hate Israel?

Since I don't pretend to be a disinterested non-ideological blogger looking for the truth (I'm clearly right-winger on most issues because I think it is the right moral position) I feel rather dirty after criticizing the Bush administration in my last entry. Thus, I'm thankful to The American Thinker for re-publishing the following piece, which has help me get in touch with my inner right-winger once again: Why Does the Left Hate Israel?

For decades, most American Jews have believed there were far greater threats from the fringe right than the fringe left in this country. While this view may have been reasonable in the past, it is certainly not so today. The fringe right still exists- the neo-Nazis in Northwest Idaho, Matthew Hale, and David Duke, and the remnants of the KKK. But the views of the fringe right have been marginalized by their repudiation by virtually all mainstream elements on the political right.

The fringe left, on the other hand, has evolved into a broader left, and become more mainstream. The political perspective of this new left is vehemently anti-Israel, and the power and reach of this movement represent a real threat to Israel, and by extension to Jews who support Israel.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 1:37 PM | Comments (0)

Israel: Understanding Israel's Weakness

A paragraph from this column by Caroline Glick (which I recommend on its merits) caught my attention:

Since he took office, Sharon and his advisers have portrayed the status of Israel's relations with the US as one of unprecedented harmony. On a superficial level, this is in fact the case. But this surface tranquility masks its problematic cause. The appearance of smooth sailing in Israel's relations with Washington is the result of the unprecedented weakness of Israel's position in Washington.

My first reaction upon reading that comment was a somewhat surprised "by golly, she's right, Israel's position has weakened considerably these past years." But then I had to think carefully to understand why that was so. I cannot help but think that is a direct consequence of President Bush's "Democratization Project" for the Middle East.

Allow me to explain. Bush was staunchly pro-Israel when he came into office. In the 2000 campaign he was clear it was not the United States's job to be a "trusted partner to both sides" in the conflict, but to be a faithful ally to Israel, and for a while he kept his promise, earning scorn in the Press. All that began to change when the Democratization Project was launched: he began by recognizing in principle the need for a Palestinian State, and by pressuring Israel into making concession after concession.

The change in politics was dictated by a change in philosophy. If you accept that "the Arab World" (to say "the Arab World" instead of "the Muslim World" is a rhetorical trick intended to paint those who disagree with you as racist) can become a collection of Democracies and that doing so will end your most serious problems, reform Islam, and usher peace eternal--okay, I made that last one up--then by golly, you better start treating "The Arab" potentiality on equal grounds with the Israeli reality. Heck, perhaps you should start leaning a little towards the Arab side, to show them you care and move them ahead a little. After all, what you are doing is in Israel's long-term interest, isn't it?

This ideological shift was brought about by the worst kind of idealism mixed with the most disgusting pragmatism. (The first indictment of pragmatism is that it is not very pragmatic.) Until this next administration, or the next one, begins to see the error of its ways, we will do nothing but lose ground in the broad war.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)

Kuwait: Six Islamists Sentenced to Death

In news from the Irish Sun and UPI via Science Daily, six men have been sentenced to death in Kuwait City, for involvement with clashes with police in January, which left several people dead.

There were battles on Tuesday 10 Jan (2 police dead), on Saturday 15th (1 Saudi militant dead), on Sunday 30th (1 policeman, 3 militants killed) and on Monday 31 January (5 militants killed).

They were among 37 people who were charged with plotting to attack both Kuwaiti and US security forces in Kuwait. They were said to be members of the group calling itself the Lions of the Peninsula, or Peninsula Lions Brigadewhich has ties to al-Qaeda.

The BBC states that seven of the accused were acquitted, and about 20 received jail terms which ranged between four months and 15 years. One person was given a life sentence.

Most of the group of 37 were Kuwaiti nationals, but there were several foreign nationals on trial.

Prosecutors called for the death penalty for more than the six who received the sentence. They claimed the group had planned to stage a coup and also suicide attacks.

None of the defendants were in court when the sentences were pronounced. Defence lawyers have said that confessions were forced out of their clients under torture.

The leader of the group, Amer al-Enezi, was captured in the fighting on the 31 January. He died in custody several weeks after his capture. The Irish Sun states that no verdict was announced for the wife of al-Enezi.

10 people who were given jail terms by the court, which was attended only by lawyers and reporters, are still at large, awaiting capture.

UPDATE: Jurist Paper Chase states that one of the individuals who received a custodial sentence is an Australian Arab. AFP at Yahoo News states that the man's name is Talal Qadri, and he was given a four year jail term by Judge Hani al-Hamdan.

AFP also records that Nouha, the wife of Amer Khleif al-Enezi, is suffering from cancer, and she was released on health grounds, on a bail bond of $1,700. AFP contradicts the Irish Sun by saying her husband died only eight days after being arrested.

28 December: Talal Qadri is called Talal Adrey on ABC Radio which says he is aged 30, he lived in West Sydney, and he was arrested in February. Australia's Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Bruce Billson, said that Adrey arrived in Australia five years ago as a refugee. "He's been found guilty of two charges: one relating to the possession of weapons and ammunition, and the second charge which relates to acquiring and trading in those weapons and ammunition for the purposes of facilitating intent to carry out murder," the minister said.

Talal Adrey has claimed that he has been tortured, with his fingernails ripped out, but Bruce Billson states that there was no evidence of that. The Kuwaiti court has ordered that when Adrey's four-year sentence is up, he will be deported.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)

Saudi Arabia: Islamic Decree Makes Phone Firms Censor Calls

The Scotsman covers this story, as does Reuters via Cnet News, the Australian, the UK Mirror and All Headline News, with 40 other renditions available on the internet.

In Lebanon on the LBC TV channel there is currently running a "reality" show called Star Academy, which features a group of young men and women staying in a house, and doing auditions, while voters phone in text votes to decide who stays and who goes.

Like Britain's execrable Fame Academy, the show is popular. It began its third series last week, with 19 hopefuls embarking on the challenge, which has an ultimate prize of a recording contract. Among the contestants are two 21-year old Saudi men.

After its second run earlier this year, the show was widely criticised by fundamentalist Muslims, and it received a fatwa in May in Saudi Arabia. A young Saudi, Hisham Abdulrahman, had won the prize in April and had received a hero's welcome upon his return from Lebanon, and widespread adulation, but clerics decided the show was "against Islam".

With two Saudis now in the running for the prize, there are plenty of Saudis willing to vote. But if their cellphones are part of the network owned by Saudi company Saudi Telecommunications Co, they will have a problem. STC has announced that in respect of the fatwa, they will block all customers from text-voting on the contestants in Star Academy.

STC is the largest phone-provider in Saudi with 10 million subscribers. It is also joined in its ban by the younger firm Mobily, which is owned by Etisalat in the UAE, and has about 2 million Saudi subscribers.

Humoud Alghodaini, a spokesperson for Mobily, said that the program was culturally inappropriate. "It shows men and women living in one house, sometimes semi-naked and in inappropriate situations," he said.

Alghodaini admitted the company would lose money, but said that if they did not obey the fatwa "it would backfire on us and affect our brand."

It seems the show is less strict and devout than the Iraqi talent show, "Iraq Star" which we described in August.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:20 AM | Comments (0)

December 26, 2005

Australia: Muslim Clerics Requested To Follow New Code

Muslim clerics will be placed on a register, and visiting imams will be offered a social education on Australia, in a new measure proposed by John Howard's Muslim Advisory Council, which aims to keep radical clergy under control.

Yasser Soliman (pictured), spokesman for the council, states in a report by ABC.net.au that the move came as a response to concerns from the Muslim community. Muslims and some imams are concerned about people who set themselves up as clerics.

"Some of them come from overseas not being able to speak English and they occupy thereafter a position of leadership, and we don't think that people who can't speak English will be able to lead effectively in Australia because they can't be part of the solution when a problem arises", he said on ABC Radio.

The story is also covered by AAP in The Age and NineMSN. The idea behind the proposal was first aired at a Muslim summit in August, and has the backing of many moderate clerics.

However, there are some imams who are not happy with the suggestions, angered that the proposals include monitoring of sermons.

Soliman suggested that there were five or six such clerics, and they were unlikely to respect or follow the guidelines. "They will be identified as not plugging into the mainstream and not representing the community very clearly. At this stage there is a big fog about where they fit in," he said.

"Clerics coming from overseas especially would benefit from understanding the politics of the country, the political system, the language if they are not very fluent in English. It is important that any gaps be identified. It is not something that should come across as being an insult to a cleric."

The guidelines, Soliman admitted, are only advisory, and he had no power to enforce them.

Soliman is also a former head of the Islamic Council of Victoria, and it was he who notoriously had Pastor Danny Nalliah and Mr Daniel Scot of the Catch the Fire Christian ministry prosecuted under Victoria's religious vilification laws. Rather patronisingly, when the two pastors were found guilty on December 18, 2004, Soliman hugged Pastor Danny.

Soliman said of the incident: "I said to Danny (Nalliah), it's time to move forward and I hope we can talk to each other directly and try to develop understanding. He smiled and said he had nothing against me personally. Daniel Scot said he had to be free to say what he needed to say. I've given them my card."

Soliman's case has so far cost the two Christians, who fled Islamist persecution in their native Pakistan, a total of $100,000 Australian, and it is still not over, as appeals are continuing. A rather biased account of Victoria's blasphemy laws and Steve Bracks the state premier who introduced them, can be found here on Brookes News.

Soliman is also on the government's Council for Multicultural Australia (CMA), which lists his CV as: Managing Director of Diversity Connect International; IT consultant; member, Executive Committee of the Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria; President Islamic Family and Childcare Agency; member, Police and Community Multicultural Advisory Committee; former President, Islamic Council of Victoria.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:52 PM | Comments (0)

India: Three Islamists Arrested - Plot To Kill Politicians "Foiled"

The Times of India states that three individuals belonging to Harkatul Jihad e-Islami have been arrested by police in Delhi. The ToI states that they have been arrested in separate cases of terrorist acts, with one coming from Andhra Pradesh, and another from West Bengal.

Harkatul Jihad was officially banned by the Bangladeshi government on October 18 this year. Established in 1984 by extreme Islamists, including Mufti Abdul Hannan, who is now in custody in Bangladesh, the group officially announced itself to the world in a press conference in 1992. Harkatul Jihad has committed many terrorist acts.

They have made repeated threats to kill the Opposition leader, Sheikh Hasina. Hannan wennt into hiding since July 2000, after a bomb was discovered at a rally to be held by Sheikh Hasina.

Harkatul Jihad were involved with the group Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) when they committed a nationwide bombing campaign on August 17, which killed two and injured more than a hundred in more than four hundred explosions. They share with JMB the desire to establish an Islamic state in Bangladesh.

Their activity ranges from killing a journalist on July 16, 2001 at Jessore, to various bombings, including a bomb attack on a Catholic church at Baniachang in Gopalganj on June 3, 2001, killing ten worshippers, and running terrorist training camps.

Harkatul JIhad tried to kill popular poet Shamshur Rahman (pictured), in an axe attack at his home on January 18, 1999. Three man with pick-axes broke into their apartment. The poet and his wife survived, though his wife was struck with an axe and received serious wounds.

The group has been linked with Osama bin Laden, and many of the group's leaders fought in Afghanistan when bin Laden was fighting Soviets.

Hannan's arrest on October 1 led to claims that his organisation had links with members o